Chapter 156: I'm Not That Amazing! (1)
After grabbing lunch at the cafeteria, Su Yu returned to the research center as there was no afternoon class that day. Bai Feng was nowhere to be seen. Su Yu didn't know if he was not present or if he was hiding in the third underground floor. As for Xia Huyou, Su Yu intended to keep that fellow waiting. He still had enough blood essence for two days.
"Liu Hong!"
Seated on the couch, Su Yu's anger was growing as he thought about Liu Hong. That was too excessive! That was basically an adult bullying a child. That Liu Hong truly had no class. But after sitting there in anger for a bit, Su Yu couldn't help but to think that three merit points per month was still quite a good deal. It would be an even better deal if he could get the merit points without performing the tasks of a class monitor.
"Is there any way I can get merit points for free?"
Su Yu sank into contemplation. If the head counselor wasn't Liu Hong, he might really be able to do something like that. He could build a good relationship with his instructors and find a student to help him with the job for a pay of one merit point per month. Someone would definitely take the offer.
Doing so, he could still earn two merit points each month for free. That was basically a formal employee outsourcing the job to a part time worker. Su Yu could definitely make that happen. Unfortunately, Liu Hong was the head counselor. That person was there to make his life difficult. He wouldn't allow Su Yu to get the benefits for free.
"Forget it. I'll just whoop Lin Yao's ass in one month. I'll cultivate hard for now!"
Su Yu stopped thinking. With Liu Hong as the head counselor, he wouldn't get any chance to find a loophole in the rules. Sure enough, only a villain would carry a bright smile on his face all the time.
"In the future, I'll beat up everyone who dares to smile at me. I reckon nine out of ten of them would deserve the beating."
...
Second floor.
Su Yu arrived at the fragment room once again. He had wasted the morning doing no cultivation so he wasted no time entering the room. With his willpower and Divine Characters, he withstood the pressure of the room.
Compared to yesterday, it felt much easier today. For some reason, Su Yu felt like he was in a far better condition today. Maybe his anger had given him an additional burst of strength. It was all thanks to Liu Hong.
"I hate Liu Hong. Therefore, I'm taking my anger out on his student. In truth, I'm the same as Chen Qi. I'm afraid of the strong and only dare to bully the weak. But my final goal will be Liu Hong! I will teach them a lesson one by one! Lin Yao first, then Yang Sha, next Liu He, and finally Liu Hong..."
Su Yu started making plans against Liu Hong's entire line in the academy. He recalled Chen Qi again. He wondered if that fellow was also cultivating hard while scheming against Bai Feng? Would that person aim to first beat him up before going after Bai Feng? If that was the case, then the two of them would really be in a similar situation.
"I can't keep thinking these random thoughts. Focus on cultivating!"
He tossed the thoughts out of his mind and focused on torturing himself. Willpower clash sounded like something simple to do, but the moment the pressure surpassed one's limit, it would be the same as torture.
...
Bai Feng was not in the research center. He was busy drinking tea with Su Yu's number one nemesis, Liu Hong.
While drinking tea, Bai Feng asked, "Class monitor? Liu Hong, why are you only capable of these small tricks?"
Liu Hong didn't even feel like entertaining that remark. Instead, he said, "Hu Wensheng has entered seclusion. He won't leave before reaching the Cloudbreach Realm. The higher ups are letting me take over his position. I need to do something. They know I'm not your match so they want me to place some suppression on you indirectly."
"What do you mean?"
Bai Feng asked calmly. He appeared completely indifferent. As for the matter of Su Yu being made a class monitor, it didn't matter. He would be compensated with merit points anyway. That would also be a good opportunity for Bai Feng to see the actual capabilities of that student of his. How would Su Yu handle this?
"They want me to stop your promotion this year."
Bai Feng raised his brow and said, "Can you do it?"
"Why not?" Liu Hong smiled, "There are three requirements for Skysoars wishing to be promoted into a full researcher. Firstly, you need 3,000 total earned merit points. Secondly, you need a student in the Top 100 Ranking. Thirdly, you need high-tier evaluations in your performance review for three consecutive years. You only meet the first requirement."
Bai Feng said, "I already have high-tier evaluations for two years. I doubt I will have any trouble getting another high-tier evaluation this year. Also, my student is a new student. So it is fine if he's not in the Top 100 Ranking this year. That is not a mandatory requirement. As long as he does well in the monthly and seasonal exams, I'll receive a favorable evaluation."
Liu Hong said, "You're right. Therefore, my opening move will be made against him. You won't be allowed to get another high-tier evaluation."
"Oh? Are you guys capable of even influencing the review board?"
Bai Feng teased. But Liu Hong seriously said, "Of course not. That would only get us in deep trouble. But you need to be careful. If Su Yu places bottom three in class for three consecutive times, you will not be able to get a high-tier evaluation this year. If you fail to get promoted this year, your importance in the academy will drop slightly. Then again, that's not a big deal. It's not that bad staying as a teaching assistant."
"Placing bottom three for three consecutive times?" Bai Feng laughed. "Aren't you looking down on my student too much?"
Liu Hong shrugged, "I'll have to work my magic then. Forget about that. You'll have to think of ways to withstand our attacks yourself. It won't be fun if I tell you everything. Also, remind your senior brother. I suspect he will encounter a lot of troubles this year. A lot of people have their eyes on his position. I already received news that some people will be making a move against your senior brother soon. They aim to have him removed from the position."
Bai Feng's expression changed.
He coldly said, "Are you guys pulling an all out attack on us? Over the years, we have given up on almost all benefits. Only Senior Brother's position was preserved. Are you guys going to leave nothing for us?"
Liu Hong said, "That has nothing to do with me. I'm only a foot soldier. You can only blame yourself for defeating Hu Wensheng. It's not a good thing to have too much fame. They are all afraid that your faction will recover and rise into prominence again. I reckon they are confused themselves. Are they worried that your prominence would ruin the academy's future or are they simply worried about their own future."
Liu Hong sighed and said, "Power corrupts. They have been controlling the academy for 50 years. Although there is still a principal above them, they have been in a position of power for so long. The single character faction has grown immensely. Are they really suppressing the multiple character faction to prevent a repeat of the tragedy or are they merely protecting their own interests?"
Bai Feng snorted coldly, "A little bit of both. I understand them. Early on, they were probably really worried about a repeat of that tragedy. They believed that we had brought disaster to the entire academy and the cultural researchers of humanity. But in recent years..."
Bai Feng sneered, "Their mentality has probably changed. Early on, the multiple character faction had still been able to recruit some students here and there. But now, heh. If I hadn't accepted Su Yu in advance, I reckon we will still end up with zero students this year. Even if we manage to accept a student or two, they might be your spies instead of genuine students."
Bai Feng drained the cup of tea in one go and said, "It is understandable if they only want to keep us from growing too big. But my senior brother has been keeping to himself for so many years. But now, they are even going to move against him. That is no longer something as simple as suppression. They are intending to completely erase our legacy from the academy."
Bai Feng stood up, exhaled, and said, "It won't be that easy for them. Even a rabbit is capable of biting when its life is under threat. And we are not rabbits. Liu Hong, I'll give you this warning. Don't do anything you would regret."
Leaving that warning behind, Bai Feng left.
Liu Hong continued drinking tea in an unhurried manner. After a while, he smiled and said, "Looks like they're really going to start revealing their fangs soon. Thank the heavens I'm smarter than the others."
With this deal between him and Bai Feng, even if Bai Feng was going to do something, Liu Hong would be safe.
Then again, Vice Principal Zhou was indeed pushing it too far. The multiple character faction was left with only five members. It was fine to keep them suppressed so that they couldn't grow further, but his backers were also trying to snatch the position of Bai Feng's senior brother. That would be more than a simple suppression.
...
A short while later.
Bai Feng was back at the research center. He went to the second floor and saw Su Yu in the middle of cultivation. Seeing the kid sprawled on the ground with trembling limbs, he couldn't help but to smile. A melancholic feeling rose within him.
The strength of a so-called genius did not come from nowhere. This kid was willing to endure a lot of suffering for the sake of cultivation. He stood there looking at Su Yu for over 10 minutes. Finally, Su Yu reached the limit of his tolerance and crawled out of the room with tears streaming down his cheeks.
After crawling out of the room, he was met with a pair of legs. When he looked up, he felt incomparably awkward.
With great difficulty, he got back on his feet. While wobbling unsteadily, he said, "Teacher, why are you here?"
"I'm here to check up on you."
Bai Feng had been working hard to crush any arrogance Su Yu might have, but today, he couldn't help but to praise his student, "Not bad. It is good that you are capable of withstanding hardships. But you need to be mindful of balance as well. Don't push yourself too far. You're a tad bit too cruel toward yourself."
If the student was unwilling to put in effort, the teacher would be furious. But a student that worked too hard was also quite a sorrowful sight to behold. Why couldn't Su Yu be as arrogant as the other geniuses? As his teacher, Bai Feng felt really useless. He didn't even have the chance to reprimand his student like other teachers could.
Su Yu flashed a silly laugh and said, "It's fine, Teacher. I'm used to this..."
.
"Used to this..."
Bai Feng sank into thought. How was someone supposed to get used to this? Su Yu had been entering the fragment room several times per day, suffering the torture of having his head nearly crushed every time. Could anyone get used to that?
It wasn't like Bai Feng had never experienced training in the fragment room before. Back then, just entering the room once per day was enough to make him feel like dying. His teacher, Hong Tan, had berated him endlessly back then for his lack of fortitude.
What he wanted most was to enter the fragment room less. But this student of his was completely different. He wanted nothing more than to stay as long as possible in the room.
Bai Feng exhaled lightly and thought back to what Liu Hong told him earlier. The all out attack was coming. With his teacher's absence, those people had finally lost their patience. This was his fault. He was the one who had incited his teacher to leave. Because of him, trouble was coming for their entire faction.
If his teacher was still around, those people wouldn't have dared to go that far. If his senior brother really lost that position before their teacher returned, things would get really troublesome.
"Take a short rest. I have something to tell you."
"Sure."
Su Yu wiped the sweat on his forehead and followed Bai Feng downstairs.