Echoes of Antiquity

Yunxiao had returned. She had taken quite a while, though Su Yu paid it no mind. He had no idea where that ancient city was, so even if she had been gone for a day or two, he would have been none the wiser. Seeing her back in less than two hours, Su Yu was actually a little surprised. "My Lady is back already?" "..." Yunxiao found herself pondering a question. *Yes, why on earth did I come back so quickly?* Look at Su Yu—he hadn't cared in the slightest! Fortunately, she still had to head out again. *This time... I'll take a wider detour!* "I have returned," Yunxiao said coolly. "I was worried you wouldn't be able to hold out. Come, let us go meet the supreme sovereign among the thirty-six Guardians!" Su Yu felt a faint flicker of excitement. He was going to see the big boss! The next instant, Su Yu vanished from where he stood as Yunxiao whisked him away in the blink of an eye. …… In the distance. Tianmie's eyes went wide. *Heading my way?* *Wait, that's not right!* *Why did they leave?* *Where are they going?* "Xinghong, where is Yunxiao taking him?" Tianmie grew frantic. He was simply unable to fly out; otherwise, he would have chased after them to demand, *Yunxiao, where are you taking my disciple?* Xinghong was taken aback at first. A moment later, as if realizing something, a peculiar look entered his eyes. He glanced toward Tianmie Ancient City in the distance, and after a long silence, he transmitted his voice: "Just wait. Yunxiao... she might... might have some business to attend to?" It was hard to say. Could Yunxiao have gone to look for their eldest brother? If so, Tianmie was out of luck. With Su Yu's current strength, he could not sustain too many ancient cities. If Yunxiao hadn't meddled, then under normal circumstances—by proximity, by relationship, by any standard ranking—it should have been Tianmie's turn next. Yet Yunxiao had swept Su Yu away. Tianmie's hopes might very well end in disappointment! Tianmie was no fool either. His expression flickered, and he consoled himself, "Right, she must have gone to run an errand. Definitely! In all reason and fairness, it ought to be my turn, shouldn't it? That old fellow couldn't care less about going outside anyway, right?" "Right!" Xinghong chimed in. *Yes, exactly!* Tianmie felt somewhat relieved. From the side, a stone statue murmured faintly, "She's definitely gone to find the boss. Is there even any need to ask? If Yunxiao has an advantage to offer, she'll naturally think of the boss first. Tianmie, keep dreaming!" "Changping!" Tianmie flew into a rage. *I know that, but I wasn't saying it aloud! You dare shatter my fantasy? I'll beat you to death!* *Boom!* The next moment, Castellan Tianhe flew out in a daze, tumbling beyond the city walls. He hadn't even opened his mouth, yet a booming, sonorous voice roared from his throat: "Pingdu, you dare act so audaciously and defy the orders of the esteemed Guardians? Today, on behalf of the Guardians, I shall clean house!" *Boom!* Still completely bewildered, Tianhe raised his longsword and charged toward Changping Ancient City, hacking his way straight inside. The castellan of Changping was utterly flabbergasted! *Was there any need for this?!* Yes, he hadn't wanted the alliance to form, but... he hadn't even begun to do anything! He hadn't done a single thing besides speaking a few words! Getting his physical body blasted apart by the stone statue was bad enough, but wasn't Tianhe taking this outrageously too far now? He had charged right into his city! This was simply intolerable! The other castellans were equally astonished. *So fierce?* Just for giving Su Yu a minor show of force, not only had a stone statue struck, but now another castellan had personally charged into an ancient city, hell-bent on slaughtering Pingdu? Wasn't this a bit too ruthless? Mid-daze, Tianhe finally came to his senses and nearly coughed up blood. *Holy shit!* *The stone statue did this!* *Tianmie, you ancestor of mine! What set you off this time?!* Tianmie had been utterly unhinged lately, and Tianhe was on the verge of tears. *What is wrong with you? You went untold years without saying a word, and now you're acting as rowdy as a thirty-thousand-year-old toddler! What are you doing?!* *Is this something a decent person would do?* *You... you're making me charge into someone else's territory to commit murder?!* *Have you lost your mind?!* Curse as he might, Tianhe still hacked with his sword. To hell with it—Pingdu looked about ready to go mad and kill him too, so he had better strike first! …… A group of stone statues watched the spectacle with relish! Tianmie and Changping had actually started brawling! Changping had brought this on himself. Why provoke Tianmie out of the blue at a time like this? Tianmie was already on the brink of madness, yet you had to go and bait him. Truly asking for trouble. The Changping stone statue was also speechless. *Has this guy Tianmie been triggered too much lately? I just made an offhand comment, and you come picking a fight? Is that appropriate?* *Tianhe being your castellan really is rotten bad luck!* Even so, the stone statues were all wondering: had Yunxiao truly taken Su Yu to the boss? If so, things would become rather complicated. Once upon a time, there had been someone who became the boss's castellan—only for that person to turn out to be a lunatic. Su Yu was hardly a pushover either; he was simply weak right now. Once his strength grew, wouldn't they risk history repeating itself? In truth, all the stone statues found Su Yu's attempt to form an alliance remarkably familiar—achingly familiar! Back then... something similar seemed to have happened once before! That was why none of them took it too seriously. It was hard to say how it would unfold. Back then, after that incident, that fellow had caused an immense upheaval, eventually rippling into the Dead Spirit Realm and precipitating a massive upheaval across the All-Heavens Battlefield. Later, the boss had personally stepped in to wipe him out. Would history repeat itself? Samsara, over and over again! Some stone statues sighed with emotion, while others remained calm and unruffled. Too many years had passed, and they had seen it too many times; one grew used to it. …… This time, Yunxiao took Su Yu on a massive detour. They circled around for several hours! By the time night fell, beneath Su Yu's bewildered gaze, Yunxiao parted the sea and stepped down into the waters. Su Yu felt a strange sense of dissonance. *This place... is fairly familiar. I think I've been here before. It isn't that far from Xinghong Ancient City, is it? Why did we wander around for several hours?* *Could it be that one must take a roundabout route to gaze upon his true countenance?* *Is this chief of the ancient stone statues that special?* *Does he dwell in a unique pocket dimension?* Carrying these peculiar thoughts, Su Yu followed as Yunxiao dived continuously downward—a thousand meters, ten thousand meters, thirty thousand meters, fifty thousand meters... This was another marvel of the Sea of Stars! The Sea of Stars floated aloft in the void, and the distance from its floating surface to the continent below was only about ten thousand meters, with open sky beneath the land. Logically speaking, it should have been at most several thousand meters deep. Yet in the Sea of Stars, even if one plunged a hundred thousand or a million meters down, there were spots where one could never see the bottom. Dive further, and you might stumble into a minor realm. In the All-Heavens Battlefield, bizarre locations like this were not unique; the Plain of Desires, for instance, was just as strange. Perhaps because he was following Yunxiao, they did not plunge into the entrance of any minor realm. Instead, they descended continuously until, before long, a magnificent, colossal ancient city revealed itself before Su Yu's eyes. The ancient city lay submerged in the water, utterly silent. It seemed to have been sunken for countless ages, a dead city. Not a single soul was present! Nor was there the slightest aura of life. Of course, there was virtually no death qi either. Formidable! The moment he laid eyes on this ancient city, Su Yu could not help but marvel. This stone statue truly suppressed an ancient city single-handedly, and supposedly the strongest dead spirit passageway at that. Truly terrifying! A Half-Emperor! Just thinking about it stirred a faint flutter of excitement within him. He had seen powerhouses of this caliber before, but had never interacted with them. Whether the Demon Emperor or the God-Devouring Half-Emperor, he had laid eyes on them, but never spoken to them. Earlier in the ancient city, he had wanted to converse with Moduona, but the fellow had barely paid him any heed. Now, he was finally about to converse with a Half-Emperor. While he was still lost in thought, an ancient, weathered voice imbued with profound philosophical truths suddenly echoed by his ear: "You are Su Yu?" Su Yu's vision blurred, and he seemed to appear in an unfamiliar world. Just like the first time he had met the Tianmie stone statue, he had been pulled into another realm. Yet this time, he had not detected the slightest anomaly. It was as though he had transitioned into another world with utter naturalness. Beside him, Yunxiao remained. Opposite them, a hunched old man with a long white beard, leaning on a walking stick, shuffled toward Su Yu. Su Yu was startled. *This is that Half-Emperor?* "Subordinate Su Yu greets My Lord..." The old man smiled and looked at Su Yu. Just as he was about to speak, Yunxiao said quizzically, "Boss, what's wrong with you?" "Oh, nothing!" In an instant, the old man transformed into an exceedingly handsome young man with a lazy glint in his eyes. He chuckled lightly. "Surprised? It seems the powerhouse in your mind looked just like that old man?" "..." Su Yu was dumbfounded. *What on earth?!* Not daring to let his mind wander, he hastily said, "Greetings, My Lord..." The old turtle—or rather, the youth—waved his hand lazily. A chair appeared before Su Yu, and the youth sat down as well, chuckling softly. "Sit and let us chat. It has been quite some time since I had a talk with a youngster." Su Yu felt uneasy. Peering about out of the corner of his eye and glancing at Yunxiao, he felt a surge of self-reproach. *I was too reckless!* *There is no safety guarantee here whatsoever!* He had been so excited that he forgot this was a Half-Emperor's territory. Shouldn't he have made some preparations before coming? Without drawing attention to himself, he summoned the little fur ball and let it rest casually on his shoulder. The youth glanced at the little fur ball. The little fur ball looked back at him with its two eyes. Their gazes met, and after a moment, the youth suddenly laughed. "This is... interesting! Is Doubao doing well?" "..." Su Yu was blank. The little fur ball was blank. Even Yunxiao was taken aback. Only after a pause did she ask, "Boss, Doubao..." "Oh, right, that member of the God-Devouring race!" the youth chuckled. "You probably don't remember much. I, however, still recall him. That fellow Doubao—I seem to have sensed his aura a few days ago." "Ah!" Now Yunxiao understood. "It's that one from the God-Devouring race. A few days back, he fought a battle against that Half-Emperor of the Demon race." "Half-Emperor?" The youth smiled faintly. "That fellow hardly deserves the title of Half-Emperor! The Demon race is indeed formidable, ranking among the top five races of the all-heavens. In days of old, the Demon Half-Emperor was boundless in might—a single punch shattered mountains and seas, shattering Mount Qiankun and suppressing the Sea of Dead Spirits. This current one... falls short. Far short!" He shook his head. "The gulf is too vast! If he were truly a Demon Half-Emperor of old, Doubao would never have dared toy with him. Back then, when the Demon Half-Emperor flew into a rage, the firmament changed color and heaven and earth trembled. The Demon race... has declined as well!" Su Yu was stunned. *What does he mean? In the ancient era? The Demon Half-Emperor of the ancient era was unfathomably strong? The current Half-Emperor is far inferior to the ancient Demon Half-Emperor?* He heard the youth chuckle again: "Back then, when the Demon Half-Emperor descended, even I was of little account. Ah, indeed, having great strength is not as good as living a long life; live long enough, and you can outlast those who were stronger!" He shook his head, sighing with emotion. A feeling of time having changed everything! Yunxiao said nothing. The youth turned his gaze back to Su Yu, a faint smile on his lips as he looked him up and down, seemingly seeing through everything about him. Su Yu dared not think of anything else! At this moment, the only thought he dared entertain was: *Doubao!* The little fur ball's father was probably named Doubao. What an adorable name! What a down-to-earth name! Quite nice! The father was Doubao, and the son was a fur ball. Splendid. From now on, instead of calling him the big fur ball, he should call him Doubao... Of course, he would only do that if he didn't care about his own life. As random thoughts flitted through Su Yu's mind, the youth scrutinized him for a long while before slowly speaking: "You have opened the Great Circulation Origin Apertures, but your Great Circulation Divine Apertures are not yet fully unsealed, correct?" "No, they are not!" Su Yu replied hastily. The youth smiled faintly. "You opened your origin apertures and somehow, by a stroke of luck, unsealed half of the heaven aperture. I know not whether it is good fortune or bad. Opening half of the heaven aperture... is no blessing, but a troublesome predicament! Using absorbed death qi as an energy source... you certainly know how to scheme, and you certainly are daring!" "My Lord... I..." The youth gently raised a hand. "Having this half heaven aperture absorb too much death qi is not a good thing. Sooner or later, once it fills to capacity, the death qi will overflow. Reversing it then will be vastly more difficult!" "Then again... whether it is good or bad... is hard to say." The youth remarked with a sigh, "I never opened the heaven aperture myself, so I possess only a superficial understanding of it! You may very well be the only cultivator to have unsealed the heaven aperture since the ancient era..." Su Yu explained, "Probably not the only one. Someone from my Human race once opened it, but because the yang aperture absorbed too much energy, that expert died..." "How strong was he?" The youth grew intrigued. Su Yu said stiffly, "The ninth layer of the Lingyun Realm!" "..." Yunxiao fell silent. The youth fell silent. Lingyun... which realm was that again? It had been so long that they had nearly forgotten. The youth was also at a loss for words. Only after a while did he chuckle. "The Human race... truly remains uniquely blessed by heaven. Wiped out time and again, yet rising time and again..." Su Yu was startled. "Wiped out time and again?" What did that mean? The youth said slowly, "Let us not dwell on that. The Human race... the Human Realm must have undergone drastic changes by now. Has the legacy been severed?" Su Yu said cautiously, "Not entirely, I suppose. Our Human race possesses many Invincibles..." "I speak of the ancient inheritance." Su Yu shook his head. "That, I do not know. I was merely a minor figure in the Human Realm; I am not privy to detailed high-level information." This was the truth; he genuinely knew little of the Human race's deepest secrets. When he left, he had only been at the Soaring Realm. In the Human race, he truly could not be considered any major figure. Yunxiao, however, possessed some knowledge and spoke up: "The Human race's inheritance should have been severed. Today, they rely on various ruins to sustain themselves. Several centuries ago, several dozen Invincibles were born." The youth remarked with emotion, "They truly are blessed by heaven and flourish in destiny. From mere residual shade, several dozen Invincibles emerged. Inconceivable. It is fortune, and it is talent." Su Yu nodded as well; that was indeed true. The Human race truly was extraordinary. Several centuries ago, there hadn't been a single Invincible! Just as they appeared on the brink of extinction, dozens of Invincibles sprang up in the blink of an eye. Truly, the all-heavens must have been stunned. *Even that was possible?* Which race was like the humans? Even if others discovered ruins, it was by no means guaranteed that they could attain the Invincible Realm. Yet the Human race had produced several dozen Invincibles all at once, instantly shattering the balance of power across the all-heavens and the myriad realms, enabling them to rise anew and become one of the ten strongest races, perhaps even among the top five. The youth looked at Su Yu, listing his assets like familiar treasures: "You have opened the Great Circulation apertures and learned the Five Elements Divine Art... though it is somewhat incomplete, and you have not made much use of it. The gap between it and your physical body is too large. What your physical body practices is... the Iron-Eating Seventy-Two Castings? It appears close to completion, which is rather unexpected." Looking further, he added, "Your Divine Character battle technique..." He seemed to discern something, shaking his head after a pause. "The disparity is still vast, far from completion. Whether that is a blessing or a curse remains to be seen." "The Tombstone of Civilization..." He suddenly froze, looking directly at Su Yu, while Su Yu's heart skipped a beat! *You can see that as well?!* The youth hesitated slightly. "This... is an ominous object! It is best... well, consider it a relic of your lineage. Still, the Tombstone of Civilization is no auspicious item. Back then... it was not actually left behind for inheritance, but as... a genuine tombstone!" Su Yu froze. "A genuine tombstone?" "Alas!" The youth sighed. "Yes, an actual tombstone! A group of Divine Character experts facing their doom built a tomb to commemorate that person, paying for it with their own destruction. This was that person's tombstone... To think it found its way into circulation." Yunxiao chimed in, "I said it looked familiar! So it truly is that tombstone!" The youth nodded slightly. "Indeed that tombstone... To think it found its way out... Logically, it should never have..." He looked at Su Yu and asked, "Who brought it out?" After a moment's hesitation, Su Yu replied, "The first head of the Great Xia Academy of Civilization, the younger brother of King Daxia..." "King Daxia..." The youth fell into deep contemplation, only speaking after a long silence: "One who could retrieve this tombstone must be extraordinary! Great Xia Prefecture... King Daxia... Could it be the bloodline of an ancient Human King?" "..." Su Yu was baffled. *Where did a Human King suddenly come from?* The youth did not elaborate further on this, quickly saying, "Keep the item! Though ominous, it shares the same source with your lineage. In your hands, it poses little issue; in anyone else's, disaster might follow." Su Yu felt dazed by his words, sensing that the Tombstone of Civilization possessed a tremendous background. Whose tombstone was it? Where had Xia Chen obtained it? Rumor had it that it came from a ruin. Others had attained the Dao within that ruin, but Xia Chen had not, retrieving only this tombstone. Su Yu could not help but ask, "My Lord, I heard that the Tombstone of Civilization was obtained from a ruin. The Human race acquired many treasures from that ruin, and those kings who founded the prefectures all attained the Dao there, yet that particular ruin seemed to contain only the Tombstone of Civilization..." The youth pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly: "Ruins... attaining the Dao... ruins... There are many kinds of ruins. The ruins you speak of may differ somewhat from my understanding of them." The youth said softly, "In my understanding, ruins ought to be the resting places of ancient legacy artifacts left behind after the great cataclysm of antiquity. Such things may not necessarily grant immense power, but they are critically important! They are not something mere Dao attainment can compare to. Of course, some things may not help you grow stronger, yet their significance is monumental. The ruins left from the ancient era were not necessarily meant to make you strong, but perhaps to help you walk your own Dao, forge your own path..." "As for the ruins you speak of..." He paused before continuing, "They sound more like the inheritances left behind by the Human race during their first resurgence." Su Yu froze. He had been stunned many times today, but at this moment, he felt genuine shock. "My Lord... what do you mean by 'first resurgence'... 'inheritance'?" The youth smiled faintly. "You did not truly believe that from the great ancient cataclysm until today, the all-heavens and the myriad realms have always been like this, did you?" Su Yu was bewildered. *Haven't they?* Yunxiao, ever blunt, spoke directly: "After the ancient cataclysm, the myriad races of the all-heavens experienced several resurgences, which could be called civilizational revivals! The All-Heavens Battlefield was not opened for the first time either, nor is this current resurgence your Human race's first! Only after multiple cataclysms did today's landscape take shape!" Su Yu was thoroughly shaken! This... this was completely different from the history he knew. Granted, human history... spanned only four hundred-odd years. Four hundred-odd years ago, there seemed to have been a feudal dynasty. One day, the dynasty fell, foreign enemies invaded from beyond the realm, and subsequently, the founding kings arose, ushering in the Prefectural Era. That was the history Su Yu and his peers had learned. Prior to that, virtually no records remained. Yet today, someone was telling him that the All-Heavens Battlefield had not opened just once, but many times, and the destruction of the Human race had not occurred merely once! It had happened multiple times! This... was incredible! Yunxiao showed no surprise, remarking nonchalantly, "The last destruction of human civilization was roughly five thousand years ago. I still recall a bit of it, as my castellan at the time was a human!" Su Yu's mind spun as he muttered, "Then... then the ruins the Human race possesses now... might not actually have been left behind from the ancient era?" "How could the ancient era leave behind so many ruins!" Yunxiao said unceremoniously. "I only know that the Star Residence Mansion is a genuine ancient ruin. As for the rest... I haven't seen many, and those that were seen were generally taken by others. Very few truly survive to this day! Based on what you said, that younger brother of King Daxia may have genuinely entered an ancient-era ruin, whereas King Daxia and the others likely inherited post-ancient ruins. In the ancient era, who had the spare time to leave behind places for future generations to attain the Dao? In the ancient era, one could attain the Dao anywhere! It was only after the ancient cataclysm, following a resurgence, that the Human race prepared numerous contingency plans, leaving behind opportunities to attain the Dao and chances for civilization to rise once more!" Su Yu saw the light! *So that was it!* In the ancient era, one could attain the Dao anywhere, so there was no need to leave behind contingencies. The ancient humans likely never imagined they would fall, so why would they leave behind such comprehensive inheritances allowing one to cultivate all the way to Invincible? There was no need! Only after experiencing it once did subsequent generations realize that civilization could perish—that even the glorious ancient civilization had crumbled. Thus, they left behind countermeasures to give their descendants a chance to rise. Only that made logical sense! Su Yu drew a deep breath and could not help asking, "Then... in those several resurgences, was the Human race wiped out each time?" Yunxiao smiled faintly. "Not necessarily. Once, the Human race actually won. More often, both sides suffered mutual destruction, retreating to their home lairs to lick their wounds... The Human race is inherently targeted; having no realm suppression power is a fatal flaw! Whenever you emerge, you must either sweep across the all-heavens, or... face destruction! No one can tolerate the existence of the Human race. What is more, humanity's desire for conquest is immense. During the first resurgence, I recall many human powerhouses clamoring to restore ancient glory and sweep across the all-heavens. In the end, their rule was overthrown by the myriad races, nearly extinguishing humanity!" "From antiquity until now, has the Human race never produced an Invincible Civilization Master? Could they not activate the Human Realm's suppression power?" At these words, Yunxiao hesitated, while the youth chuckled: "The Human Realm's suppression power... as non-humans, we know little of this matter. We only know one thing: realm power, when it comes to the Human Realm, is exceedingly difficult to activate! The exact circumstances are perhaps known only to your Human race itself! Hence, your Human race either perishes or, after ruling for a time, perishes once more... without exception! For even if you achieve supremacy, the myriad races will never resign themselves to it, nor has any later era of humanity ever matched antiquity." At this point, the youth smiled. "Let us speak no more of this. These matters are already history, echoes of the past! That your Human race still exists today only proves... you truly are uniquely blessed by heaven!" He had used this phrase repeatedly. Su Yu thought about it and nodded. Indeed, by their words, humanity had perished multiple times; countless races had faded into history, yet the Human race remained, along with a few ancient races. It truly was no easy feat. Surviving all that without going extinct! Formidable! The youth shifted the topic: "Are you certain you wish to become the master of this city?" Su Yu hesitated a moment, then nodded. "I wish to become the castellan of this city!" The youth chuckled. "No rush. There are some matters I must explain clearly to you! This city is named Hongmeng City! It has existed since antiquity. Among the thirty-six Sacred Cities, it is the foremost!" "Only because of this city did the subsequent thirty-five Sacred Cities come into being, sealing the dead spirit passageways!" "Dead spirits... are a peculiar race, an eternal, undying realm!" The youth said slowly, "The history of dead spirits is just as long as that of the Human race. Initially, there were no problems. Later, until one day, an upheaval occurred: the Dead Spirit Realm and the Living Spirit Realm began to overlap... Dead spirits could invade the living realm. From that day onward, our mission has been to seal this boundary! To prevent living and dead from making contact. And the Sacred Cities serve as the midpoint, the intersection of living spirits and dead spirits!" "This place boasts the highest degree of overlap. Beneath the dead spirit passageway here lies a mighty dead spirit kingdom, thick with death qi, where dead spirit monarchs constantly emerge to assault this realm!" "If you take up the burden of this city, I can still barely manage the suppression right now. But once my strength fails me, the overflowing death qi will surpass your imagination! Over the years, there have been few uprisings here because the dead spirits are also biding their time, wearing me down. I expect that before long, a far more intense assault of dead spirits will occur here!" "And your task may prove exceedingly arduous!" Su Yu listened to him for a while, yet paid little mind to the warnings, cutting straight to the chase: "My Lord, if I bear the death qi on your behalf, would My Lord... be willing to step in and teach those petty scoundrels a lesson for me?" Let us not talk of other matters—let us talk of mutual benefit! You help me, and I help you. Wealth and honor were sought amid danger! Facing danger was only natural; benefits never came for free. Without danger, why on earth would a Half-Emperor help you? Were they well-acquainted? He wasn't even human; did he think his handsome face was enough? In the all-heavens and the myriad realms, talking about sentiment instead of mutual benefit was nothing more than playing the rogue! The youth smiled. "So long as you can assist me when I need it, I can also assist you within the bounds of the rules!" "The rules..." Su Yu said in a deep voice. "Are the rules My Lord speaks of the same as in the other ancient cities?" "More or less," the youth said calmly. "Everything requires mutual contribution. If you render meritorious service in suppressing the passageway, you will naturally receive corresponding compensation! Suppressing a dead spirit passageway is great merit! Alas... with antiquity destroyed, no more Sacred Cities can be built. Otherwise, were another Sacred City established, you might well suppress a city on your own and become our peer." Su Yu muttered internally, *Forget it!* *I would never want that!* *Too miserable!* Turning into a stone statue for countless ages—truth be told, had it been Su Yu, he would have gone mad. The old turtle clearly saw through his thoughts and chuckled, producing a black token. "This is the Castellan Token. Refine it, and you shall be the castellan of this city. From this moment forth, your fate will be inextricably tied to Hongmeng City..." *Boom!* The moment he finished speaking, the Castellan Token abruptly erupted with an unimaginably terrifying aura. "Hahaha! This seat would also like to see who is worthy of inheriting my position!" A formidable pressure descended, instantly shattering Su Yu's arm, sending blood and flesh flying! Su Yu's expression changed drastically. *A trap?!* He gritted his teeth. *What is going on?!* Blood qi erupted, and with a low roar, he reached out his right hand to seize the Castellan Token while his injured left hand clenched into a fist and smashed forward! At that moment, an illusory silhouette emerged from the Castellan Token. Just as Yunxiao was about to intervene, the old turtle gave a slight wave of his hand and transmitted his voice: "No rush. Let us observe a bit longer. This is the life imprint he left behind in the past, merely a remnant projection from days gone by..." "Open Heaven!" With a furious shout, Su Yu reversed his death qi, the yang aperture erupting as he threw a punch, followed instantly by a slash of his blade! In the void, the illusory silhouette radiated an immensely powerful aura, laughing heartily as it too threw a punch! *Rumble!* Su Yu was sent flying backward, blood spilling from his lips. The illusory silhouette trembled slightly and chuckled, "Too weak! Old turtle, a person like this is worthy of inheriting the post of Hongmeng castellan? You insult me!" Too weak! *Weak?!* Su Yu gritted his teeth. *Insult you? Am I weak?!* He had realized that this wasn't a living person, merely a lingering imprint. *I'm weak? I've only cultivated for a short time—how does that make me weak?! You dare look down on me?!* Su Yu roared, charging forward and throwing punch after punch. Not only that, he unleashed the art of time—which he rarely employed—in full force! He could tell this was merely a lingering shadow of the past! *What are you swaggering about?! Do you really think I can do nothing to you?!* Punches and kicks flew, the wheels of time turning—*I'll kick you to death, you bastard!* Not only did Su Yu strike, he taunted viciously: "Weak? I've cultivated for barely a year! Who are you? What do you amount to? You think you're worthy of comparing yourself to me?! I slaughtered my way to the top of the Heaven Ranking, subduing the myriad races under heaven! Who the hell are you?!" "Could you be that castellan from back then who played with fire and ended up burning himself to death?" "The one who tried to dominate the all-heavens and met a pathetic end?!" He was no fool; he had roughly guessed the other party's identity. While attacking at blistering speed, he provoked him relentlessly: "I'm weak? I am merely at the Soaring Realm, while what realm were you at?!" "Are you even worthy of comparing yourself to me?!" "Do you know what Soaring Realm means?! If you have the guts, fight me at the same realm! If I can't beat you to death with a single punch, I'll admit to being incompetent!" "How ridiculous! An old ghost of tens of thousands of years competing with a youth not even twenty years of age, perhaps using the Sun Moon or Invincible Realm to battle a Soaring Realm like me... You aren't even worthy!" "..." Venomous-tongued Su Yu! By now, the illusory silhouette was trembling under his time-manipulating kicks. Coupled with Su Yu's barrage of insults, the silhouette suddenly retreated a short distance, looked at Su Yu, and chuckled. "You... are rather interesting... Soaring Realm?" Was Su Yu at the Soaring Realm? It seemed... he was! His willpower was at the Lingyun Realm, his physical body was at the Soaring Realm—though it resembled Lingyun as well, with his blade qi having undergone a transformation. Yet it was undeniably true that Su Yu's cultivation realm was low. "A low realm and weak strength are no excuses!" the silhouette said coolly. "You cannot blame others for being stronger than you or being born earlier simply because you are weak. Outsiders have no obligation to wait for you to grow up or become strong. If you are weak and young, you have only yourself to blame!" "Your ancestors were not young; why couldn't they be boundlessly powerful and come beat me to death on your behalf?" "..." *That actually makes sense!* Su Yu unexpectedly felt he had met his match—someone even better at sophistry than him! He felt the thrill of encountering a worthy rival. "Fair enough! In that case... I'll beat you to death first, no ancestors needed!" *Boom!* The battle erupted once more. Su Yu brought out sabers, spears, swords, and halberds—every method in his arsenal, a terrifying variety of techniques! Demon Descent, God Transformation—he hurled them all out at once! The only thing he lacked was blood essence; otherwise, he would have swallowed essence blood to pummel him! At this moment, Su Yu wielded the art of time without pause, his kicks causing space and time to ripple and drift continuously! Not only that, the small fur ball melted into the void, surreptitiously devouring that willpower. Indeed, a remnant shadow of the past was merely a manifestation of willpower—an imprint left behind upon an object by sheer strength of will! Reversing into a dead spirit body! He continuously absorbed the death qi supplied by Xingyue. Xingyue actually showed some resistance, seemingly reluctant to provide it, prompting Su Yu to curse inwardly: *What are you doing? I'm in the middle of a fight! Giving me a little death qi won't kill you!* It had been quite some time since Su Yu had engaged in an all-out, no-holds-barred brawl. Now, he unleashed all eighteen martial disciplines in full force. Five Elements Escapes, phantom shifts, calamity strikes, patient ambushes... His opponent had plenty of tricks as well, but as the fight dragged on, the silhouette began to show signs of unraveling. The silhouette suddenly took several steps back, sighing with emotion: "This remnant wisp of mine... has faded greatly. Otherwise..." *Bang!* Su Yu gave him no chance to speak. *What are you blabbering about? I'll beat you to death first, then we'll talk!* "To hell with you! Didn't you just say I have only myself to blame for being young? Then you have only yourself to blame for your remnant wisp being weak! If you have the ability, revive yourself and beat me to death!" *Bang, bang, bang!* A furious barrage of hammer strikes followed. A massive hammer materialized, and Su Yu hammered away frantically; against such entities, the Mind Expansion Hammer proved far more effective! After a wild onslaught of hammering, the silhouette tried to speak several times, but Su Yu ignored him completely. Why let an enemy talk? Beat him to death first, then talk at leisure! Hammer strikes, scorching fire, drowning water... Death qi corrosion! Like a tireless machine, Su Yu hammered madly for over an hour. With a final, thunderous blow, he literally smashed the silhouette into oblivion! "I..." The silhouette dissipated with an air of utter speechlessness and disbelief. *Fuck you!* *Why won't you let me finish speaking?!* "If you have something to say, say it now!" Su Yu panted heavily, gasping for breath as he stared at the dissipating silhouette, secretly urging the little fur ball to eat more. "Go on, speak!" "If you don't speak, I'll take it as an admission that you're useless! Useless trash is useless after all—and this was supposed to be a test for me?" Su Yu sneered. "You can't even talk back when being cursed at, you idiot!" Beside them, the old turtle and Yunxiao wore bizarre expressions. *You already smashed the remnant shadow to pieces, so what is he supposed to say?* *Are you just talking to yourself for your own entertainment?* *Don't you know he has completely dissipated?!* Of course Su Yu knew! Still... just because the other party had dissipated didn't mean he couldn't heap a few insults upon him! Whether the fellow could hear it was his business; whether Su Yu said it was his own! The old turtle looked at Su Yu, only speaking after a long silence: "You... may inherit the position of castellan. However... I would like to remind you of one thing: you... have likely gained a formidable enemy!" Su Yu looked at the old turtle, who remained silent. Beneath them, the passageway began to churn with unrest. A certain someone—no, a certain monarch—was roaring furiously, stomping with unbridled rage! Livid! Being smashed to pieces was one thing, but that brat hadn't let him utter a single word, even mocking him to come back to life if he had the guts! *Fine, I'm coming!* Deep beneath the earth, the crowned dead spirit burned with boundless wrath! *Nobody acts like this!* *I am going to slaughter that fellow!* *Bastard!* *Not an ounce of respect between heroes! Su Yu, I will remember you!*