Heaven Ranking 11, Su Yu!

Tianmie Ancient City. Killing intent surged on all sides! Death qi soared into the heavens. That night, dead spirits manifested continually across every corner of the city, frightening countless living beings into trembling seclusion. None dared step outdoors, leaving the outside world to be turned completely upside down. Every powerful expert who rose to prominence did so by treading across a trail of bones. It was merely a matter of whose bones they stepped on to rise! Could Su Yu rise? Or would he fall here and now? No one knew! Years ago, Modona's rise had been the same—slaughtering in every direction. Without that, he never would have achieved the feat of slaying a seventh-tier Shanhai, prompting Invincibles to personally intervene on his behalf. In those days, Ye Batian's rise had likewise swept the four directions, slaughtering countless living beings, with multiple Invincibles of the human race taking action for him. King Daxia had campaigned on his behalf numerous times, and yet... in the end, it had all concluded on a grim, tragic note. Some geniuses could walk the path to the very end; others were cut down halfway. Whether Hong Kai, Qing Kai, or Lei Jue—who among those capable of ascending the Heaven Hunting Ranking lacked genuine ability? Who among them hadn't slaughtered their way up? Yet over the past few days, they had fallen one after another. This was the All-Heavens Battlefield! The struggle of the myriad realms! It was kill or be killed. One side would always rise by treading upon the other. ... At that moment, lethal danger lurked everywhere throughout the city. Up in the air above the ancient city, Dao Cheng of the Immortal race strode across the sky and chuckled softly. "Su Yu, why not come fight me? It is a sincere invitation! If you win, you are free to walk out of the ancient city. If I win, I shall invite you back with me as a guest. What say you? Why drag the humans in the city into this?" The dead spirits had been drawn away, and the death qi seemed to have been suppressed considerably. The Heaven Hunting Pavilion had likely suppressed it using an ancient city token. Right now, chaos reigned across the city and dead spirits were everywhere. Cheng Kai and his group had tracked Su Yu all this way, only to lose his trail. Dao Cheng had no choice but to step forward and use reverse psychology to draw Su Yu out. "You climbed onto the Heaven Ranking in just a few days. Do you not even have the courage to fight?" Divine characters spun ceaselessly in his hand, locating and searching. This fellow Su Yu gave him a profoundly dangerous feeling. His bloodlust mirrored Xia Longwu's, and his talent mirrored Ye Batian's—he seemed more like a fusion of the two. A single Ye Batian had once made the myriad realms lose sleep, and killing him had cost the lives of two Invincibles. Now, Xia Longwu had not even attained the Dao, yet countless Sun Moons had already perished by his hand. Whether his attainment succeeded or failed, Invincibles would likely fall because of it. The various races could tolerate Qin Fang, and they could tolerate Huang Teng, but none wanted to see another Ye Batian or Xia Longwu emerge. Silence answered him. ... In the shadows. Su Yu remained in hiding. *Piss off!* *You're an old fairy bachelor at the ninth tier of Lingyun, and you think you can bait me with taunts?* *In just this past year, I've failed seven or eight thousand times, and since childhood, I've been killed thousands of times in my dreams. You think I care about this?* *What use is reverse psychology against me?* *If you let a little fairy girl from your race fight me, I might take you up on it, but you? Forget it.* This guy was sinister! When Su Yu looked at him, his "Calamity" divine character throbbed vigorously. It was better not to even look at him; he was too dangerous. ... Dao Cheng's divine characters swirled in the palm of his hand, and he sighed inwardly. How had that fellow vanished so abruptly? His concealment ability was simply too formidable! Compounded by the abundance of ancient houses in the city, pinpointing where he was hiding was impossible for the moment. Saying nothing further, Dao Cheng returned to his group. Pulling out his sub-ranking scroll, Dao Cheng thought for a moment and entered a line of text: "I need Su Yu's precise location!" "Ten drops of Sun Moon essence blood!" Dao Cheng's expression darkened considerably. "Too expensive! Even though Su Yu has entered the Heaven Ranking, he is not worth that price!" "Because he is an expert of the multiple divine character faction!" The Heaven Hunting Pavilion offered only this single reply. Take it or leave it. "For three hours of continuous, precise tracking on him, I can give ten drops of essence blood!" "No. One hour, ten drops!" Dao Cheng's eyes turned somber. They truly demanded an exorbitant sum. Against geniuses like Su Yu, his divination arts struggled to locate him, leaving him no choice but to seek the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's aid. Ten drops! Sun Moon realm blood—even if from the first tier—was equivalent to slaying a Sun Moon expert, all just to locate Su Yu for a single hour. Dao Cheng seethed with inward hatred! The Heaven Hunting Pavilion... this organization had to be eradicated sooner or later! With these thoughts in mind, Dao Cheng looked toward Cheng Kai. "Brother Cheng Kai, do you have any Sun Moon essence blood on you? I am only carrying five drops. The Heaven Hunting Pavilion demands ten drops to give us Su Yu's precise location for one hour." "Ten drops?" Cheng Kai couldn't help but curse, "They're robbing us!" Damn it, if this wasn't robbery, what was? He wasn't even in the Sun Moon Realm himself! Thinking of this, he shook his head. "I am merely in the Shanhai Realm. How could I have a collection of Sun Moon essence blood? My race is not like the Immortal race; we cannot afford such luxuries." This was the truth. As a Shanhai cultivator, unless it was bestowed upon you, there was no way to possess Sun Moon essence blood through your own strength. Jiu Xuan chimed in, "Brother Dao Cheng, I have some." Dao Cheng smiled and nodded. "Then lend me a few drops first, Jiu Xuan. I will return them to you once we are back in the Immortal Realm." "There's no need..." To the side, Cheng Kai watched with envious eyes. This was the difference of a major race! A true top-tier major race! A mere Lingyun cultivator carrying Sun Moon essence blood—how could experts of the myriad races not be envious? A Sun Moon was an expert at the grandmaster level. Many patriarchs of minor races were only at the Sun Moon Realm. The overlords of the ancient cities were merely at the Sun Moon Realm. A Sun Moon expert could dominate wherever they went. For instance, Zheng Ping, a Sun Moon expert, had been exceedingly arrogant upon entering the ancient city. Similarly, with Modona able to slay seventh-tier Shanhai experts, the Primordial Demon Race had little need to worry about his safety, because once someone reached the Sun Moon Realm, very few would dare—or bother—to hunt him down. Dao Cheng said no more, retrieving five drops of Sun Moon essence blood himself. After waiting where they stood for a moment, a white-masked figure appeared. "The goods!" Dao Cheng looked at him, feeling a faint impulse to strike, but ultimately abandoned the thought. Tossing over a bottle, he said, "I require a precise location. If the Heaven Hunting Pavilion fails to deliver, you will refund tenfold!" "Naturally!" The white-masked figure replied, and soon tossed over a flying crane jade talisman, saying, "Follow this, and you will find him... However, let it be stated beforehand: this only tracks the location of the sub-ranking scroll in his possession. If he discards the sub-ranking scroll... that has nothing to do with us. To precisely pinpoint him as an individual, we would need his essence blood, as you well know. If your carelessness allows him to realize he is being tracked through the scroll and he throws it away, no refunds will be issued!" Dao Cheng said indifferently, "I know. Furthermore, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion does business; do not tarnish your own reputation. Since I bought intelligence on him, you are not permitted to leak anything to him!" "Naturally!" "The Heaven Hunting Pavilion's credibility ranks first in the myriad realms!" Leaving behind those words, the white-masked figure vanished. Once he was gone, Cheng Kai said in a low voice, "With Shanhai strength, we could have detained him!" "Forget it," Dao Cheng said, shaking his head. "Merely a puppet of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, not the mastermind. Slaying him serves no purpose." With that, feeling the flying crane jade talisman struggling in his grasp, Dao Cheng said indifferently, "Either we do not search, or once we find him, we must strike to kill! Ten drops of Sun Moon essence blood will only track him for an hour. Once he senses it and discards the sub-ranking scroll, finding his exact whereabouts will become exceedingly difficult." Cheng Kai said heavily, "He is being hunted by dead spirits, and the ancient city token in his hand is of a low grade. How has he managed to conceal his tracks...?" Dao Cheng said cryptically, "Do you still not understand?" "What?" Cheng Kai was puzzled at first, then froze. "You mean..." "The Heaven Hunting Pavilion!" Dao Cheng said chillingly, "Since they can do business with us, why not with Su Yu as well?" Cheng Kai cursed under his breath! So that was it! Dao Cheng added, "Even the fact that we planned to move against him might have been purchased by him from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. This organization... pursues only profit, completely heedless of justice." Cheng Kai said fiercely, "Such bastards! The major powerful races should hunt them down and wipe them out!" "Difficult!" Dao Cheng shook his head. "This organization is not weak. A few days ago, an Invincible appeared, and very likely one who attained the Dao on the All-Heavens Battlefield... Exactly who it was remains unknown. When an expert of such caliber conceals their tracks, locating them is nearly impossible. Moreover, whether the one who appeared was their only one... is hard to say." He continued, "The Heaven Hunting Pavilion claims to possess four divisions: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow! They have two pavilions, East and West, and two towers, South and North. The one who appeared last time was merely the Master of the South Tower. The Pavilion Masters of East and West, the Master of the North Tower, and the Heads of the Four Divisions could all very well be Invincibles!" "..." Cheng Kai was visibly shaken. "That's impossible, isn't it?" Wouldn't that mean eight Invincibles! That formidable? Aside from the major races like the Immortals and Gods, which race could compare to the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's strength? "It is uncertain!" Dao Cheng said no more; saying any more would touch upon classified matters. Why would it be impossible? If the Heaven Hunting Pavilion were weak, they would have been destroyed long ago, and even if not destroyed, the Heaven Hunting Ranking would have been seized from them. That item was an extraordinary treasure, an absolute divine armament! A treasure surpassing Heaven armaments! Without formidable strength, would the major races—Gods, Demons, Humans, Immortals, Monsters—have ever tolerated the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's existence and their control over the Heaven Hunting Ranking? It was precisely their formidable strength that allowed them to continue this way. This included buying and selling intelligence; the largest intelligence broker across the myriad races was the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. Back when the human race's Ye Batian fell in battle, King Daqin and several others investigated, suspecting that the Heaven Hunting Pavilion had sold out the human Invincibles' whereabouts, pursuing the matter for many years. In the end, it seemed one of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion Masters personally stepped forward to explain, swearing upon the Pavilion's credibility that it was absolutely not their doing. Ultimately, through an unknown agreement reached with the human race, King Daqin and the others were persuaded to abandon the pursuit. During that period, many of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion's experts had been slain. Of course, the human race had suffered considerable casualties as well. Dao Cheng dwelled on it no further. This time, having paid such a steep price, he had to kill Su Yu or capture him alive no matter what. The crane in his hand fluttered restlessly. He released the flying crane, and it swiftly took to the air. One divine character after another circled around the crane, turning it invisible. Dao Cheng spoke slowly, "Follow it. Do not make it too obvious!" The various experts nodded; they understood this well. ... Meanwhile, Su Yu was hiding in an alley several thousand meters away. The "Calamity" divine character began throbbing again, and this time, rather violently. "Danger?" Su Yu cursed inwardly. All day and night, it jumped constantly—he couldn't even tell where the danger was coming from anymore. Ever since entering the ancient city, this "Calamity" divine character hadn't stopped. After a moment's thought, Su Yu decided to slip away swiftly. Yet even as he fled, the "Calamity" divine character continued to throb. He had only purchased an hour of time from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion to divert the dead spirits. If that time expired, it would be wasted, and two Shanhai corpses would have gone down the drain. He wanted to get closer to Cheng Kai and the others, but every time he drew near, the character throbbed with increasing intensity. "What is going on?" Su Yu cursed under his breath! Was it that dangerous? ... At the same time. Dao Cheng and his companions were constantly frowning. Was this a coincidence, or was Su Yu truly vigilant to such an absurd degree? He was constantly shifting positions, causing the flying crane to fly erratically and change directions repeatedly. Dao Cheng felt like cursing aloud! Had this item not come from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, he would have suspected it was broken. Did Su Yu have nothing better to do? Constantly changing his location! What was the deal? Even with supreme vigilance, there was no need to change positions every two or three seconds while remaining at a great distance from them. Cheng Kai couldn't help but transmit his voice, "Is this thing accurate?" "Items from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion carry a certain guarantee of credibility." Dao Cheng felt utterly helpless. As for why this was happening, one could only conclude that Su Yu was excessively cautious. Or perhaps he possessed some treasure that allowed him to detect their presence from a great distance? Did such treasures exist? Certainly, but could Su Yu possess one? Dao Cheng sighed inwardly, feeling more and more that their preparations for striking at Su Yu this time had been inadequate. It would have been best to wait for a Sun Moon expert to arrive; with the speed and strength of a Sun Moon, Su Yu might have been captured very quickly. Without a Sun Moon, relying solely on the few of them made it exceedingly difficult even for him to detect Su Yu's concealed tracks. ... "Fuck!" Su Yu cursed wildly in his heart! What was going on? His "Calamity" divine character was still jumping, and the hour he had paid two Shanhai corpses for to divert the dead spirits was nearly up. What the hell was this? "The closer I get to those guys, the more violently the 'Calamity' character throbs. What does that mean?" "They can kill me?" "They can detect me?" Su Yu still possessed some confidence in his concealment methods, but... the continuous throbbing of the "Calamity" character was downright abnormal. Glancing into the distance once more, Su Yu furrowed his brow slightly. *It throbs whenever I draw closer.* *It also throbs non-stop whenever they draw closer.* *Does that mean whenever I approach, they might already possess my whereabouts?* "Possess my whereabouts..." Su Yu's mind stirred. The next instant, he pulled out his sub-ranking scroll, hesitated briefly, and wrote: "How much will it cost to have Dao Cheng and his group cancel their tracking of my location?" He had his suspicions! He continued writing: "Otherwise, I will discard this sub-ranking scroll and conduct no further transactions with you in the future!" Framing his suspicion into an assertion of certainty. This was his chosen strategy when dealing with the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. Regardless of whether it was merely a guess, he treated it as a confirmed fact! As for guessing wrong... then so be it! He had nothing to lose! ... At that moment, inside the floating grand hall above the All-Heavens Battlefield, the masked figure called out once more, "Elder, Su Yu has discovered our tracking of his location! How should we handle this? He wants Dao Cheng's tracking of him canceled." "Payment has been accepted; it cannot be canceled!" The Faceless Elder said indifferently, "Tell him that if he truly wishes to discard it, he may do so. Sooner or later, he will pick it up again!" "Understood!" After speaking, the Faceless Elder shook his head slightly. "He is likely only guessing. This human lad is exceedingly shrewd! When dealing with him, exercise a bit more caution. Though young, he is cunning enough, very much like those crafty old foxes among the humans." Hearing him say this, the masked figure asked curiously, "Elder, whom do you refer to...?" "Many people. Most humans tend to be rather cunning. Among the myriad races of the heavens, the Immortals are profound, the Gods are proud, the Demons are domineering, the Monsters are reckless, and the Humans... are crafty!" The elder delivered his assessment. These were the fundamental dispositions of the major powerful races across the heavens. "Humans are crafty?" While replying to Su Yu, the masked figure remarked, "Even so, they still have to listen to our Heaven Hunting Pavilion!" "Do not harbor such thoughts!" The Faceless Elder warned, "The various races have always sought to uncover our precise traces. Perhaps some experts have already discovered clues, yet conceal them deeply, waiting to wipe us out in one fell swoop! For a member of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, vigilance is paramount! As a roster liaison, remember this: you must be cautious and then cautious again. Under no circumstances must any leak occur. Once our headquarters' whereabouts are exposed, it will mean absolute doom!" "Understood, Elder!" The Faceless Elder added, "Originally, interacting with a cunning individual like Su Yu should not have been entrusted to a newcomer like you. However, our division is currently shorthanded, and given our high regard for you, we hope you can communicate more with this human genius and learn a thing or two!" "Elder, can one truly learn something from mere communication?" "Of course!" The Faceless Elder smiled. "Is it not already plenty? Whether it was him deducing Dao Cheng and the others' identities, or this time guessing that we provided tracking, you can learn from some of the rhetoric he employs. Though Su Yu is young, he has thoroughly grasped the essence of humanity." "Understood!" ... Just as that conversation took place within the Heaven Hunting Pavilion, Su Yu let loose a fierce curse! *Fuck!* *Milking both the host and the guest!* *Doesn't that mean my one hour of dead spirit diversion was completely wasted?* *They really can determine my whereabouts!* Damn Heaven Hunting Pavilion! Both he and the Immortals had paid a heavy price, yet all the profits had been swallowed by the Pavilion, while neither he nor Dao Cheng's group had gained anything in return. "The ranking scroll..." Su Yu stared at the scroll, gritting his teeth. The Heaven Hunting Pavilion didn't care if he knew he was being tracked through the scroll, because they knew Su Yu needed it. Everyone needed assistance. In this short span of time, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion had provided Su Yu with a great deal of help. If he truly discarded the scroll, could Su Yu bear to part with it? Of course, he could always obtain another one later. Thus, to maintain their credibility, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion bluntly informed Su Yu that it could not be canceled—he could only discard the scroll. They had no fear of him refusing it next time; whenever another appeared, Su Yu would pick it up again. "The scroll, the tracking..." Su Yu turned his gaze back to the little fur ball happily gorging itself in his sea of will. *I barely gathered some willpower and you ate it all up. Aren't you going to do some work?* "Fur Ball!" "Ya, ya..." The fur ball rolled over, and the next moment, as if realizing something, it said hastily, "Can't go out! If I go out again, my Dada will know I'm out, and will come to take me home!" "..." Su Yu was speechless. Was that real or fake? "Isn't your Dada sleeping back at your home?" That was what the fur ball had claimed itself. "Dada will wake up! If I keep going out, out and out, Dada will know I'm out and will come look for me! Can't go out!" "..." Was it lying to him? Su Yu couldn't be sure. The little fellow had said its Dada was a Half-Emperor. While Half-Emperor was an honorific, it was at least an Invincible—if not an Invincible, what kind of damn Half-Emperor would it be! "If your Dada comes, will he kill me?" "No... you smell nice!" "Then will he eat me?" "Doesn't eat people, eats nice-smelling things!" *Damn it!* Nonsense, could this fellow's Dada eat his golden album? Forget it, he wouldn't make it go outside. The next instant, a shadow clone appeared beside Su Yu. The sub-ranking scroll was likewise transferred onto the shadow clone. *Looking for me, are you?* *Tracking me, are you?* *Go track this!* Su Yu swiftly commanded the shadow clone to flee, preparing to let it lead them on a chase with the scroll. ... Meanwhile. Divine characters swirled in Dao Cheng's hand when suddenly, one of them dripped blood. Dao Cheng's heart jolted, and he transmitted his voice to Jiu Xuan: "Be careful, an omen of great misfortune!" Jiu Xuan looked toward Dao Cheng in slight confusion and transmitted, "Su Yu?" "Unclear! Jiu Xuan, if we cannot slay Su Yu tonight, you and I will depart this place first thing tomorrow morning! If danger arises shortly, hide behind Cheng Kai and do not separate from him..." "Brother Dao Cheng, is he truly that dangerous?" "Extremely dangerous! People like him are exceedingly hard to kill! Modona is like this, Zhan Wushuang is like this, Xuan Wuji is like this... On the Heaven Ranking, not a single one falls easily, and even if they do, it is accompanied by the deaths of numerous experts!" This was a fact and a lesson of experience. To kill Su Yu, in just this short while, two Shanhai and multiple Lingyun cultivators had already died. And this was while Su Yu was still among the weaker ranks on the Heaven Ranking. To kill someone like Modona, several Sun Moons would have to perish. He thought of Modona, and Jiu Xuan asked, "Brother Dao Cheng, could it be Modona who will intervene? He is in the city as well!" "No, he should be waiting for his own opportunity. Unless we disturb him, he will not intervene." Dao Cheng conversed with her briefly, saying no more. Caution was never a mistake! Today, repeated divinations had yielded ill omens, leaving him deeply uneasy. He had already resolved that if they failed tonight, they would leave tomorrow. Ahead, the flying crane veered toward another direction once more. ... At that moment, within an ancient house, Su Yu turned to a page in the album. "Mountain-Breaking Ox (third tier of the Shanhai Realm): Racial Skill: Mountain-Breaking Strike (activated with essence blood) ..." The Mountain-Breaking Ox race! Su Yu activated the Shanhai page of the Mountain-Breaking Ox race—third tier of Shanhai. He felt fortunate that he hadn't activated anything stronger, as he wouldn't have been able to withstand it. The essence blood of a third-tier Shanhai had nearly caused him to burst! This indicated that his physical body had not yet reached that level. "A third-tier Shanhai likely possesses thirty thousand apertures of power!" He only knew that a weak first-tier Shanhai had ten thousand apertures of power. A fifth-tier Shanhai expert in the Vanguard Camp possessed fifty thousand apertures of power. A seventh-tier Shanhai had at least a hundred thousand apertures of power. Then a third-tier Shanhai likely possessed thirty thousand apertures of power. Su Yu felt lingering fear; fortunately, he hadn't been reckless enough to consume the essence blood of a fourth-tier Shanhai, or he might have perished. He could not consume higher-grade essence blood anymore! This was his limit! Had his physical body not completed seventeen casts, he wouldn't have been able to handle even the third tier. "A pity I still have eighth-tier Sun Moon essence blood in my possession!" Su Yu looked wistful. That was an intact corpse of the God race given to him by the Great Xia Prefecture—from the Tianyi God race. If he could consume that, unleashing the power of an eighth-tier Sun Moon with a single drop, he would truly slay gods and buddhas alike! That was his ultimate trump card! However, consuming it now would yield nothing but death. ... Having consumed the essence blood, Su Yu stepped out of the ancient house. The shadow clone was still leading those fellows on a wild chase through the city. The one hour was nearly up. Calculating the time, roughly twenty minutes remained. "Instantaneous explosive power of a third-tier Shanhai..." Speed was lacking! His speed had not reached the third tier of Shanhai—this was a shortcoming, but there was no helping it; only his burst power had reached that level. The primary concern was Cheng Kai, who was at the peak of Shanhai; otherwise, Su Yu wouldn't have been so worried. "With the burst power of a third-tier Shanhai, an all-out strike of the Heaven-Cleaving Blade... taking down a Shanhai shouldn't be difficult, right?" The Xuan Armor race still had four Shanhai experts remaining. Peak Shanhai Cheng Kai, sixth-tier Shanhai Yin Kai, third-tier Shanhai Duan Kai, and first-tier Shanhai Fen Kai. Of the six Shanhai experts of that race, only two had died so far. Aside from Cheng Kai and Yin Kai, he was confident in eliminating either of the remaining two. "My physical casts are still too low!" Su Yu grumbled quietly to himself. Even though he had forged his body several times over the past few days, he still felt it was too slow. *Who was the liar that told me entering the All-Heavens Battlefield in the Tengkong Realm wasn't that dangerous?* Su Yu had forgotten that no one else would run off to an ancient city without good reason like him. They wouldn't even venture to the Desire Sea Plain! A Tengkong cultivator could live quite comfortably in the Eastern Warzone where the human race was stationed. Here, it was the domain of the mighty, the gathering ground of monstrous geniuses. How could it not be dangerous! "This time... I'll kill that third-tier Shanhai. At the same tier as me, striking by surprise, I'm confident in slaying him. The key is how to escape..." How to flee after the kill was the real problem. With third-tier Shanhai strength, killing a third-tier Shanhai wasn't overly difficult. The main issue was his route of retreat. "If I don't kill the third-tier Shanhai, then I'll kill that little fairy girl..." "As for escaping..." Su Yu calculated continuously how to flee from a peak Shanhai. "No need to worry too much... I just need to lure him a bit farther away. Let the shadow clone lead him off with the scroll..." Meanwhile, Su Yu was searching for a prime ambush location. He did not plan to conceal himself in the sky, but from below. He would lie in wait on the rooftop of an ancient house, unleash a blade strike toward the sky to execute a powerhouse, and then swiftly dart into the surrounding alleys to make a rapid escape. The prerequisite was that Cheng Kai had to be sufficiently far away from him. As for Dao Cheng... likewise, he couldn't beat him. That monster had slain a fifth-tier Shanhai; he was terrifyingly formidable. "Then I'll kill the third-tier Shanhai. The reward might let me cast my physical body rapidly. That golden light last time was actually fantastic, far stronger than heavenly origin qi!" Having made up his mind, Su Yu quickly found a spot to lie in ambush. It needed plenty of houses and many residents. Best of all, there should be a dead spirit nearby to provide cover. ... Dao Cheng and his companions continued following the flying crane. As they pursued, Dao Cheng spoke, "He is leading us on a wild chase; he may have already noticed. Everyone be careful, and try not to separate! Su Yu was able to kill a first-tier Shanhai, and that might not even be the full extent of his strength! Stay close to Brother Cheng Kai and me as much as possible to avoid falling into a trap!" Cheng Kai said heavily, "As long as he is surrounded, he is dead! No matter how strong he is, I refuse to believe he can kill me!" Even Modona couldn't do that! Let alone Su Yu! Dao Cheng nodded and said no more. That was likely true; no matter how strong Su Yu was, he couldn't have reached such a level. Slaying Cheng Kai... that would require half-step Sun Moon capability. If that were truly the case, even Invincibles would be unable to sit still. It would be too fast! They continued their pursuit, and gradually, Su Yu's speed slowed down. Ahead stood a row of houses, somewhat dim and disorganized. At that moment, the flying crane was held in check by Dao Cheng, yet it persistently strained to fly toward that corner. Cheng Kai was overjoyed! That fellow had finally stopped! Yet Dao Cheng's sense of crisis flared intensely. The divine characters in his hand spun ceaselessly, calculating advantages, disadvantages, fortune, and misfortune. Seeking fortune and avoiding calamity was one of his primary skills. "There is no significant danger ahead..." Dao Cheng furrowed his brow slightly. No significant danger? Was Su Yu truly trapped here? This could be considered the only auspicious divination of the night! Cheng Kai could no longer contain himself and transmitted, "How is it?" "No danger ahead!" "Then surround him and execute him swiftly!" Cheng Kai was instantly elated; no significant danger. This was great news! Dao Cheng's divination arts were genuinely impressive. Dao Cheng frowned slightly and continued his calculations. However, after calculating repeatedly throughout the night, the toll on his divine characters was immense. Helpless, he could only divine his own safety... After calculating back and forth, the danger to himself was not great. Thinking it over, he divined the safety of that first-tier Shanhai... also not great? Then he divined Jiu Xuan... there seemed to be no significant danger either. He felt like coughing up blood—not from injury, but because overcalculating was causing his divine characters to show signs of collapse. He could calculate no further! He had calculated for the weakest Shanhai, calculated for himself, and calculated for Jiu Xuan... all felt relatively safe. With that in mind, he swiftly transmitted, "It is best we stay together and not stray too far from one another. Pincer him from front and back. Brother Cheng Kai, pay close attention to the surroundings—beware of him discarding the sub-ranking scroll..." Just as he spoke, not far away, a shadow seemed to sense something and took to the sky in rapid flight. *Buzz!* Cheng Kai could restrain himself no longer! Tonight had yielded nothing but failure, costing two Shanhai and multiple Lingyun cultivators. Now that Su Yu was attempting to flee, how could it be that simple? Kill him! Seeing him give chase, Dao Cheng gritted his teeth and quickly followed. Heeding his words, Jiu Xuan also swiftly kept pace beside Cheng Kai. They moved at blistering speed, soaring toward the dark figure. Dao Cheng paid no heed to the several trailing behind; he had calculated, and those few faced little danger. Even the weakest Shanhai was not in great peril. One after another, they flew toward the shadow, the sound of breaking wind echoing throughout the city. Ahead, the shadow seemed startled and fled at extreme speed. Not only that, the shadow's form grew somewhat ethereal, as if it were burning something. Right at that moment, the first-tier Shanhai and third-tier Shanhai experts flew together, leading several Lingyun cultivators in pursuit toward that direction. The group had just flown past a tall building—the very building Cheng Kai had flown past moments earlier. Even Cheng Kai hadn't detected anything. Naturally, these individuals saw no reason to investigate further. Yet right at that instant, a flash of white light illuminated heaven and earth. Su Yu unleashed every ounce of strength he possessed! Just this single strike! He would kill as many as he could! A strike at the absolute peak! A strike pushed to the absolute extreme! The blade that cleaves the heavens! This single strike truly seemed to sunder heaven and earth. A strike pushed to the utmost limits of a third-tier Shanhai, carving through the firmament. The Yang aperture half-opened, augmented by the "Power" divine character, augmented by the "Vibration" divine character, augmented by willpower, augmented by the Expanding Will Art... ... At this moment. Prefecture Lord Manor. Tianhe, who was drinking wine, suddenly looked toward that direction and murmured, "Heaven-Cleaving Blade!" This blade strike was all too familiar. The blade that cleaved the heavens! Years ago, he had witnessed King Daxia unleash this strike, cleaving through the firmament and leaving behind the Heaven-Severing Valley. Years ago, he had witnessed Xia Longwu unleash this strike, slaying a Sun Moon dead spirit while simultaneously leaving himself gravely wounded on the brink of death. In truth, he had witnessed the Heaven-Cleaving Blade from several others as well. The eldest of the Xia family, Xia Longwu's father—his blade strike had astounded the world, slaying a peak Sun Moon and slaughtering a host of Sun Moons! He had also seen Ye Batian unleash this strike—a single slash that brought dead silence to the four directions, shattering Sun Moons and sending Shanhai plummeting to their deaths. Today, he bore witness to the blade of this generation's young human genius. Illuminating tens of millions of meters across the ancient city! Su Yu! "Su Yu!" Tianhe murmured softly. The blade of the Xia family never failed to dazzle. Among those who mastered the Heaven-Cleaving Blade, not a single one was weak! The spear of the Qin family, the blade of the Xia family—the twin marvels of the human race! ... At that moment, within an immense house, the purple-haired Modona snapped his eyes open, swiftly stepped out, and instantly saw that blade strike! His brows furrowed slightly! "The Heaven-Cleaving Blade!" ... *Buzz!* *Boom!* Heaven fell and earth cracked! Before the blade had even landed, those Lingyun and Tengkong cultivators were instantly pulverized! As the blade descended, the first-tier Shanhai expert roared violently, erupting with the power of his apertures to flee through the air. The third-tier Shanhai, Duan Kai, armored himself in an instant, yet he had already been locked onto by this strike! The moment the blade fell, Su Yu had already fled tens of millions of meters away. Yet the blade, still brimming with boundless killing intent, slammed down with a deafening crash! *Bang!* The incomparably resilient armor failed to hold—with a tremendous boom, it blasted apart into fragments, blood spraying in all directions as the armor was shattered by a single slash! A cloud descended thousands of meters away in an instant. The cloud vanished, and Su Yu vanished. The next moment, a massive swarm of dead spirits emerged, while the dead spirits that had previously been lured away simultaneously reappeared. On the ground, several buildings shattered, only to rapidly restore themselves, looking completely undamaged. Across the entire ancient city, massive amounts of death qi boiled. At that very moment, Cheng Kai had just pierced the shadow into dust with a thrust of his spear... His expression shifted drastically. Whirling around, he didn't say a single word, charging at full speed toward the direction where that cloud had vanished! "Su Yu!" A furious roar tore through heaven and earth! Su Yu! He had killed Duan Kai! The third Shanhai of the Xuan Armor race to perish—a third-tier Shanhai expert. Fear gripped his heart! At that moment, Dao Cheng grabbed Jiu Xuan and said in a low voice, "Go! Leave immediately!" They could not continue! It was too terrifying! From killing Lingyun, to killing a first-tier Shanhai, to killing a third-tier Shanhai—all within two days. They had to leave! An omen of great misfortune! At this moment, the Heaven Ranking shifted as well, updating rapidly. At this moment, all those who had been keeping close watch over the ranking saw Su Yu's name surge violently upward. Heaven Ranking 11! Su Yu! Slew a third-tier Shanhai, 19 years old, Human Race, first tier of Lingyun! Leaping tiers—leaping a major realm! Not only leaping a major realm, but surpassing eleven minor tiers! And the one he had slain was by no means an ordinary Shanhai! At this moment, the heavens were shaken! At this moment, even the members of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion were stunned. Slain? He had killed a third-tier Shanhai? Strictly speaking, ranking eleventh was almost too low for Su Yu; it was merely that his cultivation base was somewhat lacking, putting him at a slight disadvantage for now. Once he reached the seventh or eighth tier of Lingyun, slaying seventh- or eighth-tier Shanhai... Modona was around 192 years old, which translated to nearly 22 years old in human terms. By that time, would Modona be overtaken by him? The four directions were shaken! In an instant, Tianmie Ancient City drew the focused gaze of supreme experts.