Leaving Star Residence Mansion

On the eighth floor. Su Yu's strength was undergoing a metamorphosis. Merging the Sun Moon apertures into one—this was the true aperture unification! His physical body strengthened, and his sea of will strengthened as well! At this moment, even his vision underwent a change. He looked toward the void. Those murky rule forces from before now vaguely manifested as great Daos, one after another. He also saw a river! The River of Time! This time, Su Yu saw it with unmatched clarity. Right now, Su Yu felt as if he had glimpsed the ultimate truth of heaven and earth. Allowing the rule forces of punishment and reward to bombard him, he stared blankly at the sky, at another void, at this world. It was as though he were truly understanding for the first time what rules were! What a Dao was! "Rules, great Daos... a net... in the end, they're all branches!" Su Yu murmured, "Branches." Yes. When his Heavenly Gate opened, it was as if he had grown an extra eye. He saw it! He saw countless branches splitting off from that River of Time, like a great tree spreading out in all directions. He finally understood why one had to open up the River of Time to attain the Dao! Because opening the River of Time meant you had touched the Great Dao. He understood why some people had thick, powerful stretches of the River of Time while others had thin trickles—it was because of the different branches they had opened! At this moment, with his Heavenly Gate unified, Su Yu truly saw it! He saw a brand-new world! So every Dao in heaven and earth extended outward from the River of Time! Opening your own Dao meant pioneering a brand-new branch! While following someone else's Dao meant walking an existing branch. "Is the River of Time a Dao itself?" Su Yu murmured in astonishment! Before this, he had constantly wondered where the source of all Daos lay. Now he knew—the source lay within the River of Time. Before, he had thought: *Isn't the River of Time rather useless?* *Just for traveling a bit faster?* *Or what?* Today, with his Heavenly Gate unified, he saw through it in an instant, seeing it with complete clarity. It was a river surging straight through heaven and earth! A mighty river coursing on! And from this river, countless branches spread outward. That was what Su Yu had previously called the net—the Great Dao Net! "So that's how it is!" "So this is the true essence of rules!" Everything without exception stemmed from the River of Time. At the same time, he seemed to understand what the Dao of the Dead Spirit Heavenly River was! That was also a main trunk similar to the River of Time, but the Dead Spirit Heavenly River had no branches. Thus, countless dead spirits anchored their own Daos onto the Dead Spirit Heavenly River, creating what was known as the Dao of Dead Spirits! "The River of Time, the Dead Spirit Heavenly River... In the Martial Emperor's words, the Dao of Dead Spirits is imperfect. Does that mean a latecomer wanted to split open the heavens and earth, opening a primary Dao similar to the River of Time, but failed in the end...?" "Then just how powerful was that person?" Su Yu wondered how terrifying the expert who pioneered the dead spirit realm had been! All the countless paths of this world were branches spreading from a single main Dao. "Some of the thickest branches must be the mighty Daos—like the Human race's physical body Dao, the Immortal race's Immortal Emperor Dao, the Demon race's Demon Emperor Dao..." "First open the River of Time, then branch out from it, carving your own path..." "The source lies within the River of Time!" "Then between the upper realm and the myriad realms... does this river exist in the upper realm too?" "..." Thoughts flashed one after another as Su Yu allowed countless rule forces to wash over him. His flesh shattered one moment and regenerated the next. He didn't care anymore! Rule punishment! He was tracing it back to its origin! Su Yu traced the rule punishing him all the way to its source. He seemed to see a thick, immense Dao above the River of Time, giving birth to wisps of rule power to strike him! Su Yu swiftly followed the power of reward to trace it back as well! His willpower extended, wanting to see what the Human Sovereign's Dao looked like. He stretched out endlessly, yet he could not find the end, unable to locate where the Human Sovereign's Dao lay! It stretched unimaginably far! This River of Time seemed to run through heaven and earth, endless and boundlessly wide! He didn't know where the Human Sovereign's Dao was. Yet he knew this was a single stream of power, whereas the punishing power seemed to stem from multiple combined sources. The Human Sovereign's Dao ought to be far stronger than those forces. "Is the River of Time itself a Dao as well?" "When the Time Master forged the Time Record, was it to unite myriad techniques into one, or to recreate another River of Time? Like the Dead Spirit Heavenly River, imitating the River of Time to forge an entirely new Dao?" Idea after idea surfaced in his mind. Today, he had truly witnessed too much. Everything before had been guesswork, but today Su Yu had seen it with his own eyes! He didn't know whether others could see this—likely not. But Su Yu could, perhaps a perk of uniting the Heavenly Gate. He could ask the Martial Emperor later and find out! "So when I integrate with a Dao, opening the River of Time and carving a branch river is called pioneering my own Dao!" "Or I can choose to merge into an existing Dao..." The next moment, he suddenly brought out the Civilization Tombstone! At that instant, Su Yu saw something. He saw a thread extending from the Civilization Tombstone connecting to the River of Time. Somewhere along the river, a branch had been sealed off, barring anyone from setting foot onto it! Su Yu understood! The Civilization Tombstone and the divine characters inside were actually a map, an introductory guide, an unsealing key! Now, if Su Yu took the Civilization Tombstone and stepped into the River of Time to find the Dao King Wen had sealed, and then merged himself into it, that would be Dao Integration! No one else could find it, see it, or integrate into it—that was having exclusive control over a Dao! The length and thickness of these branches determined the strength of a Dao! The Brush Dao ought to be exceptionally thick and long! "Arranging the ninety-nine divine characters into a divine character battle technique was meant to help me smoothly locate that Dao within the River of Time—or perhaps it's simply the key to unlock the seal!" At this very moment, Su Yu reached complete enlightenment! Cultivation of the Great Dao no longer held any secrets before his eyes! *When the Heavenly Gate appears, a sage is born!* Such a saying had existed since ancient times: once the Heavenly Gate opened, a towering figure had descended into the world. Su Yu had previously assumed it meant the Heavenly Gate of Star Residence Mansion opening to let great figures walk out. As it turned out, it meant that by opening the Heavenly Gate, one grasped the fundamental essence of cultivation in this world! Dao Integration, Dao pioneering, Dao uniting, even mastering a Dao of rules—all of it became crystal clear in your sight! You would understand your own future! You would no longer wander in confusion, knowing how things worked without knowing why! In this instant, Su Yu experienced countless revelations. His 'Dao' character divine text rapidly transformed, growing stronger! At this moment, Su Yu's 'Dao' character simply manifested outward. Faintly, a thread seemed to reach out, connecting toward the River of Time. This signified that Su Yu had grasped a portion of cultivation's underlying nature. If he wished, he could focus primarily on cultivating the 'Dao' character divine text, setting out to carve the Dao connected to it, or integrate into a Dao that already existed. "So that's it!" "Divine characters are rules!" "No, divine characters are paths. Whether pioneering a Dao or integrating into one, a divine character serves as a guide..." "A divine character tells you where you can carve out a Dao!" "A divine character tells you where a Dao already exists so you can integrate into it!" "..." Thought after thought arose in Su Yu's mind. In the next instant, Su Yu suddenly reached out and pulled out the little fur ball. With his Heavenly Gate open like a third eye, he looked at the frightened little fur ball. Shivering all over, the little creature felt as if Yummy had seen through every inch of its being! Su Yu stared at it! The fur ball race was perhaps the most uniquely blessed race in heaven and earth. This race was Dao! This race was rule! This race might very well be an entire branch that had extended downward. Perhaps it didn't need to unite or integrate with a Dao at all, but rather just climb directly upward—or, if its native Dao had developed issues, mend that Dao! Spirits born from a Dao were perhaps created by heaven and earth precisely to mend that Dao! He looked toward the fur ball. Above its head, he saw a faint, translucent line. It was very fragile, yet remarkably resilient! Su Yu's willpower extended along this thread. He saw something peculiar: the line indeed extended toward the River of Time, but there was a fracture in the middle. It needed mending! And he also saw that the fur ball had likely mended it wrong. This Dao was divided into several stages, likely corresponding to realms like Shanhai and Sun Moon. The fur ball seemed to have made a mistake, patching it sideways toward the breach Su Yu had seen—it was nearly branching off in the wrong direction! Sure enough, the silly little fur ball had no idea what Dao it was. All it knew was eating! After eating, it didn't know where to mend or extend, resulting in a flawed repair. Now, as it devoured vast amounts of rule power, everything was spilling toward other Daos. If it kept eating forcefully like this, one day the fur ball might end up on someone else's Dao and become a Dao Integrator like everyone else! Yet it would miss out on the Dao that truly belonged to it! If another Dao already had a master, the fur ball would remain forever trapped at the Dao Integration Realm, unable to step into the realm of a Ruler of Rules. But if it repaired its Dao correctly and walked its own path, it had the hope of mastering its own Dao and becoming a Ruler of Rules! *What about Doubao? And the mother ball?* Doubao had King Wen's help, so he had probably found his Dao correctly. But the mother ball... not necessarily! The mother ball only knew how to swallow, swallow, swallow too! They had both been influenced by Doubao. Yet Doubao himself might not fully understand his own situation; King Wen might have guided him to his Dao, but Doubao probably just followed King Wen's instructions, knowing what to do without knowing why! Otherwise, Doubao would have had a chance to advance to Ruler of Rules! He wouldn't still be stuck at Dao Integration after a hundred thousand years! "Yummy... I'm scared!" The fur ball squeaked pitifully, terrified. The surrounding rule forces were erupting, as if ready to blast it to pieces. Yummy kept staring at it, making its heart flutter with panic! Su Yu pinched it and chuckled. "You've gone astray on your path. Reflect on it properly. From now on, read more books. This world ultimately belongs to scholars! Brawny warriors remain brawny warriors in the end..." Saying that, he thought of King Wu and the Martial Emperor. Those two had opened their Heavenly Gates, so they should be able to see this as well, right? They were martial men, so how had they managed it? One could only say... they relied on heaven-sent talent. Their sheer gifts were so overwhelming that it forced them to be powerful. When it came to comprehending the Great Dao, those two were definitely subpar. Otherwise, why would they be inferior to King Wen? The Martial Emperor was even more reckless, ending up no match even for King Wu—a complete waste of opening the Heavenly Gate! "The Brush Dao is bound to be unique, capable of inscribing things onto other Daos to restrict or even bind them!" "Where is the Brush Dao?" He looked toward his Civilization Tombstone, then toward the divine characters he had outlined. Now, the divine character battle technique merged into the Civilization Tombstone. Su Yu casually tossed the tombstone upward; it soared toward the heavens, toward the River of Time! With a casual rip, Su Yu tore open a rift into the River of Time, which was also remarkably wide! A mighty river rushed onward! At this moment, Su Yu stepped into the River of Time while the Civilization Tombstone guided him forward, through an unknown direction, whether past or future. Su Yu followed. With each step he took, the river seemed to come to a standstill. As they flew on, the lingering strength in the divine characters within the Civilization Tombstone began to exhaust itself! Ahead of Su Yu, the Civilization Tombstone seemed to hesitate, wandering as if it had lost its way! Su Yu laughed! "Its power isn't strong enough and the rules aren't yet complete, so it can't guide me to the true Brush Dao!" "I understand!" He instantly recalled the Civilization Tombstone and brought out the Heaven-Earth Inkstone. At that moment, the Heaven-Earth Inkstone trembled slightly, but made no further movement. Because Su Yu had not comprehended this Dao! Nor did this Dao guide him toward the Dao belonging to the Huangtian Beast! "These belong to others. What about my own?" The next instant, Su Yu brought out the Civilization Chronicle! Right now, the Civilization Chronicle was flying around haphazardly! Darting about with wild abandon! One moment it flew toward one side of the river, bumping against the bank as if telling Su Yu: *There's a Dao here, let's open it!* Then it flew and bumped again, as if saying: *There's another Dao here, let's open this one!* "I get it!" Su Yu chuckled wryly! He understood. Recalling the Civilization Chronicle, he thought: *This is the confluence of myriad Daos!* The Civilization Chronicle merged myriad Daos; the Time Record unified myriad techniques... Su Yu could see the ambition of the Time Master, King Wen's younger sister: she wanted to open a second River of Time! A miniature version of the River of Time! And Su Yu was walking this very path. The Civilization Chronicle was essentially telling Su Yu: *We don't know which Dao is best to open, so let's open anything! Once we open enough, we'll carve out an entire River of Time!* "So that's how it is!" After another moment, Su Yu took out another item! The Human Lord Seal! The Human Lord Seal also carried Su Yu forward at this moment. But after flying a distance, it slowed to a halt, devoid of strength to continue. Su Yu sighed softly. "The Human Sovereign's Dao... I see! You wanted to lead me down the Human Sovereign's Dao. Sadly, it is too distant, and you are too weak to carry me there, aren't you?" At that moment, the Human Lord Seal vibrated, as if confirming Su Yu's words. Walking within the River of Time, Su Yu realized the pressure was mounting steadily. As he walked, he noticed another detail. All this time, there had been a branch flowing alongside him. Su Yu studied it carefully, murmuring after a long silence, "I understand! The physical body Dao—the Human race's physical body Dao!" "Because this physical body Dao is right beside the area where we step into the River of Time, whenever our people enter, lack of deep Dao comprehension leads them straight onto this physical body Dao!" "Different races must open the river at different nodes!" "Each race opens a different stretch of the River of Time and walks the Dao closest to them, simply because they have no other choice!" "The three-embodiments method is a bridge. The so-called past and future embodiments merely summon the powers on the left and right of the river, merging them with the present, and using carriers to step onto this branch in one leap..." At this moment, he saw through the true nature of the three-embodiments method! The technique itself was secondary. Yet rule punishment mandated that one walk the three-embodiments path... Su Yu deduced inwardly that supreme experts must have blocked off a section of the River of Time and established rules over certain branches, preventing anyone from piercing the River of Time by other means! "No wonder the white dog said King Wen's residence is a rule-free land, yet one can still reach the Eternal Realm and pioneer Daos there! The so-called rule-free land merely lacks branch rivers, but the River of Time is still there... No, it is directly inside the River of Time!" Su Yu understood! Inside it, external branches could hardly interfere with you—that was the so-called rule-free land. King Wen had likely carved out a segment of the River of Time to serve as his base. Remarkable! Even now, Su Yu found King Wen increasingly extraordinary and terrifying! That was why the white dog and the others could pioneer their own Daos, unaffected by branches or the Daos of others. "Impressive! The white dog and the others are all pioneering their own Daos, carving out brand-new branches!" "Then was the River of Time there from the start, or did someone create it?" If someone had opened it... it was unfathomable how terrifying such an existence must have been! All Daos of the myriad realms rested atop the River of Time! Yet there were still a few who sought a different path: the Time Master, and the supreme expert who opened the dead spirit realm. For now, Su Yu only knew of those two. As for King Wen and the others, Su Yu wasn't sure. From his current perspective, if King Wen and the rest had no intention of forging an independent Dao, then the Time Master... was more talented and perhaps even more formidable than King Wen! Of course, the Time Master might not have succeeded! The Time Master might still have been in the Eternal Realm, not a Ruler of Rules, because her rules were likely still nurturing within the Time Record, not yet transformed into a true River of Time! "Why do I feel the Time Master is even more impressive than King Wen?" No matter how many Daos King Wen mastered, they were built atop the foundation of the River of Time. The Time Master, however, sought to forge a second Dao akin to the River of Time itself. Such ambition was breathtaking! At this moment, the Time Record within his mind seemed to sense this thought and grew excited! It trembled slightly! *Yes, the Time Master is truly incredible!* Su Yu smiled. In his sea of will, the Civilization Chronicle also vibrated, as if urging Su Yu: *We must walk our own path too, and open another River of Time!* "Too difficult!" Only at this moment did Su Yu truly grasp just how arduous it was! Standing within the River of Time and watching the surging currents, he felt a twinge of bitterness. *Forge another river like this?* *Harder than ascending to heaven!* *Back then, I actually harbored the ambition to forge the Civilization Chronicle—it's practically asking for my life! To carve out an independent Dao and cease relying on the River of Time... is that even possible?* "We'll see!" With a sigh, he set the thought aside. For now, it was far too distant! "King Wen... stripped away his Dao..." In that flash of thought, he considered King Wen again. Could it be that King Wen also wanted to forge an independent Dao, which was why he stripped away his original Dao to start anew? If so, he was truly a terrifying existence! *Boom!* A wave surged toward him. Su Yu chuckled softly and stepped out of the River of Time. He could not linger here. For now, he had not reached the point of pioneering a Dao, but Su Yu knew: If he wished, he could do as others did right now, stepping into the branch alongside him—the Human race's physical body Dao—and advancing to the Eternal Realm! Becoming what everyone called invincible! However, far too many people had integrated into that Dao, and the branch was already tattered. He would have to be an idiot to fuse with it—it might even cause rejection! "Only those who don't understand the Great Dao would walk such a broken path, right?" Before leaving, Su Yu glanced at that wide branch. It was immense, and he seemed to see the marks left behind by countless individuals—likely human predecessors. Yet further ahead, that Dao was probably in ruins! With so many people merging into it, everyone competed for the rule power within, making cultivation vastly more difficult, and the road ahead might already be severed. During the Ninth Tide, countless people died, and the Hundred Battles King had monopolized their Dao rules. If the Hundred Battles King had perished, that might have caused the path ahead to snap. If he were alive, he might have blocked the way for latecomers. Thus, that road held no future! "King Daqin and the others all walk this Dao. It has no prospects at all!" ... Su Yu stepped out of the River of Time. The sky was clear and bright. Everything had vanished! Punishment and reward had both dissipated! And he himself sensed the difference. The world was clearer now! As Su Yu stepped down from the void, the others hurried over. Tianmie asked anxiously, "Did you attain the Dao? I saw you step into the River of Time! Did you capture your three-life embodiments?" "No!" Su Yu smiled. "The three-embodiments method is too weak. I just saw through it: it simply uses two carriers to set up stepping stones, helping you walk onto the Great Dao!" "The so-called three embodiments are past and future—two planks carrying you to flow into the Great Dao!" "Meanwhile, the armament integration method only requires a single plank. But that plank is sturdier, bearing more power and drawing more strength from the River of Time!" "..." The group looked bewildered, completely at a loss! *What are you talking about?* *It sounds extraordinary, but we can't understand a thing.* Not understanding but feeling awed was the right reaction! Yet the contrarian gate seemed to grasp something and hastily agreed: "Yes, yes, yes, stepping stones... Wait, no, that's not how it was said! I vaguely recall King Wen once mentioning somewhere that whether it's the three-embodiments method, the armament integration method, or anything else, they are all about bridging and paving a path to let you step onto the Great Dao! But I am special; I don't need to pave a path because I am a gate. Once I lay my gate down across a river junction, I can walk right across! That's why King Wen said I had great prospects!" Su Yu paused, then smiled. "You do have prospects! It aligns with what I said. Put it this way: to step onto the Great Dao, one must cross the river. Crossing into a branch river requires carriers, integrated armaments, or the natural forms of the spirit race—all of them serve as paving materials! Marquis Tongtian's true form is a gate, naturally possessing immense carrying capacity, so you can draw more rule power..." At this point, Su Yu glanced at him, furrowing his brow slightly. "However, the Dao you integrated into might be rather weak. Otherwise, given the strength of your true form, you should be far stronger than you are now. You're a bit weak!" "..." The crowd stared at him. Was Marquis Tongtian weak? Not at all! Among Dao Integrators, if not top-tier, he was solidly intermediate. Su Yu was certainly arrogant, calling Marquis Tongtian weak! Yet Marquis Tongtian nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes! King Wen said the same thing! He said when I integrated into my Dao, I was ignorant and just merged with whatever I found. That was wrong; I should have found a stronger one to integrate with, or pioneered my own..." Marquis Tongtian gasped in shock. "Is the Human Lord the reincarnation of King Wen? Why do your words sound almost identical?!" Su Yu chuckled softly. "Seeing through to the essence, everything boils down to the same principles, so our explanations are naturally similar. If you ask the Human Sovereign, he would give you the same answer!" The contrarian gate quickly said, "Defending yourself is just covering it up. I understand now... The Human Lord truly is King Wen resurrected..." Su Yu gave him a sharp glare! The contrarian gate shut his mouth instantly! *I was wrong, I won't say another word.* Yet his demeanor grew noticeably more cautious, vigilant, and slightly fearful. *King Wen? Is he really King Wen?* He looked at Su Yu, examining him closely, and sent a voice transmission: "He really is King Wen! Look, there's a little gate on his forehead! He wears white robes! He speaks the exact same words as King Wen! He even uses a brush-knife! And just now he went to King Wen's home! He also claims to be a scholar, and..." If he hadn't spoken, it might have passed, but once he said all that, the looks in everyone's eyes grew peculiar. Su Yu was truly resembling King Wen more and more! Su Yu looked at them, then at Marquis Tongtian. That fellow was definitely spreading rumors again! He couldn't be bothered to argue. Whether King Wen or the Human Sovereign, anyone who saw through the core of cultivation would naturally share a similar aura. As for speaking similarly... utter nonsense. Anyone who understood the essence of the Great Dao would say the same thing! *You people don't understand anything, only how to blabber!* Soon, Tianmie lost interest in whether Su Yu was King Wen or not, asking hurriedly, "Are we still looting?" Right now, the rule forces seemed to have calmed down. Su Yu looked up. With his Heavenly Gate open like a third eye, he stared into the void. Up there, streaks of rule forces stood poised, ready to strike like lightning! The density of rule forces varied across different regions. Seeing this, Su Yu smiled. "Continue. When I say retreat, we leave!" "Alright!" The group grew thrilled and resumed pillaging the property of those marquises. Soon, the rule forces began reconverging, growing stronger and stronger! Faintly, they even condensed into a blade, intending to hack everyone to death in a single stroke! Seeing this, Su Yu barked, "Stop! Move out!" Marquis Tongtian swiftly opened the gate. Su Yu and the others stepped through, vanishing in an instant! Just as they departed, *boom!* A blade of rules cleaved downward, striking empty air! Across the entire eighth floor, rule power roiled violently! As if displeased that it had failed to punish anyone, it continued churning, sending tremors through the rules! ... On the seventh floor! Su Yu and his group materialized instantly. In the void, the Martial Emperor's willpower manifested once more. In truth, the others could see nothing, and none of them could hear the exchange between the Martial Emperor and Su Yu. At this moment, the Martial Emperor's face seemed slightly clearer as he looked at Su Yu. Su Yu also looked up toward the sky. The Martial Emperor's chilling voice came: "You do have some ability, actually opening the Heavenly Gate!" The prefix "little bug" was gone! Su Yu smiled. "It was alright. My thanks to the Martial Emperor for bestowing the technique! With this Heavenly Gate opened, I only feel like a frog at the bottom of a well! May I be so bold as to ask: having opened the Heavenly Gate, did the Martial Emperor see the Dao of the River of Time? Has that Dao existed since antiquity, or did someone pioneer it?" The Martial Emperor said indifferently, "Since the opening of the heavens, that Dao has existed!" *As expected!* Su Yu asked again, "Then may I boldly ask another question: was the Dead Spirit Heavenly River opened by a peerless expert imitating the River of Time? You called it a half-finished product; does that mean the creation failed?" "Naturally!" The Martial Emperor's voice remained indifferent, yet he was now willing to converse with Su Yu about such matters. Like minds gathered together! In this era, perhaps only he and Su Yu could understand and see through such truths! Speaking to anyone else was speaking to the deaf. Su Yu said with deep emotion, "The expert who pioneered the dead spirit realm must have been terrifyingly strong!" The Martial Emperor fell silent. Su Yu asked, "Is that person alive or dead?" "Dead!" The Martial Emperor said coldly, "His ambition was too vast; how could it be so simple? Opening an entirely separate realm in the dead spirit domain, establishing life, death, and reincarnation—the living cultivating the River of Time, the dead cultivating his Dao. Such ambition... surpassed even unifying the heavens!" "Killed by someone?" "I do not know. I have only heard rumors; I never met him. In the era I belonged to, the dead spirit realm already existed. I only heard in legends that such a figure failed in his creation, leaving behind a flawed dead spirit domain." Su Yu nodded, his eyes filled with yearning. "Even in death, after countless ages, as long as someone attains enlightenment regarding the essence of the Great Dao, they will know of this person's existence. His legend will never fade! Unless this world never again produces individuals like you and me. So long as there are, his legend will not perish! Not even after millions or billions of years!" With that, Su Yu smiled. "If truly no one can open the Heavenly Gate, see it, or comprehend it, then those weaklings knowing his legend would be meaningless anyway. For one's legend to exist only within the circle of peerless experts and supreme geniuses... that carries its own distinct charm, doesn't it?" The Martial Emperor remained silent. What Su Yu said was true. Even if that person was dead, millions or billions of years later, whoever opened the Heavenly Gate or grasped the essence of the Dao on their own would know of the Dead Spirit Heavenly River, know of that person's existence, and know of his grandeur and legend! Su Yu asked further, "The ancient Human Sovereign—the one from King Wen's era—how strong did the Martial Emperor find him? Why are there so few legends about him today, without even an inheritance left behind?" The Martial Emperor was silent again. Su Yu chuckled. "Is it forbidden to speak of?" After a long pause, the Martial Emperor said calmly, "It is not forbidden, just difficult to say. One rarely saw him take action. All I know is that Taishan and the rest obeyed him! That person only focused on governing the realm, leaving civil and military affairs to others! I never had any dealings with him." Su Yu raised an eyebrow. Truly mysterious. He continued, "Setting the Human Sovereign aside, does the Martial Emperor still wish to kill me?" "Naturally!" The Martial Emperor disdained to deny it, stating coldly, "The grudge of Taishan humiliating me is greater than the grudge of killing me! Humiliating me for countless eras, degrading me, treating me like this... this hatred and enmity will never be forgotten!" Su Yu said in a deep voice, "That is the enmity between you and King Wu. I care nothing for that. I only hope for one thing: that the Martial Emperor does not implicate others!" The Martial Emperor said icily, "The current Human race is their inheritance! Can a mere 'do not implicate others' appease the humiliation I suffered for a hundred thousand years?" A hundred thousand years! His head snapped off, his body turned into a mansion, flowers planted on his rear... Ahem, in short, the Martial Emperor truly could not let go of such humiliation. It far exceeded the grudge of Taishan killing him! If Taishan had killed him, that would have been the end of it! Instead, Taishan had left him alive and subjected him to such humiliation; he could not accept it! Resentment, venom, the urge to destroy the world—all of that was inevitable! Su Yu pondered for a moment and asked, "Fair enough, that's hard to dispute. Then let me ask: how long does the Martial Emperor think it will take for you to break free?" The Martial Emperor said coldly, "You want to stop me?" "No!" Su Yu laughed. "I just want to see how long it will take, and whether I can suppress the Martial Emperor by then, so nothing goes awry!" "A joke! Do you think that opening the Heavenly Gate allows you to sit on equal footing with this Emperor?" "Not at all. The path of cultivation holds countless mishaps. Perhaps by the time the Martial Emperor breaks free, I'll already be dead. I'm merely inquiring about the situation!" Su Yu smiled. "Martial Emperor, if you don't mind, care to elaborate?" The Martial Emperor sneered, "An interesting fellow. When I break free, you will naturally sense it! These myriad realms are locked down by rules. Once the rules no longer seal them, all the suppression on my body will weaken by more than half. That will be my chance to break free!" "So that means once the upper realm opens, the Martial Emperor has hope of breaking free?" "Merely hope..." At this moment, the two spoke almost like friends. The Martial Emperor said calmly, "However, if you kill a few more people and sever a few more Daos, weakening the seal over the myriad realms further, I will naturally emerge earlier! That will certainly be entertaining!" Su Yu smiled. "Understood! Entertaining indeed! Why doesn't the Martial Emperor seek revenge against King Wu and the others? I know they aren't dead! I think the Martial Emperor could find them. If all else fails, just walk along the River of Time. You fought King Wu, so you surely recognize what his Dao looks like. Just look for it! Find his Dao and he will appear. If he's dead, there's no need to hate him anymore; if he's alive, just charge down his Dao and finish him off!" The Martial Emperor remained silent. It made some sense, but... Soon, the Martial Emperor said chillingly, "He is stronger than this Emperor. Do you take me for a fool, seeking revenge against him right now?" "Come now, if he isn't dead, he's been fighting people for a hundred thousand years and must be a flickering candle in the wind. Even that scares you? Then the Martial Emperor should simply give up. If it were me, and I couldn't even defeat a crippled foe, what else would I do but give up on revenge?" The Martial Emperor fell silent once more! He didn't want to say another word to Su Yu! That stung too deeply! Soon, he thought of something and sneered, "This Emperor will not leave immediately. I shall first restore my strength, slaughter their inheritance, extinguish their hope, and only then seek them out!" Su Yu chuckled. "Fine, suit yourself! It's still early anyway! The opening of the upper realm will take time. Rulers of Rules are strong, but... the Martial Emperor shouldn't underestimate the heroes of the world either. I hope you won't bring trouble upon me!" "Arrogant!" The Martial Emperor grew somewhat incensed. "Once this Emperor breaks free, you will be the first I seek out!" "Whatever!" Su Yu laughed. "Come find me if you wish. If I'm still alive by then and the Martial Emperor comes looking for trouble, I'll just beat you to death and save myself the hassle! Don't get angry now; if you lose your temper and your mind turns muddled, you'll miss your chance to unseal yourself and escape! It wasn't easy regaining your lucidity after all these years; if you lose your temper, it will be troublesome!" The Martial Emperor kept quiet. It made a lot of sense! He truly could not afford to lose his temper easily. He had only revived a tiny sliver of willpower; if that willpower succumbed to rage and chaos, he might sink back into slumber, and then he would need Su Yu to awaken him again. Su Yu wasn't an idiot. If he truly went back to sleep, nine times out of ten Su Yu wouldn't bother calling him back. Su Yu paid him no further heed; by now, he had seen through the Martial Emperor completely. In order to stay lucid, even if Su Yu shouted "Taishan" again, the man wouldn't pick a fight. Even if Su Yu planted flowers on his rear again, he might not lose his temper. "Martial Emperor, open a gate for us to exit through the dead spirit passage. Going through sub-level one requires waiting for a while before we can leave on our own!" "..." The Martial Emperor remained chillingly quiet, ignoring him. Su Yu smiled. "Martial Emperor, if you don't open the gate, I'm heading down to sub-level one to pluck your hair. Fine, if you insist, then down I go! Just so happens I'm short on carriers, so I'll be sure to thank the Martial Emperor!" "..." The next instant, the seal over the dead spirit passage came undone! *Get lost!* The Martial Emperor despised this fellow, but he had to maintain restraint. He couldn't let himself be provoked into chaos, missing the day the upper realm opened and the rules dissipated. Otherwise, even if he regained lucidity later, he would have to wait for the next opening of the upper realm—another ten thousand years! A smile broke across Su Yu's face! Now that was obedient! As for going to sub-level one, he was only talking. If he truly went to pluck hairs, the moment the Martial Emperor broke free, he would wage a fight to the death against him. Though things weren't far from that right now! Still, there was room to maneuver. Pay him no mind for now; leave first! The vast world outside awaited him; chatting with a lunatic here was pointless. Everything he needed to know, he already knew! With that, Su Yu looked toward the contrarian gate. "Marquis Tongtian, can you leave this place?" Marquis Tongtian shook his head. "I must guard the gate! That is also part of the rules! Unless the eighth floor ceases to exist, only then can I leave. But the eighth floor... as the Council grounds, even if a Ruler of Rules arrived, it would be extremely difficult to destroy it!" Su Yu understood. Looking toward the sky, he said with a laugh, "Martial Emperor, the moment you break free, destroy the eighth floor, or I'll destroy it next time I come. Bring Marquis Tongtian out with you; there's no need to make things hard for a gatekeeper, right?" The Martial Emperor couldn't be bothered to reply. Su Yu smiled. "Say no more, then. Marquis Tongtian, keep staying here for now. When my strength improves, I'll come destroy the eighth floor or obliterate those rules, and take you out for some fun!" "Many thanks, Human Lord!" Marquis Tongtian didn't mind either way. If he couldn't leave, so be it; he was used to watching gates anyway, which was quite nice! Su Yu glanced toward the dead spirit passage and said with a chuckle, "Let's go. While we're at it, let's capture some dead spirit monarchs. We'll round up all the dead spirit monarchs around the Spirit Suppression Domain so they don't cause trouble for me!" With those words, Su Yu stepped forward into the dead spirit passage! The others entered one after another. All of them were overjoyed! They were out! Their harvest was immense! When they arrived, not a single Dao Integrator was among them; upon leaving, they had a whole pack of Dao Integrators. Even Marquis Lanshan felt as if a lifetime had passed upon re-entering the dead spirit realm! The dead spirit realm, this Eastern King Domain, had undergone an earth-shattering shift just like that! In the distance, several dead spirit monarchs watched them with immense wariness, trembling all over. Su Yu glanced over and smiled. "Marquis Lanshan, go capture them and suppress them with the Eastern King Seal! Bring them back! I was just complaining about not having enough hands!" "Understood!" Marquis Lanshan swiftly accepted the order without hesitation. It was indeed time to round up some dead spirit monarchs; otherwise, managing the Eastern King Domain would prove difficult! In the distance, the dead spirit known as Tuofa wheeled around and bolted! Behind him, Hetu was feeling bold now, shouting, "Tuofa, don't run! Join us in doing great things and living the high life! We've slaughtered so many dead spirit marquises and even took down a king—are you blind? If you keep running, you'll just end up eaten!" "..." A short while later, Marquis Lanshan and Hetu were leading six dead spirit monarchs forward, the group expanding once again! Su Yu and the others moved at top speed. They needed to return to Old Turtle's side in the Spirit Suppression Domain first to prevent the other three Heavenly Kings from causing trouble! This time, unifying the Spirit Suppression Domain and suppressing the unrest in the Eastern King Domain would liberate the guardians. Without monarchs mounting assaults, assigning any ordinary Eternal guardian would suffice, without imposing too much strain. They needed to swap out the high-tier guardians! And replace them with less formidable Eternals! Furthermore, by gathering the dead spirits together, they could open the dead spirit passage at critical moments to let the dead spirits aid in the slaughter. That was Su Yu's true plan. As for Su Yu himself, his primary task now was transforming his battle techniques into divine characters! First achieve Dao Integration; after that, he might possess the combat prowess of a true Dao Integrator, or something very close to it.