Chapter 543: Breaking Your Backbone (3)
The crowd continued waiting.
The people there naturally heard what was being said.
Among the crowd, a group of Skysoars had ashen expressions. One of them asked through voice transmission, "Are we really going to wait like this? Are we allowing him to do as he wishes in the ring?"
These were all single character faction members. And they were running out of patience. This was too shameful. Whenever the students and teachers saw them, they would start talking in whispers while pointing at the group.
This was a disgrace that would remain even if they managed to enter the Cloudbreach or even the Mountainsea Realm in the future. And news of this shameful performance was not only spreading in the academy. It had spread outside the academy.
"What else are we supposed to do? Fight him? You saw his strength. Even after his breakthrough, Di Feng was instantly killed."
"But that was a fresh breakthrough. He didn't even have any apertures open..."
"..."
They continued talking among themselves. When they looked at the ring, they felt shame, helplessness, hesitation, and all sorts of emotions. This was the longest day they had ever experienced.
They wanted to just leave, but that wouldn't change what was happening here. They would not be able to stop all the rumors that were circulating about them.
"The single character faction has over 1,000 members in the academy."
Yes. Over a thousand of them had been suppressed by a single student. The more they thought about it, the more furious they were, and the more indignant they were.
...
At the same time.
Single character faction's main building.
Inside a brightly lit meeting room.
Over a hundred people were gathered in the room. There were Skysoar, Cloudbreach, and even Mountainsea cultivators present.
Nobody said anything.
After a long while, Elder Sun asked, "Pingsheng, where is your teacher?"
With his head lowered, Zhou Pingsheng said, "He's still in seclusion. I'm afraid he won't leave before reaching the Sunmoon Realm."
Elder Sun shut his eyes for a long while before saying, "Su Yu probably has the strength of a fourth or fifth-stage Skysoar. He might even be stronger than that. But he has only challenged those at the first three stages of the Skysoar Realm. What do you think about this, everyone?"
What could they say?
Silence descended.
Yu Hong's sharp voice rang out, "Kill him. As long as he remains alive, we will remain a joke of the Human Realm. I said long ago that even if it would be shameful, we must kill him. Just get our people to challenge him consecutively and kill him through exhaustion. As long as he's dead, people will slowly forget this disgraceful performance."
Silence descended.
How many Skysoars would they need to sacrifice for that? Did she really think that they were all not afraid of death? Easy for her to say that when she wasn't the one dying.
When the elders saw how the Skysoars were avoiding their gazes, they sighed in disappointment. They felt completely helpless. Had the single character faction fallen this far?
Shortly after, Liu Hong returned to the room. He shook his head and said, "He refused to leave."
That was not a surprise for Elder Sun. He said, "If we don't deal with him, we will forever be known as clowns. Liu Hong, do you have any ideas?"
Liu Hong shook his head. Nope. What idea could he have if they didn't have anyone capable of defeating Su Yu?
"We have so many people here. Can't anyone think of something?" Elder Sun was furious, "Are we going to do nothing as he humiliates us?"
"Think about the merit points and resources you have received from the faction. We have given a lot to help you grow, but when it's time for you to step up, all of you are selfishly unwilling to help?"
Not one of them had volunteered. This was the crux. The elders despaired at this realization. Was this the single character faction they had spent over 50 years growing? What a joke!
Yu Hong furiously said, "We need to challenge him consecutively. We must take Su Yu down. Even if you're afraid, you will fight. I would rather have a few of you dead to show that we still have courage than have our faction be known as a faction of cowards."
They were strong in appearance but weak in reality.
Looking at Elder Sun and Elder Li, Yu Hong said, "How would others view us if nobody answers the challenge? They will view us as cowards. They will view our faction as an empty shell. If we fight, even if our members still end up defeated, we can at least show others that we still have the courage to fight. We can only protect our prestige if we display the courage to fight. If we can't even show that much, we will lose the respect of everyone."
If they couldn't defeat Su Yu, they could only admit that Su Yu was too talented. But at the very least, they needed to have the courage to face him. Sure, losing would still be embarrassing, but at least they could tell others to not provoke them lightly as they still had the courage to fight.
But now, them not being Su Yu's match was no longer the issue. In a way, Yu Hong was right. The other elders also realized how serious this was.
If they allowed this cowardly image of their faction to remain, the single character faction as a whole would probably split. The other branches of the single character faction would probably start sidelining and suppressing Great Xia's branch.
They would be isolated from their own faction. Why? Because they had embarrassed the entire single character faction with their cowardice.
Suddenly, someone entered the room and softly said, "Elders, a message has arrived from the Nine Heavens Cultural Research Academy. They are offering to send their fighters if we don't have anyone willing to fight."
Elder Sun said nothing.
At the next moment, a different messenger came in and said, "We have received a message from the Daoseeking Cultural Research Academy. They're asking if we can take Su Yu down before midnight. If not, they can send their people over."
More and more messages arrived.
Soon, a different messenger walked in and said, "Elders, a Mountainsea elder from the neighboring Great Shang has personally entered Great Xia. He has reached Beifeng City. He's asking if we are confident in taking Su Yu down."
"..."
Elder Sun's face turned red. This was too embarrassing! Even an expert from the single character faction of a different prefecture was losing patience. Zhou Mingren was in seclusion. Thus, Elder Sun was the person temporarily in charge of the faction. He found it hard to make a decision.
Su Yu must be killed. Even if they couldn't do it today, they must do it in the future when Su Yu left the academy. There was no doubting that. But today, they also needed to answer Su Yu's challenge. Directly ordering someone to fight would most likely not work well.
At that thought, Elder Sun coldly said, "Everyone is looking at us. Someone has even arrived from Great Shang. It doesn't matter if you're unwilling. Since nobody is volunteering, we will be drawing lots. We have 36 early Skysoars in the academy. We will pick 6 challengers out of these people. The ones picked must fight. Even if you might die, you must fight. We have supported you for so many years. If you don't even have the courage to face a Mental Tempering Stage student, what's the point of keeping you in the faction?"
Using this method, they would not lose more than 6 early Skysoars. Even losing all these Skysoars was preferable to doing nothing. Many faces paled upon hearing that.
"Start the draw!" Yu Hong roared, "Even if you have to die, make sure you die in the ring. Make sure you die before everyone's eyes. Show everyone how cruel Su Yu is toward his fellow members of the same academy. Even if Su Yu can win all his matches, how is he going to establish himself in Great Xia after this?"
Some of them started cursing inwardly. These elders were gambling with their lives! They were gambling that this would be enough to ruin Su Yu's reputation. Why didn't these elders use their own lives for that?
Why were they so silent when Chen Yong challenged Elder Sun? Look at how scared they were of a mere ninth-stage Cloudbreach. Resentment started spreading among the members.
But at this point, the elders would no longer give them any other options. They would rather sacrifice six Skysoars to show that the single character faction still had the courage to fight. They would use this as a way to give Su Yu the reputation of a bloodthirsty butcher.
...
Midnight was getting nearer and nearer.
Suddenly, a group of people arrived.
All of them had unsightly expressions.
The moment they arrived, the leader of the group said, "Su Yu, a match to the death is commonly only held for those with a grudge that can't be erased between them. Meanwhile, you made use of a match like this to kill Di Feng just because you have a little bit of talent. Humans and divinities alike should be angered by your actions."
Su Yu nonchalantly said, "Divinities? Oh, I would be more than happy to see the divine race angry. But I doubt the human race would be angry over the same thing that the divine race is angry about. Are you sure you're not colliding with the divine race?"
"..."
That person's heart skipped a beat at that accusation. He cursed inwardly.
"Su Yu, enough of your sophistry. I only have one question for you. Are you getting off the ring? We are giving you a chance to leave on your own accord. Do you really want to throw your life away like this?"
That person raised his voice and said, "The Character Faculty has been trying to spare you due to your excellent talent. Are you insisting on seeking death and wasting the talent you have been blessed with?"
Su Yu laughed. Those words sure sounded nice. But they were empty. Of course, there might really be some fools out there that would believe those words.
"You talk a lot, but are you entering the ring or not? If you are, sign the contract. If not, piss off."
The moment those words were said, the newly arrived group felt a deep sense of helplessness. Would they die if they entered the ring? But they could only avoid this fight if they were willing to leave the single character faction.
The leader of the group clenched his teeth and stepped forth to sign the contract. After signing the contract, he glared at Su Yu and said, "Fine! Today, let me teach you a lesson, you insolent brat!"
Cries of surprise rang out from the crowd. Someone from the single character faction had finally entered the ring.
"Wang Zhen, third-stage Skysoar and a top 10 student four years ago..."
As a top 10 student four years ago and a current third-stage Skysoar, he wasn't weak. But nor was he strong. After entering the ring, he clenched his teeth and sent a sword shooting toward Su Yu. He did not bother saying anything or giving Su Yu the chance to prepare.
In fact, Su Yu was still seated on the floor.
The Skysoar did not care.
He only wanted to kill Su Yu. Nothing mattered since this was a match to the death without a referee. But right that moment, his vision blurred as he sensed the eruption of a powerful burst of source qi.
"Hah!"
A single roar destabilized his sea of willpower.
Wang Zhen gave up on trying to see. He instantly took out a jade talisman and tossed it forward, ignoring everything else. An incomparably powerful burst of source qi erupted from the talisman. Countless swords appeared.
He naturally wouldn't dare to enter the ring without a trump card. In order to kill Su Yu, the single character faction had not been stingy with their support.
Di Feng had served as the perfect example for him to learn from. He did not dare to wait until Su Yu was near him before using the talisman. Instead, he had immediately activated the talisman.
But after the talisman was used, Su Yu turned into a puddle of water.
Yes.
A shocking scene had appeared.
Su Yu had actually transformed into water, easily avoiding the countless source qi swords sent his way. Before Wang Zheng could react, the clump of water had wrapped itself around his legs.
With a boom, both his legs were crushed. Then, a saber shot up from the clump of water, cutting him into two.
Only then did Su Yu return to his original appearance. His face was slightly pale, but he maintained a calm smile on it.
Water Transformation.
Since he had decided to throw caution to the wind, he would not hide his abilities. These abilities were the source of his confidence. As for what others would think after seeing the abilities he used, well, he had intentionally swallowed a drop of blood essence earlier.
All the blame would lay on ability blood essence. Of course, that was merely an act. The others could believe whatever they wanted. Once again, everyone was shocked.
A third-stage Skysoar had been killed just like that? He had even used a talisman, but Su Yu had been able to easily avoid the attack. Even upon Wang Zhen's death, the numerous swords were still floating in the air. But without a master, these source qi swords broke apart one after another.
As these swords broke, a dense wave of source qi spread in all directions. What a terrifyingly dense wave of source qi. The might of that talisman was probably at the level of a ninth-stage Skysoar.
Alas, it had not hit its target. As for the group of newly arrived individuals, they paled. One of them even turned around and ran.
"Liu Li!"
Someone howled. Liu Li, one of the people who had drawn the lot to fight, had abandoned them.
Liu Li didn't even bother to give them another look. He did not want to die.
Wang Zhen was stronger than him. Someone like that had been instantly killed even after using a talisman. He did not want to suffer the same fate. He would rather leave the single character faction, be hated by the other members, and even leave the academy than die like this.
Even if he had to live his remaining life in suppression, he did not want to die like this.
That was a hopeless fight. Consecutive challenges? Fuck that shit. Why hadn't Yu Hong and Sun Xiang dispatched their own juniors for this task?
Screw them!
His own life was just as valuable as all those people. He had worked very hard to reach this level of cultivation. He was unwilling to throw his life away like this.
"Hehe..." In the ring, Su Yu laughed, "What's the point of throwing your lives away? Just be obedient and admit your defeat. So are you guys really entering the ring? Maybe you can try your luck? After all, the previous match has been quite tiring for me..."
Right after saying that, Su Yu beamed and activated all 320 acupoints in his body. Instantly, the source qi in the area surged violently toward him. In only a moment, his supply of source qi was fully replenished.
He looked completely indifferent about it. But the others paled. One of them gave Wang Zhen's corpse another look before leaving with a bleak look. Wang Zhen's death had ruined the little bit of confidence they had.
Not even a third-stage Skysoar could be a match. Not even a talisman could help. And consecutive challenges would not work. This was merely a senseless act of throwing their lives away.
"I...withdraw from the single character faction. Sorry...but I want to live..."
Yet another one of them left. He did not want to die as well.
A deafening silence enveloped the area. Everyone was shocked, but at the same time, they also started pitying these challengers. Today, the backbone of the single character faction had truly been broken.