Reaching an Agreement

Soul Burying Mountain. A group emerged from the passageway. The instant they stepped out, Lan Tian took a deep breath of fresh air—and inhaled a swarm of insects right into his mouth. The fellow actually flicked out a bifurcated tongue and licked his lips. Instantly, everyone around him recoiled. Tianmie shot him a glance, jabbed Xinghong, and sent a voice transmission: "Your brother?" "Little Ah Mie, don't talk behind my back!" Lan Tian grinned cheekily and reached out to stroke Tianmie's massive head. Tianmie froze, his whole body going rigid. Having his head petted felt thoroughly uncomfortable! He wanted to hit him, but after a moment's thought, he realized he probably couldn't afford to provoke the guy. His own boss hadn't come up; out of the eighteen people here, it seemed he couldn't beat a single one. Among the eighteen, he was the weakest. Tianmie shot Su Yu a pitiful look, silently begging him to rein in Lan Tian. Having this freak beside him made Tianmie profoundly uneasy. Lan Tian smiled brightly, paying no heed to whether Tianmie liked it or not. He inhaled deeply in apparent bliss, savoring the scents of the air, before slowly speaking: "There hasn't been much fighting in the Upper Realm these past few days. It seems the first Myriad Races Assembly has concluded, though apparently without reaching an agreement." "A rabble," Su Yu remarked flatly. King Dazhou, accustomed to such things, said softly, "That is normal. For an undertaking of this scale—a war that will engulf the entire Upper Realm—how could they possibly reach an agreement in ten days to half a month?" Not everyone was Su Yu. Furthermore, the myriad races were not a single entity; each race had its own demands. To settle everything, reach a consensus, and mobilize troops within ten days... unless someone achieved total unification, no one held the authority to make the final call. Thus, King Dazhou was not surprised in the least. Even Yingwu chimed in: "It's normal. Even in the ancient era, reaching an agreement on certain matters was never simple. Whenever the Human Sovereign wanted to do something, he still required the consent of the Myriad Races Council; they held mutual checks and balances. Often, a single issue could be debated for years, or even thousands of years." At these words, several people sighed. Indeed, even the ancient Human Sovereign could not act with total impunity. With the myriad races checking his power, some matters dragged on interminably. Su Yu, on the other hand, had started from scratch with humble beginnings. Moreover, the races he subdued or allied with submitted to him outright rather than forming a loose partnership. A simple alliance was something Su Yu refused altogether. When Duobao came to seek refuge, Su Yu had flatly rejected him. It was under these circumstances that Su Yu's side achieved such high efficiency. His word was final, with no one to dispute it. Otherwise, things could never move so swiftly. Su Yu nodded slightly and said with a chuckle, "Small beginnings are easy to manage. Building from the ground up naturally allows for greater speed. But once enough time passes and the crowd grows larger with competing voices, handling things won't be so easy." Su Yu smiled. "Take the Emperor Yu Mansion. While I am here, the early stages aren't an issue. But down the line, subordinates will grow too powerful to control, elders will flaunt their seniority, bullies will abuse their influence, and clans will rise... By then, it will be the exact same story! It is easy to build an empire, but hard to keep it." Su Yu spoke with deep emotion. The others looked somewhat unnerved, but King Dazhou smiled and said, "As long as Emperor Yu is here, I don't believe any of that will happen." "Let's not look too far ahead!" Su Yu laughed. "It hardly matters anyway. If I'm gone, who cares? And if I'm still around... unless I grow old and feeble in my later years, there probably... won't be any of that!" Su Yu chuckled casually, while the others listened in silence, committing the words to heart. Su Yu didn't dwell on it. Seeing the others quiet down, Lan Tian grinned and spoke up: "The second Myriad Races Assembly seems to be convening soon." He had left behind several clones in the Upper Realm, though many had detonated during their previous escape. Of course, some still survived. While he had been in the Lower Realm, his connection to those clones had been severed. Only upon returning could he receive information from them once more. Su Yu nodded slightly. "Any movement from Baizhan? Was he captured, or what?" "He escaped." Lan Tian chuckled as he continued, "Guess what? It's quite amusing—the myriad races are publicly proclaiming that Baizhan is utterly useless, bringing ruin wherever he goes. They claim the human race's crushing defeat in the ninth tide was entirely his fault, and that he was so blinded by lust that he will soon get tangled up with Yueluo again..." Lan Tian recounted the rumors circulating across the Upper Realm, eliciting strange expressions from the crowd. A few people looked sideways, sneaking glances at Su Yu. Marquis Huoyun even began to wonder... had the myriad races colluded with Su Yu? Otherwise... this rhetoric sounded remarkably like something Su Yu would spread! Did Lan Tian fabricate the rumors? Or had Lan Tian's clones spread them directly? Seeing everyone staring at him, Lan Tian put on an innocent look. "Why are you looking at me? I didn't say it. This is the myriad races' territory; wouldn't I be courting death if I ran around spouting nonsense here? Over on their side, several major races apparently joined hands to propagate this! The effect has been extraordinary. Now the entire Upper Realm knows that Baizhan is completely worthless and there's no need to worry about him—let him run." The ancient marquises felt rather embarrassed. Granted, Baizhan was somewhat reckless, but... surely he wasn't as completely useless as the myriad races claimed? How humiliating! A dignified Human Lord of his generation, denounced by his enemies as trash. A figure of terrifying strength, arguably the foremost expert of the current era, yet the myriad races dismissed his escape as inconsequential, claiming he would only bring misfortune wherever he went... Anyone hearing that would probably wish to die of shame. To make your enemies fear you—that was true greatness. To make your enemies feel your escape didn't matter at all—that was true worthlessness. Su Yu smiled. "Leave him be. The fact that he escaped... shows he still has some ability! Let's go see the Iron Eaters." Just as Su Yu prepared to set out, Tianmie said anxiously, "Where are Xia Longwu and the others? I want to go see them..." Lan Tian chuckled and clamped a hand around his neck. "Little Ah Mie, don't be like that. Be a good boy, won't you?" "..." Tianmie was helpless. What a cruel joke fate had played on him! Back in the day, I beat up whoever I wanted; now, whoever wants to beat me up can do so. What a tragic story! Seeing this, Su Yu smiled as well. "Lan Tian, show some respect to Senior Tianmie. He's up in years, it hasn't been easy! To still be as hot-headed as a twenty-year-old youth is truly rare. When it comes time to fight the Heavenly Sovereigns, we'll still be relying on Tianmie to lead the charge!" Tianmie looked sheepish. He couldn't shake the feeling that Su Yu was mocking him. Whatever, he wouldn't stoop to bickering with Su Yu. With a laugh, Su Yu stepped into the air. The group followed swiftly behind, while King Dazhou and King Daming promptly concealed everyone's aura. Soul Burying Mountain was not close to Mount Zhu, but they were all top-tier powerhouses, traveling without any obstruction along the way. Even if they crossed paths with weaker beings, those individuals were incapable of perceiving them. As for the strong, solitary Dao Integration experts were practically nonexistent nowadays! After Su Yu had struck three times and slain so many powerhouses, how could any Dao Integration expert of the myriad races dare to travel alone? Even emissaries moved in groups of three or five, never venturing far on their own. …… Mount Zhu. Jiu Yue and the others were still brooding anxiously. Suddenly, an overwhelmingly powerful aura surged. In the blink of an eye, before the Dao Integration experts could react, an oversized Iron-Eating beast materialized before them. "Father!" "Old Ancestor!" "San Yue!" The Iron-Eating beasts were immediately overjoyed and stepped forward to greet him. Marquis Juzhu belonged to the same generation as San Yue. Si Yue was San Yue's son, Wu Yue his grandson, and Yuan Yue a descendant of some uncertain generation. San Yue held the highest seniority here and was slightly older than Marquis Juzhu. More importantly, of course, his strength was far greater. San Yue appeared noticeably larger than Marquis Juzhu. In no mood to chew bamboo, he touched down instantly and nodded to his descendants. Then he paused. Taking another look, he froze again. Extending a claw, he tapped each bear head: "One, two, three, four, five?" San Yue's dark circles practically vanished in disbelief. Strange! Five? How could there be five Dao Integration experts in their nest? Weren't there four? Counting himself, that should make only five in total! Counting once more, San Yue asked with a strange expression, "Has another Dao Integration emerged in our race?" He looked toward Jiu Yue, who returned his gaze and hurried to say, "Ancestor! I am Jiu Yue. I inherited the Dao of Devouring from Ancestor Er Yue." *Your father's Dao!* San Yue was stunned. He looked toward the other Iron-Eating beasts. Marquis Juzhu coughed lightly and said, "It was difficult to contact you over there, so we didn't reach out. Jiu Yue came up from the Lower Realm." "Aha?" San Yue froze again. "The Lower Realm passageway opened?" "No, he came through a different channel." Marquis Juzhu gave a brief explanation, then quickly added, "San Yue, you should know about the recent events. That actually involved me..." He briefly recounted how he had sent Su Yu to kill people. And then... San Yue was utterly dumbfounded. He stared at Marquis Juzhu, then at Jiu Yue, and then at the others, asking blankly, "Those fellows... you were the one who sent them to kill?" Marquis Juzhu looked glum. "No, I only told them to kill three Dao Integration experts to show us their capability. How was I supposed to know they would slaughter so many quasi-kings?" San Yue's massive face was frozen in speechless shock. After a long pause, he cursed, "Holy crap! If I had known... if I had known, I would have stepped in to rescue those fellows! I saw them flee into the River of Time, pursued by Motian Sovereign and Yuetian Sovereign for a day and a night, and then everything went quiet... They didn't perish, did they?" Saying that, he turned back to Jiu Yue: "Whose Dao did you say you inherited?" "Ancestor Er Yue's!" San Yue said wistfully, "So my missing father really is dead? Sigh, I was still hoping that maybe... there was hope! I thought he had left with the Human Sovereign and the others, but... he's truly gone!" Jiu Yue hurriedly said, "It was done by the Prison King. Later, Emperor Yu visited our realm and broke the seal. Ancestor Er Yue left behind a few remaining wisps of will, allowing me to inherit the Dao of Devouring." "Good child!" San Yue patted Jiu Yue's massive head and sighed. "From now on, you'll be just like a son to me..." Si Yue was speechless. Wu Yue couldn't help chiming in, "Grandfather, Jiu Yue is Liu Yue's great-grandson, and Liu Yue is my nephew!" This completely scrambled the generational hierarchy! What did he mean by "just like a son"? If that were the case, would Wu Yue have to call Jiu Yue "Uncle"? "It's all the same, who cares," San Yue said, unbothered. He had inherited his father's Dao—San Yue couldn't very well treat him as his father, could he? Whatever! Beside them, Marquis Juzhu watched the show with amusement. It had nothing to do with him; he and San Yue were not from the same lineage. The Iron-Eating race had several branches, and strictly speaking, Yuan Yue belonged to his lineage. Once San Yue had grasped the situation, Marquis Juzhu quickly said, "San Yue, the myriad races are demanding that we attend the Myriad Races Assembly. What do you think we should do?" "There's no way around it!" San Yue shook his massive head and sighed. "Motian Sovereign and those other old fellows have been keeping their eyes glued to me. I couldn't stay in the Dao Source Land any longer, which is why I had to return. Now that I'm back, they aren't coming after me for the moment, but if we don't attend the assembly, they'll come sooner or later!" What a headache! He had been minding his own business on the mountain, but now he could stay there no longer because those Heavenly Sovereigns had been watching him closely. It was likely related to his earlier departure from the mountains. The moment Baizhan's seal was broken, San Yue had rushed out, so Motian Sovereign and the others naturally kept him under tight surveillance. Tianming had received far better treatment—ignored from start to finish, the myriad races hardly bothered with him. That fellow was just a bystander; even if he attended the assembly and stayed silent, everyone would likely treat him as nonexistent. He looked toward Jiu Yue, intending to say a few words, when his eyes suddenly went wide. Looking into the distance, his expression turned grave. Moments later, Marquis Juzhu's eyes widened as well, gazing in the same direction. After a brief pause, Si Yue's eyes widened. Then Wu Yue's eyes bulged! Next, Jiu Yue widened his eyes, and finally, Yuan Yue followed suit! All six Iron-Eating beasts stared wide-eyed toward the horizon. Then San Yue spoke with utmost solemnity: "What's going on?" The beasts all grew tense. Marquis Juzhu said in a deep voice, "The myriad races... an encirclement?" So fast? They hadn't even refused to attend the assembly yet. They were here already? Yuan Yue, eyes wide and utterly bewildered, whispered, "What happened?" "..." Jiu Yue glanced at her and thought to himself, *My Yuan Yue is so cute. If you don't know what's happening, why are you widening your eyes?* Wu Yue coughed lightly and asked, "What's going on?" "..." Jiu Yue was speechless, then muttered after a pause, "What is it?" There was nothing else for it; he hadn't sensed anything either. Still, when San Yue widened his eyes, not following suit would make them look out of place—especially after Si Yue and Wu Yue had already widened theirs. San Yue was in no mood to pay attention to them. His mood was extremely grim, even oppressive. He faintly perceived a cluster of terrifyingly powerful auras rippling across the void, rapidly approaching. In truth, even Marquis Juzhu's perception was vague, but San Yue felt it clearly. A flock of powerhouses! No fewer than five quasi-kings! An encirclement by the myriad races? Or something else? Against such strength, even with him present, they could be wiped out! Heavenly Sovereigns were formidable, but even a powerful Heavenly Sovereign was not a Rule Master. Someone like Baizhan could fight multiple Heavenly Kings, but an ordinary Heavenly Sovereign could at best manage one versus three; the exceptional ones might fight one against five... and that was considered the absolute peak! San Yue was not at the very pinnacle. One versus three or four was plausible, but any more than that was hopeless. What was worse, the approaching party didn't just have quasi-kings; there were numerous other top-tier entities among them! San Yue was filled with dread. He glanced at Mount Zhu—this was their race's foundation in the Upper Realm, and there was no time to evacuate! Just as he prepared to command the Iron Eaters to take cover, a faint fluctuation reached them: "Su Yu of the human race has come to disturb Senior San Yue!" "..." The Iron-Eating beasts froze. Jiu Yue looked at San Yue and mumbled, "Ancestor... it's Emperor Yu. Um... there's no need to be so terrified." *What is Old Ancestor doing?* *Weren't you supposed to be incredibly powerful?* *Supposedly a Heavenly Sovereign!* *Now that Emperor Yu is here, do you really need to be this terrified, staring until your eyeballs almost pop out?* Marquis Juzhu now sensed them as well. His eyes widened again as he looked at San Yue, transmitting hastily, "There weren't this many before—just one quasi-king... How..." The two powerhouses exchanged glances, unable to hide their shock. Where had all these powerhouses come from? At that moment, the void rippled, and a group of figures materialized. A faint array fluctuation rippled out, veiling heavenly secrets. Su Yu stood at the head, the others following behind. Su Yu smiled and cupped his hands toward San Yue and Marquis Juzhu. "Everyone, apologies for Su Yu's late arrival. This must be Senior San Yue? Greetings, Senior. Your strength is truly heaven-shaking!" San Yue said nothing, sweeping his gaze across the gathering. Eighteen! Six had the aura of quasi-kings, while seven bore the aura of top-tier Dao Integrations. Was this what Juzhu had called "just one quasi-king"? No, Juzhu had said Su Yu might have stepped into the quasi-king realm, which would only make two! How could there be six? Looking closer, his gaze suddenly settled on Doubao and Fat Ball. At the moment, Doubao was dozing on top of Fat Ball's head, while Fat Ball wagged his tail and peered around curiously like an indoor dog out for a walk—which, in truth, he was, having stayed indoors for countless years. Noticing San Yue watching him, Fat Ball forced a smile onto his canine face and continued looking around. Then, seeing that San Yue was still staring, Fat Ball couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why do you keep staring at me?" San Yue shivered internally, snapping back to awareness. Looking back at Su Yu, he took a deep breath. "San Yue greets the Lord of the Human Race!" After saying that, he couldn't resist sneaking a few more glances at Fat Ball. Su Yu smiled. "Shall we head down to talk? Senior San Yue, do you recognize Fat Ball?" Seeing how long San Yue had stared, Su Yu wondered if they were acquainted. Yet Fat Ball didn't seem to know San Yue. San Yue took a deep breath. "Is this... the one from King Wen Mansion?" Fat Ball looked over in curiosity. "Have we met? I don't remember." "We haven't," San Yue said in a deep voice. "However... when my father was alive, he mentioned that King Wen once sought his guidance on cultivating and modifying the Dao of Devouring, turning it into a path suitable for his dog to cultivate... Looking at this Fellow Daoist... and seeing Doubao here, I formed a guess." "Oh!" Fat Ball didn't mind much. Doubao, on the other hand, recognized San Yue. He blearily opened his eyes as if waking from sleep, glanced at San Yue, then at the other Iron-Eating beasts, and muttered groggily, "I'm seeing things!" *They all look the same!* San Yue ignored him. *Forget about us—your God-Devouring race is just as bad, every single one of you looking identical!* Suppressing his turmoil, San Yue quickly said, "Let us speak below; forgive my lack of a proper welcome! Back at the Dao Source Land, was it the Human Lord who spied upon me?" Su Yu smiled. "Pardon my presumption. I was surveying the powerhouses in the Dao Source Land that day, and since Senior happened to be there, I took a look." "No wonder—so it was the Heavenly Gate!" San Yue sighed. That explained how Su Yu had spotted him. As he spoke, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the others. He recognized Marquis Huoyun—good fortune on his part, actually stepping into the quasi-king realm. He did not recognize Wan Tiansheng or Lan Tian. As for Doubao and Fat Ball, he knew Doubao and had deduced Fat Ball's identity. Looking at King Dazhou, he felt a mix of familiarity and strangeness. Looking at the rest, every one of them was exceptionally strong! Except for that large monkey, who seemed a bit weaker. San Yue scanned him, and after a moment, seemed to recognize him. "Are you Tianmie, from under Fellow Daoist Hongmeng?" Tianmie glanced at him, decided he couldn't beat him, and nodded. "That's me!" "Congratulations!" San Yue offered his felicitations. "Stepping down from the position of guardian is great fortune indeed. Back then, they said after guarding for a millennium, you too could be titled a marquis. I wondered if Brother Hongmeng could endure once you were granted your title, never imagining you would guard for a full hundred thousand years!" There was some wistfulness in his tone. He saw many familiar faces today, and even spotted Marquis Tongtian. He swept a glance over him but refrained from striking up a conversation, feeling an odd sensation in his heart. *Even Marquis Tongtian has come out?* *That fellow talks too much. Better not engage with him, or there will be no end to it.* …… The group quickly descended into the grand hall. By now, San Yue had managed to regain his composure. With a wave of his hand, two chairs appeared on the dais. He smiled. "Please, Human Lord!" With that, he transformed into a stout, honest-looking middle-aged man and sat in the chair on the right, leaving the one on the left for Su Yu. Su Yu smiled, stepped up without hesitation, and took the seat. The others seated themselves as well. At this moment, Jiu Yue smiled innocently and came forward to pour tea for everyone, inwardly astonished. *Emperor Yu really emptied his family vaults for this!* *So many people came!* *And it feels like quite a few of them have grown noticeably stronger.* *No wonder Ancestor had his eyes bulging earlier.* *Turns out he was simply stunned!* "Regarding the agreement between the Human Lord and Juzhu, I have heard Juzhu explain it. Juzhu was being reckless. Had I known it was so perilous..." Su Yu laughed. "It's fine. Marquis Juzhu merely asked us to kill a few Dao Integration experts for fun. As luck would have it, I had captured Ziyan of the Prison King lineage and was looking for a way to draw that faction out into the open, so I dropped by the Dao Source Land to kill a few quasi-kings along the way to make the myriad races take notice." *Along the way!* San Yue was speechless. What arrogant phrasing! Yet he had to admit it had been brilliantly executed, leaving no trace behind—even San Yue had assumed it was the handiwork of the Chaos lineage. Seeing so many powerhouses beside Su Yu, he couldn't help asking, "Human Lord... would you mind introducing them?" Su Yu smiled. "Of course, that was an oversight on my part!" "Fat Ball and Doubao, as Senior San Yue already knows, are from King Wen Mansion. Marquis Huoyun, Senior likely knows even better than I do. King Dazhou was an attendant under the ancient Human Sovereign and one of the three leaders of the Torchbearers. Chief Wan Tiansheng was my academy headmaster back during my studies, and Deputy Chief Lan Tian is also a senior from my academy..." He introduced them one by one, sending subtle tremors through San Yue's heart. First, he was shaken by their diverse backgrounds; second, he was astonished by Lan Tian and Wan Tiansheng. He couldn't resist asking, "May I ask the ages of Chief Wan and Deputy Chief Lan?" They felt remarkably young. Su Yu smiled. "Chief Wan is slightly older—one hundred and two human years. Deputy Chief Lan is somewhat younger, in his seventies." "..." San Yue was rendered utterly speechless. What did he mean by "slightly older"? How were old fossils like them, who had lived for over a hundred thousand years, supposed to respond to that? He was at a loss. In this tide, the human race had produced several monstrous talents who had reached the quasi-king tier at such an absurdly young age! Weren't they told that sealing Baizhan would prevent humanity from even producing Dao Integration experts? So the myriad races had sealed him for nothing? If they had known this would happen, the myriad races probably would have pooled their strength to slaughter Baizhan long ago! If sealing him accomplished nothing, what was the point of sealing him in the first place? Contemplating this, San Yue looked at the group again, unable to conceal his shock. Quelling his shock, he asked, "This time... did the Human Lord return to the Lower Realm and then ascend once more?" Su Yu nodded and smiled. "With two Heavenly Sovereigns pursuing me that day, I was no match for them and could only flee. I returned to the Lower Realm to gather my forces before coming back up to join the fray!" He made moving between realms sound as easy as taking a stroll! Su Yu smiled. "Coming to the Iron-Eating race and meeting Senior San Yue, I won't speak in riddles. Straight to the point: is the Iron-Eating race willing to ally with my Emperor Yu Mansion?" "The Emperor Yu Mansion?" San Yue caught the nuance in the phrasing and mused, "This Emperor Yu Mansion... is there a difference between it and the human race?" Su Yu chuckled. "Not much difference. It's just that... I cannot represent all of humanity. Furthermore, within the Emperor Yu Mansion, there are many powerhouses of various races. When moving about outside, omitting the human race's name spares our seniors any awkwardness." San Yue quietly pondered this, then said after a moment, "Juzhu stated before that as long as the Human Lord satisfied the conditions he laid out, our Iron-Eating race would naturally support you!" "In the battle at the Dao Source Land, the Human Lord slew multiple quasi-kings, freed Baizhan, demonstrated strength far surpassing what Juzhu asked for, and suffered zero casualties... It was truly astonishing. Our race and the human race have been allies for countless years, so renewing our covenant now is only natural." Having said this, he fell silent for a brief moment before slowly asking, "San Yue ventures to ask: is there any possibility of burying the hatchet between the Human Lord and the Prison King lineage?" Su Yu looked at him and laughed. "None." San Yue pressed, "What if the Prison King lineage is willing to submit to the Human Lord..." "How could that be possible!" San Yue insisted, "Human Lord, what if, against all odds, they do?" "Kill." "..." San Yue hesitated. "Kill... meaning?" Su Yu smiled. "Wipe them out to the last and be done with it! Why court trouble? That lineage possesses massive ambitions, pitch-black hearts, and ruthless hands. They plotted and obliterated all the human race's foundation from the last tide. Why keep them around? Naturally, exterminate them and finish the matter!" San Yue remained silent for a moment, then said, "The Human Lord should be aware of certain matters. It was you who unsealed Jiu Yue's Dao." Su Yu nodded. "I know! Senior Er Yue's death was almost certainly the handiwork of the Prison King! A feud over a murdered father is irreconcilable under the heavens!" "Our Iron-Eating race is likely not as powerful as the Prison King lineage..." San Yue said heavily. "What is more, that lineage is human after all, sharing the same origin! My only worry is that if the Prison King lineage submits in the future, should the Human Lord..." He paused, then added softly, "San Yue will not say much. If the Prison King lineage truly submits to the Human Lord, San Yue has only one condition: permit the Iron-Eating race to withdraw from the Emperor Yu Mansion..." Su Yu raised his hand, cutting him off. "There is no need to make demands! The Prison King lineage... to tell the truth, their numbers might be vast, perhaps beyond imagination! Some may not even bear Prison King blood... I won't concern myself with those. Whether they submit or not, the main branch of the Prison King lineage will be slaughtered down to the last person! Not one will be spared! As for the rest, we will see." Su Yu smiled. "If there are ordinary people who have never stepped outside Mount Chaos in their lives and know nothing of the situation, killing them serves no purpose! If Senior San Yue can accept this, our alliance presents no issue. If you insist on total annihilation... slaughtering every bystander, it matters little to me, though I fear it would cause unrest among the human race." San Yue let out a profound sigh of relief. "That is enough! Punish the chief culprits. The others are merely ignorant souls who might not even know they belong to the human race; San Yue will not hold them to account." That was precisely what he had worried about. Er Yue's demise was something he had long braced for. However, now knowing the Prison King had slain him, if he stood by without care, how could he face himself should Su Yu take the Prison King lineage under his wing? Su Yu smiled. "I, Su Yu, have forged alliances with many parties. Not to boast, but to this day, not a single ally has claimed that Su Yu mistreated them! What I value is fairness, order, and loyalty." Here, San Yue was the only one who had never dealt with him, so Su Yu spoke bluntly: "Senior San Yue can rest assured. If the Iron-Eating race wishes to leave one day, you need only fulfill one condition: feel free to leave as you please, and Su Yu will not stop you! Just tell me before you depart. Do not turn your weapons against me or stab me in the back. Do that, and even if you leave openly to join the myriad races, Su Yu will not utter a single word of blame!" Su Yu's voice deepened: "These words apply to everyone! If you wish to leave, go right ahead! That is my sole stipulation. If you want to become my enemy, that is your choice as well—just do not strike from within my camp. That is the best outcome for both sides!" Below, seeing the tense atmosphere, King Dazhou smiled and said, "Brother San Yue, Emperor Yu's word carries the weight of nine tripods. Since he has said so, he will certainly follow through! Today, all of us are present as witnesses. Emperor Yu will not swallow his words. No sovereign of our human race has ever broken a promise." "It's not that I doubt him..." San Yue explained. "It's just that my father's death left a knot of resentment in my chest that is hard to dispel. Forgive me for making a fool of myself before everyone!" He quickly smiled. "To receive such an answer from the Human Lord satisfies San Yue completely. Should the Human Lord have commands, San Yue will exert his full strength without evasion!" Su Yu laughed heartily. "Senior is straightforward! The Iron-Eating race has always been refreshingly straightforward!" San Yue smiled without elaborating. Agreeing so readily was naturally the result of multiple factors. First, Su Yu's forces were formidable. Second, Marquis Juzhu had already agreed. Third, the Iron Eaters of the Lower Realm had already pledged allegiance to Su Yu. Fourth, the Iron Eaters were having a difficult time right now. Because of their long alliance with humanity, even though they hadn't fought in the ninth tide, the myriad races still watched them closely. At this juncture, any misstep would easily turn the Iron Eaters into a target. Fifth... In short, after weighing the options, San Yue concluded that an alliance with humanity was necessary. Of course, as for whether he would risk his life for Su Yu, that would require further observation and scrutiny. Nevertheless, this Emperor Yu was clearly no simple figure. Though San Yue had never dealt with him, he had witnessed the massive slaughter of quasi-kings in the Dao Source Land with his own eyes. This man was far shrewder than Baizhan. Su Yu chatted briefly with San Yue and the others. He also learned that the myriad races had invited them to attend the assembly. This was an inevitability. Su Yu was not surprised. Bringing up the subject with San Yue, Su Yu smiled and said, "Attend! I was already wondering how to infiltrate the Myriad Races Assembly to gather firsthand intelligence on the spot!" Su Yu laughed. "The Iron Eaters will attend and agree to fight! At most, we'll serve as the Vanguard Army to assault the Prison King lineage—that's no problem at all!" Seeing San Yue's lingering worry, Su Yu quickly added, "Rest assured, I won't put Senior in a difficult position. Lan Tian and I will sneak in, disguised as Iron Eaters; that won't be difficult. The rest will hide secretly among the Iron Eaters!" His and Lan Tian's Daos were unique, making it very difficult for anyone to see through their disguises. As for the others, with Heavenly Sovereigns present, even King Dazhou would easily be exposed. "The Human Lord... wishes to go to Human Mountain?" San Yue hesitated. "In that place, during this assembly, powerhouses will gather like clouds! Those old fellows from the Dao Source Land will likely all appear! In terms of Heavenly Sovereigns alone, there shouldn't be fewer than five. The risk is far too great!" Su Yu smiled. "Risk is necessary. Given the current situation, not taking risks is impossible! Even with Senior and these Heavenly Kings joining the Emperor Yu Mansion, does Senior believe we can match the myriad races?" San Yue shook his head. "We cannot! On the myriad races' side, among the Heavenly Sovereigns, there are currently Motian Sovereign, Yuetian Sovereign, Huangtian Sovereign, Mingtian Sovereign, the Demon Heavenly Sovereign, and Daotian Sovereign... and those are only the ones I know of. Some old fellows might have completely sealed themselves away, beyond my knowledge! As for quasi-kings, even though many from the three major races were slain, the Human Lord should know that those who died were all newly minted in recent times!" Su Yu nodded. "All six were born recently by switching Daos!" San Yue nodded. "It is best that the Human Lord knows. The three major races possess more than just those who switched Daos; they have many quasi-kings who never did. In the ninth tide, after crushing humanity, the three major races seized all of humanity's legacy in the Upper Realm. The entire foundation of the human race, as well as the heritage of the annihilated ancient races, was divided among them!" San Yue sighed. "From what I know, the three major races currently possess no fewer than fifteen quasi-kings—at least five per race! As humanity fell, the myriad races grew fat..." "Baizhan is a piece of trash!" Su Yu uttered the words, and instantly, everyone present shared the sentiment. Baizhan was indeed a piece of trash! It truly was a case of humanity falling while the myriad races grew fat. Prior to the ninth tide, the myriad races lacked such strength. But with the destruction of humanity and its allied ancient races, the myriad races had claimed all their heritages—even massive quantities of Dao Integration corpses. How could they not grow fat? More than fifteen quasi-kings, and that was just from the three major races. As for others like the Nether race, Dragon race, Phoenix race, Ape race... those races whose Dao Integration experts survived in the Lower Realm likely all had Heavenly Kings overseeing them in the Upper Realm. Su Yu let out a sigh as well. "In these past six thousand years, the myriad races have probably produced more quasi-kings than in the preceding hundred thousand years combined!" San Yue smiled bitterly. "Indeed! During those first hundred thousand years, everyone exercised restraint, targeted one another, and experts perished from time to time. But over the last six thousand years... internal conflict among the myriad races was minimal. They were all accumulating strength, preparing to ignite a war of the myriad races after finishing off humanity..." "In the Dao Source Land, even when contending for Daos, centuries might pass without a single Dao Integration falling. Back when humanity was around, contending for Daos might claim a Dao Integration every three to five years... Thus, the number of Dao Integration experts was kept at a stable level without exploding." San Yue remarked wistfully, "Just look at our race. Counting myself, we now have several Dao Integration experts! Because we were targeted over these six thousand years, our numbers are actually relatively small. Some ancient races that were once inferior to us now boast more Dao Integration experts than we do!" Su Yu nodded slightly. "Therefore, as long as we can avoid exposure, we must avoid it! If we truly are exposed, we must weaken the other factions first! At the very least, we need to maintain a tripartite standoff!" "We cannot allow a scenario where any one faction can crush us with minimal effort!" Su Yu smiled. "With Marquis Juzhu and Senior San Yue joining us now, our strength is not too shabby either." San Yue nodded slightly and considered for a moment. "If the Human Lord truly intends to accompany us to Human Mountain, you must exercise restraint!" He was worried this man would pull off another Dao Source Land stunt at Human Mountain, which would be lethally dangerous! "Of course!" Su Yu laughed. *I'm not stupid.* *I only fight battles I can win. If I can't win, why would I seek my own death?* As they were conversing, Su Yu's group suddenly turned to look toward the west! San Yue's expression shifted slightly, while Su Yu's brow furrowed. King Dazhou's face changed. "Baizhan's aura?" What in the world! At this moment, in the far west, a mighty aura surged upward. The next instant, even at Mount Zhu, they could faintly hear a thunderous roar: "Yueluo, this king will kill you!" "..." The group exchanged glances. San Yue, looking completely speechless, turned to Su Yu. Su Yu was equally speechless as he looked at Marquis Huoyun and the others. After a long pause, he said, "Baizhan was a Human Lord, a leader of men! Could his temper really be this volatile? Right now, the myriad races have their eyes peeled searching for him, and he exposes himself just like that?" "..." The expressions of Marquis Huoyun and the others flickered erratically. King Dazhou gave a bitter, helpless laugh. "He... he was probably pent up for thousands of years and lost his head in rage. He... must have run into Yueluo?" That seemed likely! Otherwise, Baizhan had hidden so well for days without making a sound. For him to erupt all of a sudden meant he truly couldn't hold back any longer! Su Yu considered it and sighed helplessly. "Far too reckless! Still, for us, it's a good thing. Yueluo must have appeared, which validates the existence of the Mount Chaos faction. Now, the myriad races are likely all focusing their attention over there." The others sensed outward as well. A tremor seemed to carry over, but it quickly faded away. Along with it, Baizhan's aura swiftly vanished. Su Yu sensed for a moment and said, "He probably entered the Mount Chaos region, where his aura became obscured! The myriad races most likely won't enter Mount Chaos right now, but confirming that both Baizhan and Yueluo have entered Mount Chaos will almost certainly spur the Heavenly Sovereigns to pursue a rapid consensus at this Myriad Races Assembly!" The appearance of Baizhan and Yueluo would only push the myriad races to accelerate their cooperation. For Su Yu, this was undeniably advantageous. If this dragged on any longer, Su Yu had worried complications might arise and prevent the battle of Mount Chaos from erupting at all. San Yue said solemnly, "Baizhan has entered Mount Chaos. If that place is their home nest, Baizhan is in grave danger! He still has an unsevered seal on him!" Su Yu waved his hand. "Leave him be! His personality is far too reckless. Yueluo might have deliberately lured him into Mount Chaos... and he actually chased her in. If something happens to him, he brought it upon himself!" Su Yu said coldly, "If you bring trouble on yourself, take responsibility for it yourself; don't expect others to rescue you! The same goes for all of you. If you run into trouble during an assignment, or encounter the myriad races and are forced into battle, I will rescue you if I can. But if you land in trouble through your own irrationality... I will not pay a heavy price for any individual!" Saying this, he glanced at Tianmie. Tianmie wore an innocent look. "I wouldn't be more reckless than Baizhan, would I? I know my limits. Baizhan is stupid, whereas I'm merely aggressive and combative. It's not the same!" *Why are you looking at me?* By this point, King Dazhou and the others were beyond words. Baizhan's plight was truly miserable. Even Tianmie, this boorish brute, was looking down on him. There was really nothing to be said! Su Yu also broke into a chuckle. Nodding, he said, "True enough. When you can't win, you run fast too—I know that much." Tianmie felt sullen. What kind of talk was that? If you couldn't win, were you supposed to fight recklessly to the death? Knowing you would die, unless you had no other choice, why wouldn't you run? Su Yu paid no more heed to Baizhan. It was a good thing—entering Mount Chaos meant that the battle of Mount Chaos was guaranteed to erupt. Letting the subject drop, he said briskly, "In that case, I will impersonate Si Yue, and Lan Tian will impersonate Wu Yue!" Lan Tian said faintly, "Forget it, I'll impersonate Yuan Yue. I'm not playing your son!" "..." Beside them, Jiu Yue hesitated, looking ready to plead: *Please don't! If you impersonate Yuan Yue, it will leave a psychological scar on me!*