Chapter 686: Heavenly Phenomenon (1)
24th of February.
Tiandu. Dragonclash Stage.
Early in the morning, a large number of people started heading over. This was the day Su Yu would demonstrate his Source Soul Acupoint Opening Art. This was also the day he would forge his body and step into the Skysoar Realm.
It was said that the Dragonclash Stage was located at a place where Great Ming King had once defeated a dragon Invincible. It was said that he had founded Great Ming following that victory. Nobody knew if this was real. Perhaps only those who had lived since the founding year would know the true story.
The massive Dragonclash Stage was surrounded by countless soldiers from the Heavenly Dao Army. There were even some fully equipped mounted soldiers in the area as well. Several Mountainseas were busy scanning the entire area to make sure that no hidden traps had been laid there in advance.
The crowd around the stage continued swelling. People could be seen everywhere, leaving only a single path leading to the stage empty. As the crowd swelled, the place bustled with noise.
"Is Su Yu not here yet?"
"How does Su Yu look like? The recordings I saw previously did not show his appearance too clearly."
"Will the Source Soul Acupoint Opening Art be expensive?"
"What blood essence is he using to forge his body?""He's probably using divine or devil blood essence, right?"
"Is he advancing his willpower cultivation today as well?"
"Who knows?"
Sounds of discussion filled the place.
The people of Great Ming loved watching a bustling scene. They also loved watching a curious sight. This was a widely shared trait in Great Ming. Thus, people from all walks of life could be seen among the crowd. All of them seemed pretty used to such a scene. A lot of them were here with their own chairs, seemingly ready to stay here for a very long time.
In Great Ming, the breakthrough of every genius would be celebrated like a festival.
But in the past, a lot of these breakthroughs had been rather boring to watch. Then again, the breakthroughs were not too important for the populace. For the populace, they only cared about the fact that this was an excuse for them to celebrate.
After a while, a Heavenly Dao Army commander hollered at the crowd, "Everyone, you know how this goes. Don't try to approach the Dragonclash Stage. Researcher Su is a top-tier researcher. The Myriad Race Cult has been trying very hard to assassinate him. Things will get dangerous if we allow anyone to get near him. Thus, do not cross the line or the Heavenly Dao Army will be forced to make a move."
"Don't worry. We all know the rules. Anyone ignoring the rules will clearly be the bad guy."
"Right. Right. Lord Liu, are you familiar with Su Yu? Since he's now a member of Great Ming, can you tell him to sell his cultivation methods cheaper within Great Ming? We're all family here!"
The commander was left momentarily speechless. He shouted, "Cut the crap. Are his cultivation methods not cheap enough?"
"Well, cheaper is always better, right?"
The crowd laughed as they joked. Nobody would say no to spending less money.
At this time, a burst of laughter rang out from afar. The same person said, "That makes a lot of sense. I have nearly neglected this. Since I am now a part of Great Ming, I naturally need to do my part. From today onward, any creation of Source Soul Research Center will be sold 20 percent cheaper in Great Ming. Those who have purchased my products before this may ask for your refunds from the academies or the relevant agencies. I will return your money!"
Those words were spoken loudly. Numerous people looked over and saw that on the path that had been left empty, a youth mounted on a golden beast was slowly heading toward the Dragonclash Stage.
Seated atop the suanni, Su Yu smiled at the crowd and said, "I'm Su Yu. The discount will take effect after a few days. Due to my father's effect, I have a lot of respect for soldiers. Thus, all soldiers of Great Ming can purchase my cultivation methods for 30 percent cheaper."
Only then did the crowd know who the speaker was. Discount? Was this real?
The old man who had asked for the discount earlier was overjoyed. He shouted, "Grandmaster Su is truly righteous!"
"Grandmaster Su is generous!"
"He is truly worthy of being a genius of Great Ming!"
"What a nice guy!"
"Even those who had bought his cultivation methods before can get refunded. He is truly generous."
The crowd grew excited. This was quite a good offer. For example, the best version of the Double Wu Acupoint Fusion Art was being sold at a relatively low price of 50 merit points. But if that was converted into cash, it would be worth around a million or two. Thus, a 20 percent discount was actually quite big.
An old man asked in excitement, "Grandmaster Su, is the soldier's discount applicable to retired soldiers as well?"
The old man did not feel awkward addressing someone so much younger than him as grandmaster. In his mind, Su Yu was perfectly worthy of that title.
Su Yu laughed and said, "Of course. I don't create my cultivation methods for the sake of money. I'm only charging money because I don't want anyone to take these cultivation methods for granted. Then again, I also need to cover my research expenses so I can't make it any cheaper. If researchers can't even cover their research expenses, they will be much less interested in creating new and updated cultivation methods for the masses."
"That is only natural."
The old man was greatly pleased. Clearly, he was a retired soldier. At this point, Su Yu finally arrived before the three-meter tall stage. Right after he stepped onto the stage, several figures descended from the sky.
"Lord Prefect!"
"Principal!"
"General!"
The crowd exclaimed in surprise. This was a feast to their eyes. So the rumors were true. Su Yu was really being protected by these experts. What an amazing lad. The experts did not say anything. They merely showed themselves to awe the crowd before vanishing into thin air again.
Only Zhu Tiandao was left on the stage. With a wide smile on his face, he said, "I heard what Su Yu said earlier. This is a blessing to Great Ming. Su Yu's cultivation methods are already very cheap. But now, he is selling it for even cheaper to the people of Great Ming. Warriors of Great Ming, grab this opportunity and don't let Researcher Su down.
"Today, Su Yu is openly preaching his dao at my invitation. We are doing this to allow everyone to witness his cultivation method and answer your doubts. This will be helpful for you when you cultivate the new cultivation method.
"Su Yu might not have a high cultivation level, but he is the creator of the cultivation method. Nobody knows the cultivation method better than him. Do not miss out on this opportunity to learn for him. I hope to see more and more talented individuals like Su Yu appear in Great Ming after this."
At this point, his tone turned solemn as he said, "I am also aware that some traitors out there do not wish to see humanity and Great Ming prosper. Great Ming has never involved ourselves in these external struggles. We have always minded our own business. But the Myriad Race Cult is the common enemy of humanity.
"Recently, Su Yu's bounty in the cult has been increased to a million merit points. Some of these traitors are already among the crowd. It doesn't matter. I only want you to know that attacking Su Yu in Great Ming is the same as starting a feud with Great Ming King and the Zhu Family. We will not let this matter rest.
"The Zhu Family founded the prefecture over 300 years ago, bringing our people hundreds of years of peace. We won't allow some rotten individuals to ruin our peace. This is a warning for you. Think carefully before doing anything against Su Yu."
He was making his position clear. The Zhu Family was going to protect Su Yu. If he ended up dead, they would not let the matter rest. Invincible families would rarely take a stance this hard. However, Zhu Tiandao had unhesitatingly made his position clear in front of so many people.
Su Yu said, "Thank you, Lord Prefect."
"I am only doing what is right."
After a short silence, joyful cheers erupted from the crowd. Everyone was happy to have a ruler like this. A ruler who cared about protecting their geniuses and the common people.
At this time, Su Yu said, "Today, I will be focusing on the Source Soul Acupoint Opening Art. This is an art with 126 acupoints, something that can be classified as a middle-tier heaven-grade cultivation method.
"It has 90 more acupoints than the commonly practiced Great Strength Art. Of course, it will also grant you more strength than the Great Strength Art.
"Generally, heaven-grade cultivation methods can't be cultivated by everyone. They are too difficult. Without enough talent, one will mostly be stuck after opening 20 or 30 acupoints. These cultivation methods can't be spread to the masses. Because they are not suitable for the masses."
Su Yu was in no rush to start his body forging. He loudly said, "Why am I promoting the Source Soul Acupoint Opening Art? Because it's easy to cultivate. And it's fast to cultivate."
He paused to look at the crowd. There were a lot of people around him. Some were strong, some were weak. He activated 14 of his acupoints, allowing them to light up brightly as he said, "Is there anyone here with these acupoints opened? These are the acupoints for the first stage of the Source Soul Acupoint Opening Art. It doesn't even need any hidden acupoints. I believe some people here already have these acupoints opened."
He showed his 14 acupoints clearly. Those at the Infinite Strength Realm could fuse or separate their acupoints as they wished.
Seeing his 14 acupoints, the crowd started discussing among themselves. Shortly after, someone shouted, "I have them opened!"
This person activated his 14 acupoints as well.
Su Yu smiled, "Brother, let me teach you how to link these acupoints. You will be able to easily circulate your source qi accordingly and activate the first stage of the Source Soul Acupoint Opening Art. With this circulation method, try to absorb source qi and test out the speed."
Overjoyed, that person squeezed into the front of the crowd.
Su Yu did not bother hiding anything. His acupoints started linking one after another right in front of everyone there. He said, "There is no harm in demonstrating the first stage here directly. But if you wish to open acupoints, I still suggest you learn from a copy of the manual for more detailed instructions."
The middle-aged man started linking his acupoints according to Su Yu's guidance. This man was a ninth-stage Great Strength cultivator.
He did not have too many acupoints opened, but the ones he had opened were coincidentally the ones Su Yu had shown. With someone teaching him step by step, it didn't take him long to finish linking the acupoints. After a few minutes, all 14 acupoints erupted in brightness as the first stage was completed.
Su Yu said, "Brother, you may now try to absorb some source qi and open an acupoint."
That person did not hesitate.
All the nearby cultivators above the Great Strength Realm could clearly sense strands of source qi moving toward that man. Even the middle-aged man was overjoyed as he exclaimed, "This is so fast! It's at least triple my previous speed!"
Triple? Su Yu blanked out. It shouldn't be this fast. Was this guy a prop? But when he thought about it, he understood. This man did not cultivate a heaven-grade cultivation method before this. Rather, he only cultivated a regular yellow-grade method. The absorption speed of such a method was naturally slow.
Heaven-grade methods had much stronger and faster absorption speed. Thus, when Hu Hao used this cultivation method, his speed had only increased by about 10 percent. Perhaps he used to cultivate a heaven-grade method of the Xia Family that was already 10 percent stronger than a regular method.
Meanwhile, even if this middle-aged man had cultivated a heaven-grade method before, it still wouldn't be as good as what Hu Hao used to cultivate. Thus, he was able to experience great improvement after using Su Yu's cultivation method. All the people around them were alarmed by what they saw.
Su Yu was also slightly absent-minded as the realization hit him. All along, he had thought that this cultivation method could not do better than doubling one's cultivation speed. But he had forgotten one thing. Or rather, a lot of people had forgotten one thing.
The most commonly practiced cultivation methods were those in the yellow or profound grades. For the common people, a normal heaven-grade cultivation method was already a large boost. Even the Body Strengthening Art was something with the foundation of a heaven-grade method. For these people, his cultivation method was something that could more than double their speed.