Tribulation of Myriad Races

When Su Yu reached the Instructor's Office, he saw that he wasn't the only student there. Several familiar faces could be seen in the office. He wasn't exactly close with them, but he knew their names. Some were genius cultivators at fourth-stage Source Opening Realm and some were genius students who had mastered numerous languages. Liu Yue was among them.

Instructor Liu wasn't the only school staff present either. The principal and several Great Strength instructors were there as well. These people were among the strongest individuals in Nanyuan Secondary School. After Su Yu, a few more students arrived one after another.

Several minutes later, everyone was there. The principal smiled and said, "The twenty five of you are the hope of Nanyuan Secondary School this year. All of you will be joining either a war academy or a cultural research academy. As for the scientific research academies, they never recruited heavily from our school."

The principal was a martial cultivator while Liu Wenyan was a scholar. However, the scholar unhesitatingly interrupted the principal and said, "Cut the crap. Get straight to the point. We can't afford to waste so much time."

That placed the principal in an awkward position. Couldn't the old bastard see that there were students present? Why was he being so rude in front of the kids? The principal suddenly had the urge to break one of Instructor Liu's legs. The other instructors stealthily laughed at the exchange and only stopped when the principal glared at them.

The principal continued his talk, "Recently, things haven’t been too peaceful in Great Xia. The Myriad Race Cult is making a lot of moves. They haven't been able to do much, but Nanyuan is a small city. We do not have enough forces to defend against them. Therefore, we have decided to send all of you to the capital, the Great Xia City, in advance. You will be safer there. In fact, the Myriad Race Cult is already attacking the genius students of some other cities."

Su Yu remained silent. One of the students asked, "Going to the capital? How about the entrance examination?"

"You can take your examination at the capital. It might even be better for you that way as the capital has a much higher number of open slots for recruitment. With the school's recommendation, all of you have received the permission to take your examination there. You only need to go and wait."

"How long will we be staying there?" A girl asked, "We're still two months away from the examination. Are we supposed to stay at the capital until then?"

"Not really. If the Myriad Race Cult is defeated before then, you can return."

At the mention of the cult, the principal became furious. "Those scoundrels are creating chaos everywhere. Nanyuan is too small. We don't have enough forces to protect all of you. It is better to be safe. If they set their eyes on you, there will be a lot of openings for them to make their move.

"We might not be able to protect you when you're outside, when you're home, or even when you're here at school. Rather than spreading our security forces thin, we might as well gather you up and send you away. In fact, your departure will also make it safer for your families. For the Myriad Race Cult, the regular people are not worth the risk of revealing themselves. You know what I mean."

Everyone nodded. None of them was a fool. They naturally understood what the principal meant. The Myriad Race Cult would not make a move for no reason. It was pointless to reveal themselves just to kill some regular people and put themselves at risk.

However, killing these genius students was an entirely different case. In fact, the cult had a bonus system meant for rewarding successful kills of these young geniuses. A cult member would obtain considerable benefits from making a successful kill.

Of course, these students at Nanyuan weren’t exactly true geniuses when compared with those from the bigger cities. However, Nanyuan also had a weaker security, making it a rather tempting target for the cult. In fact, the cult had indeed performed assassinations against young geniuses in other small cities before.

Seeing that all the students understood him, the principal continued, "Therefore, all of you need to get ready. For those willing to leave, gather at the school in three days. The city garrison will send some people to escort you to the capital. Don't worry. The school will bear all your expenses there."

Liu Wenyan had been remaining silent. He suddenly spoke, "If possible, you really should leave. Things...haven't been peaceful lately. The Myriad Race Cult has been active during the past few days. Genius students and merchant convoys have suffered attacks from them. Some murders have also been committed outside the city. Fortunately, no murder have been committed in Nanyuan so far.

"Something feels off about all that. You're no longer children, so you should have your own judgment about the situation as well. This might be an attempt to lure our security forces away from the city.

"The Myriad Race Cult members that have been caught or exposed are all minor members, with a majority of them being those lunatics from the Blood Fire Sect. Those lunatics have all been brainwashed to the point they don't fear death. They are nothing but cannon fodder for the cult and the myriad races. The true big shots have yet to show themselves. By creating chaos, they're keeping the Martial Dragon Guards and the city guards of the various cities occupied."

Su Yu couldn't help but to ask, "Instructor, is the capital not aware of all this?"

"Of course they are." Liu Wenyan smiled, "The capital is a place filled with talented individuals. How will they be unaware of this? But even if they are aware, can the Martial Dragon Guards stay idle during disturbances? The Great Xia Army is in charge of defense, so they can't be moved from their positions easily. The Martial Dragon Guards have the most flexibility, so they have to be deployed.

"The Windcatcher Department can hardly catch a breath as they are needed everywhere. You will never know what the Myriad Race Cult's next target will be. Those hiding in the dark can act in an absolutely unrestrained manner. Even with the strength to crush them, we can't do anything since we don't know where they are. Therefore, our goal is to reduce the number of targets and send you away. We can then allocate more of our forces into hunting those fellows down."

Everyone nodded in realization.

One of the students declared furiously, "Those people are animals. Just wait until I graduate from a war academy. I'll kill every last one of them!"

The instructors merely smiled without saying anything. Every one of them had thought of the same thing before. Unfortunately, those cult members were too well hidden.

"Alright. Return and think about this. Come to the school in three days if you agree to leave. The city guards will send you away."

"Alright."

Everyone answered. It did not seem like they would have any other choice apart from leaving. By leaving, they could instead lighten the burden on Nanyuan. They understood that.

...

Everyone left, but Su Yu remained. He had been intending to learn a few more languages from Liu Wenyan anyway, including the ox-faced fish language. That was one of the races he had dreamed of before. Surprisingly, it had been a few days since Su Yu had last dreamed.

The ox-faced fish language was extremely obscure, so Su Yu had not learned it before. He wasn't even sure if Liu Wenyan knew it. As for his departure to the capital, he didn't really care much about it. He was going to be home alone anyway, so it did not matter if he had to move to a different city. The other instructors and the principal left as well. Finally, only Su Yu and Liu Wenyan were left in the office.

Hearing that Su Yu wanted to learn the ox-faced fish language, Liu Wenyan smiled and said, "The ox-faced fish is very rare on the Allheaven Battlefield. Most of them remain in the Mount Root Realm. Their language is very obscure, resulting in a lack of reading materials in their language. At the very last, that's the case when it comes to our plunder from the Allheaven Battlefield. I've yet to learn that language as well, but I'm confident there will be someone in the capital that knows the language."

Su Yu did not feel too bad about it. He was about to leave when Liu Wenyan said, "Your father has left for the Allheaven Battlefield. Are you living alone for now?"

"Yeah."

"Remember to be careful."

Su Yu turned around and looked at his instructor. Were things really this bad?

"There are security measures in place at school and on the streets. Most of our students will also have some Great Strength cultivators at home, so we're not too worried about them. But you're more vulnerable since you're living alone."

Liu Wenyan hesitated for a bit before saying, "In truth...I disagree--"

"Instructor Liu!"

A sonorous voice suddenly rang out from outside the office.

Liu Wenyan maintained the same expression and asked, "His father is a veteran of the Devil Subduing Army. Is he not trustworthy as well?"

"Anything is possible. Su Long has been retired for eighteen years."

"Then you guys should have someone protect him. I can't stop worrying otherwise."

"We don't have the manpower to spare."

Liu Wenyan said unhappily, "I don't have the right to question you people from the Martial Dragon Guards when you're carrying out your orders, but I don't think Su Yu is suspicious. Of course, if you're still unwilling, I'll have Su Yu stay with me for a few days. It will be too irresponsible to let him return alone."

"..."

The person outside sank into silence, seemingly deep in thought. As for Su Yu, he was totally confused. What was going on? Of course, he chose to keep his mouth shut. Was the person outside someone from the Martial Dragon Guards? But he hadn't noticed anyone outside at all!

"Fine."

A reply came a short while later before silence descended again.

Liu Wenyan turned to look at the silent Su Yu and smiled, "The Myriad Race Cult members are very good at disguising themselves. We suspect that they have been creating chaos recently for a specific reason. Therefore, we decided that we can't stay passive. Instead, we need to take the initiative and make our own move as well. However, we don't know if they have any members in the school or the city garrison. We need an opportunity before we can make a move."

"Opportunity?"

Su Yu caught on to something, but he was still unsure.

"Yes. Opportunity. Nanyuan is a small place. There is nothing important here. The only thing we have of value is probably this Nanyuan Secondary School. Maybe the mayor's manor can be considered such a place, but that place is guarded by the city guards. It is a much safer place than the school. We don't know if the cult is already in Nanyuan, but as a precaution and to grab the initiative, we have decided on a baiting operation. You guys...are the bait. Of sorts."

Liu Wenyan sighed, "If the cult is really here at Nanyuan, and they're really planning something here, they will only be left with several choices after hearing about our plan to send you guys away."

"Firstly, they can attack in advance and kill all of you. Secondly, they can attack while you're en-route to the capital. But with the city garrison escorting you, the cult will need more manpower for their operation. Also, the Great Xia Army will also be meeting with us halfway the journey.

"Thirdly, they can wait for you guys to leave with a portion of the garrison. With the city weakened, they can make their move. Fourthly, give up on Nanyuan. With all of you gone, we can better concentrate our security measures, making things harder for the cult."

Su Yu frowned, "So you mean that if we're really their target, they might attack before our departure?"

"Yes. They will show themselves."

"And if it's not us..."

"Then you'll be out of Nanyuan. The capital is really a safer place. The Martial Dragon Guards will be able to pluck out the hidden cult members here in a month or two."

Liu Wenyan's face turned stern, "Therefore, you guys are the bait. Not many people know about this plan. We're not sure if they have any spies among us."

"Will it be dangerous for us?"

"It will be fine for most of you. You're an exception since you're staying alone."

"That's why I'm telling you all this. I don't want you to encounter an assassination attempt while completely clueless. Just stay with me for two days. If nothing happens, we'll send you all away in three days."

Su Yu thought about it and decided to not object. It was clear that the people running the city were being cautious by sending them away in advance. It would be for the best if nothing happened. And if something did happen, the city would still be able to seize the initiative with their plan in place.

As for the danger...well, things would be even more dangerous if they didn't have a plan in the first place. If the Myriad Race Cult was really targeting them, it would actually be safer following the plan.

Su Yu could understand the reason behind this, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry, teacher. I get it. But are there really that many cult members hidden among us?"

"Yes, there are." Liu Wenyan sighed, "Otherwise, why would we be calling them rats? They're too good at hiding. It would be for the best if nothing happens. But if something is really happening, we can only try our best to prepare for it. Stay at my place for now. Just use learning new languages as an excuse."

"Sure," Su Yu agreed. He did not mind where he slept.

However, he still couldn't resist asking, "Instructor, aren't you a willpower cultivator? Can't you detect the spies hidden among our ranks?"

Liu Wenyan merely smiled, looking like a mysterious expert with unfathomable thoughts.

What do you think? Sure, I can read the mind of rookies like you. But any adult would have a complicated mind. Nobody will have their thoughts exposed so easily, especially those from the Myriad Race Cult. Every single one of them is fully focused on hiding. The brave ones among them would have died a long time ago.