Chapter 545: Cold Night (2)
At this moment, numerous pairs of eyes were focused on Su Yu. Some were filled with hatred, some were filled with fury, some were filled with regret, some were filled with lamentation, some were filled with helplessness...
The anniversary day had been ruined. Su Yu had not bothered to save the face of the single character faction, the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, and Great Xia itself. This was what everyone agreed on.
The anniversary day was a day where it was preferable to avoid violence. However, violence had erupted. People had bleed. And people had died.
As Su Yu walked, the crowd parted silently to make way for him.
Su Yu was as polite as ever. He thanked all these people with a slight bow, perfectly following the rules of etiquette. With a gentle smile on his face, he stepped away while looking right ahead of him.
Some people started following him. This was a sight that brought a lot of people back in time. Back then, Liu Wenyan had also walked away from the ring with a group of followers behind him.
But back then, the multiple character faction was still in its golden era. Today, Su Yu was the sole multiple character faction member present. Thus, this was a similar sight, yet everything was also different.
...
As he walked toward the Source Soul Research Center, more and more people followed him. One student after another walked silently behind him.
Suddenly, someone asked, "Su Yu, is killing our fellow students and teachers the right thing to do?"
Su Yu looked over. The person who had asked the question was a young girl who looked younger than 18.
He smiled and gently said, "Take this advice from me. Just stay at home. Don't go on a long journey and stay away from the battlefield."
He continued walking. The girl was somewhat angered by the reply, but when she looked around, she saw that some people were deliberately distancing themselves from her. A short while later, her teacher arrived. This teacher was a ninth-stage Skysoar. She came after hearing about her student's question.
She looked at her student helplessly. Regret in her eyes, she said, "Just focus on research from now on. Let the others do the fighting. I don't want to be the one attending the funeral of my student instead of the other way around."
What an idiotic question. Teachers? Fellow students? That was no longer the case. Couldn't her student see that? Those people were Su Yu's enemies. That was a group of people who hated Su Yu more than the Myriad Race Cult. Advising someone to be kind without understanding the hardship one was going through was an idiotic thing to do. It was a childish thing to do.
Someone like that would probably spare an enemy on the battlefield. Her heart would soften upon hearing the pleading of her enemy. And the cost of a soft heart on the battlefield was her life. Not only that, it would also implicate her comrades.
She could not judge who the enemy was. She lacked discernment. An incompetent ally was more terrifying than an enemy. The Great Xia Cultural Research Academy was still a place filled with smart people. A mere bookworm should just focus on research.
She hadn't necessarily asked the question with some malicious intentions, but if she had asked the question out of kindness, then she was truly stupid. Her teacher would rather she had asked the question as a part of her scheme. If this was her true thoughts, she would never survive the battlefield.
The girl blanked out. Was she wrong? But...she really believed that Su Yu was too harsh. For some reason, the entire world seemed to disagree with her.
...
Source Soul Research Center.
Someone was there.
It was Chen Yong.
When Su Yu stepped through the door, Chen Yong gazed at him silently. Su Yu returned the gaze. A short while later, Su Yu gave Chen Yong a deep bow. Chen Yong stepped forth and helped him up with a complicated gaze.
After staring at Su Yu for a long time, he gently rubbed Su Yu's head and softly said, "Sorry. You are smarter than Jia, you think a lot more than her, and you're a lot more sensitive than her. I had neglected this."
"I always believed that since Jia is fine, you would be fine as well. But she was fine because she knew nothing. But you...know everything."
Chen Yong's voice was bitter. Yes. Su Yu knew everything. He wouldn't have felt so much resentment and despair otherwise. Because he knew everything, he had reached this decision today.
Chen Yong had a self-mocking laugh as he said, "My junior brother had accepted a smart student. This student is so smart that it hurts my head. I really hope that you're a little bit less smart. I wish you're as simple-minded as JIa."
"Sorry, Martial Uncle..."
"No, don't be sorry." With a bitter smile, Chen Yong said, "We are the ones who have implicated you. You're still young. Hiding year after year is for us, not you. You're not wrong. If someone must be blamed for this, it's the society we live in."
Chen Yong asked, "Where are you going?"
"Great Ming."
"A decent choice." Chen Yong nodded and smiled, "Zhu Tiandao...Zhu Family. I met them a few times when I was younger. That's a very interesting family. Don't worry and just go. This might be a good thing for you. But remember to never trust anyone too easily. Try to avoid the Bai Family and only see them when you truly need help."
"Alright."
After a short silence, Chen Yong asked, "How are you leaving?"
"I'm leaving on a treasure hunt."
"Treasure hunt?"
"Yeah. A ruin." Su Yu calmly said, "I have a powerful ruin at the Starfall Mountain."
"You..." Chen Yong sighed, "It's safer to just leave silently. Why...must you do this?"
"I am not willing to leave just like this."
Su Yu looked at his martial uncle, his research center, before looking out the window. "I can't accept this. I don't think I should leave. At the very least, I shouldn't be forced to leave in such a sorry manner. I feel mistreated. My formal teacher and my first teacher have all left. My father is still fighting for the Xia Family. As for me...even if they consider my departure a betrayal, I won't regret it. I refuse to accept this."
"You're right to feel that way."
Chen Yong nodded, but the expression on his face turned even more bitter. Yeah. He couldn't accept this.
Before entering the academy, Su Yu was a hot-blooded youth. He wanted to grow strong before enlisting and fighting in the Allheaven Battlefield. He worshipped Xia Longwu. He wanted to join the Martial Dragon Guards.
Just yesterday, he had raved on and on about how he worshipped Great Xia King. But today, he was thinking of leaving. Why? Because he couldn't see any hope here. He only saw despair. Again and again, he was met with nothing but despair and disappointment.
Chen Yong grinned, "Take care of yourself. You're smart. Since you've found a way out yourself, make sure nothing goes wrong. Don't get yourself killed. Contact the Zhu Family in advance, but make sure you don't contact the wrong person. The people nowadays are very crafty. Don't end up contacting a fake agent. That would land you in a lot of trouble."
Su Yu nodded, "Don't worry, Martial Uncle. I will be careful."
"Good. Your grandteacher is in seclusion so I'm afraid he won't be able to send you off. As for your senior sister, she is too weak and rash. I won't burden you with her. It is better for her to stay with me."
Chen Yong had a lot to say. "Great Ming is a good place. Of course, that isn't too strong of a prefecture. They don't have too many geniuses. Upon joining, you will be the number one genius of Great Ming. They will attach a lot of importance to you."
"I'm more worried that you would get too comfortable there. Remember to never stop pushing yourself. Zhu Tiandao wants to change his prefecture, but unfortunately, geniuses are unwilling to join them and he himself isn't willing to take in those lacking in talent. When you're there, be sure to showcase your talent and strength. It doesn't matter if you show off a little. In fact, the more you show, the more important you will be for the Zhu Family."
Su Yu nodded.
Chen Yong continued his nag. He said a lot of things, telling Su Yu about Great Ming's advantages, telling Su Yu about the culture and the overall situation of Great Ming. At this moment, Su Yu finally realized how knowledgeable this martial uncle of his was.
Chen Yong was even aware of the numerous obscure routes one could take to reach Great Ming. He also told Su Yu about safe shelters or optimal escape routes in the event of danger. He said a lot. He did not say a single word of persuasion. He did not try to make Su Yu stay. He was supportive of Su Yu's decision.
In Great Xia, Su Yu would stay forever suppressed. Things would only change after Xia Longwu's advancement. Before that, Su Yu would need to keep staying low-key.
...
Only when the sun rose again did Chen Yong leave the Source Soul Research Center. He did not leave anything behind. There was no need for him to leave anything behind. Seated on the couch, Su Yu stared blankly at the ceiling.
Earlier in the day, he was still somewhat hopeful. During his conversation with Old Huang, he was still earnest even if he was also trying to see the academy's stance from that conversation.
Through the conversation, he wanted to tell Wan Tiansheng and some other people that he did not want to do this. He was useful to them. He could offer them more. He could change a lot of things.
He wanted to stay. Even during his previous conversation with Marquis Xia, he had said that the acupoint fusion method was nothing. He had more to offer. He was risking himself to ask for a room to grow from them. He needed more time. He was worth more than the single character faction.
And were those people made aware of his value? Yes, they were. However, what they faced was not Great Xia's single character faction. Rather, they needed to face the single character faction of the entire humanity.
Su Yu alone could not surpass them all in terms of value. Thus, they could provide him protection, but they couldn't provide him with everything he wanted.
"Hu!"
After softly exhaling, Su Yu smiled, his expression returning to normal. Perhaps this was the real new beginning. This wasn't a bad thing for him. Zhu Family...Zhu Tiandao. This wasn't his first time hearing that name. He had heard that name several times in the past. That person had an average reputation. He was known as an interesting individual, but he was also known as a greasy individual.
Zhu Tiandao might seem very far away from someone like Su Yu, but that wasn't the truth. He was a special Mental Tempering Stage student. Thus, he would only make his choice after taking into consideration Zhu Tiandao's character and the decisions Zhu Tiandao had made in the past. After all, Great Ming wasn't the only place he could go.
"After today, my name will spread even further than before."
Creator of the acupoint fusion method and the Soul Devouring Art, founder of the Source Soul Research Center, the killer of several Skysoars, the genius of the multiple character faction, the enemy of the single character faction, 320 opened acupoints, multiple second-tier characters...
But that was still not enough for Su Yu. Before leaving, he would send the single character faction a large gift. He would also send all the people who had plotted against him before a large gift as well.
His eyes flickered as he thought about Xia Qing. He would continue with the plan. He would tell them that he required their assistance.
Why? Because their help would be required to deal with the reprisals of the single character faction. After offending them, he naturally needed to go to the ruin and receive his second inheritance.
He had no choice but to go. But he needed support. This was how Xia Qing would come into play. He required the help of his friend.
As he thought of all that, Su Yu smiled. He was going to leave, but there was no rush. He still needed to perfect this plan. In the meantime, he could start preparing for his departure. This was a decision he had made abruptly.
Not even he himself had seen it coming. Sure, he had thought of leaving before, but he had definitely not thought of leaving so suddenly. Even now, he had only established a minimal connection with Great Ming.
After he came out with the acupoint fusion method, an agent of Great Ming had contacted him once. Not even that agent had expected that Su Yu would leave. Leaving a top three human prefecture where one was born was not something a genius would do.
A genius would only go to a stronger prefecture.
Great Ming had never stopped trying to poach the geniuses of the other prefectures, but they had rarely succeeded. Those lacking in talent couldn't catch their eye, but they weren't able to catch the eye of those with talent.
But an exception like Su Yu had appeared.
Su Yu smiled. If it wasn't for his desperation, he wouldn't have thought of going to Great Ming as well. Thinking of it this way, that Zhu Family was actually quite pitiful.