Awakening, Advancement

The siege on the Northern King Residence continued. Su Yu merely provoked his opponents with words, never truly launching an assault, which gradually allowed the experts inside the Northern King Residence to relax a little. Thank goodness! It seemed this new Human Lord had no means to deal with the Northern King for the moment. The supposed stripping of his kingship hadn't succeeded, which set everyone's minds somewhat at ease. Meanwhile, Su Yu lingered for a while longer before coolly remarking, "Northern King, I'm heading up to the living realm right above your head to have some fun. You'd best leave the Northern King Residence sooner rather than later, or a few feet might come crashing down from above at any moment!" With that, Su Yu vanished. …… Inside the Northern King Residence. The Northern King furrowed his brow. Su Yu had left, but not without leaving behind a parting threat. Had that fellow truly gone directly above his head? Among the fourteen dead spirit marquises, a Demon race dead spirit marquis finally lost his patience and growled, "Lord Heavenly King, he might have gone to fetch reinforcements. Why not take advantage of his departure to break out? At worst, we can hide in the Dead Spirit Heavenly River…" They had already given up any thought of victory! On the surface, their forces matched the enemy's—both sides possessed a Heavenly King–level powerhouse and a dozen or so dead spirit marquises. In truth, their strength wasn't at a disadvantage. Yet the deaths of the Eastern King and Western King, along with that heaven-shaking foot, gave these dead spirit marquises a creeping premonition that they could not win! Even if they won the battle, even if they destroyed the Southern King and her forces, winning overall was still unlikely. That dog hadn't even arrived! The Northern King remained silent, leaning back in his chair and gazing at the sky. After a long pause, he calmly asked, "Flee to the Dead Spirit Heavenly River?" Below, another dead spirit marquis spoke up: "If that won't work, then we flee into the boundless Land of Guixu!" The Northern King's brow furrowed deeper. An Immortal marquis said in a deep voice, "Milord, I know you are reluctant to abandon the Northern King Domain—it is your enfeoffed land! But… even if we fight the Southern King and win, Su Yu will never let matters rest. He would smash the cracked jar to pieces and shatter the entire Dead Spirit Realm's balance! Rather than waiting for that, we would be better off preserving our strength, breaking through the encirclement, and entering the Land of Guixu!" The Land of Guixu was the territory beyond the domains of the Four Kings. The Spirit Suppression Domain and King Gong Domain sat encircled by the Dead Spirit Heavenly River, forming the core, while the four royal domains surrounded them. Further out lay the Land of Guixu—the unclaimed territory. The Northern King fell silent for a while before speaking slowly. "The Land of Guixu is even more dangerous! Back then, when King Wu led several Human Kings to conquer the Dead Spirit Realm, he charged deep into the Land of Guixu. Afterward, he returned, gave up continuing the conquest of the Dead Spirit Realm, and established the domains of the Four Kings…" Pausing there, the Northern King added, "As for the Land of Guixu… this king actually understands a little about it." Everyone looked at the Northern King. None of them had lived as long as the Four Heavenly Kings. They were marquises of the ancient era, whereas the Northern King had existed before the ancient era began. Curious, a dead spirit marquis asked, "Milord, we sent scouts to investigate the Land of Guixu before. It merely lacked the suppression of the rules. As for the dead spirits there, I doubt they are any stronger than those in the four royal domains." Out there, no Northern King Domain rules or Western King Domain rules applied. The ancient Imperial Court rules governed only the four royal domains and the Spirit Suppression Domain. The Northern King said gravely, "You don't understand! When King Wu and his companions invaded back then, they slaughtered massive numbers of experts, causing upheavals in the Dead Spirit Heavenly River. Vast numbers of dead spirit powerhouses surged out from the river! King Wu was indeed mighty, leading several Human Kings in slaughtering countless dead spirits—including… several, or even dozens, of Heavenly King–level powerhouses!" The crowd shuddered. Such a thing had happened? They truly hadn't known! When King Wu and his peers conquered the Dead Spirit Realm, the Human Kings had acted on their own. Several Human Kings had charged in, and the myriad realms had remained ignorant of the details. The Northern King continued, "The Southern King and I understood that whoever recognized the times was a hero, so we chose to submit! But you must realize that countless powerhouses existed in that era. Even though many Heavenly Kings were slain, that slaughter only drew out even greater figures!" "In the Dead Spirit Realm, there is only one dao. Everyone cultivates the Dead Spirit Dao. When more experts are slain, certain top powerhouses gain the opportunity to take another step forward!" The Northern King said softly, "As far as I know, top powerhouses were born deep within the Land of Guixu at that time. Whether King Wu fought his way in and managed to slay them, I do not know. I only know one thing… afterward, no more Heavenly Kings emerged." Some looked puzzled. What did that mean? However, a sharper mind among them had an abrupt change in expression: "Milord means that even if King Wu could have killed them, he chose not to! Killing them would lead to an endless cycle—with the Dead Spirit Dao right here, even stronger powerhouses would only continue to emerge! Killing endlessly might ultimately create a peerless monster, so… he chose to seal them?" The Northern King felt a flicker of relief; at least they weren't completely hopeless. He nodded. "Correct. I also suspect King Wu did not slay those powerhouses back then—not because he couldn't, but because he couldn't afford to!" Killing them would free up the dao, paving the way for even stronger entities to be born! The fewer top beings there were, the greater their chances of reaching the summit. Furthermore, the Dead Spirit Dao was overwhelmingly powerful and impossible to sever! As such, suppression was the only option! Now, everyone understood the Northern King's point. A dead spirit marquis said solemnly, "Then Milord means that one or more sealed top-tier powerhouses exist in the Land of Guixu?" The Northern King nodded with a sigh. "Most likely! They were sealed! If they had died, the Southern King and I should have progressed further, perhaps even rivaling those Human Kings of the physical body dao back then. Alas, we didn't!" Even the dao of the physical body could give birth to Human King powerhouses, to say nothing of the Dead Spirit Dao. However, far more powerhouses had merged into the Dead Spirit Dao. Accumulations across countless ages had left the Four Heavenly Kings virtually stagnant. Only after the Eastern King and Western King died had the strength of the Northern King and Southern King begun to climb. "Sealed…" Many dead spirit marquises looked at the Northern King. He said indifferently, "Don't even think about it. Even if they are sealed, that isn't something you or I can deal with. This king merely wants to make clear that the Land of Guixu is far more perilous than you imagine! Once those entities break through their seals… going there would just be seeking death! King Wu has been gone for countless years; does the seal from back then still even hold?" He couldn't be certain. In truth, he had sent scouts into the Land of Guixu over the years, and not a single one had returned alive. The darkness there was boundless, seeming to devour all things. Now that someone suggested fleeing to the Land of Guixu, the Northern King felt he would rather fight the Southern King to the end! Those sealed entities were bound to be horrifyingly powerful—and not just powerful, but likely tyrannical, arrogant, and vicious… Why conclude this? Because the ones who were slightly cowardly, like himself and the other Heavenly Kings, had all surrendered! Had those entities surrendered as well, the human race, with its strength at the time, would likely have conferred titles upon them rather than sealing them. To seek out such untamable existences—the Northern King thought he would have to be insane to go there. If it came down to that, he might as well surrender to the human race. At least he could preserve his life; turning to the Land of Guixu, he couldn't even guarantee surviving! Though his mind wandered, the Northern King quickly set aside thoughts of the Land of Guixu. Watching the dead spirit marquises below all trying to figure out an escape route, he suddenly felt a sense of a hero at the end of his road. They hadn't even fought yet! And these people were already scheming their escape. But escape to where? In the ancient era, the humans had been overwhelmingly mighty, so submitting to them made sense. Now, it was said to be the weakest tidal change the human race had ever known. Why… why was it still turning out like this? "The human race… is truly domineering!" The Northern King gave a self-mocking sneer in his heart. They were domineering to the extreme—refuse to obey, and you would be slaughtered, exterminated! He had merely ruled as a local hegemon here and hadn't actively targeted the human race over the years. He even had human dead spirit marquises under his command whom he had left alone until recently. Su Yu… As expected, the geniuses of the human race were all this tyrannical! King Wu had been the exact same way back then! Upon arriving in the Dead Spirit Realm, he had slaughtered three to five Heavenly Kings to intimidate all sides. When they still wouldn't obey, he killed more, butchering until the Heavenly Kings trembled in terror, wiping out over half the powerhouses accumulated over countless ages. Only when the Heavenly Kings submitted did the humans finally withdraw their troops! At this moment, the Northern King looked toward the Dead Spirit Heavenly River. He was unwilling to go to the Land of Guixu. If a great war truly erupted and he proved no match, should he flee into the Dead Spirit Heavenly River? He had been born within it and knew some of the conditions inside. He had retained some memories from the moment of his birth, unlike the monarchs who came later, who were entirely ignorant upon rebirth and knew nothing of the Dead Spirit Heavenly River. …… At the same time. Su Yu traversed the void continuously. Soon, he entered the Dead Spirit Heavenly River. Passing through the Dead Spirit Heavenly River, Su Yu shattered a few dead spirits that grabbed at him and quickly stepped out. On the opposite bank, death qi soared to the sky as large numbers of dead spirit monarchs stood in formation. Shanqi and the others were all present. The three human dead spirit marquises were visibly shaken upon seeing Su Yu. Because the Southern King seemed to have submitted. At this moment, the three dead spirit marquises dared not speak out of turn. Marquis Zhengyang quickly reported, "Reporting to the Human Lord, nearly all the dead spirit monarchs who awakened near the Dead Spirit Heavenly River have been captured by us…" Su Yu nodded and looked toward the center. At that moment, around thirty dazed monarchs were still struggling, yet remained suppressed by the group of powerhouses! Counting them, there were roughly thirty. Su Yu frowned. "So many awakened?" "Yes!" Marquis Zhengyang said solemnly, "A fair number indeed awakened. Not only that, we even encountered a dead spirit marquis! Those monarchs had no memories, but that dead spirit marquis seemed to have recovered much of his. We had a brief clash, and upon sensing the pressure, he swiftly fled!" Su Yu frowned. Marquis Zhengyang added, "Currently, we dare not probe too deeply into the river. We captured this many just on the periphery! Furthermore, I vaguely sense danger, which is why I had Hetu inform the Human Lord so you could decide whether to continue capturing them!" Danger! Su Yu looked toward the river. In truth, he too had vaguely sensed some stirrings. Who knew how many powerhouses were awakening within this river? Troublesome! There might be humans, or there might be other races. None of that mattered. What mattered was whether they had stabilized their original minds! Even for a human marquis, dying and newly awakening didn't mean they could immediately stabilize their mind; that took time! Without it, dead spirits were utterly cold, possessing only rage, murderous intent, and bloodlust. A human marquis might just as easily launch a sneak attack against you! Just how many powerhouses had the Dead Spirit Realm accumulated over the ages? Su Yu felt helpless. His greatest fear was that the Dead Spirit Realm held an endless supply of fighters that multiplied the more you killed, dragging his side into a quagmire of war. Such a formidable dao had nurtured who knew how many powerhouses. He glanced at the awakened dead spirit monarchs. Some were shaped like monstrous beasts and certainly weren't humans; others were humanoid, making it hard to tell whether they were humans, Immortals, Demons, or Gods. "Are there any humans?" Su Yu asked. Marquis Zhengyang nodded. "Three of them, but their identities are unknown! We can wait a while, take them back to the Eastern King Residence, and let them clear their minds for a period. They should recover some memories then!" With that, he added, "Additionally, the Eastern King Residence possesses a Sky-Covering Mirror, which can be used to monitor the monarchs born near the Dead Spirit Heavenly River…" Su Yu paused, unaware of this. "What Sky-Covering Mirror?" In reality, Su Yu had no idea that back when he first entered the Dead Spirit Realm and hunted dead spirits with Hetu, they had been monitored. However, the surveillance expert of the Eastern King Residence at the time had reported it to Marquis Lanshan. Marquis Lanshan had chosen to ignore it, and since it had occurred in the Spirit Suppression Domain, the Eastern King Residence hadn't intervened further. At this moment, Marquis Zhengyang was also surprised that Su Yu didn't know. He quickly explained, "The Sky-Covering Mirror was bestowed upon the Eastern King by the ancient Imperial Court. Its primary function was to monitor the emergence of dead spirits. Once powerful dead spirits appeared, ancient agreements dictated they be guided to the four royal domains rather than left in the Spirit Suppression Domain!" Su Yu frowned. "Bestowed upon the Eastern King? What about the other three kings?" "The other three kings didn't receive one. It was given to the Eastern King because the Eastern King Domain borders the Spirit Suppression Domain. Hongmeng disliked moving about, and King Wu worried he would neglect his duties and allow dead spirits to accumulate… In other regions, King Gong stood guard and could drive them away at any time!" Simply put, handing it to the Eastern King was meant to make him do the work. King Wu had known that the Old Turtle was rather disinclined to labor—he was lazy! Therefore, he had given the Eastern King Residence a Sky-Covering Mirror to monitor the movements of dead spirits and guide powerful dead spirits away, preventing them from charging into the living realm. As for the other directions, with King Gong present, there was no cause for concern. King Gong was far more dependable than the Old Turtle! Su Yu was speechless. He quickly said, "The Sky-Covering Mirror can monitor dead spirits? So this time, did you locate the monarchs using that?" Marquis Zhengyang nodded. "Partially! But it can only monitor the Dead Spirit Heavenly River in the eastern sector. The other three directions cannot be monitored; its range is limited!" Fair enough. Su Yu hadn't known about this before. He exhaled softly and said, "Fortunately, only the Eastern King Residence has one! If the other three royal residences had them and located your presence, that would be troublesome." If the Northern King Residence had one and saw so many powerhouses gathered here, wouldn't they suspect something? Soon, Su Yu instructed, "Marquis Zhengyang, the three of you must head to the Southern King's encampment at once! Lock down the Northern King Residence. Even if the Northern King tries to break out, you don't need to kill them—just keep them trapped! Other than barring the Northern King from leaving, if you encounter a true crisis, you may let the other dead spirit marquises escape!" "Understood!" The three dead spirit marquises wasted no words and quickly departed. Su Yu glanced at Hetu, then at the other guardians, and said, "Escort these monarchs and follow me!" Though the numbers were few, they would have to make do for now. Among the twenty-seven guardians, twenty-one were not at the ninth level. Nearly thirty monarchs had been captured, three of whom were human dead spirits and could not be killed. Regardless, he would bring them along to the Star Residence Mansion and kill the rest there. "The Star Residence Mansion…" Su Yu was actually pondering a question: Did the rule rewards within the Star Residence Mansion consume the rule power of the myriad realms? Hoping to produce a large number of Dao Integration experts this time, Su Yu worried about draining the rule power from the passage to the upper realm! If that happened, the upper realm would open! *It shouldn't consume that, right?* *The rule power inside the Star Residence Mansion is terrifyingly dense. If it were truly linked to the outside, the realm gates wouldn't even be able to open!* Su Yu thought to himself that upon arriving, he would examine it closely before deciding. The Star Residence Mansion was the territory of the Human Sovereign and councilors. Su Yu felt it was highly likely a self-contained system; otherwise, wouldn't all that rule power on the eighth floor have dissipated long ago? Hopefully, his judgment was correct! Otherwise, trouble would be enormous. Too many people needed to advance this time, and draining the power within the upper-realm passage would provoke catastrophic consequences! …… Negative first floor of the Star Residence Mansion. Su Yu expended immense power to teleport around a hundred monarchs inside. This time, the countless strands of hair showed no agitation. Instead, those massive pillars contracted slightly, because… the Martial Emperor was awake. He remained conscious out of fear that Su Yu would pluck his hair! The moment Su Yu appeared, a face hovered in the air. Yet no one else saw it—only Su Yu. Su Yu looked toward the Martial Emperor's face and could vaguely discern a cold, grim visage. "You're here again!" the Martial Emperor said coldly. It had only been a few days since Su Yu left! Su Yu nodded slightly toward the Martial Emperor's face, ignored him, and looked at Shanqi, shouting, "Right here, slay a monarch first to test it. I will observe before making a decision!" "Understood!" Shanqi quickly made arrangements. Soon, a suppressed dead spirit monarch stood dazed and vacant. A seventh-level guardian stepped forward and threw a punch. With a boom, he blasted the monarch to pieces! Suppressed as it was, how could the monarch withstand a single blow from these guardians? It was blown apart in an instant! The dead spirit imprint shattered! No rule power descended. Clearly, this guardian was too powerful; slaying a weak monarch wasn't enough to merit a reward. The Martial Emperor's massive face creased slightly. Su Yu was ignoring him! Su Yu truly had no interest in paying him any heed! It was entirely pointless! With time so tight, tending to proper business was what mattered. Yet the Martial Emperor felt suffocatingly stifled. That bastard little insect was far too arrogant. He sneered, "Su Yu, what are you doing?" "Keep killing!" Su Yu shouted. "Hurry up, our time is pressing!" "Understood!" The guardian threw another punch, slaying a second dead spirit monarch. Soon, a wave of rule power descended. It was fairly concentrated, yet fell far short of the rewards when Tianmie and the others had slain dead spirit marquises. Su Yu's brow furrowed slightly as he watched intently. Tracing along the Great Dao, he sought the source of the rule power. He watched as this rule power flowed down from above. Su Yu couldn't tell whether it flowed from the outside world or from the eighth and ninth floors! At that thought, Su Yu vibrated his Human Lord Seal! A moment later, an expert traversed the void layer by layer. After a brief wait, Marquis Tongtian's laughter drifted over: "Greetings, Human Lord! Having not seen you for a few days, you look even more magnificent than before! Has the Human Lord come this time to shatter the eighth floor and let me out?" Amid the wary gazes of the crowd, a door manifested in the void. Marquis Tongtian seemed able to vaguely glimpse the Martial Emperor's face. He quickly skirted around the Martial Emperor and flew toward Su Yu with a delighted expression. "Has the Human Lord come looking for me?" Shanqi and the others were rather surprised. Was that… Marquis Tongtian? They hadn't asked about this earlier; Marquis Tongtian had actually submitted to Su Yu as well. Su Yu couldn't be bothered to exchange pleasantries with Marquis Tongtian, who was terribly talkative. He swiftly asked, "Did any rule fluctuations occur on the eighth floor just now?" "None at all!" Su Yu frowned. At that moment, the Martial Emperor seemed to realize something and gave a cold laugh. "Are you worried that extracting too much rule power will trigger disturbances across the myriad realms and open that upper realm of yours?" Su Yu looked at the Martial Emperor and smiled faintly. "The Martial Emperor knows as well?" "Naturally!" "Then does the rule power extracted within the Star Residence Mansion originate from the outside world or not?" "Naturally not! Feel free to extract as much as you like!" Su Yu frowned. Just as he was about to head up with Marquis Tongtian to take a look, the Martial Emperor said in a haunting tone, "It seems you are in urgent need of boosting your subordinates' strength. You either extract power here or outside; extracting rule power is the quickest way to advance anyway! If you extract it outside, that upper realm of yours will open very soon!" Su Yu's heart suddenly stirred. "The rule power here… could it be… what suppresses the Martial Emperor?" He looked at the Martial Emperor's face, and the Martial Emperor seemed to know what he was thinking. Or rather, this could not be hidden from Su Yu, who had opened his Heavenly Gate. The Martial Emperor said coldly, "A portion of the rule power here forms its own self-contained cycle! But don't worry, it's very robust. Go ahead and extract it; losing a little is nothing, and I won't break free that quickly!" Su Yu cursed inwardly! No wonder this fellow was being so enthusiastic, wishing he would extract even more. Because inside, massive amounts of rule power were likely sealing and suppressing the Martial Emperor. If Su Yu extracted a substantial portion, then when Tianmie and the others achieved Dao Integration last time… Su Yu recalled something and realized, "So last time, when Tianmie and the others achieved Dao Integration, you were far more lucid than before because some of the suppressing power was drained?" The Martial Emperor chuckled darkly. "And what if it was?" Su Yu cursed under his breath! There was no living like this. Extract outside, and the upper realm would open. Extract here, and the power suppressing the Martial Emperor would be largely drained. On one side were dozens or hundreds of Dao Integration experts from the myriad races; on the other was the potential breakout of the Martial Emperor… Dammit, what a dilemma! Beside him, the guardian who had absorbed the rule reward advanced from the seventh level to the eighth level. What these guardians lacked was precisely this rule power. They did not lack comprehension; these were beings who had reached the seventh or eighth level a hundred thousand years ago. For a hundred thousand years, all they had lacked was this rule power. As long as they were fully replenished, Dao Integration would not be far away. However, doing so might truly allow the Martial Emperor to break free ahead of schedule! All at once, Su Yu sank into deep contemplation. What should he do? Meanwhile, the Martial Emperor laughed heartily. This fellow was finally not so arrogant anymore! In an utterly chilling tone, he said, "Don't worry, extracting here is better than extracting outside! If the outside power is drained and the experts of the myriad races descend, you're dead for sure!" "Extracting here merely makes this seat a bit more clear-headed. What suppresses this seat isn't just mere rule power! My Great Dao is suppressed, my divine and origin apertures are clogged, and my Heavenly Gate is locked! Now, extracting some rule power merely clears my apertures a bit…" He actually took to comforting Su Yu, sounding immensely delighted. "Extract away! At worst, all my apertures will open, my Heavenly Gate will unlock, and my willpower will be able to spread outward slightly. Breaking free is still a long way off!" Su Yu frowned. "If the Martial Emperor opens his apertures and unlocks his Heavenly Gate, you probably won't fall into chaos again, will you?" The Martial Emperor smiled faintly. "What do you think?" Su Yu understood! Once too much was extracted, the Martial Emperor would completely resolve his previous bouts of mental instability. He would never fall into chaos again; no matter how you provoked him or angered him, he would not suffer from chaotic willpower as before. And by then… one might no longer be able to enter the Star Residence Mansion. Because the Martial Emperor would be able to strike from within! Striking without restraint, since he would no longer lose his mind! And if he struck, the very first thing he would do was probably kill Su Yu! Su Yu said nothing. Opening his Heavenly Gate, he looked in all directions, focusing particularly on the locations of the apertures—the Martial Emperor's apertures. He swiftly traversed space, inspecting everywhere, and returned after a while. He seemed to have deciphered something. Meanwhile, the Martial Emperor's massive face trailed Su Yu, wearing a grin. "What did you see?" "I saw 360 origin apertures. I'm afraid the Martial Emperor has already unsealed a third of them!" Su Yu said in a heavy voice, "It seems the Martial Emperor may have regained consciousness over the years as well, and each time you awoke, you unsealed some of your apertures!" The Martial Emperor chuckled. "And what if I did? Su Yu, do you have a choice?" "Without boosting these people, you cannot match the myriad races!" "To boost them, you dare not extract rule power outside anymore. When all is said and done, it seems you have only one choice!" The Martial Emperor smiled faintly. "Make things a little easier on me. I will break free sooner or later anyway!" He had Su Yu completely cornered! It felt exhilarating! You have no second option. If you have the guts, go outside and slay these dead spirits now. The Dead Spirit Realm won't grant you rewards, while the outside will. The catch is, once rewards are given, just wait for the upper realm to open! Su Yu took a deep breath. Indeed, he seemed to have no other choice! Wasting no more words, Su Yu shouted, "Keep killing!" Over there, the guardians resumed their slaughter! As for the Martial Emperor, a broad smile spread across his face. As dead spirits were slain and rule rewards descended, his face grew clearer and clearer. Those colossal pillars composed of hair—some petrified pillars—cracked and shattered one after another, exposing the hair within. They shrank considerably compared to before! The Martial Emperor's smile grew increasingly radiant, his face clearer, and faintly, it was no longer just a face, but a neck that had appeared. His head hovered beside Su Yu, watching the guardians slay dead spirits, and he said with an eerie chuckle, "You're killing far too few. Kill more! A tiny amount like this isn't enough to reach Dao Integration!" Su Yu said calmly, "How many must be slain for the Martial Emperor to completely dissolve the non-dao seals?" The Martial Emperor was bound by more than a single seal! Clearly, the seal placed on him back then had been terrifyingly formidable; otherwise, he wouldn't have remained muddle-headed for all these years! The Martial Emperor chuckled. "Still a long way to go! It should be enough to satisfy your wishes and allow several people to advance to Dao Integration!" At this moment, the Martial Emperor was in a far better mood than last time. He chuckled softly, "You merged into the Brush Dao?" "Yes." "Not bad at all." The Martial Emperor said in a haunting tone, "Merging into the Brush Dao—you aren't planning to use it against me, are you?" "The Martial Emperor worries too much!" "Do I?" The Martial Emperor laughed softly. "No matter, I will wait for you! Without mastering the Brush Dao, you likely won't be able to handle me! If you truly master it, with the Brush Dao's might, even I might not be your match! In truth… the outcome is the same either way, isn't it?" Su Yu's brow furrowed. There was some truth to that. However, with the Holy Transformation Seal in hand, he might not strictly need to master the Brush Dao. With a higher degree of integration, he might still stand a chance against the Martial Emperor! Thinking of this, Su Yu suddenly asked, "Why didn't they kill you back then? King Wu and the others must have known you harbored immense resentment toward them. Since you are so powerful, releasing you might not be a good thing for the human race." The Martial Emperor laughed softly. "Su Yu, you are foolish at times! What would my release signify? It would signify that the human race has already declined! It would signify that I can no longer be contained, and that the human race might not even possess a Rule Master anymore! If so… such a human race would likely have been wiped out, or be on the verge of destruction. In that case, with me emerging… might I not preserve some sparks of hope?" "After all… I am human! Slaying ninety percent of humanity, preserving the ten percent untainted by Taishan and the others, rebuilding a new human race, and annihilating the enemies of the myriad races—is that not… a form of inheritance?" He laughed heartily. "You don't understand! Taishan and the others understood! My existence was never meant to help fellows like you. He knew I hated you all, but… I wouldn't necessarily wipe out every last human. There is always a chance, isn't there?" Su Yu pondered for a moment, then nodded. Perhaps so! Perhaps that was precisely what King Wen and King Wu had intended. If the Martial Emperor broke out and the human race could not match him, humanity was likely already facing extinction anyway. In that case, even if the Martial Emperor eradicated all of their legacies, as a human himself, he would very likely preserve a portion of the human race and establish a new humanity! Could this be considered a heritage? Perhaps it could! The Fire of Inheritance would not be snuffed out. What King Wu and the others considered was perhaps the continuation of the race—which wasn't necessarily identical to Su Yu's thinking. At this moment, the Martial Emperor was far more clear-headed, his thoughts much sharper than before. Having seen through the intentions of Taishan and his peers, he harbored no objection to them. He smiled and said, "Su Yu, why don't you just give up? Once this seat breaks free, I will only kill those connected to Taishan and his lot, preserving the majority of humanity. How about it? As for the enemies among the myriad races, I will handle them myself!" Su Yu said calmly, "Can you match them? In the previous tidal change, the Hundred Battles King was also tremendously powerful, approaching the level of a Rule Master, yet he still perished. Can you match over a hundred Dao Integration experts from the myriad races? Even though you are a Rule Master, can you suppress a hundred Dao Integration experts on your own?" The Martial Emperor said in a haunting tone, "It is difficult. A Rule Master is formidable, but if they join forces, they are indeed tough to handle! However, you must understand a principle: joining forces cannot last forever. Could they truly remain bound together through life and death, never parting? Once separated, with my strength, slaying three to five Dao Integration experts at a time—after eight or ten attempts, crushing them completely—everything would naturally be resolved!" Indeed, against a hundred Dao Integration experts fighting as one, the Martial Emperor would naturally be no match! Even if he could kill many of them! The key was, there was no need to face them all at once. Could so many Dao Integration experts truly stick together for a lifetime without ever separating? Once they parted, with the Martial Emperor's strength conducting covert ambushes, whoever he targeted would surely die! Su Yu nodded and smiled. "So you're saying I don't need to put in any effort at all. As long as the Martial Emperor breaks free, I can simply sit back and reap the benefits?" "Precisely!" The Martial Emperor smiled, and Su Yu smiled as well. "And afterward… I die too? Slain by the Martial Emperor? Along with me, all the powerhouses of this era will die, because they all carry ancient inheritances! Even cultivators will die, because they too bear ancient inheritances, correct?" The Martial Emperor smiled without answering. Su Yu smiled too. "Then forget it, I'd rather rely on myself! The Martial Emperor shouldn't get too ahead of himself either. You are strong, but no matter how strong, you aren't invincible! If you were, King Wu wouldn't have been able to suppress you in the first place!" The Martial Emperor's expression turned somewhat ugly. Su Yu smiled again. "Furthermore, I am currently uniting the Dead Spirit Realm. There are plenty of Heavenly Kings there. The Martial Emperor can fight Dao Integration experts, but what if five or six Heavenly King–level powerhouses arrive?" "The Eastern Heavenly King was slain here last time; the Martial Emperor saw it himself. None of them are weaklings!" The Martial Emperor said coldly, "A bunch of small fry! Though not weak, if you can scrape together ten of them, you might be able to clash with me a bit. If you can't… you will all die just the same!" Ten Heavenly King–level combatants! And even then, victory was not guaranteed! Su Yu silently gauged the Martial Emperor's strength and sighed inwardly. Terrifyingly strong! And this was after being sealed for countless ages! The Martial Emperor might not even have spoken the full truth. Su Yu said no more. The Martial Emperor fell silent as well, his body gradually becoming more distinct. As more dead spirit monarchs were slain, the strength of the guardians climbed as well. Gradually, all the dead spirits were killed! Among the twenty-seven guardians, six had originally been at the ninth level, fourteen at the eighth, and seven at the seventh. Aside from the seventh-level guardian used in the initial test, the eighth-level guardians had done the killing afterward. After slaying all the captured dead spirits, only nine guardians advanced to the ninth level. With that, there were fifteen at the ninth level of Eternal, six at the eighth level, and six at the seventh level. To raise all the remaining ones to the ninth level would require at least forty to fifty more monarchs. Capturing them would be difficult. Not to mention reaching Dao Integration! For Dao Integration, each person would need to kill at least one marquis. Su Yu sighed! Truly difficult! He had plenty of monarchs under his command, and many had accompanied him here, yet Su Yu didn't touch them. Slaying those monarchs could bring advancements as well, but they were his own subordinates. Even if they weren't necessarily loyal from the heart, Su Yu refused to butcher his own people to empower the guardians. "Go capture more!" Su Yu said in a heavy voice. "Capture several dozen more monarchs…" With that, Su Yu had a thought. "I'll release my living aura to lure some monarchs into emerging voluntarily and gathering!" No matter what, he had to raise these guardians to the ninth level as quickly as possible. As for the Martial Emperor, he couldn't be bothered to pay him any mind! …… Soon, Su Yu teleported away. Leading Hetu and the guardians, they continued walking along the Dead Spirit Heavenly River. Su Yu actively released his death qi concealment, exposing his life force. Sure enough, several powerful dead spirits newly awakened in the Dead Spirit Heavenly River charged toward him of their own accord. Dead spirit marquises possessed considerable intellect, but dead spirit monarchs did not. …… Meanwhile. Deep within the Dead Spirit Heavenly River. Formidable entities walked carefully across the riverbed, gradually making their way toward a palace constructed of skeletons at the bottom of the river. Inside the palace, an overwhelmingly powerful dead spirit aura surged. Around it, several intelligent powerhouses had gathered. Those who retained their intellect upon awakening generally possessed Dao Integration combat power. At this moment, a dead spirit spoke in a chilling, dry tone, as if it hadn't spoken in countless years: "Who is the entity residing here? For what purpose have you summoned us?" "I am Cangshan Ming… I wonder if anyone still remembers me…" At these words, several dead spirits around fell into contemplation. After a long while, an equally ancient entity murmured, "Cangshan Ming… the former Lord of Cangshan of the Nether race… the one slain by Human King Zhan back then?" From within the palace, Cangshan Ming said indifferently, "It is I." "You actually awakened…" The one who recognized him sounded somewhat surprised. "Before your fall back then, you possessed strength approaching that of a Rule Master. Now that you have awakened, how much of your combat power remains?" "Care to test it?" "Heh… this seat isn't afraid of you." Though he said this, a hint of wariness remained. As for fear… there truly wasn't much. They were already dead, and newly awakened at that; they had little left to fear. "Cangshan Ming, what is your purpose in summoning us?" "Beyond the Heavenly River, can you sense it? Massive numbers of our subjects are being slaughtered…" "That has nothing to do with us!" "Do you intend to remain in this river forever?" "Is that inappropriate? It's quite nice—peaceful!" "……" The group of dead spirits began conversing. Deep within the Dead Spirit Heavenly River, peerless powerhouses were beginning to awaken! Some had awakened long ago and were simply too lazy to leave; others had only awakened recently. …… Meanwhile, Su Yu had captured another batch of monarchs. The divine character "Calamity" trembled slightly. He instantly reined in all of his living aura and looked toward the Dead Spirit Heavenly River, his brow furrowing slightly. The commotion lately had been too grand. Having captured so many monarchs, could it provoke a riot? Too many powerhouses and geniuses were buried in this river! The aura of the living also stimulated their awakening; perhaps a fair number of experts had already stirred. He glanced at the dozens of monarchs captured behind him and took a deep breath. He would stop capturing for now and withdraw; this should be about enough! "Let's go—to the Star Residence Mansion, to continue advancing!" Su Yu wasted no more words. Taking down the Northern King Residence was the priority! The entities in the Dead Spirit Heavenly River… might not necessarily be a bad thing. If their strength was mediocre and no Heavenly Kings appeared, even if a few dead spirit marquises emerged, they would merely be delivering themselves as nourishment to Su Yu. He actually hoped some dead spirit marquises would emerge. Otherwise, he truly worried there wouldn't be enough to fuel the guardians' advancements! The dead spirit marquises under the Northern King's command weren't numerous enough, and killing them inside the Dead Spirit Realm was practically useless. Capturing them alive would be ideal, yet the difficulty was immense. Among fourteen dead spirit marquises, Su Yu felt that even under the smoothest circumstances, capturing five or six would already be extraordinarily lucky! Even if each one guaranteed an advancement, that could only guarantee breakthroughs for five or six guardians. "I'm still lacking many dead spirit marquises, but… they can't all emerge at once, or that will be troublesome!" Soon, Su Yu led the guardians into the Star Residence Mansion for the second time. The Martial Emperor manifested once more, and Su Yu paid him no mind whatsoever! At this time, the Martial Emperor would not cause trouble. He was practically begging Su Yu's side to kill more and help him burn away those sealing forces. …… Dead spirits were continuously slain. The guardians broke through one after another. By the time enough were killed that even the Martial Emperor's legs were about to emerge, all twenty-seven guardians had advanced! Meanwhile, the Martial Emperor's smile was exceptionally radiant! This was merely a phantom, but having his legs materialize meant that his true body was largely unsealed. He loved this! He loved seeing Su Yu's anger combined with his utter helplessness. He eagerly anticipated Su Yu returning with even more dead spirits to slaughter. As for Su Yu, it was time to depart. Before leaving, he suddenly asked with apparent curiosity, "Martial Emperor, someone planted a flower in your backside to open a dead spirit passage. I'm truly curious whether you're a man or a woman. If you're a man… was your little brother forged into the Council Hall? Or perhaps the Human Sovereign Palace? Tsk tsk, truly revolting. How terrifying, how terrifying!" Su Yu instantly teleported away with his people! Meanwhile, the Martial Emperor froze for an instant. In the next moment, consumed by torrential fury, he roared, "Su Yu, once this seat gets out, you will be the first one I kill!" Bastard! Pushing people too far! "Taishan, I will definitely kill you!" The Martial Emperor slipped into madness once more! Boundless fury! As for Marquis Tongtian, he had fled long ago—how terrifying, how terrifying, the Martial Emperor was going crazy again. Su Yu had remained silent the entire time just to deliver a lethal strike at the very end! Who could endure that? Marquis Tongtian fled swiftly to the eighth floor; staying below was impossible now. He actually wanted to tell Su Yu that wasn't the case and that he had misunderstood, but after some thought, he decided against it. The Human Lord held too much of a grudge.