The Dao of the Brush took another step forward.
At this moment, Su Yu sat cross-legged beneath the torrential current, absorbing vast amounts of rule power as his aura steadily swelled!
This was the true beauty of comprehending the Great Dao.
Once enlightenment struck and your realm ascended, you could draw in greater rule power and rapidly fortify yourself.
Back in Chaos Mountain, Su Yu had observed those ancient beasts.
Their advancement was vastly slower.
Their Great Daos had never been sorted and refined; everything remained a jumbled, chaotic tangle. For them to grow stronger, they had to grind away bit by bit...
"Do I possess Heavenly King battle prowess now?"
After a long while, Su Yu opened his eyes, a sharp glint flickering within them.
Could he match a Heavenly King right now?
Without having fought one yet, it was difficult to tell.
Even so, he could clearly feel that his control over the power of the Great Dao had sharpened by thirty percent. Though it might seem like a modest step, once the Dao of the Brush reached the late stage, even the slightest advance yielded a colossal surge in strength.
Su Yu remained seated for a short spell, digesting everything he had gained.
Soon, he rose and flew toward the passage to the Lower Realm.
The passage of time between the Upper Realm and Lower Realm should be identical, but within the River of Time, nothing was guaranteed. It would hardly do if days had slipped by in an instant.
He had promised to meet in an hour; who knew how much time had actually elapsed?
……
In the Lower Realm.
Indeed, some time had passed. Wan Tiansheng had gathered a thousand pages and had already been waiting here for three hours.
Su Yu had promised to see them in an hour, yet he still hadn't appeared. Looking rather uneasy, the Destiny Emperor murmured softly, "Could Emperor Yu have run into trouble?"
After all, the Dao Origin Land was currently the domain of the myriad races.
Thinking carefully, the odds of Su Yu taking control of the Dao Origin Land were slim at best.
Even if the Destiny Emperor didn't know the exact number of experts stationed there, he understood that Heavenly Kings alone likely numbered near a dozen.
Wan Tiansheng said calmly, "Patience."
Only three hours had gone by.
If three days passed without a sign from Su Yu, only then would he worry, at which point he would lead people straight into the Upper Realm to find him.
For now, he could wait.
They had weathered countless storms together; missing an appearance by a mere few hours was nothing.
As the two spoke, the space rippled.
Wan Tiansheng grew solemn and fell silent.
The Destiny Emperor did the same.
Neither reached out proactively, cautious that whoever arrived might not be Su Yu, but someone else.
After a brief wait, a face coalesced in the void once more, far clearer than before. One could faintly discern Su Yu's precise features now; in just this short time, Su Yu's strength had surged considerably.
Of course, Wan Tiansheng and the Destiny Emperor didn't dwell on that for the moment.
All they knew was that Su Yu had finally shown up.
Sure enough, an instant later, Su Yu's voice echoed through the void: "Is Manor Head Wan there?"
"Present!"
Wan Tiansheng answered immediately. A compressed booklet manifested swiftly in his hand as he called out gravely, "Shall I toss it straight up?"
"Wait a moment!"
Right then, the spatial passage violently destabilized.
Bolts of lightning faintly crackled and flashed!
Just as that occurred, before the eyes of Wan Tiansheng and the Destiny Emperor, a massive stone seal emerged within the passage, pressing down with immense weight!
The lightning was smothered, and the fluctuations dispersed.
Su Yu's sharp shout rang out: "Send it up!"
Wan Tiansheng heaved it upward with great force. The compressed booklet encountered no resistance, flying smoothly all the way forward.
Below, the Destiny Emperor watched, his gaze flickering.
*He suppressed it!*
*What is that?*
He had no idea what that stone seal was, but he knew it had to be a peerless treasure. Entering this Upper Realm passage posed mortal danger even to a Heavenly King descending below, yet a mere stone seal had suppressed the retaliatory power entirely!
*Boom!*
A moment later, the booklet vanished, and the small stone disappeared.
Lightning flared violently once more!
However, Su Yu was already gone.
He had already retreated!
The passage above gradually calmed.
It was breathtakingly fast.
Before long, the passage vanished.
Both Wan Tiansheng and the Destiny Emperor exhaled in relief. The Destiny Emperor remarked softly, "Chief Wan, Emperor Yu claimed that the Upper Realm is strewn with treasures everywhere... Do you believe that's true?"
It wasn't as though he was completely ignorant of the Upper Realm.
Treasures existed, certainly, but hardly to the point of being strewn everywhere.
Even if they were, the humans in the Upper Realm were hunted like rats; how could anyone openly seize treasures?
Furthermore, how had Su Yu managed to reach the vicinity of the Upper Realm's gate?
At this moment, the Destiny Emperor felt a mix of astonishment, bewilderment, and an unspoken awe.
*Impressive!*
In merely half a month up there, he had already traced his way right to the Upper Realm's gate.
Evidently, Su Yu had stepped into the Dao Origin Land itself.
That was the ancient stronghold of the myriad races' old fossils!
Barring any accidents, Marquis Tianming of his own race was likely stationed within this Dao Origin Land as well.
Wan Tiansheng smiled slightly. "To him, treasures may truly be everywhere. But if we went, perhaps only crises would await us at every turn!"
"True enough."
The Destiny Emperor nodded slightly, then asked, "Chief Wan, what do you reckon the current state of affairs is in the Upper Realm?"
"Hard to say."
Wan Tiansheng gave a slight smile. "No need to rush. Since Emperor Yu went up, and looking at his posture, he doesn't plan on returning anytime soon, the situation should be reasonably manageable. Otherwise, he would have come back down on his own initiative."
Su Yu hadn't relayed any bad news, which implied most of it was likely good. It was just that Su Yu couldn't be bothered to share good news right now.
The Destiny Emperor nodded.
Glancing at the sky above, then looking far into the distance, he murmured, "Lately, I sense slight disturbances in the Three Great Realms. Perhaps... new powerhouses have emerged. Could new Dao Integration experts have been born?"
The Three Great Realms remained sealed, but observing heaven's secrets recently—even without probing deeply—the Destiny Emperor could sense that their auras had grown noticeably stronger.
It had only been half a month since Su Yu departed, yet new Dao Integration cultivators might already have emerged within the Three Realms. That was hardly welcome news.
Wan Tiansheng wasn't particularly bothered, remarking softly, "Quite normal. In moments of crisis, bursts of potential are inevitable. Once Emperor Yu returns, we'll decide whether to purge the Three Great Realms or proceed otherwise. There's no need to provoke them for now."
"We'll follow Chief Wan's lead, then."
The Destiny Emperor said no more. Since Su Yu was thriving like a fish in water in the Upper Realm, there was no need for excessive worry.
……
Meanwhile, within the Human Sovereign's river.
Su Yu swiftly integrated those pages into his civilization chronicle. These pages were quite low-grade, merely of the Earth rank, vastly inferior to the weapons Su Yu wielded nowadays, which were divine armaments at the very least.
This time, Wan Tiansheng had sent a thousand pages!
Su Yu was in high spirits. Having merged the pages, he dashed downstream once more. Though mentally and physically exhausted, his buoyant mood eclipsed everything else.
"Time to fleece the sheep!"
Su Yu moved with a jaunty stride, eager to fleece the ancient Human Sovereign for all he was worth, harvesting more unowned rule power and elemental Dao powers.
This was vastly quicker than siphoning power from the Great Daos buried within the River of Time.
Over there, Su Yu had to absorb it stealthily.
Here, he could feast without the slightest restraint.
Traveling at great speed toward the breach, Su Yu spotted the region sealing the Hundred Battles King along the way. As though sensing something, the Hundred Battles King attempted to struggle, but in a fleeting flash, Su Yu was already gone!
Having just stirred, the imprisoned Hundred Battles King grew irritable and chose to subside once more.
He even began to doubt whether his senses had played tricks on him.
Soon, Su Yu arrived at the breach again and leaped straight down!
Even if he couldn't climb back up later, it didn't matter—he could simply tear through the filtration net to exit when the time came!
……
Landing upon the filtration net, Su Yu began by having the fragile pages absorb rule power bit by bit, using it to nurture them. With such an abundance of rule power present, the pages strengthened at a rapid pace.
With the civilization chronicle serving as the core, these pages functioned as secondary components; as long as the master body was mighty, the upper limit of the pages rose accordingly.
Gradually, page after page began evolving toward Heaven armaments.
At the same time, Su Yu set out to search for smaller elemental Daos, intending to store them within his pages. If a Dao was too potent, he worried it might burst his civilization chronicle, so weaker ones suited him perfectly.
One after another, small dragons formed of elemental Dao power were swallowed by the pages of his chronicle.
Some were minuscule, barely of any size at all.
They looked like tiny loaches.
If such Dao powers were passed down, they could only be nurtured as rudimentary Dao embryos. Whoever merged with such Dao power would likely become the weakest Eternal in the world, and whoever grasped such a Dao would almost certainly become the weakest Ruler of Rules under heaven.
It might even lead to the absurd spectacle of a Ruler of Rules being outmatched by an Eternal.
Naturally, Su Yu didn't care.
All he needed was to keep devouring them, absorbing and incorporating them into his civilization chronicle, truly forging a reality where each page held a Dao and each page held a world!
When ten thousand Daos gathered, he would unite them into the Cosmic Civilization Dao, pioneering his very own Great Dao!
At that time, these Dao powers would naturally flourish.
Right now, Su Yu was having the time of his life plundering it all.
If left uncollected, allowing the myriad races to benefit would simply be a waste.
Better to hand it all over to me!
He swept up one little dragon after another. If Su Yu chose to ignore them now, the myriad races might not see a new unowned rule Dao descend for the next few thousand years.
Meanwhile, the civilization chronicle grew ever more formidable.
For weaponry, Su Yu currently relied mostly on the Civilization Tombstone.
At times, he also utilized the Human Lord Seal.
Yet his very own Dao-proving armament, the civilization chronicle, had remained shelved and unused, partly because it held powerful prisoners and partly because it hadn't grown strong enough.
Now, however, the civilization chronicle was rapidly expanding in power!
……
Inside the spatial pocket within the book's cover.
The Western King's Consort frowned slightly.
What was Su Yu doing?
She couldn't perceive anything outside, yet she could distinctly feel that the space she occupied was becoming increasingly stable.
Whereas she had previously retained some hope of shattering the seal, her current senses told her that this space was turning impregnably rigid. She might no longer possess the strength to break it. Even her connection to her Great Dao was drifting further away, receding to the point where she could scarcely sense it at all.
"Has that fellow Su Yu advanced in strength again, or has the treasure suppressing me grown more powerful?"
The Western King's Consort's brow furrowed tightly.
Furthermore, had the black jade truly been sent out?
"Too little time has passed; perhaps he hasn't had the chance to carry it out yet."
It had only been a few days since Su Yu last confronted her. He might not even have established contact with the Upper Realm.
"No rush, wait a little longer!"
"Last time, Su Yu mentioned that Marquis Xianzhan intended to descend to the Lower Realm but was intercepted, mentioning chaotic power. Perhaps experts from my race noticed something amiss and have finally stepped out from seclusion."
Pondering this, a glimmer of anticipation bloomed within her—anticipation that her clansmen would come to her rescue!
Who would come, she wondered?
Her thoughts drifted back to Su Yu's self-assured countenance, and a cold sneer formed in her heart.
*Su Yu, you are still too naive, far too young!*
*This world is vastly more intricate than you could ever imagine.*
*My race possesses countless powerhouses; did you truly believe that just because I am a Heavenly King, I am the mightiest in the clan?*
"All the better. Keeping me alive gives me a chance!"
The Western King's Consort ceased fretting over it. If the space strengthened, so be it. In any case, she had no immediate plans to attempt a forced escape, which was practically impossible at this point.
……
On the reverse side of the cover lay another separate space.
At this moment, two figures were imprisoned within.
Wen Qi had initially attempted to breach the space, but now, sensing the pocket reinforcing itself, he spoke dejectedly, "Marquis, there's no way to break out."
This space was growing stronger and stronger!
Marquis Zhennan scowled. "What in the world do these fellows want?"
Without a single word of explanation, they had captured him on the spot.
Upon arriving inside, he found that Wen Qi had arrived even earlier than him.
Wen Qi sighed. "I have no idea. They didn't even give me a chance to speak. After seizing me, I thought they would interrogate me, but they asked absolutely nothing before locking me away!"
Marquis Zhennan knitted his brows. After a long pause, he said in a low, heavy voice, "The other party possessed the Human Lord Seal and wielded the Dao of the Brush. He is likely the Human Lord of the Lower Realm, the inheritor of King Wen!"
Even if the captor was King Wen's inheritor, capturing him without a single word still filled Marquis Zhennan with immense fury.
Never mind how this Lower Realm Human Lord had managed to ascend—what was the meaning of seizing him directly?
He didn't even know the man!
The two exchanged glances, utterly helpless.
They couldn't escape, leaving them with no options.
Where on earth was this godforsaken place?
If it was an armament space, it hadn't felt particularly formidable at first, so why was it growing stronger by the moment?
Both men could clearly perceive that the suppressive force was intensifying, while their connection to the Great Daos outside grew increasingly faint. It had dwindled almost to the point of extinction. Once it reached that stage, even without seals, the two of them would effectively be reduced to the Sun Moon Realm.
……
Within the modest civilization chronicle, three mighty experts were currently sealed.
Su Yu often remarked that others loved sealing powerhouses away, yet he was no different; sometimes, keeping them sealed was vastly preferable to killing them.
By this point, Su Yu had truly lost track of how long he had remained here.
Having devoured boundless rule power, he had strengthened those pages until many reached the caliber of Heaven armaments. Su Yu had also fed countless treasures into them to reinforce their structure.
Ascending this time, he hadn't carried many treasures along.
Yet after slaughtering Dao Integration experts and wiping out the Dragon City, he had accumulated a vast hoard. Since he had no intention of keeping them around, he threw them all into the pages as raw materials to temper the chronicle.
More and more golden lines surfaced across the civilization chronicle.
Gradually, a full 170 golden lines began to manifest.
Even with 170 golden lines, placing it at the pinnacle of divine armaments, the civilization chronicle still lacked raw destructive lethality. Yet Su Yu couldn't have cared less.
The chronicle had not yet reached the moment of its true metamorphosis.
When that day of transformation arrived, Su Yu was certain it would be terrifyingly powerful.
A world in every page!
Only on that day would the civilization chronicle reveal its true, peerless majesty.
Having scooped up nearly the entire stockpile resting on the filtration net, Su Yu finally caught his breath, let out a chuckle, and prepared to depart.
A wisp of demonic qi billowed from his form.
Taking on the subtle flavor of the Demon race and cloaking his visage in an illusion, he ripped through the filtration net with a single claw and darted out!
……
*Boom!*
Emerging into the open, Su Yu froze momentarily. The battle was still raging.
And it seemed to be the exact same group from earlier!
Of course, the Immortals appeared to be gone, whether slain or driven away.
However, the Great Dao power that had slipped out earlier had changed hands; it was now in the grasp of the Demons.
Su Yu could sense it!
At this moment, the Demon faction comprised two combatants. Arrayed against them were two Gods, one Phoenix, and one Nether race member.
Dogs fighting dogs!
Seeing Su Yu appear, the group was taken aback.
A Demon powerhouse?
Earlier—some seven or eight hours ago—an Immortal expert had arrived, only to flee shortly after. Outmatched, the two Immortals had ultimately abandoned the Great Dao and fled.
Now, another Demon had arrived.
And his aura felt exceptionally formidable!
A top-tier expert of the Demon race?
Had he also set his sights on this Dao power? But what had manifested today was merely an ordinary shattered Dao; why would an expert of this caliber care about such a fragmented path?
"My Lord!"
The two Demon experts were overjoyed.
Though puzzled as to his identity, countless old fossils dwelled within the Dao Origin Land; even the various races themselves struggled to track just how many dormant experts were hidden here.
Just as the humans had no idea whether any human powerhouses still slumbered in the Dao Origin Land.
"Six..."
Su Yu swept his gaze across them—six Dao Integration experts.
If he joined forces with the two Demons right now, he could likely leave the others dead on the ground.
Yet looking closely... Su Yu cursed inwardly.
All of them clearly had strength to spare.
This wasn't a fight to the death!
These fellows in the Dao Origin Land were practically playing house!
Reflecting on it, Su Yu broadly understood why. Unowned rule power was abundant here, and Great Daos manifested frequently. If every encounter was a fight to the death costing several Dao Integration lives, everyone would have perished long ago.
Over the countless millennia, the powerhouses here had likely established a tacit understanding.
Though framed as a contest, it was primarily a spar; the odds of anyone dealing lethal blows were minimal.
In particular, today's prize was merely a fragmented Dao power, hardly worth risking life and limb for. A complete, mighty Great Dao might be another story.
*If I were to fight to kill... that would look utterly bizarre!*
Su Yu grumbled inwardly and let out a cold snort. "A bunch of ignorant juniors, get lost! You're disturbing my rest! Scram and fight over that broken Dao somewhere far away!"
Sure enough, upon hearing those words, none of the Dao Integration experts seemed particularly shocked, even though Su Yu hadn't joined the fray.
Evidently, this senior had no interest in meddling.
The two Demon experts felt a tinge of disappointment and helplessness, but they seized the opportunity to make a swift escape.
What a pity they didn't recognize him!
Had they known him, they could have requested his aid; this senior was very likely a Quasi-King.
Watching them depart, Su Yu furrowed his brow slightly.
They were remarkably obedient!
Had it been a true life-and-death struggle, they wouldn't have scattered just because someone told them to scram. Clearly, these fellows treated it merely as a routine skirmish.
*In that case, even if I tossed out eight or ten fragmented Daos, I could hardly provoke them into a slaughter. The conflicts among the races are kept strictly within certain bounds, probably governed by agreements among the higher-ups.*
He felt a mild disappointment; otherwise, Su Yu had genuinely intended to do just that.
Toss out several fragmented Daos and watch them slaughter each other to the last!
Pondering this, Su Yu opened his Heavenly Gate and scanned his surroundings, sweeping his gaze across the area, secretly astounded.
Within just this small patch of territory, aside from the few Dao Integration experts from earlier, he could spot the Dao traces of two additional Dao Integration figures.
He continued sweeping his gaze when suddenly, his expression shifted.
Far in the distance, atop a towering peak, an immensely powerful Great Dao surged and fluctuated incessantly. The instant Su Yu activated his Heavenly Gate to probe, the Dao suddenly stirred, and a faint voice rippled along the Dao power, extending directly toward Su Yu: "Which Dao friend is spying upon me? Friend, prying into another's secrets is exceedingly improper!"
Su Yu vanished instantly from his position!
Shock washed through his heart.
*What kind of strength is that?*
This was the first time opening the Heavenly Gate to observe Dao power had ever been detected by someone.
That was a towering mountain, and atop it sat an expert. Su Yu hadn't caught a clear look, but he knew with certainty that a supreme powerhouse resided there!
"Approaching a Ruler of Rules?"
"Or what?"
Su Yu was deeply shaken. *So strong. Even at my current level, probing with the Heavenly Gate was actually uncovered.* Fortunately, the distance was immense; otherwise, the other party might have traced the thread straight to him.
"I underestimated the world!"
Su Yu had always felt that once his Heavenly Gate opened, nothing could escape him.
With his strength making another great leap today, he had believed he could observe whomever he pleased, even in the Upper Realm. Yet now, Su Yu realized his mistake: even with Heavenly King combat power, opening the Heavenly Gate could still be detected!
……
The moment Su Yu fled.
The powerhouse atop the mountain peak—the very supreme expert who had sensed a faint disturbance when Su Yu first entered the Dao Origin Land and dove into the River of Time—opened his eyes and looked around.
Heroic and striking, he appeared youthful, yet his eyes held an aura of boundless antiquity.
His purplish-red hair trailed along the ground as he sat cross-legged, the strands seemingly rooted into the stone itself, as though he hadn't moved for countless ages.
It was worth noting that the humans had only lost control of the Dao Origin Land six thousand years ago.
Judging by how his hair had grown into the stone, he had likely been here for far longer than six millennia.
"A newly advanced Quasi-King?"
"To probe my Great Dao... quite audacious."
The purple-haired expert murmured softly, "Is it the Destiny race's Heaven-Peeping Eye? Or the God race's Three-Eyed Divine Eye? Or perhaps the Immortal race's Great Dao Eye?"
He questioned himself, noting how concealed the probe had been.
Moreover, for a technique to stir his Great Dao, it was undoubtedly no ordinary art.
"Speaking of ocular techniques... the Heavenly Gate reigned supreme beneath the heavens... What a pity that no one can open the Heavenly Gate anymore."
Murmuring softly, the purple-haired powerhouse closed his eyes once more.
Never mind. A newly minted Quasi-King, full of hubris, likely believed themselves peerless. Climbing to the apex of the myriad realms naturally bred an arrogance that looked down upon the world, so peeking around in all directions was hardly unusual.
"A Quasi-King... remains merely within the Dao Fusion Realm in the end."
Shaking his head faintly, the purple-haired youth fell silent.
Be it Eternal, Dao Integration, or Quasi-King... no matter how close one drew to a Ruler of Rules, it remained within the Dao Fusion Realm.
*Following antiquity, is it truly impossible to step into the realm of a Ruler of Rules?*
The purple-haired youth pondered inwardly.
*Where does the missing piece lie?*
He glanced toward a distant valley where, just before Su Yu entered earlier, another powerhouse had opened their eyes to scan the surroundings. Gazing in that direction, the purple-haired youth wondered: *Did that one know where the shortfall lay?*
……
Within that valley.
The powerhouse who had practically fused as one with the earth snapped their eyes open as well, seemingly gazing toward the distant mountain peak, saying nothing.
After watching for a short while, they closed their eyes again.
A Ruler of Rules!
Across a hundred thousand years, as heaven and earth cycled and the myriad races vied for supremacy, generations of powerhouses had risen and fallen. Why had no one ever stepped into that realm?
"The comprehension is sufficient, the rule power is sufficient, yet a sliver is forever missing, preventing that final leap... Why?"
Why did this heaven and earth no longer permit a Ruler of Rules to emerge?
"The Human Sovereign? Or someone else?"
Thoughts flitted through the mind of the expert buried within the earth. They felt they were separated from it by merely a thread, an infinitesimal fraction, so why remained it perpetually out of reach?
A soft sigh echoed through the valley.
The eyes closed once more.
In this tide, the Lower Realm would reopen. Perhaps... there would be a different perspective down there. Perhaps it was time to descend and take a look.
Though the Upper Realm was vast, they had already begun sensing a subtle divergence.
Over the long years, the Daos of the Upper Realm had grown increasingly illusory!
"Like the moon reflected in water, a flower seen in a mirror—visible, yet forever out of reach..."
……
"*Phew!*"
Su Yu fled swiftly toward the periphery, his expression laden with solemnity.
The Dao Origin Land was indeed fraught with peril at every turn.
A casual glance had led straight to danger.
"A genuine old fossil!"
Su Yu made a swift assessment. Judging by the sheer might of that Great Dao, it likely wasn't a pseudo-Dao!
Pseudo-Daos were manageable.
Even facing a Heavenly King, if Su Yu suppressed them by thirty percent with his stone seal, paired with his own Heavenly King-tier strength, he had nothing to fear. Even facing two, he could fight!
But if it wasn't a pseudo-Dao, but a true Dao from the Lower Realm, then in this place, the only thing Su Yu could do was siphon away unowned rule power to deprive them of recovery. To actively suppress them would be exceedingly difficult.
*Against pseudo-Daos, this place is my home turf. Against true Daos... I can only claim a slight advantage!*
Su Yu thought to himself, wishing desperately that everyone here would obtain complete Dao rules and switch their Daos. To those who switched, I love you all!
Those who didn't were far less endearing!
Su Yu fled all the way to the outer periphery, where his confidence returned. He activated his Heavenly Gate once more; as long as he refrained from looking in that direction, it would be fine. He still needed to survey the distribution of experts across the entire Dao Origin Land.
If he spotted another powerhouse and got detected again, the worst-case scenario was simply fleeing the Dao Origin Land altogether.
He continued observing, numerous Great Dao powers faintly surfacing in his vision.
"There really are a lot of Dao Integrations!"
Su Yu took a sharp breath as he looked. How many Dao Integration experts had cropped up in this godforsaken place over the years?
The outside world had plenty already.
Yet here in the Dao Origin Land, a casual sweep revealed seven or eight Dao Integration experts, and adding those from the skirmish earlier brought the count to fifteen or sixteen!
And that was merely a small slice of the area.
"Where is Hundred Battles?"
Su Yu primarily wanted to find where the Hundred Battles King was sealed.
This time, he might just launch an assault there.
Though Heavenly Kings were likely numerous around the seal, the key was that Su Yu already knew six of them wielded pseudo-Daos. Moreover, suppressing the Hundred Battles King tied down their strength.
If Su Yu suppressed them further with the stone seal, they might not even match a top-tier Dao Integration cultivator—perhaps they would be even weaker.
Slaying Heavenly Kings carried such a sense of accomplishment.
Along the way, it would show everyone that he had genuinely come to rescue the Hundred Battles King.
Possessing the capability to slay several Heavenly Kings while ostensibly rescuing Hundred Battles... that wasn't a feat the human faction could pull off.
"Didn't Marquis Juzhu tell me to kill three Dao Integrations? I'll kill them and show you... stun that fat cat silly!"
Merely killing three Dao Integrations wouldn't be overly difficult.
Still... the Iron Eater race had better not look down on them!
In front of allies, Su Yu had to project absolute, unyielding dominance!
Su Yu continued scanning. Suddenly, his expression altered again, and he fled once more. Simultaneously, a faint voice drifted over: "Which Dao friend is peering into my Destiny? My race remains neutral and takes no part in any strife... I advise friend to think twice before acting!"
Fleeing through the void, Su Yu realized who it was!
Marquis Tianming!
The mighty expert who had intercepted the Hundred Battles King back in the day!
Yet another supreme powerhouse capable of detecting the Heavenly Gate.
"One on a mountain, one in the heavens..."
Marquis Tianming was in the sky. Su Yu had glimpsed a dwelling forged of clouds perched high in the heavens, hidden so deeply that ordinary experts had no hope of seeing it.
Su Yu dashed away frantically, a grim solemnity washing over his face.
This damnable place was truly treacherous to spy upon.
The Heavenly Gate had been discovered twice in short order.
Marquis Tianming was a being approaching the strength of a Ruler of Rules, and evidently, the one from earlier was as well.
"How many more such existences are there?"
Shifting to another location, Su Yu reopened the Heavenly Gate and resumed his reconnaissance. Even if he got detected and hunted today, he had to ascertain the true count of experts in this Dao Origin Land.
He needed a clear tally in his mind!
Otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he died.
Relying on others to gather intelligence on powerhouses of this caliber was utter nonsense; ordinary scouts couldn't even perceive their presence!
You could walk right up to them without realizing they were there.
"Marquis Zhennan and the others actually wanted to come rescue people... rescue my ass!"
Su Yu mocked inwardly, continuing his scan. This time, he seemed to spot a colossal mountain, and his expression instantly hardened!
"So many!"
He had located a congregation of experts.
Looking closer, a full eight immensely powerful Dao powers pierced heaven and earth!
Su Yu's heart jolted violently.
"The seal of the Hundred Battles King!"
Six of those Dao powers, though formidable, appeared somewhat hollow in Su Yu's eyes, while the remaining two were vastly more solid. Evidently, six were pseudo-Daos and two were true Daos.
"Eight powerhouses!"
"All of them likely Heavenly Kings..."
Su Yu exhaled deeply!
Unbelievable!
Facing a lineup like this, Marquis Zhennan had actually dared to cajole the Iron Eater race into mounting a rescue?
Seeking death!
Su Yu didn't see the Hundred Battles King's Dao power; it was likely sealed away entirely.
"A full eight Heavenly Kings..."
Su Yu knitted his brows. The Heavenly Kings in the Dao Origin Land exceeded ten!
Outside the Dao Origin Land, the various races possessed several more, totaling at least another ten.
Su Yu felt a headache coming on. Hadn't they said the Upper Realm didn't possess that many Heavenly Kings?
Where had all these Heavenly Kings crawled out from!
Back during the era of the Hundred Battles King, the Heavenly Kings participating in the war hadn't seemed that numerous.
"Could many have broken through over these six thousand years?"
Pondering this, Su Yu continued surveying the surroundings. Not only did he need to gauge the strength of the guardians at the Hundred Battles King's sealing grounds, but he also had to map out the distribution of surrounding experts, escape routes, and how to steer clear of peak powerhouses during a retreat.
Crashing into the doorstep of an expert nearing the realm of a Ruler of Rules would be pure catastrophe.
Without the Heavenly Gate, Su Yu suspected that even an arriving Heavenly King would meet their doom here!
"Back then, rescuers from the Prison King's lineage might have come. How did they slip past? Or was the rescuer immensely powerful, also nearing the realm of a Ruler of Rules?"
Continuing his sweep, he found that the area surrounding the seal was relatively deserted.
He scanned outward for a while when suddenly, his lip twitched.
Just as his gaze swept in a certain direction, his vision went black as an enormous bamboo stalk towering into the heavens smashed down toward him.
Su Yu vanished instantly!
The massive bamboo struck, producing no sonic disturbance whatsoever.
In the blink of an eye, it disappeared as well.
Utterly silent and traceless!
Having fled tens of thousands of meters away, Su Yu's face was faintly pale. *Dammit!*
*A giant bamboo!*
The moment he saw the giant bamboo, one race instantly sprang to mind: the Iron Eater race.
Don't tell me this expert nearing the realm of a Ruler of Rules was March of the Iron Eater race?
March hadn't died, it seemed!
January and February had apparently both been Rulers of Rules, so for March to approach that realm... didn't seem entirely impossible!
……
Far in the distance.
Atop a mountain overgrown with bamboo, an immense Iron Eater sat munching on bamboo stalks, appearing rather clumsy. At this moment, it glanced in a certain direction, chewing while pondering.
"A prying technique? The Destiny race? God race? Immortal race? Or... human?"
The giant beast continued eating, too lazy to ponder further.
*If you look at me, I'll bash you!*
……
"Audacious scoundrel! Impudent wretch, how dare you spy upon this seat?"
A furious roar battered Su Yu's mind.
Su Yu fled once more!
This was another powerhouse he had uncovered following March.
The previously invincible Heavenly Gate had been exposed four times in a single day!
Su Yu felt utterly helpless, wanting to cry without tears.
Could these fellows all possess the realm of a Ruler of Rules, simply barred from breaking through and thus stuck at the peak of the Quasi-King realm?
"I can't look anymore..."
By now, Su Yu had thoroughly mapped the front, back, left, and right of the sealing grounds, sweeping across an area spanning thousands of li.
The Dao Origin Land was too vast for him to finish surveying.
However, he couldn't afford to push his luck!
Stumbling upon four peak existences in quick succession had likely drawn mutual awareness among them. Prying further risked stirring up a commotion, which might prompt them to grow suspicious.
"Fortunately, only these four seem to be nearby... If that giant bamboo is March, I don't need to worry about him. Since Marquis Tianming is neutral, he likely won't meddle either. As for the remaining two... as long as I steer clear of them, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Still, once experts of this tier make a move, their speed will be terrifyingly fast!"
"If they specialize in spatial techniques, it might be even faster!"
……
After observing and calculating for a time, Su Yu quickly used the small stone to pacify the light barrier, then swiftly flew toward the exterior.
Remaining inside the Dao Origin Land was far too suffocating.
There were too many powerhouses.
Even with his recent surge in strength, lingering dread remained.
This godforsaken place was ostensibly his territory, yet it had been commandeered by these fellows. Taking it back would be no simple feat.
……
Outside the Dao Origin Land.
Within a valley.
Marquis Yunshui and the others were still waiting.
Over a day had passed since Su Yu entered.
And from the agreed ten-day deadline with the Iron Eater race, nearly four full days had elapsed.
A third of the allotted time was gone.
"Why hasn't he come out yet?"
Marquis Huoyun muttered fretfully, "I said it was dangerous inside. Could something have happened to him?"
Nearby, Lan Tian was licking a lollipop. He cast a sidelong glance at Marquis Huoyun with a giggle, making the marquis distinctly uncomfortable. *What are you giggling at? I didn't say anything out of line, just normal grumbling.*
King Dazhou said with a slight smile, "Patience. There haven't been any earth-shattering disturbances inside, nor any signs of Dao Integration experts falling. It shouldn't be an issue."
"What if he was captured?"
Marquis Huoyun countered sharply, "Let me tell you, there are plenty of powerhouses in there. Those at the Quasi-King realm likely number no fewer than a dozen!"
"And that Su Yu..."
Lan Tian glanced at him again. Marquis Huoyun cursed under his breath, quickly adjusting his phrasing: "Emperor Yu hasn't reached the Quasi-King realm yet. If he runs into a Quasi-King... he'll hardly be able to escape."
Looking thoroughly agitated, he added, "He shouldn't have gone in to scout alone. Even having the Heavenly Gate isn't an excuse. If your strength is lacking, it's not as though no one can detect the Heavenly Gate."
"Well said."
Right then, a light chuckle sounded by Marquis Huoyun's ear. "If your strength is lacking, it is indeed easy to be detected!"
Marquis Huoyun started in shock, only to see Lan Tian giggle and chirp, "Congratulations, Brother Emperor Yu!"
Su Yu's figure materialized. A moment ago, he had still been ten thousand meters away; in the blink of an eye, he stood before the group. Su Yu said with a mild smile, "Nothing to congratulate. The world is vast, filled with boundless powerhouses. I merely took a small step forward."
At these words, King Dazhou looked at him, his expression shifting slightly: "Emperor Yu... you've stepped into the Heavenly King domain?"
The others were stunned.
So fast?
Hadn't he just been a top-tier Dao Integration cultivator?
In the blink of an eye, you're a Quasi-King?
Su Yu said with a light smile, "Barely, I suppose. Still, powerhouses abound in there; I amount to nothing special. Entering today was truly an eye-opener! There were several whose combat prowess neared that of a Ruler of Rules!"
Su Yu shook his head, sighing with emotion. "Existences at Marquis Tianming's level—I actually spotted four or five of them!"
He looked toward Marquis Yunshui and the others, inquiring with mild confusion, "Did our human race truly possess no experts of that tier until the Hundred Battles King emerged? If so, how did we contend with these individuals prior to the ninth tide?"
Meanwhile, the others were completely frozen.
General Yingwu said with difficulty, "You... you've stepped into the Quasi-King realm?"
Why was advancing for him as effortless as eating and drinking water!
It wasn't as though he had secluded himself for decades; he had only just entered and was already back out!
Su Yu frowned slightly. "I told you before that I might soon step into that realm! Comprehending the Great Dao comes down to enlightenment; with deep comprehension, advancing is naturally simple!"
*Simple for you to say!*
General Yingwu wanted to retort, but the words caught in her throat. Looking at Su Yu again, her expression was thoroughly complicated as she exhaled: "You..."
"Don't change the subject!"
Su Yu's brow knitted slightly. "You haven't answered my question!"
Before the Hundred Battles King appeared, how had the human race matched these individuals?
Unless those experts had never once intervened.
Yet was that even possible?
Su Yu believed that some of them must have made a move!
In that case, the human race should have had powerhouses capable of matching them.
The group turned their gazes toward King Dazhou. Su Yu was puzzled—why look at King Dazhou?
Seeing Su Yu's gaze, King Dazhou let out a bitter smile and explained, "Speaking of Marquis Tianming's tier... the human race did have them! Didn't I mention before that among the Torchbearers, there were two other Quasi-Kings? One was Bing Ku, and the other was Dan Yu. Bing Ku possessed strength of that exact caliber, but... he fell in the previous tide."
Su Yu was surprised. "You mean this Bing Ku neared the realm of a Ruler of Rules, and he died? Who killed him?"
Su Yu was thoroughly astonished; none of them had mentioned this before.
They had merely stated that the two were of the Quasi-King realm.
King Dazhou sighed. "He died while covering the final breakout. Too many enemies encircled them at the time. Even nearing the realm of a Ruler of Rules doesn't make one an actual Ruler of Rules! With the Hundred Battles King gone and those old monsters emerging, a supreme expert had to stay behind to hold the rear; otherwise... how could anyone have escaped alive?"
Su Yu frowned. "Idiots! So you're saying Bing Ku's life was traded away for these six weak Dao Integrations?"
"..."
Marquis Huoyun and the others wore thoroughly unnatural expressions.
These six weak Dao Integrations... he meant them, didn't he?
Without a doubt!
King Dazhou smiled bitterly. "More survived back then than just these few. Later, many fell in battles across the Upper Realm. How should I put it? It wasn't a total loss; after all, battling in the Upper Realm for so many years pinned down their forces. Otherwise, the Upper Realm's situation would be far more dire than it is now."
He continued, "As for Bing Ku... his temperament was somewhat rash and impulsive. His identity was exposed as early as the third tide, and he remained active across the myriad realms ever since. When the Hundred Battles King took power, Bing Ku contributed heavily... After Hundred Battles was defeated, Bing Ku felt he had no face left to see anyone. By then, his heart was likely dead, which was why he chose to cover the retreat."
King Dazhou sighed. "When he chose to stay behind, I said nothing, took no part, and raised no objections. The disappearance of the Hundred Battles King caused the human collapse and catastrophic casualties; even if Bing Ku had survived, I feared he would have lost his mind. He was, after all, one of the primary figures who elevated Hundred Battles to the throne..."
"Among the three of us, Bing Ku provided military might, while Dan Yu oversaw resources and logistics..."
Su Yu looked at him. "And you provided the scheming and plotting?"
King Dazhou looked embarrassed. "Not quite. I was responsible for... responsible for... keeping cards up our sleeves."
Su Yu was speechless. What did 'keeping cards up our sleeves' even mean?
Fine, it just meant enduring and hiding!
"So before that, the one holding off these top Quasi-Kings was Bing Ku?"
King Dazhou nodded. "Him. In truth, existences of this tier are exceptionally scarce and rarely make a move! Everyone understands that if they clash, a decisive victory is unlikely, and mutually assured destruction is far more probable! Thus, Bing Ku and his peers served primarily as a deterrent! As I recall, from the third tide to the ninth tide, apart from the final battle of the ninth tide, he only intervened once... At no other time did experts of that caliber take the field."
Su Yu nodded slightly.
He quickly said, "Fine, understood! Powerhouses of that tier are strategic deterrents and won't deploy lightly! Enough nonsense..."
Su Yu turned his gaze to Marquis Huoyun and the rest, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I am preparing to slay Heavenly King-tier experts. Do you dare join me in battle?"
Their expressions changed dramatically.
Marquis Yunshui said softly, "Human Lord... why take such an enormous risk?"
Su Yu frowned. "Without taking risks, how do we reap rewards? By proceeding step-by-step according to routine? Waiting until the Upper Realm opens so they can wipe out the Lower Realm in one fell swoop? Do you even know what our objectives are right now?"
Su Yu said in a heavy voice, "First, diminish the enemy's strength! Second, fortify our own! Third, win over enough allies! Fourth, display our might, so that when our identities are exposed, the myriad races will hesitate before committing to a fight to the death!"
"The disparity between both sides remains colossal. Previously, I thought that if the Upper Realm had only seventy or eighty Dao Integrations, we might still stand a chance!"
"Yet the intelligence you people provided me was all six thousand years out of date!"
Su Yu's tone grew heated with anger. "Even that I could overlook, but prior to this, none of you told me the myriad races harbored several powerhouses genuinely nearing the realm of a Ruler of Rules! The only one I knew of was Marquis Tianming, and that was because the Destiny race mentioned him themselves! You are... utterly useless!"
Turning toward King Dazhou, he gave a cold huff: "King Dazhou, you aren't blameless either! Since you knew, why didn't you speak up?"
King Dazhou said bitterly, "Existences of that tier are few, and they virtually never intervene... Whether they were alive or dead was something even I couldn't be certain of. I didn't dare speak rashly, lest it throw our ranks into panic..."
"Rubbish!"
Su Yu snorted coldly, looking at Lan Tian. "From now on, you will establish the human intelligence network! Relying on others is worse than relying on ourselves; in this world, only our own people can be trusted. Everyone else... is dead weight!"
With a single sentence, he had cursed everyone present except Lan Tian!
King Dazhou felt bitter. The meager scrap of trust he had painstakingly built up had just gone down the drain again!
It wasn't that he had intentionally withheld information; he genuinely didn't know which of those top existences were still alive.
If he claimed someone was alive when they had died, wouldn't that be borrowing trouble?
King Dazhou was utterly helpless!
Meanwhile, General Yingwu and the others wore thoroughly unnatural expressions at the scolding.
This man was truly domineering.
Marquis Yunshui glanced at General Yingwu again, her gaze conveying a silent message: *Do you still pity Su Yu now?*
General Yingwu was rendered speechless.
She didn't even bother replying with a look.
*Don't blame me; he seemed perfectly reasonable before this.*
Ignoring them, Su Yu pressed in a chillingly frigid voice, "Answer me: if the opponents are Heavenly Kings, do you dare fight?"
As Su Yu spoke, his killing intent turned bone-chillingly cold: "If you don't dare, say so directly! At most, I'll have someone watch over you and keep you from joining the battle! But if anyone throws down their arms midway through the clash, I will ignore the myriad races and execute you first! Sowers of discord among the ranks will be slain without mercy!"
The hearts of the onlookers seized; the sheer density of his murderous intent appalled them.
Just how many people had he slaughtered?
This man looked so refined and scholarly, yet he was an absolute butcher!
General Yingwu was forced to speak up: "If we join forces, slaying a Heavenly King is well within our capability. Both you and Lan Tian are Quasi-Kings..."
Su Yu interrupted coldly, "No, Lan Tian and I don't count!"
"..."
Marquis Anying felt a pounding headache. "The Human Lord speaks of slaying Heavenly Kings... just how many Heavenly Kings are we facing?"
"Seven or eight!"
"..."
The entire clearing fell dead silent.
Even King Dazhou couldn't help staring at Su Yu. *Are you completely insane?!*
Lan Tian bit through his lollipop with a sharp *crunch*, staring blankly at Su Yu. *I thought I was a lunatic, but compared to you, I'm practically normal!*
*Completely and utterly sane!*
*In this world, if you, Su Yu, claim to be the second-craziest, no one would dare claim first!*
Su Yu said coldly, "Most likely eight, all Quasi-Kings. Do you dare?"
The hot-tempered Marquis Huoyun suddenly let out a bitter chuckle. "Are we going on a suicide mission? Fine! Since the Human Lord insists on committing suicide... so be it! If the Human Lord isn't afraid, what do we have to fear? I originally thought this generation's Human Lord appeared more refined and composed than the Hundred Battles King... Turns out you're even madder!"
His voice dripped with bitter irony. "Then let's be mad for once!"
There was simply nothing left to say!
Slay eight Heavenly Kings!
To hell with it, we might as well just kill ourselves. Fine, you aren't afraid of death—do you think we are?
We wanted to preserve our useful lives so that when the Lower Realm opened, we could go down and save it. Yet you fellows from the Lower Realm are something else—each one more reckless and arrogant than the last!
Marquis Yunshui couldn't help looking at Su Yu as well, murmuring softly, "The Human Lord doesn't strike me as someone seeking death. Could there be something... unusual about these eight Heavenly Kings?"
Su Yu looked at her, nodding slightly. "You're right; they are somewhat special. However... treat them as eight Heavenly Kings regardless!"
Marquis Yunshui breathed a silent sigh of relief. She had also reasoned that Su Yu wouldn't be mad enough to seek outright suicide.
Hearing him acknowledge this gave them a sliver of hope.
Su Yu said in a heavy voice, "Even if they don't fully amount to eight, you must treat them as five or six!"
Having said that, Su Yu commanded swiftly, "Summon the others. Have Marquis Dingjun and the rest rendezvous here immediately. I will find the right opportunity to strike inside. The objective: slay six Heavenly Kings!"
Only those six; Su Yu didn't particularly care to mess with the remaining two.
As for whether the Hundred Battles King could break his seal... that was none of his damn business. It would be best if Hundred Battles emerged and fought those top experts in the Dao Origin Land until both sides perished together!
That way, it would spare him an ocean of trouble!
Chapter 729