Chapter 1189: Return (3)
Great Qin King sighed and said, "I know what you mean. We can put them all together and have them share the same fate. They will either live or die together. This will most certainly encourage the Invincibles acting as dao protectors to work harder. But this isn't a risk humanity can afford to take. By separating them, Xia Longwu, Qin Zhen, and a few others will attract the bulk of the myriad races' attention. If they happen to fail and die, the others might still succeed. This is the safest path to take."
He continued, "Xia Longwu, Qin Zhen, and the Zhou brothers will make their attempts separately. The rest can move out in pairs if they want."
"How shall we prepare for their defenses?"
Great Qin King thought about it and said, "Those whose descendants are making the attempt can protect your respective descendants. Those without can pick someone they wish to protect. Things will definitely get a lot more dangerous around Xia Longwu and Qin Zhen, especially Xia Longwu."
He looked at Great Xia King and asked, "Old Xia, what do you think?"
"Me?" Great Xia King said, "I have no opinion. I know you're doing this to produce a few more Invincibles for humanity. But by having everyone make their attempts at the same time and splitting the Invincibles we have everywhere, Longwu's chance of success will become infinitely lower than before. Am I wrong?"
Great Qin King sank into silence.
After a long while, he nodded, "Yes. If Xia Longwu alone makes the attempt, we can join hands to protect him. He will have a higher chance of success. But I wish to use him to give others a chance as well. I will personally act as his dao protector during the attempt. As for Qin Zhen..."
He looked around before stopping at Silk Destroying King, "Wang Hu, you'll protect Qin Zhen. If you really have to, you are allowed to give up."
Silk Destroying King laughed, "Come on, there is no need for this. That's your own son. You don't need to lead by example to such an extent. You should watch over Qin Zhen. This isn't a responsibility I can shoulder. I'll go with Old Xia. Xia Longwu has a very low chance of succeeding. Old Xia is already prepared to lose Xia Longwu during the attempt so I reckon he won't blame me if it happens. Am I right, Old Xia?"
Great Xia King looked at Silk Destroying King and said, "You have a foul mouth."
Silk Destroying King laughed, "Come on, I'm offering to serve as your grandson's dao protector. You should be thanking me instead."
Great Xia King didn't deign to give that a reply. He said, "I'll go with Wang Hu."
"That's not enough." Great Qin King frowned, "Xia Longwu will be the main target of the myriad races. I need to be there. Heavenly Forge King and Heavenly Seal King will need to come as well. The five of us will act as Xia Longwu's dao protectors. As for Qin Zhen..."
He looked around before suddenly saying, "Qin Zhen can make his attempt alongside the Zhou brothers. Old Zhou, I'll have to trouble you for this."
"..."
Silence descended.
Great Zhou King asked emotionlessly, "Is this appropriate?"
"Yes."
Great Qin King said, "Old Zhou, you're second only to me in strength. I have faith in you."
Great Zhou King sank into contemplation. After some time, he asked, "If Qin Zhen fails while Polong and Potian succeed, what then?"
"Then I only have fate to blame."
Great Qin King appeared completely calm as he said, "This is the kind of risk he needs to shoulder. If he does not want to take risks, he is free to enter a minor realm and make his attempt there instead. That will be much safer, at the cost of strength and potential."
Great Zhou King said nothing else. Great Qin King had nothing else to add either. Around them, the other Invincibles were deep in thought. Great Zhou King had been chosen to protect Qin Zhen. There was a traitor among the human Invincibles. And the biggest suspect was Great Zhou King.
He was also the leader of the peace faction. He believed that humanity should ignore everything outside their borders for now. He also believed that humanity should stop producing new Invincibles for now to avoid provoking the myriad races. In his opinion, humanity should focus on building and development until they produce their first Invincible cultural researcher who could then activate the suppression in the Human Realm. Of course, this wouldn't be an easy task to complete.
***
Allheaven Battlefield.
Liu City.
Xia Longwu had arrived yet again at the crumbling city.
After a short wait, the door of a building swung open. Looking at Liu Wenyan who was stepping out of the building, Xia Longwu frowned, "Peak Mountainsea?"
"Yes."
"Too weak."
Liu Wenyan laughed, "There is no rush. I know what's going on in the Human Realm. The ruin has emerged. The Culture Tomb has appeared. It won't be appropriate for me to reach the Sunmoon Realm so far away from the ruin."
"Will you be able to complete your breakthrough there?"
"Yes." Liu Wenyan stroked his beard and said, "It will happen. Don't worry. How about you?"
"My preparations are complete." After a short pause, Xia Longwu continued, "Out here, I won't be able to interfere in the matter inside the Human Realm. Success or failure, I won't be able to interfere. My second uncle...I don't know what he's thinking. He seems to be planning something more. Watch over him for me."
"Xiao'er..." Liu Wenyan laughed, "I know. But I doubt I can control what he wants to do. We'll see."
Xia Longwu nodded. He hesitated for a bit and continued, "As for my son...no, forget it. He has enjoyed the riches of the family. He shall stand with us during this hard time. Whether he survives or not...that will depend on fate."
After inhaling deeply, Xia Longwu added, "One more thing. The Liu Family..."
Liu Wenyan waved his hand, "There is no need to talk about that for now. Save that for the future."
Turning to look at his surroundings, he smiled and said, "This was where I met my teacher for the first time back then. Here, I took my first step out of the city toward the Human Realm. At that time, numerous heroes congregated in Liu City and bore witness to the ceremony at which I was formally accepted as Ye Batian's student. At the time, my prospects seemed boundless..." Thıs text ıs hosted at novel fire.net
"I have great fame, but I have not done anything of note in my entire life. Even that student of mine has achieved far more than me."
"With my strength, I might still fail to achieve anything after returning to the Human Realm this time. But the time has come for us to collect our debt. Hopefully, this won't be our last meeting. If I survive and you die, I can at least deliver your remains back home. If you survive and I die, I hope you can deliver my remains back here. After all...this is my home."
Xia Longwu nodded silently. No words were needed.
Looking at his uncle who had walked up to them silently, Liu Wenyan laughed and asked, "Uncle, are you staying here or coming with me?"
"I'll go with you."
Xia Longwu wanted to say something, but he hesitated. Noticing that, Liu Wenyan said, "I guess that's not a bad idea. If I die, my uncle will have nobody left. It is much crueler to have him stay here alone."
Uncle Liu nodded.
The Liu Family...was no more.
Xia Longwu nodded. Liu Wenyan said, "As for that so-called martial uncle of mine, I don't even know how much we can trust him. Does the Xia Family have any backup plans?"
He was naturally talking about Wan Tiansheng.
"Yes." Xia Longwu nodded, "Don't worry. We have contingency plans. Even if my teacher can't be relied upon, we will still be able to drag that person out of hiding. We might fail to kill him, but he will definitely be exposed after this."
"That's good to hear. I'm not even hoping that we can kill him this time. I only want to fully confirm who he is. This seed of doubt is too dangerous to remain among humanity. It must be removed."
Liu Wenyan said, "They are all comrade-in-arms who had fought side by side for so many years. But now, there is so much distrust among them. If this continues, morale will probably drop so low that humanity loses all power to keep fighting before the Pseudo Emperors even finish their advancements. For now, Great Qin King is still somewhat capable of forcing everyone together. But when even he is no longer sufficient, humanity will meet its end."
Xia Longwu nodded silently.
He said, "Therefore, we will drag him out of hiding."
Liu Wenyan smiled, "Don't speak in absolutes. If he doesn't feel threatened enough, he might remain in hiding. That will render everything we have done pointless."
"He will come out." Xia Longwu said, "You will make him come out. Right?"
Liu Wenyan thought about it and said, "I hope so. If he still refuses to come out after so many preparations, then I suppose there is nothing else we can do. I'll first complete my advancement into the Sunmoon Realm after returning. Then, I'll do a few more things. If he remains hiding...so be it. He won't be able to keep this up for long. He knows this himself."
At that, Xia Longwu smiled. Liu Wenyan smiled as well. After patting each other on their shoulders, Xia Longwu vanished.
Liu Wenyan turned around and smiled at his uncle, "Uncle, let's go. It's time for us to have our vengeance."
Uncle Liu grinned.
Vengeance!
For the destruction of Liu Family, for the crippling of Liu Wenyan, and for the fall of the multiple character faction. It was time for them to collect their debt.
***
That day, Liu Wenyan started his return trip.
When he reached the realm entrance, he suddenly turned around and roared, "I'm back! I'm going to the ruin! I will enter the Sunmoon Realm. I will step into the ninth stage in one day. I will affirm my dao. I will have my revenge. I will find you! I'll be waiting for you in the Human Realm!"
His voice reverberated in the area. His aura surged, revealing the aura of a peak Mountainsea yet powerful enough to surpass even the auras of Sunmoons. As of that moment, he was as brilliant as a sun.
***
Eastrift Valley.
Silence descended.
The various Invincibles said nothing.
After a long time, someone finally spoke, "I hope...it won't come to that. I don't want it to come to that. We are all comrade-in-arms who had fought side by side all those years ago. Very few of our old friends are still around."
A different Invincible spoke, "Repent and return to the right path. Focus on your task as a dao protector. The past is in the past. We should look to the future. Help our juniors grow. That is our job. How much longer can we live?"
They knew what was happening.
All the Invincibles knew that as more and more multiple character cultivators made their advancement, including Liu Wenyan, who might even step into the Invincible Realm...that person might finally lose his composure.
A different voice rang out, "Consider this carefully. If you step forth right now, there might still be a chance that you will be let off lightly. But if you're exposed through other means, mercy might no longer be on the table."
Great Xia King did not spare any of the Invincibles a glance. He merely stared into the distance. After a long while, he said, "My family is there. My home is there. The multiple character faction is there. Everything is in Great Xia, including Ye Batian's final character, including everything else. If you make another move, one of us will die. This will not end before then."
His declaration was met with silence. This was an open conspiracy. If the traitor remained inactive, the multiple character faction would keep growing. With the ruin, some of them might even succeed in dao affirmation. The myriad races would try to stop that. But they would only make a move during the dao affirmation attempt.
For now, the myriad races were still not ready to invade the Human Realm. The traitor was perhaps the only Invincible capable of stopping the multiple character faction from obtaining the ruin in the first place.
Great Qin King watched on coldly. After a long time, he said, "Stop the discussion. If nothing happens, it can only mean that this entire thing is a misunderstanding. There is no traitor. Do not allow the myriad races to create internal strife among humanity."
"Great Qin King is right. Perhaps this whole thing is a scheme. Do not fall for that. Relax, everyone."
"We're better off talking about the coming dao affirmations. We're getting old. We need some new blood to carry the torch. We should focus on completing our coming task successfully instead."
At that moment, they all started joking and laughing with each other. It almost felt like they had returned to the past.
This was how they were over four hundred years ago. Together, they battled the myriad races. Together, they attacked the various realms. They fought together. They bled together. Without them, humanity would have ceased existing long ago.
Chapter 1190: Start Of Slaughter, Plentiful Sunmoons (1)
Human Realm.
A certain piece of news was rapidly spreading.
"Liu Wenyan has returned!"
"He's going to the ruin. He claims that he will step into the ninth-stage Sunmoon Realm within one day!"
"Liu Wenyan? Can he really do it?"
"Liu Wenyan is the true number one living genius of the multiple character faction..."
***
Outside Nanyuan.
Inside a newly erected building, a young man muttered doubtfully, "Liu Wenyan? That cripple? General, why are people calling him the number one genius of the multiple character faction? I read his profile before. Yes, he was very talented back then. But at the time, he wasn't even a Skysoar. Why is everyone overpraising him?"
Of the young geniuses who had gathered near Nanyuan, some were the secret geniuses from the minor realms and some came from the various prefectures. There were warriors and cultural researchers among them.
News of Liu Wenyan's return was being spread everywhere. Those from the older generation were speaking about Liu Wenyan like he was some sort of legend. Even some Sunmoons were speaking that way.
Someone who wasn't even a Skysoar and had been crippled for fifty years. Someone who had recently reached the peak Mountainsea Realm by destroying Ye Batian's characters as the fuel. How could someone like that be considered a genius?
How was that the number one genius of the multiple character faction? In the eyes of many people, the likes of Hong Tan and Zhao Mingyue were much better. They had relied on themselves to reach the Sunmoon Realm. Furthermore, Hong Tan was even younger than Liu Wenyan. Meanwhile, Liu Wenyan was an old cripple who had only entered the Mountainsea Realm through external help. How was he the number one genius?
Many couldn't understand this. They believed that his talent had been gravely overestimated
A Sunmoon smiled upon hearing the question from the young genius and answered, "Isn't it obvious?"
What?
Some of the youngsters were still confused. How? How was Liu Wenyan number one?
The Sunmoon sighed helplessly. He thought harder before taking a Sunmoon character out. He casually tossed it toward a Cloudbreach young genius and said, "Take it into your sea of willpower."
"Lord...this..." The Cloudbreach said helplessly, "This character is still active. I can't do it. If I try, my sea of willpower will burst apart."
"..."
Right after that, silence descended.
A certain realization dawned on the young geniuses.
Of course, some were still too stupid to understand. One of them continued asking, "General, how is this related to what we asked?"
The Sunmoon was rendered speechless. Where did this idiot come from?
He explained with slight exasperation, "I'm a third-stage Sunmoon."
"..."
The less intelligent ones still didn't get it. Follow current novels on novel-fire.net
A different youngster sighed and said, "We understand, Lord. In that case, it truly is a pity. If Liu Wenyan hadn't been treated as Ye Batian's successor back then, he could have entered the Skysoar, Mountainsea, and Sunmoon Realms in no time, right?"
The Sunmoon said, "Exactly. Sure enough, cultural researchers are better at using their brains. Everyone keep saying that he was a mere Mental Tempering cultural researcher. How could he be number one? But think about it. Mental Tempering. Mental Tempering!"
He glanced at the fools who were still confused. Everyone knew that Liu Wenyan had spent a very long time at the Mental Tempering Stage. And what was Ye Batian's cultivation level? That was a Pseudo Invincible. An existence capable of killing Invincibles. How strong would his characters be?
Even after so many years, Su Yu could kill several fourth and fifth-stage Sunmoons just by detonating some of Ye Batian's characters. When Liu Wenyan did the same, he was able to kill sixth and seventh-stage Sunmoon death spirits.
And back then, Ye Batian had left quite a number of characters behind. Just how much stronger were the remaining characters? They were probably so strong that not even a regular Sunmoon would have the courage to take into their sea of willpower.
Sure, Liu Wenyan had high compatibility with those characters. But he was still a Mental Tempering cultivator while those were Sunmoon characters. This general was only a third-stage Sunmoon. Yet the Cloudbreach genius didn't even have the courage to absorb his character.
But what about Liu Wenyan? Anyone with a brain would understand the implications behind what Liu Wenyan did. Those who were still confused were probably too dumb to understand such a concept. Thus, it would be a waste of time to try to explain to them.
One of the youngsters exclaimed with shock, "Lord, in that case...was his sea of willpower already near the level of a Cloudbreach or a Mountainsea even back then?"
The Sunmoon nodded, "That's very likely. Of course, outsiders like us can only speculate. But there is no denying that the single character faction and the myriad races all fear him. There is no denying his talent. He rose due to the fifth principal. But he also declined due to the fifth principal. Because of the fifth principal, he became known by everyone. Because of the fifth principal, he became a cripple during the prime of his life. But the multiple character faction is willing to wait. Even after fifty years, they are still waiting for his return."
With a complicated expression, the Sunmoon said, "Fifty years ago, he opted to inherit Ye Batian's characters instead of walking his own path. A lot of people don't know how to feel about this. Some believed that he had benefited, and some believed that this was a loss. Perhaps he could have gone even further without Ye Batian's characters. At the very least, he would already be a middle-stage Sunmoon by now. He's much more talented than Hong Tan.
"Back then, Liu Wenyan was ranked first, Xia Yunji was ranked second, Zhao Mingyue was ranked third, Hu Ping was ranked fourth, and Marquis Xia was ranked fifth. This was the top 100 ranking of Great Xia Cultural Research Academy back then."
"What?" Someone exclaimed in surprise, "Marquis Xia?"
"Yes." The Sunmoon said with a look of recollection, "At the time, Great Xia Cultural Research Academy enjoyed its golden age, enjoying the attention of the Myriad Realms. A genius of the academy was a genius of the Myriad Realms. When the fifth principal was around, all these people were the brightest stars of the Myriad Realms. As the fifth principal approached his dao affirmation, many believed that the future of the academy would only be brighter.
"Are the likes of Xia Yunji strong? Of course. They wouldn't have been able to inherit all those Sunmoon characters otherwise. Hong Tan has been calling himself trash. He's not being modest. Back then, he was indeed a piece of trash compared to all the far brighter peers around him. In fact, a lot of people were surprised to see Hong Tan being accepted as the fifth principal's student alongside all those super geniuses. But ultimately, everyone understood why. He was a lot more patient than all of them..."
The Sunmoon was immersed in his recollection of the past while all the youngsters processed what they heard in shock. Hong Tan...was a piece of trash? Marquis Xia was only ranked fifth, but even someone like him was already an eighth-stage Sunmoon.
Meanwhile, those ranked above him had only reached the Sunmoon Realm recently. As for Liu Wenyan, the number one student back then, he wasn't even a Sunmoon. What did that signify?
Sure, Marquis Xia had relied on his physical cultivation to reach the eighth-stage Sunmoon Realm. He also had the backing of the Xia Family. But one should remember that if Ye Batian had succeeded, the multiple character faction would gain an Invincible of their own as well. Furthermore, Xia Yunji was also a member of the Xia Family.
If they had not been crippled all those years ago, some of them might have reached the ninth-stage Sunmoon Realm by now. At this point, almost all the youngsters understood why Liu Wenyan was called the number one genius.
The Sunmoon said, "This is why everyone is calling Liu Wenyan the number one genius. A genius is a genius. That is not a title one can gain through exaggeration. If you have the ability to absorb a peak Sunmoon character as a Mental Tempering cultivator, you too, will be called a super genius."
Even a Sunmoon like him couldn't deny Liu Wenyan's genius. Liu Wenyan was a much bigger genius than him and many others. He couldn't deny that if it wasn't for the incident fifty years ago, Liu Wenyan would have grown strong enough to easily defeat someone like him by now.
Even someone as young as Xia Longwu was already a Pseudo Invincible. Meanwhile, Liu Wenyan was someone whose fame eclipsed even Xia Longwu's back then.
Great Xia King had not protected Liu Wenyan in Nanyuan for so many years because of Ye Batian's character. Rather, he did that because of Liu Wenyan. If he only cared about Ye Batian's characters, he could always withdraw his protection and retrieve the characters when Liu Wenyan was inevitably killed by someone else.
Liu Wenyan alone could very well be more valuable than all those characters.
***
"Number one genius of the multiple character faction?"
Su Yu, who was busy looking for the First Divine Sect master, heard about Liu Wenyan's return as well. He laughed and said, "A mere Mountainsea is enough to take the number one spot? How low has the multiple character faction fallen?"
First Profound glanced at him and said nothing.
Beside him, the Titanic Strength Sect master said, "But that's reasonable, right? As a Mental Tempering cultivator, he absorbed multiple peak Sunmoon characters. That's not something even you can do, right?"
Su Yu said nothing. But inwardly, he grumbled that he would love to give that a try.
Alas, there was no Sunmoon character laying around for him to inherit when he was still at the Mental Tempering Stage. Otherwise, he could have absorbed even more than his Teacher Liu. Furthermore, he suspected that the golden book in his sea of willpower was probably an Invincible character. Was that not impressive enough?
And the book had been in his head since he was a boy! He wasn't even a Mental Tempering cultivator back then! Fine, fine. He decided to stop feeling jealous. His Teacher Liu's sea of willpower was indeed powerful. After all, he had visited that sea of willpower himself. It was massive and sturdy, comparable to even a Sunmoon's.
Thus, it was truly an impressive feat for his Teacher Liu to inherit all those characters back then. But Su Yu also suspected that the fifth principal had something to do with the successful absorption.
Teacher Liu might be talented, but he wasn't so talented that he could cultivate a sea of willpower at the level of a Sunmoon at such a young age. Perhaps the fifth principal had helped strengthen his sea of willpower. But speculating was pointless so Su Yu decided to simply ask his teacher about this later if he wanted to know.
While Su Yu was deep in thought, the Titanic Strength Sect master thought that he had finally won an argument against Profound Nine. That thought greatly pleased him. How dare a mere early-stage Sunmoon speak in such a boastful manner?
This damn early-stage Sunmoon had been ordering them around like servants. If it wasn't for the fact that he was new to the pavilion, he would have slapped Profound Nine apart long ago.
First Profound said, "Profound Nine, if we can't find him, let's return to Nanyuan first. Liu Wenyan is returning. The moment he completes his advancement...or perhaps even before that, Nanyuan will fully fall into chaos."
Chapter 1191: Start Of Slaughter, Plentiful Sunmoons (2)
Su Yu thought about it and said, "We'll continue our search. Liu Wenyan will take a day or two to reach."
First Profound said, "I'm worried that he won't even reach. Or he might reach but fail to enter Nanyuan."
"What do you mean, Elder?"
"Do you think the myriad races and some other humans want to see this number one genius enter the ruin? That's a cultural researcher ruin. He is astonishingly talented. What if he somehow gains the acknowledgment of the Culture Tomb right after entering, becoming its master?"
Su Yu laughed, "That's unlikely, right? He was in Nanyuan for fifty years. If the Culture Tomb did not acknowledge him during all that time, why would it happen now?"
"You never know. Perhaps the time wasn't yet ripe back then."
Su Yu knew what First Profound was trying to say. It was better if they went over and took a look to prevent any nasty surprises from happening. Liu Wenyan was only accompanied by Uncle Liu during the return trip, and Uncle Liu had only recently returned to the Sunmoon Realm.
He was far from enough to handle the challenges in their way. The traitor Invincible might also have more subordinates to throw their way. There was no promise that Liu Wenyan could only be killed after he completed his advancement in Nanyuan.
Wouldn't it be much easier to kill him while he was on the way back? Only a fool would wait. It wasn't like Su Yu hadn't thought of all that, but as a member of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion, he had no reason to run eagerly to Liu Wenyan's rescue.
He laughed and said, "No matter what, this is the Human Realm. Will those people really be so brazen? In the past, the cult is around to do something like this. But now, most of the cultists are with us. I reckon the crime rate in the Human Realm has dropped greatly after the cultists joined us."
The Titanic Strength Sect master snorted with displeasure. Why was Profound Nine talking like they were all massive criminals? Fine, fine, they were indeed criminals. But did Profound Nine have an illusion that he was a good guy? Just look at what Profound Nine had been doing as of late. He was either in the process of killing someone or on the way to killing someone. In fact, they had only stopped spilling blood because they needed to track the First Divine Sect master.
Suddenly, Su Yu blanked out as he said, "This is odd. The index copy on Ji Hong...is moving in Allheaven Prefecture's direction."
What was going on?
Su Yu thought of a certain possibility and said, "Let's go to the Allheaven Prefecture. This might be our chance to see this number one genius for ourselves and capture the First Divine Sect master."
"Yes."
They started picking up the pace. Since this was a group fully comprised of Sunmoons, they were able to move rapidly. No Mountainsea had been brought with them for this task. This was also an incredibly powerful group, thanks to the sheer number of Sunmoons in it.
In fact, they were feeling so confident in their strength that they flew openly without bothering to hide themselves. Even the mayors and prefects of the cities they passed by left them alone as long as they did nothing to these cities.
After all, a group of over twenty Sunmoons with several late-stage Sunmoons were probably strong enough to demolish an entire prefecture if a battle broke out. Anyone capable of noticing this group would be able to guess that this was probably the group led by Profound Nine. And most wisely chose not to provoke them for no reason.
Meanwhile, Su Yu was not feeling smug. Rather, he was annoyed. What was up with these prefectures? So what if there were over twenty Sunmoons? These prefectures should put up a fight, especially when these Sunmoons were acting so brazenly right in their territory.
Why were they so timid even when the enemies were right at their doorsteps? Sure enough, these people were a lot softer than the founding kings. Of course, Su Yu had wisely avoided Great Qin or he would have found his journey a lot more eventful.
***
While Su Yu was heading toward Allheaven Prefecture.
Ye Hongyan was in charge of escorting Liu Wenyan back to Nanyuan. Great Xia had nobody to spare. Worried about Liu Wenyan's safety, Ye Hongyan had volunteered herself for the job. While on the road, Liu Wenyan maintained his calm and refined bearing.
"Martial Grandaunt, it's fine. There's no need to trouble you with this."
Since Ye Hongyan was Ye Batian's aunt, it was natural that Liu Wenyan would address her as his martial grandaunt.
Fortunately, Su Yu wasn't around. Otherwise, he would have deliberately called her martial mother in front of Liu Wenyan. After all, she was also Niu Baidao's wife. It wouldn't be wrong for him to call her that.
In fact, it wouldn't even be wrong if Su Yu proclaimed himself someone from Ye Batian's generation.
And if he went further, he could totally address Wan Tiansheng as his martial nephew. But nominally, Wan Tiansheng was Ye Batian's junior brother even if he was more a martial nephew in practice. Following this line of thought, Su Yu could totally address Xia Longwu as martial grandson. Of course, that was something he would not have the courage to do. He was crazy, but not that crazy.
Hearing how Liu Wenyan was addressing her, Ye Hongyan couldn't help but recall the past. She sighed and said, "Back when Batian brought you back, you were still so young. In the blink of an eye, you have grown so much."
It almost felt like she was a grandmother talking about her grandson. Then again, she was indeed two generations above him.
Liu Wenyan smiled, "You remember me so well because you're still very young yourself, Martial Grandaunt."
"You have always been good at sweet-talking."
Ye Hongyan laughed in amusement, "I suppose this was how you managed to win the favor of those girls..."
Liu Wenyan said, "Martial Grandaunt, they're not girls anymore. They're quite old nowadays. Some were married long ago. Even their grandchildren are already adults."
Ye Hongyan had mixed feelings as she started thinking of the past. She said, "It's not too late. Batian had died before he was able to leave a descendant behind. But you're still young. It's still not too late for you..."
Liu Wenyan merely smiled without saying anything.
Ye Hongyan said, "Don't worry. This is the Human Realm, not the Allheaven Battlefield. I already notified that old geezer to come back. Why is he trying to affirm his dao at his old age? What a waste of time. I told him to come back and help you fight for the ruin instead. With the two carrier treasures and the Culture Tomb in the ruin, you might be able to advance all the way into a Pseudo Invincible. As for your dao affirmation, you can take it slow. There is no rush."
"Martial Grandaunt, it won't be so simple. Tell Principal Niu to not waste his time on me. He should focus on his dao affirmation instead. That's more important than this."
Ye Hongyan snorted, "Dao affirmation? He is not lucky enough to achieve such a feat. This is not what fate has intended for him or he would have been the one to affirm his dao instead of Great Ming King all those years ago. If he did not have the fortune to affirm his dao all those years ago when he was young, he most certainly won't have the fortune to affirm his dao now as an old man."
It was widely acknowledged that if Niu Baidao had been even a tiny bit luckier, he would have affirmed his dao long ago. Even now, he was still not ready for the attempt. He still lacked a carrier treasure. Without his tri-life bodies, how could he even affirm his dao? More like he would be out there to spectate while the others attempted their dao affirmations.
Quite a number of people had been picked for dao affirmation this time. But some of them didn't even have enough carrier treasures. It was likely that some would need to wait for the Invincibles to fight and try their luck at getting some carrier treasures from the destroyed tri-life bodies of those Invincibles before they could properly attempt their dao affirmations.
Most people had only obtained their carrier treasures after bitter battles. In fact, it was all but certain that many experts would be present at Nanyuan to fight for the carrier treasures in the ruin. Some might even decide to complete their dao affirmation in the Human Realm itself to avoid further complications.
Suddenly, Ye Hongyan roared, "Audacious! Who are you?"
Her sword unfurled across the sky.
"Kill."
Ye Hongyan might look like a dainty woman, but she was a decisive and ruthless combatant.
"Wenyan, watch your back."
After giving that warning, Ye Hongyan vanished into the sky. She knew that this might be an attempt to lure her away. But she had no choice but to leave if she didn't want to get Liu Wenyan killed by a stray attack from her battle with the unknown attacker.
"Be careful, Martial Grandaunt."
Liu Wenyan frowned. Beside him, Uncle Liu drew the earth weapon Su Yu had repaired during their previous meeting. With a murderous look in his eyes, he scanned their surroundings cautiously. The Liu Family used to be bandits-cough, cough-used to be vultures.
Considering the fact that the job scope of a vulture involved looting from the dead in the Allheaven Battlefield, no vulture was a pushover. This applied to Liu Wenyan, who had grown up looting corpses in the Eastrift Valley. The cultured and refined bearing he maintained at all times was nothing but an act. Deep inside, he was still a vulture.
Left as the sole dao protector of Liu Wenyan, Uncle Liu said, "Go. We need to reach Nanyuan as soon as possible. We don't have anyone from the Xia Family as dao protectors this time."
Great Xia was not deliberately neglecting them. Rather, Great Xia had nobody to spare. They had to protect both the prefecture and face the numerous experts gathered around Nanyuan. They couldn't afford to send anyone away.
This journey back would be a lot harder than they had imagined. With a nod, Liu Wenyan stopped wasting time and flew off at his top speed.
Whoosh!
Abruptly, an axe appeared in the sky and dropped down at him. Lifting his saber, Uncle Liu met the incoming axe.
"Liu Hao, you won't be able to stop this. You might yet survive if you leave alone. Liu Wenyan will die." The most update n0vels are published on NoveI(F)ire.net
A devil appeared in the sky. A non-human had arrived to kill Liu Wenyan.
Uncle Liu's eyes turned red as he roared, "You!"
The devil replied coldly, "Yes. Me."
"Kill."
Boom!
A massive battle erupted. Not far away, Ye Hongyan was also roaring madly as she engaged her opponent in an intense battle.
Amid the numerous explosions, Liu Wenyan pushed on silently.
"No passage for you here."
As a different voice rang out, a palm appeared ahead of Liu Wenyan.
"Break!"
Instead of an axe, Liu Wenyan countered with a sword, leaving a bloody wound on the palm.
"Hmm?"
A Sunmoon revealed himself and coldly said, "The top genius of the multiple character faction is indeed extraordinary. You're only a Mountainsea, yet you're capable of leaving a wound on me."
Liu Wenyan laughed, "Mere Mountainsea? You sure are confident."
"Kill."
He roared aggressively, but he retreated instead of advancing. With a special character of his, he tore space apart and instantly appeared a kilometer away.
"Can you escape death? We're not the only ones trying to take your life."
The Sunmoon sneered. They were not the only ones after Liu Wenyan. Even his fellow humans wanted him dead. Inheriting the ruin in Nanyuan? Dream on. That would never happen.
"Die!"
Right at that moment, Ye Hongyan killed the seventh-stage Sunmoon she was facing.
A moon fell from the sky. Ye Hongyan was soaked in blood. Even as blood was still pouring out of her mouth, she rushed in Liu Wenyan's direction while roaring furiously, "You dare? Back then, you killed my nephew. Today, you're not killing his student before stepping over my dead body!"
His nephew, the sole successor of the Ye Family, had been killed.
Because of this, she had been depressed for many years. And now, some people were trying to kill the successor of her nephew while he was returning to Nanyuan. This was happening within the Human Realm. She would not allow this.
Countless people were alarmed. Ye Hongyan...killing a seventh-stage Sunmoon? Even if she had suffered heavy injuries in the process, the speed with which she had done so was still enough to shock countless people.
Too strong. Since when was she so strong? Seeing the approaching Ye Hongyan, the Sunmoon who had attacked Liu Wenyan previously fled without any hesitation.
Even with the opponent gone, Ye Hongyan did not calm down. Rather, she howled, madness in her voice as she ignited a drop of her own blood essence.
The unknown Sunmoon was evidently not very impressive in terms of strength if he couldn't even stop Liu Wenyan from escaping. After igniting a drop of her own blood essence, Ye Hongyan was able to kill him with a single sword strike.
Rumble!
Yet another moon fell from the sky. Ignoring her injuries, Ye Hongyan rushed off again, trying her very best to reach Liu Wenyan. At this point, Liu Wenyan was already wounded all over from his fight with a fourth-stage Sunmoon. Thanks to Ye Batian's characters, he was still able to put up a fight. When the Sunmoon noticed Ye Hongyan approaching, he hurriedly fled.
Chapter 1192: Start Of Slaughter, Plentiful Sunmoons (3)
Ye Hongyan did not give chase. She grabbed Liu Wenyan and flew in Uncle Liu's direction while shouting, "Leave! Hurry!
Blood dripped down her lips even as she spoke. Clearly, her injuries were heavy. The devil who was fighting Uncle Liu previously had fled as well. Uncle Liu, who was also soaked in blood, joined the two and spoke while coughing blood, "General Ye, leave without me. I'll watch the rear. The Liu Family...thank you for this favor!"
Right after saying that, he recalled yet again that the Liu Family was no more. Uncle Liu had the expression of someone ready to meet his death. His nephew must reach Nanyuan. There, his nephew would advance into the Sunmoon Realm, rise to the top yet again, and avenge their family.
Seeing the bad shape Uncle Liu was in, Liu Wenyan sighed inwardly. It would seem like he could no longer wait. He had to complete his advancement right here if they were to survive this journey.
In truth, he could advance anywhere. It wasn't like he was really relying on the Culture Tomb to help with his advancement. He had held that thing in his hand many times in the past. It had never done anything for him.
He did not know too much about what the Xia Family was planning. But the presence of the Culture Tomb indicated that Su Yu was involved as well. After all, the Culture Tomb was supposed to be in Su Yu's possession at the moment.
He did not know how it ended up in Great Xia. After all, he knew very well that Su Yu had been quite active in the Allheaven Battlefield as of late. Thus, it wasn't possible that Su Yu was in the Human Realm. It was more likely that the Xia Family had visited him for the Culture Tomb.
"Uncle, we go together."
Uncle Liu wanted to argue, but Liu Wenyan insisted, "We go together. Stop wasting time. More experts are coming."
"Fine."
The three wasted no time and resumed their journey.
After flying in silence for a while, Ye Hongyan suddenly roared and swung her sword. The sword was met with a fist, and the resulting clash created a massive explosion. The ground below them cracked as the shockwaves of the clash spread everywhere.
Yet another expert had appeared to stop them. This expert was a metallic man with a body of gold. He was an eighth-stage Sunmoon.
"Ye Hongyan, must you seek death?"
After soaring into the sky yet again, Ye Hongyan roared, "It's you dao protectors again! You're all courting death! This is the Human Realm, not the Allheaven Battlefield! Wu Ji will be here soon!"
"Are you talking about the reinforcement from Allheaven Prefecture?" The eighth-stage Sunmoon laughed, "Wu Ji and the others won't be able to come. They need to stay put. I reckon the battle in the Allheaven Battlefield has started by now."
Ye Hongyan was alarmed to hear that.
"A war just for the sake of killing Liu Wenyan?"
"No. Not a war." The Sunmoon said, "We're only testing the defenses of the human race. How is this a war? Those in the Allheaven Prefecture won't be able to help you. They need to guard the realm entrance. Ye Hongyan, leave. I don't wish to kill you. Niu Baidao seems to have reached the Pseudo Invincible Realm. I don't want to become the target of a Pseudo Invincible because of you."
Ye Hongyan ignored the offer. Instead, she grabbed Liu Wenyan and Uncle Liu before fleeing at top speed.
***
At the same time.
Su Yu arrived nearby with his entourage.
After spreading his senses around, he frowned, "There are so many Sunmoons here, including some who were previously at Nanyuan. Are all these people here to kill Liu Wenyan?"
Both the Xia Family and the Allheaven Prefecture did not have the manpower to spare.
As for the other prefectures, some lacked the ability to help while some were preoccupied with something else. For example, the Zhou brothers had left Great Zhou for their dao affirmation.
Their remaining experts had to remain in Great Zhou to keep the prefecture defended. Then again, it wasn't like they would actually help even if they were still around. As a result, Liu Wenyan's group was left without any reinforcements.
Su Yu frowned. Was this part of Wan Tiansheng's plan or were they really incapable of assigning some people here? Even as Su Yu was thinking, he could see moons falling from the sky, including the moon from a seventh-stage Sunmoon.
Evidently, a battle had erupted. With a simple guess, he was able to ascertain who Liu Wenyan's protector was. It would be none other than Ye Hongyan. But she was only a seventh-stage Sunmoon. She must have sustained some injuries herself in the process of killing a seventh-stage Sunmoon.
"Humanity...heh." Su Yu sneered, "Even when the multiple character faction is being openly attacked in the Human Realm, help is nowhere to be seen. The human race is indeed declining. Where are all those Sunmoons from their so-called holy lands?"
First Profound said, "According to what we know, something is happening near the holy lands as well. The experts there won't be able to leave. Looks like these people are determined to kill Liu Wenyan."
Su Yu sneered, "True. Furthermore, it's not like all humans want to see Liu Wenyan reach Nanyuan, either."
First Profound asked, "What's your plan?"
At that, the others looked at him as well. So what was the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion going to do in this situation?
Su Yu said, "Why are all of you looking at me like that? We'll watch the show first. No, scratch that. Let's clear the small fries first. I can already smell the stench of those small fries. They were all hiding previously, but so many of them are spread all over this area. We'll kill them all."
White One asked, "Profound Nine, are we attacking the non-humans?"
"What about it?"
"Are we siding with Liu Wenyan here?"
White One couldn't understand why. Was there a point in this? Liu Wenyan should be thankful they weren't attacking him as well. Why must they go the extra mile and help him as well?
What was wrong with Profound Nine? What was he thinking?
Su Yu didn't deign to answer the question. Instead, he sent a message straight to their superiors, "Eighth Elder, the First Divine Sect master and Ji Hong are nearby. If the First Divine Sect master is really Nan Wujiang, he might be here to save Liu Wenyan. Thus, it is unlikely that Liu Wenyan will die here. We might as well assassinate some of the experts here and frame the First Divine Sect master for it. This way, we can also reduce the competitors we might need to face over the ruin."
"Are you sure he's there?"
"Yes." Su Yu said, "Those fools are throwing their lives away trying to kill Liu Wenyan here. We only need to enjoy the show and kill a few people while we're at it. The First Divine Sect master will make a move eventually. At that time, he will take all the blame for us. If he doesn't show up, I'll have to trouble you, Eighth Elder. You might need to pretend to be him and make a move. Even if he's not Nan Wujiang, we'll make him Nan Wujiang."
"But what if Liu Wenyan really manages to inherit the ruin after returning to Nanyuan?"
The eighth elder agreed that this was a good idea, but he was still worried about the ruin. But this was really a good plan. No matter what, the First Divine Sect master would be Liu Wenyan's savior. At the same time, the eighth elder didn't really want to see Liu Wenyan reach Nanyuan either.
Su Yu said, "We'll proceed according to the plan first. If the First Divine Sect master doesn't show up, Liu Wenyan's life will be in our hands. At that time, we can kill everyone in the area before dealing with Liu Wenyan. Naturally, if the First Divine Sect master shows up, we won't have to show our hand."
"Fine."
"In that case, may I trouble you to issue the order? People like White One are terrible when it comes to doing business. Without any investment, how are you supposed to profit?"
The eighth elder laughed, "Be lenient with them. They're all enforcers, so it's understandable that they're bad at this. You wouldn't have been able to take the lead in Great Xia otherwise, right?"
"True."
Shortly after, the eighth elder's order arrived, "Follow Profound Nine's lead."
At that, Su Yu snorted at the others and said, "I don't want to see anyone questioning my decision again in the future."
The others were alarmed. This was especially true White One. He hurriedly answered, "Yes!"
"Let's move. Titanic Strength, take five people with you. Earthfire, take five people as well. The rest will come with me and First Profound Elder. We will move in three groups and assassinate all Sunmoons in the area."
"Assassinate?"
They were rendered quite speechless. How was this an assassination? They had so many Sunmoons here. The battle between them would create a lot of noise and activity.
Assassination? More like a brawl.
Su Yu ignored their reactions and gestured at First Profound. Then, they vanished. Helpless, Titanic Strength and Earthfire could only do as told and left with their people as well.
***
In Su Yu's hand was a paper crane. This was what he was using to track the index copy.
"All these people are probably carrying index copies on them. We'll try to end this as speedily as possible. Kill anyone you see."
Hearing Su Yu's order, First Profound asked through voice transmission, "What about the humans?"
"Kill."
Su Yu snorted coldly. If he could sense the bitter battle Liu Wenyan's group ws in from so far away, those humans should have sensed the same as well. And if they weren't helping, it was clear they were here harboring evil designs. In that case, there was no need to refrain from killing them.
First Profound said nothing else.
Noticing First Profound's reaction, Su Yu was more and more sure that First Profound was a human as well. But he might not be an ally of the multiple character faction. Or to be precise, he had been away from the Human Realm for so long that he was completely unaware that a split had appeared between the multiple character faction and many other human factions.
***
A short while later.
The paper crane stopped moving. Without saying anything, Su Yu threw a punch.
Instantly, a Sunmoon appeared out of thin air. Alarmed, the Sunmoon asked, "What is the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion doing here?"
"Kill."
With that order, all the Sunmoons with him attacked. All sorts of attacks were unleashed. Their opponent was merely a third-stage Sunmoon. This was an overkill.
Rumble!
Cracks appeared all over the Sunmoon's body as all those attacks hit him. The damage forced him to return to his original form, an alligator before he exploded into chunks of flesh. Even right before his death, he couldn't understand what was happening.
Had they gone mad? The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion had gone mad! They were attacking everyone! Were they not afraid of making an enemy out of the myriad races?
"This has nothing to do with us. It's the First Divine Sect master."
A moon fell from the sky. Almost at the same time, a second moon fell from the sky somewhere further away. And this was followed by a third falling moon. This was a day the masses would not forget anytime soon. Including those killed by Ye Hongyan, a total of five Sunmoons had perished thus far.
*** For origınal chapters go to NoveIＦire.net
The eighth-stage Sunmoon who was in the middle of pursuing Liu Wenyan's group was alarmed.
He roared in fury, "Who is this?"
What was going on? Several moons had fallen from the sky all of a sudden. Clearly, several Sunmoons had been killed. Who were the killers? All the people here were here to kill Liu Wenyan. Even if some might have personal grudges against each other, they would put it aside and prioritize the task at hand. Furthermore, the moons had fallen at three separate locations.
And they had fallen at almost the same time. Thus, at least three experts were killing all these people separately. Even early-stage Sunmoons shouldn't have died so easily unless the opponent was a late-stage Sunmoon. Where did all these late-stage Sunmoons come from?
Liu Wenyan's group was greatly astonished.
Ye Hongyan asked, "Are the reinforcements here?"
She was suffering from grave injuries, but she was still overjoyed at the thought of help. However, Liu Wenyan frowned and said, "Martial Grandaunt, keep moving. We don't know if these newcomers are here to help us. To instantly kill three Sunmoons, at least three late-stage Sunmoons are needed. If they are really here to help, they should have approached us instead of splitting up to kill those Sunmoons."
Alarmed, Ye Hongyan picked up the pace. True. These unknown newcomers might not necessarily be here to help them. Just one more late-stage Sunmoon was probably enough to block their escape and kill them all. And three late-stage Sunmoons had arrived.
Right at that moment, yet another moon fell from the sky.
This time, a miserable wail accompanied the falling moon, "It's the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion! They're tracking through the index copies!"
Those were the final words of a dying expert.
Immediately after, Profound Nine's voice rang out, "Do not fall for that lie. It's the First Divine Sect master. He's Nan Wujiang. The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion is in pursuit of him. Nan Wujiang, are you trying to throw us off by causing more chaos?"
Boom!
Next, a terrifying scene appeared in the sky. Three late-stage Sunmoons were fighting an illusory figure. That illusory seemed incomparably powerful. Additionally, there were dozens of Sunmoons surrounding them.
At this time, Profound Nine roared again, "Come and help! Nan Wujiang is here to save Liu Wenyan and kill the rest of you!"
The numerous Sunmoons were both alarmed and confused. Just...what should they believe?
***
At the same time.
The First Divine Sect master, who was moving through the void with Ji Hong in tow, blanked out. Him? The killer of those Sunmoons? That...wasn't that the eighth elder from the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion?
He was stunned. Was this...an attempt to frame him? Sure, he had indeed been thinking of interfering, but...wasn't it a tad too rude of the pavilion to blame him for something he didn't do?
Chapter 1193: Butcher (1)
The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion had claimed that they were in pursuit of Nan Wujiang, or to be precise, the First Divine Sect master.
Everyone could see a large group of Sunmoons fighting one terrifying opponent. The face of this terrifying opponent was wrapped in constant distortion, and this quite resembled the habit of the First Divine Sect master.
But...could they trust these words? A Sunmoon had clearly claimed that the pavilion was the culprit before dying. It was also true that the pavilion had been spilling a lot of blood as of late. In fact, a majority of the experts who had died recently in the Human Realm were killed by the pavilion.
More than ten non-human Sunmoons had perished since the myriad races started entering the Human Realm for the ruin. These Sunmoons were either those killed by the pavilion or the pavilion members killed by others. This was actually quite unbelievable.
The pavilion was a lot more aggressive than usual. In the past, the pavilion was a lot less aggressive. Its people would only fan the flame whenever there was chaos through actions like selling key information or tracking some key individuals. But now, those from the pavilion were personally getting involved in the fight.
While everyone was still in doubt, Profound Nine shouted again, "Pull back! First Divine Sect master, let's mind our own business, shall we? You have your targets to kill while we have our own missions to complete. There is no need for us to waste our time with each other."
With a wave of his hand, all the pavilion experts retreated. The illusory expert did not give chase.
After scanning the surroundings, he said, "I'm only here for Liu Wenyan. I do not wish to take more lives than necessary."
While pulling away, Su Yu laughed, "Do as you wish. Our mission does not contradict your goal."
Then, Su Yu pointed at an eighth-stage Sunmoon devil and said, "These are the ones here to kill Liu Wenyan, not us. The pavilion is not involved in this. We only stumbled upon each other through sheer coincidence earlier. Do not waste your time on us, Sect Master."
With a flicker, the illusory expert flickered and reappeared near a first-stage Sunmoon. Before the Sunmoon could even say anything, he was caught in the illusory expert's hand.
Rumble!
The Sunmoon was easily crushed to death. Yet another moon dropped from the sky. This was the sixth Sunmoon to die today.
The eighth-stage Sunmoon devil was greatly alarmed. He roared, "Retreat, everyone! No, wait! Everyone, gather up!"
Leaving would only make it easier for the First Divine Sect master to kill them separately. This was a Pseudo Invincible. Encountering him alone would spell the death for any of them. Their only option was to work together and face him with numbers like the pavilion had.
At that, the numerous Sunmoons in the area started converging around the Sunmoon devil. Meanwhile, the First Divine Sect master coldly said, "Since you're already here, forget about leaving."
It was clear the eighth elder was getting a tad bit too immersed in his roleplay. He found killing without consequences incredibly fun. He could harvest all the blood essence and storage rings from these experts while the real First Divine Sect master would take the blame for everything he did. And thus, the eighth elder started roaming the battlefield at an incredible speed, killing any lone expert he found.
Meanwhile, Su Yu continued his retreat with his group of pavilion experts.
***
The Titanic Strength Sect master asked doubtfully, "Are we leaving just like this?"
Su Yu ignored the question.
Titanic Strength was displeased. Beside him, the Earthfire Sect master laughed and said, "Brother Profound Nine, do we continue?"
This tone was polite enough to satisfy Su Yu. It was unlikely that these seventh-stage Sunmoon experts would address him as their lord, but the way the Earthfire Sect master spoke was respectful enough for him.
He explained, "No. We'll go further away and wait. We won't allow any of them to escape. For now, we'll allow them to gather up. That will save us the trouble of hunting them down all over the place."
"But they will also be harder to deal with once gathered up. There are twenty or so of them here."
More than a hundred non-human Sunmoons had entered the Human Realm. There were also around forty to fifty Sunmoons among the Myriad Race Cult and those who had sneaked into the Human Realm before this. Including the human Sunmoons, there were about three hundred in Great Xia currently.
Excluding the openings of the Luminous Domain Mansion, this was the first time in centuries so many Sunmoons had gathered in one place.
As for the openings of the Luminous Domain Mansion, most races were only there to squeeze more of their own into the mansion. Things would rarely get overly bloody. Meanwhile, Sunmoons had been dying left and right in the Human Realm this time. Just look at how six Sunmoons had died in such a short time.
Su Yu added, "We also need to stop Liu Wenyan's group. We don't want all our hard work to go to waste, right?"
He was doing this to stay consistent with the role he was playing, but at the same time, he was also worried that Liu Wenyan's group would run off and get themselves killed elsewhere while he was occupied. Orıginal content can be found at novelFɪre.net
He would feel much more at ease if they remained near him. As for the possibility of the eighth elder making a move against them, he would decide what to do later. If needed, he could always get Zhu Tiandao's help. Yes. He was counting on Old Zhu's help.
He did not try to contact anyone from Great Xia. Old Wan would be too occupied to come as well. But Old Zhu seemed quite free. He also wasn't included among the peak Sunmoons who had been instructed to attempt their dao affirmations this time.
Su Yu wasn't surprised. Old Zhu was only an early ninth-stage Sunmoon. He was still very far away from dao affirmation. It was completely normal for him to be left out.
If he had to, he would get Old Zhu to pretend he was passing by before lending a hand to Liu Wenyan's group. Sure, Old Zhu was probably not the eighth elder's match. But the eighth elder would be wary since Great Ming King was still within the Human Realm. He would not want to provoke the father by beating up the son.
The likelihood of an adult interfering in the fight of children was low in any other family, but that did not apply to the Zhu Family.
Soon, Su Yu started moving in Liu Wenyan's direction while shouting, "Liu Wenyan, don't be in a rush to leave. Mayor Su Yu has hired us to ensure your safety. He paid us handsomely for this job."
White One and the others rolled their eyes. What nonsense. Su Yu didn't even have an index copy with him. He was probably still unaware of what was going on in the Human Realm. How was he supposed to hire the pavilion for this job? Then again, this was quite a believable excuse.
Firstly, Su Yu was rich enough to hire them.
Secondly, Su Yu also had enough motivation to pay a high price to protect Liu Wenyan.
He had both the motivation and ability to do this.
White One and the others couldn't help but grumble inwardly that Profound Nine was truly flexible in thinking. First, he had the eighth elder running around killing people. Then, he tried to fool Liu Wenyan's group with this excuse.
Ye Hongyan slowed down, but Liu Wenyan said, "Keep moving. Ignore them."
He then looked back at the pavilion members and laughed, "You have my thanks. But do try to stay further away from us. Just keep a distance of at least ten kilometers between us while you escort us back to Nanyuan."
Nobody knew if this was yet another trick. Thus, running should still be their priority. That left Su Yu cursing inwardly. Why was Teacher Liu fleeing?
If Liu Wenyan was allowed to flee, the eighth elder would be a lot less willing to cooperate with him. Furthermore, he was still Profound Nine. He shouldn't fail at something as simple as stopping Liu Wenyan. Profound Nine's reputation as a reliable member of the pavilion must be protected.
"First Profound Elder, please speed up and stop them."
First Profound asked through voice transmission, "Are we really stopping them?"
Just what was Su Yu planning? Sure, they could stop Liu Wenyan here. But the eighth elder might return later to kill him. What, then?
"Stop them."
First Profound thought about it and concluded that no matter how ruthless Su Yu was, he wouldn't do something like killing Liu Wenyan. So be it. His body flickered as he vanished from the group.
He was much faster than Ye Hongyan. This was especially true since Ye Hongyan was suffering from heavy injuries. In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in front of them. With a smile, he said, "Friends, I advise you to stop temporarily. Since the pavilion has accepted this mission, we can't allow you to run off without us."
Ye Hongyan hesitated. Was this an enemy or a friend? Liu Wenyan was left frowning as well. He noted that First Profound had yet to attack. In that case, it wouldn't be wise for them to initiate a fight.
Just what were these people planning? If they were really hired by Su Yu, they could have escorted him from afar. Why were they stopping him in his path? He was wary, but he did not attempt to flee.
After a short moment, Su Yu and the others arrived. Su Yu was quite impressed with First Profound's speed.
With a laugh, Su Yu introduced himself, "I'm Profound Nine. Greetings, General Ye and the others."
Liu Wenyan flashed a genial smile and said, "Your reputation precedes you, Lord Profound Nine. I have a question. Why are you blocking our path?"
Su Yu said, "Don't worry. Wait a bit before you resume your journey. Please don't tell me you really think that the First Divine Sect master is here to save you. That's an elder of the pavilion. He's here to kill some of your enemies for you. If you leave without us, more enemies might appear. What if you encounter a Pseudo Invincible without us by your side?"
Alarmed, Liu Wenyan looked at the intense battle that was still raging somewhere further away and exclaimed, "That's...an elder from the pavilion?"
Su Yu replied, "Yes. We're doing this to help you. Su Yu paid us five hundred drops of sunmoon profound yellow liquid for this mission. This is enough pay to kill even a Pseudo Invincible. Thus, a large group was deployed, including a Pseudo Invincible, for this mission."
That was quite a convincing reasoning. Even Liu Wenyan was nearly convinced. Did Su Yu really spend so much money to hire these people? That was a lot of money. Was this real? But the pavilion had indeed sent more than twenty Sunmoons here, including a Pseudo Invincible. This was quite a big deal.
Su Yu said, "Stop running without us. Things might get dangerous further ahead. You have a long way to go and your journey back is riddled with enemies. It is unlikely for you to make the trip relying only on the seriously injured General Ye. I advise that you wait for us and go together. We can set off again after dealing with these small fries."
Liu Wenyan said, "The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion is powerful indeed. How many Sunmoons did the pavilion send for this mission? At least twenty, right?"
"Around that number." Su Yu nodded. His tone turned slightly solemn as he said, "We did not expect that you would attract so many Sunmoons either..."
After a short pause, he said, "We'll need to help the elder with these people. I advise you not to stray too far away from us. We don't want to fail this mission just because you decide to run around and get yourself killed. This mission is worth five hundred drops of sunmoon profound yellow liquid so we're not very keen on failing it."
Liu Wenyan became more and more convinced after hearing all this talk about money. In any case, they were already surrounded by over twenty Sunmoons. He might as well stay around for a bit.
"In that case, I'll have to trouble you for now."
"Don't worry about it." Su Yu laughed it off. Inwardly, he was starting to feel smug again. Once again, he was the one riding to his Teacher Liu's rescue. What would his Teacher Liu be without him? Then again, he also knew that his Teacher Liu still had Ye Batian's characters to serve as his final trump card.
As a peak Mountainsea, his Teacher Liu could probably put up quite a fight utilizing Ye Batian's characters. Things were simply not desperate enough yet for his Teacher Liu to use those characters. If things were really so desperate, Su Yu wouldn't have been able to stay so relaxed.
Chapter 1194: Butcher (2)
Under Su Yu's lead, Liu Wenyan's group and the white masks approached the active battlefield.
An intense battle was still ongoing.
Many of the Sunmoons were still converging around the devil Sunmoon. Before long, a group of about seventeen Sunmoons were gathered. Among them, four were late-stage Sunmoons, with three being seventh-stage Sunmoons and one being an eighth-stage Sunmoon.
The sight of so many powerful experts made it clear how determined the myriad races were to kill Liu Wenyan. Su Yu could even sense that a few of the gathered Sunmoons were actually humans.
Naturally, all of them were masked to hide their identities. In truth, they would probably be better off hiding their identities through some other methods. By arriving in masks, they made it very clear that they were humans. Some of them might even be the subordinates of the traitor.
The eighth elder was engaged in an intense battle against these Sunmoons. As a Pseudo Invincible, any casual attack of his could be fatal to anyone under the seventh-stage Sunmoon Realm.
At the moment, the four late-stage Sunmoons were keeping the eighth elder occupied while the other Sunmoons stayed further away and assisted by throwing ranged attacks at the elder.
This would certainly not work against an Invincible. Perhaps this was the difference between a Pseudo Invincible and an Invincible.
Then again, it was also likely that the eighth elder was not fully demonstrating the potential strength a Pseudo Invincible could have. For example, he might have captured only his past body, which would be weaker. Not everyone had the ability to capture their future body before becoming a Pseudo Invincible.
Su Yu could see that the eighth elder was stronger than regular ninth-stage Sunmoons but still weaker than the truly strong Pseudo Invincibles. For example, someone at the level of Ye Batian could probably easily slaughter everyone here instead of struggling like the eighth elder.
After a while, the Sunmoon devil exclaimed, "You're not First Divine!"
A Sunmoon divine added, "You're definitely not the First Divine Sect master! Who are you?"
The divines were still quite familiar with the First Divine Sect master. After all, that was their nominal representative in the Human Realm. The combat style of this Pseudo Invincible held no resemblance to the First Divine Sect master's.
Next, a different person exclaimed, "He's not the First Divine Sect master! He's from the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion! He must be the eighth elder of their Enforcement Unit!"
The other Sunmoons were greatly alarmed upon hearing that.
One of the Sunmoons noticed Su Yu and his entourage. He questioned furiously, "Is the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion thinking of going to war against us?"
His anger was understandable. So many Sunmoons had died here.
Su Yu's eyes flickered as he quickly thought of something and roared, "First Divine Sect master, are you here? May I suggest that we join hands and kill all these people? The pavilion has been hired to protect Liu Wenyan. But killing them is not part of the mission. If you're willing to cooperate with us, we won't mind going the extra mile and killing these people alongside you."
He received no reply. Su Yu frowned. Was the First Divine Sect master really not here? But he could sense Ji Hong's index copy nearby. Or was it possible that the First Divine Sect master had deliberately lured him here because the sect master knew his identity as well?
Otherwise, he could have gotten rid of Ji Hong's index copy long ago. He should be aware that the index copy could be tracked. Also, was the sect master here to save Liu Wenyan? But if that was the case, why did the sect master allow Liu Wenyan to fall into the hands of the pavilion?
Su Yu shouted again, "Sect Master, are you really not willing to cooperate with us? Or perhaps you're wary of the traitor among the human Invincibles? Don't worry. The pavilion is investigating him as well. If he does choose to act, with two Pseudo Invincibles, we still stand a chance against a mere tri-life body. Even if we can only keep him occupied for a short while, that will be enough for us to track his real body. The knowledge of his identity is worth a lot of money, so you don't have to worry about our betrayal."
The Sunmoon devil shouted, "Eighth Elder, Profound Nine, you're only here to complete a mission. Why fight to the death for the sake of some money? If it's money you're after, we are also capable of paying you off."
Su Yu did not mind engaging in more conversation to buy more time. He laughed and asked, "How much money are you offering to pay for your lives?"
"A hundred strands of heavenearth profound light. What do you think?"
The Sunmoon devil added in a somewhat helpless manner, "Additionally, we are willing to pay three hundred strands of heavenearth profound light for Liu Wenyan's life."
Su Yu couldn't even be bothered to entertain that request. He sent a voice transmission, "Titanic Strength, Earthfire, take some people and kill them. First Profound Elder will stay to watch our back against any sneak attacks."
"Sure."
The two former sect masters were getting quite excited. What a spectacle this was. They were actually freely slaughtering the Sunmoons of the myriad races. As former cultists, they used to be the servants of these people. But now, their roles had been reversed. They were the ones holding power over the lives of these people.
In the blink of an eye, the two late-stage Sunmoons joined the battle. They might not be too dependable in a losing battle, but they were still quite useful in a battle where the advantage was clearly on their side.
With the inclusion of two more late-stage Sunmoons, the myriad race Sunmoons were having an even harder time than before.
The battle grew so intense massive explosions were erupting everywhere. It felt as though the entire world was shaking, and the beasts in the wilderness nearby had either fled or been killed by the resulting shockwaves.
This place wasn't even that far away from both Great Zhou and Great Jin yet nobody from those two prefectures had bothered to check on the commotion. The multicolored explosions from the battle of so many Sunmoons could be seen from even far away. Clearly, the two prefectures did not intend to get dragged into such a massive battle.
Even Su Yu was starting to grow excited. This was an amazing feeling. He had been finding some people eyesores for quite a while. Alas, he wouldn't be able to kill too many of them alone. And killing a Sunmoon or two wouldn't really make that much of a difference anyway. Thankfully, he was now Profound Nine, the shot-caller of Heavenly Hunt Pavilion in the Human Realm.
This granted him enough power to attack over twenty Sunmoons at once. He had also been quite successful, as a decent number of Sunmoons had perished because of him thus far. This was the benefit of having a powerful backer.
***
In the sky.
The slightly pale Ji Hong looked at the illusory figure beside him and asked, "Sect Master, are you still not making a move? You're here to save Liu Wenyan, but he has fallen into the hands of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. Are you going to make a move against the myriad race Sunmoons or take advantage of the chaos to snatch Liu Wenyan from the pavilion? You must have decided, so why are you still watching?"
Even now, Ji Hong was still finding it hard to believe that this was Nan Wujiang, nor had the sect master admitted to being Nan Wujiang. Ji Hong still viewed the First Divine Sect master with suspicion, and he had been observing the sect master attentively.
After all, those from Great Xia were not the only ones capable of acting. There was a possibility that this sect master was a subordinate of the traitor. This could very well be a scheme to obtain some information from him.
"There's no rush." The illusory person replied, "We'll wait and see. Over forty Sunmoons have gathered here. This is enough to kill even me if I end up surrounded here."
There were too many people. One of them was even a Pseudo Invincible. Sure, this wasn't one of those super Pseudo Invincibles capable of fighting Invincibles, but one should always be wary against a Pseudo Invincible.
Ji Hong returned to silence.
Meanwhile, the battle had been continuously growing in intensity.
After punching a third-stage Sunmoon apart, the Titanic Strength Sect master laughed heartily and said, "Celestial eye divine race? Nothing special."
He had just punched a divine apart. In the past, a cultist like him would never have the courage to attack a divine. But today, he had been given the chance to kill a divine. How exhilarating. He was in a great mood.
This felt as liberating as what a serf would feel after overthrowing their overlords in a peasant revolution. Back then, he was a slave of the myriad races, the titanic strength divine race in particular. Now, things had changed. Sure, he did not get the chance to kill a titanic strength divine. But he had still killed a divine.
As for Su Yu, seeing that there was no response from the First Divine Sect master, he frowned and said, "Everyone, do you want to live or die? The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion does not wish to make an enemy out of everyone. As long as you capture the humans among you and hand them to us, we'll spare you."
"Hmph!" The myriad race Sunmoons merely snorted coldly at him.
Su Yu added, "They are probably the chess pieces of the human traitor, and our core business is still information peddling. The profit from killing all of you is nothing compared to the profit from selling information. The pavilion is not an organization of assassins. We only care about profit, not the type of business we do." Latest content publıshed on Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
"Think about it. How long can you even last? Are you waiting for reinforcements? How long will that take? Must you force us to kill all of you?"
Before the myriad race Sunmoons could even reply, the three masked humans among them hurriedly fled. They would never place their trust in the myriad races. The art of sowing dissension was very common, but it was also very effective.
It was quite likely that the myriad race Sunmoons would take this offer. This was the disadvantage of working in a loose coalition of multiple factions.
With a wave of Su Yu's hand, several Sunmoons behind him shot forth and went after the three fleeing humans. Once again, sounds of explosions filled the area.
Right at that moment, a different voice rang out, "We can cooperate. You will be in charge of killing them all. A Pseudo Invincible devil has arrived. I will keep him busy for you."
The sky collapsed and the earth split.
Far away from them, amid shattered chunks of space, a battle had started between a devil and an illusory figure.
"First Divine Sect master?" The devil roared furiously, "Audacious! How dare you stop me?"
The eighth elder's expression changed massively as he hurriedly sent a voice transmission, "Both of them are very strong. They are similar in strength with the third elder."
Clearly, the eighth elder was saying that they were stronger than him. More and more experts had arrived.
The eighth elder suggested, "We need to retreat. If this continues, more experts will arrive. This is not the only Pseudo Invincible sent by the myriad races this time."
The eighth elder was of the opinion that if they remained until more Pseudo Invincibles arrived, they would be the ones to suffer.
Su Yu sighed inwardly.
Humanity had no Pseudo Invincibles to spare. Or to be precise, all the Pseudo Invincibles had been deployed elsewhere. Otherwise, this would be a good chance to wipe out all the myriad race and pavilion experts here. Such an action would be enough to plant some fear in the hearts of the myriad races.
Alas, that was not happening. Humanity was clearly turning a blind eye to the intense battle here. The few humans who had actually arrived were only here to kill Liu Wenyan.
Tired of being a spectator, Su Yu decided to start fighting himself. His gaze settled on a human expert who was in the middle of a battle with White One as his eyes lit up. Suddenly, a rumble rang out as the human expert was set aflame.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The human Sunmoon wailed miserably as his skin tore apart from the burning. His blood poured out only to instantly evaporate due to the intense heat around him.
"Capture all these humans."
Su Yu ordered, "First Profound Elder, it's time you make a move."
First Profound did not argue and reached out to a different human Sunmoon.
Alarmed, the human Sunmoon swung his saber once before madly fleeing. In his desperation, he even ignited his blood essence for an extra boost of power.
First Profound did not intend to hold back. He pushed his arm forth and slapped the fleeing human Sunmoon down from the sky. With a rumble, the human Sunmoon crashed into the ground before bursting apart.
In place of the destroyed body, a ball of light appeared. That was the human Sunmoon's sea of willpower. It did not hesitate and started fleeing almost immediately. The ball of light moved at an incredibly fast speed.
First Profound was just about to capture the ball of light when it was set aflame all of a sudden. A miserable wail rang out. Then, the ball of light exploded, releasing massive shockwaves in all directions. That was followed by the appearance of a falling moon in the sky.