Chapter 1282: To Be Shameless Is To Be Invincible (3)
"So you're going as well? Out here, not many people will have the courage to harm you. But...that will not apply in the Luminous Domain Mansion."
Su Yu shook his head, "That's a very dangerous place."
He knew very well that all bets would be off inside the Luminous Domain Mansion.
For example, the suanni he knew had the courage to kill the student of an Invincible as a mere Skysoar. That was how Silk Destroying King had lost one of his students. And there was nothing he could do about it. The suanni would most certainly not have the audacity to do something like that anywhere else.
"Riches and danger go hand in hand."
Xia Huyou did not seem too worried as he said, "As the descendant of an Invincible, I have my own trump cards to preserve my life. It's not like I'll be going to the upper levels. It will be fine."
"Just think properly before you decide to go."
After a while, a burst of laughter rang out from outside the city as someone spoke, "Overlord Su, may I enter the city?"
"..."
Su Yu laughed in amusement. Was this a special day or something? What was this coincidence? Why was this person visiting as well?
"Sure. Don't worry, Principal. It will be fine so long as you don't create trouble in the city."
"That's good to hear. You know how cowardly I am."
With a flicker, someone appeared in the city. He cupped his hands in the direction of the mayor's residence and said, "My apologies for disturbing your peace. I'm only here as a guest. Please don't beat me up, Ancient Statue."
Grandstar didn't even deign to muster a response.
A short while later, Niu Baidao strode into the hall. When he saw Xia Huyou, he laughed and said, "So the little fatty from Xia Family is here as well? No wonder I saw so many familiar faces outside. That little dragon sure is brave. Is he not afraid of the dragon race? They might decide to deal with him for serving the humans."
With a smile, Xia Huyou stood up and greeted Niu Baidao, "Greetings, Cow King!" (Niu = Cow)
"..."
Niu Baidao hurriedly said, "No, don't call me that. You can call yourself that if you want. I think this title is more suitable for someone from your family."
"..."
Su Yu stood up and said, "Principal, what brings you here?"
"I'm here bearing treasures."
As he said that, he took two carrier treasures out and said, "This is our compensation. Great Qin and Great Zhou have taken one out each. Kid, you're rich. You no longer need to worry about carrier treasures upon reaching the ninth-stage Sunmoon Realm. Sigh. I'm truly envious of you.
"Kid, if you still have some conscience in your heart, you should think about the few loved ones you have. For example, your grandteacher's aunt. She doesn't even have any carrier treasure in hand. It's simply too rare. She's already a seventh-stage Sunmoon. When she reaches the ninth stage, she will probably be stuck like I did for many years..."
Su Yu accepted the two carrier treasures, pleasantly surprised that he was being compensated so soon after the previous conflict. With this, he would have six carrier treasures in his possession.
Instead of answering Principal Niu, he asked, "Principal, what about my two hundred strands of heavenearth profound light?"
"..."
Niu Baidao was instantly rendered speechless as he cursed inwardly. Why was the kid asking for that? Where was the conscience in his heart? Niu Baidao had been planning to take this chance to make some profit off Su Yu by appealing to his feelings, but it seemed to have failed spectacularly.
Thus, he wisely changed the topic, "So will the alliance happen? If you need help, I'm available..."
Su Yu asked, "Are you trying to get yourself killed by the stone statues? Any attack on an ancient city mayor will be considered a provocation to the city."
"..."
Silence descended. That was too true. Niu Baidao had nothing to say. The myriad races wouldn't have been so wary of these ancient city mayors otherwise. Those stone statues were too dangerous.
Niu Baidao laughed the matter off and said, "Sure, let's talk about something else. I guess you'll do what you need to do. I'm also here bearing a message. According to Great Qin King, you're still a human. The Luminous Domain Mansion is opening soon. He hopes that you will provide humanity with some convenience during the opening. Of course, I'm only a messenger. I don't care about the answer. But I do hope you will take care of those from Great Ming. We're too weak. Also, the prefect is demanding that you take responsibility. Because of the recent conflict, the myriad races might decide to target Great Ming."
"..."
Su Yu was left quite speechless at Old Zhu's choice of words. Why was he saying that in the tone of a disappointed lover? But it was true that Great Ming had suffered from the recent conflict. If Zhu Tiandao dared to attempt a dao affirmation in the future, everyone would target him.
It was also likely that the myriad races would start targeting Great Ming. Su Yu nodded, "I understand. But Great Ming has too many lazy people and it's too weak. Maybe...you guys should just forget it. Just send a few token participants and pretend you're exploring the mansion as well. I have been seeing more and more experts in the region. There is no need for Great Ming to throw the lives of its people away."
Niu Baidao was clearly not happy to hear the truth. He protested, "Don't be so certain about that. At times, luck plays a bigger role than strength. No matter what, we have to try our luck. If I'm being honest, risking dozens of Skysoar to produce even one Sunmoon or Invincible will be completely worth it. We have so many people in Great Ming. I'm sure we can find some adventurous souls. Not everyone is lazy!"
After a slight hesitation, he added, "Also, you need to pay your debts! Both Cui Lang and Bai Junsheng will be joining as well. You need to repay both of them!"
"..."
Su Yu was stunned. Holy shit. He had nearly forgotten about those two.
"Bai Junsheng is out?"
"Yeah. He just got out of jail. He has been crying a lot recently..." Niu Baidao said, "It won't be proper if you don't show him some appreciation. That's even more so for Cui Lang. Nowadays, everyone will feel like ripping his face off whenever he appears to check if that's you in disguise. Even if everyone knows that you're here in the ancient city, they still can't help it. Things have been troublesome for him as of late."
Once again, Su Yu was left speechless.
Xia Huyou laughed and verified, "That's true. I don't think that fellow should come. Why did you even agree to that?"
Niu Baidao said, "It has nothing to do with me. He insists on coming himself. He's not stupid. Since Su Yu owes him a debt, he will take this chance to collect. He can't possibly wait a few years, right? Who knows if Su Yu will still be alive then?"
"That makes sense." Xia Huyou nodded, "Cui Lang is a smart guy. He understands the need to collect on his debt before Su Yu is dead."
Su Yu was left even more speechless. Why were they talking like he wasn't there? Hello? He was standing right there! Principal Niu was already an Invincible. Why couldn't he act in a more respectable fashion?
Soon, Niu Baidao moved on to a different topic. His face turned solemn as he asked, "Are you planning to enter the Luminous Domain Mansion as well? If you are, be very careful. The myriad races will most certainly target you. They can't do much to you when you're in an ancient city, but you will be a lot more vulnerable in the Luminous Domain Mansion."
"Yeah. I know. That's why I'm not going."
Niu Baidao continued without a change in expression, "Yes, yes. I know. You're going with a different identity. Do you need another identity from Great Ming?"
"..."
Su Yu found himself out of words because Principal Niu had said what he wanted to say for him. He decided to not answer. In fact, he decided that he wouldn't even let them know about the new identity if he was really using one.
Niu Baidao said, "I need to leave now. This damn place--cough, cough. I can't get used to this place. With a fist that might come out of nowhere to hit me at any time, I can't feel comfortable. It hasn't been easy for me to finally become an Invincible. I'm not interested in dying so soon after that.
"One last warning for you, Kid. You're not an Invincible. Don't get too confident. Yes, the stone statues might seem to have your back. But they are ancient. They have seen and experienced too many things. They are only helping you because it is in their interest to do so. Remember to constantly make it beneficial for them to help you if you don't want to be abandoned. Don't forget how the previous mayor died. A mayor is worth nothing. The stone statues are not your friends." Read full story at novel(ꜰ)ire.net
Right after saying that, he vanished with a flicker. Two dots of light appeared where he once stood. Those were Grandstar's eyes. He was furious. How audacious of that human to actually slander him in his city!
Su Yu merely laughed in amusement while Xia Huyou was stunned. Old Niu was too brave.
It wasn't his place to say more so he smiled and said, "I'll be taking my leave as well. I still have something to do. I need to visit the immortals and maybe propose a marriage or something. Immortal King Tian Yu has a good relationship with us. Perhaps I can get an immortal fairy as my wife and improve our relationship with them."
"Hmm?" Su Yu asked, "What about...Yu Xuan?"
Xia Huyou said regretfully, "Don't mention her anymore. During the battle, the city was in chaos. In order to protect me, she got herself killed by a traitor. I'm on a trip to return her remains to the immortals. How regretful. I could have taken her as my wife otherwise."
"..."
Su Yu stared at Xia Huyou silently. Was he serious? She got herself killed while trying to protect him? What nonsense was that?
Xia Huyou grinned, "Don't look at me like that. I will be sticking to this story. Yu Xuan was not the only one who had sacrificed herself to protect me. A lot of people did the same, such as some divines, devils, immortals, and dragons. I'm on a trip to return the remains of all those people. It is only fair for the deceased to be laid to rest where they came from, right?
"The Xia Family is in favor of building a good relationship with all of them. I'll be a prefect soon. From then on, Great Xia will become a friend of the myriad races. Together, we will create a beautiful future of boundless prosperity. I intend to send a marriage proposal each to the immortal, devil, dragon, and divine races. I'll get whoever I can get. Who knows? Maybe I'll get a wife from each race. That will be useful. Hehehe..."
Su Yu was left completely speechless. He was sure the fatty was capable of that. He was also sure that the fatty was definitely the one who had killed all those people. And now, he was going to deliver those remains back personally while sending a few marriage proposals.
How brazen.
It did not matter if the myriad races would believe his story. They wouldn't even care that much since those who had died weren't exactly important figures. They would only care about the fact that Xia Huyou would become the next prefect. They would most certainly be interested in establishing a relationship with a family with two Invincibles.
Were alliances by marriage really useful? Not really. But at the very least, this would serve as a new connection to Great Xia, making it easier for them to monitor Great Xia.
With the Myriad Race Cult destroyed and Xia Family withdrawn from the Allheaven Battlefield, the myriad races would be eager to find a new connection to the Xia Family. And the price for that would only be several women of relatively little value to them. For many, this was an investment worth making.
Xia Huyou said, "Su Yu, you can learn from me. I intend to get greedy and ask for big dowries for these marriages. That is the price they need to pay if they want me as their son-in-law. You can give this a try. It might be very profitable."
Su Yu was speechless. He finally knew what the fatty was planning.
He said, "You might as well send your marriage proposals to every race you can reach. The minor races will be happy to get a new backer..."
Xia Huyou's eyes shone as he exclaimed, "True! The minor races will be much easier to fool! You're right! I'll consider every race capable of transforming into a humanoid form..."
Su Yu said, "There is no need to limit yourself that way. If they can't transform into a humanoid form, just keep them around as pets. It's not like you lack stables back home..."
"Right! Exactly!"
Xia Huyou nodded repeatedly. If he could get ten thousand wives, with each of them paying him a dowry worth a hundred thousand merit points...holy shit!
Xia Huyou said, "Looks like I'm going to get busy. I need to leave now. Maybe I'll visit you again when I'm free. By the way, do the death spirits get married as well? Keep an eye out for me. Maybe I can get a death spirit wive as well..."
Su Yu merely stared at Xia Huyou in silence. When Xia Huyou was gone, he spat on the ground.
What a shameless fatty. Then again...that sounded very profitable. Should he...consider it? Should he ask the ancient city mayors if they had any daughters or granddaughters they were trying to marry off?
Inspired by Xia Huyou, Su Yu rubbed his chin as he sank into thought. Truly, the greatest form of invincibility was to be shameless.
Chapter 1283: Can't Afford To Offend (1)
Xia Huyou and his entourage left just as suddenly as they had arrived. Meanwhile, more and more people were gathered outside the city. Not long after Xia Huyou's departure, an ancient city arrived.
It wasn't an ancient city Su Yu was familiar with. In fact, it wasn't even one of the ancient cities that were here previously. It was known as Openmountain City. It landed right in front of Grandstar City. On its walls, numerous fierce armored guards could be seen.
Above the mayor's residence, a silhouette manifested as a voice rang out, "Openmountain Holy City is here. Mayor Su, care for a meeting?"
***
Grandstar City.
With a frown, Su Yu appeared above his mayor's residence and said, "Mayor of Openmountain City, please come in for the discussion—"
"Hahaha, I'm afraid I won't be entering Grandstar City."
The mayor said, "Everyone knows about Mayor Su's habit of locking the city. Why don't you come to my city instead? Openmountain City has never been locked before. Everyone knows this."
Su Yu furrowed his brows. Clearly, this mayor was here to create trouble. Was this a way to put him in place before the assembly began? This was understandable. There was no reason for the other mayors to obey him. Furthermore, some of them were backed by the divines or devils. These mayors certainly didn't care about the alliance.
They would be more than happy to see the alliance fail so that they could please their masters with the news. As Su Yu snorted inwardly, a second ancient city named Eternal Serenity City arrived.
Just then, a second ancient city, the Eternal Serenity City arrived. The mayor of the second city said, "Mayor Su, I suggest we hold the coming assembly elsewhere instead of Grandstar City. Why don't we meet outside the cities? I doubt any of the mayors will feel comfortable entering Grandstar City with the reputation you have, Mayor Su."
The mayor of Openmountain City said, "That's right. We might be mayors, but we're not the mayors of Grandstar City. Mayor Su, why don't we meet outside the cities?"
All around them, the various experts watched in silence. Clearly, the ancient cities weren't as united as they had imagined. Only two mayors had arrived yet they were already conspiring to put Su Yu in his place.
More importantly, their argument was too strong for Su Yu to argue against. Entering his city? Everyone would be wary of that. But with the number of enemies he had, would he dare to leave his city? Everyone waited in amusement for Su Yu's answer.
***
In the portal to one of the nine realms in the region, a few experts were observing the situation.
After hearing the demands of the two newly arrived mayors, one of them smiled and said, "Su Yu is very ambitious. Alas, he does not have the strength to support his ambition. Apart from a few mayors from minor races, most of the mayors are unwilling to give up on their relative independence."
"Does Su Yu think that everyone wants the alliance to happen?"
"He's too naive."
Similar discussions were happening everywhere.
***
Even further away.
A few dragons were hovered in the sky. One of them was a nine-clawed dragon. With a cold tone, the dragon said, "Su Yu is trying to establish a powerful faction in the Sea of Stars. This is a direct provocation to the dragon race. We can't allow him to succeed."
The dragon race was the foremost power in the Sea of Stars. The alliance Su Yu proposed had the potential to surpass the dragon race's influence in the region. This was unacceptable to them.
After establishing the alliance, would Su Yu expand and threaten their interests in the region? There was a risk of that happening. He might be tempted to meddle in the distribution of the numerous natural treasures, mines, secret domains, and the minor realms in the region.
The two mayors who had challenged Su Yu's authority right after arriving were most certainly backed by some other powers.
***
Grandstar City.
Su Yu sighed. Why must everything be so complicated? The alliance would greatly increase the power enjoyed by the ancient cities. Alas, not everyone wanted to see that happen. Just look at how quickly a challenge had arrived.
Meeting outside the city?
He smiled before entering the inner hall. There, he said, "Lord, will you help me if I'm attacked while I'm meeting outside the city?"
Grandstar opened his eyes in annoyance. This little shit had been creating a lot of trouble for him recently.
"Yes."
Su Yu exhaled in relief. He asked, "If I kill the others, will the other guardians interfere?"
"No." Grandstar was very confident as he said, "Unlike me, they can't leave their cities."
"..."
That made a lot of sense!
But soon, Grandstar added, "It's not like you are capable of killing them anyway."
That was hurtful.
Su Yu's cultivation wasn't high enough, and he was also out of eighth-stage Sunmoon blood essence. In his current state, even sixth-stage Sunmoon opponents would prove challenging. Ninth-stage Sunmoons and Pseudo Invincibles would most certainly be a lot more challenging than that.
Su Yu said, "I'll take note. With your assurance, I don't have to worry anymore."
Grandstar said nothing else.
Niu Baidao was right. At present, the stone statue and Su Yu were only bound by the benefit they could provide each other. He would favor Su Yu as long as Su Yu remained helpful. Otherwise, he could abandon Su Yu as easily as he had abandoned his previous mayor.
Reality had never been kind. The stone statues would not favor him for no reason. Grandstar had helped him previously because, with him around, Grandstar could leave the city and enjoy the lighter burden of death qi.
With Grandstar's promise, Su Yu's voice rang out, "Fellow mayors, I don't mind holding the assembly outside the cities. But I'm worried that the two of you might not have the chance to return after leaving. That would be unfortunate.
"Outside your cities, you won't be able to fuse yourself with any death spirits. You will be reduced to regular ninth-stage Sunmoons. Be careful lest your enemies take the chance to kill you. That would be awkward to explain to the other mayors when they arrive."
The mayor of Eternal Serenity City replied, "Thank you for your concern, but we will be fine. I suggest you worry about yourself, Mayor Su. You are weak yet you have the major races as your enemies. The moment you leave your city..."
Su Yu laughed, "It's fine. Apart from the holy city, I have the protection of two Pseudo Emperors. I doubt many people have the courage to kill me. Well, if this is what you want, we can hold the meeting outside."
The expressions of the two mayors changed. Two Pseudo Emperors? Right, they had nearly forgotten about the two soul devourers. Would they show up again?
Su Yu said, "Let's wait for the other mayors to arrive. As for the venue of our meeting, I don't care."
Right after that, a burst of laughter rang out. It sounded familiar
It was Tian He. Heavendoom City had arrived.
Mayor Tian He said, "I can do it anywhere. It doesn't matter. We are building this alliance to grant us more leverage when dealing with the myriad races. Thus, the alliance will only benefit us. Those who are against the alliance are most certainly holding an ulterior motive toward the other mayors. Just ignore people like them, Mayor Su."
The mayor of Eternal Serenity City said, "Tian He, I agree that the alliance is good for us. But it won't be a good thing to have a leader who has offended Pseudo Emperors and numerous Invincibles."
Tian He laughed and said, "Why don't you stop beating around the bush and mention Mayor Su by his name? But without Mayor Su, what manner of power can you project? When have the holy cities ever enjoyed as much respect as today? Do you think the myriad races are being so respectful nowadays because they're scared of you? Hahahahaha!"
The mayor of Eternal Serenity City was known as Ping Du. He frowned. They had decided to arrive earlier to put Su Yu in his place and ruin the formation of the alliance. If they couldn't, they would need to at least deter the other mayors from electing Su Yu as the mayor.
This was the task they had received from their backers. They should ruin the alliance as best as they could. If not, they should at least prevent Su Yu from being the leader. That was something many didn't want to happen.
The atmosphere was getting tense even before the assembly began.
Next, another ancient city dropped from the sky. A flirtatious female voice rang out, "Mayor Su, Empyrean Cloud City is supportive of you. When can you take office?" Follow current novels on NoveI★Fire.net
Su Yu soared into the sky and smiled, "Mayor Green Fox, are you so impatient?"
"Thanks to your carrier treasure, I can finally capture my tri-life body. It's normal for me to be impatient."
The green fox mayor flashed a seductive smile and said, "Here I am, waiting for you to take office and reduce the burden on me."
The mayorship of an ancient city wasn't an easy position to hold. It provided one with many benefits, but it also provided one with many problems. A mayor would be burdened with a much larger amount of death qi than a regular resident.
But to grow one's cultivation, one needed to reduce the portion of death qi in one's body. Even with Su Yu's carrier treasure, she wouldn't be able to make any progress before leaving office.
Mayor Tian He laughed and offered, "Mayor Su, if it isn't too much, perhaps you can also consider the mayorship of Heavendoom City as well."
Not everyone could become an ancient city mayor. If one was too weak, one wouldn't be able to refine the mayor's medallion. If one was too strong, well, why should one willingly become a living dead?
This was a position someone would only take when there was no other option. After becoming a mayor, one's cultivation would basically stagnate. Of course, the mayor could always shift some of the burden to the residents of the city. But a balance must be maintained or the burden would exceed what the residents could bear and kill them prematurely. That would only bring the mayor closer to death as well.
Tian He would be more than happy to let Su Yu take his mayorship as well. Even if he would still remain a resident, the burden on him would be lighter since he would no longer be the mayor. In fact, he was already reaching his limits. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to help Xia Longwu. Alas, Xia Longwu was too unreliable. He was told to wait even longer.
There wasn't even a promise that Xia Longwu would be successful in severing his death qi connection.
Four ancient cities had arrived. Two of them were supportive of Su Yu while the other two were against him. Su Yu inhaled deeply and started using the little furball as a hat. After a short exchange with Grandstar, he flew straight toward Empyrean Cloud City.
That caught a lot of attention.
Su Yu...had finally left the city!
The look in the eyes of numerous hidden experts flickered as they stared in hesitation. But when they saw the little furball atop his head, they cursed.
Holy shit!
Why was that shameless bastard not coming out alone? If he was alone, some of them would most certainly be brazen enough to try killing him. Not everyone was fearful of the stone statues. Were the stone statues going to declare war against them for the sake of a dead person?
Dead, Su Yu would be completely worthless.
His relationship with the stone statues wasn't deep enough for them to avenge his death.
But that furball...was the prince of the soul devourers. That was the descendant of two Pseudo Emperors. If one were to kill the little furball accidentally...one should start preparing for a life of hiding.
Even if one were to hide in one's realm forever, there was no guarantee that the two Pseudo Emperors wouldn't be able to sneak into the realm before turning one into food. With that, the proposal to hold the assembly outside the cities was reduced to a joke.
With the furball, Su Yu would be mostly safe. What about the other mayors? Each mayor would have some enemies out there. Would they be safe outside their cities? An expert without any enemies would not be desperate enough to become the mayor of an ancient city.
Chapter 1284: Can't Afford To Offend (2)
Slowly flying in the sky in his fluttering white robes, Su Yu flashed a bright smile as he studied his surroundings. His gaze settled on the two cities whose mayors were opposed to him and said, "Fellow mayors, I am perfectly fine with holding the assembly outside. Since that's your suggestion, I will choose to respect your suggestion. But there is no guarantee that the other mayors will agree. Who knows if you are colluding with some Invincibles to kill the other mayors? It's very dangerous out here..."
With a frown, the Eternal Serenity mayor said, "You misunderstand us, Mayor Su. We only proposed that for our safety. We don't mean anyone harm."
Su Yu laughed but did not bother to reply. Before long, he reached the Empyrean Cloud City.
Mayor's residence.
A delicate and beautiful figure appeared. The first thing Su Yu noticed from afar was that pair of big, vivid eyes. When he reached the mayor's residence, his heart thumped. What a seductive woman.
Suddenly, he requested, "Uhm, Mayor Green Fox, can you keep your tails away? I'm...not comfortable with that."
The seductive look in the mayor's eyes changed slightly, replaced with the expression of a disappointed mistress.
Meanwhile, Su Yu was grumbling about the tails inwardly. He found tails ugly. To make things worse, this fox seemed to have more than one tail. If she only had one tail, it would be decently adorable. But with multiple tails...he found it exceptionally ugly.
He was not fearful of the green fox. He did not come because he trusted her. Rather, he was here because he had reached an agreement with Empyrean Cloud herself. With his fists cupped at the inner hall, he said, "Lord Empyrean Cloud, Su Yu is here to fulfill my promise."
The green fox giggled and said, "Little Brother, why are you so dull? How can you ignore a pretty girl like me when I'm standing right here?"
Su Yu turned to face her and solemnly said, "Mayor Green Fox, we need to be serious and respectful before the great lord guardian. Before you sever your death qi connection, you will remain a subordinate of the holy city. How can you interrupt a conversation between me and my lord?"
"..."
The green fox was rendered completely speechless. Su Yu? Talking about respect? What nonsense was that? Hidden behind that sanctimonious face of his were countless devious schemes!
Suddenly, she sent Su Yu a voice transmission, "Little Brother, I heard you received two carrier treasures from the humans not long ago. Why don't you stay here tonight for a night of bliss? I only hope that you will take pity on me and grant me one of your carrier treasures..."
Bullshit!
Su Yu cursed inwardly. Screw that! He was not interested in foxes! And she was actually asking for a carrier treasure for that! She must be dreaming!
He didn't even deign to give her a reply. Right at that moment, a voice rang out from the inner hall, "Come on in."
That was a unique voice, a voice that was tinged with the passage of time.
Su Yu did not hesitate to head straight to the inner hall. The green fox's expression changed slightly as she hurriedly followed behind him. Outside the city, everyone else was waiting silently.
Could Su Yu really withstand the burden of a second ancient city? Was he really going to become the mayor of two cities? In that case, he would be the first mayor in history to do something like that.
***
Inner hall.
A massive stone statue could be seen.
With one look, Su Yu realized that it was a female—cough, woman.
The stone statue had a humanoid appearance as well. Just looking at the stone statue was enough to cause one's heart to flutter. She was not emanating the charm of seductiveness, nor was she emanating the charm of innocence. Rather, she was emanating the charm of pure beauty. That was all.
Su Yu was unsure which race she belonged to. But he did notice that most of these stone statues looked humanoid. But he was also sure that they weren't humans. For example, Heavendoom had a tail. As for Grandstar, he had scales on his skin. They were clearly not humans.
He couldn't see what race Empyrean Cloud belonged to yet, but it was unlikely she was a human.
Empyrean Cloud opened her eyes and studied Su Yu thoughtfully as her eyes flickered repeatedly. After a while, she asked emotionlessly, "Can you take the burden of a second holy city?"
Su Yu gave it some thought. Then, he activated his death character and absorbed a large amount of death qi in his body. At the same time, he directed his yang acupoint to start absorbing pure death qi instead of the source qi he had reversed from death qi.
The reversal method was a sort of cultivation method. But that wasn't the case for the yang acupoint. Its presence served as proof of Su Yu's extraordinary talent.
Empyrean Cloud noticed that as well. She said in surprise, "I see. Incomplete heaven acupoint...No wonder. But there is a limit to even the heaven acupoint. At this rate, you will fully transform into a death spirit in only a few years."
When the green fox heard that, she started grumbling inwardly. So there was a limit? He wouldn't even be alive for long! So he would only be able to strut around arrogantly for a mere few years? She had thought that he had some super secret to deal with death qi. How disappointing.
She obediently said, "Mistress, can I open this heaven acupoint as well?"
Empyrean Cloud replied with the same emotionless voice, "If you're a human who has opened 360 acupoints, perhaps you can."
"..."
The green fox gave up immediately. No wonder Su Yu was the only person capable of this.
She smiled and asked with the same obedient tone, "Mistress...how long can he last with two cities? When he dies, I wish to serve you again."
Su Yu said nothing. This female fox was too cunning. She was trying to ask a lot of questions indirectly.
Empyrean Cloud said, "About three to five years. If he takes on a third city, he will die in a year. He also must refrain from borrowing the power of the guardians or he will die faster."
With that, the green fox gave up all hope. So this guy wouldn't even live for that long. One ought to know that mayors like them could survive for a few hundred years even if they had to endure the torment of death qi.
Meanwhile, Su Yu would die in a few years. He also needed to restrain his actions or he would die even faster.
Worried that Su Yu would withdraw from the deal, she hurriedly handed her medallion over and said, "Mayor Su, since you have an agreement with my mistress, you will be the mayor from now on. Be sure to serve my mistress well. I'll be a normal resident after this..."
Su Yu smiled, "Mayor Green Fox, don't you want to be an official or something?"
"No. It's fine."
The green fox resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She would be stupid to agree to that. After all, the mayor could share the burden with the subordinates of the city. The moment one accepted the position of an official, one would be subjected to the whims of the mayor.
Meanwhile, the mayor couldn't do the same to the normal residents. Only the stone statue could do so. In short, the more one received from the city, the more one had to risk.
Su Yu smiled. He didn't mind. This fox better not regret this choice. A mayor could transfer more death qi to their subordinates, but the same was also true in reverse. As a mayor, he could share some of their burden. The fox would regret missing this opportunity.
Su Yu shook his head disapprovingly. Sure enough, all foxes had the bad habit of scheming about every little thing in life. It might not always benefit them to scheme too much.
"Mayor Green Fox..." Su Yu said, "You may leave. I'm not comfortable with having someone else present while I'm refining the medallion."
The green fox smiled, unbothered. She bowed at the stone statue again as she said, "Your loyal servant will be taking her leave, Mistress. When Mayor Su falls, I'll be back to serve you..."
Perhaps she could use the break and advance into the Invincible while Su Yu was here. That way, her next tenure as the mayor after Su Yu's death would be much easier. This wasn't a bad thing.
Empyrean Cloud said nothing.
Soon, the green fox left with a sizeable group of people from the mayor's residence. Those were her subordinates. She did not leave the city. As she was still a resident, that wouldn't be wise. She had merely been relieved of her burden as the mayor. But she would also lose the benefits she had been enjoying as the mayor.
For example, she would lose the ability to fuse with a death spirit, borrow the power of the death qi in the city, and seal the city.
***
Inner hall.
As Su Yu started refining the medallion, a large amount of information poured into his mind. The death qi in his body started churning.
Empyrean Cloud merely watched in silence. But as time went on...something felt off.
She noted that after a while, Su Yu was clearly annoyed with the large amount of death qi in his body. Thus, he reversed the death qi into source qi. And he was doing it at an incredible speed.
Previously, his yang acupoint would be consuming all the death qi pouring into his body. But now, he was directly reversing the death qi into source qi, massively reducing the burden on him.
In fact, he was having such an easy time at it that he could even speak, "Lord Empyrean Cloud, I have a question..."
Empyrean Cloud, who was still slightly stunned by what she saw, replied, "Yes?"
"Why isn't there a death sovereign here to convert me?"
Su Yu complained unhappily, "I wish to build a few more death qi connections. Why...is there no death sovereign here?"
Empyrean Cloud blanked out.
She considered herself an experienced and knowledgeable person, but this was her first time hearing such a request. After a long time, she answered, "One death qi connection is sufficient."
"Uh..."
Su Yu was feeling very regretful. So he couldn't deal with that devil death sovereign called Yanmo the same way he dealt with Xing Yue? He had been thinking of using this as an opportunity to weaken that death sovereign before killing him.
How dare that death sovereign threaten him previously!
But now...
He gloomily said, "In that case, I won't be able to form any connection with that Yanmo? Is there any way for me to do that? Maybe I can get Xing Yue of Grandstar City killed before forming a connection with Yanmo?"
"..."
This was Empyrean Cloud's first time dealing with Su Yu, so she was stunned yet again by the request. This mayor...was planning to get a death sovereign killed. Not to gain his freedom, but to establish a connection with a different death spirit?
How did that brain of his work? Also, did this human lie to her earlier? He didn't even need that incomplete heaven acupoint to deal with the death qi. His biggest trump card was his ability to reverse death qi.
Previously, she had judged that he wouldn't be able to stay alive for long. But now...she had to remove her previous verdict.
Dying soon? Nonsense! From what she was seeing, this fellow would be able to live a very long life. If he tried hard enough, he would live an unbelievably long life. It would be very difficult for him to die.
As he continued working on the medallion, Su Yu asked, "Is that not possible, Lord?"
"Is it...possible?"
Empyrean Cloud blanked out. Was something like that really possible?
After thinking about it for a while, she answered, "If you can kill Xing Yue, Yanmo might not have the courage to convert you."
This time, it was Su Yu's turn to be stunned. He said, "Will I stop being an ancient city mayor without being a living dead?"
"Yes."
Su Yu exclaimed, "That won't do! You're saying that I can't be a mayor anymore after Xing Yue is dead?"
He was greatly alarmed.
Chapter 1285: Can't Afford To Offend (3)
Empyrean Cloud really wanted to ask if he really believed he would live longer than a death sovereign. But...she didn't know how to phrase that question. Her worldview had been toppled completely. This was the first mayor in existence to worry that their death sovereign would die.
She had no choice but to believe that the longer you lived, the more you would see.
She had seen countless mayors before, but all of them wanted nothing more than to see their death sovereigns dead. Meanwhile, Su Yu was afraid that Xing Yue would die.
Worried, Su Yu asked, "Lord, is there no way for me to remain a mayor when Xing Yue is dead?"
After some hesitation, Empyrean Cloud said, "I'm not sure. Normally, those lucky enough to have their death sovereign dead will leave as soon as possible. I have never seen any such person remain in the city to wait for a second conversion. Maybe...you can try."
With an expression of great worry, Su Yu said, "No, I won't try something so risky. Xing Yue better not die on me. If she dies and nobody else is willing to convert me, I won't be able to remain a mayor. No way. I need to tell Lord Grandstar to take good care of Xing Yue. I also need to remind Xing Yue to not go too far away. She shouldn't be too quick to fight the other death sovereigns for her hegemony. I also need to absorb less death qi from her. I can't weaken her too much, right? Sigh. Why is she such a worrisome person?"
He was starting to fear for Xing Yue. If she were to die, he would be in a very big trouble. With the sheer number of enemies he had, including the human race, the thought of losing his mayorship was terrifying.
He hurriedly said, "Lord, why don't you call Yanmo over? Tell him to try converting me. That way, I'll have a spare..."
Yet again, Empyrean Cloud experienced another first time. She didn't know how to react.
Thus, she ignored him and sent Grandstar a voice transmission instead, "Grandstar, your mayor...is telling you to protect the death sovereign over there properly. Don't let her die or he won't get to be a mayor anymore. He does not want his freedom..."
Grandstar was left quite speechless as well. Shortly after, he replied, "True. Xing Yue's death might really free him. That would put him in a lot of trouble and lose us an outstanding mayor."
Next, Grandstar contacted all the other guardians and said, "Everyone, keep an eye on the fellows under you. Warn them to not mess with Xing Yue. She's under my protection from now on."
Yes. He was going to start protecting Xing Yue. The alternative was losing Su Yu as a mayor. How could he allow that to happen? Sure, some other death spirit might appear to replace Xing Yue. But there was no guarantee. It would be much better to not risk it.
Then, Grandstar sent Xing Yue a voice transmission as well. Never had he been so polite to Xing Yue before. "Xing Yue, be sure to take care of yourself. Don't run off and fight wars in the Death Realm. It's too dangerous. Su Yu told me to protect you well lest you die and free him. That would be very annoying. If you face any trouble, feel free to contact me. I'll help you as long as it doesn't break the laws."
"..."
In the tunnel.
Xing Yue blanked out for a bit. Then, the look in her eyes changed. An insult. This was an insult of the highest order!
The pseudo death spirit she had converted herself was actually worried that she would die because he didn't want to stop being a pseudo death spirit. The guardian that was supposedly guarding against her was putting her under his protection. She felt...insulted!
"Bastard!"
Death Sovereign Xing Yue was furious! Su Yu was insulting her! She was a hegemon! An Invincible! A death sovereign! Yet she had been insulted in such a manner! This was a disgrace!
The guardian, who had been on guard against her since forever, was telling her to look for him if she was in trouble. Why? Because the guardian didn't want to lose a good mayor. She felt like they were pricking her heart with needles. If she was still alive, she would start coughing blood from sheer anger right about now.
Grandstar was completely indifferent to Xing Yue's humiliation. He was in agreement with Su Yu. They had to be careful, right?
***
Meanwhile, Empyrean Cloud had yet to recover from her stupefaction.
Su Yu...and Grandstar had both shattered her worldview.
Grandstar was offering Xing Yue his protection.
Holy shit!
Empyrean Cloud felt like cursing someone. They were supposed to guard against the Death Realm. When had they ever extended their protection to a death sovereign?
Suddenly, Su Yu asked, "Lord Empyrean Cloud, you can now leave the city and take a short walk outside. You can leave your death qi with me. Take a walk. Or fly around if you want. The world outside is very beautiful."
Empyrean Cloud was stunned. Could she...really leave the city? Would Su Yu die from that? Then, she recalled that Grandstar had done the same before. It should be...fine, right?
Carefully and slowly, she started transferring her death qi to Su Yu. In response, Su Yu started reversing the death qi madly.
Carefully, Empyrean Cloud moved away from the tunnel. Nothing happened.
Then, she carefully removed her petrification and returned to her normal size. Su Yu was too focused on his work to notice.
At that moment, Empyrean Cloud felt like crying. How many years had it been? She wanted to go out as well. She wanted to move around as well. But she couldn't. And now...she could!
With a flicker, she vanished.
Nobody could see her. She left the city and soared into the sky. As she flew higher and higher, an urge to roar and cheer came to her. She also had the urge to weep. She might be an Invincible, but she was also a living, breathing being.
How many years had it been?
Too many to count.
At times, she wondered if she was really still alive.
But today, she was certain. She was still alive.
Freedom was something everyone yearned for. And she was no exception.
She became mad with joy. Finally...she could leave the city again!
Boom!
She threw a random palm attack, causing her surroundings to shake violently. She couldn't control herself. She couldn't hold back her excitement.
She was finally out of the city!
This was real!
Su Yu! As of this moment, there was nobody she loved more than Su Yu.
She couldn't control her emotions.
Suddenly, she descended from the sky and sent a slap toward the Eternal Serenity City. The stone statue in the city opened his eyes blankly. Before he could say anything, his mayor was turned into mincemeat. Chapters fırst released on novelFirｅ.net
The mayor wasn't dead. As a peak Sunmoon, he could survive that much. But he was overwhelmed with fear as he hurriedly regrew his body in confusion. What...happened? What was that? How did that happen when he was in his city?
Next, Empyrean Cloud threw a palm attack at the nearby Openmountain City. After doing that, she soared into the sky, released her presence, and spread her voice throughout the Sea of Stars.
"From today onward, Su Yu is under my protection. Whoever you are, if you dare to harm him, you will die."
"..."
Freedom meant too much to Empyrean Cloud.
Countless experts were stunned.
Holy shit!
What was going on?
A stone statue had suddenly left the city. And that was not all. The same stone statue had suddenly turned two mayors into mincemeat. Of course, the two mayors had yet to die. They had merely been injured gravely. But...what did this signify? Something like this had never happened before?
Even Grandstar was stunned. Holy shit! What was this? Was she trying to steal his position in Su Yu's heart?
The two stone statues of the Eternal Serenity and Openmountain Cities appeared quite furious. But before they could say anything, Empyrean Cloud sent them a voice transmission, "Don't provoke me! If you provoke me, I'll tell Big Brother what you did! I'll tell him how your mayors bullied my mayor! How dare they?"
"..."
The two stone statues were so stunned it felt like they were being petrified for a second time.
Holy shit!
What did Su Yu do to Empyrean Cloud?
Chapter 1286: Become A Tool (1)
The people that had gathered around Grandstar City were there for various reasons. But as of that moment, all of them were stunned. Was this really possible? Did Su Yu really become Empyrean Cloud City's mayor as well? More importantly, had he released Empyrean Cloud from the city?
The indistinct silhouette amid the clouds continued releasing her presence upon the world below as she said, "The mayor of Empyrean Cloud Holy City has contributed to all living beings like never before. If you dare to attack him, you will be the enemy of all holy cities!"
Contributed to all living beings?
What?
Empyrean Cloud had naturally neglected to mention the fact that she considered her release the greatest of contributions. She did not care about the truth. Su Yu had helped with her suppression of the tunnel. Was that not a contribution? Was that not great? Was there a problem with that?
She looked around, taking note of every single expert in the area, hidden or not. She wished there was an Invincible around she could fight to her heart's content. She was itching for a fight. How many years had it been?
For so many years, she had been living like she was a prisoner. Even the death sovereign she watched enjoyed more freedom than her. At the very least, the death sovereign could leave the tunnel at times to kill some people.
But she couldn't.
Because of the laws.
If she left, death qi would start leaking uncontrollably out of the tunnel.
But now, that would not happen anymore. Su Yu alone was suppressing the death qi in the tunnel. She did not want to return so soon. She wanted to stay outside longer. In fact, she didn't even feel like returning.
She could only hope that someone would pick a fight with her. She wanted to fight. She needed to vent her feelings. She didn't want to return.
Heavendoom desperate voice rang out, "Su Yu! Come! Come here!"
"..."
Ahhhhhh!
He was losing his mind.
Why? Why must they treat him like that? Please! He wanted to leave as well! He really wanted to leave! First, it was Grandstar. Next, it was Empyrean Cloud. When would his turn arrive? He was the first stone statue Su Yu knew!
He roared madly, "Su Yu! Come here! If you come here, I'll kill Tian He and let you take his spot!"
Tian He's face fell.
Holy shit!
Was there a need for that?
Was there a point?
How could an ancient Invincible say something so shameless?
Meanwhile, the mayors of the Eternal Serenity and Openmountain Cities paled as a certain realization dawned on them. Was Su Yu the type of mayor the various stone statues wouldn't mind killing their existing mayors to get?
There was no need to doubt that anymore. Just look at how Empyrean Cloud had turned them into mincemeat without any mercy earlier. And their own stone statues had been completely silent about it.
In fact, their stone statues had ignored their plight. And since they weren't dead, not even a death spirit had appeared. They had simply received the beating for free. Heavendoom's roars further alarmed them. What was the meaning of that?
At that moment, more ancient cities appeared around them. Some had arrived earlier but had refrained from revealing themselves. Some had just arrived. The people in those ancient cities were similarly shocked by what they saw and heard.
Inside Empyrean Cloud City.
The green fox's jaw dropped. What happened?
Her mistress...attacked?
It wasn't even a big deal. The two mayors had merely given Su Yu a sort of verbal warning. Strictly speaking, Su Yu did not lose much to them. But just for that tiny slight, Empyrean Cloud had turned the two mayors into mincemeat right in their own ancient cities.
An intense envy swelled within the green fox. She had never felt so envious before. She felt so envious she wanted to roar in madness. She had served as a mayor for over a hundred years yet Empyrean Cloud had spoken to her less than ten times. Altogether, Empyrean Cloud had spoken less than fifty words to her.
Su Yu had just arrived. Wasn't it too soon for the stone statue to forget about her? Wasn't the special treatment too excessive?
Su Yu had just taken over yet the stone statue who had barely moved in perhaps tens of thousands of years had immediately moved for him. Even the mayors who were obediently staying in their own cities weren't safe from her. Follow current novels on ⓝovelFire.net
Not even ancient cities were safe for them anymore.
For mayors like them, the ancient cities were their greatest reliance. But now, the stone statues were personally acting against that. This was a dangerous signal. It meant that not even ancient cities were safe anymore.
Nobody could be sure if the respected stone statue in the inner hall would suddenly give them a slap.
***
The entire Sea of Stars sank into silence after Empyrean Cloud's declaration.
Heavendoom was losing his mind.
He wanted to leave as well!
Just as he was going mad, someone appeared beside Empyrean Cloud.
Holy shit!
It was Grandstar! Alarmed, Empyrean Cloud hurriedly looked at her city. Was Su Yu fine? Why was Grandstar out? What was this?
Grandstar nonchalantly said, "It's fine. It's only the burden of two guardians. He's still in the city. Previously, both of us were in the Human Realm yet he was still fine. At the time, the burden on him was double the normal rate..."
In other words, he was merely withstanding the same burden he had withstood during his time in the Human Realm.
This was no big deal.
That was especially true since Su Yu was still in the ancient city.
Empyrean Cloud glanced at Grandstar questioningly. Why was this guy out?
Grandstar said nothing. Why else? For the same reason she was out.
To enjoy the sweet, sweet freedom—cough, to back Su Yu! Why else?
As he scanned his surroundings coldly, he said, "The alliance is an internal matter of the holy cities. Any outsider attempting to interfere will be killed without mercy."
He was trying very hard to show Su Yu how domineering and reliable he was.
The two stone statues hovered in the sky overbearingly. They did not look like they were going to return to their cities anytime soon. In fact, they were increasing the pressure on their surroundings, hoping that an opponent would appear for them to fight. It wouldn't be too late to return after enjoying a good fight.
After waiting arrogantly for a while, no challenger appeared. Grandstar was left quite speechless. Thus, he pushed on, "Eternal Serenity! Openmountain! Your mayors lack discipline. Because of that, Empyrean Cloud was forced to teach them a lesson. Do you object?"
He added one more sentence through voice transmission, "If you object, you can come out and fight us!"
"..."
Once again, silence descended.
The two stone statues trapped in their cities cussed endlessly in their minds.
They had the urge to kill someone.
Fight? Fight his ass!
Had they even said anything?
Yes, they were quite unhappy that their mayors had been beaten. But...they couldn't leave their cities! If they could leave, they would be more than happy to fight it out! Did Grandstar think that they fear him? Alas, they couldn't leave.
Clearly, those two were trying to find something to do. They couldn't keep staying outside their cities for no reason, right? Thus, they had to pick a fight somewhere.
This was not against the laws. Su Yu only needed to keep working hard on shouldering their burden for them.
***
Inside the city, Su Yu was stunned as well.
How...enthusiastic.
That Empyrean Cloud was way too enthusiastic to help him.
As for Grandstar, Su Yu rolled his eyes. Why was that fellow even out there?
There was also that Heavendoom. That guy had probably gone mad from envy. What a pitiful guy. Well, what could he do if Heavendoom wasn't as inviting as the others? It would be too embarrassing for him to offer his services without an invitation, right?
The two ancient Invincibles continued hovering in the sky, subjecting everyone below to their pressure. They looked ready to fight anyone with the courage to challenge Su Yu to the death. Many of the surrounding experts started fleeing in fear.
***
"Su Yu!"
A divine expert muttered as he shook his head with a sigh. All their hard work thus far had been rendered pointless. With the appearance of the two stone statues, could anyone still stop the alliance from happening?
Would those mayors still have the courage to stand in the way of the alliance? They would be fearful of sharing the fate of the two mayors who had opposed Su Yu or even worse.
Just how did Su Yu make this happen? Nobody could understand this. How did he make the two stone statues leave their cities? Was the price for that high? If the price was high, the stone statues wouldn't be able to leave their cities lightly.
These stone statues had grown a lot more active as of late.
One ancient city after another arrived. Before long, all thirty-five of them were there. Only the undersea city was absent. That was understandable since that was an empty city. The stone statue of that city was probably still unaware of this proposed alliance.
The thirty-five massive cities covered a large territory. The entrances of the nine realms were surrounded in the middle, leaving their experts to tremble with fear.
Inwardly, they were praying that the ancient cities leave them alone. They were even ready to give up on their plan to rebuild their island. Even the sole Invincible of the nine realms paled in fear at the realization that he had been surrounded by thirty-five stone statues.
This was too terrifying! He was horrified that the stone statues would suddenly decide to give the nine realms a punch each. That would be disastrous.
After flying around to make it clear that Su Yu was still his, Grandstar said, "The matter of holy cities will be handled by those from the holy cities. Do not force us to act."
Then, he returned to his city with a look of satisfaction. He had done enough to remind everyone that Su Yu was his. As for Empyrean Cloud City, he was only working there part-time. That city did not matter as much as his.
Empyrean Cloud wanted to keep staying outside, but she changed her mind after thinking about it. She had plenty of opportunities to come out in the future. Thus, she returned to her city as well.
Inside, she noted that Su Yu was still perfectly fine. In fact, Su Yu was fine enough to look around curiously. That discovery greatly pleased her. Sure enough, this was a good mayor. In that case, she could really leave the city at any time.
Good!
Su Yu was in a good mood as well. He hurriedly said, "Thank you, Lord Empyrean Cloud!"
Amazing.
It sure felt better to have a female boss. Grandstar was only good at acting all cool and mysterious. But when he was required to do something as simple as killing some Invincibles, he had to do it like a thief. Just look at Empyrean Cloud! She was overbearing enough to strike even the mayors in their own cities! Look at how overbearing she was!
Chapter 1287: Become A Tool (2)
Empyrean Cloud was busy reminiscing on the sensation of being outside the city. She really wanted to leave again. However, she forced herself to calm down and remain patient. Forcing an indifferent expression onto her face, she nonchalantly said, "It's no big deal. Organizing the holy cities into an alliance is a good idea. However, you need to be prompt in using your reversal method lest you turn into a death spirit accidentally."
"You're right, Lord."
Empyrean Cloud continued, "If I leave again, how long will it take before you reach your limit?"
After thinking about it, Su Yu answered, "If you leave for an hour, I'll need to work for half an hour to reverse the resulting death qi. It's the same for Lord Grandstar as well. When the two of you are out at the same time, I'll only be able to maintain the balance. Including the death qi I'm receiving from Xing Yue, the balance will be off. But it's no big deal. I have my yang acupoint. If I feed the death qi to my yang acupoint as well, I'll be able to handle the death qi of two guardians and Xing Yue at the same time."
"..."
Empyrean Cloud was rendered speechless.
"Then..." After a slight hesitation, Empyrean Cloud said, "The city will also produce its own death qi. As the mayor, you'll need to deal with it as well."
Su Yu nodded, "Yeah. Normally, I'll need at least an hour for that. Since I now have a second city under me, I'll need two hours to reverse an entire day's worth of death qi from the two cities."
Su Yu sighed and said, "Thus, if the two of you wish to leave, you must not exceed twenty-two hours. You need to spare me two hours to work on the death qi of the two cities or I'll die."
"..."
So he could withstand their burden for twenty-two hours?
Su Yu continued, "Of course, that is only applicable if I'm in the city. If I'm outside the city, you won't be able to stay outside for more than sixteen hours. And if I leave the Allheaven Battlefield entirely, the two of you won't be able to stay outside for more than ten hours. Otherwise, things will be very hard for me."
Holy shit!
Empyrean Cloud had the urge to curse at someone.
Even when he was not in the Allheaven Battlefield, they could still stay outside for ten hours per day? Was the kid serious?
Su Yu was naturally serious.
He added, "But at times, Xing Yue will go crazy for no reason. So I don't think you should stay outside until the very limit of the time. I need at least seven or eight hours to do some cultivation myself as well or things might get dangerous."
Su Yu was being very earnest. He still needed to cultivate and grow. Thus, they better not stay outside for too long.
At this point, Empyrean Cloud didn't know what to say anymore. Basically, they could freely leave as long as they didn't exceed his limit.
"So...you can take on the burden of more holy cities?"
Su Yu smiled, "Yes. With my current strength, I only need an hour to neutralize one day's worth of death qi from one city. But I need at least eight hours for myself to cultivate, and two more hours on top for rest. Thus, I can only spend fourteen hours per day on the death qi. In other words, if all of you stay inside your cities, I can take on fourteen cities.
"But that's not possible. You will need to leave or fight at times. Thus, I need to leave enough space to account for emergencies. If you all leave and fight together, it might also be beyond my ability to sustain."
After calculating silently for a bit, Su Yu concluded, "Five. No more than five cities. I will need around six hours per day for that. That's a quarter of the day gone. I need to leave the rest of my time for my other affairs. And this can be very risky as well. If I'm in a situation where I can't reverse the death qi in time, I might die."
Then, Su Yu stopped talking and showed the stone statue his honest smile. That was all. He couldn't take more than five cities.
But he thought of something and asked, "Lord, perhaps I should try asking the other cities then..."
"No!" Empyrean Cloud hurriedly said, "There is no need for that. I have a suggestion. You may consider it."
"Yes."
"People like me, Grandstar, or even Heavendoom are stronger than some of the modern Eternals. But we are not omnipotent. We have our mission. But you can...enter a certain city secretly. If you are successful in becoming the mayor of that city...you will be in a much stronger position."
Su Yu blanked out.
"Of course, you might not be able to take on more cities after that one city."
Empyrean Cloud warned, "To become the mayor of that city, you will be subjected to a very heavy burden. The death qi of that city will be incredibly dense as well. The death qi you will need to withstand from that city will probably be three to five times of the other cities."
Su Yu asked, "Are you talking about...the empty city under the sea?"
"Yes." Empyrean Cloud said, "That city is different. As it has been empty for too long, it has accumulated a lot of death qi. The tunnel under that city is also much more powerful than the others. However, the guardian is also far stronger. He is the guardian general of the thirty-six holy cities, the leader of all guardians."
Su Yu asked, "Is that respected guardian...even stronger than the rest of you?"
Empyrean Cloud said, "That is only natural. That is the strongest expert among us. If we follow the classification you use nowadays, he can be considered a Pseudo Emperor. In truth, that is not a proper cultivation realm. But since not everyone has the courage to call themselves one, it became something to denote one's strength as well."
Su Yu asked curiously, "Lord, are the Pseudo Emperors of the nether and dragon races as strong as those from the immortal, devil, and divine races?"
"No. Some of them are stronger. But the Pseudo Emperors of these races are too old. That makes them stronger than regular Eternals. Time itself is enough for them to accumulate a large amount of strength. The one known as Great Qin King of humanity is not far from that level."
Su Yu nodded and asked, "Is there any clear classification of levels within the Eternal Realm?"
"In a way. You will understand when you become one. For now, you're not even a Sunmoon yet. It's pointless for you to know too much. Any Eternal can easily kill you."
Su Yu nodded. Fine.
So...was he going to become the mayor of the strongest ancient city? He started growing excited. Should he give it a try? That was a proper Pseudo Emperor!
He asked, "Uhm...will the lord inside that city be willing to fight for me?"
Empyrean Cloud said, "It's hard to say. He is the guardian general. He cares a lot more about the laws than us. Back then, someone broke the laws and...Just know that he might not necessarily be willing to fight for you. But he will always fight to uphold the laws." Dıscover more novels at novel[f]ire.net
Su Yu nodded understandingly. The person who had broken the laws must be the one Grandstar had mentioned. The city was completely empty because the guardian of the city had killed some people in the city many years ago, including the mayor.
The mayor back then was an ambitious individual. He dreamed of conquering the Myriad Realms with the death spirits and stone statues. Ultimately, he was killed by his own guardian.
Somewhat worried, Su Yu asked, "Lord Empyrean Cloud, if I become the mayor there, won't I be the sole person in the city?"
"Yeah." Empyrean Cloud said, "He has guarded that place alone for many years. I think...he's nearing his limit. Over the years, he has only received some help during a short period of time. He has been withstanding the burden alone for the rest of the time."
Incredible.
Su Yu was quite impressed. Clearly, that stone statue was far stronger than Grandstar and the others.
Empyrean Cloud added, "Furthermore, the other guardians might not necessarily be willing to help you without his support. But if you are able to gain his support, all of us will consider it carefully."
"This is a good opportunity for you. Grandstar might not be able to convince him, but I'm very close with him back then. I can convince him for you."
Su Yu was tempted. That was a Pseudo Emperor. A Pseudo Emperor from the ancient past. That must be an incredible expert. He was probably strong enough to fight seven or eight Invincibles alone, right?
He alone was as good as multiple stone statues!
"Then...I'll be troubling you, Lord..."
Whoosh!
The stone statue vanished.
Su Yu blanked out. What happened?
Empyrean Cloud was gone.
She did not hesitate to leave once Su Yu agreed. She was definitely doing this to help Su Yu. Her previous foray out of the city had been too short. Thus, she had been getting impatient to leave again.
Fortunately, Su Yu required her help to do something outside the city. What else could she do but leave?
Empyrean Cloud's voice rang out in Su Yu's ears, "Wait here. I'll be back soon."
Su Yu nodded. He was very impressed. How efficient.
How fast.
She had set off to work right after he agreed. How hardworking of her.
***
Meanwhile, Heavendoom was still waiting expectantly.
Come on!
Where was Su Yu?
If he could take on the burden of two cities, three cities shouldn't be a big deal, right?
Come on already!
But next, he blanked out. Empyrean Cloud...was out again. Was she...out for another walk?
He felt greatly envious! Where was Empyrean Cloud going? What was she doing? She must be having so much fun! He wanted to join as well!
***
Grandstar sensed the same thing Heavendoom sensed.
He was surprised. Where was Empyrean Cloud going now? Should he go as well? No, he had to follow the laws. He couldn't run off for no good reason. That Empyrean Cloud must have failed to resist the allure of freedom. As for Su Yu, Grandstar suspected he could take on one or two more cities.
He sent Heavendoom a voice transmission, "Be patient. What's the rush? I'm sure Su Yu can take on at least one more city. You will probably be the next. Get ready to taste freedom again, Heavendoom!"
Heavendoom grew excited. Was that true? Would his turn come next? Could he finally go out?
Damn that heartless Su Yu! Had he forgotten where he had received his cultivation method and teleportation talismans?
Finally! A sense of bliss enveloped Heavendoom.
Meanwhile, Tian He was rendered quite speechless. Heavendoom was getting so excited even Tian He could feel it. The stone statue must be desperate to leave the city. Tian He wasn't opposed to this. He could finally quit being a mayor and reduce the burden on him.
He would be happy enough to stay as a regular resident. He was sick of the death qi. As a normal resident, the amount of death qi he had to deal with would be greatly reduced.
***
Prior to this, Su Yu had been planning to make Heavendoom City his next stop. But Empyrean Cloud had successfully persuaded him to change his mind. There was no rush to set the other stone statues free. He had to first deal with their leader, the guardian general!
That was a Psedo Emperor. If he managed to win the guardian general's favor...holy shit! Would he still need to fear anyone?
Chapter 1288: Become A Tool (3)
Deep underwater.
It was deep enough that no light could reach this place.
An ancient city rested silently. There had been no activity in this city for countless years.
Suddenly, the water around the city rippled, breaking the long silence.
"Boss!"
Like an animal out of its cage, Empyrean Cloud was feeling exceptionally excited. In fact, she had intentionally moved slower to extend her time outside. She had only proceeded with her journey to this city after taking a stroll around the Sea of Stars.
Inside the city.
The stone statue opened his eyes and looked at her. After a short pause, he slowly asked in surprise, "You're out as well?"
Grandstar had visited him not long ago.
Now, it was Empyrean Cloud's turn.
Were they taking turns going out on trips?
Empyrean Cloud said cheerfully, "Yeah. And I'm not the only one doing this recently. I'm here to suggest you a new mayor, Boss. With him, you will be able to leave your city easily. Like us, you don't have to endure as much suffering from the death qi anymore. This life of a prisoner will end."
"Suffering?"
The stone statue thought about it for a long while before continuing, "Is it really suffering? Isn't it a joy to stay in one place in peace?"
How was this suffering?
These people truly lacked resilience. They only needed to stay at a single place. They only needed to take ten-thousand-year naps. With some naps here and there, time would pass easily.
Empyrean Cloud blanked out. She had the urge to roll her eyes. After a long pause, she said, "True. You're a grand dream turtle. You are extremely long-lived. With a single nap, a long time will pass. Sigh. You don't understand our suffering."
Grand dream turtle.
This was an extremely rare race even during the ancient past. There were probably less than a handful of them in existence back then. At present day, he was probably the only one left.
The bottom of the sea was the home of this race. They spent the majority of their time sleeping. For them, sleeping for ten thousand years was perfectly normal.
Empyrean Cloud felt quite gloomy when she realized that their leader would not be able to understand their suffering. But soon, she smiled again and said, "Boss, do you want this mayor? If not, we will get him to take on a few more holy cities..."
The stone statue asked, "Is this Grandstar's mayor?"
"Yes."
The stone statue thought about it and said, "I saw him once. He is capable of reversing death qi. This person...is quite special. With the ability to reverse death qi, he can withstand a lot more death qi. But at this rate, he will need to be careful lest he starts opening new death qi tunnels everywhere by accident..."
"Boss...will...will this be fine?"
Empyrean Cloud was unsure. Would that really happen?
The stone statue said, "That's hard to say. When the density of death in his body reaches a certain level, he will be a walking tunnel. Wherever he goes, a new tunnel will open. However, he has a very important function. None of you are aware of that yet."
Empyrean Cloud asked in surprise, "What is this function?"
"Tunnel."
Seeing that Empyrean Cloud was still confused, the stone statue explained, "He can act as an additional tunnel connecting the thirty-six cities. When the death qi gets too much for all of you to withstand, you can transfer it to him. When it gets too much for him, he can transfer it to me. Or he can help any of the guardians in trouble and transfer the death qi to a different guardian." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ noᴠelfire.net
"Back then, that man wanted to do the same. Unfortunately, he ultimately failed. Perhaps a new hope has arrived. I believe a few of you are already reaching your limits, right?"
Empyrean Cloud nodded, "Definitely. At this rate, our petrification will be broken. When that happens, we won't be able to last much longer. The tunnels will be without guardians."
The stone statue said, "In that case, this man will be very important. I can still last some time. If he is capable of connecting all of us, you can transfer your death qi to me through him when necessary."
In short, Su Yu was a good tool. A tool to allow the flow of death qi between different cities. He could share the burden of some of the guardians, and he could also share his burden with some of the guardians. Both parties could benefit from this.
Empyrean Cloud's eyes flickered as she said, "In that case, he's a lot more important than I know. But...I doubt he can connect all thirty-six cities. Even if we try our best to hold back, we won't be able to keep the death qi at a low enough level for him to take on all the holy cities."
The stone statue argued, "That's not necessarily the case. He can't for now, but that might change in the future. I saw him once. At the time, he was reversing his death qi as well. At the time, he couldn't even withstand the death qi of an entire city, let alone two. It hasn't even been that long yet he has grown enough to do that. He's even capable of withstanding my death qi already. You won't be here if he can't, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then we only need to give him some time to grow. Perhaps...he'll be able to do it one day."
Even the old turtle was tempted. He wasn't too concerned about having Su Yu withstand his death qi. Rather, he was more worried about some of the other guardians.
He said, "I checked all the guardians not long ago. Rainbow Rain Holy City is near its limits. If this human can take on one more city, he should consider Rainbow Rain."
Empyrean Cloud hurriedly said, "But Heavendoom is getting impatient..."
"Just ignore him." The stone statue said, "Heavendoom has always lacked patience. He is strong enough to last a while longer. The moment he gets a mayor like this, he will probably go crazy and create trouble everywhere. He will need to wait in line. And that will be quite a long line."
"Then...should I take him here, Boss?"
"Sure." The stone statue said, "Send him over. I won't leave the city unless it is absolutely necessary so for the most part, I will remain absent from all your affairs."
"Sure."
Empyrean Cloud nodded. She was happy with this. As for Heavendoom...well, what was the rush? Their boss was right. It wasn't like Heavendoom was dying. Why was he so impatient? There were other guardians they needed to prioritize helping. Heavendoom should obediently wait in line.
Empyrean Cloud was in no rush to leave after receiving an answer. She asked, "Boss, the ancient past has fallen. Do we really need to keep guarding these tunnels?"
"Yes."
"But..."
"There are no buts. This is our mission. Such are the laws. This is the only reason we're still alive. You would have died long ago otherwise."
"Dying might be better." Empyrean Cloud grumbled, "Back then, I thought we only needed to do this for three to five thousand years. Who would have thought that everything would change while we were guarding these tunnels? When I awoke from my slumber, the sky above us had changed. The human race has changed as well. The death tunnels allowed us to survive, but they also kept us prisoner, granting us an existence that is worse than death."
The stone statue said, "You're making it a bigger fuss than it is. Just sleep. When you wake up from a good sleep, you will stop having these thoughts."
Just sleep.
Perhaps after a few naps, everything would change yet again. Why so impatient?
"..."
Empyrean Cloud was starting to suspect that her boss had slept so much his brain was starting to slow. Whatever. What was the point of arguing about this with an old turtle? As far as the old turtle was concerned, an eternity was perhaps only the length of a single nap.
"I'll be bringing Su Yu here. Don't fall asleep again, Boss."
"Alright."
When Empyrean Cloud vanished, the stone statue shut his eyes again. Just then, a crowned death spirit in the tunnel beneath him spoke, "Old Turtle, are you finally picking a new mayor?"
The stone statue ignored him.
The death spirit said, "Old Turtle, are you dreaming of suppressing me with a newcomer?"
The stone statue continued ignoring him.
The death spirit laughed and said, "Sure. I'll wait and take a good look at this replacement of mine that has finally appeared after so many years..."
Finally, the stone statue spoke, "You're already a death spirit. Why can't you forget your obsessions? What is the point? You don't even have your full memories anymore."
"I refuse to accept this result!" The death spirit said, "This is not a result I can accept. I don't want to remain a measly death spirit. I will return to live! I will return to the realm of the living! Old Turtle, I reject your reason to kill me back then! Chaos had yet to befall the Myriad Realms when you killed me! The death spirits are merely a part of the myriad races. Why can't we conquer the Myriad Realms as well?"
The stone statue shut his eyes again, ignoring the death spirit.
The death spirit said, "Old Turtle, you still have the habit of ignoring what you don't like to hear. You will see. Nobody will be able to last long as your mayor. I won't give up easily. Before long, this tunnel will once again become the staging ground for the Death Realm to attack the Myriad Realms!"
"Sure."
The stone statue remained indifferent. He was still capable of keeping this death spirit suppressed. This death spirit was already dead. Why must he hang on to his past obsession?