At the second aperture, Su Yu gained yet another harvest.
His eyes were godlike!
His left eye had been tempered by fire, blazing like a radiant sun, while his right eye had not been tempered by fire, but sealed in freezing frost, chill as bleak moonlight.
Fire and ice manifested in his eyes.
Cold and heat alternated, an intimidating sight!
Now, a glare from Su Yu could genuinely kill someone; whoever he glared at would perish.
Huang Jiu was secretly alarmed. This fellow was growing stronger and stronger.
Crucially, Su Yu retrieved treasures as effortlessly as pulling something from his pocket. Whether anyone had ever obtained these things in the past was unknown, but none could have acquired them as easily as Su Yu.
...
A while later, the Twin Dragon Gorge.
The Twin Dragon Gorge was an exceptionally dangerous place. According to Su Yu's deduction, this was where the nostrils were located. The Twin Dragon Gorge consisted of two enclosed chasms where astral winds howled year-round.
Yet because of this, countless treasures were born here.
In particular, there was a specialty of the Twin Dragon Gorge pursued by innumerable people: Dragon Entangling Wood.
Dragon Entangling Wood could bind even dragons. It was peerlessly tough and an excellent material for forging armaments. In sufficient quantities, it could even forge a Heaven armament! Rumor had it that at the end of the Twin Dragon Gorge, there were ancient pieces of Dragon Entangling Wood that could even serve as carriers!
Of course, that was merely a legend spread by some, for they couldn't enter.
The Twin Dragon Gorge was simply too perilous!
The Dragon Entangling Wood acted like living creatures; once anyone entered the gorge, they would inevitably be attacked by them.
...
Outside the Twin Dragon Gorge.
Su Yu chuckled. Dragon Entangling Wood?
Nose hairs!
Yes, his immediate thought was that this stuff was nose hair!
Without a doubt!
Given the methods and layout of the one who built the Star Residence Mansion, the Twin Dragon Gorge was the pair of nostrils. And in the nostrils, what lashed out and attacked people indiscriminately if not nose hairs?
Supposedly, the Dragon Entangling Wood was extraordinarily powerful and towering.
He had to admit, a single forged nose hair was bigger than a behemoth.
And nose hairs certainly wouldn't be few in number.
The Twin Dragon Gorge stretched for hundreds of li; from this, one could tell that the forged nose hairs were quite numerous. The deepest nose hairs might truly be usable as carriers, but Su Yu was certain that if you plucked a nose hair, you would be in tremendous trouble!
No other reason than if someone plucked your nose hair, you would want to beat them to death too.
"The Twin Dragon Gorge..."
Su Yu took to the air, looking down.
At this moment, there were more people near the Twin Dragon Gorge than at the previous two locations. The Sacred Springs at the previous two spots were of little use to many people, but Dragon Entangling Wood was a treasure.
Even Dragon Entangling Wood from the outer perimeter could forge an Earth armament.
That from the inner perimeter could forge a Heaven armament.
And deeper inside, plucking a single hair might yield a carrier. To everyone, no place on the first floor was more precious than this; this was the true treasure ground where myriad treasures converged!
Those capable of venturing deep might obtain a carrier all at once!
That was a monumental windfall!
Therefore, most people on the first floor were gathered here. The rest had either gone directly to the second floor or simply searched elsewhere before quickly departing.
In any case, when Su Yu arrived, there were at least a hundred geniuses of various races on the outskirts.
From within the two massive holes, shouts and roars echoed; clearly, people had already ventured inside. The two enormous holes were unmistakably the nostrils.
Of course, legends circulated among all races.
In ancient times, a pair of ancient dragons—one male and one female—had resided here, which was why it was called the Twin Dragon Gorge. Rumors also claimed that deep within the gorge lay treasures left behind by the dragons, or even Invincible corpses.
This was why generation after generation of cultivators continually explored the gorge.
In truth, many people knew this realm seemed forged in the likeness of a human face, and they knew this place might be the nostrils. After all, the name "Human Face Realm" had not been coined by Su Yu, nor had names like Brow Mountain.
Knowing was one thing, but it was an imitation after all, not real flesh and blood.
Could it truly be a human's nostrils?
Whose nostrils stretched hundreds of li?
It wasn't that no one had connected the dots, but making that connection didn't help much. Entering was difficult, and even once inside, other races had no special means, while the human race couldn't breach the depths at all.
When Su Yu arrived, the others hadn't noticed him, still discussing loudly.
"Do you think anyone can obtain Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Entangling Wood this time?"
"Can that stuff really be used as a carrier?"
"..."
A carrier was the most precious treasure in everyone's eyes. On the first floor, this place held the greatest fortune. Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Entangling Wood was what everyone desired most. Even if they couldn't use it themselves, offering it to their race's Invincibles before the assembly outside would bring immense rewards—and plenty of them!
If their race had no Invincible, giving it secretly to a quasi-Invincible of their domain... would either get them silenced or earn them a mountain of treasures in exchange. Those who entered through official slots generally had Invincible backing behind them.
At this moment, Huang Jiu also sent a voice transmission: "According to Heaven Hunting Pavilion records, the Twin Dragon Gorge is the first floor's greatest treasure land! Countless pieces of Dragon Entangling Wood grow inside, inexhaustible and endless! Even those on the outskirts are treasures, beloved by armamentsmiths..."
With that, she looked around. "There are many geniuses of various races here. You aren't going to slaughter them again, are you? If you kill too many, then once you leave... there will be huge trouble! Kill fewer, and when many people exit, you can fish in troubled waters. If you kill all these people and only a few emerge, the Invincibles of all races will throw all caution to the wind!"
She was not wrong. If few died and many exited, all races would remain wary of one another and not slaughter indiscriminately.
If he killed too many—say, only seven or eight came out, all human—the other races would erupt and blast everyone apart. If they had to die, everyone died together; no one would get to reap the rewards!
Su Yu nodded and smiled. "Makes sense!"
Huang Jiu let out a breath of relief. At least he hadn't gone mad.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, a tome expanded, blotting out heaven and earth!
Yet those below seemed not to notice at all.
Su Yu said indifferently, "Out of three thousand six hundred, how many have died so far? There are about a thousand on the first floor; killing them all is only a third. What is there to fear?"
"You..."
Huang Jiu's heart skipped a beat. What terrifying bloodlust!
The enormous tome blanketed the sky and earth.
By now, some seemed to sense it and looked up. The sky was completely obstructed.
Civilization!
Yes, the two characters "Civilization" appeared, brimming with Daoist resonance and shimmering with radiance. Someone glanced up, dazed and bewildered: "What is that, an ancient treasure?"
However, someone finally reacted, seized by sheer horror, and yelled, "Run!"
That person fled into the air at top speed!
Yet the book unfolded, pages separating in all directions. A phantom emerged from each page. Su Yu's face paled slightly as he tested the effects.
Three hundred phantoms, all at the first level of the Sun Moon Realm—no, some approached the second level—instantly reached out toward the panic-stricken crowd in the air!
On the outskirts, there were only around a hundred people.
Yet there were three hundred first-level Sun Moons!
At that moment, Huang Jiu's mouth fell open. This was an Earth armament?
I... I don't believe it.
How could an Earth armament be like this? It was stronger than a Heaven armament!
Three hundred Sun Moons!
Meanwhile, Su Yu's origin qi drained rapidly, consumption far outstripping replenishment. It was using a cleaver to kill a chicken, but he was only testing it out. It could still be used here; on the higher floors, without knowing the situation, he might not even be able to deploy it!
Pfft, pfft, pfft!
Flesh was pierced one after another. Over a hundred geniuses—save for a handful of humans—were dragged into the pages. Su Yu's face turned pale from the immense drain.
He couldn't truly support three hundred Sun Moons; they were mostly phantoms sustained by blood essence and the absorbed power of corpses. His actual personal expenditure wasn't overwhelming, nor did he bear the full load.
Even so, it drained him dry!
In an instant, heaven and earth fell silent!
The three hundred pages snapped back together, and some pages now bore newly formed words.
Beside him, Huang Jiu's face was white with terror.
Su Yu was truly demonic.
Such slaughtering methods were terrifying.
Yet Su Yu couldn't care less. Retrieving the tome, the characters "Civilization" surged atop it, as if on the verge of advancing into Sun Moon divine characters!
The 109th golden line began coalescing from illusion into reality, gradually manifesting, yet it still felt slightly short!
Su Yu let out a laugh. Suddenly, the book enlarged, blotting out the sun and plugging the two huge holes. He laughed, "Let them play inside for a bit! It seems I'm about to advance!"
Not a realm breakthrough—his "Civilization" divine characters seemed about to advance into Tier-5 divine characters, Sun Moon divine characters!
And the civilized armament was close too.
Just a little more!
No matter. Su Yu produced a batch of materials. A massive hammer appeared in his hand as flames leaped up, instantly melting the materials. Then, hammer blow after hammer blow, he began forging!
Forging pages!
Not only that, as he forged, he produced a colossal apparatus and tossed it to Huang Jiu, saying indifferently, "Go, cut out spaces for me. Cut out standard one-thousand-meter cubes! Cut them from different spots; I need them! The spatial stability here is no lower than the All-Heavens Battlefield's!"
He needed to add pages!
There were races for which he hadn't yet forged pages.
He would forge pages for these races now; even without their Sun Moon blood essence, it didn't matter—he just wouldn't fuse blood essence yet.
...
Meanwhile, the moment Su Yu slaughtered over a hundred people and plugged the Twin Dragon Gorge, the outside world erupted in an uproar!
"Damn it!"
"Who in the world is it?"
One expert after another glared toward the human race. On the demon side, Mo Ge raged, "King Dazhou, is this your human race's trump card?"
King Dazhou replied calmly, "Who among my human race do you think is capable of this?"
Instantly slaughtering over a hundred people!
He continued placidly, "Perhaps they encountered a crisis. The Star Residence Mansion is fraught with perils to begin with."
"Nonsense!" Mo Ge barked in fury. "If it were a crisis, why haven't any humans died, while the dead are all geniuses of other races?"
King Dazhou smiled faintly. "Is that hard to understand? Perhaps they entered a treasure land, but because the human race was targeted by you all, your races entered while mine was barred... Then, the treasure land shifted, your people died, and ours survived. Is that so strange?"
He appeared utterly composed. "Instantly killing over a hundred geniuses... all of them had some skill, whether in the Soaring Realm or Lingyun Realm! Instant slaughter... is no easy feat. Even a Sun Moon wouldn't kill them that easily or wipe them out all at once. Thus, nine times out of ten, something went wrong with the Star Residence Mansion itself! One can only say... being targeted has its perks. Since our people couldn't get in, they naturally faced fewer hazards."
Did his words make sense?
Yes!
Yet no one could accept it!
Rage boiled across the crowd!
Hardly any humans had died, while the other races had already lost over two hundred!
And this was only the first day!
The first day hadn't even ended!
If this went on, wouldn't everyone be wiped out before half a month passed?
This was terrifying!
At this moment, someone couldn't hold back and growled, "Everyone, is there any way to notify those on the upper floors to go down and investigate? The trouble must be on the first floor! At least a thousand beings are down there; if they keep dying like this, they'll all be dead within three days!"
They were dying too fast. Something was wrong—terribly wrong!
Just then, Dao King looked toward the ancient city once more and suddenly said coldly, "Ordinary people can't do it, but someone can. Su Yu, wouldn't you say so?"
"..."
Liu Hong felt a strange twinge inside. True, ordinary people couldn't, but an extraordinary person could.
A natural-born slaughterer, too!
But... wasn't I impersonating him right here?
How could Dao King still pin this on me!
Liu Hong drawled lazily, "What does Dao King mean by that?"
Dao King said sinisterly, "I think you know what I mean! The first floor... is the stage for young cultivators! Even if Moduona and the others entered, they wouldn't slaughter indiscriminately, let alone slaughter demons! Only one person—say, if City Lord Su went inside—probably wouldn't care and would slaughter without distinction. After all... when City Lord Su starts killing, he has no regard for such things!"
Liu Hong laughed. "Me? Slaughtering? Well... I hardly know how to explain myself!"
Dao King demanded coldly, "Are you truly Su Yu?"
At that moment, Invincibles turned their gazes toward him one after another.
Was he Su Yu?
Could Su Yu have actually gone inside?
They couldn't help but suspect!
Not even Moduona, ranked first on the Heaven Ranking, could accomplish such a feat. But one person could: Su Yu!
Was it Su Yu's doing?
And if it was Su Yu, who was this Su Yu before them?
Liu Hong chuckled. "Dao King, you're hell-bent on tossing me into the fire, aren't you? Finding trouble with me at every turn. Did I dig up your ancestral graves, or did I sleep with your wife?"
Dao King regarded him with somber chill, saying flatly, "Step out of the city. No one will lay a hand on you. Step out for a moment and show us whether you truly are Su Yu!"
Liu Hong laughed helplessly. "Are you out of your mind, or am I? You suspect me? Fine, come on over and throw a punch at the Sacred City's gates! I'm not Su Yu, I'm a fake, and Lord Xinghong can't leave anyway... Come on, Dao King! If you don't dare throw a punch, you're my grandson! Do you dare? If you don't, don't you still have disciples? Don't you have followers? You oversee the Dao King Domain—surely you have some capable subordinates? Send them over to try! Preferably ninth-level Sun Moons, otherwise... you'd better watch out for your subordinates plotting against you! If I were you, I'd just trap and slaughter them all to avoid being backstabbed!"
Dao King's expression darkened, and he said coldly, "You don't dare come out?"
"That's right!"
Liu Hong grinned. "I don't dare! Do you take me for a three-year-old child? If I step out and you strike me dead, where would I go to seek justice? A mere Lingyun like me daring to leave the city? Come on, Dao King, give me a palm strike! I've insulted your ancestors and threatened to dig up your ancestral graves, yet you don't even dare lift a finger against me. What kind of useless Invincible are you? How do you have the gall to call yourself an Invincible?"
"Hahaha!"
Liu Hong laughed uproariously, his face brimming with ridicule and contempt. "Worthless! If I, Su Yu, had entered the Star Residence Mansion, I'd specifically hunt down your people. Wiping them all out would be pure bliss! Dao King, if you want to restore your three incarnations, wait for your next life!"
"..."
Dao King stared at him with chilling detachment, saying nothing more.
Was this Su Yu?
He didn't know.
Yet he knew that even if he wasn't, this creature was utterly detestable and deserved to die!
Around them, the Invincibles also wore peculiar expressions. Dao King actually suspected Su Yu had gone inside, yet there was a Su Yu right here. Unfortunately, the person was inside the city, and even Dao Integration eyes couldn't pierce the city to see who he truly was.
Appearance really meant nothing.
All races had myriad methods; altering one's looks was trivial for many.
Whether it was Su Yu or not, nobody was certain. Regardless, it changed nothing. If it was, Su Yu was already inside.
However... if there was a way to test him, it was best to try.
Some pondered in their hearts whether they should test him.
Su Yu wasn't the only one in the ancient city; there were quite a few residents. Last time, some Sun Moons had been converted—could those people be used to test him?
Soon, no one pressed the matter further. Someone said in a low voice, "Set that aside for now. I only want to know whether one can descend from the upper floors!"
Another remarked, "The Heaven Hunting Pavilion should know, right? Can people be sent down, and can messages be sent inside?"
Those on the upper floors had to be informed that a catastrophic upheaval was taking place on the first floor!
Weak though they might be, if all these geniuses died, this generation would be severed for at least a decade—no, perhaps a century, because so many had entered this time.
At this moment, many turned their gazes toward the Heaven Hunting Pavilion hall.
The Heaven Hunting Pavilion hall had remained here all along.
This time, however, no one came to besiege it.
After the Heaven Division Minister departed, someone had indeed harbored designs. But the instant that thought arose, sheer terror gripped the Invincible, as though total annihilation loomed over him. Realizing that a top-tier expert from the Heaven Hunting Pavilion had likely arrived, he immediately abandoned the notion.
Many looked toward the Heaven Hunting Pavilion. As an ancient organization, it had frequently explored the Star Residence Mansion in the past and likely possessed valuable information.
At this moment, the Earth Division Minister's voice sounded from within the Heaven Hunting Pavilion: "Transmitting a message is not impossible! The Star Residence Mansion is immensely powerful! However, if descendants of Eternal beings are inside, bloodline transmission can deliver a message—provided one endures some backlash! The force of that backlash will likely be substantial, as it defies certain rules of the Star Residence Mansion!"
Endure backlash!
Hearing this, everyone's expressions turned conflicted. Breaking rules and enduring backlash—Tiangu had just attempted it earlier. Did anyone else want to try?
"As for descending from the upper floors to the bottom, that is also feasible. It is not strictly one-way. In the past, the Star Residence Mansion had no such restriction. Would upper-floor experts not oversee the lower floors? However, as countless years drifted by, the mansion became sealed in dust, and the origin qi density on the upper floors became far greater than on the lower floors! The massive compressive pressure forced the doors leading downward shut... Ascending from lower floors uses teleportation channels, while descending from upper floors requires withstanding this compressive pressure to force open the gate."
"What price must be paid?"
"Find someone with an exceptionally powerful physical body; otherwise, their flesh will be crushed to pieces!"
Everyone understood. The Heaven Hunting Pavilion truly knew a great deal.
Furthermore, they had shared this information for free this time for several reasons: they too had members killed on the lower floor, and having people leave the upper floors would lessen the competition for treasures facing the Heaven Hunting Pavilion.
For a time, no one made up their mind; they were still weighing their options.
...
Meanwhile, Su Yu continued forging pages.
Huang Jiu was operating the massive cutting apparatus to slice through space. Cutting space was no simple matter; otherwise, Su Yu wouldn't have tasked Hu Xiansheng with it before.
When space was severed, the area collapsed. A terrifying compressive force ensued, and with the slightest carelessness, the cutter would be crushed to pieces by the collapsing space.
Huang Jiu had just finished cutting a block when a massive spatial collapse compressed toward her. The destructive spatial force propagated with immense speed; despite her rapid retreat, she was struck by the spatial pressure in a flash. With a squelch, blood splattered.
At that critical juncture, the little fur ball flickered past, whisking her away in a rapid escape. Behind them, space exploded, and a ferocious collapse swept across the area, tearing everything apart.
Her heart pounding with lingering fear, Huang Jiu glanced at Su Yu, who was still forging in the distance without even looking her way. She raged, "You're trying to murder me!"
She had nearly died!
Su Yu replied calmly, "No, I had no such intention. I merely didn't expect... that you would be this stupid! You followed Kongkong, who is the most adept in the spatial Dao below the Invincible realm. I assumed you would at least know a thing or two. As it turns out... you understand nothing. I wonder, aside from a slightly higher cultivation realm, what else can you do?"
"You..."
Huang Jiu fumed, "I'm simply not skilled in spatial power! And you didn't warn me! When space collapses, I barely have a chance to flee!"
"Does common sense require my warning?"
Su Yu smiled, finishing a page, and shook his head. "Forget it, you're just useless. I only wanted you to comprehend a bit of the spatial Dao, but you truly know nothing—a pretty pillow stuffed with straw! And here I thought you, Huang Jiu, had some measure of ability. I overestimated you!"
Huang Jiu frowned, staring at him in silence.
Su Yu didn't explain.
He needed to deflate this girl's ego. She was too proud, too arrogant!
The Liu family had no need for such a person.
At the very least, they didn't need someone haughty, arrogant, or full of pride, someone who believed nothing else mattered and that her extraordinary talent allowed her to look down on everything.
She couldn't be allowed to think that!
Su Yu would make her realize how insignificant she was.
Having forged another page, Su Yu stepped forward into the air, took over the massive apparatus, and began slicing through space. He said indifferently, "You know nothing, understand nothing! Partnering with you—no, having you do a trivial chore—proves beyond your ability. You almost wrecked my machine, which you couldn't afford to replace! If my teacher were here, or even Wu Lan, a mere Soaring cultivator, either of them would have done better than you. You're simply too stupid!"
Huang Jiu refused to back down, snapping indignantly, "Su Yu, there's no need to mock and belittle me like this! I'm just not proficient in the Dao of space!"
"Then what are you proficient in?"
Su Yu sliced casually. A massive chunk of space was excised bit by bit. The moment the spatial block was pulled away, a huge spatial black hole emerged, collapsing and tearing across the surroundings.
Yet Su Yu leaped away with ease.
Huang Jiu gritted her small white teeth and retorted defiantly, "I'm a genius! My combat strength is formidable! I can even clash with a Sun Moon..."
Su Yu sneered, "Sun Moon? You think matching a Sun Moon is extraordinary? If you think like that... I suppose it's best you never return to the Liu family in this lifetime..."
"I never wanted to go back anyway!" Huang Jiu flared up. "I've never once thought about returning!"
Su Yu chuckled. "Then that's for the best! This time, I spared you for the sake of the Liu family, not out of respect for you, Huang Jiu! So you owe the Liu family a life... Of course, you were young back then, and the Liu family dragged you down and nearly got you killed... Consider that debt repaid."
Huang Jiu said coldly, "Su Yu, after all your talk, you're merely trying to lighten your teacher's guilt! If I truly am a daughter of the Liu family, then its destruction back then was entirely caused by your teacher. Otherwise, the Liu family would still be the Liu family! Now you repeatedly belittle me, provoke me, and claim you're sparing my life, all just to get me to say that Liu Wenyan owes me nothing, aren't you?"
Su Yu fell silent.
A moment later, he smiled. "You're right."
Huang Jiu regained her calm. "Su Yu, let me ask you: if I truly am a daughter of the Liu family, orphaned as an infant because of your teacher, nearly killed on the All-Heavens Battlefield, and saved only because the Elder rescued me—tell me, do I have the right to resent him?"
"..."
Su Yu was silent for a moment before replying, "You do."
"Hmph!"
Huang Jiu finally gained the upper hand, speaking disdainfully: "Yes, you didn't kill me this time because I might be a Liu descendant. If my skills fall short and I'm defeated and killed by you, I would have had it coming! But that has nothing to do with whether I resent the Liu family! Those are entirely different matters! If Liu Wenyan hadn't stubbornly refused to hand over the Multiple Divine Characters inheritance and Ye Batian's divine character, the Liu family wouldn't have met this catastrophe! The Liu family's destruction—Liu Wenyan is the chief culprit! Are you still going to whitewash your teacher?"
Su Yu was quiet for a while, then nodded. "Perhaps you're right. Indeed, urging someone to let go of grudges invites lightning from heaven. If you feel the Liu family owes you... or rather, that my teacher owes you, that seems reasonable. Everyone has their own stance. My stance is that my teacher was also a victim... He never intended for the Liu family to be destroyed..."
"Ha!"
Huang Jiu scoffed. "In fifty years, the Liu family was attacked three times! Not once! Su Yu, you're deliberately forgetting this! Three times—King Fenhai gave Liu Wenyan three chances! After the first attack, Liu Wenyan should have known this was no longer his personal affair, but a matter of life, death, and honor for the entire Liu family! Did he care? To preserve his teacher's divine character, even after the second attack, he still chose to stand by and ignore it! Until the third time, when the Liu family was utterly destroyed! Su Yu, you don't need to speak for Liu Wenyan. If I'm not a Liu descendant and you kill me, I deserve it! But if I am... even if you spare me, it won't stop me from despising that man! Liu Wenyan is my enemy, a hypocrite, a false saint! Was his teacher truly more important than the entire Liu family?"
"..."
Su Yu found himself rendered speechless. After a long pause, he sighed. "Fair enough. If I were in your shoes... perhaps I would hate him too. I suppose I have no right to advise you to let go of your resentment. Forget it, I won't meddle in the Liu family's affairs; after all, I'm just an outsider. Even an honest magistrate can't settle family disputes. I won't interfere anymore. I only hope... you won't use this identity to make my teacher walk into death. If you do, no matter what, I will deal with you!"
Huang Jiu wore a triumphant look, feeling she had finally pulled back a point!
That fellow Su Yu had finally admitted defeat.
Unexpectedly, Su Yu chuckled again. "That said, setting all that aside, you truly are quite useless! You have been from the start! Grand ambitions but petty talent! You were kicked out of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion by me so easily, and even dragged Kongkong down with you! You took the blame for me for so long without even being able to struggle. I became the head of the Heaven Hunting Pavilion in the Human Realm, while you became a wanted criminal..."
"I had only joined for a few days, while you had been there for years and even oversaw intelligence work. In the end, still useless!"
Su Yu smiled faintly. "Setting aside other identities and looking purely at this, do you have any objection when I call you useless?"
"..."
Huang Jiu looked dejected, a sudden wave of sorrow washing over her.
That past event was likely the humiliation of her lifetime.
Su Yu chuckled and said, "So you see, stripped of incidental identities... you're destined to be nothing more than a thug! Can you strategize? Can you calculate? You can do none of it. Aside from fighting and killing, the moment a Sun Moon appears, you're finished! Meanwhile, back in the Temperament Nurturing stage, I was already trapping and killing Shanhai and Sun Moon experts! You fall far too short! Not just compared to me, but compared to many others, you lag far behind! Kongkong spoiled you, feeding you piles of great treasures. But aside from raising your cultivation realm, you pale in comparison to many! Whether it's Zhan Wushuang or Moduona, even Dao Cheng, whom I look down upon, is better than you!"
Su Yu laughed. "Take Dao Cheng: he wishes he could kill me every single day. Yet he has run into me many times, and every time he saw me, no matter how intense his hatred, he would play the coward and keep his distance! You clearly know my strength far exceeds yours and your life rests in my hands, yet you repeatedly butt heads with me. If not for this Liu family identity, you would have died dozens of times!"
Huang Jiu opened her mouth, but stopped herself...
Su Yu added indifferently, "I've heard that if you truly are that Liu daughter, you might also be Xia Huyou's fiancée... I just want to say, forget it! You might look down on Xia Huyou, but let me tell you, don't drag him down! Brother Huyou far surpasses you in talent, wisdom, and demeanor—by miles and miles! The younger generation of the Great Xia Prefecture might think he isn't strong, but none doubt his ability to lead the prefecture! The Xia family's once-in-fifty-years body forging opportunity—he gave it to Huang Teng without a second thought. Did Huang Teng know? He knew!"
"Back when I was weak, he traded massive amounts of resources to me at bargain prices. Didn't he know I might become stronger than him in the future? He knew that too!"
"Do you think he enjoys bowing and scraping before the other races? No, he's a member of the Xia family; how could he enjoy that? But he knows saving face means nothing. After the last great upheaval, both the human race and all the other races harbored wariness and resentment toward the Xia family... Yet when he becomes Manor Head—a shameless Manor Head, a seemingly weak Manor Head, a grinning, jesting Manor Head—everyone will suddenly feel it acceptable to ease relations with the Xia family!"
"What about you?"
Su Yu said placidly, "That's why I say, don't drag him down!"
Huang Jiu's expression shifted continuously.
Just then, a chuckle came from the distance: "Well... you're making me blush! You knew I was here and said all that on purpose, making me feel a bit embarrassed, Brother Su! So that's how grand I am in your heart! Tsk tsk, had I known, we should have sworn brotherhood as brothers of different fathers and different mothers!"
"Hahaha!"
Accompanied by hearty laughter, a fat youth walked out of the void with a broad smile. He cupped his hands to Huang Jiu and grinned, "Greetings... Sister Huang! Or perhaps... Sister Liu..."
Saying that, his expression turned solemn and earnest: "Regarding the Liu family, the Xia family bears responsibility! The Fifth Generation Head personally went to accept a disciple, and my great-grandfather personally went to convince the Liu family head to turn from vultures into guardians of the human race... In the end, the Liu family was destroyed. For this, my Xia family cannot shirk blame!"
"Whatever compensation the Xia family offers now... can hardly make up for it. Sister Liu's parents died in battle; some things Huyou hasn't felt firsthand, so I cannot truly fathom the pain. Huyou won't say much else, but if Sister Liu ever has any command, just say the word, and Huyou will do his utmost to fulfill it!"
Huang Jiu glanced at him, furrowing her brows in silence.
As Su Yu fused space into the pages, he smiled faintly. "Fatty Xia, you've got real guts. Countless casualties here, and you still dare to show up!"
Xia Huyou chuckled, "As long as one's guts are big enough, the other races aren't scary! I took one look at this ruthless decisiveness and soaring blood qi... aside from my Brother Su, nobody would dare do such a thing. So, I came over to see my old pal!"
Su Yu smiled and looked into the distance. "Huang Teng, come on out! What are you hiding for?"
After a moment, Huang Teng let out a dry laugh and emerged from the void, looking sheepish. "Just looking around, casually looking! Don't misunderstand, Brother Su, don't hit me. We can talk things through!"
Su Yu sighed. "I kept my identity hidden, yet you two discovered it in less than a day... Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Xia Huyou chuckled, "Appropriate, totally appropriate! We're all family, no outsiders know. And dead outsiders don't count as people! With you here, Brother, we're a lot safer too..."
Su Yu smiled and paid him no further attention. The next instant, a page fused into the book!
At that moment, heaven and earth changed color.
Boom!
A tremendous rumble echoed throughout the entire Human Face Realm. In the void, two divine characters surfaced, instantly transforming into crescent moons. The characters "Civilization" shone in mutual brilliance, and Su Yu's willpower skyrocketed!
On the tome, 109 golden lines instantly emerged and solidified!
Su Yu's aura surged dramatically!
In this moment, an almost sacred aura radiated from him. The two divine characters circled around him once before sinking back into the book.
And the 109 golden lines were formally displayed!
Right at that moment, clouds descended from the heavens.
A Heaven armament was born!
Divine characters entered the Sun Moon Realm; the tome ascended to a Heaven armament.
Those present stared dumbfounded. Not only that, clouds descended one after another!
This was the reward for a Heaven armament, as well as the reward for the emergence of Sun Moon divine characters.
The next moment, a blood tribulation emerged!
Two sets of rules clashed once again—reward and punishment!
Conflicting rules!
Advancing to a Heaven armament deserved reward!
Yet the civilization chronicle was an ominous object, deserving punishment!
Of course, compared to the day it was first forged, it was much weaker now.
Su Yu laughed heartily. "Fatty, I was just waiting for you so I could give you some benefits, paying off the favor from our trades back then! I'm someone who hates owing favors..."
With those words, he stepped into the void, tore apart the clouds, and tossed them toward Xia Huyou.
Xia Huyou devoured the clouds, his aura surging instantly.
His physical body underwent rapid forging as well.
Basking in enjoyment, he exclaimed in boundless marvel, "Incredible! As long as one's bold enough, even the rules can be eaten like meals! Amazing! Truly impressive!"
Su Yu didn't bother replying. The book swept out, instantly devouring the blood clouds.
Cloud after cloud was absorbed by Xia Huyou. In the blink of an eye, his physical body completed seven or eight rounds of forging. This was the reward for advancing to a Heaven armament, no trivial matter!
Xia Huyou's aura grew steadily stronger. Nearby, Huang Jiu and Huang Teng looked on with envy.
Huang Teng clicked his tongue in wonder: "Everyone else avoids tribulations like the plague, yet you, Su Yu, are the first ruthless person bold enough to treat rules as cultivation resources. I have no choice but to be impressed! Your teacher truly falls short... but you, you're top-notch!"
Raising his thumb, Huang Teng genuinely felt Su Yu possessed an extraordinary demeanor unmatched in this generation.
In this perilous Star Residence Mansion, Su Yu moved as though entering an uninhabited land, retrieving treasures and forging armaments with effortless ease!
One couldn't help but be thoroughly impressed!
Su Yu chuckled, "Huang Teng, cut the flattery. If you belittle my teacher again, believe it or not, I won't go easy on you!"
Insulting my teacher is insulting me!
Of course, I can tease my teacher with that, but you can't!
Huang Teng shrugged and smiled, dropping the topic.
Bai Feng... was better off focusing on research. When it came to strength and martial prowess, forget it—better to leave that to his student.
In the distance, Huang Jiu's expression was complicated. For a time, she didn't know what to say, remaining in silent contemplation.
Chapter 546