I'm Terrified!

At the entrance of the academy. Bai Feng snapped, "What are you standing around daydreaming for? Get in!" Su Yu nodded and said nothing. Following Bai Feng through the academy's main gate, there was no inspection. Lately, the academy seemed to have grown lax; in the past, outsiders had always been subject to inspection upon entry. Yet Su Yu received no such treatment. He couldn't tell whether Bai Feng's status had risen or the entire academy was slacking off. Once they reached the academy, Wu Yuehua stopped following them. It was just Bai Feng and Su Yu. Dawn had just broken, and there were not many people in the academy. Even so, one could see some students rising with the cock's crow to read early. After all, the academy still had people devoted to their studies and research. Su Yu glanced around for a moment without lingering. Bai Feng ignored it all, saying as he walked, "I'll arrange for you to stay in the Temperament Nurturing Garden. Scram in three days." "No, I want to stay at the research center." "Nonsense!" Bai Feng fumed. "You think you can just waltz into the research center?" "Su Yu lives at the research center." "He even told you that?" Bai Feng was surprised, but quickly snapped, "He's a student of our Multiple Character Faction, so of course he can stay there! You can't!" "Then I'll join the Multiple Character Faction too." "You want to die?" Bai Feng turned his head, glaring at him with a cold, fierce gaze. "If you stir up any more trouble for me, I won't go easy on you!" Su Yu curled his lip. "Forget it, then." *So fierce! I just wanted to take a look. Really, why be so fierce?* "Then I want to pay Director Hong a visit." "He has no time for you. Who do you think you are? Do you have the qualifications to visit him?" Bai Feng mocked, "Relying on your reputation as one of the Eight Steeds of Tiandu Prefecture? What a joke! In this academy, anyone pulled off the street could thrash you! Forget the Tengkong Realm—even some Wanshi cultivators could beat you to a pulp!" "I don't believe it!" "Fine. Later, I'll find someone at the ninth stage of Wanshi to spar with you and see if he beats you to death!" "Zhou Hao?" "Huh?" Bai Feng froze for a moment. "You know him?" "I've heard of him. He's only at the ninth stage of Wanshi? Wasn't it said he'd already reached the Tengkong Realm?" Bai Feng frowned as he looked at him. Ever since arriving at the academy, this cousin of his seemed somewhat different, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Hearing this, he frowned and said, "No. Later on, he insisted on opening more apertures, wanting to imitate that student of mine by opening hundreds of apertures. He's held off on breaking through and is still stuck at the ninth stage of Wanshi." Su Yu nodded. Zhou Hao certainly didn't lack ambition. At this moment, names flickered through his memory one by one. Truth be told, not that much time had passed. It had been less than a year since he left the Great Xia Prefecture; he had departed at the end of last year, and it was now October, barely ten months later. Yet with some people, it felt as though they had parted ages ago. The feral Zhou Hao, the saintly Wan Mingze... Speaking of Wan Mingze, the last time Su Yu had heard news of him was a long time ago, shortly after Su Yu emerged from the Pavilion of a Hundred Dao and Wu Lan told him. She had told Su Yu that Wan Mingze was gone. Wan Mingze had established a so-called Youth Allied Army and led quite a few people away, including Jiang Mu and Zhan Hai from the Top 100 Rankings, as well as Hu Wensheng's eldest disciple, Guo Shengquan, whom Su Yu had only ever heard of by reputation. All of them had followed Wan Mingze. Hu Qiusheng, who was quite close to Wan Mingze, had not followed. There was also Old Zheng's grandson Zheng Yunhui, Marquis Xia's granddaughter Xia Chan, and Fatty Jia—Jia Mingzhen—whose situation remained unknown... Last time he came, Su Yu had not felt so sentimental, because he had come for Chen Yong's affairs. This time, however, stirred deeper feelings. Those people felt so distant now, yet in reality, they were not far away at all. "Cousin, what's been going on with that Wan Mingze lately?" Su Yu asked. Bai Feng was rather surprised. "You actually care about outside affairs? Wan Mingze... that kid isn't bad. His Youth Allied Army has grown quite a bit. They now have around a hundred people from various prefectures, all from the younger generation. Lately, they've been fighting across several ocean territories to hone their skills. Soon, they'll head to the All-Heavens Battlefield to join the war." *Already over a hundred people?* Strictly speaking, that was a small number. But the stated purpose of the Youth Allied Army... was genuinely naive, though it had to be said it was idealistic and noble. Fight for the peace of the human race! Fight for a unified human front! That was the Youth Allied Army. As for Wan Mingze, Xia Huyou had said long ago that the man was either a saint or a hypocrite. Su Yu didn't care either way; Wan Mingze's ideals were undeniably magnificent. Even if it was merely an act, it was a magnificent one! Not to mention that Wan Mingze had started with practically nothing, yet on an ideal alone, he had gathered over a hundred people—quite an achievement. Su Yu had once suspected there was an Invincible backing him. Perhaps he was a disciple of some Invincible expert, though who knew if that was true. "So how have they performed in the oceans?" "Tremendous combat power!" Bai Feng praised generously. "A group of young people with great prospects and ambition! They're better than us. We have ideals, but we can't realize them. They, at least, are out there realizing theirs. Wan Mingze and his group have all entered the Tengkong Realm, and they've carved out quite a name for themselves in the oceans." With a sigh, he added, "Speaking of which, the young people of this generation are all quite impressive!" Then he said, "You should learn from them!" "I know." Bai Feng ignored him. *You know jack shit. If you knew, you wouldn't have come here.* Leading him toward the Temperament Nurturing Garden, Bai Feng soon said, "Stay here on your own. If anything comes up, you can find me at the Wen Tan Research Center. I'll see if any strong merchant caravans are heading that way soon and arrange for you to join them." Su Yu said nothing. After walking a bit further, Su Yu spoke up: "I want to stay in a standalone villa." "No money!" "I'll pay for it myself!" "Then suit yourself!" As they talked, Su Yu was in no rush to reveal his identity. Revealing it now might not be a good thing. In truth, he wanted to see a certain person first. Truth be told, the moment he stepped inside, he felt as if someone might have their eyes on him. It was a very distinct sensation! Someone inside the Xiuxin Pavilion was watching him. Once he met that person, everything else could wait. Soon, Bai Feng arranged his lodgings. It was indeed a detached villa, but Su Yu had to pay for it himself. Naturally, Su Yu didn't care about such petty pocket change. He might lack anything, but he certainly didn't lack money! When it came to Yuan Qi Liquid, he measured it by the barrel! Shortly after, Bai Feng left. He had plenty to attend to; had it not been for this useless cousin, he wouldn't have come out of secluded cultivation in the first place. *** Bai Feng departed. Su Yu did not stay cooped up in the house either; he walked outside, strolling through the campus alone. Things had changed. There were more experts now! When Su Yu first entered the Great Xia Civilization Academy, there had been 42 Elders—36 in the Shanhai Realm and 6 in the Lingyun Realm. Later, many had died. On the Single Character Faction's side, Yu Hong, Sun Xiang, and the rest were dead. Some Elders were in seclusion, while others had gone to the All-Heavens Battlefield. In reality, the academy should only have had around thirty Shanhai experts right now. That was already a formidable force! Yet as Su Yu walked and paused, the detection jade displayed a startling number of light dots—especially when he reached the former Myriad Races Academy, where the number was frightfully high. More than thirty Shanhai experts! Even six in the Sun Moon Realm! The Great Xia Prefecture recruited myriad races students who had Dao protectors, but Su Yu hadn't expected so many protectors to arrive. With so many Shanhai and Sun Moon experts, could the Great Xia Civilization Academy hold up? Well, that wasn't even all. When he walked over to another newly built compound, he sensed even more strong signatures. Dozens of Shanhai cultivators, and seven or eight in the Sun Moon Realm. In this moderately sized academy, over a dozen Sun Moon experts had gathered! Were these the Dao protectors for the newly recruited Multiple Character students? Musing over this, Su Yu continued to wander. Over a dozen Sun Moon experts, dozens or even nearly a hundred Shanhai cultivators—were it not lacking mid-to-late stage Sun Moon experts, such a force could rival a respectable foreign race! With his detection jade in hand, Su Yu felt like heading over to Xiuxin Pavilion to check on Manor Head Wan's strength! Soon, he reached the area surrounding Xiuxin Pavilion. He didn't draw too close, staying within a thousand meters. Su Yu kept silent. On the detection jade... nobody! That's right, not a single light dot. Or rather, there were dots elsewhere, but at the specific location where he knew Wan Tiansheng resided, there was nobody. Su Yu's detection jade had been forged by Zhao Tianbing and later modified by Hu Qi—refined by two Earth armament masters, its performance was exceptional. It could detect even eighth- or ninth-stage Sun Moon experts among the gods and demons. Yet right now, it didn't register a trace. Su Yu took a deep breath. Was it due to a special technique, or some other reason? He looked up at Xiuxin Pavilion. It stood 36 stories tall, and Wan Tiansheng supposedly lived on the 35th floor. As for why he didn't live on the 36th floor, there were two stories: one was that Ye Batian had lived there back in the day, so Wan Tiansheng chose not to; the other was that one day, a massive explosion blew through the top floor, forcing Wan Tiansheng to relocate down to the 35th. Of course, that hardly mattered. But just as Su Yu looked up at Xiuxin Pavilion, he recoiled in fright. At that very moment, from the 35th floor, a pair of pitch-black eyes—like a demon's—was staring back down at him! Su Yu jumped out of his skin. Holy crap! In broad daylight, why scare me like that?! In the middle of the day, it was utterly creepy! He thought he was peeking at someone, only to discover that someone had already been peeping at him first. That chilling gaze thoroughly spooked him. He immediately dropped his head and swallowed hard. Su Yu possessed immense combat power now, yet looking into those eyes, he still felt a tremor of fear. Was that Manor Head Wan? What a horrifying sensation! Just how powerful was he? As Su Yu was pondering, a faint, eerie voice drifted into his ear: "Now that you've arrived, come in and sit a while." Su Yu's heart stirred! Sure enough, I didn't fool him! And it certainly wasn't due to mere cultivation realm! Even King Daming hadn't seen through him at first glance, unless the man had been constantly scanning him beforehand. Thinking of something, Su Yu looked up again. The eyes were already gone. Su Yu wasn't truly familiar with Wan Tiansheng—not at all, in fact. The man was far too mysterious. From start to finish, his only formal meeting had been when he visited Xiuxin Pavilion to see Wan Tiansheng in the past; after that, he had only ever heard his voice without catching sight of him. Taking a deep breath, Su Yu walked toward Xiuxin Pavilion. As he walked, his silhouette vanished. There were guards at the entrance of Xiuxin Pavilion, but Su Yu strode straight past without alerting anyone. Bypassing the guards entirely, he ascended the stairs floor by floor. As he walked, just like his first time here, Su Yu began seeing visions again. It felt as though he had re-entered the academy; the previous time, he had seen many illusions here, watching himself slaughtering, watching Bai Feng and the others slaughtering. This time, he saw it once more! He was still killing! Within the academy, blood flowed like rivers, and corpses littered the grounds! Su Yu's gaze shifted slightly. With a soft snort, the illusions shattered! He continued forward, and another scene materialized. It was the same slaughter, but the setting was no longer the academy—it was somewhere else, and he was still killing... Su Yu frowned, ignored it, and kept walking. After walking for a while, he stepped clear of it all. A faint light appeared before him, revealing a door. The 35th floor had arrived. Wan Tiansheng stood with his back turned to him, gazing down over the academy. In a gentle voice, he asked, "Is the outside world exciting?" "Very exciting!" "Last time you came, why didn't you visit?" "I didn't dare." "Didn't dare?" Wan Tiansheng chuckled softly. "You simply didn't want to, didn't you? Did you feel that my past promise—that no one above the Shanhai Realm would dare cause you trouble—turned out to be a joke, and that I was an untrustworthy person who broke his word?" "Manor Head has sharp eyes. You really recognized me long ago!" Su Yu replied calmly, "Did Manor Head leave some mark on me? If there is one, it must be in my heart. Everywhere else has been cleansed by death qi. Manor Head left something behind when you first met me, right?" "You could say that." Su Yu furrowed his brows. "Back during the battle at Starfall Mountain, if Manor Lord Zhu hadn't appeared, would Manor Head have stepped in?" "There are no 'what ifs,' are there?" Wan Tiansheng murmured faintly. "What is in the past belongs to the past! Is there any need to know?" "Right, Manor Head speaks the truth!" Su Yu nodded, then asked, "Just what is Manor Head's true cultivation?" "Whatever you see is what it is. If you cannot see it, then there is no need to know." Su Yu frowned. *Always playing mystical! I've seen plenty of Invincibles, yet you, Old Wan, love acting cryptic and elusive the most.* Wan Tiansheng smiled, then suddenly asked, "Do you know how to attain the Dao and become Invincible?" "I do: by fusing the three-life embodiments into one!" "Then do you know how to capture the three-life embodiments?" "I don't." Wan Tiansheng smiled. "How about I show you?" He turned to look at Su Yu. His eyes were brilliant, yet... faintly glinting with a bone-chilling cold light. "A person's life has a past and a future. There is only one past, but infinite possibilities for the future... The past is unique, the present is ever-changing, and the future is inscrutable..." He smiled, and suddenly reached out toward Su Yu! Su Yu's expression changed, and he threw a punch! Wan Tiansheng's palm was like a sky-covering expanse, supremely calm, catching his fist effortlessly. "Quite a solid fist. Not bad!" Su Yu's face fell! So strong! He felt his fist enveloped by the palm, entirely unable to budge—just like when he faced King Daming. "Don't struggle. Let me take you to see the past and future, to see the world's most mysterious River of Time, to behold this splendid, magnificent world..." A faint laugh sounded, and in the next instant, Su Yu felt dazed. He seemed to have entered another space altogether. *Whoosh, splash...* The sound of rushing water arose. Su Yu's heart shook. Looking up, Wan Tiansheng was right ahead. Still standing with his back turned, Wan Tiansheng chuckled, "Don't move, don't speak. Look upon this splendid, magnificent world. This is the River of Time. Be careful not to fall in; if you fall, you might die!" "Manor Head..." "Don't ask. Just listen. I'll speak when I feel like speaking, and when I don't, I won't." "No..." Su Yu cut in. "Manor Head, why do you keep facing away from me? There's a hole in your robe right over your butt!" "Nonsense!" Wan Tiansheng chuckled. Su Yu was speechless. "It's true!" Wan Tiansheng's figure stiffened slightly. He reached back and felt around casually, then after a long silence, said flatly, "Corrosion from spacetime. Pay it no mind." With that, he turned to face Su Yu. Su Yu was rendered speechless. *Why aren't you keeping your back to me anymore? Did you really think turning your back looked so cool?* At this moment, Su Yu was actually shaken to his core. He looked down beneath his feet at that colossal river. Was this the River of Time? The most mysterious thing in the myriad realms? The very phenomenon one had to touch to attain Dao and become Invincible? He had heard that only top experts at the ninth stage of the Sun Moon Realm could touch, venture into this domain, explore the River of Time, and capture their past and future. Meanwhile, Wan Tiansheng paid him no further attention. Su Yu came to stand level with him. Wan Tiansheng gazed at the river extending into the endless void, smiling. "Walking forward leads to the future; walking backward leads to the past. The future has ten thousand paths, but the past has only one. Which way do you wish to go?" "Whatever you prefer!" Su Yu didn't argue. He had only endless curiosity and bewilderment right now. What was Wan Tiansheng's true strength, and why had he brought him here? "Then let us inspect the past first!" Wan Tiansheng laughed. "My River of Time can only reveal my past. It's quite boring, but I'll try to show you something interesting!" With that, he turned and walked backward. Su Yu quickly followed. The so-called River of Time was far simpler than Su Yu had imagined. It was just a turbid river flowing with subtle sprays and ripples. As he and Wan Tiansheng walked above the water, looking down, they couldn't see much. Wan Tiansheng smiled, "This is your past. Each drop of water is a fragment of past memory. Capturing the past embodiment means dredging up a single drop from this boundless river at a moment you deem powerful, capturing it, and anchoring it with a bearer object to manifest it as your past embodiment!" Su Yu thought for a moment and said, "In a person's past, wouldn't the strongest moment always be the instant right before the present?" "Wrong!" Wan Tiansheng shook his head. "No, definitely not! Let me ask you: were you stronger when detonating Ye Batian's divine character, or are you stronger now?" Su Yu considered it, sheepishly admitting, "Back then was stronger!" "Doesn't that prove it?" Wan Tiansheng said calmly. "You were strongest then. If you capture a past embodiment, it doesn't distinguish external power from your own. That is your past; if you were strong, your past embodiment is strong!" Su Yu nodded, then asked curiously, "Can you capture countless past embodiments?" "No. Once you've captured one, you cannot capture a second. The waters will calm and won't surge..." Su Yu said thoughtfully, "You haven't captured a past embodiment?" "I have not." "What about a future embodiment?" "Nor that." "So you're at the ninth stage of the Sun Moon Realm?" "You could put it that way." Su Yu was surprised. Real or fake? He didn't quite believe it! Old Wan's words couldn't necessarily be taken at face value. Yet looking at the churning waters right now, it truly seemed, as Wan Tiansheng said, that he hadn't captured a past embodiment. Then again, what he said might not be true. But was there any need to deceive him about this? Wan Tiansheng ignored him and kept walking forward. At that moment, a small crest formed. Wan Tiansheng smiled, "A small crest indicates that something unusual occurred at this moment, meaning you might have been at your strongest then! When capturing the past or future, one chooses droplets from the largest waves, the highest spray to capture!" With that, he reached out with his hand! In the next instant, Su Yu's vision blurred, and he found himself inside the academy. A massive hand reached out, and with a booming crash, crushed a person to dust. Su Yu was startled! This... this scene was so familiar! This... was the instant Wan Tiansheng crushed Zheng Yuming to death! And right now, he also saw himself—a weak, fragile version of himself—inside Xiuxin Pavilion. Inside Xiuxin Pavilion was another Wan Tiansheng. And beside Su Yu stood yet another Wan Tiansheng. Like detached bystanders, they watched the scene unfold, observing the Wan Tiansheng in Xiuxin Pavilion make his move with frightening calmness. Beside him, Wan Tiansheng remarked calmly, "This was a recent instance where power fluctuated violently. If you aren't capturing it, do not move and do not trigger a spacetime distortion. The so-called assassination through temporal rewind relies on precisely this method! For instance, right now, if I wished to kill you, I could step out of here and slaughter you back on the arena stage. Of course, the greater probability is that I would die first. Killing through temporal rewind is actually the most difficult; unless pushed to absolute extremes, one might try it, but the far more likely outcome is that even if I killed the past you, you would still be alive. Because in the past, there are tens of thousands of you; you might simply lose the memory of this event..." Su Yu was surprised. He glanced at the Wan Tiansheng inside Xiuxin Pavilion. *What if I beat this Wan Tiansheng to death right now?* Wan Tiansheng paid no mind to his thoughts. Gazing at the figure identical to himself, he smiled, "This is an instant of the past. If you wish to capture it, you step out, merge with him, produce your bearer object, and capture him..." Su Yu nodded. Understood! "This wave isn't large enough!" With those words, the two reappeared above the river. Wan Tiansheng smiled, "This one is uninteresting. Even if captured, it wouldn't be of much use." Su Yu asked, puzzled, "Can Manor Head capture it?" "I can." "Then why don't you..." Wan Tiansheng said flatly, "Why would I capture such a weak past?" "..." Speechless! Su Yu asked quizzically, "Then what kind of past does Manor Head want to capture? The moment you were born?" *Stop kidding!* Wan Tiansheng smiled, "Look a bit more and you'll understand!" With that, he continued walking forward. In the river, waves continued to churn, but none were particularly large—some were even smaller than the one before. As Wan Tiansheng walked, he began panting slightly. "In the past, the further back you travel, the harder it becomes! "The same is true for the future! "Sometimes, you take whatever you can dredge up. Some ninth-stage Sun Moon experts don't care; they scoop at random, and whatever they catch is a gain, allowing them to step into the quasi-Invincible Realm!" "..." Su Yu was rendered speechless. So you're not like that, but rather the type who gets to pick and choose at will? Seriously impressive! Su Yu didn't understand this domain well, but he sensed that navigating the River of Time was definitely no walk in the park! It had to be exceedingly difficult! *** While Wan Tiansheng was guiding Su Yu along the River of Time. Great Ming Prefecture. The Castellan's Residence. King Daming looked toward the north—in the direction of the Great Xia Prefecture—his brows slightly furrowed. Beside him, Zhu Tiandao asked with a chuckle, "Father, what's wrong?" "You didn't sense it?" King Daming turned his head toward his son. Zhu Tiandao gazed in that direction for a while before saying, "No. What happened?" "Someone is traversing the River of Time!" King Daming watched for a while, then hesitated before saying, "Am I the only one who felt it? You had no reaction at all?" "None." "Your cultivation is lacking. You have poor grasp over the past and future!" King Daming murmured, puzzled, "Great Xia Prefecture... Great Xia Prefecture... Who has reached this step? Has Xia Longwu returned? No, could it be... him?" "Wan Tiansheng?" "Perhaps!" King Daming wasn't entirely certain, but Zhu Tiandao nodded. "It very likely is him. Is he about to advance to quasi-Invincible?" Chuckling, he added, "The difficulty of that is no small matter. If you're capturing the past or future, scooping blindly is fine, but trying to pinpoint an ideal moment is unimaginably difficult!" With that, he opened his palm, and a tiny stream as thin as a trickle of urine appeared. Zhu Tiandao beamed, "There aren't many people who can open the River of Time at will like me!" His tone held a hint of pride and smugness. *Dad, impressive, aren't I?* Soon, the river vanished... if one could even call that a river. King Daming nodded slightly. "You're decent enough, but..." *But why did I feel that the river being opened over there was vast and immense?!* Zhu Tiandao asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?" "Nothing!" King Daming still harbored doubts, but soon remarked, "If it is Wan Tiansheng, is he preparing to attain the Dao? Stepping into quasi-Invincible, then seizing the chance to attain the Dao?" "Hard to say. My guess is he might be laying groundwork for what's coming in Nanyuan." Zhu Tiandao smiled and continued, "Let's not dwell on that guy. He's stayed hidden for years, but I suspected long ago that he possessed the strength of a ninth-stage Sun Moon." King Daming nodded. "He and Ye Batian were close friends. Even when Ye Batian was on the verge of attaining the Dao, he frequently went to the Quest Realm to consult him. This Wan Tiansheng is far more talented and formidable than people realize!" Zhu Tiandao laughed. "I've heard people say Wan Tiansheng was the next Xia Chen. Later, when Ye Batian rose to prominence, people stopped talking about it." Xia Chen was the first generation, the founding head of the Great Xia Civilization Academy. King Daming said nothing more, still harboring some doubts. When the River of Time was opened, the disturbance was usually minimal. For a ninth-stage Sun Moon expert, merely opening it demonstrated immense might; being able to dredge up the past or future made one quasi-Invincible. Like Zhu Tiandao's demonstration just now, under normal circumstances, that was how a ninth-stage Sun Moon dredged! You opened the River of Time, and then... reached in to scoop! Your physical body didn't necessarily enter; reaching in with your hand to scoop was sufficient. For an actual person to enter, the opened river had to be vast and stable, and even then, one might not endure for long and could easily become lost within. A standard ninth-stage Sun Moon attaining the Dao would do as Zhu Tiandao just demonstrated: open a crack, grab a single droplet of water, and take whatever came. King Daming put the matter out of mind. Never mind; someone was opening the River of Time, and if you disrupted them and caused it to fail, they'd fight you to the death. *** Meanwhile, Su Yu and Wan Tiansheng continued walking along the vast river. Soon, a large wave surged up. Wan Tiansheng reached out to grasp it, and in the next moment, Su Yu found himself in a familiar place: the All-Heavens Battlefield! *Bang!* Once again, a massive hand blotting out the sky struck down, slapping an incomparably mighty demon god to death with a single strike! Su Yu froze, looking closely. In the next moment, the past Wan Tiansheng appeared—no, not Wan Tiansheng, but a long-bearded old man... Su Yu glanced at the Wan Tiansheng beside him. Wan Tiansheng said indifferently, "A disguise. Essential for traveling. Nothing worth looking at here." In an instant, the two left that scene. Su Yu replayed it in his mind. The disappearing Wan Tiansheng and that slain demon god... no matter how he looked at it, that demon god had possessed at least late-stage Sun Moon strength, yet was slapped to death with a single strike? Holy crap! Besides, hadn't people said this man hadn't left the academy in years? How did he go there? How did he kill it? Su Yu was utterly shocked and bewildered. He continued following Wan Tiansheng. As they walked on, another large wave crested. Wan Tiansheng led him downward again. Soon, Su Yu opened his eyes and saw two figures. Just as he tried to get a clearer look, *bang!*—someone smacked him so hard his head spun. The next instant, Su Yu was back above the River of Time, with Wan Tiansheng beside him. Su Yu's head ached fiercely! Rubbing his head, he looked at Wan Tiansheng. Wan Tiansheng said calmly, "Sometimes when barging into the past, it's easy to run into certain things. Being attacked is not unusual. Be careful." "Wait... Manor Head, I just saw two people, and neither seemed to be you... Maybe you were in disguise, but I saw one person who looked somewhat familiar..." "Familiar? Someone I know might also be someone you know. It's nothing." "Is that so?" Su Yu didn't pursue it, but suspicion lingered in his heart. Just now, he had seen two figures—one was Wan Tiansheng, and the other was... someone who felt very familiar, yet unrecognizable. Had he truly been attacked, or had someone knocked him out of the scene to prevent him from watching? Bizarre! Wan Tiansheng was acting very strange today! Besides, why show me all this? I'm not actually interested in your past. This time, Wan Tiansheng continued forward, traveling for a very long time without stopping for any of the smaller ripples. By now, Wan Tiansheng was panting heavily, as if nearing his limit. Soon, an enormous wave surged into view! A towering, monstrous swell! Wan Tiansheng smiled, "Here it is. Right here. Take a good look. I don't know if it will be of any help to you, but seeing it can't hurt..." Su Yu was startled. At that very moment, he plunged into the wave. And this time, he snapped awake and opened his eyes. This was an ink-black, pitch-dark void. In the next moment, four blazing suns blazed into existence within the void. *Boom!* Though the scene played out in utter silence, Su Yu seemed to hear the thunderous roar. Four figures were engaged in a titanic battle in the void! A golden-armored god-fiend, and an ancient expert holding a staff—from the Tianyuan race! Su Yu recognized him! That ancient expert holding a staff seemed to be of the Tianyuan race. Before he could look closer, two more figures manifested in the void. One of them was... Ye Batian? Su Yu was stunned. Ye Batian? He had seen Ye Batian's portrait in the academy. Incomparably overbearing, truly dominant—wielding a giant greataxe, he cleaved toward that god-fiend with a single strike. As for the other figure, Su Yu looked closely, but the person was thoroughly mysterious, their visage obscured. It all unfolded with blinding speed. The clash erupted instantly, four supreme powerhouses locked in battle across the boundless void, shattering heaven and earth! In the blink of an eye, the void fractured into pieces, and what looked like a nearby minor realm was obliterated in an instant! Su Yu's eyes were dazzled. Time passed—a brief moment, yet it felt like an eternity. A blinding sun flared, and Ye Batian brought his axe down, cleaving that god-fiend clean in half! At the same time, the mysterious figure engaged the Tianyuan expert and was actually suppressing him! Su Yu was shaken to his core. *Wait, Ye Batian died in this battle, but... this isn't right!* Just as the thought crossed his mind, two massive hands suddenly extended from the endless void! One struck toward Ye Batian, and the other toward the mysterious figure! In an instant, *boom!* The mysterious figure was struck from front and behind, their physical body shattered, vanishing on the spot! In the next instant, the Tianyuan expert slammed his staff toward Ye Batian. Besieged by three powerhouses, *boom!* A deafening concussion rippled out—though Su Yu heard no sound, he felt the shockwave... *Crack!* Ye Batian was blasted to pieces! Moments later, a great saber tore through the endless void as an incomparably mighty expert charged onto the scene: King Daxia! The moment King Daxia arrived, everything vanished, leaving only battered wreckage floating in the void. *** Su Yu snapped his eyes open! When he opened them... he was back out of the River of Time. In a daze, Su Yu stared at Wan Tiansheng standing before him with his back turned, and swallowed hard. This was Wan Tiansheng's past! This was *his* past! Su Yu hadn't seen Wan Tiansheng in that battle! Where had Wan Tiansheng been? *Holy shit! Please don't tell me that mysterious figure... was you!* Wan Tiansheng didn't elaborate much, merely remarking in a flat voice, "You saw, didn't you? Traitors truly exist! If not one, then two! Two people struck from the dark. Perhaps one was human and one was from the myriad races, pretending to fight each other while ambushing and murdering Ye Batian at the same time! "Ye Batian was neither arrogant nor reckless; he knew full well he was in grave danger, which was why his friend served as his Dao protector, guarding him closely at his side. But his friend couldn't protect him either. And so... Ye Batian died. In truth, Ye Batian could have succeeded!" Su Yu swallowed. "Well... I think... the two of them could have killed both Invincibles!" "Yes. Had no one intervened, they would have killed them." "But... that..." Su Yu had no idea what to say. His mind was complete mush! Wan Tiansheng murmured, "Showing you this was merely to tell you that when Ye Batian sought to attain the Dao, he still seemed to be missing something. Remember this scene. Look at it closely. You might not understand it today, but that's fine—keep reviewing it in your mind! You will recall it. As your strength grows, you will see different things... Remember: Ye Batian could have succeeded, but I believe only his physical body could have. His Path of Divine Characters showed no sign of successfully attaining the Dao!" "..." Su Yu nodded dumbly, his mind still in a haze. *I understand now!* "Primordial spirit apertures are divided into yang apertures and yin apertures. Opening 360 Yuan apertures, opening 360 divine apertures... perhaps other elements are required in concert to attain the Dao." Su Yu voiced his deduction. Wan Tiansheng mused thoughtfully, "Perhaps. You can try. In addition, foreign divine characters might also play a role." "Yeah." "Go on out, then." "Um... did that mysterious person die?" Wan Tiansheng replied indifferently, "What talk of life or death? It wasn't the true body to begin with, merely a three-life embodiment." "..." *Screw you!* Su Yu was completely astounded. A single three-life embodiment had suppressed that Tianyuan Invincible repeatedly! Today had truly broadened his horizons! Ye Batian had cleaved an Invincible in two with a single axe blow! A mysterious figure, who was merely a powerhouse's three-life embodiment, had nearly slain the Tianyuan Invincible. In the end, three powerhouses had joined forces to kill Ye Batian and, of course, destroyed that mysterious person's embodiment as well. Whose embodiment was it? He didn't ask, but... Su Yu had already largely guessed. He swallowed hard. "Um... Manor Head, I'll be leaving now. You... wouldn't kill me to silence me, would you?" *I'm so scared! Why did you show me this? I'm terrified!* Wan Tiansheng murmured faintly, "Silence you? If you don't get out right now, I really will silence you..." *Whoosh!* Su Yu scrambled away. *I wanted to run ages ago, but without your say-so, I didn't dare!* At this moment, he was terrified. At this moment, the little fur ball in his mind was terrified too. Sprawled atop a divine character, it licked frantically: *This ball is scared too! We're gonna die, we're gonna die! If we're gonna die, let me eat a divine character!* *** At this very moment, in a certain realm, perched atop a Heaven Yuan Fruit Tree. A big fur ball opened its eyes as well, having glimpsed something. Tiny bubbles appeared around it as it mumbled in bewilderment, "One of his three-life embodiments was beaten to death... what a formidable future embodiment... is he planning to capture it again?" Thinking and thinking, the big fur ball fell asleep. *None of my damn business! Back to sleep. Probably just dreaming again.*