Su Xiuyi signed in and cultivated in the Myriad Text Academy. Three years passed in the outside world, and the Southern Heaven Academy began its triennial academy tournament.
The Literary Court was very quiet. Over the past three years, it had grown quieter and quieter, for now only two people remained there: Wang Lin and Tiezhu, whom Su Xiuyi had once saved.
Compared with other places, it could have been said that not even a sparrow made a sound there. Wang Lin sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, looking somewhat dejected. He was an imperial teacher, once incomparably eminent, and the Literary Court's gates had been as busy as a marketplace.
"Grandmaster, because of some matters concerning Martial Uncle, almost all the Literary Court disciples have left now. They chose to enter other courts to cultivate," Tiezhu said softly as he entered the hall. He had grown a little taller, too.
Hearing Tiezhu's words, Wang Lin slowly raised his head and gave a bitter laugh. "I know. I don't blame them. If they stayed at the Literary Court, their prospects would be bleak because of your martial uncle. And now I've been crippled, so I can't guide them."
Tiezhu stood beside him, gritting his teeth. "Grandmaster, you went deep into a dangerous place and slew a demon king, and you even severed one of your own arms. Martial Uncle was imprisoned in the Myriad Text Academy as well. According to the laws of our Great Zhou, that was already harsh enough. In Great Zhou's history, there have been others who married saintesses of the Demon Race. Martial Uncle's crime didn't really deserve such punishment either."
That was right. In truth, Su Xiuyi was not the sole reason for the Literary Court's decline.
The root cause was that Su Xiuyi was simply too outstanding, having kept countless disciples of the academies so thoroughly suppressed that they couldn't hold their heads up. That was the real source of the disaster. Wang Lin was already the Imperial Tutor; if the Southern Heaven Scholarly Palace produced another Imperial Tutor, who was even the current emperor's junior brother, then the Southern Heaven Academy would suppress the other academies, even Jixia Academy.
Shen Dong's "On Su Xiuyi's Ten Great Crimes" was the true fatal blow, nailing Su Xiuyi and Wang Lin to the pillar of shame.
"Grandmaster, don't worry. I'll definitely bring glory to our Literary Court. The Literary Court has never produced trash," Tiezhu said with a determined look.
Wang Lin smiled without saying anything, but sighed softly in his heart. He knew Tiezhu's current strength very well. Tiezhu had good talent, but he was a natural martial arts genius, while his shortcomings in the literary path were too great. Under the influence of an opponent's Will Character, he was at a great disadvantage, and his cultivation was only at the Ten Thousand Stone realm.
Shen Dong's disciples would surely suppress and humiliate Tiezhu.
"All right, just do your best. There's no need to force yourself," Wang Lin said with a smile, both sleeves hanging empty.
After Tiezhu left, Wang Lin looked toward the Myriad Text Academy, remembering the disciple of whom he had been proudest in his life. Although he was shocked that Su Xiuyi was still alive, he shook his head immediately afterward, utterly helpless. Now Shen Dong's faction held power, and the emperor had not summoned him for three years. Getting Su Xiuyi out of the Myriad Text Academy was practically impossible.
In the Myriad Text Academy, Su Xiuyi signed in as usual, as reliably as clockwork.
"You can sign in before the remains of an Ancient Race member. Would you like to sign in?"
Su Xiuyi was walking deep within the Myriad Text Academy, on the outskirts of the area where the great battle had taken place. He stopped before a set of golden remains, and the system's mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
"Sign in!"
Su Xiuyi did not hesitate for an instant and chose to sign in immediately. This was the battlefield of the great battle. Even a being who had died on the outskirts, and an Ancient Race member at that, could not have been weak. The reward for signing in ought to be good.
"Congratulations, host. You have signed in before the remains of an Ancient Race member and obtained the Pupil of Void Breaking."
The next moment, Su Xiuyi felt a sharp pain in his head. When the pain faded, he opened his eyes, and everything before him looked different.
"This Pupil of Void Breaking is terrifying," Su Xiuyi said, clicking his tongue in wonder, his heart filled with excitement.
With the Pupil of Void Breaking, the area his willpower could cover was terrifyingly vast. Some formations might as well not have existed before it, and he could survey everything within a radius of ten li.
At that moment, the Southern Heaven Academy's arena matches also came into Su Xiuyi's view.
In the arena, two disciples at the Ten Thousand Stone realm were competing. Both were chief disciples of their respective courts, for this tournament was not merely a contest between disciples, but even more a contest between the courts. Victory or defeat determined the allocation of resources for the coming year.
The two Ten Thousand Stone disciples fought relentlessly, simultaneously using their Will Characters to affect each other, while cheers rang out constantly from below.
"Ha ha! Senior Brother Teng's swordsmanship is incomparably sharp, and with the enhancement of his 'sword' Will Character, it really is terrifying!"
"Senior Brother Teng's attacks are domineering beyond compare, but he might not win. Senior Brother Xu's attacks seem to lack offensive power, but I hear his Will Character is very strange and possesses terrifying sealing power."
Even the academy elders on the raised platform were smiling now, very satisfied with the two.
But Su Xiuyi, in the Myriad Text Academy, shook his head in great disappointment. Now that he was at Skysoar and had the Pupil of Void Breaking as well, moves like these looked utterly crude to him, riddled with openings.
After only a glance, he lost interest.
He could not help turning his gaze to the arena where Tiezhu, the Literary Court's only remaining disciple, was fighting. With one look, Su Xiuyi could not help lamenting Tiezhu's terrible luck. His opponent was not only far stronger than him, but had also comprehended Divine Runes. By comparison, Tiezhu was just a martial brute, at far too great a disadvantage.
But to Su Xiuyi's surprise, Tiezhu was like a fierce tiger bursting from its cage. His momentum surged in an instant, and he pounced on his opponent like a god of slaughter. Fighting as though his life depended on it, he endured his opponent's attack head-on and dealt him a devastating blow, taking him down in an instant.
Yet this way of killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of one's own made Wang Lin, both sleeves hanging empty, look grave. But Wang Lin knew that without such tactics, Tiezhu could not possibly have won.
Su Xiuyi could only watch silently and sigh inwardly. But Tiezhu's second match brought a chill to the corners of Su Xiuyi's mouth, for Shen Dong had actually tampered with this match, pitting Tiezhu against his own disciple. Though Shen Dong's actions had been seamless, they had nowhere to hide from the Pupil of Void Breaking.
Unsurprisingly, Tiezhu was knocked out of the tournament, and the Literary Court was eliminated on the spot.
The next day, Tiezhu brought wine and food but did not leave immediately. Seeing his gloomy expression, Su Xiuyi smiled and said, "Tiezhu, what's wrong? Today's fights are between those at the Skysoar realm, and it's the final match too. Why aren't you watching?"
"Shen Dong was the top scorer in the imperial examination and obtained a literary rank, with providence added to him. On top of that, he has rendered many meritorious services over the years and obtained quite a few Great Zhou martial techniques. His strength is at half-step Cloudbreach. Although Ji Wuming is powerful, his foundations are far inferior, and he has no experience fighting on the edge of death. There's no suspense about the outcome." Tiezhu had matured a great deal and could see things clearly. He also knew Shen Dong's purpose. Shen Dong had not needed to take part, but he had entered anyway, solely to tell everyone in the Southern Heaven Academy: I am the top scorer, and I shall suppress my generation.
A frank person doesn't speak in riddles: please bookmark this and vote with recommendation tickets. There are two chapters a day for now; once the contract status changes, I'll increase the update rate.
(End of chapter)