Setting Out on the Campaign!

Su Yu had a plan for dealing with the myriad races. Of course, they might not necessarily play along with his schemes, so he prepared two courses of action. First: eliminate them directly. Second: drive the wolf to devour the tiger! If the myriad races were still led by the likes of Heavenly Venerable Yue, Su Yu would have pursued the first option. Now, however, Tiangu and the God Imperial Concubine were in charge. Under these circumstances, the second option became viable. It wasn't that Tiangu and his peers were any stupider; rather, they understood all too well how difficult Su Yu was to deal with. The older generation clung stubbornly to the belief that Su Yu was still young, lacked sufficient cultivation, and had yet to become a Ruler of Rules. Having witnessed countless Rulers of Rules in their time, they assumed that just because he made swift progress now didn't mean he would continue to do so in the future. Tiangu and the rest, on the other hand, had suffered far too many bitter losses at Su Yu's hands. They had watched with their own eyes as Su Yu rose from the Soaring Realm to his current height in the blink of an eye. Even back when he was merely in the Soaring Realm, Sun Moon and Eternity cultivators had hunted him without success. Su Yu seemed practically omnipotent. Deep in their hearts, they feared Su Yu far more. ... At this moment, Su Yu returned once more inside his Human Lord Seal. Looking around within the seal, Su Yu suddenly raised his head to gaze upward, a sudden realization striking him. *I used the Human Lord Seal as the foundation to open my heaven and earth, while the Dead Spirit Lord used the River of Time as his foundation. But what about the River of Time itself?* *There had to be some foundation beneath it, right?* *The Great Daos couldn't just be anchored out of thin air, could they?* *Could it simply be anchored in primal chaos?* Su Yu pondered for a moment before letting the thought go. To this day, he had never reached either end of the River of Time. Though the River of Time was said to be the confluence of ten thousand Great Daos, Su Yu now vaguely understood that its primary Great Dao was likely the Dao of Time—the Zhou Dao. Within the river, just as within Su Yu's own heaven and earth, the Time Lord truly possessed the power to govern the flow of time—at least relative to the Myriad Realms. Su Yu could actually achieve this to a limited degree as well. For example, if two trees were planted simultaneously in his world, he could accelerate the growth of one. That would create a contrast, a difference in time. The actual flow of time was identical, but it produced a relative difference in perceived time. This kind of relativity was quite fascinating. Artificially accelerating the second tree would make the normally growing tree seem to experience faster time from its perspective; conversely, if the accelerated tree perceived its own time as normal, it would view the other tree's time as having slowed down. And this might very well be the core Dao of the River of Time. Just as the Human Sovereign had his Dao of Responsibility, and the Dead Spirit Lord had his Dao of Death. As for Su Yu, his pursuit was similar to the Time Lord's: rather than merely driving a single Dao to its peak, he might specialize in certain ones, but he would not let the other Daos fall too far behind. Standing there, Su Yu gazed at the Human Lord Seal for a while, his mind wandering across diverse thoughts. Meanwhile, the onlookers watched Su Yu. They saw him standing before the gateway opened by the Human Lord Seal, looking up at the sky. After just a brief moment, to everyone's daze, the world suddenly expanded slightly, and the power of a Great Dao materialized in the void. That Dao power swept past, sending a tremor through everyone's heart. All at once, they felt as though they were separated from Su Yu by another time and space. They felt only a moment had passed for them, yet an eternity seemed to have elapsed for Su Yu. It was a bewildering sensation! "Time!" someone murmured in disbelief. What on earth was Su Yu comprehending now? He could have an epiphany just taking a stroll? King Dazhou, who had entered alongside Su Yu, was also standing there with his mouth agape. What was going on? What was with him this time? They had just been gossiping moments ago—how had he suddenly slipped into enlightenment? Within the Human Lord Seal, the top powerhouses were filled with shock and bewilderment. Epiphanies came to Su Yu out of the blue, defying all logic. A casual conversation could spark endless thoughts, and before anyone knew it, he had attained enlightenment! He just understood! There was truly no reasoning with it! King Dazhou felt utterly conflicted. Only when Su Yu opened his eyes did he give a wry smile. "Your Majesty... had another epiphany?" "An epiphany?" Su Yu looked at the sky, then glanced at the others and laughed. "Not at all. How could this be called an epiphany? I merely had a few reflections regarding the Great Dao. Does that even count?" Su Yu chuckled. It really didn't count! Just now, he had simply acted on a whim, testing out a temporal partition within his heaven and earth—say, letting three days pass for Wan Tiansheng and the others while only one day passed for himself. That would create a temporal discrepancy. Of course, his own time was aligned with the Myriad Realms. To have one day pass in the Myriad Realms while ten days passed here was very difficult, but stretching it to one, two, or even three days was barely within his grasp, though he couldn't maintain it for long. Controlling the flow of time in the Myriad Realms on top of that was immensely harder. At this moment, the others stared at Su Yu with immensely complex emotions. Just look—this was what a true genius was. Su Yu was the definition of it! He was a bona fide genius, and what was more, he dared to imagine. His mind was boundless, unfettered by convention. Perhaps because he was young, whenever he thought of something, he actually put it into practice, with practical execution sharper than anyone else's. "Congratulations, Your Majesty!" Everyone offered their congratulations, but Su Yu chuckled. "I told you, it's nothing—just an ordinary reflection. Don't waste your congratulations! My comprehension of the Great Dao is still shallow. I still need all of you to progress alongside me!" This wasn't false modesty. Su Yu dabbled in many Daos, but mastered few; his individual Daos were still rather weak. The Time Lord possessed ten thousand Daos, and so did Su Yu. Yet if one of the Time Lord's Daos was a mighty river, Su Yu's was truly just a trickle of piss. In truth, both could be considered Rulers of Rules, but it was the difference between a Lord of the Great River and a Lord of a Piss Stream—a world of difference. If the Time Lord were actually here, a single breath might blow Su Yu to dust. Of course, Su Yu was progressing rapidly not because he was more talented, but because the Time Lord had already reached the absolute pinnacle while Su Yu was just getting started. Making progress at the beginning was naturally far easier than at the peak. Right now, he still relied on everyone comprehending the Great Dao with him to help flesh out his heaven and earth. Only when they improved could he improve. This was what all heaven-openers did. King Wen didn't seem to have done so... No one knew what kind of heaven King Wen had opened. As for the Human Sovereign, his world had ended before it even truly began, so he hadn't had the chance to do this. Wan Tiansheng smiled. "It is what we truly desire, though we hardly dared ask!" That was indeed everyone's wish! Su Yu, however, chuckled. "Spare me the pleasantries. If you have free time, help me flesh out the Seven Emotions and Six Desires in my heaven and earth!" Old Wan hadn't even merged his Dao into the realm! What was he babbling about? Still, he could indeed help refine the Daos. In terms of the Dao of Humanity, Su Yu's heaven and earth was still lacking considerably. He had slaughtered many formidable races, but had killed very few humans. As for the Prison King lineage, even among those Su Yu had killed, barely any were suitable to fill the Great Daos! Wan Tiansheng smiled. "Naturally. Once Your Majesty's Dao can withstand greater bursts of power and give birth to a genuine Ruler of Rules, we will carry our Daos from the River of Time and instantly merge them into Your Majesty's Dao. That will undoubtedly bring a qualitative leap for everyone!" A Ruler of Rules... At this thought, Su Yu looked toward the Southern King and asked curiously, "Southern King, how do you feel your strength is right now?" Had the Southern King improved recently as well? Su Yu hadn't paid too much attention to it. He rarely pried into the strength of the powerhouses merged into his Great Dao, as that would leave people with no privacy. Su Yu hated that feeling, and any cultivator would. The Southern King remained aloof and cool. Around Su Yu, she spoke very little, both before and after her resurrection. Of course, she occasionally looked at Su Yu with a trace of maternal affection, as if gazing upon her own son... which left Su Yu utterly speechless, though he couldn't say much about it. After all, when he first met her, he had played dumb, called her "Mistress," and tricked her into risking her life for him. First impressions were everything! At this moment, upon hearing Su Yu's question, the Southern King did it again. That maternal warmth surfaced in her eyes... In her view, Su Yu was still that child she had met for the first time, seemingly strong on the outside but fragile within. All that strength, overbearing swagger, and arrogance were merely a facade in her eyes. Su Yu was still young—a child, truly just a baby. To protect Su Yu's dignity, she didn't make it too obvious, but several onlookers could clearly sense it and struggled to hold back their laughter. Su Yu rarely came out on the losing end of anything, yet he was completely powerless against the Southern King's maternal gaze. Looking at Su Yu, the Southern King offered a faint, somewhat stiff smile. "Not bad. As Your Majesty's heaven and earth expanded, our strength rose with the tide. However, once the world grew larger, mastering the Great Dao became slightly more difficult." She added, "So right now is actually the optimal time to master the Great Dao... I feel I am nearly there!" Su Yu nodded. "I have a faint sense of that as well, but it feels like you haven't truly taken full control of the Whip Dao! Come to think of it, Southern King, do you have a weapon?" The Great Dao the Southern King had merged into back then was rather peculiar: the Whip Dao. Yet he had never seen her use a whip. "There is no need," the Southern King said impassively. "Weapons are external objects. The Great Dao itself can serve as a whip!" When she was resurrected last time, she had been just a sliver away; now, she was still just a sliver away. Su Yu said, "It's been so long and you still haven't mastered the Whip Dao. Could there be an issue somewhere? If there's a problem, you can tell me." The Southern King fell silent. Su Yu looked puzzled. *Is there really a problem?* After remaining quiet for a moment, feeling somewhat stifled, the Southern King said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, we have been resurrected... for less than a month!" *Was that a long time?* The way Su Yu put it made everyone think several centuries had passed. What did he mean, "it's been so long and you still haven't mastered the Great Dao"? Good heavens, it had only been a few days! What did he expect?! Su Yu froze, then nodded. "Oh, right! I felt as though a long time had passed. Turns out... it hasn't even been a month!" Everyone felt mentally exhausted. Indeed, it hadn't. Only a few days after their resurrection, Su Yu went to the Upper Realm. Soon after arriving, he struck at the Prison King lineage. Once that battle ended, he immediately prepared to break the seals. Up until now, returning here, it really had only been that short a span of time. Long? Everyone was rendered speechless. Su Yu also felt slightly embarrassed. *Why did I feel like so much time had passed?* Seeing their exasperated expressions, he could only say, "I've lost track of time lately. I just felt that since everyone was resurrected until now, my strength has advanced by leaps and bounds, so I assumed everyone else had too!" *Good grief!* Everyone's heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by "advanced by leaps and bounds"? Right after opening his heaven and earth, Su Yu could already fight on par with the Chaos Dragon's tier. Only after that were the Southern King and the others resurrected. In other words, compared to before, Su Yu felt his strength had increased so drastically that he had completely lost track of time. Just how strong was Su Yu now? At this moment, the clever ones kept quiet, but the reckless couldn't wait. Tianmie piped up eagerly, "Your Majesty, just how strong are you now? Can you beat Hundred Battles?" Su Yu chuckled. "Prying into another's strength is a sin, you know?" "Your Majesty, you can't say that! You have to stimulate our fighting spirit!" Tianmie grinned. "Your Majesty is our leader. If you still can't beat Old Boss Hongmeng, wouldn't that be an embarrassment?" "..." Su Yu laughed. Seeing that many were genuinely curious—or rather, expectant—he pondered for a moment before saying, "Well... it depends on whether I'm inside or outside! Within my heaven and earth, I feel there is no one in the Myriad Realms today I wouldn't dare fight. Whether I can win is hard to say, but I dare battle anyone!" Everyone was startled! Su Yu added, "Outside, however, my strength isn't particularly overwhelming." Weighing his thoughts, Su Yu continued, "I haven't truly clashed with other Rulers of Rules, but if I had to gauge and compare, outside I might be able to fight the God Imperial Concubine, but I likely wouldn't be a match for Hundred Battles or the Martial Emperor." Everyone was shaken once more! That was still at the level of a Ruler of Rules! No wonder Su Yu said his strength had progressed so fast he had forgotten the passage of time. Su Yu smiled. "The God Imperial Concubine probably hasn't returned to her peak yet. If I had to classify myself... I'm roughly on par with an ordinary Ruler of Rules of a Great Dao, the kind who has just mastered a Dao. I suppose you could put it that way." Su Yu shook his head. "Once you reach the level of a Ruler of Rules, the tier divisions become very muddy. Very few people bother to categorize them, because there simply aren't many around; everyone just lets their fists do the talking. It's hard to quantify." Before that stage, one could assess strength by how many Daos someone had merged with, but beyond it, the cultivation realms were practically identical. At this point, King Dazhou smiled. "Your Majesty, when it comes to Rulers of Rules, classifications were actually made in the ancient era. They were primarily used internally among the human race to denote an opponent's strength and how to respond." Su Yu grew interested. "It wasn't passed down?" "There were very few Rulers of Rules, and once they all departed, this rating system became useless!" King Dazhou thought for a moment and said, "According to the classification established by His Majesty the Human Sovereign and the Four Extreme... the Three Extreme Human Kings, our opponents were divided into five tiers!" "Just like Your Majesty's classification for Dao Mergers, the highest, First-Tier Ruler of Rules, was based on the standard of the Human Sovereign and Lord King Wen. Second Tier was distinguished by the strength of the other three Kings! Third Tier was the level of Battle King and his peers. Fourth Tier was the level of Snow King and his peers. Fifth Tier consisted of those ancient powerhouses who attained kingship through the physical body..." Su Yu grew intrigued. "Then what tier did the Martial Emperor belong to back in that era?" "Roughly the level of the Third-Tier Battle King!" King Daxia couldn't help but chime in, "Can you stop using my ancestor as a benchmark in your tier rankings?" "..." King Dazhou was speechless. *Nonsense, I need reference points!* Ignoring him, King Dazhou continued, "This is based on the later era's classification. The Martial Emperor belonged to an earlier period, and prior to that, he was actually on the same level as King Wu and the others. But later on, everyone progressed! According to the later standards, the Martial Emperor was on the same tier as the Battle King. Having been sealed for so many years, he might not even match the Battle King now..." Indeed, the passage of time was the most terrifying factor of all. Back then, the pinnacle First-Tier figures—the Human Sovereign and King Wen—subsequently opened their own heavens, raising the ceiling even higher. Combat strength benchmarks were constantly evolving. "In other words, according to the late ancient era, the Martial Emperor was on the Battle King's tier, right?" "Correct!" King Dazhou nodded. "The Chaos Dragon and Yuezhan are likely slightly weaker than the ancient Human Kings of the physical body Dao, but not by much. If one insisted, they could barely be viewed as Fifth-Tier Rulers of Rules. As for Your Majesty... being able to match a true Ruler of Rules, does that mean Your Majesty possesses the combat power of Fourth-Tier figures like the Snow King?" Xuelan kept silent. King Dazhou was truly annoying! Did he have to attach a representative name to every tier? Couldn't he pick someone else? Did he have to mention the ancestors of the people present? A classification from the late ancient era. Su Yu thought for a moment and said, "Looking at it this way, the Martial Emperor is only Third Tier right now. As for Hundred Battles... I estimate he's a weak Third Tier or a strong Fourth Tier! Yuqing is a textbook Fourth Tier. The God Imperial Concubine has only just recovered, so she's likely a strong Fifth Tier, not quite Fourth Tier." King Dazhou asked, "Then does Your Majesty mean that among the Rulers of Rules in the Myriad Realms today, the Martial Emperor is truly the strongest?" Su Yu nodded. "Judging from those who have surfaced so far, the Martial Emperor is indeed the strongest! Next is Hundred Battles, who is likely close to the Polong Beast. After them come Yuqing and the God Imperial Concubine, and finally figures like the Chaos Dragon, Yuezhan, and the little white dog!" As for the little white dog, Hundred Battles' faction had claimed that Yueluo and Wuji could battle him. Su Yu dismissed that with a sneer; the little white dog hadn't even gone all out. Previously, the little white dog might have been roughly equal to them, but after the white hound grew stronger, he was undeniably superior to Yueluo and Wuji. In Su Yu's eyes, Yueluo and Wuji were on the level of Holy Marquis and Rimian. Thinking of this, Su Yu added, "The myriad races' classification of cultivation and strength is far too broad. After all, there are too many powerhouses, and with the world seal in place, Heavenly Venerables with special statuses emerged... In truth, some can no longer be counted as mere Heavenly Venerables! Neither the Chaos Dragon nor Yuezhan should be categorized as such!" Su Yu smiled. "Understanding an opponent's strength is essential. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles!" "Rulers of Rules are a separate matter, and even Fifth-Tier ones should be singled out!" "Among true Heavenly Venerables, the foremost right now is probably the Eight-Winged Tiger!" Su Yu quickly continued, "The Eight-Winged Tiger, Holy Marquis, Rimian, Yueluo, and Wuji are all on the same plane. As for the Southern King, she might possess comparable combat strength once outside, and within my heaven and earth, she should be no weaker than the Chaos Dragon and his tier!" She might even be slightly stronger, for this was Su Yu's world—and hers as well. The absolute peak of Heavenly Venerables was represented by these individuals. As for the Chaos Dragon and his ilk, had they been humans in the ancient era, they might have been crowned Kings through their physical bodies! Everyone nodded slightly. With Su Yu laying it out like this, they had a clear picture in mind. Off to the side, San Yue couldn't help asking, "Your Majesty, what about us?" "You?" Su Yu chuckled. "Ordinary Heavenly Venerables. What else could you be?" *Ordinary Heavenly Venerables...* A Heavenly Venerable was a Heavenly Venerable; tacking on "ordinary" truly stung. "In truth, Heavenly Venerables are largely on par with one another!" Su Yu said with a smile. "Aside from the few I mentioned who reached the absolute zenith of that realm, the difference among the rest isn't great! You have all reached the extremity of your respective Daos; at most, the Daos they walk happen to be slightly stronger than yours!" Between Heavenly Venerables, the gap was rarely significant. Those select few were exceptions, perhaps having cultivated other Daos as well. At this point, Tianmie and his companions proved smart enough not to ask! Asking would only invite heartbreak and tears. Even Heavenly Venerables were considered ordinary, let alone them. Wan Tiansheng didn't dwell on this and said with a smile, "Overall, then, we hold an overwhelming advantage over the myriad races. Your Majesty can handle the God Imperial Concubine, while Rimian and Holy Marquis can be handled by the little white dog paired with a Heavenly Venerable—or perhaps even by the dog alone! If so... defeating the myriad races shouldn't be too difficult!" "The key lies in keeping our losses to a minimum, or even suffering none at all..." Su Yu nodded. "Fighting these people, I don't want any of my own dying... To put it bluntly... if blood must be shed... it will be later on!" His voice turned somber. Su Yu quickly regained his composure. "I don't want anyone here to die. But if I lead us to rescue the Human Sovereign and his comrades, our opponents will be over a hundred Rulers of Rules. That might be when we truly face life and death! In the Myriad Realms right now, we are playing a match we can dominate. I don't want to see my people dying here... It isn't worth it!" "We have many enemies. After dealing with the myriad races, there is the Hell Gate, the Heavenly Gate, and perhaps other unknown gates and eras..." "They have all converged upon this era, converged right here in the Myriad Realms..." Su Yu said in a heavy voice, "I believe there must be something drawing them to the Myriad Realms. Otherwise, chaos is boundless; one could open a heaven anywhere, survive anywhere. Why insist on fighting to the death right here?" "This era is special, and this place is special..." Su Yu said solemnly, "Therefore, the future is what truly matters! Everything before that is our time to accumulate strength, not to throw away our lives!" "Of course, we fear death—yet we dare to face it!" At those words, everyone fell into thought. Indeed. Eras were converging, and seals everywhere seemed poised to break. Was the Myriad Realms a special zone? Or was this era truly distinct? What made it so special? The most extraordinary thing here was likely the River of Time, because countless Great Daos—including Su Yu's own Dao and heaven-opening—drew reference from the River of Time, or even stole its power. The Time Lord was surely the strongest entity across these innumerable eras, wasn't he? Where on earth was such a terrifying being, whom almost no one had ever seen? Was the Time Lord dead? Everyone fell into deep contemplation. King Dazhou broke the silence, saying, "Your Majesty, do we strike at the myriad races now, or do we continue to lie low, waiting for them to seek out our heaven and earth so we can fight within our domain? Can the Tea Tree plan still be carried out?" The Chaos Dragon and his circle knew Su Yu had opened a heaven, as did the Martial Emperor and the Dead Spirit Imperial Sovereign; quite a few knew by now. Su Yu's original trap could easily leak to outsiders. Su Yu laughed. "Killing two birds with one stone—we'll just take it in stride! Let's wait. Wait for Hundred Battles to make the first move. If he doesn't hold back the sin race, how can we focus on the myriad races? Even if it's just for show, Hundred Battles will put on a performance!" "Naturally, we must apply some pressure first to force his hand..." Speaking to this point, Su Yu's expression turned stern. "Little White Dog, Tongtian, Lan Tian, King Dazhou, Great Axe, San Yue—the six Heavenly Venerables, hear my command!" The six powerhouses answered in unison! "I order you to lead Marquis Lanshan, Marquis Huoyun, Marquis Yingwu, King Daqin, King Daxia, and the various generals, commanding fifty Dao Mergers, to advance to the Upper Realm! Besiege the myriad races and trap them on Human Mountain!" Everyone's heart jolted! Six Heavenly Venerables, multiple Heavenly Kings, and dozens of Dao Mergers! Marquis Lanshan was a pseudo-Heavenly Venerable, and Marquis Huoyun was near that level; both had the potential to achieve genuine Heavenly Venerable combat power soon. If so, eight Heavenly Venerables besieging the myriad races represented immense strength! On top of that, there were numerous Heavenly Kings and as many as fifty Dao Mergers! The myriad races also had many Dao Mergers, but a batch had been wiped out earlier. Such pressure would weigh heavily on the myriad races, deterring them from venturing off the mountain. Besides, Tiangu would not dare come down either. Su Yu spoke again: "Once we trap them on Human Mountain, Tiangu will certainly be uneasy about Tianming... Before that happens, Wuming, go meet Marquis Tianming. You may evacuate your people now!" The Destiny Emperor said in a heavy voice, "Your Majesty, should we guard the Destiny Realm passage...?" Presently, most would likely take the Soul Burial Mountain passage, but the Destiny race also had their own. While unobstructed now, the suppressive force in the Destiny Realm made people hesitant to use it. Su Yu smiled. "Whether you guard it or not doesn't matter. It's already completely unobstructed, so no need to dwell on it! The Destiny race had better evacuate the Destiny Realm altogether. Otherwise, if someone wants to come down and suddenly decides to take that passage, it will be unsafe for you!" Su Yu added quickly, "Before I besiege them, neither side has completely torn off all pretenses of civility. Tiangu and the others aren't yet certain whether I'm truly about to strike. Have Tianming withdraw immediately, lest Tiangu hardens his heart and wipes them out when the time comes!" As for Leibao... Su Yu couldn't be bothered; that was Hundred Battles' business. The Destiny Emperor nodded promptly and left. He had to pull the Destiny race out before Su Yu's forces laid siege. The others also moved swiftly to assemble powerhouses from all quarters and summon their subordinates to prepare for battle. This time, Su Yu was deploying Dao Merger-level combatants. Previously, his side had only dispatched top-tier powerhouses. This time, however, the myriad races possessed many Dao Mergers. Ants could bite an elephant to death; bringing Dao Mergers into the field was necessary. ... Su Yu did not travel through chaos to reach the Upper Realm. On the day after he reached an agreement with Hundred Battles, death qi suddenly soared into the heavens across the Myriad Realms! From the direction of the former Tianyuan Realm, surging auras boiled up in an instant. Six Heavenly Venerables, seven or eight Heavenly Kings, and dozens of Dao Mergers—their formidable auras shook heaven and earth, striking awe into all quarters! Leading the vanguard, King Dazhou let out a clear shout that resonated in all directions: "Emperor Yu Mansion marches to war! We campaign into the Upper Realm to reclaim the human race's ancestral territory! To exalt humanity's might! Let all powerhouses outside the enemy camp stand down!" With that shout, the Myriad Realms trembled. Only at this moment did the powerhouses across the Myriad Realms realize that without anyone noticing, Su Yu had amassed such terrifying strength! Dozens of Dao Mergers! A large host of Heavenly Venerables and Heavenly Kings! ... At this moment. In the Human Realm. A crowd watched silently with complicated emotions. There were so many of them! Furthermore, there were familiar faces. Marquis Huoyun, General Yingwu, and Marquis Dingjun were all taking part in the campaign, their auras formidable. Evidently, Su Yu no longer cared about concealing their fake deaths from the previous failed ruse. At this juncture, aside from keeping a few Heavenly Venerables hidden, Su Yu brought out the vast majority of his powerhouses to awe all under heaven. Without showing sufficient might, how could he maintain his standing? How could he fight? "Quite a few Heavenly Venerables..." someone murmured. "Su Yu himself isn't among them, and Tianming seems to still be in the Upper Realm! Counting them, that makes eight Heavenly Venerables. Moreover, Lan Tian and the others didn't die—what about Wan Tiansheng? Has he become a Heavenly Venerable as well? Aside from Wan Tiansheng, are there others?" The onlookers now had some understanding of Su Yu's side. Hongmeng hadn't shown himself; was he a Heavenly Venerable now? No one knew for sure! Strictly speaking, after accumulating strength over countless years, Hundred Battles' faction had roughly the same numbers as Su Yu's when looking purely at Heavenly Venerables, Heavenly Kings, and Dao Mergers. However, Hundred Battles still held an advantage: himself. At this moment, the army over there possessed morale soaring like a rainbow, with murderous intent billowing to the skies! What a magnificent sight of an army marching to war! In the Human Realm, some looked on with yearning. Someone muttered, "Su Yu and his men have set out. When are we going to move?" They had agreed to fight together, each taking on one front. Su Yu's side had mobilized in full force! What about them? ... The Human Realm, Hundred Battles' residence. Hundred Battles silently watched the sky, flanked only by a few Heavenly Venerables. Su Yu had deployed his troops! With startling speed! They had agreed on three months, yet Su Yu mobilized on the very next day, showing no intention of delay. Speed was the essence of war! Moreover, Su Yu held absolute control over his forces. When he called for a campaign, every participant was an expert. Since he hadn't deployed anyone below Dao Merger, their mobilization was naturally even faster. Hundred Battles remained silent. Below, Wuji looked thoroughly impatient. "Your Majesty, when do we go fight?" Hundred Battles looked down at him and chuckled. "Itching for a fight?" "A little!" Wuji chuckled foolishly. "Fighting and killing is still far more interesting than closed-door cultivation... Besides, it's been so many years since I fought. I can hardly wait!" Hundred Battles smiled. "You, of all people! Well, I won't disappoint you." "Wuji, hear my command!" "Present!" Wuji roared. Hundred Battles smiled. "Wuji, take Yueluo, Yuexiao, Hongyue, and Xueying, summon Leibao, and let the six of you lead the vanguard. Draft ten Heavenly Kings and thirty Dao Mergers, then head to the Upper Realm to confront the sin race. Remember: do not engage recklessly! The Polong Beast has likely emerged on their side by now. Focus primarily on defense and containment... I will choose the right opportunity to enter the Upper Realm and join the battle!" He kept only a small fraction behind. Out of over fifty powerhouses, he retained fewer than twenty, assigning the rest to Wuji. Hundred Battles added with a smile, "You have a rash temperament, so you must not act impulsively! Originally, I intended for Changqing to accompany you, but Changqing and I have matters to attend to here... On this trip, listen more to others' counsel! Hongyue and Xueying are calmer than you. Changmei doesn't see eye to eye with you, nor does he get along with Hongyue's group, so I won't send him—lest you make an endless racket while I'm away!" Wuji said excitedly, "Your Majesty, I will be careful! Thank you, Your Majesty!" "Go on!" Hundred Battles smiled. "Also, do not clash with Su Yu's people! Yield a little where necessary. As long as they don't interfere with your movements, do not seek trouble. Avoid fratricide. Do you understand?" "Understood!" Wuji was thrilled. "Your Majesty, then... shall I go gather everyone right now?" "Go!" "My deepest thanks, Your Majesty!" Overjoyed, Wuji bolted outside. Among the crowd, Hongyue and the others exchanged glances. Hongyue bowed slightly. "Your Majesty, then we... shall depart as well!" "Go!" Hundred Battles nodded slightly. "Be careful, all of you. After all, they have several Rulers of Rules on their side; do not act rashly. If true danger arises, I will intervene! Furthermore, if genuine peril strikes and I am unable to arrive in time... you may request aid from Su Yu!" Hundred Battles smiled. "I didn't say this to Wuji; he cares too much about his pride and wouldn't ask for help even if it killed him! But with you, I feel more assured. Remember, survival is what matters. While Su Yu is not particularly fond of me... we are all human. I do not wish for harm to befall anyone, and neither does he. If you are in dire straits, he will still come to your rescue..." "We understand!" Xueying and the others responded in low voices and quickly took their leave. Su Yu's faction had marched to war, and now, Hundred Battles had answered in kind! The forces of the Human Realm officially embarked on their campaign to the Upper Realm! ... The storm was gathering! At this moment, the rules trembled across the Upper Realm. A great war was about to begin. The grievances and enmities spanning a hundred thousand years would likely see their resolution within three months, drawing the final curtain on this age! ... Atop Human Mountain. The God Imperial Concubine had returned, while Tianming and Leibao had fled with their people. At this moment, Celestial Venerable Huang was dissatisfied to the extreme. "Tiangu, why didn't we detain Tianming, Leibao, and the rest? Before the human race attacks, we should have wiped them out first! We're destined to be enemies anyway!" "You heard Su Yu's words!" Celestial Venerable Huang shouted, "Don't harbor any delusions that you can defect to Su Yu... That's impossible! Even if Su Yu accepts surrenders from some, it won't be from us, and certainly not from you, Tiangu! You have ruled the immortal race for a hundred thousand years. Even if not a billion, hundreds of millions of humans certainly died during your reign!" "Su Yu proclaimed before the heavens that blood debts must be paid in blood—are you still dreaming of surrender?" Blood enmity! A blood feud forged through a hundred thousand years of slaughter! In each tide, well over a hundred million humans perished in battle. Across ten tides spanning a hundred thousand years, who knew how many had died? Hardly anyone could remember. As the ruler of the immortal race, one of the three dominant races, Tiangu might not have personally killed that many, but every single debt was laid at his door. It was an irreconcilable blood debt! Anyone might be able to pledge allegiance to Su Yu, but for Tiangu... it was an utter impossibility. Yet at this moment, Tiangu gazed silently into the distance without replying. Surrender? He had never considered it. Su Yu wasn't anyone else—he was Su Yu, and he would never spare them. Tiangu was merely contemplating whether, should they face defeat, Su Yu might execute only the ringleaders... During this tide, the immortal race had hardly clashed with the humans because they had previously been allies! They had formed an alliance! Hence, during this tide, the hatred between the immortal race and the human race was not overwhelmingly deep. Of course, for the older generation, that was irrelevant; their hatred ran as deep as the sea. He... was already contemplating defeat. It was pessimistic, yet it was the cold truth. Su Yu rarely brought an army to clash head-on. Once he did, it meant Su Yu believed he held overwhelming superiority; Tiangu knew Su Yu well. Su Yu already considered this an unlosable match against the myriad races. In fact, in Su Yu's calculations, he had likely accounted for the Prison King lineage and even Hundred Battles' faction turning hostile. While he might not be able to defeat all three simultaneously, he had the certainty of preserving his own life. Against such confidence... how could the myriad races hope to fight? As a commander, he shouldn't show fear before the battle even began, and outwardly he showed none. Yet deep within his heart, Tiangu knew he was desperate and pessimistic. This battle was doomed to end in defeat! Even with the God Imperial Concubine breaking through, defeat was certain! He paid no heed to Celestial Venerable Huang's roar. What good would killing Tianming do? What good would wiping out the Destiny race do? Doing so would only extinguish the final glimmer of hope—not hope for himself, but hope for the new generation of the immortal race. *As long as our race endures... there is still hope!* *As long as the flame is passed down, possibilities remain!* Tiangu thought silently: *If we are defeated, Su Yu will surely execute us older generation, us powerhouses!* *But the new generation... not necessarily!* *If the Myriad Realms belonged solely to humans, wouldn't it lose much of its luster?* *Extermination... if he truly exterminated our race, then should the Immortal Emperor and the others return alive, they would have no attachments holding them back and would simply butcher without restraint!* *Therefore, there is still hope to preserve our race...* He was already planning how to ensure the immortal race would not be eradicated upon their defeat. Right now, it seemed plausible. But against Su Yu—a madman who never played by the rules—nothing was guaranteed! Tiangu gazed into the distance for a moment. Suddenly, pillars of aura shot into the sky! The human army had arrived! The hundred-thousand-year conflict embroiling the Myriad Realms was drawing to a close. Tiangu smiled, stood up, and roared at the top of his lungs, "Prepare for battle!" Even if defeat was certain, they would fight! They would not let humanity look down on the myriad races! True heroes would be proven on the battlefield!