The Book Unfolds

"Moonlight!"

The giant Iron Winged Bird shrieked, clearer than in previous dreams. Its appearance could now be clearly seen.

This dream was slightly different, however. Floating in the dream was a colossal drop of golden blood – the essence blood of the Iron Winged Bird.

The Iron Winged Bird, which had been chasing Su Yu, seemed to be drawn by something.

The next moment, the bird's eyes looked at the golden blood, a hint of confusion in them.

Soon, the Iron Winged Bird abandoned the chase and flew towards the golden blood in the void.

The Iron Winged Bird flew faster and faster, landing before the golden blood in the blink of an eye. With another shriek, it swallowed the essence blood.

Boom!

At that moment, the Iron Winged Bird was like a golden sun, bursting with brilliant light that illuminated the entire dreamscape.

Su Yu watched the Iron Winged Bird with anticipation, wondering what would happen next.

The essence blood was indeed useful!

As he pondered, the Iron Winged Bird suddenly grew larger and larger, as if about to explode.

Su Yu's expression changed. As expected, with a thunderous roar, the dream began to collapse. The Iron Winged Bird exploded into countless golden light particles, vanishing into the dream in an instant. Su Yu was also blown to pieces by the explosion.

In the final moment of the dream, a book that blotted out the sun suddenly appeared.

The book rapidly flipped its pages. The other pages were blank. Soon, it turned to a page where the golden light particles of the Iron Winged Bird merged into it, instantly illuminating the page. An image of the Iron Winged Bird appeared on the page.

The dream ended there, and Su Yu instantly woke up.

"Hiss!"

Pain. An explosion-like pain in his head, and pain all over his body, as if he had truly been torn to shreds.

Su Yu was awake.

At this moment, Su Yu's eyes flickered. The dream had been deciphered.

Right now, a faint, ethereal booklet appeared in his mind.

The book from the dream!

"The dream has become reality..."

Su Yu's expression was somewhat grave. After so many years, deciphering the dream should have been a joyous occasion, but why had the dream turned into reality?

The booklet that had absorbed the Iron Winged Bird's light particles was now truly appearing in his mind.

Was it a phantom, or was there really a book in his head?

Su Yu visualized the book in his mind. With a thought, the book began to flip its pages. Soon, it reached the page illuminated by the Iron Winged Bird.

"Iron Winged Bird (Qianjun Seventh Level):

Racial Skills: Tear Level 1 (Essence Blood Activated), Iron Wing Slash (Essence Blood Activated)

Basic Yuan Art: Nàyuan (Essence Blood Activated)"

There were only these three short lines of text, and they weren't in human language, but in the script of the Iron Winged Bird tribe.

If Su Yu hadn't learned it before, he wouldn't have been able to understand it at all.

"Qianjun Seventh Level... Racial Skills, Basic Yuan Art..."

Su Yu frowned. What was this booklet?

This so-called "Essence Blood Activated" seemed to imply, from the wording, that he needed to absorb more essence blood to activate it. Activate what?

Activate skills?

Qianjun Seventh Level likely meant that the essence blood absorbed earlier was from an Iron Winged Bird at the Qianjun Seventh Level. That part was easy to understand.

What did the rest mean?

Su Yu's mind raced. "Could it be that as long as I have enough essence blood, I can unlock the Iron Winged Bird's skills?"

"And if I unlock the skills, can I use them?"

"Even if I can use them, what level of strength will I be able to display? Opening Yuan Third Level, or Qianjun Seventh Level?"

"How long can I maintain it? Will there be any side effects?"

"Where did this book come from?"

Su Yu's eyes flickered continuously. This dream had started over a decade ago. Could it be that this book had been in his mind for over a decade?

And who put it in his head?

Was there some kind of conspiracy?

Among the myriad races, there were many powerful ones. Could it be a conspiracy by a certain race, intending to use him to create chaos within the human race?

Su Yu had to consider this possibility!

Some of the myriad races were very insidious. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened to the human race. Many human powerhouses had been ambushed, influenced by the myriad races, bewitched, tempted, and ultimately became members of the Ten Thousand Races Cult.

"But with billions of people in the human race, I'm just an ordinary member. Even if they wanted to scheme, why would they plan for over ten years on me?"

Su Yu was still confused, and then his heart began to stir with impatience.

Should he try it?

Also, this booklet felt very, very thick. Only one page had been opened so far. Did that mean other pages could also be opened?

As he was thinking, Su Yu suddenly felt a faint fluctuation.

The next moment, Su Yu seemed to understand. The fluctuation came from the book page, not from spoken words, but from a kind of mental instruction.

"You can open them. As long as it's a race I've dreamed of, you can open them by finding the corresponding essence blood. However, I'm only in the Kaiyuan realm now, so I need to consider my body's tolerance when consuming essence blood..."

Su Yu understood. For example, he felt his body was about to explode and was in great pain, and he had only consumed the essence blood of a Qianjun Seventh Level Iron Winged Bird.

If it were essence blood from the Wanshi realm, Su Yu would likely be crippled, if not dead.

"Understood!"

Su Yu murmured. He somewhat understood that his dreams over the years, each one represented a race.

The opening of the booklet this time didn't mean the essence blood of the Iron Winged Bird had such a great effect, but rather that any race's essence blood he had dreamed of could be used to open it.

However, Su Yu hadn't recognized those racial creatures before. Besides, as someone in the Kaiyuan Triple Stage, how could he possibly consume essence blood?

If he hadn't understood the meaning this time, he wouldn't have taken the risk.

One wrong move could cost him his life.

"Basic Yuan Art, Nàyuan..."

Su Yu didn't think further. He suddenly remembered the basic Yuan Art on the third line. The Nàyuan Jue was the basic cultivation technique of the Iron Winged Bird clan, its sole purpose being to absorb a portion of Yuan Qi.

"Nàyuan Jue... opened with essence blood?"

Su Yu's eyes flickered. "What does that mean? Could it be that I can also use essence blood to open the Nàyuan Jue and absorb Yuan Qi?"

"But those in the Kaiyuan realm cannot actively absorb Yuan Qi; they can only passively wait for refinement."

He didn't pay much attention to racial skills. Tear Level 1 and Iron Wing Slash were both basic skills of the Iron Winged Bird. Humans also had classifications. Opening with essence blood might be for Su Yu to learn these skills, or to reach the Qianjun Seventh Level of strength. He hadn't really paid attention.

It was this Nàyuan Jue, which could also be opened with essence blood, that puzzled him. What was this?

Before reaching the Qianjun realm, humans could not actively absorb Yuan Qi. The function of the Kaiyuan Jue was only to allow humans to gather some Yuan Qi, making the surrounding Yuan Qi denser, allowing for longer passive refinement time and better results.

"Nàyuan Jue..."

Su Yu suddenly felt an irrepressible excitement. If he could open the Nàyuan Jue, would that mean he, as someone in the Kaiyuan realm, could actively absorb Yuan Qi?

The Kaiyuan Ninth Level took a very long time, primarily because one couldn't actively guide Yuan Qi into the body, as the human body couldn't form a complete system of acupoints.

What if he could actively absorb it?

"However... the consequences are up for debate!"

"What are the consequences of absorbing Yuan Qi? Also, how much essence blood is needed to open it? If it's just one drop, how long can it last?"

"What's the efficiency?"

"This thing is very expensive, 50,000 a drop. If one drop only lasts a few minutes, then there's no point in wasting the money."

Countless thoughts flashed through Su Yu's mind. Furthermore, opening other race pages would also require essence blood. Where would he get so much essence blood?

With so many thoughts jumbled together, Su Yu felt his brain was not enough for it all.

"Perhaps... I should try it!"

"Another thing is, where did this thing come from? Should I ask my teacher?"

After thinking, Su Yu quickly dismissed the idea.

Even if this thing was placed there intentionally, his teachers wouldn't know. Their strength was too low; this was not something they could access. This thing had remained undetected for over ten years. Let alone Qianjun or Wanshi realm experts, even those in the Sky Soaring realm might not know.

"Thinking about it won't lead to any answers. It's best to try it."

Just as Su Yu was thinking, a loud noise came from the doorway!

The next moment, Chen Hao waved his schoolbag and shouted, "I've already notified Jifeng Hall! If you're not afraid of death, stay here! There are experts upstairs and downstairs, get lost!"

"..."

Su Yu was stunned.

Chen Hao's schoolbag swung with a whooshing sound. After his shout, there were movements upstairs and downstairs.

Soon, someone from upstairs shouted, "What's wrong?"

"Did the beasts from the Ten Thousand Races Cult arrive?"

"How dare you!"

"Surround them!"

"..."

Su Yu was no longer stunned. He quickly shouted, "It's nothing, nothing! Grandpa Zhou, Chen Hao was just joking with me, sorry, sorry!"

Soon, an old man broke through the air, holding a cleaver. He pushed aside Chen Hao, who was blocking the door. Seeing that Su Yu was fine, he breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought the beasts from the Ten Thousand Races Cult had arrived. Your father just left, be careful. Call us anytime if something happens!"

With that, he slapped Chen Hao, leaving him dazed.

"Damn it, who told you to yell? Don't just shout randomly. If the Ten Thousand Races Cult really showed up, and we didn't take it seriously next time, wouldn't that endanger someone?"

The old man was very annoyed, not at Su Yu, but at Chen Hao.

"Chen family kid, if you dare to spread false news again, I'll have your dad drag you downstairs, strip you, and hang you up to beat you!"

Chen Hao's face crumpled. He wanted to explain, It wasn't me! It was Su Yu! That guy suddenly sent me a message, telling me to break in. How could I not think something was wrong? I'm being framed!

Su Yu got up, feeling some lingering pain in his body. Fortunately, most of the essence blood's power seemed to have been absorbed by the illustrated book. He only felt sore, not injured.

He didn't have time to dwell on that. Su Yu quickly apologized. Grandpa Zhou looked relieved, then couldn't help but slap Chen Hao's head again.

See? Why is there such a big gap between you and the Su kid? You're so clueless!

Chen Hao was on the verge of tears.

Su Yu also smiled wryly. Soon, he asked, "Did you really notify Jifeng Hall?"

"No, I was just trying to scare them!" Chen Hao replied sullenly. He didn't know if something had actually happened, so why would he notify Jifeng Hall?

"That's good then." Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Chen Hao grumbled, "Good for what? Why did you send me that kind of message? I thought you were in trouble."

At this moment, seeing that there was no issue, the elderly people from upstairs and downstairs began to leave.

Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief, pulled Chen Hao inside, and closed the door. "I felt a bit dizzy just now, and I was afraid I might faint, so I sent you a message. Didn't I ask you to knock first?"

"Oh, are you okay?" Chen Hao didn't pursue the matter anymore and asked with some concern, "You weren't... hungry, were you? Uncle Su is gone, so you don't have any food?"

"How about you come eat at my place from now on? My dad even told me to invite you before. I was afraid you'd be too polite to say yes, so I didn't mention it..."

Su Yu felt like crying and laughing. Do I really have to starve myself to death? Still, he felt a bit touched. Although this guy was talkative and a bit dense, he really cared about him as a friend.

"I'm fine. I just cultivated the Kaiyuan Jue for too long last night and felt a bit unwell when I woke up this morning. I'm okay now."

"That's good!" Chen Hao was relieved and quickly added, "Are you going to school today then? How about... you call your instructor and say you're sick? I'll accompany you to the medical office, so can you help me get a leave of absence?"

"..."

Su Yu's recent感动 (gǎndòng -感动) vanished instantly! This guy is hopeless! He's afraid of skipping class, but he expects me to ask for leave for him.

"Get lost!" Su Yu said with a laugh and a scolding. He thought for a moment. "No leave. I'm going to school today. I actually have something to do at the academy."

"You're going too?" Chen Hao looked bewildered. Why are you so fickle? You said you weren't going earlier, and now you want to go. Are all smart people this changeable?

Su Yu ignored him. He was going to the academy to find a way to get some Iron Winged Bird essence blood or other essence blood, preferably cheap. The Xia family's merchant guild was too greedy! A drop cost 50,000. With the little money Su Yu had left, it wasn't even enough to fill a gap.