Follow Me and You’ll Eat Meat

The ninth tide was officially over! This was the tenth tide! Or rather, all the shifting tides of the past had reached their conclusion. Su Yu was going to obliterate those former imprints, sweeping away the ancient Human Kings and Human Lords right alongside them. He needed everyone to remember only one thing: this era was named Su Yu! For no other reason than the treachery inherent to humanity. Su Yu himself admitted this! Humanity schemed far too much. Humanity thought far too much. From the very start, the Multiple Divine Characters Department had been pawns, cannon fodder, everything dancing within the calculations of a select few. Today, Su Yu was telling everyone that he thoroughly detested their schemes! Whether borne of goodwill or malice, none of it was needed anymore! This era would be ruled by him! If you wished to return, then return. If not, so be it—he did not need you, for he was fully capable of leading humanity to its rise! If he could not even subdue internal human dissent and people remained defiant, how could he suppress the myriad races? If the Human Realm itself did not submit to him, why should the likes of Old Turtle submit? If mere Eternals could defy you and bark orders, why couldn’t a Dao Joiner do the same? The Iron-Eater Emperor had said that Hundred Battles King failed to hold the bowl level, which was why he had been unwilling to go to war for him. When he said Su Yu could, it had been both praise and an implicit warning. The Hou Emperor had said that over a hundred ancient races who followed humanity into battle had all been wiped out—another implicit warning. Humanity had survived, yet hundreds of loyal allied races had been annihilated. Who would dare keep fighting alongside you under such terms? Because through the previous nine tides, nine Human Lords had indeed failed to hold the bowl level. And so, in this tide, those ancient races had all hesitated. They feared becoming the next ancient race wiped from existence! They feared humanity would endure while they were reduced to mere cannon fodder. Today, Su Yu was telling everyone that all would be treated fairly. Allies or humans, what should be done would be done. Even if favoritism existed, he would never sacrifice allied lives just to spare human lives. In this era, he reigned supreme! Only this way could there be any hope of victory. The Upper Realm held countless powerhouses and an entire hoard of old fossils. If these issues were not settled now, he feared they would grow too entrenched down the line, sparking fractures and rebellion. The assembled Invincibles felt a tangle of complicated emotions. Yet Su Yu paid no mind to their conflicted thoughts. In the next breath, he looked toward Xia Longwu. “All of you walk the Physical Dao. Your understanding of the essence of Great Daos is far too shallow. The Xia family’s saber... I do not know how deep your grasp of the Dao of the Saber is. General Xia, accompany me on a journey through the River of Time to see if you can step onto the Dao of the Saber!” Xia Longwu stepped forward, his voice deep and resolute. “I am willing to make this journey with Emperor Yu!” Su Yu tore open the River of Time with his bare hands. Xia Longwu felt a jolt in his heart, quickly following close behind as they stepped into the River of Time together! Once the two vanished between heaven and earth, quite a few Invincibles let out a breath of relief. Just now, the atmosphere had been suffocating! The pressure had been overwhelming! So terrifying that some felt their hearts flutter in panic! “Old Zhou?” King Daqin looked toward King Dazhou. King Dazhou no longer bore his former nonchalance, nor his former air of mystery. Right now, he looked somewhat bitter. Meeting King Daqin’s gaze, he was silent for a long time before murmuring, “There is no need to ask me anything. I... am the Dao Protector of this generation’s Human Lord! Old Qin, do not blame me. My duty was to ensure this ember never went out! I merely never expected that this generation’s Human Lord would be him, nor that he would grow so formidable so quickly.” A Dao Protector! King Daqin stared at him coldly. “Then that means back then... you already...” King Dazhou sighed. “Yes. But if I had revealed the strength of a Dao Joiner back then, Old Qin, do you know what would have happened? The Immortals, Demons, and Gods would have mobilized everything to encircle and annihilate us. I could only remain dormant.” King Daqin’s gaze grew increasingly frosty as he stared at him. “So you’ve just been waiting all along? Waiting for whom?” “Waiting for the Human Lord.” “Which Human Lord?” King Daqin said icily. “Waiting for a Human Lord who could resolve the myriad races? Naive!” This was the first time King Daqin had ever called King Dazhou naive. In the past, it had always been the other way around. At this moment, King Dazhou smiled bitterly. “Perhaps you are right. And yet, I have my mission! The reason humanity has endured until now, surviving all the way to the tenth tide without being wiped out, lies in precisely these arrangements! It is only that Su Yu dislikes them! If not for these arrangements, Old Qin, do you think we would have ever lived to see Su Yu?” Just because Su Yu disliked it did not mean making preparations had been wrong. Without clandestine arrangements, humanity never would have survived to this day! King Daqin pondered for a moment and gave a slight nod. “Perhaps! What about now? Who are you serving now?” “Serving?” King Dazhou thought about it, then chuckled and shook his head. “No, I am not serving anyone. I am merely passing on the legacy! Perhaps Su Yu believes I serve someone, but I do not. You must understand, the Human Kings are gone, and the Human Sovereign is gone. In this era, there is no one left for me to serve!” King Dazhou murmured, “I am simply doing everything within my power to pass down the flame, to protect the Dao, to await a Human Lord capable of leading humanity to rise once more... Perhaps that person is him.” King Daqin fell silent. Around them, several Invincibles listened quietly. In truth, everyone had vaguely gathered some clues. They were shaken, yet it also felt entirely natural. King Dazhou had always been far too mysterious, far too formidable. Only one person piped up in surprise: “Uncle Zhou, does that mean Zhou Potian might not actually be your son? Holy crap, what kind of relationship is that? That’s so complicated!” “...” The crowd turned to look at Qin Zhen one after another! Every single gaze was bizarre. Good grief! At a time like this, why in the world was your angle so bizarrely unique?! You truly take the cake! Yet now that he mentioned it, everyone’s curiosity was piqued. Was Zhou Potian still his son? Was Zhou Tianyuan still his younger brother? It really was complicated! King Dazhou looked at him with an odd expression. Qin Zhen, this son of King Daqin—was he a fool, or was he intentionally picking a fight? Seeing that even Zhou Potian was staring at him, King Dazhou felt a sudden headache. “I am human! No matter how old I am, marrying and having children in this tide is completely normal!” “I also needed to ensure my lineage did not die out!” Everyone nodded slightly. Qin Zhen, however, looked baffled. “Then it’s impossible for the Time King to be your younger brother! Having a son is normal, but giving birth to a younger brother makes no sense at all!” “...” Little King Zhou glared at him. Qin Zhen said earnestly, “Did I ask something wrong?” It made complete sense! Why is everyone looking at me like that? King Dazhou’s head throbbed. Seeing everyone’s eyes on him again, he had no choice but to say, “It’s similar to the Xia family! The Xia family is the same way, so stop picking on just me! Xia Chen was also a surviving expert from the previous tide, whereas King Daxia was born of this tide’s lineage. Thus, Xia Chen integrated into the Xia family and posed as his cousin.” Everyone grew thoughtful. Qin Zhen asked curiously, “So that means the Time King is actually your descendant of countless generations, while Zhou Potian is your legitimate son! Then Little King Zhou might have to address Zhou Potian as his great-great-grandfather, and Zhou Polong would have to address him from an even higher generation—is that how it works?” King Dazhou stared at him coldly! You are deliberately picking a fight! Aren’t you? Is that it?! Are you certain you want to pick a fight with me? Feeling slightly unnerved by his stare, Qin Zhen mumbled, “I was just asking. I was genuinely curious!” What’s with the attitude? It’s not like I made anything up! Why else would I ask if I wasn’t genuinely curious? King Dazhou felt utterly drained. King Daqin did not bother reprimanding his son. So he asked—what of it? King Daqin looked at King Dazhou and asked calmly, “Why did you back down so easily this time?” King Dazhou laughed bitterly. He looked toward the River of Time in the void. He could not see it clearly, only vaguely sensing their auras. Exhaling softly, he said, “Believe it or not, if I hadn't backed down just now... an expert might have stepped out from across the Time Waterfall to slaughter me!” King Daqin frowned. “Surely it wouldn't come to that!” “Wouldn't come to that?” King Dazhou smiled wryly. “You think it wouldn't come to that? This young man has been keeping his eye on me, guarding against me, staying constantly vigilant! Whatever he does, he makes sure to suppress me first. I truly harbor no malice, but alas... he is far too suspicious!” “You gave plenty of reason to be suspected!” Over to the side, King Daxia snapped irritably. “Out of all of us, you are the most insidious and mysterious. If not you, whom should he suspect?” “Shut up!” King Dazhou retorted crossly. “Did I want it to be this way? I didn't want this either! Five hundred years ago, I began scrutinizing all of you. All you geniuses, I inspected every single one! Back then, I thought to choose a worthy master to nurture carefully and stabilize our human territory! But look at you! You were simply disappointing! What choice did I have? I could only do what I did. Otherwise, what? Wait around to be exterminated by the Gods and Demons?” He then looked at Qin Zhen and the others. “Your father’s generation was lacking, so I hoped the next generation might produce talent. And the result? Exactly the same—a complete disappointment!” The crowd fell silent. King Daqin sighed softly and asked, “In your eyes, what kind of person is a worthy master?” King Dazhou opened his mouth, then froze. After a long while, an expression of profound reminiscence washed over him. “I don't know! I don't know what kind I was looking for either! You’ve stumped me! Perhaps the worthy master in my heart was someone like Hundred Battles King... But Hundred Battles King met defeat! He had flaws, many of them! Yet he had virtues, just as many! He was courteous to scholars and subordinates, brave and skilled in battle, protective of humanity, respectful toward seniors, supreme in talent, and domineering—yet beneath that domineering nature lay tender compassion...” King Dazhou said softly, “In the previous tide, Hundred Battles King won the support of everyone. Even several marquises of the Upper Realm praised him endlessly! To make him stronger, some ancient marquises willingly yielded their Daos, allowing him to absorb more Dao rule power and grow mightier... Some even sacrificed their very lives! Hundred Battles King was truly on the verge of succeeding. He suppressed the myriad races, battling all the way until forces descended from the Upper Realm, pressing down so hard that even the Upper Realm could barely lift its head...” King Daqin said calmly, “Yet he still lost!” Yes, he had still lost! And King Daxia said even more coldly, “Pressed down so hard they couldn't lift their heads? If they couldn't lift their heads, how are Tiangu, Moyue, and Jiwu still alive and well? In other words, in your eyes, ‘unable to lift their heads’ means that after nine tides, the ruler of the Immortals is still Tiangu! The ruler of the Gods is still Jiwu! Ninety thousand years of fighting across countless eras, and not a single half-emperor was slain?!” “...” The crowd came to a sudden realization and turned to look at him. That was right! Hundred Battles King had been that powerful, yet Tiangu and the others were still alive! King Dazhou opened his mouth, feeling utterly helpless. “No, back then Hundred Battles King believed that because they had turtled inside their native realms, attacking those realms would cause catastrophic casualties. To minimize losses, he chose not to attack them for the time being! He cherished the lives of humanity’s children. Moreover, the Upper Realm had opened by then, and there were simply too many experts. As strong as Hundred Battles King was, he couldn't suppress everything single-handedly... His intention was to re-establish the Ancient Imperial Court, revive the Council of the Myriad Races, and rule the world together!” “Back then, his strength was undoubtedly peerless. He wanted to follow the path of the Human Sovereign, using his personal might to suppress the myriad races first, avoiding a desperate fight to the death that would lead to catastrophic casualties...” Hearing this, everyone understood! Back then, Hundred Battles King believed he could suppress the myriad realms, but an all-out war would still incur horrific losses and potentially end in mutual destruction. Thus, he had wanted to reopen the Ancient Imperial Court! Humanity would be the leader, while the other races formed the Council of the Myriad Races to govern the realms together! King Daqin asked in a heavy voice, “And in the end? Who killed him?” King Dazhou took a deep breath. “I don't know! We didn't participate in the final battle! Or rather, we only fought on the periphery. That battle was fought between Hundred Battles King and several powerhouses from the Upper Realm, including Tiangu and the others! Hundred Battles King was incomparably mighty. He took down over ten Dao Joiners all by himself, including several ancient marquises. In the end... Hundred Battles King never walked out!” The crowd knitted their brows. “He died?” “I don't know.” King Dazhou continued, “I don't know if he died or not. At that time, the Great Daos shook violently, and the Physical Dao was likely damaged as well. He probably perished. But when Tiangu and the others emerged, they never proclaimed that they had slain Hundred Battles King; they merely announced that humanity had been defeated...” King Dazhou sighed. “And so, humanity lost! Before that, many older human marquises had fallen, and many older Dao Joiners had perished. The accumulated strength of nine tides was virtually wiped clean in a single stroke! A small portion fled to the Upper Realm, while those remaining in the Lower Realm were hunted down almost to the last. I was lucky enough to escape with my life. After the Myriad Realms Battlefield closed, I remained in slumber until roughly five hundred years ago before waking... and the tenth tide began!” Not far away, King Daming said in a deep voice, “Then... regarding Jintian’s betrayal... you didn't know? Regarding his father, you didn't know either?” King Dazhou said helplessly, “I am not a god; do not assume I know everything! Back then, I was still battling across the myriad realms. Am I omnipotent? I only learned of his entanglements with Xia Chen later on. By the time I found out, Xia Chen had already struck and killed him, and Xia Chen himself fell in battle. Who could have known he left descendants behind?” The gloomy look on King Daming’s face vanished, replaced by a genial smile. He asked cheerfully, “Let me ask you something. I was allocated two ruins—did you secretly arrange that?” “No.” King Dazhou explained casually, “Those ruins weren't actually from the ancient era. They were hidden contingencies prepared by powerhouses across the first to ninth tides, but none had ever been activated! Later, I activated a portion, and Xia Chen activated another. When we did so, some overlap likely occurred. I assumed I hadn't allocated one to you, and Xia Chen probably thought the same... so you ended up with two!” “Oh!” King Daming was enlightened. “No wonder! Turns out I was just lucky! So does that mean all of us have been under your observation all along?” King Dazhou nodded slightly. “You could say that!” Over there, King Miecan asked, “Then why didn't I get allocated one at the start?” “...” King Dazhou was speechless, scowling at him. “You were still young, what would you need one for?!” “...” You're the young one! Your whole family is young! King Miecan cursed inwardly! Serves you right that Su Yu suppresses you! You actually didn't give me a ruin in the first batch! “Then... then where did Emperor Yu go with Xia Longwu right now?” someone asked curiously. King Dazhou looked up at the sky. “I don't know. Seeking the Dao, probably!” “Seeking the Dao?” Several people looked pensive. Was that even possible? As for King Dazhou’s affairs, they did not press further. After all, they had been comrades-in-arms for many years, even if they felt he had deceived them. *** At this moment. Su Yu was indeed leading Xia Longwu in search of a Dao! Not only was he helping Xia Longwu find one, but he was also searching for himself. His divine character for “Saber” was guiding him, searching for humanity’s Dao—the Dao of the Saber! Qin’s Spear, Xia’s Saber! Su Yu’s idea had been to let King Daxia and King Daqin inherit the Dao of the Wild Heavenly Beast, but the spear of Qin and the saber of Xia still had successors! Qin Zhen and Xia Longwu were both viable. It was just unknown whether someone already controlled this Dao. Was the controller human? If so, were they dead or alive? None of that needed consideration for now! Melding into another Dao first offered hope of stepping into the Dao Joiner realm. Regardless, the Physical Dao was essentially crippled and incapable of reaching Dao Joining! Inside the River of Time, boundless darkness stretched along both banks of the surging waters. In truth, Xia Longwu could see very little, but he knew Su Yu seemed able to see, which left him feeling somewhat anxious. “Su... Emperor Yu...” Xia Longwu addressed him somewhat awkwardly, asking, “Do we just keep moving forward?” “Yes!” Su Yu looked ahead, then glanced at the “Saber” character whose power was nearly spent. He said, “Infuse it with your saber aura! Sense it yourself. Somewhere in this river, there is bound to be a place where you feel completely at ease—a place where you feel you can open or merge with a Dao. Stop walking the Physical Dao; that path is practically ruined!” Xia Longwu thought for a moment and closed his eyes. In the next instant, his entire being seemed to transform into a blade! He resonated with the “Saber” character ahead of him. Bolstered by his aura, the character continued flying forward! Meanwhile, Su Yu observed both banks! Right now, he was still within the expanse of the Physical Dao. Even Su Yu felt deeply shaken. This Dao was truly vast. If other tributaries were mere streams, this Physical Dao was an ocean! Within the River of Time, it branched off into an enormous tributary! No wonder it could support countless individuals melding with it! If the master of this Dao were still alive, the thought was simply staggering. Su Yu felt that even the likes of King Wen might not be their match! The master of the Physical Dao! According to Su Yu’s deductions, setting aside the River of Time itself, the master of the Dead Spirit Heavenly River was likely the supreme expert of heaven and earth. The Time Master had failed to truly carve out a miniature River of Time. He had never seen the Human Sovereign’s Dao, and he did not know what Dao King Wen cultivated now. From what he could see, the master of the Physical Dao ought to be the second strongest! “The Human Ancestor?” Su Yu thought of a legendary figure. The Physical Dao had reportedly existed for countless ages, present even before King Wen and the others opened their Daos. Could the master of the Physical Dao be the Human Ancestor from the era of creation? It was entirely possible! This Great Dao resided in the human region of the River of Time. If it belonged to the Human Ancestor... that truly made sense! If so, its terrifying vastness was understandable. Behind him, Xia Longwu was beginning to falter. His physical body trembled; treading the River of Time consumed far too much rule power. “Hold on!” Su Yu barked. “Only by holding on do you have any hope of finding the Dao that belongs to you, the Dao that harmonizes with you! Your talent with the saber is immense, but like the others, you couldn't see through the essence of the Daos and merged blindly into the Physical Dao. In ancient and primeval times, that path was unmatched, but in this era, it’s a dead end! You can never step into the Dao Joiner realm there!” “I know!” Xia Longwu replied in a low, strained voice, pushing himself to the limit. Su Yu said with mild disdain, “Mansion Master Xia, I always thought you were stronger than Mansion Master Wan. Looking at it now... you fall quite short.” “...” He was being looked down upon! Xia Longwu said helplessly, “Naturally. He is my teacher!” Fine, you are praising my teacher, so I won't argue with you. Su Yu thought for a moment and nodded. “True! But Mansion Master Wan is genuinely terrifying. I didn't understand before, but now I do—he had already begun uncovering the secrets behind the essence of Great Daos. He has likely been melding his own Dao all along, though restricted by the rules. He merely lacks a Heavenly Gate to see through it... Otherwise, Mansion Master Wan might have been the first powerhouse of this era to abandon the Physical Dao!” “What about King Dazhou...” “He probably isn't from this era!” Su Yu said casually. “From what I can see, he reached Dao Joining quite some time ago. Normal Dao Joining doesn't happen that quickly; he can't hide it from me!” Xia Longwu had no reply. You're the expert. In any case, he certainly couldn't see any of that. Right at this moment, Su Yu suppressed another surge of waves. Ahead, the “Saber” character suddenly trembled. Su Yu focused his gaze, opening his Heavenly Gate, and instantly caught sight of something! Just ahead, there appeared to be a tributary! “A Dao has already been opened here!” Su Yu knitted his brows, but soon relaxed. “It’s the same either way. Melding into an existing Dao is faster than opening a new one. Aside from making it slightly more troublesome to become a Ruler of Rule, your hopes of reaching Dao Joining are far higher! And much faster! It’s only natural that a Dao of the Saber has already been opened!” There were bound to be countless powerhouses skilled with the blade! Su Yu was not surprised by this! At least they had found it! Sure enough, the saber aura erupting from Xia Longwu surged dramatically. He said in overjoyed excitement, “Yes, I feel it too! Ahead, there’s a wonderful, comforting aura beckoning to me!” If not for Su Yu, he never could have reached this place! He had already attained the Dao! Those who hadn't yet achieved the Dao stood even less of a chance. Thus, for humans to walk a path other than the Physical Dao was extraordinarily difficult. What had once been a heavenly highway had now become a cage preventing humanity from walking any other path! Su Yu looked in that direction and said, “Come on, try to meld with it...” Su Yu continued forward, soon arriving above the tributary! At this moment, his vision became even clearer! Suddenly, he understood completely why carriers and weapons from the Weapon Integration Method were necessary. There was a gap between the tributary and the main riverbed. Xia Longwu tried to fly across and nearly plummeted straight into that void! It was only because Su Yu grabbed him in time that he was saved from falling. Had he dropped down, Xia Longwu likely would have perished! “So that’s how it is!” Now, Su Yu saw it with perfect clarity! A bridge had to be built! A bridge to allow Xia Longwu to cross over. And that was precisely the purpose of a carrier, the purpose of the Three Incarnations. However, regarding the Three Incarnations... Su Yu now understood. Using two incarnations was essentially laying down two flimsy stepping stones. They were unstable, so if the two incarnations were severed, disaster struck. The Weapon Integration Method was far more reliable! In fact, there were other ways. Having seen through the essence, Su Yu gained even deeper enlightenment. He suddenly chuckled. “Your physical body isn't strong enough, and your willpower isn't strong enough. Otherwise, you could just step right across! Using your own body as a bridge, you wouldn't need any carriers or weapon integration at all! External items are inherently flawed after all!” “Using blood for acupoints, or divine characters as a bridge—any of these would work...” At this moment, Su Yu was experiencing his own insights. He could already feel it! His “Saber” character seemed poised to drop into the gap, forming a bridge for him! This was the rule of divine characters! The character for “Saber” was inherently part of this Dao. Thus, it could bridge this gap and allow one to walk across. That was why divine characters could be used to attain the Dao! This was Su Yu’s first time guiding someone onto a Great Dao! Su Yu thought about it and smiled. “Let’s head back first. If you walk this Dao, I recommend using the Weapon Integration Method! But you need a medium. For you, the medium dictates your compatibility and absorption rate of rule power! The Guiyuan Saber... that would do nicely! Using the Guiyuan Saber to pave your path, you might instantly meld fifty or sixty percent into the Dao, advancing straight into the fifth or sixth stage of the Eternal realm—even the seventh stage is possible!” Xia Longwu was inherently formidable! He had already traversed a substantial distance along the Physical Dao before this. Xia Longwu immediately said, “No need, that is King Daqin’s weapon...” Su Yu chuckled. “Don't worry, I have arrangements for them! The Qin family, the Xia family, the Zhu family—the families that took the lead in supporting me—I will not treat poorly! Don't think it’s unfair; where in this world is there absolute fairness? You were the first to support me, so naturally I will empower you. Under equal conditions, I will make you stronger. If I don't make you stronger, should I make King Dazhou stronger instead?” “...” There was no answering that! “The Guiyuan Saber is a divine weapon. Using it as a medium for weapon integration will be magnificent!” With that, Su Yu quickly led Xia Longwu back! A moment later, Su Yu returned, tearing open the River of Time and calling out, “King Daqin, give me the Guiyuan Saber, I have a use for it!” King Daqin had been waiting. Hearing this, he said nothing. The Guiyuan Saber had originally been given to him by Su Yu after Su Yu chose not to keep it. Besides, he didn't particularly enjoy using a saber anyway! Tossing the saber out, Su Yu caught it in one hand and instantly vanished! Everyone waited in quiet anticipation! *** Meanwhile, Su Yu swiftly erased the residual aura inside the saber and tossed it to Xia Longwu. “Refine it quickly! The Weapon Integration Method is actually simple. You are an Eternal; you mastered one acupoint, one battle technique long ago! Pour all your insights into the Heaven-Cleaving Blade into the Guiyuan Saber! In my eyes, it is essentially turning a battle technique into a divine character. Since you cannot form divine characters, you can only use the Guiyuan Saber as your medium!” Xia Longwu understood only half of what was said; much of this lay outside his realm of knowledge! Yet he was a genius after all. Quickly grasping the core principle, he channeled all the saber aura within his body, along with his insights into the Heaven-Cleaving Blade, directly into the Guiyuan Saber! Divine weapons were exceedingly powerful! The Guiyuan Saber resisted slightly. Because it had once belonged to King Gong of ancient times, it refused to meld with another’s Dao. But Su Yu’s aura erupted, ruthlessly suppressing it! The Guiyuan Saber shuddered violently. Being masterless, it soon erupted with a brilliant blaze of saber light! Xia Longwu had refined it! Su Yu immediately brought him back to the previous location. By now, even Su Yu felt the strain; traversing the River of Time was not something ordinary people could achieve! Su Yu manifested his “Saber” character, letting it hover above the gap. In truth, Su Yu himself could have stepped onto this Dao right now! Yet he chose not to! There was no need! Stepping onto the Dao of the Saber now might create conflict with his Dao of the Brush later on. Su Yu wanted to walk a single, pure path first! “Lay the Guiyuan Saber across this gap to form a bridge!” “Understood!” Xia Longwu did not hesitate. He still couldn't fully comprehend it, but he vaguely knew this was a monumental opportunity! He threw the Guiyuan Saber forward. It expanded continuously within the River of Time until a bridge constructed of the divine blade materialized! “Step onto it! March forward! Melding with the Dao of the Saber—how far you walk depends entirely on your own strength!” “Understood!” Xia Longwu’s saber aura erupted as he strode forward across the divine blade! He stepped directly into the tributary! In that instant, his saber aura exploded outward, growing exponentially stronger! Within the tributary, streams of saber aura surged upward. Those were not waters, but sharp blades that instantly merged into Xia Longwu’s body! Xia Longwu let out a piercing roar as his saber aura boiled over, shouting, “I feel it! Such terrifying saber aura! I knew it—previously when I swung my blade, only my blood vitality and physical strength increased, but the blade itself was never sharp enough!” So that was why! Because previously, the path he walked had not been his true specialty! He had merely been reinforcing his physical body! Behind him, the Guiyuan Saber flew into his grip. Holding the saber, he charged forward. The saber aura formed from the river water was actually rule power; it aided him, yet also constrained him. It strengthened him as it merged into him, but it also battered him relentlessly! Yet Xia Longwu brandished his blade and tore his way forward with thunderous momentum! Across the tributary, explosive detonations echoed continuously! Xia Longwu roared as he advanced relentlessly! He marched toward a horizon beyond Su Yu’s sight! Su Yu evaluated the situation. Xia Longwu was already powerful to begin with. Stepping into the Dao of the Saber this time with the aid of the Guiyuan Saber, he might very well reach the seventh stage of the Eternal realm! “Once he steps outside, he’ll probably be targeted by the rules!” Su Yu mused. After all, it was said that those who abandoned the Three Incarnations Method would face punishment. That was likely the case! Whatever. Once they were out, he would throw Xia Longwu into King Wen’s former residence. Once the rule power dispersed, everything would be fine! He might even seize the opportunity to siphon some rule power to temper his own divine characters. Inside the tributary, rumblings echoed incessantly! Xia Longwu’s roars continued to drift back! This seemed far more difficult than attaining the Dao through the physical body! In physical Dao attainment, once the Three Incarnations fused, people mysteriously broke through. In truth, they were merely stepping onto the Physical Dao, but advancing further was nearly impossible, so they generally took a few steps and retreated! Moreover, the flimsy Three Incarnations could not sustain a bridge for long. The detonations continued! After a time, a figure emerged from within the tributary. From a distance, he looked like a living blade! Incomparably sharp! Bathed in blood from head to toe, Xia Longwu was nevertheless ecstatic, roaring with wild laughter! “Only today do I know who I truly am! The Xia family’s blade was meant to walk this path! Thank you, Emperor Yu!” This time, there was not the slightest hesitation in his voice! For to hear the Dao in the morning is to die content in the evening! At this moment, he felt like a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate. The lingering awkwardness and constraint of the past were gone, replaced by a sheer, exhilarating freedom that made him feel deliriously invigorated! He knew he had found the right Great Dao! Practicing the saber would now directly make him stronger! It would no longer be like before, where practicing the saber brought negligible gains and forced him to constantly temper his flesh simply because he was bound to the Physical Dao! *Boom!* He took a stride out of the tributary, returning to the main river! By this point, Su Yu was also reaching his limit. He warned, “Once we exit, there will be punishment from the rules. Be careful. I will take you into King Wen’s former residence; do not resist, lest it cause complications!” “Understood!” Xia Longwu’s voice boomed. He couldn't help but add, “I think... I might have truly stepped into the seventh stage! What a pity. If my grandfather cultivated the Dao of the Saber, I think he would have had a chance to reach Dao Joining. Emperor Yu, what about my grandfather...?” As Su Yu retreated, he said, “You felt it yourself—is the rule power still sufficiently dense? Did you sense anyone else competing for the rule power?” “It seems... there is someone!” “Then it’s likely some old bastards from ancient times aren't dead yet, competing with you for that rule power from the Upper Realm. Having too many people merge into the same path is dangerous. For one, we cannot tell whether those saber experts in the Upper Realm are friends or foes. For another, competing for Dao Joining becomes far more difficult, weakening each other’s strength. Let King Daxia walk another Great Dao first—a path where no one competes!” Otherwise, when the time came, your Xia family would end up fighting among yourselves! Su Yu added, “Just keep walking your path. If those who walk the Dao of the Saber are enemies, slay them! If the Ruler of Rule is still alive and turns out to be an enemy, slay them too! That way, the Dao will be yours to control!” Su Yu finished coldly, “Don't fight among our own people first; wipe out the enemies instead!” “Emperor Yu... could those walking this Dao all be humans?” “Who knows!” Xia Longwu said no more. He had already discerned Su Yu’s intention. Regardless of whether they were human or not, anyone who refused to obey Su Yu or opposed him would be eliminated. Wouldn't leaving the Great Dao for their own people be far better? Xia Longwu remained silent on the matter. He had slain plenty of people in his life. If Su Yu wished to dominate the world and slaughter all who opposed him, that was only natural. His harvest this time was immense! *** In the next moment, the two stepped out of the River of Time. The instant they emerged, a blood-colored lightning tribulation abruptly manifested in the void. Sure enough, straying from the Three Incarnations Method brought punishment! The others were shaken! Yet Xia Longwu could not hold back. Gripping his divine saber, he looked toward Su Yu, his killing intent brimming! Su Yu smiled. “Give it a slash for fun!” “Understood!” Beneath the stunned gazes of the onlookers, Xia Longwu slashed his divine blade straight into the void! The slash was incomparably sharp! Below, even King Daxia was startled. *Holy shit!* Why does that feel even sharper than my own saber aura? Not only that, in just this brief span, Xia Longwu seemed to have leaped straight into the seventh stage of the Eternal realm. Combined with walking the Dao of the Saber and wielding a divine weapon, he gave off the impression of being no weaker than King Daxia himself! His physical body might be slightly weaker, and his blood vitality less potent, but the sheer sharpness of his saber aura felt vastly superior to King Daxia’s! King Daxia’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets! *Holy shit!* Am I still the number one saber expert of the myriad realms?! Why does it feel like any random person holding a blade is stronger than me?! Even though this was his own grandson, King Daxia felt an overwhelming urge to curse out loud! What in the world?! Could it be that inside the River of Time, ten thousand years passed in a single instant, and his grandson had cultivated for countless ages? Otherwise, how could this slash be so terrifyingly sharp, even surpassing his own?! Impossible! *Boom!* Amid King Daxia’s shock, the heavens were torn asunder. The blade cleaved the void apart, shattering the blood cloud into fragmented pieces, though it began reconvening in the very next instant! Even so, the sight left everyone thunderstruck. Far too strong! In the crowd, Marquis Xia’s jaw dropped. The next moment, he whipped his head toward Zhu Tiandao and suddenly burst into silent, uproarious laughter! His expression seemed to say: *You bastard, see that? Who was Su Yu’s greatest investor?* *My Xia family!* *Do you see it?!* *The Xia family’s payoff has arrived!* His nephew had vanished for a brief moment, only to return at the seventh stage of the Eternal realm! Not only that, that single slash gave Marquis Xia the distinct impression that within the human race, no more than five people could beat his nephew! Do you see that?! Zhu Tiandao’s mouth fell wide open. *I... holy shit!* What about my family?! Su Yu, my family has powerhouses too! How did Xia Longwu become so insanely powerful in the blink of an eye?! You can't play favorites! My family supported you all along as well! In the next instant, Zhu Tiandao shouted at the top of his lungs, “Emperor Yu is wise and sagacious, reigning for ten thousand generations, unifying the heavens, bringing the myriad realms into one...!” He had to remind Su Yu! Don't forget my family! Just now, Su Yu seemed to suggest making arrangements for King Daqin and King Daxia, but hadn't said a word about his own father, merely noting that the Dao of Formations wasn't bad. That wouldn't do! That was too tragic! Wouldn't that mean his family would be completely suppressed by the Xia family? While they were thinking and shouting, the others stared with eyes wide enough to pop out. This was even more terrifying than Su Yu killing a Dao Joiner himself! Xia Longwu had only left for a short while, following Su Yu into the River of Time, and had leaped from a crippled weakling whose Three Incarnations were ruined into a top-tier powerhouse whose saber aura even surpassed King Daxia’s! What was going on?! Su Yu’s strength was his own, and foreign aid was merely foreign aid. When Su Yu claimed earlier that he could make others stronger, to be frank, people hadn't entirely believed it. Even when he claimed Jiu Yue was about to reach Dao Joining, they had harbored doubts. Yet now, everyone was thoroughly shaken. It was real! At this moment, the crowd was filled with excitement, envy, and jealousy. Would... would they have such an opportunity? To go from a crippled weakling with ruined incarnations to a top-tier powerhouse capable of battling the ninth stage of the Eternal realm? Would they have that chance? They felt uneasy, anxious, and filled with burning anticipation! The likes of King Dashang and King Dajin felt particularly restless. Su Yu didn't seem particularly generous-hearted, and their relationship with him hadn't been great in the past. Now that Xia Longwu and his peers were growing exponentially stronger, their own value to humanity would plummet drastically! Right at this moment, the blood cloud gathered once more! Su Yu took a step forward, a river manifesting beneath his feet as he instantly shot into the distance. The Time Waterfall emerged. Treading the river, Su Yu grabbed Xia Longwu, and the Time Record rippled, instantly cloaking Xia Longwu! He vanished! With Xia Longwu gone, the blood cloud in the void lost its target. He had entered a lawless zone; otherwise, there was nowhere in the myriad realms where one could escape the punishment of the rules! Yet now, the target was gone. Had he been annihilated? The rules could only reach this conclusion! Moments later, the blood clouds began to disperse! Su Yu did not reappear immediately. After a short while, Su Yu manifested within the canyon, bringing Xia Longwu with him. The blood clouds did not return. Xia Longwu was in a daze. He seemed to have caught a glimpse of something just now, but before he could even look upon the legendary former residence of King Wen, Su Yu had dragged him back out! Upon emerging... the blood clouds were gone. Only then did Xia Longwu snap back to reality. His dazed expression vanished, replaced by an ecstatic grin! I... have become a powerhouse of the Dao of the Saber! It feels like my saber techniques are even more refined than my grandfather’s! He couldn't help but look toward King Daxia. King Daxia’s smile was stiff. *What are you looking at? I am the number one saber under heaven!* *The name of Xia’s Saber was carved out by my own hands!* How infuriating! His grandson’s blade was actually sharper than his own—it was simply intolerable! In the crowd, King Dazhou glanced around, looked at Xia Longwu, and then at Su Yu. At this moment, his heart settled completely. Humanity had been pacified! When Su Yu could effortlessly produce a Xia Longwu who rivaled King Daxia, these Eternals had to see themselves clearly! Even without you, Su Yu can still sweep across this world unhindered! Yet without him, you might soon perish! “Emperor Yu is wise!” King Dazhou shouted loudly, jolting everyone awake! In the next instant, this group of elders, whether they were mansion-founding lords or not, bowed their heads in unison and roared, “Emperor Yu is wise!” The roar shook heaven and earth! Immediately after, the same cry resonated from all four corners of the Human Realm. “Emperor Yu is wise!” Though ordinary people did not know what had happened, when all the Invincibles shouted in unison, the various mansions of the Human Realm joined in the chorus! Emperor Yu must have accomplished something incredible once again! A smile appeared on Su Yu’s face. He said clearly, “Everyone will have their chance. Whether humanity can stand tall in this tide depends on all of you!” Su Yu’s voice rang out clear and resonant. “Seniors, your merit in shielding the common people of humanity is monumental! If the heavens are unified, I will not be stingy with titles of kings and marquises! We shall proclaim it to the heavens, witnessed by the rules, and humanity shall remember your deeds for generations to come!” This was far more valuable than their current kingly titles! Even a marquis of that court would be worth far more than a king today! In the next breath, thunderous shouts rose once more: “We thank our Emperor!” Humanity’s providence surged violently! At this moment, the Human Lord Seal Su Yu had left in the Eastern King Residence suddenly began to strengthen, transforming into a divine weapon in the blink of an eye, glowing with 145 golden lines! *** At this moment, the myriad heavens trembled slightly! Above the Human Realm, a towering phantom materialized! It was Su Yu! Wearing an imperial crown, his robes billowing, cradling a script in his hands, the colossal phantom blotted out the sky and sun, instantly blanketing the Human Realm as its aura swept outward in all directions! At this moment, phantoms materialized above the myriad realms. In the Immortal Realm, Tiangu’s expression was dark. In the God Realm, Jiwu’s smile faded. In the Demon Realm, Moji’s face was grim! Su Yu had subdued humanity. Humanity’s hearts were unified, and they had all acknowledged Su Yu as the master of this tide! Far too fast! Far too inconceivable! In just a few days... Su Yu had fought only a single battle prior. While his contributions were massive, they shouldn't have been enough to completely suppress the likes of King Daqin. Yet in the blink of an eye, Su Yu had been universally recognized by humanity! This was the manifestation of the Great Dao! The will of the people! At the same time, several ancient realms trembled. In a realm suspended high above—the Fate Realm. The figure of the Fate Emperor materialized, filled with disbelief and shock. Su Yu... had already achieved unification?! Isn't this too fast?! I haven't even made up my mind! How many days has it been? Are the old bastards of humanity really that cowardly?! The moment they saw Su Yu show a bit of strength, they surrendered just like that?! The Fate Emperor parted his lips, utterly speechless for a time! *** Meanwhile, Marquis Jiantian let out a soft sigh! The Human Realm had changed masters! “Perhaps... the second War of the Myriad Heavens is about to erupt!” Marquis Jiantian murmured to himself. Su Yu was moving far too quickly, far too domineeringly.