Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
******
Yan sprinted until he stood directly in front of Su Wen and his entourage.
Ju Douluo felt a flicker of annoyance at Yan's sudden obstruction. However, Yan was, after all, part of the Golden Generation with significant potential. Furthermore, both he and Ghost Douluo had personally guided Yan's cultivation in the past. Consequently, Ju Douluo exercised a fair amount of patience; instead of a sharp rebuke, he merely furrowed his brows and shot Yan a meaningful look, signaling him not to interfere with official business.
Yan, however, seemed oblivious to the warning. His eyes were locked onto Su Wen, burning with intensity.
"Su Wen, I will surpass you!" Yan declared with unwavering conviction.
Su Wen was speechless. Looking at this display of self-moved determination, he couldn't fathom what had gotten into the guy.
"The enemies I have defeated are never viewed as rivals again," Su Wen replied calmly. He decided to lean into the moment, delivering a line dripping with effortless superiority. "I shall give you time to chase me, until the day you can no longer even see my silhouette on the horizon."
The surrounding students gasped in shock.
How arrogant!
Yet, Su Wen possessed the foundation for such audacity. Ning Fengzhi and "Xue Qinghe," in particular, knew that Su Wen had not only broken through to the rank of Spirit Emperor but possessed power that completely crushed the current Golden Generation. Indeed, even if given a lifetime to chase, Yan would never catch up. That was the cold, hard reality.
Yan's face paled with frustration, and he stepped forward to hurl more vitriol, but Ju Douluo had reached his limit.
"Yan, enough!"
Ju Douluo abruptly released a surge of Spirit Power, forcing Yan back several meters. Finally sensing the gravity of the situation, Yan lowered his head, not daring to make another move.
"Are you leaving or not?"
"Yes, sir!" Yan hurried away.
Ju Douluo turned to Su Wen, looking apologetic. "I apologize for the farce, Grandmaster Wen."
Su Wen waved it off, indicating it was of no consequence. "The world of Spirit Masters needs this kind of competition to keep moving forward."
Yan, who hadn't walked far, felt a sting in his heart upon hearing those words. It was galling—the realization that they were already standing at completely different heights.
Just you wait, Su Wen. I will surpass you! I've even begun practicing the cultivation method you created. If I still can't beat you, it can only mean my talent is too weak.
And Yan certainly didn't believe his talent was weak.
---
After the minor interlude, Su Wen followed Ju Douluo into the library. The library of the Spirit Hall Advanced Spirit Master Academy covered a vast area and was filled with incredibly rich resources, serving as a primary symbol of the academy's superiority over others on the continent.
Ironically, from this day forward, the physical records here would lose their primary utility, replaced by Su Wen's "Mountain of Books and Sea of Learning." From another perspective, however, this would become a unique feature of the academy—having the heart of the Academy of Learning's knowledge right on their campus.
Upon entering the library's core, Ju Douluo swept his right hand, collecting all the physical materials into a storage soul tool. Other faculty members, who had been briefed on the installation, immediately stepped forward to set up the pedestals for the soul-imprint volumes.
Simultaneously, Su Wen summoned his Heavenly Book, repeating the process of opening the "Mountain of Books and Sea of Learning" for what felt like the thousandth time. A massive flurry of pages swirled around him, eventually coalescing into a single central volume that settled onto the main pedestal, while the remaining pages scattered to every corner of the library.
As he finished, Su Wen seemed to reach a physical limit; his face turned noticeably pale.
Across the continent, he had now opened more than two hundred of these hubs. While the physical volumes were part of his Martial Soul, Su Wen used the "Seed" condensation technique to detach the pages. Under normal circumstances, the energy consumption and replenishment of the pages shouldn't have affected him too much. Even the illusory spaces within shouldn't have been a major burden.
The true source of pressure was the projections within those illusory spaces—the projections of Su Wen's own "Visualized World."
Essentially, Su Wen's Visualized World acted as a central terminal connected to over two hundred servers, responsible for providing knowledge and functionality to all of them simultaneously. This was the root of his strain. Today, that pressure had reached a breaking point, and his sickly complexion was impossible to hide.
Ju Douluo and the academy officials were caught off guard. According to their reports, opening the "Mountain of Books" shouldn't have had side effects. Why was he like this today? Was he faking it? Unlikely.
Ju Douluo narrowed his eyes, observing Su Wen. As I thought, opening these hubs takes a toll on him.
The fact that Su Wen continued despite the cost only solidified Ju Douluo's suspicion that Su Wen had a grander scheme. Her Majesty the Pope's guess wasn't wrong. If Su Wen is paying such a price, he won't just hand over control of the Academy of Learning to others.
Su Wen was clearly building an infrastructure that only he could maintain. If the "Mountain of Books" relied on Su Wen's mental pressure to exist, then the entire continental network of learning was tethered to his life. This only served to elevate his status further. This was exactly why Bibi Dong hadn't moved as aggressively as the Star Luo Imperial Family to seize control; if Su Wen could collapse the system in an instant, what use was administrative management?
"Grandmaster Wen, do you need to rest?" Ju Douluo asked tentatively.
Su Wen shook his head. "It is no matter. The Mountain of Books is open. The construction of the Academy of Learning across the continent is now complete."
Su Wen's tone was surprisingly cheerful. Despite his pallor, his expression was one of immense relief, as if a great weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders.
"Now... it is time for the final step."
The final step?
Ju Douluo was stunned. How could there be a final step? Wasn't the construction of the libraries the end of it?
"Spirit Hall manages the Spirit Masters of the world. The Academy of Learning will not interfere, nor will we conflict with Spirit Hall in that regard. Our purpose is singular: the dissemination of knowledge," Su Wen began slowly.
As he spoke, everyone held their breath. They could feel it—something monumental was about to happen.
(End of Chapter)