Nanyuan Middle Academy.
Chen Hao went to the preparatory class as he had to attend classes. Su Yu, on the other hand, headed straight for the resource department.
...
"Su Yu, you want to exchange for the essence blood of the Iron-Winged Bird?"
The manager of the resource department was a bit surprised and said, "The essence blood of the Qian Jun Realm is only helpful for those in the Qian Jun Realm. For those in the Kaiyuan Realm, it's not helpful but rather poisonous. What do you want it for?"
"Teacher Zhang, can I exchange for it?"
Su Yu said with a smile, "You know that I've been researching the materials of the myriad races. The Iron-Winged Bird is one of the races that I've studied quite a lot. So I want to purchase some essence blood for research. But the price is too high, so I came to ask at the academy..."
"Yes, you can. Over the past few years, you've obtained a total of 18 certificates in the languages of the myriad races. Besides the three compulsory ones, there are rewards for the other 15, totaling 15 merit points. You have 3 points for being at the Kaiyuan Third Level, so that's 18 merit points in total..."
The manager of the resource department checked the information and quickly said, "However, you've already spent 6 points, all in the library. There are 12 points left."
"Yeah, I know."
Su Yu smiled and said, "Then how much Iron-Winged Bird essence blood can I exchange with the remaining 12 points?"
"You want to exchange for this... It's really not of much use. It's such a waste!"
The managing teacher had to remind him, "The Iron-Winged Bird of the Qian Jun Realm is quite strong for you, but on the Battlefield of the Heavens, it's just cannon fodder. Merit points are universal in all academies and can even be accumulated in higher academies to exchange for some valuable resources."
"You can easily accumulate 18 points in the middle academy. You'll be rewarded with 1 point for learning a language of the myriad races. But it won't be that easy in higher academies."
"Exchanging for this isn't worth it! In higher academies, some secret materials, advanced cultivation techniques, including some courses may all require merit points to exchange, and it's even applicable in the military..."
"I know all this, but I don't have a choice."
Su Yu smiled wryly. He knew.
Wasn't it because he was out of money?
He did have money, over 200,000. Buying 5 drops wouldn't be a problem. The key was that he still had to live on.
Those in the Kaiyuan Realm didn't have any income. He still had to keep some money for use in higher academies.
Merit points were the most important trading system besides Anping Coins.
Currency could buy many things, but many things couldn't be bought with it.
Advanced strategic resources, advanced cultivation techniques, and even some inheritances all required merit points. This was a manifestation of a person's contribution to the human race.
If you haven't made any contributions to the human race, even if you have a lot of money, you may not be able to buy things.
The acquisition and expenditure of merit points were all recorded, including the original accumulation of merit points. For example, Su Yu had obtained 18 points. Even if he spent them all, these 18 points would continue to accumulate.
When it reached 100 points, Su Yu would have greater privileges.
This also prevented many people in the human race who had money but didn't contribute much from privately purchasing a large number of merit points to buy some rare strategic materials.
Some wealthy people, even if they purchased tens of thousands of merit points, if their initial level wasn't high enough, they couldn't buy some things with the merit points they had.
The manager of the resource department sighed and said, "Then I won't persuade you anymore. Actually, it's too early for you to do research now! Nanyuan Middle Academy also lacks such conditions. When you get to a higher academy, some research can apply for subsidies, and the higher-ups may even allocate resources for research."
"The Iron-Winged Bird is quite common on the Battlefield of the Heavens, and its research value isn't really high. If I were you, even if you wanted to do research, you should choose another one..."
Su Yu said with a smile, "You're right. Then does the academy have the essence blood of the Lu Fish?"
"..."
The teacher at the management office was a bit embarrassed. "No, that thing is in the Dishan Realm. It's very rare on the Battlefield of the Heavens. And those who come to the Battlefield of the Heavens are at least at the Wan Shi Realm, or even the Teng Kong Realm. The Daxia Civilization Academy definitely has it, but we certainly don't have it here."
That's it then.
Su Yu could recognize a small number of the races he had dreamed of, including the Lu Fish.
However, starting from the Wan Shi Realm, if he took the essence blood of the Wan Shi Realm now, even if the book absorbed the energy of the essence blood, his own body couldn't bear it. He might even explode.
As for the essence blood of other races that he wasn't sure about, he didn't dare to take it randomly. Once it was a race he hadn't dreamed of, the book wouldn't absorb it, and he himself couldn't bear it.
After thinking it over, the Iron-Winged Bird's was the safest for now.
"Teacher, then please exchange some for me."
"How many drops do you want? One drop for one merit point. It's really not worth it..."
The teacher still reminded him again, "The value of merit points doesn't seem too high. Even on the surface, it's only 10,000 per point. But actually, some things can't be represented by money. You know what I mean."
"Thank you for the reminder, teacher!"
Su Yu quickly nodded and said, "Just exchange 3 drops for now. If it's not enough, I'll come to exchange again."
"You..."
The teacher at the management office saw that he didn't listen to the persuasion and was a bit helpless. Soon, he arranged for someone to get it. While waiting for the person, after thinking for a while, he reminded him, "Your father went to the Battlefield of the Heavens two days ago. The academy knows about this. Your father isn't at home. You should be careful recently. The guys from the Myriad Races Cult are active in Daxia Prefecture. You should also know about this."
"Yeah, but it has nothing to do with me, right?"
"How could it have nothing to do with you!"
The teacher scolded, "Better be careful! The bastards of the Myriad Races Cult, their main targets aren't the strong ones or the geniuses, at least not the cultivation geniuses, but the wise ones!"
"Although you can't be considered a wise one, you are one of the few reserve students for the Civilization Academy in Nanyuan Middle Academy!"
"The damage caused by the strong ones is limited, but the damage caused by the wise ones is unlimited! On the Battlefield of the Heavens, the human race has been able to defend for hundreds of years. It's not just because of those invincible strong ones, but also because of the wise ones in the rear!"
"Who among the top researchers in the Civilization Academy hasn't been assassinated? These people deciphered the cultivation techniques of the myriad races, deeply studied their civilizations, increased the number of strong ones in the human race, and made the human race more confident in dealing with the myriad races..."
The managing teacher said with some admiration, "They have silently contributed a lot, no less than any invincible strong one! But most of them lack the necessary combat power. So even in the rear, they often become the targets of the myriad races. Assassinations are quite common."
"The guys from the Myriad Races Cult are causing destruction within the human race. It's not to assassinate individual strong ones. Their main target is them!"
"Although you haven't entered the Civilization Academy yet and you don't know too many languages, you're still young. Instead, you're more dangerous than a few cultivation seedlings in the academy. Even those at the Kaiyuan Fourth or Fifth Level may not be worth their while to assassinate."
"How long does it take for a person in the Kaiyuan Realm to cultivate to the Teng Kong Realm?"
"But a wise one, maybe in ten or twenty years, can decipher a cultivation technique, find out their flaws, and come up with ways to target and kill them... This is much more dangerous than a Teng Kong Realm cultivator."
Su Yu smiled wryly. Is it really that serious?
Although he had mastered 18 languages and scripts, it was still too few compared to the myriad races of the Heavens. And most of them were common languages.
"Don't take it lightly. Be careful! If you encounter danger, ask for help at any time. The patrol in Nanyuan Prefecture has been strengthened. The Jifeng Hall has already started to strengthen its deployment. Even the team of Longwu Guards stationed in Nanyuan Prefecture has started to patrol."
"If you encounter trouble, shout for help. Within at most a few dozen seconds, someone will surely arrive."
Seeing that the teacher was serious, Su Yu quickly nodded and said, "Teacher, don't worry. I know! Nanyuan Prefecture is so small. Those guys may not necessarily come here. Even if they do come, to put it bluntly... I probably don't rank high enough to be targeted."
"That's true."
The teacher laughed and said, "But don't be careless, especially when you go to Teacher Liu's place. You must be careful!"
"Hmm?"
Su Yu was slightly stunned. "Teacher Liu..."
"Don't misunderstand. What I mean is that Teacher Liu is the strongest teacher in teaching the languages of the myriad races in Nanyuan Middle Academy. Nine out of ten students in our academy who are admitted to the Civilization Academy every year are taught by him."
"Teacher Liu's place is definitely the biggest target of the Myriad Races Cult. If they come to Nanyuan, the first person they will assassinate is him, not the prefect or the city lord."
"Teacher Liu is like a spark, a spark that ignites civilization. At least for Nanyuan, it's like this. So I remind you to be careful."
Su Yu's face changed. "Teacher, isn't Teacher Liu in danger?"
"It's okay. Don't worry too much. Now the prefect is personally protecting Teacher Liu. There are also people from the Longwu Guards protecting him secretly. A team from the Jifeng Hall has even come. I'm just reminding you that when you go to see Teacher Liu, be careful on the way!"
Su Yu let out a sigh of relief. The Teacher Liu in the mouth of the managing teacher was also Su Yu's teacher. Su Yu had mastered 18 languages of the myriad races, almost all of which were taught by this old teacher.
As the managing teacher said, Teacher Liu may not be a big deal in Daxia Prefecture, but in Nanyuan, especially in Nanyuan Middle Academy, he was indeed a propagator of civilization.
He had been teaching for so many years and had brought out over a hundred students for the Civilization Academy.
Most of these over a hundred students had graduated. Now in Daxia Prefecture, or even in the whole human race, they had played a certain role.
Maybe it wasn't a huge role, but the inheritance of human civilization was supported by this group of grassroots.
If the Myriad Races Cult came to Nanyuan City to assassinate someone, Teacher Liu was indeed more important than the city lord.
While they were talking, the staff brought the essence blood of the Iron-Winged Bird.
3 drops!
After exchanging for 3 drops of essence blood, Su Yu had 9 merit points left. He also felt a bit pained. He had only spent 6 points on looking up countless materials in the library over the years. Spending 3 points all at once was really extravagant.
Taking the bottle containing the essence blood, Su Yu asked again, "Teacher, has Teacher Liu come to the academy these days?"
"He's working as usual. We asked him to go to the city lord's mansion to take shelter for a while, but he didn't want to. We could only let him continue working."
"Then I'll go see Teacher Liu."
Su Yu originally planned to go home and try it out after getting the things. Now he changed his mind and decided to go see Teacher Liu and consult some questions along the way.
...
In the teaching office.
Liu Wenyan, who was over sixty years old, was making records while not even looking up and said, "Prefect, there's no need to follow me all the time. We're in the academy. It's not that dangerous."
Beside him, the prefect of the academy, who was also over sixty years old, said with a smile, "I'm not disturbing you. Why are you chasing me away?"
"Your breathing is interfering with me."
"..."
The prefect didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Soon, he was hit by Liu Wenyan again, "Besides, you just broke through to the Wan Shi Realm. You're so weak. Actually, even if you came, it would be useless."
"I..."
The old prefect was very helpless. Was he really weak?
A bit, perhaps.
He was over sixty years old and had just broken through to the Wan Shi Realm. It wasn't really a big deal. But this was the rear, Nanyuan City, the smallest of the 28 cities under Daxia Prefecture.
He wasn't the city lord. He was just the prefect of a middle academy. Why did he need to be so strong?
The real strong ones had either gone to Daxia Prefecture or to the Battlefield of the Heavens. He was doing okay in Nanyuan City, wasn't he?
"Hey, do you think I want to accompany you?"
The old prefect said unhappily, "It's not because you're too important. In the past 20 years in Nanyuan City, 320 students have been admitted to the Civilization Academy. On average, there are only 16 students per year. Half of them were taught by you. Can you not be a thorn in others' eyes?"
"Not really."
Liu Wenyan also smiled and said, "After all, it's just the small Nanyuan City. Only a few students are admitted each year. It's nothing compared to the whole Daxia Prefecture. Do you think the Myriad Races Cult will target me?"
"It's hard to say. Anyway, you're more important than me. I'm a weak Wan Shi. They probably won't even bother to look at me. I'm not worth killing."
The prefect made a joke. In fact, it was true. The Wan Shi Realm wasn't weak, but it didn't play a big role on the Battlefield of the Heavens.
Killing a sixty-year-old Wan Shi in the rear might cost several lives. The guys from the Myriad Races Cult really wouldn't do this losing business.
While they were chatting, the prefect's ears twitched slightly. Soon, he smiled and said, "Su Yu is here. This kid is more promising than his father!"
"Don't belittle Su Long. Just because he refused to let you be the head of the guards at the academy, do you have to hold a grudge like this?"
Liu Wenyan also showed a smile and looked up and said, "Su Long, that guy, still has his passion. I could see it years ago. He wasn't willing to just retire like that. He had been planning to enter the Longwu Guards before. He only gave up when there was really no hope."
The old prefect scoffed and hit back, "It was obvious that he couldn't get in. There was still a chance if he was at the Qian Jun Ninth Level before he was 30. But how old was he? Still hoping to enter the Longwu Guards. Maybe at the Wan Shi Ninth Level would be more realistic."
"That's still better than you. If he doesn't die on the Battlefield of the Heavens, he'll probably be at the Wan Shi Realm when he comes back in a couple of years."
Liu Wenyan said, and then smiled again, "Su Yu is also good. When he goes to the Daxia Civilization Academy, although he's not a genius, he'll also be a mainstay in the fight against the myriad races in the future. This father and son are better than you and me..."
The old prefect nodded slightly and soon sighed, "If I hadn't been injured in my foundation on the Battlefield of the Heavens, I wouldn't have retired and become this lousy prefect. It's really boring."
"Coming back alive is already good. There aren't many soldiers on the Battlefield of the Heavens who haven't been injured in their foundation. In that situation, if you don't forcefully break through to the Qian Jun Seventh Level or above in time, you won't even be worth being cannon fodder."
Liu Wenyan also sighed. Most of the soldiers on the Battlefield of the Heavens probably have no hope of reaching the Teng Kong Realm for the rest of their lives. There's nothing that can be done about it.
That place is full of fierce fighting. If you don't break through quickly, new soldiers will die within a few days. Who has the time to care about so many things?
The war academies have taken away the genius seedlings. The other ordinary people can only struggle to survive.
While they were talking, Su Yu entered the room.
Liu Wenyan showed a smile. He was quite satisfied with this student, Su Yu. He could endure hardships and was patient. Although he wasn't a top-notch genius, the human race needed not only geniuses but also good seedlings like him who moved forward step by step steadily.