Fishing

Su Yu had been to Mingguang City before, but Nine Stars City was vastly different. Take the city gates, for instance. Upon arriving at the gate, entrance was not free—a toll was required. "Ten drops of yuan qi liquid!" The gate guards gave the newcomers a brief sweep with their eyes and demanded payment on the spot. What was more, only the side entrance stood open. Noticing Su Yu and the others looking toward the main gate, the guard stated plainly, "Strength commands respect. The top hundred races enter free of charge and take the main gate! Don't go saying the Thousand Domains Alliance looks down on anyone. The alliance itself doesn't belong to the top hundred races, so even our own people have to use the side entrance!" It was that simple. A rigid hierarchy. Without charging money, how could they maintain the city's operation? This city, after all, had been built by the Thousand Domains Alliance itself. The guard quickly added, "Once you reach the Shanhai Realm, race no longer matters and you can enter through the main gate as well. That is primarily for your own safety!" The guard spoke with complete candidness. "Don't look at me like that. Many experts from the powerful races have nasty tempers. If you are in the Shanhai Realm, it's fine, but if you're below Shanhai, forcing them to walk alongside Fire Swine just makes them uncomfortable!" Resignation. Among the myriad races across the heavens, if you lacked strength, belonged to a weak race, and had no backing, you had to accept your lot in life! It was as straightforward as that. Even if the others felt aggrieved, they accepted their fate, handed over the fee, and moved on. Su Yu also paid the entrance fee. What else could he say? If even the Thousand Domains Alliance's own members had to pay and use the side entrance, there was no room for complaint. Who told him to disguise himself as a lowly Ironwing Bird? Still, at least he was slightly better off than the Fire Swine. That race was truly bottom-tier. After inwardly poking fun at himself for a moment, Su Yu stepped through the gates. Just as he entered the city, a towering, formidable figure manifested atop a high-rise in the city center. A booming voice reverberated across all directions! "From this day forth, to the west of Star Universe Mansion, the 810 gates across the nine levels are forbidden to all living beings!" With just this single declaration, Su Yu felt somewhat bewildered. What was happening? The moment he arrived, an expert from the god race appeared and proclaimed that certain gates were off-limits. What did that mean? Did it pertain to Star Universe Mansion? He was not the only one confused; several beings who had entered alongside him wore similarly baffled expressions. Ying Yun, the leader of their escort party, had been preparing to depart. Hearing this, he sighed, shook his head, and transmitted his voice: "For next year's journey to Star Universe Mansion, the smaller races will have even fewer chances!" Seeing their continued confusion, Ying Yun elaborated, "Star Universe Mansion is very peculiar. Entry slots are strictly limited. They are divided among the four cardinal directions, each with nine levels and 810 gates. Each gate admits one living being, totaling 3,240 beings! In addition, Star Universe Mansion has a special passage that admits 360 beings, bringing the total capacity to 3,600!" "Now, the god race has outright claimed the 810 western gates, barring everyone else from entering. It seems they've already completed their sweep and lockdown!" Su Yu was surprised. There was such a rule? It made sense; there were indeed quota restrictions. From what he knew, Great Ming Prefecture received only 10 slots, while Great Xia Prefecture received 20. Great Xia was among the top three prefectures of humanity, yet it had only 20 slots. Great Ming wasn't weak, but it was allocated merely 10. In total, humanity seemed to receive only a few hundred slots. Averaging ten per prefecture, that amounted to just 360. In other words, the human race was allocated far fewer slots than the god race? The god race had blatantly seized 810! Of course, that didn't rule out them gifting some slots to smaller races subservient to them. Just as the god race expert finished speaking, an indifferent voice drifted through the void. "Your god race moves fast indeed, locking down the western gates so quickly..." The speaker then added lazily, "Since the god race has spoken, I'll add a word of my own. The 810 southern gates belong to the demon race. No other living being may set foot there!" "The 810 northern gates belong to the immortal race!" "The 810 eastern gates are claimed by the human race..." The first three declarations went unchallenged, but the moment the human claim was made, a powerhouse in the void barked coldly, "Since when did the human race get to claim all the eastern gates? Of the 810 eastern gates, humanity gets 300, the dragon race gets 300, and the rest will be divided equally among the top hundred races!" "..." Su Yu was still somewhat dazed, but hearing this, annoyance flared within him. Why couldn't humanity claim 810 gates? The gods, immortals, and demons each took an entire cardinal direction. Yet the moment humanity spoke, they were instantly shot down! Su Yu felt a surge of anger, but in the next moment, his frustration turned to gloom. Humanity... had backed down. The human speaker from before chuckled. "Fine, then 400 eastern gates shall belong to humanity. As for the rest... everyone else can split them!" The expert who had contested him previously scoffed coldly, "Does humanity even deserve 400?" The human powerhouse chuckled again. "I represent War God Hall, not Quest Realm... These 400 belong to War God Hall. If Quest Realm wants some, they can come fight for them themselves! If you're dissatisfied, King Daqin and the others will pay you a visit! Furthermore, don't waste your breath on me—I'm merely speaking on behalf of the Invincibles; I am no Invincible myself. This is just an initial division. When the day of opening truly arrives, everyone will still have to rely on their own capabilities!" In the void, powerful figures continued exchanging words. Meanwhile, the onlookers in the city merely watched the spectacle unfold. It was playing out yet again! Every ten years, this same drama repeated itself. Su Yu, however, cared little for the spectacle itself. What bothered him was humanity's internal situation. War God Hall was claiming slots independently, so what about Quest Realm? Was humanity divided even here on the All-Heavens Battlefield? Su Yu was utterly speechless! Never mind. It was none of his business. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were making fools of themselves before everyone else! War God Hall and Quest Realm were the two great holy lands of humanity. The immortals, gods, and demons presented a united front at this moment, yet humanity insisted on dividing their claims. And from the look of it, no one found this strange. Clearly, this division was nothing new! *Internal squabbling spilling all the way onto the All-Heavens Battlefield...* Su Yu cursed inwardly. What an utter disgrace! Deep down, he still harbored a faint glimmer of hope that this might just be a smokescreen—that the two holy lands were merely putting on a show to confuse their enemies... Yet on second thought, to hell with that idea! They were most likely truly at each other's throats! Before Star Universe Mansion had even opened, humanity's momentum was already diminished. Not only that, but right upon entering the city, an embarrassing display of human disunity had unfolded under the watchful eyes of every onlooker... Su Yu was at a loss for words! He didn't know what the Invincibles were thinking. All he knew was that humanity had a problem—a severe one. So severe that despite being an overlord of the east with numerous Invincibles, humanity ended up receiving fewer slots than the other powerful races. Worse still, while no one dared contradict the gods or demons, humanity had to haggle over their share like merchants, losing all dignity! No matter how much Su Yu resented certain individuals back in the Human Realm, upon arriving at the All-Heavens Battlefield and witnessing the myriad races and the misery of the smaller clans, he had still harbored a degree of pride in humanity's strength. *Look, my human race is strong!* *We have many Invincibles!* *We are the overlords of the east!* Yet now... he felt thoroughly brought back to reality. He had overestimated humanity. Compared to the truly dominant races, humanity was simply inferior. The gods, demons, and immortals stood above them, and even the dragons dared challenge them openly. People were accustomed to lumping humans, gods, immortals, and demons together, but in truth, gods, immortals, and demons were first-tier. Humans, dragons, and ancient races were second-tier. The top hundred races were third-tier, and those outside the top hundred didn't even make the cut. Humanity was merely a second-tier race. The disparity was jarring. Su Yu felt a pang of disappointment and gloom. Back in the Human Realm, hearing others talk had filled him with fervor—tales of Great Xia Prefecture sending gods and demons fleeing in terror, of Great Qin Prefecture slaughtering immortal maidens, of the various prefectures suppressing the myriad races! Yet upon arriving here, he realized reality wasn't nearly so glorious. The great races like the gods, demons, and immortals simply didn't want a total fallout with humanity right now to avoid heavy losses. In their bones, they still viewed themselves as superior. They were merely biding their time for the right opportunity! Humanity, on the other hand, was struggling for survival. For example, when those races wanted to kill Su Yu, not a single human stood up for him. Because multiple great races wanted him dead, humanity swallowed its tongue. Yet if an Invincible human dared attempt to kill Moduona? The demon race would erupt in an instant! If geniuses died in mutual battle, so be it, but let an Invincible try touching him! That was the overbearing dominance of the demon race! The god and immortal races were much the same. Even the dragon race commanded more respect across the myriad races than humanity did, because dragons fiercely protected their own. Only humanity failed to do so. At this moment, Su Yu felt dispirited and empty. Hearing a human powerhouse speak on behalf of War God Hall, get shot down by a rival powerhouse, and fail to put up a fierce fight left him deeply disheartened. Of course, he recognized that humanity's overall strength was inferior. And to make matters worse, despite being weaker, they were still plagued by internal strife... They deserved to be bullied! Su Yu cursed inwardly! Served them right! Not only that, they had even produced an Invincible traitor. They deserved to lose face among the myriad races! ... While Su Yu was lost in these thoughts, inside a high-rise within the city, an entire floor had been rented out. Sipping tea, Zhu Guangshen chuckled. "Who was that from War God Hall just now?" An Ying quickly replied, "Jin Shili of War God Hall!" "The one from Great Jin Prefecture?" "Yes!" Nodding slightly, Zhu Guangshen let out a soft sigh and smiled. "That fellow is rather soft-tempered. Good thing it wasn't Xia Longwu or Qin Zhen who came. Otherwise, a fight would have broken out right then and there!" The Heavenly Dao Army commander remarked indifferently, "It's not that he's soft; he simply lacks the strength of those two. Moreover... Quest Realm's recent attitude has been ambiguous. They didn't even send anyone this time..." "What about me?" Zhu Guangshen chuckled. "I am one of the nine family heads of Quest Realm. How can you say no one came?" "..." The others were stunned. Zhu Guangshen chuckled, paying them no mind. Waiting until the voices in the sky had quieted down, he spoke up. His voice was quite loud as he laughed, "Human Civilization Masters claim 200 slots—Quest Realm demands it! Don't refuse, and don't take it up with me; I won't care. It's the intent of King Dazhou and the others. Go argue with King Dazhou!" Having tossed out those words, he paid no further attention. Nothing to do with me! An Ying looked at him in surprise. "Your Highness, Quest Realm asked you to secure these slots? Why didn't anyone else come..." "I just said it casually." Zhu Guangshen waved it off nonchalantly. "Even if word reaches King Dazhou's ears, what of it? If Quest Realm didn't ask for slots, do you think War God Hall would share? I demanded two hundred; would King Dazhou think that's too much?" "Besides, whether we can actually get that many is another matter. What's the harm in speaking up?" He offered a simple, honest-looking smile. *I was just talking! Put on a good show even if you lose!* As for King Dazhou and the rest finding out, let them. He was one of the nine family heads. Since no one else from Quest Realm showed up, he stepped up to make a statement and demand 200 slots. Who could fault him for that? Wouldn't they fear being spurned by every Civilization Master? ... Down below, Su Yu heard that voice as well. He was somewhat surprised! The voice sounded familiar. He had seen Zhu Guangshen before. Realizing who it was, he let out a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat comforted. Fortunately, someone from Great Ming Prefecture had come—Zhu Tiandao's eldest son was here. Speaking on behalf of Quest Realm, he had demanded 200 slots. Even though the combined total was still less than what the other major races took, claiming 600 slots in total... whether they could actually secure them or not, it salvaged a bit of face. They just hadn't been able to assert that the east belonged entirely to humanity without facing contestation. Lacking confidence! The person from War God Hall had tried earlier, only to get slapped in the face. Su Yu shook his head in resignation at the embarrassment. Around Su Yu, members of the smaller races paid little heed to the human dispute and began chattering among themselves. "Monopolized again! Sigh, life is too hard for the small races. It seems we can only fight for the remaining gates and the special passage!" "They staked their claims so early this year, leaving us no hope at all!" "Isn't it like this every time? Don't worry, when the time comes, the other races will force humanity to yield some slots anyway. Humanity won't keep 600; managing three or four hundred will already be impressive!" "Don't forget, there are also the dragons, the ancient races, and the top hundred races... It's still brutally difficult!" "..." Everyone conversed in hushed, earnest tones. Then, Su Yu overheard someone say, "I heard that entering through the special passage with an ancient city token drastically increases your chances. I wonder if anyone is selling ancient city tokens and what the price is." "There are some, but the price is exorbitant. The closer it gets, the harder a token is to come by!" "..." Ancient city tokens? Su Yu's expression turned peculiar. *I have those!* Not only did he have them, he had plenty. Of course, none were extraordinarily high-tier; the best he had only granted access to the sixteenth ring. Nothing amazing. Teacher Liu seemed to have fled with a few better ones after slaughtering numerous Sun Moon dead spirits. Su Yu hadn't asked him about it. An ancient city token could grant entry to the special passage? Could the true purpose of ancient city tokens be to allow passage through that special route? Su Yu didn't know the specifics, but he could ask around later. Judging by the conversation, plenty of people knew about it. That made sense; Nine Stars City hosted this event once every decade, and ten years was merely the blink of an eye for many experts. Some powerhouses had likely been here during the previous gathering and had never left. *Zhu Guangshen is here...* Putting those thoughts aside, Su Yu considered the man's presence. Wasn't he supposed to be at Quest Realm? Why had he come here this time? Was it for Star Universe Mansion, or did it have something to do with Su Yu? Could it be that he intended to rescue him? It would be pointless! Without sufficient human Invincibles stepping forward to deter the surrounding races, what good could Great Ming Prefecture do alone? Would King Daming personally step forward? Even that wouldn't suffice! What could a single Invincible accomplish? Su Yu sighed inwardly. He would remember Great Ming Prefecture's kindness. If Zhu Guangshen hadn't come for him, so be it. But if he had... he had better leave soon! There was no need to drag Great Ming Prefecture into this mess! If Su Yu truly wanted to seek help, he would have left with An Ying and the others last time. The reason he hadn't was precisely to avoid implicating them. Su Yu was pragmatic, but deep down, he retained a shred of street loyalty. Treat me well, and I will treat you well! Treat me poorly, and I will treat you even worse! *This won't disrupt my plans.* Casting those thoughts aside, he resolved to buy two rankings first, then seek an opportunity to capture Tianduo! The plan had to proceed! As for the rest—whether humanity was weak, whether a major crisis loomed, whether internal strife tore them apart... what did any of that have to do with him? Up to this point, aside from Great Ming Prefecture, hardly anyone among humanity had stood up for him. Oh, someone from Great Xia Prefecture had come as well—Principal Zheng. Great Ming, Great Xia... As for Great Qin Prefecture, their stance remained unclear. As for the other prefectures and other Invincibles, Su Yu had felt neither preferential treatment nor any desire to protect him. Nor did he need it! *Once I possess the strength, I will repay ten times over anyone who helps me today. As for the rest... what do they matter to me!* Su Yu stopped dwelling on others. Even if humanity were truly annihilated, at worst, he would find a small realm and flee there with his father and teachers. The myriad realms were vast; hiding away in some minor realm would suffice. ... With stubborn obstinacy, Su Yu pushed all distractions aside. At present, Su Yu's attitude toward humanity was little different from his attitude toward the myriad races. He was no longer that hot-blooded youth of the past! He had been disappointed time and time again! Especially when Zhu Tiandao told him... humanity wasn't lacking in Many Character Civilization Masters. That was when Su Yu realized: you might think you're important, but in truth, you don't amount to a fart! Stepping into Heaven Hunting Pavilion, Su Yu got straight to the point. "A copy of the Dao Attainment Ranking!" "One hundred drops of yuan qi liquid!" "..." Damn it, what a rip-off! Heaven Hunting Pavilion was an utter money pit! Sooner or later, he would take back every drop they fleeced from him! Without wasting words, Su Yu scrounged around. Instead of paying entirely in yuan qi liquid, he supplemented it with a few soaring-stage corpses and casually gathered materials to make up the value of one hundred drops. He was poor! Soon, Su Yu received a ranking scroll—a crude, cheaply made one! The Dao Attainment Ranking! The name sounded grand, but the materials used to craft it were trash, utterly unworthy of the title. The front cover provided a brief explanation: *The powerhouses of the myriad races are exceedingly numerous. This ranking represents solely the opinion of a single entity. The recorded powerhouses may not be exhaustive, as some reside within minor realms. The rankings are for reference only, offering an estimation of Dao attainment probability based on brief combat records and past appearances on the Heaven Hunting Ranking.* *A higher rank indicates a greater probability of successfully attaining the Dao, as well as greater strength!* *First: Tianzhou, Tianyuan race.* *Second: Changhe, Fate race.* *Third: Kongkong, Ancient Spatial Beast race.* *Fourth: Jiuyue, Ancient Iron-Eating race.* *Fifth: Xia Longwu, human race.* *...* Su Yu was exceedingly surprised. The information was minimalist—no elaborate descriptions, just a name and a race. Xia Longwu was ranked fifth! The ones ahead of him were not the gods or demons Su Yu had expected, but several ancient races—even someone from the Ancient Iron-Eating race was present. Su Yu wasn't too surprised that Xia Longwu wasn't ranked first. But were those ahead of him all on the verge of attaining the Dao? Furthermore, the Tianyuan race actually had an expert about to attain the Dao, and ranked first at that. Did this mean he was a quasi-Invincible? Reading on, the ranking listed only a hundred names. He spotted another familiar name: Zhou Polong, human race, ranked 97th. Then came the final name, equally familiar: Qin Zhen, human race, ranked 100th. Out of a hundred names, humanity held merely three. The highest was Xia Longwu in fifth place. The other two were positioned at the very bottom. As for the other 97 spots, immortals, demons, and gods weren't overly numerous. Instead, quite a few experts from smaller races and ancient races appeared. Su Yu fell into contemplation, and after a moment, he understood and sighed! It made sense! This All-Heavens Myriad Treasures Building was likely run by the gods and demons themselves. They probably hadn't recorded whoever among their own races was preparing to attain the Dao. The few humans listed were those universally known to be nearing Dao attainment. As for Zhu Tiandao... sure enough, comforting Su Yu's expectations, Old Zhu wasn't on the list. Perhaps if they expanded the list by 900 names to 1,000, Old Zhu might show up. No presence at all! Xia Longwu being ranked fifth felt inflated even to Su Yu—it was likely intentional. They wanted to bait and kill Xia Longwu! Furthermore, Tianzhou of the Tianyuan race being ranked first wasn't necessarily a good thing either. Additionally, Gu Shan, the expert riding the giant eagle earlier, was indeed on the list, ranked near the bottom—sharing the neighborhood with Qin Zhen at 99th. In that sense, Gu Shan riding a third-stage Sun Moon giant eagle wasn't all that impressive; after all, the mount of Great Xia's second-generation manor head had possessed late-stage Sun Moon strength, and it was a dragon. This Gu Shan didn't have that much clout! This list was mostly just for entertainment. Arriving at the All-Heavens Myriad Treasures Building, Su Yu spent the remaining miscellaneous items on him, trading away all sorts of odds and ends to purchase the latest Heaven Hunting Ranking. Sure enough, the rankings had undergone several shifts. The top three of the Heaven Ranking remained unchanged, but Dao Cheng had fallen. Ming Yue of the Underworld race had surged to fourth, Xuan Wuji was fifth, and Dao Cheng had dropped to sixth. From the looks of it, if he didn't produce combat achievements soon, he might fall even further. Meanwhile, Foutuling had climbed to fifth on the Earth Ranking. Somewhat unexpectedly, first place on the Yellow Ranking was actually Wu Lan. Setting that aside... Su Yu spotted another name that was startlingly low-profile: 359th on the Yellow Ranking, Liu Hong. "..." He froze in disbelief! Liu Hong? A shared name? Or was it truly Liu Hong from Great Xia Prefecture? Don't joke around! Could that fellow make the ranking? This was the ranking of the myriad races across the heavens! Su Yu himself, an Earth armamentsmith, had barely squeezed into 360th place. What qualifications did Liu Hong have to make the Heaven Hunting Ranking? Battle record: killed a fifth-stage Lingyun. Are you kidding? Liu Hong was only at the second stage of Lingyun! He killed someone three stages above him? Liu Hong's age wasn't particularly old—just 30, or was it 29? Su Yu couldn't recall! At that age, killing someone three stages higher did indeed grant hope of making the list. Had he been older, he wouldn't have stood a chance. "Liu Hong..." Su Yu checked—he was indeed listed as being from Great Xia Prefecture. A coincidence of identical name and surname in Great Xia Prefecture? Hardly likely! Then it was almost certainly the Liu Hong he had in mind! *Holy crap, when I left, that guy was busy swindling people. How did he end up on the ranking?* He hadn't been there last time! That meant he had made the list recently! Had that fellow come to the All-Heavens Battlefield as well? *Could it be... his scam was discovered, and he fled here while being hunted down?* Su Yu strongly suspected it! Liu Hong was by no means the type to take reckless risks. In Su Yu's eyes, that fellow was cautious to an absurd degree. Who knew where he had found the nerve last time to swindle the descendants of Invincibles! In addition, another genius had made the list. Third on the Mystic Ranking: Shan Xiong! First-stage Lingyun. Battle record: slew a seventh-stage Lingyun. Shan Xiong had been on the list before, but only on the Yellow Ranking. This indicated Shan Xiong had arrived recently as well, fighting his way up to third on the Mystic Ranking. He wasn't old either! A battle record didn't tell the whole story—it could be fabricated or concealed. Placing him third on the Mystic Ranking meant this fellow possessed immense strength and could jump several cultivation stages. "One by one, they've all rushed over!" Su Yu smiled. There were quite a few humans on the list. Across the 630 slots, humanity had over twenty—nearly thirty geniuses on the rankings. That was actually not a low number. Still, it was fewer compared to the gods and demons. No matter; things would only get interesting with everyone here! "Next step: capture someone!" Su Yu made up his mind. Ignoring the others, he would first investigate Tianduo's whereabouts. *Find Tianduo, capture him, and then... begin leading people on an expedition to kill others... No, no need for an expedition. I just need to find a populated area, deliberately shatter space, and let a few people escape—that would be natural. Leading people on an expedition would seem suspicious...* Refining his plan step by step, Su Yu began walking deeper into the city. Activating the resonance jade, he prepared to search. He was familiar with Tianduo, meaning he could track him using the resonance jade. This was a function modified by Hu Qi—different individuals showed distinct light dots. Perhaps he could locate Tianduo directly. The demon was currently staying at the Demon Embassy. ... Inside the Demon Embassy. Tianduo had just returned. Over the past few days, he had clashed continuously with various foes—such as that fellow Huang Teng, who insisted on provoking the Blood Fire Demon race and was currently being pursued by them. He had also sought out Qin Fang. Ultimately, he proved inferior, taking a spear thrust through the arm. Fortunately, he fled quickly; otherwise, he might have perished at Qin Fang's hands. Having stepped into the seventh stage of Lingyun, Qin Fang was considerably stronger than before. After his yuan qi underwent another transformation, that fellow had become even more formidable! Tianduo had also fought Shizun. He had expected to win, yet they only fought to a draw. He had exchanged blows with numerous geniuses, even encountering someone ranked twelfth on the Heaven Ranking. He had taken a punch that fractured his bones; luckily, Moduona happened to pass by, causing the attacker to flee. Otherwise, Tianduo would have been beaten to death! Yet all of this had forged his renown, allowing him to fight his way to twelfth on the Earth Ranking. At the seventh stage of Lingyun! Of course, compared to Moduona at the same realm, there was no contest. Even so, he was currently the highest-ranked genius of the Primordial Demon race on the Earth Ranking! Did the ancestor still pay him no mind? Was this still not enough? He gave a self-deprecating smile! Perhaps it truly wasn't. His clan was immense. The ancestor had attained the Dao over five thousand years ago, spawning countless descendants. By Tianduo's generation, the bloodline had long branched out into a colossal family. He was the strongest of his generation, but the preceding generation already had Shanhai cultivators. And above that, Sun Moon powerhouses. No matter how talented he was, he remained at the Lingyun Realm, capable only of battling early-stage Shanhai cultivators. To the ancestor, one or two such geniuses over the millennia were nothing remarkable—unless he reached the Heaven Ranking. "I will keep growing stronger!" Tianduo vowed silently. He would! Coming to the All-Heavens Battlefield, he carried a resolve prepared for death and an unyielding will! He would continue growing stronger until the ancestor could no longer ignore him. He would become powerful enough that Moduona could no longer overlook him! "Next target... Foutuling!" Tianduo let out a cold snort. That fellow had actually shown up here and slain a fifth-stage Shanhai, taking everyone by surprise and instantly leaping to fifth on the Earth Ranking. Tianduo had fought Huang Teng, who held fourth on the Earth Ranking, and their strength was comparable—though Huang Teng was only at the sixth stage of Lingyun. He had also fought Qin Fang, ranked third, who was slightly stronger than him. As for Foutuling in fifth place... Tianduo wanted to test the waters! "Moduona said he achieved the unification of the five elements. Has he truly united them?" Tianduo reviewed Foutuling's information repeatedly. He had contacted Heaven Hunting Pavilion and purchased Foutuling's dossier. Geniuses clashed and campaigned not through blind slaughter, but after thoroughly investigating the opponent's background and assessing their strength. "Foutuling..." Tianduo muttered to himself. *You're next!* That fellow's tracks were difficult to discern right now, but no matter. He would find him! ... Su Yu spent several consecutive days wandering Nine Stars City. He gathered all kinds of intelligence, including which Sun Moon cultivators from various races had arrived, their strength, where they resided... As well as whether anyone had obtained valuable treasures recently and how they sold them. Meanwhile, Tianduo's movements were hardly a secret. Su Yu tracked him down! Word had recently spread that Tianduo wanted to challenge Foutuling. Tianduo had leaked the rumor himself, clearly hoping to draw Foutuling out to seek him. Su Yu's thoughts stirred. Foutuling, Earth Spirit race... *I can disguise myself as Foutuling as well!* *Perhaps I can assume Foutuling's appearance, surface in the sea, and lure Tianduo over!* As for the real Foutuling, that fellow was exceedingly crafty. With Tianduo searching for him, there was no chance he would show his face! The only danger was if Foutuling learned of this and deduced that someone was impersonating him. That would be troublesome! *It would be best to lure Foutuling over as well... But if that guy brings several Sun Moon experts to surround and kill me, that would be disastrous!* Su Yu sighed. A massive headache! Failing to eliminate Foutuling earlier had left behind considerable trouble. Even if Foutuling didn't dare show himself, if Su Yu impersonated him, captured Tianduo, claimed Tianduo had acquired a treasure, and began auctioning it, wouldn't Foutuling overthink things? Damn it! He might very well connect the dots! That would be fatal! *After capturing Tianduo, perhaps I can negotiate with Foutuling...* Su Yu's eyes flickered. He would cross that bridge when he came to it. First, capture Tianduo! ... Soon, Su Yu left the city. After scouting for several days, he assumed Foutuling's appearance in a sparsely populated sea area. He clashed briefly with a demon beast over the waters, then swiftly vanished from the spot. Before long, news of Foutuling's appearance reached Tianduo's ears. A moment later, Tianduo departed the city! He was going to find Foutuling! ... Meanwhile. Inside the only ancient city within Nine Stars City. Foutuling was cursing under his breath as he recovered his yuan qi. Over the past few days, that stone man had sniffed him out, forcing them into several skirmishes. Annoyed and left with no choice, Foutuling had hidden himself away inside the ancient city. The ancient city was still the safest place! Of course, provided that bastard Su Yu didn't show up! Never mind. His luck had been rotten lately, and that scoundrel Su Yu seemed to be searching for him as well. Better to hide for now. Staying in an ancient house for a few days might even yield some benefits. A genius like him could readily reap advantages from an ancient house. As for the outside world, let them wait ten days to half a month first! ... At the same time. Shizun also received word that Foutuling had appeared in the sea area. His stone head felt slightly numb. In the sea? *He runs fast!* *I pursued him all the way to the ancient city, thinking he had holed up inside.* *To think he fled to the sea instead!* *In that case... I'll hunt you down. Did you think the ocean could stop me?* *Foutuling, you underestimate me too much!* *I am a stone man who fears no water!* Spinning around, he gave chase toward the sea. Foutuling had surely used an illusion to deceive him; no wonder he had gone silent these past two days—the damned dirt clod had fled to the open sea! At this moment, Foutuling had no idea that the stone man pursuing him had already left. Carefree and relaxed, Foutuling settled into an ancient house, nursing his wounds while waiting for fortune to present itself. As for Su Yu, he had already laid an inescapable net, waiting patiently for Tianduo to bite the hook and officially kick off his grand deception.