After a while, they ended their conversation. Bai Feng's research had reached an even higher level than before, to the point where not even Hong Tan could provide him with much help anymore. Hong Tan's current priority should be his breakthrough into the Sunmoon Realm. He was definitely not the person who should be crushing his characters and cultivating them anew.
When Wu Jia returned, the three moved on from the topic. It wasn't that they didn't trust her. But she was too weak. Knowing too much wouldn't be beneficial for her. As for Su Yu, Bai Feng personally believed that this brat should be given more pressure.
After a short chat between the four of them, Su Yu asked, "Grandteacher, can I pay Teacher Liu a visit?"
"Not for now." Hong Tan said, "Don't make it clear how close you are to him right now. It won't benefit you. Some people are still observing him in secret. Everyone is still very sensitive, especially after what happened during the battle."
"I understand."
Su Yu felt somewhat regretful.
"Teacher, can Teacher Liu really recover?"
"I'll try my best."
Bai Feng did not dare to promise anything. Liu Wenyan had only been able to display the prowess of a Sunmoon after crushing some of his characters. Who knew if he could recover from that? Bai Feng could only try his best.
If Liu Wenyan could really recover from this, he would probably be able to reach the Sunmoon Realm in a short period of time. As for the Invincible Realm, well, that was still quite difficult.
Hong Tan solemnly said, "Su Yu, remember this. The single character faction is not the truly troublesome enemy. If it weren't for the misgivings we have, they would basically be nothing to us. The single-character faction members are not our enemies. They are merely a bunch of fellows blinded by benefits. Our true enemies are hidden in the dark and at the Allheaven Battlefield."
"There is no need to be too ruthless when fighting those new students. Of course, there is no need to hold back if they are trying to harm you."
Bai Feng said, "Don't keep too much resenment in your heart. You can easily do something rash because of your anger. The way you dealt with Chen Qi and Liu He was perfect. Escalate things before sparing them. As for people like Huang Qifeng, you naturally need to deal them a decisive blow to deter all your enemies. In short, kill who you should kill and spare who you should spare."
Su Yu could not help but cast a curious glance at the two. Was he that clear-cut?
"You have such a strong resentment in your heart that it is almost becoming a Divine Character," Hong Tan remarked. "This is not ideal. For me, Zhou Mingren and others like him are our shields. Their purpose is to shield us from the more dangerous adversaries. Although they may believe they have the upper hand, our only goal is self-defense."
"Shield?" Su Yu blanked out.
Hong Tan smiled. "Am I wrong? They have been shielding us for 50 years."
Hong Tan said, "Things have only changed recently. They had never treated us with such hostility in the past. I am not sure if the Zhou Family's changes are to blame for this. Or perhaps they have gone mad from being in power for too long."
Su Yu had a pensive look. That made sense.
He didn't think too much about that. Rather, he began considering whether he should get himself a shield as well. Right. He should definitely get himself one! Perhaps it was time to find some people in the academy capable of suppressing him?
That way, he would no longer be so eye-catching. The public would see that Su Yu had also suffered quite a lot of losses. Sure, he might have profited massively here and there, but it wasn't like he was immune to defeat!
Suddenly, a name appeared in his mind: Liu Hong! Would Liu Hong be interested in suppressing him?
The single character faction would see how miserable his life was. He might be able to gain a lot of benefits from the others, but he was also being badly suppressed by Liu Hong. It wasn't necessarily a good thing for him to take such a forceful stand. Without enough strength, that would only bring him more trouble.
Convinced that he had comprehended the hidden meaning behind the words of his teacher and grandteacher, Su Yu solemnly said, "Thank you for the guidance, Grandteacher and Teacher!"
Guidance?
What guidance have they given him?
Hong Tan was confused. He was only telling the kid to not hold that much resentment, lest it delay his cultivation. Maybe that was what the kid was talking about. Yeah, that made sense.
Bai Feng was the one looking at Su Yu suspiciously. What did the kid get from their words? There definitely wasn't any hidden meaning behind their words!
Rather, they had indeed noticed the deep resentment Su Yu was holding. A majority of the resentment probably originated from the previous battle in the warzone. Even Su Yu himself might not have realized how much resentment he was carrying within himself. In this condition, his mentality could very easily turn extreme.
...
Since Bai Feng still needed to recuperate from his injuries, they did not continue talking for long. After telling them about the Willpower Grotto, Su Yu went upstairs to cultivate, while Chen Yong and Wu Jia returned to the books depository.
With that, the multiple character faction began their rest and recovery.
Heart Cultivating Pavilion.
Wan Tiansheng had returned to normal. The fury on his face could no longer be seen.
...
At the Xia Family, the Martial Dragon Guards were sent everywhere to wipe out any cult stronghold they could find. Meanwhile, Marquis Xia had turned back into a smiling merchant.
Even the single character faction was completely silent. Calm seemed to have returned. It was as though the battle the night before had never happened.
...
Away from the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
Eighteenth Secondary School.
Rear mountain.
Liu Wenyan was meeting someone in a small house.
Inside the small room, only two people were present. Liu Wenyan looked frail and old. The man seated opposite him was sturdy and powerful, his very presence emanating a sense of majesty.
In truth, the two were similar in age. Liu Wenyan was only slightly above 70, while the other person was around 70 as well.
The cups of tea in front of them remained untouched. Xia Longwu, the sturdy man, looked at Liu Wenyan and calmly asked, "Are you angry?"
Liu Wenyan smiled and said, "What a stupid question. Is there anything for me to be angry about?"
"I have failed to protect the Liu Family."
Xia Longwu calmly said, "Back then, I arranged a marriage between Huyou and the lass from the Liu Family to create an excuse for the Liu Family to move into Great Xia. But before that plan could be carried out, the entire Liu Family was wiped out."
Liu Wenyan had a look of recollection on his face. He softly said, "You tried your best. That's how my elder brother was. I had reminded him long ago that he shouldn't get involved with me. He should have ignored me and stopped trying to protect me..."
He shook his head and sighed.
"I only feel sorry for the children. As for my elder brother, I already expected him to die fighting."
Xia Longwu said, "I investigated the matter of their deaths. But I can't find anything suspicious. That looked like a perfectly normal battle. But the more normal it looked, the more abnormal it actually was. At that time, the Liu Family's base was attacked multiple times. Everything was too coincidental."
"Back when that grand niece of yours was born, a part of the Liu Family planned to return to the Human Realm. But on their way back, they encountered some enemies..."
Liu Wenyan nodded and sighed. "This character left behind by my teacher is the root of all these calamities. Without the Great Xia King, I would have died as well."
Xia Longwu asked, "Just what is the secret of this character? There is no need for them to go that far for a single Eternal character unless it really is the key to becoming a cultural researcher Invincible. Have you discovered that secret?"
"Nope."
Liu Wenyan smiled and said, "If I had really found it, I would not have stayed this weak. Speaking of, you sure are growing very quickly. You're going to reach the Invincible Realm soon."
"It's only a physical advancement." Xia Longwu calmly said, "With a body advancement, I will still be limited by my lifespan. And my willpower will be too weak. Facing the cultural researcher Invincibles of our enemies, I can still die."
"How about your willpower cultivation?" Liu Wenyan asked.
Very few people remembered this, but Xia Longwu was not a graduate of the Great Xia War Academy. Instead, he graduated from the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. And his teacher was...Wan Tiansheng! A true cultural researcher!
"My willpower cultivation is stuck at the peak Mountainsea Realm."
"That's too weak."
Xia Longwu did not deny that. He nodded. "Yeah. I can't even bring it into the Sunmoon Realm. There are some issues with our Divine Characters. The Knowledge Seeking Realm should have noticed the same issue as well. But this isn't an easy issue to solve."
To solve it, they had to cripple a group of people. This was a very serious issue. The only thing the Knowledge Seeking Realm could do was take it one step at a time. They also couldn't afford to spread the news for fear of creating too much disturbance among the cultural research community.
"Knowledge Seeking Realm..." Liu Wenyan frowned. "Just what are they trying to do?"
Xia Longwu sank into a short silence before answering, "Basically, their stand is that they can't participate in personal grudges between fellow humans. Also, even if there is really a traitor, the fifth principal is already dead. In terms of value, that person has a much higher value to humanity than your faction."
Liu Wenyan laughed, "True. I already expected this. The dead are of little value. A bunch of cripples are also of little value. But are they not afraid that the same thing would happen to someone else?"
"It is likely that they already have some countermeasures in place." Xia Longwu said, "If that person dares to make more moves, he won't be able to keep hiding. But they definitely won't be willing to perform an open investigation. You are only the bait."
Xia Longwu said, "In truth, they had guessed the same a long time ago. But my grandpa and second uncle insisted on protecting you. Otherwise, they would have used you as bait all those years ago."
"I guessed correctly!" Liu Wenyan nodded. "I already knew this when I was exiled to Nanyuan. I was surprised that I could actually keep my life. Only later did I realize that Great Xia King had probably done something to protect me. Thank Great Xia King for me..."
"Don't worry about it." Xia Longwu said, "Be patient. Wait. Wait until I finish my breakthrough. Sooner or later, we will find this person. I know what those old fossils in the War Shrine and Knowledge Seeking Realm are thinking. They also want to find that person, but they also don't feel as strongly about it as we do. The main issue is the ambiguous attitude of Great Zhou King."
"Great Zhou King..." Liu Wenyan hesitated slightly before asking, "Is he the one?"
"We can't be sure." Xia Longwu shook his head. "Everyone knows his belief. He believes in peaceful coexistence. Instead of fighting the enemies on the battlefield, he has been working toward the defenses of the Human Realm. His ultimate goal is the activation of the suppressive force toward non-human races in the Human Realm."
Xia Longwu sighed, "I do not object to that plan. I also agree that activating the suppressive force is a good thing for us. That would be able to deter a lot of races. But it has been so many years. We have not been able to activate the suppressive force. While working on this plan, we still need to have enough strength to deter all external enemies."
He did not disagree with Great Zhou King's goal.
Activating the Human Realm's suppressive force would turn the Human Realm into something similar to the other realms, where all foreign visitors would be suppressed. That was also a way to end the war. But there was no sign that this was going to happen anytime soon.
This was most likely one of the reasons the Great Zhou King had been largely ignoring the traitor. He wanted to put everything aside and focus on activating the suppressive force before dealing with anything else. He did not want to see people causing chaos while he was working on his plan.
And that was something Xia Longwu and Great Xia King disagreed with. But since Great Zhou King was one of the leaders of the Knowledge Seeking Realm, they naturally had to follow his lead instead of revealing any disunity among their ranks.
After a while, they ended their conversation. Bai Feng's research had reached an even higher level than before, to the point where not even Hong Tan could provide him with much help anymore. Hong Tan's current priority should be his breakthrough into the Sunmoon Realm. He was definitely not the person who should be crushing his characters and cultivating them anew.
When Wu Jia returned, the three moved on from the topic. It wasn't that they didn't trust her. But she was too weak. Knowing too much wouldn't be beneficial for her. As for Su Yu, Bai Feng personally believed that this brat should be given more pressure.
After a short chat between the four of them, Su Yu asked, "Grandteacher, can I pay Teacher Liu a visit?"
"Not for now." Hong Tan said, "Don't make it clear how close you are to him right now. It won't benefit you. Some people are still observing him in secret. Everyone is still very sensitive, especially after what happened during the battle."
"I understand."
Su Yu felt somewhat regretful.
"Teacher, can Teacher Liu really recover?"
"I'll try my best."
Bai Feng did not dare to promise anything. Liu Wenyan had only been able to display the prowess of a Sunmoon after crushing some of his characters. Who knew if he could recover from that? Bai Feng could only try his best.
If Liu Wenyan could really recover from this, he would probably be able to reach the Sunmoon Realm in a short period of time. As for the Invincible Realm, well, that was still quite difficult.
Hong Tan solemnly said, "Su Yu, remember this. The single character faction is not the truly troublesome enemy. If it weren't for the misgivings we have, they would basically be nothing to us. The single-character faction members are not our enemies. They are merely a bunch of fellows blinded by benefits. Our true enemies are hidden in the dark and at the Allheaven Battlefield."
"There is no need to be too ruthless when fighting those new students. Of course, there is no need to hold back if they are trying to harm you."
Bai Feng said, "Don't keep too much resenment in your heart. You can easily do something rash because of your anger. The way you dealt with Chen Qi and Liu He was perfect. Escalate things before sparing them. As for people like Huang Qifeng, you naturally need to deal them a decisive blow to deter all your enemies. In short, kill who you should kill and spare who you should spare."
Su Yu could not help but cast a curious glance at the two. Was he that clear-cut?
"You have such a strong resentment in your heart that it is almost becoming a Divine Character," Hong Tan remarked. "This is not ideal. For me, Zhou Mingren and others like him are our shields. Their purpose is to shield us from the more dangerous adversaries. Although they may believe they have the upper hand, our only goal is self-defense."
"Shield?" Su Yu blanked out.
Hong Tan smiled. "Am I wrong? They have been shielding us for 50 years."
Hong Tan said, "Things have only changed recently. They had never treated us with such hostility in the past. I am not sure if the Zhou Family's changes are to blame for this. Or perhaps they have gone mad from being in power for too long."
Su Yu had a pensive look. That made sense.
He didn't think too much about that. Rather, he began considering whether he should get himself a shield as well. Right. He should definitely get himself one! Perhaps it was time to find some people in the academy capable of suppressing him?
That way, he would no longer be so eye-catching. The public would see that Su Yu had also suffered quite a lot of losses. Sure, he might have profited massively here and there, but it wasn't like he was immune to defeat!
Suddenly, a name appeared in his mind: Liu Hong! Would Liu Hong be interested in suppressing him?
The single character faction would see how miserable his life was. He might be able to gain a lot of benefits from the others, but he was also being badly suppressed by Liu Hong. It wasn't necessarily a good thing for him to take such a forceful stand. Without enough strength, that would only bring him more trouble.
Convinced that he had comprehended the hidden meaning behind the words of his teacher and grandteacher, Su Yu solemnly said, "Thank you for the guidance, Grandteacher and Teacher!"
Guidance?
What guidance have they given him?
Hong Tan was confused. He was only telling the kid to not hold that much resentment, lest it delay his cultivation. Maybe that was what the kid was talking about. Yeah, that made sense.
Bai Feng was the one looking at Su Yu suspiciously. What did the kid get from their words? There definitely wasn't any hidden meaning behind their words!
Rather, they had indeed noticed the deep resentment Su Yu was holding. A majority of the resentment probably originated from the previous battle in the warzone. Even Su Yu himself might not have realized how much resentment he was carrying within himself. In this condition, his mentality could very easily turn extreme.
...
Since Bai Feng still needed to recuperate from his injuries, they did not continue talking for long. After telling them about the Willpower Grotto, Su Yu went upstairs to cultivate, while Chen Yong and Wu Jia returned to the books depository.
With that, the multiple character faction began their rest and recovery.
Heart Cultivating Pavilion.
Wan Tiansheng had returned to normal. The fury on his face could no longer be seen.
...
At the Xia Family, the Martial Dragon Guards were sent everywhere to wipe out any cult stronghold they could find. Meanwhile, Marquis Xia had turned back into a smiling merchant.
Even the single character faction was completely silent. Calm seemed to have returned. It was as though the battle the night before had never happened.
...
Away from the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.
Eighteenth Secondary School.
Rear mountain.
Liu Wenyan was meeting someone in a small house.
Inside the small room, only two people were present. Liu Wenyan looked frail and old. The man seated opposite him was sturdy and powerful, his very presence emanating a sense of majesty.
In truth, the two were similar in age. Liu Wenyan was only slightly above 70, while the other person was around 70 as well.
The cups of tea in front of them remained untouched. Xia Longwu, the sturdy man, looked at Liu Wenyan and calmly asked, "Are you angry?"
Liu Wenyan smiled and said, "What a stupid question. Is there anything for me to be angry about?"
"I have failed to protect the Liu Family."
Xia Longwu calmly said, "Back then, I arranged a marriage between Huyou and the lass from the Liu Family to create an excuse for the Liu Family to move into Great Xia. But before that plan could be carried out, the entire Liu Family was wiped out."
Liu Wenyan had a look of recollection on his face. He softly said, "You tried your best. That's how my elder brother was. I had reminded him long ago that he shouldn't get involved with me. He should have ignored me and stopped trying to protect me..."
He shook his head and sighed.
"I only feel sorry for the children. As for my elder brother, I already expected him to die fighting."
Xia Longwu said, "I investigated the matter of their deaths. But I can't find anything suspicious. That looked like a perfectly normal battle. But the more normal it looked, the more abnormal it actually was. At that time, the Liu Family's base was attacked multiple times. Everything was too coincidental."
"Back when that grand niece of yours was born, a part of the Liu Family planned to return to the Human Realm. But on their way back, they encountered some enemies..."
Liu Wenyan nodded and sighed. "This character left behind by my teacher is the root of all these calamities. Without the Great Xia King, I would have died as well."
Xia Longwu asked, "Just what is the secret of this character? There is no need for them to go that far for a single Eternal character unless it really is the key to becoming a cultural researcher Invincible. Have you discovered that secret?"
"Nope."
Liu Wenyan smiled and said, "If I had really found it, I would not have stayed this weak. Speaking of, you sure are growing very quickly. You're going to reach the Invincible Realm soon."
"It's only a physical advancement." Xia Longwu calmly said, "With a body advancement, I will still be limited by my lifespan. And my willpower will be too weak. Facing the cultural researcher Invincibles of our enemies, I can still die."
"How about your willpower cultivation?" Liu Wenyan asked.
Very few people remembered this, but Xia Longwu was not a graduate of the Great Xia War Academy. Instead, he graduated from the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. And his teacher was...Wan Tiansheng! A true cultural researcher!
"My willpower cultivation is stuck at the peak Mountainsea Realm."
"That's too weak."
Xia Longwu did not deny that. He nodded. "Yeah. I can't even bring it into the Sunmoon Realm. There are some issues with our Divine Characters. The Knowledge Seeking Realm should have noticed the same issue as well. But this isn't an easy issue to solve."
To solve it, they had to cripple a group of people. This was a very serious issue. The only thing the Knowledge Seeking Realm could do was take it one step at a time. They also couldn't afford to spread the news for fear of creating too much disturbance among the cultural research community.
"Knowledge Seeking Realm..." Liu Wenyan frowned. "Just what are they trying to do?"
Xia Longwu sank into a short silence before answering, "Basically, their stand is that they can't participate in personal grudges between fellow humans. Also, even if there is really a traitor, the fifth principal is already dead. In terms of value, that person has a much higher value to humanity than your faction."
Liu Wenyan laughed, "True. I already expected this. The dead are of little value. A bunch of cripples are also of little value. But are they not afraid that the same thing would happen to someone else?"
"It is likely that they already have some countermeasures in place." Xia Longwu said, "If that person dares to make more moves, he won't be able to keep hiding. But they definitely won't be willing to perform an open investigation. You are only the bait."
Xia Longwu said, "In truth, they had guessed the same a long time ago. But my grandpa and second uncle insisted on protecting you. Otherwise, they would have used you as bait all those years ago."
"I guessed correctly!" Liu Wenyan nodded. "I already knew this when I was exiled to Nanyuan. I was surprised that I could actually keep my life. Only later did I realize that Great Xia King had probably done something to protect me. Thank Great Xia King for me..."
"Don't worry about it." Xia Longwu said, "Be patient. Wait. Wait until I finish my breakthrough. Sooner or later, we will find this person. I know what those old fossils in the War Shrine and Knowledge Seeking Realm are thinking. They also want to find that person, but they also don't feel as strongly about it as we do. The main issue is the ambiguous attitude of Great Zhou King."
"Great Zhou King..." Liu Wenyan hesitated slightly before asking, "Is he the one?"
"We can't be sure." Xia Longwu shook his head. "Everyone knows his belief. He believes in peaceful coexistence. Instead of fighting the enemies on the battlefield, he has been working toward the defenses of the Human Realm. His ultimate goal is the activation of the suppressive force toward non-human races in the Human Realm."
Xia Longwu sighed, "I do not object to that plan. I also agree that activating the suppressive force is a good thing for us. That would be able to deter a lot of races. But it has been so many years. We have not been able to activate the suppressive force. While working on this plan, we still need to have enough strength to deter all external enemies."
He did not disagree with Great Zhou King's goal.
Activating the Human Realm's suppressive force would turn the Human Realm into something similar to the other realms, where all foreign visitors would be suppressed. That was also a way to end the war. But there was no sign that this was going to happen anytime soon.
This was most likely one of the reasons the Great Zhou King had been largely ignoring the traitor. He wanted to put everything aside and focus on activating the suppressive force before dealing with anything else. He did not want to see people causing chaos while he was working on his plan.
And that was something Xia Longwu and Great Xia King disagreed with. But since Great Zhou King was one of the leaders of the Knowledge Seeking Realm, they naturally had to follow his lead instead of revealing any disunity among their ranks.
