Chapter 10

Back home, Su Yu held a glass bottle containing three drops of essence blood.

Although essence blood from a Qianjun realm expert was nothing to the truly powerful, to Su Yu, it was a significant treasure. A single drop cost 50,000 yuan. If he had more money, he wouldn't hesitate to spend merit points on it.

He knew the importance of merit points without needing a reminder from his teacher. These were crucial and not easily purchased, even with money. Although, if it was more than 50,000 yuan for one point, Su Yu might consider it, since a drop of essence blood was 50,000 yuan.

"Come to think of it, I might be wealthier than my dad. Over the years, he's only saved around 300,000 yuan..."

Su Yu laughed. 300,000 yuan wasn't necessarily worth more than his 18 merit points.

However, his dad also had merit points. He used some for cultivation, and the rest... Su Yu had a good idea where they went—his dad probably gave them away when he retired.

This wasn't something Su Long mentioned, but it was common practice. Many veterans in the neighborhood gave their merit points to their comrades who continued to fight, as they needed them more.

Mutual support and trust—this is what it meant to be a warrior of the human race.

If there wasn't a 50-year age limit for conscription, more veterans would have gone this time. Many retired soldiers were close to 50 and wouldn't have the chance to go back after retiring.

Putting these thoughts aside, Su Yu's mind returned to that booklet.

He quickly turned to the page on Ironwing Birds.

"Activating essence blood... What should I activate? A skill or a cultivation technique?"

After some thought, Su Yu made a decision: a cultivation technique.

Nayuanzhuan!

Skills were likely to be used for a temporary boost in strength, an explosion of power. Right now, without an opponent, that would be a waste.

Of course, if he had enough essence blood, he could try it. But not knowing the effect, randomly using it could be dangerous.

"How many drops do I need? I wonder if one is enough?"

With this in mind, Su Yu decided to activate the cultivation technique.

One drop of essence blood was swallowed, disappearing instantly.

This time, it wasn't as painful as before. It was absorbed almost immediately upon entering his mouth.

"Buzz!"

A golden page in his mind trembled slightly. The next moment, the activated technique changed.

"Basic Yuan Technique: Nayuanzhuan (activated, lasts 1 hour)"

"One hour?"

Su Yu cursed under his breath. At this moment, he felt his pores open, rapidly absorbing the surrounding Yuan Qi, as if his nine apertures were briefly opened.

This was the effect of the booklet!

Normally, at the Kaiyuan stage, one couldn't do this. Without the nine apertures open, it was impossible to sense Yuan Qi or actively absorb it.

But now, Su Yu could feel it. With a thought, he could absorb the surrounding Yuan Qi.

In Nanyuan, Yuan Qi was scarce, but that was for Wanshi level cultivators. For someone at the Kaiyuan stage, like Su Yu, there was plenty of Yuan Qi.

"Creak!"

For the first time, his body began to absorb Yuan Qi, ravenously consuming and refining it.

The nine apertures emitted a faint glow, gathering a large amount of Yuan Qi around his head, refining the apertures.

Pain!

Su Yu felt the pain. His mouth and nose were fine, having been refined earlier, but the other apertures hadn't been. Now, the Yuan Qi rushing through them caused pain.

His ears roared, and tears streamed from his eyes.

The Yuan Qi was refining his apertures, helping to open them.

"One hour... too long!"

Earlier, Su Yu thought one hour was too short, but now he betrayed his own thoughts. One hour was too long; would he explode from this?

Actively absorbing Yuan Qi at the Kaiyuan stage—this might be a first.

Moreover, the Nayuanzhuan was a technique from the Ironwing Bird race, not adapted for humans. Su Yu felt more pores opening on his back, frantically absorbing Yuan Qi.

"Damn... this is for refining wings!"

"Am I going to grow wings?"

Su Yu was exasperated. Ironwing Birds, being a bird race, naturally refined their wings as a major weapon, but he wasn't one of them.

Now, activating the Nayuanzhuan, his body's meridians operated. Despite the booklet's adaptation for human bodies, it still wasn't entirely suitable for Su Yu. He felt his back absorbing more Yuan Qi than his nine apertures.

"Rumble!"

At this moment, Su Yu's left ear roared.

He was slightly stunned, then overjoyed. Was his fourth aperture about to open?

The first three apertures of the nine were easy to open. The fourth and fifth, the ear apertures, were more challenging.

The sixth and seventh, the eye apertures, were even harder!

The Shenque and Baihui apertures stumped most people. Those who hadn't become cultivators almost always got stuck at these two.

"My left ear aperture is opening!"

Su Yu was overjoyed. The roaring in his ear was music to his ears!

He had estimated it would take him at least half a year to reach the fourth level of Kaiyuan, but just one session of Nayuanzhuan was achieving it.

Of course, this was because he was too weak.

Opening apertures was difficult because Kaiyuan stage cultivators couldn't actively absorb Yuan Qi, only passively refine it. Once they could actively absorb it, opening apertures wasn't hard.

For Kaiyuan stage cultivators, this didn't significantly increase their strength. Their physical constitution improved, and their senses—taste, smell, hearing, and sight—became sharper. This was Kaiyuan.

But that alone was significant.

Only at the eighth level of Kaiyuan, when the Shenque aperture was opened, could cultivators start learning simple martial skills for self-defense, preparing to become formal cultivators.

Rumble!

The roaring in his ear continued. Su Yu's ear contracted, expanded, and his eardrum vibrated, surrounded by Yuan Qi.

It was almost done!

The surrounding Yuan Qi kept flowing into his left ear. Previously invisible, Su Yu could now see a mist-like Yuan Qi—this was Yuan Qi, and he could clearly sense it for the first time.

"No... I can't take it anymore!"

Su Yu's head buzzed—not from the aperture opening, but from his weak body unable to bear the strain of active refinement.

"Boom!"

At this moment, a thunderous sound erupted in his left ear. Su Yu felt relieved—it was done.

He instantly stopped cultivating the Kaiyuan Technique; he couldn't continue!

...

After half an hour, Su Yu recovered.

He felt a bit regretful. He had only practiced for less than half an hour, and the rest of the time was wasted. The one-hour activation period didn't accumulate unused time but reset to zero, which was a pity.

"But it's already great. I actually reached Kaiyuan level four!" 

Su Yu rejoiced inwardly. He hadn't been hopeful at all, but unexpectedly, he managed to reach Kaiyuan level four before the assessment. 

There were only about a dozen students at Kaiyuan level four in the entire Nanyuan Intermediate Academy. Kaiyuan level three had over a hundred students; being at level three was nothing special, but level four was quite impressive. 

According to everyone, he was now considered both academically and physically talented. He was at a genius level!

"Is this the effect of the atlas? It's amazing... but..."

Su Yu frowned slightly. This was the Kaiyuan stage, and the effect seemed good, but when he reached Qianjun and could actively cultivate, the Nayuanshu might not be as effective as human techniques. 

"Forget it, I shouldn't be too greedy. Moreover... if there are divine and demonic techniques..."

Su Yu's eyes flickered. What if he could one day unlock the divine and demonic pages? Human techniques were strong, but divine and demonic techniques were stronger. Although humans had obtained many techniques, there were few from the divine and demonic races, and most of those were low-level, with almost no high-level ones. 

There was hope in killing the opponent, but the chances of obtaining their techniques while killing them were very small.

"Are there divine and demonic beings in my dreams?" 

The dreams were too vague before, and Su Yu couldn't remember them well due to his young age. He didn't know if there were any. 

If there were, could he cultivate divine and demonic techniques? 

"It's too early to think about that. The Nayuanshu is already good and can help me quickly pass the Kaiyuan stage."

Su Yu suppressed his thoughts and felt happy. Kaiyuan level four! His body didn't change significantly, but it became somewhat stronger after being tempered by Yuan Qi. The key was his hearing. 

His left ear twitched slightly, and soon, the faint sounds from upstairs entered his ears. Although not very clear, it was much better than before. Previously, due to good sound insulation, he could hardly hear any sounds, but now... his hearing had become strong. 

For a cultivator, seeing all around and hearing in all directions was a basic ability. Without completing Kaiyuan, it was almost impossible to achieve this.

"Great!" 

Although he spent one drop of essence blood, being able to improve by one level with one merit point was worth it. He would do it again even if it took ten or a hundred times.

"There are two drops left, so... should I try unlocking the skills?" 

Su Yu's eyes gleamed. He wanted to see the power, duration, and aftereffects of using the skills. It wouldn't be responsible to use them rashly without understanding these.

The Ironwing Bird had two racial skills: Tear and Iron Wing Slash. 

Tear was unlocked at level one, which meant different levels of Ironwing Birds might have different levels of racial skills, which was normal. 

He didn't consider Iron Wing Slash since he had no wings, but Tear was something he could experiment with.

"Let's give it a try!" 

However, his house was too small, and there were many people nearby, with elderly Qianjun stage cultivators living upstairs and downstairs. It was inconvenient to experiment at home.

After thinking for a while, Su Yu took the essence blood and quickly left the house.

...

Over ten minutes later, at the training dojo. 

He paid 100 Anping coins to rent a training room for an hour. There were many such dojos in the city, given the number of Qianjun stage cultivators.

"Activate!" 

Swallowing the essence blood, numerous images flashed in his mind, showing the Ironwing Bird tearing its prey with sharp claws. 

Su Yu felt his hands swell instantly! 

Then, as the Yuan Qi compressed, his hands, although in great pain, were filled with immense power!

"This... is this the Tear skill?" 

Su Yu was shocked. It was the first time he felt so powerful, very powerful. He couldn't judge exactly how strong, as he had just reached Kaiyuan level four.

With his arms in great pain, Su Yu didn't hesitate and quickly attacked the model in front of him.

Boom!

One hand grabbed the opponent's throat, his hand like an eagle claw, his fingers gripping tightly, producing a booming sound. These models were specially made for cultivators to practice combat, very sturdy, but now, being gripped tightly at the throat, they made a booming sound.

Su Yu's hands moved rapidly, repeatedly attacking the model, each strike seemingly carrying a tearing effect. 

Gradually, a fine crack appeared on the model's throat.

After five or six minutes, Su Yu noticed that the power in his arms seemed to be fading and weakening.

Bang!

"Hiss!"

Su Yu gasped in pain as the power disappeared instantly. His hand hit the model, and his nails almost cracked, causing immense pain.

"Damn it!" 

Su Yu cursed. The power disappeared suddenly, and attacking the model with all his strength as a Kaiyuan stage cultivator was indeed painful.

Quickly checking his communicator, Su Yu made an assessment. 

"Duration: 5 minutes. Consumes 1 drop of essence blood. It's not just a simple attack but carries a tearing effect. This should be the racial skill's effect, not just a brute force attack..."

Looking at the model, Su Yu saw the fine crack slowly closing. These models could self-heal after being damaged, which was why they were used in training dojos.

"The Tear effect damaged the model. My dad, at Qianjun level nine, could do more. A full-force punch from him could make a small hole, while I only made a fine crack after continuous attacks..."

"My attack power is roughly at Qianjun level six or seven, likely around seven, as Qianjun level six wouldn't cause such damage."

"So, it relates to the Ironwing Bird's level. The atlas shows a Qianjun level seven Ironwing Bird..."

"Qianjun level seven attack power, 1 drop of essence blood, lasts 5 minutes..."

Su Yu's eyes flickered. It meant he now had such attack power. 

Of course, attack power didn't equate to overall strength. 

A real Qianjun level seven had a strong body, fast speed, agile movements, and rich experience... He couldn't match any of these. 

In a direct attack on an inanimate object, he could compare to Qianjun level seven. 

But facing a real Qianjun level seven, the opponent could kill him instantly, as he lacked the strong body, only having power in his hands.

"Even against Qianjun level three or four, if they were prepared and kept their distance, I would still die. I wouldn't be their match and couldn't even catch up."

Su Yu shook his head slightly. The feeling of unlimited power just now was an illusion. This ability had some drawbacks.

It could only be used as a trump card. If exposed, it wouldn't pose much threat to even weaker Qianjun cultivators, as they could simply avoid him and wait for his power to fade before attacking.

"But... it's not without benefits. There are significant advantages!" 

Su Yu suddenly smiled. He couldn't be too greedy. This was already impressive.

He was just a Kaiyuan stage cultivator, practically an ordinary person. Suddenly being able to unleash Qianjun level seven attack power for five minutes was already amazing.

"It's just that the aftereffects are a bit severe..."

At this moment, Su Yu felt the aftereffects, with his hands swelling up!

They hurt so much they had become numb, which was why he hadn't felt much earlier.

"Tear... This combat skill is too rough. The Ironwing Bird's racial skill isn't very suitable for humans. Human-developed combat skills are stronger, but learning powerful racial skills would still be beneficial."

Su Yu's eyes sparkled. The Ironwing Bird was thoroughly researched, but what about other races? 

What if he could learn the skills of other races...

"Isn't there a reward for such research at the Civilization Academy?"

"If I could someday develop the skills of the divine and demonic races, their techniques, or even replicate their innate skills, wouldn't that be a tremendous achievement?"

Su Yu swallowed, suddenly laughing, "I feel like... the Civilization Academy is tailor-made for me! I could totally sell combat skills there..."

Thinking was one thing, but Su Yu didn't take it seriously. 

As a newbie, if he suddenly developed divine and demonic skills at the Civilization Academy, he wouldn't be seen as a genius but as a monster.

Have you seen a divine being? 

Have you fought them? 

Have you learned their techniques? 

How could you develop them? No one would believe it!

Amusing himself for a while, Su Yu laughed again. Not wasting the training room, he started practicing. Although he couldn't activate skills again, self-training was still beneficial, and he didn't want to waste it.

Kaiyuan level eight cultivators would start practicing combat skills, as it wasn't useful before level eight. However, Su Yu knew a few skills and began practicing now.

Previously, level eight seemed far away, but now... was it really that far?

Preparing in advance was better. If he reached level eight without any understanding, he would be a waste with just the realm but no corresponding strength.