Chapter 95: Everyone Has Their Own Choice (1)
The moment the lightning character appeared, it killed everything in its path and filled the world with destructive lightning. This Divine Character seemed to only have a single ability: to blast someone to death.
It was a fully offensive Divine Character and a very straightforward character to use. When Su Yu subdued it, he had been electrocuted badly. This was his first time using it in battle and it was indeed satisfying to use.
Su Yu's willpower was still weak and the lightning character was still new. Given enough time, this would be an extremely powerful offensive Divine Character.
"The willpower exhaustion is too high..."
Su Yu muttered to himself. He suddenly had an idea. If he could make the blood character transform into a saber and the lightning character meld with the saber, how would his Lightning Source Blade look like?
Looking at the endless beasts before him, he felt like he was going to reach his limit soon.
"Should I give it a try?"
His mind was starting to feel heavy due to his high willpower exhaustion. If this continued, he would fail soon. In that case, he might as well try his new idea. The blood character reappeared and transformed into a bloody saber.
Under Su Yu's control, the lightning character tried entering the saber. But the two characters rejected each other.
The blood character refused to let the lightning character in while the lightning character didn't seem too enthusiastic about melding with the other character either. This reaction was similar to the situation in Su Yu's mind where they each occupied their own territory and stayed away from each other.
"Be a good boy. Come on, don't make me whoop your ass."
Su Yu threatened his two little brothers, persuading them to work together. The two characters were already at their limits. If they didn't cooperate, how could they go further? How was he supposed to place first?
"Only by placing first and earning 20 merit points will I be able to buy some good stuff for you two. Both of you are so expensive to raise. If you don't help me make money, just wait to be starved and dispersed into nothingness."
Su Yu constantly threatened them. Either they fuse immediately or he would beat them up immediately. The two Divine Characters were still repelling each other, but after sensing their master's intentions, they started slowly fusing together.
Su Yu was still unaware that the fusion of Divine Characters wasn't something he could actually control. Even in the cultural research academies, Divine Character fusion was an extremely difficult subject. Furthermore, students were not the main crowd taking this subject. Generally, only those at the Skysoar Realm and above would attempt Divine Character fusion.
The path of cultural researchers had been growing for many years. Old and inefficient methods were constantly eliminated while new and better methods were constantly being discovered. The cultivation of Divine Characters was an important aspect of cultural research cultivation. Thus, this was a heavily studied subject.
Divine Character fusions generally involved only characters with similar properties. But the blood and lightning characters did not have any similarity with each other. It was perfectly understandable for this fusion to fail. And the moment a fusion failed, the destruction of the Divine Character was the least serious consequence for the cultivator. In a worst case scenario, the cultivator might even suffer a backlash to their sea of willpower.
Su Yu was unaware of all that. Neither Liu Wenyan or Bai Feng had expected that he would attempt something like this so early. His mastery in Divine Characters had been growing too fast. He had grown much more proficient at using his Divine Characters during the past two months.
Liu Wenyan and Bai Feng had never imagined that Su Yu would suddenly think of having his Divine Characters fuse and assist him in combat. This was merely a world created by the bone scroll. In truth, before reaching the Skysoar Realm, a cultivator would not be able to draw their Divine Characters out of their mind. And without doing so, there was no possibility of fusion.
But this unique environment had given Su Yu such an opportunity. In this environment, he was not truly drawing his Divine Characters out. Rather, he was projecting them out. The fusion was also happening between the projections.
This was a complicated subject and Su Yu still knew nothing about it. Nobody knew what he was doing. Even Bureau Head Sun and the other proctors were unable to see what he was doing in the illusory world.
...
The blood saber and lightning was finally done fusing. Su Yu prepared to clear a path forward. In the examination room, only he and Wu Lan were left. Wu Lan had stopped after walking around 18 meters. She couldn't advance, but she stubbornly refused to stop. Even though she was already sweating heavily from the exertion, she did not ask for help.
After using his lightning character, Su Yu was already less than a meter behind Wu Lan. Huang Sheng looked at Bureau Head Sun and asked, "Do we get Wu Lan to stop?"
"What's the rush?" Bureau Head Sun was calm. "She is at the Mental Tempering Stage with a complete Divine Character. She can walk a few more meters. The only reason she has stopped is due to fear. This is her first time experiencing something like this so her willpower exhaustion rate is too high. Stopping there for a bit won't hurt her."
Wu Lan's foundation was strong. She only lacked experience. Or to be more accurate, she had no experience whatsoever. The Wu Family did not allow their cultural researcher trainees to take any risks for practical experience. Unlike Wu Lan, her elder sister, Wu Qi, was a true expert who was strong enough to suppress even someone like Bai Feng.
The Wu Family was a firm believer that a weak student should not take any risks before reaching the Skysoar Realm. That was also the mainstream belief among the various cultural researchers. Thus, Wu Lan's merit points had only been earned through administrative works such as translations and so on. She had not participated in any missions before.
Su Yu, as a commoner, was completely different from them. Commoners would start taking risks and getting practical experience early on in their path of cultivation. That was the only way they could keep growing. Huang Sheng did not object to what Bureau Head Sun said.
He looked at Su Yu and shook his head, "He won't be able to keep going anymore. But it's already very surprising for him to walk 17 meters. Despite having a complete Divine Character, he is being held back by his willpower. Otherwise, with his tenacity, he can walk even 20 meters here."
There might be a secret deal between Huang Sheng and Liu Hong, but he couldn't deny that Su Yu was extremely outstanding. Growing up in a place like Nanyuan, it was impressive for him to come this far. There was only so much help Liu Wenyan could give him. After all, the growth of a cultivator did not rely on resources alone. Other aspects were important as well.
Bureau Head Sun looked at Huang Sheng and smiled, "Do you think he will be the next Bai Feng after entering the academy?"
.
"Bai Feng?" Huang Sheng hesitated. "Su Yu is outstanding, but Bai Feng was one of the freaks of his batch. If it wasn't for the suppression of those from the Wu and Xia Families and the fact that he had been too focused on Senior Hong's research, he might have caught up to those people already by now. Su Yu...is still a tad bit too lacking compared to him, right?"
Huang Sheng changed the topic, "How is Senior Hong's research going? Do you know anything about that, Bureau Head Sun?"
"What a joke. I'm not even in the academy. You are the one who is a researcher in the academy. Why are you asking me?"
Bureau Head Sun couldn't be bothered to entertain that question and returned his focus to Su Yu. At present, Su Yu's face was flushed red while beads of sweat were raining down his face. However, he seemed incapable of feeling his exhaustion as there was a look of excitement on his face, as though he had just achieved a major goal.
"Su Yu should stop soon. He's reaching his limit."
Bureau Head Sun reached a decision. Su Yu was reaching his limit. If he continued, he would only harm himself. Bureau Head Sun wanted to see Su Yu place first and smash the monopoly of power enjoyed by the elites, but it wasn't worth harming an outstanding student for that. He was just about to have someone escort Su Yu out when the bone scroll shook.
The expression of Huang Sheng, who was powering the bone scroll, changed as he said, "What is that kid doing?"
All the proctors focused on Su Yu. Next, a faint golden glow appeared above Su Yu's head. Bureau Head Sun's expression changed as well. Did something happen? What was going on? This was the first time he had ever encountered a situation like this.
Golden light was actually shining from the head of a Source Opening student. The golden light was a symbol of a powerful willpower. Generally, it would only appear on those who had achieved willpower materialization. The same golden light had appeared when Liu Wenyan achieved willpower materialization. Su Yu's glow was much dimmer, but its appearance signified that Su Yu was actually releasing the little willpower he had, forcing it to materialize in advance.
"This is bad!"
Bureau Head Sun was alarmed. A term appeared in his mind: the final radiance!
Did this kid push himself too far to the point where he was erupting with the final radiance of his life before his sea of willpower collapsed? But this had never happened to a Source Opening cultivator before. Bureau Head Sun was about to escort Su Yu out when a faint golden light erupted from Su Yu's hand. His hand was raised before it swung down.
"Divine Character...he's using his Divine Character!"
The proctors immediately reached the conclusion that Su Yu had transformed his Divine Character into a weapon to withstand the willpower suppression.
"Do we stop him?"
Bureau Head Sun and Huang Sheng exchanged gazes in hesitation. Should they stop him? He was clearly mustering his final bit of strength for the test. It would be unfair if they stopped him now. But if they didn't, what if this kid ended up harming himself?"
"Liu Wenyan, Bai Feng, Senior Hong..."
Several names appeared in their minds. Their expressions turned gloomy. This was a hard decision to make. Then again, there was no longer any need for them to hesitate. Su Yu was already mid-swing. It was too late to stop him. Next, a loud rumble rang out in the room.
Crack!
The desk in front of the room broke apart while Huang Sheng staggered from a sudden drain of his willpower. He nearly fell to the ground as he had been caught by a complete surprise.
...
In Su Yu's eyes, he was using both his blood and lightning characters together to unleash the Lightning Source Blade. That one attack obliterated all the beasts ahead of him.
Bang!
The saber in his hand cracked before disintegrating into nothingness. The two Divine Characters returned inside his mind. Both were looking exceptionally dim. He had used a large amount of willpower for that one strike. His head was tortured by intense pain, as though it was going to split apart. However, he did not forget to keep walking forward.
Keep...walking forward. Huh? The pressure is gone? The pressure is gone after the beasts are killed?
Su Yu was flabbergasted. He continued walking forward, and after a short while, several illusory figures appeared before his eyes. He shook his head in confusion. In front of him, Bureau Head Sun and the other proctors were looking at him with odd gazes.
The desk with the bone scroll on it had collapsed while the bone scroll was being held in Huang Sheng's hand. The glow emitted by the scroll was much dimmer than before.
Huang Sheng’s heart ached as he realized that he was in trouble. Excluding his own willpower exhaustion, the Mark of Culture's willpower had also suffered a great exhaustion. If the exhaustion was excessive enough to destroy the Mark of Culture, he would be the one taking the blame.
This was an inheritance left by a deceased cultural researcher. Generally, only those in the Mountainsea Realm could leave something like this behind. This was their sole inheritance. If it was destroyed, he would never be able to pay for the loss.
Behind Su Yu, Wu Lan finally opened her eyes. The first person she saw was Su Yu, and when she checked the distance between them...it was no less than 20 meters. Her expression changed.
Impossible!
The gap shouldn't be that big! No matter how much of a genius Su Yu was, he shouldn't have been able to move so far ahead of her. That wasn't possible. She was in disbelief. She was dumbstruck. Her eyes turned red. She was going to...cry. She had never felt so aggrieved before. She was so sad. So very sad.
Her face was twisted as she resisted the urge to cry. She wouldn't allow that to happen as she would only embarrass herself further. But she really felt like crying.
...
Meanwhile, none of the proctors were in the mood to pay her any attention.
Bureau Head Sun raised his brow and looked at Su Yu before frowning, "Ridiculous!"
Su Yu was still confused.
"You were too rash!"
Bureau Head Sun was still frowning. He was both astonished and angry.
"Have you forgotten everything we told you before? You almost ruined your future for a single test. This is something only a brainless brute will do. I praised your intelligence before, but it seems like you're only a tiny bit clever, but you have no wisdom whatsoever."
Bureau Head Sun was furious. Su Yu's current condition was clearly caused by excessive exhaustion of willpower. If things had been more serious, he might have ended up fully draining his sea of willpower. He was risking his future for a worthless first place. This was a question of choice, and Su Yu's choice had infuriated him.
Su Yu was slowly regaining his clarity. When he opened his eyes and looked at the proctors before him, he saw that Bureau Head Sun was furious, Huang Sheng had an expression of regret, while the old man from the Nine Heavens Cultural Research Academy was pulling his beard hard in disbelief.
After a while, Bureau Head Sun asked, "How are you feeling? Is your sea of willpower fine?"
Su Yu's head was still hurting, but when he sent his senses inward, he saw that his two little brothers were in slumber. They were calm while his sea of willpower appeared fine. The golden book was still floating in his sea of willpower. Su Yu was confident that with the book there, he would be fine.
He shook his head, but that action only caused his head to hurt more. He hurriedly answered, "I'm fine. I think my Divine Character was too tired. I need to spend some time nourishing it."
"Good." Bureau Head Sun heaved a breath of relief before he sternly asked, "What did you do earlier?"
"Nothing..."
Su Yu wanted to deny that he had done anything. It wasn't that he wanted to hide the fact that he had two Divine Characters. But Huang Sheng had a look of heartache while he gently stroked the bone scroll. It was as though something dear to him had been broken. Su Yu was afraid that Huang Sheng would tell him to pay for the damage. He definitely wouldn’t be able to afford it.
Su Yu nervously said, "D-did the Divine Character used for the test broke? Can it be repaired?"
"..."
The question was so ridiculous that Bureau Head Sun wanted to both rage and laugh. He stopped himself from rolling his eyes and said, "It's fine. It has merely exhausted its willpower too much. This Divine Character is prepared for Source Opening students like you. What did you do just now? Because of you, the Divine Character over exhausted itself. It will recover after some rest."
Su Yu heaved a breath of relief to hear that.
Huang Sheng finally stopped stroking the bone scroll. He looked up at Su Yu and helplessly said, "How did you do that? Your willpower eruption earlier was stronger than even someone in the Mental Tempering Stage. Nanyuan is only a small city. This scroll isn't a powerful one. It shouldn't have any trouble testing Mental Tempering Stage students..."
He really didn't know what to say anymore. He was going to be fined for the damage. Sure, if he could explain things clearly, he might be able to avoid the fine. But how was he supposed to explain it? Nobody would believe him.
They would only conclude that he had tried to save his own willpower and ended up damaging the scroll. Before coming to Nanyuan, he was already told the rules. Excessive exhaustion to the scroll would result in a fine. Huang Sheng looked at Bureau Head Sun, hoping that his senior brother would serve as the witness for him. He had clearly not held back when activating the scroll.
However, Bureau Head Sun didn't even pay Huang Sheng any attention. He wasn't the one who was going to be fined. Why should he get involved in that mess? Was he supposed to go to the academy and face those old fellows? No way! As for having the old man from the Nine Heavens Cultural Research Academy serve as a witness, Huang Sheng could forget about it.
Bureau Head Sun ignored Huang Sheng and repeated his question, "Su Yu, what did you do earlier?"
Su Yu hesitated. When Bureau Head Sun saw that, he asked, "Is this your trump card? I'll be frank. What you did there won't be able to pose any threat to a Skysoar or even an Infinite Strength cultivator. I am only worried that you will rashly do that again. An accident can happen very easily."
He was telling the truth. The trump card of a Source Opening cultivator would pose no threat to someone like him.
Su Yu thought about it and said, "It's the Lightning Source Blade. I fused my Divine Character into my blade before using the Lightning Source Blade. I only used it once and this happened."
"Lightning Source Blade? Second move?"
If that was the case, then it would be understandable. But this kid was only a ninth-stage Source Opening cultivator. If he had actually mastered the second move at this stage, he would be a super genius in physical cultivation.
"No, the first move."
"Impossible."
Bureau Head Sun shook his head. The first move combined with Su Yu's willpower and Divine Character wouldn't be able to create a damage that big.
Su Yu scratched his head before finally saying, "I didn't use one Divine Character. I used two."
With a clueless expression, he continued his explanation, "I didn't know that would happen. I have two Divine Characters. One transformed into a saber while the other fused with the saber to give it a lightning element. And then that happened..."
"Huh?"
Six eyes widened. Three people were looking at him with six glowing, big eyes. Their eyes were glowing with a golden light.
As Skysoar experts who had achieved willpower materialization, when they stopped intentionally suppressing their willpower, their eyes started glowing. Su Yu felt his scalp going numb while all his limbs turned limp. This sensation was too scary. A moment later, the six glowing eyes returned to normal.