They had spent too many years guarding these grottos. Everyone knew that the first and third principals were from the multiple character faction. The fourth principal was publicly known as someone from the single character faction.
And the Source Qi Secret Grotto was left behind by the fourth principal.
Because of that, this grotto should be something that had been formed by a single character. But after studying this grotto for decades, he discovered something. The fourth principal's character was actually not a single character. Rather, it was a combination of multiple characters.
That was very surprising.
The fourth principal was truly a member of the single character faction. Although he loved to call himself a blacksmith due to his love for smithing, he wasn't actually that good of a blacksmith. He was stronger as a single character faction member.
This grotto could only prove that the fourth principal had also been studying the fusion of characters back then and had obtained some results from it.
The significance behind that was massive. That proved that the fourth principal had actually started walking the path of multiple characters after reaching the Sunmoon Realm.
Old Huang nodded and said, "I know what to do. But we can't be too partial. We can't allow the multiple character faction to continue being suppressed like this. I will clean up the Discipline Hall. During the year end evaluation, I'll try to weaken the single character faction and protect Chen Yong."
Old Nie nodded and said, "You don't have to be too obvious about it. They aren't so weak that they won't be able to survive without our full support."
After a short chat between the two, Su Yu finally entered the building.
The moment he entered, he saw the luggage beside Old Huang. He asked curiously, "Teacher Huang, are you going on a trip?"
"No." Old Huang calmly said, "I'm having a change of scenery. From now on, Old Nie will be the only one here. I'm taking a job somewhere else."
"Where are you going?"
Su Yu was curious. Would a teacher in charge of watching over a grotto be shifted to a different grotto or something like that? But he had heard that these two had been here for many years.
"Discipline Hall." Old Huang replied, "I don't want to move, but the academy insists on having me run the Discipline Hall. This is so annoying."
"..."
Su Yu stared at the old man blankly.
Discipline Hall! Running the Discipline Hall!
Was this a joke? He had heard from Chen Yong that the hall master of the Discipline Hall would also be appointed as an elder of the academy.
Old Huang was feeling very smug as he seemed to have seen through Su Yu's thoughts. This kid had been too smug previously, delivering them shock after shock. Finally, it was the kid's turn to be shocked!
"Yes. I'm leaving to become an elder." Old Huang had a look of impatience as he said, "I have no interest in this position. It's boring being an elder. And I'm only a ninth-stage Cloudbreach. It's pointless being a non-Mountainsea elder. The Discipline Hall might not be a busy place, but it still has some official duties. This is such a tiring job."
Su Yu blinked his eyes. After a short moment, he turned incomparably passionate as he said, "Senior Hong! No, Elder Huang! You are truly amazing! Even the Discipline Hall can't escape your grasp! By the way, is the Discipline Hall in charge of the end of year evaluations?"
Old Huang calmly said, "Yeah. How troublesome. Why do you ask?"
"No reason. Teacher Huang, you sure are amazing!"
Inwardly, Su Yu was still very shocked.
This guy was just a guard...but he had suddenly turned into an elder?
Holy shit!
Just what was going on?
He was naturally unaware of the deeper workings in the academy. He also didn't know too much about the elders of the Grotto District. In fact, that was the case for the majority of the students. They didn't even know who these elders were.
The only thing everyone knew was that the academy had six non-Mountainsea elders. What a surprise. This old man in front of him was going to become one of them. Discipline Hall...Previously, Xia Yuwen had utilized his status as a discipline master from the Discipline Hall to give him trouble. That was a place with quite a lot of power in the academy.
And the old man in front of him was going to be leading that place. Truly impressive! Old Huang had an indifferent face.
Was the kid shocked? Surprised? He was now an elder!
Of course, the other old man in the room was already an elder a long time ago. Old Huang had merely been ignoring that fact.
Old Huang decided to move on from the topic and asked, "Are you entering the grotto again? You're going to enter the Infinite Strength Realm?"
"No. I'm going to cultivate a new cultivation method."
"New cultivation method?"
Old Huang was slightly surprised.
Suddenly, Su Yu thought of something and said, "It's a heaven-grade cultivation method. But it wasn't written by an Invincible. A peak Sunmoon wrote it. This won't be a problem for the grotto, right?"
The previous time he brought a willpower text into the grotto, there seemed to be an issue. Would it be fine this time?
He was going to enter with a willpower text as well.
"..."
Old Huang was feeling tired. He had only basked in the limelight for a short moment and this kid was starting to say something outrageous again. Were heaven-grade cultivation methods not valuable anymore? Were peak Sunmoons so common these days?
"It should be fine. As long as the willpower text does not produce something like an independent pocket space, there won't be much issues."
"Good. Thank you, Teacher." Su Yu was relieved.
Old Huang curiously asked, "What cultivation method is it? If it's a secret, you don't need to tell me."
"Oh, it's not a secret. It's a pretty common cultivation method, the Sky Sundering Saber."
"..."
Common cultivation method? Really? Fine, fine. That was really quite impressive.
Not just everyone could learn the Xia Family's cultivation method. It would seem like even the Xia Family viewed this kid as someone worth nurturing. That was the only reason the kid could get his hands on their cultivation method.
After a short chat, Su Yu brought up something else, "Teacher, I have a friend from the war academy. He wishes to enter the grotto with Teacher Zhao's token. Is that possible?"
"Old Zhao's token..."
Old Huang gave it a thought and said, "We are only supposed to allow the students of our academy to enter. That serves as a precaution against the infiltrating of the Myriad Race Cult. But if you act as your friend's guarantor and promise to compensate the academy with an Eternal character should any problem arise, there won't be a problem."
"..."
Old Nie shot Old Huang a glance but said nothing.
In truth, even with a token, someone from the war academy wouldn't be able to enter so easily. A deep investigation needed to first be conducted on the visitor's background. And it would be even better if the visitor could get a Mountainsea from the war academy to serve as a guarantor.
But when he thought about it, he decided that it would be fine. Since Old Zhao himself trusted Su Yu enough to give the kid a token, there was no need for them to worry about it too much.
"I understand. Thank you, Teacher."
Su Yu hurriedly thanked Old Huang for the confirmation.
Old Huang couldn't even be bothered to say more. After accepting the entry fee of 100 merit points from Su Yu, he kicked Su Yu into the grotto. Then, he said, "This kid is using Old Zhao's token so freely. This is only a borrowed object. Why is the kid taking it so lightly?"
"He is already qualified to enter the grotto. The only reason he had asked for the token is to help others enter. If even Old Zhao is fine with it, why are you grumbling?"
Old Nie did not seem to mind. He started nagging again, "At the Discipline Hall, take note of the year end evaluation. It's starting soon. Don't do what Old He has been doing. He always love to smooth things over. Don't learn from him. Clean the academy up. It would be better of you can use this year end evaluation to set an example out of someone. The people in the academy has almost forgotten about the existence of the Discipline Hall. Nobody cares about the first evaluation anymore. Everyone acts like it's just a procedure. We'll teach them that they're wrong."
"Yeah, I know."
While talking to each other, the two looked at the grotto entrance curiously. How long would the kid stay inside this time?
The single character faction was going to hold a tournament with several slots up for grabs soon.
The kid was most likely here to learn the Sky Sundering Saber and prepare himself for the tournament.
...
At the same time.
Single character faction's building.
Inside an office.
Zhou Pingsheng calmly speaking to several students, "Although I have promised to take out five slots, I have never promised that the slots will be given to outsiders. Thus, the best case scenario is winning all the slots back ourselves. Even if we can't win all the slots back, we must ensure that those who are hostile to us can't get them.
"I have gathered you here because you are the more talented ones among the young students. But you will probably not be a match for the old students. Even Di Feng might have a hard time against them."
Di Feng disagreed, but he kept his mouth shut.
Some of those old students were even older than his grandfather. Why were they competing against these young students? He felt ashamed on their behalf.
"But that doesn't matter. None of you are weak. If you really end up encountering a strong old student in the tournament, you can always choose to tire them out.
"This time, our main targets will still be Su Yu and those friendly toward him. He Ji, Wu Yuehua, and the other fellows from their side have obtained a slot each as well. They definitely won't be satisfied with just one slot. You will need to prevent them from benefiting from this tournament."
Di Feng nodded and asked, "Teacher, Su Yu has yet to register for the tournament. Is it possible that he's not joining?"
"Maybe."
Zhou Pingsheng was unsure. After thinking about it, he said, "If he does join, make sure he leaves with nothing. If he doesn't join, he won't be able to enter the grotto. By the time you guys are out, the luckier ones might already be in the Skysoar Realm. Even the unlucky ones will be at the peak Mental Tempering Stage. At that time, he will no longer be a treat."
Zhou Pingsheng might be saying that, but he still hoped to see Su Yu join the tournament. That fellow had seriously injured several single character faction geniuses.A lot of strong students were going to be participating in this tournament. Not even the number one student in the top 100, Zhan Hai, could be sure that he would place first in the tournament.
If Su Yu did join, they would be able to to rig the matches and make him suffer.
Zhou Pingsheng said, "This time, Hong Tan has obtained a slot as well. That slot will definitely be given to Wu Jia. We can't allow her to enter the top 100. But if she manages to enter this grotto, she will grow stronger. At that time, it might no longer be possible to stop her from ascending to the top 100. With Hong Tan around, she has probably recovered from her willpower injury."
Di Feng couldn't help but to grumble, "How could Grandteacher give them the slots? If Wu Jia manages to grow stronger, it will be much harder to keep her outside the top 100."
This would be very unfavorable for his own teacher.
Originally, with Wu Jia out of the top 100, Zhou Pingsheng had a good chance to become the new head manager. He would then be able to use that as the stepping stone to become the new faction master and an elder. But with what was happening, that wouldn't be so easy anymore.
"Your grandteacher has his reasons."
Zhou Pingsheng was naturally unhappy as well, but there was nothing he could do about it. That was the decision made by his teacher and the other elders.
Deciding to stop talking about his teacher, Zhou Pingsheng said, "After her recovery, Wu Jia has been going out of the books depository frequently. Compared to that cunning Su Yu, Wu Jia is a lot more green. Your grandteacher has personally given your Junior Brother Huang a treatment. He is on the verge of full recovery as well..."
"He's near full recovery?"
Di Feng was surprised to hear that. Could someone recover so fast from such heavy injuries? What kind of a price had his grandteacher pay for that? His grandteacher sure was generous.
Zhou Pingsheng observed his student's reaction but did not remark about it. He continued, "Wu Jia hates your junior brother. After all, he has nearly crippled her during their previous fight. When you have time, take a stroll around the academy with your junior brother. And if you happen to encounter Wu Jia during one of these strolls...you know what to do. It would be the best if you can cripple her before she can even enter the Willpower Grotto."
A fierce glint appeared in his eyes as he added, "Remember to follow the rules. Do this in a way that the multiple character faction won't be able to complain about anything. Your Junior Brother Huang did well previously. If it wasn't for Su Yu, they wouldn't have been able to make a comeback."
He had a good opinion of Huang Qifeng. Even though Huang Qifeng was Zheng Yuming's student instead of his own student, that didn't stop him from appreciating the ability of this student.
Sure, this student was somewhat weak and unlucky, but he was very good at harming his opponent without getting in trouble. If it wasn't for Su Yu's sudden rise, Wu Jia would probably need to give up on entering the top 100 again this year. Not even Hong Tan's return would change anything.
"Is Junior Brother Huang willing to do this?"
Di Feng was unsure. After all, Huang Qifeng had received such a terrible beating from Su Yu not long ago. Would he still dare to show himself?
"As long as we break no rules, there is nothing to fear."
Zhou Pingsheng coldly said, "Are we supposed to just wait as they make a comeback? The moment the multiple character faction regains their glory, with their talent and strength, the at least a third of the academy's resources will be allocated to them. At that time, would you still be able to enjoy all the benefits you're enjoying right now? Right now, you have everything you want. Cultivation methods, cultural weapons, pills, talismans, you don't lack anything."
Zhou Pingsheng snorted after saying that. If the multiple character faction was allowed to rise up again, these students would no longer live such carefree lives.
Their faces turned solemn when they heard his words. Finally, Zhou Pingsheng waved his hand and said, "Leave. Do as I said. Also, I believe you are as good as Su Yu in creating trouble. Since Su Yu can incite the masses and turn them against you, can't you do the same against him and Wu Jia? Are all of you garbage?"
Di Feng nodded and said, "I understand, Teacher. Don't worry. I won't give Wu Jia the chance to enter the Willpower Grotto."
"You may leave."
They had spent too many years guarding these grottos. Everyone knew that the first and third principals were from the multiple character faction. The fourth principal was publicly known as someone from the single character faction.
And the Source Qi Secret Grotto was left behind by the fourth principal.
Because of that, this grotto should be something that had been formed by a single character. But after studying this grotto for decades, he discovered something. The fourth principal's character was actually not a single character. Rather, it was a combination of multiple characters.
That was very surprising.
The fourth principal was truly a member of the single character faction. Although he loved to call himself a blacksmith due to his love for smithing, he wasn't actually that good of a blacksmith. He was stronger as a single character faction member.
This grotto could only prove that the fourth principal had also been studying the fusion of characters back then and had obtained some results from it.
The significance behind that was massive. That proved that the fourth principal had actually started walking the path of multiple characters after reaching the Sunmoon Realm.
Old Huang nodded and said, "I know what to do. But we can't be too partial. We can't allow the multiple character faction to continue being suppressed like this. I will clean up the Discipline Hall. During the year end evaluation, I'll try to weaken the single character faction and protect Chen Yong."
Old Nie nodded and said, "You don't have to be too obvious about it. They aren't so weak that they won't be able to survive without our full support."
After a short chat between the two, Su Yu finally entered the building.
The moment he entered, he saw the luggage beside Old Huang. He asked curiously, "Teacher Huang, are you going on a trip?"
"No." Old Huang calmly said, "I'm having a change of scenery. From now on, Old Nie will be the only one here. I'm taking a job somewhere else."
"Where are you going?"
Su Yu was curious. Would a teacher in charge of watching over a grotto be shifted to a different grotto or something like that? But he had heard that these two had been here for many years.
"Discipline Hall." Old Huang replied, "I don't want to move, but the academy insists on having me run the Discipline Hall. This is so annoying."
"..."
Su Yu stared at the old man blankly.
Discipline Hall! Running the Discipline Hall!
Was this a joke? He had heard from Chen Yong that the hall master of the Discipline Hall would also be appointed as an elder of the academy.
Old Huang was feeling very smug as he seemed to have seen through Su Yu's thoughts. This kid had been too smug previously, delivering them shock after shock. Finally, it was the kid's turn to be shocked!
"Yes. I'm leaving to become an elder." Old Huang had a look of impatience as he said, "I have no interest in this position. It's boring being an elder. And I'm only a ninth-stage Cloudbreach. It's pointless being a non-Mountainsea elder. The Discipline Hall might not be a busy place, but it still has some official duties. This is such a tiring job."
Su Yu blinked his eyes. After a short moment, he turned incomparably passionate as he said, "Senior Hong! No, Elder Huang! You are truly amazing! Even the Discipline Hall can't escape your grasp! By the way, is the Discipline Hall in charge of the end of year evaluations?"
Old Huang calmly said, "Yeah. How troublesome. Why do you ask?"
"No reason. Teacher Huang, you sure are amazing!"
Inwardly, Su Yu was still very shocked.
This guy was just a guard...but he had suddenly turned into an elder?
Holy shit!
Just what was going on?
He was naturally unaware of the deeper workings in the academy. He also didn't know too much about the elders of the Grotto District. In fact, that was the case for the majority of the students. They didn't even know who these elders were.
The only thing everyone knew was that the academy had six non-Mountainsea elders. What a surprise. This old man in front of him was going to become one of them. Discipline Hall...Previously, Xia Yuwen had utilized his status as a discipline master from the Discipline Hall to give him trouble. That was a place with quite a lot of power in the academy.
And the old man in front of him was going to be leading that place. Truly impressive! Old Huang had an indifferent face.
Was the kid shocked? Surprised? He was now an elder!
Of course, the other old man in the room was already an elder a long time ago. Old Huang had merely been ignoring that fact.
Old Huang decided to move on from the topic and asked, "Are you entering the grotto again? You're going to enter the Infinite Strength Realm?"
"No. I'm going to cultivate a new cultivation method."
"New cultivation method?"
Old Huang was slightly surprised.
Suddenly, Su Yu thought of something and said, "It's a heaven-grade cultivation method. But it wasn't written by an Invincible. A peak Sunmoon wrote it. This won't be a problem for the grotto, right?"
The previous time he brought a willpower text into the grotto, there seemed to be an issue. Would it be fine this time?
He was going to enter with a willpower text as well.
"..."
Old Huang was feeling tired. He had only basked in the limelight for a short moment and this kid was starting to say something outrageous again. Were heaven-grade cultivation methods not valuable anymore? Were peak Sunmoons so common these days?
"It should be fine. As long as the willpower text does not produce something like an independent pocket space, there won't be much issues."
"Good. Thank you, Teacher." Su Yu was relieved.
Old Huang curiously asked, "What cultivation method is it? If it's a secret, you don't need to tell me."
"Oh, it's not a secret. It's a pretty common cultivation method, the Sky Sundering Saber."
"..."
Common cultivation method? Really? Fine, fine. That was really quite impressive.
Not just everyone could learn the Xia Family's cultivation method. It would seem like even the Xia Family viewed this kid as someone worth nurturing. That was the only reason the kid could get his hands on their cultivation method.
After a short chat, Su Yu brought up something else, "Teacher, I have a friend from the war academy. He wishes to enter the grotto with Teacher Zhao's token. Is that possible?"
"Old Zhao's token..."
Old Huang gave it a thought and said, "We are only supposed to allow the students of our academy to enter. That serves as a precaution against the infiltrating of the Myriad Race Cult. But if you act as your friend's guarantor and promise to compensate the academy with an Eternal character should any problem arise, there won't be a problem."
"..."
Old Nie shot Old Huang a glance but said nothing.
In truth, even with a token, someone from the war academy wouldn't be able to enter so easily. A deep investigation needed to first be conducted on the visitor's background. And it would be even better if the visitor could get a Mountainsea from the war academy to serve as a guarantor.
But when he thought about it, he decided that it would be fine. Since Old Zhao himself trusted Su Yu enough to give the kid a token, there was no need for them to worry about it too much.
"I understand. Thank you, Teacher."
Su Yu hurriedly thanked Old Huang for the confirmation.
Old Huang couldn't even be bothered to say more. After accepting the entry fee of 100 merit points from Su Yu, he kicked Su Yu into the grotto. Then, he said, "This kid is using Old Zhao's token so freely. This is only a borrowed object. Why is the kid taking it so lightly?"
"He is already qualified to enter the grotto. The only reason he had asked for the token is to help others enter. If even Old Zhao is fine with it, why are you grumbling?"
Old Nie did not seem to mind. He started nagging again, "At the Discipline Hall, take note of the year end evaluation. It's starting soon. Don't do what Old He has been doing. He always love to smooth things over. Don't learn from him. Clean the academy up. It would be better of you can use this year end evaluation to set an example out of someone. The people in the academy has almost forgotten about the existence of the Discipline Hall. Nobody cares about the first evaluation anymore. Everyone acts like it's just a procedure. We'll teach them that they're wrong."
"Yeah, I know."
While talking to each other, the two looked at the grotto entrance curiously. How long would the kid stay inside this time?
The single character faction was going to hold a tournament with several slots up for grabs soon.
The kid was most likely here to learn the Sky Sundering Saber and prepare himself for the tournament.
...
At the same time.
Single character faction's building.
Inside an office.
Zhou Pingsheng calmly speaking to several students, "Although I have promised to take out five slots, I have never promised that the slots will be given to outsiders. Thus, the best case scenario is winning all the slots back ourselves. Even if we can't win all the slots back, we must ensure that those who are hostile to us can't get them.
"I have gathered you here because you are the more talented ones among the young students. But you will probably not be a match for the old students. Even Di Feng might have a hard time against them."
Di Feng disagreed, but he kept his mouth shut.
Some of those old students were even older than his grandfather. Why were they competing against these young students? He felt ashamed on their behalf.
"But that doesn't matter. None of you are weak. If you really end up encountering a strong old student in the tournament, you can always choose to tire them out.
"This time, our main targets will still be Su Yu and those friendly toward him. He Ji, Wu Yuehua, and the other fellows from their side have obtained a slot each as well. They definitely won't be satisfied with just one slot. You will need to prevent them from benefiting from this tournament."
Di Feng nodded and asked, "Teacher, Su Yu has yet to register for the tournament. Is it possible that he's not joining?"
"Maybe."
Zhou Pingsheng was unsure. After thinking about it, he said, "If he does join, make sure he leaves with nothing. If he doesn't join, he won't be able to enter the grotto. By the time you guys are out, the luckier ones might already be in the Skysoar Realm. Even the unlucky ones will be at the peak Mental Tempering Stage. At that time, he will no longer be a treat."
Zhou Pingsheng might be saying that, but he still hoped to see Su Yu join the tournament. That fellow had seriously injured several single character faction geniuses.A lot of strong students were going to be participating in this tournament. Not even the number one student in the top 100, Zhan Hai, could be sure that he would place first in the tournament.
If Su Yu did join, they would be able to to rig the matches and make him suffer.
Zhou Pingsheng said, "This time, Hong Tan has obtained a slot as well. That slot will definitely be given to Wu Jia. We can't allow her to enter the top 100. But if she manages to enter this grotto, she will grow stronger. At that time, it might no longer be possible to stop her from ascending to the top 100. With Hong Tan around, she has probably recovered from her willpower injury."
Di Feng couldn't help but to grumble, "How could Grandteacher give them the slots? If Wu Jia manages to grow stronger, it will be much harder to keep her outside the top 100."
This would be very unfavorable for his own teacher.
Originally, with Wu Jia out of the top 100, Zhou Pingsheng had a good chance to become the new head manager. He would then be able to use that as the stepping stone to become the new faction master and an elder. But with what was happening, that wouldn't be so easy anymore.
"Your grandteacher has his reasons."
Zhou Pingsheng was naturally unhappy as well, but there was nothing he could do about it. That was the decision made by his teacher and the other elders.
Deciding to stop talking about his teacher, Zhou Pingsheng said, "After her recovery, Wu Jia has been going out of the books depository frequently. Compared to that cunning Su Yu, Wu Jia is a lot more green. Your grandteacher has personally given your Junior Brother Huang a treatment. He is on the verge of full recovery as well..."
"He's near full recovery?"
Di Feng was surprised to hear that. Could someone recover so fast from such heavy injuries? What kind of a price had his grandteacher pay for that? His grandteacher sure was generous.
Zhou Pingsheng observed his student's reaction but did not remark about it. He continued, "Wu Jia hates your junior brother. After all, he has nearly crippled her during their previous fight. When you have time, take a stroll around the academy with your junior brother. And if you happen to encounter Wu Jia during one of these strolls...you know what to do. It would be the best if you can cripple her before she can even enter the Willpower Grotto."
A fierce glint appeared in his eyes as he added, "Remember to follow the rules. Do this in a way that the multiple character faction won't be able to complain about anything. Your Junior Brother Huang did well previously. If it wasn't for Su Yu, they wouldn't have been able to make a comeback."
He had a good opinion of Huang Qifeng. Even though Huang Qifeng was Zheng Yuming's student instead of his own student, that didn't stop him from appreciating the ability of this student.
Sure, this student was somewhat weak and unlucky, but he was very good at harming his opponent without getting in trouble. If it wasn't for Su Yu's sudden rise, Wu Jia would probably need to give up on entering the top 100 again this year. Not even Hong Tan's return would change anything.
"Is Junior Brother Huang willing to do this?"
Di Feng was unsure. After all, Huang Qifeng had received such a terrible beating from Su Yu not long ago. Would he still dare to show himself?
"As long as we break no rules, there is nothing to fear."
Zhou Pingsheng coldly said, "Are we supposed to just wait as they make a comeback? The moment the multiple character faction regains their glory, with their talent and strength, the at least a third of the academy's resources will be allocated to them. At that time, would you still be able to enjoy all the benefits you're enjoying right now? Right now, you have everything you want. Cultivation methods, cultural weapons, pills, talismans, you don't lack anything."
Zhou Pingsheng snorted after saying that. If the multiple character faction was allowed to rise up again, these students would no longer live such carefree lives.
Their faces turned solemn when they heard his words. Finally, Zhou Pingsheng waved his hand and said, "Leave. Do as I said. Also, I believe you are as good as Su Yu in creating trouble. Since Su Yu can incite the masses and turn them against you, can't you do the same against him and Wu Jia? Are all of you garbage?"
Di Feng nodded and said, "I understand, Teacher. Don't worry. I won't give Wu Jia the chance to enter the Willpower Grotto."
"You may leave."
