Chapter 1569: Suppressing Myriad Races (3)
Fate Pseudo Emperor's voice rang out with a sigh, "Su Yu, why must you do this? Things have not escalated to a point where you need to drag everyone down with you. By summoning an uncontrollable existance like this, the entire Myriad Realms might fall."
Far away, the old turtle also said in shock, "Su Yu, stop the summon. You're trying to die with everyone. This existance...has surpassed the level allowed in this world. Just look at how his appearance is triggering the laws. You...what are you doing?"
Su Yu was confused. What was the meaning of that? Everything seemed really complicated.
Tiangu's expression was also changing repeatedly at the realization that Su Yu was really capable of summoning such an existance. He coldly said, "Su Yu, if you want to die together, remember that I've lived a far longer life than you! This is not a loss for me! At present, the Allheaven Battlefield is not yet capable of holding such an existance. If you really want to fight, wait. The thousand-year-limit will end soon. This backer of yours...might not really be unequalled."
Su Yu's confusion deepened. However, he did not show it. Smart as he was, he managed to catch some of the information in Tiangu's words.
Thousand-year-limit.
Holding...yet capable of holding...
Over the years, the Allheaven Battlefield had been closing and opening itself to the various realms repeatedly, as though it was operating in accordance to a certain set of rules. And according to Tiangu, the Allheaven Battlefield was yet capable of holding an existance at Old Zhou's level. If he attempted to emerge now, tribulation would descend from the laws.
When Su Yu challenged Tiangu to summon those truly ancient fossils out earlier, Tiangu had not done so. Was that because of...the tribulation as well? He might be confused, but he naturally had to act like he knew everything.
He sneered and said, "You will have your answer after giving it a try. And you think this isn't a loss for you? Well, this isn't a loss for me either. I killed so many Eternals as a mere Cloudbreach. I could even drag all these Daofuses to the afterlife with me. This feels great. If you really don't fear death, I can summon this existance one more time. Do you want to try me?"
"After the third summon, everything will go out of control. At that time, let's see if an existance not even the Martial King could fully suppress could kill all of you."
Someone exclaimed in alarm, "Martial King?"
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Su Yu grinned, "Are there no mention of this in the ancient records? Oh, right, this was a matter preceeding the building of the Luminous Domain Mansion. This existance was a supreme expert of that era. A human. An enemy of the Martial King. Ultimately, he was suppressed in the mansion. But now, the Martial King is no longer around while this supreme expert is still here. I'm very curious. Are the so-called Emperors of the current era capable of suppressing this existance?"
The hearts of the Daofuses thumped violently.
Su Yu's bluff had succeeded.
It wasn't that they were stupid enough to fall. But that was simply too terrifying to doubt. And Old Zhou had indeed demonstrated his might before their eyes. Such an existance was definitely stronger than them. Furthermore, Su Yu had already summoned this existance once in the mansion.
For some reason, Su Yu was the only person capable of establishing a connection with that existance. Su Yu would not make up a story with the Martial King in it for no reason. Thus, it was likely that he was telling the truth.
Some of the Daofuses looked at the Heavenly Overseer Marquis and old turtle. These two were among the oldest of the bunch. They should know something, right? With a frown, the Heavenly Overseer Marquis sank into thought. Suddenly, he thought of something and looked up at Su Yu with a drastic change in his expression.
As for the old turtle, he sank into contemplation. Some of these memories were so old they had grown indistinct.
Suppressed by Martial King...Suppressed by Martial King...
Meanwhile, Heavendoom was busy giving three immortal kings a beating as requested by Su Yu. Noticing that he was the only person still fighting, he shouted, "Su Yu, continue! Go on! Let us shatter the sky above us! Shatter the laws! Shatter the Myriad Realms! Hahahahaha! I can join in and release the Death Realm as well. Let us all fight until the Myriad Realms cease to exist! Let those old bastards have nothing other than corpses to pick after returning! I'm unsealing myself! Su Yu, I am unsealing myself to kill them!"
Heavendoom was serious about killing the three immortal kings. However, he needed to unseal himself to do that. Since Su Yu was going to end the world, he wouldn't hesitate to unseal himself as well. Should he do it?
And thus, he roared with laughter as he transformed back into a stone statue. As cracks appeared on the surface of his body, he said, "Su Yu, go on! I know who you're talking about! Who else could it be? Before the Human Emperor created the world, the Martial King's strongest rival was someone called the Martial Emperor. Due to their similar titles, only one of them could remain. Hahahaha! So the Martial Emperor isn't dead?"
The old turtle's expression changed. The Heavenly Overseer Marquis was shaken. Far away, Bountiful Treasure exclaimed in shock, "That's not possible, right? Isn't he dead?"
"Hahaha! That's definitely the case. Since he's a human, and he was suppressed by the Martial King, who could be sure if he's already dead? Hahaha! Good! Good! He's still alive! Even better if he's mad! Su Yu, I'm unsealing myself! After killing these three, let's lure some old bastards out and shatter the Myriad Realms together!"
For some reason, Heavendoom seemed incredibly excited at the thought of ending the world. Even if he would die doing so, he didn't seem to care one bit. Slowly, his stone skin faded away.
Meanwhile, Su Yu was losing his mind. No! Why was this guy doing this? He was only bluffing! Brother Heavendoom! Could Dearest Brother Heavendoom stop messing around? He was definitely not interested in dying with everyone else.
He was only bluffing to scare Tiangu and the others.
He was only scaring the others against doing anything rash.
Just then, the old turtle roared furiously, "Heavendoom! Stop! Damn it!"
He was furious. Was Su Yu really trying to die with everyone else? Google seaʀᴄh nοvelfire.net
Definitely not.
Nobody wanted this. For some reason, Heavendoom was the exception. He alone was mad enough to welcome that.
What a lunatic.
Tiangu was greatly shaken as well. After a short pause, he sent a voice transmission, "Su Yu! Just what do you want?"
He was worried that Su Yu would really fall for Heavendoom's persuasion and release that existance. That would be disastrous. It was not yet time for such an existance to appear. The Myriad Realms were still incapable of holding such an existance. This could very well result in the destruction of numerous races.
Su Yu was relieved, but he did not show it. Instead, he sneered and said, "I don't know. I don't want to die either, but you're forcing me. Since I must die, I'll drag you all down with me. Of course, I am a reasonable person. I only want the divines, devils, immortals, dragons, nethers, celestial chasms, and Heavenly Hunt Pavilion to eliminate the sixteen races whose Invincibles had attacked me earlier. I will accept that as the payment to end things here. You have so many Daofuses so this should be an easy task. If you're so useless you can't even do this, all of you should just die."
Eliminating sixteen races.
The expressions of the various Daofuses changed upon hearing that.
Far away, a certain expert who had lost his tri-life body paled. Even further away, an Invincible who had fled to his own realm also paled.
Eliminating sixteen races to end the battle today.
Su Yu asked coldly, "So? Are you worried that the minor races will turn against you because of that? Don't worry. They are too useless to do anything significant. You saw how useless the sixteen Invincibles were. They didn't even dare to do anything earlier when they were all around me. Fourteen of them are dead. Only two remain. It won't be hard to eliminate their races.
"Are you afraid of reprisals? Or do you think that the idiots would still have the courage to fight me again in the future? Since they have already proven their disloyalty, just wipe them out. I, Su Yu, am not someone to be attacked lightly. There is no need for those who are disloyal to keep existing."
Tiangu did not answer.
Fourteen of the Invincibles were dead. Two remained.
The expert who had lost his tri-life body wailed mournfully, "NO! You can't do this! Lord Tiangu, the immortals can't do this! We fought for you! I lost my tri-life body because of this! Everyone else is dead! You can't do this to us after making use of us! How will the other races view you all after you do this?"
This couldn't do. He couldn't allow the immortals to even consider the matter. That could very well result in the elimination of his race.
Su Yu said, "I won't force you. I'm a reasonable man. How about this? The humans can send fourteen Invincibles and eliminate all the Mountainseas and Sunmoons of the fourteen races. As for the remaining two races, Great Qin King and the others can kill them. Or the two can self-detonate to end the matter. If they agree, I will spare their races."
The expert who had lost a tri-life body looked at Su Yu and pleaded, "Su Yu! Please! We are only minor races! We never wanted to participate in the battle! We were forced!"
"But someone must serve as the warning, right?"
Su Yu said, "Either you die or everyone would have the courage to attack me. Think over this. Any human Invincibles willing to play executioner for me this time? I reckon the various races won't stop the humans from carrying out this task, right? It's only some bugs. Kill them, end the battle, and we can all go back home."
***
Great Zhou King looked around and said indifferently, "There is no need for fourteen Eternals. Great Yuan King, Heavenly Seal King, Xia Longwu, Zhu Tianfang...the four of you will do. Go and slaughter all their Mountainseas and Sunmoons. Take some treasures back while you're at it."
The eyes of the four Invincibles flickered with surprise, but they left without saying anything. A short while later, Great Yuan King charged into a minor realm with a rumble. In the blink of an eye, miserable wails rang out from that realm.
Moons started falling unendingly.
***
"No! Lord Immortal Emperor! Lord Divine Emperor! Please! We are your vassals!"
The Invincible without a tri-life body continued begging.
Nobody said anything.
Tiangu knew that this would deter the minor races from fighting for them in the future, but the humans were the executioners this time. The minor races would also be wary of fighting for the humans in the future. Thus, all of them would suffer from this loss of reputation.
The major races would be wary of making the move themselves, but since the humans were doing this themselves, so be it.
With his hands clasped behind him, Su Yu floated in the air and looked around with a genial smile. He looked at the Invincible without a tri-life body and gently said, "Just go back. Go back to your own realm. There, you could probably put up a better fight."
The Invincible stared at Su Yu while crying tears of blood. He came from a frog-like race. As he panted heavily, he said helplessly, "If I were to self-detonate, would...everyone keep the promise and leave my race alone?"
Su Yu answered, "Of course."
"What if I swore my loyalty—"
"Nope." Su Yu rejected, "I don't accept disloyal vassals. It's too tiring to defend myself even from my presumed allies."
"Su Yu...I regret it...I regret...becoming your enemy..."
Boom!
A loud rumble resounded everywhere.
An Invincible had been forced to detonate himself by Su Yu with mere words.
Crimson clouds covered the sky.
Not a soul said anything.
As for the other Invincible, he looked down at his own realm with a bitter smile, "How ruthless. How cold. Humans, divines, immortals, and devils...Sure enough, the so-called Myriad Realms and myriad races have always been yours. We have always been...nothing. Nothing at all."
He looked at Su Yu and asked, "Can I pass on some of my treasures and knowledge to my juniors?"
Su Yu answered nonchalantly, "Sure. I only want you to die. I don't care about anything else. Your people are free to take revenge against me as well. I'll always be here. They can come at any time."
"We wouldn't dare..."
With a bitter smile, the Invincible's aura dropped drastically. He was most likely transmitting his cultivation to his juniors.
Before long, a loud rumble rang out from that minor realm.
More crimson clouds covered the sky.
The minor realm shook.
Just like that, the last of the sixteen Invincibles died to save his race.
Excluding the major races, the Invincibles of the various races watched on bitterly, including those from the five elemental race. When things grew dire, the minor races were always the ones to suffer. The major races could afford these heavy losses, but not the minor races. Without their Invincibles, these minor races would be completely helpless.
Su Yu smiled and said, "Well, since we're done fighting, let's all go back home. Lord Heavendoom, stop unsealing yourself. Three old bastards are not worth this price."
Up in the sky, Heavendoom grumbled, "How boring. Kid, why are you so timid? You should go real crazy this time."
Su Yu chucked, "What's the rush? This is only the beginning of the great chaos. Look, sixteen top hundred races have dropped from the list today. I believe more will drop from the list soon."
Then, Su Yu roared with laughter. Everyone had an illusion that he was the number one monster of the Myriad Realms. With mere words, he had essentially pushed sixteen races toward desruction.
Sure, not everyone in those races was dead. But without the protection of their Invincibles, how much longer could they last?
While laughing, Su Yu turned, flicked his sleeves, and returned to the ancient city. Floating above the ancient city, he cupped his fists in a refined manner and said, "Thank you, Seniors for coming out to play with me today. I lived. Your participation will be rewarded handsomely."
The various experts vanished while sneering. The Iron Devourer Pseudo Emperor, the old turtle, and even the two furious furballs left as well. The battle was over. Su Yu's trump card was too strong. It was unlikely that anything would happen before the thousand-year-limit ended.
Alone, he suppressed the myriad races.
The truth was a lot more complicated than that, but the result was undeniable. Su Yu's feat of pushing sixteen races toward destruction and forcing two Invincibles to self-detonate had still alarmed the myriad races.
All the minor races were feeling deeply bitter. The minor races, including the so-called top hundred races, were nothing but bugs before the major races. Up above the ancient city, Su Yu's hands were trembling lightly. He was trembling in fear. That was way too scary.
If the battle had continued...he would have no trump card to offer. One Daofuse would be enough to end him. Sure, he could flee to the Death Realm. But who could stop a Daofuse for him in the Death Realm?
As for Old Zhou, Su Yu doubted that Old Zhou could even leave the mansion. The mansion wasn't so useless that its prisoner could leave so easily.
"That was terrifying!"
Despite his thoughts, Su Yu maintained a look of complete indifference as he floated above the city.
Chapter 1570: The Same Sky (1)
Su Yu's hands might be trembling, but he had to maintain his imposing aura. He had to show everyone his boundless confidence. He was so confident he didn't even fear the Daofuses.
One by one, the stone statues started returning. All of them were in a great mood after a good fight. Most had not killed anyone, but they had blasted numerous tri-life bodies apart. In truth, they had been fighting with many misgivings.
It wasn't that they couldn't kill. Rather, there was no need to do so. Killing too many might result in unexpected consequences. Thus, they settled for destroying some tri-life bodies instead.
Thus, barely any Invincibles had died to the stone statues. Even so, many of these Invincibles were still returning with great sadness. After this battle, about twenty or thirty of them had been reduced to singles.
Grandstar was back in his city as well. The moment he reached, Heavendoom flew over and looked at Su Yu before looking at the White Jade Gate. He laughed and asked, "Is there really an old monster in there?"
Su Yu smiled, "Didn't you guess his identity?"
"That was merely a blind guess."
Heavendoom said, "The Martial Emperor...was a being from a very long time ago. Even for us, he was merely a legend. But I couldn't tell everyone that it was merely a guess, right? When I saw the expression on our boss' face, I had to say something. Am I right?"
Su Yu was rendered speechless. Was that how it was?
Shortly after, Empyrean Cloud flew over as well. With an annoyed expression, she grumbled, "That slut Han Xiang is quite strong..."
Su Yu thought that if Empyrean Cloud wasn't on his side, he would have assumed that she was some major villain from how she was speaking.
Wait...a realization hit Su Yu. Weren't they...the villains in this story?
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Just look at what he made those Invincibles do? Just look at what he accomplished just by talking?
They had forced the sole Invincibles of two races to die. They had called Han Xiang names. They had colluded with death spirits. They had released the old monster suppressed by the Martial King. They had gone against the heavenly laws.
These...were essentially the actions of super villains!
Su Yu rubbed his chin as he sank into thought. So he was the villain here?
And his enemies were the righteous ones?
Following the same line of thought, these people were essentially the resistance to the tyranny of humanity. Thus, the humans were the villains all along. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel·fıre·net
How terrifying.
"What are you thinking about?"
Empyrean Cloud asked when she noticed the odd look in Su Yu's eyes.
Su Yu coughed awkwardly and said, "Nothing. You are truly domineering and amazing, my queen. Don't worry about that slut. I managed to kill Wisdom King today. I would get her killed one day as well."
Hearing that, Empyrean Cloud grinned from ear to ear. That was the right thing to say.
Su Yu exhaled and said, "Thank you, Lord Guardians. I can't express my gratitude enough. I can't do much, but I can let each of you out of the city for three days and three nights during the next three months. I will take on the burden of the death tunnels alone. Just make sure to not go out all at the same time."
"Hahaha! Very well! This is what we have been waiting to hear!"
"Three days...it's a tad bit too short. Fine, fine, I'll accept this."
"That is acceptable."
"Not bad. Where should I visit during the three days?"
"The Divine, Devil, and Immortal Realms won't be easy to visit. Why don't we have a trip to those minor realms? Or maybe the Human Realm?"
The guardians started planning their holiday in excitement. It was a short holiday, but they had been trapped for a hundred thousand years. Thus, even this short holiday was incredibly valuable for them.
As for the many deaths earlier, they did not care. What was the big deal about that? They had witnessed nine epochs. Such deaths were not new for them. At the end of each epoch, people would die en masse. Invincibles would die like bugs. War would spread everywhere. That was how things had always been.
At the same time, the various Invincibles started returning as well.
Great Qin King was heading toward Su Yu with a group of people.
Instead of entering the city, they stopped outside. Great Qin King looked at Su Yu and asked, "Are you interested in returning to the Human Realm?"
Su Yu smiled, "My father is still there."
"If you feel like going back, just do it." Great Qin King said, "The human race will naturally welcome the arrival of Su Yu, the leader of the holy cities, with due respect. As for the minor matters of the past, just let it go if possible. If you can't, you can keep it in your mind. When you grow strong enough to suppress the Myriad Realms, you can naturally do whatever you want about these matters."
Su Yu cupped his fists, "Great Qin King, you're too kind."
Great Qin King did not stay for long. As he started leaving, his voice drifted over from afar, "You saved us this time. I consider this a personal favor. Feel free to seek me out if you need something. I believe I can still fight a few battles before dying."
"Thank you."
Su Yu cupped his fists again and watched as they departed.
Great Qin King and the others had played a crucial role in his confrontation against the myriad races. Great Zhou King had also played a big role, deterring more experts from joining the battle. Because of Great Zhou King, many Daofuses had given up on joining the battle.
The battle wouldn't have ended so easily otherwise. Not even his plan involving the Death Realm would unfold so smoothly without the participation of these humans.
As the experts started returning, a figure stood alone in the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion.
He was shrouded in a bleak atmosphere. The Earth and Profound Department heads had died. The North Chamber head had died. The enforcer elder had died as well. Meanwhile, the West Spire and South Chamber heads had spent the entire day fighting each other without any result. Eventually, they stopped.
Standing at the entrance of the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion, the Heavenly Overseer Marquis watched as the injured South Chamber head returned gloomily.
Two spires, two chambers, four departments, and the enforcement unit...
Out of so many Invincibles, only him and the pavilion master was left. Far away, the West Spire head gazed at the Heavenly Overseer Marquis silently.
The Heavenly Overseer Marquis met his gaze with a complicated expression. He sighed and said, "There is no need for you to look at me like that. We all have our own paths. It is the tenth epoch. Victory or defeat might finally be determined this time. This isn't a bad thing. In this final epoch, we can all follow our hearts."
The West Spire head said, "Marquis, you received the favor of Culture King back then. You should have sided with the humans. Is this betrayal worth it? Is the Heavenly Hunt Index worth it?"
"Is it worth it?"
The Heavenly Overseer Marquis laughed. Who could say for sure? He did not say more. Instead, he looked toward Su Yu, who was also looking at him. He regarded Su Yu for a while with a deep gaze before leaving with the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. As he departed, his voice drifted over from afar, "The Culture King wasn't as brash."
Those were the only words he had to say.
Su Yu did not say anything. Rather, he contemplated the words in silence.
The Culture King was not as brash?
He nodded, "Thus, he was a failure. He failed to thoroughly terrorize all of you. Otherwise, none of you would dare to betray him even after his death."
He laughed and continued, "Heavenly Overseer Marquis, if I were Culture King, I would have killed enough that you wouldn't even dare to entertain the thought of betrayal even after a hundred thousand years. You are right. I'm better than the Culture King."
"..."
The Heavenly Overseer Marquis, who was already far away, stiffened slightly at that. He had never said those words! He had never said that Su Yu was better than the Culture King! That wasn't his meaning when he said that the Culture King wasn't as brash! How did Su Yu reach that conclusion?
The old turtle, who had just arrived, also coughed awkwardly. What an unique interpretation. Was this person incapable of feeling shame? The kid had grown arrogant enough to even talk badly about the Culture King. Was he not afraid that the Culture King was still alive?
"Su Yu!"
"Lord!"
Su Yu bowed respectfully. The old turtle was indeed strong. And he had helped greatly this time. Alone, the old turtle had kept two Daofuses occupied. When the old turtle saw the guardians gathered around Su Yu, he knew what they were doing. They were delaying their return. They didn't want to part with their freedom.
"You...sigh. It doesn't matter anymore. Pay the Grand Dream City a visit when you have the chance."
He had more to say, but Heavendoom and the others lacked tact. Since they were not leaving, he didn't feel like saying those words anymore.
He looked at Heavendoom and berated, "Heavendoom! Stop messing around!"
Heavendoom nodded solemnly.
The old turtle frowned and continued, "Don't unseal yourself so rashly next time..."
Heavendoom continued nodding like an obedient boy. The old turtle was greatly surprised. Since when did this monkey become so obedient?
Grandstar laughed and said, "Boss, even if you tell him he's an idiot, he will still nod obediently."
The old turtle blanked out slightly before realizing something. He cursed in fury, "Did this bastard seal his hearing?"
Heavendoom continued nodding. He couldn't be bothered to listen when the old turtle was nagging. Thus, he decided to seal his hearing and keep nodding. For him, this was the best solution to keep both himself and the old turtle happy.
The old turtle was so infuriated that he started laughing instead. When Heavendoom saw the old turtle laughing, he nodded again. Since his boss was laughing, things should be fine, right?
Beside him, Grandstar grinned and poked him. When Heavendoom turned to face him, he said, "Boss said that you're dumb. He also said that you're brainless."
Noting that Grandstar was pointing at the old turtle while speaking, Heavendoom continued nodding. Even Grandstar couldn't resist laughing in amusement.
"Heavendoom, you're stupid. Right?"
Grandstar continued even as he assumed an earnest expression in front of Heavendoom. Beside them, Empyrean Cloud yawned and stealthily sent a tiny strand of willpower into Heavendoom's ears.
Finally, Heavendoom heard Grandstar's voice, "Heavendoom, are you stupid? Wow! So you agree as well? Are you Heavendoom the Dummy?"
Boom!
Heavendoom sent Grandstar flying with a punch.
He looked furious.
Meanwhile, Su Yu was left completely speechless. Why were they so...childish? At their age, why were they still playing such a childish game?
The old turtle sighed regretfully and said, "They have all gone mad after so many years of lockdown."
After having a taste of freedom, these guardians had all released their true nature. The old turtle wasn't surprised to see that. Noticing that Heavendoom could finally hear again, he snorted and said, "If you keep causing trouble, watch out for my punishment!"
Heavendoom protested, "How did I cause trouble? Am I as good as Su Yu at causing trouble? Su Yu did everything! How is this my fault? You can't blame me for this!"
He felt that his boss was scolding him unfairly. Sure enough, he would be annoyed if he could hear his boss. The old turtle felt even more helpless. He decided to let it go. This ape had been locked for a hundred thousand years, but he was still as unruly as ever.
"I'll be going back now. The Death Realm is in chaos."
Then, the old turtle left. He had to deal with the chaos in the Death Realm. A lot more death sovereigns had arrived due to the short presence of living beings there. He had to disperse them or they might decide to work together and attack one of the ancient cities. That would be troublesome.
Also, he had to figure out more about the Marquis Qishan mentioned by Su Yu. He was unsure if Marquis Qishan had really appeared. Earlier, he was too busy to pay attention. Now that one trouble was over, he had to handle another trouble.
Chapter 1571: The Same Sky (2)
The old turtle returned to the bottom of the sea and placed his city down.
After some thought, he entered the Death Realm with his actual body. The area near his city was mostly devoid of death sovereigns as He Tu had brought them all toward Xing Yue's place. After looking around, the old turtle noted an area with an excessively high density of death qi. He ignored that place and flew straight toward the Celestial River of Death.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived. There, a death spirit was floating above the river. Surprisingly, the death spirit was emitting a faint white radiance from his body.
The old turtle's eyes glowed as he focused on the death spirit. That caused the death spirit to open his eyes and look at the old turtle. He seemed to recognize the old turtle as he bowed slightly and said, "Greetings, General."
"You are too polite. As the Culturekeeper Marquis, you are higher ranked than I."
The death spirit said, "Not at all. I'm dead. I am no longer the Culturekeeper Marquis. Only the current Gravekeeper is the Culturekeeper Marquis."
The old turtle said nothing about that. He asked, "Have you regained your memories?"
"About sixty to seventy percent of them." Fresh chapters posted on n0velfire.net
"That's good to hear." The old turtle asked again, "Did you defeat Marquis Qishan previously?"
"I barely stopped him. Eventually, someone called him away."
"Did he cross the river?"
"Yes."
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"I know what to do now."
The old turtle did not say more. He stepped onto the river. Instantly, something rose from the river and clawed at him. However, he easily shattered the incoming arm with a stomp. Then, he started crossing the river. He was able to easily neutralize all the dangers the river had to offer.
The other side of the river was a slightly brighter world.
Here and there, some flickering white light could be seen.
The aura of the old turtle started changing alongside his clothes. Instantly, he transformed into an armored general. His usual gentle disposition was gone, replaced by a furious disposition.
Then, he ripped space apart, stepped forth, and instantly arrived before a large palace.
"East Heavenly King!"
His roar resounded everywhere.
His aura continued surging as he took a large token out and said, "The Spirit Suppression General, Grand Dream, is here to meet the East Heavenly King."
Inside a certain side hall in the palace, Marquis Qishan frowned.
The same was happening in the other side halls.
Before long, a voice rang out, "Spirit Suppression General, the heavenly king is not around. He is out to handle some duties."
The old turtle coldly asked, "Is that so? Are you saying that Marquis Qishan had intruded into the thirtieth eastern region out of his own initiative? Impudent! Marquis Qishan, come out and die! How dare you invade the territory under my care?"
A powerful being appeared in midair. It was Marquis Qishan.
Marquis Qishan coldly said, "Grand Dream, this is the Death Realm."
"Death Realm?" The old turtle declared, "Still under the rule of the imperial court. Up above, down below, living and dead, all fall under the imperial court's rule. That won't change until a new conquest. Before that, the sky above is still the sky of the ancient past. The imperial court's sky. I am a general of the imperial court, the Spirit Suppression General. Marquis Qishan, how dare you intrude upon my territory without permission?"
Marquis Qishan frowned and asked, "What do you want?"
"Cut your Dao Body thrice and I'll consider the matter over."
"What a joke—"
Boom!
The old turtle tossed his token out. Just as Marquis Qishan was about to resist, the power of laws gathered and suppressed him. This power seemed to specialize in suppressing death spirits.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Marquis Qishan's body started burning, causing him to wail mournfully. The old turtle said, "How dare a mere marquis deny the sky above us? How dare you maintain your arrogance even after going against the laws? Are you intending to revolt against the imperial court?"
At that, the token shone even brighter than before. The surrounding death sovereigns and marquises hurriedly distanced themselves from the token. The burning light emitted by the token could harm even marquises.
As for Marquis Qishan, he continued roaring as death qi rippled out of his body.
Boom!
The old turtle punched him, causing him to cough blood repeatedly. He was completely helpless as the old turtle followed with even more punches. Eventually, a figure emerged behind Marquis Qishan. Noticing the figure, the old turtle drew a blade out and cut the figure thrice with the power of the laws.
The figure shattered, releasing three drops of blood.
Death blood.
Yes. This was the so-called death blood Su Yu had encountered before. The old turtle had harvested three at one go, each bigger than the drop Su Yu had seen previously. With the three drops in hand, the old turtle withdrew his token.
The weakened Marquis Qishan glared at the old turtle hatefully and said, "Grand Dream! You damaged my Dao Body!"
The old turtle said indifferently, "You asked for it. You intruded upon somewhere you shouldn't yet showed no remorse. This is a fitting punishment for you. Don't forget that the laws are still around. You will obey them as long as they are around, even after death. The same goes for everyone."
The old turtle looked at the others and said, "I am only in charge of suppressing the thirtieth eastern region. As for the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth regions, they were originally under Devote King's care. Now that the Source Return Blade has been taken away, I'll be watching over the two regions temporarily as well. I hope nobody will try to stand in my way when I'm carrying out my duty."
Just as the old turtle was about to leave, someone laughed and asked, "Grand Dream, what's the rush? Since you're already here, why don't you grab something to drink at my place?"
The old turtle's expression changed slightly. He replied unhesitatingly, "I have my duties. Thank you for the invitation, Heavenly King. I will visit you when I have the time in the future."
"A pity. So be it." The same voice said, "By the way, when is He Tu coming to register himself here? He falls under the jurisdiction of the Eastern King's Court. It's not proper for him to be staying at your place."
The old turtle expression changed further as he said, "It will happen soon. I'll push him to register here."
"How many years have you been saying this?"
The old turtle raised his brow and said, "I'll push harder. Be patient, East Heavenly King. He Tu has a unique identity. He is the descendant of my direct superior. I can't be too harsh with him."
"I understand. In truth, Marquis Qishan had intruded upon your territory for this reason. He was there for He Tu, but unfortunately, it caused a misunderstanding with you. Brother Grand Dream, since it's a misunderstanding, it's better to return Marquis Qishan his death blood."
The old turtle continued flying away as he replied, "He intruded without any notification or official papers. I did not punish him wrongly."
"Is this a refusal, Brother Grand Dream?"
The old turtle replied with a far sterner voice, "Yes. East Heavenly King, I have the authority to enter your territory since I am the Spirit Suppression General appointed by the imperial court. However, Marquis Qishan does not have the authority to enter my territory."
The East Heavenly King's eyes turned cold as he said, "Grand Dream, you're pushing it..."
"Calm your anger. I am doing everything in accordance with the laws. The imperial court would naturally punish me in the event of any wrongdoing. Let me reiterate. The laws are supreme. If Marquis Qishan dares to come again, I'll still punish him."
At that, the old turtle vanished into the distance.
An ancient being appeared above the palace. For some reason, the death qi on his body was barely noticeable, as though there was no death qi on him.
Beside him, the weakened Marquis Qishan bowed and said, "Heavenly King...he took three drops of blood from my Dao Body!"
The East Heavenly King said nonchalantly, "You asked for it. Why did you enter his territory? You are a vassal of the Eastern King's Court. It is only natural for him to punish you for intruding upon his territory."
"But..."
The East Heavenly King cut him off and continued, "I'll forgive you this once. Grand Dream obeys nothing but the laws. Are you dreaming of killing him? He's right. The sky above us...is still the imperial court's sky. Can you bear the price of killing a suppression general?"
He added, "Produce an official paper and urge him to send He Tu over. He Tu has a unique identity. He can't be allowed to stay outside for long. I also learned from the Heavenly River Supervisor that a high-degree Eternal has risen recently. Send someone to verify his identity. If he fits the requirements, he needs to report himself here as well."
Marquis Qishan was still unhappy, but he agreed, "Yes. I will handle this well."
"Go."
Marquis Qishan flew away with anger bubbling inside him. He couldn't forgive Grand Dream for this humiliation. The damn turtle could only rely on the heavenly laws to deal with him. What was the big deal about that?
The East Heavenly King looked into the distance thoughtfully before returning into the palace.
Then, several marquises appeared in the sky. One of them laughed and said, "Lanshan, I heard that the thirtieth eastern region was in chaos lately because of your fellow humans."
An expert said indifferently, "And? So what? That's Grand Dream's territory. It has nothing to do with us. Marquis Qishan was punished precisely because he meddled too much. He's already dead. Why bother?"
"True."
The marquises laughed and left without saying anything else. The conflicts between races would not end even upon death. But that region was not under their jurisdiction. Thus, they couldn't do anything about it.
Chapter 1572: The Same Sky (3)
Meanwhile, Su Yu was still conversing with the guardians.
Suddenly, his death qi rippled. He blanked out slightly before saying, "Lords, the death spirits have all departed. The power of laws suddenly reacted intensely earlier, as though they were punishing someone. Since all the death sovereigns are back at their territories, you should be returning to your posts as well."
"Look at how he's kicking me off after getting what he wants." Heavendoom asked, "Intense heavenly laws undulations? Did our boss go down there? It was probably him. He must have dispersed those fellows."
Su Yu asked in surprise, "You mean..."
"Nothing."
Heavendoom couldn't be bothered to explain. However, Su Yu was quite surprised. Was the old turtle capable of controlling some of the laws in the Death Realm? Xing Yue had informed him that due to the laws, the death sovereigns had been forced to return.
Was the old turtle really so impressive? Su Yu became more and more aware of the fact that he knew too little. Previously, he had thought that he had learned many secrets. But it was clear he had thought wrongly.
The ancient past might have fallen, but it continued affecting the Myriad Realms in many aspects. Furthermore, the ancient fossils seemed to have gotten involved in the final wars of each epoch.
Suddenly, Su Yu looked at Heavendoom.
Everyone else would seem fearful whenever they spoke of the ancient past, but Heavendoom did not seem to fear anything. He had been rather vague, but Su Yu had still learned some secrets from him.
Heavendoom, who was preparing to leave, suddenly felt a chill up his spine. He turned around and saw Su Yu's smiling face. He frowned. Were his senses acting up?
How odd.
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Whatever. It didn't matter.
***
Finally, everyone left. Su Yu exhaled in relief. He started reversing his death qi. It wasn't an idea to keep such a high amount of death qi in his body. He had to reduce some. The previous battle had been incredibly dangerous. But he had also gained a lot.
For example, his Mark of Civilization had reached 131 golden stripes, making it a high-tier heaven weapon. By the time it reached 136 golden stripes, it would become a peak heaven weapon. This was only counting the complete stripes. If he counted the incomplete stripes as well, the book had reached 155 golden stripes.
After killing and consuming so many people, including the many incomplete corpses, the Mark of Civilization had benefited massively. The existence of the incomplete stripes indicated he would be able to push the book to 155 complete stripes without much difficulty.
"I still have the blood essence of Wisdom King and some of his memories with me as well...Right, there's also Liu Hong and Xia Chen to handle."
At that thought, Su Yu suddenly realized that he had a lot more things to do moving forward. Too many things had been exposed in the recent battle. He also had to find some time and return to the Human Realm. After all, his father was still there. Additionally, he had to visit the Willpower Grotto as well. He wanted to see if there was any way for him to get the grotto from the Xia Family.
"I also need to learn more about the so-called level allowed by this world."
That was his biggest question. According to the old turtle and the others, the time had yet to arrive. In that case, when was the correct time? Would a large number of such experts appear when that time arrived?
Where were these people right now?
Were there any humans among them?
Humanity had been defeated each time during the previous nine epochs. How bad were those defeats? Did humanity lose everything in those defeats?
With numerous questions in his head, Su Yu returned to the city.
Wan Tiansheng was sipping tea in the mayor's residence. When he saw Su Yu, he smiled and said, "I'll be taking my leave now."
"Wait, Principal." Su Yu asked, "Why are you in such a rush? Is Lan Tian waiting for you?"
Wan Tiansheng glanced at Su Yu. He flashed Su Yu a gentle smile and said, "Your courage has grown alongside your strength."
Su Yu laughed awkwardly and said, "No, let's talk about something serious. You saw the death spirit earlier. He used the Heaven Suppressing Fist. I suspect he's Xia Chen, the first principal. What do you know about Xia Chen?"
"The first principal?" Wan Tiansheng frowned, "I never paid much attention to him. Is that death spirit really the first principal?"
"Most likely."
After thinking about it, Wan Tiansheng said, "Principal Xia Chen...was a mysterious man. He was Great Xia King's cousin. Back then, the myriad races invaded the Human Realm. Great Xia King and the other founding kings were lucky enough to stumble upon some ruins. Principal Xia Chen found a ruin as well, but unfortunately, he didn't affirm his dao like the rest. Subsequently, he founded the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy and opened the path of multiple character cultivation with the Character Stele.
"After some time, he joined hands with a group of experts to found the Knowledge Seeking Realm. He had most likely intended to use that as a way to spread the path of multiple character cultivation to all humanity. He succeeded...and failed at the same time. About thirty years after the founding, he died in battle at the Allheaven Battlefield."
Su Yu was surprised, "He died in battle? How? Who did it?"
"A random Invincible who was passing by. Nobody knew who that Invincible was."
"Nobody knew?"
Su Yu was even more surprised. Why did everyone knew so little?
"At the time, everyone was busy fighting. It was the early founding period. There were still many wars to fight."
Suddenly, Su Yu recalled Liu Hong's words. He hurriedly asked, "Did any other human Invincible die at around the same time?"
Wan Tiansheng thought about it and nodded, "Yes. About 320 years ago, around the time the first principal perished, Great Wei King died in battle."
Su Yu frowned and asked, "Who did it?"
"That remains unknown."
"Hmm?"
"It wasn't mentioned in the records. According to the records, Great Wei King encountered an encirclement of multiple Invincibles before dying. At the time, the record-keeping of humanity was still too chaotic as war still raged everywhere. Invincibles would fight everywhere. At times, some Invincibles would die deep behind enemy lines. Humanity could only learn of their deaths through the death phenomena."
Wan Tiansheng looked at Su Yu and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm wondering if Great Wei King is strong enough to kill the first principal."
"Hmm?" Wan Tiansheng frowned and asked, "Did you learn of something new?"
"I'm uncertain. We'll know soon." Su Yu smiled, "It's better to ask the person involved himself. I believe Dummy has regained more of his memories. We can ask him about this. Also, Dummy is very strong. If he's really the first principal, he must have hidden his strength before his death. Heh. This is truly how all cultural researchers are. Not one of them can be honest."
Su Yu sighed. Every last one of them was a scheming fox.
Xia Chen, Gravekeeper, first principal...
He was probably already an Invincible even before Great Xia King and the others broke through. Nobody knew that. But that was understandable as he had most likely affirmed his dao during a time when humanity didn't even know what an Invincible was.
The Gravekeeper.
Also, the appearance of the ancient ruins had also been quite suspicious. They had all appeared just in time to save humanity. Most of the Invincible ruins had somehow been found by humans as well. Was that really a coincidence?
The more Su Yu knew, the more suspicious he was. Were there really no survivors from the ninth epoch? Was Xia Chen really a cousin of Great Xia King? An expert of that level could very easily take over someone else's identity. Thɪs chapter is updated by ⓝovelFire.net
Also, why was the Culture Tomb an inauspicious object? Perhaps Su Yu would have the answer for all that soon. Naturally, he had to take Liu Hong with him on the trip. That guy seemed to know a lot about the Death Realm.
Suddenly, Su Yu asked, "Principal, I have always believed that Liu Hong is a chess piece of yours. Is he not?"
Wan Tiansheng laughed, "Not at all. What's the point of inserting a spy like him in the single character faction?"
"That's good to hear."
Clearly, Su Yu had thought wrongly before.
"Principal, shall we go on a trip and gossip about the past?"
Wan Tiansheng chuckled and asked, "Don't you need rest?"
"No. This is too interesting." Su Yu stood up and said, "Let's go. All the death sovereigns are gone. Only Xing Yue is around. That makes the area down there my private territory. It won't be dangerous."
Wan Tiansheng laughed with amusement, "You seem very confident. Are you not worried that she would turn on you?"
"She's not smart enough to do that."
Wan Tiansheng said nothing else. Since Su Yu was really so confident, things would probably be fine. But it still wasn't a good idea to get too involved with the death spirits. Just look at He Tu's fate.
Before long, Su Yu found Liu Hong. He didn't even bother to say anything. He merely knocked Liu Hong unconscious before taking Liu Hong with him. With both Liu Hong and Wan Tiansheng, he entered the Death Realm again. He had to look for Dummy and learn more about the past. Perhaps this would be a good chance for him to expose the identity of the other human traitor.
Chapter 1573: First Close Encounter With Xia Chen (1)
Death Realm.
When Su Yu went down again, several Pseudo Invincible death spirits were guarding the tunnel. A few had died earlier, but the one named Xing One by Su Yu was still around.
When Xing One saw Su Yu with Wan Tiansheng and Liu Hong, he hesitated slightly and said, "Chief Commander, this...living beings are not allowed entry..."
Su Yu smiled, "It's fine. They will leave soon."
"In that case...please keep this short. The presence of living beings are too obvious. They could easily attract some unwanted troubles if they overstayed."
"Sure."
Su Yu did not say much and headed straight to the nearby castle. During the battle, the castle had suffered some damage as well. But the castle seemed to share some similarities with ancient cities as it could self-repair after the battle.
***
Inside the castle.
Xing Yue was inside alone. She sensed Su Yu's arrival before he was even inside. She coldly said, "Who allowed you to come here with living beings?"
Su Yu tossed Liu Hong to the side and cupped his fists, "Lord, I'm only here for a quick meeting with Dummy. We'll leave shortly. We won't bring you any trouble."
Xing Yue snorted.
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"He Tu went looking for that guy as well."
She couldn't be bothered to say more and turned to leave. Su Yu hurriedly said, "Lord, are all the other death sovereigns gone?"
"Yes." Xing Yue answered impatiently, "What else? Were they supposed to continue the meeting here? They killed. They feasted. What else could they do but leave? Wait here for the laws to descend upon them?"
"When will Lord He Tu return?"
"I don't know."
Just then, Xing Yue's eyes flickered as she looked outside and said, "He's back."
Moments later, Su Yu saw two figures outside the castle. One of them was He Tu, and the other was Dummy, whose aura had weakened slightly. The two landed on the ground.
Dummy, or Xia Chen, to be specific, looked at Su Yu and Wan Tiansheng before focusing on Liu Hong. He spoke with a slightly hoarse voice, "Are you waiting for me?"
"Yes." Su Yu nodded and cupped his fists, "Lord, are you the first principal, Sir Xia Chen?"
"First principal..." After a short silence, Xia Chen continued, "I am Xia Chen. Are you referring to the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy when you mentioned the first principal?"
Su Yu nodded.
Wan Tiansheng inhaled deeply and bowed slightly as he said, "Sixth principal of Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, Wan Tiansheng, greets the first principal."
"Sixth principal..."
Seeing the slight confusion in Dummy's eyes, Su Yu hurriedly said, "Senior Xia Chen, stop thinking or you might lose more memories."
Dummy laughed and said, "No, it won't happen so fast. I remember more than before. Culture King's token is quite useful."
He pointed at Liu Hong and asked, "Did he provide the Culture King's token?"
"Yeah." Su Yu nodded, "Do you know him, Senior Xia Chen?"
"No." Dummy shook his head and said, "But he must have found some of the things I left behind. I suppose he is also quite loved by luck as well."
Su Yu nodded and said, "Teacher Liu, time for you to wake up."
Liu Hong did not react.
Su Yu said nonchalantly, "Guards, eat him." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ⓝovelFire.net
"No!"
Instantly, Liu Hong woke up. He looked awkward at first, but his expression was soon replaced by a smile. He hurriedly looked at Xia Chen and said, "Your junior, Liu Hong, greets the first principal. Your legacy has helped me greatly. You are basically both my teacher and father..."
Su Yu said, "Calm down, Teacher. Senior Xia Chen does not know you. It's pointless to fawn on him."
Liu Hong had an embarrassed expression. No matter what, he had found some of the treasures left behind by Xia Chen. There should be a tiny bit of relationship between them, right? At the very least, they could be considered master and disciple, right?
He Tu exclaimed in shock, "He's really Xia Chen?"
He looked at Dummy with surprise and said, "Dummy, did we meet when you were alive?"
Xia Chen thought about it and shook his head, "I don't remember."
He Tu sneered. He wouldn't forget this answer. Wasn't Xia Chen saying that he was not important enough to remember? But Xia Chen was speaking the truth. He had no recollection of that.
He wasted no time and said, "You must have a lot of questions for me. I left in a hurry back then. I didn't have the chance to say more, or to be precise, some things couldn't be mentioned. But now, I have a lot fewer misgivings than before. Ask away while I still have my memories."
Su Yu thought about it and looked at Wan Tiansheng.
Wan Tiansheng did not hesitate and asked, "Were you a ninth-stage Sunmoon before your death?"
Xia Chen shook his head, "No. I affirmed my dao long ago during the end of the previous epoch. At the time, war raged everywhere. Nobody noticed my advancement in all that chaos. Right after my dao affirmation, the battle ended and the Allheaven Battlefield was shut again. Even the ruins were sealed. I remained in the ruin and only woke up when the Allheaven Battlefield reopened."
Su Yu asked, "You're from the ninth epoch?"
"Yeah." Xia Chen spoke honestly, "But you might not be aware of this. When an epoch ends, the Human Realm will enter a period of restoration. The surviving experts won't be able to emerge during this time. They can only wait until the next reopening of the Allheaven Battlefield before emerging again."
Xia Chen explained, "But I am indeed a member of the Xia Family. The Xia Family originated from an ancient human king. Our line was very close to the Culture King. When Culture King vanished, the ancestor of my line built the Culture Tomb for him."
Wan Tiansheng asked with some hesitation, "Which human king?"
"Battle King." Xia Chen said, "You don't know this, but during the ancient past, the Battle King was one of the higher-ranked human kings. Xia Wushen...is a junior dozens of generations behind me. But due to the great defeat of humanity during the ninth epoch, I never dared to admit my origin. I could only sneak into the Xia Family and activated the ruins for Xia Wushen."
Xia Chen continued, "I thought everything was over after the defeat of the ninth epoch. Surprisingly, the tenth epoch began. Unfortunately, humanity was too weak when the tenth epoch started. Humanity had never started an epoch so weak before."
Xia Chen said bitterly, "During the previous epochs, there were always some survivors from earlier epochs around to guide humanity. A lot of legacies were still around. But the Hundred Battle King died during the ninth epoch. Alongside him, almost all human Eternals died. Then, the Allheaven Battlefield shut down for five thousand years. During that period, the surviving Sunmoons had mostly died from age or illness. I was lucky enough to affirm my dao at the last moment or I wouldn't have survived so long either."
In short, the humanity of the previous epochs had enjoyed the guidance of their seniors. The various human legacies were still relatively intact. But humanity had lost everything during the ninth epoch. The various legacies were severed. Thus, humanity started the tenth epoch in an unprecedentedly weak state.
Su Yu was not too interested about all that. He went straight to the point and asked, "Senior Xia, was the multiple character faction founded during the tenth epoch?"
"Yes." Xia Chen said, "But also no. Multiple character cultivation existed prior to this, but those legacies did not come from the Culture King. Only the character techniques from the Culture Tomb could be considered proper Culture King teachings. That was why I emerged from the ruin. To pass on the teachings of the Culture King."
"Why is the Culture Tomb inauspicious?"
The moment that was mentioned, Xia Chen started struggling. It wasn't that he didn't want to explain, but an intense headache assaulted him the moment he thought of that topic.
Nevertheless, he was able to force himself to answer, "The emergence of the Culture Tomb signifies that the legacy of Culture King has returned. And some people have been targeting this inheritance since the ancient past. In order to protect it, the Xia Family had fought generation after generation. Countless people had died in the process of protecting this legacy, including me. Thus...it is an inauspicious object."
Done with the explanation, he gasped heavily and said, "Do not ask such questions. I must have sealed my memories before this. If you ask such questions, I can easily lose control of myself. Ask simpler questions and leave the top secrets, especially those involving the ancient past, to the end. That way, I could tell you more before losing control."
"Is Great Wei King the traitor?"
"Traitor?" Xia Chen shook his head and said, "No. He merely saw something he shouldn't, so he was killed. At the time, I fought that man. Great Wei King saw it and attempted to flee, but he was killed by that man."
"Who is that man?"
Xia Chen said bitterly, "An expert near Daofuse, a half-human. You don't know him. I managed to kill him, but I suffered grave injuries from that battle. I couldn't leave too many things behind before succumbing to my injuries and dying."
Su Yu frowned and asked, "Half-human? Did he have the bloodline of the Control King?"
"Hmm?" Xia Chen looked at Su Yu in surprise and said, "You know more than I thought. Yes. He descended from Control King's bloodline."
"Did he leave any descendants behind?"
"Most likely, but I don't know more."
"Had the descendant achieved dao affirmation at the time?"
"No." Xia Chen answered confidently, "I know of every single human dao affirmation during the early period of the tenth epoch. I can easily judge if anyone has the bloodline of an ancient king. Nobody from that bloodline had achieved dao affirmation before my death."
Xia Chen added, "After my death, the multiple character faction started being targeted, right?"
"Yes." Su Yu nodded, "Thus, I suspect that the person you killed had left a descendant behind. That descendant had subsequently achieved dao affirmation and continued targeting the multiple character faction."
"That's not surprising." Xia Chen said, "That man was a spy left behind by an ancient enemy of Culture King. As for the identity of the enemy, I have no idea since it might be related to the secrets of Culture King. But I am certain that someone has been targeting the Culture Tomb. This person might be related to the Control King. During the ancient past, the Control King was once punished heavily by the Culture King. It won't be surprising for the enemy to be someone of Control King's bloodline."
"So nobody from that bloodline had achieved dao affirmation when you were around."
"Yes."
Su Yu looked at Wan Tiansheng and said, "In that case, the traitor is definitely not a founding king. Instead, the traitor would be someone who had achieved dao affirmation between year 320 and now. This greatly reduces the number of suspects we need to investigate."
Wan Tiansheng inhaled deeply and said, "Yes. The number has been greatly reduced. Only a few are left."
With the scope greatly reduced, the number of suspects would drop significantly as well. Only a small number of people had achieved dao affirmation since the founding of the various prefectures.
"Zhu Tianfang, Zhou Tianyuan, Heavenly Seal King, Heavenly Forge King, Silk Destroying King..."
Wan Tiansheng exhaled and said, "That's all."
Su Yu sank into silence. He had not said much about this to Wan Tiansheng, but clearly, Wan Tiansheng was aware that there was another traitor among humanity as well.
Xia Chen said, "That's most likely the correct list. I don't know them well. The ones I know don't have Control King's bloodline in them. Did you discover the bloodline symbol of the Control King?"
"Yes."
Chapter 1574: First Close Encounter With Xia Chen (2)
Su Yu gave a simple explanation of what he saw and drew the symbol out.
Xia Chen was a descendant of a human king and an expert of the ninth epoch. The moment he saw the symbol, he said, "Infernal hibiscus. Yes. This is indeed Control King's symbol, mixed with a flame symbol."
He thought about it and said, "The flame symbol must be related to fire. Someone whose bloodline symbol could be reflected in the descendant of Control King must certainly be someone almost as strong as Control King as well. Heavenly Fire of the five elemental race, Blood Fire of the devil race, Raging Fire of the divine race, Fire Fairy of the immortal race, and Fiery Phoenix of the phoenix race. These are all individuals capable of such a feat."
He looked at Su Yu and asked, "You still don't know where to look, right?"
"Yeah."
"It's simple." Xia Chen said, "This traitor must be well-versed in fire."
"Fiery Sea King? But he's dead."
Wan Tiansheng said, "Don't forget we have another Invincible good at fire manipulation."
"Heavenly Forge King?"
Su Yu blanked out. That shouldn't be the case, right? But it was also true that each weaponsmith was also someone proficient in fire manipulation.
Xia Chen said, "That's not necessarily true. Let me finish. The traitor has the bloodlines of both Control King and a flame-related king. Control King was someone proficient in the path of interminable hell. He specialized in sealing his opponents."
"Heavenly Seal King!"
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That was Wan Tiansheng's answer. Su Yu's heart thumped.
Heavenly Seal King. Or Heavenly Forge King. Both were potential suspects.
Xia Chen continued, "I can only provide you with some clues. I don't know more than that. The main goal of this person is unrelated to the human race. Rather, the multiple character faction is the sole goal. This person is both a spy and a killer."
Su Yu asked, "The Culture Tomb has remained in Great Xia for so many years. Why didn't the traitor snatch it from Great Xia?"
"Xia Wushen has been keeping an eye on the Culture Tomb."
Xia Chen explained, "The Culture Tomb has never left Great Xia before. Thus, the traitor would not dare to make any attempt on it unless he was confident he could handle Xia Wushen. Additionally, the Culture Tomb isn't something just anyone can snatch. Someone not from the multiple character faction won't be able to take it away easily."
Was that the case?
Su Yu never realized that. He only knew that it had been quite easy for both him and Chen Yong to take the Culture Tomb around.
"Just what is the function of the Culture Tomb? Providing character techniques? Is that all?"
"Of course not." Xia Chen said, "The Culture Tomb has many functions. The most important aspect of the Culture Tomb is the core. The core was forged from a major character of Culture King. Thousands of his students used everything they had to seal their character techniques in the tomb as well. They did this to both keep the legacy alive and prepare for Culture King's resurrection in the future.
"I don't know more than that, but I only know that Culture King might be able to return. Or he's not even dead in the first place. Thus, the Xia Family has been guarding his tomb for generations."
Su Yu rolled his eyes and said, "What's the point? Fine, even if you find that worthy of doing, but is this why you claimed that the tomb is inauspicious? Because someone is targeting it?"
"That's not all." Xia Chen sighed and said, "Culture King's enemy is only one of the reasons. Secondly, the Culture Tomb is also the key for a treasure vault. Some of the surviving fossils know this as well. And the treasure vault is related to the Human Emperor's Palace on the ninth level of the Luminous Domain Mansion.
"Culture King had his own residence on the ninth level as well. It was said that numerous treasures were left there. Since the Culture Tomb was forged from his main character, one might be able to open the entrance to his residence with the tomb. One might even gain the ability to freely explore the Human Emperor's Palace with the tomb. Culture King had an incomparably high status during the ancient past. He could move freely in the Human Emperor's Palace."
Su Yu was surprised to hear that. He asked, "That's surprising to hear. Was the Human Emperor still around when the Culture King died?"
Xia Chen chucked, "Do you think the Human Emperor would covet Culture King's treasures? The easiest way to not succumb to tempation is to not allow the temptation to exist. The Human Emperor had stayed away from the palace after Culture King's disappearance."
Su Yu said, "Therefore, the tomb is essentially a lure to attract numerous assassination attempts?"
"Yes."
"That's why it's inauspicious?"
"Yes." Xia Chen said, "The first reason alone is already very troublesome. I suspect the enemy has a way of tracking the tomb. Thus, anyone holding the tomb will constantly be exposed to the enemy's tracking."
"Is that so?"
Su Yu shook his head. That didn't seem to be the case. The Culture Tomb had been his possession for quite some time, even before he left the Human Realm...
No, wait. It had stayed with Old Wan for an extended period of time back when they were building the fake ruin. It had only been returned to him after the battle. At the time, he had ended his disguise as a Heavenly Hunt Pavilion member.
Wan Tiansheng said, "Your brain must have been affected by death qi. Be careful."
Su Yu asked in astonishment, "What do I need to be careful about? I don't even have the tomb anymore."
"..."
Bullshit!
The kid was clearly lying!
Wan Tiansheng was rendered speechless. Look at the kid's expression. Look at how the kid was speaking. If Wan Tiansheng wasn't the one who had personally handed the tomb to the kid, he would have fallen for it. Why was the kid acting when he was the one who had handed the tomb to the kid?
Xia Chen said, "That's all I know. As for the rest, I either don't know or can't say. Do you have more questions?"
Su Yu hurriedly asked, "Would the old fossils appear in each final war?"
"Yeah." Xia Chen said, "He Tu should know that as well."
He Tu lazily said, "So what if I know that? Simply put, a bunch of old fossils are in a standoff somewhere we don't know. You can call that place a higher realm. The Allheaven Battlefield was meant as a training ground for the young geniuses. It isn't that high of a realm. However, it has always shown the young geniuses more care. That was why the Luminous Domain Mansion was built there."
"A genius will eventually grow into maturity. Thus, a thousand years after each activation, some old fossils would appear."
"Are these old fossils above the Daofuse Realm?"
Su Yu was surprised to hear that.
"Not really."
He Tu explained, "A Daofuse is a supreme existence. Someone like that can leave easily, but returning is much harder. For example, a Daofuse who has grown in the Allheaven Battlefield or the Myriad Realms could stay behind without leaving. But upon leaving, the laws would prevent them from returning easily."
"Tiangu has been unwilling to leave, making him one of the strongest in the Myriad Realms."
Su Yu said, "In short, all the human experts died during the previous epoch?"
"Many died." Xia Chen sighed and said, "The Hundred Battle King was too monstrous. It had been too many years since a human capable of reaching the level of the ancient human kings appeared. He was the first to reach that level in nine epochs. Thus, the old fossils of humanity had placed all their bet on him during the ninth epoch, including those from the ancient past or previous epochs. They gambled everything on him."
The result of that gamble was clear for all to see. It had failed. Humanity had been defeated. The Hundred Battle King had died. That resulted in an unprecedentedly weak human race during the tenth epoch.
"If he was so strong, who killed him? Wasn't he the first to reach the level of the ancient human kings? How could someone so powerful die so easily? Were there such existences among the old fossils as well?"
Xia Chen shook his head, "I don't know, but I doubt so. There might be some at the level of ancient marquises, but not kings. Furthermore, only humans could become kings during the ancient past. The other races had never managed to produce such experts. Their so-called kings only started appearing after the ancient past.
"I don't know how the Hundred Battle King died. Either he was killed in an encirclement or he was killed by a trap. At the time, I had yet to affirm my dao. Thus, I didn't know too much. By the time I affirmed my dao, the battle had ended."
The final battle back then was too intense for a mere weakling like him to join. Thus, he was able to stay behind and focus on his dao affirmation. But by the time he finished, all human experts had died and the Allheaven Battlefield had shut down yet again.
When he emerged from the ruin, he found that not a single human Invincible remained in the Human Realm. What was humanity supposed to do in that situation? Thus, he decided to wait in the ruin.
Su Yu was left quite speechless. How did someone as strong as the Hundred Battle King die, resulting in a great defeat for humanity? How useless. Whatever.
Su Yu was more concerned about the human traitor. Thankfully, he had gained some leads here. There were only two suspects left. Heavenly Forge King and Heavenly Seal King. In a way, he was related to both.
He had learned many of his weaponsmithing skills from the Hundred Dao Pagoda. That was a legacy of the Heavenly Forge King. Furthermore, his twenty-sixth character came from Heavenly Seal King.
He had not used that character much as he had better options in combat. Furthermore, he wasn't too proficient in using a sealing-related character. Thus, he had not done much with that character.
Su Yu had no other questions, but Wan Tiansheng wasn't done. He asked, "Senior Xia, was the Three Body Method the only path to dao affirmation in the ancient past?"
"No. But the other methods have essentially been severed after the ancient past." Xia Chen explained, "The laws are preventing the other paths from succeeding. Nobody knows if these laws were designed by the Human Emperor or the assembly. It's very difficult to overcome the laws, but if one could do it and achieve dao affirmation through a different path, one would be stronger than the ones who had used the Three Body Method."
"Is there any hope for me to achieve dao affirmation?"
Yes. He had yet to affirm his dao even though he had killed multiple Invincibles.
Xia Chen studied Wan Tiansheng for a bit before answering, "I'm not sure about your dao. After all, I also cultivate the Three Body Method."
He was no ancient past expert.
Suddenly, Su Yu recalled something and asked, "Is there a suppressive force in the Human Realm?"
"Yes. But it can't be opened!" Xia Chen answered, "Culture King himself placed the formation to seal it. The formation was rarely touched after it was laid down. Eventually, Culture King vanished. Apart from him, nobody knew the way to activate it. Perhaps some knew, but at the time, nobody cared. During the earlier epochs, some tried to reactivate the suppressive force. Eventually, some rumors appeared that only Invincibles walking Culture King's path could do it."
Su Yu exhaled deeply. So there was really a suppressive force in the Human Realm. And it was really related to the multiple character faction. In a way, this had proven that Ye Batian had not died pointlessly.
"Senior Xia, do you know the way to affirm dao through willpower cultivation?"
Wan Tiansheng only asked about cultivation. He did not seem too interested in the other matters.
Xia Chen smiled bitterly and said, "No. I'm not even a pure willpower cultivator. My willpower cultivation was stuck at the ninth-stage Sunmoon Realm. Eventually, I gave up and broke through using the Three Body Method."
Even Xia Chen was forced to use the Three Body Method to affirm his dao. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by NoveI~Fire.net
Wan Tiansheng was disappointed to hear that. He said, "I thought you would walk the willpower path as the first principal."
Xia Chen said helplessly, "That is almost impossible after Culture King's disappearance. The willpower dao affirmation of humanity is different from the myriad races. Strictly speaking, the myriad races only cultivate the Three Body Method. They merely have a method of strengthening their characters more than usual to claim that they are willpower Invincibles. But the essence of their dao affirmation has always been the Three Body Method."
"For humans, we can't push our characters beyond the ninth-stage Sunmoon Realm. This is the difference between us and the myriad races."
Su Yu and Wan Tiansheng looked at each other helplessly. Clearly, not even Xia Chen had a way of achieving dao affirmation through willpower cultivation.
Chapter 1575: First Close Encounter With Xia Chen (3)
"Senior Xia, do you know the cultivation method of the 360 apertures?"
Xia Chen smiled and said, "Don't you know the location of that cultivation method? You might have missed it this time, but you only need to wait ten years."
"Ten years? I'm better off deriving it myself."
He sounded very arrogant.
Xia Chen said nothing about that. Perhaps Su Yu could really do so. Of course, the premise of success was surviving the process itself. At worst, he could activate the formation after ten years. At the time, he might have grown enough to do so without external help.
Suddenly, Su Yu lost all interest in Xia Chen. This guy did not seem to know too much. He had not received a proper answer for any of his more important questions.
Having guessed Su Yu's thoughts, Wan Tiansheng was left quite speechless. After a short pause, he said, "Senior Xia, is there nothing left from the previous epochs in the Human Realm?"
"Hmm..." Xia Chen thought about it and said, "It's hard to say. Almost everything was exhausted during the ninth epoch. But since there is still a tenth epoch, I believe not everything is gone. Otherwise, humanity would have been destroyed during the previous defeat."
Since humanity was still around, there was still hope. A true defeat would mean the elimination of humanity as a whole.
With nothing else to ask, Su Yu looked at Liu Hong and said, "Teacher, do you have anything to say?"
Liu Hong asked in astonishment, "Me? But Senior Xia already said all I know!"
Su Yu smiled and said, "Senior Xia, have you told him that you would regain your memories after consuming Culture King's token? Have you told him about the death summoning token?"
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Xia Chen thought about it and shook his head.
Liu Hong said awkwardly, "I learned that from an ancient book."
"Where is the book?"
"I threw it away."
"Did you wipe your ass with it?" Su Yu smiled and said, "Teacher, try to use a better excuse next time. Try something like learning it from a mysterious grandpa in a dream. That's a lot more believable."
Liu Hong said helplessly, "Fine, fine. I'll come clean. You're right. A mysterious grandpa told me in a dream. I suspect that was a human expert who was unwilling to accept defeat. He must have been trying to train me in secret."
Su Yu rolled his eyes and said, "If it wasn't for your contribution this time, I would have fed you to the death spirits for this."
"Death spirits don't normally eat that much." He Tu said, "Why are you talking like all death spirits are foodies? Death spirits are only interested in the blood and flesh of the strong. Stop using us to scare others."
Su Yu rolled his eyes again. Why was He Tu joining this conversation?
Liu Hong's tone turned even more helpless as he said, "See, you won't believe me no matter what I say."
"Didn't you claim that Culture King has a residence in the Death Realm? Where is it?"
"Not here." Liu Hong explained, "And we can only locate it with Culture King's token. Now that the first principal has eaten the token, the residence is forever lost."
Xia Chen nodded, "Yes, I was the one who had left the token behind. It is indeed related to the Culture King's residence. I don't remember more, but I'll try to figure out more."
Liu Hong spread his hands out and said, "See? It no longer has anything to do with me."
Su Yu asked, "What about Marquis Qishan? Does anyone know about him? Where did he come from?"
Liu Hong remained silent while Xia Chen started rubbing his head. With an uncertain tone, He Tu said, "He probably came from across the Celestial River of Death. I'm unsure. I seldom visit that place. I tried a few times, but I was stopped from crossing. The damn old turtle would stop me with some random excuses each time I tried. After failing multiple times to cross the river, I stopped trying."
"General Grand Dream is doing this for your own good." Xia Chen said, "Things might get dangerous for you over there. I sensed something dangerous across the river when I fought Marquis Qishan earlier. I suspect there are supreme experts there."
Xia Chen continued, "During the ancient past, the Human Emperor had appointed some officials in the Death Realm as well. There might be some ancient past death spirits over there."
Su Yu said curiously, "Since there were appointments, the Death Realm was evidently under the management of the Human Emperor as well. Why would there be a need for a Spirit Suppression General, then?"
Before He Tu could say anything, Xia Chen answered, "That's normal. Not all death spirits are willing to obey. For example, you could keep your wealth somewhere and warn everyone against stealing from you. But what if you left it alone? Someone would still try to steal from you."
Understanding dawned on Su Yu. He said, "In short, these guardians are here to suppress the more unruly death spirits, not the entire Death Realm."
"Yes. And it's not an easy job."
Xia Chen said, "People die all the time. This place will constantly receive new experts. How can this be an easy place to suppress? The guardians only need to prevent these death spirits from leaving. As for the affairs in the Death Realm itself, they don't care. The Human Emperor had appointed some other people to manage the Death Realm. Unfortunately, the collapse of the ancient past has forced the guardians to remain at their jobs for countless years."
Su Yu had no other questions. He could ask more, but Xia Chen might not have the answer. Even if Xia Chen had the answer, he might not be willing to answer those questions.
After a slight hesitation, Wan Tiansheng asked, "Senior Xia Chen and Senior He Tu, have you heard of a death spirit who was around as strong as me before dying? A death spirit that might have advanced straight into the Eternal Realm after rising. He might even have the strength of a sixth-degree Eternal after rising again."
"Ye Batian?" He Tu smiled, "Are you looking for him?"
Xia Chen did not know that name as he had only awakened from the river recently.
Wan Tiansheng nodded, "Yes. Have you seen him around?"
"No." He Tu said, "It won't be easy to find. You have no idea where he would awaken. You also can't be sure if he has even awakened. Perhaps he's still in the river. Perhaps he was never brought to the Death Realm in the first place. Of course, it is likely for him to be somewhere in the Death Realm due to his genius. These geniuses are quite welcomed by the Death Realm. But without his memories, nobody would know his identity. Perhaps he had died again after awakening. You never know."
"Ye Batian?"
As Xia Chen looked at them in confusion, Wan Tiansheng explained, "A student of Principal Nan."
"Wujiang's student?" Xia Chen asked blankly, "Yun Chen?"
He recalled seeing Yun Chen in the Luminous Domain Mansion.
"No, a younger student."
"I don't know him..."
Wan Tiansheng said, "That's to be expected. That student was accepted late. He was very talented. He managed to kill fourth-degree Eternals before affirming his dao. But eventually, he was killed."
"That's impressive."
Xia Chen was surprised to hear that.
"Was he killed by the traitor you're looking for?"
"You can say so. He died to the traitor's ploy."
Xia Chen sighed, "What a pity that I didn't manage to kill them all back then. Things wouldn't have been so troublesome otherwise."
He looked at Wan Tiansheng and asked, "Are you...a multiple character cultivator as well?"
"Yes. Senior Brother Yun Chen taught me on behalf of his teacher."
Xia Chen was very surprised. This was a super genius as well.
When he looked at Su Yu, Su Yu shrugged and said, "I am the student of a student of Ye Batian, the fifth principal."
That was correct if he counted Bai Feng as his teacher.
Xia Chen was dumbstruck. So all these people were multiple character cultivators. He had been suspecting the same, but he was still shocked as he exclaimed, "Is Culture King's line...really returning?"
These were a bunch of monsters.
Su Yu shrugged again and said, "That's hard to say. I'm good at physical cultivation. My willpower cultivation is nothing impressive. Truth be told, Culture King's legacy doesn't feel too impressive. My physical cultivation is at least ten times stronger."
Silence descended.
Su Yu added, "Senior, do you still want your Willpower Grotto? Can you give it to me? I need it to extract some willpower..."
"Sure." Xia Chen agreed readily. He was dead. Why would he care about that? "Since you want it, just take it. I handed that character to Xia Wushen back then before succumbing to my injuries. Did he take it back to Great Xia?"
"Yeah."
"Sure. Just tell him to hand it to you." Fresh chapters posted on novel fire.net
Su Yu smiled, "Thank you, Senior. But I need a proof of your agreement, right? Great Xia King wouldn't agree so easily otherwise."
Xia Chen thought about it, hesitated slightly, and said, "He has no way of coming here. I don't have anything on me. Just tell him that...he once carved something on his childhood saber: Xia Wushen is the number one pretty boy in the world. I am the only one aware of this apart from him. Tell him this and he will believe you. He destroyed that saber at sixteen to erase all proof of his shameful past."
"Oh."
Su Yu nodded. That would no longer be a secret. But he wasn't even surprised to hear it. Xia Wushen. The one who had named his cultivation method the Sky Sundering Countless Saber. It wouldn't be surprising for him to have a serious case of eighth-grade syndrome during his youth.
Since he had received the agreement of the original owner, the Willpower Grotto was as good as his now.