Su Yu left the drawing room with Bai Junsheng. While walking, he asked, "Why did my teacher leave back then? I don't think he really adores the fifth principal that much..."
Bai Junsheng said, "My cousin didn't leave because he idolized the fifth principal. Rather, he was drawn in by the decline of a glorious, mysterious, and powerful faction. The stories of Liu Wenyan and his generation could be heard even in Great Ming. In fact, there are more recordings of their stories in Great Ming than Great Xia.
"The glory of the past. The fifth principal who could kill Invincibles. Liu Wenyan who was so heroic. My cousin pursued the past. If I'm honest, he's very arrogant. Perhaps he thought that he could change something."
Bai Ye furiously said, "You're not allowed to call my big brother that! He's not arrogant!"
"What do you know? Shoo. Don't interrupt when adults are talking."
As Bai Junsheng played with Bai Ye's ponytail, she furiously said, "Wait until I finish my Source Opening and enter the Great Strength Realm. I'll beat you up!"
"Keep dreaming. By the time you reach the Great Strength Realm, I would be a Cloudbreach or a Mountainsea already." Bai Junsheng laughed, "You have only opened one acupoint so far. You will probably need five or six years to complete your Source Opening. In fact, you'll be considered a genius if you can complete your Source Opening by fifteen."
Bai Ye gloomily said, "Source Opening is very annoying."
Su Yu got an idea and transmitted his voice to Bai Junsheng, "Is the Bai Family supportive of Bai Ye's cultivation?"
Bai Junsheng blanked out slightly before replying, "Why not? We're a family of warriors. What are we supposed to do if we don't cultivate?"
"What I meant to ask is would completing her Source Opening immediately interfere with Bai Family's teachings?"
Bai Junsheng was momentarily stunned before recalling something. He asked in excitement, "Heavenly source fruit?"
Right! Su Yu had the favor of the prefect. Perhaps he could really get a heavenly source fruit from the prefect.
As Bai Junsheng had exclaimed in his excitement, Bai Ye heard his words as well. She asked curiously, "Heavenly source fruit? Brother Junsheng, why mention that? Do you have any? Did you win it from the ninth prince? You beat him up so many times before. Did you finally win something useful from him? Why don't you beat him up one more time for more good stuff?"
"..."
Su Yu was stunned. Was this girl the reason why Bai Junsheng fought Zhu Hongliang so many times in the past? And it was all for the sake of getting a heavenly source fruit?
Bai Junsheng had an awkward expression as Su Yu laughed in amusement. Since the Bai Family was supportive of Bai Ye's cultivation, there was no need for him to worry too much. He said, "I still have one heavenly source fruit with me. The prefect gave it to me, but I don't need it. If Bai Ye requires it, I can get it delivered later."
Bai Ye asked in excitement, "Are you speaking the truth, Big Brother Su Yu?"
Bai Junsheng scratched his head and said, "It's too precious. Not even the prefect has too many of them. It's a waste to give it away. The girl isn't too talented anyway..."
"You're the one who isn't too talented!" Bai Ye was both excited and shy. She said, "That's...a precious fruit. Maybe...you shouldn't do it."
She wanted the fruit, but she also knew that the fruit was very valuable.
Su Yu smiled, "It's fine. I don't need it. And it's a waste to keep it around without using it. I'll get someone to send it over later."
At this point, they had reached the library. Su Yu did not give them the chance to say anything else and stepped into the room. There weren't too many books in the library. On one of the shelves were some ancient-looking books and beast hides.
Things like willpower texts and jade talismans had only been created after peace returned to the Human Realm. During the founding era, most information would be recorded in physical books or beast hides.
Noticing how Su Yu was staring at the books, Bai Junsheng said, "Take your time. We won't be disturbing you."
"Thanks."
Bai Junsheng was quite tactful. He dragged Bai Ye with him, leaving Su Yu alone in the room. Su Yu did not hesitate and started reading immediately.
***
At the same time.
After knocking on the door to a secret room, Bai Zhanyi stood there waiting. The door swung open.
Inside the secret room, an old man was seated cross-legged. After a coughing fit, he slowly asked, "Yes?"
"Father!"
Bai Zhanyi deferentially said, "Someone is here to read the notes of our ancestor."
"So be it."
"That person is Little Feng's student, a genius researcher..." Bai Zhanyi gave a short introduction before saying, "He has been researching the source soul acupoint as well. Father, what do you think?"
The old man muttered, "Source soul acupoint...that is a source of calamity. Anyone using it will die. It is not as simple as those people believed. Unless absolutely necessary, one should never take this suicidal path. Let alone using it, just opening this acupoint alone is enough to cripple someone..."
"But Su Yu might be different. He has opened even more acupoints than the ancestor." After a slight hesitation, Bai Zhanyi said, "Father, your injuries are too heavy. Perhaps Su Yu might be able to find out something. And his research results might be the key to curing you. With your recovery, the Bai Family will have more confidence in the crisis to come."
The old man said, "Did the brat, Bai Feng, cause some trouble out there again?"
"It's not Little Feng. It's Hong Tan. He left seclusion recently as a Sunmoon. He's reopening the Multiple Character Faculty. He even came up with something called the disassembly method...I suspect that this method is not Hong Tan's creation. Instead, it's Little Feng. That was what he used to defeat Xia Yuwen..."
The old man sighed and said, "Must that unfilial son attract such trouble to us? Sooner or later, the Bai Family will get dragged into the conflict as well."
"It has been many years since Little Feng returned." Bai Zhanyi sighed, "He knew what he did, so he tried severing his relationship with us. But we're family. Our connection can't be severed so easily. The only thing we can do right now is to play deaf. We're too weak to take part in the conflict. With your injuries, we don't even have a Mountainsea...My second brother has been silent about it, but he is grieving inwardly. As of late, he is turning more and more taciturn."
The old man sighed and said, "We will be fine if we remain in Great Ming. But if we leave and participate in this conflict, Great Ming will not be able to protect us anymore. Any carelessness will result in destruction. In truth, there are a lot of eyes on the Bai Family as well. Even after so many years, some people are still trying to find out the secret of our ancestor."
"Father, what do we do about Su Yu?"
After a short silence, the old man said, "The ancestor did not leave anything useful behind. He only said that the complete acupoint was once broken into pieces. After bringing them together again, the heart of acupoints will reappear. But for rebuilding to happen, destruction must come first. I tried doing so, but apart from injuring myself badly, I achieved nothing. You can get yourself killed easily if you attempt this rashly."
"Do we tell Su Yu about it, then?"
After a slight hesitation, the old man said, "He will definitely die if he tries it rashly. These youngsters are very impatient..."
"He might be different."
The old man sank into silence. After a long while, he nodded, "Go. But don't tell him directly. Just give him some clues. If he manages to discover it, he can make his choice. Source soul acupoint...heart of acupoints...what our ancestor said might not be the same as what Su Yu is seeking."
"I understand." Bai Zhanyi asked, "Will the so-called source soul acupoint be helpful to your injuries?"
"It depends on whether he can find a stable method of opening that acupoint. If he can't..."