Chapter 8: Spark of Civilization

At Nanyuan Secondary School, Chen Hao went to class as he couldn't afford to skip any lessons while Su Yu went straight to the Resource Department.

...

"Su Yu, you want to trade for some iron-winged bird blood essence?" The managing teacher of the Resource Department asked in astonishment, "The blood essence of a Great Strength bird would only be helpful for those at the Great Strength Realm. For Source Opening cultivators, it would be poisonous instead of helpful. What do you need the blood for?"

"Can I trade for it, Teacher Zhang?" Su Yu asked with a smile, "You know I've been researching the myriad races. The iron-winged bird is one of the races I have been researching, so I hope to get some of their blood to assist in my research. However, the blood essence is really too expensive. That's why I'm trying my luck here."

"Yes, you can. You've been certified for eighteen different languages over the years. Apart from the three compulsory languages, you've been rewarded fifteen merit points for the other fifteen languages. You've also been awarded three points for reaching the third-stage Source Opening Realm, adding up to a total of eighteen merit points."

After checking the records, the managing teacher continued, "However, you had spent six points at the library, so you have twelve points left."

"Yeah, I know." Su Yu smiled, "How many drops of iron-winged bird blood essence can I get with my remaining twelve points?"

"You're trading your merit points for blood essence? It's really not worth it. You won't be able to do much with the blood essence."

The teacher couldn't help advising Su Yu, "A Great Strength iron-winged bird is too strong for you even if they are at the bottom of the barrel at the Allheaven Battlefield. Your merit points can be used in your future academy as well. You can even get valuable resources from the academy with your points. While you're still in secondary school, you can earn these points easily. Just mastering one language is enough to get you one point. But that won't be the case in the academy.

"It's really not worth using your points for something like this. At the academy, you can obtain restricted knowledge, high-tier cultivation methods, and even access to some limited courses with your points. In fact, the points can even be used in the army..."

"Yeah, I know all that. But I really have no other choice here." Su Yu smiled helplessly. He knew all that. He could only fault himself for not having enough money.

Sure, he had the money to buy even five drops of blood essence if he wanted, but that would empty his bank account. He still needed to keep some money for his daily expenses. As he wouldn't be able to make a living as a Source Opening cultivator, he also had to account for his expenses in his future academy.

The so-called merit point was a different sort of currency. It was one of the most valuable currency systems in use apart from the anping dollar. The anping dollar could be used to purchase a lot of things. However, it was also restricted from purchasing a lot of things.

High-tier strategic resources, high-tier cultivation methods, and some limited inheritances could only be purchased with merit points. The merit point system was basically an unit of measurement for one's contribution to humanity. Without proper contribution to humanity, you would still be limited in what you could purchase regardless of how wealthy you were.

Every single point spent and earned would be recorded. For example, even after spending all eighteen of his merit points, Su Yu's original earned merit would still remain at eighteen points. Any new points earned would be added on top of it instead of his leftover merit points.

At a hundred original earned merit, Su Yu would obtain an even higher level of clearance. That was a system put in place to stop wealthy individuals from purchasing merit points with money and gaining access to high-clearance resources with their wealth alone. For example, a tycoon who had purchased tens of thousands of merit points would still be limited in what they could purchase without sufficient original earned merit.

The resource managing teacher sighed and said, "Fine, I won't stop you. But it is still too early for you to conduct these researches. There isn't much Nanyuan Secondary School could do to support your research. When you're in an academy, you will be able to apply for a subsidy for your research. You might even receive sponsorships. The iron-winged birds are too common so they're not worth researching. If you ask me, it's better to research something else instead..."

Su Yu smiled, "You know what teacher? I agree. Are there any ox-faced fish blood essence here?"

"..."

The teacher replied awkwardly, "Well, we don't have that here. Those fellows reside in the Mount Root Realm and are rarely found at the Allheaven Battlefield. Furthermore, they wouldn't enter the Allheaven Battlefield before reaching the Infinite Strength Realm or even the Skysoar Realm. You can find their blood in the cultural research academies, but not here."

What was the point of saying all that then?

Su Yu was able to recognize a few of the races that had appeared in his dreams before. The ox-faced fish was one of them. However, the weakest ox-faced fish on the Allheaven Battlefield was at the Infinite Strength Realm. If he consumed an Infinite Strength blood essence at his current cultivation, his body would probably burst apart even with the book absorbing the majority of the blood essence's energy.

As for the blood essence of the races he was unsure about, he wouldn't dare consume them. The moment he consumed the blood essence of a wrong race, his body would probably suffer as his book wouldn’t be absorbing the blood essence of a race that had yet to appear in his dream. Thus, the iron-winged bird was still the safest choice for him currently.

"Teacher, I'll just get some iron-winged bird blood essence."

"How many drops do you want? You need to spend one merit point per drop. It's really not worth it..." ?The teacher persuaded, "You might feel like these merit points aren’t that valuable, what with the exchange rate of fifty-thousand dollars per point, but there are things that can't be measured with money alone. You know what I mean."

"Thank you for the reminder, teacher." Su Yu nodded before immediately adding, "I'll get three drops for now. I'll come back if I need more."

"You--" The teacher felt helpless seeing how stubborn Su Yu was. He could only get a staff to retrieve the said blood essence. While waiting for the staff to return, he said, "The school is aware that your father went to the Allheaven Battlefield two days ago. Be careful when you're home alone. Those fellows from the Myriad Race Cult are currently active in Great Xia. I'm sure you're aware of that."

"Yeah, I know. But their activity in Great Xia won't affect me, right?"

"How can you say that?" The teacher chided, "You never know what could happen! Those animals from the Myriad Race Cult do not primarily aim for experts or genius cultivators. Rather, they generally target the sages.

"Sure, you're no sage, but you're one of the few students in Nanyuan Secondary School with a guaranteed spot in the cultural research academies. There is a limit to the amount of damage a combat expert can cause. However, there is no limit to what a sage can do. Humanity has survived for hundreds of years at the Allheaven Battlefield by relying not only on the experts alone, but also on the sages supporting us behind the front line.

"In fact, you wouldn't be considered a top-tier researcher of a cultural research academy if you haven't been a target of assassination before. These researchers are in charge of analyzing the cultivation methods of the myriad races and studying their civilizations, allowing humanity to increase the number of experts in their ranks and gain the strength to face the myriad races..."

Reverence seeped into the teacher's face as he continued, "The contributions they make behind the scenes are no less than what those combat experts are capable of. Unfortunately, a lot of these researchers lack the required strength. Thus, even staying behind the front line, they are commonly targeted by the Myriad Race Cult. Assassinations are a common occurrence for them.

"All the disturbances caused by the Myriad Race Cult are not for the sake of assassinating our combat experts. Instead, those researchers are the primary targets. You have yet to join a cultural research academy and have yet to master a lot of languages. But taking your age into consideration, you're a far more attractive target than the students who are talented in terms of combat. In fact, even the cultivation geniuses at fourth or fifth-stage Source Opening Realm might not be worth the time of the Myriad Race Cult members.

"How long would someone in the Source Opening Realm take to reach the Skysoar Realm? In comparison, a sage would require only a decade or two to fully decipher a cultivation method and identify its weakness before coming up with efficient ways to counter the users of said cultivation method. Such an individual is far more dangerous than a Skysoar Realm expert."

Su Yu smiled helplessly. That was too much of an exaggeration, right? He might have mastered eighteen languages, but that was a very small number compared to the number of races in existence. Also, he had only mastered the more common ones.

"Don't look down on the threat of the Myriad Race Cult. Be careful and watch your back. Be sure to seek help when you encounter danger. We have increased the security measures within Nanyuan. Even the Windcatcher Department and the Martial Dragon Guards stationed here have been deployed. In the event of danger, just start shouting. It will only take dozens of seconds for help to arrive."

Seeing how serious the teacher was, Su Yu nodded and said, "Don't worry, teacher. I know. Nanyuan is a small city. Those fellows might not come here after all. And if they do come here, in all honesty, I doubt I'll be their priority."

"Yeah, you're right." The teacher smiled. "But you should still be careful, especially when you're with Instructor Liu."

"Huh?" Su Yu was confused. "Instructor Liu..."

"No, don't get this wrong. Instructor Liu is the best instructor in Nanyuan Secondary School. Most of our students who have managed to enter the cultural research academies were taught by him.

"If the Myriad Race Cult is really here, Instructor Liu will be their biggest target. Instead of the mayor or the school principal, he will be the first person to be assassinated. Instructor Liu is a spark, a spark of civilization. At the very least, that's the case for Nanyuan. That's why you need to watch your back when you’re with him."

Su Yu's expression changed, "Teacher, would Instructor Liu be fine?"

"Don't worry about him. The school principal is personally protecting Instructor Liu. Even the Martial Dragon Guards are protecting him in secret. A team has also been sent over from the Windcatcher Department. I'm only reminding you to be careful while you’re on your way to Instructor Liu's place."

Su Yu was relieved to hear that. This Instructor Liu was his main teacher, the person who had taught him the majority of the eighteen languages he knew. As mentioned by the resource managing teacher, Instructor Liu might not be anything special in the entirety of Great Xia, but for a small city like Nanyuan and for Nanyuan Secondary School, he was worthy of being called a spark of civilization.

He had been teaching for many years. Over a hundred of his former students had managed to join the various cultural research academies. Of these students, about half of them had been able to graduate from the academies, each occupying an important position in Great Xia.

These lower level individuals weren't anything special compared to the top experts, but they were also what humanity relied on for its continued existence. If the Myriad Race Cult was really in Nanyuan, it would definitely be more likely for Instructor Liu to be their target instead of the mayor.

Finally, the staff arrived with the requested iron-winged bird's blood essence. Three drops! After the purchase, Su Yu only had nine merit points left. His heart ached at the thought of spending his points like this. After all, he had only spent six points over the years to obtain countless information from the library. It was a truly luxurious act to be spending three points in one go.

Accepting the bottle of blood essence, Su Yu asked, "Teacher, has Instructor Liu been coming to the school these few days?"

"Yes, he's coming in as usual. He was told to stay at the mayor's place until the danger is over, but he refused."

"I see. I'll pay him a visit."

Su Yu had intended to return home immediately and give the blood essence a try, but he changed his mind. He wanted to visit Instructor Liu and ask the instructor some questions.