Chapter 67: Shameless Leader (1)
Su family's residence.
One drop of source qi liquid, four drops of iron-winged bird blood essence, ten merit points, thirty thousand dollars in cash, Source Opening Codex, Lightning Source Blade, Blood Clotting Blade, Divine Skywing Technique: Great Strength Chapter, a Great Strength bone fragment, a complete bone fragment, and a middle-tier yellow-grade standard-design saber.
These were all of Su Yu's current possessions. They were all laid out on the table. He was staring at them while in deep thought. He had been in deep thought after returning from the Windcatcher Department. He was wondering if he was being too stingy.
Previously, he had thought that he had been spending so much money that he was going to empty his pockets soon. He wondered if being an eighth-stage Source Opening cultivator was enough.
He was a student that had yet to even graduate from secondary school. Was that cultivation level not enough? He had barely touched his merit points. He still had ten points with him. His source qi liquid would have been untouched as well if he hadn't been forced to use them recently.
He was reflecting on his choices. What was the point of accumulating wealth if he wasn't going to use it? Was he supposed to wait until he was a super expert before buying what he wanted? But if he wasn't willing to use his wealth now, how was he supposed to grow quickly?
"I need to transform my wealth into my strength. I'm going to get seven merit points soon. My willpower has been stuck at around nineteen percent. I can't even properly read that incomplete bone fragment. I have not been using the book in my head much either..."
He would rarely activate the book in his head. On average, he would only use it around once every five or six days. At times, he would even wait ten days before using it. That was because each usage felt incomparably expensive. A single usage would cost him at least thirty thousand dollars or one merit point. He couldn't afford to use it everyday.
"But without source qi, how can I cultivate? How can I practice the saber technique? How can I cultivate my acupoints? How can I grow quickly?
"Seventeen merit points. If I manage to reach the Infinite Strength Realm, I only need to kill two early-stage Infinite Strength cultivators to earn that much. But at the Source Opening Realm, I need to kill more than a dozen of Great Strength cultivators, with each fight being extremely risky."
He seemed to be reaching a certain understanding, but he was still confused about something as well. But at the very least, he had realized the importance of actually utilizing his wealth and resources to gain more strength.
Nothing could be more reliable than his own strength. Sure, no Nanyuan student could compete against him, but what about the capital? And even ignoring the capital, if his identity as a student was not taken into consideration, what was so special about an eighth-stage Source Opening cultivator? What was so special about having nineteen percent willpower?
"The exam is fourteen days away. From today onwards, I'll use the book once per day and cultivate while absorbing source qi!"
It would cost him fourteen merit points to do so. But since he already had four drops of blood essence, he only needed to spend ten merit points. His remaining merit points could also be used to purchase more blood essence for emergencies. After all, all the wealth in the world would do him no good if he was dead.
...
Su Yu had not left his home since then. He didn't even leave to purchase the blood essence he needed. Rather, he had Chen Hao make the purchase for him. He had spent ten merit points for the blood essence.
Now, he had fourteen drops of iron-winged bird blood essence. If it wasn't for the fact that he was running out of money, he would have bought some source qi liquid to help with his cultivation as well. With the source qi liquid, he could keep his surroundings constantly saturated with thick ambient source qi.
He was also starting to seriously consider selling his house and use the million he could earn to buy ten drops of source qi liquid. Alas, that wasn't possible, so he could only erase that thought from his mind. It was also good that he still had a home. At the very least, he would have a roof above his head.
...
While Su Yu was focused on his cultivation, multiple major events were unfolding in Great Xia. The Martial Dragon Guards had been recalled from the battlefield. They had suffered nearly a thousand casualties, but they also returned with a large amount of resources and treasures. Despite their bountiful harvest, the Martial Dragon Guards were unhappy.
Great Xia City, capital of Great Xia.
Prefect's manor.
Right after walking through the main gate, one would be faced with a massive square.
A burly man with a height of about 1.9 meters was standing in the middle of the square with a furious expression on his face. He was clad in a black armor and he was not carrying any weapon with him. The man was staring straight at the distant manor. That was Great Xia's main seat of power.
"This general requests an audience with Marquis Xia!"
The man's voice was loud and sonorous. Nearby, several manor guards were standing silently, turning a blind eye to him. Their heads were lowered, acting like the man was not present.
"Marquis, the Martial Dragon Guards have returned from the front. This general is here for briefing!"
A short while later, an old man came out. When he saw the man, he softly said, "General, the marquis said that you should go back and take a rest after such a difficult and tiring journey."
"Rest?" The man coldly said, "The marquis is unwilling to see me?"
"The marquis has retired for the day."
"The sun hasn't even set and the marquis has retired for the day?" The man roared, "Does Great Xia have nothing to attend to? Is there nothing for the acting prefect to do?"
"General..." The old man softly said, "The marquis is not seeing you because he wants to avoid a conflict. Since the military order has been issued, there is no need for you to keep thinking about it..."
"Bullshit!" The burly man roared, "Keep thinking about it? Nearly a thousand soldiers of the Martial Dragon Guards have sacrificed their lives for this victory. A single military order is supposed to placate me?"
The old man sank into a long silence before saying, "General, the marquis knows that he has issued a wrong order. In truth, the marquis was fooled by someone as well. During the appointment ceremony, Wan Tiansheng instigated the marquis to do so. I believe you're aware of that as well. The marquis is unfamiliar with matters of war. How was he supposed to know what's the right thing to do?
"With his glib tongue, Wan Tiansheng convinced the marquis. That was how the withdrawal order came to be."
The old man sighed, "Wan Tiansheng leads the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. Half of the cultural researchers in our army came from his academy. Without the prefect, Wan Tiansheng's authority is too big. With the cultural researchers under his control, if the marquis refuses to withdraw the army, the cultural researchers might really decide to abandon the military. What are you supposed to do then? Are you really going to pit the Martial Dragon Guards against the divine skywing race in a fight to the death?"
"Wan Tiansheng!" The burly man's voice was cold, "He is meddling too much, to the point he's even extending his reach to the military now. Is he not afraid to have his arm broken from reaching too far?"
"If the prefect has not entered seclusion, he naturally wouldn't dare to do so." The old man sighed, "With the prefect in seclusion, he is not afraid of the marquis. Nor is he afraid of you, general."
The burly man sank into silence.
"To tell you the truth, the marquis greatly regrets the order. But he can't do anything about it..." The old man sighed yet again, "At this point, the marquis can only maintain his silence. Is he supposed to turn against Wan Tiansheng?
"General, the military still needs the help of cultural researchers. We can't really do anything about Wan Tiansheng."
"What a joke! Great Xia is still Great Xia!" The burly man said the same words Xia Bing had said previously, "This is Great Xia, not the Knowledge Seeking Realm!"
The burly man sank into silence. After a while, he coldly asked, "Did the prefect agree to the withdrawal before his seclusion?"
"No...the prefect went into seclusion before the appointment ceremony."
The burly man gazed at the old man in silence for a while before saying, "Senior Hu, the prefect is in charge of the military while you're in charge of the administrative affairs. Are you saying that both you and the prefect had not tacitly agreed to this ridiculous proposal of Wan Tiansheng?"
The old man smiled, "Of course not!"
"So even I need to be kept in the dark?"
The burly man was unhappy. He was not a random nobody. He was the deputy general of the Martial Dragon Guards, a Mountainsea Realm expert. With Xia Longwu remaining in Great Xia, he was the one in charge of leading the Martial Dragon Guards on most of their campaigns."
"I'm telling the truth." The old man seriously said, "Wan Tiansheng saw that the prefect had entered seclusion and grabbed the opportunity to snatch power!"
"If that's the case, arrest him."
"Speak cautiously, general. The cultural research academy is too important to Great Xia. And Wan Tiansheng is also someone sent from the Knowledge Seeking Realm to lead the cultural researchers of Great Xia. You must watch your words!"
"Knowledge Seeking Realm..." The burly man muttered before snorting coldly. "The Knowledge Seeking Realm has sealed itself for many years. Are they even aware of Wan Tiansheng's actions in Great Xia?"
"As long as the Knowledge Seeking Realm remains silent, he will remain as the leader of Great Xia's cultural researchers. We can't change that." The old man shook his head before continuing, "The marquis can only restrict him somewhat. That was why the funding for the cultural research academy has been reduced by thirty percent. That is the most we can do."
"Cutting the funding of the cultural research academy? Ridiculous!" The burly man berated, "Cultural researchers should not be lumped together with Wan Tiansheng. Cutting the funding will only result in fewer new cultural researchers. Even those sent to the Allheaven Battlefield will be weaker. How are they supposed to help us face our enemies then?"
He might dislike Wan Tiansheng, but he certainly didn't want to see the cultural research academy implicated. That would only reduce the number of new cultural researchers and affect the front line.
.
"Wan Tiansheng will have a way to solve it. He promised that the number of graduates and cultural researchers sent to the military each year will be the same. If not, he will send the elites from the academy's Heart Cultivating Pavilion to the front line instead."
The Heart Cultivating Pavilion represented the elites of the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. Most of the academy's elders cultivated there. It also had plenty of Cloudbreach and Mountainsea cultivators in it.
They were practically one of the most high-end organizations in Great Xia, and they occupied the same status as the Great Xia War Academy's Breachsea House. Since Wan Tiansheng had actually made such a promise, there was nothing the burly man could say.
The burly man coldly said, "I'll let it slide this time. If this happens again...do know that when a general is on the field, there are times when he is allowed to disregard military orders."
"That is only natural, general."
The old man did try to further persuade the burly man. After seeing the burly man off, he turned around and returned to the building behind him.
A chubby man was having a meal within that building. Without even looking up, he asked, "He left?"
"Yes."
"He's going to look for Wan Tiansheng?"
"No idea."
The chubby old man finally looked up with a smile on his face, "It would be fun if the two started going at each other."
"Marquis, why don't we tell General Zhao the truth?"
The chubby old man said, "Why else? Because we get to watch a good show if he doesn't know the truth!"
"..."
The old man frowned and said, "Marquis, this isn't right. It will only create more trouble in the prefecture."
"I'm not afraid of that."
The chubby old man belched without a care for his image and lazily said, "Isn't Wan Tiansheng amazing? Isn't he incredible? Well, let Old Zhao give him some trouble then. Also, Old Zhao is right. Wan Tiansheng is starting to meddle too much. We will use Old Zhao to knock some sense into him...
"Of course, Old Zhao will ultimately lose the conflict between the two. Even a blind person can see that. But it's still good to give that fellow some trouble."
"But—"
The old man was about to say more when the chubby old man interrupted him with a belch. While yawning, the chubby old man said, "It's time for my afternoon nap. If Wan Tiansheng can't deal with this much trouble, he should give up on his so-called reform."
"Reforming Great Xia...he made it sound so simple." The chubby old man said with contempt, "If it's really so easy, why would we need to wait until now? It has been Great Xia's tradition for years that we will not seek an alternative to obtain things we can get from the battlefield.
"That's pretty dumb. I also feel like Little Xia is stupid. Unfortunately, he has some really strong fists despite the deficiencies of his brain."
The chubby old man sighed, "He has strong fists. He can deliver you pain just like his grandpa. That old bastard is the same. He lacks intelligence and thinks with his muscles. It's a waste of time trying to reason with such people."
The old man's expression changed. He stayed silent, not daring to comment on the so-called grandpa. Only Marquis Xia would have the guts to say that about Great Xia King.
"If Wan Tiansheng can't even change those warmongers, he can forget about changing Great Xia. It's not like Great Xia is a prefecture of only a few people. There are hundreds of millions of people in Great Xia. All of them have been led astray by those dumb warmongers. The only thing in their mind is to hack and slash their way out of all trouble..."
The chubby old man said with disdain, "I know that they are all brutes thinking with only their muscle, but what can I do? Those people will only beat you up whenever they disagree with you. It's not like I've never been beaten by them before. What can I do about them? That unfilial Xia Longwu dares to beat even his uncle! What can I do about that?