Chapter 637: Public Opinion (2)
Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
A heavy atmosphere enveloped the academy. Even the sky seemed darker than usual. It had been a while since any student bothered challenging the Top 100 Ranking. Groups of students all over the academy were talking in whispers.
"Damn it! What is the meaning of this? Why is the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy banned from learning the Source Soul Cultural Art? We can't buy it even if we can afford it! If this continues, the students of the other prefectures will surpass us. The gap between us will grow so wide that we can no longer hope to compete against them."
"It allows one to breeze through the Skysoar Realm and reach the Cloudbreach Realm at least 20 years earlier. And with this cultivation method, a lot of people will start cultivating at a young age. After a few decades...no, after a few years, the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy can forget about recruiting even a single student anymore."
"The new semester will start soon. Just you watch. The number of new students will drop drastically."
All the students were talking about the same topic. They were furious. They were dissatisfied. They were indignant. Everyone could learn it except them. It wasn't that Su Yu didn't want to teach them, but he was afraid that he would strengthen his enemies and help them kill him.
If this was in the past, everyone would believe that he was exaggerating. But they couldn't help but believe those words now. After all, the single character faction had already attempted to kill Su Yu once with multiple experts. It hadn't even been that long. That scandal was still fresh in everyone’s memory. Wasn't it normal that Su Yu would be worried?
More importantly, things had barely calmed down when the damned new vice principal decided to start suppressing Chen Yong and his allies again. He had even suggested that they arrest Su Yu during a meeting between elders! According to him, Su Yu was a defector.
Yes, this was one of the rumors being spread everywhere.
Defector? Was that really a defection? No! He was forced by them to leave!
Those damn people had the galls to call Su Yu a traitor? That used to be a genius student of their academy! But they had turned that student into a traitor? That was Su Yu, the creator of the Double Wu Acupoint Fusion Art! Not long after joining Great Ming, he had created a brand new cultivation method, the Source Soul Cultural Art. If he had remained in Great Xia, they would definitely be the ones to learn this cultivation method first!
Damn it!
Someone gnashed his teeth and said, "Fuck it! If I can't learn it here, I'll transfer to a different academy! How am I supposed to survive here? Even our funding has been reduced. There is no longer any benefit to staying in this academy!"
"Exactly! How are we supposed to grow in such an environment?"
"With our talent, the other prefectures will be happy to have us. Great Ming isn' even that far away. At worse, I'll simply go to Great Ming."
A sudden silence descended.
A passing teacher berated, "What bullshit are you saying? If you run your mouth again—"
The same student clenched his teeth and said, "What are you going to do? Expel me? That's even better! Unaffiliated cultural researchers are not banned from learning this cultivation method! Here in this academy, we can't get the resources we need, we can't get the cultivation methods we need, and we can't even get any justice! The moment we perform well in something, we need to start worrying about suppression. I might as well leave!"
The teacher's expression turned unsightly. He said nothing and hurriedly walked off. If he continued arguing with the students, he might cause a mass disturbance. That would be catastrophic for him.
In the past, everyone viewed this place as the holy land of cultural researchers. But now, that reputation was crumbling apart. One ought to remember that at this point, the distribution of the new cultivation method hadn't even begun! Nobody knew if it was good or not!
Just imagine what would happen the moment someone managed to rapidly reach the Cloudbreach Realm with this cultivation method. The cultural researchers of Great Xia would turn into clowns.
The faith of the students was starting to shake. Again and again, their faith in the academy had been challenged. Should they remain in the academy? As of late, even Principal Wan seemed to have stopped managing the academy. Instead, the newly arrived vice principal was the person running things. But that person was the ultimate culprit of their current predicament!
Everyone was indifferent to Su Yu's plight when it did not affect them. But they could no longer stay indifferent since their own benefits were being threatened. For most of these people, it didn't matter who Yuan Qingdong wished to suppress as long as it wasn't them.
But because of Yuan Qingdong's suppression, they had all been banned from learning the new cultivation method. That was not something they could accept.
Suddenly, someone said, "Good news! We don't have to move prefectures anymore! I heard the war academies are able to teach this new cultivation method!"
"What?"
"Damn it! We are in an actual cultural research academy, but this cultural art can't be taught here? Instead, it is being taught in war academies?"
"Stop wasting your breath. I heard that both the Martial Dragon War Academy and Great Xia War Academy are expanding their cultural research faculties. In the past, they don't have a lot of cultural researchers, but that might change starting from next semester."
"Fuck!"
Someone cursed.
A different person said, "Isn't this good? Someone considered going to Great Ming earlier, right? But that place is too far. Now, we can simply switch to a different academy in Great Xia."
"Can we even join the war academy?"
"It won't be too difficult, right? As long as our academy is willing to let us go, they don't have a reason to reject us."
"What if our academy does not allow us to go?"
"Then they better get the distribution rights for that cultivation method! Otherwise, even our top 100 students will be weaker than those from the other academies after a few years. At that time, can we still call ourselves a cultural research academy?"
With a foundation cultural art, a Mental Tempering Stage student would gain a great boost in strength. If one could open dozens of apertures at the Mental Tempering Stage, one's willpower would be several times stronger than those without a cultural art. How would the students without a foundation cultural art compete?
So what if one had exquisite characters, decent willpower, and strong physical cultivation? The opponent only needed to release a burst of willpower that was equivalent to a Skysoar's willpower to render one completely helpless.
Even the so-called top 100 students would not be able to escape this fate. And the gap would only grow larger at the Skysoar Realm. After all, the others could rapidly reach the late Skysoar Realm. Meanwhile, they would be stuck at the early Skysoar Realm for decades. Was there still a point in competing?
By the time the others were in the Cloudbreach Realm, they would still be struggling in the Skysoar Realm.
The entire Human Realm focused on the three cultural research academies of Great Xia. What would they do now? Their students would definitely be unhappy. Also, would they be able to recruit any new students during the next semester?
Could the students of the three academies resist leaving after seeing how the cultivation method was being taught everywhere except their academies?
***
Heart Cultivating Pavilion.
Not long after the previous meeting, yet another meeting was called between the elders. Nobody said a single word. This time, Chen Yong did not even bother attending. He claimed that he was in seclusion.
Wan Tiansheng was absent as he also claimed that he was in seclusion. Yuan Qingdong had been given free reign after Wan Tiansheng entered seclusion. Yuan Qingdong had an unsightly expression.
That move from Su Yu was actually a checkmate on him. Su Yu had actually done something like that to him from the distant Great Ming? What should he do now?
Morale in the academy was dropping and the students were no longer in the mood to learn. They only wanted to get a confirmation on whether this new cultivation method would be taught in the academy or not.
If their academy was really banned from teaching this cultivation method, who would take responsibility for that?
"Does nobody have anything to say?"
Yuan Qingdong asked.
"A lot of people here know Su Yu. Is that cultural art real?"
Deep inside, he knew that it was probably real. Su Yu wouldn't have dared to create such a big ruckus otherwise. That would have offended everyone.
"Most likely." Someone indifferently said, "In truth, it was already known that Su Yu had opened some apertures. But back then, we all thought that he had only opened about 10 apertures. But...we were all wrong. He actually has a 72-aperture cultural art!"
That was a very big deal.
"As for the ban on the three academies..." An elder said, "If you think about it, that's the right choice. After all, he was bullied out of Great Xia. If he decides to let bygones be bygones and let his enemies benefit from his creation, he would be a fool, not a saint. His action is completely understandable, right?"
Yuan Qingdong's expression changed as he stared at the elder who had spoken.
The elder smiled and said, "Vice Principal Yuan, this isn't something we can deal with so easily. Why don't you have a talk with Su Yu? Perhaps you can persuade him to change his mind."
Yuan Qingdong said, "If a talk is required, Great Xia should be in charge of it instead. Don't forget that this cultural art does not matter to people like us. At our level, having this cultural art won't change much—"
Before he could finish his words, someone said, "Yeah, yeah. Those from Great Yuan can learn it. Those from the Yuan Family can learn it. Since a certain someone's family isn't here, why should he care about this?"
Yuan Qingdong looked at He Ji coldly.
He Ji shrugged and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? That’s the truth. This does not affect you. If I were in your position, I would be indifferent as well. You're unlike us, with students, friends, and loved ones here."
This new vice principal wasn't even a local. Of course he didn't care.
Yuan Qingdong coldly said, "Elder He, Su Yu's refusal to let Great Xia Cultural Research Academy teach this cultivation method is not my fault."
He Ji smiled, "Of course not. Definitely. But the masses are talking nonsense. They keep claiming that it's your fault. Because you were the one who had called Su Yu a traitor and angered him. Because of you, he decided to place a ban on our academy."
Yuan Qingdong frowned and said, "This matter had been concluded during the previous meeting. Su Yu is not a traitor. The misunderstanding was due to Feng Ji's hidden identity. Also, why have the contents of our meeting leaked? Is this the right thing to do?"
He Ji shrugged indifferently and said, "I see, I see. I'm planning to ask for a favor from Su Yu anyway. Don't ban everyone from the academy. He should make an exception for me. After all, I'm quite friendly with his teacher."
He Ji personally wasn't too worried. He could always look for Chen Yong or Su Yu to get the cultivation method if he wanted. It was no big deal. A copy obtained from Chen Yong or Su Yu would most definitely be a legitimate copy.
As for the others in the academy who were planning to learn it illegally, it had nothing to do with him. That was a major crime. They might even start a trend of learning cultivation methods illegally. Eventually, even the Xia Family's Sky Sundering Saber would be spread everywhere illegally. That would also happen to the secret techniques of the other Invincibles.
Yuan Qingdong frowned and looked at Xia Changqing. "Vice Principal Changqing, what is the Xia Family's thought about this?"
Xia Changqing looked at everyone in the room before slowly saying, "The Xia Family intends to negotiate. If the negotiation fails, we'll decide on our next step."
Yuan Qingdong sank into silence. After a while, he said, "After this meeting, be sure to placate the students. Promise them that they will get to learn this cultivation method."
He Ji asked, "What if we fail to fulfill that promise? Are you telling us to deceive our students?"
Yuan Qingdong coldly said, "There is always a solution for everything. If all else fails, we can simply change the name of the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. Is Su Yu going to keep updating his requirements? That would turn him into a joke..."
He stopped speaking when he noticed that all the elders were staring at him.
He Ji said, "Vice Principal Yuan, you're not from Great Xia, so you don't understand this. You don't understand the significance of Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. This is the pride of all cultural researchers in Great Xia. This is our legacy. For generation after generation, this has been the holy land of all cultural researchers in Great Xia. Changing its name?"
"I guess I can understand why you made that suggestion. For you, it's nothing. But you don't understand that the moment we change its name, the academy will truly fall apart."
With a sneer, He Ji stood up and left, leaving these words behind, "Ignorant. Since this isn't your home, of course you're not going to try your best to preserve our interests. Like I said, an outsider won't care about our growth and development. What does an outsider know about us?"
"You—"
Yuan Qingdong was about to start raging when the other elders also started leaving. Even Xia Changqing was unhappy. With a frown, he said, "You shouldn't talk about changing names anymore. The Xia Family won't agree to this. All the alumni of our academy won't agree to this."
What joke was that? Changing names? What a naive thought. This name of theirs was a symbol of glory, a brand of Great Xia. It was the holy land of all cultural researchers in Great Xia. Altering its name? What if Su Yu insisted on not teaching them even after they changed the name of their academy? Wouldn't that turn them into a joke?
Elder Qi said, "With Vice Principal Yuan's attitude, there is no point in this meeting. We believe that we should show the multiple character faction more goodwill or perhaps help them rebuild. We should give Chen Yong some support. We can compete normally, but there is no need for deliberate suppression. But it's obvious Vice Principal Yuan does not intend to do something like that. Why waste our time with a meeting, then?"
"Since this cultivation method is new, it's not too influential yet. The moment its influence grows, our academy that has existed for over 300 years might really end here."
The elders sighed. This new vice principal was messing everything up. This was not the time to take a combative stance.
At this moment, someone laughed and said, "Well, it's not like there is totally no solution. We can simply create a similar cultivation method as well. With that, everything will be solved. But if we can't do that...well, a big trouble shall await us."
Everything would be fine if there was a replacement. But was there a replacement? Nope. If a cultivation method was irreplaceable, it would essentially achieve a monopoly of the market. Anyone without that cultivation method would fall behind the times. And in the world of cultivators, falling behind the times would turn one from predator to prey.
The Xia Family would definitely not allow that to happen. The three academies wouldn't either. Thus, the elders in seclusion and those in the Allheaven Battlefield would probably start appearing one after another.
Those who were neutral, and even the Cloudbreaches and Skysoars, would not stay idle either. Their only choice was to reach an agreement with Su Yu. Nobody knew what would happen at the end of the negotiations. Perhaps even the three academies would end up broken apart.
"Hehe, but I doubt Traitor Su Yu will agree with Great Xia's request. After all, he's a traitor."
One of the elders did not forget to leave some sarcastic words behind before leaving.
Prior to this, Su Yu had departed while Chen Yong was staying cooped up in the books depository. After getting Yu Hong and the others killed, Su Yu probably believed that he didn't have that many enemies left in Great Xia. But suddenly, Yuan Qingdong appeared.
Thus, it was perfectly understandable that Yuan Qingdong would become a target of Su Yu's prejudice. Yuan Qingdong sat there in silence as the elders left. The meeting had ended on a bad note. Wan Tiansheng had deliberately stayed away to make Yuan Qingdong the sole person responsible for this entire mess.
Yuan Qingdong had an unsightly expression. These people were placing the entire blame on him. He had nothing to say. The Xia Family would definitely do something about this. Thus, his priority wasn't Su Yu. Instead, he had to avoid getting sacrificed by the Xia Family.
"Knowledge Seeking Realm..."
Perhaps his only choice was to get the Knowledge Seeking Realm to pressure Great Ming. But...that Zhu Tiandao was very difficult to deal with.
He was starting to get a terrible headache.