A Different Great Xia Prefecture

That day, Su Yu followed Liu Wenyan.

He was in no hurry. This was not the first time he had followed Liu Wenyan around. Back when he was learning the Myriad Races Language, he had often trailed behind Liu Wenyan.

Su Yu continued with his own routine—cultivating, reading, studying... only he no longer used essence blood to activate the Essence Gathering Art for cultivation.

In the shadows, someone from the Dragon Martial Guard was protecting him.

Su Yu had not seen the other person, nor had they ever appeared, but he was still somewhat curious and yearning toward the Dragon Martial Guard.

He had heard that the Dragon Martial Guard was incredibly strong—so strong that even his father could not meet their entry requirements.

Just how strong were they?

As Su Yu pondered curiously, Liu Wenyan went about his usual routine, drinking tea, reading books, and lecturing.

"Do you want to join the Dragon Martial Guard?"

Seeing Su Yu glance outside several times, seemingly trying to find the Dragon Martial Guard expert from before, Liu Wenyan could not help smiling as he asked.

Su Yu felt a little embarrassed and said quietly, "I'm just curious what Great Xia Prefecture's strongest army is really like."

"The Dragon Martial Guard..."

Liu Wenyan sighed with emotion. "The Dragon Martial Guard... has existed for many years. The Prefect's title was named after the Dragon Martial Guard. First came the Dragon Martial Guard, then the Prefect, then Dragon Martial War College. But this generation's Dragon Martial Guard can be called the strongest in history!"

"The Dragon Martial Guard does not have many people. After all, they are elites—only around five thousand in total."

"Only that many?"

The Dragon Martial Guard's information was not publicly available. This was Su Yu's first time learning that Great Xia Prefecture's strongest army had so few people.

Was five thousand a lot?

Far too few!

So few it was frightening!

One Nanyuan City City Guards unit alone had over a thousand people, while the City Guards throughout Great Xia Prefecture numbered over fifty thousand.

The Great Xia Prefecture army had over a hundred thousand soldiers as well!

Yet the Dragon Martial Guard, which surpassed them all, did not even have ten thousand men!

"The Dragon Martial Guard is an elite force. It does not need so many people. Soldiers lie in refinement, not numbers."

Liu Wenyan smiled. "The Dragon Martial Guard claims to have ten thousand men, but it does not. Still, its strength is indeed formidable. Ten men form a squad, a hundred form an army, a thousand are invincible..."

"Invincible?"

Su Yu murmured the word. Liu Wenyan chuckled. "It is just a slogan, do not take it seriously. But they truly are strong! Ordinary soldiers are basically all in the Wanshi Realm. Squad leaders are either Wanshi Ninth Layer or in the Soaring Realm, while centurions are mostly at the higher levels of the Soaring Realm."

Su Yu clicked his tongue in amazement!

They really were strong!

With five thousand people, there had to be at least fifty centurions, all at Soaring Seventh Level or above?

Even the Nanyuan City Lord was not that strong.

What about the commanders above the centurions?

Would they not be even stronger?

Perhaps they even surpassed the Soaring Realm?

And how strong were the Dragon Martial Guard Deputy Generals?

Su Yu did know that Xia Longwu was the Dragon Martial Guard's commander.

The ordinary soldiers were basically all in the Wanshi Realm. That alone was terrifying. In the Battlefields of the Heavens, the Demon Suppression Army was not considered weak. Back then, his father had become a squad leader at Qianjun Seventh Level, a position actually similar to a Dragon Martial Guard squad leader.

One was at Qianjun Seventh Level, while the weakest among the other was Wanshi Ninth Layer. No wonder the Dragon Martial Guard would not accept his father.

Liu Wenyan smiled and continued, "A ten-man squad is stationed here in Nanyuan. The fellow who spoke earlier is one of its five-man leaders."

"Is he strong?"

"Extremely strong. Wanshi Ninth Layer."

Su Yu clicked his tongue again. "Even a five-man leader is Wanshi Ninth Layer?"

"He is called a five-man leader, but this stationed squad is relatively strong. In a weaker squad, he could easily serve as squad leader."

Liu Wenyan smiled again. "Do not envy them. Thousand Jun, Ten Thousand Stones are merely the foundation. The Soaring Realm is the true beginning. Even on the Battlefields of the Heavens, Soaring Realm cultivators are not cannon fodder—they are elite troops!"

"Once your will manifests and you enter the Soaring Realm, you will understand."

Su Yu looked forward to it. "I wonder how many years it will take..."

"..."

Liu Wenyan did not know whether to laugh or cry. Years?

This little fellow had actually taken it seriously. When he had said three to five years before, that had been for top-tier geniuses. The kid was not bad, but he was not at that level yet. If he was lucky, he could make it in ten years. If not... then he would be like Liu Wenyan, stuck outside this threshold for the rest of his life.

Even ten years, however, would be far faster than ordinary physical cultivation.

After chatting for a while, Su Yu asked more questions about the Myriad Races Language.

After thinking for a moment, Su Yu asked, "Teacher, is there really no way to advance quickly in the Kaiyuan Realm? Apart from those risky methods, is there no other way to improve rapidly? Then why can so many students at Kaiyuan Fourth Stage enter higher academies and quickly reach the Qianjun Realm?"

"From Kaiyuan Fourth Stage to Qianjun First Level is a gap of six stages. Going from Kaiyuan Fourth Stage to Fifth Stage takes half a year, right?"

"Even if every stage after that takes only half a year, it would still take at least three years to reach the Qianjun Realm. Yet I heard that many War Academy students reach the Qianjun Realm after around a year."

This was something Su Yu had long wanted to ask. In the past, the instructors had only smilingly told them that they would understand after entering a higher academy.

Taking this opportunity, Su Yu wanted to learn more. After all, his own progress might soon become very rapid.

Perhaps Liu Wenyan felt that Su Yu would soon enter Civilization Academy, so this time he did not hold anything back. Smiling, he said, "You should have seen a term in some books—the Academy Secret Realm."

"Mm!"

"That is the reason."

With a hint of testing in his heart, Liu Wenyan asked, "In the All Heavens and Myriad Worlds, why do the powerful experts of the Myriad Races of the Heavens insist on opening up the Battlefields of the Heavens beyond their worlds?"

"Suppression!"

Su Yu answered without hesitation. "The environments of different worlds vary. Gravity, air, origin qi density... all are different. If the divine race enters the Devil Race's world, they may be suppressed and unable to display even thirty percent of their strength. The reverse is true as well. That is why these powerful races do not dare rashly invade one another."

"Correct. That is why the Battlefields of the Heavens came to be."

As Liu Wenyan spoke, his gaze turned somewhat cold. "Then do you know why the human race was dragged into this, and why we became the target of so many races?"

"The human race... is weak? They want to invade humanity?"

Su Yu hesitated. That was what the books said, but his father had told him before that it was not so. Humanity was not weak. It was extremely powerful.

"Weak? Not weak!"

Liu Wenyan gave the same answer, saying mildly, "How could the human race be weak? If we truly were weak, we would have been defeated on the Battlefields of the Heavens long ago! Among the Myriad Races, even if humanity cannot rank in the top three, we can still enter the top ten. We are very strong!"

"Then..."

Su Yu did not understand. "Then why does the human race have so many enemies?"

"Because of the Human Realm!"

Liu Wenyan smiled. "Once you enter a higher academy, someone will explain this to you. Of course, it is not really some great secret. The Human Realm is special. You know that other realms have restrictions, so it is difficult for one major race to invade another. But the Human Realm... has no restrictions."

"Hm?"

"No restrictions!" Liu Wenyan sighed. "That is the key. Thus, the Human Realm has become a huge piece of fat in everyone's eyes, even a strategic location! The Human Realm places few restrictions on foreign races. Think about it—the Myriad Races of the Heavens are straining every sinew to invade other realms, yet once they enter, their combat strength suffers greatly... But the Human Realm offers them no defenses at all. How could we not become the target of the Myriad Races?"

"The flesh and blood of several billion humans, heaven and earth origin qi, a vast world, natural treasures... devouring the world... there are too many benefits!"

"Since the other realms are difficult to attack, naturally they attack humanity!"

"It is not that we are weak... it is that the Human Realm... is not very reliable..."

Liu Wenyan used a term that carried a trace of helplessness—not reliable.

Other realms all had suppressive power, but ours did not. We left ourselves undefended before all worlds. What could be done about that?

"Why?"

It was also Su Yu's first time learning of this. He was instantly stunned. Why?

No wonder the war on the Battlefields of the Heavens was becoming increasingly dire!

No wonder the human race seemed to have so many hostile races—so many that it was abnormal. He had thought humanity was weak, and that was why those people had fixed their eyes upon humanity.

But now, both his father and teacher said otherwise. Humanity was very strong, at least ranked in the top ten.

A powerful race ranked in the top ten had nevertheless become a thorn in everyone's side. He had not understood before, but now he did. The Human Realm had opened its chest wide to them. How could those races not be thrilled?

It was like an unparalleled beauty stripping naked and calling out to you. Could you possibly not go?

"Why?"

Liu Wenyan gave a bitter smile. "There are two explanations. First, the Human Realm's core was damaged, so the realm's suppressive power disappeared."

"Second, there is a legend that in ancient times, humanity had peerless experts who suppressed all the heavens and myriad worlds. All worlds came to pay homage, and the Human Realm, as the center of all worlds, welcomed all directions. At that time, the Human Realm naturally did not need defenses. Only weak races needed such things to protect themselves."

Su Yu was shaken. "Is that true?"

"It is only a legend. Perhaps it is just us gilding our own faces. In any case, someone once said so."

Liu Wenyan smiled. "None of that is important, because it cannot be changed. The facts are right here."

"You can investigate these things yourself later. Did you not ask why cultivation becomes so fast after entering a higher academy? It is because of the Academy Secret Realm. So-called Academy Secret Realms are actually small worlds, formed by cutting out a fragment of space from places or worlds rich in origin qi..."

Su Yu was somewhat lost. Cutting out a spatial fragment?

"Let me put it more simply. Take the War Academy Secret Realm of Great Xia Prefecture, for example. Back then, King Daxia charged into the Golden Roc Realm and cleaved off a small space beyond it with a single slash, then seized it and brought it back."

Su Yu was dumbstruck.

Seized... and brought it back?

No, he had cleaved open a world with one slash, even cut out a small piece of space, and directly brought it back. Was that... humanly possible?

"The Golden Roc Realm is rich in origin qi and filled with some Heavenly Origin Qi. So long as the preliminary preparations are properly made, cultivation within it is very fast. That is why students of higher academies can rapidly enter the Qianjun Realm."

Su Yu was deeply shaken and could not help asking, "Then does humanity itself not have places abundant in origin qi, or Heavenly Origin Qi...?"

"Of course we do!"

Liu Wenyan smiled. "Naturally. But... the Human Realm already has many people, and space in our own world cannot be casually cut out. Otherwise, it could easily cause the world to collapse. Since others want to come to humanity and take advantage of us, then naturally we must kill our way back and return tooth for tooth!"

As Liu Wenyan spoke, a coldness appeared on his face. "Over these years, it is not as though humanity has never counterattacked. We have exterminated many small races and small worlds, seized their World Hearts, and even taken entire realms back for humanity, creating sacred lands for mankind!"

Taking blows without striking back is not our style. The major races are hard to destroy, but if minor races dare invade humanity, they are courting death!

This scholar rarely revealed such killing intent.

"Where do you think some of Civilization Academy's materials come from? Do you really think they were seized from the Battlefields of the Heavens? You are thinking too much. We directly killed our way in and took them!"

Su Yu's expression shifted. Only after a long while did he say, "That is domineering! I thought humanity had always been beaten, but it seems we are not simply taking hits without fighting back."

"Of course!"

Liu Wenyan smiled warmly. "If we did not strike ruthlessly, we would have long become the Myriad Races' meat. Strike ruthlessly to deter one group, win over another—this is the foundation of humanity's foothold. Take Great Xia Prefecture. King Daxia has not appeared for many years. You do not think he has been in secluded cultivation all this time, do you?"

"Hasn't he?"

Su Yu was stunned. Was that not it?

Was that not what they always said publicly?

"How could that be!"

Liu Wenyan stroked his beard, his smile brilliant. "How could an invincible expert remain in secluded cultivation forever? King Daxia left long ago. His exact whereabouts are unknown. It is said—only said—that King Daxia may have killed his way into the depths of the divine race. Whether that is true or not, no one knows."

"That fierce?"

Su Yu felt as if he were hearing stories today. It was far too stirring!

"Then why not publicize it..."

"Publicize what?" Liu Wenyan said indifferently. "Spend a few years on the Battlefields of the Heavens and you will naturally know. For those who will not go to the Battlefields of the Heavens, knowing is useless. A little more sense of crisis is good too."

"Do not always report only good news and conceal the bad. If there were no sense of crisis at all, do you think the humans in the rear would still cultivate so diligently?"

"Over these years, human experts have continuously emerged, and that is not unrelated to this sense of crisis. Look at how hard all of you work now."

It seemed to make sense. Su Yu thought about it and agreed. If the front lines were full of good news, would the humans in the rear still work so hard?

Still, this matter had both benefits and drawbacks. It was not Su Yu's place to decide how to weigh them.

After talking with Liu Wenyan for a long time, silence followed.

Su Yu continued cultivating the Kaiyuan Jue. He did not know whether the Ten Thousand Races Cult had truly come to Nanyuan City, but he was not worried. Since Great Xia Prefecture had made arrangements, then the Ten Thousand Races Cult was nothing to fear.

Years of propaganda had made everyone understand that the Ten Thousand Races Cult was merely a clown jumping atop a beam, greedy for life and afraid of death—a pack of scum.

Great Xia Prefecture did not take the Ten Thousand Races Cult too seriously. They had the invincible Dragon Martial Guard, the powerful King Daxia, and the formidable Prefect Xia Longwu. So no one thought the Ten Thousand Races Cult was anything remarkable.

Had they not seen those people getting their heads chopped off on television every day?

Su Yu did not pay much attention either, because he did not understand the Ten Thousand Races Cult and had never encountered them. He only knew that they were traitors to humanity, people whom everyone would kill on sight.

Squelch!

A sword pierced through an elderly Qianjun Realm cultivator. A red-eyed young man cursed in a low voice, "Has Great Xia Prefecture gone mad? Do they not know fear? Do they not feel terror? We have clearly even killed Qianjun Ninth Stage cultivators..."

Not far away, a white-haired old man said coldly, "We have not come to Great Xia Prefecture in many years. Great Xia Prefecture has long been brainwashed by Xia Longwu. They think the Ten Thousand Races Cult is nothing special. They have forgotten the Ten Thousand Races Cult's fearsome reputation!"

As he spoke, the old man could not help cursing inwardly!

The resistance in Great Xia Prefecture was too terrifying. Once a group of people learned that they were from the Ten Thousand Races Cult, not only were they unafraid, they howled as they charged forward to kill.

Old men, middle-aged men, young men...

No one fled or scattered just because several people had died. Led by a few retired veterans, even a tiny village could often inflict tremendous losses upon them.

Nothing had gone smoothly for the Ten Thousand Races Cult in Great Xia Prefecture, and that made the old man slightly worried.

Could slaughtering several middle academies truly frighten Great Xia Prefecture?

Could it truly cow Great Xia Prefecture?

"What I fear is... rather than being frightened, Great Xia Prefecture may go mad and hunt us down like lunatics... That would be troublesome!"

The old man was anxious inside, but he did not dare say it aloud.

Perhaps they had been too successful in other prefectures before. Killing several geniuses had sent people into a panic, leaving not even a shadow on the streets for days.

But those were other prefectures. This was Great Xia Prefecture.

If even one village possessed such powerful retaliatory strength, then what about all of Great Xia Prefecture?

"I hope... everything goes smoothly."