The Martial Emperor Has Died Again

A lightning tribulation forged new life! Half-dead from the lightning strikes, Marquis Lanshan howled and bellowed, caught in pain yet absolute ecstasy! At times, existing as a dead spirit was truly a sorrowful fate. No sense of taste, no pain, no touch. The world in one's eyes, everything before one's sight, was endlessly gray. Yet today, Marquis Lanshan felt what it meant to be alive! She was alive again; she had been resurrected! The bolts of the tribulation crashing from the sky seemed to be declaring to her: you are a living person now! Excruciating though it was! Marquis Lanshan roared at the heavens, and once she finished roaring, she blurted out, "Your Majesty, my Dao is the sword, but there's no Dao of the Sword left for me to merge with!" "..." Good grief, you only just realized that now?! Su Yu was utterly speechless. Had she paid no attention to this at all earlier? And here he had actually worried over the matter! He had assumed she trusted him completely and refrained from asking; turns out she had just clean forgotten about it! A conventional path like the Dao of the Sword was sought after by too many, and Xinghong had already snatched it up. He had even sent Yunxiao flying just to secure it! "Merge with the Dao of the Mace!" Su Yu barked. Marquis Lanshan froze slightly and shouted back, "Your Majesty, I don't know how to use a mace..." "Nonsense! Wielding a sword and wielding a mace are the exact same thing to you—just hacking and smashing! Who cares whether it's a saber, spear, sword, or halberd? Don't you fight the same regardless?" "..." Fair point! Helpless, Marquis Lanshan thought it over and hollered, "Then... I'll merge with the Dao of the Halberd! At least I've seen people use halberds. Hardly anyone uses maces, so I can barely even recognize the weapon!" "..." Su Yu was at a loss for words. Fine, whatever makes you happy. Down in the world below, a Great Dao shaped like a grand halberd hovered in the air. Overjoyed, Marquis Lanshan mobilized all her strength and quickly began merging into this Dao of the Halberd. As for comprehension... for a pure martial artist, the differences in weapon insights were negligible. Besides, there was hardly any difference between her swinging a sword and thrusting a halberd; handing her a battleaxe would have yielded the same result. All the while, Su Yu shouted commands while closely observing the process. He paid no heed to the dead spirit giant for the moment. Extending his Dao of Life and Death through the Dao of Ink, he channeled it directly into his own world. This time, he personally guided the powers of life and death, converting one to the other. His scrutiny of Marquis Lanshan stemmed from caution against unforeseen problems. After a careful examination, Su Yu swiftly arrived at several conclusions. First, these people truly could not return to the River of Time. The emergence of the lightning tribulation was genuine, unmistakable rejection. The tribulations from Su Yu and the Dead Spirit Dao were relatively mild; if the River of Time itself struck, it could easily blast Lanshan to ash! Second, the question of lifespan. Observing further, Su Yu deduced that if someone had fallen in battle at a young age, their lifespan was calculated based on their age prior to death. The vast span spent as a dead spirit appeared to be treated as null! When Marquis Lanshan fell in battle, she had not been very old. She had died early on, before the Human Sovereign established the imperial court, and was only granted her title posthumously. When she died, she had been around a thousand years old—a relatively young Dao Integration cultivator back then! Compared to the ancient relics around today, she had vastly more lifespan remaining. Once restored, she had no fear of dying of old age anytime soon! Third, the question of combat strength. In life, Marquis Lanshan possessed Dao Integration strength. After death, she had eventually reached the Heavenly King tier. After absorbing an origin, she had formally stepped into the Heavenly King domain and was approaching the realm of Celestial Venerable! Yet as Su Yu observed her, although her aura surged instantly upon merging, it was somewhat diminished compared to right after she absorbed the origin. A certain degree of power and rule had been lost in the transition. Of course, she was still far stronger than before she had absorbed any origin at all. From the looks of her aura, she possessed top-tier Heavenly King strength. However, it was hard to say how much of that power she could actually exert within his Dao. If she was like King Daxia and the others, her true combat power would fall somewhere between the peak of the second tier and barely Heavenly King level. Su Yu frowned slightly. The conversion did not seem to yield a massive leap in strength. Well, that was due to his own limitations. He could not blame Marquis Lanshan! It was because his own Dao was still too weak, which in turn restricted their strength. Otherwise, Marquis Lanshan would have been a genuine top-tier Heavenly King, brushing against the threshold of Celestial Venerable! While Su Yu was assessing her, an anguished howl erupted nearby. Fat Ball, fully blackened and terrifyingly strong, was skewered alongside King Wen's boot by the giant's pitchfork, impaled together like meat on a skewer. The strike made Fat Ball scream in sheer agony. It hurt so badly! The dead spirit giant grew increasingly formidable. Brandishing the giant pitchfork, he battered Fat Ball into frantic roars, stepping forward stride by stride as if intent on skewering San Yue and the others to death as well! "Continue!" Su Yu swept his gaze across the scene and commanded with furrowed brows, "Next!" The three Celestial Venerables were clearly no match for the dead spirit giant. They were not weak by any measure, especially since Fat Ball alone was equivalent to two. Earlier, three Celestial Venerables had held their ground against four dead spirit Celestial Venerables without falling into a disadvantage. Yet now, the dead spirit giant was thrashing them mercilessly. Clearly, the giant's power was rising steadily and had already surpassed Su Yu's. Su Yu paid it no mind. At this moment, he could feel his Dao power swelling once more, his world expanding. Below, numerous powerhouses were relentlessly bombarding the Dead Spirit Dao, sapping its strength. His world, which originally spanned ten thousand meters, had already expanded over tenfold when the mass of experts merged earlier. Now, with Marquis Lanshan joining, it expanded another notch. Su Yu himself pushed the boundaries outward, annexing territory from the Dead Spirit Realm! Resurrected! At this moment, everyone turned their eyes to Marquis Lanshan. Seeing her successfully merge with the Dao of the Halberd, they were all shaken to the core. A resurrection had truly taken place! Yes, every eye witnessed it now! High above Su Yu's world stood a valiant female warrior clutching a long halberd. Clad in fiery red armor with a blood-red cape fluttering in the wind, she radiated commanding authority! She looked strikingly young! When Marquis Lanshan kept silent and wore no smile, she was undeniably a stunning beauty. Yet... at this very moment, she held the halberd in one hand, rested her other hand on her hip, and burst into wild, raucous laughter, completely unrefined. Whatever grace she possessed vanished into thin air. "Hahaha!" "Hahahahaha!" "..." Marquis Lanshan's laughter shook heaven and earth. She was practically laughing herself mad. She was the first dead spirit in all creation to be resurrected! She was just shy of shouting, *Let me pose with my hands on my hips and gloat a while!* "Your Majesty, does my marquis uniform look fine?" Marquis Lanshan roared with laughter. "Lord King Wu personally brought this to the Dead Spirit Realm and dressed me in it back in the day! Your Majesty, if I am ever granted kingship, will Your Majesty forge me a set of King Lanshan robes?" Su Yu shot her a flat look, not bothering to answer. Now that this woman was revived, even her expressions had changed. He had never noticed her flamboyant streak before, but today it was on full display—she was utterly brazen! Her facial expressions used to be subtle; now, they were loud and clear! At that moment, the dead spirit giant glanced downward and said faintly, "King Lanshan robes? I doubt Su Yu will have the chance. A Lanshan burial shroud, however, is very likely." His aura grew ever more terrifying as he surveyed the surroundings, speaking with chilling detachment: "Do you few intend to defy me as well?" He was looking at several top dead spirit experts. The Northern King, the Dead Spirit Emperor Venerable, and Marquis Longxue. Did these individuals intend to disobey his command? The Dead Spirit Emperor Venerable closed his eyes, feigning deafness. He was a clever man; at this juncture, he would not utter a single word. Let Su Yu and the dead spirit giant fight it out amongst themselves! If he did not help Su Yu, Su Yu would not blame him; that was only natural. If he did not help the dead spirit giant... well, this giant was not the true Master of Dead Spirits, so he had little to fear. If the true body actually arrived... there would be no need for him to intervene anyway, as Su Yu would be squashed like an ant! *** In the distance, the Northern King still held command over several Dao Integration subordinates. Right now, these dead spirits were trembling in terror. What should they do? Help the dead spirit giant? They hardly dared. Truth be told, with so many experts slaughtered over on Dizhiluo's side, who wouldn't be terrified? Help Su Yu? That was equally impossible! They had no chance of resurrection. Unable to revive, they remained dead spirits, forever bound by the jurisdiction of the Dead Spirit Dao! The Northern King wore a conflicted expression. Now, a vast number of dead spirit experts across the realm had been slain, while the rest were being resurrected. Only he, Longxue, and the Dead Spirit Emperor Venerable still counted as dead spirits in the truest sense. Yet... they had also defied the will of the Master of Dead Spirits, even if it was merely a remnant imprint. The Dead Spirit Realm was no longer pure! Su Yu's arrival had shattered the order of the entire realm. The Northern King glanced at the ferocious battle in the distance, then turned to the Dao Integration subordinates beside him, sighing softly. "Either go follow the dead spirit giant now—tread carefully, keep your heads down, and you might not die. Or go surrender to Su Yu right this moment. Resurrection may be hopeless, but Su Yu has taken away a great number of dead spirit experts. If he still wishes to govern the Dead Spirit Realm, he will need genuine dead spirits to do so!" Everyone looked at him, and one dead spirit Dao Integration expert could not help asking, "Then... what about you, My Lord?" "Me?" The Northern King gave a self-mocking laugh. "I was never a decisive person. Had I been decisive, none of this would have happened! In life, I was timid and hesitant, looking forward and backward until it led to my death. In death, I remained the same... The Eastern King approached me to join forces, and I refused!" "The Western King sought me out, and I refused!" "Even the Southern King approached me, and still I refused..." "Allying with the humans or opposing them—either was a valid path. Yet all I ever wanted was to stand independent as king... and yet I lacked the strength, the fortune, and the audacity to pull it off... A man like me is precisely what people call 'great in ambition, meager in talent.'" He had opposed the humans and opposed the myriad races, not out of inherent malice, but simply because he wanted independence. He wanted to rule his own domain behind closed doors, begging the world to leave him alone and let him be king! Yet he lacked the strength and capability to back it up. That was his great ambition and meager talent! Refusing to submit to any faction required overwhelming strength! He had none! "Make your own choices; I will not hold back your futures. As for me..." The Northern King looked into the distance toward the Dead Spirit Heavenly River, the river dedicated to guiding dead spirits. He smiled faintly. "I wish to retreat into seclusion within it, though I wonder if the chance remains. There is no longer any place for me in this Dead Spirit Realm!" Even the Land of Guixu was no longer safe! Su Yu had set foot within it, and the Dead Spirit Emperor Venerable was breaking free of his seal. What other choice did he have? As he spoke, a mouthful of dark blood abruptly erupted from his lips. The figure of Marquis Longxue slowly materialized behind him, murmuring softly, "My Lord, the world has changed. Therefore... you should depart in peace!" At that moment, the surrounding Dao Integration experts were terrified! Marquis Longxue manifested fully, his claw piercing right through the Northern King's dead spirit mark. Power was steadily devoured by Marquis Longxue. In this moment, Longxue looked eerily sinister. Glancing toward the grand battle in the distant sky, he curled his lips into a wicked smile. "What a marvelous show!" The other Dao Integration subordinates attempted to flee, but he seized them in an instant. Sickening squelches echoed continuously as his claws punctured their dead spirit marks one after another. Marquis Longxue chuckled softly. "Today is truly a magnificent performance! Some die, some revive, and in the end, hardly any true dead spirit powerhouses remain in this realm!" The Northern King's vision began to blur. He said nothing, simply staring at the sight before him. After a long silence, he rasped, "Longxue, in every era, there are always fools who fancy themselves clever, only to end up being toyed with in the palms of others..." Marquis Longxue chuckled. "Are you speaking of me, My Lord?" He crushed the Northern King's dead spirit mark, greedily absorbing his origin power. A faint smile touched the Northern King's lips, quickly followed by a sigh. "Perhaps... only you truly wish to be a dead spirit! Longxue, you are not wrong; in this realm, you are the one who truly deserves to be king! Because... this is the realm of the dead! Only you relish it as sweet nectar, while the rest of us... in the end, we still yearn to be living beings again!" His aura grew increasingly faint, his eyes distant and unfocused. "I never wanted to be a dead spirit, nor did I desire to be a Heavenly King. This Northern Heavenly King title... was never what I truly sought. What I truly wanted was simply a peaceful life. "Better to be a dog in peace than a man in chaos!" The Northern King smiled as his figure began to disperse, sighing softly. "Longxue, your path to becoming the King of Dead Spirits will be fraught with peril. Your journey has been far too smooth. I have watched your transformation... Don't you find it far too abrupt? For countless years your strength remained stagnant, yet recently it has skyrocketed as if aided by heaven itself..." "You understand nothing!" Marquis Longxue sneered with contempt. "Northern King, you are truly senile, far too content with mediocrity! You cannot fathom that in this era, there exist beings beyond your wildest imagination! My destiny, my talent, everything I possess was bestowed upon me by the true Master of Dead Spirits! "And that entity before us is merely a mental imprint. As Su Yu said, he is not the true body! "In terms of status, he might not even compare to me! I am the true master of this realm! The real Master of Dead Spirits chose me, do you understand?" The Northern King struggled to turn his head to look at Longxue. His form grew ever more translucent, yet his eyes cleared with sudden clarity. Coughing blood, he laughed, "What... what are you? Longxue... you are... utterly mediocre! Who can you compare to? The Human Sovereign? Su Yu? King Wen? King Wu? Or do you truly believe you possess more brilliance than us Four Heavenly Kings?" Coughing black blood, he smiled radiantly. "You... are still too young. You... truly are not worthy. I do not say this because you struck me down, but in the hope that you might see yourself clearly... Longxue, see yourself clearly, and you might still have a chance. If you remain blind... your... your end will not be pretty!" "Pity... you won't live to see it!" Marquis Longxue sneered. Who do you think you are? Does your word make it truth? You claim I am unworthy; are you worthy, then? What a joke! *** While all this unfolded, both the dead spirit giant and Su Yu had sensed it: something had happened to the Northern King over there! Just as Marquis Longxue uttered that the Northern King would not live to see it, Su Yu suddenly cursed aloud: "Fuck, you kept me waiting forever!" "..." Battered half to death, the three Celestial Venerables looked back in bewilderment. Fat Ball, now drenched in blood like a crimson meatball, turned his head with utter confusion. What did he mean, kept him waiting forever? Su Yu muttered furiously, "What took you so damn long!" He had been waiting for Longxue to turn viciously on the Northern King. Why had the fool dragged his feet until now?! It was driving him crazy with impatience! Longxue, who had only broken through to Celestial Venerable recently, saw his combat power skyrocket after slaying the Northern King and those Dao Integration experts. Su Yu could feel it clearly! Even so, he was still a fair distance from a Ruler of Rules. Yet Su Yu could not care less at this point; Longxue had hit his immediate limit, and there was no way he could advance further in the short term! Unless he went and killed the Dead Spirit Emperor Venerable—but was that even remotely possible? Not a chance! This "Child of Destiny" had reached the moment to fulfill his mission! The dead spirit giant was growing steadily stronger, which remained a massive headache. Particularly at this stage, Su Yu needed to preside over the resurrections; how could he afford the time to tangle with the dead spirit giant? Wouldn't that just invite trouble? The moment Marquis Longxue devoured the Northern King, Su Yu let out a thunderous roar! Within the River of Dead Spirits, a massive droplet of origin essence suddenly surged forth. Embedded within it was a small book page—the dead spirit page Su Yu had planted earlier! Su Yu had invested heavily into this, genuinely integrating one of his own divine characters into it: the "Death" character! "Return to my Dao!" With a sharp shout, the droplet of origin power flew swiftly toward Su Yu. Simultaneously, Su Yu bellowed, "True body, descend!" *Boom!* A dull rumble shook the heavens. In the next instant, everyone witnessed an astonishing sight: Marquis Longxue, still clutching the Northern King, materialized instantly within the Dead Spirit Dao. Marquis Longxue froze in shock. The dead spirit giant also frowned slightly. The Northern King, clinging to his final breath, suddenly looked at Su Yu, then at the origin power, and finally at the page embedded within it... and burst out laughing! "Hahaha!" His laughter rocked the heavens. In all his life, he had never laughed so freely, never rejoiced so thoroughly. Laughing his head off! He had lived to see it! Longxue... what a fool! Just as he had thought, this meteoric rise had arrived too quickly, aligning almost perfectly with Su Yu's appearance. Sure enough, it was all Su Yu's doing. Marquis Longxue stood dazed. What did this mean? He stared at Su Yu. Why had he suddenly appeared here? Su Yu had no time to explain. Pressed for every second, he snapped hurriedly, "Don't ask, asking won't do you any good! You're my son—ptui, I'd disown you even as a son! You claim to be the Child of Destiny, well I'm Destiny itself... Ptui, Marquis Tianming isn't me, forget it, explaining is pointless anyway! Hurry up and merge with this origin!" Marquis Longxue's expression twisted in fury as he roared, "Su Yu, you court death!" "Shut your trap!" Who has time to indulge you? I'm worried sick over here! Su Yu forcefully shoved that droplet of origin toward Marquis Longxue. Longxue tried to resist, but found himself entirely immobilized. In that instant, realization finally seemed to dawn upon him, and he shrieked in terror and rage, "You... that... the Dead Spirit Dao I merged with..." "I forged it!" Su Yu curled his lip. "Nonsense! With your pathetic caliber, if I hadn't gifted you opportunities, where on earth would you have found them? Merge it, hurry! Once you merge it, let's see if you can reach Ruler of Rules. Even if you can't, getting close enough will do. I'm busy, make it quick!" "Impossible!" Marquis Longxue went wild. "Impossible! I am the successor chosen by the true Master of Dead Spirits! Su Yu, you fraud..." "Shut your mouth! Am I not vastly more promising than the Master of Dead Spirits?" "What difference does it make whether you call him father or call me father?" Su Yu could not be bothered to waste words. He reached out to seize him. Just as Marquis Longxue tried to erupt with power—*boom!* The Dao violently convulsed. In an instant, Longxue lost all command over his Dao power! Deprived of Dao power, what was he? Nothing at all! In the blink of an eye, Su Yu snatched him into his grip. Holding up the droplet of origin water, Su Yu beamed radiantly. "Good boy, drink up!" At this moment, Su Yu seemed to embody some terrifying presence, forcefully feeding Marquis Longxue medicine... feeding him origin water! "No... Su Yu... you..." "Shut up and drink!" Su Yu punched him so hard his jaw cracked open, stuffing the origin water straight down his throat. Not stopping there, Su Yu gritted his teeth and shoved the book page in alongside it, sighing inwardly: *If I extract it and you weaken, that would defeat the whole purpose!* The moment it was integrated, Marquis Longxue's aura surged violently! In the span of a breath, from having recently broken into the Celestial Venerable realm, his power reached an extreme pinnacle, showing signs of outright surpassing Su Yu. "Su Yu!" Marquis Longxue thrashed desperately, but his Dao power remained completely outside his control. Su Yu ignored his protests entirely. Under the stunned gazes of the onlookers, he kneaded and pressed Marquis Longxue like dough. Soon, Longxue could no longer even make a sound, reduced to frantic, silent thrashing. His aura climbed ever more terrifyingly! Nearby, the dead spirit giant, who had been locked in combat with the three Celestial Venerables, suddenly halted and stared at Su Yu, asking coldly, "What are you doing?" "Can't you tell?" Su Yu grinned. "Your manifestation was triggered because I extracted a massive amount of dead spirit origin power! But... look here, I've contributed all of my own dead spirit origin power back. I had Longxue slaughter so many powerhouses, and he amassed a tremendous amount of origin... Now, I'm shoving him entirely back into the Dao. I imagine Fellow Daoist will have no justification, no reason to continue awakening!" Su Yu smiled brilliantly. "Fighting an imprint avatar like you yields zero benefits even if I win, does it? If I lose, people die on my side. Why bother? In that case, I will return as much as I extracted, and it will be time for Fellow Daoist to depart as well, wouldn't you say?" Su Yu chuckled heartily. "Look at him, see how strong he is!" "Look, he's practically on the verge of becoming a true Ruler of Rules!" "And furthermore, embedded within that page are my personal insights into the Dead Spirit Dao. I'm packing them in together and stuffing them right into the Dead Spirit Dao's origin. That's more than generous, wouldn't you say? Of course, if the Master of Dead Spirits fails to notice this before his return, I might just steal his Dao from right under him!" At this moment, Su Yu's grin was utterly wicked! "Brother, I have no desire to brawl with a machine and suffer heavy losses among my subordinates. You should just rest easy and head on back. Goodbye!" In the next instant, Marquis Longxue let out a sudden, frantic roar filled with bitter resentment, fury, despair, and madness, hurtling uncontrollably toward the dead spirit giant. His aura swelled to a horrifying degree! Su Yu bellowed, "Fat Ball, fall back!" The three Celestial Venerables were pale with fright! They scrambled to flee in all directions! As Giant Axe and San Yue fled, they cursed furiously in their hearts! What kind of demented world was this?! They had just fought a Ruler of Rules—or rather, been beaten black and blue by one—and now another combatant brushing the Ruler of Rules threshold was being primed by Su Yu to detonate! This world was entirely insane! Was this still the Lower Realm? Was this still the Dead Spirit Realm? Why did this feel infinitely more brutal than the battles in the Upper Realm? Not a single Celestial Venerable had fallen in the Upper Realm, yet here, a whole pile of them had already perished! And now, two beings essentially at the Ruler of Rules level were about to be wiped out as well? Utter madness! The dead spirit giant made no move to stop their flight, nor did he intercept Marquis Longxue's approach. With an eerie calm, right as Marquis Longxue hurtled before him, the giant asked, "Su Yu, in your eyes, where lies the difference between me and the true Master of Dead Spirits?" Su Yu smiled. "In many things!" "Would you enlighten me?" the dead spirit giant asked. Su Yu chuckled. "First, raw strength! "Second, wisdom! You appear intelligent, but in truth, it is mere imitation, a fixed routine. You possess no genuine emotions; you are nothing more than a scripted program. When the Master of Dead Spirits needs to activate you, you can only operate according to the parameters he set! "Third, adaptability! You can only follow the manual; in truth, you possess zero ability to adapt to the unexpected..." "Fourth, sheer audacity!" "Fifth..." Su Yu listed point after point. Marquis Longxue had already crashed right in front of the giant, yet the giant wore a contemplative expression. Su Yu suddenly chuckled: "Look, you're doing wonderfully right now—you've actually learned to contemplate... Perhaps... you truly wish to become the next Master of Dead Spirits. But you are, after all, merely an imprint. Of course, an imprint isn't entirely without a chance! However, if I were you, the first thing I would do is change my name so as not to be confused with the Master of Dead Spirits!" Su Yu said with a sly smile, "How about I give you a name?" The dead spirit giant looked at Su Yu. At this point, he did not retreat. Even if he were to depart, once Marquis Longxue detonated and replenished the River of Dead Spirits, he would dissipate anyway! "Please, enlighten me," he replied courteously. Should he truly possess his own name? Su Yu smiled. "The Master of the Departed!" Su Yu chuckled. "He is the Master of Dead Spirits; why don't you call yourself the Master of the Departed? In my opinion, even if you dissipate this time, your imprint remains. In your spare time, stealthily siphon a bit of power from the Dead Spirit Dao and transform it into your Dao of the Departed! When the Master of Dead Spirits finally returns... hehe, surprise! The entire Dead Spirit Dao has become yours, and by then, you will be the true Master of the Departed!" The dead spirit giant fell into deep thought, while the onlookers fell dead silent. *Holy hell!* Su Yu was completely shameless—he was actually instigating the clone of the Master of Dead Spirits to rebel! Could he act like a decent human being for once?! The dead spirit giant... no, perhaps he should now be called the Master of the Departed, wore a pensive expression. Skewering Marquis Longxue upon his pitchfork, he pondered aloud, "The Master of the Departed? Fellow Daoist Su... what is the distinction between dead spirits and departed spirits?" Su Yu smiled. "The distinction between 'dead' and 'departed' is vast! To die, as humans speak of death, usually signifies the destruction of the physical vessel. Yet humanity also has a saying: 'the flesh may die, but the spirit endures!' That is what the Master of Dead Spirits pursues. "Demise, however, is the ultimate absolute—a true, total extinction where both body and spirit are wiped out!" Su Yu grinned. "A pure death, an absolute death—that is demise! A true departed spirit is, in truth, pure void! The genuine Dao of absolute demise is far more extreme, surpassing mere death!" At these words, not only the giant, but even the onlookers were momentarily dazed. Was that how it worked? It... actually sounded somewhat reasonable. Was demise truly purer and more absolute than death? At this moment, the Master of the Departed's eyes flickered slightly. "In other words, departed spirits are more absolute and formidable than dead spirits?" Su Yu laughed. "That depends on the individual. It's not as if a blade is inherently superior to a spear, or vice versa; it all comes down to your cultivation and your comprehension, doesn't it?" "You speak truth... Thank you for the guidance, Fellow Daoist!" "Then I... shall be called the Master of the Departed!" A sudden smile appeared on his face as he looked down at Marquis Longxue. "Today, I too wish to experience the meaning of true demise! "Come!" *Boom!* Before the raving Marquis Longxue could even initiate his own explosion, the Master of the Departed dragged Longxue into a mutual self-detonation. "Fuck your ancestors!" Marquis Longxue's final, bloodcurdling shriek tore through the river, brimming with madness, unyielding fury, despair, and an aggrieved indignation fierce enough to split the skies! As for who he was cursing? It was hard to say! Most likely Su Yu, with a slight chance it was the Master of the Departed. Meanwhile, the Southern King and the others looked on in utter shock. Staring at Su Yu and then at the monstrous tempest stirred within the Dead Spirit Dao, their hearts pounded wildly. That actually worked?! Yet Su Yu merely observed in silence, his brow furrowing slightly. After a long while, he laughed wryly. "He... didn't actually gain some revelation about a Dao of the Departed, did he? I was just talking out of my ass... but it felt like he genuinely comprehended something!" In that final moment, the Master of the Departed might truly have harvested some insight. How bizarre! As for his self-detonation, it made little difference to Su Yu. Even if the giant hadn't detonated, Marquis Longxue would have had to blow up anyway! It was merely a question of who went first! Amidst the blast of the explosion, the Northern King, who had been overlooked the entire time, saw the final wisp of his will dissolve into nothingness. He carried a touch of wistfulness, a sense of relief, and an unspeakable poignancy. Sure enough, this world belonged to these insidious schemers. Plotting and calculating endlessly—didn't they ever tire of it? Longxue, that brute, had genuinely believed he was the Child of Destiny. How laughable. The Northern King had already felt he was delusional, never expecting that Longxue would depart even before him! All that arrogant swagger from moments ago had turned into an instant farce! Of course, now that they were both dead, let the world laugh all it wanted! The Northern King had no regrets left. Amidst his own laughter, he completely dissolved into the world. In his final moments, he found total peace. He had never possessed the heart, the strength, or the calculating mind of a hegemon; his demise was perhaps inevitable. The East, South, West, and North—all Four Heavenly Kings had reached their curtain call. "The era of the Four Heavenly Kings... ends today!" Those were the Northern King's final words! The Eastern, Western, and Northern Kings had fallen, while the Southern King was on the verge of rebirth. The era of the Four Kings, handed down from antiquity, was definitively over. This also heralded the complete close of the ancient reign over the Dead Spirit Realm! From now on, this Dead Spirit Realm bore the surname Su! Within the Dao of Ink, the Southern King watched in silence, saying nothing. Indeed, the era of the Four Heavenly Kings had ended! Monstrous waves surged! Across the Dead Spirit Realm, the Great Dao shook violently. The entire River of Dead Spirits roiled with colossal turbulence. This time, the upheaval even transmitted into the River of Time, causing the river to tremble violently, for the two shared an intersecting junction! This tremor was exceedingly fierce! *** At that exact moment. Deep within the River of Time. First had been the tremor from Lanshan's resurrection, which drew everyone's gaze toward the towering phantom. Someone muttered, "Did the Martial Emperor die again?" "..." The phantom Human Sovereign felt that this fellow was taking a deliberate jab at him. Twice already! The first time, he claimed the Martial Emperor had been slain. The second time, he claimed the Martial Emperor's sea of will had shattered, resulting in complete demise. So what did this third tremor signify? Naturally, everyone assumed it was no longer about the Martial Emperor. Still, with nothing else to do, taking subtle digs at their boss was a welcome amusement. The phantom pondered for a moment. Since these fellows were clamoring, if he failed to give a proper explanation, he would truly be letting them down. After a brief pause, he stated calmly, "The Martial Emperor has died again!" "..." The crowd fell dead silent, waiting for His Majesty the Human Sovereign to provide a flawless and reasonable explanation. How had the Martial Emperor died this time? Do tell! The phantom said placidly, "The first time, his physical vessel perished! The second time, his sea of will was destroyed! The third time, after transforming into a dead spirit, he was promptly dragged out and slain by an overwhelming force, violently shaking the River of Dead Spirits and rippling into the River of Time!" "..." Only a fool would believe that! Someone chuckled and remarked, "Your Majesty, the Martial Emperor isn't weak, but even if he turned into a dead spirit, could dying again truly stir up the entire River of Dead Spirits and even transmit shockwaves into the River of Time? Is that even possible?" The phantom scoffed with disdain. "The ignorant are fearless! The River of Time and the River of Dead Spirits are connected; if you don't even know that, what do you know? How dare you blabber nonsense and contest my words!" Fine, the Human Sovereign had always possessed the silver tongue to spin death into life, arguing to the point where even King Wen and the others were forced to concede. Fine, whatever you say goes! Yet when the fourth tremor rippled through—this one continuous and rolling—everyone froze and looked toward the phantom Human Sovereign. Go on! The third time, you claimed even his dead spirit avatar died. What do you have to say for the fourth? Someone chuckled. "Could it be... the Martial Emperor can die four times? Your Majesty, why don't you switch to a different story? Who died this time?" The phantom stared at him in silence for a good while before stating, "Still the Martial Emperor!" "..." Everyone struggled to suppress their laughter! To save face, His Majesty had completely abandoned all shame! Still the Martial Emperor?! Spit right in your face! He had died three times already, even his dead spirit form was wiped out—pray tell, how could there be a fourth?! The phantom said with utter composure, "This tremor was linked to the previous one, occurring almost back-to-back! My deduction is that previously, only the Martial Emperor's dead spirit body died, while his dead spirit origin remained intact. This time, his dead spirit origin was obliterated, causing the River of Dead Spirits to convulse!" Among the crowd, someone raised a doubtful brow. "Dead spirit origin?" "Naturally. The ignorant should refrain from arguing with me!" The phantom said calmly, "Dead spirits possess both an origin and a true body. Anyone who has ventured deep into the Dead Spirit Dao to investigate knows this. Those who do not are probably unqualified to discuss the matter with me!" At this, someone actually chimed in to support him: "His Majesty speaks the truth. Dead spirits are indeed divided into two parts." "Is that for real? King Ming, you aren't just making that up to save His Majesty's face, are you?" "Why would I?" King Ming chuckled. "There's no need. In fact, I'm not the only one who knows. If you don't believe me, ask the others who have visited the River of Dead Spirits!" Soon enough, several others confirmed: "There is indeed an origin!" Well then. Those who had previously thought the Human Sovereign was out of excuses were now silenced. There was no way to refute him. The Human Sovereign laid it out logically: first the flesh, second the sea of will, third the dead spirit body, fourth the dead spirit origin... Good heavens, the Martial Emperor had died four times, each time shaking the River of Time! That was quite an impressive spectacle! Someone quipped playfully, "If a fifth one comes, that will be truly amusing!" The crowd nearly burst into laughter. Indeed, even his origin was wiped out; what possible answer could their sovereign conjure for a fifth time? And right at that very moment, the fifth tremor arrived! Down in the Dead Spirit Realm, Su Yu had resurrected the Southern King. This shockwave was even greater than the one for Marquis Lanshan, and the violent upheaval rocked the entire river far harder than before! Now, every single gaze snapped back toward the phantom. Keep going! If you can claim the Martial Emperor died a fifth time and still justify it, we will truly bow to your greatness! At this moment, the phantom turned to look behind him, his eyes filled with a bizarre expression. Which grandson is stirring up trouble all day long?! Are you completely obsessed with messing with me?! *Did someone open the heavens? A heaven-opening grandson causing chaos day in, day out?!* It was entirely possible! The Human Sovereign deduced that it had to be some heaven-opening grandson endlessly wreaking havoc; otherwise, the River of Time wouldn't be trembling continuously like this. This grandson was an absolute nuisance! Keeping his back to the crowd, he pondered briefly before declaring once more: "The Martial Emperor has died again!" "..." Everyone waited in silent anticipation. How was the Martial Emperor dying this time? "The detonation of his dead spirit origin does not mean the Martial Emperor had run out of ways to die..." The phantom mulled it over, then blurted out, "Right! This time, it was the Martial Emperor's Heavenly Gate completely blowing up! Earlier, when he died, his Heavenly Gate remained intact, meaning a thread of life lingered. With his Heavenly Gate shattered, he has truly and completely fallen!" Someone smiled wryly and remarked, "Your Majesty, by that logic, the Martial Emperor won't be dying a sixth time, correct?" We'll let your fifth excuse slide! If a sixth tremor comes, what will you say then? The phantom kept silent. Would there be a sixth time? Most likely... yes! As for how soon, he had no idea. In the next instant, he realized—the sixth time had arrived! Forget it, I can't come up with another reason! Since I can't find one... I'll make sure there is no sixth time! The phantom stated placidly, "There will be no sixth death. This time, the Martial Emperor is dead for good! "I am going ahead to look around... Keep guarding the rear. I will see how long remains before we can return to the myriad realms!" He stepped through the void and swiftly reached the front. In the next moment, he stomped his foot down, forcefully suppressing the incoming sixth tremor, which was relatively mild! There. Much better! No need to rack his brains figuring out how the Martial Emperor could die a sixth time! A bunch of rascals trying to outstubborn me—did you really think I could lose to you? Heh! I never lose! Bring on the seventh, the eighth—come as you please! I fear nothing; I'll stomp every single one flat! Yet just as this thought crossed his mind, after calmly suppressing ripple after ripple, a final, stupendously colossal tremor erupted. The phantom jumped clean out of his boots. "Holy shit!" A thunderous bellow echoed in all directions! The phantom's aura warped violently, a terrifying surge of energy blasting across the river! The phantom's eyes widened to their absolute limits! He stared into the far distance! *Holy shit, did my senses deceive me?!* *Xingyue... has been revived?!* "Holy shit!" Bellowing once more, the phantom was shaken to the core. How could this be?! An expert who had comprehended the Dao of Life and Death?! No, that made no sense—there were no Rulers of Rules in the myriad realms! Who was it?! Damn it all, did the Martial Emperor actually open the heavens?! I'd rather die than believe that!