Chapter 34: Fifth-Stage Source Opening (1)
Bai Feng was in an even better mood. His martial uncle was too gullible. Of course, at this point, everyone would believe that Su Yu was the lucky one to be accepted as his student instead of the other way around.
He was Bai Feng. Instead of accepting a genius from the academy as his student, he had accepted a mediocre student from a small secondary school instead. Anyone would believe that Su Yu should be honored to be accepted as Bai Feng's student. Once again, Bai Feng returned to the living room. He didn't even spare the broken door a glance.
Su Yu was still waiting. He was both confused and uneasy. What happened earlier? Why did Bai Feng leave? Was there an enemy spying on them?
"Cough." With a cough, Bai Feng flew over and landed on the ground. He looked at Su Yu and smiled, "I have something to handle earlier. It's done. By the way, from your expression, did you successfully complete your Divine Character earlier?"
"I...think so." Su Yu softly said, "I'm not sure. But there is indeed a complete "blood" character in my mind."
"Mhm. Not bad. I felt it. Your Divine Character seems capable of creating illusions. This is a form of willpower interruption." He focused his gaze on Su Yu and continued, "Your willpower is not strong enough, so your illusion is weak. After willpower materialization, the iron-winged bird in your illusion might even fool a Skysoar cultivator. At that point, it will be quite useful.
"I told you previously that I was already very strong at the Mental Tempering Stage. Do you know why? I wasn't lying. I was really very strong then. That was because I had already completed a Divine Character at the time. At that point, I had managed to deliver quite a beating to many war academy students.
"You've also completed a Divine Character. Although it is still weak, this is still an opportunity for you. Of course, never forget how weak your Divine Character is at this stage."
Bai Feng's expression turned solemn, "This is a willpower text I've written without any preparation. The carrier is weak, and it relies purely on my willpower to take form. It is not written with the blood essence of powerful races. In comparison with a proper willpower text, this version here is simply weak.
"In fact, I wouldn't even call it a Skysoar willpower text. At most, it's an incomplete text. Therefore, even if you were able to draw out a complete character from that text, it won't be too useful. Compared to a true genius, you're far too lacking."
Bai Feng sighed, "There are some geniuses in the academy who have already entered the Mental Tempering Stage. I'm talking about new students, by the way. They were already able to draw out complete Divine Characters at the time of joining, with some of those characters being written in the divine or the devil languages.
"At the Mental Tempering Stage, some of them were capable of reading original Infinite Strength Realm texts of the divine and devil races. In other words, their complete Divine Characters have the ability to kill ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivators.
"The Mental Tempering Stage isn't necessarily a stage where you have no combat strength. Of course, that is only applicable for true geniuses. Mediocre talents will not be able to complete a Divine Character at the Mental Tempering Stage. There is no need to even talk about such untalented people.
"The world is big. There are countless geniuses, but how many of them can actually reach the peak? The students being beaten by the war academy students each year are actually the mediocre ones. True geniuses will only advance smoothly and sweep away all obstacles."
Bai Feng kept emphasizing how powerful and amazing those true geniuses were.
"In Great Zhou Cultural Research Academy, there was a student last year who managed to achieve willpower materialization after only half a year in the academy. That person controlled nine complete Divine Characters. With the blood of the divine race, he subsequently advanced to the third-stage Skysoar Realm within a single day.
"After the breakthrough, he entered the Allheaven Battlefield and slaughtered a fifth-stage Skysoar cultivator. The Great Zhou Cultural Research Academy is already discussing the possibility of giving him an early appointment as an assistant researcher. That is how a genius looks like."
Bai Feng was calm. He wasn't lying. However, he did intentionally exclude some facts from his narration. For example, that person's grandfather was actually a senior researcher. That person's grandmother was also a senior researcher. His father was a Cloudbreach expert from a war academy and his mother was a genius researcher from a scientific research academy.
Bai Feng told himself that none of that was important. Yes, definitely not important. If Su Yu was unhappy about it, he could try to find some senior researchers to be his grandparents or parents. If he could really do so, he would be able to earn Bai Feng's heartfelt admiration.
Su Yu was greatly shocked.
"How...old is he?"
"Nineteen. A year older than you."
Su Yu was alarmed. Was the sky outside Nanyuan really that much higher?
"Of course, there are very few people like him around. Do not be discouraged." Bai Feng was afraid that Su Yu would sink into despair so he said, "That's a genius. You're not. But as long as you're willing to work hard, you can reach that height as well. Do not be in a rush to reach there. Us cultural researchers normally stay low-profile until the day comes for us to shake the entire world with our appearance."
"Teacher Bai, I..."
"Oh yeah, don't tell anyone about your success in completing the Divine Character. You're at Nanyuan. This small city likes to make a big deal out of nothing. The moment the Myriad Race Cult found out about that, you'll be in trouble."
Bai Feng warned sternly, "Before gaining enough strength, keep a low profile. You're in a decent situation. You can at least be considered a first-rate genius in Nanyuan. Liu Yue is weaker than you.
"Two months later, the academy will begin its entrance exam. You won't have trouble entering. After the exam, you'll get a month of break. The academy will open in August. The academy will allow you to make a choice of either being freely assigned by the academy or picking a researcher as your teacher. You will then be required to get through the relevant tests depending on your choice. You may pick me.
"You're Martial Uncle's student. Since fate has brought us together, I'll make it easier for you during the test, allowing you to become my personal student. Of course, you're free to ask around before making your choice and see if it's worth becoming my student. I won't mind if you do decide to renounce this opportunity."
Bai Feng then folded the paper containing the Source Opening Codex he had written before. He tossed the paper at Su Yu and said, "Take this back and read it. Although it will have less power than before, it can still be helpful in tempering your willpower. You can even try capturing more Divine Characters from it.
"This is all I'm teaching you for now. Your basics are still very poor and your willpower is still too weak. I can only teach you more when your willpower grows stronger."
Su Yu did not know what to say. He seemed to have been accepted into the academy in advance. He had even been accepted as Bai Feng's student as well. So what did that mean? He was lucky? Or perhaps Bai Feng was merely going through the motions to please Instructor Liu?
He looked down at what he was holding in his hands. A drop of source qi liquid, an original Great Strength bone fragment, and a sixth-stage Skysoar Realm willpower text. Was he rich? Was money falling from the sky for him?
Su Yu was in a daze. He still hadn't realized that all those things weren't his true gain today. Rather, it was the Divine Character he had completed. Although it was still weak, he had still finished building his foundation for Divine Characters in his mind.
"Go back and rest. You've used a lot of willpower today. I'll be waiting for you at the academy. Of course, it won't be that easy to obtain my approval. I need your willpower to be twenty percent full by the time you enter the academy. You will need to have the ability to fully read a Great Strength Realm willpower text. Only then will you be qualified to be my student instead of a random odd-worker I keep around me.
"I can feel that I'll be breaking through into the seventh-stage Skysoar Realm soon. In three years, I'll attempt to enter the Cloudbreach Realm. At that time, if you're still so mediocre, I'm afraid you won't even be qualified to tell others that I'm your teacher."
Speaking with an indifferent tone, Bai Feng clasped his hands on his back, standing in an imposing manner.
"You're too mediocre. Today, you're given a chance. Whether you can grab it or not will depend on what you do."
Su Yu did not say anything. He clenched his fists tightly, asking himself if he was really that mediocre. Perhaps. Someone on the verge of becoming a seventh-stage Skysoar cultivator before reaching thirty was telling him that. He had no way of disputing someone like that.
"I'll work hard!" Su Yu muttered firmly before walking away.
Bai Feng maintained his posture, standing like an unfathomable expert until Su Yu left before he heaved a long breath and grinned.
"Holy shit! Holy shit! He completed a Divine Character! Holy shit! What's his deal? This is too unbelievable!"
He was in disbelief. He laughed to himself. This trip to Nanyuan had been really profitable for him.
"Kid, keep a low profile. Low profile. Don't you fucking dare go around showing off before entering the academy. Don't show off even after entering the academy. Just keep a low profile until you reach the Skysoar Realm."
Bai Feng muttered to himself. He recalled something and said, "No, this won’t do. I need to go back to the academy and put this in the records. I've accepted this fellow out of respect for Martial Uncle. Whoever dares to snatch this student from me will face my wrath!
"No. Teacher knows me. Won't he suspect what I'm doing? What if he snatches my student? This is difficult. What should I do? Arghhh! Oh, right, I can persuade Teacher to leave before updating the records. Yes, that's the way. Haven't a new race appeared at the Allheaven Battlefield? Teacher must be interested in that. Please leave, Teacher. You can return after the new semester starts!"
Bai Feng kept muttering to himself impatiently, wishing that he could return to the academy immediately.
...
Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
A refined middle-aged man was reading a book in a garden. Suddenly, he sneezed. With a frown, he muttered, "Is Senior Brother scolding me again? Sigh. Whatever, I don't mind."
The man smiled and shook his head before returning to his book.
...
Su Yu was in a daze while on his way home.
Reading a willpower text, capturing a Divine Character, and reading an original Great Strength bone fragment were all activities that required willpower. That was especially true for the capturing process. He was in meditation for a long time. By the time he left, it was already dark. However, he had gained a lot today.
Bai Feng had shown him a brand new world, allowing him to see just how big and wondrous the world outside Nanyuan was. Divine Character, willpower, original willpower texts, mental tempering, Cloudbreach, Mountainsea...
Numerous new terms filled Su Yu's brain. That was the real cultivation world. That was the real cultural research academy. Great Strength? Infinite Strength? The realms that seemed so high to him in the past did not seem so special anymore. Creating a world with a character. Suppressing the world with a character. A cultural researcher could also be strong enough to cause the heavens to tremble.
"I'm really weak. My willpower is only ten percent full."
He had always thought that he was quite talented, and he was even slightly prideful of his talent. Liu Wenyan's insistence that he join a cultural research academy had given him a misconception that it would be the academy's loss to not accept him as a student. But today, he realized how ridiculous that notion was.
"That genius from Great Zhou is probably one of the top geniuses in existence. That was why he could reach the third-stage Skysoar Realm in only six months. Bai Feng is probably trying to temper my ego using that person, but I can't deny that there will definitely be a lot of mental tempering students in Great Xia as well."
To reach the Mental Tempering Stage, one needed to be fifty percent full willpower. Su Yu's willpower was only one fifth of such individuals. There was a massive gap between him and them. One ought to know that he had been killed repeatedly in his dreams for many years. Because of that, he had thought that his willpower was decently strong.
While he walked, he continued sensing the blood character in his mind. He had used the character once earlier, so it was rather dim at the moment. Evidently, the previous usage had exhausted a decent amount of the character's strength.
"Divine Characters need to be nourished with willpower..."
Su Yu recalled Bai Feng's reminder. Slowly, he spread his senses over the character, attempting to nourish it with his willpower.
...
Su Yu returned to his quiet home. After sitting blankly for a while, he finally felt the intense hunger his body was suffering from. He had not eaten anything since breakfast. He had left for school in the morning. After a meditation session, it was already late afternoon. By the time he returned home, the sky was already dark. Thus, he was feeling extremely hungry. Not in the mood to cook, he prepared a simple meal of instant noodles before wolfing it down. After the meal, he entered his bedroom.
"Source Opening Codex, original Great Strength bone fragment, source qi liquid."
These were his gains today. They were quite significant. He had exhausted a large amount of willpower, so he did not intend to continue cultivating his willpower during the night. However, he could use the Source Opening Codex written by Bai Feng and the drop of source qi liquid to cultivate his body.
"After reading Bai Feng's Source Opening Codex, I feel like I don't even need to activate the book with blood essence to reach the fifth-stage."
The Source Swallowing Technique activated with blood essence was after all not something suitable for humans.
"What will happen if I activate the book and use the source qi liquid at the same time?"
Su Yu started wondering. Nanyuan did not have a high density of source qi. What if he increased the density of the source qi around him? Would cultivation be faster? He still had two drops of iron-winged bird blood essence. After his previous cultivation session, he could feel himself getting near the fifth-stage.
"I'll reach the fifth-stage first before using the source qi liquid."
After making his decision, Su Yu wasted no time and swallowed a drop of blood essence before activating the Source Swallowing Technique.