Outside the admissions office,
Su Yu walked a few steps, suddenly turned around, and asked in surprise, "Why are you still following me?"
Chen Hao was confused. "Aren't we going to school?"
"I'm not going."
"Not going… then where are you going?"
Chen Hao felt wronged. "You just said you were going to school, so why the sudden change?"
"The library."
Su Yu replied indifferently, "I don't need to attend other classes. The instructor has already agreed, I don't have to go. You, however… are you ready to get your parents involved?"
"…"
That hit hard!
Chen Hao covered his face and fled. Su Yu was indeed allowed not to attend class, thanks to the special permission from the instructor. He, however, did not have that privilege.
As for the cultivation courses, Su Yu's Qi Condensation Realm Third Stage was enough for now. The teachers had never considered him attending a war academy, so no one bothered to supervise his cultivation.
...
Watching Chen Hao leave, Su Yu shook his head with a smile.
Chen Hao's father was an old friend of his own father. The guy was also his classmate and could be considered his best buddy, but Chen Hao was always loud and brash, making him a headache to be around.
...
Library.
The librarian was very familiar with Su Yu. He came here often to read, spending hours at a time. After so many years, it was impossible not to become familiar with each other.
"Su Yu, you've already mastered over ten of the Ten Thousand Races languages. If you don't relax a little, are you planning to keep studying in misery?"
The librarian joked. Su Yu had become somewhat of a figure at Nan Yuan Middle Academy.
Most students, aside from mastering the essential languages of the Immortal Demon Tongue, Beastkin Language, and Common Tongue, didn't have the time or energy to learn other languages. But Su Yu was different—he had learned quite a few minor languages.
Su Yu smiled in response but didn't say much.
He walked into the library and headed straight for the third floor.
At this time, it was class hours, and the library was almost empty, with only a few teachers reading books or checking materials. Very few students were around.
Most students preferred intense cultivation over reading various complex scripts. If a problem could be solved with brute force, these young people weren't interested in using their brains.
The few teachers who were reading books saw Su Yu but didn't greet him.
Everyone was used to the silence, immersing themselves in their own world.
Su Yu didn't greet anyone either. He went straight to the bookshelf he frequented most, quickly scanning through the shelves before pulling out a hefty book:
— The Atlas of Ten Thousand Races
This was the Ten Thousand Races Atlas, a compilation of all the races that humans had either discovered or encountered. These records were gathered and edited into books, offering them to the entire human race for learning and understanding.
Of course, this was just one of the books.
The Ten Thousand Races Atlas wasn't a single book but a series. Su Yu wasn't sure exactly how many volumes there were; some were classified, only available to specific groups.
Nan Yuan Middle Academy had 39 volumes, covering 39 races.
These atlases contained a wide range of information, including the races' appearances, customs, languages, and even special techniques, battle methods, and strategies for killing... all of it was detailed.
At this moment, Su Yu wasn't interested in those details. He flipped to the first page, where each race's illustration was featured.
The 鯥鱼 (Yi Fish) sounded like a type of fish, but it wasn't.
He opened the book and stared at the illustration for a while. It was a creature resembling a cow, but not entirely. The tail was like that of a snake, and it had wings in addition to its bovine features.
As for why it was called 鯥鱼 (Yi Fish), it was said to be an amphibious race that could live both in water and on land. Their aquatic combat abilities were much stronger than their land-based ones.
Although it had wings, that didn't mean the Yi Fish could fly. The wings resembled chicken wings—they could flap a little, but they couldn't fly.
"Yi Fish flesh, when consumed, can detoxify, a rare and potent antidote!"
"They inhabit the Di Mountain Realm, which has many hilly and watery areas. The Yi Fish hibernates in winter and awakens in summer. Be cautious when entering the Di Mountain Realm; the danger level is extremely high!"
"Position in the Celestial Battlefield: Neutral. Unauthorized killings are prohibited..."
Su Yu skimmed through, having already seen most of this information before. However, he had never studied the Yi Fish language; it was too niche. The Di Mountain Realm wasn't predominantly Yi Fish territory.
He wasn't really reading the content, just examining the illustrations.
"Yi Fish..."
Su Yu muttered to himself, recalling the nightmare from last night.
Could the creatures chasing him in the dream have been Yi Fish?
As a child, he never thought too much about his dreams, but after so many years, especially as he grew older, he started to analyze his dreams and look for explanations.
What were the monsters chasing him in the dream? Did they exist in reality?
For years, others considered him a genius, praising his dedication to learning the languages of the Ten Thousand Races. He had learned eighteen of them, working harder than most.
The truth, however, was that Su Yu wasn't just studying for the sake of learning. His dreams had sparked his interest in the various races.
Years of research into various races and their languages had led him to study hard, looking for answers to his mysterious dreams.
"The dream was too blurry, I can't be sure it was an Yi Fish, but the monster in the dream did seem to have wings, and its cry was almost like that of a cow..."
Su Yu muttered to himself. Because the dream was vague, he wasn't sure.
But over the years, he had found a few pieces of information that seemed to match some of the creatures from the Ten Thousand Races.
Based on that, Su Yu believed that his dreams weren't a coincidence. The monsters in his dreams were real, part of the Ten Thousand Races!
For over ten years, on thousands of nights, he had dreamed of thousands of different monsters.
If they weren't creatures from the Ten Thousand Races, what other unknown creatures could exist in this world?
"Wow, you really gave me face, chasing me in my dreams..."
Su Yu smiled bitterly to himself.
He was just an ordinary person—why would the creatures from the Ten Thousand Races bother chasing him in his dreams?
Very soon, Su Yu gritted his teeth. He didn't know these creatures, had never seen them. Why should they try to kill him?
Did they find torturing an ordinary person fun?
"But... why did I have these dreams in the first place?"
Su Yu was still puzzled. If he had encountered these races or had some kind of interaction, he could accept it.
But he had never left Nan Yuan City. He had only seen some race information in books. Why would there be a connection with these creatures in his dreams?
Having more or less identified the creatures from his nightmare, Su Yu returned the book to its shelf.
Some things, he couldn't dive deeper into right now.
He left the bookshelf and moved on. His visit to the library wasn't just about the Yi Fish—there was more he needed to find.
After a while, Su Yu walked to another area—the Kai Yuan section.
This section contained books about cultivation in the Kai Yuan realm.
When humans first started cultivating, they mainly practiced the Kai Yuan Method.
Though they hadn't opened their Nine Apertures yet and couldn't feel the Qi, Qi was everywhere. A bit of it could be absorbed to temper the body, gradually opening the Nine Apertures, thus allowing entry into the Qi Condensation realm and further physical cultivation.
The process of opening the Nine Apertures was long, and humans started cultivating the Kai Yuan Method at a young age. It was a gradual process, one of survival of the fittest.
Geniuses could rise quickly.
With strong cultivation aptitude, they could surpass others.
Su Yu wasn't an idiot when it came to cultivation. He had read many of these books and knew that Kai Yuan cultivation was about going with the flow. It wasn't something that could be quickly broken through with hard work alone.
But today, Su Yu still wanted to see if there were ways to speed up cultivation.
He flipped through the books but couldn't find the one he was looking for.
Frowning slightly, he wondered if there was no such content.
If that were the case, it would be hard to reach the Fourth Stage of the Kai Yuan realm before the assessment.
"Su Yu, what are you looking for?"
At that moment, a short-haired girl, who had been reading nearby, couldn't help but ask.
She had been here a while, always immersed in her books.
She knew Su Yu, although they weren't in the same class. However, since only a few students came to the library, over time, she got to know him a bit.
Su Yu smiled apologetically, realizing he had interrupted her reading.
"I'm looking for books about accelerating cultivation in the Kai Yuan realm, but I can't find any."
"Accelerating cultivation?"
The short-haired girl thought for a moment and then said, "There are some methods to accelerate cultivation, but humans don't recommend using them in the Kai Yuan realm. The Kai Yuan realm is the foundation. Opening the Nine Apertures is a process of laying the foundation, and it's better to stabilize this stage. After all, Kai Yuan means to open the source of cultivation."
"Su Yu, aren't you applying for the Civilization Academy? These things won't be tested. Are you looking for them to speed up your cultivation?"
The girl asked with concern.
"Foundation shouldn't be rushed. It's easy to make mistakes, and even if you successfully open your Kai Yuan, it could have a big impact on your future."
Su Yu smiled, "I know, I'm not stupid. I just wanted to see if there are safer methods. If not, then it's fine."
"Mm…"
The girl thought for a moment and pointed toward the bottom row of bookshelves in the corner.
"There are a few books about this over there. But some of the methods are quite extreme. Su Yu, you should avoid trying them. Otherwise, things could get really troublesome, even deadly."
"During the Anping Era, some strong humans tried these methods. At that time, time was pressing, and they had no other choice. But those predecessors didn't reach invincibility. Instead, many perished early because they took the wrong path in the Kai Yuan realm."
"Thank you, I understand."
Su Yu smiled and nodded. This girl's name was Liu Yue, a student in the Pre-Exam Class.
Su Yu didn't know her well, but she often came to the library, and it was said that she mastered many of the Ten Thousand Races languages. How many languages, he didn't know, and he didn't like to inquire.
If all went well, she would likely apply for the Civilization Academy, so she wasn't too concerned with improving her Kai Yuan realm.
Not saying much more to Liu Yue, Su Yu quickly found the books she had mentioned in the corner.
The Methods of Accelerating Cultivation in the Kai Yuan Realm, My Thoughts on Kai Yuan, On the Importance of Foundation…