Wu Lan continued stuffing her face with food. She was very impressed with Great Ming's food. As she ate, she said, "There's one more thing. Someone came from Great Zhou. I heard he's a super genius. He was already near Great Xia when I was about to leave. A lot of people were talking about him. He has been claiming that you're his target since your teacher killed his grandpa."
Su Yu frowned, "I'm his target? I'm not even a Skysoar. I know who that person is. He's a Skysoar. Is he going to come to Great Ming and challenge me?"
"I don't know. Are there Skysoars in Great Ming's multiple character faction?"
Su Yu replied, "Yes."
So there was a chance that the super genius would come to Great Ming?
Wu Lan spoke matter-of-factly, "He will definitely come. I heard that he had challenged many multiple character faction members during his travels. He has defeated all of them. He has been traveling south from Great Zhou, causing the multiple character faction of many prefectures to shut down due to humiliating defeats. There are less and less multiple character faction branches around."
Su Yu frowned, but before long, his expression returned to normal as he said, "So be it. If he doesn't come, I won't bother. If he dares to come, he will have to be careful."
Su Yu was not afraid of that so-called super genius. At worst, he could simply refuse to fight since he wasn't even a Skysoar. If that super genius was so amazing, he was free to look for Bai Feng instead.
Bai Feng was a Skysoar and he was serving in the Vanguard Regiment at the Allheaven Battlefield. That super genius was Shan Tianhao's grandson. And Shan Tianhao had been cut down by Liu Wenyan's axe.
Su Yu did not pity Shan Tianhao. In his opinion, Shan Tianhao deserved it. In fact, Su Yu still resented them. After all, they were the ones who had caused Liu Wenyan to be exiled to the Vanguard Regiment.That super genius had been challenging all multiple character faction members he encountered during his travel south. What an arrogant man. At this moment, a loud burst of noise came from the floor below.
When he focused, he heard a shout, "Breaking news! Principal Niu has returned! And he didn't return alone! He returned with a vice principal sent by the Knowledge Seeking Realm!"
"Knowledge Seeking Realm?"
"Yeah."
"What are they doing? It has been a long time since our academy received anyone from the Knowledge Seeking Realm."
"Who knows?"
Su Yu frowned. What was the meaning of that? Was that an action targetting him or was that something that would happen regardless?
Someone else hollered, "Super breaking news! The previous breaking news is outdated! The new vice principal had barely stepped into the city when he stepped into a trap set by an unknown person. One of his legs broke. He had since returned to the Knowledge Seeking Realm for treatment."
Su Yu was completely dumbstruck.
What the fuck? Was this a joke?
A vice principal would be no weaker than a peak Mountainsea. Someone like that broke his leg due to a random trap?
***
At the same time.
Gate of Tiandu City.
An old man was helping a middle-aged man walk with a sigh. "Shit! Shit! Which bastard planted a hunting trap here? That was a trap meant for Sunmoon beasts! Shit! Shit! You won't be able to heal this leg..."
The middle-aged man had a frosty face. He stared at his broken leg silently.
The old man sighed, "I'm really sorry, Old He. But you should really watch your steps in the future..."
"Principal Niu, Tiandu sure is a dangerous place. I've just arrived—"
Before the middle-aged man could finish, the ground below him exploded. The old man hurriedly moved away. The middle-aged man wanted to do the same, but a layer of barrier instantly appeared around him, blocking his path of retreat. With that, the blast hit him. He trembled for a bit before he started wailing miserably.
Countless bugs could be seen crawling all over his body.
The old man hurriedly stepped forth while scolding, "Which bastard did this? What is the meaning of this? I have just returned! Why are you playing these pranks on us?"
"Look at what you rascals did to Old He! Shit! How is he supposed to take office? His injuries are too heavy for that! I guess he will have no choice but to return to the Knowledge Seeking Realm and nurse his injuries."
Old He released a burst of willpower to shake those bugs off, but his flow of willpower was instantly cut. Even his vision turned blurry. In his dazed state, he heard the old man sighing, "Damn. He's going to die soon. He has been poisoned by the Soul Smothering Powder. Shit. If he really dies here, we will have to account for this. Can anyone send him back to the Knowledge Seeking Realm? Come on, stop wasting time! Just say that Vice Principal He stepped on a trap due to his carelessness and nearly got poisoned to death. Go, go, Great Ming can't take the blame for this!"
"Yes."
Someone answered and lifted Old He before vanishing.
A short while later, the old man arrived at the prefect's residence. There, Zhu Tiandao laughed and said, "Old Niu, just let him be. Why did you bring him all the way here before sending him away? You're making me look unwelcoming."
Niu Baidao laughed and said, "That brat does not know respect. I'm older than even his father, but that brat kept nagging me. I was getting tired of it. Too bad we were alone on the way so it wasn't convenient for me to deal with him. What are you afraid of? Your dad is the Great Ming King You will be fine even if you get him killed."
Then, Niu Baidao frowned and said, "What is the Knowledge Seeking Realm trying to do? Not only are they getting involved in the internal affairs of Great Xia, but are they trying to meddle in our affairs as well? Where's Great Ming King?"
"He went to the Allheaven Battlefield."
Zhu Tiandao said, "Who knows what they're thinking? Just ignore them. Great Han King is currently in charge of the Knowledge Seeking Realm, but he has been staying in seclusion. It must be those descendants of Invincibles that are causing trouble.
"Maybe he's here for Su Yu. Whatever. He's gone now. But don't make me the scapegoat for everything next time. You could have gotten one of your clones to pretend to be a demonic beast and attack him."
Niu Baidao sternly said, "Am I that kind of person? Wouldn't I be the same as a cultist if I do that? Also, how am I supposed to explain myself if I do nothing while he's being attacked? But it's different if it happens in Great Ming. They can simply blame the prefect for setting him up. What can he say? Is he going to take his revenge against you? Meanwhile, I am definitely incapable of withstanding their anger. There are plenty of arrogant descendants of Invincibles in the Knowledge Seeking Realm. I can't afford to offend them."
Zhu Tiandao couldn't be bothered to keep arguing. He said, "Send a message to the Knowledge Seeking Realm and say that he accidentally intruded into a forbidden land with a sky devouring ant nest. Also tell the Knowledge Seeking Realm that we're currently dealing with a sky devouring ant outbreak and we need some money for that. Just a few thousand merit points will do."
"Prefect, isn't this a tad bit too excessive?"
Niu Baidao was astonished. Was the prefect going to scam some money from the Knowledge Seeking Realm on top of what they did to the newly appointed vice principal?
"Not at all." Zhu Tiandao smiled and said, "Tell them to send us some money or we can't promise that this outbreak won't spread to the Knowledge Seeking Realm or even Great Zhou before devouring everything. At that time, they will need Invincibles to deal with this disaster."
"What if Great Han King offers to help with this outbreak?"
"What else can we do? Just get someone to release some of these ants." Zhu Tiandao rolled his eyes, "It's not that complicated! These people must be dreaming if they think they can meddle in our affairs. Tell them that Great Ming is going to enter seclusion. Our armies will be withdrawing from the Allheaven Battlefield. They can take over our posts on the Allheaven Battlefield. We will focus on protecting our own prefecture. Also, tell them despite our withdrawal, we are still entitled to eighty percent of their earnings after taking over our territory there. After all, we were the ones who had conquered that territory."
"They would be stupid to agree to this."
Zhu Tiandao said, "It doesn't matter. If they disagree, release the sky devouring ants everywhere. When people complain, just say that the Knowledge Seeking Realm agrees to this. Also, tell them that I'm going to quit being a prefect. I'll be moving into the Knowledge Seeking Realm and become one of the realm masters of the Knowledge Seeking Realm. If they refuse, Great Ming will stop all our support to the Knowledge Seeking Realm. Additionally, my dad will need to return and protect our home instead. Don't forget to demand a payment of ten million merit points from them. Just say that Vice Principal He damaged one of our grand formations right after his arrival. They need to pay for the damages."
Niu Baidao was left completely speechless. There was no way they would agree to that.
After thinking about it, Niu Baodao said, "That won't work. You're asking for too much. How about this? I'll tell them that if they refuse to pay, I'll get Hu Xiansheng to produce a few black holes and swallow up their whole Knowledge Seeking Realm."
"..."
Zhu Tiandao was also left speechless. After a long while, he nodded, "Sure."
"Alright. I'll be taking my leave. That damn brat has been annoying me on the journey here. I didn't even have the chance to take a nice bath and experience the life of the common people. Bye..."
"Take it easy. You're not young anymore."
"I'm healthier than you."
Before long, Niu Baidao was gone. Zhu Tiandao stood there smiling. What was the Knowledge Seeking Realm doing? Which idiot was running things currently? Why were they dreaming of meddling in the affairs of Great Ming? Did those idiots think that the Zhu Family was the same as the Xia Family?
With a yawn, Zhu Tiandao said, "Guards, tell Su Yu that someone has arrived to target him, but I dealt with that person for him. Make sure to let Su Yu know that for the sake of sending that troublemaker away, I spent a million merit points. But I won't be asking for any money from him since we're family. He only needs to remember the Zhu Family when he produces a new cultivation method. We have more than enough money to buy his creations."
"Yes."
Zhu Tiandao grinned with joy. This was a way for him to do Su Yu a favor for free. There was no way he would let go of this chance.
"Is this a test?"
Zhu Tiandao was unimpressed. Was this test directed toward Great Ming, or was it directed toward him? Or perhaps...Su Yu was the target? After all, Zhu Tiandao had not reached the ninth-stage Sunmoon Realm for long. He wasn't going to be affirming his dao anytime soon. There was no need to test him.
"Damn it! I'm already so weak that everyone is looking down at me. The fuck are you testing me for? Even that Xia Xiao'er might be stronger than me. Just keep your damn eyes on the Xia and Zhou Families. The Zhu family is so pitiful. Why set your gazes on us?"
Zhu Tiandao kept shaking his head, telling himself how weak he was. After all, even his own father called him weak. So that was most definitely the truth.