Chapter 78 - 78

Chapter 1275: Eve Of Alliance (2)

Xia Longwu said, "Nine ancient city mayors had assisted me during my dao affirmation. Prior to that, I promised to sever their death qi connections after my advancement. But that is no simple task. I will also not be able to enter the Allheaven Battlefield in the near future. You shall visit them as my envoy and inform them that I require more time. It can be as short as one month or as long as multiple years. If you can survive the wrath of the mayors and return alive, the throne will be yours."

The expressions of many in the crowd changed upon hearing that. Xia Huyou asked awkwardly, "That's...unlikely, right? What's the point of killing me?"

Xia Longwu nonchalantly replied, "Because in a way, I have broken my promise to them. The task appears to be much harder than my initial expectation. Almost all the mayors were converted by death sovereigns. I originally intended to sever the connection during my breakthrough before their death sovereigns could appear. There were complications. Some of them are at their limits. That was why they had agreed to work with me. This delay might kill them. It won't be surprising if some decide to take their anger on you."

Xia Longwu added, "You claimed that you're close to Su Yu. But there is no guarantee that he will be able to become the leader of this alliance he's proposing. His cultivation is still too weak. Thus, you have two tasks. First, you need to inform the nine mayors about the delay. Next, attend their assembly as an envoy of Great Xia."

Xia Huyou asked with hesitation, "We're attending the assembly?"

Xia Longwu nodded, "Yes. I believe a lot of factions will be there for various reasons. Some might want to ruin it. Some might want to benefit from it. Some might want to see the alliance happen...but without Su Yu at the helm."

Xia Huyou asked, "Father, do you mean that I'll need to help Su Yu become the leader as an envoy of Great Xia?"

Xia Longwu said, "Help? What can you do to help? I only want you to voice Great Xia's support for him. If he fails to become the leader, remind him to be careful. Things are quite peaceful in Great Xia now. We can provide him shelter if he requires it."

Xia Huyou nodded, "I understand."

"So are you willing to go?"

Xia Huyou grinned, "Yes. I have never gone further than the Eastrift Valley. I have never seen places like Sea of Stars or Plain of Desires. This will be exciting."

Xia Longwu said, "You can get Huang Teng to go with you."

Xia Huyou suggested, "Huang Teng...sure. Maybe I should pick our candidates for the Luminous Domain Mansion as well. We can set off together..."

Xia Longwu said, "Put that aside for now. Finish this mission first."

After a slight hesitation, Xia Huyou nodded, "Fine. This isn't hard. Su Yu won't even need my help."

He looked at the others and laughed, "Seniors, I look forward to working with all of you. Thanks, mayors, Administrator Hu, and Principal Zheng for your support."

The mayors were left quite speechless. Support his ass. That fellow had visited them one by one. First, he asked for their support. Those refusing to support him would be suggested for training in Great Qin. It almost felt like Great Qin was Xia Huyou's personal land of exile.

Then again, he was the sole son of Xia Longwu. Nobody was really opposed to him. They only felt that he wasn't strong enough for the position. Nobody had anything to say. With a cheerful smile on his face, Xia Huyou left.

Looking at his departing son, Xia Longwu shook his head. This son was too different from him. Then again, he had secured the throne by beating his second uncle into submission. Meanwhile, the kid had...sigh. So be it.

In truth, the actual choice was between Xia Huyou and Xia Chan. As for Xia Yuwen...things had been complicated by Xia Changqing's death. In any case, it wouldn't be easy for Xia Yuwen to forget that Xia Huyou was the one who had killed Xia Changqing. Xia Longwu might be fair, but he wasn't so fair that he would hand the throne to someone with a personal enmity toward his son.

Xia Longwu moved on to the next topic, "The principals of the three cultural research academies have all perished in battle."

Wan Tiansheng wasn't dead, but he was acting as though Wan Tiansheng was dead as well.

"The three academies had also lost more than half their elders. I propose fusing the three academies into one."

With a sigh, Xia Longwu continued, "From now on, there will only be one cultural research academy in Great Xia. As for the principal, Ji Hong will be the acting principal since Yuan Qingdong and Zhou Mingren are both dead..."

He hesitated slightly and said, "Wu Yuehua will be appointed as the vice principal, in charge of managing the day-to-day operations of the academy."

The eyes of many people in the hall flickered thoughtfully, but nobody said anything.

Liu Wenyan and his people had left, but Wu Yuehua was still around. After all, she was the head of the Pillmaking Faculty and a member of the Wu Family. As her family had also suffered considerably during the recent conflict, she had to remain and take care of them.

"As for the Single Character Faculty...from now on, there will only be a Character Faculty."

Xia Longwu said, "There will no longer be any separation between the single and multiple character factions. In truth, the multiple character faction no longer has any inheritance to share. The Character Technique Stele is gone. Sure, the steles of Nine Heavens and Daoseeking Academies are still around, but those steles are very lacking. We will not train any new multiple character cultivators for now. Jia Dequan will be managing the faculty temporarily. Zhao Li will take over Xia Changqing's position for now."

In short, Wu Yuehua and Zhao Li would become the vice principals while Jia Dequan would become the head of Character Faculty. These new appointees were considerably weaker than the previous holders of those positions.

With a sigh, Xia Longwu stood up and said, "That is all. Senior White will serve as Xia Huyou's dao protector during his mission. The assembly is being held at the Sea of Stars. Senior White might have joined Great Xia, but he is still a dragon. His familiarity with the place and some people there will be helpful during the mission."

The old white dragon accepted his task with a nod. But inwardly, he was sighing. This wouldn't be an easy mission.

Xia Huyou was too weak, which was more disappointing than it should have been because he was Xia Longwu's son. But as someone from Xia Family's direct line, most people wouldn't be bothered to target him. Killing him wouldn't hurt the Xia Family much yet it would invite the wrath of the family.

However, the old dragon was still worried since the Xia Family had quite a lot of enemies. That was especially true for Xia Longwu, who had recently killed an Invincible. The descendants of that dead Invincible wouldn't hesitate to take their revenge on Xia Huyou.

*** Official source ıs novel⦿fire.net

That day, the political landscape of Great Xia started changing. The various factions and the academies were reorganized while Xia Huyou prepared for his attendance at the coming assembly of ancient cities.

Apart from Great Xia, the various human prefectures and powers among the myriad races, including the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion, were preparing to attend the assembly. The assembly would be held in Grandstar City.

Nobody knew if the ancient cities would be able to reach an agreement and form an alliance. Even with the formation of the alliance, there was no promise that Su Yu would be the leader.

***

Grandstar City had the attention of the Myriad Realms.

Mysterious guests started appearing in the various ancient cities.

Eternal Serenity Ancient City.

Mayor's residence.

A few mysterious individuals had arrived in secret. Noticing that they were stealing glances at the inner hall, the mayor laughed and said, "Don't bother. It's fine. Lord Eternal Serenity does not involve himself in these matters."

The mayor explained, "As long as you don't go against the laws, Lord Eternal Serenity will remain a protector. A protector of Eternal Serenity City, not Grandstar City."

The mysterious guests nodded. One of them laughed, "That's good to hear. You understand why we're here. Su Yu wishes to unite the ancient cities with him at the helm. However...he is still too young to be worthy of that position." "The young would always dream of a beautiful future, even if the future might be unrealistic. Even if he has the strength to contend against Sunmoons, the various mayors are either ninth-stage Sunmoons or Pseudo Invincibles. Why must everyone obey him?"

The mayor smiled, "Just be frank with me. There is no need to beat around the bush. You are neglecting the fact that Su Yu has the backing of the guardians..."

"Each city has its own guardian. And Grandstar only has power over Grandstar City."

One of the guests said, "If Su Yu is capable of bringing everyone together, the other mayors can do the same. The guardians don't care about these mundane affairs. They care more about the laws. Their concern lies in the Death Realm. I don't deny that Su Yu has created a great opportunity for everyone. There is indeed a need for the ancient cities to come together. This new faction will be one of considerable power. The one with control over this faction will have sufficient power to contend against the myriad races."

"Lord Mayor, Su Yu is not strong enough to lead such a faction. He won't be able to force all the mayors to accept his leadership. At that time, the various mayors may pick a leader through whatever means they prefer. Perhaps you want to elect the leader. Or perhaps you want to pick one through combat. No matter what, Su Yu is unqualified to make the decision on behalf of everyone."

The mayor nodded, "That's a reasonable argument. But...I'm afraid Su Yu will have his supporters. After all, he is the sole mayor who has gained the favor of the guardians. Without him, the alliance will not have much bite to it."

"We understand that."

One of the mysterious guests said, "Thus, we're not suggesting that you kill him or do anything against him. We are only suggesting that you prevent him from gaining the leadership of the alliance. Perhaps you can suggest a different system, such as a council of elders used by the humans or a voting system similar to what the divines and devils are using. Having an alliance is a good thing for all of us, but Su Yu should not have a monopoly of power. He can have some power, but the power must be shared."

The mayor nodded, "I will consider your proposal. But I'm not sure Su Yu will find it acceptable."

"It doesn't matter. He is still a mayor. He will have to abide unless he has a way of breaking free from the city. However, that will turn him into a lone exceptional genius, not the overlord that he currently is."

The mayor nodded in agreement. He said, "In that case, I will require your help to generate some pressure on the ancient cities and Su Yu in particular. Otherwise, it won't be easy to make him submit."

"That is only natural."

Similar conversations were happening in almost all the ancient cities.

Chapter 1276: Eve Of Alliance (3)

Grandstar City.

A month had passed. After taking a deep inhalation, Su Yu opened his eyes as a storm of source qi raged around him. He had grown even more after spending a month in seclusion.

He had reached sixty-eight body forgings, but his yang acupoint was still troubling him. Fortunately, he was rich enough with heavenearth profound light and heavenly source qi that he could sustain the acupoint's hunger for a time even without death qi. He was no longer that far away from completing his seventy-two forgings.

"It's another end of year..."

Su Yu muttered to himself as he recalled that year 351 was coming to an end. At this time the previous year, he had left Great Xia. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed. Soon, he would spend his second new year alone. This time, he would celebrate the new year in the ancient city. In but a few days, he would be twenty in age.

With some melancholy, he walked out of his cultivation chamber. When he reached the main hall of the residence, he spread his senses about and noted that the city was bustling with people, giving the city a much livelier atmosphere. Not long after his arrival, an old man appeared. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel_fіre.net

The old man appeared frail, but his willpower seemed powerful. As the old man looked at Su Yu, he said, "Young Friend Su, I've reached a decision. I will be converting into a resident."

"Are you sure, Senior Wang?"

Senior Wang nodded, "Yes. I'm an old man without long to live. Thanks to you, I survived the previous battle. The Knowledge Seeking Realm is no more. Even if I were to return to the Human Realm, where could I go?"

Senior Wang sighed and said, "I will die sooner or later. I might as well convert into an ancient city resident. At least here, I will enjoy your backing. I can see that the city still lacks an official in charge of the gates. I volunteer for this position. With me, you will be able to better monitor the traffic in and out of the city."

Su Yu warned, "Senior Wang, becoming a resident is not a good thing. You have just regrown your body while your sea of willpower is still damaged. If you convert into a resident now, you might die in only a few years."

Senior Wang smiled, "Death is coming for me either way. At the very least, I can do something to help before that as a resident."

Su Yu thought about it and asked, "Are you sure you don't want to return?"

"No." Senior Wang sighed, "Those from my generation have either advanced into Invincibles or died. Not many of my friends are left in the world. I will never be able to understand Invincibles. After many years of seclusion, I can't even follow the thoughts of the regular people anymore. What's the point of returning if I'll still be all alone?"

Su Yu considered and said, "If that is what you wish for, you may convert into a resident. As for the death qi of the city, don't worry. The burden on you will be light."

Senior Wang smiled, "Since you don't object, I'll start my conversion. I'm near my limits in the city anyway."

At his age, he had given up on progressing in his cultivation. After his recent near-death experience and survival thanks to Su Yu, he had decided to help Su Yu with his remaining time in the world. Su Yu might not be able to go much further than the mayor's residence relying on himself.

At his peak, Senior Wang was near the ninth-stage Sunmoon Realm. But due to his injuries, his strength had dropped to the point where even challenging a seventh-stage Sunmoon might prove difficult.

Senior Wang said, "In that case, I'll be addressing you as the mayor from now on. As a resident, I will require your backing. By the way, a lot of new faces have entered the city recently. I suspect they are here to spy on you..."

Su Yu nodded, "These are probably some weaklings. Very few of them are experts. Looks like everyone is afraid of losing their experts to me if I decide to seal the city again."

"True. There is no Sunmoon among the newcomers and only a few of them are Mountainseas."

Su Yu laughed, "They are probably here for the coming assembly. Looks like we can expect some trouble during the assembly."

He shook his head, "These people will most definitely try to stir some trouble during the assembly. That includes some of the mayors. In fact, it is likely that some of these newcomers are here for those mayors. A lot of people are unwilling to see me gather more power in the Allheaven Battlefield. I'm not surprised."

Senior Wang asked, "Do you have an answer to their potential challenge, Mayor?"

"An answer..." Su Yu thought about it and smiled, "There is no rush. They still need to rely on me. Without me, they won't receive the backing of their guardians. And without their guardians, they are nothing."

Su Yu wasn't too worried. It was likely that the alliance would be formed. And these people wouldn't dare to exclude him completely. After all, he was the source of the greatest backing the alliance could hope to get. Thus, they would probably try to include him while restricting his power.

Su Yu was certain some would propose numerous power-sharing systems to limit his power in the alliance. But he was not optimistic of their chances.

He was the sole person capable of encouraging the stone statues to act. He would not share any of his power unless he was stupid. As for the disobedient mayors, well, he would naturally think of a way to subdue them.

Then again, none of these mayors were weak. Even the weakest among them would be a ninth-stage Sunmoon while the stronger ones were Pseudo Invincibles. They could even fuse with the death spirits in their cities for more power. It wouldn't be easy for Su Yu to handle them.

With sixty-eight body forgings completed, he could muster the strength of over 1.2 million acupoints. With his yang acupoint, characters, and semi-transformed source qi, he was not an opponent to scoff at. But without consuming blood essence, his combat strength would not exceed the sixth-stage Sunmoon Realm. That was far from enough to deal with these mayors.

It also wouldn't be easy for him to convince the stone statue to act against the other mayors. Thus, he had to use reason if he wanted to deal with them. Su Yu kept convincing himself that he was a reasonable person, he naturally had to convince them through reason.

At worst, he could withdraw completely from the alliance or start a smaller alliance with only those supportive of his leadership. It was no big deal. Did those idiots believe that he couldn't function without all thirty-six cities under him?

Su Yu said, "Senior Wang, since you're willing to become a resident, I won't stop you. I will need to trouble you with the affairs of this city in the future."

This would only benefit him. It would be very hard for Senior Wang to recover from his past injuries even if he were to remain as a human. Su Yu wondered if he could think of a way to help after Senior Wang's conversion.

Senior Wang nodded and withdrew from the hall. With his strength, a Pseudo Invincible death spirit or Xing Yue herself would be required to complete the conversion.

Su Yu was curious. Would Xing Yue show herself again? He was starting to miss her now that she had gone missing for some time.

Since he had not killed anyone in the city, Xing Yue did not have the right to kill him. Thus, he had no reason to fear her. Instead, he wanted to ask her if he could convert her back to life instead. After all, he had heard that with a connection, either of them could convert the other.

If he could convert Xing Yue back to life, would that make her his subordinate? That was what he truly cared about. After all, Xing Yue was an Invincible. Wouldn't it be great if he could get an Invincible as a subordinate?

Thus far, the Invincibles who had helped him had only done so due to his persuasion. He did not have a subordinate Invincible who would truly follow his orders. Through the coming assembly, he wished to reach an agreement with the other stone statues.

It was also time for him to fulfill his promise of becoming the new mayor of Empyrean Cloud City. He felt like he could assume the mayorship of several ancient cities. As far as he was concerned, the stone statue was the only thing that mattered for each ancient city. The ambitions of an ancient city mayor would not matter unless they could forge a connection with the stone statue of the city.

Chapter 1277: Center Of Attention (1)

Once again, Su Yu visited the inner hall.

Grandstar opened his eyes.

He noted that Su Yu would grow noticeably each time he took his attention off the kid for a few days.

He would usually not say anything about it, but he decided differently this time as he said, "Your heaven acupoint is incomplete. You can't stop it from absorbing death qi. If this continues, you will fully transform into a death spirit."

Wow. Such a knowledgeable old fellow.

Heaven acupoint. So that was the name of that acupoint. Su Yu was impressed at the breadth of knowledge this old fellow possessed.

"Heaven acupoint?" Su Yu said, "I named it the yang acupoint, with its counterpart being the yin aperture. Together, they are called the source soul acupoint."

Grandstar considered that name and said, "That is a suitable name."

"Do you know this acupoint, Lord?"

"Yes." Grandstar explained, "I have only heard about it, so I don't know too much. Even during my era, this acupoint was rarely opened."

Su Yu nodded and asked, "Lord, since I've yet to fully open the acupoint, is there a way to shut it again?"

The acupoint had been getting more and more annoying to handle. Each time he fed it with death qi, he would drift dangerously close to becoming a real death spirit. But if he fed it with source qi, he would find the demand too challenging for him to meet.

"I'm unsure. I suggest you think of something soon. After all, you're not a real death spirit."

Grandstar advised, "When this thing you call yang acupoint becomes fully saturated with death qi, an eruption of death qi will happen. That will instantly turn you into a death spirit. For now, you can only rely on the capacity of this acupoint. There is a limit to every acupoint."

Su Yu nodded in agreement. After spending so much time with the yang acupoint open, he had noticed that there was a limit to it. Of course, it would be quite a while before it reached the limit.

Just look at the old man from Bai Family. He had been feeding his yang acupoint for so many years yet the acupoint had yet to explode. Clearly, the capacity of the yang acupoint was quite high.

Su Yu moved on to a different topic and asked, "Lord, I wish to reorganize the thirty-six cities. But I'm worried that not everyone will accept my proposal. Do you think I'll be successful, Lord?"

Grandstar asked, "What is the purpose of the reorganization? Turning all residents into your subordinates? What is the point of having some weaklings as subordinates? I'm not against it, but I don't see the point."

Su Yu laughed and said, "Uhm...Lord, we have a saying to describe your attitude toward this suggestion. It's easy to speak from a privileged position. You are an Invincible. An ancient Invincible. Such a power is naturally incapable of attracting your attention. But this is very important for us mayors." "When we work together, we can probably contend against at least ten Invincibles. Since there is hope for me to gain control over such a power, I'll naturally not give up on it. And I hope to gain our support for this."

Grandstar gave it some thought and pronounced, "One does not become a guardian for power." Check latest chapters at novel·fiɾe·net

Su Yu nodded, "I understand. Your mission...probably involves guarding the world from the dead. Or to be precise, you're tasked to counteract the death qi with the living. Regardless of whether one is a resident or a regular living being, everyone needs to cultivate. That process will counteract the death qi leaking out of the Death Realm. Without this process, death qi will spread uncontrollably, eventually covering the entire Myriad Realms. Am I right?"

Grandstar said nothing. That was correct.

Su Yu continued, "But you are also unwilling to seek help from the outsiders. Or to be precise, you distrust the outsiders. You have to stay wary of the myriad races lest some of them decide to release the death spirits. Thus, all the guardians have mostly ignored the management of the ancient cities while focusing only on the tunnels over the years.

"In my opinion, the alliance will attract more help. We will be able to invite more people into the cities. With more people, we will be able to better counteract the death qi. That will only strengthen your defense against the Death Realm..."

Grandstar said, "Su Yu, do you know that you're not the first person to propose this idea? A long time ago, someone proposed the same thing. As you know, there are thirty-six holy cities in existence. But one is completely empty. Why? Because the mayor of that city had the same idea a long time ago. In fact, he was even more ambitious than you. He dreamed of controlling death spirits and ruling the Myriad Realms through the holy cities. Alas, things ran out of control and he got himself killed."

"..."

Su Yu blanked out slightly.

Grandstar continued, "This happened a very long time ago. It was so long ago that I have almost forgotten it. That mayor was exceptionally talented. Like you, he had a way of easily handling the death qi in his body. He managed to receive the backing of several guardians. These guardians were hopeful that he would be able to strengthen their defense against the Death Realm. But...a tragedy befell. He wanted to dominate the Allheaven Battlefield. He wanted to turn all death spirits into his subordinates. Things ran out of control. Too many death sovereigns appeared in the city, covering the entire Sea of Stars with death qi. Eventually, he died. After that incident, his city sank into the bottom of the sea."

Su Yu frowned. So his idea wasn't original? Did that mayor know the same reversal art he knew?

Su Yu asked, "How did he die?"

"Killed by his guardian."

Grandstar answered emotionlessly. In his petrified form, his true expression couldn't be seen either.

Su Yu stared at the stone statue in shock. Grandstar continued, "Our mission, or to be precise, the purpose of our existence is to guard the tunnels and prevent the spread of death spirits or death qi. He lost control of the death spirits he released, breaking the laws imposed upon us. Thus, he must die."

Understanding dawned on Su Yu. After some hesitation, he asked, "Do you mean if I were to allow the death spirits and death qi to spread beyond my control, I would be considered the breaker of laws instead of a mayor?"

"Yes." Grandstar answered, "Thus, I need to warn you about your ambitions lest you follow the footsteps of the mayor who failed."

Su Yu nodded. He wasn't too concerned. It would be pointless since he had no way to control any of the death spirits anyway.

After thinking about it, he said, "Lord, does this mean that I will have your support as long as I can ease the burden of death qi on you?"

"Yes." Grandstar said, "That is the core of our mission. When you assist us with the mission, we are allowed to accord you some support. For example, I did not kill those Eternals for you because you allowed me to leave the city. Rather, I helped you because you helped with my mission."

Nonsense! Su Yu rolled his eyes inwardly. He was certain Grandstar was more pleased by the prospect of leaving the city than anything else.

"Lord, will I gain the support of the other lords in my attempt to reorganize all the cities?"

Grandstar considered the question before answering, "That's hard to say. Each guardian is a living being with their own feelings and emotions. Some guardians might have developed some attachment to their mayors after spending many years together. Even if what you do is helpful to their mission, why should they help you? You can help me with my burden. But can you do the same to all of them? You are only the mayor of Grandstar City, not all the cities."

Su Yu nodded. That was understandable. The stone statues were living beings as well. It wouldn't be surprising for any of them to have a preference.

Grandstar said, "Of course, as a mayor of Grandstar City, you will have my support."

Su Yu nodded. This was the only assurance he could secure. The stance of the other stone statues would remain unknown.

He asked, "Lord, what if I become the mayor of multiple cities at the same time—"

Grandstar cut him off, "Don't do anything stupid. I am familiar with the speed of your death qi reversal. But there is a limit to that. I doubt you can take on the burden of more than three or perhaps five cities. You also need to leave some space for your own cultivation. Are you supposed to spend all your time reversing death qi and doing nothing else?"

"True."

Su Yu nodded and sighed. He was still too weak to take on too much death qi anyway.

At that thought, he asked, "Lord, if I wish to convert my Xing Yue back into a living being, is that possible?"

"That..." Grandstar said, "It won't be easy. She's a death sovereign. You are only able to absorb so much of her death qi through your heaven acupoint. And you are only absorbing, not reversing the death qi in her body. When you drain her completely, she will die. To convert her back, you need to convert everything about her, including her death qi and sea of willpower. The difficulty of that is extremely high. It is beyond your current ability."

"Each death sovereign is connected to the Death Realm. Even if you can reverse the death qi in her body, she will constantly produce more death qi. There is no guarantee that your reversal speed will surpass her production speed. You might be able to kill her, but converting her back to life is nearly impossible."

Understanding dawned on Su Yu. In short, it was very difficult.

"Will it be possible for me to kill her just by absorbing her death qi, then?"

Grandstar remained silent.

Su Yu spoke with excitement, "Will the laws assign me a stronger death sovereign when that happens? In truth, Xing Yue feels a tad bit too weak for my liking. What if I can get a stronger death sovereign such as a Pseudo Emperor? That will allow me to summon a Pseudo Emperor death spirit when I'm in danger!"

Grandstar had a very strong urge to roll his eyes. He could feel the intense tremors coming from the tunnel under him. In fact, the temperature of the entire inner hall was dropping.

Xing Yue seemed to have spent a lot of time near the tunnel entrance recently. Her voice suddenly rang out, "Su Yu, you are welcome to try."

Wait, she heard him? Well, this was awkward. Why didn't Grandstar stop her from listening in? How annoying.

Su Yu laughed and said, "That was a joke, Lord Sovereign. I would have turned into a death spirit long before that. I don't wish to die yet."

"Hmph!" With a cold snort, Xing Yue said, "You can try. Do you really believe that a death sovereign can't produce death qi faster than your absorption speed?"

No matter what, she was an Invincible. She had only suffered a loss previously because she had entered the city and the ambient death qi wasn't dense enough for her usage. Otherwise, her production speed would be far faster than Su Yu's absorption speed.

Unknowingly, the way she viewed this had changed. She had started to consider this matter from the perspective of Su Yu failing to kill her through absorption. Normally, she would be considering it from the perspective of her converting Su Yu into a death spirit.

Su Yu didn't seem to mind her fury. He laughed again and said, "Lord Sovereign, let's move on from this topic for now. I'm very curious about one thing. Apparently, my death qi connection will be severed in the Luminous Domain Mansion. At that time, will I lose the ability to absorb your death qi?"

Yes! Xing Yue was actually pleased to hear that. She didn't even know why she was so pleased to hear that. She snorted again, cursing Su Yu to die in the Luminous Domain Mansion. She was becoming more and more supportive of severing her connection to Su Yu. She was finding Su Yu a nuisance.

That was especially true since he was still so hale and lively even after absorbing so much of her death qi. So he was going to enter the Luminous Domain Mansion soon? Good!

Cheered by that thought, Xing Yue said, "The Luminous Domain Mansion will open in no more than six months. There are countless treasures and opportunities waiting inside—"

"I'm not entering." Su Yu smiled, "I have no lack of opportunity. I'm more worried of losing my connection to you after entering. That would be annoying. According to what I understand, I'll need to spend a month there. I'm afraid a month without the sustenance of your death qi will kill me. Forget it. I won't be entering."

"..."

Chapter 1278: Center Of Attention (2)

Xing Yue nearly let loose a string of curses. She forced herself to calm down. She really wanted Su Yu to go away. But Su Yu might really stay. After entering, he might need to support his yang acupoint alone for an entire month. In the same position, Xing Yue would opt to stay as well. After all, the Luminous Domain Mansion wasn't exactly a safe place.

Xing Yue said, "That's not why you're not going. You're scared of that place. It's much more dangerous than you know. You humans don't even know much about that place. Meanwhile, the other major races like the divines, devils, and immortals know very well how much benefits the Luminous Domain Mansion offers. Each time it opens, they will send the best people inside. The humans are the only ones who have failed to gain much. There are nine levels to the Luminous Domain Mansion, but humans have only lingered in the first three levels, treating a tiny bit of riversand as the most precious treasure. How ridiculous."

Suddenly, Grandstar remarked, "The Luminous Domain Mansion...is an amazing place."

That caught Su Yu by surprise.

He hurriedly said, "Lord, do you know Luminous Domain Mansion well?"

After giving it some thought, Grandstar sighed and said, "A little. There are rumors among the human race that the Luminous Domain Mansion is related to the ancient Human Emperor, right? That is true. The Luminous Domain Mansion is far more complicated than that. I won't be able to reveal too much to you.

"You only need to know that the existence of the Allheaven Battlefield is related to the Luminous Domain Mansion. In fact, the Allheaven Battlefield exists because of the Luminous Domain Mansion, not the other way around."

Su Yu's heart skipped a beat as a certain understanding dawned on him. Everyone believed that the Luminous Domain Mansion was merely an ancient ruin in the Allheaven Battlefield. But in truth, the Allheaven Battlefield might have existed because of the Luminous Domain Mansion. Was that really possible?

Su Yu asked, "Lord, why haven't the various Invincibles entered the Luminous Domain Mansion themselves?"

"And how do you know that?" Grandstar asked, "There are nine levels to the Luminous Domain Mansion. However, there are strict requirements for entry, such as age and talent. Some Eternals are too old. Entering beyond the optimal age will greatly increase the level of danger they might encounter. The possibility of dying is much higher for them. Thus, only the young have been sent to explore that place. The younger you are, the more you can gain at a much-reduced cost. You will understand this after entering yourself."

Su Yu's eyes flickered as he asked, "Lord, are there a lot of treasures in there?"

"Treasures?"

Grandstar answered, "Naturally. A lot of them."

"Do you have any examples of what I can get in there?"

"Carrier treasures. The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion is known for its rich supply of carrier treasures. Where do you think they get these treasures from? The Allheaven Battlefield was once sealed from the various realms for a long period of time. The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion was the only faction in the Allheaven Battlefield during that time. Thus, they had been able to profit massively from the mansion."

Further understanding dawned on Su Yu. Only then did he understand why the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion was so rich. They had exploited the Luminous Domain Mansion uncontested for many years.

"Lord...uhm...is the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion an organization from the ancient past?"

"It has existed since the ancient past."

Grandstar answered readily.

Su Yu asked again, "It is said that the ancient city medallions are related to the Luminous Domain Mansion. Are you...related to the Luminous Domain Mansion, Lord?"

Grandstar sank into silence.

Suddenly, Xing Yue spoke, "I still remember something about this. These guardians...came from that mansion."

Su Yu blanked out. They came from the Luminous Domain Mansion?

Grandstar said, "Both the ancient cities and the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion were related to the Luminous Domain Mansion back then. Or to be precise, the Luminous Domain Mansion used to be a center of power. We all answered to that place." Content orıginally comes from noveⅼfire.net

Su Yu's heart thumped. Was the mansion actually such a big deal?

He wanted to keep asking, but Grandstar got impatient and said, "These matters are unrelated to you. There is no need for you to know more. The past is no more."

Su Yu said, "One last question, Lord. You keep saying that the guardians have to follow the laws. What if...you break them? Will anyone come to punish you?"

"..."

That was one thing Su Yu had been curious about. Were all the guardians really happy with their task? What would happen if they broke the laws or simply left?

"The laws are the laws."

Grandstar declared. He did not say if they would be punished or not. He also didn't say anything about how the punishment would be carried out. At this point, it would be inappropriate for Su Yu to ask more.

He smiled, put the matter aside for now, and waved at the tunnel as he said, "Goodbye, Lord Sovereign. By the way, feel free to visit me if you're bored of staying down there..."

He received a snort as a reply.

When Su Yu was gone, Xing Yue's furious voice rang out, "He is too impudent! No living being has ever dared to provoke me like that!"

Grandstar didn't deign to give a reply. That was Xing Yue's issue. She only had herself to blame for failing to turn Su Yu into a death spirit.

***

While Su Yu was planning his domination of the ancient cities.

The Allheaven Battlefield grew lively yet again.

Numerous experts and young geniuses started heading toward the Sea of Stars.

The Luminous Domain Mansion was going to open soon. Additionally, there was something else worth paying attention to. The Sea of Stars was massive. With the destruction of Ninestar Island, the nearest stop to the Luminous Domain Mansion was Grandstar City.

In comparison, Red Clouds Island was further away from the Luminous Domain Mansion. One could avoid the ancient city while heading to the Luminous Domain Mansion, but with the ancient city nearby, one still had to stay wary. That was especially true now that the city was under the control of Su Yu.

Su Yu had even demanded an allocation of slots for the ancient cities or they would make sure nobody could enter the Luminous Domain Mansion. In a few days, the assembly of the alliance would be held by Su Yu.

The coming assembly had caught a lot of attention as everyone wanted to use this chance to find out more about Su Yu's plans. If the ancient cities decided to assist the humans, they might be able to profit more than normal from the Luminous Domain Mansion.

For example, the ancient city medallions could be used to enter the Luminous Domain Mansion through the special entrances.

***

Eastern sector.

Vanguard Regiment.

The various human armies had been stationed far nearer to the front line than before. Countless military camps could be seen around the Vanguard Regiment. As of late, no major battles had erupted, but minor battles and skirmishes continued breaking out every now and then.

Not long ago, six minor race experts had affirmed their dao. Two of them originated from the eastern sector. The two had since joined hands with several minor races and some relatively powerful races to gain more of the benefits and resources available in the eastern sector.

Predictably, that gave rise to conflicts. The human race's control over the eastern sector was incomparable to the other major race's control over the other sectors. That was mainly because humanity had not been in power for too long.

Prior to this, humanity was well capable of suppressing such demands and ambitions. But after gaining so many new Invincibles, humanity had been placed under the tight watch of the myriad races. Whenever a human Invincible moved alone, an ambush would follow. That gave the minor races in the eastern sector the chance to challenge humanity's domination.

Great Xia's withdrawal from five minor realms did nothing to help either. Great Qin and Great Ming had also been forced to withdraw from some minor realms. Chaos was spreading all over the eastern sector, but humanity could barely spare the manpower to deal with the chaos.

Inside a hall.

Numerous Invincibles were gathered.

With a troubled look, Great Qin King said, "For the coming Luminous Domain Mansion opening, the human race has obtained eight hundred slots. But are we capable of keeping all those slots? Can we gather enough geniuses to use all those slots? If we can, do we even want to take the risk of sending so many of them to such a dangerous place?"

This was the largest number of slots humanity had received in recent history. That was mainly due to the price the myriad races had paid to gain entry to the Human Realm during the previous conflict.

As the bargain had been made by the Invincibles, the myriad races were not inclined to go back on their words. However...could humanity actually produce eight hundred geniuses to make use of all the slots they had gained? Or to be precise, would humanity be willing to risk such a large number of geniuses?

Great Qin King said, "In order to make up for their previous losses, the myriad races will most likely do their best to target the humans in the Luminous Domain Mansion. This opening will be a lot more dangerous than ever to the people we send."

He continued, "That is not all. Even with the slots we're supposed to have, there is no guarantee that our people will be able to enter the mansion so easily. Countless young geniuses will be there. Eternals can't be the ones doing all the fighting for them. As usual, this will be an occasion for the young geniuses to contend against each other. This is a stage for the young. But humanity does not enjoy much advantage in the quality of our current generation of young geniuses."

A different Invincible said, "With a higher number of slots available to us, we should try to get more treasures from the Luminous Domain Mansion, including carrier treasures. In the recent dao affirmation attempts, some succeeded and some failed. But humanity is almost out of carrier treasures." "I'm afraid we won't be able to provide more carrier treasures to any of our new ninth-stage Sunmoons. We are also in need of some other important cultivation resources, such as source qi transformation and body forging treasures. Wan Tiansheng...sigh. He destroyed all our accumulation and destroyed the two holy lands, dissipating the heavenly source qi there. Even the heavenly source fruit trees were cut down by him. If we don't take this chance to restock on some of these treasures, we will lose the ability to produce more experts."

The recently concluded conflict had emptied humanity of its accumulated wealth and resources. All their carrier treasures, sunmoon profound yellow liquid, heavenearth profound light, heavenly source qi, blood essence, and other treasures were gone.

In the past, humanity had never been too serious about collecting the treasures in the Luminous Domain Mansion. Sure, they would take what they get, but they wouldn't put much effort into it. But this attitude had to change. Without the ability to continuously produce new experts, decline would be inevitable.

Great Qin King nodded, "Thus, we have to send the best of the best to the mansion this time. We might...even need to consider deploying some Eternals in there."

That alarmed a lot of people. They knew how the Luminous Domain Mansion worked. The higher one's cultivation level and the older one was, the more dangerous it would be. In fact, a majority of the people who had perished in the mansion were actually those of greater cultivation levels and age. Meanwhile, the survival rate of those with lower cultivation levels was much higher.

This wasn't even that surprising. When experts encountered each other, the battle between them would be much more intense. They would also encounter more dangers and more treasures, leading to more intense battles. Most of the time, about seventy percent of those in the first three levels of the mansion would survive while only thirty percent or less of those in the upper six levels would survive.

In short, this was simply an act of trading lives for treasures. It was possible to send Eternals into the mansion. In fact, the divines, devils, and other major races had done the same. But they had also suffered disastrous losses each time. After a while, all of them stopped doing that as not even the gains could make up for such losses.

Chapter 1279: Center Of Attention (3)

Great Qin King said, "We shall see. We can decide after seeing what the divines, devils, immortals, and dragons are doing. But we must send a group of Mountainseas and Sunmoons into the mansion. In the past, we were only active in the first three levels. Very few humans can survive in the upper six levels. We have rarely gotten anything from the upper levels. In the past, we would count ourselves lucky to get only one carrier treasure in a hundred years. But we have exhausted all our savings in the recent conflict. If we don't take the initiative to work harder now, we will lose the ability to produce new Invincibles in a few generations.

"We don't have any good candidates after Xia Longwu's generation. If we don't start working harder, when all the old-timers like us are dead, humanity will probably revert back to the same state it was in a few hundred years ago.

"Since we have eight hundred slots, we need to prepare at least nine hundred candidates. The extra candidates will try to enter through the special entrances. The bulk of them will be Skysoars, with the Cloudbreaches serving as the pillar of the group. We also need to send some Sunmoons there. Each Eternal is allowed to react accordingly based on the situation when the time comes."

After thinking about it, an Invincible said, "If we're sending such a large number of young geniuses into the Allheaven Battlefield, conflict will be inevitable. In that case, we have to start attaching more importance to the ancient cities. After all, these ancient cities are the only reliable safe houses of the Allheaven Battlefield..."

Yes. The ancient cities were considered safe houses. For the most part, people would avoid fighting in the ancient cities.

"Some of these ancient cities might be biased against humanity. If we do not secure access to these cities, there will be a risk of losing a large number of our people before they could even reach the Luminous Mansion Domain."

Great Qin King said, "That is the main reason I have called for this meeting. Su Yu is trying to unite the ancient cities. Regardless of our history with him, he's still a human. We are going to be returning two carrier treasures to him soon. I am thinking of taking this opportunity to establish contact with him and negotiate for his cooperation."

He sighed and said, "Without access to the ancient cities, humanity will have no place to go when a conflict goes badly in the Allheaven Battlefield. With access to the ancient cities, they can at least recuperate from the conflict in relative safety for three days. I'm certain the other races are thinking about this as well. The ancient cities are the safe houses of the Allheaven Battlefield. Nobody can afford to lose access to them..."

Rest was something everyone needed. In the past, that was something everyone could do by entering an ancient city. No matter how dangerous the Allheaven Battlefield was, one could gain a temporary respite by entering an ancient city.

But things had changed since then. Su Yu had entered the equation, playing an important role among the ancient cities. If he did something like banning humanity from ancient cities, it would be troublesome.

The expressions of several Invincibles changed as they thought of that possibility.

"He's still a human. And his father is still living among humanity. He..." Follow current novᴇls on nοvelfire.net

Great Qin King coldly said, "There is no need to talk about that. His father is living among humans. But as I said, do not set your sights on his father. If anyone thinks that's a good idea, you can try. Let's see if you will enjoy the consequences when you try to threaten him in Grandstar City."

Nobody said anything.

After a while, Great Zhou King smiled, "It won't be that easy for Su Yu to unite all the ancient cities under his command. The myriad races will not allow that to happen, especially since he's a human. Great Qin King, do you intend to assist him with this?"

Great Qin King nodded, "Yes. I'm aware that many of you have a relationship with some of the mayors. Do your best to help. Even if Su Yu isn't that well-disposed to us, he's still a human. If the position goes to a divine or a devil instead...the Allheaven Battlefield will become an even harsher place for humanity."

"When will his assembly happen?"

"In three days."

"He's too ambitious. This won't be easy...unless he has the support of all the stone statues. Otherwise, he won't have enough strength to win the obedience of all the mayors. At worst, some of them can choose to sit out of the alliance. It's not like they will lose much."

The discussion continued for a while. Finally, Great Qin King said, "Niu Baidao, Xia Longwu is unwilling to involve himself in this. Of the Eternals here, you are the closest to Su Yu. I'll have to trouble you with this task. Please pay Su Yu a visit and negotiate on behalf of humanity."

Niu Baidao smiled and said, "This won't be an easy job. Su Yu has always been a stubborn one. He wouldn't have left Great Xia for Great Ming before leaving Great Ming for the Allheaven Battlefield otherwise. Of course, I'll try my best. But I need the carrier treasures he demanded. Also, are there any updates about the Culture Tomb?"

Zhu Tianfang shook his head, "Hollow has gone into hiding. There is no way to contact him. He's aware of how important this matter is. He has likely disguised himself as someone else entirely. He has always been good at concealment."

"Get the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion to do it..."

Zhu Tianfang laughed, "The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion is unlikely to share anything even if they do manage to find him. Especially me. At the moment, I am probably their most hated enemy. I shouldn't have killed those fellows. Nowadays, I have to constantly be on alert against the slumbering heads of the pavilion whenever I'm moving alone."

The other Invincibles rolled their eyes. He had been too ruthless. It was only natural for the pavilion to view him with such enmity. Great Qin King did not see the point in saying more. He tossed a carrier treasure over. Great Zhou King did the same.

With the two carrier treasures in hand, Niu Baidao laughed, "The two of you are really quite capable. How did you manage to find two carrier treasures so quickly?"

Great Qin King said, "I got lucky after killing some tri-life bodies. But moving forward, humanity will be hard-pressed to provide more carrier treasures. If any of you still have some carrier treasures left, be sure to use it sparingly."

He sighed and said, "In truth, our old friends have a great need for these carrier treasures to restore their tri-life bodies. But...sigh. We don't have enough carrier treasures to go around. When we tried to offer them some, they refused to use them. Hopefully, we can get more from the Luminous Domain Mansion this time. They have sacrificed too much for humanity. Now, it is time for the young geniuses to serve humanity in return. After enjoying so much support and protection, they need to do something for humanity."

Niu Baidao smiled, "Exactly. For most people, they have to work hard for their own resources. But I suppose you guys are rich and willing enough to spend those resources on your juniors. We can't say anything about how you spend your riches. But I wish to suggest something...Remember, this is just a suggestion. This time, we should charge anyone wishing to enter the Luminous Domain Mansion, or they can agree to share a portion of their gains from the mansion."

"We'll see. We don't even know if they will be willing to go." Great Qin King said, "Don't tarry. Try to reach an agreement with Su Yu as soon as possible. Tell him that he's still a human. We can't change the past, but compared to the other races, humanity is still closer to him."

"Sure." Niu Baidao said, "If I had known the kid would do this well, I should have given birth to a daughter or something. Wouldn't it be great to form a marriage alliance with him?"

The Invincibles laughed and started leaving.

As for Niu Baidao, he stared into the distance thoughtfully. That kid...was truly impressive. Great Qin King himself had decided to negotiate with him as an independent power instead of a normal member of the human race.

That change of attitude was most likely related to Su Yu's previous outburst. He had made it clear that he was not inclined to show any human Invincible respect. There was nothing humanity could do to rebuke him.

Some of the Invincibles might disagree, but their protests did not matter since Great Qin King had decided to negotiate with him as an equal.

One ought to admit that Great Xia's plan had been relatively effective. At the very least, those who had been unwilling to fight the myriad races were forced to contribute their efforts as well. Even if they were unhappy about it, nobody was talking about peaceful coexistence with the myriad races anymore.

They simply couldn't find an excuse to mention that. After losing so many Invincibles and Sunmoons to humanity, would the myriad races still trust their peace proposals? That was especially true after Great Han King's deceit. The myriad races would never stop suspecting that humanity was up to something again.

With a smile, Niu Baidao was about to leave when Nan Wujiang sent him a voice transmission, "Principal Niu, please apologize to him on my behalf when you see him..."

Niu Baidao turned to look at Nan Wujiang. He shook his head and sighed.

Nan Wujiang was an Invincible who could be considered the great great grandteacher of Su Yu. Alas, he could not enter the Liu City anymore. Of his students, some were dead and some were gone. His grandstudents like Liu Wenyan and others were unwilling to acknowledge him. How lamentable.

A decent number of multiple character faction experts had gathered in Liu City recently after hearing that Liu Wenyan was planning to rebuild the city. There were rumors that Liu Wenyan intended to start operating independently and return to being a vulture just like the Liu Family back then.

As a vulture, he no longer needed to worry about any greater concerns. He only needed to care about profits, walking the same path as his family. At the thought of how the Liu Family had only rejoined humanity a few hundred years ago, he shook his head again.

Nan Wujiang and Yun Chen...They were not welcomed in Great Xia, Liu City, or even the ancient cities. Even the Invincibles of the other prefectures weren't that close to them. Only loneliness awaited them.

"Well, you asked for it..."

Niu Baidao muttered to himself and said nothing else. The multiple character faction was truly incredible. It had produced a considerably large number of experts and geniuses. If they were to reunite, they would probably be more influential than even an entire human prefecture.

Wan Tiansheng, a Sunmoon capable of killing Invincibles. Nan Wujiang, an Invincible. Yun Chen, someone capable of fighting against three Pseudo Invincibles alone...

Just the three of them were enough to pose massive headaches to a majority of prefectures in the Human Realm.

"Let's see if I can get anything good from that kid. You never know if the kid will suddenly decide to be generous and let me keep the two carrier treasures."

With a smile, Niu Baidao left while dreaming of a beautiful future.

Chapter 1280: To Be Shameless Is To Be Invincible (1)

Grandstar City.

People were still streaming into the city.

Everyone was terrified that Su Yu would seal the city and kill everyone again, but there were very few safe locations one could stop and rest these days. Apart from Grandstar City, the only alternative was Red Clouds Island, the island under clearbright bird race's control.

But that race was too weak. Thus, nobody was confident in their ability to enforce peace in their city.

Meanwhile, it had been a month since Su Yu was last sighted in Grandstar City. The city had not been sealed during that time. Additionally, those from the major races were also trying to spy on him. Thus, people had been entering the city nonstop.

As for the nine realms in the vicinity, they had been quite lucky. Of the six new minor race Invincibles, one of them came from one of the nine realms. That one advancement elevated the said race into a relatively powerful race. A large number of people from the nine realms could be seen in the city as well. Some were even considering rebuilding their island.

But they were still worried so they decided to send a representative to discuss the matter with Su Yu. No matter how safe an ancient city could be, it wasn't a place one could stay for more than three days. Having an island in the area would make things easier for everyone.

Even though Su Yu had been silent for a month, the top experts and young geniuses were still too wary of entering the city. Thus, numerous temporary buildings or grottos could be seen floating all around the city. Most of these people were here to observe the coming assembly.

Outside the city.

A massive dragon was flying arrogantly ahead with numerous people hurriedly moving out of the way. The dragon race held a lot of power in the Sea of Stars. In fact, not even the divines or devils had as much influence as the dragons in the Sea of Stars.

The divines and devils had lost some Invincibles during the recent conflict, but the dragons had not lost any. Sure, one of their Invincibles had lost two tri-life bodies, but that was still much better than dying.

But soon, someone said, "No...this isn't a dragon from the Dragon Realm."

The said dragon was clearly a tamed dragon. Several individuals were riding atop the powerful dragon, making it clear that this was a tamed dragon.

Those with the courage to tame a dragon before openly riding the dragon in the Allheaven Battlefield would not be weaklings. A lot of people could see that the dragon was at least a Sunmoon.

Before long, they noticed a group of soldiers following behind the dragon. These soldiers were clad in golden armor, and the design of the armor was not something everyone was familiar with. Clearly, these were not the soldiers of one of the more well-known armies in the Allheaven Battlefield.

However, the banner carried by the soldiers was not unknown to them.

Xia.

These were the soldiers of Great Xia. Understanding dawned on many of the people there. The dragon was most likely the mount of Great Xia Cultural Research Academy's second principal. An eighth-stage Sunmoon white dragon.

Of the greater dragon race, a celestial dragon was known to have nine claws, a golden dragon was known to have eight claws, and a white dragon was known to have seven claws. The three were also considered the top sub-races of the greater dragon race.

"The people from Great Xia are here."

"Su Yu was born in Great Xia!"

"They might have lost their Martial Dragon Guard and a lot of Sunmoons and Mountainseas recently, but Carnage King was able to complete his dao affirmation. Additionally, a lot of their experts have returned. I suspect Great Xia is now stronger than before."

"Who's the visitor?"

"No idea. But since he's carrying the banner of Xia...is this a direct descendant of Carnage King?"

Numerous people started speculating.

Soon, someone recognized one of the people atop the dragon. "Isn't that Huang Teng?"

"Who's the fatty beside him? That's only a Skysoar. Don't tell me that's Carnage King's son. He can't be this weak, right?"

"Are you kidding? How could Carnage King produce a son with such a silly and kindly appearance?"

"Yeah. That's probably Marquis Xia's son. Not long ago, there were rumors that his son was killed by Su Yu. Looks like that was a lie. He must have lost only his body. This is probably his newly recultivated body. Well, he does resemble the marquis a lot." Get full chapters from novel·fire.net

For most people, they only needed to know that this was someone from Xia Family's direct line to adjust their behavior accordingly. Even among the myriad races, the Xia Family could be considered a powerful family.

After all, that was a family with two Invincibles, with Great Xia King being an Invincible second only to Pseudo Emperors in strength. As for Xia Longwu, he was an Invincible who was capable of slaying Invincibles right after his advancement. Furthermore, the likes of Nan Wujiang and Wan Tiansheng were also members of Great Xia.

If it wasn't for the recent chaos, Great Xia would have surpassed Great Zhou in strength. Marquis Xia the Pseudo Invincible, Yun Chen the Pseudo Invincible, and even Su Yu were all members of Great Xia. This was not a prefecture one could afford to underestimate.

***

Atop the white dragon.

Huang Teng was clad in a rough hemp garment, his legs bare, giving him the perfect image of an old farmer. The only thing he lacked was a smoking pipe hanging from his mouth. He was laughing with amusement as he said, "Prince Huyou, are you hearing this? See, I'm not the only one saying that you look more like the marquis. Everyone agrees with me."

Xia Huyou was laughing as well. "It doesn't matter. I'm already used to this. Brother Teng, when will you reach the seventh-stage Cloudbreach Realm?"

"I still need a little bit of time." Huang Teng glanced at Xia Huyou and asked, "Prince, are you sure Su Yu will agree to meet you? That guy...feels quite proud. I believe he still harbors anger toward Great Xia. Even his teacher and the others have left. Are you sure he's friendly toward you?"

Xia Huyou smiled, "We're decently friendly. Don't worry, Brother Teng. It will be fine..."

For some reason, Huang Teng felt very suspicious of Xia Huyou's smile. It was as though Xia Huyou was scheming against him.

When they reached the gate, Xia Huyou's voice rang out, "Envoy of Great Xia, Xia Huyou, requests a meeting with Mayor Su of Grandstar City."

That served as a confirmation of his identity to the people in the area.

Xia Huyou!

He was really Carnage King's son. Many of them shook their head in disappointment. How did a descendant of two Invincibles grow into something like this? What an embarrassment to his sires.

Abruptly, a figure appeared atop the mayor's residence. It was Su Yu, clad in fluttering white robes. He looked especially eye-catching in the dusky city.

"Xia Huyou."

Su Yu was quite surprised, but he soon smiled and said, "Come on in."

Outside the city, the white dragon transformed into an old man before entering the city with the laughing Xia Huyou and the others. In the blink of an eye, Xia Huyou was brought to the entrance of the mayor's residence.

He regarded Su Yu for a short moment before smiling, "I brought you some gifts. Since you're now a powerful overlord, I doubt I can offer you anything interesting. I don't wish to insult you with some worthless items so I decided to bring you your foe."

After saying that, he pointed at Huang Teng.

Just look at how understanding he was to come bearing Su Yu's foe. Huang Teng blanked out for a short moment before turning around to flee.

Before he could even take a step forward, Su Yu appeared before him with a flicker. With a smile, Su Yu greeted, "Huang Teng! I suppose this is our first proper meeting. Greetings."

"..."

The two had met several times in the past, but they had never gotten the chance to meet properly. Thus, this could be considered their first proper meeting.

Hemp garment, barefoot, and short hair. At a glance, one would never believe that this was the famous Huang Teng, a genius known throughout the Myriad Realms. He looked more like a farmer or a hunter from the woods.

He looked old, but at a closer look, one would be able to see that he was actually quite young. He was merely dressed like he was old.

Flashing him a smile, Su Yu introduced himself, "Hello. I am Su Yu, a student of Bai Feng. You are familiar with my teacher, correct?"

"..."

Huang Teng cursed inwardly. When he glanced at Xia Huyou and noted the cheery smile on Xia Huyou's face, he cursed inwardly again. He knew this damn fatty was scheming something! No wonder the fatty had been smiling at him the entire journey!

That was a very shifty smile. And sure enough, the damn fatty had sold him off with the same shifty smile.

Xia Huyou offered, "Brother Su, just give him a couple of beatings. Please don't kill him. It will be hard for me to explain that. After all, he is the face of Great Xia's younger generation. It is quite a pity that he has an unpleasant mouth."

Throughout the journey, Huang Teng had not stopped talking about how he looked like Marquis Xia. The damn bastard had even asked if Xia Longwu and Marquis Xia had ever fought over a woman in the past.

If it wasn't for the fact that Xia Huyou was weaker, he would have given Huang Teng a beating himself. Fortunately, he had the option of presenting Huang Teng to Su Yu.

Su Yu smiled and explained, "Back when I left Great Xia, I left with only two wishes. Firstly, I wanted to kill everyone who has ever wronged us. Secondly, I wished to avenge my teacher. I recall a certain someone had given my teacher three beatings."

Huang Teng forced himself to smile and said, "You must have misunderstood me, Mayor Su. Those were perfectly normal spars. In spars, it is normal for there to be victory and defeat. I had most certainly not bullied him..."

Why were they making him out to be some evil barbarian?

Su Yu smiled, "Brother Huang, I saved you at the Skyrend Valley previously. But you have yet to show even a sliver of gratitude. That is quite improper, don't you think?"

Huang Teng continued smiling as he said, "Well, I wasn't able to keep up with you. In truth, the one you saved back then was Wu Qi. Sigh. How could you be such a heartbreaker? Since her fateful meeting with you, she has not been able to sleep and eat well..."

Boom!

Su Yu did not feel like saying more so he responded with a punch. It was clear this guy was very good at talking. In that case, it was time to use his fists. According to Bai Feng, one should resort to force when one couldn't win an argument.

But soon, Su Yu laughed in amusement. He hadn't even used much force in that punch. But somehow, Huang Teng had flown incredibly far away. He did not bother to expose the fact that Huang Teng was using the opportunity to flee. He also wasn't worried that something bad would happen to Huang Teng alone. A genius like him would not die so easily. He would have died long ago otherwise.

After dealing with Huang Teng, Su Yu looked at both Xia Huyou and the white dragon before saying with a smile, "Please come in."

He then turned to face those outside the city and warned, "I can't be bothered to waste any time on you for now. Don't try anything stupid. What is there to spy? Are you trying to see if I'm dead yet? Don't worry, I'll make sure to drag everyone in the city to the afterlife with me before that happens. Maybe I will drag a few Invincibles to the afterlife as well. Don't even dream of seeing me dead before I get to see a few Invincibles dead."

"..."

Silence descended.

He was too arrogant.

Yes, some of them were here to check if he was dead. After all, the death qi in his body was already so thick that one would almost believe that he was a death spirit. Thus, a lot of people were disappointed when they saw that he was still as lively as ever.

Sure enough, it was very hard for people like him to die. Even if he hadn't remained on the Heaven Index for long, he was still once the top-ranked genius on the index.

Someone asked, "Mayor Su, since Great Xia has sent its envoy here, can the other powers, including the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion, send their envoys into the city then? Even armies at war will not slay their envoys."

"Heavenly Hunt Pavilion?"

"Yes." Su Yu smiled, "Which department are you from?"

"Yellow Department."

Su Yu nodded and asked, "So you're a white mask in charge of gathering information? In that case, you'll have to offer me your respects. Come on in. We're family. I'm now the new First Profound Elder. Remember to be obedient when you're facing an elder like me."

Sounds of discussions erupted around the city. An elder of the Profound Department? What? He had stolen Profound Nine's identity previously, but had the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion promoted him into an elder instead of kicking him out?

What was this? Had the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion gone mad?

Su Yu ignored them and landed on the ground. The gate of the mayor's residence swung open, revealing Senior Wang. He had yet to fully complete his conversion into a resident, but he was here to greet the visitors. Xia Huyou blanked out slightly before returning the greeting. He was quite surprised to see Senior Wang here.

Chapter 1281: To Be Shameless Is To Be Invincible (2)

Xia Huyou and the white dragon were both led into the main hall by Senior Wang.

After entering the hall, Xia Huyou couldn't help stealing a glance at the back of the hall. He had once heard that a supreme ancient Invincible was staying back there.

"Don't bother." Su Yu gestured at them to sit down and said, "He will just ignore you."

Xia Huyou grinned as he started rubbing the walls, chairs, and tables in the room before saying, "Nice. These things are better than what my family has back home. But the death qi here is too thick. A living person won't feel quite comfortable staying here."

"It's not that bad." While sipping on his tea, Su Yu said, "I'm not a living person anyway. As I said, I'm a living dead, half a death spirit. I can get used to this place."

"You..." Xia Huyou sighed and sat down on a random seat before saying, "I went to Liu City before I came here. Instructor Liu and the others are doing decently. They're rebuilding the city. Faculty Head Hong, elder Chen, Grandpa Xia Yunji, Zhao Mingyue, Hu Ping, and Grandpa Liu...all these people are Sunmoons. They will form quite a formidable force here."

"Good."

Xia Huyou added, "We brought your father back from the Allheaven Battlefield. Nanyuan is being rebuilt. Since my father and great grandpa are both in Great Xia, that will be a safer place for your father. I don't think this city will be a suitable place for your father."

Su Yu nodded, "Thank you."

The white dragon merely listened in silence as the two conversed.

Xia Huyou continued, "One more thing. Principal Wan and Lan Tian have gone completely missing. We can't find them."

"That's a good thing." Su Yu said, "Finding them will only cause you more headaches. Some Invincibles are probably waiting to kill them. But it's normal. It is only natural that they want to avenge their dead descendants, right?"

"Yeah." Xia Huyou nodded, "It's normal for anyone to pursue vengeance. My second granduncle was lucky he wasn't at the War Shrine. Otherwise, he would probably be killed alongside the others for not helping in the battle and my great grandpa will probably be looking to pursue vengeance as well. I guess those Invincibles are already showing a lot of restraint not going after those from the Wan Family for their vengeance."

Su Yu laughed, "Are you here as a peacemaker?"

"Not at all." Xia Huyou laughed, "What's the point of working for others? I only want to point out that the anger of those Invincibles is understandable. But this is a matter of Principal Wan. I'm not interested in getting involved in that."

Su Yu laughed, "So why are you here?"

"Nothing much. I'm here to see the nine mayors. My old man wants them to know that he can't fulfill his promise to them yet. They will need to wait. But I need to let them know lest they believe that my old man has forgotten his promise. Do you need any help?"

"No." Su Yu said, "I'm doing fine. I don't need any help from humanity. That might be more trouble than it's worth. The Xia Family should stay out of this. After your recent losses, you should focus on recuperating."

Xia Huyou said, "It's not that bad. You guys helped a lot. My second granduncle, father, and great grandpa were prepared to lose everything. But apart from my second granduncle, the rest of them are mostly fine. As for my uncle, that's no big deal. He only needs to cultivate from scratch. Well, Xia Chan did claim that she will avenge her father so I guess you need to watch out for her..."

Su Yu laughed in amusement, "And I'm supposed to fear her?"

"That's not the point." Xia Huyou rolled his eyes and said, "Be more courteous against women. It won't be appropriate for you to kill her. But if you spare her, she will trouble you to no end. What if that someone results in you becoming an in-law of me? That would be awkward, right?"

"..."

Su Yu said, "That's a beautiful dream you have."

He moved on, "Is that all? Nothing else?"

Xia Huyou said, "No."

He looked at the white dragon and said, "Senior White, why don't you talk about the old times with Senior Wang? I will be catching up with Su Yu."

The white dragon stared at Xia Huyou speechlessly. Talk about the old times? He didn't even know that old fellow well. Whatever. He left the room.

With the white dragon gone, Xia Huyou said, "My old man said that among the thirty-five mayors, some are backed by the major races. The nine my father worked with were the ones he had spent a long time investigating. They are relatively trustworthy, but the rest...are unknown factors. They will be the obstacles for this alliance you wish to build."

Before Su Yu could say anything, he continued, "Yes, you have the backing of your stone statue. But they have no reason to fear you. They can simply refuse to join your alliance. What, then? Are you going to invade their cities and kill them? My old man said that if it's not working, just give up. It's not like having this alliance will definitely be a good thing for you."

Su Yu nodded, "Understood."

Xia Huyou said, "My old man also said that the Death Realm is a very troublesome place. You should be very careful when it concerns the Death Realm. He went there once. The death qi in there is very thick. And the death qi is constantly leaking into the ancient cities. He can even see signs of the death qi overwhelming the ancient cities. Due to the peculiar nature of the Death Realm, some of the recently deceased experts might appear in there..."

Xia Huyou explained, "According to my old man's speculations, there are two main categories of death spirits there. The first category is comprised of those naturally born in the Death Realm. The second category is comprised of former living beings."

"My father once saw a massive River of Time in the Death Realm. That river is known as the River of Death. After dying, some experts will be connected to the river before rising again as death spirits."

Su Yu frowned. He was aware that Xia Longwu had entered the Death Realm before. Back then, Xia Longwu had entered through Heavendoom City's tunnel, but he was eventually chased out of it.

How brazen. But he was also very knowledgeable. So he had actually noticed some sort of river capable of bringing the dead back?

"Are you saying that even if someone dies without an intact body, that person might rise again from the River of Death?"

"Yes."

Xia Huyou nodded, "My father wishes to remind you that you should be more careful. The deaths of those Invincibles are related to you in one way or another. When they rise again, they might maintain some remnant memories of their past even if they can't remember everything. They might decide to pursue their vengeance against you from the Death Realm."

Su Yu laughed, "Well, I won't be their first target. The person guarding the tunnel will need to worry about them first."

It wasn't like he had killed them with his own hands. Grandstar was the killer, and he was sitting right atop the tunnel so those death spirits would need to deal with him first.

***

Inner hall.

Grandstar opened his eyes, looked at the main hall, and resisted the urge to start cursing. The kid was truly an impressive troublemaker.

Xia Huyou said, "Well, it's just a reminder. My old man and the others are currently busy rebuilding a body for my second granduncle. Hopefully, he can regain his strength as a Pseudo Invincible as soon as possible. Thanks to you guys, my second granduncle survived. Even my old man might have died without your help."

Su Yu smiled, "Don't worry about it. It's not like I lost anything helping them."

Xia Huyou took a withered piece of wood out and said, "This is the carrier treasure my old man looted from the Invincible he killed. We were supposed to have more, but my second granduncle used one previously. And now, he needs two more to rebuild his body. We have one we can offer to thank you."

Su Yu was surprised, "You're being surprisingly courteous."

Xia Huyou smiled, "Just accept it. Didn't you give two carrier treasures to those mayors? We should have compensated you for that as well, but we are too poor. We can only have one extra carrier treasure lying around, but it's pointless to keep it for me."

Su Yu still had three carrier treasures, but not many people were aware of that. Only Zhu Tiandao, Wan Tiansheng, and Lan Tian knew that. Everyone else believed that he was out of carrier treasures.

Su Yu said, "Sure. I'll accept it."

Since the Xia Family had one extra carrier treasure to spare, there was no point in hesitating. As for Xia Huyou, he was only a third-stage Skysoar. He was still very far from reaching the Pseudo Invincible Realm.

When Su Yu accepted the carrier treasure, Xia Huyou grimaced as he said, "I thought you would refuse it. Why are you accepting it for real?"

"Why not?" Su Yu laughed, "Are you dreaming of receiving this carrier treasure from me after offering it with your own hands? Dream on. I lost my ruin because of Xia Family. I don't even have my Culture Tomb anymore. You should be happy I'm not asking for more. You guys have known about Fiery Sea for a very long time. After feigning ignorance for so many years and allowing my faction to be suppressed, you still needed my help to actually get him killed."

Xia Huyou could only shrug.

Su Yu asked, "Just who is the second traitor?"

Xia Huyou rolled his eyes and said, "Why are you asking me? Also, nobody is saying that there is a second traitor."

Su Yu said, "There is definitely a second traitor. From the scheme of Great Han King and the others, I'm sure they know this as well. But do they know the identity of the second traitor?"

Xia Huyou shook his head, "Even if there is really a second traitor, they definitely don't know who the traitor is. They would have done something to that traitor otherwise. After exposing so many of our trump cards, it would be stupid to let a traitor we know go free. They did investigate the military officials who had worked for the traitor, but nothing was found even after conducting time reversal on those officials."

Xia Huyou explained, "My old man explained to me once. Either the second traitor does not exist or the second traitor is simply too good at hiding. We are also investigating the things Fiery Sea mentioned, such as his private spars with the fifth principal back then. However, it's unlikely that we'll find out anything useful."

He added, "Su Yu, it's best you forget about this. Just pretend there is no second traitor. After the recent debacle, the second traitor will most likely stay idle for an extended period of time. In fact, that scheme of Great Han King had been made to lure the second traitor out. If the second traitor had appeared to expose Great Han King's scheme, those human Pseudo Invincibles wouldn't have been able to complete their advancements so easily. Far fewer myriad race Invincibles would have died. Thus, the second traitor must have some deeper purpose. The lives of a few myriad race Invincibles are worth nothing in comparison."

Su Yu replied nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter. It won't be too late to kill the traitor when we do find them in the future. And if the traitor remains in hiding, perhaps you guys will be able to start convincing yourself that Fiery Sea had indeed betrayed humanity because of his secret spar with Ye Batian."

Was there really a second traitor? Su Yu was quite confident there was one. The person he saw in Divine Skywing Sect master's memories had an unknown symbol on his arm, the same symbol that was absent from Fiery Sea's arms. An Invincible would not keep a symbol on his arm for no reason. It was likely that the symbol was meant to serve as a tool of misdirection or something the Invincible couldn't remove.

But it was also quite suspicious that a person so cunning and good at concealment would actually allow the sect master to see the symbol. Su Yu couldn't help but wonder if there was a purpose to that. Perhaps that symbol was meant to be a token of identity for their secret meetings.

"Maybe the symbol is a token of identity that can be removed at any time."

Su Yu muttered under his breath. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveI-Fire.ɴet

For now, it was pointless to pursue this line of investigation. It would be a dream to expose the identity of the Invincible through a mere symbol on an arm. If even memories could be forged, a symbol on an arm wouldn't be that hard to produce.

He did not bother to talk too much about the traitor to Xia Huyou. It would be pointless since Xia Huyou knew very little anyway. Moving on from the topic, Xia Huyou said, "Principal Wan was too ruthless. The two holy lands have been completely destroyed. All their accumulated resources were burned. Humanity has decided to start working hard again. Thus, the various prefectures will be sending more people into the Luminous Domain Mansion this time."

"Are you going as well?" Su Yu asked.

With an awkward expression, Xia Huyou answered, "Yeah. I'm quite scared as well. I don't want to be perceived as a worthless young master so I need to be seen working hard for humanity as well. What if Principal Wan decides to cut me down one day? Speaking of, after what the principal did, the many Invincible descendants in the Human Realm have been behaving themselves lately."

Su Yu laughed, "What are you afraid of? He's not a madman who will kill anyone he sees."

"Don't joke around." Xia Huyou said, "You're the only one who's not afraid. Everyone else is terrified of him. But this isn't a bad thing. At the very least, they will have to conduct themselves with some restraint."

Su Yu nodded. He agreed that this wasn't a bad thing. But nobody knew how long this would last. Perhaps the next generation would forget this fear and revert to their old ways. But this was something for the next generation to worry about. Su Yu doubted those from his generation would be able to forget what Wan Tiansheng did.

A demonic human who had slaughtered everyone in the two holy lands was still out in the wild. He could return anytime and repeat the same feat. It was normal that everyone would be terrified for some time.