Xia Family Commerce Firm
The Xia Family Commerce Firm—also known as the Xia Clan Trading Company—was the largest commercial enterprise in the Great Xia Prefecture. Naturally, it was owned and operated by the powerful Xia clan.
The Nanyuan branch was located in a five-story shopping center on the main commercial street.
The first floor sold conventional pills and medicines.
The second dealt in weapons.
The third offered cultivation techniques.
The fourth specialized in miscellaneous items from the myriad clans.
The fifth floor was reserved for major transactions.
…
Su Yu went straight to the fourth floor.
He had been here before with Su Long. After all, Su Long was a ninth-stage Thousand Pound realm cultivator. With Nanyuan's thin spiritual energy, it was impossible to continue advancing without the aid of external resources.
The fourth floor was divided into several zones:
"Unknown Techniques," "Beast Tribe Blood & Flesh," "Damaged Magical Treasures," "Natural & Heavenly Treasures," and more.
Of course, this was just a local branch, so the inventory mainly catered to the Thousand Pound tier. Treasures of the Ten-Thousand Stone level were practically nonexistent here.
Beast Tribe Blood & Flesh Zone.
A professionally trained saleswoman greeted him warmly, her smile polished. "Good afternoon, sir. Is there something in particular you're looking for today?"
"Ironwing Bird blood," Su Yu replied flatly.
"Ironwing Bird..." she mused for a moment. "Ordinary blood or essence blood?"
A full-grown Ironwing Bird was massive and contained an enormous amount of blood. Most of it was ordinary, with only a few drops of true essence blood. The latter was far more valuable and useful.
Su Yu hesitated. He wasn't sure which one he needed. "Let me take a look at both."
"Certainly!"
She didn't ask further. Ironwing Birds weren't rare in the battlefields of the Myriad Clans. As part of the regular aerial forces used by powerful factions like gods and demons, their blood was somewhat common.
Soon, another employee brought out two transparent glass vials from behind a display case.
"This one's the regular blood. The other contains essence blood. Both came from Thousand Pound realm Ironwing Birds."
Seeing Su Yu studying the bottles, the saleswoman added helpfully, "If you're looking for Ten-Thousand Stone realm blood, I'm afraid we don't carry that here in Nanyuan. You'd have to visit the main branch in Great Xia Prefecture."
"Thousand Pound is fine," Su Yu said. He didn't need anything stronger—and even if he did, he probably couldn't afford it.
"How much?"
"The ordinary blood is cheap—5,000 coins a bottle. The essence blood, however, is significantly more expensive. A mature Ironwing Bird yields less than ten drops of it. One drop costs 50,000."
Su Yu frowned. That much?
"Thousand Pound beasts are cannon fodder on the battlefield. They die like flies. How can one drop of blood be this expensive?"
Still smiling, the saleswoman replied, "You're not wrong, sir. But transporting them from the Myriad Clan Battlefield to Great Xia Prefecture is extremely costly. Then there's extraction, preservation, distribution… taxes… All of that adds up. So, 50,000 isn't overpriced."
She continued, "Sure, out on the battlefield these things are practically worthless. If you're lucky, you can pick up dozens. But bringing them back? That's the real challenge. Only powerful firms like the Xia Family can manage it."
Su Yu was silent.
She had a point. On the battlefield, Thousand Pound beasts were everywhere, but during a battle, who had time to scavenge? And even if you did—could you transport them back safely?
Only a behemoth like the Xia Trading Company had the resources and backing to do that.
"I'll take a bottle of the regular blood… and one drop of essence blood," Su Yu finally said, heart aching.
If his father were around, and saw him spending over 50,000 like this right after leaving, he'd probably beat him to death.
"Certainly. Would you like to pay with card or cash?"
"Card."
Su Yu's expression didn't change, but inside he was bleeding. Fifty-five thousand! A sixth of his father's lifetime savings—gone in a single purchase.
"This is just a guess… If it ends up being useless, I'll have wasted so much."
Suddenly he asked, "Do you buy back Ironwing Bird blood?"
The woman blinked, then smiled. "Yes, we do. Regular blood is 1,000 coins per bottle, essence blood 10,000 per drop."
"..."
Su Yu nearly swore aloud.
What a scam!
Even though this was the Xia Clan's store—run by none other than Xia Longwu's family—he couldn't help but call it daylight robbery.
They offered only one-fifth of the original price to buy it back. Ridiculous.
Forget it. No point arguing with sales clerks—they were just doing their jobs and didn't set the prices. Complaining would be useless.
After swiping his card, he received a wooden box containing two glass vials.
One vial contained a single golden drop of blood. The drop swirled with energy, and Su Yu could almost see a tiny Ironwing Bird flapping its wings inside.
This was essence blood.
Essence blood from beast-type races often aided physical cultivation.
Consuming Ironwing Bird essence blood could help Thousand Pound warriors strengthen their bodies.
After opening the Origin Acupoints, humans entered the real path of cultivation. Thousand Pound and Ten-Thousand Stone realms focused on physical power.
Essence blood like this was useful for Thousand Pound cultivators, but not for those still in the Origin realm. In fact, it could be dangerous. Many cases had been recorded of people exploding after bathing in divine or demonic blood.
For those who hadn't yet opened all nine Origin Acupoints, spiritual energy couldn't circulate properly, and buildup inside the body was essentially poison.
Heavenly Origin Fruits, on the other hand, produced pure and gentle energy. That was different—less aggressive and much safer.
Just as Su Yu was lost in thought, the saleswoman reminded him, "Sir, if you haven't reached the Thousand Pound stage yet, do not consume the essence blood. It's very dangerous."
"I know. Thanks."
He casually asked, "Do you have Heavenly Origin Fruit here?"
"What?" The woman looked puzzled. "Sorry, we don't carry that. I'm not familiar with that item either."
Su Yu wasn't surprised. There were too many clans and too many types of treasures out there. He didn't expect a sales clerk to know everything. Knowing what they sold was already good enough.
"What about energy liquid?"
"That's not in stock either... It's hard to store and easily dissipates. The cost of preserving it is too high." She quickly explained, "It's available in Great Xia Prefecture. We used to sell it years ago, but the demand was low, so we stopped importing it."
"Oh. How much does it cost?"
"Last I heard, it was 100,000 coins per drop. Might be different now."
Noting his interest, she quickly tried to pitch alternatives. "If you're looking to accelerate your Origin realm cultivation, we do have other helpful items like Fire Pig Blood or Origin Pills—"
Su Yu rolled his eyes. What do you take me for, a newbie?
Those things claimed to help—but in truth, the benefit was minuscule. If normal cultivation speed was 100, these would maybe bump it to 101. Who would be foolish enough to spend tens of thousands for such a tiny boost?
He already knew all this. Only idiots with money to burn would go for it.
Of course, there was a market for it, or they wouldn't bother selling. At lower quantities, the price wasn't too outrageous, and some folks didn't mind paying for even the slightest edge.
Without further discussion, Su Yu took the wooden box and left.
He had what he came for.
Now... whether it would work—that was another matter entirely.
If it turned out to be useless, at least he hadn't consumed it yet—he could always sell it back. Sure, he'd take a loss, but it'd be better than wasting it completely.
…
Downstairs of the apartment complex.
Chen Hao was waiting at the entrance when he spotted Su Yu returning from outside.
"Hey, where'd you go?" Chen Hao asked curiously.
"Went to buy something," Su Yu replied.
"Oh… then let's head to school—"
"Not going."
"…"
Chen Hao looked devastated. "Not going? Didn't you say just yesterday you had to go? What changed?"
"I'm studying at home," Su Yu grinned. "You go on. Work hard and break through to the fourth level of the Kaiyuan Realm soon!"
Chen Hao was currently at the third Kaiyuan level. Since he couldn't qualify for the Civil or Research Academies, if he failed to make it into the War Academy, he'd be stuck entering the Internal Affairs Academy.
"But I…"
Su Yu cut him off before he could finish. After some coaxing and pushing, he finally managed to send Chen Hao off.
…
In the living room.
Su Yu sat staring at the two vials of blood, frowning in silence.
He had the blood now—but the question was, how to use it?
Swallow it?
Blood from a Thousand-Pound realm creature probably won't kill me… but it'll definitely injure me.
Should I wait for another dream? Let the Iron-Winged Bird kill me again? But… that dream only happens once every ten years. Do I really want to wait that long?
Su Yu was torn. He'd been all fired up when he bought it, but now that it was in his hands, hesitation crept in.
He'd finally gotten a small clue from last night's dream. He had resolved to take the risk if necessary. But now, at the moment of decision, he was chickening out a bit.
Maybe I can just apply it to my skin?
Without overthinking, Su Yu acted on the idea. As long as he didn't swallow it, the risk should be minimal.
Of course, it'd be foolish to try that with the essence blood. But with the regular blood? That should be safe.
He uncorked the bottle of regular blood, dipped a finger in, and smeared some across the back of his hand—then waited.
A few minutes later, he frowned. No reaction.
The blood was slowly evaporating!
Dammit, that's 5,000 coins a bottle!This stuff is supposed to help strengthen the body if taken in small amounts over time…What a waste.
"Totally useless…"
Maybe try ingesting just a little?
He leaned down and licked the smear off his hand, just a tiny bit. Again, he waited.
Still nothing.
So the regular blood is useless? Or maybe… I'm using it wrong?Or maybe I misunderstood everything from the start?
Su Yu was starting to feel a little regret. That was a lot of money.
Was I being reckless?
But that damn dream had tormented him for so many years… If a few tens of thousands could solve it, he wouldn't hesitate.
His gaze shifted toward the vial of essence blood. He still couldn't make up his mind.
There was only one drop. It looked like a piece of golden jade—impossible to split.
Which meant there was only one option: swallow it.
Topical application wouldn't work on this stuff.
Should I really do this? I'm only at Kaiyuan stage. If I swallow this, I might not die… but I'll definitely get seriously hurt.If I get hurt, forget reaching level four—I might not even maintain level three.
He was caught in a dilemma.
Over the years, the nightmares had made him more composed and decisive than most kids his age.
If not for his father being on the battlefield, he wouldn't even have considered applying to the War Academy.
But that damn dream had haunted him for too long. He needed answers.
Just one drop—it won't kill me…
Maybe I should try it?
Worst case, I get hurt. If that happens, I'll just skip the War Academy. Not like I had a great shot anyway.
As far as the Civil Academy goes, being at Kaiyuan Level 1, 2, or 3 doesn't make a huge difference.
Su Yu picked up the vial and studied the golden drop inside. It shimmered intensely under the light.
He hesitated for a moment, then uncorked the vial. The essence blood slid into his palm, heavy and solid like a small gemstone.
He clenched it tightly in his hand.
Still no reaction.
Maybe I should wait another day? Try to dream again? Maybe other monsters also respond to Iron-Winged Bird blood?
Or maybe… it only works today?
Every night brought a different dream, usually right at midnight. If today's window passed, he might not get another chance for years—maybe not in his lifetime.
His breathing grew uneven.
Then… I'll do it!
Worst case, I get injured. Then I'll go to the Civil Academy and study the Myriad Races. One day, I'll uncover the truth of these dreams!
He was ready to give up on the War Academy.
Faced with the choice between decoding his dream or chasing a slim chance of admission, Su Yu gritted his teeth—and chose the dream.
If he could crack it, maybe he'd gain something unexpected in return.
He grabbed his communicator and quickly typed out a message:"Come to my place. I've got something to tell you. If I don't answer the door, break it down."
He sent it to Chen Hao.
If anything went wrong—if he passed out or got seriously hurt—Chen Hao could get him to a hospital.
With everything in place, Su Yu clenched his teeth and shoved the essence blood into his mouth.
Pain? I'm not afraid of that!
"AHHH!"
A scream tore from his throat as searing pain shot through him. Tears welled up in his eyes—it hurt.
BOOM!
In the next instant, his head exploded with pain, vision blacked out, and he collapsed unconscious.
"Moonlight."
The Iron-Winged Bird reappeared—enormous wings blotting out the sky. Just like last night, and yet somehow… different.
And for the first time in over a decade…
The dream repeated.
The Iron-Winged Bird was back!