บท 5: Chapter 5 dreams
Su Yu was not too disappointed when he couldn't find a suitable acceleration method in the library. If it were that common, the academy would have mentioned it. He was merely holding onto a slim hope, but reality proved otherwise. Since that was the case, he could only continue diligently practicing the "Kaiyuan Technique."
...
After having lunch at the academy, Su Yu returned home in the evening. Looking at the empty house, he felt a bit down. Without his father around, the house instantly felt deserted. In the past, his father would always have dinner ready when he returned from the academy, but now the cold and empty house was something Su Yu found hard to get used to.
Not in the mood to cook, Su Yu leaned back on the sofa and turned on the TV, letting his mind wander while the TV sound played as background noise. Nowadays, there weren't many channels to watch. In the Great Xia Prefecture, he could only find the Great Xia TV station and a few local channels. Due to the influence of the Battlefields of All Heavens and other war zones, signal coverage was limited, making it difficult for broadcasts to reach far, so each prefecture generally only received its own channels.
"Recently, traces of the Myriad Races Cult have been found in the Great Xia Prefecture. Citizens of the Great Xia Prefecture, if you spot any suspicious individuals, please report them promptly to the local Cifeng Hall..."
"Scum!" Su Yu couldn't help but curse upon hearing the news report on TV. A bunch of scum! Even though the humans had repelled the enemy races in the Battle of All Heavens, humans were not considered very strong among the myriad races. There were always some scumbags who had other thoughts at such times and chose to defect to other races. The Myriad Races Cult was not a single cult but comprised many, with people defecting to different races. These people gathered together to create chaos within the human race.
Influenced by his father from a young age, Su Yu held extreme disdain for these scumbags. He glanced at the TV, where a middle-aged man with a square face, exuding authority and dressed in a red battle robe, appeared on the screen. With a stern expression and a cold tone, the middle-aged man shouted, "Execute!"
"Slash!"
In an instant, over a hundred heads fell to the ground, as a group of armored guards standing behind them swung their blades. "For every member of the Myriad Races Cult we capture, we will execute one," the middle-aged man said coldly, his gaze piercing through the screen. "Anyone who dares to come to the Great Xia Prefecture will face death! From today onward, the Dragon Martial Guards will patrol the Great Xia Prefecture. Scum of the Myriad Races Cult, if you don't fear death, then stay in the Great Xia Prefecture and see how many of your heads we can cut off!"
On the sofa, Su Yu suddenly felt a surge of excitement. Xia Longwu! The Prefect of the Great Xia Prefecture! As for the beheadings, he wasn't too concerned. People were used to it. This scene often appeared on TV. The only method the humans had for dealing with members of the Myriad Races Cult was beheading them publicly to instill fear, ensuring no one would dare to betray them. The public executions were meant to deter anyone from harboring such thoughts.
Su Yu was more interested in Xia Longwu himself. This Prefect of the Great Xia Prefecture was incredibly strong and authoritative. Twenty years ago, he commanded the Demon Suppression Army on the Battlefields of All Heavens, the same army where Su Yu's father served. Over the years, whenever Xia Longwu appeared, Su Long would get excited, pointing at the TV and saying, "That's my old superior. Back in the Battlefields of All Heavens, he swept through the battlefield, unstoppable, and made the myriad races' armies flee in panic..."
Over time, even Su Yu couldn't help but be influenced, developing a sense of admiration for this formidable warrior who had carved a path through blood on the Battlefields of All Heavens.
"If only I could become as strong as Prefect Xia someday... that would be great!" Su Yu had a small yearning. These were the true powerhouses. Among the various prefects, there wasn't one who wasn't powerful. However, Xia Longwu was among the top tier even among the prefects. The key point was that Xia Longwu wasn't that old, only in his sixties. In contrast, the powerful Prefect Zhou Potian of the Great Zhou Prefecture was an early Anping Calendar figure, meaning he was over three hundred years old.
Twenty years ago, Xia Longwu was only in his forties and already commanding the Demon Suppression Army. That was what Su Yu envied the most. Truly strong! Just in his forties, which was very young for this era. What kind of strength was required to command the Demon Suppression Army? Su Yu didn't know, but he knew it had to be incredibly strong. It wasn't just because his grandfather was the Great Xia King. Other prefects, some of whom were sons of the founding kings, were not necessarily as powerful.
"Xia Longwu..."
"Dragon Martial War Academy!"
"Dragon Martial Guards!"
Su Yu licked his lips, feeling a bit parched. After all, he was young and had his share of hot-blooded dreams. Had he never thought of applying to a war academy? Of course, he had! The Great Xia Prefecture had several high-level war academies, with the Great Xia War Academy being the most ancient and powerful, having a history of over three hundred years. However, there was now another top-tier war academy in the Great Xia Prefecture: the Dragon Martial War Academy!
Named after Xia Longwu himself, the Dragon Martial War Academy was established fifteen years ago. In just fifteen years, it had become one of the top academies in the Great Xia Prefecture. Most of its graduates joined the Great Xia Prefecture's strongest corps, the Dragon Martial Guards! It was said that the city lord of Nanyuan City was a former member of the Dragon Martial Guards, showing their influence.
Although his father, Su Long, came from the Demon Suppression Army, after retiring, he also wanted to join the Dragon Martial Guards to continue following his old superior. Unfortunately... the Dragon Martial Guards didn't accept him. He was a bit too old and not strong enough, so they didn't take him.
Su Long was furious and often cursed, though not at Xia Longwu but at the recruiters. Why wouldn't they accept him? It was said that a small team of Dragon Martial Guards was stationed in Nanyuan City nowadays, but Su Yu hadn't seen them yet.
"The Great Xia War Academy and the Dragon Martial War Academy... The Great Xia War Academy mainly supplies frontline soldiers, making it difficult for them to return. But the Dragon Martial Guards..."
Su Yu's eyes flickered. The Dragon Martial War Academy was different, primarily serving as a reserve for the Dragon Martial Guards. Students from the Dragon Martial War Academy would also go to the frontlines, receiving similar treatment to those from other war academies. However, the advantage of the Dragon Martial Guards was that their main duty was to defend the homeland, meaning they could spend most of their time in the Great Xia Prefecture.
Of course, in the event of a major war, the Dragon Martial Guards, being an elite corps, would be the first to be deployed to the Battlefields of All Heavens. While the Demon Suppression Army served as a standing army on the Battlefields of All Heavens, the Dragon Martial Guards were the field army.
"They have fewer restrictions and more freedom, but once a major battle breaks out, they face the most dangerous assaults and counterattacks..."
"If I really wanted to apply to a war academy, I should aim for the Dragon Martial War Academy."
Su Yu muttered to himself. Unfortunately, the Dragon Martial War Academy was even harder to get into. As the reserve for the Dragon Martial Guards, their requirements were even higher than those of the Great Xia War Academy.
Rubbing his cheeks, Su Yu smiled bitterly. He was daydreaming. Getting into an ordinary war academy was hard enough, let alone the Dragon Martial War Academy.
"How dare the Myriad Races Cult come to the Great Xia Prefecture! Are they looking for death? With the Dragon Martial Guards patrolling, I wonder if we'll see them in Nanyuan..."
Su Yu wasn't too worried. The members of the Myriad Races Cult were cowards who wouldn't dare show their faces. They only dared to cause trouble in secret. Now that the Dragon Martial Guards were patrolling the Great Xia Prefecture, these scumbags would hide even deeper than rats, not daring to appear.
Even if they did show up, Su Yu wasn't afraid. Nowadays, almost everyone was a soldier. While there were no powerful warriors in his community, there were quite a few Thousand Pound Realm cultivators. Besides his father, who was a retired soldier, there were several others, including some old soldiers who had aged out of service.
If a few Thousand Pound Realm cultists from the Myriad Races showed up, they would be courting death. Those old veterans, having retired from the battlefield, were all ruthless individuals with blood on their hands, unhesitant in killing. A single call would bring out seven or eight Thousand Pound Realm cultivators at any time.
...
After watching TV, Su Yu casually cooked some noodles for dinner. After washing up, he practiced the "Kaiyuan Technique" a few times before going to bed early. He didn't sleep much at night because his dreams would wake him up early, leaving him with insufficient rest.
Nowadays, Su Yu had figured out that he usually had dreams in the early hours. Before dawn was his most restful sleep, so he cherished that time.
...
Night.
In the darkness.
In his dream.
A scene that had repeated countless times appeared once again. A gigantic bird was chasing Su Yu.
"Damn it!" Su Yu hated bird-like races the most. They flew so fast that he couldn't outrun them. When he encountered land-based monsters, he sometimes had a chance to escape without being caught and chewed up. But with bird monsters, he never escaped, always getting chewed into bits and waking up in pain. He hated these flying creatures!
This time was no exception. The gigantic bird flew at an incredible speed, the terrain in the dream posing no obstacle to it, closing the distance rapidly. Su Yu ran as fast as he could while glancing back to try and identify the bird.
"Hmm?"
With a glance, Su Yu recognized the bird. While there were many bird-like races, he only knew about ten or so. However, this one... it looked familiar! Though it was vague, he could faintly see a large lump on its head.
"This is... the Ironwing Bird race!"
"Damn, after so many years, I've finally encountered a familiar one!"
At this moment, Su Yu felt a bit excited. He knew eighteen different languages of the myriad races, but it didn't mean he had encountered all these races. Even in his dreams, he hadn't met them all. He only felt some familiarity and learned the languages because some people at the Nanyuan Intermediate Academy knew them.
Though he hadn't encountered the Ironwing Bird race before, he did know their language! Among the eighteen languages he knew, Ironwing Bird language was one of them. Someone at the Nanyuan Academy knew it because, on the Battlefields of All Heavens, these birds were often used as air force by the powerful races of gods and demons.
Su Yu quickly turned his head and shouted, "Weixi Xijiuyun (Why are you chasing me)?"
The gigantic bird didn't respond, seemingly unable to hear him, continuing its charge.
"Luoyijiyou... (We are friends)!"
Still no response.
Su Yu cursed inwardly. Seeing the gigantic bird's claws descending, he knew he was done for again. This was likely an Ironwing Bird, but it seemed to have no intelligence, being just a figment of his dream.
"Crunch!"
Sure enough, intense pain shot through his head as the bird's claws crushed it. The dream began to fade. Su Yu knew he was about to wake up in pain.
However, at that moment, the gigantic Ironwing Bird, just after crushing his head, suddenly let out a sharp cry.
"Yuesa!"
Su Yu was slightly startled. The next moment, he woke up abruptly, drenched in sweat.
"Yuesa... no, not 'Yuesa,' it's 'blood!'"
Su Yu's eyes widened. He had heard it clearly. The Ironwing Bird had killed him, yet it was very angry because killing him didn't give it what it wanted.
"Blood!"
"It wanted blood. What does that mean?"
"My blood? But I've bled before in dreams, with no reaction. What does it mean?"
Su Yu's head ached. Ignoring the nightmare, his mind raced.
"It needed blood, but it didn't get it from killing me. My blood doesn't seem to work. Could it be... it needs blood of its own kind?"
"Ironwing Bird blood?"
"If I had Ironwing Bird blood, what would happen?"
"A dream is just a dream. Even if I had it, could I bring it into the dream?"
Rubbing his temples, Su Yu's hands were sweaty. He couldn't bother with that now. This dream... it seemed to be revealing itself. After so many years, he felt like he could finally understand it.
Learning the languages of the myriad races wasn't in vain. Even hearing just one word today was enough.
"No, I have to try. No matter what, I have to try. If I had Ironwing Bird blood, what change would it bring? Also, the dream might change tomorrow, not featuring an Ironwing Bird. Would having Ironwing Bird blood still work?"
"Doesn't matter!"
Su Yu suddenly sat up, deciding he had to try. After being chased in dreams for so many years, he was fed up and exhausted. He needed to resolve this dream quickly. Otherwise, carrying this burden and being killed every day would be unbearable for anyone.
"When it gets light, I'll go to the Xia's Trading Firm and see if they have Ironwing Bird blood. They sell everything, and Ironwing Birds are quite common on the Battlefields of All Heavens. Maybe they have it!"
With his decision made, Su Yu couldn't sleep. He eagerly awaited the morning to buy Ironwing Bird blood. Even if there was only a slim hope of resolving the dream, it was worth it. He was tired of such days—it was too torturous.
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