"Tournament?"
Wentan Research Center.
Su Yu had a surprised look. Something like that was happening?
Hong Tan nodded, "Five slots. Four will be given to the others and one will be kept for your senior sister. As for you, Zhou Mingren is unwilling to give you one. When did you offend him?"
Hong Tan was quite curious. How did a student who wasn't even a Skysoar catch Zhou Mingren's attention? That man had insisted on not giving Su Yu a slot.
Instead of replying, Su Yu asked, "How about my teacher, Grandteacher?"
Was Bai Feng unable to enter as well?
"What your teacher needs right now isn't a growth of willpower. Rather, he needs to form new characters. Growing his willpower right now won't be of much help to him..."
Before Hong Tan could finish, Bai Feng grumbled, "I think it can still be very useful for me."
"..."
Hong Tan glared at his student and said, "Why do you want to go in? If you're uninjured and still have all your characters, you can definitely increase your cultivation to the ninth stage by entering. But what can you achieve in your current condition?"
"Even if I can't grow, I can still use it to nourish my willpower, right?"
Bai Feng grumbled, "Teacher, why don't you take the slot back from Elder Wu? Why does she need a slot?"
"Bullshit!" Hong Tan said, "One slot isn't even enough for her. And you're asking why? If it wasn't for our sake, would Zhou Mingren have reneged on his promise to give her some slots?"
Hong Tan had given four slots to four elders. As for whether they could get more slots through other means, that was no longer Hong Tan's business. It wasn't like there was anything he could do.
Hong Tan said, "If you hadn't acted recklessly, you would probably be able to reach the Cloudbreach Realm in two years and get the chance to enter the Luminous Domain Mansion. There, you can get some riversand back. With our own riversand, we can also open the grotto. As for entering this time, you can keep on dreaming about it."
"There's plenty of time."
Bai Feng appeared indifferent. Two years was plenty of time. He was confident he would be able to recover.
"Plenty of time?" Hong Tan was furious, "At the middle of the year after next year, the selection will be finalized. Thus, you only have around a year and a half to prepare. During the final six months, all participants will be given intensive training. After the training, they will leave for the Allheaven Battlefield. How much can you recover in only a year and a half?"
Bai Feng shrugged. How was he supposed to know? Whatever. He stopped caring.
"Xia Yuwen's injuries are as bad as mine..."
"But he has the Xia Family behind him. And his main Divine Character is still fine. Do you really think he is in the same situation as you?"
"..."
Su Yu completely ignored the two as he sank into thought.
After a while, he asked, "Grandteacher, so everyone under the Skysoar Realm in the academy is allowed to join?"
"Yeah." Hong Tan sighed, "I think you should just give up on it. There are too many of old students below the Skysoar Realm in the academy. What's so special about this grotto? It's just some willpower. I'll provide you with some pure willpower for your cultivation. The effect would be the same. The purity might even be higher!"
There was one thing he left unsaid. The amount he could provide wouldn't be too high. But as someone below the Skysoar Realm, how much willpower could Su Yu absorb?
Hong Tan said, "There is no need to make a big deal out of a single slot. After all, they are the ones paying to open the grotto. We had only taken advantage over the fact that the grotto does not belong to them to get some slots. Otherwise, nobody apart from their own people would be allowed to enter. Without any opened apertures, you won't be able to absorb much anyway. You've been in your teacher's lab before. The willpower in there is much purer. I'll get some for you later."
Bai Feng smiled, "Kid, this isn't a loss for you. In truth, you won't be able to get much benefit from the grotto anyway. Since your grandteacher is going to provide you with some purified willpower, the purity will definitely be even higher. No matter what, your grandteacher is someone near the Sunmoon Realm. This is enough for you."
He was also of the opinion that there was no need for Su Yu to join the tournament. It was obvious that the tournament wasn't a good thing for Su Yu. The single character faction would most certainly target Su Yu during the tournament. They might as well ignore them and let the ploy fail before it could even begin.
Hong Tan was already assuming that Su Yu was going to ignore the tournament. He smiled and said, "Follow me to the prefect's manor later. Let's see if we can get you the Sky Sundering Saber. Forget the tournament. Focus on cultivating. Entering the Infinite Strength Realm before reaching the Skysoar Realm should be your priority. Ignore everything else. Form more characters while you're at it. Even if you can now disassemble your character technique, forming more characters before the Skysoar Realm is still good for you."
Su Yu scratched his head and flashed an honest smile as he said, "Grandteacher, is there a lot of willpower in the Willpower Grotto? Is it endless?"
"It depends on how much resources they spend on opening it..."
"And how much willpower would you be able to produce for me?"
"..."
Hong Tan rolled his eyes. Of course he wouldn't be able to produce as much. They were too poor. He would only provide a little as a consolation for the kid for not getting to enter the grotto. It wasn't like the kid could absorb much. Why was this kid being all picky?
Su Yu said, "Grandteacher, my willpower absorption speed is quite fast. A small amount of willpower won't be enough for me."
"Fast? How fast can it be?" Hong Tan appeared indifferent.
Su Yu smiled, "For example, just that little bit of willpower in Teacher's lab would probably be gone after half an hour of absorption."
"..."
Both Hong Tan and Bai Feng stared at Su Yu silently.
After a while, Bai Feng said, "You little bastard! Did you secretly absorb some of the willpower in my lab? No wonder I felt that the willpower in the lab had decreased a little. Was that you?"
Su Yu coughed awkwardly and said, "Of course not, Teacher! I would never do something like that! You must have accidentally absorbed some yourself."
"Nonsense!"
Bai Feng cursed inwardly. Who was the kid trying to fool?
"Did you stumble upon another fortuitous encounter and get a foundation cultural art out of it?"
"..."
Su Yu stared at his teacher silently. Bai Feng also stared at Su Yu silently. With a calm expression, Bai Feng said, "Why are you looking at me like that? You have been taking heaven-grade cultivation methods and martial techniques out left and right. You have also been taking out unique cultivation methods like the Soul Devouring Art and some supposed ability blood essence from thin air. Why should I be surprised if you can take out a foundation cultural art as well?"
Did the brat think that he would be shocked by this? Dream on! Nothing could surprise him anymore! Unless this brat could suddenly advance into the Skysoar Realm in front of him right now, nothing could shock him! He would stay calm and aloof!
Meanwhile, Hong Tan was looking at both Bai Feng and Su Yu, wondering if the two had gone mad.
Su Yu found himself somewhat speechless to see Bai Feng so calm. After a while, he finally nodded, "Teacher, you are truly amazing and smart. Yes. I know a foundation cultural art."
"How many apertures?"
Bai Feng asked calmly, "Is it 9? Or 18? Or 27?"
"36 apertures." Su Yu gave a short reply.
Bai Feng cursed inwardly, but he maintained the same calm expression as he said, "Not bad. It's slightly worse than the Myriad Text Sutra, but it's not too bad at all."
Hong Tan stared at Bai Feng silently. Go on. Keep acting.
The Myriad Text Sutra could only be cultivated upon reaching the Skysoar Realm. It allowed one to open 72 apertures. What was the point of comparing it against a foundation cultural art?
Bai Feng ignored his teacher and continued asking, "How many apertures have you opened? Four? Eight? Or..."
"All 36 of them."
In truth, Su Yu had already opened 40 apertures. But it wouldn't be a good idea to tell the truth. Otherwise, he would also need to explain the origin of the extra apertures. And it would be hard for him to explain himself. Thus, 36 was the perfect number to give.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Bai Feng suddenly started coughing madly. He felt like coughing blood. Yes, he really felt like coughing blood. He was greatly alarmed.
Holy shit!
Even he himself had only opened 32 apertures. Yes, that was why he was only an eighth-stage Skysoar. If he had 36 apertures, he would already be at the ninth-stage Skysoar Realm.
Of course, this would not apply to Su Yu due to the level of his willpower. Some of his characters had already reached the second tier, but they weren't at the peak of the second tier either. Thus, even if Su Yu could enter the Skysoar Realm now, he still wouldn't be able to reach the ninth stage.
But as long as he could increase the tier of his willpower and Divine Characters, he would instantly become a ninth-stage Skysoar. And that was why foundation cultural art was so important.
As for the Myriad Text Sutra, he could always cultivate it at a later time. After reaching the ninth-stage Skysoar Realm with 36 apertures, he would be able to easily open 36 Skysoar apertures of the Myriad Text Sutra and enter the Cloudbreach Realm with the Myriad Text Sutra as his main cultivation method.
A foundation cultural art was not enough to bring one into the Cloudbreach Realm unless the art had more than 36 apertures.
...
Hong Tan remained completely silent. He watched on with complete indifference. He was a pseudo Sunmoon! He had to stay calm and dignified. Yes. He was very calm. This was just a student with only 36 apertures. What was the big deal about that? He had opened 72 apertures! More than that, he had also fused all of them, leaving only one aperture in his sea of willpower. Amazing, right?
He was a pseudo Sunmoon!
What was Sunmoon?
Fusing apertures into one aperture that was as bright and resplendent as the sun and the moon, granting one the ability to casually pluck stars and moons out of the sky. That was a Sunmoon.
That was also the case for physical cultivators. By fusing all acupoints into a single acupoint as resplendent as the sun and the moon, one would obtain the ability to regrow one's body from a drop of blood.
This brat was just a student. It was not a big deal!
Hong Tan looked completely calm. He looked even calmer than Bai Feng. Inwardly, however, he was wondering if he should leave and come back after the two were done talking.
"Tournament?"
Wentan Research Center.
Su Yu had a surprised look. Something like that was happening?
Hong Tan nodded, "Five slots. Four will be given to the others and one will be kept for your senior sister. As for you, Zhou Mingren is unwilling to give you one. When did you offend him?"
Hong Tan was quite curious. How did a student who wasn't even a Skysoar catch Zhou Mingren's attention? That man had insisted on not giving Su Yu a slot.
Instead of replying, Su Yu asked, "How about my teacher, Grandteacher?"
Was Bai Feng unable to enter as well?
"What your teacher needs right now isn't a growth of willpower. Rather, he needs to form new characters. Growing his willpower right now won't be of much help to him..."
Before Hong Tan could finish, Bai Feng grumbled, "I think it can still be very useful for me."
"..."
Hong Tan glared at his student and said, "Why do you want to go in? If you're uninjured and still have all your characters, you can definitely increase your cultivation to the ninth stage by entering. But what can you achieve in your current condition?"
"Even if I can't grow, I can still use it to nourish my willpower, right?"
Bai Feng grumbled, "Teacher, why don't you take the slot back from Elder Wu? Why does she need a slot?"
"Bullshit!" Hong Tan said, "One slot isn't even enough for her. And you're asking why? If it wasn't for our sake, would Zhou Mingren have reneged on his promise to give her some slots?"
Hong Tan had given four slots to four elders. As for whether they could get more slots through other means, that was no longer Hong Tan's business. It wasn't like there was anything he could do.
Hong Tan said, "If you hadn't acted recklessly, you would probably be able to reach the Cloudbreach Realm in two years and get the chance to enter the Luminous Domain Mansion. There, you can get some riversand back. With our own riversand, we can also open the grotto. As for entering this time, you can keep on dreaming about it."
"There's plenty of time."
Bai Feng appeared indifferent. Two years was plenty of time. He was confident he would be able to recover.
"Plenty of time?" Hong Tan was furious, "At the middle of the year after next year, the selection will be finalized. Thus, you only have around a year and a half to prepare. During the final six months, all participants will be given intensive training. After the training, they will leave for the Allheaven Battlefield. How much can you recover in only a year and a half?"
Bai Feng shrugged. How was he supposed to know? Whatever. He stopped caring.
"Xia Yuwen's injuries are as bad as mine..."
"But he has the Xia Family behind him. And his main Divine Character is still fine. Do you really think he is in the same situation as you?"
"..."
Su Yu completely ignored the two as he sank into thought.
After a while, he asked, "Grandteacher, so everyone under the Skysoar Realm in the academy is allowed to join?"
"Yeah." Hong Tan sighed, "I think you should just give up on it. There are too many of old students below the Skysoar Realm in the academy. What's so special about this grotto? It's just some willpower. I'll provide you with some pure willpower for your cultivation. The effect would be the same. The purity might even be higher!"
There was one thing he left unsaid. The amount he could provide wouldn't be too high. But as someone below the Skysoar Realm, how much willpower could Su Yu absorb?
Hong Tan said, "There is no need to make a big deal out of a single slot. After all, they are the ones paying to open the grotto. We had only taken advantage over the fact that the grotto does not belong to them to get some slots. Otherwise, nobody apart from their own people would be allowed to enter. Without any opened apertures, you won't be able to absorb much anyway. You've been in your teacher's lab before. The willpower in there is much purer. I'll get some for you later."
Bai Feng smiled, "Kid, this isn't a loss for you. In truth, you won't be able to get much benefit from the grotto anyway. Since your grandteacher is going to provide you with some purified willpower, the purity will definitely be even higher. No matter what, your grandteacher is someone near the Sunmoon Realm. This is enough for you."
He was also of the opinion that there was no need for Su Yu to join the tournament. It was obvious that the tournament wasn't a good thing for Su Yu. The single character faction would most certainly target Su Yu during the tournament. They might as well ignore them and let the ploy fail before it could even begin.
Hong Tan was already assuming that Su Yu was going to ignore the tournament. He smiled and said, "Follow me to the prefect's manor later. Let's see if we can get you the Sky Sundering Saber. Forget the tournament. Focus on cultivating. Entering the Infinite Strength Realm before reaching the Skysoar Realm should be your priority. Ignore everything else. Form more characters while you're at it. Even if you can now disassemble your character technique, forming more characters before the Skysoar Realm is still good for you."
Su Yu scratched his head and flashed an honest smile as he said, "Grandteacher, is there a lot of willpower in the Willpower Grotto? Is it endless?"
"It depends on how much resources they spend on opening it..."
"And how much willpower would you be able to produce for me?"
"..."
Hong Tan rolled his eyes. Of course he wouldn't be able to produce as much. They were too poor. He would only provide a little as a consolation for the kid for not getting to enter the grotto. It wasn't like the kid could absorb much. Why was this kid being all picky?
Su Yu said, "Grandteacher, my willpower absorption speed is quite fast. A small amount of willpower won't be enough for me."
"Fast? How fast can it be?" Hong Tan appeared indifferent.
Su Yu smiled, "For example, just that little bit of willpower in Teacher's lab would probably be gone after half an hour of absorption."
"..."
Both Hong Tan and Bai Feng stared at Su Yu silently.
After a while, Bai Feng said, "You little bastard! Did you secretly absorb some of the willpower in my lab? No wonder I felt that the willpower in the lab had decreased a little. Was that you?"
Su Yu coughed awkwardly and said, "Of course not, Teacher! I would never do something like that! You must have accidentally absorbed some yourself."
"Nonsense!"
Bai Feng cursed inwardly. Who was the kid trying to fool?
"Did you stumble upon another fortuitous encounter and get a foundation cultural art out of it?"
"..."
Su Yu stared at his teacher silently. Bai Feng also stared at Su Yu silently. With a calm expression, Bai Feng said, "Why are you looking at me like that? You have been taking heaven-grade cultivation methods and martial techniques out left and right. You have also been taking out unique cultivation methods like the Soul Devouring Art and some supposed ability blood essence from thin air. Why should I be surprised if you can take out a foundation cultural art as well?"
Did the brat think that he would be shocked by this? Dream on! Nothing could surprise him anymore! Unless this brat could suddenly advance into the Skysoar Realm in front of him right now, nothing could shock him! He would stay calm and aloof!
Meanwhile, Hong Tan was looking at both Bai Feng and Su Yu, wondering if the two had gone mad.
Su Yu found himself somewhat speechless to see Bai Feng so calm. After a while, he finally nodded, "Teacher, you are truly amazing and smart. Yes. I know a foundation cultural art."
"How many apertures?"
Bai Feng asked calmly, "Is it 9? Or 18? Or 27?"
"36 apertures." Su Yu gave a short reply.
Bai Feng cursed inwardly, but he maintained the same calm expression as he said, "Not bad. It's slightly worse than the Myriad Text Sutra, but it's not too bad at all."
Hong Tan stared at Bai Feng silently. Go on. Keep acting.
The Myriad Text Sutra could only be cultivated upon reaching the Skysoar Realm. It allowed one to open 72 apertures. What was the point of comparing it against a foundation cultural art?
Bai Feng ignored his teacher and continued asking, "How many apertures have you opened? Four? Eight? Or..."
"All 36 of them."
In truth, Su Yu had already opened 40 apertures. But it wouldn't be a good idea to tell the truth. Otherwise, he would also need to explain the origin of the extra apertures. And it would be hard for him to explain himself. Thus, 36 was the perfect number to give.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Bai Feng suddenly started coughing madly. He felt like coughing blood. Yes, he really felt like coughing blood. He was greatly alarmed.
Holy shit!
Even he himself had only opened 32 apertures. Yes, that was why he was only an eighth-stage Skysoar. If he had 36 apertures, he would already be at the ninth-stage Skysoar Realm.
Of course, this would not apply to Su Yu due to the level of his willpower. Some of his characters had already reached the second tier, but they weren't at the peak of the second tier either. Thus, even if Su Yu could enter the Skysoar Realm now, he still wouldn't be able to reach the ninth stage.
But as long as he could increase the tier of his willpower and Divine Characters, he would instantly become a ninth-stage Skysoar. And that was why foundation cultural art was so important.
As for the Myriad Text Sutra, he could always cultivate it at a later time. After reaching the ninth-stage Skysoar Realm with 36 apertures, he would be able to easily open 36 Skysoar apertures of the Myriad Text Sutra and enter the Cloudbreach Realm with the Myriad Text Sutra as his main cultivation method.
A foundation cultural art was not enough to bring one into the Cloudbreach Realm unless the art had more than 36 apertures.
...
Hong Tan remained completely silent. He watched on with complete indifference. He was a pseudo Sunmoon! He had to stay calm and dignified. Yes. He was very calm. This was just a student with only 36 apertures. What was the big deal about that? He had opened 72 apertures! More than that, he had also fused all of them, leaving only one aperture in his sea of willpower. Amazing, right?
He was a pseudo Sunmoon!
What was Sunmoon?
Fusing apertures into one aperture that was as bright and resplendent as the sun and the moon, granting one the ability to casually pluck stars and moons out of the sky. That was a Sunmoon.
That was also the case for physical cultivators. By fusing all acupoints into a single acupoint as resplendent as the sun and the moon, one would obtain the ability to regrow one's body from a drop of blood.
This brat was just a student. It was not a big deal!
Hong Tan looked completely calm. He looked even calmer than Bai Feng. Inwardly, however, he was wondering if he should leave and come back after the two were done talking.
