Yu Qing Breaks Through the Gate

An instant kill of Yue Hao! At least to outsiders, it had been an instant kill. In the blink of an eye, Yue Hao was gone. At that moment, Yue Zhan, who was being held off by Rimian and the God Imperial Consort, turned green with fury! Yue Qin, Yue Hao, Shijian, and Dou He—in just a few short months, four of their clan's Celestial Venerables had fallen by Su Yu's hand! As for Heavenly Kings, even more had died... Though Su Yu had not killed any Heavenly Kings today, he had slaughtered plenty before. The Sacred Race had suffered such devastating losses, and every bit of it was because of Su Yu. Otherwise, the Prison King lineage had planned to wait until the Hell Gate opened fully, or at least half-opened, so some of their experts could return before they swept across the myriad realms. They had been so close! If Su Yu had not meddled, they would still be an utterly hidden, elusive force to this day! If Su Yu had not meddled, then even if things dragged on until the end of today, a true Ruler of Rules would have emerged from their clan! Everything was Su Yu's fault! Yue Zhan was consumed by rage, while from a distance, Yu Qing's voice roared once more, "Defend! Mount a full defense! Stall for a single moment!" She was about to emerge! Defend! They could not keep fighting like this. If the clash dragged on, all these experts would be wiped out, rendering her emergence completely pointless. If they were all dead, how could she take on all these Celestial Venerables alone? Four Celestial Venerables had already perished! Su Yu, on the other hand, wore a bright smile. "What are you spacing out for? Keep killing!" With that, Su Yu and his two companions materialized beside the Polong Beast. The Polong Beast's expression shifted drastically. "Little bug, if my true body emerges, you will die without a doubt! You dare try to kill me again?" Once had been bad enough, but here he was coming back for more! At that moment, the opposing Celestial Venerables and Heavenly Kings actually wanted to withdraw the Hell Gates, but... they couldn't! If they pulled them back, the Polong Beast would dissipate. Once it dissipated, the seven Celestial Venerables on Su Yu's side would be completely unbound! Therefore, even though they knew Tongtian Marquis could devour Hell Gates, no one dared to withdraw them. No one wanted this outcome. There were four Celestial Venerable gates: Yueluo and the twins had one each, while the fourth belonged to the white-haired old man. His previous Hell Gate had already been devoured once by Tongtian Marquis, so the one he had manifested this time was extremely feeble. If it were devoured again, he would surely suffer severe injuries. Yet the old man dared not pull it back. He feared that doing so would cause the Polong Beast to disperse, turning the attention of Su Yu and his allies squarely onto them—and that would be a true catastrophe! Su Yu looked at the Polong Beast with a playful grin. "You'd better die one more time!" "Kill!" This time, he didn't employ the power of his world. Since this creature was merely an avatar of willpower, its true body might sense something upon its death, and Su Yu didn't want the figures beyond the Hell Gate to learn about his situation so soon. Even without the aid of his world, it didn't matter. With seven Celestial Venerables on their side, and Su Yu and Fat Ball among the absolute peak, if they couldn't even finish off this Polong Beast projection, this thing's avatar would be strong enough to trade blows with a Ruler of Rules! In other directions, fierce battles erupted once again! The slaughter resumed! Yue Zhan and his allies fought while retreating, focusing entirely on defense! They fell back toward the Hell Gate! Yue Zhan was indeed formidable. Even with the God Imperial Consort and Rimian teaming up against him, they only managed to fight him to a draw. In truth, the God Imperial Consort could have unleashed even more strength, but Rimian repeatedly stepped in front of her with a grave expression, giving a slight shake of his head. The Imperial Consort could not die now! The great battle was far from over. If she unleashed all her power and perished here, no one could guarantee the future of the God race. Rimian did not want her dying at this juncture, even if it meant taking Yue Zhan down with her. The God Imperial Consort reined herself in as well. She glanced sidelong at Su Yu's side, her heart heavy. Even setting aside the fact that the Prison King lineage's Ruler of Rules had yet to appear, even if that person did emerge and was slain, Su Yu's faction could not be casually disregarded either. She... could not die now! According to her original plan, she had intended to perish together with Yue Zhan! Yet at this moment, she held back. She couldn't die, at least not yet! *** While they pulled their punches, Su Yu held nothing back. Though giving his all might seem foolish—like acting as an enforcer for the myriad races—in reality, it was the other way around: the myriad races were currently acting as enforcers for him! He was whittling down both sides! Su Yu's target was not just one faction. Only if both sides suffered heavy losses would it align with his expectations. Of course, this was also the objective of the myriad races, as well as that of the Sin Race! With the myriad races pinning down tough foes for him right now, allowing him to throw everything into beating down his opponents, how could he not enjoy himself? And so, Su Yu fought with absolute glee! Heaven-Cleaving Blade! Five Elements Purgatory! Mind Expansion Hammer! Su Yu brought out every method at his disposal, battering the Polong Beast until it felt so suffocated it could practically die of frustration! His true body was immensely powerful! Yet this, after all, was not his true body. With seven top-tier experts pounding him simultaneously, the fact that he hadn't been obliterated instantly proved he was far stronger than someone like Marquis Ziyun. Still... it was futile! Boom! With another tremendous blast, a Heavenly King gate inside his body shattered violently. Before the Polong Beast could even cry out, Tongtian Marquis suddenly shrieked in agony, "No! Don't!" A gate had exploded! Even if it was just a Heavenly King's gate, a gate was still a gate! No! It was destroyed! His heart ached so much he nearly fainted. He screamed in anguish, "Don't hit the gates! Don't hit the gates!" He wailed, looking ready to die from grief. He glared viciously at Giant Axe, wishing he could hack the man to death. It was this bastard Giant Axe whose swing had shattered the gate, driving Tongtian Marquis to the brink of an emotional collapse! Giant Axe Marquis was helpless too! Damn it all. We're in the middle of a life-and-death battle! Who has time to care about your precious gates? The Polong Beast was thoroughly aggrieved. In the end, he glared savagely at the group with gnashed teeth, remaining completely silent. The next moment, the nine gates inside his body began to vibrate violently. He was going to detonate his willpower and the gates! Savages! I'll blow myself up before I let you bastards reap any benefits! Keep dreaming! Even in self-destruction, I'll take a piece out of you! You dare humiliate a great entity like me? Even though my true body isn't here, having my avatar battered like this is a staggering disgrace. And it wasn't the first time—this was the second time today! Unacceptable! He had descended to slaughter all four quarters, not to deliver free gifts and be eaten alive! The instant he prepared to self-detonate, Su Yu sensed it. Tongtian Marquis and the others sensed it as well. At this, Tongtian Marquis panicked completely, shrieking, "Don't self-detonate! Don't, please don't, I'm begging you..." "..." Black lines formed across the foreheads of Su Yu and the others! Fuck! Anyone listening would think one of your own relatives was about to self-detonate! This is an enemy, damn it! We know you want to eat gates, but do you really have to take it this far? Tongtian Marquis was close to tears from anxiety. "I won't hit you anymore, just don't self-detonate! Please, don't blow yourself up..." "Shut up!" Su Yu couldn't take it anymore and barked furiously. What an embarrassment! Across the battlefield, Tongtian Marquis's pitiful wailing also left many people not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Your enemy is the one self-detonating—and an avatar of an ancient entity at that—not you. You've beaten the poor guy into such a pathetic state that he's forced to blow himself up, and you have the nerve to cry about it! Everyone was utterly speechless! The Polong Beast laughed out of sheer fury. "When my true body emerges, I will slaughter every last one of you!" A supreme humiliation! His enemy was begging him not to self-detonate just so they could eat him! To hell with you! When had he, the Polong Venerable, ever fallen to such depths? "Sigh!" Seeing that Tongtian Marquis was genuinely on the verge of tears, Su Yu felt helpless. This disgraceful fool wasn't worthy of being a Celestial Venerable. Still, to keep the idiot from actually bursting into tears... If the Polong Beast blew itself up, Tongtian Marquis would certainly weep. To spare himself further embarrassment, Su Yu decided not to give the beast the chance to self-detonate at all! As long as I'm fast enough... Once Fat Ball swallows his willpower, across the barrier of the Hell Gate, his true body might not necessarily sense anything clearly. In an instant, his world manifested once more! "Silence!" A low shout rang out. "Misfortune!" "Disperse!" In a flash, multiple Daos erupted simultaneously—silencing the opponent, afflicting him with misfortune, and dispersing the gathered self-detonation energy. The Polong Beast felt his vision blur, and his breath abruptly caught in his throat... His breath caught? He froze for a fraction of a second. I'm a goddamn avatar, how the hell do I catch my breath? In an instant, the energy he had gathered for self-destruction began to leak away. Before he could even wrap his head around what was happening, Su Yu and his six companions descended, bombarding him with heaven-shattering fury. Tongtian Marquis frantically devoured the gates, swallowing a Heavenly King gate in a single gulp! He swallowed another, kept swallowing, and swallowed even more! His gluttony caused the Polong Beast's aura to plummet instantly. Only then did the Polong Beast realize what was happening. Glancing around, he froze in shock. "A World Creator?" He had seen one before! At this moment, a memory seemed to flash through his mind—a memory of the late chaotic era, of the figure who had stepped out of the chaos, cleaved open heaven and earth, and founded the current myriad realms! The Time Master! That person's creation of heaven and earth had been on a scale incomparable to Su Yu's. When that person opened the world, countless chaotic experts moved to stop him, forbidding the creation! Yet that man, with a single sword, had slaughtered his way through the chaos until it fell! He had left corpses strewn across the expanse! The myriad realms had been cleaved open in a sea of blood! A World Creator? Terror! In an instant, that ancient memory resurfaced in his mind, leaving only pure dread. Following the dread came utter shock. This news had to be sent back! While this brat was still weak, they had to find a way to eliminate him! Otherwise, once he grew, it would be almost impossible to keep him in check! Yet now, it was too late. Fat Ball stretched out its gaping maw, swallowing his willpower in a single bite. Tongtian Marquis let out a thunderous roar, abandoning all caution. Fuck it, eat! Eat everything! Chomp, chomp, chomp! He wanted to swallow all nine gates. He couldn't bear to let them go. In truth, he was already stuffed to bursting, but he simply couldn't bring himself to abandon them! Without the Prison King lineage, if he ever wanted to devour gate energy again, he would either have to eat Su Yu, eat the Martial Emperor, or go after figures like King Wen and the Human Sovereign. Were those people he could ever eat? This moment was his final chance! He had to eat! Boom! Tongtian Marquis transformed into a massive gate, which was now visibly cracking. Su Yu couldn't help but curse, "Spit them out..." Are you only going to be satisfied once you blow yourself to pieces? Not spitting! Not even if I die! Tongtian Marquis understood what Su Yu was worried about, but... he couldn't spit them out. If he did, he would never have an opportunity like this again! Su Yu had slaughtered the Prison King lineage's experts to the brink of extinction today! If I spit these out, am I supposed to go eat the Heavenly Gate instead? The gate he had transformed into was violently battered by immense power, careening around wildly, while Su Yu instantly retracted the power of his world. At that moment, deep within the Hell Gate... A faint shudder of dread echoed back. The next instant, a furious shriek reverberated across the expanse: "Su Yu! When I step outside, I will tear you to shreds!" The Polong Beast's true body! His voice was laced with fury, bewilderment, and confusion. Dread? At the very last moment, his willpower had transmitted a feeling of dread. What kind of joke was this? The avatar was one with him; with his immense strength, how could he possibly feel dread? *** Rumble! Explosive rumbles echoed from within Tongtian Marquis. Some of the gates had been forcibly digested, while others detonated inside him! At that exact moment, the twins, Yueluo, and the white-haired old man all coughed up blood. The glabella between each of their brows split open! The same happened to the Heavenly Kings; their foreheads cracked apart. In an instant, two already critically wounded Heavenly Kings were slain on the spot by experts of the myriad races. Having his gate shattered for the second time, the white-haired old man was gravely wounded! His opponent was Saint Marquis, the foremost expert of the Immortal race. Saint Marquis struck with a palm that shattered the old man's physical body and obliterated his skull. Though a new head regrew in an instant, the old man stumbled back repeatedly, teetering on the brink of death! Right at that moment, Yueluo—who had previously helped the white-haired old man fend off Tiangu, Yuansheng, and the others—let out a shrill screech. Everyone's mind shuddered, their eardrums nearly rupturing. Even though the space between Yueluo's brows was torn open, her aura surged thirty percent stronger in an instant! She hadn't weakened; she had grown even more formidable! A colorful ribbon suddenly appeared in her hand, whipping out in a flash to wrap around the white-haired old man and yank him away. She retreated at full speed, dragging the old man with her as they fled toward the Hell Gate! Seeing this, Yue Zhan and the twins turned and fled as well, and the two Demon Celestial Venerables did the same! Flee! They could fight no longer! *** Su Yu did not strike. His eyes narrowed slightly. Yueluo... was stronger than she had let on. This woman had actually dropped her concealment just to save the white-haired old man. How strange. Soon, he pieced the puzzle together. Su Yu squinted. They were on the same side! Yes, working together. Yueluo and that white-haired old ghost were in league with each other, and most likely... both were Hundred Battles' people! In other words, two Celestial Venerables were actually agents of Hundred Battles. It was almost unbelievable—not just one, but two! Perhaps some of the Heavenly Kings and Dao Integration experts were also Hundred Battles' subordinates, but their value fell short of Celestial Venerables. That was why Yueluo hadn't revealed her full power when those others died earlier. Only now, seeing that the white-haired old man was about to be slain, was Yueluo forced to intervene and drag him away! Su Yu looked toward Lei Bao, who kept his head down, not daring to utter a peep. Su Yu chuckled! "Fascinating!" His voice transmitted straight into Lei Bao's ear: "How truly fascinating! Out of the five remaining Celestial Venerables in the Prison King lineage, two actually belong to Hundred Battles. I wonder if the Prison King lineage feels like crying right now!" Seven Celestial Venerables had fled! However, the remaining Heavenly Kings and Dao Integration experts had no chance of escaping! Tiangu and his allies slaughtered these stragglers as they gave chase. Su Yu didn't bother pursuing; instead, he swiftly executed the surrounding experts of the Prison King lineage and the Demon race! Some of the Demons were fleeing! Yes, Su Yu noticed that Moji and the other Demons who had ascended from the Lower Realm acted with utter decisiveness. In truth, they had wanted to run long ago. Now, seeing the rout of the main force, they burned their blood essence without hesitation and tore through the void to escape! Some on the God and Immortal sides wanted to give chase, but they quickly abandoned the idea. Jiwu and the others watched them flee with complicated expressions, choosing not to pursue. Moji and his group had maintained a decent working relationship with the other races in the Lower Realm. Right now, their strength was meager, so letting them go was fine. Those few had only recently arrived in the Upper Realm and might not even understand what was happening. Today, the Demon race had abruptly allied with the Prison King lineage, leading to the slaughter of countless Demon experts. If they couldn't turn this around, the Demon race was finished! *** Su Yu paid those few no mind either. Leading San Yue and the others, he swiftly finished off the routed combatants. Dao Integration cultivators were nothing more than cannon fodder here. The slaughter continued relentlessly. He didn't pursue because he knew Yu Qing was about to emerge! Sure enough, as Yue Zhan and his group fled to the vicinity of the Hell Gate, a thunderous boom erupted. An extraordinarily powerful aura burst forth in an instant, and at that moment, the entire world fell dead silent! A terrifying entity, a true Ruler of Rules, had appeared! This was likely the first time in a hundred thousand years that a Ruler of Rules with complete combat prowess had manifested in the myriad realms. Prior to this, whether it was the Martial Emperor or the Dead Spirit Imperial Sovereign, both had been sealed. As for Hundred Battles, his current strength remained unknown, and even if he stood at this level, he had never fought with full strength! From the deep mountains, a terrifying figure clad in black armor stepped forward, stride by stride. Yue Zhan and the others were overjoyed! She was out! She was finally out! "Venerable!" "Senior Sister!" "..." The fleeing Celestial Venerables were ecstatic, some on the verge of weeping tears of relief. Almost everyone was dead! Aside from their seven Celestial Venerables, fewer than ten Dao Integration experts had managed to escape alongside them! One had to remember that earlier, between the Demon race and the Prison King lineage, they had possessed well over a hundred Dao Integration combatants. After fighting to this point, including themselves, fewer than twenty remained! The losses were catastrophic! At this moment, Tiangu and the others halted their pursuit. All the experts gathered. Over a hundred Dao Integration cultivators remained, along with over a dozen Heavenly Kings, plus several Celestial Venerables. Now, they all assembled, every face solemn. She was out! After several Celestial Venerables were slain and their Heavenly Kings were virtually wiped out, this entity had finally emerged. She was a bit late, perhaps due to Su Yu stripping away her clan's fortune. "Very good!" Yu Qing's voice was frigid. Stepping across the void, she appeared before Yue Zhan and the others in an instant. Her eyes were sharp as blades as she swept her gaze over Su Yu and his allies. Su Yu and the top experts were fine, but the other Dao Integration cultivators bled from all seven orifices. A suppression of rank! At this moment, the absolute suppression of rank was displayed to the fullest! A true Ruler of Rules! Yu Qing's aura erupted, blotting out the sky and shaking the four quarters! In raw combat power, she might not be vastly stronger than Yue Zhan and his peers, but the sheer oppressive weight of her aura was staggering. This was likely the first time Su Yu had ever faced an entity radiating such terrifying pressure. Even considering the Lord of the Dead from before, Su Yu now understood that at that time, the Lord of the Dead might not have fully reached the level of a Ruler of Rules! Clad in black leather boots and black armor, a black spear gripped in her hand, she walked out entirely draped in black. Even though Su Yu's side boasted numerous Celestial Venerables, she showed no fear! Even if she couldn't slaughter all of them on her own, if she wished to leave, these people would be hard-pressed to stop her! A Ruler of Rules was a Ruler of Rules! Just because Celestial Venerables shared similar comprehensions of the Great Dao did not mean they were Rulers of Rules! No matter how top-tier a Celestial Venerable was, a gap remained! She stepped forward, stride by stride. Wherever her gaze fell, the crowds shrank back. When her eyes landed on Su Yu, he simply wore a smile, looking remarkably calm. "Congratulations! Why don't you introduce yourself, so everyone can get to know you?" Yu Qing's gaze turned chillingly sharp as she said coldly, "Yu Qing! Under the Sacred Lord, the Ninth Disciple!" Su Yu drew in a breath. "Yu's disciple? Don't joke around. You're only ranked ninth? Yu has nine disciples who are Rulers of Rules? Cut the crap. If that were true, wouldn't supreme figures like the Human Sovereign and King Wen look completely pathetic?" I don't buy it for a second! Did the Human Sovereign's disciples include any Rulers of Rules? Come to think of it... did they even have disciples? King Wen had a few students, but they were merely registered disciples; he never seemed to have taken formal disciples. The Human Sovereign didn't seem to have any either! Regardless of whether they did or not, producing nine Rulers of Rules among one's disciples was something Su Yu refused to believe! Of course, it was hard to say for sure! No one knew what lay behind the Hell Gate. Perhaps... it was true? Could it be that most of the Prison King's disciples had gone behind the gate? And broken through there? If that was the case, producing nine wouldn't be entirely incomprehensible. "Impudent!" Yu Qing was utterly cold. "You dare address the Sacred Lord by name? You seek death!" Su Yu laughed. "Even if Yu were standing right before me, he would still just be a traitor, unworthy of speaking to me! I am the Human Master, the lord of the human race. A mere traitor of humanity leading a pack of lesser traitors dares to spout nonsense before me? And you, just because you're a Ruler of Rules, you've forgotten who you are?" Su Yu sneered, "A single Ruler of Rules plus seven Celestial Venerables—you think that makes you formidable?" He glanced around and chuckled. "Let me see... We seem to have quite a few Celestial Venerables on our side!" His side alone had seven! The Immortal race had four, the God race had three... but since Heavenly Venerable Yue had lost his body, that counted as two. The remaining Underworld and Phoenix experts still possessed Celestial Venerable combat strength, plus Chaos Dragon and Eight-Winged Tiger—that made a full ten more. Seventeen Celestial Venerable-level combatants! Yu Qing ignored him, turning her piercing gaze toward Chaos Dragon and Eight-Winged Tiger. "You two plan to rebel?" At that moment, a boundless, monstrous aura vaguely manifested around her—the aura of chaos, the will of chaos, representing the wills of those mighty entities within the world behind the gate! Waves of chaotic will battered the heavens and earth! Behind Eight-Winged Tiger and the tailless dragon, several of the ancient beasts they had brought along suddenly began to roar. Their eyes turned blood-red, and in an instant, they charged toward the surrounding experts of the myriad races! Boom! This development truly caught everyone off guard. The Celestial Venerables struck without hesitation, caring nothing for whether these beasts were brought by Eight-Winged Tiger, and swiftly slew them! In the blink of an eye, over a dozen ancient beasts were put down, but the chaos also resulted in the deaths of seven or eight Dao Integration cultivators from the myriad races! Dao Integration experts were dying like dogs! In just that brief exchange, over twenty had perished. Chaos Dragon and Eight-Winged Tiger both let out ferocious roars, their eyes burning blood-red as they glared at Yu Qing. Yu Qing remained entirely impassive. "You belong to the ancient chaotic race. To defy the will of chaos—are you seeking death? Come over now and submit to my command, and you may atone for your crimes. Otherwise... death is your only end!" The chaotic will radiating from her intensified, interfering with the two chaotic ancient beasts. At this, the myriad races hurriedly put distance between themselves and the two beasts. Too terrifying! Tiangu and the others were also alarmed. Could these two really not resist the disruption of the chaos? Right at that moment, Su Yu snapped impatiently, "Alright, knock it off, damn it! What are you acting for? Were you planning to pretend to switch sides and then deliver a fatal backstab? Forget it, this old woman will never trust you a hundred percent!" "Huh?" Eight-Winged Tiger's eyes suddenly cleared, and he asked with an odd expression, "Why wouldn't she trust us?" "..." Silence fell over the entire area. Even Yu Qing's expression shifted slightly. They hadn't been affected at all? Su Yu said, somewhat exasperated, "Unless she's an idiot, of course she wouldn't trust you..." "Well, I thought she seemed pretty stupid!" Eight-Winged Tiger grumbled in deep annoyance. "Emperor Yu, could you stop ruining things for once? We worked so hard to come up with several schemes, and you've ruined every single one! I was thinking that since she tried to control us, we might as well let her pretend to control us. You... not everyone is as treacherous... ahem, as well-read as you!" He was frustrated to no end! Damn you, Su Yu! Yu Qing might not have realized it, okay? My plan was brilliant! I would pretend to be under her control! Then, while both sides fought to mutual exhaustion, the tailless dragon and I would turn and strike. You bastard Su Yu, you and your entire family are scoundrels! You ruined it again! I, a tiger who reads books, finally came up with some clever ideas, and every single one was wrecked by Su Yu. The more I think about it, the angrier I get! Eight-Winged Tiger snapped irritatedly, "Emperor Yu, we agreed to mind our own business. Why do you keep interfering in my affairs?" Su Yu shrugged. "I just think she's not really that stupid. If she sent you as the vanguard, wouldn't that force you to fight me? What if I accidentally killed you? And Chaos Dragon, are you still pretending? Your tail was snapped off, and after so many days, it still hasn't healed? A guy who can trade blows with Yue Zhan pretending this hard is just absurd. You and Eight-Winged Tiger teamed up against those twins, and neither of them suffered a scratch. That's a bit much, don't you think?" "..." Chaos Dragon's eyes cleared as well. Looking at Su Yu, he sighed helplessly. "Su Yu, must you repeatedly disrupt our plans?" "..." Around them, the crowd stood dumbfounded. Holy shit! These two ancient beasts had been faking it the entire time—their strength, their loss of control—all of it just to play Yu Qing for a fool? Opposite them, Yu Qing's face darkened, and she said in a heavy voice, "How could you break free from the control?" The will of the entities behind the chaos held immense sway over chaotic ancient beasts! Otherwise, she wouldn't have been sent out as the representative of chaos to subdue them. Yet the moment she emerged, two ancient beasts had effortlessly overcome it! This was impossible! Eight-Winged Tiger flapped his wings. Why should I tell you? He didn't hold back, stating bluntly, "Strip out the chaotic will and divide it between me and Chaos Dragon, and we'll leave immediately! We keep our word! Yu Qing, there's no need to fight us to the death over chaotic will. You are powerful, and Chaos Dragon and I might not be a match for you working together... but you should think carefully. Even if the two of us can't beat you, can you take on everyone present?" At this, Su Yu smiled amiably as well. "Hand the chaotic will over to me, and I'll leave right away too. My word is gold! Yu Qing, killing me won't be an easy task either!" "..." Tiangu and his allies all turned pale! Are you out of your mind? Su Yu said very seriously, "I'm not lying to you. I do want to kill you, but... if I fight you to the death, someone else might swoop in and reap the benefits. You don't actually think you're the strongest being in the myriad realms, do you? Keep dreaming! Even I don't dare let my guard down, let alone someone who just crawled out!" Su Yu chuckled. "For starters, whether Yueluo and that white-haired old ghost are even your people—given your intellect... you might not have figured it out yet!" Su Yu laughed heartily. "I never really tried to stop you from coming out. Otherwise, do you think you could have emerged so smoothly? I let you out so you could keep certain people in check. Do you understand what I mean?" Yu Qing stared coldly at him, her voice low. "You must die!" Su Yu's expression turned chilly. "Are you trying to force my hand? Do you really consider yourself the supreme ruler of the myriad realms? Did I give you too much face? Believe it or not, with a wave of my hand, a Ruler of Rules will appear right now to fight you to the death!" Everyone was shocked. Was he telling the truth? Right at that moment, Su Yu suddenly bellowed, "Zhou Ji! If you don't show up right now, Yueluo and this white-haired ghost are dead meat! Are you abandoning your stepmother?" Zhou Ji! The moment the name was uttered, shock rippled through the surroundings. Behind Yu Qing, Yueluo's expression shifted slightly as she glared at Su Yu. "Su Yu, do you think your petty tricks will work?" Su Yu replied casually, "Whether they work or not, don't you know in your own heart? As for this son of yours... forget it, you're just a concubine, so he might not acknowledge you. How about I have your man come rescue you instead? Leaving you to die would be a bit heartless, wouldn't it?" Yueluo sneered, "Su Yu, you're frightened because you saw Venerable Yu Qing return, aren't you? So you resort to these underhanded tricks to slander me!" Turning to Yu Qing, she said coldly, "Venerable, Su Yu is silver-tongued and excels at sowing discord!" Yu Qing said flatly, "I know." Yet at that moment, Tiangu suddenly spoke up, "Zhou Ji?" Looking toward Su Yu, his expression shifted. "Could the Human Master be referring to... the son of Hundred Battles?" Su Yu grinned. "Take a guess!" "..." I won't guess! You've already made it glaringly obvious, what is there to guess? Countless thoughts raced through Tiangu's mind, and a deep, sorrowful chill washed over him. He asked, "Human Master, does Hundred Battles... also... have a large number of powerful subordinates in the Lower Realm?" Su Yu smiled. "Guess again!" I won't guess! Tiangu had already pieced together the truth. An inexplicable sorrow welled up inside him. If that was the case, the six thousand years of dominion held by the myriad races had been nothing more than a joke! Hundred Battles, Su Yu, the Prison King lineage... The rule of the myriad races had been so fragile all along! Meanwhile, Yu Qing looked at Su Yu, her gaze icy. "Since you wish to sue for peace... then today's matter ends here. Withdraw, and this battle shall be considered over!" She abruptly shifted her stance! Earlier she had been shouting for blood, but now she was suddenly calling it off. Yu Qing understood one thing: whether it was the myriad races, Su Yu, or Chaos Dragon and his cohort, they would not stay united forever. Rather than fighting them to the death right now, it was better to wait until they scattered and withdrew! They would part ways sooner or later! Defeating them one by one was the ideal strategy for her! Not entirely stupid, Su Yu thought. It made sense; someone who had reached this realm couldn't be a complete fool. Yu Qing was actually quite shrewd! Right now, the three factions were united. But once they pulled back, whether she chose to divide them or win some over, it would be infinitely easier than facing them now. Currently, all three factions feared her wrath, which was why they clung together. Yu Qing continued, turning her gaze toward the experts of the myriad races. "Up until now, Su Yu's side has suffered virtually no losses! Must the myriad races insist on acting as his scapegoats? You have suffered devastating casualties—what do you stand to gain in the end? Though you have many Celestial Venerables, if I truly go all out without regard for the consequences, leading Yue Zhan and the others to target only the Celestial Venerables of the myriad races, every last one of you will likely die! Even if we fall as well... the ones reaping the rewards will not be you!" The experts of the myriad races turned pale. If the Prison King lineage truly singled them out for slaughter, it would spell utter disaster. Su Yu sighed and chimed in, "Listen to what you're saying! Who says I suffered no losses? Two Heavenly Kings under my command had their Great Daos shattered, and several fell before that... You lot are far too ruthless! I barely have any foundation to begin with, yet you slaughtered my people like that!" With that, he chuckled, "Lei Bao, Tianming, move aside! You're not even my men, so why keep pretending? Go back to Hundred Battles! Why cling to me?" "I won't take the blame for you!" Su Yu shrugged. "I only have five Celestial Venerables here, while Hundred Battles isn't even present and already has four Celestial Venerables on the field. That's what's truly terrifying!" Squinting with a smile, Su Yu added, "Right now in the myriad realms, the strongest faction is Hundred Battles, followed by your Sin Race, then the myriad races, and finally me... and behind me are these two lonely chaotic beasts. How tragic! At least I'm slightly better off than them!" Chaos Dragon and Eight-Winged Tiger remained silent. To hell with you! Eight-Winged Tiger knew full well that Tianming was Su Yu's man, and Su Yu likely had more forces hidden deep in the chaos. He had plenty of experts—who was he trying to fool? Yu Qing looked at Su Yu, her earlier hostility fading into a calm demeanor. "How about this: let us all disperse. I promise I will not move against you! My emergence from the Hell Gate this time is merely to scout a path for the chaos... to seek a way of return! We are not the only ones seeking to return to the myriad realms; many others are as well. You and I are merely chess pieces, so why slaughter one another?" Instead of coming out swinging, she offered peace, which immediately tempted the myriad races. At this moment, they couldn't see through the shifting currents, and they feared that this Ruler of Rules might truly erupt into a slaughter aimed squarely at them. Withdrawing... might genuinely be the best course! Of course, that was assuming Yu Qing wouldn't hunt them down one by one after they left! Tiangu looked from Su Yu to Yu Qing, his voice heavy. "Withdraw... only to wait for Venerable Yu Qing to regroup her forces and strike us with thunderous wrath later?" Yu Qing said placidly, "Open the passage to the Lower Realm and descend. Seal the passage behind you. With an entire realm separating us, there will naturally be no opportunity for a sudden strike. In the Lower Realm, you will have the realm's suppression on your side; even I would be unable to completely disregard it..." Su Yu curled his lip. "She's of the human race. Even if she refuses to admit it, that's what she is. And you actually believe her? Anyone with ears can tell that's utter nonsense!" Sure enough, Rimian and several others grimaced. Indeed, she was human. Even if she called herself the Sacred Race now, she was fundamentally human! *** While tossing out a few remarks, Su Yu was calculating rapidly in his heart. If this continued, this battle might truly fail to materialize, provided Yu Qing gave the myriad races sufficient assurances. Right now, the myriad races were terrified. On one hand, they feared Su Yu's faction; on the other, they feared Yu Qing and her allies dragging them down to mutual destruction. However, this wouldn't do! Combined, those two sides were still far too powerful! He glanced toward Yueluo and the others. Did Hundred Battles have no intention of stirring up trouble? Was Hundred Battles' faction truly content to just let things drag on like this? That wasn't Hundred Battles' style! Having the Prison King lineage and the myriad races inflict mutual destruction on one another was surely Hundred Battles' goal as well, wasn't it? Could it be that because he had sealed the Lower Realm, Hundred Battles truly had no way to contact the Upper Realm? Thoughts flickered across Su Yu's mind as he weighed his options. A ceasefire now wasn't impossible, but Su Yu had yet to achieve his objectives! "The fighting cannot stop now!" If they didn't fight today, the myriad races would gradually be picked apart! He looked at Tiangu, his brow furrowing slightly. Did Tiangu realize this? If they didn't use this final burst of momentum to fight, the myriad races would soon collapse into a scattered heap of sand! *** Tiangu knew. Yet at this moment, Tiangu hesitated. He felt a deep sense of despair; the myriad races were truly powerless to resist! Whether it was Su Yu, Hundred Battles, or the Prison King lineage... the myriad races were perhaps the weakest faction of all! Fighting now would result in mutual destruction. Refusing to fight meant that soon enough, certain individuals would be won over and choose to submit to the various human factions. In the end, the resistance of the myriad races would still turn into a joke! Because all three of those factions were human! The myriad races had resisted humanity for countless years, only to end up as human vassals after all! This was something they could not accept! Tiangu looked around. Though the myriad races appeared numerous right now, the reality was that this represented the entirety of their strength. Meanwhile, what Su Yu and the Prison King lineage displayed here was not necessarily their full hand! The Prison King lineage still had experts behind the gate! As for Su Yu... he might well have another batch of experts hidden away in the dead spirit realm. To fight or to retreat? He didn't know! At this moment, Tiangu was utterly lost. Where lay the road ahead? Six thousand years of supremacy had been reduced to a colossal joke! Could they even hold out until the Immortal Emperor and the others returned? At that instant, he suddenly transmitted his voice to Su Yu: "As long as you are willing to undo the seal on the myriad races, I am willing to fight the Sin Race to the death right now! Su Yu, as long as you agree... today, the myriad races shall be at your disposal!" Only by breaking the seal was there any hope left! Otherwise, not a shred of hope remained! At that moment, Su Yu's gaze shifted slightly. This bastard Tiangu really knew how to seize an opportunity and hit the crux of the matter. Unsealing! If the myriad races were unsealed, then even if several more Celestial Venerables died in this battle, the remaining three to five could become Rulers of Rules. Once they became Rulers of Rules, their chance would arrive! When that happened, the top-tier combat strength would be leveled out! Figures like Yu Qing would no longer be invincible! And now, it was Su Yu's turn to hesitate. Unseal them? Was it worth it?