Devouring Blood Essence

The battle for quotas was completely settled. Every race was summoning the experts of their own clans. No matter what, they had to secure a share of the slots. The human race was likewise rallying their powerhouses. Su Yu watched as Huang Teng, Qin Fang, Wu Qi, and the others filed into the human race’s grand hall one after another. Time was pressing, but fortunately most of the experts preparing to enter the Star Residence Mansion had already arrived. Even those who had not yet reached the area were elsewhere in the Heavenly Battlefield. With an entire night ahead, Invincibles going in person to fetch them would easily bring them over in time. …… Inside the ancient city. Su Yu descended toward the Castellan's Residence. Liu Hong had been listening all along, merely unable to step outside. Now, as Su Yu landed, he beamed from ear to ear and said, “The castellan was truly magnificent today, grandly displaying the might of our ancient city! Truly extraordinary! Castellan, with twenty slots available, aside from yourself, it doesn't look like many others here can seize a spot, does it?” Su Yu did not bother acknowledging him, simply sending out a voice transmission. A moment later, Liu Hong slipped away, and several great demons entered, led by Elder Wang. Looking at the great demons, Su Yu said with a faint smile, “You have all been in the city, so you likely heard what I said earlier. The battle for quotas to the Star Residence Mansion—do you wish to go inside? If you don’t, it doesn't matter. If you do, enter the contests yourselves and win your own spots!” At these words, odd looks flitted across the faces of several demons. Blood Moon asked faintly, “My lord, we may go as well?” “Why not?” Su Yu smiled. “Of course, it will be extraordinarily dangerous this time; I’m telling you that in advance! Every race is fighting for slots, including your Bloodthirsty race. I even saw one of your Invincibles appear.” Blood Moon did not care much about that. The Bloodthirsty race was not particularly powerful, having only one Invincible—or perhaps two, though he was not certain of the specifics. The Bloodthirsty race might not even win any slots. What surprised Blood Moon was that if they won slots, they could use them themselves. One had to understand how precious these slots truly were. Countless races were fighting for them, and some minor races did not even have the right to compete. Many experts from minor races knew that if they wished to attain the Dao, a carrier was an absolute prerequisite. And a carrier… could they imitate the human race and snatch them by slaughtering people? That was a pipe dream! The best path was actually to enter the Star Residence Mansion and seize one. Yet slots rarely trickled down to minor races, and even if they did, one might not stand a chance of taking anything. Hearing Su Yu’s offer now, Blood Moon hurriedly said, “If my lord does not disdain our meager strength, we are willing to fight and secure slots for the sacred city!” There were five great demons in total, possessing varying levels of cultivation. One-Eye was the strongest. Back when Hong Tan captured him, he had been at the peak of the sixth stage of Shanhai, and by now he had barely recovered to that level. Next was Ju Shan, who had also reached the sixth stage of Shanhai, while Blood Moon was at the fifth stage. One-Eye and Ju Shan shared the same realm, but that posed little issue. It depended on whether everyone’s assembled roster could ultimately muster ninety combatants for each cultivation stage; if there were shortages, adjustments could be made accordingly. Meanwhile, Water Man now held the strength of the eighth stage of Lingyun, and Shadow was at the fourth stage of Lingyun. Squinting slightly, Su Yu chuckled. “You have all transformed into residents, which grants you a certain advantage within this ancient city. Naturally, the geniuses dispatched by the myriad races will by no means be weak, and you… might not be their match. Still, my grandmaster had a sharp eye back then and captured only capable experts, so you aren't considered weak among your peers. Whether you can claim a slot depends on yourselves. If you can’t, it doesn't matter either. In the ancient city, at least they won’t dare casually strike to kill. When appropriate, summoning a few dead spirits to assist you won’t be an issue!” Su Yu tossed out several ancient city tokens, smiling faintly. “With ancient city tokens in hand, you’ll have a degree of self-preservation!” “Thank you, my lord!” The great demons were overjoyed. As for the slots, they genuinely yearned for them. Among the demons, the only one who had ever been inside previously was Suanni. Suanni had fled by now. These demons only knew that the Star Residence Mansion held boundless opportunities, but having never entered themselves, they were naturally tempted. Even having become half-dead spirits made no difference. If they obtained good treasures, they could still enhance their strength. In truth, the death qi they bore was minimal and had little impact on their cultivation, as Su Yu shouldered almost all of it. “Very well, step down and prepare yourselves thoroughly!” “Understood!” The great demons departed in high spirits. A moment later, Elder Bai entered the room and said in a low voice, “How about I take part in the battle for peak Shanhai? I’ve opened my yang apertures; not many at the peak of Shanhai can match me!” If the elder participated, few at the peak of Shanhai could truly rival him. As for figures like Zhan Wushuang, none of them were at the peak yet. Su Yu pondered for a long while before finally saying, “Forget it, lest someone see through anything. You should focus on cultivating peacefully, Elder. We will select the rest from the other cities!” “Then… I’ll do as you say.” In truth, Elder Bai still wanted to take part. In past years, such a quota had been hard to come by, let alone this year. “I wonder if Xiao Feng will participate…” Uncertain, he voiced the question. Su Yu shook his head. “I'm not sure. My teacher is considered quite strong among first-stage Lingyun cultivators. I don’t know whether the human side will seek him out.” Bai Feng might not be very prominent now, but that did not mean his strength was lacking. Among those at the first stage of Lingyun, there probably weren't many who could match him. Su Yu could not be bothered to worry about that. Perhaps they would look for him. None of the people from the Multiple Divine Characters faction were weak, including Hong Tan and the others. The human race might very well enlist them, and since those individuals wanted to go as well, they would likely negotiate some conditions. …… Once the elder left, Su Yu contemplated for a while before promptly sending messages to the castellans of the other cities. Aside from the several great demons and Su Yu himself, the remaining participants would be drawn from the other cities. Surely they wouldn't fail to scrape together even a few decent contenders, right? If so, the faction of the ancient cities would truly lose face. …… Having dealt with these matters, Su Yu retrieved the drops of blood essence Zhan Wushuang had given him and inspected them. He had no fear of being poisoned to death. If someone could truly poison him to death, that would be impressive indeed. His Calamity character was no joke. When he told Zhan Wushuang to gather blood essence for him, he had specifically specified Civilization Master blood essence. He still did not know whether that fellow had actually gathered the right kind. Taking out a drop of blood essence, Su Yu looked at the tiny phantom projected within it. This was likely the blood essence of the Flying Tiger race. The Flying Tigers were not weak. Pondering briefly, Su Yu devoured the blood essence. “Flying Tiger (Seventh Stage of Lingyun): Racial Skills: Tiger Roar, Flight, Tear (activated with blood essence, same below) Basic Yuan Art: Tiger Roar Art Basic Cultural Art: Heavenly Tiger Mind Opening Art Basic Body Tempering Method: Flying Tiger Twenty-Seven Castings Basic Nine Transformations Method: Flying Tiger Nine Transformations” Su Yu’s eyes flashed. This was the new Flying Tiger page. Sure enough, it was Civilization Master blood essence, providing a complete racial page. A complete racial page featured both cultural arts and yuan arts. Body tempering methods and nine transformations methods were all included. The Flying Tiger race possessed considerable strength among the myriad races, ranked thirty-second. They were quite powerful, boasting several Invincibles within their clan. Qin Fang himself rode a Flying Tiger; had it not been powerful, Qin Fang would never have deigned to use it. “Heavenly Tiger Mind Opening Art…” This was the cultural art of the Flying Tiger race. Previously, Su Yu had learned the Immortal race's Immortal Aperture Heavenly Net Art. That Immortal cultural art opened 108 divine apertures, though most overlapped with his own, leaving only 36 non-overlapping apertures. This time, he wondered how many of the Flying Tiger race's would overlap. Su Yu soon produced another drop of Flying Tiger blood essence. Killing a single Flying Tiger usually yielded around ten drops, so he had no worries about lacking the means to activate it. He swiftly devoured it. Circulating the new technique, apertures opened one after another within his sea of will. The divine apertures radiated dazzling brilliance. A moment later, 89 divine apertures were lit up. Su Yu frowned slightly. Eighty of them overlapped with his existing techniques. “Not bad, nine new divine apertures!” Su Yu let out a sigh of relief. It was quite decent. To actually discover nine new divine apertures was good, though fewer than he had anticipated. The Flying Tigers were considered a formidable race, yet they only opened 89 divine apertures, with 80 overlapping. Still, nine was not a small amount. Su Yu had previously mastered 216. Adding these nine brought the total to 225. Opening divine apertures consumed a substantial amount of willpower. Su Yu was in no rush to open them right away. With his current strength, the difficulty of opening apertures had actually increased, but as long as resources were sufficient, he could still open them. “Still short by 135. The further along I get, the harder it becomes!” Su Yu exhaled. In the later stages, activating a technique might not yield a single new divine aperture, which would be entirely normal. After all, as the number of techniques grew and his mastered divine apertures increased, the vast majority would overlap. “Pity there’s none from the God race or the Immortal race…” Su Yu flipped through the blood essence and shook his head. Naturally, Zhan Wushuang would not kill experts of the God race, and when it came to the Immortal race, Zhan Wushuang was no fool; killing an Immortal Civilization Master now would invite pursuit from the Immortal race. If one were to do such killing, it would have to be done in a place where nobody would ever know. Su Yu continued inspecting the blood essence and steadily began devouring it. Zhan Wushuang had proven relatively reliable. Nearly all the victims he had slain were Civilization Masters, though when Su Yu devoured the blood essence of a few individuals, no basic cultural arts appeared. Whether those races simply lacked them, the victims had only appeared to be Civilization Masters without actually being so, or Zhan Wushuang had simply hoodwinked him, he could not say. Civilization Masters were uncommon after all, and most remained holed up within their native realms. Su Yu devoured drop after drop, with Zhan Wushuang having supplied him with the blood essence of 79 races this time. Through continuous devouring, Su Yu steadily completed several racial pages. After some time, he had swallowed a drop from every race's blood essence. Only 62 new cultural arts appeared. Most shared overlapping divine apertures with Su Yu's, and the few that did not offered scarce new ones. Tallying them in the end, Su Yu found he had gained 74 new divine apertures. The later he went, the fewer he found! Toward the end, several techniques overlapped entirely with his existing apertures. By this point, Su Yu had mastered a total of 290 divine apertures. “Not bad!” Su Yu nodded in satisfaction. It was quite acceptable. Zhan Wushuang had genuinely done his best, truly slaying so many Civilization Masters and enabling Su Yu to discover more than seventy new divine apertures all at once. Now, only seventy remained before he reached 360. Moreover, for certain races, this was Su Yu’s very first time acquiring their innate skills and techniques. He had never devoured blood essence from such races before. For instance, a minor race called the Parasitic Insects possessed rather mediocre strength, but their innate skill was quite intriguing. They could attach themselves to living beings with extreme stealth, unknowingly absorbing the host's yuan qi and willpower without being easily detected. “Quite nice!” Su Yu was thoroughly pleased. His luck had been rather good lately. As for his body tempering, Su Yu had already completed 71 castings, leaving only the final one. Going from 69 to 71 castings had taken him an entire month. His Heaven and Earth Profound Light was nearly depleted! However, only the final casting remained, which his reserves could probably sustain to completion. It was just that the final casting felt slightly more difficult. Lately, Su Yu had absorbed quite a bit of Heaven and Earth Profound Light during body tempering, and his physical body was gradually strengthening, yet he had not managed to complete it. He was in no hurry. Back when he achieved 36 castings, he had gained a special capability. A layer of defensive light coated the exterior of his body. It was slightly stronger than his explosive power, roughly equivalent to the strength of an additional casting. In other words, with his physical body at 71 castings and an explosive power of roughly 1.6 million apertures of force, his defensive capability was actually even greater than his offensive output. This was the reason opponents of the same tier struggled to pierce his defenses whenever Su Yu fought, and also the reason behind the formidable defense of the Iron-Eating Beasts. Of course, Su Yu knew the Iron-Eating Beast race was definitely not lacking in offensive might either. Those innate skills—one Heaven-Shaking Strike, one Void Devour. Were they kidding him? Did they think he was illiterate and that those were mere ornaments? Who were they trying to fool! Su Yu judged that completing 72 castings this time might grant another special boon. At any rate, only the final casting remained. Once 72 castings were complete, Su Yu would officially step into the peak of the Soaring Realm, or perhaps Lingyun. That was because 144 of his apertures had already undergone a single transformation of yuan qi. Su Yu was not entirely satisfied, as too few had transformed. Only after completing the transformation of all 360 apertures would he truly step into the first stage of Lingyun. “My strength is still too weak…” Su Yu muttered to himself. At present, his explosive power exceeded 1.6 million apertures of force, not counting the yang apertures. He had sealed the yang apertures; unsealed, they could nearly double his power, reaching over three million apertures of force, which matched the explosive strength of the seventh stage of the Sun Moon Realm. If he devoured some blood essence from powerful experts on top of that, he should be even stronger than when he battled Zhan Wushuang and the others back in the Human Realm. “It’s barely passable!” Su Yu calculated. Without using his yang apertures, his strength neared the fifth to sixth stages of the Sun Moon Realm; using them, he possessed genuine seventh-stage Sun Moon strength. In truth, this was already terrifying! Because his physical body was still in the Soaring Realm! Naturally, the resource consumption was immense as well—so immense that the myriad races would find it nearly impossible to nurture a monster like Su Yu. He had devoured over a thousand strands of Heaven and Earth Profound Light, perhaps even exceeding 1,500 strands. Such consumption would make even the myriad races weep. A few more Soaring Realm monsters capable of battling the Sun Moon Realm would probably eat a Half-Emperor into poverty. Besides, not everyone could open 360 apertures and temper their body 72 times. “Once I reach Lingyun… I might truly need a Universal Circulation Method. Otherwise, I can’t keep using different treasures and energies every time to complete the transformation of apertures. If I do, the powers will be far too chaotic!” This was something Su Yu had not considered before. It was only when Xia Longwu’s blade qi helped him complete the first transformation of 144 apertures that Su Yu learned it could not transform all of them. “Therefore, I must find a way to complete the Universal Circulation Method!” Su Yu did not actually expect to stumble upon it by chance. It was hard to say whether it had even been passed down from ancient times. When it came to cultivation arts, he might still have to rely on his own research. He would deduce a new Universal Circulation Method himself! He possessed far too many techniques, especially yuan arts. By Su Yu’s rough calculation, he had mastered over a thousand yuan arts! Different circulation paths, different aperture operations. Techniques always left traces to follow; arts of different races and grades exhibited distinct patterns in their circulation. Trying to test connections across all 360 apertures one by one was certainly out of the question. However, Su Yu had a general sense of the underlying principle. A circle! Yes, completeness. The 360 apertures were nearly all symmetrical, and the few special apertures lay along the central axis. A Universal Circulation Method would not connect techniques haphazardly; there had to be a specific rule that ultimately formed a complete, harmonious cycle. That was a Universal Circulation Method! Su Yu was no ignorant illiterate. He had deduced techniques numerous times in the past. “If all else fails, I’ll re-establish the Primordial Spirit Research Institute and resume deducing techniques. It will merely take a bit more time!” Devouring blood essence and activating techniques had consumed a considerable amount of time as well. Just as he was pondering this, Elder Wang spoke from outside the hall: “Castellan, dawn has broken. The experts of every race are preparing to commence the quota battles and are awaiting the castellan to discuss the specifics. In addition, Castellan Tianhe and the others have arrived, bringing several people over!” Su Yu exhaled a mouthful of turbid air. His body shook as he circulated his breathing technique, quickly dissipating the blood qi outside his body. Regarding this breathing technique, Su Yu had previously asked Xinghong about it. It was an ancient body-refining method used to strengthen innate talent. To Su Yu, it provided some assistance, though not much, because his own body tempering utilized the Iron-Eating Seventy-Two Castings, an extraordinarily monstrous technique, making the breathing technique of minor help to him. For others, however, learning the breathing technique might allow someone originally capable of thirty castings to achieve thirty-two. That was the difference. Even so, Su Yu enjoyed using it occasionally when he had nothing else to do, primarily because it was simpler to practice than his Iron-Eating Seventy-Two Castings and could indirectly help accelerate his body tempering speed. …… Inside the ancient city. Just as Su Yu stepped out of the hall, Tianhe and the others arrived. Not daring to travel outside alone, they had steered their ancient cities over, which imposed a slightly heavier burden of death qi on them. Seeing Su Yu, Tianhe immediately smiled. “Su Yu, Lord Tianmie mentioned to me two days ago that when you have time, you should visit Tianmie City. The lord misses you a bit!” “……” Su Yu chuckled. Spotting a familiar face, he smiled and said, “General Tianmen, long time no see!” Tianmen! The commander who guarded the city gates of Tianmie City was an old acquaintance of Su Yu. Still clad in armor, upon hearing Su Yu’s greeting, he bowed slightly and said, “Tianmen greets the lord!” Tianhe chuckled. “Tianmen’s strength is considerable—ninth stage of Shanhai. I had him come participate in the quota battles; with some luck, he might seize a few slots. As for the eighth stage of Shanhai, first stage of Shanhai, seventh stage of Shanhai… I think we might as well forfeit those realms!” He was mainly targeting the geniuses on the Heaven Ranking. On the ranking, Zhan Wushuang and his peers were at the eighth stage of Shanhai, Mingyue of the Nether race was at the seventh stage of Shanhai, and Long Yingyue of the Dragon race had also reached the seventh stage. Moduona was at the first stage of Shanhai, Dao Cheng at the third stage… These fellows were all perilous. Thus, it was best to forfeit! The ancient cities only had twenty slots anyway, so giving up on contending in certain realms was entirely acceptable. In fact, many races with limited participants would likely forfeit competing against them as well. If participant numbers proved insufficient when the time came, adjustments might be made. For instance, at the ninth stage of Lingyun, countless races would probably choose to forfeit. Why send someone just to be slaughtered? Su Yu smiled. “We’ll see. Adjustments will have to be made later on. If too many people participate in a certain realm while others have none, adjustments will likely occur, forcing some races to send powerhouses into the fray. By the way, regarding the ninth stage of the Sun Moon Realm, Brother Tianhe, I’ll have to trouble you. We don't ask you to seize many slots, but at least hold onto your own!” “……” Tianhe stared at him, taking a long moment before saying, “I… have to fight too?” “Naturally!” Helpless, Tianhe smiled bitterly. “There’s no need for that, is there? With my strength among ninth-stage Sun Moon experts…” “You are very strong!” Su Yu nodded with a smile. “Even Xia Longwu failed to slash you to death with a single strike, so Castellan Tianhe is exceptionally powerful!” *To hell with that!* Tianhe cursed inwardly. Su Yu chuckled and said, “Could it be that Brother Tianhe doesn’t want to enter the Star Residence Mansion? Once inside, you might even have a chance to attain the Dao. Even if you don't, being cut off from death qi for a month will be enough for you to truly step into the Quasi-Invincible realm, allowing you to dredge up your three-life embodiments and no longer remain at the ninth stage of Sun Moon!” Tianhe was still at the ninth stage of Sun Moon. Su Yu had given him a carrier, but he had never been able to use it, primarily because the death qi suppressed him so severely. Once inside the Star Residence Mansion, however, he would not have to fear death qi suppression, as the channel for death qi would be severed for some time there. It would be more than enough for him to advance. Tianhe sighed, smiling bitterly. “Fine, then! In truth, many castellans share my thoughts this time: we want to enter, yet we fear it! That’s because Invincibles might enter in person this time. Moreover, we are advanced in age, and with high strength, the tier we enter will be higher, meaning greater danger! The Star Residence Mansion is friendly to geniuses, but by no means friendly to old relics like us!” Walking alongside him, Su Yu smiled and asked, “People always say the young have an advantage while the old face more danger. Does the castellan know what the actual difference is?” “I actually know a bit about that,” Tianhe explained. “Setting everything else aside, take entering the mansion: under normal circumstances, older individuals are assigned to floors based on age, not strength. Does Brother Su understand what I mean?” Surprised, Su Yu raised an eyebrow. “Based on age?” “Yes!” Tianhe said helplessly, “Given our age, we might be assigned directly to the seventh floor or above! The danger is simply too great! But given your age, you might appear directly on the first floor. The first floor is full of youngsters—how dangerous could it be? If an old person in the Soaring Realm is unlucky, they’ll appear directly on the seventh floor. Think about how perilous the seventh floor is; a crowd of Sun Moon experts or even Invincibles might gather there. What do you think happens to a Soaring Realm cultivator who shows up there?” Su Yu hesitated. “He beats the Sun Moon experts to pieces, then gets killed by an Invincible.” “……” *Get lost!* Tianhe was speechless. *I’m being serious, what are you babbling about?* All right… Su Yu might actually pull that off. He said earnestly, “Therefore, older weaklings had best not enter. If you go in thinking, ‘I’ve been stuck in the Soaring Realm for hundreds of years, who can match me? I’m invincible among my peers’—that's a joke! You’ll be assigned to the seventh or eighth floor just to wait for death! Take one step, and you might perish!” Now Su Yu understood what they meant regarding the age issue. In other words, old relics of the same realm possessed no advantage whatsoever; instead, their situation was far more difficult. “Then if someone is teleported to the ninth floor…” “No one has ever ascended to the ninth floor. Under normal circumstances, the highest people reach is the seventh floor.” Tianhe added, “Furthermore, do not think of the Star Residence Mansion as an actual building. It is a world, a domain, a vast domain! Each floor is a world, not a simple mansion. Don't make the mistake of thinking it’s small!” Surprised, Su Yu asked, “It’s huge?” “Vast, extraordinarily vast!” Tianhe smiled. “I’ve never been there, but those who have know that a single floor is virtually an entire realm! If you’re on the first floor, reaching the second floor is actually exceedingly difficult!” Su Yu was surprised, but also somewhat understanding. Vast! That meant there was plenty of room to maneuver. If it were truly small and everyone clustered together, it would be disastrous; the emergence of a single expert could lead to everyone being slaughtered. Tianhe continued, “Upon entering, the danger comes not only from the outside world or the myriad races. Inside the Star Residence Mansion, there are also vicious entities! Ancient races, Heaven armaments, broken weapons, lingering spirits of the dead… all of them are terrifying!” Su Yu nodded. It seemed he still needed to gather more intelligence and could not enter rashly. He needed to collect information from the Hunting Heaven Pavilion and the stone statues, clarifying the situation before proceeding. …… Outside the ancient city. As Su Yu floated into the air, he saw crowds of people—far more than yesterday. He glanced toward the human race’s grand hall and spotted several familiar faces. Bai Feng was indeed among them. Seeing Su Yu, Bai Feng waved at him, neither shouting nor pretending not to know him. Su Yu was his student; pretending otherwise was pointless. As Su Yu arrived, the White-Haired God King, having presumably concluded discussions with the others, said flatly, “The rules are simple: when you defeat an opponent and they are vanquished, they may withdraw, and the quota belongs to you!” “For instance, if Castellan Su enters the fray alongside others—ninety people in total—and one of them defeats eighty-eight participants, and Castellan Su ultimately defeats that individual, Castellan Su only obtains two quotas, not ninety!” “……” Su Yu chuckled. “This… while you restrict me, aren’t you restricting yourselves as well? What’s the point!” With such a setup, seizing all ninety quotas would be difficult. Parties with prior agreements could easily cooperate: *I’ll let you defeat me so you take more quotas, and we can discuss how to divide them afterward.* The White-Haired God King replied calmly, “This is not merely to restrict Castellan Su, but because the various races disagreed with yesterday’s proposal. We could only proceed this way. Castellan Su is not the only one suffering a loss; in truth, our major races suffer the greatest loss under this format. Nonetheless, to ensure a smooth distribution of quotas, we agreed!” Indeed, it did not restrict Su Yu alone; other geniuses would be restricted as well. Su Yu smiled. “Understood. End battles quickly—crush everyone before the rest can even react, and they’ll all be yours. A game of reaction speed. I can do that, no problem!” A minor matter! Among the crowd of Invincibles, some were speechless while others chuckled. Indeed, as long as you were fast enough, no one else would have the chance to pull any tricks. The White-Haired God King continued, “Additionally, the match ends upon admitting defeat; once someone concedes, they withdraw! If they refuse to concede, since killing is inconvenient within the ancient city, those who stubbornly refuse to give up will only drag out time. Being knocked into an ancient house also counts as elimination!” This was quite reasonable. After all, within the ancient city, if someone believed their opponent did not dare kill them and stubbornly refused to concede, it would cause trouble. Being beaten into an ancient house counting as elimination was fine. Su Yu smiled. “What if someone enters an ancient house voluntarily? If that counts as elimination, who gets the quota?” With a beaming smile, Su Yu asked, “It can’t just vanish, right? In my view, if someone enters an ancient house voluntarily and is eliminated, the remaining quotas should all go to the victor of that match. Whoever has the bigger fist gets them—no problem with that, right? Otherwise, the moment we enter, the other eighty-nine participants duck into ancient houses and get eliminated without me defeating them. Are those eighty-nine quotas supposed to just be thrown away?” The White-Haired God King nodded. “That is precisely what I intended to say! Those are the rules! If seven or eight people remain at the end, the unowned quotas will be split equally; if only one person remains, they all belong to that single person!” “That works!” Su Yu had no objections. At any rate, it wasn't purely restricting him. As he spoke, he asked with a grin, “By the way, let me ask: can a single person participate in multiple matches?” “Hmm?” The White-Haired God King frowned. “It was stated yesterday that one cannot!” Su Yu smiled. “What I mean is, if my realm breaks through, or if my realm drops, can I participate in other matches?” Su Yu smiled playfully. “For example, I am currently at the seventh stage of Lingyun. After finishing the seventh-stage match, I advance to the eighth stage. After finishing the eighth stage, I enter the ninth stage. That should be allowed, right?” “……” The crowd stared at him, dumbfounded. Su Yu chuckled. “Don’t look at me like that, I’m serious. The realms are genuine too—guaranteed not to be disguised, but bona fide cultivation stages. What do you think, is that acceptable? Don't keep targeting me; I'm just making reasonable use of the rules. If you can do it, you’re welcome to do the same…” Demon King Moge could not help but roar in fury, “Su Yu, do not push your luck too far!” Surprised, Su Yu said, “Pushing my luck? I’m merely making an inquiry, how is that pushing my luck? Absolutely absurd! I'm completely serious. I could totally suppress my realm down to the seventh stage of Lingyun. What, is that not allowed?” “……” Everyone felt a massive headache coming on! Only damn Su Yu caused this much nonsense; who on earth operated like this? Dao King said in a deep voice, “One person may only participate in a single match!” Su Yu shrugged. “See? Targeting me again. Sigh, you people really can’t take a loss! How utterly boring!” “……” All around, the crowd watched the Invincibles being run ragged by Su Yu, keeping silent. This guy was truly something else. Having said his piece, Su Yu smiled with narrowed eyes. “By the way, the slots for participating don't strictly require members of one’s own race, right? In my ancient city, it isn't easy to divide people by race!” Everyone looked at him. What new scheme was he cooking up now? Moge knitted his brows. “There is no restriction on race!” Su Yu let out a breath of relief. “You said it yourselves; don’t go back on your word again. Going back on your word would be terribly petty!” Dao King said faintly, “As long as you cease causing trouble, we naturally will not go back on our word!” With that, he looked at the figures behind Su Yu and smiled. “Are Castellan Su’s twenty slots entirely filled? If not, the Immortal race does not mind helping the castellan share the burden.” “They’re full!” Su Yu chuckled. “Rest assured, no matter how many slots there are, I have enough people. Shall we begin the battle for the first stage of Soaring now?” “Whenever you wish!” Su Yu smiled. “Our ancient city will dispatch someone to fight as well…” As the words fell, Su Yu casually tossed out a drop of blood that landed inside the ancient city. The next moment, a dead spirit materialized—at the first stage of Soaring! Drawing a glowing ring above the dead spirit’s head, Su Yu smiled. “Him, then! First stage of Soaring. The other Soaring Realm cultivators may enter the ancient city to battle. Beat him to death, and the quota is yours; knocking him into an ancient house works as well…” Dumbfounded! Truly, everyone on all sides was struck dumb. *This works too?* Even King Dazhou was stunned. *Even this is allowed?* Su Yu chuckled. “I asked just now whether other races were allowed, and you said yourselves that there was no problem. The dead spirit race is a race too, and members of my ancient city. His strength is actually very weak; beating him to death at the first stage of Soaring isn't hard. No problem, right? Oh, my apologies, he can’t enter ancient houses, so you can only beat him to death!” “……” *Fuck!* The crowd cursed furiously in their hearts! Killing a dead spirit inside the ancient city—was that not asking for trouble? What kind of joke was this! Su Yu, however, did not seem to mind, smiling as he said, “Truly, it’s not difficult! For example, once the battle ends and three to five of you remain, you can team up to beat him to death and flee immediately after. Below the Sun Moon Realm, the city won’t seal automatically. Rest assured, I’m not the type to intentionally make things difficult for you. Still, it’s best to deal with him at the very end; otherwise, if you kill him during the match, you’ll face immense trouble, and dead spirits will hunt you incessantly!” The crowd was left speechless. Dealing with a dead spirit was technically feasible. For instance, the remaining survivors could kill the dead spirit after the match concluded and leave the city without much issue. Yet… dammit, during the contest, this dead spirit might eliminate quite a few people! A dead spirit might be weak, but it was exceptionally troublesome. Su Yu smiled. “The rules are set. You are all Invincibles, so do not alter them again and again. I am easy to talk to, but repeatedly restricting me would be rather tasteless. It’s not as though dead spirits are an insurmountable trouble.” The Invincibles exchanged glances. After a long silence, the White-Haired God King said coldly, “Acceptable!” A dead spirit was indeed a manageable trouble. Imposing more restrictions and altering rules again would indeed be improper. Still, this Su Yu was truly brazen—he actually sent a dead spirit to compete for a quota! One had to hand it to him! Its strength was weak, but if it reaped benefits from the sidelines, it might genuinely snatch some, because fighting a dead spirit was far too troublesome, with everyone terrified of striking too hard and killing it. Even Tianhe and his companions beside Su Yu wore strange expressions. This Castellan Su truly knew how to play the game. Even if it were beaten to death, he wouldn't feel the slightest heartache! There were plenty of dead spirits to spare! Meanwhile, Su Yu said faintly, “My recommendation—merely a recommendation—is that you’d best not kill the dead spirit. It’s just one quota; once time runs out, it ends! If you truly kill it, more dead spirits will appear in the next match! That would be terribly unfriendly to the subsequent contests! If worse comes to worst, just treat the dead spirit as nonexistent and grant it a quota—what harm is there in that? Right?” The crowd had no response. Dammit, both the good and bad arguments had been made entirely by him alone. What could they say? If all else failed… they would simply give up on killing the dead spirit. The White-Haired God King could no longer be bothered to entangle with him, saying impatiently, “First-stage Soaring participants, enter the arena! Ninety combatants; if numbers are insufficient, adjustments will follow!” With that, he shot a glare at Su Yu and cursed inwardly! Had he known, he would never have chosen the ancient city. Yet the various races all wished to compete in the ancient city to minimize losses, leaving the great races with no choice but to comply; otherwise, the myriad races would never have agreed to this method of determining quotas. Su Yu chuckled incessantly. Looking at the weak dead spirit inside the city, his grin widened. Pity there was no battle among Invincibles; otherwise, he would have called Xingyue out to spar with them. Would they dare beat Xingyue to death? Now that would be truly entertaining!