Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 164: Heroes Are As Many As Across The River

The live stream of the King of Youth finals has maintained its immense popularity amidst various debates and continues to spread.

The fourteen states of the Union often argue online due to regional customs and other factors.

Gao Wu was incredibly popular in Beizhou, but few people in other states paid him any attention.

This time, however, the situation is different. Dragon Energy is also promoting Raptor Energy Drink in various states. Since the promotion in the North State is so successful, Dragon Energy companies in other states have also become interested.

In addition, the fact that alien races appeared on a large scale for the first time in the high-level martial arts video gives the video itself a very special significance.

After communicating with Song Yunkun, Longteng Company in each state paid a symbolic copyright fee to promote Gao Wu's live-streaming videos on their respective state's online platforms.

With large companies driving the trend, the live-streamed video content has become incredibly popular, generating significant buzz across various states.

Gao Wu has gained considerable popularity, especially among teenagers.

Dragon Inc. in each state also took the opportunity to hold a "King of Youth" event to select the "King of Youth" for their state.

The immense honor of being the King of Boys is something no young man can resist.

There are even rumors that the fourteen states will jointly hold a "King of Youth" event to select the true King of Youth!
The massive publicity campaign reached all corners of the alliance. Gao Wu's reputation grew even stronger as a result.

At Zhongzhou Zhongjing University, in a tea room by the window, a young girl in white is quietly reading a book, while a cup of fragrant tea on the solid wood tea table emits a subtle aroma.

The girl had strikingly beautiful features and a graceful, well-proportioned figure. She simply sat there quietly, and the originally dim tea room suddenly became bright.

Guests entering the tea room would be immediately struck by the sight of the young woman, as if the ordinary tea room had suddenly become exceptionally elegant and luxurious.

Yan Qiushui didn't care about other people's opinions. She had grown up in the spotlight since she was a child, and she had long been used to it.

Strictly speaking, she could no longer perceive the gazes of ordinary people.

After reading for a while, Yan Qiushui turned her gaze to the maple trees outside the window. In late autumn in Zhongjing, the maple leaves turned from yellow to red, their colors vibrant and intense, perfectly complementing the bleakness of late autumn.

Just like the afterglow of the setting sun, the vitality of the world is blooming with its last brilliance, possessing a moving beauty.

Next year, the leaves will grow again, the flowers will bloom again, everything that has passed away is gone, and every new life is the renewal of another life.

It is precisely because life is so short that it evokes such感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep feelings). Because human life, too, is so short...

Yan Qiushui gazed thoughtfully at the late autumn scenery, not noticing that Tang Zhengyi had sat down opposite her.

"Autumn waters..."

The tall and burly Tang Zhengyi greeted him and asked curiously, "Contemplating life again?"

Before Yan Qiushui could speak, he clicked his tongue and said, "You're only eighteen, but you're as profound as an eighty-year-old woman. Is that interesting?"

Yan Qiushui, unperturbed by the teasing, slowly raised her teacup and took a sip: "What is it?"

Tang Zhengyi was the same age as her, and their families were quite close, practically family friends. They used to play together a lot when they were little, but after they turned seven or eight, Yan Qiushui thought Tang Zhengyi was too stupid and lost interest in taking care of children.

Even so, the two remained classmates and entered the Chukyo University Martial Arts Academy together.

Although the two don't play together, they are extremely close, just like brothers and sisters.

Yan Qiushui knew Tang Zhengyi very well. This kid was highly skilled in martial arts, tall and handsome, and came from a prominent family. He had no shortage of friends or girlfriends.

The fact that he suddenly came to find her means there must be something wrong.

"Have you seen that video of the boy king?" Tang Zhengyi asked.

"I didn't notice." Yan Qiushui rarely pays attention to the internet. She has too little time. Besides practicing martial arts, she also has to read and study. She mainly uses the internet to look up information.

She doesn't have time to watch those short online videos or read those fabricated social news stories; to her, these are all meaningless pieces of information.

Truly useful information is a complete knowledge system. Only by arming your mind with a solid, stable, and reliable knowledge system and anchoring yourself can you remain stable amidst the waves of information and obtain what you want.

If you can't do this, you'll only be swept up and impacted by online information, letting others guide your emotions and behavior.

Compared to the occasional flashes of brilliance from ordinary people that create humor, the knowledge systems created by masters and sages over thousands of years are far more fascinating, more worthy of exploration and learning, and from which one can derive endless joy and satisfaction.

Yan Qiushui does not discriminate against ordinary people who enjoy short videos or those boring, repetitive jokes.

Everyone has their own way of surviving and their own happiness. Others' happiness may be simple and superficial, but it is essentially no different from hers.

Tang Zhengyi knew Yan Qiushui well; it was normal that she didn't know. Tang Zhengyi took out his phone, pulled up the video, and handed it to Yan Qiushui.

The entire video content was less than a minute long, and Yan Qiushui watched it quickly. But she replayed it once, and then replayed it again after watching it once more.

After looking at it three times, Yan Qiushui finally returned the phone to Tang Zhengyi. Tang Zhengyi asked, "How was it?"

"His physique is also very strong. He can reach the level of a high-level warrior just by his physical qualities. His source energy value is also very high, possibly reaching more than six thousand, comparable to a high-level martial artist."

Yan Qiushui thought for a moment and said, "His mastery of the Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Dragon is not bad, and his sword is the best—a top-tier level six divine weapon." She added, "The video is too blurry; that's all I can make out."

"His name is Gao Wu, and he's known as the King of Youth!"

Tang Zhengyi sneered twice: "What an impressive title!"

"If you're jealous, then go challenge him. If he hasn't been hiding too much of his strength, you should be able to win easily," Yan Qiushui said calmly.

Tang Zhengyi was somewhat tempted, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "Forget it, this kid is in a military secret area, it would be a bit troublesome to go there."

"I'll see him at the Azure Dragon Cup at the end of December. I can just defeat him in public then. He's not worth me making a special trip for..."

Yan Qiushui nodded in agreement: "In Beizhou, only Grandmaster Lu Yuan is proficient in the Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Dragon. Gao Wu should be a disciple of Grandmaster Lu Yuan. However, the Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Dragon is best suited for using a spear, but he uses two swords. It seems that there is a secret sword called the Wandering Dragon Sword in the Northern Army, which is best suited for attack and killing."

She then added, "However, this kind of swordsmanship focuses solely on killing, which inevitably falls into a lower category. Weapons cannot be used in the Azure Dragon Cup. Without the power of divine weapons, I'm afraid even the top eight in the martial arts competition won't be able to make it."

Yan Qiushui shook her head slightly. Beizhou was, after all, a remote corner of the country. Although the Aurora Ice Plains was dangerous, there were no particularly powerful beasts.

Compared to martial arts in other states, Northern State is still quite behind in terms of level.

Just like Zhongzhou University, which has two seventh-level Martial Kings presiding over it, its level far surpasses all the colleges in Beizhou.

Although Song Xuetao was a Martial King, he was only skilled in combat and had no time to study martial arts. He was powerful himself, but it was difficult for him to teach powerful disciples.

For example, Dongzhou has a developed industry, Nanzhou has a prosperous economy, and Haizhou has developed foreign trade. These states have money and can continuously invest resources, and in recent years they have gradually widened the gap with Beizhou.

It's not just Beizhou; remote places like Linzhou, Shanzhou, and Yunzhou are also resource-poor, have small populations, and develop very slowly in all aspects, and can't cultivate any talent.

Geniuses need resources to grow. With a large enough pool of potential talents, more will eventually emerge. Many exceptional geniuses, lacking a suitable environment, will have their talents stifled and never have a chance to shine again.

This is the difference between being rich and being poor. The longer the time frame, the greater the gap becomes.

Yan Qiushui was not arrogant; she simply knew more information, which allowed her to make a calm judgment.

The martial arts expert in the video is indeed quite good; his fighting style is remarkably rhythmic, showing he has already grasped some of the true essence of martial arts. His occasional deliberate exertion was merely for visual effect.

He's a very smart boy!

Unfortunately, others were selected and given resources when they were seven or eight years old to train under martial arts masters, and every step they took was correct and steady.

If Gao Wu were truly exceptionally talented, he would have risen to prominence long ago. His current emergence only places him at the level of an ordinary genius. Compared to geniuses from other states, Gao Wu holds no advantage.

Yan Qiushui said to Tang Zhengyi, "There are several extremely powerful figures in Dongzhou, Nanzhou, and Haizhou. They are the real competitors."

"While you still have time, you should go to the secret realm to hone your skills. Your actual combat experience is still too lacking..."

"Hey, you're even more nagging than my mom."

Tang Zhengyi didn't want to listen anymore; he was really annoyed by Yan Qiushui's behavior.

Yan Qiushui nodded slightly in apology: "I talked too much, I'm sorry."

This made Tang Zhengyi a little embarrassed. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Qiu Shui, don't be like that. I was just joking."

He stood up and said, "I'm going to the secret realm to hone my martial arts. When the Azure Dragon Cup comes, I'll let all the country bumpkins know who the true king of youth is!"

Yan Qiushui nodded slightly, but she wasn't interested in saying anything and picked up the book to read by herself.

"Then I'm leaving..." Tang Zhengyi was a little bored, so he said goodbye and left in a hurry.

Gao Wu, who was thousands of miles away, had already left the secret realm and returned to his camp.

Such a high profile could potentially provoke retaliation from the demon god's followers. However, the limitations imposed on powerful individuals by the source energy of the secret realm are also real. These limitations are even more stringent than those in the real world.

Gao Wu felt that the secret realm might be safer, but he still complied with the military's wishes.

The military has extensive experience dealing with cult followers, so he shouldn't be so presumptuous.

Lying in his dormitory, Gao Wu looked at the ever-increasing merits on the Book of Immeasurable Merit, his heart filled with anticipation.

The live stream video spread very widely and was very popular, but the merit it brought was not as much as he had imagined.

This shows that many people do not approve of his killing of the white-haired werewolf, or do not think it is a good deed.

That's why, because of its high reach, quite a few people approved of his actions. As a result, his merits surged.

Given the current popularity, they should be able to accumulate 10 million merits in another day or two.

The Azure Dragon Divine Qi Mantra has raised my cultivation level, so even if I encounter a martial arts master in the 341 Secret Realm, he won't be afraid of me!

(End of this chapter)