A Mighty Host, Setting Out!

Three months had arrived. For Su Yu’s side, this was their longest closed-door cultivation session yet. Previously, three months had meant practically nothing to most of these figures. But ever since joining Su Yu, they had realized that he treated three months as if they were three hundred years. Failing to break through after three months was equivalent to making no progress after three centuries of secluded cultivation—a very serious problem indeed! This day also marked the arrival of the second year of the New Yu calendar. Accompanied by a booming voice, everyone knew the moment to decide their fate was at hand. "The three-month period has ended. Come see me at once!" Boom! Within the dim heaven and earth, rifts cracked across the ground in numerous places as powerful figures flew rapidly toward the Human Lord Seal. The time had come! Those who had broken through were elated, while those who had failed were dejected, some even sinking into despair. Absolute despair! Those who had already broken through earlier felt no pressure at all; having already made the leap, they had nothing to worry about. ... Inside the Human Lord Seal, the powerhouses arrived in rapid succession. Even figures like the Southern King arrived immediately. From behind, faint laughter drifted over; these past few months had been a golden harvest period for everyone, yielding impressive gains. Those named on the list were tense, while those who had not been named felt much less pressure. A moment later, regardless of whether they had broken through or not, everyone had arrived. So many powerhouses! And Su Yu’s figure gradually materialized. The moment he appeared, the crowd bowed in unison. "Greetings, Your Majesty!" "Rise!" With his hands clasped behind his back, Su Yu looked around, reasonably satisfied. Nearly all of those he had singled out on the list had broken through. Over these months, Su Yu's heaven and earth had advanced several times. If they still couldn't break through, it meant these fellows would find it nearly impossible to keep up later! The later it got, the harder it became to grasp the Great Daos of Rules. As Su Yu continued to perfect his world, the Daos grew stronger as well. The more powerful a Great Dao became, the harder it was to take command of it in the later stages. Mastering a Dao now meant simply adding one's insights into a Dao one already controlled, which was fundamentally different from not controlling it at all. Su Yu looked at them and gave a slight nod. "Earlier, I drew up a list of thirty people. Aside from them, twelve powerhouses—the Martial Emperor, the Southern King, King Dazhou, Great Axe, Hong Yue, Xueying, Hongmeng, Tianming, the Dead Spirit King, Princess Consort Qi, the Eight-Winged Tiger, and the Chaos Dragon—have already attained the Ruler of Rules realm!" Prior to this, Su Yu had these twelve top-tier powerhouses under his command. Counting himself, that made thirteen. Su Yu continued, "And among the thirty, most have broken through!" He paused, his expression turning cold. "However, after three months, a few still have not!" Below, several faces fell in dismay. Su Yu's gaze snapped toward several individuals. "King Daxia!" From the crowd, King Daxia stepped forward with a defeated look, his head bowed. "Your Majesty!" Su Yu's eyes were filled with complex emotions. "King Daxia, I hail from the Daxia Mansion. You were one of the earliest top-tier powerhouses to support me, one of the earliest human experts to stand up on my behalf. Likewise, you and King Daqin were the very first to integrate into my heaven and earth! You cultivate the Saber Dao, a standard Great Dao of immense power. To help you advance, I spared no effort..." The onlookers exchanged shifting glances as Su Yu sighed. "However, I keep my word! The three-month deadline has passed, and you failed to advance... That being the case, King Daxia, yield the Saber Dao to someone with greater potential!" At these words, King Daxia looked utterly dejected and said nothing. Below, King Daqin’s expression shifted, and he took a step forward. "Your Majesty, King Daxia is close! Give him just a little more time, and he'll break through very soon..." Su Yu said coldly, "King Daqin! This is a military order! In your army, do you issue orders in the morning only to change them by evening? It was precisely because King Daxia was one of my earliest supporters that no one objected to him occupying the Saber Dao! But after stalling for so long without breaking through, you know how many resources he consumed! The corpse of the Wild Heavenly Beast, Great Daos, switching Daos multiple times, being the first to integrate into my heaven and earth... It's fair to say he received more than anyone else! "Since he cannot break through now and cannot serve as a powerhouse to reinforce the upper reaches, he must yield the Dao!" Su Yu said indifferently, "I see Xia Longwu is on the verge of breaking through, yet he does not cultivate the Saber Dao. If the Dao is yielded to him now, perhaps... we will immediately gain another Ruler of Rules on this field!" Su Yu turned to King Daxia and said in a heavy voice, "King Daxia, voluntarily relinquish your Dao now and leave behind your comprehension of the Saber Dao. I will pass this Dao to your grandson, Xia Longwu. Since you can no longer keep pace... I believe your grandson will do better than you!" In the crowd, Xia Longwu’s expression flickered. Su Yu suddenly looked at Xia Longwu and said chillingly, "Do not refuse. If your grandfather cannot march to battle, are you... also going to avoid war?" Xia Longwu’s expression hardened, and he lowered his head. "No. Xia Longwu is willing to fight!" Su Yu nodded slightly, then looked back at King Daxia and said solemnly, "King Daxia... what say you?" Weary and dejected, King Daxia let out a long sigh and nodded. "I ask Your Majesty... to please help me extract my Great Dao..." He turned to look at King Daqin, baring his teeth in a strained, painful smile. "Qin's Spear and Xia's Saber... the Xia Saber... goes to Longwu now. Old Qin, Qin's Spear... you'll have to carry it on your own!" The legendary Spear of Qin and Saber of Xia, which had once struck terror into the myriad clans, had now lost its saber from the front lines. At those words, King Daqin’s eyes reddened. King Daxia had fought at his side through countless battles up to this day, a brother in arms. This was not death, yet it felt worse than dying. To be demoted from a frontline general to the rear, sent into retirement... for King Daxia, how cruel was that! King Daqin gritted his teeth and declared loudly, "Your Majesty! If Old Xia switches Daos and manages to reach the Ruler of Rules realm as well, can he rejoin the campaign?" Su Yu replied flatly, "Nothing would please me more! But switching to a Dao that is not his specialty... and with my heaven and earth far more complete now than before, if he cannot break through today, it will be even harder later! Well, one must have some hope. If King Daxia refuses to resign himself, he can find his own way to break through. If we have not yet returned to the myriad realms by then, anyone who achieves the Ruler of Rules realm may journey upstream on their own to find us..." King Daqin immediately turned to King Daxia and said resolutely, "Old Xia, don't give up! The Saber Dao isn't the only path. Take another Dao, and you can still break through. I'll be waiting for you up ahead!" For a moment, the atmosphere turned somber and sorrowful. The crowd shared his grief. King Daxia was a premier powerhouse who had supported Su Yu from early on, and right now, he wasn't far from reaching the Ruler of Rules realm—he might have broken through very soon. Yet Su Yu... had made King Daxia the very first example! Seeing this, the others who had failed to break through were completely plunged into despair. Forget it! There was no hope! Su Yu would show no leniency! If even King Daxia met this end, what chance did they have? Su Yu said indifferently, "Enough. There will be chances in the future, depending on whether you are willing to fight for them! King Daxia, do not resist as I extract your Saber Dao. Xia Longwu... since your grandfather could not succeed, I expect you to bring glory to the Saber Dao in your hands. If you, too, stall for too long without breaking through... then a standard Great Dao like the Saber Dao will eventually have to be yielded as well!" Xia Longwu stepped forward, his expression cold and resolute. "The Saber Dao passed from my grandfather's hands into mine. It was fused by our Xia family from the start, and this Dao... will never be lost from the Xia family's grasp!" With that, he let out a low roar. His own Great Dao suddenly snapped. His face went pale, yet saber qi surged violently around him as he said in a low voice, "I ask Your Majesty to connect my Dao!" He was ruthless enough to sever his own Dao before King Daxia had even yielded his! Beside him, King Daxia suddenly cursed, "I haven't even yielded it yet, and you're already that impatient? Have you been waiting for this all along?" "..." Everyone was speechless! At a time like this, can you two stop squabbling? Xia Longwu remained silent. Helpless and reluctant, King Daxia sighed. In the end, he instantly severed and extracted his Great Dao. Saber qi scattered in all directions, and in the blink of an eye, King Daxia seemed to age years, looking desolate. His face was pale, his aura plummeting, wearing a bitter grimace. Su Yu watched with an indifferent expression, but inwardly cursed: *You sure put on a convincing act!* *Your great-grandson suggested this, and your son suggested this too—don't you know what's going on?* *What are you acting for!* *Well, putting on a realistic act is fine too!* According to Marquis Xia and the others, King Daxia and Xia Longwu competed too much with each other since both walked the Saber Dao. Xia Longwu actually had greater potential than King Daxia; after all, Xia Longwu was the most outstanding hero of the generation preceding Su Yu's! In Xia Longwu’s generation, practically no one could rival him. In terms of generational seniority, Xia Longwu was Wan Tiansheng’s student and belonged to the same generation as Liu Wenyan and the others. But by now, Liu Wenyan, Hong Tan, and their cohort had all vanished. Everyone knew Su Yu had likely taken them away. Consequently, Xia Longwu was the single most brilliant figure of the generation before Su Yu’s, bar none! Others like Qin Zhen of the Qin family, Liu Wushen of the Liu family, and Zhou Polong of the Zhou family... None of them matched Xia Longwu. Therefore, King Daxia yielding the Dao to Xia Longwu was actually a good thing. Along the way, it served as a deterrent to everyone else and provided a natural pretext for King Daxia to step down from the front line and join the Shadow Guards, which happened to lack a veteran senior powerhouse. King Daxia possessed sufficient prestige to keep everyone in check—including Nan Wujiang, Yun Chen, Liu Hong, and Zhu Tiandao... All of these people either hailed from the Daxia Mansion or had grown up listening to King Daxia's legends. With King Daxia present, a slippery fellow like Liu Hong wouldn't dare act out. At this moment, after relinquishing his Dao, King Daxia looked utterly feeble, his eyes brimming with sorrow. Looking at him, King Daqin almost wanted to weep. *My old brother... after today, he might as well be dead!* *Could a veteran soldier who never took to the battlefield still be considered a soldier?* *King Daxia is practically dead after today!* King Daqin was struck by profound grief! Yet he also consoled himself: *Perhaps this is a blessing. Old Xia might get to live out his remaining years in peaceful retirement, which isn't a bad thing either.* King Daqin was truly full of drama! Su Yu paid it no mind. King Daqin had been kept in the dark about this arrangement. Both of King Daqin’s sons had actually joined the Shadow Guards, but King Daqin was unaware; Su Yu had sternly warned Qin Zhen and Qin Hao never to tell King Daqin and to keep their mouths shut! Otherwise, if King Daxia stepped down and King Daqin showed no reaction at all, how suspicious would that look? This... was just right! Look at King Daming—his acting was leagues ahead. Both Zhu Tiandao and Zhu Tianfang had joined, along with Zhu Tiandao's son Zhu Guangshen and others. There was no way King Daming was unaware. Yet King Daming's performance was flawless: wearing a look of deep mourning while grimly enduring the pain... Here, it all came down to who could put on the best act! Su Yu said nothing further. Reaching out with a hand, he swiftly caught hold of the Great Dao surging with saber qi. The next moment, the power of that Dao was driven directly into Xia Longwu's body. Xia Longwu's aura surged instantly. In the blink of an eye, his own comprehension of the Dao spread swiftly across the entire Saber Dao, until razor-sharp saber qi swept through heaven and earth! Before King Daxia’s dumbfounded eyes, Xia Longwu roared fiercely as the Dao manifested into a massive saber, cleaving straight toward the heavens! Boom! A colossal boom resonated as the sky shook! Xia Longwu’s aura skyrocketed to the peak in an instant. Rumble! The rules of the Dao trembled as the entire Great Dao was drawn directly into Xia Longwu's sea of will, leaving King Daxia and the others staring in stunned disbelief. King Daxia’s face went completely blank! At this moment, his act was impossible to maintain. *Holy shit!* *I... I really am inferior to my grandson?* *I don't believe it!* During this period, though he had intentionally held back as part of the act, comprehending the Saber Dao had indeed been difficult, and he had felt more and more how challenging it was the further he went. If he pushed himself to the limit, there was still some hope of reaching the Ruler of Rules realm. Yet King Daxia could never guarantee it a hundred percent. And now, his grandson had crossed straight into the Ruler of Rules realm in a single smooth leap! King Daxia opened and closed his mouth, suddenly overcome with genuine agony! How tragic! For a powerhouse, the most tragic thing was being surpassed by one's own descendant while still alive and in one's prime. If he were truly elderly and decrepit, he could sigh and comfort himself that the student had surpassed the master—a good thing! *But... I'm not old yet!* *I'm only a little over five hundred!* *In any era, for this cultivation level, that's not old at all!* *And yet my grandson just surpassed me!* In an instant, King Daxia felt utterly crestfallen and grieved. *I'm actually not as good as my grandson! My title as the world's foremost blade... what an embarrassment!* Worse still, judging by this, did it mean he had literally been hogging his grandson's Dao all along, preventing him from advancing when his grandson should have advanced long ago? ... Even Su Yu was surprised. He knew Xia Longwu was gifted, powerful, and adept with the blade, but... taking command of the Dao immediately upon receiving it still surpassed Su Yu's expectations. A moment later, Su Yu smiled. "Not bad. Very good!" Quite impressive! He voiced his praise. Beside Xia Longwu stood Marquis Dingjun, who looked rather miserable. He glanced toward King Daqin, wondering why on earth King Daqin had managed to break through. King Daqin walked the Spear Dao, and so did he... If King Daqin had failed to break through, would His Majesty have transferred the Dao to him instead, turning him into a Ruler of Rules on the spot? He cast a few sidelong glances at King Daqin, who glared back with a decidedly hostile look! *What are you looking at me for?* *I broke through!* Shedding his cold demeanor, Su Yu smiled and praised Xia Longwu once more. "King Daxia can now retire in peace! For the Xia family, Xia Longwu has lived up to the name of the Xia Saber!" King Daxia’s expression was stiff as he nodded. Though this had been planned all along, the grief he felt now was genuine, not fabricated. Su Yu thought he was still putting on a show, but his heartache was all too real. The words *I am not as good as my grandson* echoed relentlessly in his mind! Too tragic! Moving on from Xia Longwu, Su Yu looked toward the second person, a touch of regret surfacing on his face as he said softly, "Marquis Huoyun!" Marquis Huoyun stepped out from the ranks. After a brief consideration, Su Yu said gently, "You failed to break through... but I don't blame you. Back then, because you were a Heavenly King, I didn't integrate you into my heaven and earth right away, only doing so later on. By that time, the Fire Dao was already occupied by Tianhuo, even though both of you cultivate fire..." In truth, Marquis Huoyun was more senior in Su Yu's camp than Tianhuo. Tianhuo was from the Fire God Clan, revived from a dead spirit, but back then Marquis Huoyun had not yet integrated his Dao. Because the Great Dao of Fire suited Tianhuo, Tianhuo took it. Su Yu paused for a moment before continuing, "You currently walk the Dao of Incineration, which differs from the Fire Dao... Your failure to break through is likely because your comprehension of the Fire Dao was too deep, making it difficult to transition so quickly..." Marquis Huoyun lowered his head. "Your Majesty, it is my own incompetence. The Dao of Incineration is not so different from the Fire Dao, yet I..." Su Yu let out a sigh. "There is no need for you to switch Daos; the Dao of Incineration was never your specialty to begin with. However, you will not be heading to the front lines this time. If Tianhuo falls in battle one day... I will give his Dao to you!" "..." Among the ranks, Tianhuo of the Fire God Clan opened his mouth, completely speechless. *I... have nothing to say!* Su Yu soon chuckled. "Just a joke. There is more than one path of flames! For instance, the Five Elements Dao that Foutuling currently cultivates contains a path of fire as well, which I will refine further in the future!" Marquis Huoyun had reached the Heavenly King level early on, so his failure to break through was indeed regrettable. By Su Yu's estimation, it wasn't necessarily that Marquis Huoyun lacked ability, but rather that his grasp of the Incineration Dao was lacking. Had he walked the Fire Dao, he might well have broken through. Yet sometimes, luck really did play a part. Dejected, Marquis Huoyun said nothing more and quickly stepped back. "Xinghong..." From the crowd, Xinghong stepped forward. With a heavy sigh and head lowered, he said, "Your Majesty, I yield the Sword Dao! I wish to give it to Yunxiao... Perhaps I truly have grown too old, and my fighting spirit is no longer what it once was. The Sword Dao is also a Dao of Slaughter... As a swordsman, my killing intent has waned... I lack Tianmie's burning drive and Yunxiao's fiery resolve..." This guardian, the very first to support Su Yu so long ago, had failed to keep pace with the ranks this time. When Su Yu had ventured to the upper realm earlier, the only guardian he took with him was Xinghong. Xinghong had once been stronger than Tianmie. Yet after integrating into the Sword Dao, Tianmie had managed to break through, while Xinghong remained halted at the Heavenly King level, unable to take that final step. Looking at him, Su Yu felt a twinge of sorrow. Su Yu had given Xinghong extra personal guidance many times. Transforming into a half-dead spirit, meeting Xingyue, forging an alliance with the ancient city... In truth, all of it had started with Xinghong. Yet this guardian who had stood by him from the early days had fallen behind—whether out of sheer weariness or hitting the limits of his talent—even as Tianmie ascended to become a Ruler of Rules! Regretful, Su Yu nodded slightly and said softly, "The Sword Dao... shall pass to Yunxiao!" Below, Yunxiao felt a mix of anger and bitter frustration at his failure. She couldn't help scolding him, "If I'd known you were this useless, why did you fight for the Sword Dao back then? Xinghong, I look down on you!" She felt deeply crestfallen, with little joy in receiving the Dao. As guardians, they had shared a hundred thousand years of comradeship, facing life and death together. It wasn't as if she had wished for Xinghong to fail just so she could have the Sword Dao. Now that Xinghong had genuinely failed, Yunxiao felt far more disappointment and sorrow than anything else! Having surrendered the Sword Dao, Xinghong had virtually no hope of catching up later. He had been walking his best Dao, yet even with Su Yu's continuous aid, he had failed to break through! This was unlike Marquis Huoyun. Huoyun had delved too deeply into the Fire Dao, so transitioning to a related Dao had merely taken some getting used to; given time, he might still become a Ruler of Rules on the Incineration Dao. Furthermore, Su Yu hadn't demanded that Huoyun relinquish the Incineration Dao. But Xinghong was yielding the Sword Dao; once forced onto a Dao he was unsuited for, what hope did he have left? Filled with regret, Xinghong said softly, "Yunxiao, I am useless, but... I hope you become stronger than me! Boss Hongmeng has become a Ruler of Rules, and that fellow Tianmie has crossed over as well... I failed, but I hope... you can succeed!" In the crowd, Hongmeng and Tianmie both looked regretful. Tianmie grumbled, "That's what you get for showing off all day... A big fish insisting on playing with swords! Whatever, failure is failure. I think you'd be better off walking the Water Dao—a big fish ought to play in the water!" Xinghong gave a self-deprecating laugh. "A monkey calling me a big fish—do you have no shame?" Tianmie curled his lip, not bothering to retort. Su Yu looked at Yunxiao and said gently, "Yunxiao, you shall take charge of the Sword Dao! Previously, Xinghong took the Sword Dao while you walked another path. Seeing that you were walking an unfamiliar Dao, I didn't push you to break through... But walking the Sword Dao, you still have hope!" Yunxiao had not been walking the Sword Dao, and Su Yu had not included her on the initial list. Though switching to the Sword Dao now might not allow her to break through instantly like Xia Longwu, the prospect was certainly there. Yunxiao nodded without saying a word, her mood subdued. Soon, Su Yu extracted Xinghong's Sword Dao and linked it to Yunxiao. Yunxiao's aura surged, expanding considerably in an instant. Though she was still slightly shy of becoming a Ruler of Rules, there was at least great promise! By now, three individuals had failed: King Daxia, Xinghong, and Marquis Huoyun. Su Yu looked toward the Ancient Space Sovereign, the powerhouse named Shikong. The Ancient Space Sovereign wore an embarrassed smile. "Your Majesty... I... I really had no way..." Su Yu chuckled. "Understood!" His Dao companion, Marquis Liekong, had indeed stepped into the Ruler of Rules realm. The crux was that there was only one Space Dao, and Liekong had taken command of it, leaving Shikong in an awkward position. More importantly... he had secretly swapped Daos with Liekong! Su Yu knew about this and had even lent a hand, but privately swapping Daos was not something Su Yu endorsed. The Ancient Space Sovereign had integrated into Su Yu's heaven and earth very early on, occupying the Space Dao, whereas Marquis Liekong had joined later. Furthermore, the Ancient Space Sovereign had led the entire Ancient Space Clan to integrate into the Space Dao, apparently attempting to emulate the Five Elements Clan by reinforcing a single Great Dao to supreme strength. Su Yu had not truly approved of this, but neither had he forbidden it. He preferred a hundred flowers blooming, but when a clan was accustomed to the Space Dao, forcing them onto another might yield nothing at all. This was the fourth failure. He didn't even need to yield his Dao now, having already handed it over to his companion. That was precisely why he felt embarrassed—by the rules, private transfers were strictly forbidden. "Hetu..." Su Yu looked toward another figure. Hetu stepped forward, looking slightly bewildered. "Your Majesty?" *I broke through!* *Why are you calling me out?* Su Yu knitted his brows slightly. "Weren't you cultivating the Hetu Dao before? Why did you switch to the Petrochemical Dao?" Hetu coughed awkwardly. "Princess Consort Qi integrated the Petrochemical Dao into your heaven and earth, and I found it quite formidable. I thought about it, and my ancestor King Gong also walked the Petrochemical Dao... a direct lineage... so... ahem, Your Majesty, you must have known about my Dao switch, right?" He had abandoned his previous Dao because Su Yu's own comprehension of it was shallow, and Hetu's was no better. Thus, during these three months, he had done one thing: switched Daos! He swapped to the Petrochemical Dao that Princess Consort Qi had brought into the world! Princess Consort Qi had profound insights into this Dao, and over these three months, Hetu had sought her guidance. Combined with the fact that his ancestor King Gong walked the Petrochemical Dao, he had actually managed to advance to Ruler of Rules using it near the end of the three months! Su Yu glared at him. He knew about the switch, of course. Yet this matter still needed to be addressed publicly. Su Yu said in a solemn voice, "Everyone, if you feel a Great Dao does not suit you, do not switch rashly! In my heaven and earth, switching Daos is not a huge problem for now because I am here to suppress any backlash! But... that does not mean I will always suppress it for you! Nor does it mean I will keep allowing you to switch! Some Daos are not sufficiently perfected or strong; switching blindly might lead to your own doom! In the future, such matters must be approved by a resolution of the Yu Emperor Manor. Anyone who dares to switch Daos privately again will be punished without leniency!" The main reason was that Su Yu had yet to fully perfect certain Daos. If people swapped blindly, not only might they ruin themselves, but their severed Daos could also cause losses and destabilization in Su Yu's world. Hetu hurriedly plastered on a smile. "Your Majesty's reprimand is just! Next time, I will never act recklessly and will report in advance!" In truth, his situation was similar to the Ancient Space Sovereign's, but Hetu didn't mind. Su Yu was merely using this opportunity to warn the others; since the Ancient Space Sovereign belonged to an alien race, it wasn't fitting to berate him too harshly, whereas his own people were perfect for making an example of! Understood! No wonder he had called him out—it was all about knocking heads! Being clever, Hetu didn't mind at all and was even secretly pleased; being used like this proved he was in the inner circle. Excellent! Ignoring him, Su Yu turned to the next person. "Prefect Wan, regarding your Dao of Seven Emotions and Six Desires..." Su Yu hesitated briefly before saying, "I see that your control is dispersed across multiple Great Daos—over a dozen of them—yet none have reached full mastery. With your current combat strength, can you match a Ruler of Rules?" Without waiting for him to reply, Su Yu addressed the others, "If any of the earlier candidates believe they can match a Ruler of Rules, they may appeal as well... You all know the situation with Prefect Wan and Lan Tian; they forge their own paths, so I judge them by combat strength... Do not think I am showing favoritism." The crowd nodded and raised no objections. Wan Tiansheng and a few others, including Fat Ball, carved their own Daos. For them, combat strength had always taken precedence over cultivation realm. Wan Tiansheng wielded the Human Dao, which was not a single path; in Su Yu's heaven and earth, he had integrated over a dozen Great Daos, yet none had been fully mastered. Thus, gauging Wan Tiansheng's true strength was difficult! Wan Tiansheng smiled and spoke up, "Your Majesty, I wouldn't presume to speak for others... but seeing Fellow Daoist Tianmie itching for a fight, how about a friendly spar between the two of us?" Su Yu pondered for a moment, then nodded with a chuckle. "Granted!" Below, Tianmie bared his teeth in a grin! *I'm a Ruler of Rules!* *Wan Tiansheng, you might hold many Daos... but what good is that? Not one of them has reached the Ruler of Rules level, and you want to take me on?* *Everyone says I, Tianmie, have never won a fight. This time, I'm really going to teach you a lesson!* "Come fight!" Tianmie let out a hearty laugh and shot forward. Wan Tiansheng smiled, smoothed his robes, and followed him out. Su Yu didn't bother watching! The crowd didn't bother looking either. Since Wan Tiansheng had singled out Tianmie, the outcome was already beyond doubt. Su Yu continued reviewing the crowd, looking toward the Destiny Clan. Over here, Tianming had become a Ruler of Rules even before entering. Looking at the Destiny Emperor, Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "You didn't walk the Divination Dao?" The Destiny Emperor smiled. "Your Majesty, the Destiny Clan isn't limited to divination alone. What I walk is the Dao of Observing Luck!" Su Yu nodded slightly. "You certainly took a shortcut. Your combat strength isn't much to speak of, but you have indeed become a Ruler of Rules. Has Tian Ce given up?" He looked toward Tian Ce, who was also of the Destiny Clan, an aide who had assisted Marquis Tianming in the upper realm and managed clan affairs whenever the marquis was absent. Hearing Su Yu, Tian Ce stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, I will stick to the standard path of the Destiny Clan and fuse into Marquis Tianming's Dao!" Su Yu nodded. "That works too!" This was the fifth person who chose to step aside; rather than taking a separate path, he chose to integrate into the Divination Dao held by Marquis Tianming. Among the thirty powerhouses, leaving aside Wan Tiansheng and Lan Tian whom Su Yu had not questioned, five had now failed. All the others, including General Yingwu, had succeeded. As for those who had defected from Baizhan's faction later on, Wuji went without saying—he had crossed into the Ruler of Rules realm very quickly, while Marquis Nanxi and Marquis Zhennan had soon achieved that rank as well. Tongtian was in a similar position to Wan Tiansheng and the others; Tongtian hadn't even integrated into Su Yu's heaven and earth, but after digesting the portals consumed earlier, he possessed combat power roughly on par with a fifth-class Ruler of Rules. In Su Yu's eyes, that didn't strictly count as a true Ruler of Rules, but he had relaxed the standard for Tongtian. Doubao, Chubing, and Jiu Yue had all crossed over as well; although they did not walk the Great Dao of Devouring, the difference was minimal, and they had all reached this tier. Foutuling had caught a windfall; the entire Five Elements Clan was integrating into that Dao, pushing him directly into the Ruler of Rules realm. As for the Hou Emperor, Su Yu, noticing his weakness, had specifically bestowed the Great Dao of Devouring upon him. The pressure on him had been immense, but fortunately, with Su Yu's private coaching, he had barely scraped through. By this point, all the others, including Tea Tree, had advanced to the Ruler of Rules realm. At that moment, Wan Tiansheng drifted back casually. A moment later, Tianmie returned black and blue, looking helpless. Everyone stifled their laughter, and Su Yu smiled as well; it was no surprise. Wan Tiansheng had presumably fused his past body and wielded over a dozen Daos; while he hadn't fully mastered them, beating Tianmie was no trouble at all. Out of thirty people, five had failed, producing twenty-five powerhouses who had attained the level of Ruler of Rules. And with Xia Longwu having just become a Ruler of Rules, that made twenty-six. In truth, this was already an astonishing number! Su Yu glanced at those who were not on the list, noticing Marquis Dingjun, who had spoken with such bravado that day. Marquis Dingjun looked utterly depressed—he didn't cultivate the Spear Dao, so how could advancing be so easy? He had failed to break through! Twenty-six powerhouses of Ruler of Rules strength, plus the twelve from before, made a grand total of thirty-eight! Counting Su Yu, that was thirty-nine. Yunxiao had taken up the Sword Dao and might break through very soon; if she did, that would make forty. And according to Xingyue, the Human Sovereign's side only had forty-odd as well. Su Yu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Then this will be our force! Has the Martial Emperor returned?" "Present!" From a corner where he had been hiding, the Martial Emperor puffed out his chest as everyone turned to look at him. He would never admit that he had nearly dozed off just now! Su Yu frowned slightly, then nodded and continued, "Then everyone is here. Finally, fuse your past bodies for one last enhancement. Once everyone is finished, we set out for the upper reaches! "Naturally, we cannot leave the myriad realms completely devoid of powerhouses; that would invite disaster too easily!" Su Yu looked across the assembly. After a long pause, he looked toward Wan Tiansheng and King Dazhou. Under normal circumstances, whenever he left, he would leave one of the two behind. Glancing at King Dazhou, Su Yu thought for a moment and said, "King Dazhou, stay behind to oversee the myriad realms!" King Dazhou was somewhat surprised. *I'm staying?* Su Yu looked at him and said solemnly, "You stay! I trust that until I return, nothing will go wrong in the myriad realms! Even if someone emerges from the Hell Gate unexpectedly, you can handle it! King Dazhou, do not disappoint me time and again! Some things I can forgive, but... if you disappoint me repeatedly, you can get lost!" King Dazhou’s expression tightened, and he replied gravely, "Your Majesty speaks truly. Until Your Majesty returns, I will not let anything happen to the myriad realms!" Su Yu nodded slightly. With King Dazhou present, even if one or two powerhouses emerged, it wouldn't be a major issue. "King Daxia, Xinghong, Marquis Huoyun... although you have switched Daos, your strength remains formidable. Assist King Dazhou well in overseeing the myriad realms! In the rear, there will still be plenty to do!" Su Yu said in a heavy voice, "Perhaps if the front line faces a crisis, I will need reinforcements from the rear! I hope that after I depart, you will also become Rulers of Rules and come to our aid! "Yunxiao, you have taken up the Sword Dao and may soon enter the Ruler of Rules realm... but you don't need to join us this time. Take your time, and do not make mistakes in haste!" Without King Dazhou, and not counting Yunxiao, there were exactly thirty-eight powerhouses—an auspicious number! Su Yu hesitated for a moment, then added, "Lan Tian, you stay as well!" In the crowd, Lan Tian’s eyes flickered, and he nodded. "Understood, Your Majesty!" King Dazhou gave a strange look, thinking Su Yu didn't trust him. In reality, Su Yu wanted Lan Tian to coordinate with Xia Huyou and the others, ensuring a formidable force stood ready at any critical moment to support him. "Tea Tree stays as well!" The young girl who was Tea Tree's avatar blinked in surprise. *I'm not going either?* Even Fat Ball was puzzled. "Tea Tree isn't going either?" Su Yu nodded. "Tea Tree... I may have important uses for her later on, so she shouldn't show herself too much right now! With Tea Tree, Lan Tian, and King Dazhou staying behind, counting myself, that leaves exactly thirty-six of us!" Su Yu smiled. "Thirty-six—I like that number better!" Everyone was speechless. So after all that, you were just picking a number you liked! Thirty-six powerhouses would march to the front lines! The force remaining in the rear was hardly weak either. Beyond several Rulers of Rules, there were numerous Dao Mergers and Heavenly Kings. Su Yu said briskly, "Come, let us fuse our past bodies for one final enhancement, and then... to the front lines!" ... This time, everyone followed Su Yu to fuse their past bodies. Su Yu had other business to attend to as well, needing to fulfill his promises. On one hand, he helped Xia Longwu temper the Saber Dao; on the other, he handed that book page over to Xia Longwu. In truth, Xia Longwu didn't care much for it, but since Su Yu offered it, he accepted. Su Yu also shared his destiny. As for enfeoffing kings, Su Yu did not confer any titles for now; it was too early, and there was no rush. In fact, Su Yu had not mentioned that there was another powerhouse guarding the rear: Marquis Jiantian. As Su Yu grew stronger, so did he! Now that Su Yu had reached the second class, Marquis Jiantian, being the embodiment of Su Yu's entire heaven and earth, was formidable as well. After shattering the shackles of his seal, Marquis Jiantian was currently roughly on the stronger end of fourth class, or the weaker end of third class. He was even stronger than Tea Tree and Lan Tian, who were staying behind! As for King Daxia, rather than having him integrate into Su Yu's heaven and earth again, Su Yu quietly took him away to integrate into a Great Dao within the River of Time itself. Furthermore, King Daxia was Su Yu's designated Commander of the Shadow Guards! Lan Tian was the Deputy Commander. King Daxia was better suited to lead openly, while Lan Tian was better suited to lurk in the shadows and deliver fatal strikes to enemies. As for Liu Hong and the others, Su Yu made no special arrangements for now. ... Once everyone finished fusing their past bodies, their strength had all improved to varying degrees. The Martial Emperor in particular had officially stepped into the second class. Only at this moment could Su Yu’s forces truly be called a mighty host of seasoned warriors! Liu Hong also oversaw the linking of Su Yu’s heaven and earth with the River of Time and the River of Dead Spirits, extending the influence of Su Yu’s world into the River of Time. This allowed Su Yu to draw upon the power of his world even within the River of Time. Five more days passed in this manner. A little over three months after the war in the myriad realms had concluded, Su Yu led his entourage as they quietly set off, heading upstream against the currents of the River of Time!