Chapter 2: The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The crystal statue was personally crafted by Su Yu, and it was given to Jiang Xueqing as a token of love.
Every month, the institute would give each student one tael of silver. Su Yu lived frugally; he did not dare to buy any new clothes or eat any good food. While other male students got together under the moon to drink alcohol, Su Yu was saving up his money and refused to spend even a single penny.
He used all the money that he had saved to buy crystal, carving it little by little in order to sculpt the beautiful Jiang Xueqing.
During summer, when others were enjoying the cool air, he continued to carve the crystal statue even when he was perspiring non-stop. One time he suffered from heat stroke that caused him to become dizzy and had to rest in his dormitory.
During winter, while others kept themselves warm with the heat from a stove, he held onto the icy cold crystal and continued to carve it, enduring the cold to the point that the skin on both his hands started to crack and bleed.
Finally, after a year of hard work, he finished carving the most beautiful version of Jiang Xueqing he could picture.
He remembered that Jiang Xueqing used to have very shiny eyes that were soft and brimming with excitement.
However, one year later, the former friendship, the former love and how moving she once was all returned to him.
Su Yu hung his head low, looking at the beautiful crystal statue in his hands. It had a pair of bright eyes that seemed to shine forever like the stars in the sky. Not only was it not worthy of the real Su Yu, it had also ridiculed him.
In the older generation, there were many practical women. They would sleep with men who had money.
He did not take a liking to Jiang Xueqing. Apart from her good looks, she did not have any good qualities.
"Since the love is gone, for whom do I pledge my love? This crystal statue has lost its meaning." Surprisingly, Su Yu did not display any feelings of disappointment, grief, or anger. Instead, he was as calm as a late autumn lake that was free of waves.
With a light swing of his hands, he threw the crystal statue on the ground.
Crash－
The ethereally beautiful statue of the girl was shattered instantaneously, leaving behind pieces of residual crystal, shaking the spotted memory of time. With this action, the last link between him and Jiang Xueqing disappeared.
As he stretched his waist, Su Yu revealed a smile of relief, as though a huge burden had been lifted off his chest. "Pff, I can finally put myself at ease, I was worried that you still had feelings for me."
If Jiang Xueqing still had feelings for Su Yu, perhaps the remnants of his soul would continue to worry and be uneasy.
She was very absolute. At the instant when she returned the token of love, the last bit of attachment Su Yu felt had completely dissipated.
"Goodbye, my former Qing-er, my former love." As he waved his hands he gently sighed, as though he was conveying a message to the late Su Yu, telling him that he could finally pass on peacefully. After which, he could finally relax and leave freely, never turning back ever again.
To come and go like dust, disappearing in time and space.
Su Yu had passed away, leaving behind a completely new Su Yu.
Jiang Xueqing felt a quiver in her body; the words that seemed like a farewell had opened up her frozen heart.
As she looked back, her eyes quickly followed Su Yu's back. However, she could only see a fuzzy shadow disappearing into the crowd.
At that instant, Jiang Xueqing's heart started to tremor. She felt as though she had lost something very precious to her, something that she could never find again.
As she looked at the shattered statue, Jiang Xueqing was startled.
After a long time, she finally recovered. Her eyes gradually became ruthless as she destroyed the last thread of love in her heart. "I, Jiang Xueqing, am extremely beautiful. I am destined to be an extraordinary woman. How can you, Su Yu, who lacks moral conduct and capability, be worthy of me?"
"It is not I who dumped you! It is because you are incompetent! The choice that I, Jiang Xueqing, will definitely not be wrong!"
With an unemotional face, Jiang Xueqing left.
As Qin Feng observed with unsympathetic eyes, he said with disdain, "That guy, pretending to be free and at ease, trying to win the eyes of Qing-er. Humph, I don't think he has given up yet!"
In contrast to Qin Feng, Duke Qin gazed at Su Yu's back as though there was a meaning behind it, and shook his head. "I don't think so! That guy is not useless and good-for-nothing like you said. He is calm and resilient, free and easy. With a bit of training, he might be able to become a talent."
"Then before he rises to the top, kill him!" Qin Feng disliked anyone who had a relationship with his woman, especially if they were once lovers. All the more it was not allowed!
Duke Qin shook his head. "No! The monarch is nearing the end of his life, now is the time to compete for the throne. As I support the crown prince, the other princes now view me as a thorn in their flesh.
"They are looking everywhere for something to hold against me. You stole someone else's companion, giving off the impression that I am unable to teach my son well. This will easily become something they can use against me." As he mentioned this, Duke Qin displayed a bit of anger. "When I am busy with numerous state affairs, why would I make a special trip down to Xianyu Prefecture to help to settle your issue?
"At this moment, if you kill Su Yu, wouldn't it be the same as killing someone to steal their wife? As your father, I will be implicated as well!" Duke Qin was very calm. "So, you must stay put now. It is not too late to kill him after the conflict over the succession of the throne is settled."
Qin Feng understood this, but he felt uncomfortable. "Does this mean I can let him roam around freely in front me? Su Yu is a thorn in my flesh, and he must be disposed of."
Duke Qin waved his hands lightly. "Even if we cannot kill him now, it does not mean that we cannot touch him. You do not need to worry about this matter now. As your father, I have many ways to drive Su Yu out of the martial arts training institute, completely cutting off his path to success, sparing us from all trouble that he might give us in the future."
After drinking a small cup of tea, the middle-aged man in the blue shirt submissively allowed Duke Qin to take his leave.
"I will leave this matter to Jiang Zhishi." Duke Qin secretly gave Jiang Zhishi a present to express his intention to forge a long term relationship.
Jiang Zhishi laughed, "Duke, you do not need to worry. In six months time, there will be an assessment by the martial arts training institute. Every year, half of the silver students will be expelled. With Su Yu's lack of skills he is already on the list."
"If that is the case, then all is good." Relieved, Duke Qin left.
As Qin Feng watched his father leave, an idea flashed through his mind.
"Humph, for him to be expelled without any problems would be giving him too much leeway! Even if I do not use my own hands to do it, wouldn't it be a piece of cake for others to do it?" Qin Feng said cold heartedly.
"There is still a thread of love in Qing-er's heart. She must see Su Yu in dire straits, so that she will understand that life will be difficult with him, completely giving up any thoughts of reuniting with him!"
Su Yu returned to the mountainous forest and continued to train as if nothing had happened.
However, the incident had greatly affected him and prevented him from concentrating on his training.
As Su Yu looked up at the vast sky, his fists were clenched.
"Even though the humiliation today belonged to the other Su Yu, who knows if I will suffer the same humiliation?" Su Yu pondered. "In a world where only the strong are respected, why is it that my abilities are so low; even though I put in many times more effort than others, my progress is only half of the talented students?"
Looking up in the sky, Su Yu was unwilling to accept his fate. He shouted, "Heaven is unfair! If Heaven had given me greater abilities, I would put in ten times the effort to train and become the Holy King, overseeing the human population!"
His loud voice was full of determination and his refusal to accept his own fate travelled towards the Heaven.
Rumble－
Suddenly, when Su Yu looked up, he found that a black substance was falling from the sky. It came with a sound as loud as thunder, and it was falling towards his direction.
"Screw you! I only shouted to the sky, why must this happen to me?"
Bang－
Ahh－
A graceful scream broke the silence of the mountainous forest.
Su Yu fainted on the spot, and it was unknown whether he was dead or alive.
The night came.
"Ah... pain, pain, pain…" Su Yu shook his arms and legs and took some time to come back to his senses. He covered his forehead, and his mouth was shaking.
"Oh, my hand!" Su Yu was surprised. Even though it was night, he could see as well as if it were day, with his palm and fingers clearly visible.
Moreover, a hundred meters away he could clearly see a toad that was hiding under a rock, preparing to catch its prey.
When he looked at a piece of reflective metal that he found on himself, he was amazed to find that the pupils on both his eyes had turned white just like two pure crystals, dazzling and gorgeous.
Bewildered, Su Yu stood up.
"My body!" He had a habit of jumping up from a laying-down position, but the strength in his legs was beyond his expectations, causing him to lose control of his body, which almost caused him to fall down.
After exploring for a bit, he found that his inner strength had doubled. His body seemed to have gone through earth-shaking changes; he was light and agile like a swallow, as though he had removed twenty kilograms worth of load from his body.
"I have achieved Level Two!" Su Yu was so amazed that he could not contain his happiness.
He had been at Level One Peak for more than six months, yet he was unable to make a breakthrough to Level Two.
He didn't think that just a random hit on his head would allow him to make a breakthrough to Level Two.
Su Yu's eyes showed signs of suspicion and he decided to do a check on himself.
He was amazed to find out that within his mind there was an additional thumb-sized bronze cauldron with nine dragons carved on it. These nine dragons were extremely lifelike, as if they were about to fly and disappear into the heavens the next moment. There was a remnant of a liquid which overflowed from the cauldron, and it gradually changed Su Yu's body.
"Can it be that, just now, this mysterious small cauldron landed on me and then entered my consciousness? At the same time, that mysterious red liquid modified my body and removed the obstacle inside me, allowing me to make a breakthrough to Level Two of the Martial Path?" Bewildered, Su Yu tried to remove the small cauldron, but it wouldn't budge at all.
After pondering for a long time, Su Yu clenched his teeth. "I do not know if this was a fortune or misfortune. But, with it, I was able to achieve Level Two and also gain an unusual pair of pupils. From now on, I will devote myself to training, so that I will not be eliminated in the assessment six months from now." As Su Yu clenched his fist, he had a look of excitement.
Looking up to the heavens, Su Yu's eyes were filled with determination. He rejoiced in the forest. "To the people who once treated me cold heartedly, thank you for inspiring me, allowing me to learn to never yield to others, as well as giving me a more exciting life!"
With the darkness gone, the journey from the mountains back to the dormitory was easy.
Two silver students shared a dormitory. Adding to the fact that it was small and narrow, there was only one bed to rest on.
It was said that for golden students, they had a private courtyard as well as servants.
In the whole martial arts training institute, there were ten thousand silver students and a hundred golden students. As for the rumored core students, who were said to have achieved demon level in their martial arts, there were only ten of them.
One can imagine how difficult it would be for a silver student to ever think of enjoying the comfortable environment in a private courtyard.
Su Yu's dorm mate was a black-skinned and ill-tempered young man named Wu Song.
He had achieved Level Two Lower Tier of the Martial Path a few months ago. With him as a dorm mate, Su Yu was easily ordered around like a servant.
He was so strong that Su Yu couldn't do anything to him. Combined with the fact that he did not treat Su Yu very badly, Su Yu could only submit to the humiliation.
"Get out! Sleep in the corridor tonight!" The moment Su Yu opened the door, Wu Song threw a swift and powerful kick at him, as though his right leg was the shadow of a whip.
Unpredictable and in the darkness, like a ghost, it was difficult to guard against the kick.
The good thing was that Su Yu's pupils had changed; to him, darkness was nonexistent.
He tiptoed a bit and exerted a force on his toes. Since his body was as light as a swallow, he jumped back about one meter.
Rustle－
Wu Song kicked the air. His expression changed, indicating that he did not expect Su Yu to dodge the kick.
"What are you doing?" Su Yu's eyes turned cold.
The new Su Yu was pale in comparison to the past, and he was no longer a punching bag. He did not intend to submit to humiliation.
"After seeing you, I am not happy. Do you have anything to say? Get out! From now on, this dormitory belongs to me alone, you will go to the corridor and sleep!" Wu Song looked at him with cold eyes.
How intelligent was Su Yu? He instantly realized that something was wrong. Even though his relationship with Wu Song was poor, it was not to this extent.
When he thought of what happened in the day, he sort of guessed the situation.
Wu Song had probably been bribed by Qin Feng. He did not hold back with the kick just now; he seriously intended to injure Su Yu.
Having arrived at this conclusion, why would Su Yu hold back?