Catching Them Off Guard

Yes, the initiative was once again in Su Yu's hands. Once Su Yu revealed that the Prison King lineage intended to summon a Rule Master, the myriad races were left with no choice. They had to stop them; they had to attack. And with four Heavenly Venerables and three Heavenly Kings on his side, Su Yu's forces now carried decisive weight. ... Astride Mount Zhu. Smiling, Su Yu glanced toward Human Mountain, then toward the depths of Chaos Mountain, and finally toward the Eight-Winged Tiger and Chaos Dragon. The great war was about to begin. As for what role he would play in it, that depended on how events unfolded... Plans could never keep up with changes. The situation among the myriad races could shift at any moment. Su Yu never locked himself into a rigid plan, for doing so would only box him in and leave him trailing behind the rhythm of events. Of course, he was the sole decision-maker, so he could pivot at any time. If he had to consult and negotiate over every single matter like the myriad races did, he would have neither the flexibility nor the opportunity to adapt. Even if one party wanted to pivot, the others would immediately suspect foul play. "It's about to begin!" Su Yu murmured softly. Soon. His arrival marked the beginning of war. Everyone wanted to stall. Sorry, but I won't let you stall any longer! ... Time ticked by. Suddenly, San Yue spoke up: "Your Majesty, someone is coming from Human Mountain!" Su Yu had already anticipated this. They were bound to come! The question was who they had sent. Auras gradually surged into the sky. Moments later, several figures materialized. Five powerhouses! Tiangu of the Immortal race, Heavenly Venerable Yue of the god race, Heavenly Venerable Mo of the demon race, Celestial Venerable Ming of the Nether race, and Marquis Tianming! The three major races, plus Tianming and Celestial Venerable Ming, could just barely represent the other myriad races. Su Yu was not surprised by the others, but he was surprised that Tiangu had come. That was truly astonishing! Most of those who came could speak for their respective races' will, but could Tiangu, an emperor of the Lower Realm, still represent the Immortals of the Upper Realm? A peculiar look flickered in Su Yu's eyes. Moreover, he did not particularly enjoy dealing with people from the Lower Realm. For no other reason than that they knew each other too well. In the Upper Realm, whether you acted ruthless, played dumb, or feigned recklessness, people had barely interacted with you and did not understand you well; whatever they did know was mere hearsay. But these fellows from the Lower Realm had dealt with him for years! They knew each other inside out! Tiangu had spent no small amount of effort studying Su Yu. Especially after the Immortal race was defeated and forced to seal their realm, Tiangu had probably spent day and night turning Su Yu over in his mind. Su Yu was rather reluctant to deal with such an old acquaintance. Out of the corner of his eye, Su Yu glanced at Tiangu and smiled. "Brother Tiangu!" "..." Tiangu remained silent. Su Yu was about to cause trouble. Sure enough, Su Yu beamed. "Brother Tiangu, we crossed paths so often down in the Lower Realm. That I was able to achieve what I have today and rise so rapidly in the Lower Realm was all thanks to Brother Tiangu's generous help. To think that after coming to the Upper Realm, Brother Tiangu has become the shot-caller once more! How truly delightful!" At those words, Tiangu's gaze shifted. Narrowing his eyes, he said softly, "Human Lord Su, why bother?" Would such a cheap attempt to drive a wedge between them work? Well, it worked a little. Although Heavenly Venerable Yue and the others said nothing, they were all thinking the same thing at that moment: down in the Lower Realm, Tiangu had been in charge the entire time, yet he had watched Su Yu rise right under his nose while suffering defeat after defeat. That Su Yu had reached his current heights truly was tied to Tiangu. Perhaps Su Yu was formidable on his own, but it also proved that Tiangu had done a poor job in the Lower Realm. Otherwise, Su Yu would never have risen in the first place! With just a few casual words, everyone began to harbor doubts—or rather, to question whether they should endorse any decisions Tiangu might make next. Tiangu knew Su Yu's tricks. He said calmly, "Human Lord, won't you invite us inside to talk?" Su Yu grinned. "Of course! Setting aside whoever else came, since you, Tiangu, are here, I must invite you to sit and chat. I have to show proper courtesy!" Heavenly Venerable Yue and the others remained silent. Su Yu's attempt to sow discord was fairly obvious, but sometimes it did not matter whether one's intent was subtle or blatant. What mattered was that the concern was real. ... Inside the Great Hall of Mount Zhu. Su Yu took the central seat directly. Seeing this, the Heavenly Venerables took their respective seats. In truth, everyone's purpose in coming was crystal clear. They had come to Su Yu simply to discuss whether they would join forces against the Prison King lineage or fight them separately. Seeing that Su Yu said nothing, Heavenly Venerable Yue took the initiative with a smile. "I met with Human Lord Su once before, though at the time, I was unaware of Human Lord's true identity..." "Aren't you tired of being hypocritical?" "..." Su Yu's abrupt interruption left Heavenly Venerable Yue momentarily speechless. Su Yu said calmly, "Hypocritical or not? You came looking for me to deal with the Sin race, didn't you? What use is this empty polite chatter? "The reason I look down on the myriad races is precisely this: you never grasp the main point!" The Heavenly Venerables narrowed their eyes. His purple hair flying, Heavenly Venerable Mo said indifferently, "Su Yu, don't forget that dealing with the Prison King lineage is your objective as well!" Su Yu was utterly unperturbed. "It is my objective, but... if I go into hiding, what could the Sin race possibly do to me? I have no family assets here anyway. Can they bite me? You, on the other hand, are different. If the Sin race makes their move, they will inevitably strike the Upper Realm first. Are the experts of the Upper Realm going to retreat?" Su Yu sneered. "Do you think I sealed the passage to the Lower Realm purely to guard against Hundred Battles? Nonsense! I did it because I was afraid you lot would run! As long as you can't run, you'll have to fight the Sin race! Otherwise, one mountain cannot hold two tigers. Do you think the Sin race will be polite to you?" At these words, everyone wore strange expressions. Su Yu sealing the passage to the Lower Realm... had actually carried the intention of preventing them from running away! Damn this bastard! Slippery as an eel! Su Yu gave a contemptuous chuckle. "In the Upper Realm, you can't run, but I... I can! Isn't that right? When Heavenly Venerable Mo and Heavenly Venerable Yue hunted me in the River of Time back then, did you forget how I escaped? Even without the Destiny race's passage, I can still flee just fine! "And thank you all very much. If you hadn't provided me with so many Council tokens, sealing that passage wouldn't have been nearly so easy, would it?" Su Yu chuckled. "Right now, the Upper Realm is nothing more than a tiny speck of land. Once the Sin race's Rule Master emerges, will she strike me before striking you? I have no foundation here; my foundation is in the Dead Spirit Realm. Even if they fight their way down to the Lower Realm, Hundred Battles will be the first in their path. What does that have to do with me?" "..." Tiangu raised an eyebrow slightly and said softly, "Human Lord, the myriad realms might not necessarily be our foundation either. If they are destroyed..." "Then let them be destroyed!" Su Yu cut in with a laugh. "Tiangu, you know me! Putting it nicely, I repay my debts of gratitude. Putting it bluntly, my people are all in the Dead Spirit Realm. Everyone else has nothing to do with me. No matter how many die, what does it matter to me? My responsibility and commitments are solely toward those willing to follow me. Those who aren't are not my people!" Heavenly Venerable Yue took a deep breath. "Then what does Human Lord mean to do?" Su Yu chuckled. "I don't mean anything profound. I have only one objective: vengeance! Retaliation! The Sin race killed my people, so naturally I will pay them back in kind! Furthermore, this faction has lain dormant for years with grand ambitions, and they are traitors to the human race. If we can kill them, we kill them; if we can't, we retreat!" The others exchanged glances. Marquis Tianming smiled and said, "Human Lord!" "Brother Tianming!" Su Yu beamed. "Brother Tianming, we're all on the same side, so why speak like strangers?" Tianming's expression froze. Su Yu chuckled and continued, "Brother Tianming, down in the Lower Realm, Wuming and I cooperated very pleasantly. Wuming and I share a tacit understanding. You and I are family. If you have something to say, speak plainly, no need to be polite!" Hearing this, none of the others spoke a word. Was this a clumsy attempt at misdirection, or was Su Yu simply trying to frame Tianming? Either way, they would still need to keep a cautious eye on Tianming going forward. Of course, they had already harbored such thoughts from the start, so it did not make much of a difference right now. Su Yu laughed. "Alright, you people can never agree on anything; everyone has their own agenda! If I have to negotiate with each of you one by one, we'll never finish talking. Relying on you, I might as well just kill enemies myself! "Of course, having your help would be even better!" Su Yu said calmly, "Let me state my terms! It's very simple: leave Yueluo and Yue Hao to us! As for the Sin race, from what we've discovered so far, their experts consist of that so-called ancestor plus five Heavenly Venerables! And of course, a genuine Rule Master may soon appear!" Su Yu licked his lips and smiled. "This Rule Master... leave her to us as well! That's more than generous, isn't it?" Baring his teeth in a grin, Su Yu said, "One Rule Master, plus two powerful Heavenly Venerables! All the myriad races need to handle is that ancestor, three Heavenly Venerables, and a dozen or so Heavenly Kings! If you still think that's unacceptable... then forget it, we can take our sweet time!" These words sent a tremor of shock through the group. Heavenly Venerable Yue's gaze turned strange. "Is Human Lord speaking the truth?" He actually intended to handle the Rule Master himself! Was this fellow insane? A genuine Rule Master! Against an expert of that caliber, Ri Mian, Sheng Hou, and several others joining forces could resist, but it would still be an immense trouble, and people might even die. That was why the myriad races had been gripped by such dread the moment they learned that their enemy was summoning a Rule Master. Yet Su Yu... wanted to shoulder that burden himself! Su Yu laughed with a hint of madness. "What of it? My strength is top-tier even among Heavenly Venerables! If Fat Ball and I join hands, do you think we'd fear a single Rule Master? Yue Hao is heavily injured. Could San Yue and the others joining forces fail to deal with those two?" Su Yu chuckled. "The greater the risk, the greater the reward—I have always firmly believed in that! If we butcher a Rule Master, her corpse, her treasures, her Great Dao power, everything that belongs to her will be ours!" The visitors exchanged bewildered glances, none speaking for a time. It was not that Su Yu's terms were harsh. On the contrary, he had taken on three major experts in one breath, which actually made them hesitate. This guy was volunteering to shoulder far too much. When facing a Rule Master, being able to resist was one level, being able to suppress them was another, and being able to kill them... was an entirely different realm altogether! Su Yu even wanted to kill her. On that point alone, even the four Heavenly Venerables on his side joining hands might not necessarily pull it off. At this point, Tiangu looked at Su Yu, frowning slightly. "How do you intend to deal with their Rule Master? You and Fat Ball might not be enough, right? Could it be... you have other reinforcements?" Su Yu smiled. "Care to guess?" I'm not guessing! Tiangu swiftly analyzed Su Yu's thought process. This guy never took a loss! Yet the terms Su Yu offered were truly exceptionally generous. Marquis Tianming spoke up with an odd expression: "Then does Human Lord have no demands whatsoever?" "Of course I do!" Su Yu laughed. "Slaying a Rule Master yields benefits only after the kill. Before she's dead, what benefits are there?" Opening his mouth to demand the sun and stars, Su Yu chuckled, "The reason I'm being so accommodating is partly because this enemy belongs to all of us, and partly because I have several demands for the myriad races. I hope you will agree to them!" Hearing this, everyone actually felt a wave of relief. Fuck! The way you were talking just now terrified us. Are you really that generous a person? Unbelievable! You actually volunteered to chew the toughest bone. Su Yu, could you really be so selfless? Now Heavenly Venerable Yue smiled. "May I ask what demands Human Lord has?" Su Yu did not hold back in the slightest, stating bluntly: "First, all pseudo-Dao experts are to be placed at my disposal. They're fated to be cannon fodder anyway, and serving as my cannon fodder holds far more value! "Second, all unused pseudo-Dao power must be given to me. I have a use for it to boost my strength! "Third, I recall that the myriad races possess a mountain of dung that someone refined into a treasure. Hand it over to me! "Fourth, all carcasses of slain ancient beasts must be given to me. I have uses for them as well! "Fifth, all Council tokens from before are to be given to me! "Sixth, the myriad races must provide me with ten thousand divine characters. "Seventh..." Su Yu rattled on, and the others listened without rushing to interrupt. Once he had said his piece, Tiangu said softly, "Among all those, which are the ones Human Lord truly wants?" Su Yu smiled! Looking at him, Tiangu said, "The mountain of dung you mentioned... I presume you mean the Dragon Coiling Divine Mountain. It seems to be in the hands of the Dragon race, and Dragon Venerable has refined it into his personal weapon. Very few people know of this, so I believe this is likely one of Human Lord's real objectives! "Furthermore, we cannot possibly hand over the pseudo-Dao experts to you, which suggests Human Lord is likely more interested in the unbonded pseudo-Daos! "As for Council tokens, whether they are useful or useless, their utility to you isn't immense. Perhaps Human Lord cares more about the divine characters." He laid them out one by one, analyzing each point. Meanwhile, Su Yu was busily gathering intelligence. The mountain of dung that the Old Turtle needed was actually in Heavenly Venerable Long's hands! Splendid, vital intel acquired! He had to get his hands on that thing. Once the Old Turtle obtained it, he could become a Heavenly Venerable. This was an absolute necessity and top priority. As for everything else, honestly, whether he got them or not didn't matter much! If they won't give it, I'll snatch it! The main problem had been that Su Yu had no idea where the mountain of dung was located. Now that he knew, that piece of intel alone was worth everything! Naturally, Su Yu kept his expression impassive. If he could obtain it peacefully, that would be best. If not, he would rob them! Who wouldn't want free plunder? That shit-stirrer Tiangu was stirring the pot again! Su Yu was not afraid of him stirring the pot. Nodding slightly, he smiled. "Brother Tiangu, you truly are the worm in my belly—every single guess was spot on! Everything you mentioned is precisely what I want!" The onlookers gave him bizarre looks. Damn it all, what do you actually want? Su Yu's response threw them into uncertainty once more. At this juncture, Celestial Venerable Ming frowned. "And if we refuse to give them, does that mean Human Lord will not take action against the Prison King lineage?" Su Yu smiled. "Of course not! They are our common enemy, so how could we refuse to fight? The crux is... if it really comes to that and the Rule Master emerges, we'll back out. We won't be able to match her!" Everyone's brows knit tightly. Heavenly Venerable Mo said in a heavy voice, "So you mean that if we give you what you want, you will take them on. Then how can we be sure that after receiving the items, you will actually deal with that Rule Master? "Also, if we intervene right now, can we stop the Prison King lineage from summoning that Rule Master?" Su Yu nodded. "You hit the nail on the head. In truth, intervening right now still offers a chance. The issue is... the myriad races still need to negotiate, deliberate on how to deal with them, procrastinate a bit... Frankly speaking, in the time you waste doing that, she'll practically be out already! The odds of stopping them are slim! "As for how to guarantee that I'll deal with this Rule Master once I take the items..." Su Yu stroked his chin and chuckled, "Indeed, how to guarantee it? How about... you give me an idea?" Taking the payment without doing the work sounded pretty delightful! Although Su Yu intended to leave that matter to the Chaos Dragon and the others anyway. Still, wasn't he demanding benefits on their behalf? Look how great a person I am! The others exchanged glances. Tiangu was straightforward, saying calmly, "It is quite simple, actually. If a major battle erupts and their Rule Master emerges, Human Lord need only kill one or two Heavenly Venerables first, and the Rule Master will naturally step forward to deal with you! No elaborate enticement will be needed!" Su Yu grinned. "So you mean you lot will just stand around playing bystander?" Tiangu shook his head. "Not at all. It is simply that Human Lord excels at surprise raids and forceful decapitations. I believe Human Lord can kill Heavenly Venerables faster than anyone else!" Su Yu laughed again. "And the compensation?" Tiangu remained silent. He refused to discuss it yet! Su Yu chuckled. "The myriad races... you really are indecisive dawdlers! You want to cooperate, yet you fear I'll take the benefits and shirk the work! You don't want to cooperate, yet you worry I'll stab you in the back! All day long, you think too much! Su Yu shook his head. "To be frank, I truly have no worries about fellows like you. You're inept at accomplishing anything, but masters at botching everything! The moment a crucial juncture arrives, you drop the ball. Everyone has their own petty schemes. Take this handful of people in the Upper Realm, these few ancient human powerhouses... you've spent six thousand years hunting them and still haven't finished them off!" Su Yu sneered. "Why haven't you finished them off? Are they that powerful? Not at all! It's because everyone worries: 'If we hunt them, how many Dao Integration experts will our race lose? If we kill them, what benefits does our race gain? Why should my race go kill them instead of another race doing it?'" Su Yu kept shaking his head. "Even to your dying breath, it's always like this! People say human infighting is severe... I won't deny that. But the humans once had times of unification. The myriad races have never had that!" Tiangu fell silent for a moment, then said calmly, "You speak the truth. But... isn't that only natural? If we were truly willing to be led by someone, we could have simply obeyed human leadership back then. Why rebel at all? The sole purpose of our rebellion was that we refused to let anyone ride over our heads! Now, everything you said is correct, but correct as it may be, if someone were to ride over our heads, what would have been the point of rebelling? We might as well have let the humans remain as our leaders!" Su Yu froze! Those words... damn it, they actually made total sense! Tiangu said in a heavy voice, "Our races united in an alliance only because the humans were too powerful, only because we refused to be trampled underfoot. That was how the Myriad Races Alliance came to be! Human Lord thinks we are too chaotic. You are mistaken. Each of our individual races is of one mind; our discord stems purely from serving our own races' interests! At the very least, within each race, we can swiftly reach consensus. That is something the humans cannot match!" Su Yu stroked his chin. "Yet right now, your situation doesn't seem so great, and you're still this fractured. Aren't you afraid of disaster?" Tiangu said solemnly, "Co-governance and alliance are the bedrock of this coalition! Human Lord's premise is flawed! Autocracy is the very reason we rebelled! If we were to accept autocracy now, we would forfeit the core purpose of our rebellion! "We are well aware of the drawbacks. But once autocracy takes hold, I will think, and he will think: 'Since I am to be ruled by someone either way, why should I become a vassal to the gods, Immortals, or demons, rather than a vassal to the humans?' "Of course, we do not deny that we harbor such ambitions. But... until a consensus is reached, such ambitions remain nothing more than thoughts!" The three major races all wanted autocratic rule, provided they could transition smoothly and become the second human race. Otherwise, an alliance was the only way! There could be no autocrat! Otherwise, it would violate their foundational principle, and if that were the case, why rebel against the humans back then in the first place? When the humans unified the world, they hadn't treated the myriad races excessively harshly. Finding yourself a new master was worse than sticking with your old one! At that moment, Su Yu sank into deep thought. He had always felt that the myriad races lacked an autocrat, a leader whose word was law. But hearing Tiangu's explanation, he suddenly had an epiphany! Yes! If an autocrat were to emerge among the myriad races, wouldn't that damn well be a second human race? Everyone wanted it, but no one could pull it off, so they simply maintained the alliance instead. In this moment, Su Yu finally understood it completely! Enlightenment dawned on him. "I see. No one is perfect, and I was evaluating the myriad races' situation purely from my own perspective. No wonder! I was wondering why your control over the myriad races wasn't that strong. Turns out... there was always that risk. If you push the others too hard, you'll easily drive them straight back into the embrace of the human race!" Su Yu chuckled. "In that case, you're actually considered highly unified right now. At least among the upper echelons, you can broadly reach consensus!" Indeed, Tiangu's words had brought Su Yu to a realization. It was not that the myriad races could not unify, but that unification would breed even greater trouble. None of the races had any desire to submit to another; otherwise, there would have been no need to oppose humanity. He had simply failed to think deeply enough! Tiangu and the others didn't care either way whether Su Yu understood or not. His criticism of the myriad races' policy being flawed had merely been a consequence of his own shallow consideration. That the three major races could maintain the current state of affairs was already quite open-minded of them. Reaching agreement among the upper echelons of every race was already a rare feat. Su Yu laughed. "Fine, then I won't say your policy is flawed. I'll just say that at your core, you cannot support autocracy! So can everyone agree to the terms I offered earlier? If you agree, then there's nothing more to say. Whenever you say the word, we strike immediately! I'll act as the vanguard, and you can just follow along. Just don't let me charge ahead only for you to shrink back, or I'll be in miserable shape! "If you don't agree... then we'll each fight our own battles!" Should they let Su Yu serve as the vanguard, or fight independently? That was their primary purpose in coming here! Heavenly Venerable Yue said softly, "Human Lord Su, your demands are too numerous and impossible to satisfy! Name the things you want most, and we can consider them." Su Yu thought for a moment, then smiled. "I'll trim it down for you: three items. The mountain of dung, the pseudo-Dao power, and ten thousand divine characters. See, Tiangu already selected them for me! Agree to these three, and no more nonsense—we fight right away!" Tiangu was speechless. At this moment, he began to doubt again whether Su Yu truly wanted those things, or if it was merely an excuse and he would join hands even without them. What a headache! Su Yu was always so unpredictable! Su Yu smiled. "Gentlemen, time waits for no one! I suspect the Sin race is working overtime right now, rapidly summoning that Rule Master. Must you wait until all their forces are assembled before launching an attack? Aren't you being far too rigid? Can't you strike at the critical moment while they're still in the middle of summoning? Su Yu said helplessly, "Even if we can't interrupt it, we should seize this opportunity to kill more of their people and make them pay a heavier price! In the time you've spent negotiating with me, if you had struck right now, several more of their Heavenly Venerables might already be dead! "Besides, five Heavenly Venerables might not even be their full count! Over a hundred thousand years, did they really produce only five Heavenly Venerables? Fine, even adding the one I killed, that's only six. Over a hundred thousand years, how many Heavenly Venerables did the myriad races and the humans produce?" Counting on his fingers, Su Yu said, "We've been locked in continuous wars, yet counting the dead and the living, the Heavenly Venerables exceed twenty! On what basis do you conclude they only have five left? Your intelligence network is total bullshit!" Su Yu shook his head repeatedly. "You insist on waiting, you insist on stalling. Must you wait until their Rule Master emerges fully recovered and intact before you muster your forces to charge in and die? I truly can't comprehend it!" He truly couldn't fathom what the myriad races were thinking. Even without an autocrat, they ought to know to strike someone while they're down! Wait? Wait for what the hell?! Heavenly Venerable Yue gave a bitter laugh. "In some matters... perhaps Human Lord is right. It's just that... we are accustomed to it!" Su Yu sneered. "Accustomed to waiting for death? "You lot are always forced into waiting. A scholar's rebellion yields nothing in three years, and yours wouldn't yield anything in thirty thousand! From what I know, when you rebelled against the humans back then, you held meeting after meeting, and in the end, it took the Human Sovereign taking away your powerhouses..." Su Yu sneered, "If I were the Human Sovereign, I wouldn't even have taken you with me! The Human Sovereign was just too hasty; he shouldn't have been in such a rush. With the state of you myriad races, you wouldn't have rebelled without deliberating for a thousand or eight hundred years!" Was that possible? It was! Back then, King Wen and King Wu had been missing for quite some time, and the myriad races had held multiple discussions without reaching a final decision. The Human Sovereign taking away their experts had actually forced their hand, driving them to reach a consensus. Otherwise, just as Su Yu said, they might never have rebelled so quickly. Was a millennium that long? Perhaps even after a thousand years, they wouldn't have rebelled! With that time, the Human Sovereign could have opened his Great Dao further, made it stronger, and simply taken it with him, rather than leaving his Dao behind like this! Those words stung! Yet they were not without truth. The Heavenly Venerables said nothing, but thinking it through carefully, if the Human Sovereign hadn't taken the initiative back then, would the Rule Masters of the myriad races really have spent eight hundred to a thousand years in endless discussion? If so... one could only say Su Yu's eye was terrifyingly sharp. At this point, Tiangu spoke again: "The pseudo-Dao power can be given to you. The rest cannot! We do not have divine characters, and Mount Dragon Coiling is a Heavenly Venerable's weapon—it cannot be given to you..." At that, he said in a solemn voice, "What you want Mount Dragon Coiling for, I do not know! However, both sides must agree on one point: before the Prison King lineage is destroyed, you may not lay a hand on Heavenly Venerable Long!" Su Yu laughed aloud. "Tiangu, look at what you're saying. Am I that kind of person?" Indeed! Tiangu knew in his heart that he had likely made a slip by revealing to Su Yu whose hands Mount Dragon Coiling was in. Su Yu might not have known beforehand. Naturally, he could hardly dwell on that mistake now. Nor could he emphasize it, lest Heavenly Venerable Long think he had done it on purpose. In truth, Tiangu had merely mentioned it out of habit, never imagining Su Yu might not know where the thing was. Su Yu had laid out a mountain of conditions, yet in the end, Tiangu's side had only agreed to one. Su Yu said indifferently, "Too little! If you're going to say there's only one unbonded pseudo-Dao, then what is there to talk about?" Tiangu nodded. "Leaving the quantity unstated is indeed improper! Ten pseudo-Daos! All possessing Dao Integration strength. How about that?" Su Yu frowned at him. "Can you speak for the myriad races?" "It can be discussed!" Tiangu looked at Su Yu. "Human Lord need not attempt any more instigation. Right now, the Former Imperial Consort, Moji, and the others are present. We know what kind of person you are! Moreover, at this moment, the three major races and the other clans all know the danger is right before our eyes. We will not turn against each other over a few provocative words from Human Lord!" Su Yu sighed. "I shouldn't have brought you to the Upper Realm!" Tiangu smiled. "It makes no difference. The Upper Realm would soon see through Human Lord's true colors anyway!" "You make it sound as if I'm some sort of devil!" Su Yu laughed heartily. "I'm just a youngster in his twenties; I have nothing going for me except rash impulses. Brother Tiangu truly thinks too highly of me!" Tiangu remained silent. Had he not mentioned it, no one would have thought of it. But once spoken aloud, the Heavenly Venerables felt a tremor in their hearts. Indeed, this fellow was far too young. Being extra wary of him was entirely warranted. In the end, Su Yu sighed, "Fine. Give me twenty Dao Integration pseudo-Daos, and I'll be your vanguard! As for when to strike, anytime works—preferably within three days! Otherwise, the opportunity will slip away. Watching you miss the window makes me anxious on your behalf!" The visitors exchanged glances, and Heavenly Venerable Yue spoke quickly: "Three days... no, within one day, we will give Human Lord our answer!" Su Yu gave a slight nod. Saying no more, the group rose swiftly to depart, but Su Yu called out with a smile, "Brother Tianming, let's chat a bit! Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Tianming chuckled awkwardly. "I'll pass. Thank you for the hospitality, Human Lord!" With that, he departed in haste. Other thoughts churned in his mind, and he quickly sent a sound transmission to the other powerhouses: "He did that on purpose! Please, do not misunderstand! The matter regarding Wuming is far from confirmed! If his little trick creates a rift among us, it will do us no good!" The others nodded, though whatever suspicions they harbored remained buried in their hearts! ... Once they had left, Su Yu's eyes narrowed. Heavenly Venerable Long! Find a chance to kill him! This time, if nothing else, that Mount Dragon Coiling was an excellent prize. "The mountain of dung is in Heavenly Venerable Long's hands. It's not as though I have to kill him... robbing him works just as well!" Snatching a weapon didn't strictly require killing! Su Yu stroked his chin and suddenly said, "Tongtian, keep your eyes on Heavenly Venerable Long. If an opportunity presents itself right now, rob him by force!" Everyone was taken aback! What on earth? Su Yu narrowed his eyes. "If we rob him now, even if they're furious, they won't dare fall out with us! No one would ever expect me to rob him right now! This is called catching them unprepared and taking them by surprise!" Indeed, who would ever think Su Yu would rob someone at a time like this? They had only just finished discussing a partnership! Su Yu chuckled. "It's worth it! Once we get Mount Dragon Coiling, Hongmeng will have a very high chance of stepping into the Heavenly Venerable realm. With an extra Heavenly Venerable, do you think I care about offending them? It was going to happen sooner or later anyway! It's precisely because they can't afford to fall out with us right now that we should rob him!" Good grief! The others muttered inwardly in awe. You truly are something else! On one hand, he was discussing cooperation; on the other, he was already plotting robbery! Marquis Tongtian bared his teeth in a grin as well. Su Yu then said, "Wait... let me think... Right after they agree to cooperate and finalize the time of the battle, we rob Heavenly Venerable Long and immediately charge in to wage war on the Prison King lineage!" Su Yu laughed. "Since I'll be serving as the vanguard, no matter how dissatisfied the myriad races are, would they actually attack me at that moment? That would be pure idiocy! So they'll have no choice but to pinch their noses and swallow it!" Yes, that was the exact moment! The group exchanged looks and nodded. Well, alright then! Following Su Yu was always thrilling! Look at that—before they had even started fighting the Prison King lineage, he was already preparing to mug a Heavenly Venerable. Marquis Tongtian couldn't help asking, "Then... what about the Eight-Winged Tiger and his side?" "No matter, the summoning will definitely succeed!" Su Yu was certain. The others looked at him uncertainly. Why was he so sure? Su Yu chuckled. "The Eight-Winged Tiger is a consummate fraud. If he wasn't certain the Rule Master would emerge, he wouldn't have told me the truth. Since he spoke of it, that means one thing: she is almost out!" These words caused a slight stir of surprise among the group. San Yue could not help asking, "Your Majesty means that the Eight-Winged Tiger... deliberately gave us the wrong timeframe? When he said a few days, it was actually imminent!" "Naturally!" Su Yu laughed. "Of course. They eagerly await the Rule Master's arrival, so why would they give us timely intel that might prevent her from emerging? Earlier, when I probed the Prison King lineage, only Yueluo and Yue Hao appeared, and later only the Prison King ancestor showed up... Do you think their other Heavenly Venerables were sleeping at home while something that monumental was going on?" Su Yu was exasperated! "Can't you people think? Those other Heavenly Venerables must be at a critical juncture and unable to leave! Otherwise, no matter how arrogant their faction was, how would they dare send only two Heavenly Venerables against four of ours? They did so only because they had no alternative!" "..." The others exchanged looks. Great Axe put on a deadpan, serious face, saying nothing at all, feigning that he had deduced it all along! As for whether he had truly deduced it, everyone knew better. Sorry, we really didn't think that far! So it turned out the Prison King lineage hadn't underestimated the enemy—they literally couldn't mobilize that many powerhouses all at once, right? They had honestly assumed the enemy was just being arrogant! Seeing their expressions, Su Yu couldn't be bothered to say any more. These people were gradually becoming Tianmie-fied! The muscle-heads around him were only multiplying. Even those who weren't originally brawn-over-brains would inevitably turn into them when surrounded by such thugs! How tragic! Ignoring these fellows who pretended they had known all along, he sank into deep contemplation. Would unexpected variables arise this time? When would be the most suitable time for those deep within the chaos to enter the stage? And... was Hundred Battles truly content to linger down in the Lower Realm? If it were me, would I be content? Never! Moreover, did those two ancient beasts really trust me that much? Nonsense! Therefore, this time, unexpected variables were guaranteed to happen; things would never go so smoothly. "So I still need to make backup preparations for certain things!" Muttering to himself, Su Yu swiftly refined the next phase of his plan.