The Human Sovereign Is Truly Bizarre!

"The Human Sovereign!" At this moment, only one thought crossed Su Yu's mind: had the Human Sovereign left behind this small stone seal intentionally, or purely by accident? And had Xingyue burying this stone seal truly been an unintentional act? Perhaps it was! Yet for Su Yu right now, the pressure pressing down from the Dao Origin Land lessened instantly by thirty percent, if not more. The small stone could unquestionably suppress the power of rules here. Even if it couldn't suppress all of it, suppressing thirty percent was enough. A Heavenly King tier expert stripped of thirty percent of their rule power would, at best, be knocked down to a second-tier or even third-tier Dao Integration cultivator. "Heaven-defying methods!" Su Yu marveled inwardly. Most of the Upper Realm's powerhouses congregated here in the Dao Origin Land, yet this very place was the Human Sovereign's domain. Did anyone even know? Were the experts of all races really not afraid that the Human Sovereign had left behind an inheritance? If one existed, its successor might very well control the power of rules here and wipe them all out in one fell swoop! With these thoughts in mind, Su Yu quietly slipped into the Dao Origin Land. The curtain of light did not ripple in the slightest. The moment he entered, Su Yu felt it—countless unowned, non-elemental strands of rule power... "What a treasure trove!" Su Yu marveled. This place was truly a blessed land. He had encountered this kind of non-elemental rule power before; back on the All-Heavens Battlefield, whenever one slaughtered enemies across realms, the battlefield rewarded them with trace amounts of such power. Being here was essentially like receiving those rewards every single day! "The Upper Realm... No wonder so many people yearn to come here. No wonder so many Dao Integration experts abandoned the Lower Realm. With a treasure land like the Dao Origin Land around, even I would want to come!" Su Yu recalled how painstakingly difficult it had been for him to earn just a trickle of rule power as a reward. Yet here, massive quantities of unowned, non-elemental rule power drifted freely. One had to realize that numerous experts had been continuously absorbing this power, yet it remained astonishingly dense. What did that signify? It signified that this power was continually being generated. "The water in the River of Time is rule power itself, but it is solidified into an inseparable whole, impossible to siphon away... With so much rule power overflowing here, did the Human Sovereign divert it from the River of Time, breaking it down and purifying it?" Su Yu was brimming with curiosity toward the Dao Origin Land. He wanted to see what the River of Time looked like in this place. He wanted to see the Dao that the Human Sovereign had carved out. As for killing... there was no rush. Killing people in the Upper Realm was not Su Yu's primary objective. Broadening his horizons, strengthening himself, deepening his comprehension of the Great Dao, and gathering intelligence—these were his true purposes for ascending. Slaying those eight Dao Integration experts had merely been incidental. Yes, an afterthought. He wondered whether those Dragon race Dao Integration experts could transform into dead spirits upon death. Most likely not; without the River of Time to guide them, it was virtually impossible. If they somehow could, they probably would have died with unclosed eyes from sheer indignation. *If they died anywhere else, there would be almost no chance of being guided away. But dying here, I think there's a chance they might revive!* Su Yu mused, looking up toward the sky. Other places were not covered by the River of Time, but this territory was blanketed by the Human Sovereign's River of Time. Becoming a dead spirit here was entirely possible. Su Yu glanced around. This was the periphery, and no one was in sight. He had no intention of delving deep into the Dao Origin Land to explore; he intended to walk the River of Time. *Rippp!* The void tore open. Here, one could tear into the river! *Crash, splash...* The faint, indistinct sound of flowing water drifted into Su Yu's ears. Every person tore open a different segment of the river. Of course, things were unpredictable here, and Su Yu remained vigilant. What if someone else was inside the River of Time as well? Would they cross paths? Even after stepping into the River of Time, he had to tread carefully. Su Yu took a step into the River of Time, and the rift sealed shut behind him, vanishing without a trace. ... Within the Dao Origin Land. Powerhouses were countless. The very instant Su Yu entered, an expert atop a towering peak raised his head, eyes flashing with golden radiance. Had someone entered the River of Time? He seemed to sense a faint fluctuation. After silently perceiving it for a moment, the formidable entity paid it no further heed. People stepped into the River of Time quite frequently here, though it had been far more common in the past than it was now. Entering the River of Time was usually done to integrate into a Dao or to pioneer a new one; normally, there was no need to do so. ... In a valley, an expert who seemed fused with the earth opened his eyes and glanced skyward. When the River of Time was breached, some experts would cast a casual glance. Though unlikely, vigilance was still required, for things dwelt within the River of Time. ... At this moment, several powerhouses felt a faint disturbance. Yet precisely because the disturbance was so slight, they assumed the one opening it lacked significant strength. Seeing that the River of Time quickly stabilized, none of them bothered pursuing the matter. Entering the River of Time was a commonplace occurrence. Ordinary practitioners warranted no attention; only peerless experts would cause concern. ... Naturally, Su Yu remained oblivious to all this. In his eyes, opening the River of Time was hardly a big deal. Anyone here ought to be able to do it, though how wide a rift they could tear and how far they could travel was another matter entirely. With the small stone suppressing everything around him, Su Yu immediately felt that the river forged by the Human Sovereign was far less oppressive than the genuine River of Time, bringing him virtually no pressure. Before him, the currents surged turbulently. It closely resembled the true River of Time, yet subtle differences remained. The moment he entered, Su Yu sensed something faint. Silently absorbing the feeling, Su Yu moved forward slowly, his expression growing solemn and dignified. This was, in truth, the Human Sovereign's Dao. *I want to see what Dao the Human Sovereign cultivated, and what truths he perceived.* The Dead Spirit Dao was dominated by death qi. What, then, was the foundation of this Dao? He walked downstream along the river. Su Yu knew that downstream likely led to the severed breach, whereas heading upstream would take him to the junction with the true River of Time, where the source of the waters lay. Naturally, he was in no hurry. Comprehending the Great Dao could not be rushed. He would inspect the downstream path first. As he walked down the riverbank, the waters grew increasingly fierce, crashing against Su Yu. Yet with the small stone in hand, the shared origin of their power allowed its suppression to work even more effectively, leaving Su Yu largely unaffected. "The Dao of Water?" "The Dao of Fire?" Su Yu pondered silently. He seemed to perceive the Great Dao power of the Human Sovereign, but upon closer inspection, his brows furrowed slightly. No! These elements—metal, wood, water, fire—were simply mingled together; it did not mean this Dao was founded upon them. As he advanced, the river channel ahead widened continuously! And Su Yu's expression grew heavier by the step. "Another convergence of myriad Daos!" Indeed, in this world, every truly peerless powerhouse ultimately walked the path of converging myriad Daos! He began to grasp it! The widening of the river meant that more and more distinct powers of the Great Dao had merged into the channel, broadening its span. Yet Su Yu still could not detect the Human Sovereign's core power. This was strange. Typically, the primary force should be the most prominent. In the Dead Spirit Dao, for instance, the oppressive death qi hit you the moment you set foot inside. "Could he have pursued balanced development, intending to forge a second River of Time?" Su Yu fell into contemplation. If so, the Human Sovereign had merely been emulating the River of Time, seeking a pure union of myriad Daos. That had also been Su Yu's previous idea, yet even Su Yu had specific points of emphasis. "As a towering ruler of his era, could the Human Sovereign really lack even a trace of his own unique Great Dao power?" Unable to fathom it, Su Yu put the thought aside. He continued forward. As he walked, a peculiar look crossed his face. Flanking the river, there were virtually no tributaries—scarcely any at all... but they were there! They did exist! Su Yu's eyes flickered. An ordinary person would never see them, but he could. "This... this also has tributaries!" It was just like the Ink Dao branching off the Dead Spirit Dao—a tributary carved upon a tributary. Yet the Human Sovereign's Dao had only just been pioneered! "Is he insane?!" Su Yu sucked in a breath of cold air, horrified. "Does... does this mean someone perceived their own Dao upon the Human Sovereign's Great Dao and opened a tributary here? But the Human Sovereign only carved out a tiny fraction of his Dao! Opening a tributary here is practically courting disaster!" The Human Sovereign's Great Dao was incomplete; the Human Sovereign himself had never finished opening it. To pioneer your own Dao upon an incomplete one... it might not end up very strong, and even if it weren't weak, Su Yu felt its stability would be abysmally poor. It was far too prone to collapse, serving as nothing more than a frail offshoot of the Human Sovereign's Great Dao. "If the Human Sovereign wanted to become a second River of Time, then opening Daos upon it would indeed be feasible." "The master of the Dead Spirit Dao, on the other hand, had no desire to become a second River of Time. Thus, he never permitted anyone to branch off his Dao; instead, all Daos were forced to merge into the Dead Spirit Dao, unified into one." The master of the Dead Spirit Dao must have been overbearingly tyrannical. *My Dao lies here. Either become my thrall or don't come at all. If you come, you may cultivate only my Dao!* Yet here, on the Human Sovereign's incomplete Dao, people had actually pioneered their own paths. Su Yu found the situation utterly bizarre. After examining it closely, he continued forward, thoughts churning in his mind as an inkling of understanding began to form. He pressed on, heading downstream. He walked for a long time. From the outside, the River of Time appeared severed and seemingly short, but walking atop it, Su Yu discovered that the Human Sovereign had actually forged an impressive distance. After a considerable stretch, the small stone in Su Yu's hand emitted a faint radiance, nearly merging as one with the Human Sovereign's river, allowing Su Yu to maintain his footing. The current grew ever more violent! Abruptly, the path ahead dropped off like a gargantuan waterfall. Su Yu halted his steps immediately, catching sight of the brilliant light ahead! The breach! The Human Sovereign's Great Dao had been carved up to this point and then severed. A deluge of river water poured over the edge, crashing into the Dao Origin Land below like a titanic cascade. This was almost certainly the reason why rule power was so concentrated in the Dao Origin Land. "If I fall from here, will I plunge straight into the Dao Origin Land, or will I be swept away into some unknown future?" Su Yu felt as though he stood at the precipice of a colossal waterfall. Massive torrents rushed forward, hurtling downward. All of this water was rule power, originating from the genuine River of Time. A breach had been torn in the River of Time, guided through the Human Sovereign's channel. Here, the Great Dao broke off, forged no further, and the cascading water collapsed into raw rule power. "So this is the origin of the unowned rule power!" Su Yu observed carefully, silently experiencing the phenomenon. He watched the boundless rule power plummet from the river. Before even hitting the bottom, it dispersed into wisps and ribbons of scattered rule force. The rushing impact intensified, threatening to pull Su Yu over the edge. The small stone gleamed with light, anchoring his figure firmly in place. Su Yu stared intently at the waterfall. After watching for a time, a strange light entered his eyes. He sat down cross-legged and continued observing. He realized that the myriad powers of rule seemed to undergo purification right here. Originally, it had been a convergence of myriad Daos—fire-attributed, earth-attributed, water-attributed—all bearing distinct elemental natures. Yet earlier in the Dao Origin Land, what Su Yu had sensed was distinctly non-elemental. He hadn't understood it before, but now, midway down the descending waterfall, he saw what appeared to be a vast mesh net. Like a filtration screen, this net extracted and filtered out the elemental affinities embedded within the rule power! "Those with affinities cannot fall through..." Su Yu's eyes flickered. He suddenly felt a strong impulse to go down and inspect the center of the waterfall! He had no idea what consequences that might bring. Would he die? Would he become lost within the River of Time? He didn't know! Yet Su Yu desperately wanted to see it. A heaven-opening Dao, newly initiated and far from complete—such a Great Dao held an immense temptation for Su Yu. "What if I become lost? What if I'm trapped here for millions of years?" Su Yu suddenly felt torn! He wanted to observe the Dao. If he were alone, unburdened by worries, he would have jumped down without hesitation! "Responsibility..." At that moment, a single word flashed across his mind. Responsibility! He still shouldered countless obligations. Su Yu himself had once remarked that being the Human Lord was a burden, a responsibility, rather than a privilege. In this instant, he hesitated. He carried far too much weight on his shoulders! If it were a necessary risk, he would take it without hesitation. But right now, it was solely to observe a Dao, to gamble his life for personal insight... If he perished or lost himself here, what would become of the people he had brought to the Upper Realm? "To hear the Dao in the morning, and to die in the evening without regret!" Su Yu murmured softly. That was what Lan Tian had once said. He deeply wished he could be as carefree and unrestrained as Lan Tian. *I am a cultivator as well. I too want to hear the Dao at dawn and die content at dusk.* To cultivate the Dao was to pursue an endless quest. To seek the unknown, to search out the future. Long and arduous was the Great Dao, a journey of seeking high and low, probing unknown paths to forge a way ahead. Yet at this moment, he still wavered. "In the end... I have shackled myself after all!" Su Yu murmured. Nowadays, he prioritized stability in so many things; he was no longer the bare-footed youth who disregarded all consequences. Back then, he feared nothing. Back then, the barefoot man feared no one wearing shoes. No burdens, no responsibilities. "Responsibility!" Su Yu sank into contemplation. This responsibility, this shackle, was something he had placed upon himself. When King Dazhou and the others pushed him onto the throne to become the Human Lord, he had walked willingly into the cage. At that time, it had been thirty percent reluctance, thirty percent unwillingness, thirty percent deliberate calculation, and ten percent because of certain people and certain words. With great power comes great responsibility! Wan Tiansheng had once told him: when flourishing, benefit all under heaven. At that time, Su Yu controlled the Thirty-Six Cities, truly thriving. Returning to the Human Realm had carried an intent to fulfill that duty. The word 'responsibility' blazed through Su Yu's mind once more. Should he go down? Forget it! It was too dangerous. Moreover, sacrifice did not guarantee a return. Last time, when he sacrificed so much for Lan Tian, it was because Lan Tian possessed a genuine chance of success; if Lan Tian succeeded, the human race would gain a top-tier combatant. As it turned out, Su Yu had won that gamble! This time, it was merely to observe a Dao. "Forget it. There will be other chances in the future." Regret lingered in Su Yu's heart. He genuinely wished to explore, but the people he had brought to the Upper Realm were still waiting for him to lead them back to the Lower Realm. An entirely unnecessary gamble was better abandoned! Even though he knew he might gain profound enlightenment. Su Yu stood up, turned around, and began walking upstream step by step. Better to leave! If he kept staring, he feared he wouldn't be able to resist jumping down. Just then, the Human Sovereign's Great Dao trembled faintly. Su Yu paused and looked toward the river. Suddenly, amidst the turbulent waters, a small, serene path emerged, gradually rising from the depths. Su Yu froze. The narrow path emerging from the depths was somewhat reminiscent of the bloody path Lan Tian had walked when opening his Dao. Now, it was smoothing out a path specifically for Su Yu. "Responsibility!" Su Yu murmured softly. The Human Sovereign! Could... could this be the core of the Human Sovereign's Dao? So simple? No—or rather, the towering ruler that was the Human Sovereign had built his entire philosophy and comprehension upon the concept of responsibility! "Did he believe that sheltering the human race was his duty?" A complex, indescribable emotion welled up inside Su Yu. Once one became Sovereign, was one obligated to carry such responsibility? Was even the ancient Human Sovereign no exception? Surges of Great Dao power poured toward Su Yu's body. Su Yu's brows furrowed, and his acupoints suddenly shuddered, forcefully dispelling the encroaching energy. Su Yu sighed softly. "Are you looking for a responsible successor? I'm not the one... My apologies!" Su Yu shook his head. Helplessness flickered across his eyes. He had inadvertently triggered something! The core of the incomplete Dao carved by the Human Sovereign was responsibility—responsibility toward humanity, duty toward the race. The core of this Great Dao wanted Su Yu to inherit its power. "Aren't you being far too hasty? Not even a test?" Su Yu gave a wry smile. The Human Sovereign had actually left behind a remnant trace within this Dao, and he was so readily willing to pass down this half-opened Great Dao! This was the first time Su Yu had ever encountered an inheritance that tried to bestow a Great Dao upon you simply because of a fleeting state of mind. "If I truly agreed to inherit it, would that mean I could gradually take control of this Dao, fully become the master of the Dao Origin Land, and continue pioneering along the path the Human Sovereign laid down?" Su Yu found the Human Sovereign almost foolishly trusting. *Just like that? You're not going to test me properly?* Well, the conditions to trigger this Dao were undoubtedly numerous. One had to belong to the human race, perhaps even be a Human Lord, possessing a sense of responsibility toward mankind, a dedication to pursuing the Dao, deep comprehension of the Great Dao, and a protective will toward the race... Yet Su Yu was deeply unwilling. It wasn't because it came too easily; he simply had no desire to become the next Human Sovereign. This Dao remained unfinished. If Su Yu truly inherited it, he would likely need vast amounts of time to master and expand it, turning himself entirely into a copy of the previous Human Sovereign—even his Dao would be something carved out by someone else! "I have my own Dao," Su Yu chuckled softly. "Besides, I only wanted to borrow your power; I never wanted to become the next you!" "Your sense of responsibility... is different from mine!" "You and I are fundamentally not the same kind of person!" "My responsibility, my tolerance, and my kindness are reserved solely for those who are tolerant and kind to me. Your sense of duty and mine are entirely distinct!" Su Yu spoke softly. Yet the power of the Great Dao continued pouring into him. Su Yu pushed back fiercely! The power kept forcing its way in! "Fuck!" Su Yu suddenly cursed aloud. "I've never seen such a shameless Dao! I already told you I don't want it! Are you trying to strap shackles onto me? Trying to trap me, is that it?!" Su Yu suddenly realized he was being set up! What kind of Great Dao power refused to be driven away? I told you I don't want it, I have my own Dao, yet you insist on forcing yourself into me—what the hell is this?! He quickly looked at the small stone, then at his Human Lord Seal. Sure enough! Both treasures were actively suppressing the surrounding rule power, yet neither could suppress this Dao of Responsibility! "A trap!" Su Yu cursed loudly. It was all a scheme! To hell with this! Had the old bastard Human Sovereign anticipated this day ages ago, laying a trap for his descendants?! The small stone and the Human Lord Seal could suppress any other Great Dao power, yet they were utterly useless against this force of responsibility—it was an outright trap! "Fuck!" Su Yu cursed once more. That ancient old fossil must have established some rule here in the past. "No way!" Su Yu refused outright! Absolutely not! He took up the mantle of Human Lord to fulfill a duty, not to turn responsibility into a shackle, an inescapable burden, or the very core of his existence. To hell with that! If he accepted this, in everything he did from now on, he would be forced to think: *My duty is to protect all living beings, to shelter the human race.* What utter rubbish! That was not Su Yu's style. If someone crossed him in the future, just because they were human, was he supposed to show leniency because protecting humans was his duty? "Old bastard, go drop dead!" Su Yu roared furiously! He had walked right into a snare! No, he would never accept this. Yet if he tore open the river to leave now, the same thing would happen the next time he entered. To hell with you! Suddenly, Su Yu spun around and sprinted frantically toward the precipice he had just left, yelling, "Keep dreaming! I'm not inheriting shit! What kind of garbage half-finished Dao tries to buy out my future... Do you take me for a fool?!" With a resounding *BOOM*, he leaped straight off the waterfall. Earlier had merely been a fleeting moment of sentimentality! It didn't mean he was truly bound to protect all humans at any cost. It didn't mean he had to shelter every single scoundrel—what about the Prison King's lineage? They were human too; was he supposed to protect them?! And idiots like Hundred Battles—was he supposed to faithfully protect them as well?! Pah! The Human Sovereign could do it himself; Su Yu sure as hell wouldn't. The moment Su Yu threw himself over the edge, the manifestation of the Dao of Responsibility seemed to hesitate. Gradually, it began to dissipate, sinking back into the depths of the Human Sovereign's river. ... At that exact moment. In the deepest, most unfathomable recesses of the genuine River of Time. An illusory figure materialized once more. He carried a sense of wistful sighing, bizarre bewilderment, and utter confusion. "What on earth is going on with the human race these days?" Lately, the River of Time had been roiling with ceaseless turbulence, suggesting upheavals among humanity. That was one thing. Yet the other Human Sovereign Dao—or rather, the Dao of Responsibility, a heaven-reaching path—seemed to have found a successor just moments ago. Anyone capable of triggering its inheritance was bound to be extraordinary, an ideal candidate matching the vision he had held in his heart. Yet... what in the world had just happened?! That successor had resisted frantically, and upon resisting, had somehow overturned the process, violently severing the inheritance midway through. This... Was my Dao not strong enough? "As long as you inherited this Dao, you could sweep across the myriad realms in an era bereft of Rulers of Rules..." "As long as you inherited this Dao, you could follow my footsteps, open a new heaven, and become a Master of Heaven!" "As long as you inherited this Dao, you could become the true Human Sovereign... Why... why resist?" He was genuinely questioning reality! Had the world grown this bizarre? It was merely asking you to shoulder a duty. Since you could trigger the Dao in the first place, you clearly possessed such a heart. Why... why reject it? "Bizarre oddballs appear every year, but this year has an exceptional abundance." A voice filled with unspeakable helplessness and endless sorrow echoed out. Truly a freak! The conditions required to trigger the inheritance sequence of this Dao were exceedingly vast and complex; it was by no means simple. Of course, Su Yu had triggered it because he genuinely met every single criterion. For instance, the Heavenly Gate. For instance, recognition from two or more of the Four Pole Human Kings—or their descendants, or their inheritances. For instance, an incomparably dense concentration of human providence. For instance, a fierce, genuine sense of responsibility. Along with numerous other factors. The trials established by the Human Sovereign had gone virtually unnoticed by Su Yu, woven invisibly into his journey. It wasn't something achieved overnight or by clearing a few gauntlets. It was a slow accumulation that eventually culminated in a qualitative breakthrough, paving the way for a smooth inheritance. Yet... he had been rejected! At this moment, the illusory figure nearly went mad. Just why?! Humanity seemed to be in dire straits right now. Years ago, some cataclysm had struck, inflicting devastating losses on the human race, scattering more than ninety percent of their providence, pushing them to the brink of extinction. Logically speaking, shouldn't they be desperate to grow stronger and save their people?! Fuck! Why reject it?! He couldn't understand! He desperately wanted to charge back and see which little bastard had done this! What a colossal oddball! ... "What a freak!" At the same time, Su Yu, having plummeted over the waterfall, was also cursing silently. The Human Sovereign was truly bizarre! Inheriting such a Great Dao didn't even require a trial? Just because I had a momentary thought, you tried to force an entire Dao down my throat? Are you insane?! "And to think I praised the Human Sovereign as a towering hero! Hero, my ass! Just because I thought about being responsible, you want me to be responsible for eternity?!" "What kind of joke is that!" "Once the human race is stabilized, am I supposed to keep carrying the burden? Serving as a servant for a few years wasn't enough, you want me to be a servant for life?" "Bullshit!" Su Yu muttered a string of curses! Yet beneath the anger, thoughts churned. Truth be told, right now he still had options and a way out, so he was unwilling to inherit it. However... what if a day came when there were no other options left? "Maybe then, I can come back and scavenge for scraps!" Su Yu had jumped, but he hadn't fallen all the way down. He had been caught by the mesh net hanging midway down the waterfall. Su Yu wasn't surprised, merely harboring strange thoughts. The Human Sovereign's Dao, incomplete though it was, was undeniable in its staggering might. To Su Yu, it felt that if it were fully completed, it wouldn't be inferior to the Dead Spirit Dao—in fact, it might even be slightly stronger. "If the Human Sovereign had succeeded in carving it out, he would have been the second greatest being in the heavens!" The title of the greatest was temporarily reserved by Su Yu for the master of the River of Time. Of course, since his endeavor had failed, did that make him the third? The second was indisputably the master of the Dead Spirit Dao! "It's even stronger than humanity's Physical Body Dao. Even though only a fraction was opened, if I integrated into it from start to finish, perhaps... I could match a Ruler of Rules!" "Since this Dao is so easy to inherit, how has no human inherited it before?" Su Yu found it deeply puzzling. Why? Was there any difficulty? None at all! I just arrived today, I didn't even want it, yet the damn Dao tried desperately to force itself onto me. Could it be that nobody has inherited it in all these countless years? "Genius... is truly lonely!" Su Yu sighed with profound melancholy. A genius was simply too isolated. Even Great Daos scrambled over one another to be inherited by him. King Wen's Dao, the Human Sovereign's Dao, the Time Dao... the Great Daos of these supreme experts practically begged him to take them. Life was so hard; he didn't even want them. Deep down, of course, Su Yu knew it couldn't possibly be that simple. Still, that didn't stop him from indulging in a bit of vanity. He truly was too much of a genius! There was no helping it! "Refusing your Dao is simply preserving a sliver of hope... Truly inheriting your Dao would mean the end of my own path." Su Yu sighed softly. Unless driven into an absolute dead end, unless there was no other choice, he refused to abandon his own Great Dao. To cultivate and comprehend the Dao only to tread the identical path laid out by a predecessor, replicating another Human Sovereign—what would be the point? Even the Human Sovereign had failed. Would copying him bring success? Chuckling softly, Su Yu cast aside all his previous thoughts. The Dao of Responsibility belonged to the Human Sovereign, not to him. "Bizarre old Human Sovereign, you deserve having no heir!" Su Yu grumbled inwardly. *Out of so many people, you had to pick me. Don't you know Su Yu hates being saddled with shackles more than anything else?* "It can serve as a backup plan!" Su Yu filed this Dao away as his contingency. If he ever reached a point where all paths were blocked and no choices remained, he could find a way to return and try again. He thought no further of it, refusing to dwell on the fact that he had just discarded an opportunity to potentially become a Ruler of Rules. Anyone else might have been consumed by regret. Su Yu, however, felt very little. What was so grand about a Ruler of Rules? It was merely an incomplete Great Dao! In truth, he simply looked down on it. If someone offered him the complete Dead Spirit Dao or Time Dao... *ahem*, well, he might consider it. Yes, that was no exaggeration; he truly didn't think much of the Human Sovereign's Dao. The main issue was that only a fraction had been carved. Had it been stronger, he might have taken it more seriously. A smile returned to Su Yu's face. Leaving that matter behind, he closely inspected the mesh net beneath him. Above, massive torrents continued crashing down, while this filtration screen appeared to catch all the elemental rules. Sitting cross-legged upon the vast net, Su Yu quietly observed and sensed the surroundings. Allowing the water to batter him, the small stone and the Human Lord Seal effortlessly deflected the impact. Gradually, Su Yu began to discern something. He saw vast amounts of fire-attributed rules gathering together, coalescing rapidly into a tiny cascading stream. Like a small dragon, it struggled and writhed atop the mesh net. The miniature dragon seemed intent on boring through to the space below, but it clearly lacked sufficient power. There wasn't just one such dragon; many were writhing about, all trying to burrow through! They clashed and slammed against one another. The purified, filtered rule power drifted downward through the net, while these elemental forces remained trapped, constantly colliding and battering against each other. Gradually, a peculiar expression settled on Su Yu's face. In the distance, he saw a relatively large golden dragon emerge, radiating sharp, cutting energy as though attempting to slice through the net. Yet the net tightened, binding the golden dragon fast. *BOOM!* A deafening explosion rang out as the golden dragon abruptly detonated. A tiny fissure appeared upon the net. A remnant wisp of the exploded golden dragon seized the opening and shot through the crack. In that brief instant, Su Yu faintly heard someone roaring with ecstatic fervor: "A rule Dao! The Weapon Dao, an incomplete one!" In that single breath, countless voices seemed to be shouting and roaring! Soon, the torn mesh rapidly knitted itself back together. Above the net, no rule power as formidable as that golden dragon remained gathered. Su Yu's eyes widened with profound realization! "This... this is the source of those unowned Great Daos of rule in the Dao Origin Land!" "This Dao was incomplete!" Why incomplete? Because to break through just now, it had shattered against the net. Thus, what fell through was an incomplete Great Dao. Had it slipped through intact, it would have been a complete power of the Great Dao! "So that's how it is..." Su Yu murmured, thoroughly shaken. Then, his expression shifted drastically. *Holy crap!* By that logic, the small dragons swimming near him were all embryonic Great Daos! Su Yu frowned. "Embryonic Daos, rule manifestations... This net filters out elemental forces and condenses them into Daos? What on earth is this net?" "Does that mean I could harvest these embryonic Daos and hand them to others, effectively letting them inherit a Great Dao of rule?" "Wait... it can't be that simple. These rule Daos... are flawed!" Su Yu shook his head, his eyes flashing wildly. These Daos were incomplete! Naturally—even the Human Sovereign's Dao was incomplete, let alone these elemental fragments filtered out from it. They were bound to be even more flawed! "They are far inferior to the Daos of the myriad realms, but they are much easier to master and integrate into..." Thinking along these lines, Su Yu murmured, "If the fellows in the Upper Realm use this merely as nourishment for their own Daos, it's a magnificent treasure. But if they truly abandon their own Daos, the Daos of the myriad realms, to cultivate these seemingly complete paths... they will meet a horrific end!" Were there people who did that? Most likely! After all, if handed a complete Great Dao that no one had ever cultivated, allowing you sole dominion over it, who wouldn't be tempted? "Then could it be that those tributaries along the Human Sovereign's Great Dao belong to the experts who took these Daos, cultivated them, and grafted themselves onto the Human Sovereign's Dao?" The Human Sovereign's Dao had tributaries. Earlier, Su Yu had found it baffling: with the Human Sovereign having carved out only this meager stretch, how could anyone branch off it? There wasn't enough foundational power to support new Daos! Now he understood! They had coalesced from these elemental rules into pseudo-Daos. Once cultivated, because their ultimate origin was the Human Sovereign's Great Dao, they automatically linked back to it! "So in the end... they're all pseudo-Dao experts?" Su Yu broke into laughter. "This... this... holy shit!" Suddenly, his face turned deadpan! The Human Sovereign... Why did the Human Sovereign's method look suspiciously like his own idea of borrowing a hen to lay eggs?! The only difference was that Su Yu used his tome to trick people into cultivating his false Daos. Could the Human Sovereign... have harbored the exact same scheme?! Using pseudo-Daos here to dupe people, letting them seize and cultivate them, which in turn linked back to the Human Sovereign's Great Dao to supply it with a steady stream of power! *Phew!* Su Yu exhaled a long breath, eyes darting erratically. Had the Human Sovereign intended this all along? Or had it arisen purely by accident? If it was intentional, then the Human Sovereign... was truly no good bastard! Just like him, the man had been borrowing hens to lay eggs. Were the experts of the myriad realms about to be thoroughly played for fools by the two of them?