Chapter 131: Reaching an Agreement (1)
In a store downstairs.
Bedding, towel, broom, toothbrush, toothpaste, and so on. After picking everything he wanted, it was time for Su Yu to pay up. The price was driving him crazy. He had spent nearly 3,000 dollars for all that. After that purchase, he only had around 2,000 dollars left.
And that was after picking only the cheaper options. If he had picked the more expensive ones, he would probably need to spend some merit points instead. While he was shopping, Xia Huyou was walking around in the store as well.
When Su Yu was done with his purchase, he heard Xia Huyou talking to the shopkeeper, "Deliver a set of everything I picked to the rooms I told you."
"Sure." The shopkeeper agreed merrily. With a hearty laugh, he said, "28 merit points in total. I won't forget deliveries."
Su Yu glanced at Xia Huyou. He had made a bulk purchase, buying 28 sets of necessities at once and was even given a discount by the shopkeeper. After all, this was not the only store in the area. There were three of them in the Mental Tempering Garden.
"Deliver his stuff as well..." Xia Huyou pointed at Su Yu and smiled, "Don't worry. I'm not charging you. Don't be so cautious. Student Su Yu, when away from home, you have to rely on friends. Any extra friend you make is the same as gaining an extra path to walk. Why refuse everything I offer?"
"It's ok. I can carry my stuff myself."
"Aren't you going to get a meal? You still need to come down after going up." Xia Huyou smiled and said, "You are probably not familiar with this place, right? Don't look for the wrong place to eat and get yourself scammed. That way, you would lose even more."
Su Yu was still cautious. After walking out of the store, he feigned indifference and asked, "You know the academy well?"
"Kind of. I visited a few times before." Xia Huyou flashed his honest smile and said, "I'm still a distant member of the Xia Family so I have some family members studying here. Because of that, I was able to visit a few times before."
"Aren't you busy?" Su Yu was curious. Why was this fellow following him?
"Not at all. It's mealtime so I naturally need to eat. Work life balance is important. I can't spend all my time earning money and doing nothing else, right?"
When Xia Huyou saw Su Yu's expression, he smiled and said, "Don't worry. I'm not harboring any ulterior motive. You're a high-high student. It is normal for me to want to befriend you. Like I said, it is always better to have more friends when you're away from home.
"There are 1,892 new students this year. Among them, there are 145 high-tier students. Only 26 of them are high-high students. 23 of them are staying at the high-level zone and 2 are staying at the special zone. You're the only high-high student in the common zone. It's normal that I want to get to know you.
"Naturally, nobody will do something for no reason. But don't worry. I won't try to do anything against you. We're fellow students. Since you're talented, I can try befriending you. Who knows? My effort might just pay off one day.
"Us merchants like to put our eggs in different baskets. Your basket is still quite empty. It won't take much for me to put some eggs in your basket."
Su Yu laughed in amusement.
When Xia Huyou saw that, he said, "I'm not a capable person, but I'm still good at a few things.
"Firstly, I am well-connected and know a lot of things. If you need to know something, you can ask me. Regular information can be free but you'll need to pay for important information.
"Secondly, my family are businessmen as well. You can look for me for things you can't buy in the academy.
"Thirdly, you can look for me to buy or sell merit points too. I will definitely offer you a fair price. Doing business with me is also much safer than the black market.
"Fourthly, I provide loans with low interest rates. If you lack money or merit points, you can look for me. Of course, you also need to prove that you're worth the special interest rate.
Xia Huyou flashed a wide smile and said, "Now you understand why I'm befriending you? You're a genius. If we can establish a business relationship, then the business will have a lot of room to grow. Those mediocre students will be stingy when buying a single drop of source qi liquid, wasting our time. That's not the case with geniuses. They would be willing to buy even the blood essence of divines and devils."
Xia Huyou clicked his tongue and continued, "A drop of Skysoar divine or devil blood essence can be sold for 1,000 merit points at the black market. Some of the richer fellows will buy dozens of drops at a time. Tens of thousands of merit points would change hands. This is what I call a big business."
Xia Huyou looked at Su Yu and said, "You're a genius. How long would you take to reach the Skysoar Realm? Would you need the blood essence of divines and devils to forge your body? Would you be buying them?
"But if you want to buy them from the academy, you would be limited by the academy's stock and your total earned merit. But if you look for me...hehehe. That would be a big business for me."
Su Yu asked in astonishment, "So you're selling the blood essence of divines and devils as well?"
"Cough, cough," Xia Huyou coughed awkwardly. "Not now. I'm still not qualified for that. But there's no rush. You would need time to reach the Skysoar Realm anyway, right? Maybe I would be qualified by then. Even if that's not the case, I can still introduce someone qualified to you. I'll only accept some introduction fees for that. This is a business the Xia Family can do.
"They won't entertain a random person, but if you have me as a guarantor, it would be fine. As long as you're not a cult member, it would work."
Su Yu couldn't help but be impressed.
This seemed to be a capable person. A distant branch of the Xia Family...even a distant branch was still part of the family. In Great Xia, the Xia Family was true royalty. They weren't the uncrowned kings. They were the actual kings. Su Yu also couldn't bring himself to dislike this person. He was forthright when speaking, giving off a reliable feeling.
"You said that there are 145 high-tier students this year. How many freaks are there?"
"About that..." Xia Huyou was beaming as he said, "That is a secret. The academy won't leak their identities unless they reveal themselves. Of course, I am well-connected enough to know a little about them. But this isn't information you can get for free."
"How much?"
"For this information, we don't deal in cash. We deal in merit points. Fifty points!"
Xia Huyou laughed and explained, "Don't think that this is expensive. I'll be honest. This information is priceless for the Myriad Race Cult. Of course, anyone daring to sell this information to them will die. In any case, you only need to understand that this information is very important. At the very least, it would remain valuable before these freaks reach the Skysoar Realm."
Su Yu nodded and said, "I can't afford that. Forget it."
"Don't worry." Xia Huyou said, "I can tell you their number. There are probably eight of them. Probably. I really don't know the exact number. But if you want to know their names, strength, backgrounds, Divine Characters, and abilities, you'll need to pay."
Su Yu nodded. After thinking for a bit, he asked, "Can I ask a few more questions?"
"Sure. As long as it's nothing important, it would be fine."
"Before this, Teaching Assistant Bai Feng said that he's going to take me as his personal student. Do you think he's a good choice for me?"
"Erm..." Xia Huyou awkwardly said, "That's hard to say. I've heard about that as well. But it depends on what you have in mind."
Su Yu calmly said, "I have nothing in mind. I only want to know how much help he could give me. Teacher Zhao Li of the weaponsmith faction had offered to take me as a personal student as well. I want to compare the two and see which of them is worth following."
...
Xia Huyou looked at him in astonishment. "Researcher Zhao wanted to accept you as well?"
"Yes."
"Then...you're really quite capable." Xia Huyou raised his thumb and said, "That old man stopped accepting students a long time ago. His strength is nothing special, but he has a bad temper. Since he is one of the major figures of the weaponsmithing faction, his status is very high."
Xia Huyou hesitated and said, "Since you're asking me this, I'll give you a simple explanation of what I know.
"Bai Feng isn't too strong. At the very least, that's the case when compared with those from the older generation. Sure, he is talented, but that's his talent. Not yours."
"Bai Feng's faction is quite poor. The strongest in their faction is probably his teacher, Master Hong.
"But Bai Feng's faction might suit you more," Xia Huyou explained. "Their faction walks the path of Divine Character fusion. They don't focus on a single Divine Character. Fusion Divine Characters are very powerful.
"Furthermore, their faction also places a lot of importance in physical cultivation. Most of them are quite strong during the Mental Tempering Stage. Since they need to form more Divine Characters, they have higher requirements in terms of physical strength."
Su Yu frowned. Was that the case? Instructor Liu should be from the same faction as well, but his physical body...was really not that great. Prior to his breakthrough, he was only a Great Strength cultivator.
Xia Huyou continued, "But the most important part of their faction isn't all that. Rather, it's a research project of Master Hong. He aimed to unlock the special racial abilities for the human race. You won't understand that now. I don't know too much about that either. You'll know in the future."
Xia Huyou lowered his voice and said, "Assistant Bai Feng is only a seventh-stage Skysoar cultivator, but even Xia Yuwen from the Xia Family once claimed that he is a troublesome opponent to have.
"He has been keeping a lot of his trump cards hidden. Some suspect that his trump cards are related to Master Hong's research. If he reveals his trump cards, he might even be able to contend against Xia Yuwen.
"If you pick their faction, you might be able to gain a lot of benefits. Of course, there is always the possibility of gaining nothing.
"But I think you don't really have a choice. Sure, Teacher Zhao might be a decent choice as well. As for others, unless you choose to join the pillmaking faction, it would be better for you to choose Bai Feng.
"Your first mentor is Master Liu Wenyan. If you're untalented, it doesn't matter. Since you're talented, you would be considered his apprentice. And after coming to the academy, you would encounter some trouble if you don't join Bai Feng's faction."
Su Yu exhaled deeply and said, "Master Liu...Was Teacher Liu very popular back then?"