Zhu Tiandao silently pulled Su Yu out of the room. Outside, he grinned and transmitted his voice, "Just try your best. I was worried that Teacher would give up, but looks like she still has some motivation to live, after all. She will be able to last a bit longer. As for the life extending method..."

He sighed and said, "Just try your best. It's not that humanity has never tried creating something like that before. A few years ago, some people created a few such cultivation methods. But instead of being helpful, these cultivation methods had caused the testers to die even faster. You better not create something similar.

"This is a very complicated topic, but the main reason for that is the fact that these seniors are already very frail. The moment they cultivate something unsuitable, their condition might worsen."

With a bitter smile, he continued, "Great Ming has a lot of such senior cultivators. There are even some in the war academy. These senior warriors are suffering from grave injuries. As they can no longer fight, they are all resting in the various war academies. There are such individuals in every single prefecture.

"Back when the multiple character faction tried passing down divine characters to the younger generation, a lot of people saw hope. They had been waiting for a chance to truly pass down their legacy. But unfortunately, that attempt ended in failure. People like Liu Wenyan were all crippled. Sure, they made an appearance not long ago, but they were in no condition to bring anyone hope. Perhaps you can be the one to bring everyone this hope.

"Alright. Let's end this talk here. Just look for me if you need anything. I'll provide everything you need for the research. If you need more manpower, I've just brought thirty thousand Strength Guard soldiers back. If you need an extra hand, you can pick a few of them to help you."

After a slight hesitation, Su Yu said, "Prefect, these are all Skysoars. They are not weak at all. Why does it seem like you don't care about them too much?"

Zhu Tiandao replied, "These people have all reached the Skysoar Realm through medicines or some other methods to squeeze their potential dry. Sure, they are well-trained in obeying orders so they can be quite useful. But they also have zero potential. It's pointless trying to raise them further. They have no future. Meanwhile, an army like the Heavenly Dao Army might have a lower average cultivation level, but they have a lot more potential. Every now and then, someone in the army will give us a pleasant surprise such as advancing into the Mountainsea or even the Sunmoon Realm.

"Of course, they are still very useful in combat. The Knowledge Seeking Realm and War Shrine wouldn't have paid so much to build this army otherwise. They all cultivate the same art. During combat, they can activate a powerful grand formation that will basically turn thirty thousand Skysoars into three Sunmoons. Of course, it will still be difficult for them to actually kill Sunmoons. They can probably do so at a very high cost."

Su Yu nodded, "I understand. I will look for you if I need something. For now, I'll prioritize lifespan extension. I'll get started immediately."

Hu Qi wouldn't be able to last too long. And Su Yu meant it when he said that he wanted to use this chance to find himself some backers. If he could really save these senior cultivators, he would be able to build a strong foundation for himself in the Human Realm.

It might seem like these senior cultivators did not hold much sway or power in the Human Realm. But that wasn't because they were unqualified or too weak to hold power. It was because they simply didn't have enough time. They would spend ninety nine out of a hundred years in seclusion to heal their injuries. It was simply impossible for them to hold power. If these seniors were able to recover and leave seclusion, all the current decision makers would need to piss off.

Su Yu didn't even need all these people to shed tears of gratitude toward him. He only needed some of them to remember this favor. That would be enough to give him a much more comfortable life in the Human Realm.

Also, this research would be a good opportunity for him to get more benefits from Old Zhu. He was starting to run out of money again. He had spent almost all his money on Hu Xiansheng. He was nearly broke, but he still needed a large amount of blood essence.

He required blood essence to produce the heavenly source qi he would use for his body forging. And Old Zhu was rich enough to sponsor him. After all, Old Zhu would earn a lot from each of his cultivation methods.

Due to Hu Qi's matter, Su Yu's research center started working on multiple projects at the same time. They had a lot to do. They needed to improve the Source Soul Acupoint Opening Art, including its complementary body forging art and source qi transformation art.

They needed to continue their research on the aperture fusion art. They needed to create a lifespan extending art as well.

Additionally, they also needed to create some basic techniques that could complement the Double Wu Acupoint Fusion Art. It would be even better if they could use the fusion art itself as the base and create some techniques out of it.Every single person in the research center, including Wen Zhong, was given an assignment. Finally, the research center started operating like a normal research center. Even Wu Lan was given an information gathering task. She greatly enjoyed such a busy lifestyle.

***

While Su Yu was busy with his research.

Great Xia City, capital of Great Xia.

Xia Family.

Marquis Xia had just sent Administrator Hu away after giving that fellow a scolding. He was about to grab a meal when Xia Longwu appeared in front of him with a flicker.

"Why are you out here again?" Marquis Xia said, "If you keep running around, nobody will believe that you're in seclusion. And if you're not in seclusion, why are you not running Great Xia? That will turn our previous announcement into a joke. We told you to enter seclusion to reduce the number of eyes on you. Are you stupid? Why are you still running around all the time?"

Xia Longwu smiled and sat down before saying, "Second Uncle, if they want to keep their eyes on me, so be it. At this point, I think both you and Grandpa should stop the struggle."

Marquis Xia had a helpless expression. They couldn't accept giving up just like this.

Xia Longwu said, "Forget about that. Second Uncle, I'm leaving on a trip. It will probably take me around six months or one year. Great Xia will be fully in your hands for now."

"Where are you going?"

"Don't ask. I have something to do." Xia Longwu said, "Alright, then. Keep an eye on Xia Huyou as well. That kid is growing too slowly.""You—"

Before Marquis Xia could say much, Xia Longwu vanished into thin air. Marquis Xia could only sigh helplessly. It was very dangerous for Xia Longwu to leave alone right now.

He reclined in the chair and blanked out for a while until someone else entered the room. With a smile, the newcomer asked, "Is Longwu gone?"

"Why are you here?"

Marquis Xia looked at Wan Tiansheng and gloomily said, "Aren’t you in seclusion and ignoring the world right now?"

"I sensed his departure so I came to take a look."

Marquis Xia gazed at Wan Tiansheng for a long while before cursing, "Fuck! Have you been spying on us all the time?"That was the only explanation for how he knew about Xia Longwu's departure almost immediately.

Wan Tiansheng flashed a wide smile as he said, "Don't misunderstand me. He's my student. Don't you know that the hearts of a teacher and a student are always joined? I can naturally sense it when he leaves."

Bullshit!

Marquis Xia impatiently asked, "Is this the only reason you're here?"

"No!" Wan Tiansheng said, "A new academic year is starting. I plan to recruit even more myriad race students this year. During the previous year, something bad happened. Sigh. If Su Yu wanted to leave, he should just leave. Why must he kill some myriad race students before leaving? Forget it. In any case, I'll be recruiting even more myriad race students this year."

"How many are you recruiting?"

"At least three hundred." Wan Tiansheng said, "That's not too bad, right? I also plan to take our students to visit the academies of the other realms in the future, allowing the students of the various races to compare notes with each other."

Marquis Xia frowned and asked, "Anything else?"

Wan Tiansheng said, "Yeah. Hong Tan is leaving seclusion soon. I sensed it. After he leaves seclusion, I will have him reopen the multiple character faction. I also intend to leak some information regarding the disassembly method. Hong Tan can tank the heat for the creation of this method."

Marquis Xia frowned and stared at Wan Tiansheng for a very long while. Finally, he clenched his teeth and said, "Don't mess around. If you do all that, Great Xia will become the center of chaos again before long."

Wan Tiansheng said, "We're already the center of chaos. I'm merely fanning the flame. Great Ming has been stealing the show from us recently. Are you really happy about that? How can a weak prefecture like that compare with Great Xia?" "Marquis, open up your mindset. It will be even better if we can catch the attention of the Myriad Realms. After Su Yu's departure, Great Xia has been slowly losing the attention of the world. Yuan Qingdong is truly too useless. He wasn't able to create any trouble at all. Imagine my disappointment."

Marquis Xia had an unsightly expression. He asked, "Anything else?"

"Of course." Wan Tiansheng grinned, "Transfer Liu Wenyan back after he reaches the Sunmoon Realm. I have something for him to do..."

"Don't play with fire..."

"You don't have to worry about that, Marquis." Wan Tiansheng said, "Doesn't this make things more interesting? I believe you'll enjoy it as well."

"Bullshit!" Marquis Xia cursed. After a long pause, he finally gave an answer, "Whatever. I don't care anymore. But I need to make one thing clear. Don't cause too much harm to Great Xia."

"I won't." Wan Tiansheng said, "Alright, then. I'll be taking my leave. Xiao'er, work hard and try to enter the ninth-stage Sunmoon Realm as soon as possible. You're really quite slow."

Leaving those words behind, Wan Tiansheng vanished into thin air. Marquis Xia started cursing. How dare Wan Tiansheng call him Xiao'er!That damn Wan Tiansheng had been turning more and more sinister lately. He seemed to have completely let go of his inhibitions as of late. Su Yu's departure and single character faction's attack had smashed the final chain around him, releasing the madness deep inside his heart.

Marquis Xia's head started hurting. He sighed repeatedly. Why must everyone in Great Xia be so troublesome?

Longwu was troublesome. Wan Tiansheng was also troublesome. Hong Tan was leaving seclusion soon. His return would probably cause some trouble as well. Was a relaxed life no longer possible?

"Fine, fine. Go crazy. Fuck the world. Great Xia shall forever remain the center of the universe."

He laughed madly. Great Xia had emerged gloriously all those years ago. Was it going to go out in a blaze of glory this time?