Chapter 57: Winds of Change (1)
"Hah!"
A loud shout resounded alongside the sound of a blade being swung. Since Su Yu had broken his closet previously, he did not dare to practice the even more powerful Lightning Source Blade home. He was afraid that he would damage his house or even worse, cut the floor apart and ended up beaten by the grandpa downstairs with his massive fists.
The standard military saber in his hands moved rapidly as it whistled through the air. After a while, he stopped swinging the saber while panting for breath. A frown was on his face.
Difficult.
A profound-grade martial technique was still too difficult for him. It was too early for him to learn something like that. That was the case even though the first move, Lightning Strike, only required a connection of nine acupoints.
"I know the move, but the issue is source qi."
That was Su Yu's conclusion. The move wasn't actually difficult.
His issue was the connection of acupoints and eruption of source qi. He needed to gather all his source qi on the saber before swinging the blade with the speed of lightning. He had only opened eight acupoints. He could utilize the source qi within his body but not the ambient source qi around him.
"I still can't gather my source qi onto the saber fast enough."
Su Yu frowned. It had been three days.
Three days on a single move wasn't a long time, but even though he had been studying the Lightning Source Blade several times per day, he still wasn't able to properly gather his source qi.
That signified that he hadn't achieved even a basic mastery of the first move. To reach that point, he had to at least be able to gather all his source qi as one before channeling the source qi onto the blade.
Further mastery would be achieved through his familiarity with the move and the speed with which he could gather and channel his source qi. He had spent three days without even achieving a basic mastery, so there was definitely no way for him to increase his familiarity or speed.
"Must I reach the ninth-stage before I can use this move?"
Su Yu sighed. He wanted to reach the ninth-stage as well. However, during the past three days, he had cultivated once with blood essence but it was no longer as helpful for him. The final acupoint was opening at a very slow rate.
With his current speed, he would need at least one month to reach the ninth-stage. He had spent twenty days entering the eighth-stage. Thus, taking a month to enter the ninth-stage could actually be considered a fast speed.
Even so, that would only happen if he continued using blood essence to help with his cultivation. He only had two drops of iron-winged bird blood essence on him. He was keeping them for emergencies.
"How do I channel my source qi onto the blade with only eight acupoints?"
He found his source qi somewhat stubborn as he wasn't able to freely move it around. He stopped practicing and sat down. While taking a drink, he sank into contemplation.
"The Rip ability of the iron-winged bird activated through the book works on a similar principle. WIth that ability, I need to gather source qi on my palm and turn my fingers into sharp claws capable of tearing into my enemy's defense.
"But that isn’t an ability I have mastered. The book was the one activating it for me.
"Now, I need to do the same myself by gathering source qi onto the blade. The book utilized the power within the blood essence to do what it did instead of external source qi. That...is similar to my current situation where I have no access to external source qi..."
Su Yu's heart ached at the thought of spending more money. He had an idea as to what he needed to do to achieve basic mastery in the technique. He would have to use blood essence and activate the Rip ability so that he could observe how source qi was being channeled for the ability.
His body would give him the best impression of how things were done. No matter how clear Liu Wenyan's willpower demonstrated the technique to him, it wouldn't be as clear as trying it with his own body.
"I need to spend money again."
A drop of blood essence would cost him thirty thousand dollars. That was only enough for one attempt. Was that worth it? For a lot of people, that would be worth it. For Su Yu, it wasn't that he was stingy. He didn't mind spending money, but the issue was that he really didn't have much to spend.
"Screw it. I'll try using a drop. I'll be able to earn the merit points back by killing a Great Strength cult member. If I can learn the first move, this will be totally worth it."
He had not activated that ability ever since the battle at the school. At the time, he was only at the fourth-stage. Now, he was already at the eighth-stage. He stopped hesitating and took out a bottle from his pocket. He had been keeping the blood essence on him for emergencies.
After making his decision, he did not delay. He swallowed a drop of blood essence and activated the Rip ability instead of the Source Swallowing Technique. Unlike his previous activation, he had a much clearer goal in mind for his activation this time.
This time, he had a much clearer sense as to what was happening inside his body. He could feel a new type of power appearing within his body. That was the power from the blood essence. It was similar to source qi, but it also felt much closer to the natural essence of power within a living being’s body.
That power started circulating through his acupoints before gathering on his right hand, causing his right hand to rapidly swell. He did not unleash the power in his hand. Rather, he silently immersed himself in the sensation of power. This level of pain was still something he could endure. He was experiencing the sensation of having his source qi gathered and studying the profundity behind the movement of source qi.
One minute. Two minutes...
He kept holding the power back and the swelling on his right hand grew worse and worse. His physical body was not strong enough for this kind of power. After all, he was currently wielding a power comparable to the strength of a seventh-stage Great Strength cultivator. His arm felt like it was going to burst apart from all that power.
He continued his study while using his own body as the test subject. In truth, this was a common sight among cultural researchers. If Liu Wenyan and Bai Feng saw what he was doing, apart from scolding him, they would probably praise him as well. What he was demonstrating here was very close to the spirit of cultural researchers: the desire for knowledge.
Desire for knowledge.
There were too many unknown quantities in the myriad realms. Countless civilizations existed, and many of them shone as bright as the sun. Humanity might be strong, but not strong enough to dominate the myriad realms. Only through the constant search for knowledge and exploration of the unknown would humanity be able to rise in power.
Countless cultural researchers served as the pioneer of knowledge. Testing new cultivation methods, adapting and improving the cultivation methods of the myriad races, consuming the various natural treasures, modifying one's body to work alongside the cultivation methods and martial techniques of the myriad races, and so on. Generation after generation, many cultural researchers had perished when exploring the unknown.
However, these people had also achieved extraordinary accomplishments. After the Anping Calendar, humanity had been able to rapidly grow. The cultural researchers had played a massive role in that rise.
There was a place called the Knowledge Seeking Realm. That was the holy land of all cultural researchers, a place where they sought the unknown.
Su Yu was still unaware of the existence of that place. He wasn't thinking of any grand aspirations when doing this. He only wanted to understand the Lightning Source Blade better and achieve a basic mastery in the technique.
However, what he did here, forcing a power far beyond his level as an eighth-stage Source Opening cultivator into his body just to comprehend the secrets behind the circulation of source qi was completely in line with what the spirit of cultural researchers entailed: the desire for knowledge. Of course, there was no doubt that his ignorance had also played a part in his courage.
...
Five minutes later, the power dissipated from Su Yu's body. His right hand had swollen so much that it looked more like a pig trotter than an arm.
He clenched his teeth. There was no avoiding the pain that accompanied this experiment, but not even the pain could mask the joy he was feeling. He felt like he had understood something during the experiment.
"I neglected something previously. To gather source qi, I not only need my acupoints, but I also need my physical body to do its part as well. My meridians, my muscles, and the other parts of my body need to get involved in the process.
"I've been focusing too much on the acupoints, but that's wrong. The acupoints only exist to serve the physical body. The circuit of acupoints is merely the engine."
Su Yu's understanding on the movement of source qi had deepened. Acupoints were the tools to absorb source qi into his body. They were the engine of the vehicle that was his body while source qi was the fuel for the vehicle. He had to remember that his body was the actual vehicle, the wheels, and the steering wheel.
Previously, he had only been burning the fuel in his engine without steering his vehicle. Thus, the issue did not lie on his acupoints. His lack of control over his physical body was the issue.
"In this case, I am the bad driver. I have everything I need to make this work. I have been failing to channel source qi onto the blade because I was the bad driver..."
Su Yu finally came to an understanding, and it brought him a deep sense of satisfaction that made him forget about the pain in his right hand. In truth, his teachers had told him everything he had just learned before. But theory was clearly not as useful as experience.
For example, if one wanted to learn how long it would take to fill a leaking swimming pool with water, actually performing the test once would leave a far deeper impression in one's mind than to perform the calculations a hundred times on paper.
Naturally, the premise for that was for one to actually have a swimming pool at home and to not be afraid of being beaten by one's parents. If both those boxes were ticked, then one could freely perform that test.
All those random thoughts did not stay long in Su Yu's mind. He couldn’t wait to try out the Lightning Source Blade one more time. It was then that he started feeling the pain in his right hand again.
"I won't be able to do it today. I'll try tomorrow. Since I already understand what I need to do, I only need to keep practicing to familiarize myself with it."
Su Yu wasn't only happy because he had managed to understand how to effectively channel source qi. He was also happy because he had discovered an additional use of the book in his mind.
At a glance, the book could only help him absorb source qi and activate different abilities and techniques. But through the ability activation function, he had gained understanding on the proper way to channel source qi. Additionally, he had also discovered the secret of the acupoints the iron-winged birds needed to use that ability.
"This is an iron-winged bird technique. Their bodies are too different from human bodies, so I won't be able to pry too much into their secrets. What if this is a divine or devil race technique? Won't I be able to see even more?"
...
Su Yu returned home to do more reading. He would try the technique again the next day after his hand healed.
It was already the 8th of June. The entrance examination was seventeen days away.
At the same time.
Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
Within a massive hall.
Wan Tiansheng had gathered the academy's higher ups in a meeting. He was slowly speaking, "Prefect Xia is entering seclusion and Marquis Xia will be the acting prefect while the prefect is away. You are all aware of what happened during the appointment ceremony earlier in the morning. I suggested that we withdraw our army and recall the Martial Dragon Guards back to Great Xia."
Right after he said those words, an old man stood up and angrily rebuked, "Wan Tiansheng, both you and Marquis Xia are villains colluding together to ruin our Great Xia! We have been fighting for so many years but we have never withdrawn our army before! Both of you are traitors of humanity! Traitors of Great Xia! You should be executed!"
Wan Tiansheng was not angry. He calmly said, "According to your logic, everyone in Great Zhou and Great Ming are traitors. To forget how to fight will bring peril. But to recklessly pursue aggression will bring destruction!"
"How can you lump us with them?" The old man angrily rebuked, "Recklessly pursue aggression? If humanity stops fighting, the Human Realm will become the new Allheaven Battlefield! If Great Xia stops fighting, if Great Zhou stops fighting, if all the prefectures stop fighting, how will the Human Realm survive?"
"Wan Tiansheng! You're a sinner!"
Wan Tiansheng swept his gaze through the crowd below him. Many of them appeared unhappy. His proposal during the appointment ceremony to withdraw their army and allow the divine skywing race to pay for peace had courted many discontent.
He sighed inwardly, but he was already used to this.
To recklessly pursue aggression would bring destruction. Many people were familiar with that saying, but how many truly understood it? Was Great Xia powerful? Yes. It was very powerful.
But after so many years of war, its income could no longer keep up with its expenses. In each war, it would gain the least compared to other prefectures, so it couldn't even sponsor its war through war like the other prefectures.
They needed to support the Martial Dragon Guards, the Great Xia Army, and pay the compensation to the families of the soldiers that had sacrificed themselves on the battlefield. Great Xia was a prefecture where everyone viewed dying in battle as one of the greatest honors one could achieve.
But by dying in battle, they would lose their lives while Great Xia would lose its wealth. Way too much of their wealth had been spent in this manner.
Over the years, millions of Great Xia soldiers had perished in battle. As someone who loved his soldiers, Xia Longwu had insisted on paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for each dead or crippled soldier as compensation. Apart from that, the families of the dead or crippled soldiers were also eligible for numerous other benefits.
Due to that policy, the people of Great Xia were fearless in battle. There were even a lot of old soldiers fighting like they were trying to throw their lives away just to give their descendents a better future.
].
None of these people understood that the Great Xia was already eating into the foundation built during the reign of Great Xia King instead of using what they were making themselves. After so many years with Xia Longwu at the helm, Great Xia had exhausted a large portion of its accumulated wealth.
Many thoughts appeared in Wan Tiansheng's mind, but he was able to quickly calm his emotions. He slowly spoke, "Sinner? Whether I have sinned or not is not up to any of you. Furthermore, I was merely the one making the proposal. That was Marquis Xia's order."
"Marquis Xia..." The old man's expression changed as he cursed, "He's a pig! Apart from lining his pockets, what else can he do?"
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Wan Tiansheng interrupted the old man by coughing loudly before saying "Senior Hong, there is no need to disguise the target of your criticism..."
"I'm not disguising shit. I'm directly scolding the person I want." The old man was still furious. "Even if he's standing in front of me, I won't hold back from pointing at his nose before scolding him!
"The Xia Trade Company dominates the cultivation resources of Great Xia. Is that not profitable enough for him? That pig is still greedy for more, to the point he's stretching his grubby hands to the battlefield as well. Someone like him should be executed!"
At that point, the mood of the meeting was starting to change.
A younger individual suddenly said, "Principal, will Marquis Xia reduce our salary and bonus after becoming the acting prefect?"
"Principal, why don't you tell Marquis Xia that Xia Trade Company's price is too high. Can you get him to reduce the price of the products sold? We can get the same products for a much cheaper price at Great Ming!"
"Principal, how long will Marquis Xia stay the acting prefect? A few years ago when he became the acting prefect after the prefect left for the battlefield, he was so stingy that we needed to pay just to use the academy washrooms."
"..."