Chapter 406: Like Teacher, Like Student (3)
Chen Yong nodded, "I have been guessing the same. He wouldn't have been able to handle Zheng Yuming so easily otherwise. Looks like the principal is no longer trying to hide his cultivation. I wonder what his exact level of cultivation is."
"He is at least a third-stage Sunmoon." Hong Tan said, "I won't even be surprised if he's at the fourth or the fifth stage. Great Xia does not lack Sunmoons. Without being a Sunmoon himself, he wouldn't have been able to keep his position for long."
Su Yu got curious and asked, "Grandteacher, are there a lot of Sunmoons in Great Xia?"
"I guess we have a healthy number of them." Hong Tan smiled, "Hu Dehao, Zhao Rui, Ji Hong, Wan Tiansheng...all of them are Sunmoons. That old fart called Zheng Ping is near that realm as well. The general of the Devil Subduing Army who is currently away at the Allheaven Battlefield is also a Sunmoon. That fatty from the Xia Family, that old lady from the Wu Family...all of them are Sunmoons."
The Great Xia really had a decent number of Sunmoon experts.
After listing out several names, Hong Tan said, "We probably have a few more at the Allheaven Battlefield. All those are the retainers of the Xia Family so I don't know them well. But they are all Sunmoons."
Su Yu nodded. That was not a small number. But it also wasn't that big a number. Great Xia was one of the three strongest human prefectures. But even a prefecture so powerful only had this many Sunmoons.
Hong Tan then looked at Bai Feng and asked, "Do you have something to say?"
"Yeah." Clearly, Bai Feng had intentionally sent Wu Jia away because he had something important to say. He explained, "Senior Brother, I think there is no need for Jia to get involved in this. Knowing too much will only bring her more trouble."
Chen Yong nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Hong Tan looked at Su Yu before looking at Bai Feng. He smiled. It would seem like this student of his placed a lot of importance on the kid.
Bai Feng wasted no time and said, "You see, I can actually still recover. Of course, I'm still not 100 percent sure..."
He gave a simple explanation about his character technique disassembly method, including his theory about adding foundational characters at the Skysoar Realm and beyond.
Hong Tan had a look of shock as he asked, "Are you sure? Can you really replace your lost characters?"
"I think so. That was why I had decided to test this out on myself."
Beside them, Su Yu also grew somewhat excited as he asked, "Teacher, can we really disassemble the character technique?"
"Yeah." Bai Feng nodded, "You must have ignored the data I left you. There is a simple explanation there. I'll tell you more later. In short, our character techniques can be disassembled. Hadn't I told you this previously?"
Hong Tan's eyes were bright. He said, "In that case, anyone can be a member of the multiple character faction. The multiple character faction can no longer be destroyed. I know what those bastards have been thinking. They have merely been jealous of us. But the moment they found a way to cultivate their own character techniques as well...heh. I guarantee you they will do it without a second thought."
Bai Feng understood what his teacher was trying to say. He asked, "Teacher, you intend to spread this?"
"Of course." Hong Tan said, "The more they hate us in the past, the more awkward they will feel after this. Let's see how they're going to keep suppressing us after this. Kid, the moment this research is made public, the multiple character faction will become the mainstay of humanity's cultural research community."
"But I'm afraid of death."
"Hmm?"
Bai Feng sighed, "I'm afraid of death. Teacher, I did consider spreading this before, but I eventually discovered something else. I believe that the path of the multiple character faction is the true path to the Invincible Realm. Some people are deliberately suppressing us. Those people might be the myriad races. Or they might be the traitors of humanity. In any case, these people are deliberately suppressing us."
Bai Feng sighed, "I'm worried that the moment we start showing signs of growth, the scene from 50 years ago will repeat itself. That wasn't an accident. It was a ploy. Instead of attacking us directly, the myriad races are now damaging our foundations from the shadows. But the moment my research result is spread, all human cultural researchers will turn into multiple character faction cultivators. The countdown to the final battle would start. And that would be a battle for the survival of our race."
"Hmm?"
The look in Hong Tan's eyes changed. The battle for survival.
He frowned, "Are you overthinking this? Battle for the survival of our race? We still have a lot of Invincibles..."
"Teacher, I'm not overthinking." Bai Feng said, "We really shouldn't spread this widely yet. Instead, we should develop silently. I have been wondering. Just what would happen when a human cultural researcher advances into an Invincible cultural researcher? The human race has a lot of Invincibles so what's the big deal with having some Invincible cultural researchers as well? There are a lot of signs showing that this hidden enemy is trying to stop humanity from producing a true Invincible cultural researcher."
Their enemies were the myriad races, the traitors, the divines, and the devils. They did not dare to risk letting the human race produce a true Invincible cultural researcher. As for the warriors, they did not seem to care too much about that path of cultivation.
Hong Tan frowned, "Are you sure our path is the correct path to the Invincible Realm?"
"Yes." Bai Feng confidently said, "If you don't believe me, just wait for now. You can make your decision after I reach the Invincible Realm."
Hong Tan ignored the last part of Bai Feng's statement. He thought for a bit and said, "It is normal that the myriad races are afraid of a human entering the Invincible Realm as a cultural researcher. Just look at your grandteacher. He had been able to kill Invincibles as a Sunmoon. Let me put it this way. A warrior Invincible is able to fight an enemy in the same realm one on one. A cultural researcher Invincible would probably be able to face three Invincibles alone. When facing only one Invincible, victory would be guaranteed."
Chen Yong said, "But Teacher, warriors aren't that weak, right?"
Warriors were no weaklings. In a fight, results would still vary depending on the capabilities of each combatant.
Hong Tan shook his head, "Wrong. Sure, warriors aren't weak. But they are definitely weaker than cultural researchers in the same cultivation level. Of course, this combat strength is only possible for multiple character faction members. If the path of multiple characters is really the path to the Invincible Realm, then our cultural researcher Invincibles would naturally be those from the multiple character faction as well."
He looked at Bai Feng and asked, "And how many warriors do you think are capable of defeating you in the same cultivation level?"
"One..."
Bai Feng had an embarrassed look as he said that.
Hong Tan was also reminded of that person. He smiled, "That is different. He is too talented. Someone like him is one among billions. As for your talent...be more self aware. Just our academy alone has at least 100 individuals more talented than you. You only stand out thanks to the path of multiple characters."
Bai Feng's true talent was not in cultivation even if he was actually quite talented in cultivation as well.
But there were still a decent number of people with Bai Feng's level of talent in the academy. As for that person from the war academy, he was a true freak among freaks. That person had defeated Bai Feng three times. Bai Feng had not been able to get even a single victory out of that person.
Bai Feng turned gloomy. Those words were mean.
Hong Tan said, "In any case, a cultural researcher of the multiple character faction would be absolutely powerful once stepping into the Invincible Realm. One of us is as good as three regular Invincibles. Cultural researchers with useful character abilities will also be very difficult to kill. As for warriors, they all have the same tricks. Regrowing their bodies, crushing space itself, and so on. But cultural researchers are capable of pulling out all sorts of tricks."
"Character clones, domain projection, body duplication, elemental transformation, staying alive as long as the sea of willpower remained, concealment, possession, illusions..."
It almost seemed like cultural researchers were capable of everything.
Bai Feng grumbled, "But one needs to have those characters to have all those abilities. Not everyone will have that many characters."
"You're right. But there is no denying that cultural researchers are much better at staying alive than warriors." Hong Tan said, "What do you mean when you say that the path of multiple characters is the sole path to the Invincible Realm?"
Bai Feng thought for a bit and said, "Racial ability character."
"Hmm?"
Bai Feng gave a simple explanation before saying, "I have yet to prove my theory. Thus, I am going to use Martial Uncle as my first test subject. Martial Uncle Xia Yunji and the others will also be my test subjects."
Bai Feng had a joyful look as he said, "In truth, I have a lot of test subjects. I will test my theory on them first. We can think about our next step after verifying my theory. After all, I need to keep researching if my tests on them end up failing. Also, there's this Su Yu kid..."
He looked at Su Yu and said, "He will also be a test subject. He will focus on forming only human characters."
"You..."
Hong Tan was shocked by what Bai Feng was saying, but he also felt somewhat helpless. This fellow was too rash.
He looked at Su Yu and was faced with a simple and honest face. With a smile, Su Yu said, "I will listen to Teacher. I have no objections."
But inwardly, he was overjoyed. Very good. In the future, he no longer needed to form non-human characters anymore. It was getting tiring pretending that he could actually form one.
Hong Tan's emotions turned complicated upon hearing that. What a good student. What an obedient student!
"Su Yu, you need to think carefully before making this decision. This is only a theory. There is no proof that this is the correct path. You are very talented. If you walk the wrong path, your future will be ruined..."
Hong Tan sighed. In truth, a lot of people from their faction had ruined themselves for the sake of testing some theories. So many geniuses had been ruined this way. Even his senior brother had been ruined this way. Without that experiment, his senior brother would have probably reached the Sunmoon Realm by now.
Su Yu maintained the honest look on his face as he said, "I'm not afraid, Grandteacher. Since Teacher says that it's fine, I'll listen to him!"
"..."
Bai Feng rolled his eyes. Bullshit! That brat was most certainly hiding something. Wait, it was possible that this little bastard could only form human characters. The brat had claimed that he was in the process of completing a non-human character previously. How long had it been? Where was that character? Where was it? What a big liar!
Bai Feng vowed to one day dissect Su Yu's sea of willpower and take a look at it. Was this kid not ashamed of acting all simple and honest in front of his grandteacher when he could only form human characters in the first place?
After thinking about it, Hong Tan nodded, "We can give this a try. But your senior brother and I can't try this yet. We still need our strength for any unexpected situations that might arise."
"Bai Feng's worry makes sense. Little Yong, Su Yu, forget everything you hear today. Do not let anyone else know about this." He looked at Bai Feng and said, "Use your martial uncle as the test subject first. As for Xia Yunji and the others, don't touch them for now. They are still able to unleash a certain level of combat strength for now so there is no rush. It would be even more troublesome if your tests end up ruining their characters. As for your martial uncle, he is already half a cripple. It is fine to perform your tests on him."
Su Yu resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He finally understood why Bai Feng had the obsession with dissecting others. So this fellow had learned from his own teacher! Were they even listening to themselves? His martial uncle was already half a cripple so they could freely perform tests on him? That sounded like something only a villain would say!