The Arrival of Xinyu

All four great realms had been successfully subdued. The Iron-Eating Beast race watched over the phoenixes, the Hou race guarded the apes, and the Ancient Spatial Beasts kept watch on the kunpengs. As for the dragons, Marquis Tianlong possessed considerable strength. Even with his physical body destroyed, he could not be entrusted to just anyone. Keeping him in the Human Realm was also unfeasible, as there was no suppressive force there, making mishaps far too likely. As for killing them, they could not be killed right now. Su Yu was still counting on these dragons to help nurture his Dragon Dao. After pondering for a long time, Su Yu decided to send the dragons to the Former Residence of King Wen and have the Little White Dog watch over them. Even if Marquis Tianlong recovered to his peak, crossing paths with the Little White Dog would only leave him as food. Having extinguished the resistance in the four great realms, Su Yu had seized a considerable number of Councilor Tokens. Combined with the Councilor Tokens offered by the Iron-Eating race and their allies, Su Yu had amassed more than thirty Councilor Tokens in his hands. As for why he did not hand the dragons over to the two God-Devouring beasts... he genuinely feared that after leaving them there for a few days, not a trace of them would be left. Compared to Doubao and his mate, the Little White Dog was far more reliable. *** In the Human Realm. Su Yu returned once more. This time, King Dazhou, Wan Tiansheng, King Daming, and several others came back with him. The moment they arrived, Wan Tiansheng said, "Weren't we having people hunt down Duobao and the others before? Duobao fled quickly, but we did briefly cross paths. That fellow claimed he wanted to defect to the human race and stop aiding the wicked. What do you think?" "Duobao?" Su Yu snorted coldly. "A wretched dog who won't shed a tear until he sees the coffin! Tell him that if he wants to join us, he must kill Marquis Jiantian as his pledge of loyalty. Not just anyone can take refuge with us!" Wan Tiansheng fell silent. That was likely impossible. Duobao had only recently achieved Dao Integration; he was no match for Marquis Jiantian. Su Yu did not dwell on the matter and quickly changed the subject. "Director Wan, neither you nor King Dazhou will have any other tasks for the near future. Your sole duty is to enhance the human race's overall strength and produce a continuous stream of Eternals! The Three Incarnations Method will do. They don't need extraordinary combat power; what matters is quantity. The more, the better!" Wan Tiansheng looked pensive, while King Dazhou pondered for a moment before asking, "There is no need for them to walk other Daos?" Su Yu glanced at him. "No need. The more Eternals, the better! Once I kill the Hundred Battles King and his Great Dao unlocks, seven or eight Dao Integration experts might emerge in an instant. Why bother going through the trouble of walking other Daos? Besides, this will also weaken the Hundred Battles King!" "..." King Dazhou had no words for that. He gave a wry smile, and Su Yu smiled as well. "Also, have Zhao Chuan and his people pick up the pace over there. Find the passage first and seal it off!" Su Yu smiled. "During this upcoming period, the human race will enter a phase of development and tranquility. Don't delay the subjugation of the minor races, but don't bother with the three great races for now! We aren't aiming to increase the number of Dao Integration experts right now, but we must produce far more Eternals! With sufficient bearer items and ample resources, having them simply integrate into the Physical Body Dao is the easiest method of attunement and the simplest Great Dao to achieve. There is no reason why, after absorbing the resources of the myriad realms, we shouldn't produce a batch of Eternals! I won't claim an outrageous figure, but we should at least see thirty to fifty, shouldn't we? "I refuse to believe that after accumulating for hundreds of years, the human race lacks even thirty to fifty geniuses with the hope of stepping into the Eternal Realm." King Dazhou nodded. "There certainly are that many. As long as we are willing to spare the bearer items to let them achieve attunement via the Three Incarnations Method, and with the myriad races not daring to interfere, producing several dozen more Eternals won't be difficult. My only concern is that advancing further in the future will be arduous." "That's a matter for later!" Su Yu did not care much about that. Producing more Eternals was what mattered; at the very least, they would be able to utilize rule force. King Dazhou could say no more, and Su Yu continued, "As for veteran Eternals, their priority must remain Dao Integration! King Dahan and the others should focus on Dao Integration, while those who walk the Physical Body Dao without switching should rapidly advance to the ninth stage of the Eternal Realm! We must ensure that the moment the Hundred Battles King dies, they can immediately advance to Dao Integration!" "You're treating him as an imaginary foe already?" King Dazhou smiled wryly, and Su Yu nodded. "You could say that! If he refuses to obey, I'll find a way to get rid of him. The human race will gain at least seven or eight Dao Integration experts from it. I have a hunch!" Helpless, King Dazhou said nothing further. Wan Tiansheng smiled and asked, "What about you next?" "Me?" Su Yu smiled. "I need to elevate myself. Having taken the four great realms, we can leave Marquis Jiantian and Duobao alone for now; there's no rush! Still, we must keep the pressure on them by encircling them every now and then. We can't let the myriad races think we're sitting idle! Give them no opportunity to enter the Allheaven Battlefield!" "Understood!" "Right, one more thing. Aside from the three great races, other minor races—including some ancient races without Dao Integration experts—might possess Councilor Tokens. When conquering them, if you find any Councilor Tokens, gather them and hand them over to me!" "Very well!" *** Su Yu said no more. He needed to make a trip to the Former Residence of King Wen first. Afterward, he planned to travel through the myriad realms. He would plant all the seed pages of his book. Then, he would wait for the myriad realms to nurture his Daos for him! This was far more formidable than merely absorbing the blood essence of the myriad races. He wanted the myriad races to unconsciously nurture his Daos, making them ever stronger. When the time came, he would harvest those Daos and gather them into his civilization chronicle. After that, he would see whether he should absorb the Time Book as well. If he succeeded, then, to say the very least, Su Yu, wielding the civilization chronicle, might be able to use this stolen power to open an independent Great Dao of his own. He might not even open it within the River of Time, but carve out a separate Dao entirely, just like the Dao of Dead Spirits. He needed to bypass the River of Time! That was necessary to avoid unforeseen troubles. Of course, Su Yu would continue to comprehend and master the Brush Dao; the civilization chronicle was his trump card. If any unexpected change occurred and someone seized control of his Brush Dao—heh, even without relying on the Brush Dao, he would still be able to unleash even greater power. At this moment, Su Yu was already preparing for a rainy day. He had to cultivate the Brush Dao. From now on, it was best to treat it as an alias, presenting himself merely as an expert of the Brush Dao. So long as no disaster struck the River of Time, Su Yu would remain an expert who walked that single Dao alone. Once an upheaval arose, he would be an expert who had opened his own Great Dao. As a scholar, if he didn't leave himself a way out, could he still call himself a scholar? He had even cast King Wen as an imaginary adversary. If King Wen still controlled the Brush Dao and drained away its power, what would Su Yu have left to play with? Since he could treat others like fish to be raised, Su Yu naturally worried that someone might do the exact same thing to him. The kind ripe for harvesting at any moment! *** The Former Residence of King Wen. The moment Su Yu stepped inside, he laughed aloud. "Senior Fatty, I've brought you a gift!" With those words, a cluster of colossal dragons was dumped onto the ground. At this moment, Marquis Tianlong had merely reformed a frail physical body. When he saw this place, a look of profound horror filled his eyes. A house within the River of Time! King Wen's domain? Fatty quickly bounded out. Seeing the dragons, it felt a bit of a headache. "Are we roasting them to eat? Isn't this too many?" Marquis Tianlong's expression turned grim. Su Yu smiled. "Not to roast. I'm just locking them up here for the time being; I truly had nowhere else to keep them! If I kept them in the God-Devouring Realm, I fear Little Fur Ball's parents would devour them in no time!" In the distance, Little Fur Ball flew over, sniffed them, and grumbled dissatisfiedly, "Not as tasty as Tiangu! Doesn't smell good!" Su Yu was speechless. As if you could eat Tiangu anyway! And now you're being picky! This little guy's aura had grown noticeably stronger lately, showing signs of stepping into the peak Sun Moon Realm. Had it found its own Dao? Or had it forcefully advanced by gorging on too many treasures? Fatty was equally speechless, but it soon said, "That's fine, but they must be locked up. Otherwise, I'm afraid they'll ruin my flowers. Little Master built an underground cage back then, so we can lock them there. Little Master used to catch food and lock it up there too." At this point, Marquis Tianlong could endure it no longer and growled in a low voice, "Su Yu, either kill me or don't, but why must you humiliate me!" Catching food and locking it in a basement? What do you take me for! Su Yu chuckled, while Fatty asked in mild surprise, "What's wrong? Can't we? It's a great place to keep dragons. Many years ago, I remember Little Master caught a dragon named Longji and locked him there too, and he never complained." "Longji?" Marquis Tianlong froze, his gaze shifting erratically. After a long moment, he asked in a heavy voice, "Your Little Master... is the Time Master?" "Yes." "The Time Master... and King Wen truly are one and the same!" Marquis Tianlong ground his teeth. Just as he suspected! Longji was a top expert of the Dragon race, immensely powerful—by current standards, a Heavenly King-level figure. Yet he had been taken away by the Time Master, never to be heard from again, and eventually perished. So he had been captured and brought here. "Master is Master, and Little Master is Little Master. They aren't the same person!" Fatty offered an explanation, not caring in the slightest whether Marquis Tianlong liked it or not. At this moment, Fatty didn't care to pay them any mind. All it wanted was to ask Su Yu for its little stone back. It wanted to retrieve it quickly, while Su Yu still didn't realize how precious the little stone was. "Big Wood, drag them down to the basement!" "Oh!" In the courtyard, the massive tree extended countless branches, reaching out to grasp the Dragon race experts. Su Yu smiled and said, "Marquis Tianlong, rest easy for a while and recover your physical body. As long as your Dragon race remains obedient, I won't do anything to you!" Marquis Tianlong kept a grim face and said nothing. The Dragon Realm had already been claimed by Su Yu. Struggling now was pointless; his only option was to bide his time and await an opportunity for a resurgence. Soon, Big Wood's branches bound them tightly and dragged them toward the backyard basement. Su Yu paid it no further attention. If Marquis Tianlong could manage to escape from this place, Su Yu would genuinely be impressed. The Time Waterfall was an obstacle he could never cross to get out. As for traveling along the River of Time, this entire section was sealed off—severed, in fact. It would be a miracle if he could run away. *** Once the dragons were hauled away, the Little White Dog put on a calm front and said, "Su Yu, you aren't using that little stone you took last time anyway. Give it back to me first. The furniture in Master's room is broken, and I need a stone to prop up a table leg." "Smells nice..." "Big Wood!" Big Wood suddenly coiled a branch around Little Fur Ball and rumbled, "Study time! The hour has come!" "I don't want to..." Refusal was futile. Soon, Little Fur Ball was hauled away to study, drowning in grief and indignation. Su Yu chuckled. "Taking that stone away won't cause any problems, right?" "No..." "If not, then let me keep using it for a while!" Su Yu smiled. "This stone is a treasure; it has the effect of suppressing rules. If you're in urgent need of it, I'll give it back to you now. If it isn't urgent, I'll hold on to it a bit longer." The Little White Dog drooped. You already know it's useful? It could only mope and say, "It's fine if you don't return it right now, but if you don't give it back, I won't be able to leave easily. Master's house has stood for too long, and it's on the verge of collapsing! That stone helps stabilize it! While I'm here, I can help keep it steady, but if I leave, it won't hold. Big Wood can hardly keep it stable on his own." This house was essentially the Little White Dog's spiritual anchor. Su Yu thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll keep using it for now. If I need you to step out, I'll use it to anchor the house! If that truly doesn't work, wait a while until the human race's fortune rises, and I'll use the Human Sovereign Seal to suppress this place for a time!" The Human Sovereign Seal was also a divine weapon now. Of course, its offensive power wasn't very strong—its nature wasn't meant for pure attacking. However, it possessed excellent effects in suppressing destiny, fortune, and rules. In that regard, it shared a subtle similarity with the little stone. "All right, then!" The Little White Dog had no objections left. It glanced at Su Yu, sniffed, and asked curiously, "You have a lot of different scents on you now." Su Yu nodded. "Mm, I'm pondering my own Great Dao." Saying that, Su Yu smiled and asked, "Fatty, let me ask you something. Later in life, King Wen stripped away his Brush Dao. Why did he sever it instead of continuing to strengthen his Great Dao?" "I don't know." The Little White Dog shook its head. "I rarely ask about unimportant things like that." "Unimportant?" "Of course!" The Little White Dog nodded. "What to eat for lunch, what to eat for dinner, and which day Master comes home—aren't those much more important?" Fine, you win! Su Yu didn't dwell on it. He had merely asked casually; not knowing made no difference. After a moment's thought, Su Yu added, "There's one more thing I need to discuss with you." "What is it?" The Little White Dog looked at him curiously. What could require a discussion? Su Yu paused before saying, "It's about the Time Book! That is to say, your Little Master's book, which is currently in my possession." The Little White Dog nodded. It was aware of this. Su Yu continued, "I want to walk my own Dao now, but doing so requires an immense amount of time and effort! The Time Book is already a semi-finished product, and it is exceptionally formidable. However, I don't wish to spend too much more time on that specific book. Therefore, I was thinking that once my own Dao takes shape, I would like to melt down and integrate the Time Book." Su Yu turned solemn. "The Time Book was forged by the Time Master through countless years of effort! Right now, it is far more powerful than my civilization chronicle. But after all, it isn't mine, nor is it my Dao; there will always be a fundamental discrepancy! "I want to forge my own Dao-attunement weapon, so I wish to merge that book into my civilization chronicle. Do you think that is acceptable?" The Little White Dog stared at him blankly for a long while before asking, "If... if you don't have it anymore, can you still find Little Master and the others?" "I should be able to. The Time Master left behind a tear, which serves as coordinates!" Su Yu explained, "The Time Book also counts as coordinates, but even if it's integrated, it won't affect my ability to find them." "As long as you can find Little Master and the others, go ahead and merge it, then." The Little White Dog did not object much. "The book isn't important; the person is! Little Master discarded the book anyway, so she has no use for it! If it helps you become stronger, then merge it, as long as you can find them." Su Yu smiled. "Fatty really is reasonable." Fatty bared its teeth and wagged its tail. "Of course a book isn't as important as people! If you become stronger, you'll be able to find Little Master sooner and faster." "Wise!" Su Yu gave it a thumbs-up, praising it. He smiled and said, "Good. With your approval, my mind is at ease. Once the prototype of my civilization chronicle is fully formed, I'll find a way to extract the Time Book and merge it." If Fatty had disagreed, Su Yu would have had to reconsider. After all, this dog had helped him tremendously. Even though the combat power under his command had grown significantly and Fatty had only intervened once, Su Yu still had to take its feelings into account. With the Time Book, Su Yu could save an immense amount of time. The Time Master had spent countless years forging it, and the illusory Daos within were anything but weak. There would inevitably be massive overlap between those illusory Daos and his civilization chronicle, allowing them to merge seamlessly. As for the Daos that did not overlap, most likely belonged to ancient races that had already perished. For those extinct ancient races, since their people were gone, their Daos were likely vacant. He might even be able to steal the Great Dao power directly; after all, their bloodlines were extinct. Over so many years, it was highly probable that no one had commanded or integrated those Daos. Seeing Su Yu lost in thought, Fatty wagged its tail. When Su Yu returned to his senses, the dog asked, "Big Wood has gained sentience. Do you need Big Wood to go out and help you?" "No need for now." Su Yu smiled. "We have enough hands at the moment! Is Big Wood strong?" "Quite strong! A bit stronger than the Book Spirit and the Tea Tree!" Su Yu nodded. That was certainly good news. This tree had existed for far too long, even longer than the Little White Dog. Now that it had developed a spirit, its combat strength was formidable. According to Su Yu's classification, the Book Spirit and the Tea Tree were around fourth-tier Dao Integration. If Big Wood was stronger than them, it might possess third-tier Dao Integration strength. After chatting with Fatty a bit longer, Su Yu stood up and said, "Then I'll take my leave first. I still have to prepare for opening my Dao! It's quite troublesome." "Mm!" Fatty watched Su Yu depart, feeling a faint sense of loss. Knowing that Su Yu was going to melt down the Time Book did bring a slight tinge of sadness. Yet thinking about how Su Yu was doing it to grow stronger and find Little Master and the others, it let the feeling go. If Su Yu wasn't strong enough, searching for them would be pointless. Little Master and her companions were immensely powerful, yet even they were in danger. If the current Su Yu truly went there and found them, he would likely be extinguished in a single breath. *** Emperor Yu Manor. The Armament-Forging Office. Over a thousand book pages lay before Su Yu. At this moment, Zhao Li and the others looked thoroughly exhausted. Not much time had passed since Su Yu issued the order, yet they had already forged over a thousand pages—an extraordinary quantity. Every single one was of Earth-tier rank! "Thank you for your hard work, Teacher!" Seeing Zhao Li's exhausted expression, Su Yu smiled warmly. Zhao Li smiled back. "It's nothing. They're only Earth-tier armaments, just somewhat tedious to craft." Not much time had passed since the order was given. Su Yu smiled, then turned to King Tianzhu and the others. "For the remainder, we must work overtime to forge them!" Su Yu grew exceptionally solemn. "The human race is currently campaigning across the Allheaven. We can conscript armamentsmiths from the myriad races. As long as we keep strict supervision and prevent them from playing any petty tricks, there won't be an issue! Accelerate the forging. While the human race doesn't have many armamentsmiths, the myriad races have plenty!" King Tianzhu nodded wearily. "Understood! Later, I'll have Xia Longwu and the others capture some armamentsmiths and send them back." Saying that, King Tianzhu smiled. "I've advanced!" "Divine Armamentsmith?" "No, seventh stage!" King Tianzhu said with delight, "Seventh stage of the Eternal Realm!" "Oh, congratulations!" Su Yu's tone was utterly perfunctory. Seventh stage... and here I thought you reached Dao Integration. What use is the seventh stage? King Tianzhu felt thoroughly exasperated. What an arrogant brat! I've reached the seventh stage, alright? He hadn't gained nothing from forging armaments lately; now was the time of harvest. Having switched his Great Dao, he had stepped onto the Armament-Forging Dao. Now, he had quickly advanced to the seventh stage. He truly had hope of reaching Dao Integration! Meanwhile, Zhao Li and Zhao Tianbing were still in the Sun Moon Realm. Zhao Tianbing had reached the peak of the Sun Moon Realm, while Zhao Li was only at the sixth layer, still some distance from achieving attunement. During these days of forging without rest, the two of them had also gained considerably. Yet Su Yu did not offer them any preferential aid. Unless they reached the threshold of advancing on their own, Su Yu would not step in. For many of his teachers and elders, such as Liu Wenyan and the others, Su Yu had not shown much favoritism either. Their cultivation remained in the Sun Moon Realm. Bai Feng was still in the Shanhai Realm. Greater strength brought more missions and greater danger. Su Yu's wish, above all, was for them to stay out of the great wars. Once the final climactic battle arrived, Eternals would inevitably be forced to participate. Zhao Li and the others said nothing about it, and Su Yu was uncertain of their exact thoughts. Receiving over a thousand pages, Su Yu revealed a smile. This was sufficient for the time being! People spoke of the myriad races of the Allheaven, but that referred to the era just after the opening of the heavens. In reality, by this era, far fewer than ten thousand races remained; countless lineages had perished. Over a thousand pages might not be enough in the long run, but more could be forged later. "Then I will merge them into my civilization chronicle first. More will need to be forged afterward..." With that, Su Yu retrieved his civilization chronicle. A few pages were missing, but it did not affect the chronicle as a whole. Soon, blank page after blank page was forged into the civilization chronicle by Su Yu. The core framework had long been established, so merging them presented little difficulty. Su Yu could complete the forging entirely on his own. As these pages were continuously incorporated into the chronicle, the civilization chronicle grew steadily stronger. Golden inscriptions increased one by one. The civilization chronicle, which was already on the verge of breaking through to a divine armament, let out a resounding rumble when Su Yu integrated the eight-hundredth page. It finally shattered through the barrier, its advancement proving far more arduous than that of the Human Sovereign Seal. A divine armament! It possessed 145 corporeal golden inscriptions, while its illusory inscriptions had long reached an astonishing number! It had officially stepped into the divine armament rank! As the civilization chronicle crossed into the divine armament rank, what arrived was not a heaven-and-earth reward, but a lightning tribulation. However, Su Yu chose not to face it head-on, immediately darting off to the Former Residence of King Wen. Before the Little White Dog could even register what was happening, Su Yu had vanished in the blink of an eye. He evaded the punishment of the rules! In the past, Su Yu would have squeezed benefits from the tribulation, but he refrained from doing so now. He feared that excessive exploitation might cause the gates of the Upper Realm to open prematurely, which would do more harm than good. *** This armament-forging session consumed a considerable amount of Su Yu's time. Only after seven full days did Su Yu completely forge all the pages into the civilization chronicle. Adding the previous ones, there were now exactly 1,480 pages. The golden inscriptions reached 155. Of course, divine armament or not, this artifact was still not as powerful as the Heaven Hunting Ranking. When the Heaven Hunting Ranking had briefly gathered previously, it faintly displayed 170 or 180 golden inscriptions. Merging the pages was not the end, but merely the beginning. Soon, Su Yu consumed a vast quantity of treasures, even materials of bearer-item caliber, to infuse into the newly added pages. Not only that, Su Yu began transcribing countless cultivation techniques and racial innate skills of various races into the book. Furthermore, the corpses of experts slain during the conquests across the Allheaven were continuously transported back from the Allheaven Battlefield and devoured by Su Yu's civilization chronicle. Although Su Yu no longer relied on devouring the myriad races to elevate the civilization chronicle, since they had already been slain, leaving them uneaten would be a waste. He wanted to construct a preliminary outline for the illusory Daos within the pages first. This stay in Emperor Yu Manor turned out to be Su Yu's longest. In the blink of an eye, only a few days remained before the year 352 of the Anping Calendar came to a close. In a few more days, it would be the year 353 of the Anping Calendar—or, as it would be known from then on, the Xinyu Calendar. *** A new year brought a new atmosphere! The Anping Calendar reached its final moments. In this year, the human race had achieved grand victory. Their renown reverberated throughout the Allheaven! The Human Realm began organizing various celebrations to welcome the arrival of the new calendar, ushering in the First Year of Xinyu. Every prefecture was rejoicing. The god, demon, and immortal races had sealed their realms, while the human race swept through the Allheaven. The myriad races had either submitted or been exterminated, and countless resources were transported back to the Human Realm. A great number of human geniuses were rising rapidly! As for the battles in the minor realms, Xia Longwu and the others were in no rush. Nor did they immediately deploy overwhelming legions. For minor realms that refused to submit or had to be destroyed, they dispatched young geniuses to wage war. Xia Longwu and Qin Zhen had carved their way out with blade and spear; they had no desire for the younger generation to simply enjoy the fruits of others' labor. Geniuses including Qin Fang and Xia Huyou were mobilized to the Allheaven Battlefield, continuously participating in minor realm battles to temper themselves. Of course, among the younger generation, the one in the greatest limelight was not Qin Fang, but Zhou Hao. This fierce warrior, who had opened 360 origin acupoints, had completed sixty body casts and was still continuing. His combat prowess was formidable. Though he was still in the Soaring Realm, just like Su Yu in the past, he was nearly capable of battling Sun Moon experts. Not only Zhou Hao, but other peers of Su Yu's generation were also continuously shining. As long as you performed merits, had the courage to kill, and survived, vast quantities of resources would tilt toward you. As long as you were daring enough, you would never lack resources! Mystic Light of Heaven and Earth, Sun Moon Xuanhuang Liquid—treasures that Su Yu had once risked his life to obtain—could now be acquired with far less difficulty, though risking one's life was still required. As long as you dared to fight across the myriad realms, there was hope for a rapid rise! *** Great Xia Prefecture. As the new year approached, the atmosphere bubbled with festive excitement. Numerous soldiers also returned from the front lines of the Allheaven Battlefield. For the new year, the myriad races breathed a sigh of relief as the human race's offensive temporarily slowed. Aside from essential engagements, fighting across most regions came to a halt. At this moment, within the Great Xia Civilization Academy. This once-magnificent academy had gradually declined following Su Yu's flight. When Wan Tiansheng slaughtered numerous scions of Eternal houses and fled the Human Realm, the academy had deteriorated completely. It wasn't until Su Yu ascended to supremacy, Wan Tiansheng returned, and figures like Liu Wenyan rose one after another—with Nan Wujiang and Yun Chen also revealing their path to attunement—that the Great Xia Civilization Academy, this glorious institution, burst with vitality once more! First Manor Head Xia Chen, Third Manor Head Nan Wujiang, Sixth Manor Head Wan Tiansheng, and Yun Chen were all top-tier experts. Even Lan Tian, who had defected from the academy in the past, was now an entity feared by all factions. With the new year drawing near and a large number of academy geniuses returning, the Great Xia Civilization Academy grew even livelier! Yet today, beneath the liveliness, a hint of tension lingered. Innumerable students, instructors, and researchers walked with extreme caution. They tiptoed, terrified of making a sound. Early that morning, news had arrived that Su Yu and many of the experts who had once hailed from the academy might return today to revisit their old haunts. Every familiar name shook the heavens, filling all the students with immense excitement. The Xinyu Calendar! This era was inaugurated by Su Yu. The only regret the students harbored was that whenever Su Yu was mentioned, those lazy fish from the Daming Prefecture loved to argue that Su Yu belonged to the Daming Civilization Academy. Yet no one could refute them, for Su Yu had indeed attended the Daming Civilization Academy. Fortunately, Su Yu was visiting the Great Xia Civilization Academy today, not the Daming Civilization Academy. *** Before the gates of the Great Xia Civilization Academy. Marquis Xia stood tall, flanked by experts and geniuses of the Great Xia Prefecture such as Xia Huyou and Ji Hong. Huang Teng and the others were present as well, along with Zhou Hao, who had recently displayed tremendous prowess on the Allheaven Battlefield. At this moment, the crowd was filled with both excitement and profound emotion. Su Yu... Who could have imagined back then that when he returned, he would do so as the Lord of the Allheaven? A moment later, Marquis Xia said in a low voice, "Quiet!" The hushed murmurs vanished. Soon, a figure of light manifested as Xia Longwu, clad in military armor, strode through the air. He said gravely, "His Majesty Emperor Yu, Director Wan, and the others will arrive shortly! Remember, Emperor Yu's visit to the Great Xia Civilization Academy is solely to catch up on old times. Do not bring up anything else!" The crowd nodded one after another. Marquis Xia also chimed in, "Keep your eyes sharp, all of you! To make this happen, I had quite a tussle with Zhu Tiandao next door! It wasn't easy dragging Emperor Yu and the others to the Great Xia Prefecture, so don't you dare embarrass me!" He wasn't exaggerating; over this matter, he and Zhu Tiandao had nearly come to blows. In the end, he had prevailed. Zhu Tiandao had no choice. He hadn't lost to Marquis Xia, but to the fact that Wan Tiansheng, Zhao Li, Liu Wenyan, Nan Wujiang... a vast number of experts all hailed from the Great Xia Civilization Academy. Even if Su Yu had wished to go to the Daming Prefecture, he had to consider whether that was appropriate. After all, Su Yu himself came from the Great Xia Prefecture; his roots were here. The entire assembly looked solemn. *** However, on Su Yu's side, things were anything but solemn. Having just finished forging his armament, he had been persistently urged by King Daxia and the others. With Zhao Li chiming in, he had no choice but to return to the Great Xia Prefecture during this transition between the old and new year. In truth, Su Yu preferred to head to the myriad realms right now. His civilization chronicle was finished, and he was eager to begin harvesting. Yet even Wan Tiansheng had come to persuade him, so Su Yu had relented and accompanied them. His own presence wouldn't have caused much of a stir. The real issue was that there were an absurd number of people present—and the crux of the matter wasn't Su Yu, but Lan Tian! Lan Tian was also an alumnus of the Great Xia Civilization Academy. Wherever Lan Tian was, solitude was impossible; there were always crowds! In reality, Su Yu hadn't brought many people with him, nor did he need an honor guard. Yet Lan Tian alone made up an entire ceremonial procession: soldiers clearing the path ahead, scouts patrolling the flanks, experts concealing themselves in the void, and spectators watching from all directions... Every single one of them was Lan Tian! Su Yu's mental composure shattered. And not just his—King Daxia, Wan Tiansheng, and the others were on the verge of breaking down as well. They had truly had enough! What was supposed to be a dignified homecoming had been turned into an utter farce by Lan Tian! Watching Lan Tian's countless avatars bustling about—some even getting into disputes with his other avatars to drive away onlookers who ventured too close—Su Yu was utterly speechless. He sent a voice transmission: "Manor Head, has he lost his mind?" Wan Tiansheng had no reply for that. Helpless, he transmitted back, "No, this fellow has been researching how to control ten thousand avatars simultaneously lately! It's all because of that terrible idea you gave him. Before, he had many avatars, but nowhere near this many. Lately, he has created so many that he's slightly losing control! Placing a thousand of them around us is his way of asking us to help suppress them a bit." Su Yu grinned sheepishly. He had only spoken off the cuff; who knew Lan Tian would actually go and do it? Too many avatars, on the verge of losing control. Su Yu sighed and thought for a moment before saying, "If it really doesn't work, I'll take him on a trip to the River of Time later. I don't really understand his path either! Going by my thoughts, his path might be somewhat similar to mine." Indeed, it was similar to his own. Su Yu's idea was to reopen myriad Daos, unify them, and open a separate Dao. Lan Tian, on the other hand, integrated the myriad races, transformed into myriad avatars, and sought to merge them into one, unifying the myriad Daos. That truly bore some resemblance to Su Yu's approach. For Su Yu, a single page represented a Dao. The difference with Lan Tian was that he used an avatar for a Dao, genuinely severing pieces of himself, unlike Su Yu, who substituted them with book pages. Perhaps all top geniuses and monstrous talents were like this. In the end, everyone's path converged. Unifying all Daos into one! Currently, Su Yu could faintly discern glimpses of this in the Time Master, Lan Tian, and Wan Tiansheng. As for others, he had yet to see it. What, then, was Lan Tian's Dao? Su Yu was genuinely curious! Wan Tiansheng replied via voice transmission, "Lan Tian's Dao is still different from yours! I have a general idea of your thoughts. In Lan Tian's case, at its core, it isn't truly the myriad Daos. He might possess an inclination to merge myriad Daos, but fundamentally, I believe it remains the Dao of Avatars!" The Dao of Avatars sounded somewhat pedestrian. Of course, that was merely Su Yu's perspective. In reality, such an avatar Dao, even if not a true unification of myriad Daos, was terrifyingly formidable. "We'll see later!" Su Yu smiled. Glancing at a little girl beside him, roughly seven or eight years old, licking a lollipop while staring curiously at him and Wan Tiansheng, he felt even more helpless. You really are something else. He said no more. Once he helped Lan Tian traverse the River of Time, all would become clear. In returning to the Great Xia Civilization Academy, Su Yu harbored no grand intentions other than a simple gathering. Catching up with old acquaintances, including members of the mutual aid society and instructors who had helped him—such as Elder Nie, Elder Huang, Wu Yuehua, and others—would suffice. He might not have much time for reunions in the future. After this visit, it would likely be a very long time before Su Yu returned. He had far too many matters to attend to, and everything needed to be done with haste. *** That day, Su Yu did not meet with many people. He simply hosted several tables of food in what had once been the Lan Tian Research Institute—and later the Origin Spirit Research Institute—to entertain old friends. They raised their cups, discussed the Great Dao, and spoke freely. They talked about cultivation, research, and the future. Su Yu rarely drank. He had not reached the point where he needed to drown his sorrows in wine, so there was no need to seek solace in drunkenness. Yet today, Su Yu drank heavily. He did not use origin qi to neutralize the alcohol, allowing it to numb his senses. Even so, getting drunk proved difficult. Through a haze of tipsy eyes, familiar silhouettes surfaced before him one after another. *** Having eaten and drunk their fill, the table was left in disarray. Toward the end, a slightly tipsy Liu Wenyan stepped forward, throwing an arm around Su Yu's shoulders, entirely devoid of his usual elegance. Dragging Su Yu into a corner, Liu Wenyan let out a bitter laugh. "Your teacher has spent his entire life trying to be strong, but in truth, I am nothing more than a coward! I have wronged many people, and I have wronged you!" "Having you join the Multiple Divine Characters Department back then was driven by my own selfishness... Some things sounded pleasant when spoken later, but the truth was too hard to voice! Back when you said you often dreamed of myriad races hunting you down, I knew you had obtained a fortunate encounter!" He wasn't an idiot. He had deduced a thing or two early on, and later told Xia Longwu and the others that Su Yu must have acquired a fortunate encounter or even ruins in Nanyuan. He had known all along. "That's why I was determined to pull you into the Multiple Divine Characters Department. In the end, just as I wished, you joined our department!" Liu Wenyan sighed. "Now, the situation across the myriad realms looks promising, yet I know the Upper Realm will be even more perilous! Danger lurks at every step, yet I lack the power to share your burden. You rush about tirelessly, surrounded by mortal peril... and the root of it all might very well lie with me!" Su Yu smiled. "Teacher, you are mistaken. From the moment I obtained the Time Book, I was already entangled in all of this. At least my fate is now in my own hands. You worry too much, Teacher; I actually consider it a blessing. The Multiple Divine Characters Department spurred my growth; otherwise, I wouldn't be where I am today." Liu Wenyan gave a wry smile. "Perhaps! Since entering the academy, you have been struggling, competing, battling... while I accomplished nothing for decades, enjoying fifty years of peace!" At this, Liu Wenyan said bitterly, "That's not the crucial part. The crucial part is that you were too deeply influenced by me when you were young. I have failed you, boy! I'm not worried about anything else—I'm worried that you'll die in battle without even having had a woman! Little Yu, my greatest mistake was steering you wrong... If you die in battle, I can accept it, but I cannot accept you dying without ever having held a woman's hand..." With that, he winked playfully. "Your teacher was truly in the wrong on this. How about making the best of it tonight? There are plenty of exceptional women here... Wu Lan, Wu Qi, Xia Chan of the Xia family, Ji Xiaomeng of the Ji family, your senior sister Wu Jia..." As he winked and nudged, Su Yu turned his head and realized the hall had gone dead silent. Everyone seemed to be staring at them. Liu Wenyan lowered his voice. "Leave an heir at least, so we have hope for a resurgence! If you fall, so long as we don't die, in the next tide we can support your descendant, help them ascend to supremacy, and fight for another tide... "Even that brute, the Hundred Battles King, knew to leave behind a bloodline. Don't tell me you're worse than a brute?" "..." Su Yu was speechless. What the hell! So this was what you people were planning all along? What are you all doing? No wonder everyone had been pouring drinks down my throat tonight and goading me not to use origin qi to sober up. What on earth are they thinking! Women were terrifying enough, not to mention that pervert Lan Tian—who knew if one of these women was his avatar? Su Yu shivered in horror! He instantly declared, "No need! I will win! Teacher, you should resolve your own troubles first!" With that, Su Yu raised his voice. "I have had my fill of wine and food tonight, and I have urgent matters to attend to! Everyone, farewell!" In a flash, Su Yu stepped into the River of Time and vanished on the spot. The entire hall plunged into instant silence. After a long while, one of the women muttered, "I told you so. That guy's abnormal; he doesn't like women. You just wouldn't believe me!" Though she said that, at this moment, the women who had been named couldn't help but feel a touch of disappointment. Even Wu Lan, who appeared indifferent, curled her lip and turned to Bai Feng. "Teacher Bai, let's go. Time to do research!" Soon, the crowd dispersed in succession, everyone feeling thoroughly helpless. King Daxia and the others shook their heads repeatedly. They had genuinely wanted Su Yu to leave an heir. If Su Yu were defeated in this tide, any of them who survived would gladly support Su Yu's descendant, placing them on the seat of the Human Sovereign to fight for another tide! Many turned to glare furiously at Liu Wenyan! You bumbling fool! This was all his doing. Otherwise, how could a hot-blooded young man like Su Yu possibly react like this? Looking at Lan Tian, they felt an even deeper sense of helplessness. Between the two of them, they had thoroughly scared the wits out of Su Yu! "It's over, disperse! If there is no next tide, then we fight solely for this tide!" King Daxia let out a loud laugh, downed his cup in one gulp, and smashed it against the floor. "Emperor Yu's refusal to leave an heir is also his way of telling everyone: we fight solely for this tide, with no way out!" The crowd raised their thumbs; that was a wonderful way to spin it. They could only look at it that way! "Gentlemen, we fight only for this tide! If the human race does not triumph, then we perish!" Everyone drained their cups and dispersed with an indescribable helplessness. No one could count on that fellow Su Yu leaving an heir. Outside, brilliant fireworks blossomed in the sky. The First Year of Xinyu had officially arrived.