Chapter 8 - 8

Chapter 815: Measuring The Trend (3)

Silk Destroying King looked at the nearby Qian Jun and coldly said, "I also saw some other things in Feng Ji's memories. Of course, as mentioned earlier, we can't take everything we see as the truth. Thus, further investigation is required."

Right that moment, a sigh rang out. Zhou Mingren abruptly smashed Qian Jun's head apart with a palm strike. That had been done right in front of everyone there. Silence descended. The three Invincibles watched silently. None of them said anything. And none of them bothered to stop Zhou Mingren.

With a regretful tone, Zhou Mingren said, "He deserves death. In truth, I was already aware of this a few years ago. I'm at fault for failing to bring myself to let go of him. I am guilty of shielding Qian Jun from his crime. Since the main culprit has died, I beg the three lords to punish me for my crime of shielding the criminal."

"Heh." Hong Tan sneered and said, "Old Zhou. Are you taking the blame for someone else again? When you did this previously, you lost your position as the vice principal. This time, you killed an intermediate researcher without solid reason. You do not have the right to do that."

This trial had developed in a way that nobody had expected. Feng Ji was fine. Chen Yong was only ordered to return and explain himself. Instead, Qian Jun was the one to die, with Zhou Mingren being the executioner. Of course, a lot of the people there still had some guesses.

It was impossible that the three Invincibles weren't capable of stopping Zhou Mingren. Clearly, they were allowing Zhou Mingren to do that.

As of that moment, Zhou Mingren seemed to have aged significantly more than before. With a regretful sigh, he said, "I lost control of my emotions. Please punish me for that, lords."

"Lost control of your emotions? You have been aware of this for decades. Why are you only losing control now?"

Zhou Mingren calmly explained, "He sent me a voice transmission begging me to save him. When I saw that he was unwilling to repent, I got so angry I lost control. Is this answer to your satisfaction, Elder Hong?"

"Heh." Hong Tan merely sneered.

Meanwhile, Silk Destroying King gave Zhou Mingren a deep gaze and said, "Faculty Head Zhou, you are not the judge or the executioner. You killed him before he was judged guilty..."

After a short pause, he continued, "Even if he was guilty, you did not have the right to kill him as you wished. You're a Sunmoon, not a nobody. Yes, he deserved death. But you are also guilty of shielding a criminal and murder. Go join Liu Wenyan at the Vanguard Regiment. You can only return after killing a Sunmoon."

"Yes."

Zhou Mingren accepted the punishment calmly. So be it. He would leave this place temporarily. Chaos would descend upon Great Xia soon. He was already prepared to face this punishment. He might be guilty of murder, but the crime wasn't serious enough to lose his life since the victim was also a criminal. Thus, an exile to the Vanguard Regiment was probably the heaviest punishment he would receive. And sure enough, he was right.

Silk Destroying King continued looking at Zhou Mingren with a mocking smile. Not far away, Yuan Qingdong and the others had unsightly expressions.

There were gathered here today to trial Feng Ji and declare Chen Yong as a criminal. But instead, Zhou Mingren was the one to be exiled to the Vanguard Regiment while Qian Jun was killed. Was this still a victory for them?

Zhou Pochong said, "Lords, Chen Yong is the prime suspect in these murders. Even if no proof can be found from Feng Ji's memories, we're still being too lax toward him."

Silk Destroying King thought about it and nodded, "Yes. That's too lax. It's currently June. He will be required to explain himself within six months. Otherwise, a kill order will be released on him for assassinating military officials. Is this acceptable?

"After all, we don't know where he is. It will probably take him some time to learn of the order. And he also needs some time to travel back. Half a year isn't that long of a time. If he remains in hiding after half a year, that will be an admission that he is guilty. At that time, everyone will be free to execute him." Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel fire.net

At this point, there was nothing else Zhou Pochong could say. Half a year. If he remained in hiding after half a year, he would be deemed guilty.

"What about Feng JI?"

"Feng Ji?" Silk Destroying King looked at the unconscious Feng Ji and said, "Without knowing anything, he admitted to being the murderer and caused chaos in the military and the Human Realm. Thus, he is still guilty of a lesser crime. Due to his contributions as a spy in the Six-Winged Divine Sect, his punishment will be lightened. He will be prohibited from leaving Great Xia for three years."

Zhang Ying unhappily asked, "Lord, is that all?"

Silk Destroying King asked, "Is that not enough? I'm not interested in getting too involved. This is a matter between cultural researchers. Since Great Han King and Great Song King are remaining silent, I have no choice but to issue this judgment. If you're unhappy with that, you can get them to issue a new judgment instead."

A representative of the military questioned furiously, "Lord, with this judgment, those poor colleagues of ours had died for nothing!"

Great Song King said, "No. That's not the case. We will continue the investigation. From today onward, the three of us will start searching the Human Realm for the two Sunmoons of the Six-Winged Divine Sect. We will also take this time to search for Chen Yong. After all, the three of them are the suspects in this case. When all three of them are caught, we will naturally find out the truth."

Since the three Invincibles were going to personally search the Human Realm, the military was left with nothing to say.

Great Song King said, "Don't worry. We won't let this matter end like this. You will receive an answer. If Chen Yong is the murderer, he will die. We won't shield him just because he's an elder."

***

A conclusion was thus made.

Su Yu exhaled in relief. This was a much better result than he had expected. After all, he had believed that his martial uncle would have no way of surviving this. At the very least, his martial uncle had obtained six more months of freedom.

Of course, he wouldn't return since he was the murderer. Thus, he would still be deemed guilty after six months. But having six extra months was better than nothing. This was the best result they could ask for.

Hong Tan was also slightly relieved to hear that. Half a year. If Chen Yong was judged guilty today, he would be in great trouble. With six months, he could do more things. Hong Tan could see that Chen Yong had made some preparations for this. But was that enough to hide the truth from the Invincibles?

Hong Tan glanced at Silk Destroying King. Did this fellow make that judgment to smooth things over or was he biased toward them? After all, he was an Invincible of the War Shrine. Perhaps he was close to Great Xia King?

Hong Tan didn't know too much about the relationships between the various Invincibles. Nevertheless, nobody could deny that Silk Destroying King was smoothing things over. Both sides had suffered from his judgment. Chen Yong would be deemed guilty after half a year while Qian Jun was dead.

Hong Tan had nothing else to say. That would be pointless, anyway. This was actually an acceptable result for him.

Marquis Xia also seemed relieved as he smiled and said, "Thank you for this, lords. Finally, we have a result. If Chen Yong remains in hiding after six months, Great Xia will not help him anymore. At that time, you guys can do whatever you want to him."

He sighed and said, "But I was very surprised to learn about what happened in the Luminous Domain Mansion back then. Qian Jun was guilty, but Faculty Head Zhou was too rash. You should have controlled yourself better. Be careful when you're at the Vanguard Regiment. Don't worry, Great Xia will try to help you with your assignment there."

Zhou Mingren lowered his head and said, "Thank you, Marquis."

"You're welcome. Sigh. Things sure are chaotic in Great Xia nowadays. I blame myself for my inability to run the government. It is time for me to reflect on myself."

After rebuking himself, Marquis Xia said, "But it's no big deal. Great Xia will be fine again before long. The Multiple Character Faculty will be opened soon. The Foreign Students Faculty will expand. Great Xia has also been in decent shape financially with a healthy economy. I believe that we will return to our peak before anyone knows it."

Silk Destroying King suddenly asked, "Just what is the progress on the disassembly method?"

That one question attracted the attention of every single person there. Everyone, regardless of what they were thinking about previously, suddenly focused on Hong Tan.

After a short silence, Hong Tan said, "It works for Skysoars, but it's not perfect yet. I still need more time..."

Great Han King's expression changed as he solemnly asked, "Can the Knowledge Seeking Realm get a copy of this research? We won't be taking it for free. We are willing to pay for it. This is for the sake of preventing the loss of knowledge. We can even promise to not disseminate it to anyone. We only need to ensure the preservation of this knowledge."

Hong Tan lowered his head and said, "No. The research is not complete. We won't release any incomplete research."

"Hong Tan..." Great Han King gave Hong Tan a deep look and said, "You need to understand that...this will be very dangerous for you."

Yes. Being the only person with the knowledge would put him in great danger.

Hong Tan answered, "I understand. But this is the hope of our multiple character faction. I hope to release it only after more improvements. I don't want to give anyone the chance to ruin my progress in the research."

Silence enveloped the room. Hong Tan was essentially saying that he did not trust the Knowledge Seeking Realm. He would rather research it himself rather than give them the chance to mess with his research. He would maintain full control.

Great Han King gloomily asked, "When you're done with your research, will you release it?"

"I might need to pick a few people to test it out first." Hong Tan said, "But I can't say for sure. I need to complete my research first."

Great Han King said nothing else. Great Song King sighed and said, "Just be careful. As for Great Xia...try to watch over him. Sigh..."

He didn't know what else he could say. Innovation was a good thing, but this might not be the right time to produce the disassembly method. That might be the very thing that would fully ruin Great Xia's multiple character faction.

Then again, the more high-profile they were, the more eyes they could attract. Even the myriad races would pay more attention to them. That...might also not be a bad thing for them. In fact, that was also one of the reasons the fifth principal's characters were given to Liu Wenyan.

Hong Tan calmly said, "Thank you for the reminder. I'll take note. The disassembly method is currently only useful for Skysoar cultural researchers. It will only be more important when it becomes usable for Mountainseas or even Sunmoons."

The Invincibles sank into silence. None of them said anything. With that, the public trial came to an end. But it was still sending waves across the Human Realm as the voting result indicated that the pro-war faction was on the decline. In short, the Human Realm was more inclined to avoid war.

When words of what happened spread, even the myriad races would come to learn that the human race was currently afraid of war. There were so many people present during the voting. Who could guarantee that none of them was colluding with the cult?

***

At the same time, Wan Tiansheng exhaled in relief in the Heart Cultivating Pavilion. Fortunately, that damn brat had yet to reach the Cloudbreach Realm. He realized that it wasn't completely pointless to pry on a small part of the future.

At the very least, he could be sure that the big battle might only erupt after Su Yu became a Cloudbreach. He could essentially use Su Yu's cultivation level to measure the upcoming trend.

"I knew it! The big battle is not going to erupt anytime soon. Phew."

He wiped the imaginary sweat on his brow. Everything was still under control. After sacrificing a hundred years of his lifespan, how could he only see the events of several months in the future? Su Yu was currently stuck at the ninth-stage Skysoar Realm.

The big battle he saw was probably something that would only happen a few years in the future.

Chapter 816: Too Outstanding To Not Shine (1)

The public trial had finally ended.

Su Yu was feeling very relieved. This was the best result he could ask for. With three Invincibles present, if they wanted to do something else, nobody would be able to stop them.

At that moment, Silk Destroying King suddenly asked, "Xiao'er, when is Longwu returning? This is not the time for him to be running around. Longwu and Polong are the two breakthrough candidates facing the highest level of danger. Did Longwu go to the Allheaven Battlefield?"

Once again, silence descended.

Marquis Xia answered with a flat tone, "Silk Destroying King, Longwu is currently in seclusion."

He was completely ignoring the fact that this fellow was calling him Xiao'er.

Silk Destroying King frowned. After a moment, he nodded, "I understand. I only want to say that he should stop being so headstrong. Things are getting more and more unstable in both the Human Realm and the Myriad Realms. Longwu better stay in seclusion properly. Do you understand?"

"Yes, of course."

Marquis Xia answered with a smile. Great Han King and Great Song King remained silent. Was Xia Longwu still in Great Xia? Nope.

As for his whereabouts, not even these Invincibles knew. An expert like Xia Longwu was only a step away from the Invincible Realm. Nobody could detect him when he was moving in secret. Perhaps the Invincible stationed at the main headquarters of humanity at the Allheaven Battlefield might notice him if he traveled there, but that was an exception since he would be actively stepping into an area being actively watched over by an Invincible.

It wasn't a good thing that Silk Destroying King had exposed Xia Longwu's absence in Great Xia. Was he really trying to create more chaos in the Human Realm? Apart from Invincibles, nobody could be sure if Xia Longwu was still in Great Xia or not. Even if there were rumors claiming that he was away, nobody would dare to believe these rumors.

But now, Silk Destroying King had confirmed that Xia Longwu was indeed absent. Great Xia King was also not around. But at the same time, Hong Tan, someone of utmost importance, was around. After all, the disassembly method was still in his hands.

This might attract massive trouble. Was Silk Destroying King deliberately doing this or not? Was that unreliable bastard aware that he would put Great Xia in great danger with those words?

Marquis Xia hurriedly said, "Longwu is in seclusion. I'm also near the ninth-stage Sunmoon Realm. With the two of us around, things will be fine. Oh, we also have Old Hu around. He's already a seventh-stage Sunmoon. Old Zhao is going to reach that level soon as well. Principal Zheng will be entering the Sunmoon Realm soon. And Principal Wan is also going to be a Sunmoon soon. Great Xia is very well-defended. Don't worry. The cult wouldn't dare to challenge Great Xia."

It was as though he couldn't stop talking. Listening to all that, Xia Huyou's words sounded in Su Yu's mind yet again. An old tiger that was roaring fiercely, reminding everyone that it was still very strong. It was not old. It was still capable of killing.

That was essentially what Marquis Xia was doing. Great Xia was well-defended by numerous experts. Even without Xia Longwu, Great Xia was still extremely powerful with their many Sunmoons. They were not afraid of anyone.

With an indifferent expression, Marquis Xia sent the Invincibles out of the room as he said, "I am happy enough that the three martial uncles are here to solve this issue concerning Feng Ji. By the way, I haven't been able to contact my father as of late. When will he have some free time to pay us a visit?"

Silk Destroying King answered, "He did not complete his previous rotation in the Allheaven Battlefield. This time, he needs to stay there for at least ten years to complete his rotation. It will be a while before he can return."

"Ten years?" A bitter look appeared on Marquis Xia's face momentarily as he said, "I understand. Silk Destroying King, if you have the time, you can always take a stroll in Great Xia. Our place is filled with talented individuals. A while ago, even your Time technique appeared in Great Xia for a bit. Hong Tan was the one who had brought it back. I dare say that Great Xia is actually somewhat related to you."

"Are you saying that Su Yu was the one who had learned that technique?" Silk Destroying King laughed, "Yeah, I guess this is fate. What a pity that Su Yu is no longer in Great Xia. I could have met him if he's still here."

"That's regretful." Marquis Xia said, "In truth, you can consider leaving some of your legacies behind in Great Xia. After all, Great Xia follows the path of warriors and the people here are strong."

"Let's talk about that next time."

The three Invincibles stepped out of the room. Outside, Great Han King glanced at the people who were seeing them off. His gaze settled on Zhou Pochong as he said, "I might not be able to take part in the affairs of the Knowledge Seeking Realm for some time. We will be searching the Human Realm for the Six-Winged Divine Sect. I also need to take a trip back to Great Han. Pochong, I only hope that the Knowledge Seeking Realm will make less noise while I'm away."

Those words seemed to carry a deeper meaning. Zhou Pochong nodded silently, but he said nothing. Next, the three Invincibles vanished into thin air.

Right at that moment, a voice rang out in Su Yu's mind, "Brat, you sure are brazen. How dare you comprehend my Time technique right in front of me. Don't treat all Invincibles as fools. I also need to remind you that Great Ming might not necessarily be the suitable backer for you. Zhu Tiandao is quite an ambitious one. Be careful lest his ambitions implicate him. Also, leave Great Xia as soon as possible. This place will descend into chaos soon."

Su Yu was greatly shaken, but he gave no reply. The three Invincibles could no longer be seen.

At the same time.

High in the sky, the three Invincibles entered a different layer of space. With one step, they reappeared hundreds of kilometers away.

There, Great Han King and Great Song King stared at Silk Destroying King. Great Han King asked, "Silk Destroying, what are you trying to do?"

"What is it?" Silk Destroying King had a smirk as he asked, "What's up?"

Great Han King said, "Did you rig the votes? Also, were you capable of restoring the actual memories of Feng Ji? Also, why did you ask about Xia Longwu at the very end? Silk Destroying, what are you planning?"

"My plan?" Silk Destroying King laughed, "I don't have a plan. The votes are naturally legitimate. As for Feng Ji's real memories, that's pointless. As I said, killing Chen Yong now is the same as forcing the Xia Family to fully turn against those people. Is that necessary? As for Xia Longwu..."

"I was reminding Xia Xiao'er to stop being rash. Without Xia Longwu around, chaos will descend upon Great Xia. Xia Xiao'er shouldn't be too confident that he could suppress all disturbances himself. He shouldn't take everyone as a fool. It's not like nobody is aware of Xia Longwu's absence."

Great Han King gave Silk Destroying King a deep gaze without saying anything.

Great Song King waved his folding fan and asked, "Silk Destroying, this is not your style. You're not one to smooth things over. Tell us. What do you think of the current situation."

"What situation are you talking about?"

"Why are you still acting ignorant when we're the only ones here?" Great Song King said, "So what is your opinion on it? Also, why did Hong Tan talk about his progress with the disassembly method in public? That was dumb. Was he trying to get himself killed or was he planning something else?"

Silk Destroying King shrugged and said, "I'm not sure about that. But I have a very simple opinion. If we can win, we fight. If we can't win, we fight as well. But we need to control the scope of the fight. We can't get through this with no fight at all. We also need to test the strength and preparation level of the divines and devils. We don't want to fight cluelessly when the two Pseudo Emperors of the divines and devils have already advanced. That won't end well for us."

Silk Destroying King smiled, "I know what they're thinking. The advancement won't come too suddenly. After all, they have been trying for thousands of years. It won't happen now just because they want it to happen. And even if they manage to advance, we still have an alternative. Just find a relatively powerful minor realm and focus our surviving forces there. Defend with all we have. Even Pseudo Emperors might not be able to fully wipe us out. We won't be subjected to any suppression while they will.

"I only have several questions. After a Pseudo Emperor advances, will they become an Emperor? Also, does the suppressive force even work against Emperors? And will they be strong enough to directly crack the minor realm open from the outside? Finally, a large portion of our Eternals have affirmed their dao in the Human Realm. If the Human Realm is destroyed, can our Eternals survive? Can we even defend ourselves against them?"

"So you're pro-war?"

Silk Destroying King said, "Strictly speaking, no. I understand our current situation. We won't be able to win a war in our current state. But we can't fully submit, right? It's fine to bow every now and then. Back when I fought the Silkwyrm King, I wasn't his match as well. It doesn't matter. Things can always change. Look at how things are now. He's the one hiding because he's no longer my match. You bend over now so you can bend others over in the future. You can't bend over forever..."

The two finally understood his stance. He did not support an all-out war, but he supported smaller wars to test the strength of the enemies.

It would also be preferable if the battles were fought between Invincibles and not only common soldiers.

Silk Destroying King said, "Also, things are too chaotic right now. Can the soldiers on the frontlines still stay united? I am actually very disappointed with the voting result. There probably won't be any war happening. The pro-war Invincibles have dropped considerably in number. Excluding the votes of the weaponsmiths and the Xia Family, there were only eleven votes. I voted for the second option as well. Without me, they would only have ten votes..."

He shook his head with disappointment and sighed, "Out of thirty-six prefectures and two holy lands, only ten of them supported the Xia Family. There is no doubt that the pro-war prefectures like Great Qin and Great Tang are supporting them. Great Wu is supporting them as well, but Great Wu King is dead so their support is pointless. There are far fewer Invincibles willing to fight than expected."

"Very few of us are willing to fight anymore. If this continues, what can humanity achieve even if we can drag this out for a hundred years?"

Great Han King frowned, "You voted for the Xia Family?"

"Yeah."

Great Han King and Great Song King nodded. That actually wasn't too surprising. This fellow had a fiery temper as well. He wouldn't have fought the Silkwyrm King for so many years otherwise. In that case, the support for war had indeed dwindled considerably.

Great Wu's Invincible was dead. So their support did not even count. After a slight hesitation, Great Han King asked, "What did Great Qi, Great Wei, and Great Chen choose?"

Those were also prefectures with dead Invincibles. Including Great Wu, there were four prefectures without Invincibles. Their support did not mean much in this matter. Chapters fırst released on NoveI★Fire.net

"Two of them voted for war while the other two voted for peace. It's a tie between them."

Silk Destroying King did not lie about that.

Great Han King said nothing else. In that case, of the thirteen votes the Xia Family received, quite a lot of them couldn't be counted on. The votes from the two prefectures without Invincibles did not count. Excluding the votes of the Xia Family and Silk Destroying King, they only received the support of eight prefectures.

"What about the War Shrine?"

"They naturally voted for the Xia Family."

"Sigh."

What else could they say? After removing the War Shrine's vote, Great Xia only had the support of seven prefectures. Great Han King could easily guess which prefectures those were.

This was actually not surprising for many people. The peace faction had gained the absolute upper hand.

After a short chat, Great Song King asked, "Silk Destroying, who did you send your voice transmission to at the very end?"

"How is that your business?"

"Don't misunderstand me." Great Song King said, "I'm just curious. That brat...is Cui Lang, right? He felt...somewhat related to me."

Out of the ten Invincible notes Su Yu had received, eight of them came from the eight families, one of them came from Great Han King, and one came from Great Song King. The Song Family was not one of the eight families, but Great Song King had written a few notes before leaving them in the Knowledge Seeking Realm. They were meant to be used as rewards for meritorious individuals.

Silk Destroying King did not reply. Great Han King said, "If he's Cui Lang, he's Cui Lang. I also sensed a tiny bit of my legacy on him."

Silk Destroying King was left even more speechless. He remained silent. With the Time technique and the legacies of the two other Invincibles on a single person, wasn't it obvious who Cui Lang was?

It was understandable that he couldn't hide from their senses. They were close to each other and Su Yu was still too weak. He was only a Skysoar.

If he had a higher level of cultivation, the Invincibles wouldn't have been able to see through his disguise so easily. Alas, he was weak and in the presence of three Invincibles. The three were able to sense his presence even when they weren't paying direct attention to him.

The three Invincibles ended their conversation and vanished into thin air. Cui Lang or Su Yu, that wasn't something they should focus on for now. Even with the rumors that he had an Invincible ruin in his possession, a ruin was still only that, a ruin. It did not guarantee the rise of an Invincible.

Chapter 817: Too Outstanding To Not Shine (2)

The three Invincibles had departed, but Su Yu was still feeling alarmed. They noticed him? Invincibles were indeed much more powerful than he had imagined. He had merely given Silk Destroying King a second glance when the Time technique was being used. Silk Destroying King had actually detected him through that.

As for Silk Destroying King's words, he only needed to keep them in mind instead of thinking too much about them. Right at that moment, one Sunmoon after another entered the room. All of them were the experts of Great Xia.

Marquis Xia was also among them. The usual smile on his face was gone, replaced by a cold expression. He said, "Zhou Pochong, you guys are useless when it matters. You guys are completely powerless against the Myriad Race Cult. But you sure seem quite capable when it comes to targeting my people. Even if there is solid proof that Chen Yong is a criminal, it is not your place to tell us what to do."

Zhou Pochong said, "Xiao'er, I am only here to ensure justice. If someone can be spared even after killing military officials, what manner of crime does one need to commit to be punished?" The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel✶fire.net

"Don't bother putting on this act in front of me." Marquis Xia coldly said, "You can fuck off now. Leave Great Xiea immediately or I'll stop being polite."

He then looked at the others and said, "The show is over. Shouldn't all of you fuck off from Great Xia? Don't test our patience again and again. The Xia Family's blade has not been broken."

Zhou Pochong sighed, "You're too rash. We're not targeting the Xia Family. Why must you reach that conclusion? It is everyone's wish to maintain the status quo and peace. Marquis Xia, I hope you can consider your actions properly."

Marquis Xia maintained a cold expression and gave no reply.

Zhou Pochong shook his head and started walking away. While walking, he said, "You should stop turning a blind eye to the general trend. Neither of us are doing this for selfish reasons. We both want the best for humanity. Do you think those Invincibles are all blind? Look properly. Most of your supporters are warriors. And it is understandable that warriors have different pursuits than us. Yes, the Xia Family is a warrior family, but Great Xia is also the root of the multiple character faction. In fact, the multiple character faction can even acknowledge the Xia Family as their leader."

Marquis Xia remained silent. He understood what Zhou Pochong was hinting at. The multiple character faction Zhou Pochong mentioned was not the current multiple character faction or even Hong Tan's line. Rather, he was referring to an entirely different group of people.

Then, Zhou Pochong looked at Hong Tan. With a complicated expression, he said, "Nobody wishes to target anyone. However...we walk different paths. We all have different pursuits. Hong Tan, the disassembly method might not necessarily be able to strengthen the multiple character faction. Perhaps it will be the start of the end."

"I don't need your advice." Hong Tan coldly said, "Even bugs will try their best to keep living. And we...are not mere bugs."

"Fine. Do what you want."

Zhou Pochong left the room and flew away. The Sunmoons around Yuan Qingdong also started leaving one after another.

***

More and more people left.

Finally, Marquis Xia walked over to see the weaponsmiths off. He was very courteous with them, completely unlike his attitude when he was facing Zhou Pochong. Next, he invited Cui Lang to a private conversation. The others weren't surprised to see that. It wasn't weird for Marquis Xia to try to rope in a newly emerged genius weaponsmith.

When they were finally alone, Marquis Xia looked at Su Yu and sighed, "It is fortunate that you didn't ruin my plan."

"I don't understand what you're talking about, Marquis."

Marquis Xia ignored the remark and said, "Try to leave as fast as you can. This has turned into a dangerous place. I told you the same before. Don't stay here for too long."

After a long silence, Su Yu asked, "How about them?"

He was referring to Hong Tan and the others.

"They won't be able to leave." Marquis Xia said, "They are the root of this whole thing. Chaos will follow wherever they go."

Su Yu sank into silence. After a while, he said, "I came to understand a lot of things today. I only want to ask one question. If I hadn't created so many troubles, would the overall situation be less intense?"

Marquis Xia laughed, "So you agree that you're a troublemaker?"

"Not really. I only did all that to help myself. You guys had your own plans while I had my own plans as well. I was unaware of what you were planning. Thus, I can't be blamed even if my actions did end up ruining any of your plans. I only feel like without my interference, Elder Chen might not have done all that."

Marquis Xia said, "He has been holding a deep grievance against those people. His actions...have nothing to do with you. From the day Liu Wenyan left Nanyuan...no, from the day he was forced to become a Skysoar in Nanyuan, chaos has started approaching us."

That attack on Nanyuan was the trigger for everything that had happened. Liu Wenyan's advancement had started the countdown to chaos. Everyone had lost their patience after fifty years. They were unwilling to wait anymore.

Marquis Xia said, "But you did accelerate the process. It wasn't supposed to happen so fast. It should have happened two years in the future. I wouldn't have need to assume the position of acting prefect otherwise. Do you understand?"

Su Yu nodded and said nothing.

Marquis Xia said, "Don't overestimate your ability to hide. A lot of people noticed you. With the high-profile manner you have been acting, it's only a matter of time before more people see through your disguise. Hurry up and leave Great Xia. You should return to Great Ming."

Su Yu gloomily said, "So be it. I have one more question. Why did my house turn into a public display unit that everyone could enter?"

Marquis Xia said, "It's just an empty building. It doesn't matter if those people want to enter."

Su Yu clenched his fists.

Marquis Xia smiled, "Are you unhappy about that? Stop showing me that face. If we don't allow them to enter your house, how are they supposed to discover the ruin? Sooner or later, a ruin will appear in Nanyuan."

Su Yu's eyes flickered. A ruin would appear?

Marquis Xia beamed, "If we refuse to even open up your house, a lot of people won't have the interest to enter Nanyuan. That would be boring. If you lose the building, so be it. People make a place a home, not a building. Without your family around, that will be nothing but an empty building. If you're that unhappy about it, I can compensate you with a new house."

Su Yu clenched his teeth and said, "That was the place I grew up at. I spent more than ten years with my father there. It contained my youth..."

"Tsk, tsk." Marquis Xia laughed, "So you're still a brat, after all. Fine, fine. Just remember the grudge. I don't care. I'll be waiting for you to come take your revenge against me when you're strong enough. Hahaha!"

"You—"

Su Yu was furious. But Marquis Xia did not seem to care. He laughed and said, "Why haven't you been releasing any new cultivation methods recently? To be honest, I have been waiting to see you grow even more famous. It's getting boring now that you're no longer releasing new cultivation methods. And after what you did in Nanyuan, it will see fewer visitors from now on. We can't allow that to happen.

"Your home has been ruined. And you have killed some people to vent your anger. Why don't you release more cultivation methods? The more powerful your ruin seems, the better it is. It would be even better if could attract the interest of Invincibles. Wouldn't that be fun?"

Su Yu frowned. Catching the attention of Invincibles?

Marquis Xia narrowed his eyes and said, "In truth, I have higher expectations on you compared to Hong Tan. If you're going to remain in Great Xia...tsk tsk. You could be an even bigger bait than Hong Tan. You would definitely be able to attract even more attention."

"Why should I help you with that?"

"Why?"

Marquis Xia smiled and pointed in Hong Tan's direction with his chin and said, "To share some of the burden on them. I'm worried that the burden is so heavy that they are crushed. Why don't you take some of the weight off them? Are you interested?"

Su Yu clenched his teeth. Was this damn fatty so confident that he would agree?

Marquis Xia said, "You must be scolding me inwardly right now, but it's fine. Plenty of people do that to me so you're like a drop of water in the ocean. Do me a favor. How do you think we can make Nanyuan seem even more important than it is right now."

Su Yu sank into a long silence. Finally, he spoke, "Just what do you want to do, Marquis? Are you a friend or an enemy? Just what is the Xia Family's stance?"

Marquis Xia was all smiles as he said, "You don't have to worry about that. I only have one question. How do you think we can make people place more importance on Nanyuan?"

Su Yu frowned for a long while before answering, "A leakage of heavenly source qi, convincing everyone that a hidden heavenly source qi holy land exists in Nanyuan."

"..."

Marquis Xia was completely stunned. Su Yu then turned around and walked away. His voice rang out, "I'm used to a life of adventure. Thank you for the offer, Marquis Xia."

A lot of people heard that. They looked over with a knowing smile. They knew that this would be the result. How could Cui Lang be recruited so easily? Meanwhile, Marquis Xia's eyes flickered. Heavenly source qi! Holy land!

But he didn't have enough heavenly source qi to create something like that. Was this kid saying that he had enough heavenly source qi to create a fake holy land?

"So you have a large supply of heavenly source qi? Consider selling me some. A hundred merit points per heavenly source fruit. What do you think about that offer?"

Su Yu didn't even deign to give a reply.

"Five hundred? Do it to lift some burden off the shoulders of your teacher and grandteacher?

"Alright, a thousand merit points. I will get a thousand heavenly source fruits from you. Do you have that many?

"Fine, fine. Two thousand. I can't offer more than that!"

Seeing that Su Yu was still ignoring him, Marquis Xia sighed and sent another voice transmission, "I'm going to die soon. Your teacher and the others are going to die soon too. The future belongs to youngsters like you. Money is an external object. I don't mind giving you more. Money really isn't that important. But for the things we're going to do, we need a lot of money. Kid, can you consider becoming our sponsor?"

Su Yu turned around and stared at Marquis Xia with an unfriendly gaze.

"Don't look at me. Remember your disguise."

Marquis Xia said, "People of our generation has failed at sweeping through the world and suppressing the Myriad Realms. I doubt we will ever be able to achieve that. Our hope lies in your generation. Naturally, we won't die before doing anything. We will pave the way to a brighter future for you guys. Kid, it's fine to support a great man like me, right?"

"..."

Su Yu didn't know if this fatty was speaking the truth. He kept feeling like the marquis was scamming him.

Marquis Xia continued, "We have a grand plan. If the plan succeeds, you guys will feel great. At the very least, your life will be much better than those of our generation. Of course, any reform can only happen with blood as the price. I am going to die soon. Longwu will die soon. That old man of mine might also die soon. A lot of people will die soon. Your teachers, your grandteacher, and people like Wan Tiansheng. All of them will die soon. Great heroes like us are in need of some heavenly source qi. Kid, can you supply us with some heavenly source qi?"

The more Su Yu listened, the more he felt like this damn fatty was scamming him. He decided to ignore the marquis. He would consider his options in the future. In any case, it didn't look like they were going to carry out the so-called plan anytime soon.

Marquis Xia sent another voice transmission, "Alright, we can put the matter about the heavenly source qi aside for now. I need to give you a reminder. If you want to enter the Allheaven Battlefield, you better do that after becoming a Cloudbreach or even a Mountainsea. Also, you reek of blood. Consume less blood. It's not obvious when you're far away. But the moment someone approaches you, they can't avoid noticing the strong stench of blood on you."

Su Yu was slightly shaken. Marquis Xia's continued speaking, "You can consider visiting Great Jin. They have a Heart Calming Spring there. Go and soak in the spring for a few days. That will be enough to cleanse yourself from the stench of blood. Your very bones are currently reeking of blood."

Su Yu kept that matter in mind. He had never thought of that before. He didn't know if Niu Baidao and the others weren't sensitive enough to sense the stench of blood on him or they had merely been indifferent about it. In any case, they had not spoken about this to him before.

***

After Marquis Xia left, silence descended on the Discipline Hall. At this time, Su Yu had finally walked out of the Discipline Hall. There, the weaponsmiths were bidding each other farewell. They were planning to depart from Great Xia.

When Hu Qi saw Su Yu, she smiled and asked, "Cui Lang, are you going back with us?"

"No. I still want to have some fun outside. Teacher Hu, you guys can return without me."

"Fine. Be careful when you're traveling."

Hu Qi did not say anything else apart from reminding him to watch his back.

At this time, Xia Huyou walked over and smiled, "Brother Cui, do you want to stay in Great Xia for a few more days? For some reason, we get along very well. There are a lot of interesting and fun places in Great Xia you don't know about. We don't have a lot of entertainment in Great Xia, but we also have a unique environment and culture you can't find anywhere else. Are you interested, Brother Cui? I invited a lot of Invincible descendants to stay behind as well. A few days later, a group of divine and devil beauties will also arrive. Why don't you stay a few more days here?"

Su Yu's eyes flickered when he heard that. He pasted the usual flippant smile on his face and asked, "Really? The divine and devil students are arriving?"

"Yeah. They'll be here in a few days." Xia Huyou laughed, "We're decided, then. You will stay for a few more days. In all honestly, I love weaponsmithing as well. We can exchange some pointers with each other."

The surrounding weaponsmiths laughed when they heard that. This Xia brat sure was good at bluffing. But they were also quite happy with how much importance the Xia Family was putting on roping in a talented weaponsmith. Just look at that. Even Invincible descendants were fawning over weaponsmiths like them. They were feeling very smug.

Zhao Tianbing said, "Young Friend Cui, you should really consider staying for a few extra days. My junior brother is greatly appreciative of your talent. He has been in a bad mood as of late. Consider this a request from me. Can you stay for a few more days and interact more with him? If you happen to enter Great Zhou in your future travels, I will definitely give you a grand welcome to thank you for this!"

"In that case, I'll have to thank you in advance, Principal Zhao."

Su Yu cupped his fists and agreed. Zhao Tianbing then left with a happy smile. The other weaponsmiths also left in succession after they were done bidding each other farewell.

After everyone else left, Xia Huyou sent a voice transmission, "Don't run around randomly during your time here. Several people died in Nanyuan so some experts are heading over here. You might encounter them on the road and get into trouble. Leave when things calm down."

Su Yu nodded without saying anything. It would seem like the family members of the people he killed were here.

Great Jin...Heart Calming Spring...one of the people he killed seemed to come from Great Jin as well.

Soon, Xia Huyou started leading Su Yu somewhere. While walking, he said, "Brother Cui, why don't you stay in the academy during your time here? There are some empty villas in the Mental Tempering Garden. Are you fine with staying there? This will make it convenient with you to get in touch with everyone else. More Invincible descendants will be coming over during the next few days."

"That's a great arrangement."

Su Yu replied politely while stealing a glance at Hong Tan and the others who were leaving silently. He did not say anything to them.

Not far away.

Bai Feng sighed and said, "Looks like learning weaponsmithing and pillmaking are better. Teacher, did you see that? A mere profound weaponsmith is being treated like a VIP. I feel like even my status isn't as high as his. Also, Old Zhao felt a lot more important than you after his breakthrough."

Hong Tan glanced at his student. Was this fellow trying to court death with his mouth again? He then glanced at the distant Su Yu and raised his brow, "That kid feels dangerous."

"Hmm?"

"The killing intent on him is too strong. Of course, you won't be able to sense it since you're too weak."

At the same time, he was sending a voice transmission, "What do you feel when you see that kid?"

Bai Feng blanked out slightly and replied, "He gives off a sense of familiarity."

"Yeah."

Hong Tan did not say it but he felt the same as well. That sense of familiarity did not mean that they knew him. Rather, he might be carrying something extremely important for them on him.

What was going on?

Suddenly, a thought appeared in his mind: Character Technique Stele?

Hong Tan kept that to himself. He did not try to test anything. His mind must be playing tricks on him. After all, the Character Technique Stele was with Su Yu.

Chapter 818: Xia Huyou's Request (1)

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Mental Tempering Garden.

Inside a villa, Su Yu and Xia Huyou were drinking tea when Xia Huyou smiled and said, "It's boring to drink only tea. We are both adults. Why don't we drink some liquor?"

"Hmm?"

Su Yu looked at Xia Huyou in surprise. It wasn't that all cultivators would abstain from liquor, but young cultivators tend to avoid drinking to keep their minds sharp. It was more normal for old men to drink some liquor during gatherings.

"So?" Xia Huyou asked again.

Su Yu nodded.

Xia Huyou took out a jar of liquor from his storage ring and said, "I stole this from my second granduncle's secret stash. At first, he thought he lost it. This is an excellent hundred-year liquor. It tastes great."

"Did he not beat you to death for this?"

"He couldn't bring himself to do it. With me dead, who could succeed the Xia Family?"

Xia Huyou removed the cover of the jar, allowing the pleasant fragrance of the liquor to drift out. After pouring Su Yu a glass of liquor, he filled his glass as well. Then, he lifted his glass and clinked it against Su Yu's glass before draining it.

Su Yu emptied his glass without saying anything. Xia Huyou filled his glass again and said, "Brother, tell me the truth. In your eyes, are all Invincible descendants arrogant and domineering bastards who deserve death? Nine out of ten of them were probably deserving of death for one reason or another."

Su Yu said, "Nope. I don't harbor any malice toward the rich or the powerful. I only harbor malice toward those who have targeted me. And I will view those people with hostility regardless of their background."

Su Yu smiled and continued slowly, "I am a petty man. I have been like this since I was a kid. If you never offend me, I can't be bothered to make an enemy out of you. But if you offend me, even if I'm helpless right now, I'll deal with you in the future."

"Hahaha!" Xia Huyou said, "That's very straightforward of you. To be honest, you live a much more comfortable life than us. There are a lot of things people like us can't do even if we want to. For example, I have a lot of things I want to do. And I also have the power to do many of those things. But...I have too many misgivings. I need to take too many things into consideration. So I can't do anything.

"Just take what happened earlier as an example. That damn Zhou Pochong ran his mouth right after arriving. Was he even worthy of running his mouth against the Xia Family? I wanted to get someone to cut him down and get it over with. But no. I had to consider the consequences. Doing that would put the Xia Family in a lot of trouble.

"In the past, people like Zhou Pingsheng and Yu Hong had created numerous troubles. I really wanted to drag them all to the Myriad Race Pit and cut their heads off. But no, we had to consider the consequences. That would bring trouble for Great Xia. These days, not even Invincible families could kill without reason." The source of thɪs content is novel-fire.ɴet

Su Yu listened silently.

Xia Huyou downed yet another glass of liquor and sighed, "Brother, do you know why I invited you to drink with me today?"

"I don't know."

Su Yu lifted his glass and took a sip of the liquor within. It was mildly spicy, allowing him to focus better.

Xia Huyou inhaled deeply and said, "I need to get my hands on some things. And I need your help. Can you lend me your support?"

Su Yu raised his brow, "Are you asking for heavenly source qi?"

"Hmm?"

Xia Huyou blanked out. He stared at Su Yu in stupefaction. Was Su Yu capable of providing even something like that?

"..."

Su Yu also blanked out when he saw the reaction. Holy shit. So this fellow wasn't asking for that. Why did he talk like his damn second granduncle then?

The two stared at each other. After a long while, Xia Huyou blinked and madly nodded, "Exactly! That's what I need! How much heavenly source qi can you provide me? I can take all you have! The price won't be a problem!"

Su Yu opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say.

After a while, he rolled his eyes and said, "Go back to what you were about to say. What do you want?"

"That was what I wanted to say! Heavenly source qi!"

"Stop wasting time."

This was definitely not what he wanted to say earlier.

Xia Huyou laughed awkwardly. His expression returned to normal as he said, "It's nothing much. I only need a few cultivation methods. I don't even know if you have what I need. Firstly, I need something capable of stimulating one's body for a quick advancement with some side effects. There is no helping it since these cultivation methods always come with adverse effects. Secondly, I need some cooperative cultivation methods..."

He stopped to think before continuing, "Uhm...you know the soul devouring bugs, right? You even researched their cultivation method before. But that's not what I need. Rather, I need something that can be used in combination by numerous individuals...do you understand what I'm saying?"

Su Yu nodded, "Like the bugs, they can unleash great strength through quantity alone. When you have enough bugs, you can even kill a dragon. I know what you want."

Xia Huyou exhaled in relief and said, "Exactly. I need something that ten thousand people can use together and stack their strength on top of each other."

Su Yu did not give an answer. He asked, "Do you need anything else?"

"Of course." Xia Huyou nodded, "I also need something that can seal one's sea of willpower. Do you understand what I want? I want something that can allow one to completely seal their sea of willpower. They won't be cultivating their sea of willpower anyway. With this cultivation method, they can also be immune to any willpower attacks. Of course, such a cultivation method definitely comes with a lot of shortcomings, but it doesn't matter. I need it as well."

Su Yu thought for a bit and said, "To sum it up, you want something with fast advancement speed, with more strength when used as a team, and strong physical prowess with zero emphasis on willpower. Basically, you want strong meatshields."

"Yes, exactly."

Su Yu laughed and said, "The two holy lands are capable of producing fighters like that, right?"

"That's not enough. Their version is too weak." Xia Huyou shook his head, "I need something that can be cultivated to the Cloudbreach or even the Mountainsea Realm. When used in a team, it needs to be capable of killing Sunmoons. I won't dream of something that can kill Invincibles, but at the very least, it needs to be able to kill Sunmoons."

Su Yu sank into thought as he recalled all the cultivation methods he knew. After a long while, he said, "I have something similar. But it is very expensive to cultivate and comes at a great price. The cultivators of this method will be using their life force to fight. Someone that can live for five hundred years will die at a hundred years old or even earlier after cultivating this method."

"Yes! This is what I need!" Xia Huyou's eyes lit up as he said, "I don't care about the adverse effects!"

Su Yu said, "Your family has the Martial Dragon Guard. Why do you need something like this?"

"Yes, but I also need to build my own army. I also need this army built as soon as possible. As for the lifespan of these people, it doesn't matter. The Xia Family still has a lot of loyalists. I will compensate them enough for this service."

Su Yu frowned and said, "There are millions of soldiers in the Martial Dragon Guard, Devil Subduing Army, and Great Xia Army. Is that not enough for you?"

"Not at all." Xia Huyou gloomily said, "The Great Xia Army might be big, but it is weak. The Martial Dragon Guard is filled with talented youngsters. I don't want to ruin their future. I will be recruiting loyalists that are comparatively older with nothing in life to tie them down."

"Why are you making this sound like you're going to stage a coup?" Su Yu smirked and said, "Do you even have the money to raise an army like that?"

"I'm still quite wealthy."

Xia Huyou laughed. But soon, he raised his brow and said, "Brother, I also need something else. Can you support me? For example, some ability blood essence and heavenly source qi?"

"..."

Su Yu sneered and said, "You sure have a big appetite."

"It's nothing. I'm fat, so of course my appetite is big as well."

Xia Huyou beamed and said, "I can even pay for them. At worst, I'll owe you some money."

Su Yu gave Xia Huyou a deep gaze, emptied his glass, and exhaled before saying, "Is there a need for this?"

"Yes."

Xia Huyou also took some time to drink from his glass before answering, "I want to ensure the continuation of the Xia Family. I want Great Xia to remain forever. I don't want our prefecture to cease existing at my generation. My father, my second granduncle, and my great grandfather are all prepared for it."

Prepared for what? The destruction of Great Xia?

After a short silence, Su Yu nodded, "As long as you're paying, I can easily get this done. But I don't need money. I need blood essence. A large amount of blood essence."

Xia Huyou grimaced and asked, "Do you know some secret technique capable of extracting heavenly source qi from blood essence?"

"Guess." Su Yu smirked, "Do you want to try guessing?"

"Cough, cough. Forget it. I won't guess." Xia Huyou laughed, "I won't bother. It's pointless to guess something like this. I will also be needing these resources as I'll start body forging soon. I will take as much as you can provide. I only hope that I can rapidly forge a powerful private army. At the very least, I want to prevent the fate of having no army to use at the very end. I can even lead my army to go save you in the future when you need it."

"No thanks. I won't be needing that."

"Why are you saying that? With your temper, it's only a matter of time before you get yourself in trouble. At that time, I'll sweep in and save you with my army. Isn't that romantic?"

"..."

Seeing that Su Yu was staring at him silently, Xia Huyou grinned, "Don't look at me like this. I like women."

"Heh."

Su Yu sneered before returning to a serious topic, "Cut the crap. How did you recognize me?"

"It was so easy. The moment someone died in Nanyuan, we guessed that it was you. I knew it was you the moment my second granduncle told me about it. I was simply too lazy to expose you."

"You went looking for Old Zhao right after arriving. How could I not know what you were thinking? With Old Zhao's temper, would he meet just any random person? Looking highly upon the younger generation? What nonsense. He never bothered giving me a second look."

"That's because you're too garbage."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say." Xia Huyou laughed and continued drinking in silence. After a while, he said, "Tomorrow or the day after, the divine and devil beauties will arrive. Do you want me to introduce some to you?"

Su Yu stared at Xia Huyou silently.

Chapter 819: Xia Huyou's Request (2)

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With a smirk, Xia Huyou said, "How can Cui Lang be Cui Lang if he's not womanizing around? I also need to start messing around. I can no longer act like a harmless little fatty. I need to start acting like a prodigal young master who is also incredibly cunning. I might even start discussing an alliance by marriage with the immortals."

"Immortals?"

"Yes." Xia Huyou beamed, "Do you like immortal fairies? It would be cool to get one as your wife. My dad is going to be affirming his dao soon, right? It won't be nice to collude with the divines and devils so we might as well collude with the immortals. Brother, I might have an immortal fairy as a wife in the future. Humanity will object if I take a divine or a devil as my wife. But it will be hard for them to object if it's an immortal. Even people like Great Qin King won't have the proper reason to object. And the immortals will agree. They want to establish a foothold in the Human Realm. Isn't this the perfect chance for them?"

Su Yu frowned and said, "Immortal fairy? Their corpses do look quite good. I saw some before. Do you want to take a look as well? Also, they like to fart a lot. Are you sure you want one as your wife?"

"It doesn't matter what I want. I must do it." Xia Huyou narrowed his eyes and said, "If I could hook up with a few of them, it would be nice as well."

"Fine. Do what you want." Su Yu did not want to say anything about that. This wasn't Xia Huyou acting on his whim. Rather, he was scheming. Su Yu was not interested in getting involved.

"Do you want me to introduce some to you? During crucial moments, you can use this to save your life. You can even seek shelter in the Immortal Realm with this opportunity."

"No thanks."

"You're boring." Xia Huyou laughed, "Do you want me to do anything for you? It's inconvenient for you to do anything right now."

Su Yu tossed a storage ring over and said, "After I leave, hand it to my teacher. Don't do it now. I don't want my teacher to lose his confidence after seeing the contents in the ring."

Xia Huyou laughed, "Sure, I can do it. Anything else?"

"Gather some information about the people my martial uncle killed. I also want the names of everyone who had entered my house and information about what they did there. Also, give me a complete list of all ancient races in existence."

Xia Huyou frowned, "Are you going to the Allheaven Battlefield?"

"You can't live a long life if you're too smart."

Xia Huyou did not seem to mind. He said, "Are you going to use the same trick and leave with a disguise? If so, you better use the identity of someone real who has gone missing but not dead. And that person also must be a genius that the myriad races are aware of."

Su Yu stared at Xia Huyou with a frown.

Xia Huyou nonchalantly said, "Why are you looking at me like that? Is this so hard to guess? If you're planning to disguise yourself as a random genius, forget about it. Things aren't so simple. Do you think you're the only smart person in existence? Do you think you're the only person capable of disguising yourself? Do you think nobody tried this in the past? All these people had eventually exposed themselves or died. It won't be that easy. Also, ancient races are the hardest to imitate. All of them have exclusive abilities. Are you thinking of using ability blood essence for your disguise? Well, I guess that is quite helpful.

"You better pick a race that is allied to the divines or devils. Your life will still be hard if you pick a race that is their enemy. I can gather some information for you. However, the actual relationships between the various races are not public knowledge. If you really have no choice..."

He narrowed his eyes and said, "I'll think of a way for you. Most large families have some backup plans. For example, they will all have some races as their secret allies they can send their juniors over to seek refuge when absolutely necessary. These large families have long prepared for all sorts of scenarios. Thus, they all have some usable secret identities in the Allheaven Battlefield. Of course, it isn't necessarily a good idea to use these secret identities. After all, you never know if these secret allies will stab you in the back."

The two continued drinking in silence. After a while, Su Yu sighed and said, "I shouldn't have talked with you about this. You sure have a smart brain. You never spoke so bluntly with me in the past. What's going on? Have you decided to throw caution to the wind?"

Xia Huyou shook his head, "I only want you to know that there are a lot of smart people around. You were too careless. Any opening will give someone the chance to see through you. Do you think that your disguise is still fully hidden? I think more than ten people are already aware of your disguise. Fortunately, your enemies still don't know you that well. If they actually understand you as well as us, they will discover you in no time."

Su Yu nodded, "The fault lies in my weak strength. It's still down to a matter of strength. If I'm stronger, I will be able to hide better."

"You're already quite strong."

Xia Huyou didn't know what else he should say. Why was this fellow still claiming to be weak? If this person was weak, should he kill himself out of shame? After all, he was far weaker than this fellow.

"Also, try not to form any characters related to Invincibles or use any arts related to them. That will also make it easy for them to see through your disguise. Invincibles are much stronger than you imagine. If you're injured, do not leave anything behind. Not even a drop of blood. You saw it yourself during the trial. Invincibles are capable of reproducing the past. You won't be able to hide anything from them. Elder Chen is a lot more capable than you at this."

After a slight hesitation, Xia Huyou added, "Also, I'll give you a list of names for you. Those are the people he might kill next. If you can, try to get in touch with him. Tell him to not walk into a trap knowingly. There are a lot of smart people around. It's easy for some people to see that all the dead experts had the blood of some multiple character factions in their hands."

Su Yu nodded and sighed. Sure enough, the situation in the Human Realm was a lot more complicated than he thought. There were way too many people who were actually aware of what was happening but were merely pretending to be clueless.

These people were either unrelated to these matters or had their own separate plans. Thus, staying ignorant was beneficial for them. Most people knew that Chen Yong was the murderer. They had probably found out the reason behind these murders as well. They were probably also aware of the list of people that would die next.

Also, Invincible characters could be detected by Invincibles...in that case, did Great Han King and Great Song King see through him earlier as well? Silk Destroying King was clearly aware of his disguise. How about the other two?

Once again, Su Yu sighed. Sure enough, someone as excellent as him would not be able to stop shining no matter where he went.

The two continued drinking while talking about various topics. After a while, Xia Huyou hiccuped and said, "One last thing. I need to remind you to not see your father when you enter the Allheaven Battlefield. He is under constant monitoring. Some people are even suspecting that he's aware of your secret ruin. Don't visit Instructor Liu as well. Even if you approach them with a different identity, you will still attract many eyes. If they use their brain for a bit, they might end up guessing your identity. And with your identity exposed, you might not be able to leave the Allheaven Battlefield anymore."

Su Yu frowned, "Is it so serious?" Thɪs chapter is updated by NoveI-Fire.ɴet

"What a stupid question." Xia Huyou said, "But if you must meet them...it's not like you have no way of doing so. You should do the meeting openly instead of secretly. You're Cui Lang, right? Just say that you're Su Yu's friend. Or you can use Zhu Tiandao as an excuse. Just say that you're there under his orders. Anything is better than trying to meet secretly. But of course, not seeing them at all is the best option."

Su Yu nodded. He would decide what to do according to the circumstances. He couldn't promise anything since meeting his father was one of the reasons he had decided to leave Great Ming.

"I have nothing else to say. Great Xia will remain peaceful for a bit. Don't worry. Your teacher and the others will remain safe."

After some hesitation, he added, "As for your senior sister, I suggest sending her to Great Ming. She can stay there with Nostril Woman. It's pointless for her to stay here. She won't be happy and she will also burden the others."

Su Yu thought about it and said, "I'm worried that she won't agree to leave."

"Therefore, you need to persuade her yourself. Just give her grand promises. Just bluff and tell her that after going there, she can become a Skysoar in three months, a Cloudbreach in one year, a Mountainsea in three years, a Sunmoon in five years, and an Invincible in ten years. I'm confident in your ability to lie."

"Screw you!" Su Yu laughed.

No way. He was an honest man. Uhm...yeah. He couldn't even convince himself that he was not a liar anymore.

After some time, Xia Huyou left. Before leaving, he promised to supply Su Yu with a large amount of blood essence. But he also needed a supply of some heavenly source qi or some other useful resources he needed.

Su Yu was frowning alone in the villa. He did not talk about it previously, but Xia Huyou was actually building a private army. Why? Did he believe that Great Xia would eventually lose all their armies to sheer casualties? Or was he simply worried that the Martial Dragon Guard would turn disobedient toward him in the end?

Su Yu had understood a part of Xia Family's plan after the hints given by Marquis Xia and Xia Huyou. He could only sigh and forget about this matter for now. He should return his focus to his cultivation.

He had gained a lot from this weaponsmithing session. His body had reached ten forgings. He had also gained two new characters. The vibrate character was a natural character while the meld character was gained from an Invincible note.

After so many days of weaponsmithing, his willpower had also grown stronger. His Soul Expanding Hammer felt much stronger than before. He had even forged a peak profound cultural weapon for himself.

All in all, he had gained a massive increase in strength. He was much stronger than he was during the assassination of the ninth-stage Cloudbreach in Nanyuan.

On the next day, Su Yu took a stroll in the city with Xia Huyou. And sure enough, he saw many descendants of experts in the city. Some of them would be the students of Hong Tan's Multiple Character Faculty at the start of the next semester.

Su Yu wasn't too interested in these people, and that was also how he behaved. He would spend more time talking about beauties with those willing to engage in that topic. As for those uninterested in that topic, he wouldn't waste any time on them either.

And after several days, these descendants of experts also figured out the nature of this so-called Cui Lang.

That was an arrogant person, but he wasn't too crazily arrogant. He loved talking about beauties. It didn't matter who you were. As long as you were willing to talk about beauties, he would spend some time with you. He had no interest in serious and grand topics.

During the day, Su Yu would spend his time roaming the city. And during the night, he would spent his time extracting blood essence and forging his body. He was also constantly tempering his willpower.

Great Xia had transformed into a bomb. It had yet to detonate, and Su Yu was still too weak to get involved in the coming events of Great Xia. But he had a brilliant solution for that. He only needed to grow strong enough as fast as possible.

Not participating was not an option for him. After all, the core of the coming events was Hong Tan and company. These people would act as the fuse to light everything up. Even Xia Huyou was able to sense the thick smell of crisis in the air. Su Yu could naturally sense it as well.

On the third day, Su Yu started preparing to leave. That was the same day the divine and devil students would arrive.

Chapter 820: Xia Huyou's Request (3)

Restore scroll position

5th of June.

Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.

Today, the students of various large families would arrive at the academy. A lot of people were present to enjoy the bustle. Su Yu was also there, mixed among the crowd. The myriad race students had yet to arrive. He also saw a familiar face in the crowd.

He wanted to ignore that fellow, but alas, that person was too astute to simply dismiss. That person walked up to him and started a conversation, leaving him with no choice but to reply.

"Brother Cui!" Liu Hong had a wide smile on his face, "Are you here to see the myriad race students as well? Since you're not familiar with this place, do you want me to show you the way?"

"Who are you?"

"Brother Cui, have you forgotten me? Back then, we had some interactions with each other. I'm Liu Hong. Do you remember me?"

Su Yu babbled a random reply, "Oh, yeah. Brother Liu. A few years ago, we visited the Read Pleasure House together. Are you the guy who promised to pay the bill and went back on his words?"

Liu Hong laughed awkwardly. Damn this bastard. Did he remember wrongly?

Then again, that wouldn't be too surprising. After all, the two had only met once before. He was only here to build a stronger relationship with this promising weaponsmith. It didn't matter if they weren't close in the past. Thus, he said, "Yes, exactly. You have a good memory, Brother Cui!"

Su Yu was left speechless. How could this fellow admit to that? This guy was as shameless as ever.

"Do you need anything from me, Brother Liu?"

"No. I'm only here to greet you. I was worried that you would need some introduction since you don't know this place well."

As the two walked, Liu Hong said, "Since you're asking, Brother Cui, are you interested in forging a peak profound cultural weapon? I know someone who is buying. You live the life of a free adventurer, but you need some money for your travels, right? That would only make your travels more comfortable."

"Not interested."

"Wait!" Liu Hong hurriedly said, "Brother Cui, since you're not interested in money, how about women? I know where you can find some nice working ladies..."

"Are you paying?" Su Yu glanced at Liu Hong and said, "Don't bother. I'm a lazy man. I don't plan on selling my services. That's too boring."

Liu Hong looked around and softly said, "Brother Cui, I know that wealth doesn't interest you. But I have something you will most definitely be interested in."

"What is it?"

"Luminous Domain Mansion's map!" Liu Hong whispered, "Are you interested? Great Ming had explored that place before, but their people were either weak or cowardly. Thus, they have not explored the place to a large degree like Great Xia. Cui Lang, you're not even forty. With your strength, you might be able to participate in the next opening. My map is the top secret edition of Great Xia. An ordinary person won't be able to get a copy of it..."

"Oh?" Su Yu said, "I'll ask for the map from Xia Huyou. He will agree easily. The Xia Family is trying to rope me in. I'm not dumb. Why do I need to buy it from you? I don't even have a way to verify the authenticity of the map you have. Do I look like a fool, Brother Liu?"

Liu Hong had an awkward expression while he cursed inwardly. This damn whale was too damn hard to scam!

"Are you interested in forging me a peak profound cultural weapon, Brother Cui? Name your price. I will agree to it as long as it's something within my ability to provide."

Su Yu shot Liu Hong another glance. So this was his real goal. Peak profound cultural weapon. Very few people in Great Xia could forge such a weapon. It wasn't surprising that Liu Hong couldn't get his hands on one.

Both Zhao Li and Elder Chen had the ability to forge such weapons, but Zhao Li was too much of an eccentric while Elder Chen was too hard to meet. Thus, Cui Lang would be the best option if Liu Hong wanted to try his luck.

"Not interested. That's not my job. I only forge weapons as a hobby. I don't do it as a job."

Those were hurtful words. Liu Hong was feeling very helpless. Su Yu ignored Liu Hong and continued walking. At that moment, more and more people could be seen in front of him.

A large number of guards were there to part the gathered students and open up a path. The Martial Dragon Guard was there as well. A large carriage could be seen parked in front of the crowd. A group of people were coming out of the carriage.

People of both genders could be seen among them. And each of them looked incomparably young.

Su Yu could also sense the existence of some experts in the carriage. These individuals were remaining in the carriage. There were probably Mountainseas and even Sunmoons among them.

Compared to the previous batch of foreign students, this batch was of a much higher level. They came from numerous powerful races, including even some from the top hundred races. The newcomers stood loftily facing the local students. They were all extremely good-looking, and each of them emanated a heroic disposition.

From their auras, they were also extremely strong. Not one of them was at the Great Strength or Infinite Strength Realm. A lot of them were Skysoars, and some even felt like Cloudbreaches.

Su Yu was feeling very doubtful. Why were there so many experts among them? Were the myriad races not afraid of losing these young elites here? These were most definitely among the best the myriad races had to offer.

While Su Yu was deep in thought, a sturdy youth with a pair of horns on his head looked in Su Yu's direction doubtfully. His gaze did not settle on Su Yu. Rather, he focused on some of the genius students there.

"Hmph!"

The youth proceeded to snort unhappily. Su Yu observed that student for a bit and reached a conclusion: someone from the race who had supplied the largest amount of blood essence to him was here.

A mountainbreak bull! As for the reason for that fellow to focus on the genius students, that was because most of these geniuses had forged their bodies with mountainbreak bull blood essence at the Great Strength Realm. It was also quite popular to continue using the mountainbreak bull blood essence at the Skysoar Realm.

The sturdy youth had an unsightly expression. Beside him, an incredibly delicate youth laughed mockingly and said, "Stop snorting, little bull. It's pointless. Your race's blood essence is too useful. The humans love using it for body forging."

The sturdy youth ignored the provocation. The newcomers started looking around. Some of them sneered with disdain as they looked at the human while some remained completely aloof.

"Great Xia Cultural Research Academy...one of the three greatest cultural research academies of humanity?"

Those words were laced with contempt. Updates are released by novel⦿fire.net

"What did you just say?"

Some of the local students were offended by that. They started yelling at the newcomers fiercely. The people of Great Xia were greatly hostile toward the divines and devils. Thus, the mere sight of these divine and devil students filled with fury.

"Heh."

The same youth who had spoken merely laughed with contempt before releasing a burst of incomparably powerful aura. The nearby local students were instantly forced to take several steps back while their faces were flushed red from the sheer pressure of the aura. Their faces turned unsightly.

"What are you doing?"

Right at this moment, someone else arrived. It was Xia Huyou, who had taken a break from roaming the city with Su Yu today. He had a group of people behind him. With a friendly smile, he said, "Greetings, fellow students from the myriad races. I am Xia Huyou. I am in charge of welcoming all of you today."

"Xia Huyou? Someone from the Xia Family?"

"The crown prince of Xia Family?"

"The son of Carnage King?"

That instantly attracted the attention of all the other myriad race students. They were quite surprised. How was this Xia Longwu's son?

One ought to know that Xia Longwu was very infamous among the myriad races. He was known as a merciless butcher. Even some of the myriad race Invincibles would look fearful whenever they spoke of him. Nobody dared to allow him to complete his dao affirmation.

And this was his son? Someone who wasn't even a Skysoar? And the appearance of this son was also completely different from what they had imagined.

Xia Huyou laughed and said, "Everyone, since you're here, we're all family. Stop messing around. A feast has been prepared to welcome all of you. I believe none of you are here just to pick a fight for no reason, right?"

"All of you are here with your respective goals. Don't let anything distract you from your goals." He then looked at a cloaked woman among the crowd and said, "This must be a student from the immortal race. I have been looking forward to meeting you. Everyone, allow me to show you the way to the Foreign Students Faculty."

At this moment, a handsome youth with long, gold hair spoke toyingly, "Crown Prince Xia, do we even need to enter that faculty? We are here under Great Xia's invitation to join the Multiple Character Faculty."

Xia Huyou said, "Is this a friend from the divine race? There is no rush for that. The Multiple Character Faculty hasn't even opened yet. You need to wait a while for that. It will only open officially around two months from now. At that time, you are naturally free to join that faculty."

Some of the human students snorted unhappily. Why was Xia Huyou being so friendly toward a divine? What an embarrassment. They were greatly dissatisfied with this heir of Xia Family.

Xia Huyou did not seem to mind. The youth from the divine race said, "Great Xia...seems more lax than expected. In any other race, someone with the status of Crown Prince Xia would never be disrespected like this."

Xia Huyou laughed heartily and said, "It's fine. The Xia Family does not care about things like this. Everyone, let's go. Stop standing around. All of you must be tired from the long journey."

He led the group away. The carriage did not stop. It continued moving toward the Foreign Students Faculty. Inside the carriage, numerous experts were seated silently. Each of them had a different look in their eyes.

Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, Great Xia, Human Realm.

Some of these experts had been here before. For them, this was a revisit to a familiar place, so the experience felt rather unique. Back then, they were here as invaders. Eventually, they were kicked out by the human race. But now, the same humanity that had defeated them was welcoming them back. The Human Realm...had clearly changed.

"Three hundred years of peace...heh..."

Some of them sneered. This was how humans were. Without external threats, they started losing their spine. Now, even the most brutal of all prefectures, Great Xia, had chosen to compromise.

Would Great Qin be the next prefecture to compromise? Finally, one of the two stubborn prefectures had collapsed.

"Carnage King is absent..."

One of them smiled toyingly. That fellow wasn't around.

"Great Xia's multiple character faction, the root of Ye Batian. Will Great Xia produce a second Ye Batian?"

Some people continued saying similar words while some remained silent. None of these people was here with kind intentions. If they could get something nice out of Great Xia, it would be even better.

Outside the carriage.

Su Yu looked at the departing carriage with his arms crossed. After they left, he smiled and remarked, "The divine and devil beauties aren't that impressive. The ones I saw back when I visited the Allheaven Battlefield were better. The quality of this batch is pretty bad."

The surrounding human soldiers couldn't help but cheer for him. Well said.

Sure, he was only commenting on the women in the group, but all of them could only swallow their anger in silence. Cui Lang was the only one with the courage to say that about the myriad race students. They felt pretty good hearing those words.

Su Yu shot another glance at the distant carriage and smiled again. So many of them had arrived. But how many of them could leave with their lives? He inwardly wished them the best of luck.