The Megalomaniac Su Yu!

A descendant of King Wu? Su Yu truly had never considered this. How could Zhou Hao, a boy who had grown up in the wilderness, be a descendant of King Wu? And reduced to such a wretched state? Well, that was normal enough. It had been a hundred thousand years. No matter how formidable an ancestor was, they were still just an ancestor. If one truly dug into genealogies, any random passerby on the street right now might well be descended from some Human King. Bloodlines—if you claimed they were important, that was about the extent of it. The crucial factor was always oneself! No matter how strong King Wu's bloodline was, if a person dared not fight and dared not kill, it was all worthless. At best, their baseline might start a little higher. Su Yu pondered it briefly, then brushed it aside without much concern. Smiling, he glanced outside and said calmly, "Come in!" …… A moment later, Zhou Hao stepped into the main hall of the Su Manor. Su Yu was sipping tea. Zhou Hao had a chiseled face, with a faint glint of feral savagery still visible in his eyes. Cupping his hands, he said in a deep voice, "Zhou Hao of the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy greets the City Lord!" Su Yu glanced at him and smiled faintly. "Where is your master, Xia Yuwen?" "He went to the All-Heavens Battlefield!" "Why didn't you go with him?" "I am too weak!" "Soaring Realm isn't entirely weak." Su Yu smiled. "You probably know what Director Ji said. Xia Yuwen and I have a grudge. Though it isn't worth mentioning now, why should I help him train a student? In the future, if you grow powerful and Xia Yuwen orders you to kill me, what will you choose?" "I will stay out of it." Su Yu laughed. "So after I pour in the resources to raise you to the point where you could kill me, your response is simply to stay out of it? Do you have any idea how much resources, energy, and time that would cost me? Zhou Hao, you think just staying out of it settles the score?" Zhou Hao said heavily, "Then I will suppress you both!" "……" Su Yu chuckled again. "Suppress us both? Betraying your master and turning on your benefactor? Do you know that even across the all-heavens and myriad races, turning on one's master is considered an abominable treason?" "I know!" Zhou Hao said in a low voice, "Then there is nothing else I can do. I know what you want to hear, but Teacher Xia led me out of the wilderness! Without him, wild beasts would have devoured me long ago!" Su Yu scoffed. "He merely treated you like a beast." "I was a beast to begin with!" "……" Su Yu chuckled once more. "Fine. There's no point in asking these questions. Talk is just talk. When the time actually comes, who knows what you'll do? We're acquainted, so let's dispense with the pleasantries. If I train you, what can you bring me?" "I can kill!" Su Yu smiled. "Whom can you kill?" "With enough strength, I can kill anyone!" Su Yu took a sip of tea, thought for a moment, and asked, "Humans? Will you kill humans?" Zhou Hao fell silent for a few seconds. "If you say kill, I will kill!" "And if I say Xia Yuwen?" "He is my teacher." "……" Zhou Hao looked up at Su Yu and said in a heavy voice, "My teacher is very weak. You are already an overlord of the all-heavens. If you truly wanted him dead, he couldn't stop you. You have no intention of killing him, so why keep asking these things?" "……" Su Yu smiled. "I ask because I feel like asking. What business is it of yours? You came here wanting to take me as your master; did I come asking to be yours? When I took a master back then, I went through untold hardships, braved immense perils, and only then was I accepted by Teacher Bai... Did you think becoming a disciple was so easy?" "I don't have that kind of experience." Zhou Hao's voice was subdued. Indeed, he had none. Xia Yuwen had accepted him very simply—brought him back to the Great Xia Prefecture, registered his name, and that was that. There had been no ceremony at all. Su Yu smiled. "All right, enough nonsense. Come, try punching me!" Boom! A sonic crack resounded. Su Yu neither dodged nor parried, allowing the fist to slam directly into his throat. His breath did not even hitch as he continued drinking his tea, remarking with a smile, "Didn't eat today?" Zhou Hao's eyes hardened. With a low roar, his speed spiked drastically. Boom! In the blink of an eye, dozens of punches and kicks exploded toward Su Yu's head, eyes, heart, and groin. When he targeted the groin... Su Yu kicked out and sent him flying. Zhou Hao rolled across the ground as he landed, kicked off the flagstones, and lunged forward once more. Shifting from fists to claws, he struck at Su Yu's vital points, gouged at his eyes, and jabbed toward his ears... Su Yu sighed softly. "Too weak. You don't even have the force of ten thousand acupoints. I can't even be bothered to put up a defense." Zhou Hao remained silent, his hands and feet already covered in blood. Punches, claw strikes, palm strikes... he unleashed every martial skill in his repertoire. Fists and kicks battered in succession. A faint trace of divine character power even erupted, though it had barely reached the Soaring Realm. To Su Yu, it felt like a gentle breeze against his face. He teased, "Too weak. Why don't you take a break and try again?" Zhou Hao ignored him. A moment later, he unleashed a furious barrage against Su Yu's throat, throwing hundreds of strikes in rapid succession. With a savage roar, a saber suddenly materialized in his grip, slashing out in a violent arc! Sparks flew in all directions! Su Yu chuckled. "Can't even breach my defense. So weak!" Zhou Hao gave no reply. In the next instant, his blood and Qi suddenly ignited. Su Yu raised an eyebrow slightly... and in the blink of an eye, Zhou Hao vanished. Su Yu froze for a second. Outside the main gates, Zhou Hao's low voice drifted back: "I can't beat you. I bluffed you so I could run!" "……" Are you fucking kidding me?! You bluffed me? Su Yu was speechless. Sure, I was absolutely terrified. Terrifying indeed! "Get back in here!" A moment later, Zhou Hao reappeared. "I can't break your defense. Continuing to attack would just be wasted effort." "You actually know how to run?" Su Yu was surprised. Zhou Hao furrowed his brows. "If I cannot kill you and will only be killed, why shouldn't I flee?" "Fair point!" Su Yu smiled. "Once you're strong, are you willing to fight for the rise of the human race?" "……" Zhou Hao stared at him blankly, dumbfounded. What did that mean? Su Yu smiled. "Speak your mind." Zhou Hao felt at a loss. After quite a while, he said somewhat stiffly, "I... whoever treats me well, I help them. The rise of the human race... I... I don't understand that." He was utterly bewildered! Su Yu's question had stumped him completely. He had never once considered such a thing! Su Yu sighed. "What a pity. All that talent, yet you don't even know to fight for the rise of the human race!" Zhou Hao stood numbly. Soon, Su Yu smiled again. "Forget it, no need. As long as you're willing to kill for me, that's enough! There's no need for much sentiment between us. If you truly have talent and can help me kill my enemies, I'm willing to nurture you! Sentiment is too flimsy anyway. Relying on sentiment to bind us—let's skip that for now and stick to mutual benefit, even though you currently can't offer me any benefit whatsoever!" With those words, a diagram materialized in the air. Su Yu said with a grin, "Take a look, then go open your acupoints!" Zhou Hao committed it to memory swiftly, then said, "There are only 359!" "Correct!" Su Yu chuckled. "The Celestial Acupoints total 360." "Then the last..." "The last one is on your backside. Find it yourself. Consider it your first test. Only after opening that final one will you earn the right to discuss anything with me. Otherwise... there's no point in saying more." Zhou Hao nodded silently, then asked, "If I open that last one, will I be as strong as you?" "Probably not a chance!" Su Yu laughed. "I have opened 720 acupoints, forged my physical body through 72 casts, mastered countless combat techniques and martial arts, fought and killed innumerable formidable foes, possess numerous divine characters, and command immense willpower. Even if your physical body matches mine, if I want to kill you... you probably still won't be able to resist!" Even with 360 acupoints and 72 casts of the physical body, Su Yu wouldn't fear Zhou Hao in the slightest. Without his diverse methods and unique divine character traits, having raw combat power did not mean one could match him. With that said, Su Yu asked, "How long will it take you to finish opening them?" "I've reached the Soaring Realm, so opening acupoints is slightly harder. I have ninety left. It will take at least three months!" Three months? Su Yu cursed inwardly. Opening one acupoint a day? Reaching the Soaring Realm naturally suppressed the speed of opening acupoints, so this pace was by no means slow. Even he hadn't been that fast back then—though, of course, he had possessed ample resources to force them open. Su Yu asked, "How many resources do you need?" "One drop of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence per day!" "Just that?" "Yes!" Fuck! So little? A single drop of Mountain-Breaking Ox blood essence was enough to open one acupoint a day? For opening acupoints, the best resource was naturally the Heaven Yuan Fruit. Unlike raw Heaven Yuan Qi, Heaven Yuan Fruits contained tamed, gentle Heaven Yuan Qi—though Su Yu's Heaven Yuan Qi was all of that variety anyway. "Then if you had one Heaven Yuan Fruit a day, how long would it take?" "One a day?" "Yes!" Zhou Hao calculated rapidly and said, "At most one month!" Then he added, "Can I consume thirty at once? That would be faster!" Su Yu chuckled. "Aren't you afraid of exploding?" "My physical body is strong enough. Reaching the Soaring Realm slows down acupoint opening, but it also allows me to endure more treasures without bursting!" "Then how long?" "Twenty days!" Su Yu smiled. "Quite the boast! Four or five a day... that speed could almost catch up with mine! Then I'll give you enough Heaven Yuan Fruits. If you haven't opened all the acupoints after twenty days—including the last one—what then?" "Then... I will find a way to repay your Heaven Yuan Fruits and never seek you out again!" "That's it?" Zhou Hao went silent for a few moments. "I will also kill one person for you. Anytime you name!" "Could you kill Tiangu?" "Once I reach Invincible, I will go kill him!" Nonsense! Su Yu scoffed, then said, "Fine, your words! I'll give you the Heaven Yuan Fruits—as many as you need! Go open your acupoints first. Don't stop at three hundred and claim you can't open any more. What would I need you for then?" He spoke as if anyone who opened only three hundred acupoints were utter trash! Zhou Hao didn't argue. He nodded. "I will finish opening them quickly!" "Open them first, then we'll talk!" Su Yu tossed over a massive Heaven Yuan Fruit. "This is equivalent to a hundred standard fruits. Any excess can be used to cast your body. Body casting requires nothing more than Heaven Yuan Qi anyway. Of course, Heaven and Earth Mystic Light works well too, and even better is the power of the world's rules. But right now, your body casting is too low—barely over twenty casts. Giving you top-tier materials would be a waste!" Over twenty casts! In Su Yu's eyes, that was practically garbage. Under normal circumstances, nine casts were uncommon, eighteen casts were standard and the most prevalent, and twenty-seven casts were already rare. As for thirty-six casts, those cultivators usually appeared on the Heaven and Earth Rankings of the Heaven Hunting Ranking! Zhou Hao had actually progressed very rapidly. He hadn't been in the Soaring Realm long, meaning his body-casting time amounted to less than a year. He hadn't had many resources either... The Xia family might have provided some later on, but they didn't necessarily have abundant Heaven Yuan Qi, let alone Heaven and Earth Mystic Light. Under such constraints, reaching over twenty casts was already remarkably fast. Still, Su Yu considered it and said, "Have you just been idling around eating through your reserves? Haven't you taken on any missions?" Zhou Hao said heavily, "No. I went to the All-Heavens Battlefield a few times and hunted some targets, but the harvest was meager." Su Yu rubbed his chin. "How about this: I won't set the bar too high. Once you finish opening your acupoints, don't rush back to see me. Head to the All-Heavens Battlefield and kill a genius listed on the Heaven Hunting Ranking! The ones on the Yellow Ranking aren't anything special; killing one or two should be easy! Earn a spot on the ranking, and I'll take you along for the fun!" Zhou Hao said calmly, "I am already on the ranking." "Oh?" "You killed so many people ahead of me. After you fought your way out of the Star Residence Mansion, I made the list." "……" Su Yu paused. Really? Did I kill that many? Well, maybe quite a few. "The Yellow Ranking?" "Yes. Rank 320 on the Yellow Ranking." "Oh!" Su Yu nodded slightly. That made sense. The fellow wasn't weak; his explosive output was already close to seven or eight thousand acupoints of force. Ten thousand acupoints of force was enough to count as a bottom-tier Shanhai Realm. Battling and killing a few Lingyun Realm cultivators was entirely within his capability. Su Yu had momentarily forgotten how weak ordinary Shanhai were! In that light, getting onto the ranking was indeed simple. Su Yu smiled. "Fine, then make it top ten on the Yellow Ranking, or get onto the Black Ranking! It's no big deal—if you take down a seventh-stage Lingyun, you'll definitely make it!" "All right!" Zhou Hao nodded without hesitation. "Then off you go!" Zhou Hao bowed, turned, and departed. He had arrived swiftly and left just as quickly. The moment he stepped out, the mother ball asked quizzically in Su Yu's mind, "He might be a descendant of King Wu. Why didn't you kill him?" "……" Su Yu asked back, confused, "Why would I kill him?" The mother ball thought for a moment and said, "King Wen and King Wu used to fight all the time. A descendant of King Wu might become very formidable in the future. What if he beats you up?" "……" Su Yu chuckled. "I'm not afraid of someone beating me up. He's only in the Soaring Realm right now. If even he could beat me up later... that would just mean I've become useless. If I'm useless, I deserve a beating. It's no big deal." "Fine then!" The mother ball lost interest and went back to sleep. It had no desire to eat him anyway. Even if the boy possessed that bloodline, the power within it was extremely faint. Besides, it had known some of the ancient humans. It wasn't as old as Doubao—it had been birthed by Doubao at the tail end of antiquity—but it still knew a fair bit about ancient affairs. It knew Doubao had been on good terms with several Human Kings, which was why it hadn't eaten King Daming when they met last time. With the mother ball asleep, the little fur ball in Su Yu's mind grew disgruntled. It piped up, "Yummy, you want Mama now and don't want me anymore, right? When are you going to send Mama away!" "……" Su Yu was stunned. Were those words a son should speak? You little bastard, you really aren't human! "Aren't you going to have a chat with your mama?" "Don't wanna... Mama's sleeping, I wanna sleep too, and lick divine characters..." Unfilial wretch! Even if you weren't birthed by the mother ball, you're still of the same ball species. Treating your mama like this—what a little scoundrel! The little fur ball grumbled inside his mind, sounding somewhat mournful. Mama had gone to sleep inside the civilization chronicle and occupied the two divine characters it loved best. It was feeling rather heartbroken. Just when would Yummy send Mama back home? Su Yu said with a grin, "No rush. Whenever you can help me deal with Dao Merge Realm experts, that's when I'll send your mama away!" "……" Filled with grief, indignation, and a sudden surge of ambition, the fur ball made up its mind on the spot: eat well, lick well! Lick more divine characters! Even though some divine characters weren't as delicious, and it had previously been too lazy to lick them, it would lick them now! Embracing a resolve as grim as facing death, the little fur ball suddenly flew off the "Calamity" character and landed on another one. It had abandoned its beloved Calamity character, determined to go lick the other garbage characters. …… Su Yu chuckled, paying no further mind to them. The minor matters that needed attending to were mostly settled. Over the next two days, Su Yu helped Su Long cultivate while occasionally checking in on Zhao Li's weapon forging. By this point, representatives from various major prefectures had begun arriving in the Great Xia Prefecture. Su Yu didn't go meet them! He was waiting! Waiting for King Tianzhu and the others to arrive. They were coming to forge weapons for him and construct a grand suppression formation. Five days had passed! It had been five days since Su Yu arrived in the Great Xia Prefecture. News regarding him continued to spread across the Human Realm, and word of the new Sacred Ground's establishment was circulating relentlessly. …… The sixth day. On this day, Su Yu sensed several immensely powerful auras. King Dazhou had arrived! Not just King Dazhou, but Junior King Zhou and others as well. Su Yu smiled. Everyone who was supposed to come had arrived. Excellent. Tomorrow was the Sacred Ground convention; since these fellows arrived today, they shouldn't sit idle! Time to put them to work! Not long after sensing these mighty auras, Su Yu also picked up several familiar presences heading toward his manor. Liu Wenyan and the others had returned as well! They had gone to the Great Ming Prefecture earlier, though he didn't know what for—perhaps to visit the Bai family? Su Yu hadn't asked. Their return came at just the right time! Hopefully, this time, they could catch that culprit—the one who had relentlessly targeted the Multiple Divine Characters Department, the descendant of the Prison King! If they truly captured that person, there might even be unexpected rewards. For instance... did that person know anything about the ancient old fossils? That person's elder or father had been slain by Xia Chen. That lineage had apparently always acted as hidden nails and informants. If they were informants, whom did they serve? The Prison King? Or that other unknown, mixed bloodline? To be entangled with the bloodline of a Human King, that lineage was clearly formidable in its own right. …… At the Xia Manor. Multiple experts were gathered. King Dazhou smiled and asked, "Old Xia, has everything been fine on Su Yu's end these past few days?" King Daxia smiled. "Nothing at all! Everything is good!" "That's good. I was worried someone from the myriad races might infiltrate..." "With me here, it's not a major issue!" King Daxia looked at the others and continued, "However, some figures have arrived over the past few days whom Su Yu hasn't met yet—such as Foutuling of the Five Elements race, Changhe of the Life race, Jiu Yue of the Iron Eater race... all of them formidable!" King Dazhou smiled. "Then let him handle it! He invited them, so how to receive them is up to him. Just keep an eye on things." As they spoke, a voice carrying laughter drifted over: "Seniors, since you've arrived, let us not waste time! Senior King Tianzhu will forge weapons, while the rest of you seniors help me construct the grand formation! Let's all gather at the Cultural Research Academy. It will also be a great opportunity for Teacher Zhao to observe!" The experts exchanged glances. King Daxia nodded slightly. "Then let's go! Tomorrow is the convention anyway, isn't it? Let's save some time and see if we can finish within a day." King Daming furrowed his brows. "One day? That won't be easy! Su Yu's standards are extraordinarily high!" King Dazhou chuckled. "It's fine. The convention will proceed as planned; it doesn't concern us much anyway. It's mainly a gathering for the younger generation! Let them talk while we stay informed, and leave everything else to the youths! Running both simultaneously is no problem." At those words, the others voiced no further objections. …… A short while later. At the Origin Spirit Research Institute. Indeed, the former Lan Tian Research Institute had later been remodeled by Su Yu into the Origin Spirit Research Institute. Su Yu was inside the institute. Liu Wenyan and the others were also present. Seeing the Invincibles suddenly materialize, Liu Wenyan and the rest bowed slightly in greeting. Su Yu did not bother bowing again. He smiled and said, "Seniors, our previous agreement still holds, correct?" King Miecan laughed. "Of course. It's rare for you, Su Yu, to bleed resources like this, and the treasures you offered are quite substantial!" Su Yu smiled. "Good! But... let's lay out the harsh truths first!" His expression turned solemn. "Since you've agreed, seniors, please put your hearts into it! In particular, this grand formation is meant for me to battle Invincibles—it is no laughing matter. If it ends up poorly forged... and I lose my life, that won't be a joke!" King Jintian said heavily, "Since we agreed, we naturally will not do a half-hearted job!" "I certainly hope so!" Su Yu smiled. "I am a stickler for details. If you hadn't agreed, seniors, that would have been fine. But since you have, please put in extra care... I... might inspect it very thoroughly. This is no jest; I treasure my life!" "Naturally!" None of them objected. Su Yu then produced a vast quantity of Heaven Yuan Qi, Dragon Blood Fruits, Water Condensation Beads, Emperor Saliva Liquid... "These are all for you seniors to restore yourselves! Help yourselves whenever needed!" With that, Su Yu tossed out countless logs of Dragon-Coiling Wood. "Senior King Tianzhu, if you prefer not to have others watch you forge weapons, you may conceal the area. However... I will be watching, and I hope you won't mind. Furthermore, Teacher Zhao Li mentioned he would like to invite Senior Zhao Tianbing to observe as well... What do you think?" King Tianzhu chuckled. "Fine. Herding one sheep is no different from herding two! Besides, Zhao Tianbing looks like he might have a shot at advancing to Heaven armamentsmith. His gains last time were by no means small!" Su Yu smiled. "I hope so as well. If that happens, the human race will have two Heaven armamentsmiths! And if Teacher Zhao can advance too, that would be worth celebrating even more than the birth of two Invincibles!" "Indeed!" The group laughed. Soon, King Daming and the others stepped out of the institute, leaving it to King Tianzhu for weapon forging. Constructing the grand formation required a much larger space. Su Yu followed them outside shortly after. None of the Invincibles were dallying types. In an instant, rivers of time surged through the void. The surrounding area had long been cleared. King Daming took charge. "I will oversee the formation base. Miecan, you will infuse the power of time. Jintian, handle the suppression power. Tianyuan, you will control the flow of time..." "Understood!" The Invincibles quickly took their positions. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding space was locked down, transforming into an isolated domain of spacetime. King Daming swiftly cast out jade talismans to serve as formation bases. Su Yu's eyes flickered, and he suddenly tossed out a book. Translucent phantoms immediately surfaced upon its pages. "May I trouble you seniors to go a step further: use the book pages as the foundation to forge an array of ten thousand bases!" "Cough, cough, cough..." King Daming burst into a fit of coughing. Nearby, King Miecan and the others also wore bizarre expressions. Are you pulling our leg? Su Yu smiled. "I must trouble you! That way, it will blend more seamlessly with my civilization chronicle!" King Daming said heavily, "Doing it this way carries a very high failure rate!" Su Yu chuckled. "I know. But... as long as you do your best, it won't be an issue. Even if it fails, I will still pay everything I promised. If it fails, we'll just reforge it, and I will pay the same price to invite you all to forge it a second time!" Gasps! Fuck! Being rich truly meant doing whatever one pleased! Was he playing around?! The probability of failing on the first attempt was indeed very high. Well, since Su Yu was willing to foot the bill, then so be it! Boom! Origin Qi erupted violently as vortexes of energy spiraled into the sky. Without another word, Su Yu scattered immense quantities of Heaven Yuan Qi into the void. In an instant, the entire Great Xia Cultural Research Academy felt as though it had been submerged in an ocean of Origin Qi! Throughout the academy, students and instructors watched with burning eyes. Wasting no words, they immediately sat cross-legged and began cultivating. A fortuitous encounter! This was an absolute windfall—at least for them, at this very moment. Colossal, terrifying entities seemed to be performing some grand feat. They saw Su Yu, saw him hurling vast amounts of Heaven Yuan Qi into the sky, the dense energy so thick it felt suffocating. Yet Su Yu looked utterly composed, showing not the slightest hint of heartache! At that moment, many across the Great Xia Prefecture took to the sky to gaze over. One after another gasped in shock! …… Inside a courtyard. Foutuling gasped as well. "So damn wealthy!" What was Su Yu trying to do? Honestly, this much Heaven Yuan Qi would make anyone a tycoon anywhere. Next door, Jiu Yue appeared, accompanied by another member of the Iron Eater race who was slightly smaller. Beside that smaller one stood Zhu Hongliang! The Iron Eater beside Jiu Yue was none other than the one from the Great Ming Prefecture known as Hanpangzi. And beside Hanpangzi were three tiny little ones. His secret was out! Yes, Hanpangzi's offspring had been exposed. Now everyone in the Great Ming Prefecture knew that the little spheres birthed by the big sphere were Hanpangzi's brood. It couldn't be helped. Days earlier, Hanpangzi had gone to the All-Heavens Battlefield and lacked the time to conceal the little fat balls' markings. The three little spheres soon revealed their black eye circles, and thus the mystery of the three offspring of unknown origin was solved by the Great Ming Prefecture! They belonged to Hanpangzi! Foutuling glanced in their direction. Jiu Yue didn't even look at him, simply munching on food while watching Su Yu's area. Hanpangzi obediently stood beside him, eating as well. Zhu Hongliang tried to speak several times... but couldn't find an opening. These fellows did nothing but eat, completely ignoring him. After watching for a while, Jiu Yue remarked in a naive tone, "What a massive spectacle. Miecan, Jintian, King Daming, and King Shiguang joining forces—are they building a grand suppression formation?" He too was a top-tier powerhouse capable of battling Invincibles! One look was enough for him to grasp Su Yu's objective. The concept was formidable. If it truly succeeded, whenever Su Yu encountered an ordinary Invincible who couldn't break the suppression... they had better watch out, lest Su Yu obliterate them in an instant! …… Su Yu paid no attention to anyone. Floating in midair, he watched in silence. A moment later, King Dazhou drifted up into the sky, appearing silently beside him. King Daxia hadn't approached; he was wary of being around Su Yu. Yet once King Dazhou moved over, King Daxia kept his eyes glued on them, looking somewhat tense. He was suspicious! He suspected that King Dazhou and Su Yu huddled together might be discussing his past embarrassments! He was deeply worried! Unable to contain his anxiety, King Daxia tore through the air and instantly appeared beside the two. I'll watch you both myself! Seeing King Daxia arrive, King Dazhou was slightly surprised. He smiled, unfazed, and spoke: "City Lord Su, do you have confidence in tomorrow's Sacred Ground convention?" Su Yu smiled. "Whatever happens, happens!" "One cannot simply take it lightly. Old Qin paid quite a substantial price for this." Su Yu smiled faintly without taking the bait. King Dazhou added, "Do you think this attempt will succeed?" Su Yu glanced at him. Was he referring to the formation forging? "Probably!" "Hard to say!" King Dazhou chuckled. "Forging a grand formation still requires luck! It demands seamless coordination and everyone pulling their weight. Among these fellows, Old Zhu in particular is slick as an eel. If he holds back even a little... the formation will be ruined!" In the distance, King Daming—perhaps overhearing—suddenly snorted. "Keep your voices down! You're distracting us!" "Very well!" King Dazhou smiled, waved his hand, and conjured an invisible barrier before them. Once the area was shielded, he continued, "If it truly succeeds, what do you plan to do?" Su Yu smiled. "Avenge grudges and settle scores. I'll take the formation and beat my enemies to death!" "Too reckless!" King Dazhou shook his head. "Inappropriate. The fallout would be terrible, and it will make people wary of you!" Su Yu chuckled. "Not necessarily!" "I still think it unwise..." King Dazhou pondered briefly and said, "If it truly succeeds... though I don't think the odds are high, if it really does, practicing patience remains necessary. Enemies can be killed anytime; why rush?" Beside them, King Daxia sneered. "Avenge grudges and settle scores—what's wrong with that? Why must he endure?" King Dazhou glanced at him. What do you even know? Butting in like that! Was anyone even talking to you? King Dazhou didn't lose his temper, continuing smoothly, "City Lord Su, not every problem must be solved through killing. Taking action personally is, in my opinion, an inferior strategy!" "Then allow me to consult King Dazhou: what would be the superior strategy?" King Dazhou smiled. "Silent and traceless, cutting weeds at the roots, unbeknownst to all, without making a ripple..." Su Yu smiled. "King Dazhou will step in to help me kill my enemies?" "Perhaps I might?" "Let's pass on that!" Su Yu laughed. King Daxia frowned. "Even if a grand formation is forged successfully, it might not accomplish as much as you think. Su Yu, I advise you not to pin too much hope on it!" The way these two spoke, it sounded as if having this formation would allow Su Yu to sweep across the Invincible Realm! No matter how powerful the suppression formation was, Su Yu's personal strength remained what it was. Being able to fight a seventh-stage Eternal was already an extraordinary display of power. From the sound of his tone, did he honestly expect this formation to help him kill Dao Merge experts? Blind confidence had to be avoided! King Daxia felt Su Yu was being conceited! Su Yu, on the other hand, let out an emotional sigh and murmured, "Civilization Masters... warriors... in the end, they truly are different!" King Dazhou sighed as well. "Indeed. It cannot be helped—might makes right. Far too often, true reason is overshadowed by the fist!" "Precisely!" Both nodded in unison. King Daxia's expression darkened. What did that mean? He felt the two were mocking him! He turned it over in his mind. Was what I said wrong? It's just a suppression formation. No matter how formidable, could it kill a Dao Merge expert? What a joke! King Daxia thought both of them were out of their minds. He sneered and turned a cold face, no longer bothering to converse with them! If not to prevent Su Yu from bringing up his past, he wouldn't even waste his breath listening to their nonsense. Civilization Masters? Two fellows whose physical bodies were stronger than their Civilization Dao had the nerve to call themselves Civilization Masters? Now that was laughable! Across the all-heavens and myriad races today, how many could truly be considered genuine Civilization Masters? Warriors were the true mainstream of this era! Meanwhile, King Dazhou looked at Su Yu again and transmitted his voice: "If it truly gets made, we will handle it..." Su Yu ignored him. Investigate first, then we'll talk! Besides, could the Zhou family be entirely free of suspicion? King Dazhou... was somewhat terrifying. Su Yu felt a lingering gloom in his heart. If the Zhou family turned out to be the so-called Prison King's bloodline, what then? Although the probability was low... who could say for sure! To this day, Su Yu had never managed to probe the bottom of the Great Zhou Prefecture. That family was far too gifted and terrifying—four Invincibles in one clan. The key lay with King Dazhou, whose true strength remained obscure. It was entirely possible he was at the ninth stage of Eternal rather than the reputed eighth stage! Right at that moment, Su Yu pulled out the fur ball, then took out a petal of the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus... …… At the same time. Foutuling's eyes shifted. Fuck, again? He had heard all about Su Yu's exploits on the All-Heavens Battlefield, including Su Yu's claim that he possessed eight petals. Nonsense—he had been present that day; where would eight petals have come from? As for Su Yu obtaining them on the eighth floor... pure rubbish, absolutely impossible. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been eight petals. "Harboring ill intentions!" Foutuling thought to himself. Feeding the God-Devouring race, he could believe, but claiming eight petals was definitely fishy. His eyes flickered. At that exact moment, Su Yu glanced over. Looking straight at Foutuling! Foutuling's heart skipped a beat. He's looking at me? Why is he looking at me? Why look at me of all people? He's feeding his pet, so why look at me? Foutuling's mind raced. In the next moment, he noticed Su Yu's hand seemed slightly hesitant as he fed the fur ball, and the fur ball appeared somewhat reluctant! Foutuling's heart jolted violently! The next instant, he shouted, "Hold on!" The loud shout startled quite a few people. Su Yu looked toward him with obvious displeasure. Foutuling's thoughts spun rapidly as he blurted out, "Uh... City Lord Su... that... feeding such a thing to the God-Devouring Prince is too wasteful! The God-Devouring Prince doesn't need this. How about selling it to me instead?" Su Yu said coldly, "Not for sale!" "Don't!" Foutuling yelled, "I'll pay a high price! Blood essence—Sun Moon blood essence... If that's not enough, we can find a way to get Invincible blood essence!" Su Yu paused slightly, frowning. "Invincible blood essence?" "Yes!" Foutuling nodded frantically. "Invincible blood essence! If that really doesn't work... if that's still not enough..." His brain worked at top speed. What did Su Yu need? Invincible blood essence? Right, there had been rumors like that days ago—rumors... fuck, the rumors! Foutuling instantly realized what was happening and shouted, "A carrier! How about one carrier for one petal?" "Get lost!" Su Yu sneered. Foutuling's mind shuddered anew. That single word "get lost" rattled his head until he felt dizzy, yet... it also seemed to have helped him force open a strange divine acupoint? Bizarre! No, that bastard was rewarding him! Fuck! Foutuling understood completely now why Su Yu had glanced at him before feeding the ball! He got it! He cursed inwardly. If something went wrong with this, I'd be in deep shit! "Then... then forget it... It's too expensive; my Five Elements race can't afford it. Unless it's the God, Demon, or Immortal races, nobody can meet that price!" With that, he quickly added, "In any case, you're not using it and can't use it anyway. Why not sell it to us? Strengthening your civilization chronicle would be great too!" Su Yu scoffed. "Even if I threw it away, I wouldn't give it to you, much less sell it to you on the cheap!" "Sigh! Then... never mind!" Foutuling sighed. "Eating it like snacks rather than selling it to strengthen your own armament—I really don't understand your thinking!" Su Yu remained silent. After pondering for a moment, he put away the fur ball and stowed the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus petal as well. It was as if nothing had ever happened! Beside them, King Daxia said in a heavy voice, "Don't sell it to foreign races. That's just asking for trouble!" King Dazhou, however, sighed softly. "If you can truly trade it for a carrier or a suitable price, selling it is fine." Su Yu said nothing. King Daxia glared at King Dazhou, while King Dazhou merely glanced at Foutuling in the distance, then looked back at Su Yu without uttering a word. Foutuling... Su Yu... He then glanced over at Jiu Yue. Jiu Yue was still munching naively, but... he had momentarily choked on his food just now. King Dazhou maintained his beaming smile, saying nothing. This kid Su Yu... was truly bold and extraordinarily ambitious. He just didn't know whether Foutuling had been hired or had truly figured it out on his own. If Foutuling had truly figured it out... then he would be quite a troublesome character. At this moment, everyone was speaking in riddles, leaving only King Daxia feeling somewhat incensed. Su Yu! Now that this brat had grown powerful, even he couldn't do anything to him! Too foolish! The Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus, even if incomplete, was not something to be sold carelessly! Selling it to the myriad races was a lurking peril! Su Yu was far too conceited. If he continued like this, he would bury countless hidden dangers for himself. Just moments ago, he had been acting insufferably arrogant as well, genuinely believing that possessing a grand formation would allow him to sweep through the Invincible Realm! Utter nonsense! King Daxia felt deeply troubled. Su Yu... hadn't experienced enough harsh beatings. Perhaps he still needed to endure a few!