Grand Ming.

Su Yu played no part in the distribution or marketing of his new cultivation method. Everything had been entrusted to Zhu Tiandao. Since Zhu Tiandao would profit from the sales, he naturally had to put in some effort. Furthermore, Su Yu was still too weak. There were things he couldn’t yet handle.

Lately, Grand Ming had been abuzz with excitement. Rumors about the Source Soul Cultural Art had spread throughout Grand Ming. More than that, Grand Ming’s students had already received permission to purchase the first part of the Source Soul Cultural Art.

They only needed to pay 50 merit points. That was very inexpensive. Thus, nearly every single cultural research student in Grand Ming had purchased a copy. In fact, even the teachers had done the same. In just one day, almost 10,000 copies had been sold.

Since Su Yu was entitled to 40 percent of the proceeds, he would receive 200,000 merit points after only one day. Of course, the sales volume was this high only because it was the first day of release. After purchasing the first part, these cultivators would not need to buy anything else except the second part.

Seeing that cultural research students were already buying the new cultivation method, the war academy students demanded that their academies start selling it as well. Even if they wouldn’t be cultivating this new method, they wouldn’t mind buying it to take a look.

After all, this was something that allowed someone to open apertures at the Mental Tempering Stage. And it wasn’t as if this cultivation method wouldn’t be helpful for warriors. It could help them rapidly increase their willpower. After all, many warriors remained stuck at the Mental Tempering Stage even after reaching the Mountainsea Realm in physical cultivation.

Even though they were warriors, stronger willpower would still be beneficial. Before this, they couldn’t do anything about their weak willpower, since the Myriad Text Sutra could only be cultivated after willpower materialization. But everything changed with the appearance of this new cultivation method.

Su Yu had neglected the fact that his new cultivation method would also encourage many warriors to pursue both paths. In the past, most warriors neglected willpower cultivation because reaching the Skysoar Realm through willpower cultivation was too difficult.

But now, they could open their apertures at the Mental Tempering Stage and increase their willpower cultivation speed. In fact, that was the main reason Su Yu had created this cultivation method in the first place: to increase his cultivation speed at the Mental Tempering Stage. He had only realized how this cultivation method could benefit those at the Skysoar and Cloudbreach Realms after his conversation with Zhang Hao.

***

Rumors were flying throughout Grand Ming.

Even the storytellers were involved. For several days now, storytellers in various restaurants had been talking incessantly about Su Yu.

Tiandu. Inside a restaurant.

A storyteller loudly recounted, “Indeed, not long after arriving, Su Yu achieved yet another significant accomplishment. Everyone here knows what a foundational cultural art is. It is something so valuable that even a descendant of an Invincible is not guaranteed to possess one.

“Is the King of Great Xia strong? He is. But even such a powerful figure only possesses an 18-aperture foundational cultural art. That cultivation method is treated as a supreme treasure, taught only to the male heirs of the family.

“Is the King of Grand Ming strong? He is. And he possesses a 24-aperture foundational cultural art. That is the Zhu Family’s supreme treasure, never before taught to an outsider.

“Thus, Su Yu’s release of his foundational cultural art is extremely dangerous. Not only has he offended a multitude of Invincibles by undermining one of their advantages, but he may even attract the attention of the Cult. He will face the suppression of these Invincibles and the assassinations of the Cult.

“There is a reason why some cultivation methods remain unreleased. I fear Su Yu is in grave danger at the moment. I wonder if Grand Ming can protect him…”

“…”

Someone questioned, “Is the Cult bold enough to actually assassinate him within the capital?”

“You never know,” the storyteller said. “So what if he’s in the capital? Perhaps even some so-called allies will try to assassinate Su Yu. I need not mention names, right? Su Yu is truly audacious. He has actually banned those people from learning his new cultivation method. Have you all forgotten how brazen those individuals can be?”

“Are you referring to Great Xia’s single-character faction? Are they reckless enough to try this? Didn’t they lose many members in their previous attempt?”

The storyteller said, “Yes, that did happen. But they have welcomed a few new Sunmoons recently. And they have since begun provoking Su Yu again. I believe Su Yu will eventually be forced to lift the ban. Those individuals will not let this rest.”

“Are those people truly so hateful?”

“Yes, they are,” the storyteller sighed. “Sometimes, allies can be more frightening than enemies. I hear that the Source Soul Cultural Art is powerful enough to shake the current status quo and replace the Myriad Text Sutra. And when that happens…Su Yu will be in even greater peril.

“The Myriad Text Sutra has always been a golden goose. But this golden goose is about to be slaughtered. This involves millions of merit points in profit annually. Su Yu is essentially threatening their livelihood. His Source Soul Cultural Art is too cheap. With this cultivation method, he’s going to ruin the livelihood of the Knowledge Seeking Realm and the various prefectures. What a pity. Su Yu is such a genius, but he will likely have a short life.”

Someone argued, “That’s nonsense! The Knowledge Seeking Realm is a sacred place. Why would it assassinate a brilliant researcher over money? Don’t you know that with this Source Soul Cultural Art, a cultural researcher can enter the Cloudbreach Realm 20 years earlier? It is a great contribution to humanity. Why would the Knowledge Seeking Realm do such a thing?”

The storyteller shook his head and said, “You haven’t grasped the full picture. Just because the Knowledge Seeking Realm is a sacred place doesn’t mean it’s perfect. All the Invincibles are preoccupied with the Allheaven Battlefield. The Knowledge Seeking Realm is run by powerful families residing within it. And many of them are hostile to the multiple-character faction. I doubt Su Yu can survive for long.”

“Our Grand Ming King is incredibly powerful. He is one of the top leaders of the Knowledge Seeking Realm. Why are we afraid of those powerful families?”

“Of course, we aren’t afraid of them. But they are troublesome to deal with,” the storyteller said. “Grand Ming King is busy dealing with the Invincibles of the divines and devils on the Allheaven Battlefield. He won’t be in the Knowledge Seeking Realm all the time. Even if he manages to stay there, he might not know everything his subordinates are doing. And even if he knows, he might not be able to stop them.”

“…”

The storyteller repeatedly emphasized that Su Yu would soon perish. This wasn’t just happening in Grand Ming; it was occurring in various prefectures. On the third floor of a restaurant, a few people were dining in a private room.

Listening to the commotion outside, a middle-aged man said, “Old Zhu, is this your doing? This will only create more chaos. There’s no need for this.”

Zhu Tiandao was also in the room, but not seated in the honored place.

He grinned and said, “Big Brother Qin, what are you saying? How could this be my doing? Why would I speak ill of my own father? There’s no doubt something is amiss in the Knowledge Seeking Realm lately. Who knows what’s happening there? In the past, they kept to themselves and ignored everyone else. That was tolerable. But now, they’re constantly causing trouble. Just look at that Yuan something guy…what are they trying to do through him?”

At that, Zhu Tiandao surveyed the people in the room and said, “Brothers, you’ve all arrived unexpectedly. And you’ve all examined the cultivation method. You’re all aware it’s the real deal. What’s there to say? Are you buying or not? If not, stop wasting my time…”

The middle-aged man downed a cup of liquor and said, “Of course, I’m buying. Great Qin doesn’t concern itself with these pointless squabbles. You cultural researchers are too good at creating drama. Also, I’d like to meet Su Yu. I’ve heard he has an ultimate version of the fusion art. That version is good enough even for someone cultivating the Thousand Mountain Art. I need to speak with him about this.”

Great Qin was also known as the paradise of warriors. They needed the best version of the Double Wu Acupoint Fusion Art.

Zhu Tiandao said, “Yes, he does have something like that. It’s truly impressive. Even someone who has opened hundreds of acupoints like him was able to easily fuse his acupoints and reach the ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm. I heard that a child in Great Xia has entered the ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm despite cultivating the Thousand Mountain Art thanks to this fusion art. He now possesses incredible combat strength.

“Oh, a few other children have cultivated this fusion art as well. For example, that child from the Xia Family. He recently reached the ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm as well. He was able to fuse the Sky Sundering Saber acupoints without any difficulty.

“Big Brother Qin, Su Yu is more than happy to release this fusion art to Great Qin. Unfortunately, he has an agreement with the Xia Family. The Xia Family holds the rights to this fusion art. Su Yu himself does not dare to rashly teach this fusion art to just anyone for fear of offending the Xia Family. After all, his father is still in the Devil Subduing Army.”

“…”

Qin Zhen stared at Zhu Tiandao and said, “Cut the nonsense. No matter how foolish the Xia Family is, they are not foolish enough to threaten Su Yu with Su Long’s life. Don’t bother playing games with me. Just name your price.”

It was only a matter of money.