Can't Hold On Much Longer!

Liu Wenyan quickly finished writing the remaining five strokes, finally letting out a long sigh.

Feeling the old Academy Head's gaze focused on him, Liu Wenyan remained calm, as if speaking to himself, "Once I got into the flow, it became easier and easier."

The old Academy Head didn't quite understand this. The world of Civilization Masters was beyond his comprehension.

Much of the knowledge he possessed had also been told to him by Liu Wenyan.

Hearing this now, the old Academy Head's expression shifted. Suddenly, he looked at Liu Wenyan with intense eagerness.

Liu Wenyan turned to look at him and was taken aback.

Why so enthusiastic?

"You... can you still write more?"

The old Academy Head's words made Liu Wenyan's heart skip a beat!

"Old Liu!"

The old Academy Head quickly sidled over and whispered, "Can you really write more? Is it that simple? A piece of Willpower Script from a Soaring Realm Civilization Master could be sold to a wealthy merchant for their descendants for at least 300 Merit Points!"

"If you write a hundred copies, your debts will be paid off. Once they're paid off... can you return to the Civilization Academy?"

"Of course, there's also the cost... but the cost is only around a hundred Merit Points. So, writing 150 copies would also clear your debts!"

The old Academy Head was excited!

Liu Wenyan stared in disbelief!

I... was just saying that casually.

You took it seriously?

Let alone one copy, these four strokes almost exhausted me. Besides... Willpower Script isn't that simple.

First, as a Civilization Master, he needs an extremely profound foundation in the "Thunder Origin Blade" and a deep mastery of it.

As a Civilization Master, one doesn't really have much time to study these things.

Furthermore, the willpower consumption is too great, and recovery is difficult, much more so than Yuan Qi.

300 Merit Points... writing one every few months is fine, but asking him to write one every day? He'd die before he could.

Writing three or four pieces a year, like the "Kaiyuan Jue," Liu Wenyan could manage. But writing three or four "Thunder Origin Blades" a year? Liu Wenyan would be overwhelmed. He wouldn't have any time left for cultivation or anything else.

"Old Wang..."

Liu Wenyan cursed inwardly, but on the outside, he wore a mysterious smile and whispered, "Don't talk nonsense! There are rules in the Civilization Master profession. Many things cannot be spread externally! To prevent spies from the Ten Thousand Races Cult from getting their hands on them."

"For Mysterious Tier martial skills like the 'Thunder Origin Blade,' the Ten Thousand Races Cult isn't without them. But apart from their own Civilization Masters writing Willpower Script for them, the Willpower Scripts of Civilization Masters from various Academies are strictly prohibited from being circulated externally!"

"Even if they are circulated, they won't be like the ones written on the spot. They would be ones that have been stored for an unknown amount of time, almost turning into ordinary objects. Such Willpower Scripts are actually useless and wouldn't be valuable."

Liu Wenyan smiled and whispered, "Don't mention these things again. Be careful, or the higher-ups might find out and cause trouble for you."

The old Academy Head paused slightly, some regret in his voice. "So that's how it is. I also thought it was unlikely. If it were really that easy to earn Merit Points, Civilization Masters wouldn't be short of them. Would Bai Feng still need to come to our place to kill a Soaring Fourth Stage..."

Just now, Liu Wenyan had said that it became easier towards the end, which sparked this idea in his mind.

Now, hearing this, it seemed there were restrictions. At this moment, he felt like he understood!

Liu Wenyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. There were indeed restrictions, but for normal transactions with wealthy individuals, it was fine. However... he couldn't do it!

Let alone him, ask someone in the Lingyun Realm, or even the Shanhai Realm, to write a hundred copies for you in a year?

Those experts couldn't do it either!

Even if they could, they wouldn't do it. They also needed to cultivate and do other things. Excessive willpower consumption would mean no willpower left to nourish Divine Scripts. Who would be responsible if trouble arose then?

Liu Wenyan simply ignored the old Academy Head and turned to look at Su Yu.

At this moment, Su Yu was still struggling.

His attention was no longer on the blade techniques but on the Divine Script he had captured.

Liu Wenyan's eyes held a mix of anticipation and a hint of a headache.

"His willpower is too weak. Nourishing one Divine Script is already difficult, and now he's captured a second one... Sigh, if this continues, his willpower growth rate will be significantly slowed!"

While happy, Liu Wenyan was also worried.

Having too many Divine Scripts wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Of course, having none was even worse.

But with too many, how would Su Yu nourish them?

His willpower was limited. If the Divine Scripts weren't nourished, they would dissipate.

But if he nourished them, the consumption would be too great, and he couldn't recover. This way, it would easily drag him down.

"His current fullness is around 19%, almost reaching 20%. Nourishing two Divine Scripts, and the 'Blood' Divine Script can still absorb blood to nourish itself. With this, he can manage to nourish two Divine Scripts."

"He absolutely cannot nourish a third one. At least not until Yangxing, he shouldn't attempt to sketch any more Divine Scripts."

Liu Wenyan was somewhat troubled. Sometimes, encountering geniuses was also troublesome.

Su Yu capturing Divine Scripts so quickly could easily lead to the negative example of a genius overexerting himself to death, or nourishing too many Divine Scripts and making no progress for decades, thus being considered ruined.

"Everyone else can go back first!"

Liu Wenyan spoke, then said sternly, "The Thunder Origin Blade must not be taught to outsiders! Mysterious Tier martial arts, even if it's just a common imprint, must not be taught to outsiders! For martial arts like this, even in the Civilization Academy or the War Academy, an imprint would cost a hundred Merit Points to obtain!"

The old Academy Head only cared if the Willpower Script was valuable, and had overlooked that this was a Mysterious Tier martial art.

At this moment, the old Academy Head also snapped back to attention.

He hurriedly said, "That's right, this absolutely cannot be taught to outsiders! The martial arts in the War Academy are almost all imprints; Willpower Scripts are the exception. If a Mysterious Tier martial art is leaked, there will be huge trouble if it's discovered!"

Without the Willpower Script, it didn't mean one couldn't cultivate it.

It would just be much slower, relying entirely on self-comprehension. The function of the Willpower Script was equivalent to a top expert providing a full analysis for you, allowing for deeper understanding and faster cultivation.

The old Academy Head only now remembered this point and looked at Liu Wenyan with some worry.

This old fellow had only talked about the Willpower Script before, causing him to forget that the imprint was also very important.

This wasn't a martial art from the academy; it was something Liu Wenyan brought himself.

Would there be trouble if he taught it to others?

Liu Wenyan wasn't as worried as he was. Seeing the students looking uneasy, he dropped the stern demeanor and smiled, "You can practice it yourselves; this is what I'm passing on to you. However, you cannot teach it to outsiders, including your families."

"The Human Race does not encourage unearned gains; everything requires a corresponding price. Unearned gains are a parasite! Consider this 'Thunder Origin Blade' my graduation gift to you all. Even if you don't learn it today, it's fine; you have a long life ahead of you."

"Thank you, Instructor Liu!"

The students quickly thanked him. Although some hadn't seen the Willpower Script, and some had seen parts of it, their gains weren't significant. However, they had all seen the imprints.

"It's alright, everyone go back and rest well. It's okay if you didn't see it this time. Next time you'll have experience and gain something. The Civilization Academy has no shortage of Civilization Masters who can transcribe Willpower Scripts, as long as you are willing to work hard!"

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Everyone thanked him again and left with anticipation.

Many looked back at Su Yu, who was still trembling, feeling curious. How many blades had Su Yu seen?

As for Su Yu learning more, they weren't surprised. Liu Wenyan had been taking Su Yu around everywhere these past few days, clearly giving him special attention. There was no point in being envious or jealous.

Half an hour later.

Su Yu woke up.

At this moment, only he and Liu Wenyan were in the office.

Su Yu was slightly startled and quickly said, "Teacher, I... I didn't finish watching just now..."

He was annoyed. He had been too focused on defeating the little guys and had forgotten to watch the later sword techniques.

He wasn't stupid; he naturally knew that transcribing Willpower Scripts wasn't a simple matter. He had wasted this opportunity.

Liu Wenyan didn't seem to mind and said with a faint smile, "How many blades did you see?"

"The third blade... I didn't have time to see the fourth."

Su Yu looked regretful, feeling a sense of remorse.

"Hoo!"

Liu Wenyan let out a slight breath. Good, seeing three blades was enough. If he had truly seen the later ones, this guy would probably be confused as to why there were no little figures in the later sword techniques!

"It doesn't matter. Even if you saw it now, you wouldn't be able to learn it. Take this with you and don't reveal it to anyone. Hide it carefully. You can look at it more when you have time. Of course, the effect will be greatly reduced later on, as I am only at the Soaring Willpower level, not Shanhai, and cannot achieve long-term preservation."

He was laying the groundwork in advance. Later on, the effect would definitely be poor, and that would be Su Yu's responsibility, not his.

As a teacher, he had done his best to provide the best!

Liu Wenyan quickly changed the subject, "Did you sketch out another Divine Script?"

Yes, the character 'Lei'.

"How much did you sketch?"

"It seems... it was all of it, no, just a little bit short..."

Su Yu looked a bit embarrassed and said in a low voice, "It seems like one stroke was broken."

"Hmm?"

Liu Wenyan was somewhat surprised, surprised that he had completely sketched it out again... again?

Alright, he gave up on trying to figure out why he used that word and quickly asked, "One stroke was broken?"

"Yes, when I was capturing it, it resisted very fiercely..."

"That's because your Willpower isn't strong enough to forcibly capture and sketch it. At that point, you should have given up, or sketched one stroke. You can't forcibly capture it again next time, understand?"

Liu Wenyan's expression turned serious. "One or two times is considered luck. If you do this again next time, you'll easily suffer a backlash! Of course, this is also my responsibility. I didn't expect you to sketch a Divine Script for the second time, so I forgot to remind you."

"Also, before entering Yangxing, you are not allowed to sketch a third Divine Script!"

"Yes!"

Su Yu immediately responded, then continued, "Teacher, the character '雷' has a broken stroke. I think it will take at least ten days to half a month to recover."

"That's normal. It's not uncommon to spend half a year or a year sketching a complete Divine Script."

Liu Wenyan didn't try to discourage him this time, saying seriously, "Your speed in inscribing Divine Scripts is too fast, it's actually not normal. I don't know if it's a bad thing, but... having too many Divine Scripts isn't necessarily good. I told you last time, too many Divine Scripts can lead to being unfocused and lacking depth."

"Teacher, I understand."

Su Yu nodded quickly. As for the characteristics of the 'thunder' Divine Script, he couldn't test it this time because the Divine Script wasn't complete. He'd have to restore it to its full form to find out.

Of course, Su Yu could already judge one characteristic... it could electrocute you to death!

This thing had shocked him many times just now. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up breaking that guy's "leg." He'd been quite pained by the shocks, and he hadn't been able to control it.

Seeing that he had taken his words to heart, Liu Wenyan breathed a sigh of relief.

After thinking for a moment, he slowly said, "At this point, I've taught you almost everything I can. As for some of the fundamentals, someone will teach you when you get to the Civilization Academy."

"Including some advanced cultivation techniques, the use of Divine Scripts, the inscription and nurturing of Divine Scripts, and the study of various languages... these are all very routine. You can spend a few years at the academy to learn them slowly; this is also the accumulation of foundation."

As Liu Wenyan spoke, he became serious again, "In the early stages, don't worry too much about anything; focus on building your foundation! We Civilization Masters can endure loneliness. People from the War Academy, after half a year or a year in the academy, have the hope of reaching the Qianjun Realm."

"But most Civilization Masters reach the Soaring Realm after many years..."

Su Yu quickly nodded, finished speaking, and then whispered, "Teacher, I think I can reach Qianjun in a few months."

"..."

Liu Wenyan was momentarily speechless!

Damn it, he forgot this kid was already at the Kaiyuan Eighth Stage!

As reserves for the Civilization Academy, they spent five years in a mid-level academy, learning multiple language courses from scratch. Was five years a lot of time?

Besides language classes, they had quite a few other courses.

Mathematics, basic weapon construction, geography, history...

The curriculum wasn't exactly sparse.

At this point, being diligent meant going back in the evening to practice the "Kaiyuan Jue" once. How many could even reach the Kaiyuan Fourth or Fifth Stage?

Unlike Chen Hao and the others, they didn't need to learn too many languages of the myriad races; the three basic ones were enough.

Even so, these people complained endlessly, wishing they didn't have to learn any.

Su Yu's performance in the way of Divine Scripts was too astonishing. In that moment, Liu Wenyan had completely forgotten that this guy was at the Kaiyuan Eighth Stage. He had written the "Thunder Origin Blade" for him specifically to enhance his combat power.

Capturing Divine Scripts was secondary to that!

The words Liu Wenyan had in his mouth couldn't come out.

He had originally intended to say, "Don't envy those guys from the War Academy. After a year, many of them will be in the Qianjun Realm, but you need to be patient. In a few years, when you reach the Soaring Realm, they'll still be in the Qianjun Realm..."

But now, he couldn't say it!

This kid was at the Kaiyuan Eighth Stage!

He coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment, and Liu Wenyan calmly said, "It's good that you're at the Kaiyuan Eighth Stage, but even if you reach Qianjun, so what? The Qianjun Realm is the least valuable! When you get to the academy, some of the senior students might already be in the Soaring Realm..."

Su Yu immediately said, "Teacher, I have a question."

"Ask."

"I looked at some ancient texts before, and they never mentioned how long the Civilization Academy program is. It seems all the information doesn't mention this..."

Su Yu was curious. He was genuinely wondering how many years one studied at the Civilization Academy.

"How many years?"

Liu Wenyan was slightly taken aback, and after a while, he chuckled, "I forgot to mention it. The Civilization Academy doesn't have a set duration. Students with less than 20% fullness, who cannot observe the Qianjun origin, are in the junior class."

"From 20% to 50%, they can observe the Qianjun Realm origin and are in the intermediate class."

"Above 50%, which is the Yangxing stage, they are in the advanced class."

"Soaring... that's when you graduate. Of course, not everyone can graduate. Many people study for a few years without progress, and they might leave the academy, go home, or go to the battlefield, or do something else... the academy won't manage you then."

"If you reach the Soaring Realm, you can choose to stay at the academy. For example, Bai Feng chose to stay and serve as an assistant researcher, but... that's the treatment for geniuses! If you reach the Soaring Realm in your fifties or sixties, the academy usually won't keep you. You'll have to make your own way, but you won't fare poorly."

"Generally, by the age of 30, if you haven't reached the Soaring Realm, many people will choose to leave."

Liu Wenyan sighed, "At 30 years old... it's still possible to switch to being a Warrior, but after 30, it's truly too late. The golden age of cultivation has passed. If you enter the academy at 18 like you, and stay for more than ten years, and still can't reach the Soaring Realm, you'll give up too."

How many people entered with extraordinary talent and lofty ambitions!

But then... after wasting more than ten years, being unable to materialize into the Soaring Realm, they gave up on the path of materialization. This was too common in the Civilization Academy!

"In the academy, there might be some elderly people in their fifties or sixties who aren't teachers. They are considered your seniors. They might teach you some of your basic courses, earning some Merit Points to support themselves, so they don't struggle to make a living."

"They aren't even considered assistant researchers. Of course, you don't need to call them seniors; just call them instructors. Calling them seniors... that's heartbreaking. Be careful if you encounter someone petty; they might give you a hard time."

Liu Wenyan chuckled as he spoke, but there was also a hint of bitterness.

"If your teacher... had stayed at the Civilization Academy back then, I would be a true instructor. It would be fine for you to call me senior; I'm an old guy in my seventies, and we're of the same generation."

The bittersweet feelings within this were something few people could understand except themselves.

Few who got into the Civilization Academy were fools.

To have wasted decades in this place, one could imagine what these people were enduring.

Su Yu was still young; he didn't understand, but even just listening to Liu Wenyan speak, he couldn't help but feel a tremor of dread.

Wasted away until old age, achieving nothing, a group of teenagers in their teens called me senior...

"I won't do it!"

Su Yu thought to himself. He wouldn't, and he didn't want to.

So, the Civilization Academy wasn't just home to geniuses, but also to these tragic figures. Indeed, where there was brilliance, there was bound to be darkness.

"Go on, go back and rest for a few days. Ponder the Thunder Origin Blade, nurture your Divine Script, and await the assessment."

"Teacher, what about killing a mid-stage Qianjun..."

"No need to do it, there isn't enough time."

Su Yu thought about it, but still insisted, "Teacher, how about I give it a try? After a few days, when I've made some progress with the Thunder Origin Blade, I'll try again. If it doesn't work out, I'll give up then."

"As you wish."

Liu Wenyan didn't try to dissuade him. Persistence was also a virtue, and a good one at that.

He tossed the "Thunder Origin Blade" beast-skin book to Su Yu. Liu Wenyan walked out of the office with his hands behind his back, strolling leisurely. Before he could even leave, he heard Su Yu say, "Teacher, I'll come to the academy tomorrow morning to learn from you, and then I'll go back in the afternoon to practice my blade techniques..."

Liu Wenyan almost stumbled and fell!

I told you to go home and rest for a few days, to properly ponder your blade techniques, and you think I'm being lenient with you?

Foolish boy!

Teacher here has overused his willpower. For the next few days, I need to hide at home and recover, lest I come to the academy looking pale every day, like someone who's indulged too much. Don't you understand my deeper meaning?

Liu Wenyan, with his back to Su Yu, his face darkened, but his tone remained calm. "No need to come. I have some things to attend to these few days, to see if my physical body can lay its foundation and enter the Soaring Realm. I've been quite busy lately."

Su Yu instantly understood and hurriedly said, "Alright, Teacher. Then I won't disturb you."

"Mm."

Liu Wenyan, with an air of profound wisdom, floated away. If he stayed any longer, he might not be able to keep up the act.