Chapter 228: We Need To Take Acting Seriously (1)
Bai Feng had entered seclusion. He did not make news of his seclusion public. But as a genius teaching assistant, every move Bai Feng made would attract the attention of many people. Thus, news of his seclusion started spreading before long. As long as one reached the seventh-stage Skysoar Realm, reaching the eighth and ninth stages weren't difficult. It was only a matter of time.
Even Liu Hong, someone who had reached the seventh-stage after Bai Feng, was now at the eighth-stage. Thus, many believed that Bai Feng would be able to leave his seclusion as an eighth-stage Skysoar.
But some people were curious about Bai Feng's seclusion. He had been staying in his research center and had even done his previous breakthrough in his research center. This time, he was breaking through in the grotto. How about his research? Had he stopped it?
Was it because the research had failed? Or was it because the research had been completed? Many were curious, but not many people suspected anything. As for Su Yu, his recent performance had been decent but not too many people cared about him. He wasn't in the Skysoar Realm yet so it was pointless to pay him too much attention.
...
Senior class.
The atmosphere had been off recently. The hostility between Su Yu and Zheng Yunhui was increasing.
Zheng Yunhui had provoked Su Yu for a few days in a row while Su Yu had been maintaining his silence. As a result, Zheng Yunhui was getting impatient and was seemingly getting ready to challenge Wu Jia.
12th of September. After the afternoon class.
Zheng Yunhui stood up and looked at Su Yu with anger in his eyes. But instead of challenging Su Yu, he left without saying anything. Over the past few days, Zheng Yunhui would pick fault with Su Yu every day after class.
This time, he wasn't doing that. When the other students saw that, they understood what was happening. Su Yu's expression was changing rapidly.
Beside him, Wu Lan asked curiously, "He's not picking a fight with you today? Is he looking for your senior sister instead?"
She had just finished saying that when Su Yu rushed out.
The other students looked amused. Jia Mingzhen smiled and said, "Is Zheng Yunhui really looking for Wu Jia? Wow, the multiple character faction is in a pretty bad situation. They can't even do anything against Zheng Yunhui."
Yes, they couldn't do anything to Zheng Yunhui. Bai Feng and Chen Yong couldn't act against him. Wu Jia was too injured to deal with him. Because of that, a faction that used to be the strongest faction in the academy was finding themselves incapable of dealing with even a new student that had yet to enter the Top 100 Ranking.
That was a massive loss of face. If this continued, would the multiple character faction be able to recruit more geniuses? They were too miserable. And nobody was protecting them.
Some pitied the multiple character faction, but even more wondered if Zheng Yunhui and Su Yu would really fight. Despite having a chubby body, Xia Huyou was very fast. He had already vanished from the class without making a sound. Were those two going to fight today? He had to be on top of that.
...
Downstairs.
Su Yu caught up with Zheng Yunhui with rage in his eyes and said, "Zheng Yunhui, where are you going?"
"Why do you ask? Are you finally losing your patience?" Zheng Yunhui snorted coldly, "Return my stuff or I'll challenge Wu Jia today. If she refuses, I'll make sure the entire academy learns of how useless your multiple character faction is. After all, nobody in your faction dares to face even a new student."
"Shameless!" Su Yu roared, "My senior sister is still injured!"
"She's injured because of her own uselessness. If you're capable enough, why don't you make me injured as well?" Zheng Yunhui sneered contemptuously.
Su Yu was so furious he couldn't hold his temper anymore.
He said, "Fine. You want the Skybreak Technique? I'll give you a chance. But don't even dream of getting it without putting anything on the line! That thing is worth over 1,000 merit points. You want to take it by only saying a few words? Do you think I'm stupid?"
"What do you want?"
"That thing isn't cheap. And you have a higher cultivation level than me. You want to use a match to determine the new owner of the text, right? Sure. We'll do the usual and set a wager of equal value. Put 2,000 merit points down. If you win, you get the text. If you lose, I get the merit points."
Zheng Yunhui frowned.
Su Yu coldly said, "If you're too scared to place the bet, maybe you should just shut your mouth. I thought you're confident in winning? Why are you unwilling to put down a proper bet? You want me to risk something worth over 1,000 merit points by only talking? Are you dreaming?"
The two weren't speaking too loudly. They were conversing at an empty corner. Not far away, Liu Hong was passing by. This was not a coincidence. His appearance was inevitable.
Every two days, Liu Hong would patrol around the three classrooms and would only leave after all classes ended. This was a route he would definitely take. And today was one of those days where Liu Hong would be here to patrol.
Su Yu and Zheng Yunhui were speaking softly at the corner. But it was impossible for them to hide from Liu Hong. As an eighth-stage Skysoar, Liu Hong was more than capable of sensing them and their conversation.
Glancing at the two, Liu Hong raised his brow. These two had been going at it for a few days, but nothing seemed to have happened yet. He was getting curious as to how this conflict was going to develop.
His ears flickered as he started listening to the two.
"2,000 merit points? Su Yu, do you think I'm Chen Qi? Are you sure you can win? It's pointless even if you use reverse psychology to get me to put a big bet. Strength is the only thing that matters. Do you think you can defeat me with your blood essence?"
"Cut the crap. Do you have the guts to put down the wager? If not, learn to shut your mouth. That text is mine. Maybe you can try to snatch it from me. I would rather submit it to the academy than give it to you for free!"
That managed to cause Zheng Yunhui to hesitate. He looked at Su Yu before sneering, "Have you reached the fourth-stage Great Strength Realm?"
"That has nothing to do with you."
Liu Hong's interest was piqued. Had Su Yu broken through? It was hard to determine Su Yu's current cultivation with only his eyes. But it didn't matter. Sure, he couldn't use his willpower to check as that could be discovered too easily. But that was not the only option he had. Liu Hong's eyes flickered as a Divine Character appeared in his pupil.
That was an extremely precious investigative Divine Character. Su Yu was laid bare to him.
"Holy...shit!"
Liu Hong was alarmed. 61 acupoints! Holy fuck! What was this? Wasn't Su Yu a brand new Great Strength cultivator? He had directly reached the third-stage during his breakthrough. But it hadn't been too long since then. How had the kid reached the fifth-stage already?
"This...does not make any sense!"
Liu Hong was shocked. What was Bai Feng doing with this student of his?
Wait, that fellow had gone off into a secluded cultivation session. And that fellow was broke anyway. What could that fellow do? Thus, the correct question would be what had Su Yu been doing? What was going on?
Liu Hong was stupefied. This was too shocking. The kid was...pretending to be a pig to prey on a tiger!
Nobody knew he was already a fifth-stage Great Strength cultivator. To be precise, there were probably a few people who knew, but nobody was saying it. Thus, most people thought that Su Yu was still a third-stage Great Strength cultivator.
"This kid is already at the fifth-stage. With his blood essence, he might not be so hopeless against Zheng Yunhui after all."
Liu Hong couldn't help but to be impressed by how treacherous that kid was. That kid was obviously preparing to swindle a huge sum of money from Zheng Yunhui. After all, he was not completely helpless against Zheng Yunhui. And if he could win, he would get 2,000 merit points.
Holy shit! That kid was even better at making money than him!
While Liu Hong was entertaining all those thoughts, Zheng Yunhui said, "2,000 merit points? That's too much. Do you think I have an unlimited supply of merit points? I can offer 300 merit points. Su Yu, don't get too greedy."
"Scram!" Su Yu berated, "Are you dreaming? Just go and challenge my senior sister. Don't even dream of getting the Skybreak Technique anymore. Even if I throw it into the toilet, I won't give it to you. Let me see if you love the text more or a useless fight more. I'm only a third-stage Great Strength cultivator. What are you afraid of?"
Zheng Yunhui sneered, "Third-stage Great Strength? You have probably reached the fourth-stage. And you must have probably formed a new Divine Character as well. Do you really think that I'm not aware of the kind of people you are? You can't repeat the same trick on me after using it against Chen Qi."
"Hehehe. The great Zheng Family can't even afford 2,000 merit points. Why are you still running your mouth in front of me? Just fuck off if you're too poor to play."
Zheng Yunhui smiled, "Are you trying to use reverse psychology on me? Congratulations, it's working. I'm a seventh-stage Great Strength cultivator with 85 percent willpower. I am stronger than you in every aspect. You think you can deal with me with your blood essence? I refuse to believe that. Fine. I accept the bet."
"Do you even have enough merit points?"
"Of course."
"I want to confirm it. Show me your merit points."
"Su Yu, don't push it. Nobody would willingly let you check their account."
"I don't trust you."
The two continued bickering while walking deeper into the corner, trying to hide themselves from the public eye.
Not far away, Liu Hong laughed in amusement. Zheng Yunhui probably didn't have that many merit points. At most, he would only have 500 merit points on him. And the Zheng Family would probably not supply him with unlimited merit points. 2,000 merit points...that was really not a small sum of money.
"Looks like both these kids are very confident in themselves..."
Liu Hong got ready to leave. It would be sufficient for him to take a look when the two finally decided to fight. But right that moment, he heard something that piqued his interest. He stopped leaving.
"Su Yu, I admit that I don't have that many merit points. How about this? This is just a bet. You might not necessarily win anyway. I'll use a cultural weapon as the stake..."
"Ptui. Do you think I'm an idiot? Cultural weapons are all custom-made for different Divine Characters. After winning, I won't be able to even sell the weapon. Do I look stupid?"
"Su Yu, don't push it..."
"Who's pushing it? You were the one forcing me! If you don't even have money, why are you running your mouth in front of me? Do you spend all your time dreaming of getting free money? Wake up from your dream!"
Now that they were out of the public eye, Su Yu was no longer the kind and honest student. He had transformed into an overbearing person. Liu Hong wasn't surprised. As far as he was concerned, that kid had never been a simple and honest man.
Su Yu continued, "Your family is rich, right? This is only a bet. You might not lose. Why don't you steal your grandpa's martial weapon out and use it as the stake. At the very least, that is something I can sell after winning..."
"You're courting death!"
Zheng Yunhui was furious.
Martial weapon. His grandpa was a peak Mountainsea expert. Although martial weapons weren't as valuable as cultural weapons, they were much easier to use. Anyone proficient in the same type of weapon would be able to find value in a martial weapon of the same type. And the weapon his grandpa used was a top-tier earth-grade weapon. Su Yu was truly greedy.
Liu Hong was getting more and more amused. It would seem like Su Yu had quite a big appetite. He actually had the guts to set his eyes on Principal Zheng's weapon and was instigating Zheng Yunhui to steal that weapon. This kid...was a scumbag through and through.
"Fine. I can change it to mountainbreak bull blood essence. Just place 200 drops as the stake..."
"Hmph!" Zheng Yunhui snorted coldly, "Do you think all families are the same as your puny family? Our family's storeroom would be inspected daily. Nothing can go missing unnoticed. Steal? Are you dreaming?"
Zheng Yunhui said with an impatient tone, "I'll place a bet of 500 merit points, a low-tier profound-grade martial weapon, and a low-tier profound-grade martial technique."
"Hehe." Su Yu directly walked away, ignoring Zheng Yunhui.
Zheng Yunhui's expression changed several times as he struggled with himself before running over to Su Yu, "I don't have that many merit points. I can agree to owe you the merit points first. It's not like you can win for sure. Su Yu, if I lose, I'll pay you in installments."
"Don't even think about it. Our bet can only be carried out in private. The academy won't be acting as the guarantor for it. If you end up reneging on the debt, what am I supposed to do? The entire deal must be completed on the spot."
Liu Hong almost laughed out loud. That kid...was really good at instigating someone to do something bad.
"Just find something that nobody would notice even if it goes missing for a year or two..."
Zheng Yunhui frowned, but he soon thought of something and his expression changed. When he saw that Su Yu was leaving again, he hurriedly said, "Wait. I have something like that."
"Hmm?"
Zheng Yunhui looked nervous. He looked around to ensure that nobody was near them. Liu Hong was nowhere to be seen. He lowered his voice and said, "Su Yu, I have a treasure I can use as the bet. However, your Skybreak Technique is not enough if you want me to put that down as the bet. Also, that thing can't be separated. Thus, even if I can win, your Skybreak Technique is basically not comparable in value to my treasure."
"What is it?"
"Divine blood essence."
That answer stunned even Liu Hong. Divine blood essence. The divine blood essence of the Zheng Family. Had that kid gone mad?
Liu Hong recalled something. The Zheng Family had some Cloudbreach divine blood essence in their possession. That was indeed a treasure that they wouldn't inspect daily. The blood essence was mostly sealed away and unless they needed to use it, the seal would not be removed to prevent the blood essence from dissipating away.
This kid...was truly gutsy! He was actually thinking of stealing his family's divine blood essence?
"Divine blood essence?" Su Yu grew excited, "Are you serious?"
"Yes. But that is Cloudbreach blood essence. It is a lot more valuable than Skysoar blood essence. A single drop is already far more valuable than the Skybreak Technique in your hands. Unless you can take out something of equal value, then you should just agree with my previous proposal. Otherwise, don't even dream of getting away easily. At worst, I'll report you to the academy and have the text confiscated. I refuse to believe that you won't be afraid of that."
The two started wagging a battle of words. Clearly, Su Yu was tempted. Divine blood essence! But he did not have something of equal value to stake in the bet. He did not have more merit points, so he tried using his cultural weapon instead. Naturally, Zheng Yunhui disagreed.