Chapter 846: Benevolent Father And Filial Son (1)
Restore scroll position
Inside the reception room, Su Long stared at Su Yu silently. As for Su Yu, he was sipping tea in a leisurely manner.
After a while, he nonchalantly asked, "What is it? Brother, why are you staring at me? Is there anything interesting on my face?"
"Brother?" With an odd look in his eyes, Su Long said, "Are you sure you should be calling me brother?"
"Big Brother!"
Chen Long exclaimed gloomily. Holy shit. Please don't mess around. His big brother was quite cautious normally. What was up with him today? To be honest, this young man was already being very respectful by calling him brother. Was his big brother not aware of his own cultivation level?
Chen Long was just about to say something when Su Yu blanked out. What? What was the meaning of that? Him calling his old man brother...cough, cough, was indeed inappropriate. But he was currently Cui Lang.
He was a pseudo earth weaponsmith. He was already showing a lot of respect calling a mere Skysoar brother. It seemed like...there was a hidden meaning behind those words of his father.
Su Yu suddenly felt extremely gloomy. Was he so bad that he couldn't even hide his disguise from a Skysoar anymore? It wasn't even a strong Skysoar. His old man was a weak 36-acupoint Skysoar. Was he really that bad?
Despite what he was thinking, he didn't wait for Chen Long to explain. He said, "Fine. This...General Chen, is this your subordinate?"
He was being truthful. He did not know about the relationship between Su Long and Chen Long. But...something seemed odd. What did Chen Long call his father earlier? Big brother? What was the meaning of that?
Also, why was his father even here? He was very confused. He had been busy thinking of a way to approach Chen Long and infiltrate the Devil Subduing Army to meet his father. But his father had actually been delivered right to his face.
Su Long remained silent. Chen Long hurriedly explained, "This is my previous leader, also my big brother. He's here to ask you about someone, Master Cui."
"Previous leader?"
Su Yu was stunned yet again. He had the urge to curse. What were they talking about? Previous leader? His father had retired from the military eighteen years ago. This was the nineteenth year since his previous retirement.
At that time, he was a team leader as a Great Strength cultivator. In short, this fellow was weaker than his father back then? He used to be weaker than a middle-stage Great Strength cultivator. But in nineteen years, he had reached the Mountainsea Realm.
Su Yu was very surprised. And he became a lot more solemn. Since Chen Long was around the second or third stage of the Mountainsea Realm, he must have entered the Mountainsea Realm in about fifteen years.
Since he was a comrade of Su Yu's father, he must be a commoner. He might not have graduated from any academy at all. A common soldier like this had grown into the Mountainsea Realm in only fifteen years.
Even among pure warriors, he could already be considered a top genius. A lot of the so-called geniuses in the academies wouldn't even be as talented. Su Yu was greatly shocked. Holy shit. If it wasn't for him, his father might have done very well for himself in the army as well. After all, he had a Mountainsea as his little brother.
But Su Yu was still slightly skeptical. He didn't doubt the identity of this Chen Long. Rather, he doubted that a Mountainsea would willingly remain the little brother of a Skysoar. Was this an arrangement of the Xia Family?
Or was it someone else? Did someone send Chen Long to his father's side? He maintained the same expression while thinking about all that. Meanwhile, Su Long continued staring at Su Yu. When he saw Su Yu lifting the cup of tea and taking a sip from it out of sheer habit, he curled his lips.
The more he looked, the more this person resembled his son. That was how his son had always been. When he was deep in thought, he would drink or eat something to cover it up. Was he deep in thought?
Was he shocked to see that his old man had a Mountainsea little brother? This was most definitely his son.
The more he looked, the more sure Su Long was. The look in this fellow's eyes, the way he carried himself, and the minute details of how he moved. All these were things that people would not notice unless they were absolutely familiar with Su Yu. But who was Su Long?
He was someone who had raised Su Yu from a baby. One's face could be changed. One's voice could be changed. But a lot of mannerisms would remain.
Su Yu stopped thinking about all that. He said, "General Chen, what do you wish to ask me about?"
Chen Long hurriedly said, "We wish to ask about Su Yu. The same person who has left Great Xia to join Great Ming. Su Yu is my nephew and the son of my big brother. Master Cui, you're from Great Ming as well. Do you know Su Yu?"
"..."
What? He had gained an uncle out of nowhere. He found that he had gained a lot of random relatives out of nowhere recently. First, there was the grandfather-in-law. Then, there was the martial mother. And now, he got himself a new uncle as well.
He was grumbling inwardly, but he revealed a shocked expression as he exclaimed, "Su Yu's father?"
He looked at Su Long with astonishment and said, "Is this Su Yu's father? No wonder. In that case, I should call you uncle instead. I met Su Yu before. We're quite close..."
Chen Long exclaimed in joy, "Master Cui, you know that nephew of mine?"
"Of course." Su Yu said, "Nobody in Great Ming doesn't know him. Who doesn't know Elder Su? Of course, we're brothers. I met him several times before and we got along very well."
Su Long suddenly interrupted, "Did he ever tell you how old he was when he used to wet his bed due to nightmares?"
"..."
Silence descended.
Nobody said a single word. Su Yu looked incomparably awkward. What was this? Chen Long was also stupefied. What was his big brother doing? Was it appropriate to embarrass his son in front of someone else?
"When he first started getting his nightmares, he was six. He peed on his bed when he was already six years old. Do you know that?"
"..."
Su Yu awkwardly said, "Uhm...Junior Brother Su never told me about that. Uncle, I suggest you not mention this anymore."
Su Long nodded and went into silence. It was fine. He would test this fellow again later. Meanwhile, Su Yu was sweating profusely. Good heavens. Did his father see through his disguise? Why did this feel so weird?
Why would his old man mention such an embarrassing incident in front of an outsider out of nowhere?
Chen Long was losing his mind. He hurriedly sent a voice transmission, "Big Brother, please stop saying all those random things. What is up with you today? I'm trying to ask about that nephew of mine. Please stop making trouble for me!"
What was his big brother doing? No matter what, this was a master weaponsmith. Could his big brother show more respect? Things would be difficult for him if they ended up offending this weaponsmith.
His big brother wasn't this unreliable normally. Did he go crazy from missing his son too much? Was that why he lost control after seeing an acquaintance of his son? Official source ıs NoveI★Fire.net
He stopped wondering and hurriedly made an excuse for his big brother, "My big brother is a straightforward person. Please don't mind him, Master Cui. Since you know Su Yu, can I ask you about my nephew? How is he doing currently? I heard he was injured and has been in seclusion since then."
Su Yu said, "He's doing well. He has recovered considerably. The last time I saw him, he had nearly fully healed himself. Both the prefect and my teacher, Principal Niu, will take good care of him in Great Ming. He is very important to both of them. He also befriended some experts and got himself appointed as the honorary elder. He has also been earning millions of merit points easily. With both wealth and fame, he's living very well there."
Su Long suddenly interrupted, "Since he's living so well, why didn't he send some good stuff over to his old man?"
Chen Long: "..."
Su Yu: "..."
Su Long continued with a grudging tone, "He has so many cultivation methods. Why hadn't he sent his old man any of them? Is this how a filial son should act?"
"..."
Since Su Long was scolding his own son, Chen Long didn't know what to say. As for Su Yu, he was also completely speechless.
Su Long said, "When he planned his escape after encountering an enemy he couldn't beat, why hadn't he thought of seeking help from the Devil Subduing Army? Why did he run off so rashly? What would happen to him if that Great Ming Perfect refused to help him?"
"..."
Su Yu was feeling very helpless. The Devil Subduing Army wasn't too strong. That was especially true for those staying behind in the Human Realm. He heard that they only had a single Mountainsea in the entire Human Realm. What the hell could they do?
Did his old man think that Mountainseas were very impressive? Was his old man not aware that there were Sunmoons among those trying to kill him?
Su Yu coughed awkwardly and said, "You're right, Uncle. Brother Su might have neglected all that."
Su Long nodded. With the same grudging tone, he looked at Su Yu and said, "Before he ran, why hadn't he notified his father? Ask him for me. Has he forgotten that he has a father? Is that unfilial son waiting for his father to die on the battlefield?"
"I don't think so."
"Oh?"
Su Long gnashed his teeth and glared at Su Yu.
"Why hadn't he sent even one letter to his father, then?"
"Cough, cough. About that, he must not have thought of doing so. Or maybe he's worried that the letter will get intercepted."
"Why hasn't he told me about the two daughters-in-law he found me?"
"..."
Holy shit! Nonsense! Su Yu was stunned. When did he get himself two wives?
"He's also planning to marry into the Zhu Family. Is that little rascal trying to infuriate me to death?"
"..."
That was utter bullshit! Zhu Qingyan was the only woman of suitable age in the Zhu Family. And he had zero interest in that woman!
Su Yu didn't feel like talking anymore. He was now certain that his father had seen through his disguise. He felt completely disheartened. He even felt despair.
How was it possible that someone other than Invincible could see through his amazing disguise? Just not long ago, a high-stage Sunmoon had also seen through his disguise. Was his disguise so bad?
Or was his father an Invincible? How was it possible otherwise? Also, his father had nearly exposed him. Was this Chen Long even trustworthy?
In truth, Su Yu did not trust Chen Long. He didn't know what his father was thinking. But since his father was so confident in Chen Long, perhaps this person was indeed trustworthy.
At this point, Chen Long finally realized that something wasn't right as well. He looked at his big brother suspiciously before looking at Cui Lang. After a long while, he decided to stay silent. These two seemed to be getting along well? In that case, they should keep at it.
Just what was going on? Could it be that Cui Lang was Su Yu's best friend? But how did his big brother reach that conclusion from this exchange?
Chapter 847: Benevolent Father And Filial Son (2)
After a while, Su Long sighed and said, "Is that kid really doing well?" Googlᴇ search NoveI-Fire.ɴet
"Yes. He's doing pretty well."
"How's his injuries?"
"That's nothing to worry about."
After a short silence, Su Long asked, "Can he take me away? Or should I ask if I'll bring him any trouble staying here? For example, will some people use me as hostage?"
Su Yu thought about it and shook his head, "It will be fine for now. Brother Su's relationship with the Xia Family has yet to deteriorate to the lowest point. His relationship with Prefect Xia's son is quite good as well. Of course, if you continue staying here when chaos descends upon the Xia Family, things might get dangerous."
"Chaos in Xia Family?" Chen Long couldn't help but ask, "Master Cui, what do you mean by that?"
Chaos in Xia Family?
Su Yu calmly said, "I'm not trying to hint at something. Prefect Xia Longwu is trying to affirm his dao. And that naturally comes with its troubles. You must know this as well. In that case, it is only a matter of time before the Xia Family sinks into chaos."
Chen Long sank into silence.
That was true. Everyone had merely been unwilling to think about it. He confidently declared, "The prefect will succeed! Great Xia King is also still around. The Xia Family will be fine!"
Su Yu did not argue, but Su Long did keep that in mind. Things might get troublesome during Xia Longwu's dao affirmation. If he was still here at that time, he might cause some trouble for his son.
Su Long decided that there was a more pressing matter. He asked, "Why didn't he tell me before getting himself two wives?"
"He didn't!"
Su Yu was feeling very aggrieved. When did he get married?
Su Long gloomily said, "He even created something like Double Wu Acupoint Fusion Art. He used the surname of those two for a cultivation method so powerful. Why bother denying?"
Su Yu helplessly explained, "I heard from Brother Su that he used that name because his senior sister and the second young miss of Wu Family contributed a lot during the research."
"..."
Father and son continued the question and answer session. Beside Su Long, Chen Long had an odd look in his eyes. Holy shit! Just what was going on here?
Why was Master Cui acting as obedient as his big brother's son? Why was Master Cui answering every single question? Wasn't this supposed to be an arrogant expert weaponsmith? Back during their first meeting, this Master Cui was still incomparably arrogant.
Chen Long was losing his mind. He was confused. But he also had a slight guess of a possibility in his mind. But he didn't dare to believe that. Impossible!
This was a pseudo earth weaponsmith and a Cloudbreach. At thirty-five, this person could be considered a freak. But if this person was nineteen instead...he would be more than a freak. He would be a monster. A super monster.
Chen Long's mind was in a mess.
Su Yu's mind was also in a mess. What was his father doing? Why was he asking all these stupid questions?
Suddenly, Su Long asked, "Why are you here?"
"To see some people and do something."
Su Long frowned, "Foolish! Running around during times like this is the same as courting death!"
"Things aren't that dangerous."
"Not that dangerous? If that was true, would he lack the courage to even meet his father?"
Suddenly, Su Long frowned, "Is he being monitored?"
He was alarmed. Would he expose his son by saying all that?
However, Su Yu wasn't too worried. He could notice any Sunmoon trying to spy on him. Sure, he wasn't able to notice the spying of Invincibles, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it even if he noticed.
He was only worried about Chen Long. Otherwise, he would have greeted his father with his real identity long ago. Then again, after all that, his identity was as good as exposed before Chen Long. His father sure had a lot of trust in Chen Long.
After thinking about it, he shook his head and said, "No. I'm only worried...about...uhm...isn't this too risky?"
Su Long understood what his son was trying to say. He looked at Chen Long and said, "Little Chen, did Great Xia send you to monitor me?"
"..."
Chen Long was left speechless. He said, "Big Brother, I went looking for you back before my nephew even started causing all those troubles. Are you saying that I'm a prophet? Or are you saying that the Xia Family is capable of seeing the future?"
"True." Su Long laughed, "Little Chen, am I still your big brother?"
"Of course."
"If that's true, I want you to scold the Xia Family verbally. Call them all bastards."
"..."
That was way too ruthless.
Chen Long was so stressed his entire face turned red. After a long while, he said, "Big Brother, don't be like that. I owe a lot to the prefect and Xia Family. I can't do something like this. You are you, and the Xia Family is the Xia Family. One is my big brother while the other is my benefactor. Please don't make things difficult for me, Big Brother."
Su Long snorted and said, "Who's your benefactor? Back then, I idolized the prefect as well. But subsequently, they caused my son to run away from his homeland during the new year. From then on, they have been an eyesore for me."
Chen Long nodded helplessly, "Yes. In regards to that, the Xia Family was at fault."
He didn't want to comment on all the other issues. He looked at Cui Lang again. At this moment, he finally understood what was going on. He was extremely shocked. So it was him!
Su Yu!
This was too much of a surprise. Cui Lang was actually Su Yu! That nineteen years old nephew of his was actually a Cloudbreach, a pseudo earth weaponsmith, a researcher, an honorary elder, the successor of the multiple character faction, the root of some of the troubles in Great Xia, and also the cause of the deaths of several Sunmoons.
What a crazy kid. He was only nineteen! How did his big brother produce a son like this? Was there a mistake somewhere?
Su Yu's identity had yet to be fully exposed, but it was as good as fully exposed. Su Long ignored Chen Long and beckoned, "Come here."
Su Yu stood up and walked over.
"Crouch."
Su Yu was feeling very helpless. Why did he feel like he was a dog being trained?
He could only helplessly crouch down.
Pa!
A slap landed on his head as Su Long said, "I told you to study hard, not run around causing so much trouble. Have you ever listened to me?"
Su Yu's forehead was swollen, but he said nothing. Sure, he could slap his father to death with one hit, but--cough, cough. He should keep such thoughts out of his mind.
"I want to be obedient as well, but what can I do if some people insist on bullying me?"
"Where's your brain? Weren't you good at borrowing the strength of others to do your bidding? Weren't you good at hiding in the background? Why are you standing at the very front now?"
Su Yu gloomily said, "That was what I did. Since I couldn't borrow the strength of Great Xia, I had to borrow some outside strength. If I don't stand in front, who would be willing to help me with my puny cultivation? I had no choice but to give out some benefits to gain some assistance."
Su Long nodded. He helplessly said, "It's that damn Liu Wenyan. Damn him! What the fuck did he do? If I knew he was such a troublemaker, I wouldn't have looked for him back then. I bought him multiple meals and several bottles of expensive liquor to get him to accept you as a student. What a waste."
He was feeling immense regret. He shouldn't have done all that for a bastard like Liu Wenyan.
Su Yu exclaimed in surprise, "You did all that? When? Why wasn't I aware?"
"What a stupid question." Su Long said, "Would he be so kind to you without all those benefits? Damn it. If I knew he would be such a troublesome individual, I would have given him nothing. In fact, I would take the initiative to chase him away even if he was the one to visit us."
Su Yu rolled his eyes. His father wasn't Teacher Liu's match. This old man should stop bluffing. Meanwhile, Chen Long was staring at the ceiling silently, pretending he didn't exist. He had yet to recover from his shock.
Alas, Su Yu decided to involve him in the conversation. "When did you get a Mountainsea as your little brother?"
Su Long had a gloomy look as he said, "How am I supposed to know that? After I left the army, this fellow became the new team leader. He brought our brothers around and fought numerous battles. By a stroke of luck, he killed a Skysoar and received a heavenly reward. That was the start of the rapid rise of him and the brothers under him. Eventually, they all entered the Cloudbreach and Mountainsea Realms. I would have stayed in the army if I knew that would happen."
"Heavenly reward?"
Su Yu was surprised. Incredible. How did they manage to kill a Skysoar?
Chen Long could no longer pretend he didn't exist. He gloomily said, "A Skysoar was fighting someone else. He ended up seriously injured. I brought our brothers over and killed him after great effort. We even lost a few brothers during the process. Then, the heavenly laws rewarded us with a decent amount of heavenly source qi. We didn't even know what that was. We merely absorbed it like it was regular source qi. Not long after, I entered the Skysoar Realm."
It was that simple. With his newly gained strength, he was able to lead even more soldiers. With a bigger team, he was able to kill more enemies for more rewards. In that manner, he snowballed into the Mountainsea Realm.
Of course, there was no need mention everything in detail. After all, he had discovered that he was nothing compared to Su Yu. So what if he was a Mountainsea?
Wasn't he still here fawning on this so-called Master Cui? Wasn't he still here bending over obediently?
But after all the effort he put into fawning over this fellow, they were telling him that this was Su Yu? He was still having a hard time processing that. He wanted to just shut down and stop thinking.
Su Long smiled and said, "Don't worry. This guy is quite reliable. Before my son got famous, I slapped this guy a few times without thinking about it. And he didn't even do anything about it even though he was already a Mountainsea. So I trust him."
"..."
Chen Long said nothing. So his big brother knew that? The way his big brother was acting, he almost thought his big brother was completely unaware of his loyalty toward his brothers.
Su Yu nodded, "How are you doing here?"
"Not bad. I am eating and sleeping well. But it's a pity I can't go to the frontlines anymore. The myriad races would go crazy if they saw me. Did you rob their ancestral tombs or something for them to hate you that much?"
"No. But I will do that one day." Su Yu grinned, "Our old house is still there, but some people have broken into it. I killed a few of them, but I stopped at that since things have gotten very messy. It's fine. I'm now rich. I have a research center worth hundreds of thousands of merit points in Great Ming. Including everything else I have, I'm worth millions of merit points. Am I amazing?"
Su Long thought about it and said, "Even if the house isn't that expensive, it is still worth something. It's mine. I still have the deeds for it. Even if we blow it up or something, we won't be giving it to others."
"Of course. I won't agree to that as well."
"How about that two wives of yours?"
"I don't have any wives. They're my friends."
"Really?"
"Yeah..."
Pa!
Chapter 848: Benevolent Father And Filial Son (3)
Su Long gave Su Yu another slap and regretfully said, "What an unfilial son. I thought you already got yourself two wives. That way, it will be fine if you die so long as you leave some descendants behind. But you're still single? Don't you feel sorry?"
Su Yu had the urge to roll his eyes. He did not feel sorry at all. So what if he was single? Seriously!
Su Long gave him another slap and asked, "Is life difficult outside? Is Great Ming really good toward you or are they faking it? If they're faking it, just find a chance to run away. I heard that Great Qin is recruiting as well. You might need to work harder there, but nobody dares to provoke Great Qin King."
Su Yu said, "It's fine. They're treating me well. Don't worry."
Su Long nodded, "Is anyone monitoring me?"
"Yeah, but it's not that bad. It's only a Sunmoon and several Mountainseas. I thought there would be several Sunmoons, but I was wrong."
Su Yu nonchalantly said, "This is lower than my expectation, but Great Xia is still taking your security seriously. Of course, I only know about those who are here. I don't know if there are more of them further away. Maybe there are more, but they don't have the courage to extend their senses here. After all, I'm now a person of status. If they offend me with excessive prying, I can make life difficult for them."
Pa!
After giving Su Yu yet another slap, Su Long said, "You're getting very cocky nowadays, aren't you? Are you saying that I'm garbage and deserve to be under constant monitoring? Would I be in so much trouble if it wasn't for you, you son of a turtle?"
Su Yu remained silent. If he was the son of a turtle...well, he probably shouldn't say what he thought about that.
After a while, Su Long sighed and said, "When are you taking me away? This damn place is not a good place for me to stay. The moment the Xia Family decides to turn against you, they can easily take me hostage and get you under control."
"You can stay for now. When I have enough strength, I'll come for you. Leaving now might cause some trouble. I also need to do something else for now."
"Fine." Su Long nodded and said, "If you need to do something dangerous, you can let Little Chen do it for you. No matter what, he's a Mountainsea. He is probably good enough to run some minor errands for you. If he's not good enough, there are experts in the Devil Subduing Army as well. He has a lot of respect so you can get him to solicit more help from those experts."
With him being mentioned again, Chen Long was forced to stop acting like he wasn't there so he said, "Yeah. You can look for me if you need any help."
Su Yu said directly, "Forget it. Uncle Chen is too weak. It's better for him to stay away from my affairs."
"..."
Holy shit! Chen Long felt like punching someone in the face. Him? Too weak? Was he weak? He was a genius Mountainsea of the arrmy! This damn kid was only a Cloudbreach! Why was he so cocky?
Su Yu smiled and didn't bother explaining himself. He didn't want Chen Long to get involved in his affairs. And he was speaking the truth. Was a Mountainsea very strong?
Was a second or third stage Mountainsea really so strong? Sure, that was pretty strong. But the problems plaguing could not be resolved by a mere Mountainsea. Even a Sunmoon like Hong Tan was slowly sinking into despair because of these problems. Thus, it was better for Chen Long to not get involved in the first place.
Su Long sighed, "Yeah. Little Chen is indeed a tad bit too weak. What a pity."
Chen Long stared at the two. Screw them! One was a Skysoar while the other was a Cloudbreach. Why were they saying that about him? He was confident he could defeat ten of them alone!
Suddenly, Su Yu said, "It's not too late for you to start cultivating something better now. But I'm worried that the rapid growth will cast some suspicion on you. Hmm...Maybe you can try to cultivate slowly after I leave this place."
He then took out a pile of items.
"I have ten thousand drops of source qi liquid here. Just use them as required.
"These are earthly source fruits. They can help with acupoint opening. They are quite redundant since I have better treasures to open acupoints.
"These are all heaven-grade cultivation methods. Just cultivate whichever you want. In truth, the Source Soul Acupoint Opening Art alone is enough.
"This is a body forging art that can forge your body thirty-six times. It is quite difficult to cultivate, but it's fine. I have some heavenly source qi here. You can use it for your body forging. It is much more effective than the blood essence of divines and devils."
"..."
Instantly, Su Yu took out a bunch of treasures, including some heavenly source qi. He did not give them an exact number of items he had taken out. He covered everything in layers of shadow barriers. He was worried that Chen Long would get greedy and do something stupid after seeing what exactly he was giving to Su Long.
These things were simply too valuable.
Su Yu continued, "This is an early profound martial weapon. This is a middle profound weapon. This is a high profound weapon. This is a peak profound weapon...
"This is a set of early profound armor. It isn't too good. But I also have a set of peak profound armor. I will give it to you later, but don't expose it in public since some people are aware that I'm the owner of that set.
"This is a Mountainsea talisman. You can toss it out if you encounter any trouble. It can't kill a Mountainsea, but it can delay a Mountainsea for a short moment.
"This is a merit card with a hundred thousand merit points. Keep it with you. You can use it for any emergencies.
"These are support talismans. There are speed enhancement, healing, strength enhancement...and other talismans among them. Take them all."
"..."
He introduced the functions of numerous items to his father before putting them all back into a storage ring. He then passed the ring to his father and said, "Take this. Keep it hidden instead of wearing it on your finger. Don't show it to anyone. You can consider hiding it on your private part to be safe.
"Also, don't use any of them for now since some people are monitoring you. I'll try to...wait, forget it. They are here to protect you. Just start using them after I leave. It will be fine."
"..."
Su Long nodded. He had a calm expression, but inwardly, he was greatly shocked. But as the father, he had to maintain his calm. Meanwhile, Chen Long's mouth was wide agape.
Holy shit!
How fucking rich was this kid? All these things together were probably worth hundreds of thousands of merit points!
After spending his entire life on the battlefield, he hadn't even seen a card with a hundred thousand merit points in it. He felt like his horizons had expanded after seeing just how rich a person could be. For origınal chapters go to novel★fire.net
Su Yu was still quite worried. He looked at Chen Long and smiled, "Uncle Chen, I have some gifts for you as well. Don't mind them. They're not that valuable. If my dad remains safe until the day I take him away, I will be very thankful. A few hundred thousand merit points are nothing to me. I'm never stingy when I need to spend money."
Chen Long frowned, and Su Long gave Su Yu a slap. He said, "Are you doubting your father's eyes? It will be fine."
Su Yu smiled and said nothing.
Su Long said, "It's good to be cautious. Making threats and promises when needed is also not a bad thing. But you can't only talk about the benefits. You need to make the threat clear as well. For example, say that you will crush him with only a finger if I die or something like that."
"Big Brother!" Chen Long felt very helpless. At this point, he could no longer continue acting clueless. He said, "Nephew, this...is really very shocking for me. I've never expected that you would visit your father with this identity."
Su Yu asked, "Did Great Qin King send you to me?"
Chen Long was stunned. After a while, he nodded, "Yeah. I was in the middle of an award ceremony when he suddenly said that I was allowed to recruit a pseudo earth weaponsmith due to my great contributions."
"So he's aware that I'm here." Su Yu exhaled and said, "I hope that's not a bad thing. Whatever. I'll leave everything to fate. He has probably expected me to meet my father with this arrangement of his. An Invincible is indeed different. With one look, he was able to see so many things."
Chen Long nodded in agreement. Since it was a visitor from Great Ming, he would most definitely look for Su Long. Even if he didn't bring Su Long over, Su Yu would still find a way to meet Su Long through him.
At that thought, Chen Long exclaimed, "Invincibles are indeed terrifying."
Su Long said, "Do you have a ruin? Why don't you give it to Great Qin King for protection?"
He didn't care about something like a ruin. For him, the life of his son was more important. If needed, they should give up on the ruin for safety.
Su Yu smiled, "Yes, but I have yet to dig it out. Great Xia is occupying the place. It's right under my bed. I'll find a chance to dig it out one day."
Su Long blanked out. After a long while, he said, "Isn't our house on the third floor?"
Their house was directly above a different house.
"Father, you don't understand. Have you heard of the saying that a world is contained within every speck of dust?"
Pa!
Su Long gave his son yet another slap. "Have you learned to talk back to your father now?"
How dare his son talk back to him?
Su Yu was feeling very gloomy. Nobody had ever beaten him like that. How dare a mere 36-acupoint Skysoar hit him? With one punch--fine, fine. Whatever. It didn't hurt. In fact, he wondered if his father's hand would hurt after hitting him.
No matter what, he had completed eleven body forgings while his father had yet to complete even one body forging. At that moment, their gazes met. Su Long stealthily rubbed his hand. Holy shit. Why was this little rascal's head so tough?
In truth, he was quite happy to see his son standing safely in front of him. He only gave his son a few slaps to ensure himself that this was real. Well, from the pain in his hand, this was very real. His hand was starting to bruise.
"Dad, how did you recognize me?"
Su Yu couldn't resist asking. Was his disguise not good enough?
"I would recognize you even if you turned into ash."
Su Long hurriedly spat after saying that. Why was he saying something so inauspicious? He had barely stopped talking when Su Yu turned into a puddle of water and asked, "Dad, can you still recognize me?"
"..."
Chen Long couldn't resist and laughed. Holy shit. Were these two conducting a comedy show?
"You—"
Su Long was stunned. Was his son messing with him? How the fuck was he supposed to recognize the kid like this? What in the world was this?
A short while later, Su Yu returned to Cui Lang's appearance. He looked smug and contended. Hah! His father couldn't recognize him, right? His father should learn to stop bluffing. Recognize him even as ash? Bullshit.
Both of them were actually very excited and emotional due to this reunion, but they were both suppressing their emotions. Su Yu's fooling around and Su Long's endless vulgarities were all for the sake of venting their emotions.
It had been over a year. Both of them had experienced way too much. They had been saddened by their separation. They had also been worrying about each other. After over a year apart, they were finally reunited.
No words could describe the joy in their hearts. And no words could even begin to describe the pain they had endured before this. They were finally reunited, but they couldn't even stay together for long.
The moment Su Yu said that he needed to leave and do something, Su Long knew that his son couldn't stay here with him. Before long, his son would be separated from him again.
He wanted to give his son some advice, but he didn't know what to say. He was worried and sad, and all his emotions were released through those slaps on his familiar yet unfamiliar son.
This person gave him the familiar feeling of his son, but he also had the appearance of an unfamiliar person. When would they be able to openly meet each other?
Su Long had no answer. Only sadness filled his heart. His child...was now an adult.
Chapter 849: Farewell Once Again (1)
Inside the room.
After saying all they had to say and handing over the things Su Yu had prepared, the two sank into silence.
After a long while, Su Long said, "There are things you need to do. I can't help you with that. Since nobody is monitoring us, let me cook you a meal."
Su Yu felt like someone was gripping his heart. His thoughts were in a mess. After a long while, he nodded, "Alright. I've been missing your red braised pork."
How long had it been? After cooking him that final meal in Nanyuan, his father had left for the Allheaven Battlefield. Today, he was finally able to eat another meal cooked by his father. When would he get to eat a meal prepared by his father again after this?
There was a kitchen in Su Yu's residence. Numerous food ingredients were already available, so they didn't even need to get someone to buy anything for them. Su Long started cooking in the kitchen.
Su Yu stood nearby and watched silently. Not far away, Chen Long silently moved his gaze away from the two. Father and son stopped talking. They were no longer playing jokes on each other.
Su Long was very familiar with cooking. In less than half an hour, several dishes were prepared.
"Eat."
"Alright."
Su Yu picked up the chopsticks and started stuffing the food down his throat. But as he ate, tears started dripping down his eyes. He lowered his head, not wanting his father and Chen Long to notice that.
"Dad, the meat isn't fresh...
"This isn't salty enough. It's not that delicious.
"Dad, your cooking skills have declined."
"..."
Su Yu started complaining about the food while choking with emotions. He didn't want to cry. He had never cried even when Sunmoons were trying to kill him. But for some reason, he couldn't hold his tears back.
"Cook better next time."
Su Long was not a smoker. But today, he took out a pack of cigarettes out of nowhere and lit one of the cigarettes before taking a seat beside Su Yu. While smoking, he said, "Eat more. You need food to grow your body. Don't think that you can stop eating just with your cultivation.
"Don't worry about me. No matter what, the Xia Family will protect me. Unless they fully descend into chaos and people like Great Xia King are all dead, nothing will happen to me. But at that point, the entire Human Realm would be in chaos as well. There would be nowhere safe for me. Running or staying would not make a difference."
Suddenly, Su Long choked on the smoke and coughed. After a while, he continued, "I won't come again after this. One visit is fine, but more visits will invite suspicion. Don't agree to Chen Long's request. Why should you help the Devil Subduing Army for no reason? There is no need for you to keep in touch with him after this." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ Nove1Fire.net
"..."
When Su Long was done with the cigarette, he stood up, put the plates away, and started cleaning the place while saying, "It's getting late. We need to leave now if we don't want anyone to suspect us. I'll say that I'm here to ask about my son. Just watch your back when you're alone."
"Alright."
Su Yu lowered his head, not in the mood to say anything.
When Su Long was done cleaning up, he wiped his hands dry and patted Su Yu's head instead of delivering Su Yu another slap. He sighed and said, "In the end, the fault lies on your father for being useless. Otherwise, who would dare to bully you? I would simply cut them down. Since you don't have enough strength yet, just be patient. You're young. You can simply outlive them."
"..."
After saying all he had to say, Su Long smiled and said, "I'll be taking my leave. Do you have anything else to tell me?"
"Take care..."
"Do I need you to tell me that? I won't die before seeing my grandchildren!"
Su Long grinned and turned around to leave.
Su Yu followed behind him silently. With a sigh, Chen Long walked with them. When they reached the door, Su Long laughed loudly and said, "Many thanks, Master Cui. I'm glad to hear that my kid is fine. I hope I didn't bother you too much with my questions, Master Cui."
"Don't worry about it." Su Yu suppressed the melancholy in his heart and smiled as well, "Uncle Su, feel free to visit me when you have the time. Su Yu is a great friend of my teacher. You can look for me if you need anything."
Chen Long interrupted, "Master Cui, about the Devil Subduing Army..."
Su Yu laughed and said, "About that...cough, cough. I will be quite busy for a bit. We can talk about this in the future."
"Sigh."
Chen Long was greatly disappointed. Beside him, Su Long laughed awkwardly. The two cupped their hands at Su Yu before leaving. They walked with a hurried pace, as though they were somewhat unhappy with the result of this meeting.
Su Yu saw them off with a smile on his face. Inwardly, he was unable to calm his emotions.
After a moment, Consul Liu walked over and said, "Junior Brother, did you not reach an agreement with them? By the way, I scolded those fellows for you. Please don't mind them too much."
Su Yu waved his hand and said, "It's no big deal. I wasn't aware earlier, but since that's Su Yu's father, it was understandable. As for that Chen Long, his offer is shockingly low. The nerve of him. Did he think that I would say yes just because he brought Su Yu's father with him?
"Yes, I need to show Su Yu some respect. But his father isn't even a general. I showed them enough respect by meeting them for so long. You saw it with your own eyes."
Consul Liu nodded, "Exactly. You already showed them sufficient respect. That Chen Long was simply too ignorant. Su Yu might be impressive, but you're not his subordinate. He must be dreaming if he thought he could suppress you with Su Yu's name."
Su Yu waved his hand and said, "I doubt he was trying to do that. I reckon that was really the best offer they could give. After all, it's Great Xia. It's understandable if they're poor, right? Hahahaha!"
Consul Liu laughed as well. True. It was not wrong to call Great Xia poor.
After a short chat, Su Yu said, "Senior Brother, do you have the recent news about the frontlines? Can you send me a copy? I'm thinking about taking a walk out there. It's too annoying to stay here. These people will keep coming to recruit me. It's rude to reject them all and I might even offend some of them. Just tell the future visitors that I'm in seclusion to forge weapons and I'm not seeing anyone."
"Leaving for the frontlines?"
Consul Liu hurriedly said, "Things aren't so peaceful at the moment."
"It's fine. I won't be going too far. It's not like I've never been out there before." Su Yu indifferently said, "How dangerous could it get? Would I stumble upon a Mountainsea? I have some Mountainsea talismans on me so I can at least run away from them. This place is still considered our territory so things will be fine."
"In that case, be sure to not go too far. Chaos is starting to descend. The geniuses of the various races are starting to appear. You need to be careful even when you encounter someone below the Mountainsea Realm."
"I understand. Don't worry."
Su Yu looked completely indifferent. He grinned and said, "And if I managed to meet some divine or devil beauties out there... hehe."
Consul Liu was left speechless. Amazing. He knew this fellow's reason to leave wouldn't be so simple.
He did not further persuade Cui Lang to stay. As a Cloudbreach, it would be fine for Cui Lang to roam around near the city. It was unlikely for him to encounter an enemy Mountainsea so near their headquarters. Most of the more dangerous enemies would not be able to get through their frontlines."
"When are you leaving?"
"I'm not sure yet." Su Yu said, "It depends. Also, can you keep an eye out for me? If...cough, cough. If Cheng You comes to see me, notify me in advance. I need to get ready to run."
"..."
That reminded Consul Liu of what he heard before. He nodded and softly said, "That young lady isn't a good person to offend. I don't know what to say about you, Junior Brother...Fine. I'll keep an eye out for you. I'll notify you the moment she makes a move. If she catches you, escaping would probably be impossible."
Su Yu said, "Don't worry. Who knows? Maybe she has forgotten about me. She would have looked for me in Great Ming otherwise."
"Don't be too careless." Consul Liu said with sympathy, "I heard about this matter as well. That Young Lady Cheng is now in the Raised Blade Guard. Right after joining, she declared that she would become a Cloudbreach or a Mountainsea before going to catch you personally. She said that she would first beat you up before taking you back home."
"..."
Su Yu couldn't help but pity the real Cui Lang. So that was the case? She was waiting until she had the strength to catch him personally. How pitiful. Soon, the two ended the conversation and Su Yu returned to his residence. As for Consul Liu, he left to gather the information Su Yu requested.
Inside the residence, Su Yu wiped clean all traces of him and his father, including their residue aura. He also took all the food and some other items in the residence into his storage ring. Basically, he was making it look like he was going on a camping trip.
He didn't want to give anyone any reason to suspect him. Since his father was doing quite well here, he was no longer as worried. The Eastpart City was still a considerably safe place. He had laughed. He had cried. The only thing he could do now was to grow. Grow so strong that he no longer needed to put on a disguise during their next meeting.
***
Inside the room, Su Yu was forging his body while going through the information Consul Liu sent him. Recently, there were a lot of small skirmishes on the frontlines. The military encampments of the various prefectures would frequently get into battles.
He had also received several name lists. These lists contained the names of the active geniuses in the Allheaven Battlefield and some other experts.
Su Yu skimmed through the lists. Some of the names even came with pictures or videos. None of these geniuses were weak. Some were in the Skysoar Realm while some were in the Cloudbreach Realm. And these geniuses hailed from numerous races.
Su Yu was most surprised to read about the fact that there was also a mysterious organization in the Allheaven Battlefield.
Heavenly Hunt Pavilion.
This was an organization specializing in hunting and killing geniuses.
As for the founder of this organization and the race or power behind this organization, nobody knew. All previous investigations had been fruitless. The only thing they knew was that this organization specialized in hunting down geniuses for the heavenly rewards.
Everyone in the Allheaven Battlefield knew that the bigger the genius one killed, the better the heavenly reward one would receive.
At times, even a Mountainsea killing a genius Cloudbreach would be rewarded, as long as the Cloudbreach was big enough of a genius. One could say that the Allheaven Battlefield was a place for geniuses to rise, but it was also a graveyard of geniuses.
"Heavenly Hunt Pavilion?"
Su Yu had never heard of this before. Even the books he had read had never mentioned this organization. He hurriedly left his room. Before long, he found Consul Liu, who was in the middle of a meal.
Chapter 850: Farewell Once Again (2)
"Heavenly Hunt Pavilion?" Hearing Su Yu's question, Consul Liu thought about it and said, "Yes. There is such an organization. It has been around for many years, and nobody has been able to eliminate it. The various races have secretly tried to wipe them out. They even tried baiting the members of this organization out. They did manage to kill some of the members, but...this damn organization is too complicated. It has all sorts of secret members, with some of them being the geniuses of the various races while secretly being the members of this organization."
Su Yu frowned, "Are there any benefits to joining this organization?"
"Benefits?" Consul Liu said, "Nope. But this organization is the perfect scapegoat when killing. For example, humans and immortals are officially allies. You can't be killing them in the open, right? But the moment you put on a mask and hide your aura, you can claim to be a member of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion and kill to your heart's content. That's pretty much how things are. Perhaps the actual Heavenly Hunt Pavilion had been eliminated long ago. But...you understand this, right? A convenient scapegoat is always needed. Thus, it persisted."
Understanding dawned on Su Yu. It was possible that the real Heavenly Hunt Pavilion had long ceased existing. But its name was still very convenient to use. Thus, its name would forever exist.
Anyone could transform into a member of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. As for whether that was a real or fake member, there honestly wasn't any way one could verify.
For example, Su Yu himself could also go out and pretend to be a member. After killing someone, he only needed to claim that he was from the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion to remove all responsibility from himself.
Su Yu did not ask anything else, but Consul Liu continued his explanation, "Junior Brother, you need to be careful. Your name is probably on the Heavenly Hunt Index. Be careful lest someone make you their target."
"Heavenly Hunt Index?"
"Yes. That is essentially a list of people to kill." Consul Liu shook his head and said, "Or to be precise, it is actually a list with the names of all the known geniuses in the Myriad Realms. This list serves as a reference for all members to decide on worthy targets. After all, when you're hunting geniuses, the more talented the genius is, the better the heavenly reward will be. The Heavenly Hunt Index is split into four tiers, heaven, earth, profound, and yellow. Strength is not the only criterion to determine one's position in the list. Talent, aptitude, age, and many other factors are taken into consideration as well."
Su Yu raised his brow and asked, "Do you have a copy of this list?"
"No." Consul Liu shook his head, "I've never paid much attention to this. That's mainly because...this list isn't that big of a threat to Great Ming. I'll get a copy for you. We can check if you're in it. If you are, you need to be very careful when you're out of the city."
As a young pseudo earth weaponsmith who was only thirty-five, the risk of being placed in the list was quite real for him.
As for why Consul Liu had never paid much attention to the index before, that was because Great Ming had not produced too many people worthy of getting into the list. Firstly, one had to enter the Allheaven Battlefield. Secondly, one had to be a top genius. Thirdly, one also had to be someone with the tendency to travel far away. All three criteria had to be met for one to be listed.
And clearly, such individuals were almost nonexistent in Great Ming. Because of that, there was never a need for Consul Liu to care about the index. But since Cui Lang had arrived openly, news of his arrival might have spread. Thus, nobody could say for sure if his name had entered the index.
This wasn't a good index to be listed in. It was better for one to be a hunter of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion than to be listed in its index. After all, any random person could be a hunter of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. You never knew if the person beside you was one of them. That was why it was so dangerous to be listed in the index. A lot of the people whose names were listed had suffered miserable deaths.
***
After the talk, Su Yu returned to his residence. That same night, Consul Liu delivered a copy of the Heavenly Hunt Index over. This was a much more comprehensive listing than what Consul Liu had provided earlier.
The index was split into four tiers. They were respectively the Heaven Index, Earth Index, Profound Index, and Yellow Index. Strength, cultivation level, age, talent level, and all sorts of factors were graded objectively before one was listed in one of the four tiers.
For example, someone in the Yellow Index might not necessarily be weaker than someone from the Heaven Index. But the person in the Heaven Index was most definitely someone with more talent and potential. There was no doubting that.
After skimming through the index, Su Yu noted that a lot of these names were completely unknown to him before. But there were also some familiar names in there.
36th on Yellow Index: Wu Qi, third-stage Cloudbreach Realm, citizen of Great Xia, cultural researcher, proficient in killing, twenty-seven years old, human.
Past accomplishments: Killing a seventh-stage Cloudbreach
For Su Yu, this was not an impressive accomplishment. No matter what, Wu Qi was a top genius of Great Xia. She should be at least capable of that. Then again, the seventh-stage Cloudbreach she killed might not be one of those weak Cloudbreaches. You never knew.
One could say that in Great Xia, she was almost an equal to Huang Teng. But someone like her was only ranked 36th in the Yellow Index. Clearly, this index did not only measure one's strength. Instead, it had a more comprehensive method of determining one's position.
Su Yu started searching for the names of Huang Teng and others. Soon, he found them.
1st on Earth Index: Huang Teng, fifth-stage Cloudbreach Realm, citizen of Great Xia, warrior, proficient at Sky Sundering Saber, twenty-eight years old, human.
Past accomplishments: Killing a second-stage Mountainsea
First on the Earth Index!
Su Yu was not surprised because the rank was too high. On the contrary, he was surprised because the rank was too low. This was only the Earth Index. In all honesty, killing a Mountainsea as a Cloudbreach was an extremely terrifying feat. But someone like that was only in the Earth Index?
Huang Teng, who humanity had bragged about like he was on the Heaven Index, was only in the Earth Index? How was the ranking in this index decided? Next, he found Qin Fang's name.
There were only eighteen names in the Heaven Index. Qin Fang was last on the list. He was a sixth-stage Cloudbreach, and he killed a third-stage Mountainsea before. He was slightly stronger than Huang Teng.
As for the names above Qin Fang, Su Yu had never even heard of them. But after reading about their past accomplishments, he sank into a long silence.
1st on Heaven Index: Mo Duona, original devil race, seventh-stage Cloudbreach
Past accomplishments: Killing a seventh-stage Mountainsea
The introduction was short, but it was enough to amaze Su Yu.
The human race had only produced one such expert before. It was Bai Tianhao, someone who had killed a seventh-stage Mountainsea as a ninth-stage Cloudbreach before. That was the only human Cloudbreach to have killed a high-stage Mountainsea in recent centuries.
Meanwhile, one such genius could currently be found among the devil race. Someone from the original devil race! And this person was only a seventh-stage Cloudbreach. No high-stage Mountainsea was a weakling. But Mo Duona had skipped an entire realm to kill such an opponent.
His age was not mentioned, but the divines and devils calculated their age differently than the human race. For the human race, there were 360 days in a year. Meanwhile, the divine race based its calendar around the growth cycle of heavenly source fruits. Each maturation cycle was considered one year for them. In that case, one divine year was equivalent to one human year.
2nd on Heaven Index: Zhan Wushuang, first divine race, eighth-stage Mountainsea
Past accomplishments: Killing a first-stage Sunmoon
This was an extremely powerful individual. And he was most likely a young genius as well. But his rank was actually lower than Mo Duona's despite his much higher strength. Su Yu was getting even more confused at how these ranks were decided.
Perhaps he was older than Mo Duona, or perhaps he did not manage to punch high enough above his class. But killing a Sunmoon as a Mountainsea was much harder than killing a Mountainsea as a Cloudbreach.
After a while, Su Yu shook his head. The Myriad Realms were truly filled with geniuses. And this wasn't even a complete list. The Heavenly Hunt Index did not include the individuals who had never stepped into the Allheaven Battlefield. Additionally, someone who had not achieved any impressive combat feats before would rarely be listed.
As for Cui Lang, his name was not in the index. Perhaps that was because he had yet to perform any impressive combat feats before. As for his weaponsmithing skills, he had never forged any impressive weapons in the Allheaven Battlefield before. Thus, his name was not in the index.
As for Su Yu's own name, he wasn't in the index as well. It didn't matter how impressive his combat feats in the Human Realm were. He would only win true acknowledgment after entering the Allheaven Battlefield. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
In short, the Heavenly Hunt Index could be used to measure the trend and find out about the current top geniuses of the various races.
The actual ranks of the individuals in the index weren't too informative. After all, it was possible that the person ranked second in the Heaven Index could kill the first-ranked individual with one move. It was more useful to use the index as a reference to know the more profitable targets if one wished to kill for heavenly rewards.
After going through the index, Su Yu moved on and read about some other stuff, such as maps, danger zones, entrances to minor realms, and so on. He also read about the latest battlefields and chaotic lands in the Allheaven Battlefield.
He also read about the unique areas of the Allheaven Battlefield. There were places where only geniuses could survive. There were also places where people with high cultivation levels couldn't enter.
That day, Su Yu did a lot of reading. While reading, he completed his twelfth body forging. It had been a few days since he entered the Allheaven Battlefield.
In a flash, it was the 25th of June.
Inside the Human Realm, the various prefectures were probably starting to get ready for the academy entrance examinations. A month later, a new semester would start.
Su Yu wanted to visit Heavenly Forge King as well. As for the consequence of exposing his disguise, that was something out of control. After all, visiting Heavenly Forge King was the excuse he had used to enter the Allheaven Battlefield.
Unfortunately, Heavenly Forge King had been away for quite a while. He did not force it. Since the king wasn't around, so be it. He started getting ready to leave.
He didn't know if leaving as Cui Lang would create some unforeseen troubles in the future. If a new genius emerged in the Allheaven Battlefield right after Cui Lang left the human headquarters, would the more imaginative individuals find a connection between the two?
Su Yu did not dare to underestimate anyone. It wasn't like nobody had ever used a fake identity before. Of course, very few people managed to keep their fake identity until the very end. A lot of people had unique abilities suitable for disguise, but maintaining the disguise long-term was too difficult.
Take Su Yu as an example. A decent number of people had already seen through his disguise.
***
On the 26th of June, Su Yu finished his twelfth body forging. He decided it was time for him to leave since he had nothing else to do here.
These days, he had learned as much as he could about the Allheaven Battlefield. As for everything else, he would just go out and act according to the circumstances. It was pointless to keep staying indoors and reading. The fastest way to learn was to actually go out.
After going through all the information he gathered and reading about the various geniuses, he believed that he wasn't worse than any of these geniuses. During this period of time, neither Su Long nor Chen Long had visited him.
As for Su Yu, he had remained indoors during the entire time with the excuse that he needed to stabilize his cultivation.
Night of the 26th.
Su Yu had Consul Liu prepare an earthdragon mount for him. He was going to depart.
Inside the consulate, Consul Liu was seeing him off while reminding repeatedly, "Junior Brother, I'm not trying to scare you, but remember to never step further than the frontlines. The lands beyond the Vanguard Regiment are no different than a mass graveyard.
"Behind the Vanguard Regiment, things are comparatively safer. Also, don't even dream about visiting the Sea of Stars. That place has been terrifyingly scary as of late. It has turned into the jaws of a beast, and it will remain so until after the next opening of the Luminous Domain Mansion.
"Junior Brother, you're the beloved student of Principal Niu. You're also a weaponsmith. If something happens to you, Great Ming will go crazy. Please do be careful..."
He was very long-winded today, but Su Yu did not mind it. He said, "Don't worry, Senior Brother. Do I look like someone who enjoys courting death? I'm only out to take a breather. Perhaps I'd return tomorrow. Wouldn't that be embarrassing after all the reminders you gave me?"
"Hahaha, true. But embarrassment is nothing. Don't ever worry about something so trivial. Nothing is more important than your life."
Su Yu nodded, "I understand. I am not someone who will regard my reputation as something more important than my life. I will definitely run at the first sign of trouble."
"Fine. I wish you a pleasant journey, Junior Brother. May you stumble upon a heavenly reward right after stepping out. May you stumble upon an Invincible ruin just by walking..."
Su Yu laughed in amusement. After expressing his gratitude, he hopped onto the earthdragon and rode toward the city gate in an unhurried manner. On the way, he passed by the Great Xia Consulate.
He did not stop and continued riding forward. Inside the consulate, Su Long was training with a saber. It was a common saber technique in the military, a technique filled with killing intent. Again and again, he swung his saber, flooding the courtyard with saber qi and killing intent.
The experts in charge of protecting him in secret were confused. Why was he going crazy all of a sudden? He had spent the entire day practicing his saber. In fact, he was on the verge of fainting from exhaustion.
"Fuck you!"
Accompanied by a curse, his final swing crushed a stone table in the courtyard. Then, he lay paralyzed on the ground. Nobody knew if the beads on his face were sweat or tears. He continued cursing, but nobody knew who he was cursing. That continued for a very long time.
The hidden experts hurriedly scanned his body and concluded that he was in no danger. He was merely too exhausted. What provoked him to act like this? Did he grow depressed after staying away from the frontlines for a long time?
They couldn't understand, but they all remained hidden, not wishing to get involved with whatever issue Su Long was having.
Chapter 851: A Good Start (1)
Glittering stars littered the dark sky above.
Su Yu rode forward on his earthdragon without a destination in mind.
It wasn't like he was completely aimless. He only knew that he could only encounter powerful opponents after stepping out of the area under humanity's control. Inside the human territory, it would be hard for him to encounter such experts.
The true battlefield would begin beyond the Vanguard Regiment.
The Eastpart City was very far away from the Vanguard Regiment. In fact, there was a distance of over three thousand kilometers between them. With such a big distance, any enemy expert wouldn't be able to instantly reach the headquarters of humanity after crossing the frontlines.
In fact, there were numerous defensive lines between the frontlines and the headquarters. Then again, the eastern sector was too large for the forces of humanity to effectively control. Thus, there were still some danger zones inside the sector.
"Where is the mountainbreak bull territory?"
Su Yu took out a map produced by Great Ming and noted that the mountainbreak bull territory was located to the northeast. This was not a weak race. It was also a top-100 race. Perhaps their territory would be a good place for him to test his strength.
That place was also not far away from Great Xia's territory. The Allheaven Battlefield was massive and sparsely populated. But the scenery there was actually quite good.
The starry sky was splendid and magnificent. According to the legends, the stars in the sky were actually the nodes of an ultra formation covering the entirety of the Allheaven Battlefield meant to eliminate all suppressive force on the battlefield.
That way, the myriad races were able to freely move in the Allheaven Battlefield without worrying about the suppressive force. It was rumored that some Invincibles tried verifying these legends before, but even after flying for a long time, they couldn't reach the end of the sky.
It was likely that those stars did not even exist in the same plane of existence. Perhaps the entire sky itself was a massive formation created by some ancient experts.
Of course, that was none of Su Yu's business. His current level was still too low to be concerned about such affairs. It was better to let those Invincibles worry about those legends instead.
Since he was still traveling within the human-controlled territory, there was no need for him to shift to a different identity. In any case, he had yet to decide on his new identity. The identity he assumed must belong to someone strong.
It would be even better if that was someone who could make an attempt at dao affirmation in the near future without incurring any suspicion. After all, that someone would still be a Cloudbreach now. And perhaps the attempt would be made as soon as a few years in the future. Thus, Su Yu needed to be very picky when picking a new identity.
But he was in no rush. Cui Lang's identity was still usable for now. No matter what, Cui Lang was officially a Cloudbreach. It wouldn't be out of place for someone like this to possess a considerable level of combat strength.
***
Along the way, Su Yu even saw some buildings and towns. All these buildings and towns belonged to humans. After spending the majority of their lives here in the Allheaven Battlefield, it was inevitable for some soldiers to get married and give birth to their children here as well. As these communities grew, villages and small towns started forming in the human-controlled territory. Official source ıs novelꜰire.net
Some soldiers had spent so many years here that they were no longer willing to return to the Human Realm even in retirement. Many years ago, there was one such family here. This family was surnamed Liu.
This was a large and influential family based on the Allheaven Battlefield. Due to repeated attacks, the Liu Family eventually went extinct. A large family that was once protected by even Sunmoons had fully declined, with the Liu City they founded returning to nature.
In the Allheaven Battlefield, regardless of whether it was a town or a small village, it would be filled with a large number of combat-ready soldiers. Some of them were veterans who had lived in the Allheaven Battlefield for over a hundred years.
After over three hundred years of human control, a unique ecosystem had taken form in this territory.
Some of the people living here would take orders from the armies stationed near them. Some would take orders from some local large families. Some would stay completely independent and would not take any orders unless these orders came from Invincibles.
This was a place of freedom. But it was also a place of danger.
Even people like Great Qin King would not pay too much attention to these people. Since these people were not paying taxes to the existing human governments, they would need to solve their issues themselves. Of course, they were still allowed to trade with the official military of the Human Realm. They could even make a living killing enemies for merit points from the military.
One could say that this was a second human civilization independent from the existing human civilization in the Human Realm.
Unlike the divines, devils, immortals, and demonic beasts, humans had great reproductive abilities. Thus, they were able to form a relatively strong defensive and social system in the eastern sector. They were also actively clearing more lands for development and expansion.
This was one of the reasons the myriad races were wary of the human race. If they were given a few more centuries, they might be able to spread all over the Allheaven Battlefield, building all their little houses and cities right beside the entrances to the various realms.
Su Yu rode on leisurely, stopping every now and then to look around. He was in no rush. Being too rash here was the easiest way for one to lose one's life. Thus, he took great care to observe and familiarize himself with the environment here.
Clop! Clop! Clop!
Suddenly, the sounds of galloping horses rang out. Not far ahead of him, a group of soldiers were heading in his direction. In the air, a flying beast was carrying an individual. And mounted atop the flying beast was another individual who was shouting, "Make way, make way! The reconnaissance team is returning to the headquarters for official military business!"
Su Yu hurriedly moved out of the way. This was a reconnaissance team from the frontlines. These teams were in charge of scouting the enemies and battlefield before sending the information back. Voice transmission talismans wouldn't be reliable all the time. At such times, these teams would be required to break through the enemy lines before returning to the headquarters with their gathered information.
A red emblem could be seen on all the running beasts and the flying beast. This emblem signified that they were carrying some urgent information. Everyone was required to make way when encountering soldiers with this emblem.
The military official atop the flying beast was a Cloudbreach. He suddenly looked at Su Yu and said, "A cultural researcher? Retreat to the headquarters. The Vanguard Regiment is currently in combat with the demonic beasts. A battle between Mountainseas has erupted. Retreat!"
"Mountainseas? Demonic beasts?"
Su Yu was stunned. A battle broke out?
How energetic. He hurriedly replied, "Got it. Thanks for the reminder, Sir."
The official had merely given a reminder instead of an order. When he saw that Su Yu was not turning back, he said nothing and continued onward. It was honestly none of his business. He had merely offered the warning because this person was a cultural researcher.
A Cloudbreach cultural researcher who was so young was totally worth protecting. But since the cultural researcher was not willing to retreat, he wouldn't force the issue. Before long, the team of ten soldiers vanished in the distance. They were moving at a rapid speed.
Every single member of a reconnaissance team was an elite in the military. No weakling would be accepted into these reconnaissance teams.
This team, in particular, consisted of one Cloudbreach and nine Skysoars. This was the most common composition of small, elite teams in the Allheaven Battlefield. These were the teams that would be deployed for missions too dangerous for the regular soldiers.
***
Since Su Yu was still quite far away from the Vanguard Regiment, he wasn't too worried. As he traveled, he encountered more people. Some were lone travelers on their way to the frontlines. Some were adventures, and some were groups known as vultures. These so-called vultures were hated by humanity and the other races. And vultures existed in all races.
Strictly speaking, they couldn't be considered bad guys. But they were most definitely not the good guys either. Most of the time, these people would go to the frontlines but not participate in any battles. Rather, they would wait until the battle was over before entering the war zone to search for anything valuable. They did not have the courage to enter the main battlefield. Instead, they would be entering the smaller battlefields around the main battlefield.
The less unruly vultures would only set their eyes on the valuable items of the losing party and leave the victors alone. The more unruly vultures would take from both sides. Of course, these vultures would also suffer a miserable ending upon capture.
The Allheaven Battlefield might be a lawless place, but there were unwritten rules there. For example, these vultures should only collect some spoils from the losers in some minor battlefields. As long as they did not behave too excessively, the major armies would turn a blind eye to them. That was because these vultures could be useful to them at times.
Also, not all corpses on a battlefield would be actual corpses. Some were merely people who were faking their deaths. Thus, vultures also needed to have a keen eye when searching the battlefield. Sudden attacks by people pretending to be dead weren't rare, so this was actually a very dangerous job with a high mortality rate.
At times, these vultures would even enter the battlefield in advance and attack the losers to ensure they could collect their spoils before the victors could collect anything. Naturally, some vultures were reckless enough to even attack the victors. And understandably, these vultures would not be spared if their action was exposed.
Prior to this, Su Yu was unaware of all this. But during the past few days, he had learned a bit about these vultures through all the reading he had done.
It was very easy to recognize these vulture groups. They would dress shabbily, and they would not wear any military uniforms. It wasn't that they couldn't afford better clothing, but they simply didn't want to set themselves up as targets by dressing too lavishly.
They weren't weak, but they also wouldn't be too strong as the truly strong ones would not be bothered to do something like looting the dead. They were also extremely cautious, with between thirty to fifty members per group. Of course, there were also smaller groups with three to five members or even lone travelers. These people could be found among all races. In short, these were the people making a living looting the dead.
At the moment, there was a group of about a dozen vultures heading in the direction of the Vanguard Regiment. They moved at a similar speed as Su Yu, but they were all traveling on foot. They maintained a distance of around five hundred meters behind Su Yu.
After a while, Su Yu turned around and scolded, "Why are damn vultures like you following me? Are you waiting for me to die so that you can loot my body?"
The leader of the group was an old man. He cupped his hands and grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, and said, "Lord Cultural Researcher, you misunderstood us. We're worried that there might be danger ahead of us. Meanwhile, you are so mighty that all enemies will retreat at the sight of you. If you find us an eyesore, we will naturally be willing to pick a different route."