Chapter 703: Early Anping (2)

Niu Baidao stroked his beard and said, "Back then, the path to the Allheaven Battlefield was newly opened. At the time, we did not have a systematic path of cultivation. There were only some hermits who had started their own sects deep in the mountains and forests after obtaining some cultivation inheritance somewhere. Thus, cultivators already existed even back then, but they were very weak. And the moment the path to the Allheaven Battlefield opened, sigh. I was a step slower."

With a regretful tone, he said, "At the time, the divines and devils had yet to start their invasion. The ancient ruins started appearing after the path opened. It was mainly a competition between fellow humans. An ancient ruin just happened to appear near me, but that damn Great Ming King snatched the ruin before I could arrive. That guy used to work harsh jobs, so he was able to run faster than me. What a pity.

"The first batch of ancient ruins were very powerful. After they entered the ruins, they vanished alongside the ruins that had resealed itself. Meanwhile, pitiful fellows like us could only settle with some weaker ruins or the random inheritances that had appeared due to the opening of the path to the Allheaven Battlefield.

"A few years after that, the myriad races started entering the Human Realm. At first, they pretended to be friendly. They traveled the Human Realm and befriended the human race, using that chance to learn about the ancient ruins. At the time, the human race was cautious of these visitors. But these visitors were very kind. They even taught ordinary humans how to cultivate. In fact, some of the character cultivation paths that are still around today were taught by the myriad races back then. In that manner, humanity started lowering their guard after a few years.

"And before long, those visitors showed their true color. They started assassinating human geniuses and snatching newly discovered ruins. After the matter was exposed, they stopped pretending and started snatching the ancient ruins and treasures in the Human Realm through slaughter.

"We fought back, but we suffered defeat after defeat. Battles erupted everywhere and death was everywhere. Fortunately, the myriad races were also competing among themselves for the ruins, so that gave humanity the space to survive.

"With the connection to the Allheaven Battlefield, the source qi density in the Human Realm started recovering. Thanks to the various inheritances that had appeared during that period of time, we were able to cultivate quickly. It didn't take long for Mountainseas and Sunmoons to start appearing. We were finally able to put up a decent fight, but the myriad races sent their Invincibles over to deal with us...

"In the presence of Invincibles, humanity was reduced into bugs. Slaughter ensued as human corpses filled the Human Realm and one genius after another was killed. Fortunately, this did not last long as human Invincibles started leaving the ancient ruins around the same time as well.

"These experts were people like Great Qin King and the others. A large number of Invincibles had appeared in a short time. After decades of war and countless deaths, Great Qin King and a few other Invincibles decided to leave the Human Realm and started slaughtering the members of the myriad races in the Allheaven Battlefield. This forced some Invincibles in the Human Realm to withdraw. That left only the few major races in the Human Realm.

"Subsequently, Great Qin King, Great Zhou King, and a few others decided to give up on defending the Human Realm. Instead, nine Invincibles sneaked into the Divine Realm and started a slaughter in there...

"Just imagine the amount of damage nine Invincibles could do when they are actually trying to do as much damage as possible. Countless divines were killed, forcing the divine experts in the Human Realm to withdraw and start negotiations."

The story was short, but Su Yu's heart pumped with excitement as he listened to it.

"We managed to invade the Divine Realm back then?"

"Of course." Niu Baidao laughed, "I was there as well. Back then, I was already a Sunmoon so I was there for a single tour. There really wasn't much to do apart from killing. That was how things were. We could only stop slaughter through slaughter. Great Qin King and the others knew that if we continued fighting the war in the Human Realm, it was only a matter of time before the human realm went extinct. Thus, we could only start trading damages with them. We had no choice but to turn it into a contest of slaughter and see who would be the one to blink first."

Su Yu nodded. That was the only choice they had. If they continued fighting in the Human Realm, even if the realm persisted, all the commoners of the human race would cease to exist.

"How about now?"

"Now?" Niu Baidao shook his head, "The various major races have a heavy military presence in the entrance to their respective realm. Sneaking into a major realm is no longer so easy. Also, back then, the divines and devils were also hostile toward each other. We were able to take advantage of that. Things are different now. The same trick will no longer work.

"Also, in recent years, the divines and devils have reduced the intensity of their attacks against us. Can you feel that the number of conflicts has been dropping? Fine, I guess you really can’t. Over three hundred years ago, we will have a major battle every single day. Even after the subsequent negotiation and peace treaty, we continued slaughtering each other in the Allheaven Battlefield. That was a period of time where even Invincibles would constantly appear and fight on the battlefield. Nowadays, Invincibles are very rarely seen.

"Then again, the main reason for the reduced number of conflicts is the slaughter back then. The minor races suffered a lot back then. Even some of their Invincibles were killed. Those minor races were forced to withdraw out of fear, leaving the divines and devils with no external assistance. That coupled with the existing conflicts between the divines and the devils allowed us to finally stabilize the situation."

Su Yu asked, "How many minor realms did we attack back then?"

"Hmm, we destroyed at least seven or eight minor realms." Niu Baidao said, "Just imagine it. An entire realm exploded into nothingness, shocking the various realms.

"Of course, the immortals have also played a role in the eventual peace. The immortal Invincibles eventually stepped forth to act as peacemakers. The immortals weren't weak as well as that was a race as powerful as the divines and the devils. With their insistence to end the war, the divines and devils were forced to stop their invasion."

Su Yu was surprised to hear that. So the immortals played such a big role in ending the invasion?

When Hu Xiansheng heard that, he said, "Don't think that the immortals are our friends just because of that. Back then, their ancestor was deep in seclusion. Thus, they were weaker than the divines and the devils who were also colluding against them. They had no way of protecting their interests in the Human Realm. As the divines and the devils were the first to enter the Human Realm, the immortals weren't able to get much from the invasion. But they were also unwilling to see the divines and devils grow so they decided to play peacemaker. For their assistance, the human race was forced to pay quite a high price."

Niu Baidao did not deny that. "Yeah, we had to pay a high price. We had to give the immortals some of our ancient ruins. Some of their geniuses were able to benefit greatly from those ruins. A few of them even went on to become Invincibles."

Niu Baidao sighed, "But what choice do we have? At the time, we badly need stability to grow. Too many humans had perished. That was how we were able to obtain the subsequent three hundred years of peace."

Hu Xiansheng said, "The immortals are a bunch of bastards. After getting all the promised benefits from us, they wanted more. Eventually, they started killing and robbing in the Human Realm. At first, we swallowed out grievances as we needed their help. But Great Qin King and the others were no pushovers. After the divines and devils withdrew from the Human Realm, one of our ancient ruins exploded in an accident, killing thousands of immortals..."

"Cough." Niu Baidao said, "What bullshit are you saying? That was totally an accident. It has nothing to do with us. Old Hu, don't talk drivel. We are still allied to the immortals."

Hu Xiansheng rolled his eyes. Sure. Whatever. Su Yu laughed in amusement. So there were so many hidden stories. The immortal race was rarely mentioned among the human race.

Most of the time, only the divines and devils would be talked about. But through this talk, Su Yu learned that even the immortal race might be an enemy. No wonder Qin Zhen had talked about killing immortal fairies without batting an eye. He was probably quite experienced in doing so.

Once again, Su Yu's understanding of the major races increased. The divines and devils were confirmed enemies of humanity. As for the immortals, this was a race humanity was trying to not provoke, but couldn't be fully treated as an ally.

Su Yu did not ask more. That was not something he could participate in with his current strength. His priority was still the same: cultivation.

Zhu Tiandao had bought him a lot of time and given him a relatively safe environment. He was not going to let this go to waste.

Niu Baidao suddenly asked, "Is your willpower cultivation good enough to reach the Cloudbreach Realm?"

Su Yu shook his head, "My willpower tier is not high enough. I'm only at high-stage second-tier willpower. Even if I can push myself into that realm, I won't have much to gain. I need to stay at my current level and form more characters. I also need to strengthen my existing characters. I don't have enough third-tier characters. Also, without expanding my apertures, they are actually weaker than the apertures of some ninth-stage Skysoars."

Su Yu grinned, "I need at least half a year or a year to stabilize my current cultivation. I can start planning for the Cloudbreach Realm then."

It sounded so simple to him. Hu Xiansheng and the others sighed. This kid would probably be a true Cloudbreach after one year.

Hu Xiansheng suddenly asked, "You're currently nineteen?"

Silence descended. The silence was deafening. Only then did Niu Baidao recall that this kid was only nineteen. Did this mean that he would become a Cloudbreach at twenty?

Su Yu said, "I am standing on the shoulders of my predecessors. I am nothing special."

At this point, the others had nothing else to say. Niu Baidao stood up and said, "If you need any help for your body forging or your cultivation, feel free to look for us. That's pretty much the only thing we can help you with. Why do students graduate once reaching the Skysoar Realm? Because the academy can't do much for them anymore after that. Also, since you're now a Skysoar, you might receive a promotion into a senior researcher soon. As a researcher, you can start accepting students. As a senior researcher, you won't have any restrictions when accepting students. But most people won't accept too many students. The academy will partially subsidize you for the costs spent on these students."

At this point, Hu Xiansheng grumbled, "Does he need something like a subsidy?"

Bullshit. That was a rich kid. Why would he need a subsidy? Would the kid even care about that little bit of money?

Su Yu smiled and said, "I'll think about accepting students in the future. I've just broken through and I still have a lot to do. I don't have the time to spare for anything else. I might also start a few new research projects. Can Principal Niu contact my Teacher Bai for me and tell him to come back?"

Su Yu was hoping that Bai Feng could return as he still wasn't too familiar with the disassembly method. He would have no problem filling his character technique with more characters, but the disassembly method he knew would only work below the Mountainsea Realm.

Additionally, the Human Realm would start picking the participants to the next Luminous Domain Mansion at the end of year. Su Yu had heard that this was an excellent opportunity for all cultivators. He hoped that Bai Feng would be able to participate in it.

He couldn't help but wonder about Bai Feng's recovery. Even if Bai Feng had regained the strength of an eighth or ninth-stage Skysoar, Su Yu would still pity him. After all, Su Yu might be a Cloudbreach in only a few months.

There wasn't even a need to mention his abnormal combat strength. At that thought, his teacher Bai Feng was truly pitiful.

But if his teacher agreed to return, he would be able to help with his teacher's body forging by providing enough heavenly source qi. That way, Bai Feng would be able to push his physical cultivation up even if Su Yu wouldn't be able to help much with his characters.

Niu Baidao knew about the disassembly method. After hearing Su Yu's request, his eyes flickered as he nodded, "Sure. I'll contact Great Xia and the people in the Allheaven Battlefield. I'll try to get Bai Feng back."

The "back" here naturally referred to Bai Feng's homeland, Great Ming. It was too much of a waste to let someone like Bai Feng fight on the battlefield.

After everyone left, Su Yu stood up and smiled. His mood was improving.

Zhu Family...Zhu Tiandao...

Their intentions did not matter. Right now, the Zhu Family was providing him with a good and safe environment. In Great Ming, he had enough time and space to complete some of the things he wanted to do. He no longer needed to worry about pointless things. This felt great.

"It would be even better if Teacher can return."

Su Yu hoped that his teacher would return to Great Ming. It was much easier to strengthen the multiple character faction. There was no need to stubbornly stay with Great Xia.

***

At the same time.

Allheaven Battlefield, Vanguard Regiment.

Bai Feng couldn't stop cursing. He had been very annoyed lately.

He couldn't do the research he wanted to, he couldn't defeat the enemies he met on the battlefield, he was having a hard time forming new characters, and he didn't even have enough money. On top of all that, he had to report himself for a roll call twice per day.

"Sigh."

"What a terrible life. Su Yu won't be a Skysoar already by the time I return, right?"

The more he thought about it, the more terrible he felt. Also, how about his teacher? Was his teacher a Sunmoon already? It had been a very long time since he last heard from his teacher. He also hadn't heard from his senior brother for a while. After that one mail, his senior brother had gone silent. He wondered what was going on back home.

"Whatever. That damn kid is probably suffering badly. Getting our crimes pardoned is probably the best they can do. The kid must be living a pitiful life right now."

With that kid’s temper, it was unlikely that the kid was living well right now.