Book and Pen

King Jintian, who possessed the pure bloodline, was instead the traitor. That was King Dazhou's conclusion. Su Yu chose not to dispute it for the moment; after all, there was no concrete evidence. He glanced at King Miecan, who was still sulking, thought for a moment, and said, "Senior King Miecan, in that case, the one who made contact with the Heavenly Archer Cult Master back then wasn't you?" "Huh? Of course not!" King Miecan was speechless. "Why would I ever contact him?" Su Yu smiled. "Then whoever it was knew of your existence and met with the Heavenly Archer Cult Master. That means that deceased descendant of the Prison King definitely told him everything about you, including your specific identity... which is why the other party deliberately displayed that bloodline mark." King Dazhou nodded as well. The culprit had certainly made their move back then. Su Yu continued, "He met with him at Starfall Mountain all those years ago. Your Majesty King Dazhou, do you think any evidence could still be found at Starfall Mountain?" Starfall Mountain! King Dazhou looked at him. "You still intend to investigate further?" Su Yu chuckled. "It's not about digging endlessly; I just worry about wronging the wrong person again. King Dazhou, there's something off about you. When King Miecan was suspected, you insisted on getting to the very bottom of it, yet with King Jintian, mere suspicion makes you want to eliminate him... That's quite a disparity in treatment. Could there be some personal grudge between you two?" King Dazhou pondered for a moment before speaking. "Perhaps it's intuition. Sometimes, for people like us, intuition is very important! You're an expert too, so you should understand: whether it comes to sensing approaching danger or deducing cultivation methods, much of it relies on gut instinct." Su Yu smiled and asked, "Let me ask another thing. Who went to the Xiyuan ruins to attain the Dao? Wasn't that supposed to be the Prison King's territory?" "Me!" King Miecan grunted in response. Su Yu's brow furrowed. "You?" "Of course it was me!" King Miecan said gloomily. "Didn't you just see it for yourself?" "I thought that was merely an ordinary ruin. I had no idea it was the Xiyuan ruins. It didn't seem all that special." "Because it wasn't!" King Miecan shook his head. "Apart from two carriers, there was nothing there, though heavenly origin qi was quite abundant." King Dazhou smiled. "Since someone arranged an identity for you, you naturally had to be the one to attain the Dao in the Xiyuan ruins. If you hadn't gone, that would have been abnormal. You must have felt some bloodline resonance that led you to discover the place." "Yeah." King Miecan nodded. "Though now that you mention it... looking back, I get the feeling someone might have visited that place before me!" Su Yu thought it over and asked, "What about King Jintian?" "Him?" King Dazhou said. "He attained the Dao much later, directly on the Allhead Battlefield." Su Yu looked surprised. "Attaining the Dao directly on the battlefield, yet he's only at the fourth stage of Eternal?" Those who attained the Dao on the Allhead Battlefield usually started at the third stage right away! King Miecan chimed in, "He hasn't been an Eternal for very long. Besides, what he cultivates is confinement power, which is exceptionally difficult to master. His confinement techniques are formidable!" King Dazhou added, "Indeed, his confinement power is immense. You must realize that path is arduous to tread... His physical path can only be considered average, but his divine character path... is actually remarkably powerful!" Su Yu nodded thoughtfully. In most people's minds, the divine character path peaked at the ninth layer of Sun Moon. In truth, however, the divine character path could continue growing stronger until one day a divine character directly transformed into a rule, becoming an existence above Dao Integration! Consequently, the divine character path was exceptionally well-concealed! If the other party truly was a descendant of the ancient Prison King with an unbroken legacy, he would know that the three-body method was trash and that divine characters could transform into rules. He might have been focusing primarily on the divine character path all along rather than the physical path! That confinement power was likely a rule of divine characters, not a rule of the physical body! With that thought, Su Yu said, "Then he must possess an incomparably potent divine character—one that may have already merged with a rule! If King Jintian truly possesses such a divine character... his identity as the traitor is practically set in stone! That confinement power might also be the Prison King's legacy; the Prison King walked that very path." King Dazhou nodded! That was certainly true. To be frank, anyone reaching the Human King realm possessed bloodline power, but passing it down didn't guarantee later generations could surpass their ancestors. The divine character path, on the other hand, held genuine promise. Thus, true inheritance lay in rule power rather than bloodline power. Bloodline was merely a matter of kinship. The transmission of rule power was the true succession. King Dazhou said, "Assuming he is the traitor, reasoning backward from that premise gives us plenty of ways to verify it. The simplest method... different bloodlines have different degrees of integration! When Miecan first integrated his bloodline, there was repulsion too; he just didn't pay attention, assuming it was because he had just awakened. "If Jintian truly carries the Prison King bloodline... it's simple. Draw some of Miecan's blood and introduce it into his body. If there's no repulsion, he is definitely of the Prison King bloodline!" King Dazhou smiled. "You don't need to worry about this. When the time comes for me to deal with him, I'll have Miecan test it!" That made sense. Blood was decisive; even if King Jintian had extracted part of his Prison King bloodline, the essence remained. Of course, if he was merely an apprentice to the slain Prison King descendant rather than a biological heir, that method wouldn't work. Still, if one truly wanted to test him, many methods were available. Su Yu offered a faint smile. "Do as you please. I don't know him anyway! I have only one condition: his corpse... belongs to me!" That sounded downright sinister! King Dazhou made no objection, quickly adding, "The other party may have noticed some of your probing. In his mind, our suspect right now is Miecan..." He turned to King Miecan. "When you return, just act naturally and treat it as nothing! Don't gild the lily by forcing yourself into extra drama or pretending to feel wronged and resentful." Even if King Miecan was under suspicion, given his typical demeanor, he wouldn't necessarily realize anyone had tested him. So there was no need to take it to heart at all! Just pretending not to know anything was enough! Overacting might give him away; if King Miecan appeared to have grown suspicious, it would be far too conspicuous! King Miecan felt that King Dazhou was insulting him again! What did he mean, treat it as nothing? How exhausting! Was he really that stupid? King Miecan considered himself quite wise. It was just that these scheming hypocrites spent all their time plotting against others instead of doing honest work. What decent person spent every waking moment scheming? Decent people focused on cultivation all day long! No wonder Civilization Masters were so weak! King Miecan sneered inwardly. Wasting all that energy plotting instead of cultivating properly—how could they ever become truly strong? "Enough, stop cursing in your head. Civilization Masters aren't weak. If they were, King Wen wouldn't have suppressed King Wu!" King Dazhou had no interest in humoring him further, waving his hand. "Go on back. If anyone asks, just tell them Su Yu is fine!" "I..." King Miecan wanted to deny that he had been cursing them, but seeing that both King Dazhou and Su Yu looked entirely indifferent, he felt it pointless. He snorted, turned, and left! Boring bastards! Reaching the doorway, he hesitated, grit his teeth, and warned, "Not a word of this gets out, or else... I won't be polite!" King Dazhou laughed. "Understood, off you go! It's no big deal!" "..." It was a massive deal! Filled with unease and helpless exasperation, King Miecan departed. ... Once King Miecan was gone, Su Yu and King Dazhou exchanged a glance and burst into laughter. Earlier, they had held back out of courtesy! As his laughter faded, King Dazhou sighed. "Lan Tian... what a monstrous talent! Unfortunately, the path he treads is destined to be perilous. Uniting myriad Daos, integrating different rules and distinct paths... the difficulty is far too immense! He might become exceedingly strong, but reaching Dao Integration or beyond is virtually impossible!" Su Yu nodded. "Still... it's not entirely hopeless. For example, if he kills the master of a rule, or if that master has already fallen, he still has a chance to usurp their place!" King Dazhou marveled once more. "You truly understand it all!" Su Yu maintained a calm expression. "It's not surprising that I understand. What's surprising is that Your Majesty King Dazhou understands as well!" King Dazhou chuckled. "Having cultivated divine characters for so many years, I've gathered some experience after all." "Heh." "Heh." Both men exchanged another knowing smile. Eventually, Su Yu asked curiously, "Why doesn't Your Majesty King Dazhou lead the human race yourself?" "I'm not suitable." "Not suitable?" Su Yu smiled. "How could that be? From what I see, quite a few of today's Invincibles answer to you!" King Dazhou shook his head. "Put it this way: what does the human race need? What kind of leader does it require?" "Someone like King Daqin?" "Old Qin is actually quite good... but he lacks a few things. For instance: strength, luck, ruthlessness, and wisdom!" He was blatantly insulting King Daqin! Su Yu quietly activated a recording talisman, but King Dazhou said placidly, "You won't be able to record it, so don't bother." Su Yu was speechless and put it away. King Dazhou continued solemnly, "Old Qin and I both fall short in certain areas. You, truth be told, aren't the ideal choice either, but... you might be the only choice right now! You're a disruptor!" "A disruptor?" Su Yu looked thoughtful. King Dazhou nodded. "A disruptor! Put it this way: without you, I was confident I could delay the all-out war across the realms for another fifty years! Fifty years from now, there would have been many more candidates to choose from! Xia Longwu, Zhu Tianfang... including many others. Given several more decades, they would have had real hope! "The human race will unite sooner or later; that is inevitable!" King Dazhou said with conviction, "You must believe this: the human race... will certainly unite, though my plan wasn't for it to happen now. Yet unexpectedly, you stepped forward at this juncture as a disruptor! You shortened that timeline, leaving you as... the only option at present!" Su Yu smiled. "Am I really that formidable?" "Of course you are!" King Dazhou laughed. "Are you going to belittle yourself?" "Hardly. I am indeed quite formidable!" King Dazhou chuckled! Without dwelling on the topic, he soon said, "Rest today. Tomorrow, the assembly continues! The day after tomorrow, during your father's longevity feast, we will depart. I won't take too many people with me; Old Xia, Old Zhu, and the others will remain. I'll only take Miecan, Jintian, Tianyuan, and Longwu..." He added, "You'll need to provide cover for us. If tomorrow goes smoothly, when your father's feast begins the day after, you'll also assume the position of sacred ground lord and host a grand banquet for the realm. We'll all come to offer congratulations! At that time, you must conceal our departure. I'll leave behind a few divine character incarnations... but they cannot fight, or the ruse will be exposed!" "Time is very tight!" Su Yu rubbed his chin. "Wait a little longer. I still have some business to finish, and I'll wrap it up as fast as possible!" "The Smiling Lotus?" Su Yu glanced at him. "Your Majesty, stop exposing yourself. Regarding the Smiling Lotus, I bet fewer than five beings in the myriad realms have ever seen one!" King Dazhou smiled. "I haven't seen one either; it was just a guess. Though it's true I obtained some ancient inheritances." "Believe whatever you like!" Su Yu said, then asked, "Your Majesty, one more question: exactly how many years has the Allhead Battlefield been open?" "About nine hundred and ninety years, roughly speaking!" "Once the millennium mark is reached, will ancient fossils arrive?" King Dazhou shook his head. "Not necessarily. I'm not clear on their exact circumstances, but I know one thing: under normal circumstances, when the human race is at a disadvantage, the ancient fossils won't come—unless the human race begins to suppress the other races... "Furthermore, let me caution you: do not constantly violate the rules!" Su Yu was surprised. "Why?" "Because the Allhead Battlefield is protected by rules. The rule power... put it this way, forms a protective membrane across the Allhead Battlefield. Constantly violating rules consumes that power, which can easily tear gaps in the membrane. If noticed, enemies might seize the opportunity to infiltrate the Allhead Battlefield!" He truly knew a great deal! Su Yu was genuinely surprised, though he grasped the general idea. "The Destiny race communicates with destiny above. If too much rule power is drained, could that side be breached?" "You know quite a bit yourself; that is indeed a possibility!" King Dazhou nodded. "So when the Destiny race claims neutrality, let them stay neutral! We don't want them going mad and striking at the rule power themselves, creating vulnerabilities." Now Su Yu had a clear grasp of the situation. Conversing with King Dazhou was remarkably effortless; the man knew nearly everything, and if there was something he didn't, a simple hint was enough for him to understand immediately. He truly lived up to his reputation as the grand schemer! He possessed a grasp of everything! King Dazhou stood up. "I'll take my leave as well. You should be careful; someone might try to assassinate you!" "I'm not afraid!" "I know you have your trump cards, but... if someone like Tiangu truly infiltrates the Human Realm in secret, you might not be able to stop him!" With that, King Dazhou smiled and departed. ... After King Dazhou left, Su Yu was reflecting on the day's gains and losses when visitors arrived. It was Liu Wenyan and the others. As soon as he stepped through the door, Bai Feng asked, "Are we leaving or not?" "Where to?" "Back to the ancient city!" Su Yu laughed. "Teacher, why would I return to the ancient city? My business isn't finished yet!" "You've been targeted like this, and you still won't leave? You weren't like this before—you could never stomach the slightest slight..." Su Yu chuckled. "Targeted? Teacher, didn't I blow King Dayuan to pieces? You're being too narrow-minded. What's past is past! Why hold a grudge?" Bai Feng was struck speechless! Get lost! You damned brat, here I was fuming on your behalf, and you aren't even angry! He had assumed Su Yu was on the verge of exploding with rage! As Bai Feng sulked, Liu Wenyan smiled, unbothered by the bickering. "It seems even more races have arrived outside. After your battle with King Dayuan ended, another batch of envoys showed up, claiming they're here to celebrate Su Long's birthday." Su Yu grinned! The fish had taken the bait! Furthermore, after today's battle with King Dayuan, the myriad races were probably convinced that he would never sell the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus to the human race. The humans had no money, and they had even targeted Su Yu; he would have to be mad to sell it to them! While they were conversing, a loud voice rang out from outside the courtyard: "The Five Elements race has come to pay respects to City Lord Su!" "Get lost!" Su Yu snapped coldly. "Foutuling, drop the act. I know what you're after. I'm not selling, so get lost!" "..." Outside the courtyard, Foutuling's face turned green. Damn you! You were the one who told me to come, and now you're putting on a show for me! Beside him, an elder frantically winked at him, signaling him not to get angry and to endure it. Su Yu was likely in a foul mood, and visiting now was a chance to chat and soothe Su Yu's bruised ego with treasures. Foutuling forced a smile and spoke again: "City Lord Su, please don't misunderstand. Foutuling has no ulterior motive; having witnessed City Lord being insulted today, I felt deeply for you and came specifically to share a drink with City Lord..." "Get lost!" "..." Foutuling was helpless. Damn it, did you get addicted to acting?! Fine! I'll leave! He said no more, transmitting his voice to the elder: "Forget it for now. Given his temper... how about we come back tomorrow?" "I worry that when more people arrive tomorrow, that fellow will raise his price!" "He won't, don't worry, Elder!" Foutuling couldn't be bothered to argue further, leaving the elder no choice but to follow him away with an agonized expression. The Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus... they couldn't afford to lose it! ... In the distance, an expert from the Dragon race laughed via voice transmission, "He hit a wall! Going there at a time like this, suffering humiliation was to be expected! The Five Elements race certainly couldn't wait! Understandable, given they have an expert at the ninth stage of Eternal. If they truly obtain seven petals of the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus, there might be real hope for Dao Integration!" "Too bad Su Yu didn't give them any face!" "Naturally. Su Yu is domineering, capricious, and thoroughly unpredictable. Refusing to give them face is only normal!" "..." While the Dragon race discussed it, other powerful races were whispering among themselves as well. At this moment, even more minor races converged on the Great Xia Prefecture. They all shared a single pretext: offering congratulations! Celebrating the fiftieth birthday of Su Yu's father! As for the clash between Su Yu and King Dayuan, few dared mention it. This was human territory, after all; bringing it up here invited trouble. The humans were likely displeased, and so was Su Yu. It was best left unmentioned! ... Inside the room, Liu Wenyan frowned slightly. "They're all looking for you. From the look of things, they're probably here for the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus. Are you truly going to sell it?" Even he didn't know how much Su Yu actually possessed. During the distribution back then, only those present knew Su Yu had taken three petals. Whether he obtained more later was something even King Daqin and the others couldn't confirm. Probably only King Dazhou was certain it was a fabrication—oh, and that fellow Foutuling! Bai Feng and the others had been present during the distribution, but they hadn't overthought it. Su Yu might have acquired another flower later on! Su Yu smiled. "We'll see. If I really sell... I'll have to set restrictions. Each race can only buy one petal. A single petal is roughly equivalent to a carrier; it won't cause too much of an upset! It's not as if I'm selling them all together!" "Be careful they don't buy through minor races!" Liu Wenyan cautioned, warning him not to dig his own grave and cultivate a formidable enemy just for the sake of selling treasures. Su Yu nodded. "If I sell, I will definitely inspect and restrict the buyers! Minor races tied to the great races won't get a single petal, no matter how much they offer!" "As long as you weigh it carefully yourself!" As they spoke, Wu Lan interjected from the side, "Teacher Liu, stop talking about the Nine-Leaf Celestial Lotus. It's all fake; there's no point discussing it... Su Yu, I have serious business with you." "..." Su Yu paused, and Liu Wenyan froze as well, looking at Wu Lan. Seeing them staring at her, Wu Lan asked in confusion, "What?" Liu Wenyan frowned. "What do you mean, fake?" Wu Lan hesitated. "What's wrong? Is there... an issue? Su Yu is such a wicked person; he would never sell real ones to others!" Was there an issue? Su Yu was exasperated. Pure subjective bias, wasn't it? In your eyes, whatever I sell must be fake! It was impossible to argue with that logic! Su Yu didn't bother defending himself, snapping, "Cut the nonsense, I never deceive people! What serious business could you possibly have with me?" When had he ever lied to people? Su Yu felt aggrieved! The ones he deceived weren't even people. Wu Lan didn't dwell on it, quickly saying, "Teacher Bai and I made some breakthroughs in our recent research concerning willpower. Do you want to hear about it?" Truth be told, Su Yu was somewhat intrigued by their research. While everyone else was busy strengthening themselves, fighting wars, or cultivating, these two were engrossed in research, even dragging Chen Yong into it. Chen Yong was exceptionally proficient in these matters. The essence blood memory extraction technique had originally been developed by Chen Yong, and Bai Feng had learned it from him. "Go on, let's hear what great discovery you've made this time." Wu Lan ignored his teasing tone and said briskly, "Do you know where willpower comes from?" Su Yu thought for a moment. "Texts of will, small amounts extracted from origin qi, natural generation within the sea of will, and certain treasures..." Wu Lan nodded. "Exactly, which means sources of willpower are actually scarce!" "Yeah." Wu Lan continued, "Then have you ever seen someone whose blood contained willpower?" Su Yu frowned. "Willpower is only connected to the sea of will and divine characters, not blood..." "No, it is!" Wu Lan said excitedly. "Saying it's unrelated proves you don't understand willpower at all! You haven't forgotten the blood we extracted back in the Star Residence Mansion, have you? In that blood, we discovered the presence of willpower!" Su Yu's heart stirred! Old Zhou! Right, combining the Great Circulation Origin Apertures and the Great Circulation Divine Apertures—Su Yu had considered this before. He quickly asked, "You mean that existence truly achieved mutual conversion between willpower and origin qi?" Wu Lan nodded. "Precisely! But there must be a medium... the origin spirit apertures you mentioned back then. Have you opened your origin spirit apertures?" "I have!" Hearing that, Wu Lan was overjoyed. "Then let us study them!" "..." Su Yu was speechless. Beside her, Bai Feng looked a little thrilled as well, coughing dryly. "Ahem... disciple, just take the trouble to let Wu Lan study you. She's weak and can't hurt you! I'll watch over her, so nothing will go wrong!" You want to dissect me too, don't you?! Su Yu felt a deep weariness. These two were mad. Even if they wanted to slice him up, they needed the strength for it; even if he let them try, their blades wouldn't leave a scratch. Liu Wenyan and the others looked on in amusement. Liu Wenyan soon said, "I'll go chat with your father and share a drink; it's been a long time since we caught up." "Take your time!" Su Yu replied, and Liu Wenyan departed with Hong Tan and the others. Once they were gone, Wu Lan couldn't wait: "Open your origin spirit apertures so we can look, and explain the principles to us! Su Yu, if this research succeeds, you'll be able to convert power continuously, and your divine characters can advance rapidly!" Su Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Divine characters are actually a form of rule... Do you understand rules?" He quickly explained the origin of divine characters, describing what rules were, what divine characters were, and what the Heavenly Gate was... Both listened intently, asking questions whenever they were confused. For a moment, Su Yu felt dazed. He felt like a teacher, even though he had never taught anyone before. After listening for a while, Bai Feng murmured, "So the innate talent technique I theorized back then might truly exist! No, not an innate talent technique, but rule power manifested when divine characters reach perfection!" Su Yu nodded. Bai Feng suddenly said, "Wait, that's not right!" "What's wrong?" Bai Feng answered immediately, "Back then, my deduction was that the innate talent technique would appear only when multiple divine character battle techniques fused into one, when the divine characters themselves merged! But according to what you just said, a single divine character is a rule... that doesn't add up! I believe a single rule can encompass countless divine characters. Rules are ever-changing, and so are divine characters. Only when all the divine characters along a single rule unite does it form a complete rule!" His eyes shone brightly as he spoke. "Divine character battle techniques... yes, now I understand what they are! They're simplified forms of rules! Su Yu, believe it or not, behind every divine character battle technique lies an underlying rule! They merely differ in strength!" Su Yu frowned, then suddenly retrieved the Civilization Tombstone! "Teacher, you mean... within this Civilization Tombstone lies an embryonic rule?" "No, no, no..." Bai Feng's eyes flickered. "I understand now. You said there might be a divine character belonging to King Wen inside the Civilization Tombstone, right?" Su Yu nodded! Bai Feng explained rapidly, "Then I see the picture. The battle techniques inside might not have been this numerous initially, but later, that divine character naturally spawned many battle techniques..." Su Yu still looked confused. Bai Feng said impatiently, "My point is, this Civilization Tombstone is itself a rule! If you don't believe me, Su Yu, you can combine them. I bet that once all the battle techniques are superimposed, they will form a single recurring multi-character pattern, not countless distinct ones!" What did that mean? Su Yu fell into deep thought. Beside them, Wu Lan considered it for a moment, seemed to understand, and said, "Teacher Bai means overlaying all the battle technique diagrams! Scaling them to the same proportions and stacking them together. In the end, we'll obtain a new pattern—the rule divine character contained within this Civilization Tombstone! "Many of the divine character base points will definitely overlap, right?" Bai Feng nodded. "Yes, exactly!" He added excitedly, "If so, superimposing them will grant us a divine character battle technique that leads directly to the Great Dao of rules!" Su Yu frowned slightly. "Are you sure? If that's true... I suspect it might match my own divine character battle technique!" Bai Feng thought about it and nodded. "Right, you have ninety-nine base points... Su Yu, you can enter right now and try. Trace most of the patterns and overlay them. You don't need all of them; as long as the majority overlap with your ninety-nine base points, it proves our deduction is correct!" Was that really the case? Su Yu wasn't certain. He decided to try! Soon, Su Yu sent his willpower into the Civilization Tombstone. Having grown far stronger than before, he entered to find countless battle technique templates swirling around him as usual. Su Yu ventured deep inside, memorizing countless template diagrams. After recording over a thousand of them, fatigue began to set in, and he quickly withdrew! ... Back in the room, Su Yu wasted no words, recalling the patterns in his mind and swiftly sketching them out. Diagrams were layered over one another, adjusted to the same scale. Gradually... a new pattern emerged. As redundant connecting lines were filtered away, Su Yu faintly sensed something extraordinary! Most of the divine character base points truly overlapped! Instead of exploding into thousands or tens of thousands of points, they converged! The total number of base points didn't multiply out of control. Instead, as more diagrams were overlaid, the distinct points became fewer. Gradually, a divine character diagram with over sixty base points took shape. Su Yu quickly sketched out his own diagram of ninety-nine base points beside it. Comparing the two... they nearly aligned perfectly! For a moment, the three looked at one another in surprise, yet also felt a sense of inevitability! Bai Feng took a sharp breath. "Incredible! King Wen was truly magnificent! If anyone could master numerous divine character diagrams and outline them, they could retrace King Wen's path! Su Yu, if you outline all these divine characters, you might instantly seize control of this rule! It seems certain that the divine character within this Civilization Tombstone is the source of the rule... When you master ninety-nine divine characters and raise them to a certain level, you might directly transcend!" This differed from Su Yu's original expectation! He had assumed he would have to walk ninety-nine distinct paths, but Bai Feng meant that combining these ninety-nine paths constituted a single true Great Dao! King Wen had left behind a Great Dao inheritance within the Civilization Tombstone! Su Yu suddenly recalled the legends: "Some say that obtaining the Civilization Tombstone allows a Half-Emperor to transcend..." In an instant, Su Yu understood! The Civilization Tombstone... truly could allow a Half-Emperor to transcend, provided that Dao Integration expert was clever and powerful enough to reassemble these battle techniques! Today, he had inadvertently unlocked the secret of the Civilization Tombstone! The crucial part was that he had seemingly mastered it long ago! And all of it had been granted to him through the Time Booklet. At that moment, a thought suddenly crossed Su Yu's mind... Was King Wen really not the Time Master? Could they truly be two different people? If they weren't the same person, how could the Time Master understand King Wen's Dao so intimately? *The Time Master and King Wen are definitely connected! If they aren't the same person, then they're husband and wife, brother and sister, or bosom companions! One replicated the other's Time Booklet, while the other knew the Great Dao path left behind in the Civilization Tombstone...* Without an intimate understanding of each other, replicating such a thing would have been impossible! While Su Yu was lost in thought, Bai Feng suddenly lost interest. "Is that all there is to the Civilization Tombstone? Just a single Great Dao inheritance? How boring!" "..." Su Yu was dumbfounded. *Teacher, you're only at the Lingyun Realm!* Above that were the Shanhai Realm, the Sun Moon Realm, the Eternal Realm, Dao Integration, and only then the Great Dao level! A single breath from such an expert could obliterate you, yet you call it boring? Seeing Su Yu's look, Bai Feng explained, "It's mainly because deciphering the inheritance was far too simple! It makes the Civilization Tombstone feel much less mysterious than imagined. Now that the secret is out, it feels rather underwhelming..." Su Yu had no words for him! Simple? He felt it had been anything but simple! He had never even considered this possibility before! Xia Chen's lineage had guarded it for tens of millions of years and probably never realized it either. That lineage must have had daily access to it, yet none of them had ever deciphered it! A Great Dao inheritance! The Civilization Tombstone was an inheritance of the Great Dao! Su Yu wondered whether King Wen still controlled this Great Dao, or if he had controlled it once and abandoned it, or if he had truly perished, leaving the Great Dao unclaimed. Thoughts swirled through his mind. Never mind, he was still far from that level. If all else failed, once he gathered ninety-nine divine characters, he would see if he could step straight onto the Great Dao! Bai Feng added, "If the Civilization Tombstone is a Great Dao inheritance... Su Yu, your battle technique should match it best. In that case, you might be able to merge with it and treat the Civilization Tombstone as your civilized armament! Looking at your gear, you only have the civilization chronicle right now, which doesn't seem sturdy enough and isn't meant for killing. I think the Civilization Tombstone could become your weapon!" Presently, whenever Su Yu used the Heaven-Cleaving Blade, he used his bare hand as the blade! Su Yu's heart stirred! He had never considered this or attempted it. Could he really turn the Civilization Tombstone into his weapon? Or was it actually a real weapon all along? Su Yu hesitated no longer. Since this was his first attempt, trying it would reveal the truth! His divine character battle technique rapidly assembled and took shape, transforming into a blade in the blink of an eye! The Civilization Tombstone swiftly fused with his technique, also taking the form of a blade. It felt as though it had been sealed away for countless ages! The moment the blade manifested, Su Yu's sea of will jolted violently. In the next instant, his willpower was drained dry. With a loud hum, a burst of blade qi composed primarily of willpower erupted into being! Boom! A thunderous crash echoed as the sky seemed to be sliced open by the blade qi! ... In the distance, King Daxia snapped his head around, utterly stunned. "Willpower condensed into a blade? Such power!" Su Yu's willpower wasn't exceptionally strong, roughly on par with the Sun Moon Realm at best. Yet right now, that single strike gave King Daxia the impression of someone at the seventh or eighth layer of the Sun Moon Realm! What was that kid up to now? Was he still furious about King Dayuan? What a petty temperament... You already beat King Dayuan half to death! ... In the Su residence, Su Yu looked surprised. "This... this thing might truly be a weapon! A weapon carrying a Great Dao inheritance!" He hadn't considered this before, having only thought of using it as a carrier. In other words, he now possessed a second wieldable weapon aside from the civilization chronicle—and it appeared remarkably potent! Su Yu's eyes flickered. The next moment, the blade shifted into the shape of a brush pen. Su Yu's civilization chronicle manifested beside it... A book and a pen? He had always thought his divine character battle technique was a blade—a long blade, broad at the front and straight at the back... Why couldn't it be a pen? An ink brush was a pen too! Su Yu stroked his chin and looked at Bai Feng. "Teacher, do you think my divine character battle technique just now looked like a blade or a pen?" "A pen?" Bai Feng froze for a moment before saying, "A blade, right? That sort of long blade..." "Don't you think the handle was too straight? Too long?" Confused by his questioning, Bai Feng shook his head. "Does it even matter? Whether it's a blade or a pen, can't you wield it however you like?" "That's not the point!" Su Yu grinned. How intriguing! Had he misunderstood all along? The Great Dao passed down by King Wen was a pen! The legacy left by the Time Master was a book! You two... what a match! If you two aren't intimately related, I'll chop off my own head and kick it like a ball! Earlier, Doubao had claimed that King Wen and the Time Master were not the same person, which had left Su Yu puzzled, especially when it added that the Time Master was female... Now Su Yu was ninety-nine percent certain they were a couple! Otherwise, how could there be so many coincidences? Doubao didn't know simply because King Wen had kept it in the dark. The Time Master vanished first, and then King Wen disappeared. He must have gone searching for her! At this moment, Su Yu felt he had finally grasped their relationship! No wonder everyone mistook King Wen for the Time Master! Birds of a feather truly flocked together! Toying with the pen formed from the Civilization Tombstone, Su Yu wondered: if he wrote something with this pen in the genuine Time Booklet... would it kill someone directly? When would he finally be able to retrieve that object from inside his head?