The Great Debtor

Nanyuan.

These past two days, the academy has been in an uproar. Chen Hao, who was at the third level of Kaiyuan, broke through to the fourth. He then challenged Zhou Chong, who was at the fifth level of Kaiyuan…

Between the fourth and fifth levels, there's practically no difference; they're all essentially ordinary people.

Zhou Chong had a higher cultivation level than Chen Hao, but during their one-on-one fight, Chen Hao beat him until he was crying and howling.

That wasn't all. After beating Zhou Chong, Chen Hao felt he still had time, so he continued to challenge others to one-on-one fights. On the first day alone, he fought over ten students.

He won some and lost some, but Chen Hao didn't care; he treated it as practical combat training.

Just like that, in less than three days, Chen Hao had fought at least thirty times. If it weren't for the numerous bruises he sustained, which forced his mother to keep him home to recover for a day, that guy would have kept fighting.

Chen Hao might not have come back, but he had started something at Nanyuan Academy.

Normally, everyone thought Kaiyuan fourth-level cultivators were incredibly powerful, and fifth-level cultivators were like stars in the sky.

But now, they saw that Chen Hao had beaten them all.

This seemed to have opened up a new world for everyone. In the past, some students were often bullied by geniuses. Now, everyone was excited. With Chen Hao not attending classes, the academy was even livelier today.

It wasn't just one or two students clamoring to challenge geniuses. Zhou Chong, with his foul mouth, had offended quite a few people. Due to the pride of being a genius, he wouldn't back down, and that day he fought one-on-one with at least six or seven students.

Whether he won or lost, he got injured. Now, people who didn't know him could barely recognize him when they saw him.

"This is utter nonsense!"

In the office, Liu Wenyan shook his head, finding it both exasperating and amusing.

He could guess who had instigated this!

Chen Hao was simple-minded; without someone instigating him, why would he pick a fight with Zhou Chong? It was clearly Su Yu's doing.

Beside him, the old Academy Head continued to stroke his beard, having pulled out quite a bit of it during this time.

He sighed, lamenting, "These young ones, they have so much energy! The assessments are almost here, and they still can't settle down. A little commotion is good; it adds passion to their cultivation, but..."

The old Academy Head was almost in tears. "But don't beat the girls! These young ones, I worry about them in the future! There aren't many female students at the War Academy to begin with. If they bring this habit to the War Academy, our Nanyuan... are we going to become a bachelor's den?"

Liu Wenyan's body trembled slightly. That's right, the problem was serious!

"That Chen Hao kid... he deserves a beating!"

Liu Wenyan also felt a bit more worried. What about this batch of Nanyuan students?

Now they were all shouting, "Gender equality, no distinction between men and women on the battlefield." Equality, your ass!

You're all so direct; what will happen to you in the future?

Could it be... all the male students in this batch will die single?

The old Academy Head sighed, "This trend isn't just corrupting this batch; the lower batches are watching too. There are still many children aged eleven or twelve in the academy. The other instructors told me these past two days that many male students are preparing to challenge female students..."

"Are they stupid?" Liu Wenyan was speechless.

"They're not stupid; it's a rumor spread by the senior students. They say that beating girls proves one's cultivation will is firm and helps improve cultivation."

"..."

Liu Wenyan glanced at the old Academy Head, and the old Academy Head looked back at him. The two old men suddenly wore dejected expressions.

It shouldn't be spread like this!

If this continues, in a few years, Nanyuan Academy will truly become a monastery.

It was too terrifying!

Moreover, if this bad reputation spread, and even Great Xia Prefecture found out, would Nanyuan students still be able to court girls when they went to Great Xia Prefecture?

What a joke!

The old Academy Head sighed again, "Let's just send off this batch of students first. Old Liu, setting that aside, have you heard the news from Daxia Civilization Academy?"

As the strongest intermediate academy in Nanyuan, it naturally had connections with the various major academies in Great Xia Prefecture.

Some news would spread quickly.

What's more, there were some Nanyuan Academy graduates in the academy, so the old Academy Head was quite well-informed.

Liu Wenyan nodded slightly, then said dismissively, "It's an old tradition, nothing new! The key isn't Su Yu, but Bai Feng. This guy just broke through to the seventh level of Soaring, which has greatly increased the threat he poses."

"Even though he was also outstanding at the sixth level of Soaring before, at Daxia Civilization Academy, there were still seven or eight other students his age at the sixth level of Soaring, and several at the late stage of Soaring. His ranking in the top ten was somewhat debatable, but now that he's rapidly breaking through... he's naturally drawing attention."

Bai Feng taking disciples actually wasn't that sensational originally.

If he had taken disciples at the sixth level, people would have paid attention, but not nearly as much as now.

The crucial point was that he was at the seventh level!

The sixth and seventh levels, although only one level apart, represented that Bai Feng would have almost no bottlenecks for the eighth and ninth levels of Soaring.

As a result, Bai Feng had climbed into the top five ranks at Daxia Civilization Academy.

This was referring to Bai Feng's cohort, not counting the senior students of the academy.

The old Academy Head worried, "Will Su Yu be affected? I heard that every time it gets to this point, the competition over there becomes fierce. It's not just Civilization Academy; War Academy is the same. Some people have even lost their lives..."

"That happens in extremely rare cases," Liu Wenyan explained, clearer than him. "There are people watching behind the scenes. The deaths you speak of are mostly due to accidents."

"Even accidents can happen."

The old Academy Head said worriedly, "Su Yu, a student from a mid-tier academy, is suddenly caught up in this. Old Liu, I was thinking... should he go to Civilization Academy? He's at the seventh level of Kaiyuan now, and he's sure to get into War Academy. What do you think..."

"Absolutely not!"

Liu Wenyan frowned. "Even if he achieves something at War Academy, it will never be as great as at Civilization Academy! Going to Civilization Academy now is a hurdle, but if he can overcome it, he'll be able to go faster, higher, and further!"

"Old Liu, he's only 18. He doesn't understand anything."

Liu Wenyan said firmly, "He can learn if he doesn't understand. No one understands everything from birth! Su Yu has incredible resilience; small setbacks won't break him. When he gets through this, he'll be the best!"

"You see this as a crisis, I see it as an opportunity. If he were an ordinary student enrolling, it would take at least five years to get involved in this field. But now, he can get involved with these outstanding youths as soon as he enrolls, which will only help his future, not hinder it."

"As for the danger... it's not that bad," Liu Wenyan said in a deep voice. "Bai Feng is not weak among the younger generation, and his teacher is also one of the few top-tier senior researchers at Civilization Academy."

"Su Yu's starting point won't be low. Only with a high start and a high starting point can he progress more easily!"

"What's more... Su Yu is no worse than anyone else!"

As he said this, Liu Wenyan smiled. "We haven't updated the information from Daxia Civilization Academy yet. His record is still at the fifth level of Kaiyuan and eighteen languages of the Myriad Races. Let's maintain this information for now and not update it! We'll keep a hand up our sleeve to buy Su Yu some time. Once he's at Civilization Academy, we'll catch them off guard!"

Seeing that he had an idea, the old Academy Head no longer tried to persuade him and asked, "Does he have a chance to reach the eighth level of Kaiyuan?"

For the past two days, Su Yu hadn't gone on missions. He came to the academy to check in, learned some Myriad Races languages from Liu Wenyan, and then went home quickly.

He was preparing to break through to the eighth level of Kaiyuan.

The eighth level of Kaiyuan was a major watershed in the Kaiyuan Realm. After breaking through, Su Yu would be able to utilize Yuan Qi, his explosive power would be stronger, and combined with Divine Script, his ability to kill those in the Qianjun Realm with a sneak attack would be even easier.

"I don't know."

Liu Wenyan hesitated. "He's been improving very quickly recently. In less than two months, he went from the fourth level to the seventh, and is even about to reach the eighth. Bai Feng's 'Kaiyuan Jue' helped him quite a bit, but once he reached the seventh level of Kaiyuan, the Willpower Script's help became limited."

"Didn't you say you were going to write him a Willpower Script before? How about writing him another 'Kaiyuan Jue'?"

The old Academy Head still had some hope for Su Yu's breakthrough. If he broke through, Su Yu would be the first genius in Nanyuan to reach the eighth level of Kaiyuan in twenty years.

Twenty years ago, Nanyuan did have someone who reached the eighth level of Kaiyuan, but... it was a bit of a sham.

That person came from Great Xia Prefecture and was only a temporary transfer student. He left after the assessment.

"Writing this kind of thing now is useless,"

Liu Wenyan shook his head, then smiled. "I've already figured out what I'm going to write for him, but you'll have to pay up."

"Write what?" the old Academy Head asked warily.

"'Thunder Origin Blade' First Chapter, Qianjun Chapter!"

Liu Wenyan said in a deep voice, "He doesn't lack cultivation techniques. He'll have them at Civilization Academy too, but he lacks martial skills! He lacks martial skills that carry the inheritance of willpower. Learning ordinary martial skills is fine, but it's too slow. Only by writing martial skills with willpower can he quickly gain inheritance and master this martial skill."

"'Thunder Origin Blade'! A low-grade Xuan-tier martial skill?"

The old Academy Head looked at him, surprised. "Can he do it? No, can you do it? Can you write the Qianjun Chapter of 'Thunder Origin Blade' now?"

The power of a Civilization Master wasn't just in their combat strength; in fact, a Warrior could be just as strong.

But Civilization Masters were powerful in many ways, such as with Willpower Scripts. Bai Feng wrote a half-baked 'Kaiyuan Jue,' and Su Yu benefited greatly, breaking through to the eighth level of Kaiyuan without using much essence blood. This was all due to the influence of that Willpower Script.

"I can't do it?"

Liu Wenyan puffed out his beard and glared. "It's just a low-grade Xuan-tier, and only the Qianjun Chapter. You think I can't do it? Who do you look down on?"

"However... you have to pay! I need a hundred drops of Thunder Roar Beast essence blood, from the Qianjun Realm is fine. Also, I need you to grind a Thunder Roar Beast horn into powder, and provide me with a piece of Wanshi Realm beast hide for me to transcribe 'Thunder Origin Blade'."

"You..."

The old Academy Head's eyes widened as he calculated. "A hundred drops of Qianjun Realm Thunder Roar Beast essence blood would be 100 merit points. A Thunder Roar Beast horn costs 5 merit points per horn, and a Wanshi Realm beast hide suitable for transcribing low-grade Xuan-tier martial skills would cost at least 10 merit points..."

"115 merit points? Are you robbing me?"

"Vulgar!"

Liu Wenyan reprimanded, "You're too vulgar! Everything is tied to money! It's only a little over 100 merit points. After the Ten Thousand Races Cult attack was wiped out last time, didn't the academy receive an additional 1000 merit points?"

"That's the academy's reserve!"

"What reserve? Didn't I kill a Soaring stage cultivator? I'm too lazy to calculate it, but did you embezzle that merit?"

"What do you mean 'I embezzled'!"

The old Academy Head jumped with anger. "Don't play dumb with me. You exchanged it for a Soaring stage Myriad Races original text yourself, remember? Not only did you spend all your own merit points, but you also owed Daxia Civilization Academy quite a bit!"

"Great Xia Prefecture isn't holding you accountable, and you're getting even bolder?"

"Do you have any shame?"

"Are you even human? Accusing me of embezzling that merit, I..."

Liu Wenyan coughed lightly, interrupting him. "I remember now, wasn't that to improve my strength and protect Nanyuan? This should count as Nanyuan's public expenditure, right? Cough, cough, fine, fine, let's say it's mine. But now, for nurturing a genius for Nanyuan, can the academy support it a little?"

"Think about it, Su Yu is a rare genius in Nanyuan. If I write 'Thunder Origin Blade' for him, it's very difficult for me to transcribe it directly with my own willpower anyway. If he learns 'Thunder Origin Blade', he'll be able to establish himself in Great Xia Prefecture, don't you think?"

"If he gets first place, won't Nanyuan Academy gain face? Won't it get credit?"

"If he does well in Great Xia Prefecture, will he repay the academy in the future?"

"If he soars, or even reaches the Lingyun realm, and casually leaks a little bit of benefit, or if he's in the mood one day and comes to the academy to transcribe some Willpower Scripts, wouldn't one Willpower Script be worth less than what you've given today?"

"Old Wang! A person needs to look far ahead. You're already this old, how can your vision still be so narrow!"

Liu Wenyan said with great distress, "He has talent, resilience, a solid foundation, and he's someone who remembers kindness. If you don't bleed a little now, how can he possibly achieve greatness and repay you?"

The old Academy Head tugged at his beard, breaking off a few more strands, and after a long while, he sighed, "Over a hundred merit points!"

"What's there to say? Just killing one Soaring realm expert."

"You... 'just'? Why don't you try killing another one then!"

Liu Wenyan impatiently said, "Why all the nonsense? What are merit points for if not to be used? The academy received quite a bit from the last teaching session, and no one needs it urgently right now. Just consider it used by me. As a Soaring realm Civilization Master, I have basic merit point expenditures. Great Xia Prefecture will definitely disburse funds later."

As a Civilization Master, even if he wasn't at the Civilization Academy, he still had basic research funds.

Transcribing Willpower Scripts and tempering the physical body both required resources.

Although Liu Wenyan was only an external Civilization Master, according to regulations, he had a portion of basic income.

The old Academy Head stared at him with wide eyes, "Disburse funds? I asked last time, and Great Xia Prefecture said you owe them thirty thousand merit points. You can't pay it back in a lifetime, so don't even think about it!"

"Thirty thousand?"

Liu Wenyan was stunned for a moment, then asked curiously, "Only thirty thousand? When I left the academy back then, I owed over a hundred thousand. How did it become thirty thousand?"

"..."

The old Academy Head was speechless. Damn it, you know that!

Taking a deep breath, the old Academy Head angrily said, "In any case, yours is long gone. I'll give you the things, but... I have to say beforehand, if Su Yu's Willpower manifests one day, he has to find time to return one Willpower Script!"

"That's for sure. If he doesn't, once my Willpower recovers, I'll write another one."

Liu Wenyan chuckled, finally relieved that he didn't have to dip into his meager savings.

The old Academy Head sighed again, then couldn't help but complain, "Great Xia Prefecture isn't even disbursing basic merit points to you. How are you going to handle your body tempering... If you drag this on for a few more years, how old will you be?"

"If they don't give it, then they don't give it."

Liu Wenyan chuckled, "Anyway, I don't worry about food or drink. Speaking of which, I only owe thirty thousand. Did you find out the situation?"

"I asked. Researcher Wu repaid fifty thousand for you."

Liu Wenyan frowned, then after a while, he cursed lowly, "Idiot!"

"Huh?"

"He's missing a screw in his head! The more debt you have, the less you worry. What's the point of repaying fifty thousand! Besides, the merit points owed to Great Xia Prefecture aren't real merit points. That was me speaking harshly in a fit of anger back then. I never actually borrowed that many merit points!"

Liu Wenyan was a bit helpless. Fifty thousand merit points, that was no small sum!

A very, very large sum!

He couldn't be bothered to talk about it anymore and changed the subject, "Let's not talk about this. Prepare the things as soon as possible. Tomorrow I'll transcribe the 'Thunder Origin Blade'. If this kid can learn it, even at the eighth level of Kaiyuan, combined with the 'Thunder Origin Blade' and his Divine Script, he can easily deal with ordinary Qianjun realm experts at the second or third level."

The old Academy Head no longer cared about the cost at this point and nodded. If that kid truly achieved something, whether he would repay the academy would depend on his conscience.

Since Liu Wenyan was here, a Soaring realm Civilization Master, he could only talk big. If Liu Wenyan insisted, no one would object even if he used up all the academy's accumulated wealth.

As he was leaving, the old Academy Head suddenly turned around and said, "Old Liu, if it's really not possible... just give up! Switch to tempering with Divine Demon Blood. You'll immediately reach the third level of Soaring, and in a few years, you might even enter the Lingyun Shanhai realm!"

Liu Wenyan smiled slyly, "Give up what? I don't understand."

"Old Liu... you're over seventy!"

The old Academy Head's eyes were complex. Over seventy, truly not young anymore.

Liu Wenyan puffed out his beard and glared, "What's wrong with being over seventy! You, a Wanshi realm expert, dare to question my Soaring realm? Do you know how Soaring realm experts fly?"

"..."

The old Academy Head was caught between laughter and tears. He muttered a few words and quickly left.

That old fellow, still like this after so many years.

After he left, Liu Wenyan let out a sigh and said irritably, "Divine Demon Blood... Am I stupid! Divine Demon Blood, you want to take it by giving me a few drops of Soaring realm Divine Demon Blood? Dream on! Back then, I owed over a hundred thousand merit points... you'd need to give me the complete corpse of a Myriad Races King!"

"Over seventy..."

Liu Wenyan muttered to himself. Indeed, he wasn't young anymore.

He would wait a little longer!

If Su Yu could go far, and... he still needed to observe him further.

Five years wasn't enough!

Ten years, at least another five years of observation. When he reaches Great Xia Prefecture, he would continue to observe him, to see if he could maintain his original intentions, if he could continue to be tenacious and press forward.

"I'm not dead yet... I can still endure!"

Liu Wenyan murmured. If Su Yu didn't work out, he would continue to wait, until he died, and then return to the Civilization Academy.

"The one surnamed Wu... once he gets there, it's up to you."

Liu Wenyan looked out the window. He had waited fifty years, what was a little more time?

The next moment, the sentimental Liu Wenyan suddenly cursed loudly, "Idiot! Five thousand merit points, why the hell did you give it to me! You actually used it to pay off debt, just as stupid as fifty years ago!"

"No wonder after so many years, you're still a senior researcher and haven't even become a vice-head!"

"Civilization Masters are strong because of their brains, and your brain is a pig's brain!"

"..."

Liu Wenyan cursed for a while, but still didn't feel appeased. Five thousand merit points, are you crazy? Who told you to repay it?