Chapter 530: Out Of Seclusion, Hint (1)
Something seemed to have changed within the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy and Great Xia itself. But at the same time, it also seemed like nothing had changed.
The commoners continued living their lives in peace. The Myriad Race Cult continued creating random incidents every now and then. The Martial Dragon Guards continued harvesting cultist heads at the Myriad Race Pit. And Marquis Xia continued doing his business.
Everything was as it was before.
Xia Longwu's seclusion seemed pointless. Yet it also seemed needed. After all, his seclusion had reduced the number of wars the Great Xia was involved in.
Wan Tiansheng had received greater power in Great Xia, yet it also felt like he had not done much with his newfound power.
But some people were aware that the principal was silently changing some things.
He was slowly influencing some things, purging some things, and reversing some things.
But all that required time.
...
Wan Tiansheng remained hidden from the public eye. Xia Longwu remained in his seclusion. Under Marquis Xia's lead, Great Xia was no longer involved in war after war. The number of battles their armies had to engage in had reduced significantly.
As a merchant, profit was his priority. In the eyes of many people, under Marquis Xia's lead, Great Xia seemed to have turned kinder toward its populace.
The masses no longer needed to hear about battles on the frontline. They no longer needed to mourn the loss of their soldiers. They no longer needed to bury their dead soldiers en masse.
It didn't matter if a conflict was internal or external. For many people, everything was fine as long as people could stay alive. As for the decline in their fighting spirit, that wasn't something most people would notice.
...
A golden age of peace and prosperity.
That was the first impression Su Yu got of Great Xia after leaving seclusion. Everyone in the academy seemed to be in an excellent mood. Old Nie, who was in charge of guarding the grotto, seemed to be in a great mood as well.
"Senior Nie, why am I hearing cheers outside?"
Su Yu was astonished. In his eyes, Great Xia and the academy were definitely not peaceful places. This was a dog-eat-dog world. What was happening today?
Old Nie smiled, "Kid, you were away for over 10 days. Have you forgotten the date today?"
"Date?" Shortly after, he replied, "It's the 3rd of December."
"Yeah." Old Nie smiled, "Have you forgotten what's happening tomorrow?"
"Oh." Su Yu recalled something and nodded, "I remember now. It's the anniversary of Great Xia's founding. This is the 350th year after the founding of Great Xia. No wonder people are celebrating."
"It's good that you remember this." Old Nie said, "Back then, Great Qin was the first prefecture to be founded. Great Qin King had started the era of prefectures, answering the call of the masses for a peaceful era. That was the first year of the Anping Calendar.
"At the end of the same year, Great Xia King founded Great Xia, sheltering millions upon millions of people. Tomorrow is the 350th annivesary of Great Xia. Everyone is in a festive mood."
Su Yu smiled, "This is indeed worthy of a celebration. I have nearly forgotten about it."
That was actually a major celebration in the prefecture. Back then, their predecessors had fought bitterly to start a new era under the invasion of the myriad races, starting an era of peace and establishing the 36 prefectures. Countless humans received the protection of these founders.
Great Xia King was the hero king of Great Xia.
Su Yu had been too busy recently so he had completely forgotten about this matter. Hearing about the anniversary, his mood turned cheerful as he said, "Would we be seeing Great Xia King tomorrow? In the past, I was only able to see him on TV. Am I finally going to see him in the flesh?"
"Yeah." Old Nie said, "He might even pay a visit to our academy tomorrow, but we don't know for sure. We might be able to see him if we're lucky. Also, the day after, the war academy will be coming for a student exchange. Are you participating in that activity?"
"I'm not sure." Su Yu didn't really care about that. He was more interested in Great Xia King. He asked, "Teacher, would Great Xia King really visit our academy?"
"Maybe."
Old Nie was also unsure.
Su Yu was getting slightly excited. He had great respect for a hero who had sheltered countless people like Great Xia King.
Over 300 years ago, the Human Realm was invaded. Countless people were slaughtered and rivers of blood flowed. At that time, one Invincible after another emerged from the mountains, the ruins, and the secret grottos. After decades of war and countless sacrifices, they finally repelled the invaders.
That one victory had granted the Human Realm over 300 years of peace. Some of the heroic founders were no longer alive. Some had been killed, some had succumbed to their injuries during the war, and some had vanished after entering some danger zones.
Su Yu thought about all that blankly before he suddenly smiled, "I'll ask Xia Huyou about this..."
Would that fellow's great grandfather visit the academy? Su Yu felt like he was a fanboy who was trying to see his idol. He did not hold similar admiration toward the likes of Wan Tiansheng and Marquis Xia.
Sure, these people were very important as well, but they were nothing compared to Great Xia King who had founded Great Xia amid countless hardships over 300 years ago.
This was the first time Old Nie had ever seen Su Yu behaving like this. With an amused smile, he said, "Not even Xia Huyou might have the answer. Nobody can predict the movement of a super expert like that. In fact, even Marquis Xia would not know for sure. Stop thinking about all that. What's your current cultivation level?"
"Acceptable, I guess. I'm now at the fourth-stage Infinite Strength Realm." Su Yu frowned, "As I grow stronger, the effect of the acupoint fusion method will weaken. I had originally estimated that I would reach the fifth stage in half a month..."
"..."
Old Nie shut his mouth. He didn't feel like talking anymore.
Half a month to reach the fifth stage?
One stage every three days?
Screw him!
This fellow had fused 48 acupoints in half a month. Of course, the number was probably lower since he had probably fused some before the seclusion. Even so, he was probably fusing around 3 acupoints per day. Was he still not happy with this?
He speechlessly said, "Your acupoint fusion method..."
Su Yu smiled, "Didn't I tell Teacher Zhao about this? Both you and Senior Huang can learn this method. You know this, right?"
"Thanks for that. But we have yet to open those acupoints. I'm afraid we will need some time. But kid...you sure are generous."
Old Nie was naturally aware of that. Zhao Ming was actually a part of their neutral faction as well. Su Yu had not given them the method directly, but he had told Zhao Ming that Old Huang and Old Nie could be taught the method.
Old Nie exclaimed in admiration, "That is truly an amazing method. Even with a heaven-grade cultivation method, you were able to gain a stage every three days. That was too fast. Wouldn't you reach the ninth stage if you stayed another month in seclusion?"
Su Yu nodded with a smile. Probably.
"Why did you end your seclusion?" Old Nie joked, "You better not regret coming out. You need to pay 200 merit points the next time you enter, you know?"
Finally, the kid had reached the Infinite Strength Realm! He swore the damn kid had remained as a fake Great Strength cultivator just to milk the grotto's cheap entry fee.
Su Yu smiled, "I need to take a walk. Furthermore..."
He frowned, "I keep having a feeling that 320 acupoints are incomplete. Something is missing. You don't know this, Teacher, but I felt a sense of imbalance after fusing my acupoints."
"Hmm?"
Old Nie asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"
He had decided to pretend he had not heard the part about 320 acupoints.
Su Yu frowned and said, "It's a feeling deep inside me. My body is telling me that my acupoint fusion is wrong. Well, not exactly wrong, but it feels unnatural. The fused acupoints are stronger while the basic acupoints are weaker. There is no balance."
With a helpless tone, Su Yu explained, "Maybe this is because I have opened too many acupoints. With some fused and unfused acupoints in my body, when I try to use the power of my acupoints, it doesn't feel smooth. I have a feeling that with 360 acupoints, even if it's not the perfect cycle, it would be a comparatively perfect cycle."
After a short silence, Su Yu continued, "Thus, I think I'll stop fusing acupoints for now. I need to open 360 acupoints first before advancing with 40 acupoints fused per stage."
At this point, some excitement seeped into his voice as he said, "Teacher, with 40 acupoints per stage, I would definitely be much stronger than I am. At that time, one of my acupoints would be as strong as four basic Great Strength acupoints. With 360 acupoints, at the ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm, I would be able to unleash the strength of 1,440 acupoints. I would be able to blast a ninth-stage Skysoar apart with one punch."
"..."
Old Nie was tired. He was really tired of this kid. Was this kid planning to become the strongest Infinite Strength cultivator since the beginning of time?
Opening 360 acupoints and fusing 40 acupoints per stage? Could he still be called an Infinite Strength cultivator? Blasting a Skysoar apart with a punch? At that point, even weaker Cloudbreach cultivators might be blasted apart with one punch.
"Su Yu, there is balance in everything. You don't want to bite off more than you can chew..."
"Teacher, I'm only 40 acupoints short. I want to give this a try!" Su Yu smiled, "Perhaps I could discover something related to the source soul acupoint by doing this."
He really wanted to give this a try. He had already opened 320 acupoints. What was 40 more? Of course, the premise for that was the discovery of all the acupoints.
He was already aware of the locations of 346 acupoints after going through Xia Clan's collection he had obtained from Xia Huyou. All those acupoints had been marked on a replica for his study.
Not even the Xia Family had discovered 360 acupoints. They had only discovered 322 acupoints in total. Many of their acupoints overlapped with what the academy had discovered.
Su Yu was able to discover the location of 346 acupoints after combing through the records of the academy and the Xia Family. He was only 14 acupoints away from discovering 360 acupoints.
With so many acupoints opened, he was actually capable of using almost all cultivation methods and techniques he knew. The moment he found something he couldn't use directly, that would mean that he had discovered some new acupoints.
Thus, he would be more than happy to find some cultivation methods that he couldn't yet use. Alas...he seemed to have gone through almost all the cultivation methods available in Great Xia.
What a pity.
At this point, one could say that Su Yu was an omnipotent warrior. He only needed to learn the circulation pathway of any cultivation method and technique to instantly grasp it. This was very incredible.