Chapter 348: Expanded Mutual Aid Club (2)
Hu Zongji asked in astonishment, "Su Yu...don't tell me you're already in the Infinite Strength Realm."
"Nope." Su Yu shook his head, "Just gather some information about them for me. At times, you can't trust the rumors you hear, you know?"
There was nothing much he could do about the events outside the academy. But if something really happened to Teacher Liu, he could still make things really difficult for the single character faction within the academy.
Di Feng, who was ranked 9th, had a combat strength near the level of a Skysoar cultivator. Su Yu still wasn't his match. But that might not be the case for Qiu Yi, who was ranked 24th in the ranking.
With the apertures Su Yu had opened, after opening a few more acupoints and cultivating the Soul Devouring Art, he might really gain enough strength to defeat Qiu Yi.
It was not his wish to implicate anyone with his anger toward the single character faction. But since they were the ones targeting his faction, he wouldn't mind teaching them a lesson they couldn't forget.
Within the academy, he feared nothing.
At that thought, Su Yu said, "Do the other elders have any students in the top 100 as well? If there are, gather their information for me as well. Thank you. Some of what I know are probably already outdated. I will be relying on you."
"That won't be an issue."
Hu Zongji nodded. Inwardly, he was actually quite shocked. Su Yu was someone who had joined the academy at the same time as him. But now, Su Yu was already setting his eyes on the top 30 students. What a terrifying individual. This person was growing at a crazy speed.
Su Yu asked, "How is your cultivation of the Pure Source Art?"
"I managed to cultivate it." Hu Zongji nodded, "I only cultivate it as a supplementary cultivation method. My main cultivation method is still the War God Art. I also entered the grotto once to break through into the Great Strength Realm. I now have 18 acupoints opened, but I have also opened a few of the Pure Source Art's acupoints."
With 18 acupoints, he was not even a second-stage Great Strength cultivator. In comparison with Su Yu, he was incomparably weak. But for a new student who hadn't even been in the academy for more than three months, he was actually doing quite well. Not everyone would enter the academy as Great Strength cultivators. And not everyone was Su Yu.
"The acupoint opening is a tad bit too slow..."
Su Yu remarked casually, but Hu Zongji felt awkward hearing that.
Su Yu wasn't saying so to destroy Hu Zongji's confidence. After thinking about it, he said, "In our circle, even if we can't grow strong, we must at least make sure that we aren't too weak. If you are too weak, nobody will attach any importance to you. You won't be able to enter the high-end circles of the academy, resulting in an inability to gather more important information. You can't rely on your second granduncle forever, right?"
Hu Zongji awkwardly said, "I...can't open my acupoints fast enough..."
"That won't be an issue." Su Yu said, "With the Pure Source Art, you'll be able to cleanse your acupoints. Thus, you will be able to increase your cultivation speed by consuming more blood essence. Others might destabilize their foundation after consuming too much blood essence, but you won't face the same problem. You can freely use things like blood essence and pills. It doesn't matter since you have the Pure Source Art."
Hu Zongji nodded in agreement. But he was too ashamed to tell Su Yu that cultivating this way would be too expensive.
"I'll challenge the Top 100 Ranking tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Just look for Xia Huyou and bet on me winning. Bet as much as you can on all matches I'm fighting in. If you trust me, just bet on me..."
Hu Zongji had a helpless smile as he said, "I do trust you, but the others know that you're strong as well. This betting pool won't be able to last long."
"That's the case for the first few matches. But how do you think the others would react if I challenge Qiu Yi? Would people finally stop betting on me?"
"Definitely." Hu Zongji nodded, "But how confident are you?"
"Do you trust me?"
"Yes." Hu Zongji nodded, "Fine. I won't ask how confident you are. Just be careful. From what my second granduncle has been saying, things might grow chaotic in the academy as well. Of course, there will be a limit to the chaos in the academy, but things will definitely be slightly turbulent for a while. At times like this, strength is the most important."
"I'll keep that in mind. Remember, use all your winnings on blood essence and pills and cultivate inside the grotto..."
"I can't enter the grotto." Hu Zongji said, "My previous entry was the free chance given when I joined the academy. I don't have enough total earned merit to enter the grotto normally."
"..."
Su Yu felt like cursing. He had nearly forgotten about the total earned merit. Finally, he was reminded of the fact that very few of the new students could actually enter the grotto.
"Grotto..."
Su Yu rubbed his chin. The Source Qi Secret Grotto was very important. At the very least, it was very important for students below the Skysoar Realm. Each time he entered the grotto, his cultivation speed would be 10 times faster than his usual speed outside the grotto.
Even if he cultivated with an endless supply of blood essence, he would still encounter bottlenecks outside the grotto. Only by cultivating within the grotto would he be able to advance endlessly.
"I'll think of something." Su Yu said, "Maybe there is a way to get you some total earned merit and send you into the grotto."
"Su Yu, this..." Hu Zongji was getting somewhat uneasy, "Will that be possible?"
"I'll try."
Su Yu was unsure, but he could give it a try. And if he really managed to do it, he would be able to further impress Hu Zongji.
...
After the meeting was done, Su Yu wasted no time and left the room. Before leaving, Su Yu nodded at the shopkeeper with a friendly smile.
The old shopkeeper was shocked to see how friendly Su Yu was. When Hu Zongji came down, he said, "Second Young Master, that person...seems to possess the grace of a truly important individual."
Hu Zongji smiled, "Third Uncle, don't address me as the young master. You're sounding like a stranger. As for that person, you're actually right. As long as he gets through this obstacle in front of him, he will grow into an important individual. His strength is truly...sigh."
Even now, Hu Zongji was still in disbelief. It was as though Su Yu would turn into an entirely different person each time they met. It had only been a few days yet Su Yu was already considering challenging Qiu Yi. What a terrifying person.
"Third Uncle...do me a favor."
"What do you need, Second Young Master?"
"Like I said, don't call me the young master...forget it. Help me arrange for the sales of my businesses in Tianshui. Tell my mother that her son is in trouble and requires some money to solve the trouble. Get her to let go of the properties and lend me some money..."
"Second Young Master, this..." Hu Zongji said, "I need to take a gamble. Third Uncle, in our home, I am nothing but a wastrel. My elder brother is a genius. What about me? I suppose I have a decent talent as a high-middle student of a cultural research academy. But in the academy, I am nothing."
"If I don't grab any chance I get, what am I going to do with my life? Am I supposed to spend decades here before entering the Skysoar Realm and returning to Tianshui to get appointed as a minor official? What a boring life that would be.
"I'll first earn some money and use the money to push my cultivation up. As for my future, if I really end up doing badly, so be it. But if I end up doing well, I will have no lack of money in the future!"
"I understand." The old man nodded, "Second Young Master, you're actually quite talented. Just look at you. You're already at the Great Strength Realm..."
Hu Zongji didn't feel like saying anything. Great Strength Realm? Was that really so impressive? Sure, he had taken less than three months to reach the Great Strength Realm. He was also not far away from the second stage. But what if he compared himself with Su Yu? He was so far away from even the bottom of the Top 100 Ranking.
There were so many geniuses and talented students in the academy yet Su Yu had picked Hu Zongji. Hu Zongji knew that Su Yu had his own plans and secrets. Su Yu might not be able to keep a stronger student under control, so that was probably one of the reasons he had picked Hu Zongji.
But he still couldn't be too weak. Otherwise, it would only be a matter of time before he lost all his value to Su Yu who was continuing to grow rapidly.
Just look at how Su Yu had reacted when hearing about his cultivation of the first-stage Great Strength Realm earlier. Yes. There was no reaction whatsoever.
Hu Zongji clenched his teeth and vowed to himself that he definitely couldn't lose Su Yu as a backer. This second granduncle of his wasn't exactly his grandfather. Was he supposed to rely on this granduncle for life?
As for Su Yu, no matter how hard his life was, he still had the backing of a proper eighth-stage Mountainsea cultivator.
Just the Pure Source Art Su Yu had randomly taken out was already something Hu Zongji could only treat as an invaluable treasure. In fact, this cultivation method would be treasured by any other group as well. After all, apart from those top-tier families, very few people actually had something capable of source qi purification.
...
Su Yu was completely unaware of what Hu Zongji was thinking. As far as Su Yu was concerned, it was already impossible for Hu Zongji to keep up with him. He was already happy enough if Hu Zongji could be helpful for now. For example, Hu Zongji could be the source of some information that Su Yu wouldn't be able to obtain himself.
"I need to recruit even more people."
His network of people was still too small. Only after recruiting someone with access to the higher ups would he be able to ensure that he could always stay updated with the latest ongoings.
...
Half an hour later.
Mental Tempering Garden. Beside a certain rock garden.
Within the darkness, Lin Yao asked curiously, "Brother Su, what are we doing here so late at night?"
He asked in excitement, "Brother Su, my teacher's status has grown in the faction! Even my senior brother and I are basking in the light of my teacher's promotion! We are each getting over 30 merit points per month!"
Su Yu blanked out slightly. Promoted? Don't joke around! Even after what he did, Liu Hong was actually still fine?
Su Yu had nothing to say. He could only admire how truly devious Liu Hong was. That fellow had definitely turned Zhou Pingsheng into the super scapegoat.
Despite his thoughts, Su Yu still smiled and said, "Congratulations. All this is within our expectation, including the injuries of that elder. Hehe, if he hasn't been injured, how would Teacher Liu get the chance to showcase his ability? In fact, even the disturbance I created during the challenge matches was for the sake of giving Teacher Liu a chance to perform."
"I guessed right!" Lin Yao said in excitement, "I knew that was an act by both you and Teacher. You were only saying all those things about Teacher to help win more trust from Faculty Head Zhou for my teacher! I knew it!"
Exactly. Holy shit. Su Yu only needed to come up with the first half of the lie and Lin Yao had already completed the story himself. What an incredible...brain.