Trust My Words!

Even Su Yu had thought the Martial Emperor would stand firm and unyielding to the very end. As it turned out, he didn't! A look of disappointment spread across Su Yu's face. Gazing at the Martial Emperor, he suddenly sighed. "In this world... true, pure martial artists are no more! Just another coward terrified of dying!" The Martial Emperor's face cycled wildly through every expression imaginable! What kind of nonsense was that? Damn it all, was a martial artist supposed to be completely fearless of death? I’m afraid too! God damn it, I was sealed for who knows how long and have only been out for a couple of days! How could I not fear death? And you, you little bastard, you aren't like ordinary monarchs. An ordinary monarch, upon seeing you so peerlessly fierce and mighty, might treat you with courtesies and try to win you over... But Su Yu wasn't like that at all. He genuinely intended to kill! Yes, the Martial Emperor could clearly sense it. Su Yu was truly giving him his final rites! He had genuinely resolved to slaughter him! How could he not be terrified? At this moment, the Martial Emperor stiffened his neck, refusing to say another word. I've surrendered! I've surrendered, and you still want to kill me? It wasn't like I actually did anything, was it? I just mouthed off a few times! Did I kill any of your people? To kill me over that—isn't that crossing the line? After a quiet sigh, a faint smile soon surfaced on Su Yu's face. "You want to surrender?" The Martial Emperor glared with massive, ferocious eyes! "I want to surrender!" His voice was brutally fierce! That's right, I'm surrendering! What of it? Am I not allowed to? "Yet from what I can see, you will likely step into the second-tier Ruler of Rules realm soon. Once outside my heaven and earth, even I am no match for you. How am I supposed to keep someone as formidable as you in check?" Su Yu chuckled softly. "Having you sever your Dao and integrate into my heaven and earth would be a bit of a waste. If you merged into it now, my strength would indeed surge significantly, but you would be stuck as a third- or fourth-tier Ruler of Rules at best. That would be far too much of a pity!" Indeed, it would be a pity! The Martial Emperor was close to breaking into the second tier. That made him a true hegemon of an entire region—on par with the Four Polar Human Kings of ancient times. If he severed his Dao now, achieving the second tier again would be excruciatingly difficult, as Su Yu's heaven and earth was still far from fully developed. "Yet if I don't make you integrate, once you leave, it won't be easy to move my heaven and earth around, and you could backstab me at any given moment... I simply cannot trust you!" The Martial Emperor looked utterly sheepish. Damn it, is being too strong my fault now? What do you want me to do? I feel helpless too! Su Yu sighed. "So, in truth, I had no intention of subduing you. For a formidable enemy like you, the best course of action is simply to kill you!" The Martial Emperor was suffocating with frustration! So that was why Su Yu had been hell-bent on slaughtering him without even entertaining discussion. Su Yu smiled. "I figured that as a martial artist, you wouldn't bow your head easily. Asking you to step behind the Hell Gate wouldn't be something you'd agree to either, so I didn't bother wasting breath trying to negotiate with you." The Martial Emperor kept his mouth shut, inwardly cursing Su Yu's ancestors a thousand times over! Just for that! "Yet now you want to surrender. Tell me, if I banish you behind the Hell Gate now, I feel like I'm losing out. But if I don't drive you away, I have to worry about betrayal... It's truly a dilemma!" Su Yu let out another sigh. "Your surrender has put me right between a rock and a hard place!" The Martial Emperor looked utterly crestfallen. So you're telling me my surrender has actually made you less satisfied? These scholar-types are nothing but trouble... Plotting and calculating at every turn, and in the end, they won't even accept a surrender gracefully! Right then, King Dazhou stepped forward, cupping his hands. "Your Majesty, this old subject has an idea!" "Let's hear it!" Su Yu cast a deeply meaningful glance at King Dazhou. King Dazhou avoided meeting Su Yu's eyes, keeping his head lowered as he quickly explained, "The Martial Emperor is exceedingly powerful, and Your Majesty has reservations, worrying about betrayal... This old subject proposes a method: the separation of spirit and flesh!" Su Yu smiled. "Go on, how would this separation of spirit and flesh work?" "It is simple: separating the sea of will from the physical body!" King Dazhou swiftly continued, "In truth, this is also a form of sealing..." The Martial Emperor's face turned livid, and he roared in fury, "I surrender, but I refuse to be sealed! If you want to seal me away again, I might as well die! I'm surrendering, but that doesn't mean I will accept being sealed. I'd rather fight Su Yu to the death!" King Dazhou ignored him and continued, "Though it is called a seal, it is not entirely one! It merely involves artificially dividing a person into two parts! The Martial Emperor's physical body will be suppressed within the Human Lord Seal, while his sea of will manifests as an avatar capable of roaming freely! Without the power of his physical body, the Martial Emperor will still be formidable, but his tier will drop! If he is currently second-tier, after this severance, he will only possess third-tier strength... allowing Your Majesty to suppress him at any moment! "Meanwhile, the Martial Emperor can live freely. If a great war breaks out, or when Your Majesty's strength is sufficient to keep him in check, his spirit and flesh can be reunited, instantly restoring his peak battle prowess!" The Martial Emperor raised his brows, his eyes widening. "Separation of spirit and flesh... Under ordinary circumstances, it is indeed possible to separate them. But even if separated, while summoning the physical body might be difficult, the sea of will can return to the body at any time!" King Dazhou smiled. "Senior Martial Emperor knows quite a bit. That is indeed the case. However, this separation method can artificially construct a barrier that prevents the spirit and flesh from fusing, thereby preventing an instantaneous restoration of power! "This step will also require the assistance of Your Majesty's Heavenly Gate, reaching deep into the River of Time to establish a barrier before the Great Dao..." Su Yu nodded slightly. "This method might indeed be feasible. Or perhaps... you have already tried it yourself?" Su Yu's smile was profoundly meaningful. He soon shifted his gaze away from King Dazhou, looking instead at the Martial Emperor, and said flatly, "Martial Emperor, what do you think?" The Martial Emperor's expression shifted continuously! A half-seal! This wasn't a total sealing—only his physical body would be sealed, while his sea of will and Great Dao could roam freely. He bared his teeth. "How long do you intend to seal me?" Su Yu made a quick calculation and smiled. "Until I can beat you to death even outside my heaven and earth!" The Martial Emperor felt a wave of awkward helplessness. That meant Su Yu would need to possess at least the battle prowess of a second-tier Ruler of Rules outside his domain, which required him to reach at least the peak of the second tier within his own heaven and earth. "And... how long will that take?" Su Yu calculated once more and chuckled. "Moving forward, my opportunities for advancement will be fewer. Everything that could be integrated has already been merged. Right now, within my heaven and earth, I am only around the lower-to-middle rank of the second tier... At the very least, I will need a major serendipity!" Su Yu beamed. "Whenever that serendipity arrives, it should be about time. It's hard to say." "Fine!" This time, the Martial Emperor agreed without hesitation, because he had done the math: from the Sun Moon Realm to his current state, Su Yu had taken... a single year? It might have been just one year! Damn it all, it was fine when he didn't think about it, but calculating it nearly scared him to death. In that case, the seal might last three months, maybe five, and at most probably no more than a year. Alright then! A year at most, and his sea of will could still move about freely. He could just treat it as though this bastard Su Yu hadn't unsealed him early, and that he would have spent a year or two breaking his own seal anyway. Thinking of it like that made him feel much better. Forced by circumstances! If he refused now, this little bastard Su Yu would probably beat the life out of him. Even with that rationalization, the Martial Emperor still tried to push back slightly: "I won't rebel. Even if you don't seal me, I won't do anything of the sort. I am a man of my word!" Su Yu said calmly, "Credibility? If I were merely Su Yu, if I were acting solely for myself... I could believe you. But I... am not merely Su Yu." It was that simple! If I were just Su Yu, I wouldn't even bother paying attention to you. You could do whatever you pleased! However... he was a supreme powerhouse, the Human Lord, the new Emperor! His tone was utterly calm, yet at that moment, someone in the back sighed quietly. Behind him, Wan Tiansheng and the others wore complex expressions. He said that if he were merely Su Yu... In truth, he was, yet he was no longer purely Su Yu. If it were just Su Yu the individual, he wouldn't care what the Martial Emperor did. But now, he was the master of the human race, the master of the Yu Imperial Residence. From the day he became the Human Lord, just like the ancient Human Sovereign, he had been bound by shackles! For peerless experts, sometimes fame and authority were nothing more than heavy chains. Su Yu, in all likelihood, would have preferred to pursue the Dao freely. Had the Human Sovereign not felt the same? Yet in that bygone era, the Human Sovereign had no choice. King Wen was unwilling, King Wu was unreliable, King Yu harbored her own agenda, King Ming lacked sufficient strength... In the end, the Human Sovereign, a seeker of the Dao, had to shoulder those crushing responsibilities alone. In the eyes of outsiders, the Human Sovereign was supreme and untouchable. Yet in his own heart, he likely would have preferred to be King Wen—free, wild, and unfettered. Today, Su Yu stood in the exact same position. Wan Tiansheng and the others understood Su Yu deeply! They had truly watched step by step as Su Yu reached this height, forced along this path by circumstances. His friends, his teachers, and his comrades-in-arms had all compelled him to shoulder this mountain. Thus, Su Yu had no choice but to act this way. The freedom he craved, the reckless abandon he desired, was ultimately suppressed beneath the weight of duty. He had not yet reached the Human Sovereign's stage, but he was already walking in the Human Sovereign's footsteps. The Martial Emperor didn't fully comprehend all of this, but at this moment, the coarse martial artist felt a subtle stirring in his chest. It was faint, yet Su Yu's words made him suddenly realize that the Su Yu before him was slightly different. Different from the youth who would curse, joke, and banter back then. Because he was not merely Su Yu, he could not agree to the Martial Emperor's request. At this moment, King Dazhou spoke up with a smile, looking at the Martial Emperor: "Senior Martial Emperor, given His Majesty's rate of progress, I imagine it won't be long before Senior can reunite spirit and flesh! Furthermore, His Majesty will not hinder Senior's actions in any way; your physical body will merely be resting and recuperating for a period of time! "Senior was sealed for countless years, and from what I can see, your physical body has yet to return to its peak. Right now, this is not a sealing, but an opportunity to nurture the physical body and heal old wounds... Once Senior's body is restored and your spirit and flesh reunite, reaching the second tier will likely follow as naturally as water flowing into a channel!" Is that so? That actually made some sense! The Martial Emperor pondered it, while across from him, Su Yu looked at him and said flatly, "Can you accept it? If not... self-detonate!" "..." The Martial Emperor cursed inwardly. If I can't accept it, can't you just banish me behind the Hell Gate? What the hell was with telling me to self-detonate? With a touch of resignation, the Martial Emperor kept his fierce, savage expression unchanged. "Nurturing my body... isn't out of the question! My physical body does carry lingering wounds, all inflicted by that bastard Taishan. My feud with him is irreconcilable! Very well, I can temporarily leave my body inside your Human Lord Seal to recuperate!" What a character! Even being sealed was framed as if Su Yu were begging him to let his body rest, as if he were only reluctantly agreeing! Su Yu continued, "You mentioned earlier that you would help me kill five Rulers of Rules! Prior to that, you hadn't made a formal pledge, so when you bargained down to three, I pretended not to hear it. But now... you are defeated. What you said is no longer a matter of negotiation, but an absolute obligation!" Su Yu's gaze chilled. "Therefore, if you fail to kill five Rulers of Rules, I will still finish you off sooner or later!" The Martial Emperor cursed inwardly once again! Infuriating! "Fine!" Su Yu nodded slightly. "Sever your physical body from your sea of will. If you don't want your body anymore, you can go wherever you please, and I will pretend you don't exist. But if you do want it, you must return the moment I summon you!" The Martial Emperor felt utterly exhausted! He had lived a life of carefree abandon, followed by an era of imprisonment, only to end up under someone else's thumb after all! Still, even in defeat, even when bowing his head, he, the Martial Emperor, was a man of dignity! Snorting coldly, the Martial Emperor let out a mocking laugh—so cold that everyone thought he was about to turn hostile. Suddenly, as if his soul were stepping out of his shell, another Martial Emperor appeared, while the physical body remained right where it stood. This newly manifested Martial Emperor looked wildly uninhibited. "Then I shall leave my body here for a time to recuperate! I have business to attend to, so I'll take my leave. Call on me if something comes up, but don't bother me if nothing is wrong!" Boom! The Martial Emperor fled! He ran at breakneck speed. He couldn't stand being near Su Yu any longer. It was infuriating—the way Su Yu looked at him was like he wanted to eat him alive, which annoyed him to no end. I'm out of here! As for having business? He had damn all to do, but was it a crime to simply not want to hang around Su Yu? Staying here was too humiliating. Su Yu watched him leave without stopping him. Glancing at the Martial Emperor's physical body, he casually removed his crown, flicking his sleeve to draw the body inside. In the blink of an eye, it sank into his heaven and earth, vanishing from sight. Only at this moment did King Dazhou finally let out a sigh of relief. The next instant, he cried out at the top of his lungs: "Congratulations to Your Majesty!" "The Yu Emperor has quelled the troubles of the myriad realms—all hail the Yu Imperial Residence!" His voice reverberated through the heavens and earth! A monumental triumph! The moment the Martial Emperor vanished, the moment he conceded, the moment Zhou Ji and his cohort were driven away—Su Yu had won! The great chaos that had plagued the realms for a hundred thousand years had been pacified by Su Yu! Perhaps there would still be a cascade of troubles and crises in the future, but at this very moment, the chaos of the myriad realms had been thoroughly subdued by Su Yu! Across ten generations of Human Lords, Su Yu had achieved what none before him could! At this moment, cheers shook the heavens as hundreds of powerhouses bellowed in unison: "We congratulate Your Majesty on unifying the heavens and striking awe into the Three Realms!" "Congratulations, Your Majesty!" "..." The roars of celebration were endless! Some of the veteran powerhouses were even weeping tears of joy. They had won! After fighting for a hundred thousand years, in Su Yu's tide, they had secured a victory—an absolute, unmitigated victory! He had subdued the myriad races, slain Hundred Battles, suppressed Zhou Ji, and brought the Martial Emperor to heel... The dead spirits submitted, the myriad races submitted, and heaven and earth submitted! At this moment, Su Yu's monumental achievements were in no way inferior to the ancient Human Sovereign's. The Human Sovereign and his peers might have been stronger, but the constraints of the era had left the powerhouses of this tide considerably weaker, while the overall situation was hardly any better than back then. Under such circumstances, Su Yu had taken just four years to pacify the turmoil of the myriad realms! With such towering accomplishments, the New Yu Era was officially inaugurated! "We won..." A faint smile touched Su Yu's lips. Indeed, they had won. Though it was merely a localized victory, right now, he had undeniably triumphed. At this moment, he was the undisputed foremost figure under the heavens! Within his heaven and earth, destiny churned: the power of destiny left behind by Zhou Ji, the destiny previously released by the Warden of Heaven, Su Yu's own personal destiny, and the destiny that remained after the Martial Emperor's submission... Countless strands of destiny bubbled and surged! A moment later, to the shock of several onlookers, the Warden of Heaven actually materialized once more in the void. Instantly, many were taken aback. The Warden of Heaven... had revived? Su Yu looked across the distance at the Warden of Heaven. Right now, the Warden's gaze was intricate and conflicted, while Su Yu remained as calm as still water. "Do you fear death as well? Did you choose to drag out a wretched existence just like the Martial Emperor?" The Warden of Heaven bowed his head, offering a slight bow to Su Yu. "I... merely wished... to witness a legend once more..." "Dragging out a wretched existence is dragging out a wretched existence; why bother making up excuses?" Su Yu didn't particularly care, saying calmly, "You were originally born of a destiny spirit, and now you have been reborn through the destiny of my heaven and earth! King Wen liked to leave some blank space in his work and never told you the full truth, but I couldn't care less about such things. Whether there is blank space or not makes no difference! You must understand that since you have merged with the destiny of my heaven and earth, my strength is your strength, and my weakness is your weakness. If you are slain, I will also be somewhat affected..." The Warden of Heaven kept his head lowered in silence. Su Yu continued, "I ought to have erased your memories, or even prevented you from reviving in the first place... But I believe in myself. The matter of destiny is merely an auxiliary aid; I will never treat it as everything! Perhaps having you know so much is a good thing—it instills a sense of awe and reverence!" Knowing much, he would know fear! Knowing little, he would dare to rebel! Su Yu's expression was indifferent. "Since that is the case, you shall live out your days within this heaven and earth. Without my permission, you are forbidden from stepping foot outside! The Martial Emperor may leave, but you do not possess that qualification. If you attempt to flee, I will annihilate you!" "I would not dare!" The Warden of Heaven bowed his head and faded into the fabric of the world. Su Yu turned his gaze to the others, glancing around the circle, and smiled faintly. "Everything went reasonably well, very smooth indeed. We... have won!" A great victory! In a single battle, the chaos of the myriad realms had been put to rest without paying too heavy a price. Soon, however, Su Yu's expression grew solemn. "Nevertheless, such a victory is merely temporary! The Hell Gate has not yet been sealed, the Human Sovereign and his vanguard have yet to return, the powerhouses of the myriad races have departed, Zhou Ji and his mother have escaped, and the Martial Emperor's submission is far from sincere... Everything still awaits rebuilding! "You may rejoice, but... this is merely the beginning! "The road ahead will be far more arduous!" Su Yu's voice shook heaven and earth, carrying down even into the lower realm with solemn majesty. "We have triumphed! Yet this victory is merely a minor success! It is worthy of celebration, worthy of joy! But our journey into the future has only just commenced! "Everyone, what the future holds, I cannot say! But so long as I draw breath, I will continue to lead you forward in battle, slaughtering all who oppose us! Whoever makes an enemy of me is my foe, and we shall take their heads, exterminate their races, sever their bloodlines, eradicate their roots, and annihilate their souls! "Across these heavens, across this chaos, wherever my reach extends, I shall be invincible! When I am invincible, you are invincible, without an enemy left standing, without a single foe!" As his words fell, a brief silence hung in the air, followed by a thunderous roar! "Invincible!" "Invincible!" The human race was about to witness the rise of another invincible Sovereign! A new Sovereign! Only at this moment did Su Yu break into a smile. Heaven and earth trembled as portions of destiny and rule power merged once more into his world. The next instant, Su Yu reached out and grasped the air, catching a bamboo staff in his hand. The dignified, solemn atmosphere from just a moment ago dissolved in an instant. Right then, just as Tianmie was about to take flight, a loud *crack* echoed from behind him as a massive bamboo pole smacked down, knocking him senseless! Marquis Juzhu wore an innocent expression, holding the bamboo in his hands and blinking at Su Yu with a silly, honest grin. "I... accidentally bumped into him. He's... so weak!" Present a united front against outsiders first! Take down Tianmie before anything else! The next moment, San Yue shouted loudly, "Your Majesty, I was originally a Celestial Venerable, but unfortunately my grandfather is still alive..." What a thing to call "unfortunate!" "Therefore, I was unable to advance to Ruler of Rules. In Your Majesty's heaven and earth, I feel that some Great Daos are simply too wasted on me. Why not let me pursue this Dao of the Bamboo Staff instead? Your Majesty, if I tread the Dao of the Bamboo Staff, I will surely become one of the strongest warriors under your banner, fighting across all quarters on your behalf!" Marquis Juzhu chuckled foolishly. "Your Majesty, San Yue walks the Dao of Body Forging, which is closer to the Physical Dao. I, on the other hand, truly cultivate the Dao of Bamboo—it isn't the same at all! The moment I laid eyes on this bamboo... I knew it was custom-made for me! I was an ancient Heavenly King, and now I am no weaker than San Yue. Your Majesty, walking this Dao of the Bamboo Staff is truly most fitting for me!" From a corner, Jiu Yue plucked up his courage and shouted, "Your Majesty, while it's true I walk the Dao of Devouring, my weapon is bamboo! Bamboo is a weapon to begin with, so why can't a weapon become a Dao..." The Iron Eater race was practically about to come to blows! This bamboo staff was an extraordinary treasure. The Dao-proving relic of the Human Ancestor! Regardless of what one thought of the Human Ancestor himself, his sheer power was unquestionable. From the scene Su Yu had witnessed earlier, where a casual swing of the bamboo pole easily battered a Ruler of Rules to death, it was clear this was a peerless weapon! Now that the battle had concluded, it was time to divide the spoils! This bamboo staff was likely the single greatest prize of this engagement! Yet those truly suited to wield it were few. The Iron Eaters were undeniably appropriate, and Tianmie... could barely pass as a candidate as well! As for the others, they refrained from competing. It wasn't that they couldn't use it, but they might not be able to unleash its full potential. Wasting such a divine artifact would only bring Su Yu's wrath down on their heads. Just then, the dazed Tianmie snapped his eyes open, cursed loudly, and roared, "Your Majesty, I am your most loyal subordinate! I was the very first Eternal to fight by Your Majesty's side!" Have you forgotten? Alright, even if I wasn't the absolute first, I was certainly near the front of the line! You can't forget about me! Su Yu couldn't help but laugh, his previous solemnity vanishing without a trace. Seeing the intense hunger in their eyes, he smiled. "This item is indeed a supreme treasure, a wondrous thing. However... it may not be suitable for everyone. Wielding it might also mean shouldering a thread of karma—the karma with the Human Ancestor!" Su Yu chuckled. "Barring any accidents, I am bound to encounter the Human Ancestor sooner or later! A supreme powerhouse like that is almost certainly not dead. And if he isn't dead, once karma is established, meeting him is only a matter of time! "And once you meet him, having merged his Dao-proving treasure into your own, there will inevitably be some karmic entanglements..." These words caused quite a few people to draw sharp breaths. The Human Ancestor was a truly terrifying existence! Su Yu smiled. "Frightened?" Tianmie stiffened his neck. "Not at all! Your Majesty can just beat him to death..." Su Yu laughed. "Nonsense! Is the Human Ancestor... necessarily a villain? Don't be misled by Hundred Battles and Yu. Their efforts to summon the Human Ancestor were merely born of their own desires. Back in the primordial era, the Human Ancestor was the very figure who led humanity to glory! He might not even care about any summoning ritual; for all we know, he's living quite comfortably behind the Hell Gate! "As for beating him to death or not, we'll talk about that when we meet him!" Su Yu looked at the crowd and smiled. "How about this: Tianmie, San Yue, Juzhu—Jiu Yue, don't bother joining the fray—whichever of you three is the first to master your Great Dao and become a Ruler of Rules within my heaven and earth shall have this item. I will personally help you integrate it into your Great Dao!" At this, Tianmie bared his teeth. "San Yue is a Celestial Venerable..." How could I possibly beat him? San Yue was a Celestial Venerable and might master his integrated Dao very quickly. Now that San Yue had merged into Su Yu's heaven and earth, he had chosen the Dao of Body Forging, Juzhu walked the Dao of Bamboo Transformation, and Tianmie walked the Dao of the Great Club. Tianmie was currently at the Heavenly King level, whereas San Yue was a Celestial Venerable. He had a shot against Juzhu, but how could he compete with San Yue? San Yue's eyes curved with sheer delight, his fur practically gleaming with bliss. It's mine! Su Yu smiled gently. "Enlightenment on the Dao isn't determined by who has greater raw power. This sort of thing depends far more on your brain! If your mind is sharp, attaining enlightenment in a single day is entirely possible! Inspiration can strike at any moment!" Well then! Tianmie had no choice but to accept it. At least he had a chance now, whereas previously his hopes had been the slimmest. Su Yu continued, "Aside from this item, there is also the Chaos Will!" Over to the side, the Chaos Dragon and the Eight-Winged Tiger practically began salivating. Give it to us! We are well-behaved chaos beasts! Just give it to us; there's hardly anyone on your side who can use it anyway. We fought in this battle too! Su Yu chuckled. "I still have a use for it. I need to lure out a few more chaotic ancient beasts, slaughter them, and integrate them into my heaven and earth... Of course, I won't lure out too many, and the ancient beasts on the other side aren't necessarily complete fools. Still, there might be some reckless ones who come through. When they do, we'll kill them first! Once we've slain a few, half of this Chaos Will shall go to Tea Tree for its advancement, and the remainder..." Su Yu turned his gaze to the Chaos Dragon and the Eight-Winged Tiger, saying flatly, "The two of you harbor unclear intentions and ambiguous loyalties. Even your participation in this battle was solely due to my coercion! However, I, Su Yu, do not owe debts. You two may split the remaining half. If you can advance, so be it; if you cannot, say no more about it!" The Eight-Winged Tiger hurried to say, "Many thanks, Emperor Yu!" This was already quite generous! At the very least, the two of them had secured half of it, leaving them with real hope of advancing! At this point, Su Yu moved past the topic and continued, "Those who previously attained the realm of Ruler of Rules should soon be able to master their integrated Daos and become Rulers of Rules once more. Those who haven't advanced must do so as swiftly as possible! "Now, my heaven and earth has grown substantially stronger. Even when operating outside, you will be able to exert nearly eighty percent of your full strength, rather than being suppressed by half as before!" Su Yu said gravely, "We have won, but our time is far from plentiful. By my estimate, in about a year, the Human Sovereign and his forces may naturally return to the myriad realms! "Passively waiting for their return... is not necessarily a good thing!" Su Yu's voice deepened. "Given their speed, their return might cause violent turbulence along the River of Time, which could trigger the opening of the Hell Gate, the Heavenly Gate, and perhaps even the Human Gate whose location remains unknown! When that happens, it will be an absolute catastrophe! "Therefore, within a year, we must take the initiative to reinforce them and battle the powerhouses of the myriad races! "In truth, I will not wait until the final moment to depart. If we stall for too long at the upper reaches, the situation will spiral beyond our control! "Perhaps in three months, or perhaps five, I will lead our forces up to join the fray! Going there does not mean an immediate victory over the myriad races. They possess a vast number of Rulers of Rules. Right now, they aren't fighting to the death simply because they can naturally return... But once we arrive, it will reignite their fighting spirit, making the war even more ferocious! "Yet is our current strength sufficient?" Su Yu shook his head. "It is not enough; the disparity is far too great! Even by the standards of the late ancient era, once I step outside my heaven and earth, I am merely a third-tier Ruler of Rules. Even if the Martial Emperor advances... and reaches the second tier, relying on him is worse than relying on nothing at all! "The rest of you, once outside my domain, will likely only be at the fourth or fifth tier of the Ruler of Rules realm! "Elevating individual strength in a short period is extraordinarily difficult. Therefore, where quality falls short, we must make up for it with quantity! "Once our Rulers of Rules multiply, our peak combatants will naturally be freed up to deal with the top powerhouses of the myriad races, rather than wearing themselves down against weaker foes!" Currently at the upper reaches, there were bound to be human powerhouses fighting outnumbered, one against several. That was an immense waste of elite strength! A heavy solemnity instantly descended upon the crowd. Indeed, Su Yu had always been this proactive. When he said a year, he might truly head upstream to wage war in just three months! By that time, anyone who wasn't a Ruler of Rules would find it difficult to even participate in the battle! Su Yu continued, "Everyone will still have opportunities to improve!" Su Yu declared loudly, "The unsealed Hell Gate is one such opportunity! Furthermore, since no one stands in my way now, I may delve deeper into the River of Time to extract portions of Great Dao power to bolster my heaven and earth!" If he did that, the Master of Time would probably want to kill Su Yu for real. It was simply going too far! Su Yu smiled again. "If all else fails, I'll just sever the Human Sovereign's Great Dao and integrate it into my heaven and earth. That's far better than leaving it lying around out there!" King Dazhou was utterly speechless! Well... you really are ruthless! "And that's not all!" Su Yu added, "I will fight to secure more opportunities for all of you to grow stronger! Do not think for a moment that I can conquer the heavens alone... Had I been entirely on my own, I would never have won today's battle! Therefore, I require your assistance, and in truth, this is also a matter of saving yourselves!" King Dazhou nodded. "Your Majesty, we understand all of this..." Su Yu retorted coldly, "You understand shit! If you truly understood, you wouldn't keep holding back your strength!" King Dazhou put on an innocent face. "Your Majesty, I..." Su Yu glared at him coldly. "What a marvelous 'separation of spirit and flesh.' Are you the spirit, or are you the flesh? In all likelihood, you are the spirit. Where is your flesh?" "..." King Dazhou smiled bitterly. "Your Majesty has truly misunderstood..." Su Yu snorted coldly. "I simply couldn't be bothered to expose you, yet you insisted on showing off! Were it not for the fact that you've still put in some effort, I would have executed you right here today!" King Dazhou was at a complete loss! Su Yu frowned at him, suddenly asking, "Where on earth did you send the majority of your power? Could you be fighting upstream? That seems unlikely!" King Dazhou gritted his teeth. Terrified that Su Yu would keep guessing, he quickly transmitted his voice: "Your Majesty... I... I truly have my own difficulties! If not for these extenuating circumstances, I would have dedicated everything to fighting for Your Majesty long ago!" I really have my difficulties! He was genuinely afraid Su Yu would continue speculating. The crucial problem was that there were too many people present, and every time Su Yu guessed, he was unnervingly accurate. King Dazhou was deeply worried. Seeing his grave anxiety, Su Yu frowned. With a wave of his hand, space inverted, and the two of them appeared in an isolated, empty expanse. Su Yu demanded in a low voice, "Speak. What is the situation?" King Dazhou sighed helplessly. "Your Majesty... I..." "You cannot say?" At this stage, what could possibly be off-limits? Su Yu's brow furrowed tightly! King Dazhou gritted his teeth. Having reached this point, perhaps... perhaps he could reveal a portion of it. Although he feared it might plunge Su Yu into despair, this madman possessed a far stronger mental fortitude than Hundred Battles ever had. After a moment of internal struggle, he finally clenched his teeth and whispered, "His Majesty the Human Sovereign is actually heavily wounded! Gravely so! The fact that His Majesty has held out until now is... is entirely a bluff, strong on the outside but hollow within! Every single major battle depletes his life force and burns through his foundational reserves! That is why His Majesty urgently requires reinforcement from the myriad realms, and why he cannot allow the myriad races to return. Once they return... his true condition will be impossible to conceal! "Right now, His Majesty the Human Sovereign can still hold the line only because the myriad races fear him and dare not fight him to the death! "They all dread that in a fit of fury, His Majesty might drag several of their Emperors down with him in mutual destruction! "That is why the human race has managed to endure up to this point. But once they return... everything will be completely exposed!" King Dazhou paused briefly, then added, "I have indeed concealed certain matters, but as a subject of His Majesty the Human Sovereign, it was my duty. Back then, I trusted Hundred Battles once, and nearly... nearly doomed all of the Human Sovereign's remaining reserves. Fortunately, he began showing peculiarities, which allowed me to detect it in time! "Otherwise... the consequences would have been unimaginable!" With lingering dread, he said, "Had Hundred Battles not changed so rapidly, perhaps... humanity would have been completely crushed in the previous tide!" Su Yu frowned slightly. "So you've kept things from me all along, revealing only half of every truth, because you were terrified after being burned by Hundred Battles?" King Dazhou smiled bitterly. Something like that. "Then do you have nothing to tell me today? The Human Sovereign being gravely wounded is considered a top secret, isn't it?" King Dazhou was silent for a moment. "It is not entirely a secret. The myriad races actually suspect it, and humanity knows it as well, but exactly how severe His Majesty's wounds are... no one knows! All I can say is that His Majesty the Human Sovereign right now... is nothing more than an empty shell. If this continues, he may... perish!" Su Yu's brow knit tightly. If the Human Sovereign died, that would be a catastrophic disaster. The Human Sovereign was a pillar of faith! At the very least, he was the anchor of faith for those ancient powerhouses. The moment he fell, it was no exaggeration to say that the entire host of ancient human experts would crumble instantly! Anyone else could die, but the Human Sovereign could not. Otherwise, this war would be impossible to fight! No matter how confident Su Yu was, he understood perfectly well that at this stage, he could not possibly replace the Human Sovereign! Frowning, Su Yu suddenly asked, "Are you still in contact with the Human Sovereign?" King Dazhou fell silent again. He shook his head, then suddenly nodded, and then shook his head once more. "I... I... I cannot say for certain, nor am I permitted to speak of it. I worry..." Su Yu frowned. "Worry about what I might do?" King Dazhou said bitterly, "Having arrived at this day, I can say I understand Your Majesty reasonably well. But just as Your Majesty said, you are not merely Su Yu, and I am not merely King Dazhou. I am the commander of His Majesty the Human Sovereign's Shadow Guards! I must ensure His Majesty's safety; otherwise, an unimaginable disaster will unfold! The fewer people who know of this, the better. Aside from Your Majesty, no one currently knows that the Human Sovereign is already on his deathbed..." Su Yu drew a sharp breath. "It's that severe?" "Far more severe than Your Majesty imagines!" King Dazhou said with deep sorrow, "With less than half their number of Rulers of Rules fighting against over a hundred of the enemy's, His Majesty the Human Sovereign single-handedly held off multiple top-tier Rulers of Rules, never having the chance or time to heal his wounds... That he has endured to this day is entirely due to his sheer unwillingness to yield and his refusal to give up!" A sudden thought struck Su Yu, and his expression shifted slightly. "Are you... protecting the Human Sovereign's true body?" King Dazhou said nothing. Su Yu drew another sharp breath. "The separation of spirit and flesh... Could it be that the Human Sovereign is also in this state? His true body is no longer at the upper reaches; instead, it is his sea of will fighting and maintaining the deterrent, while you have also separated your spirit from your flesh, with your physical body housing the vast majority of your power to guard the Human Sovereign's true body?" Was that how it was? He wasn't entirely certain, but King Dazhou had revealed an immense amount of information today—the Human Sovereign being on the verge of death, the separation of spirit and flesh, nurturing the physical body... It was almost as if he were deliberately guiding Su Yu to deduce this conclusion! King Dazhou remained silent for a moment before lowering his head. "Your Majesty, please pry no further! If Your Majesty ever meets the Human Sovereign, all will naturally become clear! However, I can tell Your Majesty that the separation of spirit and flesh carries a fatal flaw: if the physical body collapses, the sea of will will crumble along with it! Therefore, the fewer people who know of this, the better! Even now, I cannot guarantee that no one will succumb to despair—despair so deep that they betray His Majesty the Human Sovereign!" He said bitterly, "Once the Human Sovereign falls, does Your Majesty believe this war can still be waged?" Su Yu shook his head. "If he dies, it cannot be fought. So he is currently struggling to hold out, playing an empty fort strategy against the myriad races, is that it?" "More or less!" King Dazhou sighed. "I do not know the exact details, but I can infer a great deal! That is why I grew anxious, why I became fearful. Over the years, I have done everything in my power to dredge up all the remaining reserves and treasures of the human race. For those that simply could not be retrieved, I could only guide others to claim them!" King Dazhou paused, then sighed once more. "Your Majesty, matters have reached a point where perhaps only Your Majesty can save the Human Sovereign, save the common people, and save those ancient powerhouses!" Su Yu frowned. "You certainly hold me in high regard. Tell me, if I were to walk out right now and spread the news that the Human Sovereign is on the brink of death, what would the consequences be?" King Dazhou was quiet for a moment. "Everyone would simply assume Your Majesty is trying to usurp the Human Sovereign's authority!" As for him actually dying, who would believe that? Su Yu narrowed his eyes, studying him. "You old fox, you're still as sly as ever! Did you tell me so confidently without worrying I'd blab because you knew that out of ten things I say, nine are lies, and no one would believe me?" King Dazhou looked awkward. What do you mean nine out of ten? Out of a hundred things you say, ninety-nine are lies! Even so, Su Yu didn't press the matter further. Instead, his expression turned slightly somber as he nodded. "Forget it, I won't hold it against you! I am now aware of the Human Sovereign's situation. It is only natural that as the head of his Shadow Guards, you dare not commit your full strength to my side; the Human Sovereign likely truly requires someone to guard him... As for where his true body is, I won't bother asking!" Some things were best left unquestioned. King Dazhou breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had anticipated that Su Yu wouldn't interrogate him too closely. Su Yu chuckled. "No wonder he was so easy to deal with—granting territory when asked, lending power when requested, and agreeing readily to revoke the conferment of titles! He probably felt he was on the verge of kicking the bucket, saw another world-creator emerge, and decided he might as well offer some benefits to drag me onto his war chariot!" Su Yu sneered. "I knew it. Not a single person in King Wen's circle is truly good! Just like you, they're all treacherous old foxes!" King Dazhou replied awkwardly, "His Majesty the Human Sovereign does not harbor such intentions; he is inherently benevolent..." "Heh!" Su Yu scoffed. "Cut the crap. No matter how benevolent he is, he is still an Emperor, not an idiot! What if he ended up nurturing a rival? Right now, he's merely treating a dead horse as if it were alive!" He broadly understood the Human Sovereign's mindset now. Even so, a heavy weight pressed upon his heart. The Human Sovereign was mortally wounded, yet he was forcing himself to act as if nothing were wrong, or at least that his injuries were minor. If the myriad races ever learned of this, a world-shattering war would undoubtedly erupt at the upper reaches immediately! King Dazhou had kept this utterly secret; in all likelihood, he was the only person alive who knew. Revealing it to Su Yu now, whether intentionally or otherwise, was probably because he felt Su Yu truly had the capability to head upstream, and he wanted to vaccinate him against unrealistic expectations! Don't rely too heavily on the Human Sovereign, because he is currently nothing more than a hollow shell! "We just achieved a massive victory, only to receive such awful news. You really know how to... spoil the mood!" Su Yu curled his lip, disinclined to say anything more. King Dazhou felt quite innocent as well. It wasn't that he wanted to spoil the mood; Su Yu had been the one aggressively interrogating him today, leaving him with no choice. Still, this was for the best! He had kept this bottled up for far too long, not daring to disclose it to a single soul. Yet Su Yu, this madman, was truly insane—even after learning such news, he reacted as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. Had it been any other Human Lord, they probably would have wet themselves in terror! The impending demise of the Human Sovereign would be a soul-shaking trial for any ruler, yet Su Yu remained unshaken. King Dazhou couldn't help but marvel inwardly: being a lunatic certainly had its advantages. Where normal people felt terror, Su Yu felt none. Sure enough, his guess had been correct—Su Yu would only find himself even more driven. With a flick of Su Yu's sleeve, the two of them reappeared before the crowd. Seeing everyone look their way, Su Yu smiled and said, "King Dazhou says the Human Sovereign is on the brink of death and told me to hurry up and succeed him as the new Human Sovereign. Do all of you support me?" "..." A dead silence fell over the surroundings. The crowd exchanged helpless glances, looking at one another. Spouting absolute nonsense again! Forget it, let's just humor him. The crowd shouted in unison: "We support you! All hail Your Majesty's supreme might!" Flattery didn't cost a copper, so why not say it? Meanwhile, King Dazhou had nearly been scared out of his wits by Su Yu's outburst. But when he saw the crowd's reaction... he was rendered completely speechless. Fine, it was even more absurd than he had anticipated—not a single person believed him! Su Yu chuckled merrily. "Good! When we meet the Human Sovereign, we'll make him call me boss! If he refuses to listen, we'll beat him half to death, and everyone will charge in together!" "Beat the Human Sovereign to death!" Someone shouted out, but hardly anyone echoed the cry. King Miecan, who had been the one to shout, turned pale. What's this? I was just trying to flatter him! Earlier when I said Su Yu was wicked, no one backed me up. Now Su Yu says to beat the Human Sovereign to death, and I... I merely chimed in! Did you all have to look at me like that? Su Yu burst into hearty laughter. "Good! Well done, King Miecan! When we meet the Human Sovereign, you'll be the first to charge! Alright, that's enough of that. Everyone return to your homes and cultivate—focus on your recovery!" With a wave of his hand, his heaven and earth dissipated, and the crowd dispersed. Su Yu glanced at the departing figures, shook his head, and looked at King Dazhou. "Next time I say the Human Sovereign is about to kick the bucket, do you think that when he actually dies, everyone will suspect we're just putting on a show?" "..." That was entirely possible! King Dazhou had nothing to say, except that Su Yu was truly a breed of his own!