Chapter 61: Killing Another Great Strength Cultivator (1)
11th of June.
A day later, news of what was happening finally spread.
People from the capital were coming to attend the entrance examinations held in Nanyuan. Some of them were already here, waiting for the examinations to start. Voices of criticism spread alongside the news.
"The capital is reducing the intake of local students!"
"Marquis Xia only cares about money and disregards the well-being of Nanyuan. He is even considering selling Nanyuan to Great Ming for money!"
"Nanyuan has been abandoned by Great Xia!"
"..."
All sorts of rumors flew about. Some were spread by the commoners, and some were spread by those harboring evil intents. The mayor's office reacted immediately. The Windcatcher Department was mobilized while Nanyuan Secondary School provided their students with an explanation of what was happening.
Those from the capital would be taking the examinations using unique slots. Nanyuan's original slots would remain untouched. They would not encroach upon Nanyuan's benefits.
With that, public opinion started changing. Naturally, not everyone believed the explanation. But at the very least, things were calming down as a majority of the population still believed the mayor's office.
...
Windcatcher Department.
This wasn't Su Yu's first time here. He had visited several times before with Liu Wenyan. This time, he was here alone. Things were busy in the department and Su Yu did not trouble anyone. He was crouched at a corner beside a Windcatcher officer who was on a smoke break.
"Uncle Li, have you found any cult members?"
"We're looking into it."
The middle-aged man was surnamed Li. He was an old officer in the department. As a sixth-stage Great Strength cultivator, he was only a low rank officer. Despite his weak cultivation, he had been in the department for many years so he had a strong network in it.
While smoking, he smiled and said, "Little Su, Out of all Nanyuan students, you’re the best!"
He raised his thumb. "Before even graduating, you're already out here hunting cult members. No other student has done so before."
"However..." The middle-aged man lowered his voice, "Your teacher isn't here this time. It is too dangerous for you to join us alone. I'll be frank. Without your teacher around, we might not be able to help you in time if you encounter danger."
Su Yu nodded like an obedient boy before saying, "Uncle Li, I won't make trouble for you guys. I'll just wait far away from the main unit. You guys will be the ones doing the heavy lifting. If I can get one seriously injured escaped cult member to complete the task my instructor gave me, I'll be happy."
The middle-aged man smiled, "Don't worry. If there is a chance, we'll release a seriously injured guy from our encirclement. We're willing to show Instructor Liu this much respect. Even the chief won’t disregard the instructor.
"Furthermore, we all know your old man. Back then, he would occasionally help us with the cult members. He is as good as an external agent of the Windcatcher Department."
Su Yu smiled and hurriedly voiced his gratitude. In truth, his father wasn't the type to enjoy meddling in the affairs of others. But when it comes to killing cult members, anyone capable of combat in Nanyuan would willingly help. As a ninth-stage Great Strength cultivator, Su Long could be considered a decent expert in Nanyuan.
While the two were talking, a team leader shouted, "Northern team, gather up."
At that command, Old Li flicked his cigarette away and rushed toward the main hall. Su Yu also hurriedly followed the older man. Instead of entering the formation of the team, he stood behind them silently.
The team leader glanced at him without commenting. He addressed the assembled group, "Traces of the Myriad Race Cult have been discovered at the outskirts. This time, there aren't a lot of them. Only a small number of them are there trying to incite the locals. According to what we know, there are at least three of them.
"Their strength is unknown, but considering their task, we doubt they will be strong. The northern team will be in charge of this mission. You have three minutes to get ready and set off."
"Alright!" Everyone answered.
This team was composed of thirty Windcatcher officers. That wasn't a small team. The team leader was a ninth-stage Great Strength cultivator. There were also several officers at the seventh-stage Great Strength Realm and above. The rest of them were no weaker than the fourth-stage Great Strength Realm.
As the team members dispersed to make their preparations, the team leader walked up to Su Yu and solemnly said, "The chief has a different mission so he won't be with us. Your instructor is not with us today as well, Su Yu. You've joined several of our missions before. You know how dangerous things can get.
"I know your instructor is a Skysoar cultivator. I also have a good relationship with your father. But during the duration of this mission...nobody will be able to focus on taking care of you. This is an active mission. It's not a game.
"Any carelessness can result in death. Here, people are constantly dying in the line of duty. You can come with us, but remember to not get in our way. When encountering danger, you can run. You can ask for help. But we might not be able to help.
"Your life is valuable. But the lives of others are just as valuable. We won't jeopardize the mission for your sake."
The team leader was stern. "You can choose to leave. If not...you will have to bear with the consequences that might arise from your choice."
As a Source Opening cultivator, Su Yu was too weak. Although he had joined them on other missions before, he had done so in the presence of Liu Wenyan and the chief of the department. There was practically no danger to him with those two around. It was different this time. He was alone.
"Don't worry, Team Leader Liu. My father is a military man while I can be considered a reserve soldier. I won't bring trouble to you guys."
Team Leader Liu nodded. His expression eased up as he reminded, "Be careful. I heard that you're a cultural researcher and you have some special tricks. But remember to not act rashly."
"I understand." Su Yu answered with a helpless smile. Cultural researcher? He was far from one. The people of Nanyuan still knew too little about cultural researchers. Nobody below the Skysoar Realm could be truly considered a cultural researcher.
...
Three minutes later, the fully armed team was gathered yet again. Outside the building, two trucks were waiting. The officers boarded the trucks with Su Yu in their midst. In the truck, everyone was silently checking over their equipment and supplies.
Su Yu did the same. A middle-tier yellow-grade saber and four drops of iron-winged bird blood essence. He had purchased three drops from the secondary school earlier with three merit points. He only had ten merit points remaining.
It was always good to be prepared lest he encountered a dangerous situation that required more than a drop of blood essence. He also made sure to keep the four drops separately in case all of them were lost or damaged together. One of them was kept in a capsule that he hid in his mouth. In an emergency, he could directly swallow it.
After several days of practice with the Lightning Source Blade, Su Yu had finally achieved basic mastery with great difficulty. He was already able to use the first move, albeit at a slow speed.
The Lightning Source Blade required a large amount of source qi to activate. Since Su Yu still couldn't utilize external source qi, he also brought a drop of source qi liquid with him. His final drop was left at home. There was no need for him to take all of them with him. A single drop would be enough for the mission.
"Three drops of blood essence and one drop of source qi liquid are worth around two hundred thousand dollars."
Su Yu sighed. Including his saber, he had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars preparing for this mission. If he returned empty handed, it would be awful. The best result would be to kill a Great Strength cult member and earn some merit points without using any of his expensive trump cards.
If he was forced to use his trump cards such as a drop of blood essence for example, he would need to kill at least one Great Strength cultivator to make up for the loss. This was his first time joining a mission like this alone. Thus, he was both excited and nervous. If he was careless this time, there would be nobody to save his skin.
Old Li was seated beside him. After he was done inspecting his equipment, he looked at Su Yu. When he noticed Su Yu's taut muscles, he smiled and said, "Relax a bit. Don't be too nervous. When we're there, we will leave the truck and travel on foot. You might not even be able to keep up with us."
Su Yu nodded. He seriously said, "I understand. I will be waiting further away from the team."
"Be very careful. If the escaped enemy is in a good condition, pretend you see nothing even if you can actually see them. It doesn't matter if they manage to escape. It's only a matter of time before we hunt them down. Don't throw your life away here."
"Thank you, Uncle Li."
The others in the truck heard their conversation as well. One of them, a young man who looked only slightly older than Su Yu, laughed and said, "I took part in my first mission five years ago. I was also very nervous then. But eventually, I got used to it. Su Yu, just do what you think is the best. Don't be afraid."
"Thank you, Big Brother Chen."
Big Brother Chen was quite young. He wasn't even thirty.
In the Windcatcher Department, he was basically a youngster. In the mood to chat more, he smiled and asked, "Su Yu, you are very talented in physical cultivation as well. Have you never considered joining a war academy?"
/p>
"My instructor is a cultural researcher..." Su Yu smiled, "Since he wants me to enter a cultural research academy, I can only do so."
"True. Instructor Liu is actually a cultural researcher. I've only learned that recently."
Big Brother Chen lamented, "In Great Xia, warriors are of little value. The cultural researchers are the actual treasures. Five years ago, I graduated from the Windcatcher Academy. Graduates of the Windcatcher Academy have a hard time finding a job at the capital unless one is a top genius. People like us can only return home and look for a job locally.
"But the cultural research academy is different. Upon graduation, one will be a cultural researcher all factions will fight for."
He was in a melancholic mood. At the Windcatcher Academy, one could graduate at middle-stage Great Strength Realm. But at the cultural researcher academy, one could only graduate upon reaching the Skysoar Realm. That alone showed the great gap between the two academies.
Big Brother Chen did not wallow in melancholy as he smiled and said, "Su Yu, you will understand how difficult it is to graduate after entering the academy. Each year, less than fifty students manage to graduate while they have a yearly intake of nearly two thousand students. Only about 2.5 percent of the students could graduate. There are also many old students in the academy. Very few of them can graduate within ten years."
"So few?"
Su Yu was first astonished, but he nodded in understanding shortly after. That was understandable. Since only those at the Skysoar Realm could graduate, the academy was basically producing fifty Skysoar cultivators per year. That was actually not a small number.
That was basically the equivalent of fifty Nanyuan mayors per year.
Some of the people in the truck weren't aware about all that as well. One of them was free after he was done inspecting his equipment and joined the conversation, "It's so hard to graduate there?"
A lot of the older Windcatcher officers were actually retired or transferred soldiers. The Windcatcher Academy had not been established for long. Thus, most of their graduates were still quite young. Some of the older officers in the team were people who had never been to the capital.
Big Brother Chen nodded, "It's very difficult. Of course, they have a very different standard when graduating their students. Instructor Liu, for example, cough, can be considered a fresh graduate as well. And he is not the first student to graduate at such an old age."
The expressions of everyone in the truck turned odd. Fresh graduate? That old man? Forget it. The world of those from the capital was something they wouldn't be able to understand. As far as they were concerned, Instructor Liu was basically equal in status with the mayor. But it turned out that he was just a fresh graduate of the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
As they conversed, they arrived at their destination. Instead of going straight to the area where the enemies were last sighted, they stopped a kilometer away. After everyone left the trucks, the team leader did not say anything. With a wave of his hand, the team split into two and advanced toward their target from two separate directions.