Chapter 26: Merit Claiming (2)
By the time the school was done handling the aftermath of the battle, it was already late evening. Su Yu did not follow Liu Wenyan home. The instructor was very busy at the moment, so he did not intend to bother the instructor. After the emergency status was lifted, he went back home. He found his home dusty after being devoid of people for several days.
Su Yu heaved a long breath of relief after arriving home. He had killed two individuals today. He had been able to stay calm in front of Chen Hao, but in truth, he was feeling extremely stressed. He was no seasoned warrior. He was only an ordinary secondary school student. This was his first time killing someone. How could he not feel anything?
"I was lucky. If I had been unlucky, I would have been killed today."
That was especially true for the first cult member. At the time, Su Yu himself had nearly believed that the cult member was an instructor. If he hadn't been able to see through the lie, both him and Chen Hao would be corpses by now.
"Although I can unleash the offensive prowess of a seventh-stage Great Strength cultivator, I am still too weak compared to a real Great Strength cultivator. If the enemy can react in time, I won't be able to survive.
"I'm still too weak. Only the strong can determine the result of a battle. If Instructor Liu hadn't broken through, the school would have suffered a defeat. No, that might not be the case. Bai Feng is around. But that proves even more that only the strong can affect the result of a battle..."
He had learned a lot today. During the battle earlier, the Skysoar cultivators were the ones to truly affect the tide of the battle. If Mayor Wu Wenhai and Squad Leader Xia Bing were defeated, that would be the same as Nanyuan's defeat.
That was also the case for the Myriad Race Cult. After one of their Skysoar cultivators were killed, they fell apart like dominoes. A single individual had altered the course of the battle, ultimately resulting in the complete defeat of the Myriad Race Cult.
"Therefore...Dad is nothing but cannon fodder on the battlefield."
Su Yu was getting worried. The battle today was merely a small skirmish. His father, on the other hand, was on a super battlefield involving the myriad races. That was completely different from what he had experienced today.
"Even Skysoar cultivators aren't anything special there. If seven Skysoar cultivators can appear in a skirmish in a small city like Nanyuan, what about the Allheaven Battlefield? Perhaps a random battle there would have the involvement of dozens or even hundreds of Skysoar cultivators.
"I have been too naive. Even if I join a war academy and get myself an opportunity to enter the battlefield for training, I still won't be able to do anything. What can a Great Strength or Infinite Strength cultivator even do there?
"I need to reach the Skysoar Realm, at the very least. Only then will I have the mobility to move around the battlefield. Skysoar cultivators are strong enough to be a mainstay of the forces on the Allheaven Battlefield."
Many thoughts crossed Su Yu's mind, but ultimately, he concluded that strength was what he needed. He had to get as much strength as he could in the shortest time possible.
"I need to continue cultivating with blood essence."
He still had five drops of blood essence on him. Three were looted off the two cult members while the other two drops had been obtained through trade.
"Twenty-six thousand dollars, ten gold coins, five drops of blood essence, five Body Forging Pills, seven merit points, one cultivation method, one martial technique..."
Those were everything Su Yu had at the moment. The Body Forging Pill wasn't something he could use at the moment. Only Great Strength cultivators could use those pills. In fact, those pills weren't cheap. The Xia Trade Company was selling them at thirty thousand per pill.
"I need the two drops of iron-winged bird blood essence for my cultivation. I'll need to trade for more at a later date. No, I need to actually buy some with money and keep some merit points for myself."
He also needed to keep a drop of blood essence for emergencies. After all, he didn't know if there were more cult members hidden around him.
"Continue cultivating."
Su Yu had never felt so weak before. He was even weaker than cannon fodder. While staying with Liu Wenyan, he hadn't dared to cultivate with blood essence. Now that he was back home, he no longer had any reservations.
After swallowing a drop of blood essence, he repeated what he did before and source qi started gathering around him. His nine acupoints shone with a faint glow. His right ear acupoint trembled, showing signs that it was going to be opened soon.
Previously, Su Yu had only utilized less than half of the one hour active duration a drop of blood essence gave him. This time, he was able to last longer. The Source Swallowing Technique was only the foundation cultivation method of the iron-winged birds. Thus, it wasn't exactly a fast cultivation method, but that was precisely why it was suitable for the present Su Yu who was too weak to withstand a faster cultivation method.
...
About forty minutes later, Su Yu stopped his cultivation. His right ear acupoint remained shut. However, he had a feeling that one more session would open that acupoint and push him into the fifth-stage. However, his body had taken in too much source qi today so he would have to do it another day.
"I'll use another drop of blood essence tomorrow after school. I might be able to enter the fifth-stage then."
Su Yu was in a good mood. The Source Opening Realm wasn't a special realm. People generally couldn't distinguish how many acupoints one had opened. He wasn't sure if there were fifth-stage Source Opening cultivators in Nanyuan Secondary School. After all, some people enjoy hiding their cultivation to shock everyone during their entrance examination.
As far as he knew, there wasn't any fifth-stage Source Opening cultivator in Nanyuan Secondary School. After the cultivation session, he used his remaining free time to study the loot he had gotten from the two cult members earlier.
...
At the same time.
Nanyuan Secondary School. The sky was turning dark.
In the Instructor's Office.
Chen Hao was brought into the office. He had been waiting at school. After all the corpses were cremated, he finally went in to claim the kill. That led to the current scene where he was brought to the Instructor's Office. The principal and Liu Wenyan personally questioned him about the claim.
The principal was incredibly furious. He asked solemnly, "You made the kill?"
"Yes."
"You will be punished severely for falsely claiming a kill, do you understand?"
"Yes!"
Chen Hao nodded. He was aware of that. But for him, Yu's kill was the same as his kill. He was most certainly not making a false claim. He did not feel any pressure making this claim. In any case, he had exchanged the claim with all his savings! It was a fair trade! As Yu didn't need the extra marks, it would be a waste to not claim it. Since he had purchased the kill with the money he saved over ten years, the kill naturally belonged to him.
Chen Hao was very confident. He was not making a false claim! He had even helped Yu attract the enemy's attention during the fight. He had contributed to the kill. As far as he was concerned, his contribution of luring two enemies was basically equal to killing one of the two himself. That was a perfectly logical explanation.
The principal shot Liu Wenyan a glance. The instructor was stroking his beard, but he looked more like he was trying to pull his beard off. The instructor signaled that it did not seem like Chen Hao was lying. The principal was stunned. Was Liu Wenyan incapable of detecting if this student was lying? Was Chen Hao actually such a crafty kid? But he did not look like someone so crafty. For them, Chen Hao was basically a baby. How could he be considered shrewd compared to them?
"Tell us. How did you make the kill?"
"I was hiding in the cafeteria with Yu. Someone suddenly pretended to be an instructor and charged into the cafeteria. Yu saw through the lie and made up a story that there are more students around. That fellow stupidly followed him away. I followed behind him before cutting him down with my saber."
Following Su Yu's instructions, Chen Hao gave a simple story. In truth, Su Yu was afraid that Chen Hao wouldn't be able to remember a more complicated story. Thus, a simple story had been fabricated for Chen Hao.
"Su Yu?" Liu Wenyan muttered.
"Yes."
"You were together?"
"Yes."
"Why were you holding a saber? The practical instructor said that the two of you had taken two sabers from the store at an earlier time..."
"Yu said that he had broken through into the fourth-stage. I refused to believe him, so we went to the combat room for practical combat. But he said that he wanted to keep a low profile, so we eventually left to look for a suitable place for combat..."
"Fourth-stage Source Opening?" The principal was astonished. "He reached the fourth-stage?"
"Yeah. He's cultivating very hard nowadays. I reckon that's related to Uncle Su's departure to the Allheaven Battlefield."
The principal nodded in understanding. He wasn't too surprised. If one was lucky, it wouldn't be hard to advance into the fourth-stage from the third-stage. Su Yu was a smart kid. He probably wasn't even trying very hard in cultivation previously. To reach the third-stage while not trying was quite a respectable achievement.
Liu Wenyan gave it some thought and said, "How did you perform the cut?"
"Just like this!" Chen Hao swung his hand, imitating what he saw Su Yu did.
To the side, Xia Bing was watching silently. He nodded when he saw Chen Hao's movement. As a Skysoar cultivator from the Martial Dragon Guards, he was able to judge that this was the exact move used to kill the cult member based on the wound he saw previously.
Liu Wenyan asked, "There is another dead cult member outside the cafeteria. Was that your work as well?"
"What?" Chen Hao pretended to be clueless. That wasn't a kill they could claim. Yu told him that. One kill could be attributed to luck. Two kills would be suspicious.
Liu Wenyan smiled, "You only killed one?"
"Yes."
"Do you know how strong that fellow is? After all, you managed to kill him with one cut."
"No idea. I wasn't able to ask while I was cutting his head off."
"..."
The answer enraged the principal so much he nearly laughed in anger. He said with a flat face, "Why did you wait until now to make the claim? Why not earlier?"
"I was scared." Chen Hao said with an innocent expression. "This was the first time I've ever killed someone. I nearly pissed myself. It took me quite a long time to recover. But I guarantee I didn't piss myself today! I definitely didn't!"
The principal ignored those words. He scanned Chen Hao and saw some traces of blood on Chen Hao’s body. He frowned slightly as he wondered if this kid was really telling the truth.
"Where's Su Yu?"
"He went back home. Yu said that he only wants the merit points. I can have the kill. Since he has contributed his brains for the kill, he deserves to get a share in the reward."
Liu Wenyan laughed, "So you're getting the contribution while he's getting the merit points. You can get the extra marks for your entrance exam while he can get the tangible benefits for the kill?"
"Yes."
Liu Wenyan looked at the principal before looking at Xia Bing. At that point, the principal no longer knew what to say.
Xia Bing gave it some thought before saying, "Have you practiced any claw techniques before?"
.
"Nope."
"What did you feel when you cut the cult member?"
"Nothing. I was too scared. I think I got my saber stuck. His neck was so hard."
"Where's the saber?"
"I returned it to the Practical Office earlier."
"Did your father come to school?"
"Nope. I called him earlier. He's on overtime today. My dad is the deputy head of the Traffic Department."
Xia Bing ordered, "Man, investigate his father's whereabouts today."
"Roger." A Martial Dragon Guards member answered outside the room. About five minutes later, someone reported, "Chen Qing has been staying at the Traffic Department the whole day. During the battle, he stayed in the department to maintain the order of the city traffic."
"Alright."
Xia Bing glanced at Chen Hao who had a silly smile on his face. After thinking about it, Xia Bing looked at the principal and Instructor Liu. "The school and Martial Dragon Guards can sign the document acknowledging that he made the kill. By killing a seventh-stage Great Strength cultivator during active combat, a student is eligible to earn thirty additional marks and three merit points."
He looked at Chen Hao and said, "There is also a dead cult member near the cafeteria. If that was your work as well, you can get sixty marks and six merit points. With sixty marks, as long as you're not a total idiot, you'll be able to enter a war academy."
"Huh? There's one more?" Chen Hao asked, "So can that kill be considered mine as well? You can't find anyone to claim it? What a waste! W-why don't I take it as well? I don't even want the merit points. I just want the sixty marks."
Xia Bing was speechless. Both the principal and Liu Wenyan were speechless as well. Just what was this kid thinking in that brain of his?
Since the one in the cafeteria was killed by Chen Hao and Su Yu, how about the one outside? Liu Wenyan shook his head and decided to let go of the matter. It was no big deal. However, it was indeed quite surprising that Chen Hao was actually able to kill a seventh-stage Great Strength cultivator.
"I'll check with Su Yu tomorrow."
Liu Wenyan nodded as he reached a decision. "We'll sign our acknowledgement. The time, location, and circumstances surrounding the kill have all been explained properly. The spoils of war have been submitted as well. Even the killing weapon has been found. Unless someone else decides to claim the same kill, this case can be closed here."
Xia Bing nodded in agreement. It was only a Great Strength cultivator. They had only paid so much attention to it because the one who had performed the kill was a student. Otherwise, they wouldn't even pay attention to the one claiming the kill. And thus, the matter was put to rest.
Chen Hao left happily. Suddenly, the principal said, "Old Liu, did you really believe his words?"
Liu Wenyan said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter. Whether he's a genius or a fool, it will be shown when he joins a war academy. If a fool insists on joining, he can only blame himself after getting himself killed. Also, Su Yu was present as well. He's a smart kid. It's possible that they have performed the kill with trickeries or something. There is no reason to further investigate this."
"True. We also don't need to spread the news about this kill. We don't want the cult to look for the kids for revenge. We also don't want the other students to imitate their behavior. It will be too dangerous."
The principal paused slightly before continuing, "By the way, that student of yours is quite similar to you. He's very crafty. Instead of the extra marks, he requested for the merit points. After all, he won't need any extra marks to join a cultural research academy."
Liu Wenyan also smiled. "Well, he can only do so because he's capable. Were you able to kill a Great Strength cultivator when you were a Source Opening cultivator?"
"..."
The principal was rendered speechless. Shortly after, the two smiled at each other. There was no need to pursue this matter. This year, their school would gain an additional war academy student. Xia Bing's acknowledgment would be enough for that.
After all, the words of the Martial Dragon Guards had a lot of weight attached to it. Bribing someone in the Martial Dragon Guards was harder than buying a position in a regular war academy. It wasn't like the war academies hadn't been accepting special students that came together with large donations to the academies.
Xia Bing ignored the two. After signing the document, he left the office. Outside, he stopped and said, "I believe he did participate in the kill. But I'm unsure if he was the actual killer. It would either be him or Su Yu. Since Su Yu is uninterested in claiming the kill, I'll let Chen Hao have it. But if he does not have the talent or strength to do so, entering a war academy might do him harm instead. I hope you can tell him that."
"We will."
Xia Bing left. He still had some questions related to the dead cult member outside the cafeteria. But as mentioned by the principal and Liu Wenyan, it was no big deal. Chen Hao was the one who had chosen this path for himself. He better not regret it.