Su Yu quickly opened the book titled Accelerated Methods of Origin Opening.
The very first page made him speechless.
Written in blood-red letters across the opening page was a single line:
"So-called acceleration methods—regardless of life or death—do indeed accelerate cultivation.Most who attempt them die in the process."
"…Right."
Su Yu let out a bitter smile.
Just reading that line made the whole thing feel wildly unreliable. No wonder the instructors kept repeating that Origin Opening shouldn't be rushed—and that straying off the proper path was dangerous.
"Acceleration Method One: Bathing in the blood of powerful gods or demons.Gods and demons are born with all nine apertures open, their blood containing vast quantities of Heavenly Origin Qi…"
"Result: Body explosion."
"Case Record: Anping Year Nine.The son of the Governor of Great Ming bathed in god-demon blood in an attempt to open all nine apertures.All nine opened instantly.On the same day, his body exploded.Age at death: nine.Cultivation at death: Thousand-Pound Realm."
Su Yu sucked in a breath.
There were even case studies.
That meant the book wasn't exaggerating.
The Governor of Great Ming's son—Anping Year Nine. That had to be the direct heir of the Great Ming King himself.
Even that kid died?
That was terrifying.
Besides, where was he supposed to get god-demon blood?
On the Battlefield of the Heavens, the God and Demon races were among the most powerful races in existence. It was said that even the weakest of them entered battle at the Ten-Thousand-Stone Realm.
If the Great Ming King's son had access to such blood, it was almost certainly because his father had personally slain a god or demon.
This method wasn't just impractical.
Even if it worked, it had absolutely nothing to do with Su Yu.
"My dad isn't the Great Ming King," Su Yu muttered.
If his father were the Great Ming King, Su Yu wouldn't even bother cultivating. The Great Ming King was an invincible expert who founded the Great Ming Prefecture—one of humanity's pillars.
Exactly how strong he was?
Su Yu didn't know.
All he knew was that he was strong enough that Su Yu didn't need to think about anything at all.
Method One: discarded.
He continued reading, his brows knitting tighter with every page.
"Acceleration Method Two: Consuming demon race flesh.Certain demon races' blood and flesh may stimulate aperture opening."
"Result: Body explosion."
"Case Record: Early Anping Era.During humanity's decline, strong cultivators killed demon races and brought their corpses back.Large numbers of humans consumed demon flesh.Some exploded and died.A few rapidly opened all nine apertures."
"Note: Demon races whose flesh has shown positive effects include:Golden Roc Clan, Savage Ox Clan, Heavenly Tiger Clan…"
Pass.
Immediate pass.
Su Yu didn't even hesitate.
Every race listed was a powerful race among the myriad races. Not as terrifying as gods or demons, perhaps—but still far beyond anything he could ever come into contact with.
"Acceleration Method Three: Heavenly Origin Fruit—natural treasure."
"The Heavenly Origin Fruit gathers primal qi from the origin of the myriad worlds and is extremely beneficial to aperture opening."
"Locations: Produced in limited quantities within major realms such as the God Realm, Demon Realm, and Monster Realm."
"Case Record: Anping Year Twenty-Five.The son of the Great Zhou King consumed a Heavenly Origin Fruit and opened all nine apertures within three days.No recorded aftereffects."
Su Yu twitched.
"The son of the Great Zhou King…"
He thought for a moment.
"Wait. Doesn't the Great Zhou King only have one son? Isn't that the current Governor of Great Zhou—Zhou Potian?"
Alright.
Discarded.
Completely.
This was clearly a supreme treasure. Zhou Potian was still alive, incredibly powerful, and now ruled the Great Zhou Prefecture.
Even if humanity still possessed Heavenly Origin Fruits, there was no universe in which one would end up in Su Yu's hands.
That kind of thing was a strategic resource.
He kept flipping.
The more he read, the colder his heart grew.
As expected, there was no real shortcut in Origin Opening cultivation.
Every so-called "acceleration" method either required god-demon blood, supreme treasures, or came with serious long-term consequences.
No wonder the instructors never mentioned any of this.
"Acceleration Method Nine: Cultivating in areas with abundant vital energy.Vital energy is unevenly distributed across the myriad worlds.Origin Opening cultivation passively tempers apertures, and speed correlates with energy density."
"Note: Vital energy sanctuaries include:the Battlefield of the Heavens, academy secret realms, and sacred sites within the Human Realm."
Su Yu paused.
Abundant vital energy…
Origin Opening cultivators couldn't actively sense vital energy, but he knew well enough that Nanyuan City wasn't exactly rich in it.
"I've heard this before," he murmured."Larger cities and sacred grounds cultivate faster. So that's why."
Of course, teachers in Nanyuan never talked about this.
Talking wouldn't help.
Moving cities these days wasn't exactly easy.
"So if I could reach a major city or a secret realm, I could accelerate safely—just not dramatically."
Unlike the earlier methods, this wasn't instant.
But even so, Su Yu felt a flicker of desire.
Unfortunately, every location listed was completely out of reach.
The Battlefield of the Heavens was obvious.
Academy secret realms were rumored to exist in higher academies—but details were scarce.
As for Human Realm sacred sites?
Forget it.
"Acceleration Method Ten: Vital Energy Liquid."
"Vital Energy Liquid can form naturally or be artificially condensed.Naturally occurring liquid forms in rare, energy-rich locations.Artificial liquid is condensed by Skysoaring Realm experts."
"Effect: Comparable to cultivation in a high-density energy environment."
"…Naturally occurring is out."
Artificial, then—
Skysoaring Realm.
Su Yu smiled bitterly.
What even was the Skysoaring Realm?
Thousand-Pound and Ten-Thousand-Stone were still physical reinforcement. Skysoaring was beyond that—a true transformation, where humans could literally take to the skies.
Did Nanyuan City even have a Skysoaring expert?
Maybe.
The City Lord, perhaps.
But was that someone Su Yu could ever approach?
At Nanyuan Secondary Academy, the strongest figure was the Headmaster—and he had only recently stepped into the Ten-Thousand-Stone Realm.
If Ten-Thousand-Stone experts could condense Vital Energy Liquid, Su Yu might have dared to beg for a drop or two.
But they couldn't.
"None of these are remotely reliable," Su Yu muttered.
No wonder these books were shoved into a dusty corner.
For people like him, every method listed here was essentially unusable.
The "simplest" option was cultivating in an energy-rich area—or using Vital Energy Liquid.
And even the latter required Skysoaring Realm involvement.
Still impossibly far away.
His father had been at Thousand-Pound Seventh Layer eighteen years ago. Due to Nanyuan's thin vital energy—and the loss of military resources—he'd only reached Ninth Layer by now.
Even so, he was considered a capable figure in Nanyuan City.
Of course, Su Long never thought so himself. Before reenlisting, he worked quietly as a traffic inspector.
If it hadn't been for Su Yu, Su Long could have secured a far better position with his cultivation.
"…No hope at all."
Su Yu returned the books to their places.
After a moment's thought, he walked toward Liu Yue.
"Liu Yue, sorry to bother you," he said politely.
She put down her book and smiled gently."Go ahead."
"I haven't paid much attention to cultivation resources over the years. Do you know about Vital Energy Liquid?"
"You're thinking of buying it?" Liu Yue immediately understood.
"Vital Energy Liquid is considered a strategic resource. There's no sales channel in Nanyuan City."
"But you can purchase it in Great Xia Prefecture—with real-name registration."
"There are different types. Liquids condensed by different realms vary in density."
"For Origin Opening, Skysoaring Realm liquid is actually the most suitable. It's cheaper, less condensed, and safer. Too concentrated, and it can damage the body."
She paused.
"But… it's expensive."
"Even Skysoaring experts need three days to condense a single drop. And they need vital energy themselves. Unless they're desperate for money, most won't do it."
She looked at Su Yu seriously.
"Su Yu, it's really not worth it. Vital Energy Liquid only increases energy density—it doesn't guarantee aperture opening."
"I know," Su Yu nodded. "Thanks. How much does one drop cost?"
"100,000 Anping Coins."
"…!"
Su Yu felt his heart seize.
One hundred thousand.
His father earned 5,000 Anping Coins per month as a public officer. After living expenses and cultivation supplies, saving 20–30 thousand a year was already impressive.
Over the years, Su Long had left him about 300,000 coins.
Which meant—
Their entire family savings could buy three drops.
No wonder Liu Yue called it wasteful.
This wasn't spending money.
This was burning it.
Seeing his expression, Liu Yue couldn't help laughing.
"Told you it was expensive."
"I used one drop myself. It lasted about three days. The effect was… average."
"I never used it again."
"If it were truly amazing, plenty of academy students could afford it. But how many do you see using it?"
"Three days without opening an aperture means another 100,000. Six days—200,000. Nine days—300,000."
"No one can sustain that."
Su Yu smiled bitterly.
"I get it. Too expensive."
"If it guaranteed opening, maybe. Otherwise, it's just gambling."
"No wonder instructors say there's no shortcut in Origin Opening."
"There really isn't," Liu Yue agreed."But you're not even being tested on this. Why are you thinking about buying it?"
"I applied to the War Academy," Su Yu replied simply.
Liu Yue froze for a moment.
"War Academy?"
Before she could say more, Su Yu smiled politely and excused himself.
This was the library, after all—not a place for chatting.
Watching him leave, Liu Yue raised an eyebrow, curiosity flickering.
War Academy?
Why would Su Yu apply there?
She shook her head lightly.
"It won't matter even if he applies…"
"They'll probably end up classmates at Great Xia Civilization Academy anyway."
"I just hope he doesn't do anything reckless."