Full of Malice

"Yi Shen Jue — Qianjun Chapter," and "Blood Condensing Blade."

One cultivation method, one martial skill. These were the secret manuals Su Yu had acquired this time.

Su Yu glanced at the "Blood Condensing Blade" and tossed it aside. This martial skill was of very low grade; academies had it, so there was no need to look further.

Cultivation methods and martial skills were divided into four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. Each tier was further divided into four grades: top-tier, high-tier, mid-tier, and low-tier.

Four tiers and sixteen grades – this was the classification of cultivation methods and martial skills across the Myriad Races.

Su Yu skimmed "Blood Condensing Blade." It was Yellow-tier, mid-grade. While not the absolute worst, it wasn't anything special. Nanyuan Middle Academy had plenty of them, so he couldn't be bothered to look at it.

However, although "Yi Shen Jue" only had the Qianjun Chapter, Su Yu spent a long time studying it.

Bai Feng called "Yi Shen Jue" trash because his perspective and position were different.

How could a cultivation method that made Ten Thousand Races Cult experts' hearts race, a method that could establish a major sect within the Ten Thousand Races Cult, truly be trash?

"Profound-tier, top-grade!"

This was the grade of this cultivation method. Of course, Su Yu only obtained the Qianjun Chapter.

Cultivation methods were said to have Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow tiers, but they actually encompassed cultivation methods from all the myriad races. Su Yu wasn't clear on the specifics, but it seemed many human invincible experts only cultivated Earth-tier or Profound-tier methods.

More than three hundred years ago, during the Anping Calendar era, humanity didn't have as many powerful cultivation methods to choose from.

"Yi Shen Jue..."

Su Yu read it over and over, the method for tempering the physical body, the method for absorbing vital energy to temper the body.

"The human body mainly relies on the acupoints to connect with vital energy, using vital energy to temper the body. The more acupoints opened, the more vital energy absorbed and stored."

"The Nine Apertures of Kaiyuan serve as the foundation. Based on this, Qianjun further opens other acupoints to absorb vital energy and temper the body."

"The Qianjun Chapter of 'Yi Shen Jue' opens 72 acupoints. Once these 72 acupoints are opened and vital energy is filled, one reaches the ninth level of Qianjun!"

This wasn't the first time Su Yu had encountered a cultivation method for the Qianjun Realm. He had previously encountered the military's basic Qianjun cultivation method, "Qianjun Art."

It was simple and crude.

Most people in the military cultivated this. It wasn't that there weren't better cultivation methods, but cultivating these methods required vital energy support and a strong physique to support the opening of more acupoints.

Even if ordinary cultivators obtained Heaven-tier cultivation methods, they couldn't successfully cultivate them.

The vital energy was insufficient; at least, the vital energy in the Human Realm was not enough to sustain their cultivation.

The physique was not strong enough, the foundation not firm enough. If too many acupoints were opened, they couldn't bear the strain, and the body would collapse, bursting from the vital energy.

"Qianjun Art" could open 36 acupoints and was considered a Yellow-tier, top-grade cultivation method.

It was already quite good, allowing soldiers' combat power to increase rapidly, advancement to be relatively faster, and requiring fewer resources.

Some people, despite having access to more powerful cultivation methods, ended up switching to "Qianjun Art" because it was easier to advance and extend their lifespan.

"Yi Shen Jue," which could open 72 acupoints for cultivation and store vital energy in the Qianjun Realm, was already considered a relatively powerful cultivation method.

The opening of acupoints was not random.

"Yi Shen Jue" detailed the process of opening the 72 acupoints, their sequence, and the final vital energy circulation formed. Opening acupoints randomly at this stage could cause this circulation to collapse, resulting in the dissipation of vital energy at best, or a self-detonation at worst.

Su Yu studied it for a long time and finally confirmed that it was indeed much more profound and marvelous than "Qianjun Art."

Upon reaching the ninth level of Qianjun, cultivators would be much stronger than those who cultivated "Qianjun Art," possessing greater strength and a more robust physique.

As for whether they could kill soldiers of the same realm on the battlefield, that depended on combat experience and willpower. Greater strength and a stronger physique didn't guarantee victory.

"Opening 72 acupoints is quite good."

Su Yu didn't plan to cultivate it himself, but by studying it, he could gain insights that would strengthen his own foundation.

His study of the myriad races' languages was actually within his research scope.

For example, he didn't know the locations of the 72 acupoints in "Yi Shen Jue" before, but now he did. If he encountered followers of the Tianyi Divine Race again, he could target and disrupt their acupoints, breaking their vital energy circulation system.

Therefore, cultivation methods could not be leaked lightly.

The 72 acupoints were the foundation of their power, but also their weakness.

Not all acupoints were weaknesses. If some of these acupoints were damaged, it would lead to the same tragic fate as the fourth-level Soaring Hall Master from before – vital energy dissipation, followed by a backlash that directly caused death.

This was why Bai Feng could easily kill him.

Bai Feng killed Hall Master Chen in less than 10 seconds. Half of that time was spent speaking; the remaining time was spent disrupting the opponent's key acupoints, which was why he killed so quickly.

If they were to fight solely based on martial power, even if Bai Feng could kill him, it wouldn't have been so easy.

Of course, the "Yi Shen Jue" for the Soaring Realm was more complex, opening more acupoints. Many weaknesses of the Qianjun Realm were no longer weaknesses, which indicated that Bai Feng's research into the "Yi Shen Jue — Soaring Chapter" was also very deep.

Su Yu studied for nearly two hours before putting the cultivation method down.

He couldn't cultivate Qianjun Realm cultivation methods at the moment; he was just studying them. If he became strong enough, he might even be able to deduce the cultivation methods of the Tianyi Divine Race, though this was beyond Su Yu's capabilities, and even beyond Bai Feng's.

"Cultivation methods and martial skills don't help me much at this stage. However, the essence blood..."

Su Yu also examined the 3 drops of essence blood. The essence blood contained a trace of the creature's will from before its death, essentially an imprint or image, which allowed for a general identification of its species.

"One drop of Iron Winged Bird essence blood, one drop of Fire Pig essence blood. This remaining one should be Bloodthirsty Rabbit essence blood."

The 3 drops of essence blood were from common species. There was no divine or demonic blood, nor essence blood from powerful races...

It's only natural!

Where would a member of the Ten Thousand Races Cult in the Qianjun Realm get such powerful essence blood? These common types of essence blood are what they primarily use to aid their cultivation.

Essence blood from the Myriad Races can provide rich primal energy and strengthen the physical body, which is a great help to those in the Qianjun Realm.

Humans in the Qianjun Realm primarily cultivate using essence blood and elixirs.

Although there are no rare treasures, even these three drops of essence blood would sell for at least 150,000 at the Xia Family Merchant Guild.

"Not bad. The essence blood is worth 150,000, the Body Refining Elixir is worth 150,000, and 10 gold coins. That makes it 400,000 Anping Coins!"

Su Yu was quite satisfied. Fortune favors the bold.

Although it was a bit dangerous this time, he gained over 400,000. If he were to hand over the cultivation techniques and secret manuals, there would also be some rewards. Even if humans possessed these techniques, they would still give some reward because it represented gains from killing a member of the Ten Thousand Races Cult.

After calculating, his net worth instantly exceeded 700,000.

Su Yu grinned. He wondered if his father would feel inferior if he knew that he earned more in a single day than his father's savings over 18 years.

That night, Su Yu started dreaming again.

The dream continued.

The day the Iron Winged Bird essence blood opened the illustrated book, Su Yu didn't dream. However, starting the next day, he began to dream. But at this moment, Su Yu's dreams weren't continuous; these past few days, he sometimes dreamt every other day, and sometimes even every two days.

Since the dreams weren't continuously activated, Su Yu suspected that the previous dreams had already brought out most of the races.

Now, perhaps some remaining races were being activated, so he was getting supplementary entries for the illustrated book every few days.

Su Yu hadn't seen many common races, or he didn't remember them. Su Yu had a slight suspicion: perhaps these weak races would only be unlocked later. They were too weak, so the dream had placed them behind, possibly forgetting them because he had forgotten the illustrated book.

Su Yu had a vague impression of the monster he dreamt of that night.

It somewhat resembled the Xuangui recorded in the Myriad Races illustrated book. Whether it was exactly that, he could try buying a drop of Xuangui essence blood to test. However, Su Yu considered it, and unlocking the Xuangui illustration might not be very useful right now.

He'd see later. Continuously absorbing essence blood was still putting a strain on his body.

Liyu, Iron Winged Bird, and Xuangui – these were three races Su Yu had identified. This meant the races he was encountering were becoming more common, and it also represented the growth of Su Yu's knowledge.

If he hadn't read extensively, it would have been difficult for him to identify these races based on subtle details and blurry figures.

Nanyuan Middle Academy.

On the way, Su Yu had learned the results of yesterday from Chen Hao. He felt a slight worry, but the matter was settled. Su Yu couldn't just watch Chen Hao's opportunity to enter the War Academy slip away.

So, he told Chen Hao to claim his merit, because this was Chen Hao's chance to enter the War Academy.

With some trepidation, Su Yu had just entered the classroom when a tutor called him over.

Tutor's Office.

The tutor had already left. Currently, only Liu Wenyan and a young man were in the office. The young man was Bai Feng.

Liu Wenyan was reading, and Bai Feng was also reading.

Bai Feng was squatting contentedly beside a thick book, engrossed in it. He was squatting, not sitting, as if he had encountered something exciting, with a bright smile on his face. There was no indication that this was someone who could easily kill a powerful expert in the fourth stage of Soaring.

When Su Yu entered, neither of them greeted him.

Su Yu greeted them and stood aside, waiting nervously, unsure why the teacher had summoned him.

Having stepped into the Soaring Realm, Liu Wenyan's willpower was even stronger. At this moment, he subtly scanned Su Yu and nodded silently.

He was indeed at the fourth stage of Kaiyuan. Before, he hadn't sensed it because his will hadn't manifested.

Not only was he at the fourth stage of Kaiyuan, but after a slight sensing, there was a faint fluctuation of primal energy in his right ear aperture, and he even felt like he was close to the fifth stage of Kaiyuan.

After a moment of silence, Liu Wenyan looked up and said indifferently, "Have you been cultivating diligently these past few days?"

"Yes."

"Have you been reading?"

"I've been a bit lax," Su Yu said sheepishly. "Since my father left these past few days, I've been quite worried, so I've focused my main energy on cultivation."

"It's good to be prepared for danger, and it's good to cultivate diligently, but..."

Liu Wenyan said unhappily, "Reading is also cultivation! Read ten thousand books, and you'll enter the Soaring Realm in one go. I won't stop you from cultivating; that's as it should be, but you can't neglect reading."

"When you previously applied for the War Academy, I knew your intentions, but I also said before, if you only pursue the path of the physical body, how long will it take you to reach the Soaring Realm?"

"But if you are knowledgeable and have read ten thousand books, it will be completely different."

"You see this person, Bai Feng. He's an assistant researcher at the Civilization Academy. He's 28 years old and has been in the Civilization Academy for 9 years. Purely based on his physical body and willpower, he's at the sixth stage of Soaring. In reality, his combat power is even stronger because his willpower is formidable... An ordinary expert in the seventh stage of Soaring might not be able to defeat him."

Liu Wenyan said gravely, "He's just one of the many mediocre talents in the Civilization Academy. Even he could reach this point in 9 years of cultivation. You will only be stronger than him!"

Bai Feng: "..."

Bai Feng, who was reading, looked up, glanced at Liu Wenyan, thought for a moment, and then continued to lower his head to read.

Say whatever you want. What could he say if the elder was using him to admonish a student?

"I'm a mediocre talent?"

"I'm a mediocre talent who can become a researcher?"

"Although I'm not among the most monstrous talents at Civilization Academy, I'm still among the top tier!"

"Reaching Soaring Realm sixth level before 30, with hope of reaching higher levels in the next two years, is that considered mediocre?"

"Does Uncle-Master have some misunderstanding of the word 'mediocre'?"

Su Yu quickly said, "Teacher, don't worry. I'll balance both from now on. I've studied for many years, and I won't give up now."

"It's good that you understand."

Liu Wenyan said earnestly, "Your cultivation is very fast. You didn't focus before, but now that you are, you'll quickly reach Kaiyuan fourth level, or even fifth level soon. Perhaps you have some misconception that you're more suited for the War Academy, the path of the physical body..."

"But I have to say, even if you went to the War Academy, reaching Kaiyuan ninth level in a year, do you want to reach Qianjun ninth level in three years? Wanshi ninth level in five years?"

"That's considered a pretty good genius. In 9 years, there's hope of reaching the Soaring Realm."

"But you have to understand, the gap between Soaring Realm first level and sixth level is huge. You might be stuck in the Soaring Realm for decades to come."

"It's just Kaiyuan fourth level. Don't get the wrong idea. You are indeed very powerful, very talented! We are just a small city in Nanyuan. Nanyuan can produce fourth and fifth level cultivators. What do you think about other cities?"

"What do you think about Great Xia Prefecture?"

Beside him, Bai Feng chuckled, "I've paid attention to other cities. There are a few geniuses who reported reaching Kaiyuan seventh level. Of course, Kaiyuan seventh level is already unreachable for Nanyuan, but Great Xia Prefecture has quite a few at Kaiyuan seventh level, and even some at eighth level!"

Reaching Kaiyuan eighth level means opening the Zi Que Aperture and officially cultivating martial arts. The Yuan Qi can be used in a continuous manner, and at this stage, cultivators possess a certain combat power.

"There are also those at Kaiyuan ninth level, just one step away from entering Qianjun by connecting the Nine Apertures. Of course, these guys haven't entered Qianjun yet; they're waiting to advance after entering the academy."

This time, Liu Wenyan didn't interrupt him. He looked at Su Yu and sighed, "It's not that I'm forcing you to apply to Civilization Academy, I just want you to understand that your talent doesn't lie in the path of the physical body. Even if you have talent, you... still have a huge gap."

"The path of the physical body consumes a large amount of rare treasures, requiring vital blood, elixirs, combat, and weapons... Wealth supports martial arts!"

"Su Yu, as someone from an ordinary background, if you don't have talent in the literary path, I'll be happy for you to enter the War Academy and fight for a chance!"

"But you have talent in this area, and I hope you can go further and higher!"

"Civilization Academy doesn't emphasize these things in the early stages, and the consumption won't be too large. Even if you don't have money or combat power, you still have hope of reaching Soaring. But at the War Academy... it's very difficult to have hope!"

Liu Wenyan looked at him and said softly, "Do you know why I don't advise others? Or even Liu Yue? Even if Liu Yue applied to the War Academy, I wouldn't advise her! Because her family is wealthy and can support her future cultivation."

"Su Yu, this is why I hope you can walk the path of civilization. I hope you won't be lost in the crowd due to material deficiencies. Even if you have talent, resources won't be given to you for free, and nothing will fall from the sky!"

"There are many geniuses in the War Academy, and you are not outstanding. Therefore, it will be harder for you. I hope you can have a smoother journey."

Su Yu nodded vigorously, feeling a little touched. He knew these were his teacher's heartfelt words.

For someone like him from a common background, it was indeed difficult to afford certain things. If his future goal was to reach Qianjun or Wanshi, it would be fine, but to aim for a rapid ascent to Soaring, his family was clearly not enough to support it.

"Teacher, I understand. I didn't think about it so much before, and I didn't think deeply enough. I will work hard from now on."

"It's good that you understand."

Liu Wenyan smiled, "In the next few days, let Bai Feng guide you. If you have anything you don't understand, you can ask him. Although he's not outstanding at Civilization Academy, he's enough to guide you."

Bai Feng: "..."

After being told so many times by Liu Wenyan, Bai Feng was almost doubting himself.

Am I really not outstanding?

Bai Feng, I'm still somewhat famous in Civilization Academy, even in Great Xia Prefecture!

I have hope of reaching beyond the Soaring Realm, and before the age of 30 at that. I'm also one of the few assistant researchers under 30...

Why do I feel like I'm not even worth mentioning here?

Why?

Bai Feng was extremely depressed. Uncle-Master, when you call me mediocre, think about yourself. With seventy willpower manifestations, why do you need to belittle yourself!

He glanced at Su Yu. Seeing that he seemed to agree with Liu Wenyan's words, Bai Feng smiled. Young people just have limited vision.

Once you enter Civilization Academy, you'll know who your Brother Feng is.

You'll understand how difficult it is to reach my level!

Don't talk about the immensity of an elephant to an ant. An ant's imagination is limited; it cannot comprehend it.

Only by standing at a certain height can an ant understand that the elephant's immensity is beyond imagination.

"I will be staying at Nanyuan Academy for the next two days. I'll leave after two days, and you can find me anytime."

Bai Feng dropped these words, picked up his book, and left with a smile.

After he walked far away, Liu Wenyan suddenly said in a low voice, "Study hard. Cherish these two days! Use your greatest wisdom to exploit him, to drain him. Although you can't do it, this is the most time I can fight for you. Even at Civilization Academy, you might not have this opportunity, understand?"

"Understood!"

Su Yu trembled slightly. Did his teacher mean that even at Civilization Academy, he might not have guidance from a researcher?

"An assistant researcher's course costs 5 merit points per session!"

"One session, one hour!"

Liu Wenyan said softly, "Two days, 48 hours. Don't sleep, go and learn! After learning, you'll get 240 merit points, which you might not earn in several years. Go, your teacher believes in you!"

"Thank you, teacher!"

At this moment, Su Yu's eyes lit up!

Master and disciple exchanged a look, both beaming.

In the distance, Bai Feng suddenly felt a surge of malice directed at him, sending a shiver down his spine. He turned his head and couldn't help but curse under his breath, Is my martial uncle preparing to set a trap for me?

How will he trap me?