The next moment, Henry Brooks swung his schoolbag and shouted, “I’ve already notified the Wind Enforcement Hall! If you’re not afraid to die, just stay! There are strong fighters upstairs and downstairs—get lost!”

　　“……”

　　Ethan Sutton was stunned.

　　Henry Brooks’s schoolbag whooshed through the air as he shouted, and there was some commotion both upstairs and downstairs.

　　Soon, someone upstairs yelled, “What’s going on?”

　　“Are those beasts from the Myriad Clans Cult here?”

　　“Outrageous!”

　　“Surround them!”

　　“……”

　　Ethan Sutton snapped out of it and hurriedly shouted, “It’s nothing, it’s nothing! Uncle Zhou, Henry Brooks was just joking with me, sorry, sorry!”

　　Very soon, an old man rushed over, holding a kitchen knife, pushed aside Henry Brooks who was blocking the door, and, seeing that Ethan Sutton was fine, finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, “I thought those beasts from the Myriad Clans Cult were here. Your dad just left, so be careful. If anything happens, call us anytime!”

　　With that, he slapped Henry Brooks on the head, leaving him dazed.

　　“Damn it, who told you to shout? Don’t yell for no reason. If those Myriad Clans Cult guys really come and next time we don’t take it seriously, wouldn’t that get someone hurt?”

　　The old man was quite annoyed, of course, not at Ethan Sutton, but at Henry Brooks.

　　“You brat from the Chen family, if you dare give a false alarm again, I’ll have your dad drag you downstairs, strip you, and hang you up for a beating!”

　　Henry Brooks looked miserable, wanting to explain, It wasn’t me!

　　It was Ethan Sutton!

　　That guy suddenly messaged me, told me to break in—how could I not overthink it?

　　So unfair!

　　Ethan Sutton got up, still feeling some pain in his body, but it was fine. Most of the power from the essence blood was probably absorbed by the atlas, so it was just a bit sore, not actually injured.

　　Not bothering with all that, Ethan Sutton quickly apologized. Uncle Zhou looked gratified, then couldn’t help but smack Henry Brooks on the head again.

　　Look at that, why is there such a big gap between you and the Su family kid?

　　So silly!

　　Henry Brooks was on the verge of tears!

　　Ethan Sutton also smiled wryly to himself, then quickly asked, “Did you really notify the Wind Enforcement Hall?”

　　“No, I was just scaring them!”

　　Henry Brooks was sulking. He didn’t even know if something had really happened—why would he notify the Wind Enforcement Hall?

　　“That’s good.”

　　Ethan Sutton breathed a sigh of relief. Henry Brooks grumbled, “What’s so good about it? Why did you send me that kind of message? I really thought something happened to you.”

　　At this moment, the uncles and aunties upstairs and downstairs, seeing that nothing was wrong, also gradually left.

　　Ethan Sutton let out a breath, pulled Henry Brooks inside, closed the door, and said, “I just felt a bit dizzy and was afraid I’d faint, so I messaged you. Didn’t I tell you to knock first?”

　　“Oh, are you okay?”

　　This time, Henry Brooks didn’t press further, but asked with some concern, “You’re not starving, are you? Uncle Su left—are you out of food?”

　　“How about you come eat at my place from now on? My dad even told me to invite you before, but I was afraid you’d feel awkward, so I didn’t say anything…”

　　Ethan Sutton couldn’t help but laugh. Would I really starve myself to death?

　　But he was a little touched. This guy might be naggy and a bit of a scatterbrain, but he really did care about his friend.

　　“It’s nothing. I just practiced the ‘Origin Opening Art’ too long last night, so I felt a bit unwell this morning. I’m fine now.”

　　“That’s good!”

　　Henry Brooks breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly said, “So are you going to school today? Or… how about you call the teaching instructor and say you’re sick, and I’ll go with you to the medical office, so you can help me get a leave of absence?”

　　“……”

　　Ethan Sutton’s earlier sense of gratitude vanished!

　　This guy is hopeless!

　　He doesn’t dare skip class himself, so he wants me to ask for leave for him.

　　“Get lost!”

　　With a laugh and a curse, Ethan Sutton thought for a moment and said, “No need for leave, I’m going to school today. I just happen to have something to do at the academy.”

　　“You’re going too?”

　　Henry Brooks was a bit confused. Why are you so unpredictable?

　　Earlier you said you weren’t going, now you are. Are all smart people this fickle?

　　Ethan Sutton couldn’t be bothered with him. He was going to the academy to look for a way to get some Ironwing Bird essence blood or other types of essence blood—something cheap.

　　The Xia Trading Company is so greedy!

　　One drop costs fifty thousand, and with what little money Ethan Sutton had left, it wasn’t even enough to fill the gap.

Chapter 8: The Fire of Civilization

　　Nanyuan Intermediate Academy.

　　Henry Brooks went to the pre-exam class—he had to attend class. Ethan Sutton headed straight for the resources office.

　　……

　　“Ethan Sutton, you want to exchange for Ironwing Bird essence blood?”

　　The resources office manager was a bit surprised. “Essence blood from the Thousand Jun realm is only useful for Thousand Jun cultivators. For Origin Opening, it’s not just useless—it’s actually poisonous. Why do you want this?”

　　“Mr. Zhang, is it possible to exchange for it?”

　　Ethan Sutton smiled. “You know I’ve always been researching information on the Myriad Clans. The Ironwing Bird is one I’ve studied a lot, so I want to buy some essence blood for research. But it’s too expensive, so I came to ask at the academy…”

　　“It’s possible, I suppose. Over the past few years, you’ve earned a total of 18 Myriad Clans language certificates. Besides the three mandatory ones, the other 15 each come with a reward, so that’s 15 merit points. You also have 3 points for reaching Origin Opening Tier 3, so that’s 18 merit points in total…”

　　The resources manager checked the records and quickly said, “But you’ve already spent 6 points, all at the library. That leaves you with 12 points.”

　　“Yes, I know.”