A Martialist!

Had Su Yu deceived Zhou Ji? Not entirely. Su Yu couldn’t be sure whose side the Martial Emperor would take, but no one else could be sure he wasn't Su Yu’s man either. During the negotiation just now, Zhou Ji had known the Martial Emperor was on his way back, so he had been anxious. In truth, Su Yu had felt some urgency as well, because he was genuinely worried that idiot of a Martial Emperor might suddenly return and make a mess of things! Thus, Zhou Ji had been in a rush to reach an agreement, and so was Su Yu. The Martial Emperor might keep his promise, or he might not. At this stage, however, Su Yu was disinclined to gamble—there was simply no need. Why gamble on the unknown when victory was already guaranteed? So without waiting for the Martial Emperor's return, he had forced Zhou Ji and his cohort to withdraw. Otherwise, had the Martial Emperor been one hundred percent in his camp, Su Yu might well have chosen to make Zhou Ji stay. It was precisely that uncertainty that made him let them go... Now, Zhou Ji and his companions had departed. And the Martial Emperor was back! The bellyful of anger Su Yu had held in instantly found an outlet. In the entire myriad realms, you're the only disobedient one left, aren't you? "Beat him to death!" With a furious roar, Su Yu seized the Martial Emperor and dragged him straight toward his own heaven and earth. The others joined the fray one after another. At this moment, the combat power under Su Yu’s command was terrifyingly formidable; taking on a single Martial Emperor was well within their means! The Martial Emperor’s expression was a sight to behold! "What are you doing?!" "Su Yu, are you turning on me?!" "Su Yu, don't take this too far..." The Martial Emperor panicked now—there were so many of them! Fuck! So many Rulers of Rules! What the hell was going on? I only stepped out for a moment! *Boom!* He was dragged into Su Yu’s heaven and earth. Everyone blasted him in unison, driving him tumbling backward into Su Yu’s realm. The instant he crossed into that heaven and earth, the Martial Emperor’s expression shifted entirely! I'm done for! At this moment, the Martial Emperor distinctly felt his strength being suppressed, whereas everyone on Su Yu’s side received an enhancement—especially Su Yu himself! Su Yu was currently devouring the power of destiny left behind by Zhou Ji, as well as the power of the severed human physical-path Dao that Zhou Ji had abandoned. He was also still digesting everything he had yet to absorb from before! The Human Sovereign’s heaven was gradually dispersing, but Su Yu’s strength was not declining by much. When the Human Sovereign’s heaven had overlapped with his, Su Yu possessed the might of a second-tier Ruler of Rules. Now, as that heaven slowly faded, Su Yu did experience a decline, but it was far from steep. Strictly speaking, right here, he seemed capable of maintaining second-tier status. Naturally, it was slightly weaker than before. Yet once he absorbed every gain from this battle, he might match that previous peak. This meant his harvest this time could rival the enhancement granted to him by the Human Sovereign’s heaven and earth. It was the equivalent of earning a broken heaven! In truth, this was an immense harvest, beyond imagination. Where else in this world could one find so many heavens to absorb? As if making a joke, Su Yu continued drawing in all that power while chuckling, "Don’t hit him too hard. Just play around with Senior Martial Emperor. He is of the human race after all..." Hearing Su Yu say this, the others stopped going at him with lethal madness, though each was still thoroughly exhilarated. Beat him first, talk later! Seeing this, the Martial Emperor also breathed a sigh of relief, cursing, "What did I do wrong? Didn’t I go deal with that Zhou Ji for you? You’re turning your back on me the moment it's over?!" Su Yu smiled and said nothing, continuing to absorb and digest. The physical-path Dao. This time, the physical-path Dao in Su Yu’s heaven and earth truly saw an enormous elevation. Both Hundred Battles and Zhou Ji were peerless experts of the physical path. Both had severed the human race’s physical-path Dao. One could say that between the two of them, they had occupied more than a third of the human race’s physical-path Dao power, with ancient physical-path human kings claiming a substantial share as well. Only a meager remnant had been left behind for countless human cultivators to practice. Now that both of them had severed their Daos, a tremendous surge of physical strength was nourishing and expanding the physical-path Dao within Su Yu’s heaven and earth. Those human powerhouses who had previously walked the physical-path Dao and, after severing their old links, merged into Su Yu’s heaven and earth to continue their cultivation—all clearly advanced by a noticeable margin! There were quite a few such cultivators. So many human Eternals had cultivated the physical path in the past. Some later switched Daos, but others couldn't and had no choice but to carry on. Previously, the physical-path Dao within Su Yu’s heaven and earth had been rather frail. Ahead, the group was fighting enthusiastically, though nobody struck to kill. Meanwhile, Su Yu continued drawing in power without pause! A mad glint flickered in his eyes, quickly subsiding into cool composure. Zhou Ji had called him mad... Su Yu did not think he was mad. Madmen rarely admitted their own madness anyway. I am a scholar... How could a scholar be mad? Madness was just a show put on for others, wasn't it? Su Yu had never considered himself truly insane! He felt he was entirely normal! So normal that people mistook him for mad simply because everyone else wasn't normal enough. His strength climbed bit by bit. Over on the other side, the prolonged brawl was starting to lose its novelty. Everyone wished to calm down and properly comprehend their gains, but without Su Yu’s order, they had no choice but to keep pummeling away. The Martial Emperor kept cursing loudly the entire time. What is this even about?! After an unknown span, Su Yu’s physical body trembled, instantly growing a tier stronger than before. By now, most of the drifting rule power in the heaven and earth had been absorbed by him, and the entire realm expanded considerably once more. At this point, Su Yu’s strength was perhaps a touch weaker than before, but the gap was negligible. He remained firmly in the realm of a second-tier Ruler of Rules. The sheer terror of a heaven-opener was only now fully revealing itself! Two months since opening the heaven! In just two months, Su Yu had leapt from Celestial Venerable strength into the second-tier rank. Of course, that was within his own heaven and earth, but within it, he had already reached the level of certain sovereigns of antiquity! It was terrifyingly formidable! The difference between a heaven opened by the mighty and one opened by the weak was now showing its divide. When a powerhouse like the Human Sovereign opened a heaven, creating one at the level of a second-tier Ruler of Rules, that heaven offered little immediate boost; it was merely an auxiliary support until it grew vastly stronger in the later stages. Yet for a weaker cultivator like Su Yu—who opened a heaven while at the Sun Moon Realm with Celestial Venerable combat strength—the heaven reached the second-tier Ruler of Rules level in a short span. For him, this was not icing on the cake, but timely charcoal in a blizzard! Hence, Su Yu’s strength rose with astonishing speed. The Human Sovereign and his peers had gained very little early on from opening their heavens, so even after doing so, the Human Sovereign would never rashly sever his original Dao. He certainly cultivated an immensely powerful alternate Dao as well! Until his heaven and earth reached complete perfection, he would not sever his Dao. Doing so would only bind him by limitations—just like Su Yu, who was also constrained. His heaven and earth could not travel too far; once outside, he was merely a third-tier Ruler of Rules. The Human Sovereign hadn't moved his heaven and earth because doing so would ruin much of it, rendering it even less complete than Su Yu’s. Su Yu had at least established a self-contained circulation where the realm was self-sufficient, whereas the Human Sovereign still sought to borrow the Dao of Time to replenish his own world. "Second-tier..." Su Yu murmured softly. That was the combat strength of figures like King Ming in the late ancient era. Naturally, they might have stood at the peak of the second tier, but it was roughly the same order of magnitude. Yet countless years had passed. Even if time flowed differently for them in the River of Time and hadn't spanned a full hundred thousand years, through ceaseless battles, relentless slaughters, and drawing rule power directly from the River of Time itself, Su Yu believed those figures must have improved. "They might have all reached the first tier!" "Third-tier figures like King Zhan might have attained the second tier..." Su Yu made an appraisal; the probability was high. Therefore, once he stepped outside his heaven and earth, he was only a third tier. If he went upstream, would joining the battle as a third-tier Ruler of Rules... truly be of significant help? Moreover, while the group inside his heaven and earth were all Rulers of Rules right now, stepping outside would leave them as mere fifth-tier Rulers of Rules. Under normal circumstances, fourth tier was the standard baseline. Fifth tier was reserved for weaker physical-path human kings, or those who merely controlled a minor Dao. That was the level of Yue Zhan, the Primal Chaos Dragon, and their peers—the definition of a fifth-tier Ruler of Rules laid down by the Human Sovereign and his council back then. They could fight Celestial Venerables and even kill them, but fighting fellow Rulers of Rules would be an uphill battle. Su Yu pondered continuously, his aura gradually steadying. Not far away, the Martial Emperor’s combat strength was remarkably formidable as well. Su Yu could even vaguely sense that after countless years of imprisonment, this unsealed powerhouse might soon make a breakthrough. The seal had lasted so long that even through slumber and madness, his Great Dao had actively absorbed power. Second tier was likely not far off for him. Once he reached the second tier, he would still be the undisputed number one expert of the myriad realms outside Su Yu’s heaven and earth! Thus, the Martial Emperor wasn't truly panicking right now. He cursed and bellowed, but felt no real urgency. Judging from Su Yu’s attitude, there seemed to be no intention to make an enemy of him. …… Yet at this very moment, Su Yu’s gaze flickered. The Martial Emperor... had become a problem! Unsealing the Martial Emperor back then had been a deliberate ploy by Su Yu to fabricate suspense, ensuring that Hundred Battles, the myriad races, and the Sin Race would never dare believe the Martial Emperor wasn't Su Yu’s ally. In truth, that move had succeeded! It had succeeded brilliantly! No one believed Su Yu would release the Martial Emperor without making arrangements, because everyone considered Su Yu extraordinarily shrewd! And Su Yu had exploited that very assumption, ensuring that no one dared approach or trust the Martial Emperor! That had been the real gamble! Clearly, Su Yu had won the bet. Even someone as clever as Zhou Ji had been played by him! The Martial Emperor seeking him out had also been the result of Su Yu’s repeated instigations and coaxing. On the very first day the Martial Emperor emerged, Su Yu had warned him: do not go into the chaos; the greatest powerhouse under heaven resides there, and if you go, you might be killed! To a martialist like the Martial Emperor, testing Zhou Ji’s depth was something he had to do no matter what! Unless he knew with certainty that the opponent was monstrously strong and nearly impossible to conquer. Zhou Ji, being a clever man, was naturally unwilling to engage in a life-and-death clash with the Martial Emperor, so he used a stratagem to shake him off... and that had been precisely the outcome Su Yu hoped to see! It aligned with his desires completely. However, now that things had reached this stage, the Martial Emperor’s usefulness had been exhausted. What was worse, he had become an obstacle to Su Yu’s unification of the myriad realms! The next instant, Su Yu’s gaze returned to a calm, flat pool. What I need is a myriad realms that cannot be defied! What I need is an undisturbed rear territory. He feared nothing for himself; what he feared was that after he departed with a host of powerhouses, some unforeseen variable would arise and lead to the human race's extermination! Even as treacherous and disastrous as Hundred Battles had been, he hadn't driven humanity to complete extinction. If the human race reached its peak under Su Yu only to plunge into decline and annihilation, Su Yu would feel he was an even more useless failure than Hundred Battles! At this moment, Su Yu stood up! …… The Martial Emperor was still throwing insults, shouting as he fought. "You little bugs, are you looking to die?!" "Still fighting?!" "If I weren't too lazy to slaughter you all, I’d have wiped you out long ago..." The others couldn't be bothered to respond. Just then, Su Yu strolled over, smiling. "Senior Martial Emperor!" The Martial Emperor cast him a glance, snapping in irritation, "Hurry up and tell these little bugs to piss off! They're annoying!" "Senior... is as arrogant as ever!" Su Yu smiled. The Martial Emperor suddenly felt something was off. Su Yu’s smile... gave him a sudden twinge of unease, a warrior's instinctual sense of danger! Su Yu chuckled softly. "I harbor no great malice toward Senior Martial Emperor! However... I shall soon depart the myriad realms to aid the Human Sovereign. Perhaps Senior Martial Emperor will not go, nor offer any assistance, because... there is bad blood between you!" "Helping one's enemy is an utterly distasteful affair. Were I in your shoes, I wouldn't want to either!" "Putting myself in your place, a man as proud as Senior Martial Emperor would surely be even more unwilling. You likely have no intention of helping..." A sudden chill gripped the Martial Emperor’s heart! All around, clever individuals like King Dazhou shifted in expression. "I thank Senior Martial Emperor for delaying Zhou Ji just now and intimidating him... That deed can be considered repayment for my favor in unsealing you. Thus, I owe you nothing, and you owe me nothing!" The Martial Emperor’s face changed entirely. With a flick of his hand, King Dazhou immediately led everyone back, withdrawing behind Su Yu. At this moment, King Dazhou looked toward Su Yu with an inquiring, solemn gaze, devoid of the previous playful air. Su Yu smiled lightly. "The Martial Emperor actually retains a sense of belonging to the human race... You are not a traitor like Hundred Battles, so I hold a measure of respect for you!" "As my senior, in this battle, I will go all out, grant you the utmost dignity, and send you on your journey to heaven!" Opposite him, the Martial Emperor’s face was ashen. He stared at Su Yu in dead silence. He understood! Su Yu... intended to kill him! Su Yu flicked his robe, and it transformed into a golden mantle. The Human Lord Seal materialized, turning into a crown that rested upon his head. A book emerged, drifting into his grip—it was the civilization chronicle, the very core of this heaven and earth. Su Yu looked at the Martial Emperor, saying calmly, "Emperor Yu Manor, Su Yu! Today, here, I send Senior Martial Emperor to the heavens! This is no contest of Daos, nor the execution of a traitor. It is purely that I do not wish for Senior Martial Emperor to become an obstacle in my path! This is what a Human Lord must do—it has nothing to do with righteousness or heritage, but only... the prevention of future troubles!" Execute the Martial Emperor! This was the decision Su Yu had made! The Martial Emperor had become the single most volatile factor on his side! Su Yu had entertained the thought of killing him at the very start, though later he felt it might not be necessary. The Martial Emperor was, after all, an unlucky brute, an impetuous savage... Yet having arrived at this point, Su Yu was not acting on personal likes or dislikes, but for the grand picture! Sometimes, there were things you were reluctant to do, but had no choice but to carry out! The Martial Emperor’s face drained of color! Su Yu truly meant to kill him! Behind him, King Dazhou hesitated, wanting to speak, while others changed countenance. Martialists like Wuji wore grim expressions. Just moments ago, everyone thought it was a joke, and Su Yu had seemed to be joking as well, but at this moment... Su Yu was not joking in the slightest. He truly intended to execute the Martial Emperor! Opposite him, the Martial Emperor spoke with heavy gravity: "You want to kill me?" Su Yu nodded slightly. "I will grant Senior Martial Emperor your dignity. In this battle, I will face you alone. Throughout my life, when there were people at my disposal, it was rare to see me fight in single combat. I have always believed that those who labor with their minds need not exert raw brawn... But today, I grant you this respect!" The corner of the Martial Emperor’s mouth twitched. "Then... my thanks! Su Yu, you are even more ruthless than the Human Sovereign and his lot!" "Hardly." Su Yu smiled, his expression as gentle as a spring breeze. "Were I truly ruthless, what you'd face right now would be a siege to the death." Su Yu advanced step by step, murmuring softly, "Allow me to witness the might of the Martial Emperor, hegemon of antiquity!" The Martial Emperor’s expression grew exceptionally grave. Gradually, he felt Su Yu’s aura surging, suppressing and weighing down on him. The Martial Emperor’s pupils contracted. Su Yu was absurdly strong! Vaguely, it reminded him of the ancient scene where King Wen pointed a brush and snuffed out a Ruler of Rules. His mind drifted, almost seeing King Wen of old, smiling radiantly, pointing his brush to slay a desolate beast that had attained the Ruler of Rules realm! Today, Su Yu’s demeanor did not quite match King Wen’s, but his smile, his movements, and the way he looked at him were startlingly reminiscent of King Wen dispatching that desolate beast back then! The Martial Emperor’s expression turned increasingly solemn. Gradually, a spear materialized in his hands! The spear was like a dragon, roaring with fury! No longer cursing, the Martial Emperor spoke in a low, heavy voice: "If you want to kill me, you’d better show what you’re made of! Su Yu, your advancement terrifies me. But... I am the Martial Emperor, born for martial prowess! To kill me, you will pay a price!" He truly felt terrified! Su Yu’s progress was unimaginably swift! Yet... he was the Martial Emperor! A sovereign born for the martial path! The spear shook, sonic booms rattling the heaven and earth. At this moment, the Martial Emperor’s strength was comparable to Yu’s from earlier, perhaps a fraction stronger. Both used spears, yet under the Martial Emperor's undivided focus, the aura he projected felt noticeably more formidable than Yu’s! The Martial Emperor declared coldly, "Then let this sovereign witness the might of the new-generation Human Sovereign!" "Battle!" With a low roar, the spear shattered the sky. *Boom!* A detonation echoed. With a wet crunch, countless figures in the rear were blasted backward, spitting blood in sheer horror! The Martial Emperor’s aura erupted with frenzy, blazing with ferocious battle intent, murderous aura, and the stench of blood. He was the Martial Emperor! During the tumultuous antiquity, he had campaigned across the four quarters, quelling chaos and dominating an entire era! Back then, the human race was fractured. He fought humanity, fought the heavens, and fought the myriad races—one of the top three ancient human sovereigns! He was no Yu! Yu appeared to be a martialist, but in truth, she had hidden in the shadows all along, rarely taking the field. Unlike her, he had grown to power through relentless warfare before being sealed away. Meanwhile, Su Yu flipped through the pages of his book. A phantom materialized, clashing violently with the spear! *Boom!* A deafening boom rang out as the spear pinned the Demon Ancestor straight through the void. Brimming with overwhelming aura, the Martial Emperor sneered coldly, "The Demon Ancestor? I’ve never seen the progenitor of the Demon race, but the Demon Emperor from two generations prior? I saw him plenty... In fact, I pinned him to his death right in the Demon Realm! You think you can slay me with the Demon Dao? Too green!" These words revealed ancient secrets. Yet it was hardly surprising. In the ancient era, he had waged war across all quarters, slaying without end. What was an emperor of the Demon race to him? He too was a sovereign of humanity; pinning a Demon Emperor to death was nothing extraordinary! The spear tip trembled, and with a thunderous roar, the Demon Ancestor's body blew apart! The Martial Emperor pulled back his spear and retreated in an instant as the Immortal Ancestor manifested behind him. "Su Yu, these tricks of yours are far too green, far too weak!" The Martial Emperor let out a cold laugh, swinging his spear to sweep across the firmament. A single thrust pierced the heavens, stirring up a tempest that shook Su Yu’s heaven and earth to its foundations! …… "So strong!" Even King Daqin was visibly shaken, sending a transmission: "Old Zhou, the Martial Emperor is roughly at the same realm as that Yu from before, isn't he?" Why did he feel so much more powerful than Yu? "Martial purity is unmatched!" King Dazhou’s expression was complicated as he replied via transmission, "The Martial Emperor is an ancient sovereign who fought his way up through slaughter! He isn't like Yu, a bloodline expert hiding behind the curtain! In the late ancient era, the heavens were plunged into turmoil. Only troubled times produce true heroes, producing figures like the Human Sovereign! In such chaotic times, anyone who made a name for himself and claimed the title of sovereign—how could any of them be weak? The Martial Emperor fell to King Wu, but King Wu... was hailed as the third strongest under heaven!" As for who was number one—the Human Sovereign or King Wen—people had never reached a consensus; those two held first and second place. King Wu was proclaimed the third strongest under the heavens, and neither the Prison King nor King Ming had ever contested it or voiced dissent. Perhaps it was out of disdain, or perhaps King Wu truly was stronger than them! Everyone thought the Martial Emperor had met a pitiful end, wretchedly suppressed by King Wu, without considering whether an ordinary individual even possessed the qualifications to be suppressed by King Wu in the first place. Even Zhou Ji, despite being a formidable peak third-tier expert, had not dared clash with the Martial Emperor in the chaos, choosing to shake him off instead. That alone proved the depth of his apprehension. King Daqin also wielded a spear. Seeing both the Martial Emperor and Yu before him using spears, he couldn't help but watch intently. The more he watched, the more astonished he became! The Martial Emperor was truly terrifyingly strong! He seemed blustering and crude, but every single spear strike landed at the absolute optimal moment without wasting a shred of power. Every thrust was exquisite, demonstrating combat experience and battle instincts of an absurdly high caliber! "Does His Majesty truly intend to kill him?" King Daqin still felt conflicted. The Martial Emperor hadn't really opposed them. King Dazhou sighed softly, transmitting, "There is no choice. His Majesty wants the myriad realms to remain peaceful, rather than devolving into chaos the moment he leaves! The Martial Emperor has become the greatest latent threat..." "We could also banish him beyond the Hell Gate..." "The Martial Emperor would never agree!" King Dazhou shook his head. "He is a pure martial artist. If you told him to go behind the Heavenly Gate to seek vengeance against King Wu, he might actually go. But if you tell him to go to the Hell Gate... he’d almost certainly refuse!" Fine then! King Daqin had nothing left to say. Having served as commander of the human race for several centuries, he knew full well how troublesome an existence like the Martial Emperor could be. Still... he felt the crime did not warrant death. He glanced at Su Yu, who was utterly detached, turning the pages of his book one by one. In his heart, King Daqin let out a quiet sigh. Never mind... He vaguely sensed that Su Yu had grown somewhat obsessed and mad. Yet that was a product of this era. Had Su Yu spent his life studying and working as a researcher, perhaps he wouldn't have become this way. However, his experiences from youth had driven him toward madness. Studies had failed to quell his inner wildness before he was abruptly plunged into endless wars, with despair crashing over him wave after wave. By today, Su Yu was thoroughly steeped in madness. He had gone mad! King Daqin could faintly perceive it. Others might not have noticed or thought anything of it, but King Daqin could sense the shift, because the Su Yu of today was vastly different from the Su Yu who had first stepped onto the Allhead Battlefield! Back when Su Yu first entered the battlefield, King Daqin had probed him once. At that time, though Su Yu was somewhat extreme, his joys and angers were plain upon his face, not capricious and unpredictable like now! …… While the others watched the duel, Su Yu gave a cold snort, barking, "I command this heaven and earth: the Martial Dao shall perish!" "Perish!" With that command, a page vanished instantly. As the Martial Emperor thrust his spear, he suddenly felt his battle intent waning. The next moment, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. "The Martial Dao shall perish? What grand words! The martial way resides in the heart! I am the Martial Emperor; my heart belongs solely to the martial!" Su Yu could control rules, but he could not control the human heart! The martial spirit lived in his heart! Therefore, it would never perish! *Boom!* His battle intent flared even higher. In an instant, the Martial Emperor’s aura surged drastically. I may be simple, but I know what I pursue: strength, and the Martial Dao! Su Yu might consider him foolish and think he had squandered his talent, but the Martial Emperor didn't care in the slightest. Talent was talent; how many could actually convert talent into raw strength? At the very least, I am still strong! The spear shook without elaborate maneuvers, devoid of the 720 divine ability talents possessed by Yu and Hundred Battles. There was only this single spear! Unyielding, charge! Forward! He closed the distance toward Su Yu step by step, thrusting repeatedly to shatter the lethal techniques Su Yu unleashed in succession! "Kill!" Roars rang out unceasingly. However, Su Yu was indeed stronger than him, and this was Su Yu’s own heaven and earth. With the realm’s suppression, the rules of myriad Daos struck out, deploying every conceivable method! Beads of sweat seeped across Su Yu’s brow, yet he remained as immovable as a mountain! The civilization chronicle was turned page by page. Clones of Su Yu surged out continuously. Soon, the Martial Emperor was surrounded by countless iterations of Su Yu, each wielding different rule powers as they locked him in grinding combat! The Martial Emperor’s breathing gradually grew ragged. He was powerful! Yet here, he could not overcome Su Yu. Outside, there might still have been a chance; here, there was none. With heavy strides, the Martial Emperor slew another cluster of Su Yus, leaving the ground strewn with fallen forms that quickly dissolved into the realm. He panted violently. Su Yu was very close now! Get close to Su Yu and cut him down! A martialist is not to be trifled with! The Martial Emperor bared his teeth, exposing bright, chilling fangs. With a roar, he swept his spear once more, cutting through the Su Yus barring his path! Of all paths under heaven, the martial path is the fiercest! The Dao of the Spear? No, he walked the Martial Dao! All lethal arts are martial arts! What he practiced was the craft of killing! With a thunderous crack, the spear snapped. Spitting blood, the Martial Emperor paid it no heed, casting the weapon aside. He punched out, blowing one Su Yu to bits, then flattened his fist into a palm to chop another in half! All martial arts are meant for slaughter! The Martial Emperor sneered, "Even without a spear, I can still kill! Su Yu, you’re still a bit too green!" Snapping sinews and cracking bones, he twisted another Su Yu into a mangled pretzel! Su Yu’s expression was placid as he continued turning the pages, sending yet more duplicates flying from the book. Sweat dripped beneath the original’s feet. The Martial Emperor was indeed formidable! So strong that he truly might have held his own against a second-tier expert—which was how he had fought King Wu back then. But no matter how strong, he was not second-tier himself; he could only put up a fight, nothing more! Opposite him, the Martial Emperor continued his slaughter! The Great Dao of Rules trembled! Yet his aura was declining. With so much slaughter, his consumption was immense, and the power drawn from the River of Time could no longer replenish him in time. Experts of the Great Dao of Rules did not deplete their rule power easily, but within Su Yu’s heaven and earth, the rule power reflected from the River of Time was far sparser than usual! Gradually, the Martial Emperor grew weaker and weaker. With a thunderous crash! The Martial Emperor roared, driving his head forward like a battering ram, smashing another Su Yu into fragments! At this moment, he was merely a hundred meters from Su Yu! For powerhouses of their caliber, that distance could be crossed in the blink of an eye. It was practically face-to-face! The Martial Emperor’s forehead was drenched in blood and sweat, stinging drops blurring his vision. Opposite him, Su Yu sighed in appreciation: "Formidable. Your martial path is not weak! It is purer than Hundred Battles and his lot!" Singular mastery! The Martial Emperor had probed the depths of the martial path thoroughly. Coupled with his terrifying innate talent, his combat prowess far surpassed those like Hundred Battles who divided their focus among countless divine abilities. With those words, Su Yu and the Martial Emperor erupted simultaneously! The Martial Emperor bellowed, delivering a kick that tore open the void! Su Yu’s hand turned lustrous like jade! With a single-handed grapple, he caught the Martial Emperor’s foot. His fingers dug in, and with a wet squelch, pierced straight through the sole. The Martial Emperor gave a savage howl, kicking out with his other leg and shattering Su Yu’s hand. Utterly cold and unfeeling, Su Yu shifted his frame instantly, locking into a ferocious melee in the void! Despite his massive exhaustion, the Martial Emperor’s combat experience was exceptionally rich. Weaving and evading, he deployed legs, fists, and elbows in rapid succession, striking Su Yu until the latter coughed blood repeatedly. Yet Su Yu was, after all, the stronger combatant. In the span of a breath, a deafening crash echoed! For the first time, the Martial Emperor went flying backward, a bloody hole torn into his throat! Refusing to relent, Su Yu flickered through space, closing in within a fraction of an instant. His hand hooked like an eagle's claw, tearing away a chunk of flesh with a sickening rip! The Martial Emperor retreated continuously, yet Su Yu kept up the relentless assault! Locked in close-quarters combat, Su Yu’s strikes were ruthless to the extreme. The clash of Dao rules suppressed the Martial Emperor without pause, forcing him backward as he coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood, fresh wounds opening across his body under Su Yu’s barrage! A flash of despair surfaced in the Martial Emperor’s eyes. He was no match for Su Yu! Within this heaven and earth, he could not overcome Su Yu. Even if he slaughtered countless clones, those clones would eventually regenerate. As for himself, if he remained suppressed here, he would ultimately be slain! Behind them, the onlookers watched with heavy expressions. Reaching the point of hand-to-hand combat meant that Su Yu... was going for the kill! Su Yu had depleted the bulk of the Martial Emperor’s strength, taking considerable damage himself in the process! Yet the fact that Su Yu chose close combat and had summoned no aid to this point proved his absolute confidence in securing the kill! Everyone felt deeply conflicted. The Martial Emperor was, in the end, of the human race. Though he clashed with King Wu and his peers, it could hardly be called treason. One could only say both were human hegemons who came into conflict over supremacy within the human race—vastly different from the betrayal of Hundred Battles. Amid the crowd's turmoil, Su Yu let out a sharp cry, driving his claw straight through the Martial Emperor’s chest! The Martial Emperor roared fiercely, his fist shattering Su Yu’s bones! Both were repelled at the same time, Su Yu tearing away a mass of flesh and blood! Coughing blood continuously, the Martial Emperor looked at Su Yu with a trace of helplessness: "I can’t even... beat you..." I'm ruined! I truly failed to beat Su Yu! What a tragic realization! As for the fact that this was inside Su Yu’s realm... he made no excuses. Opening a heaven was part of Su Yu’s capability; who asked him to be unable to open one himself? Panting, Su Yu said, "You did well. Far stronger than Yu and her lot." "Them?" The Martial Emperor sneered with disdain: "No matter how strong a bug is, it's still a bug!" He seemed just as arrogant as ever, scoffing coldly, "Of the three gates—Heaven, Earth, and Mortal—the Heavenly Gate is the mightiest and hardest to open! Only those who open the Heavenly Gate are supreme powerhouses. Those who don't are all trash, all bugs!" "..." Behind them, the onlookers abruptly lost all sympathy for him! What a foul mouth! According to his logic, there were barely a few beings in this entire world who weren't bugs! With an attitude so insufferably overbearing, if Su Yu didn't beat him to death today, someone else would sooner or later. Su Yu smiled and said nothing. Stepping forward once more, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as his speed abruptly skyrocketed. With a squelch, his claw-shaped hand tore straight through the Martial Emperor's throat! Blood sprayed into the air! The Martial Emperor stumbled back again, an expression of helplessness surfacing in his eyes. His exhaustion was too great, his injuries too severe; he could no longer hold his own against Su Yu! He had passed his peak! The next instant, his aura abruptly surged, and he said coldly, "I can still fight!" At this moment, his aura climbed to the absolute limit! Self-detonation! The crowd in the rear hastily retreated! A self-detonation from an expert of the Martial Emperor’s caliber would carry unimaginable destructive force. "The Martial Emperor... has fallen!" Wuji muttered under his breath. What a pity! Such a supreme expert had ultimately been brought down. Sealed for over a hundred thousand years, he was doomed to die at the hands of a human sovereign after all! Su Yu’s expression turned solemn as well, rapidly consolidating his heaven and earth. Yet at that very moment, just as his aura reached the absolute pinnacle, the Martial Emperor suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs: "I surrender! Accept it quickly, or I really will blow myself up!" "..." Stunned silence fell across the four quarters! Su Yu froze! The Martial Emperor roared frantically, "I surrender! Su Yu, don't take this too far! You agreed before that once you unsealed me, we’d cooperate on equal footing. Now you suddenly go back on your word—what is the meaning of this?! I surrender... at worst I’ll take a demotion! I’ll just be King Wu, I won't be the Martial Emperor anymore! Just revoke that Taishan’s title!" "..." Su Yu stared at him, dumbstruck. You're a martialist! What the hell... is this surrender about?! Putting on a show of fierce bravado, the Martial Emperor roared, "What are you staring at?! I said I surrender! I can't beat you, and I still plan to take revenge on Taishan! I can't die right now! Su Yu, whatever you want, just spit it out! I already surrendered, and you still want to kill me?! Don't force me to blow myself up!" "..." The entire crowd stood frozen in disbelief. This martialist... he... he surrendered?! What in the world was going on? They were completely baffled! In their minds, the Martial Emperor would fight to the very last breath, preferring death over capitulation. Everyone thought he was about to self-detonate, but instead, he was surrendering—and surrendering in the most aggressive posture imaginable! If you don't accept it, I’ll blow myself up! And take you all with me! Su Yu furrowed his brows, glaring at him as he growled, "A martialist..." "Did martialists eat your grain or something?!" The Martial Emperor fumed with rage. "I was just unsealed! I was trapped under that seal for over a hundred thousand years! If you’d been sealed for over a hundred thousand years, you wouldn't want to die either—you’d want to surrender too!" I just got out! How many days has it been?! You want to kill me already—how could I accept that?! I was nearly driven mad from being locked away. Having tasted only a few days of good life, dying like this would be far too much of a loss! Even his surrender was delivered with outrageous insolence! "Su Yu, at worst, I’ll help you kill a few more Rulers of Rules... Add two more, make it five, how’s that?!" The Martial Emperor yelled with fury, looking as though he were on the verge of erupting! As if Su Yu were his mortal enemy... which wasn't far from the truth. Yet the words coming out of his mouth told an entirely different story. He roared again, "Su Yu, don't push it! I already surrendered... Fine, if King Wu is off the table, then... then Marquis Wu will do!" He bellowed once more, "Don't you just want to go rescue the Human Sovereign? I’ll go too, alright?! At worst, I won't cross paths with them—is that enough?!" "Su Yu, don't take this too far!" The Martial Emperor shouted at the top of his lungs. From his tone and posture, anyone out of the loop would think he was scolding Su Yu like an errant grandson! Su Yu stared at him, expressionless. I wasted the highest courtesies on you for nothing! A fellow like you... I should have had everyone gang up and slaughter you! You're a martialist, yet you've learned to be utterly shameless. And as if being shameless weren't enough, you blurted out the most shameless words in the fiercest tone possible! Seeing Su Yu remain silent, the Martial Emperor grew even more frantic, bellowing, "Su Yu... no, Emperor Yu, give me some face, won't you? Give me some face today and take me in as a subordinate, so we can face each other without embarrassment down the line!" "..." At this moment, Su Yu looked up at the sky. A martialist... Heh!