Chapter 261: Milking The Academy (2)
After three hours.
Su Yu moved to another position. As for Zhan Hai, he had already moved closer and closer to the Skysoar zone. He was starting to get more and more annoyed with the other person. He suspected that the Great Strength fellow had reached the Infinite Strength Realm. That was the only reason why that person could keep moving nearer and nearer to the Infinite Strength zone. Thus, Zhan Hai had to keep moving toward the Skysoar zone.
"Now that I'm so far away, can you still get near me?"
Zhan Hai cursed inwardly.
He was already at the border of the Skysoar zone. Even if the other person was already at the Infinite Strength Realm, that person had only freshly broken through. That person would most definitely not be able to continue moving closer to him anymore.
Even for him, this chance to cultivate in the grotto was precious. After all, the entry price of 200 merit points was not cheap at all. That bastard had been constantly disturbing him. He decided to ask who that bastard was after leaving the grotto. He needed to teach that person a lesson.
Five hours later.
As Zhan Hai was cultivating near the Skysoar zone, his absorption speed was too fast. He was already reaching his limit so he prepared to leave. He started walking back toward the exit. While walking, he suddenly sensed the familiar source qi tornado.
"That fellow is still here?"
Zhan Hai was astonished. How long had it been? That fellow was still in the grotto? He hadn't been able to sense any source qi undulations in his previous location so he had assumed that the other fellow had left. Slowly, he arrived near the Infinite Strength zone.
Meanwhile, Su Yu had unknowingly entered the Infinite Strength zone. Suddenly, his ears trembled. He stopped absorbing source qi and raised his head to stare into a certain direction. A silhouette slowly appeared from amid the mist.
Su Yu was cautious. He stood up and made some hurried preparations. A short while later, the two were less than 50 meters apart, allowing them to get a clear look at each other.
Zhan Hai did not attempt to hide himself, so he walked straight out of the mist. But he was speechless when he saw Su Yu. Why? Because Su Yu was covering his face with his jacket, looking more like a thief than a student.
Zhan Hai resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Just who in the world was this? He still wasn't in the Skysoar Realm so his willpower wasn't strong enough to forcefully pry through the disguise. Even if he was already a Skysoar, forcefully prying on others was akin to a provocation. He naturally wouldn't create an enemy for himself for no reason.
But he still felt somewhat gloomy. He was only here to see who this person was. After all, this person had been disturbing his cultivation session multiple times. The only person he saw was a masked man.
"I am Zhan Hai."
Zhan Hai announced himself and looked at Su Yu. With a frown, he asked, "Which top 100 student are you?"
Although the other person was masked, Zhan Hai could feel that this person wasn't too old. Thus, this was most likely a top 100 student. Su Yu did not say anything. He knew who Zhan Hai was. Number one on the top 100.
Zhan Hai did not mind the silence. He only said, "Student, the next time you cultivate, don't keep moving around. Don't you know that you can easily disturb others if you keep moving around?"
Su Yu was feeling very awkward. He was unaware that there was someone near him so he said with a gruff voice, "I understand. Thanks for the reminder."
Zhan Hai became even more speechless when he heard the obviously disguised voice. This fellow was still stubbornly hiding his identity. Was he afraid that Zhai Hai would take revenge on him?
Forget it. Zhan Hai couldn't be bothered to waste his time here. He said nothing else and walked toward a nearby door and left the grotto.
After Zhan Hai left, Su Yu exhaled in relief. He had probably successfully hidden his identity, right? Although it really wasn't a big deal for his identity to be exposed, he still preferred not having others knowing that he was cultivating in the Infinite Strength zone.
Inside the small room.
When Zhan Hai stepped out, Old Huang and Old Nie had odd expressions. This Zhan Hai was unable to stay longer than that brat! They had assumed that Su Yu would be the first to leave.
Then again, due to the difference in their cultivation levels, their absorption speed was different. Thus, this wasn't too surprising.They were only amazed at Su Yu's tenacity.
Zhan Hai was already quite familiar with the two old men so he asked, "Old Huang, who's the fellow in the Great Strength zone? He must have broken through into the Infinite Strength Realm. The next time you see a student on the verge of breaking through like this, you can consider sending him straight to the Infinite Strength Realm. That's better than having the student move from the Great Strength zone to the Infinite Strength zone. And the academy can earn 100 extra merit points from that student."
"..."
Both old men had the same thought. What nonsense was this kid saying?
That brat was only a fifth-stage Great Strength cultivator. Who in the world was the Infinite Strength cultivator?
"Old Huang..."
Alarmed, Old Huang interrupted him and asked, "He went to the Infinite Strength zone?"
"Yeah." Zhan Hai said, "I wanted to stay longer there to keep strengthening my cultivation, but that fellow kept moving closer to me, forcing me to keep moving away. That was why I couldn't last longer."
At this point, it was already dawn.
Zhan Hai then laughed and said, "And when I met him, he even covered his face. Is that fellow afraid that I would create trouble for him?"
He appeared quite relaxed when speaking to the two old men. He was already on the verge of reaching the Skysoar Realm. With his cultivation and position as the number one student in the top 100, his status was basically similar to that of a teaching assistant in the academy.
Old Huang coughed. Why was that brat covering his face? But that was understandable. The brat was only a fifth-stage Great Strength cultivator. With his cultivation level, he had actually entered the Infinite Strength zone. Thus, he had to cover his face to avoid shocking anyone who saw him.
"I can't tell you who that person is." Old Huang smiled, "He's weaker than you anyway so you don't really need to pay him too much attention."
Zhan Hai also smiled, "Why don't I wait here for him to come out?"
"Don't waste your time. Just do what you're supposed to be doing. Do you have so much time that you can afford to wait around doing nothing?"
Zhan Hai nodded in agreement. He said nothing else and left. He could guess that the other person was most definitely a genius. Based on Old Huang's words, that fellow was not coming out anytime soon. He wasn't too concerned about that fellow so he couldn't be too bothered to ask more. For him, those below the Skysoar Realm could no longer capture his attention.
After Zhan Hai left, Old Huang said, "That kid has actually entered the Infinite Strength zone! How is he still inside?"
He was only a fifth-stage Great Strength cultivator! But it had been a few hours so the kid had probably reached the sixth stage by now.
Old Nie was quite shocked as well. After recovering from his shock, he said, "Why don't we...send him straight to the Infinite Strength zone next time? That kid is too cunning. He entered through the Great Strength zone, spending only 100 merit points to cultivate in the Infinite Strength zone. He has basically made a profit of 100 merit points."
Old Huang laughed in amusement and said, "There is no such rule. He is still in the Great Strength Realm so what can you do?"
"We're making a loss!" Old Nie complained. But he soon smiled and said, "Since he's already in the Infinite Strength zone, he will probably come out soon. Let's wait until he's out before grabbing our meal."
"Sure."
Old Huang nodded. They had initially planned to have one of them go out to grab a meal for the both of them. But since Su Yu was still inside, it wouldn't hurt for them to wait a little bit more.
And thus, an hour passed. Two hours passed. Three hours...Until the sun finally rose.
Finally, Old Huang helplessly said, "Go grab some food. I'm hungry."
"Keep waiting! I refuse to believe he can stay much longer! I must see him come out. If I leave now, wouldn't I have waited for nothing if he comes out right after I leave?"
"True."
The two continued waiting.
At this point, they wouldn't be able to eat peacefully if they didn't wait until the kid came out.
The sun continued rising. At the 10th hour, the two old men looked at each other, wondering if they should grab some food first.
At the 12th hour.
Old Huang muttered, "Is it lunch time?"
Yes. Afternoon had arrived.
"I won't eat before he comes out!" Old Nie gloomily said, "It's not like I'll starve to death if I skip a few meals."
Damn it! He refused to believe the kid could last any longer. If the kid was really so incredible, he should just stay in the grotto for 24 hours!
At the 16th hour.
Old Huang muttered, "Why don't...we use the Source Qi Mirror and check if the kid had accidentally killed himself inside?"
This made no sense. Just how long had the kid been inside the grotto? He should have left long ago. Old Huang was really starting to suspect that the kid had burst apart from absorbing too much source qi. Just as that thought crossed his mind, the portal opened.
He hurriedly opened the door in front of the portal. But when the two old men saw the person coming out, a look of disappointment covered their face. It wasn't Su Yu. It was the person who had entered two hours ago.
Old Huang hurriedly asked, "Is there someone inside?"
The other person was an Infinite Strength cultivator. He nodded, "Yeah. There's one fellow there. He sure is tenacious. I can feel him grabbing all the source qi even from far away. Old Huang, who's that fellow?"
"This is unrelated to you. Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."
After sending the student away, Old Huang looked at Old Nie speechlessly. After a while, he asked, "Old Nie, do you want to eat? It has been an entire day since our previous meal."
That kid was still inside! He had outlasted several Infinite Strength cultivators already.
"No!"
Old Nie was turning more and more stubborn. He wasn't going to eat. Su Yu had been starving just as long, right? He wanted to see who among them could last longer! At this point, even if the brat ended up starving himself to death, Old Nie would say that the brat deserved it.
Nevertheless, the two couldn't help but to feel amazed at Su Yu's achievement. Just how many acupoints had that kid opened this time?
"Seventh-stage Great Strength..."
The same thought appeared in both their heads. After spending 16 hours inside the grotto, it was impossible for Su Yu to not reach the seventh stage.
Old Huang dryly said, "Maybe we should charge this kid 1,000 merit points next time. I feel like he's going to milk the grotto dry."
He had only spent 100 merit points to stay so long inside the Infinite Strength grotto. He kept feeling like the academy had made a big loss this time.