Bai Feng said, "Teacher, this is a talent discovered by me! Even his first Divine Character came from me!"
"You..." Hong Tan asked in astonishment, "When did that happen?"
"During my previous visit to Nanyuan..."
Hong Tan thought about it and asked, "Half a year ago?"
Yes, Bai Feng went to Nanyuan in April. But...that was only half a year ago!
"Yeah."
Hong Tan suddenly thought of something. He looked at Su Yu before looking at Bai Feng again. An odd look appeared in his eyes as he said, "You're telling me that half a year ago, he wasn't at the Great Strength Realm and the Mental Tempering Stage. He didn't even have a Divine Character..."
"Yeah," Bai Feng said. Abruptly, he thought of something and hurriedly said with alarm, "No, no, I was just kidding. He was already a seventh-stage Great Strength cultivator at the Mental Tempering Stage when he first joined the academy."
"Shut up!"
Hong Tan pulled out a cane out of nowhere and swung it at Bai Feng's head.
"You unfilial disciple! Bastard! I was wondering why you started instigating me to leave after returning from Nanyuan. So you were afraid that I would steal your student? I'll beat you to death!"
"..."
Pa! Pa! Pa!
A series of strikes landed and Bai Feng wailed miserably, "Teacher, that is absolutely not true! I'm an injured person! I'm dying! Why are you hitting me?"
"I should just beat you to death and be done with you."
"Teacher, my prestige is very important as well! You can't beat me up when my student is still here!"
"You're already a cripple. Why do you still need a student? Your student can follow me from now on."
"..."
Beside them, Su Yu had an odd look in his eyes. He looked at Wu Jia and Chen Yong doubtfully.
Wu Jia whispered, "This is how Grandteacher is. Don't mind him. He is actually very nice. He's only...so old that he's starting to act childish."
Hong Tan: "..."
He stopped beating Bai Feng. Instead, he looked at Wu Jia. Who was this stinky lass talking about? Who was she calling old? How old was he? He was not even 70! Was he old?
He decided to stop wasting his time dealing with this unfilial student. His expression returned to normal as he nodded at Su Yu again, "Not bad at all. So you have reached this level in less than three months. Very good."
He was only slightly shocked. He had not witnessed Su Yu's growth with his own eyes and hearing about it didn't feel as impactful. He was an expert on the cusp of reaching the Sunmoon Realm. A mere Mental Tempering Stage student was not enough to shock him too much.
He looked at Wu Jia once again. After thinking for a bit, he said, "Willpower injury. From what I can see, you can probably fully recover in a month or two. But this has indeed delayed your cultivation."
He beckoned at Wu Jia. She walked over obediently. Hong Tan placed his palm atop Wu Jia's head. A powerful stream of willpower flowed out of his palm alongside a gentle light that shone on Wu Jia's body.
A short while later, he withdrew his hand and exhaled, "It's not too heavy an injury. You only need to rest for a few days after this. Remember to cultivate hard and try to enter the Skysoar Realm as fast as you can."
After that short treatment, Wu Jia's face was no longer pale. Pleasantly surprised, she said, "Grandteacher, you can actually heal willpower injuries? In that case, I don't have to fear willpower injuries anymore..."
"Shut up!" Chen Yong berated, "What nonsense are you saying? Your grandteacher is not a Sunmoon yet. Using the light of sun and moon to heal you will only delay his own cultivation. What are you waiting for? Thank your grandteacher!"
Wu Jia hurriedly thanked her grandteacher.
Hong Tan waved his hand, not caring about the praise as he sighed, "Our faction is becoming smaller and smaller. It hasn't been easy for us to get two students. Don't end up crippled. That would really be the end of our legacy."
"I passed through Great Zhou on my way back. I heard that the multiple character faction is already history in Great Zhou. It no longer exists there."
Regret filled his tone. In the past, the multiple character faction of Great Zhou was still quite powerful. Great Zhou was a prefecture with more cultural researchers than Great Xia. Thus, there was a decent number of multiple character faction experts there. But over the years, these experts had died one after another. And finally, the last Mountainsea elder there had given up as well.
Hong Tan did not blame that elder for not asking for help. He understood how difficult things had been for the elder to face Zhou Polong in Great Zhou for decades. The multiple character faction in Great Zhou was doing even worse than them. In fact, it was already impressive of that elder to last this long.
Hearing about that, their faces fell.
Bai Feng clenched his teeth, "Sooner or later, I'll teach Zhou Polong a lesson."
"Stop making bold declarations. Focus on recovering first." Hong Tan said, "This time, Shan Tianhao has been killed. And I have also seriously injured Zhou Mingren. The conflict between us will definitely escalate into open hostility.
"All of you need to be careful. Don't leave the academy unless absolutely necessary. My senior brother and the others are either injured or crippled so they won't be able to give us much help. Nevertheless, their mere existence would serve as a form of deterrence to our enemies. Their performance during the battle has bought us some extra time. My senior brother had played the greatest role in that by making a move and attracting even more attention to this conflict. This is actually a good thing for us."
For many years, they had been worried about assassinations from that hidden Invincible. They might have alerted that hidden enemy this time, but that was not necessarily a bad thing. At the very least, that person would have more misgivings before making any other move.
In fact, this was one of the reasons the Xia Family had allowed the conflict to escalate this time. They had been investigating in secret for decades with nothing to show for it. In that case, they might as well create a ruckus and make a big deal out of it.
This way, the enemy would be more wary and no longer dare to keep acting against them. This did not exceed Hong Tan's expectations so he found it acceptable.
Hong Tan looked at Chen Yong and said, "Your junior brother will need to leave soon. I will also need to enter seclusion to focus on my breakthrough into the Sunmoon Realm soon. You will need to hold the fort. But without entering the Mountainsea Realm, you won't be enough to keep our enemies at bay."
Wu Jia softly said, "Grandteacher, Teacher doesn't have the resources to break through. Why don't you rob some resources for my teacher..."
Hong Tan laughed, "So you have learned to protect your teacher? Resources? What resources does he need? He has been a ninth-stage Cloudbreach for so many years. He no longer needs any resources. He—"
"Cough."
Chen Yong interrupted with a cough and said, "Teacher, I'll try to break through as fast as I can."
"You..." Hong Tan laughed, "Fine. Just do what you think is right."
Beside them, Su Yu kept his mouth shut. But he did find those words interesting. So this martial uncle of his was already capable of breakthrough long ago? When Su Yu asked about this previously, his martial uncle had not said too much about it.
Was his martial uncle suppressing the breakthrough to fuse more apertures before advancing?
After giving it some thought, Su Yu said, "Grandteacher, this time, we killed two of their Mountainseas. Grand Martial Uncle Xia Yunji and the others have also showcased the combat strength of Mountainseas. Would the single character faction still dare to make things difficult for us after this? Are they going to keep forcing our hands? Grandteacher, you're also someone on the cusp of becoming a Sunmoon. Are they tired of living?"
Hong Tan smiled, "In terms of combat prowess, we are not weak. But...the single character faction has flourished for so many years. They have numbers on their side. Do you think they will willingly give up on the privileges they currently enjoy?"
"They probably won't dare to use force against us anymore. But in the academy, force is not the answer for everything. They have always been suppressing us while still operating within the boundaries of the academy rules. Zhou Mingren is not an ambitious person. His biggest goal is probably to dominate the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
"But he is still someone from the branch family of the Zhou Family. He has definitely received the aid of the Zhou Family to reach his current height. And he needs to repay them. Thus, he won't stop the suppression of us. During the battle, he wanted to use me to push himself into the Sunmoon Realm. Clearly, he has failed. But the main reason for the failure is the repelling force."
If Zhou Mingren hadn't failed, he would have advanced during the battle. If Zhou Mingren was able to turn back time and return to the time before that incident 50 years ago, he would definitely be able to break through after taking all those steps.
In fact, pseudo Sunmoons did not exist back then. The moment one had the ability to breakthrough, one would make a clean advancement. Before reaching that level, one would be stuck in the Mountainsea Realm. One would not be stuck halfway through a breakthrough.
Su Yu said, "So they will continue suppressing us?"
"Definitely." Hong Tan smiled, "We'll play the game with them. Don't learn from your teacher and do something stupid like fighting Xia Yuwen. Just ignore them. What can they do? Xia Yuwen is already a Cloudbreach. Would he really dare to touch you if you ignore him? I'm not dead yet."
Hong Tan was clearly still unhappy with Bai Feng's decision. He had crippled himself with that stupid decision. If Bai Feng had not accepted the challenge, Xia Yuwen wouldn't be able to do anything against him. Not all experts of the multiple character faction were dead. At the very least, Hong Tan was still around.
Bai Feng disagreed, "I'm not scared of him. I've been wanting to fight him for a long time. By the way..."
He paused shortly before saying, "Jia, I have a book upstairs with some of my research results. Its title is Thirty-six Fusion Techniques. Can you get it for me?"
Wu Jia had a doubtful look on her face. Why her? Wasn't her junior brother there? But fine, since her martial uncle had already made the request, she didn't bother arguing. With a nod, she went upstairs.
After Wu Jia left, Bai Feng hurriedly said, "Teacher, check our surroundings. Previously, Wan Tiansheng actually managed to affect Su Yu's willpower while he was inside the research center."
Hong Tan frowned slightly before realization dawned on him. He scanned his surroundings before shaking his head, "It's fine. With me here, that fellow won't dare to eavesdrop on us. That fellow must have reached the Sunmoon Realm long ago. He has only been pretending to be a Mountainsea."
"I knew it!" Realization hit Bai Feng.
Bai Feng said, "Teacher, this is a talent discovered by me! Even his first Divine Character came from me!"
"You..." Hong Tan asked in astonishment, "When did that happen?"
"During my previous visit to Nanyuan..."
Hong Tan thought about it and asked, "Half a year ago?"
Yes, Bai Feng went to Nanyuan in April. But...that was only half a year ago!
"Yeah."
Hong Tan suddenly thought of something. He looked at Su Yu before looking at Bai Feng again. An odd look appeared in his eyes as he said, "You're telling me that half a year ago, he wasn't at the Great Strength Realm and the Mental Tempering Stage. He didn't even have a Divine Character..."
"Yeah," Bai Feng said. Abruptly, he thought of something and hurriedly said with alarm, "No, no, I was just kidding. He was already a seventh-stage Great Strength cultivator at the Mental Tempering Stage when he first joined the academy."
"Shut up!"
Hong Tan pulled out a cane out of nowhere and swung it at Bai Feng's head.
"You unfilial disciple! Bastard! I was wondering why you started instigating me to leave after returning from Nanyuan. So you were afraid that I would steal your student? I'll beat you to death!"
"..."
Pa! Pa! Pa!
A series of strikes landed and Bai Feng wailed miserably, "Teacher, that is absolutely not true! I'm an injured person! I'm dying! Why are you hitting me?"
"I should just beat you to death and be done with you."
"Teacher, my prestige is very important as well! You can't beat me up when my student is still here!"
"You're already a cripple. Why do you still need a student? Your student can follow me from now on."
"..."
Beside them, Su Yu had an odd look in his eyes. He looked at Wu Jia and Chen Yong doubtfully.
Wu Jia whispered, "This is how Grandteacher is. Don't mind him. He is actually very nice. He's only...so old that he's starting to act childish."
Hong Tan: "..."
He stopped beating Bai Feng. Instead, he looked at Wu Jia. Who was this stinky lass talking about? Who was she calling old? How old was he? He was not even 70! Was he old?
He decided to stop wasting his time dealing with this unfilial student. His expression returned to normal as he nodded at Su Yu again, "Not bad at all. So you have reached this level in less than three months. Very good."
He was only slightly shocked. He had not witnessed Su Yu's growth with his own eyes and hearing about it didn't feel as impactful. He was an expert on the cusp of reaching the Sunmoon Realm. A mere Mental Tempering Stage student was not enough to shock him too much.
He looked at Wu Jia once again. After thinking for a bit, he said, "Willpower injury. From what I can see, you can probably fully recover in a month or two. But this has indeed delayed your cultivation."
He beckoned at Wu Jia. She walked over obediently. Hong Tan placed his palm atop Wu Jia's head. A powerful stream of willpower flowed out of his palm alongside a gentle light that shone on Wu Jia's body.
A short while later, he withdrew his hand and exhaled, "It's not too heavy an injury. You only need to rest for a few days after this. Remember to cultivate hard and try to enter the Skysoar Realm as fast as you can."
After that short treatment, Wu Jia's face was no longer pale. Pleasantly surprised, she said, "Grandteacher, you can actually heal willpower injuries? In that case, I don't have to fear willpower injuries anymore..."
"Shut up!" Chen Yong berated, "What nonsense are you saying? Your grandteacher is not a Sunmoon yet. Using the light of sun and moon to heal you will only delay his own cultivation. What are you waiting for? Thank your grandteacher!"
Wu Jia hurriedly thanked her grandteacher.
Hong Tan waved his hand, not caring about the praise as he sighed, "Our faction is becoming smaller and smaller. It hasn't been easy for us to get two students. Don't end up crippled. That would really be the end of our legacy."
"I passed through Great Zhou on my way back. I heard that the multiple character faction is already history in Great Zhou. It no longer exists there."
Regret filled his tone. In the past, the multiple character faction of Great Zhou was still quite powerful. Great Zhou was a prefecture with more cultural researchers than Great Xia. Thus, there was a decent number of multiple character faction experts there. But over the years, these experts had died one after another. And finally, the last Mountainsea elder there had given up as well.
Hong Tan did not blame that elder for not asking for help. He understood how difficult things had been for the elder to face Zhou Polong in Great Zhou for decades. The multiple character faction in Great Zhou was doing even worse than them. In fact, it was already impressive of that elder to last this long.
Hearing about that, their faces fell.
Bai Feng clenched his teeth, "Sooner or later, I'll teach Zhou Polong a lesson."
"Stop making bold declarations. Focus on recovering first." Hong Tan said, "This time, Shan Tianhao has been killed. And I have also seriously injured Zhou Mingren. The conflict between us will definitely escalate into open hostility.
"All of you need to be careful. Don't leave the academy unless absolutely necessary. My senior brother and the others are either injured or crippled so they won't be able to give us much help. Nevertheless, their mere existence would serve as a form of deterrence to our enemies. Their performance during the battle has bought us some extra time. My senior brother had played the greatest role in that by making a move and attracting even more attention to this conflict. This is actually a good thing for us."
For many years, they had been worried about assassinations from that hidden Invincible. They might have alerted that hidden enemy this time, but that was not necessarily a bad thing. At the very least, that person would have more misgivings before making any other move.
In fact, this was one of the reasons the Xia Family had allowed the conflict to escalate this time. They had been investigating in secret for decades with nothing to show for it. In that case, they might as well create a ruckus and make a big deal out of it.
This way, the enemy would be more wary and no longer dare to keep acting against them. This did not exceed Hong Tan's expectations so he found it acceptable.
Hong Tan looked at Chen Yong and said, "Your junior brother will need to leave soon. I will also need to enter seclusion to focus on my breakthrough into the Sunmoon Realm soon. You will need to hold the fort. But without entering the Mountainsea Realm, you won't be enough to keep our enemies at bay."
Wu Jia softly said, "Grandteacher, Teacher doesn't have the resources to break through. Why don't you rob some resources for my teacher..."
Hong Tan laughed, "So you have learned to protect your teacher? Resources? What resources does he need? He has been a ninth-stage Cloudbreach for so many years. He no longer needs any resources. He—"
"Cough."
Chen Yong interrupted with a cough and said, "Teacher, I'll try to break through as fast as I can."
"You..." Hong Tan laughed, "Fine. Just do what you think is right."
Beside them, Su Yu kept his mouth shut. But he did find those words interesting. So this martial uncle of his was already capable of breakthrough long ago? When Su Yu asked about this previously, his martial uncle had not said too much about it.
Was his martial uncle suppressing the breakthrough to fuse more apertures before advancing?
After giving it some thought, Su Yu said, "Grandteacher, this time, we killed two of their Mountainseas. Grand Martial Uncle Xia Yunji and the others have also showcased the combat strength of Mountainseas. Would the single character faction still dare to make things difficult for us after this? Are they going to keep forcing our hands? Grandteacher, you're also someone on the cusp of becoming a Sunmoon. Are they tired of living?"
Hong Tan smiled, "In terms of combat prowess, we are not weak. But...the single character faction has flourished for so many years. They have numbers on their side. Do you think they will willingly give up on the privileges they currently enjoy?"
"They probably won't dare to use force against us anymore. But in the academy, force is not the answer for everything. They have always been suppressing us while still operating within the boundaries of the academy rules. Zhou Mingren is not an ambitious person. His biggest goal is probably to dominate the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
"But he is still someone from the branch family of the Zhou Family. He has definitely received the aid of the Zhou Family to reach his current height. And he needs to repay them. Thus, he won't stop the suppression of us. During the battle, he wanted to use me to push himself into the Sunmoon Realm. Clearly, he has failed. But the main reason for the failure is the repelling force."
If Zhou Mingren hadn't failed, he would have advanced during the battle. If Zhou Mingren was able to turn back time and return to the time before that incident 50 years ago, he would definitely be able to break through after taking all those steps.
In fact, pseudo Sunmoons did not exist back then. The moment one had the ability to breakthrough, one would make a clean advancement. Before reaching that level, one would be stuck in the Mountainsea Realm. One would not be stuck halfway through a breakthrough.
Su Yu said, "So they will continue suppressing us?"
"Definitely." Hong Tan smiled, "We'll play the game with them. Don't learn from your teacher and do something stupid like fighting Xia Yuwen. Just ignore them. What can they do? Xia Yuwen is already a Cloudbreach. Would he really dare to touch you if you ignore him? I'm not dead yet."
Hong Tan was clearly still unhappy with Bai Feng's decision. He had crippled himself with that stupid decision. If Bai Feng had not accepted the challenge, Xia Yuwen wouldn't be able to do anything against him. Not all experts of the multiple character faction were dead. At the very least, Hong Tan was still around.
Bai Feng disagreed, "I'm not scared of him. I've been wanting to fight him for a long time. By the way..."
He paused shortly before saying, "Jia, I have a book upstairs with some of my research results. Its title is Thirty-six Fusion Techniques. Can you get it for me?"
Wu Jia had a doubtful look on her face. Why her? Wasn't her junior brother there? But fine, since her martial uncle had already made the request, she didn't bother arguing. With a nod, she went upstairs.
After Wu Jia left, Bai Feng hurriedly said, "Teacher, check our surroundings. Previously, Wan Tiansheng actually managed to affect Su Yu's willpower while he was inside the research center."
Hong Tan frowned slightly before realization dawned on him. He scanned his surroundings before shaking his head, "It's fine. With me here, that fellow won't dare to eavesdrop on us. That fellow must have reached the Sunmoon Realm long ago. He has only been pretending to be a Mountainsea."
"I knew it!" Realization hit Bai Feng.
