Kaiyuan Fifth Stage

On the way, Su Yu's head felt a little heavy and muddled.

Watching the Willpower Script, capturing divine characters, studying the original Qianjun Realm cultivation technique... all of it consumed Willpower.

Capturing divine characters in particular had taken him a long time in meditation. By the time he left the academy, the sky had nearly gone dark.

But today's gains had truly been enormous!

Bai Feng had opened up another sky for him, letting him see how high the heavens beyond Nanyuan were, how vast the world was, and how splendid life could be.

Divine characters, Willpower, original copies of Myriad Races cultivation methods, Nourishing Nature, Soaring, Mountain Sea...

Too many terms flooded Su Yu's mind.

So this was what the true world of cultivation was like. So this was what the Civilization Academy was like.

Qianjun, Ten Thousand Stones—realms that had once seemed unreachable—now looked like nothing much at all!

One character, one world; divine characters suppressed the heavens.

Civilization Masters, too, could grow powerful enough to make the heavens tremble.

So I'm actually very weak. My Willpower is only 10% full.

He had always thought he was talented, and there had inevitably been some pride in his heart.

Teacher Liu Wenyan had always wanted him to apply to the Civilization Academy, giving him the illusion that if he did not attend, it would be the Civilization Academy's loss.

But looking back on it today, it was somewhat laughable.

That genius from Great Zhou Prefecture must be among the very best, which is why he reached Soaring Third Level in half a year. Bai Feng probably meant to put the fear of God into me, but even so, Great Xia Prefecture definitely isn't short on students at the Nourishing Nature stage.

Nourishing Nature meant a fullness level of 50%.

Su Yu's fullness level was only one-fifth of theirs. The gap was enormous. After all, he had been chased and killed in his dreams all these years, so he had once believed his Willpower would not be weak.

As he walked, he sensed the character "blood" in his mind.

After its earlier burst of power, the character now appeared somewhat dim.

Clearly, that previous eruption had consumed quite a bit of the divine character's power.

Divine characters need to be nurtured with Willpower...

Remembering Bai Feng's reminder, Su Yu slowly felt it out, gradually trying to nurture the character with his heart.

When he returned home, it was utterly quiet.

Su Yu sat in a daze for a while before hunger gnawed at him painfully. He had skipped lunch; after going to the academy in the morning, he had meditated until afternoon, and by the time he returned, it was already dark. He was now starving to the point of nearly being unable to bear it.

He had no mind to cook. He casually threw together some noodles and wolfed them down like a ravenous beast, settling dinner that way.

After finishing the noodles, Su Yu quickly burrowed into his room.

"The Kaiyuan Jue, the original Qianjun bone fragment, Qi Liquid."

These were today's gains, and the harvest had been great.

His Willpower had been heavily depleted today, so Su Yu did not plan to continue cultivating it. However, the Kaiyuan Jue written by Bai Feng and that drop of Qi Liquid could both be used to cultivate his body.

After reading the Kaiyuan Jue Bai Feng wrote, I feel that even without using essence blood to activate the atlas, I can rapidly cultivate to Kaiyuan Fifth Stage!

The Essence Gathering Art activated by essence blood was, after all, not especially suited to human cultivation.

What would happen if I used essence blood to activate the atlas, actively absorbed qi, and then used Qi Liquid?

Su Yu thought of this. When the Essence Gathering Art was activated, he could actively absorb qi.

Nanyuan's qi was not actually abundant. What if he placed himself somewhere rich in qi?

Would cultivation become faster?

He still had two drops of Iron Winged Bird Essence Blood. After cultivating yesterday, he had already felt that he was close to Kaiyuan Fifth Stage.

I'll cultivate to Kaiyuan Fifth Stage first, then use the Qi Liquid!

Having made up his mind, Su Yu did not drag things out. He swiftly swallowed a drop of Iron Winged Bird Essence Blood and activated the Essence Gathering Art.

This time, as he activated the Essence Gathering Art and actively absorbed qi to temper his acupoints, Su Yu experienced a completely different feeling.

The Kaiyuan Jue appeared in his mind. In his memories, Bai Feng transformed into a tiny figure, and every movement he made while cultivating the Kaiyuan Jue had been etched deeply into Su Yu's memory, giving him a far deeper understanding of the Kaiyuan Realm.

The Essence Gathering Art is too crude. It isn't as refined as the Kaiyuan Jue. Perhaps it's because of the differences between Demon Race and human bodies.

Previously, Su Yu had simply allowed the Essence Gathering Art to operate on its own. Today, after giving it some thought, he actively guided the qi instead. He had not dared to before, worried that he might damage his body, but now he had few such concerns.

The qi began to favor the tempering of the acupoint in his right ear, and a rumbling started within it.

Rumble!

Wave after wave of sound that only he could hear reverberated. Qi shook within the acupoint of Su Yu's right ear. His fifth acupoint was about to open.

At that moment, the character "blood" in his mind also trembled slightly. Su Yu quickly noticed something unusual—the little "blood" was actually drawing in qi as well.

Hm? Divine characters need qi for tempering too?

Su Yu froze for a moment. He had thought only Willpower was needed for tempering, never expecting divine characters to require qi as well.

He did not bother with the "blood" character stealing qi. At his current stage, Su Yu's demand for qi was not especially high anyway.

After roughly twenty minutes, the rumbling in Su Yu's right ear was like thunder.

Rumble!

A loud boom came from within his ear. Outsiders could not hear it, but Su Yu's body shuddered slightly from the shock. Even so, he was overjoyed!

The fifth acupoint has opened!

Kaiyuan Fifth Stage!

He had reached Kaiyuan Fifth Stage!

From the day his father went to the Battlefields of the Heavens until today, exactly ten days had passed.

In ten days, he had gone from Kaiyuan Three Stages to Kaiyuan Fifth Stage. It was far too fast.

Su Yu was delighted. Kaiyuan Fifth Stage might not be worth mentioning to others, but at Nanyuan Academy, it already placed him among the very best. Bai Feng and the others had seen much of the world—even middle academy students at Kaiyuan Ninth Stage—but that was Bai Feng.

If news of Su Yu reaching Kaiyuan Fifth Stage got out, it would at least cause a small stir at Nanyuan Middle Academy.

His hearing had been enhanced once more, and Su Yu felt completely different.

When his left ear had opened before, he had been slightly unaccustomed to it. One side of his hearing had been strong while the other was weak, often giving him a sense of distortion. Now, that feeling had vanished.

Wonderful!

I'm Kaiyuan Fifth Stage!

Su Yu could not contain his delight. He had not even used the Qi Liquid yet.

Today was April 19th. Higher academy assessments were generally held on June 25th, results came out near the end of June, placements were confirmed in early July, and enrollment began in early August.

That was the process ahead.

There were still just over two months until the assessment. The Civilization Academy did not care how many stages of Kaiyuan one had reached, but Su Yu cared.

Below Qianjun, Kaiyuan cultivators practically had no combat strength.

Su Yu, who had killed members of the Ten Thousand Races Cult, placed a high value on combat strength. He did not want to die miserably at the hands of those cultists. More than ten academy students had died before; that was the lesson.

Even if essence blood could activate martial techniques, it was ultimately borrowed power, temporary power. Su Yu hoped even more that he himself could possess such strength.

After breaking through to Kaiyuan Fifth Stage, Su Yu did not rest.

He resumed his previous schedule: cultivation, reading, sleep.

This time, the book he read was no longer an ordinary one, but the Kaiyuan Jue Bai Feng had given him.

As for the original Qianjun bone fragment, Su Yu did not read that. It was not that it was weaker than the Kaiyuan Jue, but that the Kaiyuan Jue was more suited to his current state.

He read, familiarizing himself with the entirety of the Kaiyuan Realm while his Willpower resisted its pressure.

Only now did reading truly become difficult.

Su Yu experienced how Chen Hao and the others felt when reading. After one line, he wanted to throw down the book and sleep.

Resisting with Willpower felt exactly like a poor student hugging a thick volume of ancient texts.

He read until nearly midnight. After washing up simply, Su Yu went to sleep, preparing to await the dreamscape. He now somewhat longed for its arrival, because it was also a form of Willpower resistance.

If one day my Willpower becomes strong enough for me to kill the monster in my dreams... perhaps I'll gain something different!

The Myriad Races Atlas was activated through essence blood.

Su Yu had often wondered how he could activate the atlas and end the dream if he had never thought of essence blood.

A counterkill!

He had some suspicions. If he killed the dream monster instead, would there be a different outcome, a different harvest?

That night's dream was somewhat unusual.

So unusual that Su Yu had never imagined it before!

That night, a monster chased Su Yu in his dream. He was still swiftly killed, but he discovered that he could actually form divine characters within the dream!

Yes, divine characters!

That character "blood" appeared in the dream!

Su Yu formed the character "blood," and an illusory Iron Winged Bird pounced forth in the dream. He was somewhat puzzled as to why it was an Iron Winged Bird attacking. Of course, it might have had something to do with his own subconscious.

But no matter what, he had actually grasped the use of divine characters in the dream. This was an entirely different beginning.

The next day, Su Yu woke up and fell into deep thought.

He was considering a question: were divine characters in dreams real, or fabricated?

Had the "blood" character in his mind entered the dream, or had the dream itself come with a "blood" character?

It was a mouthful to explain, but Su Yu still wanted to understand, because it was important.

Because if the "blood" character had truly entered, that meant his dream was not merely a dream. It was a special space, perhaps one that could share divine characters. That would mean the Myriad Races Atlas possessed deeper functions he had yet to uncover.

Sensing the "blood" character in his mind, Su Yu discovered that the character, dim yesterday, had begun to emit a faint radiance again today.

He did not know whether it was because he had slept, or because he had spent the night in the dream.

He quickly got up and washed, no longer continuing his research.

Today, he was going to the academy.

Though Bai Feng had said yesterday that he did not really have anything to teach him today, since trying to swallow too much only led to indigestion, Su Yu still planned to visit the academy.

Nanyuan Middle Academy.

At the academy entrance.

Su Yu hurried over, not even waiting for Chen Hao.

There were several additional people at the entrance today.

It was still early, and most students had yet to arrive.

Bai Feng wore a white robe. Graceful and outstanding, he stood among the group with a smile, standing out from the flock like a crane among chickens and drawing countless glances.

Beside him stood the old Academy Head, the City Guards' commander of a thousand men, the head of Jifeng Hall, and Liu Wenyan.

Bai Feng was chatting with them. When he saw Su Yu hurrying over, he could not help smiling.

"Didn't I say I wouldn't be teaching you today? Why did you come?"

Su Yu was slightly out of breath. After greeting the teachers, he said, "I came to see Teacher Bai off. Thank you for your guidance yesterday, Teacher Bai."

Bai Feng was leaving today. Though he had not said so, Su Yu had picked up on it yesterday.

With matters in Nanyuan concluded, Bai Feng naturally would not remain here long.

Yesterday, he had taught what he needed to teach. The rest was beyond what Su Yu and the others could learn right now, so there was little point in Bai Feng staying.

Bai Feng laughed and did not pay him further attention.

Turning to Liu Wenyan, he said again, "Martial uncle, you have already manifested your Willpower. The gates of the Civilization Academy will always stand open for you! Your body has yet to establish its foundation. If you are unwilling to obtain Flying Tiger essence blood yourself, I'll bring it to you later."

Liu Wenyan frowned slightly. "No need. I'm old, there's no need to use up precious essence blood. I can temper my body with ordinary essence blood. As for Flying Tiger essence blood..."

Out of the corner of his eye, Liu Wenyan glanced at Su Yu. He did not say the rest aloud, merely saying in a low voice, "Save it for someone who needs it in the future."

Bai Feng smiled. He understood what Liu Wenyan meant.

Since Su Yu intended to enter the Civilization Academy, no one knew how many years it would take him to manifest his Willpower, but when that time came, he too would need powerful essence blood to forge his body.

Flying Tiger essence blood was extremely powerful.

It was essence blood from one of the top fifty powerful races!

Even if the academy possessed such powerful essence blood, how many people were there in the academy?

Could everyone receive some?

Impossible!

Su Yu's family circumstances were ordinary. His father was merely a Qianjun Realm cultivator—where could he get powerful essence blood for him?

He could only rely on the academy and his teachers.

The Flying Tiger essence blood belonged to Bai Feng's teacher, Liu Wenyan's junior brother. It was now being offered to Liu Wenyan. Liu Wenyan would not use it, but if he passed it on to Su Yu, Bai Feng's teacher would likely not refuse.

Liu Wenyan did not mention it, but Bai Feng understood in his heart, and he did not bring it up either.

There was no rush to forge Su Yu's body. Some matters could wait until Su Yu entered the academy.

"Then as you wish, martial uncle." After saying that, Bai Feng looked at Su Yu again and said calmly, "Su Yu, fate and the future can only be changed by yourself!"

"Nanyuan may be small, but that does not mean it cannot produce powerful experts!"

"Background, family circumstances, talent—those things only grant you a slight advantage at the beginning. The road ahead is long, the mountains high and the journey far. Who can walk to the end, who can laugh proudly across the heavens, who can contend against the myriad races—it can only be known by walking on!"

"I'll wait for you at the Civilization Academy. Nanyuan is too small. The world outside is far more exciting!"

"I'm leaving!"

Bai Feng's laughter was bright and carefree. With a single step, he was already dozens of meters away. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from everyone's sight.

Free and unrestrained!

Beside them, the few Nanyuan experts watched with eyes full of envy.

Bai Feng, a genius of the Civilization Academy, might soon step into the Soaring Realm. Such a favored son of heaven was rare even in Great Xia Prefecture.

Zhang Yun, the City Guards commander of a thousand men, sighed a few times before turning to Su Yu with a smile. "So this is Su Long's son?"

The old Academy Head smiled. "That's him."

"A tiger father has no dog son! From what Researcher Bai said before leaving, he clearly had high hopes for you." Zhang Yun looked at Su Yu and smiled. "Work hard. Nanyuan may be small, but a small place does not mean it cannot produce powerful people!"

"I know about your father, so don't worry too much. On the Battlefields of the Heavens, our human race may have many enemies, but wherever our blades point, we remain unstoppable!"

"The soldiers from Nanyuan send back news from time to time. Once news from the Battlefields of the Heavens returns in a few days, if there is word of your father, I'll have someone send you a copy."

After Zhang Yun finished speaking, Su Yu hurriedly thanked him, saying gratefully, "Thank you, Lord Zhang!"

"Don't mention it."

Zhang Yun smiled heartily. "When all is said and done, we're all family. Your father is an upright man. He was unwilling to scheme and curry favor, so even after going to the Battlefields of the Heavens, he stayed in the Command Supervision Office and refused to leave."

"A few years ago, I invited your father to join the City Guards as a centurion, but he refused. Otherwise, if he had come to the City Guards, he probably would have broken through to Ten Thousand Stones by now. With his fierce bravery, the post of deputy general would likely have been his."

"Though it is a pity, your father made the right choice. I admire him greatly!"

Zhang Yun spoke bluntly. Then, his expression turned serious. "You have a good teacher. Instructor Liu is Nanyuan's guardian of civilization! You have a good Academy Head as well. Director Wang is not very strong, but over these forty years, he has poured out his heart and blood for Nanyuan Academy."

"Nanyuan is small, but it is simple and honest! I have seen many geniuses from Nanyuan. They went to Great Xia Prefecture, even to other great prefectures, yet in the end... they lost themselves halfway down the road!"

"I hope you will be different, because you are the descendant of a soldier! Your father is not strong, but he is worth learning from. Hold fast to your original heart. Do not forget who you are. Do not overestimate yourself, but do not belittle yourself either. Earnestly be the best version of yourself!"

Zhang Yun laughed loudly. "We Nanyuan people are not afraid of being weak; we are only afraid of being cowards! Don't be cowardly. Once you leave, let your strength speak, let your fierce courage speak. If you truly cannot make it out there and feel there is no road ahead, come back. The City Guards will save a place for you!"

Su Yu thanked him again. Beside him, Liu Wenyan said irritably, "Stop spouting nonsense! Leave Nanyuan, fail to make it, then come back... who can afford that embarrassment? And besides, teaching students is our business. Since when was it your turn to feed them chicken soup?"

"..."

Zhang Yun looked embarrassed, then burst into laughter. He said no more and quickly left.

The head of Jifeng Hall beside them also chuckled, exchanged greetings with the others, and swiftly departed.

Watching their exchange, Su Yu could not help but laugh to himself.

Just as Zhang Yun had said, Nanyuan might be small, but its atmosphere was excellent.

The teachers here were not cold and detached, the generals here were not fierce and harsh, and the Academy Head here... was truly weak.

The old Academy Head was already so angry that his beard stood on end. Zhang Yun had been looking down on him just now.