Tribulation of Myriad Races

Liu Hong thought about it and nodded, “You’re right. Then we can only get the other top 10 students to help us. We can also get the Foreign Students Faculty to help. We can even get the help of the veteran students from the Elderly District…”

Zhou Pingsheng sank into a short silence before saying, “We have a lot of veteran students in our faction. We even have a few that are stuck at peak Mental Tempering Stage and ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm. These people are no weaker than Zhan Hai.”

They had a lot of veteran students. The Skysoar Realm was a bottleneck that many people were stuck at. Many would remain stuck for decades. These veteran students had powerful Divine Characters, strong willpower, and incredible physical strength.

They also knew a lot of martial techniques and possessed a lot of Divine Characters. Apart from their inability to advance, they were actually quite useful as some of them were even stronger than Zhan Hai.

Zhou Pingsheng frowned, “But according to the academy rules, those at 30 and below are not at the same level as those above 30…”

Liu Hong smiled, “Senior Brother Zhou, I know that. I also know that Su Yu is good at playing with the rules.”

The moment those words were said, the faces of Xia Yuwen and Zhou Pingsheng fell.

Liu Hong said, “But…we are the ones with the authority to do something about the rules. We can simply organize a tournament and not limit it to those at 30 and below, allowing anyone below the Skysoar Realm to join. And as long as we can provide a reward that can attract Su Yu, he would definitely bite the bait. And once that happens, everything will be under our control.”

Liu Hong confidently said, “For example, he is probably trying to enter the Infinite Strength Realm. Fusing acupoints is hard and the heavenly source fruit is very helpful for him. The acupoint fusion pill and the acupoint purifying talisman are also helpful. Does he want these treasures?

“With his confidence, if he wants these treasures, would he join the tournament? We can even offer a slot in the Willpower Grotto as the reward. At that time, the myriad race students and the geniuses of the various batches will gladly join the tournament. Anyone below the Skysoar Realm will join.

“Who wouldn’t want to join? Who wouldn’t want to enter the Skysoar Realm? At that time, we won’t even need our people to make a move. For the sake of the slot, those people will definitely move against Su Yu. They won’t be pulling their punches since he is definitely strong enough to compete against them.”

Liu Hong stopped to take a sip of tea and said, “There are many ways we can deal with Su Yu. The question is, are we willing to pay the price? In truth, we already lost a lot. If this continues, the losses we accumulate will surpass the value of a slot into the Willpower Grotto.”

Hearing his words, a lot of people nodded. Someone agreed, “That’s right. This is a good idea. This idea has my support.”

“I think it’s good as well. With this plan, we won’t need to put the lives of our students on the line anymore. They won’t have to spend months in recuperation and fall behind their peers anymore. The disruptions to the top 100 are going to keep inflicting us more and more losses if things continue as they are.”

“…”

More and more people voiced their agreement. This was a plan where they could send Zhan Hai or even those from the Elderly District against Su Yu without sacrificing anyone from their side. That was an excellent idea.

Zhou Pingsheng frowned, “I’m only afraid that we will only help Su Yu grow even stronger. He is too talented. How long has he even been in the academy? Look at how strong he already is. If he really manages to get the slots or the other benefits we are using as bait…”

Liu Hong smiled, “Then we’ll allow him to reach the Skysoar Realm. That’s even better. Senior Brother Zhou, are we afraid of a single strong Skysoar? We are only afraid of Su Yu destroying the morale of our students.”

“No matter how strong he is, what can a Skysoar do? Bai Feng is strong, right? But can he change anything?”

Xia Yuwen suddenly said, “Then that’s what we’ll do. With this plan, the result of the tournament no longer matters. If he loses, he will suffer. If he wins and enters the Skysoar Realm, nobody can help Wu Jia in the top 100 anymore. We can even take this chance to drag Chen Yong down.”

He was very supportive of this plan. Liu Hong was indeed quite witty. In truth, Liu Hong might not be the only one who had thought of something like this. The others were probably worried that this plan might turn Su Yu into an even more troublesome opponent. At that time, the person who had suggested this plan would have to shoulder the blame. All these people were more concerned with protecting themselves. They definitely wouldn’t dare to suggest a plan so crazy. What a cowardly bunch.

Seeing that Xia Yuwen was agreeing with him, Liu Hong said, “Senior Brother Xia, the best option is still to push Su Yu to the Skysoar Realm. If he is allowed to keep challenging the top 100, he will be able to keep injuring our students. Sure, that won’t hurt us too much, but some of our people occupy important positions in the academy. If their students are kicked out of the top 100, they will probably have a hard time getting through their second review.”

They weren’t worried about those not occupying important positions. They were only worried about those with important positions such as Zhou Pingsheng. As a manager at the books depository, the moment his student was kicked out of the top 100, he would be subjected to a second review. The review would be conducted by a group of people from the neutral factions.

The first review was easy to get through. But during the second review, one’s ability as a teacher would be brought into question and one would be investigated for dereliction of duty. Thus, the second review was much stricter than the first review. This was a very important review, one that served to maintain the standards of the academy.

If his student could get into the top 100, then it signified that he had carried out his duties as a teacher satisfactorily. But if his student performed badly, the academy would start questioning him about the resources the academy had allocated him each year. What had he done with the resources if he hadn’t been teaching his student properly?

This was a review that even the research centers would be subjected to. One could say that the second review was the main reason the various academies had been able to stay standing for so many years and keep producing so many experts.

Most of the time, these academy teachers enjoyed a high degree of freedom. But if they failed their review, they would be in trouble. And Liu Hong’s reminder caused a lot of faces to change.

Even Zhou Pingsheng was alarmed. He solemnly said, “I have done nothing wrong so I’m not afraid of the second review. But those fellows holding the second review enjoy picking faults and escalating even the tiniest of problems. Thus, it is very important that we deal with Su Yu.”

Hearing that, Liu Hong and the others only snorted with disdain inwardly. Not afraid? He was a manager at the books depository. Was he really clean? He had done things like letting people enter the books depository without permission and swapping the ancient willpower texts in the books depository with some of the newer willpower texts in his possession.

Sure, Chen Yong had done all that as well. But he had done so to support the multiple character faction, so the academy had generally turned a blind eye. If a review was really conducted, neither Chen Yong or Zhou Mingren would be able to escape punishment.

At the very least, Chen Yong had repaid what he had taken. Meanwhile, Zhou Pingsheng had not done so at all. Someone like him was not afraid of the second review? How funny.

Zhou Pingsheng’s eyes turned cold as he said, “We must deal with Su Yu. As for the events outside the academy, Teacher and the others will deal with them. Wu Yuehua and the others won’t be able to last too long. They have been the main individuals standing against us all these years. As long as we can deal with Liu Wenyan this time, they will lose their pillar. Without him, these people won’t be so united anymore. After all, they aren’t really that close with each other.”

Liu Wenyan was the sole bond linking all these people. Without him, they would no longer act as one. It would be for the best if they could deal with all these people in one fell swoop. If they could do so, the single character faction would no longer have any other challengers in the academy or even the entire Great Xia Prefecture.

Liu Hong smiled, “Of course. I believe in the faculty head and the others. Liu Wenyan is merely a fresh Skysoar. Thus, we should prioritize keeping things calm in the academy. If we allow Su Yu to create too much trouble, it will be hard to explain ourselves to the faculty head and the others when they return.”

Suddenly, Zhou Pingsheng asked, “Su Yu’s father is in the army?”

“…”

Liu Hong and the others looked at him, but nobody answered.

Xia Yuwen glanced at him and said, “Keep these thoughts out of your mind. You need to know that the Devil Subduing Army is the prefect’s exclusive property. Anyone daring to stretch their hand into that army will pay with their life.”

“I understand.” Zhou Pingsheng wasn’t stupid. He said, “I don’t intend to do anything. I mean we can arrange for Su Yu’s father to be assigned more missions. It is reasonable for a soldier to assist a cultural researcher with missions, right?

“There are too many experts in the Allheaven Battlefield. A normal soldier can die very easily there. If the worst really happens, would Su Yu still have the mood to keep creating trouble for us?”

“…”

Liu Hong was filled with disdain. What was this fool thinking? The moment he was discovered, he would be executed. He could court death as much as he wanted, but he better not drag them down with him.

Xia Yuwen frowned, “Don’t create further trouble than required. He is only a normal soldier. Why put your effort on him? Just dealing with Su Yu is enough. If you dare to mess around with the army and the Devil Subduing Army discovers it, the consequences would be far more serious than what even your teacher can handle.”

Zhou Pingsheng thought about it and nodded. That was actually right. Messing around with the military was still quite risky. Forget it. If he was discovered, even if the mission he arranged was a regular mission, he would still be in great trouble.

“In that case, we’ll follow Liu Hong’s plan. Our best option is a tournament with no age limit. As long as one is below the Skysoar Realm, one can join it. That won’t break any academy rules.

“I’ll try to ask for a few slots of the Willpower Grotto from my teacher. I’ll also try to get some other rewards for the tournament. I will take care of this. Additionally, we need to make sure that Wu Jia is not in the top 100 by the time December ends.”

Xia Yuwen did not care about these details. He stood up and said, “I only need this guarantee from you. You guys will deal with Su Yu. Also, make an arrangement for my student to enter the books depository’s ninth floor, Manager Zhou.”

“You’re talking about Zhou Hao?”

“Yes.” Zhou Pingsheng frowned, “That…would be hard. The ninth floor is under Chen Yong’s control. He watches over that place like a hawk. When I brought a group over previously, he lost his temper. I’m afraid that he would really go crazy if I continue provoking him.”

“Just force Chen Yong to leave the academy to get an opening.” Xia Yuwen said nothing else and left.

After he left, someone said, “The people from the Xia Family are really still quite overbearing. Look at how he comes and leaves as he wishes when this is our meeting.”

It was as though a meeting of the single character faction had turned into Xia Yuwen’s personal playground.

Zhou Pingsheng looked at the person who had spoken with a frown and said, “Are you going to be the one to tell him off? We are currently in a partnership with him. Since my teacher is not around, don’t create a conflict with him needlessly.”

“Heh.” Someone sneered.

Meanwhile, Liu Hong was merely watching the show. Inwardly, he was clear that Zhou Pingsheng was doing this for the sake of getting the position of the faction master.

Zheng Yuming had been seriously injured and it was starting to become clear that Xia Yuwen was going to lend his support to Zhou Pingsheng when competing for the position of the new faction master. But there were a few other ninth-stage Cloudbreach cultivators in the faction. And these people were naturally unhappy to see that.