"They are all helping me. Those who follow the Way find abundant support. How could I fail? How can I possibly fail?"
Shackles... were often fitted on just like this.
In truth, Su Yu was no saint, nor was he selfless. He was selfish. All he truly wanted was to live his own life, carefree and unburdened, roaming freely through the myriad realms.
Open a Dao?
If he opened it and failed, the worst that could happen was trying again. He was in no rush!
He could find somewhere to hide for eight or ten thousand years, and if he didn't succeed, he simply wouldn't come out!
As for the Brush Dao, the Human Sovereign Dao... strong as they were, they weren't his.
If King Wen or the Human Sovereign decided to take them back one day, wouldn't he just have been working for someone else?
That was how Su Yu truly thought!
As long as he grew stronger, it didn't really matter which Dao it was.
Yet Su Yu knew in his heart that those Daos did not belong to him, nor were they the best fit for him. Others could grant them if they wished, and if they didn't, they could take them back at any moment.
It was entirely too constraining!
Inheriting the Human Sovereign Dao was the very last thing Su Yu wanted to do.
Yet today, at this very moment, he had told King Dazhou that if he failed to open his own Dao, he would go and inherit those Daos.
Others might think Su Yu was being pretentious. *If you fail, you can still inherit Great Daos that others can't even dream of. What more could you possibly want?*
*But... I don't want to be anyone's puppet.*
*I don't want people calling me a second King Wen, or a second Human Sovereign.*
Everyone wanted to live as themselves!
He did too!
Back when people said he resembled King Wen, Su Yu had been unhappy. No, he was himself. He was Su Yu, not King Wen, and he had no desire to be the second King Wen spoken of by others!
Whoever wanted to be a substitute could go right ahead!
Even if he lived a hard life, even if he was a bit weaker, he had no wish to live as someone else.
Yet in this moment, Su Yu bowed his head to fate.
He looked upon the densely packed Great Daos he was opening, carrying a trace of longing, a sliver of hope. *Let me succeed!*
*I don't want to become anyone's shadow!*
More and more Great Daos formed.
The third section was already underway.
The third section: the Dao of Zhou.
In truth, this was quite simple. The Dao of Zhou might seem exceedingly difficult—the hardest aspect being time itself—but as long as the Great Dao was complete, the Dao of Zhou would form naturally, and time would reside within his Dao!
Time was the most unfathomable of all. Su Yu's concept was that time was singular and absolute. Therefore, the Dao of Time would be unique within his own Great Dao. There was no need to deliberately open it; once the Great Dao was accomplished, time would fall under his control!
He would determine the beginning of time!
He would determine the span of a year!
If he declared that a single day now was a whole year within his Great Dao, within his new universe, then it was a year. Time was relative.
Thus, Su Yu had no need for profound comprehension of this abstruse Great Dao, nor did he truly have any way to comprehend it right now.
At present, his most critical challenge was life and death.
"Life... going from life to death is something anyone can do. But when it comes to death, I can't actually die!"
"Should I open the Dao of Life first, or the Dao of Death?"
At this moment, Su Yu pondered even as he merged the other Great Daos.
Life and death were the most difficult. A person's entire existence was nothing more than life and death.
If he opened the Dao of Life first, it would mean living first and dying later.
Once the Dao of Life was opened and the Dao of Death came after, stepping toward life from death would be exceedingly difficult.
As Su Yu was still lost in thought, a sudden roar thundered out!
Wan Tiansheng bellowed in fury, "Audacious beast! You court death!"
In an instant, the power of the seven emotions and six desires erupted throughout the chaos.
Joy, anger, sorrow, delight, life, death, and reincarnation burst forth one after another.
Within the dark chaos, Wan Tiansheng manifested into ten thousand incarnations. Countless emotional currents pulled upon the chaos as he struck out with a palm. In the depths of the chaos, a terrifying being, bearing a hint of surprise and confusion, was faintly swayed by the influence. Its will swept across like a tidal wave: "Who are you?"
That willpower was unimaginably potent!
A suppression of tier!
At this moment, everyone's expressions changed. Near Su Yu, Marquis Dingjun muttered, "It feels... no weaker than the Hundred Battles King!"
No weaker than Hundred Battles from six thousand years ago!
Back then, the Hundred Battles King had already touched the combat realm of a Rule Master.
Back then, it was effortless for the Hundred Battles King to take on three Celestial Venerables at once.
And for a Celestial Venerable, fighting two or three Heavenly Kings was just as effortless.
Of course, Yueqin had been slain by Wan Tiansheng and Lan Tian, but that had required two Heavenly Kings desperately self-detonating, along with Su Yu and Fat Ball joining forces to deliver a devastating blow before she finally perished.
By that calculation, perhaps ten Heavenly Kings working together could rival such a being.
Yet what did a Celestial Venerable represent?
A Celestial Venerable possessed an understanding of the Great Dao on par with a Rule Master, meaning there was no suppression of tier between them. Against a Rule Master, however, a Heavenly King suffered an inherent suppression of level.
In the void, the true form of that mighty being gradually revealed itself.
Su Yu glanced over, let out a sudden sigh, and chuckled. "Luck?"
Opening a heaven was bound to be arduous!
Obstacles were inevitable!
Su Yu did not believe the sudden appearance of this being was any accident.
Composing himself, Su Yu looked at the colossal beast that had been forced out into the distance. It was massive beyond measure and somewhat resembled a dragon—perhaps the ancestral archetype of the dragon race.
Su Yu smiled, sending out ripples of willpower. "How did you get here?"
It could not be a coincidence!
It could only be the arrangement of the chaos.
The dragon-like monster turned its gaze toward Su Yu, its enormous eyes gleaming with a faint golden light in the darkness.
"You are opening a Dao in the chaos?"
"That's right!"
"No wonder!"
The giant dragon beast's willpower surged across. "The chaos summoned me. I had long been in slumber, yet the chaos awakened me to deal with you, the interloper opening a Dao!"
It truly had been summoned by the will of the chaos.
It wasn't that the beast had sensed anything on its own; it had been deep in slumber in the far reaches of the chaos.
Su Yu sighed with deep emotion. "The chaos... It seems even the heavens have a will! It deliberately refuses to let me open a heaven here... Other ancient beasts might have simply sensed a repulsive force, but in your case, it even dug up a slumbering existence! Are you here to kill me?"
"Expelling you works just as well!"
The giant dragon beast's willpower reverberated. "Withdraw from the chaos, and I will spare your life!"
Its massive eyes swept across the surroundings. There were quite a few powerhouses present.
Fat Ball, Wan Tiansheng, and the others were all considerably strong.
However, Lan Tian was severely wounded, and King Dazhou and the Southern King had already departed.
At this moment, their collective combat power was still inferior to this creature.
Even if the Heavenly Kings joined forces!
As for those below the Heavenly King level, once things reached this stage, mere numbers were meaningless. Just as the Martial Emperor had said back then: if numbers truly mattered, wouldn't thirty to fifty Dao Integration experts have been enough to kill him?
A single Heavenly King could fight four or five Dao Integration experts, and seven or eight Heavenly Kings were comparable to two or three Celestial Venerables. Shouldn't two or three Celestial Venerables have been able to rival and kill the sealed Martial Emperor, then?
Yet the suppression of tier truly existed.
For a swarm of ants to bite an elephant to death required time and opportunity.
At that moment, Wan Tiansheng unleashed a wave of emotion, carrying profound goodwill as his willpower rippled out: "Mighty one, so long as you are willing to withdraw, we can make a deal. Whatever you need, we can trade for it!"
He did not want a massive battle to break out!
Otherwise, the trouble would be immense!
The giant dragon beast sneered with a hint of mockery, "What could you possibly offer me?"
A ridiculous group of fools!
Its colossal body began inching forward.
Su Yu, however, chuckled. "This is a trial, but also a punishment—the chaos punishing me. Opening a heaven is never so simple! Still, this works out well. I was just about to open life and death, and I was wondering how I should die. Commit suicide? That would be far too awkward!"
Su Yu beamed. "The timing is impeccable! A disaster, but also an opportunity! From life to death, stepping toward life from death... And just like that, this ancient beast arrives. It is none other than my stepping stone for opening this heaven! If I am slain by it, that fits the Dao of Death perfectly! From life to death... If I return, I can battle it, and I won't necessarily fear it!"
Su Yu sighed with emotion. "Everything arranged so neatly. Luck—this thing is truly terrifying!"
He looked toward the giant dragon beast and smiled. "I have slain quite a few dragons, but never one as powerful as you! Back in the ancient era, could you rival a Rule Master?"
The giant dragon beast did not underestimate Su Yu. It could ignore Wan Tiansheng and the others, but it could not disregard this being who was in the midst of opening a heaven.
It fell silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke. It no longer used willpower transmission, but the authentic common tongue of the myriad realms.
"Is the ancient era you speak of that age when the human race was unified?"
"Yes."
"A Rule Master..."
The chaotic giant dragon pondered for a moment, then said, "I once clashed with a Human King of your race. I was no match for him, but he failed to kill me, and I escaped."
"Which Human King?"
Su Yu was somewhat curious about which Human King couldn't even kill a fellow who had barely crossed into the realm of a Rule Master.
"King Ping!"
Su Yu paused, glancing toward Marquis Dingjun.
If he remembered correctly, Marquis Dingjun had served under King Ping.
Marquis Dingjun looked thoroughly embarrassed.
Nearby, Princess Qi sent a voice transmission to Su Yu: "In the ancient era, whether a Human King was strong or not could be told simply by looking at the combat strength of his subordinates! King Ping had few experts under his command, which was why even someone like Marquis Dingjun could snag a marquis title! King Ping's strength was just as his name suggested—mediocre. He was a typical King who attained his status through the Physical Dao! He wasn't a true Rule Master, merely possessing combat strength at that level!"
*Good grief, laying bare King Ping's entire background in one breath.*
Marquis Dingjun and General Yingwu possessed comparable strength—well, in truth, General Yingwu was probably slightly stronger—yet one was a general while the other was a marquis... It was likely because each Human King was allocated a different quota of titles.
Figures as mighty as King Wen and King Wu certainly received many slots, but their ranks were packed with talent, making titles harder to distribute.
King Ping and his peers received fewer slots, but because they had few experts beneath them, distribution was actually simpler.
That Marquis Dingjun had managed to secure a marquis title was sheer luck.
After silently disparaging King Ping and Marquis Dingjun, Su Yu smiled and said, "In other words, you couldn't even defeat the weakest among those who became Kings through the physical body back then?"
Put that way, this fellow hadn't amounted to much in the ancient era either.
The giant dragon beast did not take offense, merely stating coldly, "Do you intend to fight me?"
Su Yu smiled. "If you don't mind, could you wait for me a moment?"
Su Yu pointed to the thousands of Great Daos before him. "I haven't fully merged the power of these Daos yet. Would you wait until I finish integrating them?"
The giant dragon beast seemed displeased. Su Yu smiled and added, "Just wait a moment! I won't bully you by having my people gang up on you. Otherwise, you might not come out on top either!"
He glanced around. "I have quite a few people here! If we all swarm you, you might not be able to hold out! Why don't you wait until I finish merging the Daos, and then we'll have a one-on-one duel?"
The giant dragon beast also surveyed the surroundings. Indeed, there were many of them.
If a true slaughter ensued, even if it could kill many, it would likely suffer severe consequences.
After a brief silence, the giant dragon beast said, "You may withdraw."
"That won't do. That would obstruct my path to the Dao, and I will never agree to it!"
Su Yu smiled. "Are you willing? If not... we can start the battle right now!"
The giant dragon beast fell silent once more. "Will your people join forces with you later?"
Su Yu chuckled. "They won't! Opening the Dao of Life and Death requires staking everything on a single throw. If my people intervene, my Dao might fracture! And if my Dao breaks, I will retreat anyway... So if my people step in, that means I have already lost, and you are the victor!"
Opening the Dao of Life and Death!
Staking everything on a single throw.
The giant dragon beast observed closely. It could not tell whether Su Yu was telling the truth, but if Su Yu tried any tricks, it was confident it could crush him and halt his Dao-opening.
How should it choose?
The giant dragon beast pondered for a moment and said, "You likely do not wish for your subordinates to die either... If you truly fight me alone, I am willing to wait! But if you gang up on me... I will retreat for now, and I will certainly take my revenge on all of you!"
Su Yu laughed. "You're even making threats now?"
"Do you intend to break your word?"
Su Yu chuckled. "Of course not! How about this: tell those ancient beasts to stay back as well. Wait for me for about half a day, which should be enough. Once I merge the rest of the Daos, I will spar with you!"
The giant dragon beast said nothing.
Su Yu paid it no further heed and continued merging his Daos. Page after page of the chronicle flew out, expanding swiftly to open Great Daos.
Su Yu merged them rapidly. Because Lan Tian had conducted trials for him beforehand, the process went much smoother.
Two thousand, twenty-one hundred...
Strands of Great Dao power were woven into a net by his hands. The entire Great Dao grew immensely thick and increasingly powerful.
Faintly, these Great Dao powers were all linked to Su Yu.
His aura also grew steadily stronger.
However, it was never entirely harmonious.
Wan Tiansheng tore through the void and sent a voice transmission: "Do you truly intend to fight it alone?"
"Yes."
Su Yu replied via transmission: "I need to comprehend life and death—true life and death, stepping toward life from a place of death! Don't worry, I won't die so easily. I am in the midst of opening my Dao; even if I die... once I open the Dao of Life, I can return to life!"
Wan Tiansheng fell silent for a moment before transmitting: "If you truly can't defeat it, we will join forces!"
"No!"
Su Yu smiled, transmitting again: "I have lied many times, but I didn't lie to this dragon! There is no need for meaningless sacrifices! If I can't beat it and fail to open life and death, this Dao will likely be ruined anyway! Unless I succeed in opening the Dao and still can't beat it... and it continues to cause trouble. In that case, we can certainly teach it a lesson!"
He continued, "This dragon is actually a trial for my Dao-opening! Up to now, opening this Dao has gone remarkably smoothly, but excessive smoothness... often conceals deficiencies. It isn't necessarily a good thing! Director, you all should retreat for now!"
Wan Tiansheng frowned, saying nothing.
Su Yu, however, called out loudly, "Everyone, retreat to the Land of Guixu! In a moment, I will battle this dragon Daoist to familiarize myself with my new Dao. You may observe and see for yourselves. Since I am not yet fully attuned to my own Great Dao, it might offer you some inspiration!"
Everyone looked at one another, none speaking for a time.
Su Yu's expression turned cold. "Or have my words already ceased to carry weight?"
At these words, Wan Tiansheng sighed and turned to fly back.
The others also silently flew toward the Land of Guixu.
This dragon was formidable!
It was equivalent to Hundred Battles from six thousand years ago, or perhaps no weaker than the ancestor of the Chaos race, or on par with Celestial Venerable Rimian of the god race, if not a cut above.
These figures across different periods could perhaps be seen as sharing a single tier: the absolute pinnacle of Celestial Venerables, standing on the threshold of Rule Masters.
Hovering on the verge of breakthrough.
Of course, Hundred Battles today was likely even stronger; having sealed himself for six thousand years, his cultivation had not necessarily halted.
*Rivaling you means I can catch up to Hundred Battles from six thousand years ago... I refuse to believe he hasn't made a single stride in six thousand years!*
As a Sovereign, Su Yu didn't care much for regal airs.
As for methods, none of them were lacking.
Right now, what he lacked was sheer strength.
Even without opening life and death, his Dao could unleash considerable might. Once he opened life and death, they would see the final outcome.
Twenty-three hundred, twenty-four hundred...
Great Daos were continuously integrated by him.
Su Yu's aura also grew progressively stronger.
An illusory strength!
It had not yet been truly forged into a single cohesive cord!
Across from him, the giant dragon beast remained silent, watching quietly. Heaven-openers were legendary even within the chaos.
And now, it wished to test its strength against a weak heaven-opener.
What kind of capability did one need to open a heaven?
Time trickled by. After four or five hours, the entire void had turned terrifyingly quiet.
*Boom!*
At that exact instant, the Great Dao cinched tight!
It resembled a hollow cylinder, yet this cylinder appeared as though it had been split in two—like a length of bamboo cleaved down the middle.
Those two junctions required two separate Daos to bridge them.
Su Yu examined it and felt reasonably satisfied. The process had actually gone quite smoothly, though Lan Tian had suffered heavy injuries; wounds to one's Great Dao were not easily healed.
At this moment, there was still no phenomenon of opening a heaven!
Because it was incomplete!
The giant dragon beast had been waiting all along. Sensed that Su Yu was nearly finished, it spoke with a voice like a booming bell: "Are you ready?"
"Ready. Many thanks for accommodating me, fellow Daoist!"
Su Yu chuckled, stepping forward one stride at a time. "Go easy on me, Daoist. My Dao is still quite unrefined..."
*Boom!*
A tail swept directly toward him, causing the void to rupture under the force.
Yet Su Yu vanished on the spot. When he reappeared, he was already atop the dragon's head. After quietly sensing the surroundings, he said softly, "Myriad Daos, ten thousand paths—they are truly wondrous. It seems, Daoist, you might not be able to kill me after all!"
"Only strength is true!"
The giant dragon beast paid his words no mind. It was not as though it had never seen Great Dao powers before.
In the next instant, surges of chaotic power welled up. In a flash, Su Yu was enveloped by chaotic force, and with a thunderous roar, the chaotic power exploded!
Su Yu vanished once more, but this time, he sensed true danger.
The dragon's speed was astonishingly swift!
It followed right on his heels, catching up instantly.
Su Yu immediately siphoned away the surrounding chaotic power, yet it had little effect on the dragon.
"Strength alone is unbreakable. Strength originates from oneself, not necessarily from the chaos... Underestimating me is not wise, fellow Daoist!"
*Bang!*
A tail whipped across. Su Yu attempted to escape through the void again, but this time, his spatial escape was suppressed directly by colossal force. In the next moment, a deafening dragon roar resounded through heaven and earth!
"*Roar!*"
*Rumble!*
Su Yu's eardrums ruptured, blood spilling from all seven apertures as he tumbled out of his spatial transit.
*Pfft!*
A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed forth.
"No matter how many tricks you possess, raw force overcomes all finesse. The ancient Chaos race is, after all, the genesis of this universe!"
With those words, a massive claw reached out silently toward Su Yu. With a sickening crunch, it tore Su Yu to shreds.
In the distance, the onlookers panicked.
In the next instant, however, Su Yu reappeared—one, two, three...
The Dao of Clones!
A cold glint flickered in the dragon's eyes. "Clones? What use are they?"
"Break!"
With a low growl, the dragon's body expanded ten million times in an instant. The entire chaotic space seemed to be filled by the dragon alone. With a thunderous crash, it bore down, completely cramming the space!
*Bang, bang, bang!* One Su Yu after another burst apart!
True force overcoming all finesse!
Yet Su Yu's voice echoed in all directions, tinged with wry amusement: "Ever since I was a child reading books, the protagonist was always the one who used raw force to conquer all finesse, slaying people and declaring that fancy tricks were useless. Who would have thought that today, I'd be the one getting lectured by you? So it turns out you're the protagonist, and I'm the villain?"
Su Yu's voice carried a laugh. "The so-called 'raw force conquering all finesse' is just martial artists blowing their own horn! At the same level, try and see whether fancy tricks are useless or not, eh, Daoist?"
At that moment, Su Yu transformed into a blaze of chaotic flame. Instantly, fiery light illuminated heaven and earth, searing the giant dragon!
"The power of your rules is weak! It is indeed nothing more than flashy nonsense!"
*Boom!*
The dragon whipped its tail, extinguishing the flames in a single sweep. A massive claw shattered the void and tore open the firmament, piercing straight through the chaos and dispersing Su Yu's illusory form. Su Yu vanished instantly.
One man and one dragon engaged in a fierce battle across the void.
Su Yu primarily focused on evasion, deploying an endless array of Dao techniques.
Invisibility, the five elements, clones, curses, explosions...
Every conceivable Dao technique was brought to bear.
Yet no matter how powerful the techniques were, striking the giant dragon only inflicted minor scratches, which quickly healed. Meanwhile, every single blow from the dragon dealt Su Yu a painful setback.
The giant dragon beast said coldly, "Your Dao is too weak! At this rate, you are bound to fail!"
Su Yu's figure materialized once more, pale-faced, as he chuckled, "True enough! As expected, beings who have reached this stage really are tough to handle!"
"Fight!"
Su Yu instantly transformed into a massive saber—a saber meant to cleave the heavens. Saber light spilled across the expanse, leaving only this single blade between heaven and earth!
"Not enough!"
The giant dragon beast suddenly roared, its sonic wave battering heaven and earth. In the rear, Wan Tiansheng and the others turned pale as defensive barriers rose one after another. *Rumble!* Barriers shattered in rapid succession!
*Pfft!* Many coughed up blood simultaneously.
Meanwhile, the giant saber Su Yu had become dimmed considerably. The blade cleaved down, striking the dragon's horn with an earth-shaking clang. Golden blood seeped from the horn, while Su Yu reverted to his true form, tumbling back several thousand meters with both arms mangled and bloody.
The dragon shook its head, a faint sneer showing in its eyes. "Is this your strongest attack?"
Too weak!
Su Yu sighed. *Am I weak?*
He wasn't weak!
Gathering thousands of Great Daos, he dared not claim he could rival a Rule Master, but he felt certain he possessed the power of a Celestial Venerable. At the very least, he could match Yueqin from back then.
Yet against this giant dragon, even with ten thousand methods at his disposal, he could barely pierce its defense. What else could he do?
"Your offensive power is lacking!"
The dragon sneered. "How about testing mine?"
In the next instant, the dragon suddenly coiled upward!
"Shatter!"
A roar of willpower resounded in all directions. With a violent boom, the surrounding void cracked and fragmented. The dragon's coiled body suddenly snapped straight like a released spring!
The entire chaotic void was blasted to pieces by its snap!
*Rumble!*
Space tore asunder. Su Yu hastily tried to conceal himself, but failed; his invisibility was instantly shattered.
Clones failed; they crumbled in the blink of an eye.
Turning his true body into nothingness failed; he was immediately battered back into tangible form.
Faced with that single snapping strike, Su Yu exhausted every measure, enduring immense torment. With a resounding thud, his true form reappeared ten thousand meters away, covered in blood and shredded flesh.
"*Huff...*"
Su Yu panted heavily, filled with helplessness.
*Damn, this creature is terrifying!*
If this fellow were sent to fight Celestial Venerables, it could effortlessly take on three or four at once!
Su Yu had virtually no power to fight back, relying entirely on his diverse arsenal just to stay alive.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the hairs on his body stood on end. Su Yu tore open the void to flee, but at that exact moment, a tail shadowed him soundlessly, moving at unimaginable speed. With a sickening tear, the tip of the tail impaled Su Yu's chest.
Su Yu roared, Great Dao power erupting as he vanished in a flash. Yet the instant he reappeared, his expression changed dramatically. Right before him stood a burly man!
Bare-chested, the man threw a punch!
*Boom!*
Su Yu swiftly crossed his arms to block. *Bang!* Both of his arms were blown apart, and his chest took another devastating blow. He was sent flying by the punch, bones snapping to pieces.
Mid-flight, the burly man reappeared like a phantom behind Su Yu and delivered a kick. *Bang!* Like a kicked ball, Su Yu's back exploded on impact!
"Your Majesty!"
In the rear, everyone watched in terror. *So strong!*
This burly man was none other than the giant dragon beast in humanoid form.
Having gravely wounded Su Yu with a single kick, the man pursued like a shadow, keeping pace effortlessly. "I told you: no matter how many tricks you have, none are as real as raw strength!"
"King Wen!"
Su Yu suddenly shouted in shock, and the illusory figure of a white-robed man appeared before him. The dragon glanced over, startled!
It instinctively hesitated, but golden light instantly erupted from its eyes. Chaotic qi flared, blasting the white phantom to pieces with a roar. Looking again, Su Yu had already fled into the distance.
Su Yu panted, bleeding from all seven apertures, yet he was smiling. "Who says having many tricks is useless? See? If I were just a bit stronger just now, or on par with you, I could have killed you the moment you lost focus! Old dragon, you're too outdated. Relying purely on raw muscle... isn't that just being a barbarian?"
"And yet... strength is strength!"
The giant man stepped through the air, his demeanor icy. "Having many methods cannot be called useless; between equals, the one with more tricks has a greater chance of winning! But... you and I are not equals! Now, shatter your Great Dao and retreat, and I will spare your life!"
Su Yu chuckled, vanishing in an instant. Hundreds of figures manifested around the dragon at once. Divine light flared in the dragon's eyes, and with a single punch, all the phantoms were blasted apart!
"Lock!"
With a low shout, the shattered phantoms transformed into chains that bound the beast the moment they burst. Su Yu's true body emerged, his face pale, holding a brush as he inscribed midair: "Five Elements Purgatory, seal heaven and earth, suppress evil..."
Each character was a divine character, each word a rule!
"Only strength is true!"
The giant man roared madly. The divine characters shattered, the chains snapped, and with a thunderous sweep of his leg tearing through the void, Su Yu's brush fractured with a loud snap. *Pfft!* Another mouthful of blood sprayed out.
Su Yu's face turned even paler. He couldn't help but snap in frustration, "You're merely at the threshold, not a true Rule Master! How can you be this strong?"
"You aren't weak either!"
The dragon said calmly, "Having many methods does have its merits. Otherwise, facing me head-on with your level of power, you would have been beaten to death long ago! That you can still retaliate already marks you as a powerhouse!"
"A Rule Master?"
A smile crossed the giant man's face. "At my level, if I truly entered your myriad realms and connected to the Great Dao, I would be a Rule Master. What is true and what is false? But why shackle myself and become a slave to the myriad realms?"
Before his voice had even faded, both man and dragon struck at the same time. Su Yu slashed down with a saber, while the dragon met it with a punch. *Boom!*
This was perhaps their first direct clash. Su Yu's saber shattered, but a cloud of poisonous mist was instantly released.
*Hiss!*
A corrosive sound rang out, making the dragon feel slightly dizzy. Black blood welled from its fist in an instant. With a shake of its hand, the black blood dripped down, corroding even the chaotic power around it!
"Poison?"
The dragon frowned. "Truly an endless supply of tricks. How many more do you have?"
"Plenty!"
Su Yu sneered. In the blink of an eye, healing power welled up, and the injuries across his body vanished completely.
A moment later, dozens of protective barriers enveloped his body, all pure defensive power.
Immediately after, phantom figures materialized in the void, charging toward the dragon like gods and fiends—a summoning technique!
"Qi Condensed into Puppets!"
With a low shout, countless currents of chaotic qi coalesced into humanoid figures, surging toward the dragon.
At this moment, Su Yu was pulling out every stop.
"Scattering Beans to Form Soldiers!"
With a wave of his hand, another legion of puppets appeared, only for the previous batch to be completely pulverized by the dragon.
"A waste of rule power. What can these puppets do other than delay me for a fleeting breath?"
"Many drops make an ocean—they will kill you!"
Su Yu barked coldly, and countless puppets materialized once more. This time, they self-detonated in unison, the blasts shaking the surroundings. Yet once the explosions subsided, the dragon strode out again, looking merely slightly disheveled with a few minor wounds that swiftly regenerated.
Su Yu felt a wave of powerlessness!
*Damn it, even this can't harm the bastard. How am I supposed to fight this?!*
...
On the perimeter.
The onlookers were utterly dazzled, their hearts pounding in terror as they watched. Tianmie couldn't resist calling out, "Your Majesty, hit him with a giant club!"
At that exact moment, Su Yu transformed into a colossal club and came crashing down!
*Boom!*
The dragon threw a punch, shattering the club and sending Su Yu flying backward.
The crowd glared fiercely at Tianmie, who looked thoroughly helpless. How was he supposed to know this would happen? Was his Dao of the Club not strong? It felt even weaker than the other Daos!
Tianmie couldn't help asking, "Roughly how strong is His Majesty?"
It was getting hard to tell.
Wan Tiansheng said solemnly, "A Celestial Venerable!"
"Then His Majesty should hurry and open the Dao of Life and Death to thrash him!"
He already possessed the power of a Celestial Venerable without opening life and death; once opened, wouldn't he instantly become a Rule Master?
Beat him up!
Wan Tiansheng felt an urge to tear his mouth off!
Nonsense—if Su Yu could open it, he would have done so already!
Right at that moment, the dragon took another stride forward, stomping down toward Su Yu with a massive foot. "You wish to use my power to comprehend life and death... but I fear that will be difficult! I will not kill you, but I will shatter your myriad Dao powers. Once your Dao is broken, what good will comprehending life and death do?"
"Chaotic beasts really have grown a lot smarter..."
Su Yu retreated once more, fleeing rapidly with a bitter smile. "No wonder. I kept feeling like you were deliberately wearing down my Great Dao power. Turns out you were aiming to break my Dao all along!"
The dragon did not deny it; having spoken the words itself, that was indeed the reality!
Why go through the trouble of killing Su Yu?
Breaking his Dao and extinguishing his hopes would conclude the matter today.
Killing Su Yu, on the other hand, would trigger an all-out war.
"However... you have to see whether I'm willing to grind it out with you!"
"You lack the power to kill me, so I have nothing to fear!"
The moment the dragon finished speaking, Su Yu let out a roar, and the Heavenly Gate suddenly burst open!
Once the Heavenly Gate opened, Su Yu's entire presence shifted. Looking at the dragon now, he saw flaws riddled across its entire body. His speed accelerated, and he traversed the void in an instant, thrusting out with a sword!
*Squelch!* The strike pierced the creature's left arm, slipping between the seams of its muscles and driving cleanly through.
"The Heavenly Gate?"
The dragon was slightly shaken. "You are forcing me to kill you..."
"In battle, holding back is the greatest folly. Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a hare, and I am no hare. Do you truly think you can grind me to death?"
Su Yu sneered.
"Then I shall grant your wish!"
The dragon reverted to its true form, colossal beyond belief.
"Shatter!"
The surrounding void fractured once more, but this time Su Yu did not retreat. The instant the Great Dao power ruptured, he slipped through the weak points in its force and thrust his sword forward. *Squelch!* The blade plunged directly into the beast's eye.
"*Roar!*"
The dragon howled madly, spewing a torrent of chaotic flame. Su Yu was engulfed in an instant. Immense amounts of water power materialized, yet could not extinguish the fire.
"*Ah!*"
Su Yu screamed in agony. His sword shifted into a spear, sweeping out with a thunderous blow that shattered the dragon's horn once more. Golden blood dripped down, tainted by black poison seeping in.
In the blink of an eye, man and dragon tore into each other across the void.
Su Yu possessed far too many methods, yet his raw power still fell short.
Before long, Su Yu was ripped to shreds by a claw, flesh and blood flying everywhere as the dragon tore him apart alive!
"Your Majesty!"
In the rear, the onlookers could no longer hold back. Someone roared, "Let's all charge together and kill that bastard!"
The disparity was glaringly obvious; Su Yu simply could not match the creature.
Yet Wan Tiansheng remained unnervingly calm, transmitting: "Wait! He needs to die once. He wants to be truly slain by it, to experience the reality of death... Do not interfere with him!"
Everyone felt a chill in their hearts. *If he dies, can he truly come back to life?*
It felt entirely too mad!
*Rumble!*
At that moment, Su Yu charged forward once more with reckless abandon, his voice echoing out: "I have attempted feigned death countless times, and every time it felt like true death... yet upon waking, I always knew it was nothing more than an illusion!"
"Daoist, grant my wish—come and kill me!"
*Rumble!*
A fearless Celestial Venerable, fighting without regard for his life and armed with countless techniques, left even the dragon unable to hold back any longer.
Its power surged, growing fiercer and fiercer.
"You court death! Do you truly believe you can revive after dying?"
"Kill!"
The dragon roared fiercely. An orb suddenly materialized on its claw, smashing directly toward Su Yu!
*Bang!* The impact blasted Su Yu apart!
Just as Su Yu's shattered body attempted to regenerate, the dragon moved even faster, appearing beside his fragmented remains in a flash and stomping a massive foot toward his head!
"You want death? Then I grant it!"
*Boom!*
The moment the massive foot stomped down, it transformed into a dragon tail, driving forward like a spear to impale Su Yu to death!
Yet in that instant, Su Yu's mouth opened impossibly wide as he roared, "I'll swallow you whole!"
The maw expanded to an unbelievable scale!
In one bite, it swallowed the entire dragon tail.
His abdomen had already been blown apart, yet the dragon's tail was nowhere to be seen, lost to whatever void he had consigned it to!
A terrifying suction pulled the entire dragon into his maw.
*Rumble!*
A deafening roar erupted, and the dragon's voice echoed from an unknown space: "You dare try to swallow me? In your dreams..."
"Screw your ancestors!"
Su Yu gritted his teeth, his severed head floating alone in the void. Suddenly, the Heavenly Gate manifested above his head, crashing down to form a towering portal.
"You want to kill me? Even if I want to die, it won't be like this! Letting you kill me for nothing would mean I, Su Yu, am utterly useless!"
He hurled his head straight into the Heavenly Gate!
The illusory Heavenly Gate swung wide, and in an instant, the head crashed inside!
The giant dragon roared in madness, "The Heavenly Gate? Have you lost your mind?! Neither of us will be able to return..."
*Boom!*
A cataclysmic blast shook heaven and earth. The massive head slammed into the Heavenly Gate and shattered instantly. In that split second, Su Yu felt as though he had truly experienced death.
Beyond the Heavenly Gate lay what seemed to be a realm of absolute darkness.
Whether it was the darkness of death or the intrinsic darkness within the gate, none could tell.
"King Wen!"
At this moment, as if struck by a sudden realization, Su Yu unleashed a final roar.
"Are you there?!"
"King Wen!"
"Are you there?!"
*Rumble!*
As that final roar echoed, Su Yu's head completely disintegrated. From within the remnants of the head, a giant dragon emerged, battered and covered in wounds. Terror filled its eyes as it turned and fled toward the outside of the Heavenly Gate.
And at that very moment, just as Su Yu's consciousness fell entirely silent, a faint gasp of surprise seemed to drift from the distant darkness.
"Huh? Who is that?"
"A dragon?"
"A dragon opening the Heavenly Gate?"
The voice was filled with bewilderment and shock. *What on earth?!*
*Boom!*
At that moment, the giant dragon roared frantically. It did not know whether Su Yu was dead or whether he had heard it, but it certainly had!
What a terrifying realm!
Burning its very life essence, it crashed through the illusory Heavenly Gate in an instant. Yet the Heavenly Gate suddenly exploded with a deafening blast!
Half of the dragon's tail was severed by the detonation, left behind within the gate.
Only the dragon's head and torso managed to escape!
*Bang!*
The Heavenly Gate shattered completely, and the sole ray of light vanished.
The world fell back into silence.
...
In the realm of darkness.
The white-robed man wore a look of utter astonishment, turning toward the burly, blood-drenched man beside him. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Someone called my name! It seemed... it seemed to be a dragon!"
The burly man frowned, glared at him, and snapped, "Are you insane? Wouldn't it make more sense to say your sister was calling you?"
"No..."
The white-robed man tried to argue that it wasn't his sister... but he quickly gave up.
How depressing!
If the Human Sovereign had been here, or King Ming, or heck, even the Prison King, they would have been astonished upon hearing this and said, *Is that real? Let's investigate, let's analyze what's going on...*
Well, that was them!
Right now, his teammate was not one of them.
The white-robed man said dejectedly, "I'm sorry. I ruined you by raising you like this!"
"Huh?"
The burly man looked at him. The white-robed man lamented, "Aside from fighting and killing, use your head a bit more from now on! Raising you is more exhausting than raising a son!"
"..."
The burly man's face turned livid!
*Who are you calling a son?!*
The white-robed man ignored him, gazing into the distance. *I want to go take a look. I really... seemed to hear someone calling my name!*
*It seemed to be a dragon... Strange. A dragon?*
*A chaos dragon?*
*My eyes didn't deceive me. I'm certain of it!*
Chapter 782