Chapter 33: You're Too Mediocre
"Blood!"
In Su Yu's mind, the indistinct character was struggling violently to get free of his control. He used all his strength to control and suppress the character. The character constantly moved within his mental space. He wasn't sure if this was actually a mental space. In any case, it was something deep within him. However, now wasn't the time to think about all that.
He had to focus on controlling the character. That character would be his from now on! His willpower was trying to suppress the character. At least that was what the impression he got from the mental exhaustion he was feeling, a similar sensation to what he would experience in his dreams.
The character constantly resisted, and Su Yu tried his very best to suppress it. After an indeterminate amount of time, the character seemed to have given up. It stopped moving.
"Do you submit?"
Su Yu questioned in his mind. He had mentally beaten this character up. He believed that he had finally tamed it. Thus, he asked the character if it would submit. The character actually responded. It did not seem willing to submit and started struggling again.
"I'll whoop your ass!"
Boom! Boom!
Su Yu felt like he was fighting in a dream. In the past, he had never been able to defeat the monsters in his dreams. This time, it was different. He had a feeling that he could win. So it turned out that this was a matter of giving his opponent a beatdown. This was his very first time encountering something weaker than him in his dream. In his past dreams, he would always be the weakest person in them. This time, the blood character had taken on the role of the weakest.
"I'll whoop your ass!"
After a while, the character stopped moving again.
"Do you submit?"
Boom!
It moved again!
Once again, it was beaten until it stopped.
"Do you submit?"
Boom!
"..."
That went on numerous times before finally, the character stopped moving and remained after he asked if it was willing to submit. It appeared completely exhausted. It had submitted!
...
In the room, Bai Feng's gaze was fixed on Su Yu. The more he waited, the more astonished he was. Was this kid still at it? This session was basically a foundation building session for Su Yu, and it should have ended by now. Why was this kid still at it? Bai Feng continued waiting patiently. After a long while, Su Yu woke up.
When he opened his eyes, Bai Feng entered his gaze. He hurriedly said, "Teacher Bai, I fell asleep..."
"You didn't." Bai Feng did not give further explanation. "So how much of the character did you manage to keep?"
"What?" Su Yu asked blankly.
"During your first capture attempt, you lack experience and willpower. You won't be able to keep the entire character in your mind. How much of the blood character did you manage to keep?"
Su Yu was still confused. What did he mean?
"How many strokes of the character are clear?" Bai Feng was speechless. Was that so hard to understand?
"There are six strokes in the character ‘blood’. How many strokes did you manage to keep? Even if it's only one, it doesn't matter. As long as you can keep a part of the character in your mind, your foundation building can be considered a success."
Su Yu finally understood. How many strokes did he manage to keep in his mind? Was there a need to capture a character stroke by stroke? Wasn't he supposed to capture the entire character? He sank into hesitation, wondering if he had misunderstood something. Or perhaps he had failed to keep anything in his mind? After all, the character in his mind did not seem incomplete.
When Bai Feng saw that Su Yu wasn't saying anything, he said, "Don't be discouraged. Even if you only managed to keep a stroke or half a stroke, it is a good result. For a beginner like you, forming a Divine Character is extremely difficult."
"Even if this willpower text is a weakened version written by me, with your level of willpower, you will need at least three months or half a year to complete the character. But as long as the foundation is there, you'll be fine. Moving on, you can slowly complete it."
Bai Feng had a smile on his face. He was in a good mood, so he didn't mind telling Su Yu more.
"After completing a Divine Character, even before willpower materialization, you will still be able to enjoy some benefits from your Divine Character. The character ‘blood’ you picked has been picked by others before, but each person would get a different use out of the same character. Some can use it to devour the enemy's blood during battles. Some can use it to condense the blood essence of the myriad races. In truth, many of the blood essence you see in the market are condensed by users of the blood character.
"Of course, the world is a massive. Anything is possible. A single character might be utilized in an entirely different manner than what the character means. When you complete the character in the future, you can start sensing and discovering its usages."
Su Yu listened attentively while trying to sense the character in his mind. So how was he supposed to utilize this little brother he had just subdued? If one could only sense the character after completing it, then he must have completed it already, right?
In Su Yu’s mind, the blood character trembled. Next, he received some vague impressions. Bai Feng was still speaking when the scene before him blurred and changed into a charging iron-winged bird.
"Moonlight!"
A brutal roar echoed, causing Bai Feng to blank out slightly. Someone as strong as him could destroy this illusion as easily as breathing. But he didn't do so. He allowed the illusion to play out, letting the iron-winged bird charge at him.
He was stupefied.
He was dumbstruck.
He then flickered and rammed through the door before appearing directly in front of Liu Wenyan. Liu Wenyan stared at him blankly. What was this fellow doing?
"Martial Uncle, are you playing a joke on me?"
Liu Wenyan blinked his eyes before he immediately raged. This fellow had suddenly appeared before him, giving him a scare. Who the hell was playing a joke here?
"Are you asking for a beating?"
Bai Feng stared at Liu Wenyan and concluded that his martial uncle had nothing to do with the illusion. He was only checking if Liu Wenyan was playing a joke on him since the alternative was something impossible.
That illusion was too weak. It wouldn't be able to do anything to him. He could see that it was an illusion with one look. If it wasn't Liu Wenyan, was it Su Yu? What joke was that? He absolutely refused to believe that. He could force himself to believe that Su Yu had successfully established his Divine Character foundation as he had personally witnessed that.
But was he supposed to believe that not only had Su Yu established his foundation, but he had also completed a Divine Character? Bai Feng could not believe this! He couldn't! He would find it acceptable if Su Yu was already at the Mental Tempering Stage. After all, a genius was allowed to be special.
But was he supposed to believe that someone with only ten percent willpower had successfully completed a Divine Character? Did that not mean that Bai Feng's willpower text was trash? How had Su Yu captured and completed a character from the willpower text so easily otherwise?
"Hey!" Liu Wenyan shouted with a dark expression, "Bai Feng, are you here to challenge this old man?"
Bai Feng was snapped out of his thoughts. He was about to speak when he recalled something. With a smile, he said, "Martial Uncle, that was a joke! A joke! I was teaching Su Yu today, right? I think his talent is mediocre, and he'll probably be nothing more than an ordinary student in the academy. But since he is your student..."
Bai Feng pretended to hesitate before saying, "You're my martial uncle. I'm afraid that he won't be accepted as anyone's personal student after entering the academy. I might only be an assistant researcher, but I am still qualified to accept personal students. Why don't you let him follow me around for a bit."
"You?" An odd expression covered Liu Wenyan's face. He completely forgot what Bai Feng did and asked curiously, "You're accepting a personal student?"
"Having him follow me around is better than letting him be an ordinary student, right?"
Liu Wenyan asked sternly, "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. He is mediocre, but he's quite a tenacious one. He was able to read the willpower text for quite a long time earlier. Maybe he can do decently for himself in the future."
Liu Wenyan smiled happily, "You can be sure of that. That kid is really not that special in terms of talent, but he is indeed tenacious. He is also way more patient than others his age. He can spend a few days awake just to study a language. He is willing to work hard and suffer hardships."
"Over the years, the school has nurtured other students that are more talented than him. But I never really place much importance on them. But this kid really has the potential to grow into an expert if he is given the chance."
Toward the end, Liu Wenyan sighed. He was afraid that Su Yu wouldn't be given such a chance.
When he recalled what Bai Feng suggested, he smiled and asked, "Are you really taking him as your personal student? You're an assistant researcher. Before turning into a full researcher, you won't be able to accept more than two personal students, right?"
"Yeah, but I've never accepted any students before. There are geniuses in the academy wishing to become my student. But in all honesty, I've seen a lot of geniuses. How many of them are actually better than me? Some of them are even getting quite creative. When they see my potential, they have their parents pull all sorts of tricks to send them my way.
"There are also some teachers and senior researchers that have tried to send their people my way to get close to Teacher through me. But none of them managed to catch my eye. Su Yu is different. I like his attitude. I only need someone hardworking. He's not a super genius, but he's not the worst either. Furthermore, he's your student. Since fate has allowed us to meet here in Nanyuan, there's no harm in me taking him as a student. What do you think, Martial Uncle?"
Liu Wenyan glanced at Bai Feng and said, "Although he's not too talented. But I still hope that he can walk too far. If you're going to only go through the motions instead of properly teaching him, forget it. I know this is a good opportunity for him, but I would rather he keep waiting than getting a teacher that isn't serious about teaching him.
"With his character, I believe that someone will notice him after a few years. If you're really serious about teaching him, I won't mind him being your personal student. This is his opportunity. I won't stop him. I'll only congratulate him."
Liu Wenyan had a solemn expression. Su Yu was a genius in Nanyuan, but in the capital, his level of talent was nothing. Liu Wenyan still believed that Su Yu had the potential to become an expert one day. He only needed to stay in the academy for a few years and he would gain the chance to soar to the skies in one bound. He did not wish to see Bai Feng waste Su Yu's talent. Even if it would be a great opportunity for Su Yu to become Bai Feng's student, if Bai Feng wasn't serious, Liu Wenyan would stop it from happening.
"Don't worry, Martial Uncle." Bai Feng smiled, "Either I don't accept any student or accept students and teach them properly. If he can do well, as his teacher, I will gain some benefits as well. Perhaps I can even advance into a full researcher earlier."
"According to the academy rules, I need to either break through into the Cloudbreach Realm or teach a couple of outstanding students if I want to advance into a full researcher. I've always been too lazy to teach and only aimed to reach the Cloudbreach Realm as soon as possible. But if Su Yu is good enough, who knows? He might be able to help me turn full researcher earlier."
Liu Wenyan had a wide smile, "Teach properly. That will definitely happen. I believe in him."
"Do you agree then, Martial Uncle?"
"About that...I don't mind. You have to ask him, though."
Bai Feng had a fawning smile, "You're closer to him, Martial Uncle. Just talk more to him and let him know that it isn't his loss to become my student. I'm only an assistant researcher, so he might actually reject my offer. There are a lot of examples of such arrogant youngsters out there. These small city geniuses, in particular, always think that they're the best in the world."
"He won't." Liu Wenyan said, "I'll talk to him."
"I'll have to trouble you, Martial Uncle." Bai Feng nodded. He flickered and vanished from Liu Wenyan's gaze.
After Bai Feng left, Liu Wenyan burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that he was trembling. That kid...was really not bad at all. He was even able to catch Bai Feng's attention.
Who was Bai Feng? Assistant researcher, a genius sixth-stage Skysoar Realm cultivator. His teacher was a senior researcher, a super expert at the Mountainsea Realm. Bai Feng himself was on the cusp of advancing into the seventh-stage.
Bai Feng was probably five to eight years away from reaching the Cloudbreach Realm. In any case, he would definitely be able to enter that realm within ten years. He would become a Cloudbreach cultivator younger before forty. He also had a chance to enter the Mountainsea Realm before sixty and the realm beyond before he was a hundred years old.
Would someone like that be as mediocre as Liu Wenyan had claimed him to be? Definitely not. Xia Longwu of Great Xia was known across the various realms as a super genius. Twenty years ago when he led the Devil Subduing Army, he was at the peak of the Mountainsea Realm.
At that time, Xia Longwu was about forty years old. With his strength and age, he was acknowledged by the myriad races as a super genius. Bai Feng might be slightly inferior to Xia Longwu, but even across the myriad realms, how many people could surpass Xia Longwu?
"Su Yu, this is your chance."
Liu Wenyan was in an excellent mood.