Chen Hao went to the preparatory exam class since he had to attend lessons, while Su Yu headed straight for the resource center.
...
"Su Yu, you want to exchange for Ironwing Bird essence blood?"The resource manager sounded surprised. "Essence blood from the Thousand-Pound Tier only benefits those at that tier or above. For an Origin Tier cultivator like you, it's not just useless—it's actually poison. Why do you want to exchange for that?"
"Teacher Zhang, can I exchange it?"Su Yu smiled. "You know I've been studying the materials on the Ten-Thousand Races for a while now. The Ironwing Bird is one of the species I've researched the most, so I want to buy some essence blood for research. But the price is too high, so I came to the academy to see if it might be more affordable here…"
"You can exchange it," the resource manager said after checking his records. "You've earned 18 merit points so far from qualifying in 18 Ten-Thousand Races languages. Aside from the three mandatory ones, you got rewards for the other 15. That's 15 merit points total. At Origin Tier level three you get 3 points, so 18 merit points altogether…"
The manager glanced over Su Yu's profile again and quickly added, "But you've already spent 6 points, mostly on the library resources, so you have 12 points left."
"Yeah, I know."Su Yu smiled. "So how many drops of Ironwing Bird essence blood can I get with the remaining 12 points?"
"You want to exchange for that?"The teacher sighed. "It's really of little use to you—what a waste!"
The manager continued to advise him, "Ironwing Birds at the Thousand-Pound Tier are powerful for you, but just cannon fodder in the Ten-Heavens Battlefield. Merit points are shared across all academies and can even be accumulated to exchange for valuable resources at the Advanced Academy."
"You can easily earn 18 points at the Intermediate Academy. Learning one Ten-Thousand Race language grants one merit point, but it's not so easy at the Advanced Academy."
"Exchanging for this isn't worth it! At the Advanced Academy, secret materials, advanced cultivation methods, and some courses all require merit points to obtain. Even the military uses them…"
"I know all that, but I don't have many options."Su Yu smiled bitterly—he understood perfectly.
It wasn't that he lacked money—he had over 200,000 coins, enough to buy five drops if he wanted. The problem was that he still had to survive and study.At Origin Tier, he had no steady income. He needed to save money for when he reached the Advanced Academy.
Merit points were the most important currency after Anping Coins.Money could buy many things, but there were limits.
High-level strategic resources, advanced cultivation methods, and even some inheritances all required merit points. This system was a way for humanity to reward those who contributed to the race.
If you didn't contribute to humanity, no matter how much money you had, you still wouldn't be able to buy many things.
Merit points accumulated and spent were carefully tracked. Su Yu had earned 18 points so far, and even if he spent them all, the total accumulation wouldn't disappear. Once he reached 100 points, his permissions and privileges would increase.
This also prevented rich but unworthy individuals from secretly buying up huge amounts of merit points to acquire scarce strategic resources.
Some wealthy people could buy tens of thousands of merit points, but their initial level wasn't high enough to buy certain items.
The resource manager sighed and said, "I won't try to stop you. Honestly, you're still too early for research! The Nanyuan Intermediate Academy lacks the conditions for that kind of work. When you get to the Advanced Academy, you can apply for subsidies or even receive resources allocated for research."
"Ironwing Birds are common in the Ten-Heavens Battlefield, so their research value is low. If I were you, I'd choose something else to study."
Su Yu smiled, "You're right. Does the academy have any Essence Blood from the Cacilia Fish?"
"..."The resource manager looked a little embarrassed. "No, we don't have that. That creature is from the Dishi Mountain Realm and is rarely seen in the Ten-Heavens Battlefield. Besides, those who come here start at at least the Ten-Thousand-Stone Tier, or even Sky-Soaring Tier. The Daxia Civilization Academy definitely has it, but we naturally don't."
That settled it.Su Yu could recognize only a handful of species from his dreams, including the Cacilia Fish.
But their starting tier was Ten-Thousand-Stone. If he tried to take essence blood from such high-tier beings, even if his book absorbed the energy, his body wouldn't withstand it—he might explode.
As for essence blood from unknown species, he wouldn't dare take them lightly. If the book didn't absorb the blood's energy, he wouldn't survive.
Thinking it over, the Ironwing Bird essence blood was still the safest option.
"Teacher, then just exchange some for me.""How many drops?"
"One merit point per drop," the teacher reminded him again, "It really isn't worth it…"
"The value of merit points may seem low—officially one point equals 10,000 coins—but some things money can't buy. You understand what I mean."
"Thank you for the advice, teacher!"Su Yu nodded quickly. "Let's start with three drops. If that's not enough, I'll come back for more."
"You stubborn kid!"The manager sighed helplessly but arranged for someone to get the essence blood.
While waiting, he suddenly warned, "Your father went to the Ten-Heavens Battlefield a few days ago. The academy knows. Since he's not home, you need to be careful. The Ten-Thousand-Race Cult has been active in Daxia Prefecture—you probably know about that too."
"Yeah, but that has nothing to do with me, right?"
"How could it not?"The teacher scolded. "Be careful—those beasts of the Ten-Thousand-Race Cult don't mainly target strong cultivators or prodigies, at least not cultivators. Their real target is sages!"
"You may not be a sage yet, but you're one of the few reserve members of the Civilization Academy at Nanyuan Intermediate Academy!"
"Strong cultivators cause limited damage, but sages cause unlimited destruction! The reason humans have defended the Ten-Heavens Battlefield for centuries isn't just because of invincible strong cultivators—it's also thanks to the sages in the rear!"
"Some of the top researchers in the Civilization Academy have been assassinated before. These people decode the Ten-Thousand Races' cultivation methods and deeply study their civilizations, which increases the number of human strong cultivators and boosts confidence against the Ten-Thousand Races…"
The manager said with admiration, "Their contributions are no less than any invincible cultivator! Yet most lack combat power, so even in the rear, they are prime targets for the Ten-Thousand-Race Cult. Assassinations happen frequently."
"The Ten-Thousand-Race Cult's internal sabotage isn't aimed at killing strong cultivators individually—their main target is these sages!"
"You may not have officially joined the Civilization Academy or mastered many languages, but you're still young. That makes you even more dangerous than some cultivators at Origin Tier four or five inside the academy. They might not even be worth the Cult's effort."
"How long does it take an Origin Tier cultivator to reach Sky-Soaring Tier?"
"But a sage can spend ten or twenty years decoding a cultivation method, find their weaknesses, and discover ways to kill them… that's far more dangerous than a Sky-Soaring Tier cultivator."
Su Yu smiled wryly. "Come on, it's not that bad, right? I've only mastered 18 languages, which is very little to the Ten-Thousand Races, and most are just basic communication…"
"Don't take it lightly—stay alert and be careful! If you run into danger, call for help immediately. Nanyuan Prefecture has already ramped up patrols, and the Wind-Catching Hall is reinforcing its deployments. Even one of the Dragon Martial Guard squads stationed in Nanyuan has joined the patrols."
"If you get into trouble, shout for help. Within seconds—no more than a few dozen at most—someone will come to your aid."
Seeing how serious his teacher was, Su Yu quickly nodded and said, "Don't worry, Teacher, I understand! Nanyuan is small, after all. Those guys might not even come here. Even if they do… to be blunt, I doubt I'd be one of their targets."
"Well, that's true."
The teacher chuckled. "Still, you mustn't let your guard down—especially when you're visiting Instructor Liu. Be cautious!"
"Huh?"
Su Yu was taken aback. "Instructor Liu…"
"Don't get the wrong idea. What I mean is, Instructor Liu is the strongest multi-language instructor at Nanyuan Secondary Academy. Almost every student who makes it into a Civilization Academy each year has been taught by him."
"For someone like him, he'd be the number one target if the Myriad Clans Cult were to strike in Nanyuan—not the governor, not even the city lord."
"Instructor Liu is a spark—a spark of civilization. At least for Nanyuan, he is. That's why I'm reminding you to stay careful."
Su Yu's expression changed. "Teacher, does that mean Instructor Liu is in danger?"
"It's fine, don't worry too much. The governor himself has taken charge of Liu's protection, and some members of the Dragon Martial Guard are secretly watching over him. Wind-Catching Hall even dispatched a full squad. I'm just reminding you—be careful on your way to see him."
Su Yu let out a breath of relief. Instructor Liu, whom the teacher was talking about, was also one of Su Yu's most important mentors. The 18 foreign languages Su Yu had mastered were almost all taught by this seasoned instructor.
Just as the teacher had said, Liu Wenyuan might not be well-known in the grander scope of the Great Xia Prefecture, but here in Nanyuan—and especially at Nanyuan Secondary Academy—he was a true torchbearer of knowledge.
Over the years, he had trained more than a hundred students who were admitted into Civilization Academies.
Many of those students had since graduated and were now contributing to human civilization, whether in Great Xia Prefecture or beyond.
They may not be famous, but these grassroots educators were the backbone of humanity's cultural inheritance.
If the Myriad Clans Cult intended to assassinate someone in Nanyuan, Liu Wenyuan's value as a target arguably outweighed that of the city lord.
As the two spoke, a staff member brought over the Ironwing Bird essence blood.
Three drops!
It cost Su Yu 3 merit points, leaving him with only 9. He winced—painfully aware of the cost. Over the years, he'd spent just 6 merit points poring over countless records in the library, and now, just like that, 3 were gone in one swoop. Way too extravagant.
Taking the vial of essence blood, Su Yu asked, "Teacher, has Instructor Liu come to campus these past few days?"
"He's still coming to work as usual. We tried to get him to temporarily relocate to the city lord's mansion, but he refused. So we had no choice but to let him keep working."
"Then I'll go pay him a visit."
Su Yu had originally planned to return home and start experimenting with the essence blood right away, but he changed his mind. It would be better to check on Instructor Liu and consult him on a few matters while he was at it.
…
Instructor's Office
The elderly Liu Wenyuan, past sixty, was making notes when he said without looking up, "Governor, there's really no need for you to keep following me around. We're just inside the academy—how dangerous can it be?"
Beside him, the equally elderly governor chuckled. "I'm not bothering you. What's the harm in staying nearby?"
"Your breathing is distracting."
"…"
The governor smiled wryly. Before he could respond, Liu Wenyuan threw another jab, "And besides, you've just broken through to the Ten-Thousand Stone realm—not exactly impressive."
"Hey…"
The old governor looked helpless. Was he that weak?
Maybe a little.
He was past sixty himself. Breaking through to the Ten-Thousand Stone realm at that age wasn't much to brag about. But this was the rear lines—Nanyuan City, the smallest of the 28 cities under Great Xia Prefecture.
He wasn't the city lord, just a governor of a secondary school. How strong did he need to be?
The truly powerful had either gone to Great Xia Prefecture or to the warfront in the Allheavens Battlefield. By Nanyuan standards, he wasn't doing too badly.
"Do you think I want to babysit you?"
The governor huffed. "It's because you're too important. In the last twenty years, Nanyuan's produced 320 Civilization Academy students—an average of 16 a year. Half of them were trained by you. Of course that makes you a target!"
"You're exaggerating."
Liu Wenyuan chuckled too. "Nanyuan is just a small place. We only send a handful of students each year. It's not worth the attention of the Myriad Clans Cult, don't you think?"
"Hard to say. Either way, you're more important than me. I'm a low-level Ten-Thousand Stone; they probably wouldn't even bother wasting resources on me."
The governor joked, but it wasn't far from the truth. The Ten-Thousand Stone stage wasn't weak per se, but it also wasn't game-changing on the Allheavens Battlefield.
Killing an elderly Ten-Thousand Stone in the rear might cost multiple lives—not a trade the cult would likely make.
As they chatted, the governor's ears twitched. Then he smiled, "Su Yu's here. That kid's going places—already better than his father!"
"Don't be petty toward Su Long. Just because he turned down your offer to lead campus security, you've been holding a grudge ever since."
Liu Wenyuan smiled as well and added, "Su Long's still got fire in him. I saw that years ago. He never gave up on joining the Dragon Martial Guard. It wasn't until he had no more hope that he gave up."
The governor scoffed, "He never had a shot. If you're not at ninth stage Thousand-Junyin before 30, you're out. He's long past that. He'd be lucky to even hit upper Ten-Thousand Stone."
"Still better than you. Once he returns from the battlefield in a few years, he might well have broken through to Ten-Thousand Stone."
Liu Wenyuan chuckled, then added, "Su Yu's not bad either. Once he gets into Great Xia Civilization Academy, he might not be a prodigy, but he'll still become a pillar in the fight against the Myriad Clans. That father-son pair is far more promising than you and me."
The governor nodded slightly and then sighed, "If I hadn't damaged my foundation on the battlefield back then, I wouldn't have had to retire and take this meaningless post."
"You're lucky you came back alive. On the Allheavens Battlefield, very few soldiers make it through without injuries. If you didn't break through to at least seventh stage Thousand-Junyin quickly, you were just cannon fodder."
Liu Wenyuan also sighed. Most rear-line soldiers would never have the chance to reach Soaring Realm—such was the harsh reality.
On that battlefield, the fighting was brutal. If you didn't break through fast enough, new recruits wouldn't survive the week. No one had the luxury of patience.
The elite students were handpicked by war academies. The rest just had to claw their way forward.
As they spoke, Su Yu entered the room.
Liu Wenyuan smiled warmly. He was genuinely fond of this student—hardworking, disciplined, and patient. Maybe not a top-tier genius, but exactly the kind of dependable talent humanity needed to stand strong.