Su Yu Meets the Human Sovereign

"The Human Sovereign is coming!" At this moment, Su Yu waited, anticipating the Human Sovereign's arrival. He truly looked forward to meeting this legendary figure. What kind of impression would the man leave upon their first encounter? Majestic? Domineering? Refined and scholarly? Sinister? Or something else entirely? Behind Su Yu, many were filled with equal anticipation, including several Ancient Marquises. In the ancient era, those Marquises had merely been marginal figures who rarely laid eyes upon the Human Sovereign—much like the Sun Moon and Eternity cultivators on Su Yu's side, who seldom saw Su Yu nowadays. While Su Yu might be an everyday sight to the likes of Wan Tiansheng, he had long ceased micromanaging those in the middle ranks. Even Wan Tiansheng was looking forward to this... The Martial Emperor, however, was visibly ill at ease. He was nervous... terrified that the Human Sovereign would make trouble for him. He shot several sneaky glances at Su Yu. *You swore you’d handle the Human Sovereign and King Wen for me.* For all his big talk regarding the Human Sovereign, the Martial Emperor was still terrified deep down. Su Yu paid him no mind. Right now, the Human Sovereign likely had zero interest in fussing over the Martial Emperor anyway. Su Yu could already faintly sense King Zhan's presence. King Zhan was almost here! Su Yu was not surprised that he did not feel anyone else's aura. Under the current circumstances, the Human Sovereign probably couldn't send his true body, nor even a full phantom manifestation. In all likelihood, he was sending a tiny fraction of an avatar. From behind him, Tianmie transmitted his voice: "Your Majesty, should we give him a show of force as well?" Su Yu waved a hand dismissively. Giving King Zhan a show of force had been enough to demonstrate their strength. Doing that to the Human Sovereign was entirely unnecessary. A moment later, ahead of them... Beside King Zhan, two figures suddenly appeared. One was clad in a golden robe and wore an imperial crown, looking exceptionally formal. The other wore a rich brocade robe, resembling a wealthy country squire. Though Su Yu had never met them before, he instantly recognized them as the Human Sovereign and King Ming. There was no need to check their auras—their demeanor alone said it all. Su Yu strode forward, a brilliant smile spreading across his face! While still a great distance away, Su Yu smiled radiantly, his voice gentle and cultured as he took the initiative to greet them: "Junior Su Yu pays respects to His Majesty the Human Sovereign, and to Seniors King Ming and King Zhan!" With nearly a thousand meters still separating them, Su Yu bowed respectfully. In the distance, the Human Sovereign quickened his pace, chuckling, "You are far too polite! Human Host Su is the master of the human race; there is no need for such formalities..." "No, Your Majesty is the exemplar of our human race, and the man I, Su Yu, admire most in this life..." Su Yu's expression turned solemn and deeply reverent as he looked across the distance at the Human Sovereign. *You are my greatest idol!* He studied the Human Sovereign. The face was somewhat insubstantial, yet its dignity was unmistakable. He had a square jaw, a neatly trimmed short beard, and eyes that appeared slightly dull. The true body's gaze would surely not be so vacant; this was merely an avatar of an avatar, lacking some of the original spirit. He moved with the stride of a dragon and the pace of a tiger, possessing both the majesty of a sovereign and the decisiveness of a frontline general. Sometimes, first impressions meant everything when judging a person. From afar, the Human Sovereign chuckled and made a gesture of lifting him up with both hands. "What exemplar? You flatter me to the point of embarrassment!" The Human Sovereign stepped forward briskly, laughing heartily: "I have known of you for a long time—Su Yu, the Tenth Generation Human Host! An Opener of Heaven! Well done!" With that, the Human Sovereign turned his gaze to the experts behind Su Yu, his smile genial and bright: "You are all magnificent. Many years have passed, and several old comrades-in-arms have now become Rulers of Rules. I already see quite a few familiar faces—Giant Axe, Hong Yue, Wu Ji, San Yue, Lie Kong... you're all here!" Those who had shouted so fiercely before now hurriedly bowed the moment they actually laid eyes on the Human Sovereign, their hearts swelling with excitement and a touch of trepidation. The Human Sovereign! Su Yu carried immense presence, but compared to the Human Sovereign, who had ruled the ancient era for tens of thousands of years and had long ascended into myth and legend, he still fell somewhat short. The Martial Emperor, who dared to trade barbs with Su Yu on ordinary days, felt intensely uncomfortable just looking at the Human Sovereign. The Human Sovereign, however, said nothing to him and did not even glance his way. He quickly stepped forward, gently supporting Su Yu by the arm, his smile never wavering. "What a blessing! I never imagined that in our final hour, Human Host Su would arrive with reinforcements. This is a blessing for our race, for our allies, and for all living beings!" The Human Sovereign sighed with emotion several times before laughing again: "My true body could not come today, so sending an avatar is rather slighting you. Still... now that you have all arrived, we must welcome you properly, wash away the dust of travel, and share wine in high spirits!" Su Yu smiled and replied, "Your Majesty is too kind. Such matters are of little consequence. We came here solely to resolve the menace of the myriad races as swiftly as possible!" "No rush!" The Human Sovereign laughed. "The myriad races... are nothing more than a minor skin rash!" *Damn, what an arrogant tone!* *You've been beaten to this state, and you still call them a minor rash?!* As if reading Su Yu's mind, the Human Sovereign smiled: "Given my age, allow me to refer to myself as an elder. It is true that this old man has been entangled with the myriad races for countless years and paid an enormous price, but the myriad races... truly are just a skin rash!" The Human Sovereign smiled candidly: "They possess decent strength, yet they lack effective executive capacity! Their internal divisions are too severe, their problems too deep. Possessing several times our strength, they still dare not risk a decisive battle, preferring to wait us out... Are such races truly a grave menace?" Facing the formidable enemies he had confronted across countless ages, the Human Sovereign actually dismissed them as no great threat! Was he slapping his own cheeks to make them look plump? No! Even now, the Human Sovereign genuinely looked down on them from the bottom of his heart! At their very first meeting, the Human Sovereign spoke eloquently, smiling: "The myriad races are not to be feared! Naturally, they have power, and dealing with them is genuinely troublesome. But being troublesome... does not mean they are a grave menace! To use a crude analogy: if you are three years old, a ten-year-old child bullying you because of his height does not make him an invincible powerhouse or a true threat! Thus, the myriad races are not an insurmountable obstacle..." Su Yu smiled. For the Human Sovereign to claim at this stage that over a hundred Rulers of Rules on the opposing side were not a grave threat... well, he certainly had guts. Unfortunately, no matter how tough you talk, you're the one who lost! Perhaps "lost" was not entirely accurate, but the Human Sovereign's side was undeniably suppressed, pinned down and unable to move. "Even a minor skin rash can prove fatal," Su Yu remarked with a smile. "What those fellows lack is decisive execution, but I know one thing about the myriad races: once pushed to the brink of life and death, they unite rapidly, selecting a core figure to hold absolute authority over them all... The myriad races are like a spring. The more pressure you apply, the harder they bounce back!" One could look down on the myriad races, but one could never truly underestimate them. The worse the situation became for them, the stronger they grew! Just like before—the myriad races had been a loose heap of sand, but once Su Yu applied sufficient pressure, they ceased being a loose heap! After fighting the Human Sovereign for countless ages, they had not been wiped out; rather, they had grown substantially stronger... Thus, Su Yu felt the Human Sovereign was merely comforting him, worried that he might be intimidated! Big talk was useless! Only true strength mattered! When a ten-year-old beats up a three-year-old, he is simply stronger than you, whether you accept it or not! The Human Sovereign burst into laughter. "Well said! Never underestimating one's opponent is precisely the right mindset! I was worried that Human Host Su, being so young and having just triumphed over strong foes in the myriad realms, might easily succumb to complacency. Now it seems I was the one underestimating you!" Su Yu smiled. "Your Majesty may simply call me Su Yu. As for 'Human Host'... before the Human Sovereign, only Your Majesty is the true Human Host. I am nothing of the sort!" "You jest!" The Human Sovereign sighed, then quickly smiled again. "The world of the future belongs to you young people! We are old, and I am old!" He seemed somewhat melancholic before continuing: "You are young, driven, and full of promise and future! Perhaps before long, my old brothers will have to rely on Human Host Su's care!" Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "Your Majesty's words are too heavy!" "Not at all!" The Human Sovereign laughed, turning to look at King Ming, who looked like a wealthy squire. King Ming was still smiling as the Human Sovereign patted his shoulder, then looked back at Su Yu: "Interact more with King Ming. Over all these years, every single matter here has been handled by him! He knows all our old brothers, and he manages all logistical affairs. King Ming is excellent in every way, save for one minor flaw—he tends to drop the ball at critical moments..." At that, the Human Sovereign laughed at himself: "Otherwise... years ago, I would have had him take full charge of everything here!" Perhaps only Su Yu and King Ming truly understood the undertone of those words. Su Yu suspected that King Ming knew of the Human Sovereign's condition. And did the Human Sovereign deduce that Su Yu also knew? His words carried the distinct flavor of entrusting an heir to a guardian! King Ming kept smiling, saying nothing. At that moment, he casually sized Su Yu up. Su Yu offered a radiant smile. "Your Majesty is truly exaggerating. My arrival this time is entirely to follow Your Majesty's command! I am young, direct, and straightforward. I have no other demands; my sole wish is that the brothers I brought along will not be treated as cannon fodder... Beyond that, we follow Your Majesty's lead in all things!" "I know nothing of the myriad races here—not their strength, not their battle tactics, not their personalities... War is a matter of intelligence, of knowing oneself and one's enemy! Here, I am completely blind, and everything depends on the guidance of our seniors!" Su Yu appeared exceedingly humble now, smiling as he said, "Therefore, whatever His Majesty says to do next, that is what we shall do!" "Hahaha, Brother Su is far too modest!" "..." Everyone froze for a moment. *That feels inappropriate!* *Don't call him 'Brother'! You're an old man over a hundred thousand years old; calling Su Yu 'Brother' makes even Su Yu uncomfortable.* *There's pulling strings, and then there's overdoing it!* The Human Sovereign laughed at the reaction, glancing at the people behind Su Yu, then back at Su Yu, sighing with emotion: "I'm in a good mood, truly happy, so there is no need to stand on ceremony! I am overjoyed that you all could come!" Now, the Human Sovereign spoke with far greater sincerity, murmuring, "You are better than I imagined." Su Yu showed a look of curiosity and smiled: "How did Your Majesty imagine me?" "Hard to say... Conceited? Arrogant? Disdainful of all under heaven? Perhaps a bit of all three!" The Human Sovereign spoke with profound empathy. "Back then, when I conquered the myriad realms and established the Imperial Court, I was just like that. I considered myself invincible under heaven, with no one capable of standing against me. In the end, the Imperial Court collapsed, and the myriad races rebelled..." Shaking his head, he chose not to dwell on the past and quickly looked around. "Let us speak alone for a moment! King Ming, King Zhan, entertain these brothers. For now, it is not suitable for them to head over there; the myriad races are watching the front lines closely. If everyone goes over, it could easily trigger a massive battle!" Su Yu nodded. He, too, wished to speak with the Human Sovereign in private. ... Soon, Su Yu and the Human Sovereign walked off to the side together. The waters of the River of Time continued to flow past. The Human Sovereign's smile gradually faded. "You are a smart man, a discerning person! From the first moment I saw you, I knew that your subordinates revere you deeply. Even with me, the Human Sovereign, standing right here, not a single one overstepped his bounds." Su Yu moved to speak, but the Human Sovereign raised a hand. "This is merely an avatar and cannot last long. I will keep it brief." "Please speak, Your Majesty." "You may know something of my condition, or you may know nothing; either way, it matters not." The Human Sovereign said calmly, "Years ago, or perhaps even earlier—back when I first led the myriad races away—I was already injured. Severely injured!" "Do you know why I chose to lead the myriad races away back then?" Su Yu's interest was piqued. "Because the myriad races were about to rebel?" The Human Sovereign smiled. "Rebel? Would I fear their rebellion?" Suddenly, the Human Sovereign exuded a trace of overbearing arrogance, sneering, "A bunch of schemers with divided minds—why would I fear their rebellion? Even if they rebelled, by making examples of a few, allying with the weak, and crushing the strong, I could have subdued them sooner or later!" Su Yu frowned. That was true! Did that mean the Human Sovereign's departure with the myriad races had an entirely different hidden purpose? The Human Sovereign did not keep him in suspense, stating plainly, "Yet I did not do that. Instead, I led the powerhouses of the myriad races away precisely because I did not want war and slaughter to erupt within the myriad realms!" The Human Sovereign said in a deep voice, "The myriad realms are not as simple as you think! Put it this way: I brought the experts of the myriad races into the upper reaches of the River of Time with the intention of suppressing the Heavenly Gate!" Su Yu's heart stirred. He looked at the Human Sovereign, who was gazing toward the upper reaches, speaking calmly: "Ahead, at the very end—that is where the Heavenly Gate lies! I brought the experts of the myriad races here, sealing the upper reaches and slowing the flow of the river, precisely to suppress the Heavenly Gate and prevent it from opening prematurely!" "Back then, warning signs had already begun to appear. King Wen and the others entering the Heavenly Gate was one such portent! And right around that time, the myriad races began acting up... Unsurprisingly, that was connected to certain entities within the Heavenly Gate!" The Human Sovereign said gravely, "Time was too short. I did not fear the myriad races... but at that moment, I could not allow the Heavenly Gate to open. Once it opened, we truly would have had no chance!" Su Yu asked solemnly, "If the Heavenly Gate opens, are they guaranteed to be enemies?" "Yes!" The Human Sovereign said coldly. "Guaranteed enemies! Su Yu, remember this: once the Three Gates open, anyone from within is an enemy!" Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "Even Xing?" "Even Xing!" The Human Sovereign did not seem surprised that Su Yu knew of Xing, nor that he might have met him. The Human Sovereign said heavily, "Just remember this single point! Everyone within the Three Gates could be an enemy... Remember, I say 'could be,' but you must treat them all as enemies! Three Gates, three generations—they are not from our era!" "What has passed, has passed!" "If the past wishes to return, it will not be easy!" Su Yu was deeply astonished. According to the Human Sovereign, they were destined to be enemies with the entities inside the Three Gates. Why on earth was that? Su Yu pressed, "What kind of existence are the Three Gates, really?" The Human Sovereign fell silent for a long moment before giving an answer: "Street cleaners." "Huh?" Su Yu was startled. What did that mean? The Human Sovereign said calmly, "Cleaners! The past, the decayed, those who occupy the latrine without relieving themselves—anyone who obstructs those who come after must be swept away! The Three Gates exist as cleaners of this sort! They sealed away those decayed eras so that new eras and new civilizations could open!" The Human Sovereign sighed: "However, the myriad realms are crucial. The myriad realms are the key to the resurrection of the decayed! The destruction of the new era marks the return of the old era; by wiping out the new era, the old, decayed eras can regain new life!" Su Yu's gaze grew increasingly strange. "So... we belong to the new era, and the entities inside the Three Gates are destined to be our enemies?" "You could put it that way!" The Human Sovereign said calmly. "Back then, the Heavenly Gate was on the verge of opening, but we were not ready! Left with no alternative, I could only drag the myriad races into the River of Time. The river is also crucial—remember that! The River of Time is the core and foundation of the myriad realms... All Three Gates sit atop the river, and the Earthly Gate is no different!" "By entering the upper reaches and freezing the River of Time, we effectively hindered the recovery of the Heavenly Gate!" "Those fools of the myriad races may or may not have known, but their presence truly helped us obstruct the river... However, once we return to the myriad realms and the freeze on the River of Time is lifted, the recovery of the Heavenly Gate... will become unstoppable!" A realization dawned upon Su Yu. "So Your Majesty led the myriad races away back then not purely because of their rebellion?" The Human Sovereign nodded. "It happened to be a convergence of various factors. On one hand, King Wen and the others had departed; on the other, the Heavenly Gate was about to awaken. After much deliberation, I realized that perhaps... only by dragging the myriad races along to help me suppress the Heavenly Gate could I prevent it from opening rapidly!" With that, the Human Sovereign sighed again: "However, I still overestimated myself... The myriad races were not weak. By doing that, I inadvertently catalyzed their resolve to unite against an outside threat. In the end, they sought to join forces against the humans, and I had no choice but to fight with everything I had... As a result, my physical body was nearly destroyed, my sea of will shattered, and less than a tenth of my strength remained..." A sigh carried lingering regret. No matter how meticulously you calculate, some things are simply beyond your control! Su Yu said in a heavy voice, "That severe?" "Very severe!" The Human Sovereign nodded slightly. "You have also opened a heaven and earth, so you should understand: once you open your own heaven and earth, you suffer a slight rejection from the Great Dao of Time. The Great Daos I once commanded now harbor a degree of rejection toward me! Consequently, recovering is extraordinarily difficult!" "What if you sever your connection to your heaven and earth?" Su Yu frowned. "Sever your heaven and earth and cultivate only the Great Dao! Or sever the Great Dao and cultivate only your heaven and earth!" The Human Sovereign shook his head. "It is too late. Had you come earlier, there might have been hope... Now, I cannot sever my Daos. If I do, I will likely perish almost immediately, unable to withstand the backlash!" Su Yu's brow furrowed. "Is there truly no hope of recovery at all?" "There is." The Human Sovereign smiled, looking at Su Yu with a chuckle: "If you can reach my level, and Xingyue's Dao of Life and Death ranks just beneath yours, then I would have hope." "First-rank, or beyond first-rank?" Su Yu asked. Their conversation was now entirely direct. The Human Sovereign chuckled. "Do you know how tiers like first-rank and second-rank were originally divided?" Su Yu thought for a moment and shook his head, though he added, "Intuitively, there feels like a bottleneck each time. Every advancement brings a distinct sensation!" "That was a classification King Wen and I established back then, based on our own strength and the strength of others. We used ourselves as the baseline!" He explained the basis for the classification back then: "Back then, based on the power of rules in a standard Great Dao, its explosive output, and various other factors, we established ranks for Rulers of Rules. In truth, it was merely a rough classification!" "Such power was referred to by us as the 'power of one Dao'! This, in fact, was also the standard used in the Primeval era and even earlier!" Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "So in the Primeval era or earlier, they classified strength by the power of one Dao?" "Correct!" The Human Sovereign nodded. "Back then, our fifth-rank was the power of one Dao! Fourth-rank was the power of two Daos! Third-rank was four Daos, and second-rank was eight Daos!" Su Yu's brow twitched. So King Dazhou hadn't lied to him before—a so-called Seven-Dao Paragon really was roughly at the peak of the third-rank. *And here I thought that bastard lied to me.* *Wait, King Dazhou now counts as having nine Daos of power, doesn't that make him second-rank?* He had definitely reached second-rank now! Looking at it this way, Xing... might not actually be all that strong. Otherwise, at merely seven Daos—the peak of third-rank—why scream about being an ultimate supreme? Making a fuss over nothing! "Does first-rank also double to sixteen Daos of power?" Su Yu inquired. The Human Sovereign smiled faintly. "You could say that. Anything exceeding sixteen Daos of power counts as first-rank. Back then, there was no one in the myriad realms stronger than us, so creating higher tiers was utterly meaningless!" Those words carried a distinct flavor of showing off! *We stopped classifying at first-rank not because we couldn't go higher, but because there was simply no one stronger than us!* *Why bother creating more ranks?* *Leave an empty tier in the middle just for fun?* Yet... Su Yu frowned. "Back then, with you and King Wen being so powerful, could you still not take down the myriad races?" Why wait until King Wen vanished to try to resolve the problem? The Human Sovereign sighed. "As you said, pushing the myriad races to the absolute brink makes them unify, which would have been detrimental to the unification of our human race! Moreover, if a full-scale war truly broke out, the casualties would have been immense! In truth, had I been given just a little more time, the myriad races would have posed no threat!" "As for King Wen's departure..." The Human Sovereign sighed softly. "That was also forced upon him. Something happened to Wen Yu, and he had no choice but to leave! Before he left, he came to me and asked whether we should eliminate the threat of the myriad races before his departure." Su Yu paused. So King Wen hadn't been completely reckless; before leaving, he had consulted the Human Sovereign, clearly worried that problems might arise. In the end, the Human Sovereign had evidently refused. Why refuse? The Human Sovereign smiled. "I did not agree at the time! There were many reasons, but the main one was that if a massive battle erupted then, King Wen and I would have been severely wounded... even though we could have crushed the myriad races! But once he and I were grievously injured, the Heavenly Gate would open. Not only would Wen Yu perish, but King Wen would also be powerless to rescue her... The gains would not have justified the losses!" Thus, he chose not to act when King Wen departed. Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "Was it a trap laid by King Yu? Deliberately causing trouble for the Time Master, knowing the two of you wouldn't choose a mutual destruction scenario at that moment, leading to the current outcome?" "Yu played a part in it." The Human Sovereign nodded slightly. "However, Yu was not the primary mastermind! The one behind the scheme came either from the Human Gate or the Earthly Gate. There are conflicting interests among the Three Gates as well. At that time, the Heavenly Gate was on the verge of opening, and they knew it contained numerous powerhouses. Thus, they deliberately set a trap to ensnare Wen Yu, aiming to force us into a conflict with the Heavenly Gate, or to force us to suppress it..." As he spoke, the Human Sovereign chuckled: "Still, we didn't let them get away cleanly either. Before leaving, I reinforced the seal on the Earthly Gate, and coming to the upper reaches of the River of Time also affected the opening of the Human Gate! I deliberately dragged the Three Gates into opening at the exact same time... ensuring that none of them could take advantage of the others!" Su Yu was astonished. This man... was truly something. Before leaving, he had arranged countermeasures for all Three Gates. None of them would get to emerge first! As expected, there were hidden truths behind the events of the past. The Human Sovereign's primary purpose in dragging the myriad races away had not been the races themselves, but delaying the opening of the Three Gates. That was something Su Yu had never considered before. "In other words, unless I reach the first-rank, or even beyond, there is no hope of healing Your Majesty's injuries?" "Yes! One can only say there is hope!" The Human Sovereign sighed. "It is difficult. You... rose a bit too late! According to my original expectations, someone should have emerged much earlier! I laid so many obstacles for the myriad races and left so many contingencies for the human race..." It was rather tragic! *Damn it, you only showed up at the very last moment. If you had risen a few hundred or a few thousand years earlier, everything would be different.* Seeing Su Yu's indifferent expression, the Human Sovereign gave a soft laugh. "You have progressed rapidly, but don't you feel you have hit a bottleneck?" Su Yu considered it and nodded. Indeed! At this stage, he had arrived at a bottleneck. Advancing further would be extraordinarily difficult! Su Yu did not dwell on this, smiling instead: "Those are matters for later. As for Your Majesty's contingencies... King Dazhou, Zhou Tian, squandered them all away. That's not my fault, nor did I inherit much benefit. That Zhou Tian spends all day hiding things from me; ultimately, it was Your Majesty's choice of person that fell short!" "..." The Human Sovereign was struck speechless. Was this... filing a complaint? It seemed so. He laughed. "Zhou Tian... is actually a capable minister! My intention was for him to assist a powerful Human Host to emerge. In retrospect, a few hiccups did occur." Su Yu added, "He claimed to be a fifteen-Dao supreme powerhouse. If so, why didn't he just wipe out the myriad races right from the start?" "Fifteen Daos?" The Human Sovereign was slightly taken aback. "He reached fifteen Daos? Before I left, he had only seven. Did he advance that quickly? But... back then, I sealed a stretch of the River of Time; it should have been very difficult for him to improve... To restrain the myriad races, I placed an indiscriminate seal on everything to avoid mistakes." *Got it!* *Back then, he really was at seven Daos!* *However, he recently added two more Daos, and the crux was... that grandson's original seven Daos hadn't been severed!* *In other words, King Dazhou has two Daos in Su Yu's heaven and earth and seven Daos in the River of Time—profiting from both sides!* *Impressive!* *Sure enough, the Human Sovereign is an honest man; the moment I asked, he spilled it all.* Su Yu asked again, "So he was also sealed previously?" "More or less, though in a dire emergency, he had the authority to unseal himself. It's just that if he unsealed himself, the entire myriad realms would be unsealed as well!" The Human Sovereign nodded. Su Yu was speechless. Now he understood: King Dazhou was actually the key to lifting the seal. That grandson truly knew how to endure! He simply refused to unseal it! He had endured all the way to the very end! The Human Sovereign did not dwell on King Dazhou, pivoting quickly: "I must also emphasize the strength of the myriad races to you!" Su Yu pricked up his ears. Xingyue had only given a rough headcount, without detailing their specific strength. "Back then, the myriad races were not as strong as they are now. Today, their Rulers of Rules number 125 in total!" Seeing Su Yu remain calm, the Human Sovereign cursed internally. *No need to ask—my sister must have told him. Otherwise, this brat wouldn't be looking so composed.* "Among them, several were close to the first-rank back then without quite reaching it. Today, however, several have attained it!" "The Immortal Emperor, the Demon Emperor, and the God Emperor—these three have one hundred percent reached the first-rank. As for the Dragon Emperor and the Nether Emperor, even if they haven't quite made it, they are very close!" Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "So many first-ranks? What about our human race?" Was King Ming the only one? Even King Zhan, who was reputed to be the sixth strongest, hadn't reached it. "On our human side, we naturally have first-ranks as well. King Ming is not only a first-rank, but among the strongest of them. As for me... those three first-ranks fear me. Suppressing all three of them alone would be no problem for me... though at present, I am admittedly powerless..." The Human Sovereign gave a self-deprecating smile. "Additionally, besides King Ming, there are other first-ranks! King Wu's primary Dao companion is also a first-rank..." *Primary Dao companion?* Su Yu stared blankly! What kind of title was that? Seeing his bewilderment, the Human Sovereign explained, "That is, his first Dao companion. King Wu loved womanizing; he ended up marrying eighteen Dao companions!" "..." Su Yu was utterly speechless! *So his Dao companions are here too?!* *The Martial Emperor is finished!* *Never mind King Wu—the man's wife is right here, and she's a first-rank! You're doomed!* *And you still want revenge on King Wu?* *Heh!* The Human Sovereign continued: "King Ming's Dao companion is also a first-rank!" Su Yu was stunned once more. *What on earth?* He looked at the Human Sovereign, who coughed lightly and said, "It is quite normal. Back then, when the Four Polar Human Kings and the Thirty-Six Kings were enfeoffed, they did not represent the entirety of the human race! Several women of that era were extraordinarily powerful, holding up half the sky, but they were reluctant to show themselves in public back then, so they were never officially enfeoffed." "Furthermore, King Zhan's Dao companion is likely a bit stronger than King Zhan himself..." Su Yu was dumbfounded! *Good grief!* *How pathetic... aren't they all completely henpecked?* *Wait, King Wu's wife is so formidable, yet he still managed to marry over a dozen more!* The Human Sovereign smiled as well: "Thus, the human race is exceptionally powerful; otherwise, we couldn't have held out for so long! In particular, King Wu truly made a great contribution: of his eighteen Dao companions, nine are still alive today—a full half! Among those nine, one is first-rank, one is second-rank, and the remaining seven are all third-rank..." Su Yu gasped: "You're saying that out of the human race's forty-two Rulers of Rules, his household alone accounts for nine?!" *Holy crap!* *That's terrifying!* *For any normal household, having one or two is incredible, but his family has nine, not even counting King Wu himself!* "Forty-two?" The Human Sovereign paused, then chuckled: "More than forty-two. Currently, there are fifty-two. Several have been continuously patrolling the front lines and the rear; Xingyue probably forgot to count them." *Fair enough!* He instantly realized his sister had leaked the intelligence. Still, Xingyue was a homebody who rarely wandered about after arriving here, so she naturally wouldn't know about the experts covertly patrolling the front and rear. The Human Sovereign smiled: "There are fifty-two in total. Adding your group, that makes eighty-eight. It is slightly fewer than the myriad races, but the gap is not insurmountable!" Su Yu thought it over and nodded. That wasn't bad. The crucial thing was, he suddenly felt a burning curiosity for gossip and asked with a grin: "Do King Wu's nine wives fight with each other on normal days?" "..." The Human Sovereign was rendered speechless. *You... you're asking me this?* *That's hardly appropriate!* *At such a young age, how can you be so fond of gossip?!* *This is hardly a question I can easily answer!* After a moment's thought, the Human Sovereign coughed lightly, suddenly took out a small booklet, and tossed it to Su Yu: "See for yourself. I'm not particularly interested in such matters, but others recorded some images and gave them to me. This is a copy... Keep it to yourself; don't go spreading it around!" Saying that, he added, "And do not provoke those nine Dao companions of his... they are rather... fierce!" The Human Sovereign cleared his throat again. "Exceptionally fierce!" "..." Holding the booklet, Su Yu was rendered utterly speechless! *So you're a gossip hound yourself?!* *Fine!* *Sure enough, every ruler loves gathering intelligence and playing the gossip hound, don't they?* *As if I'd believe 'someone else recorded it.'* *You just said King Wu's wife is a first-rank; could anyone else even record her?* *No need to say another word—it was definitely you!* *The key is nine of them... Heavens, the Martial Emperor is dead meat!* If the Martial Emperor dared seek revenge, even Su Yu shuddered at the thought—nine of them swarming together would beat him to a bloody pulp! With a look of pity, Su Yu glanced back at the Martial Emperor in the distance. The Martial Emperor happened to be looking his way as well, and upon meeting Su Yu's gaze, he froze slightly. *That look... doesn't feel very friendly!* The Human Sovereign noticed as well and immediately chuckled: "The Martial Emperor... is still alive. Not easy for him!" He naturally knew of the grievances between the Martial Emperor and King Wu, laughing softly: "Let us not interfere in the feud between him and King Wu. King Wu had his own reasons for dealing with him back then..." Su Yu smiled. "The matter of the Martial Emperor sleeping with his childhood sweetheart?" The Human Sovereign laughed. "You know about that too?" "..." Well then! The two exchanged a knowing smile, everything understood without needing to be said! Of course, the Human Sovereign still offered an explanation: "It was more than just that! Primarily, the Martial Emperor is reckless and rather dim-witted—to be blunt. Yet... Heaven is sometimes blind, giving him an opened Heavenly Gate! After opening it, that fellow neglected his proper duties, obsessing all day over his own little plot of land. That alone would have been fine, but around that time, he suddenly developed an interest in the Heavenly Gate itself... and nearly caused it to burst open... Sealing him was partly due to this factor!" Su Yu was genuinely surprised this time. "Your Majesty means he was sealed because he nearly opened the Heavenly Gate?" The Human Sovereign nodded: "Otherwise, there would have been no need to seal him; we just feared he would cause chaos again. Had we wanted him dead, he would have died long ago! But it wasn't intentional on his part, so we never brought it up. Had we told him, that fool might have deliberately tried to open it! All day long, he held an inflated view of himself, believing himself invincible under heaven. If you told him opening the Heavenly Gate was dangerous, he might have opened it just to spite you. He talked big enough to look down on even the Master of Time..." Su Yu thought back and nodded in agreement! Back when Su Yu had asked about the Lord of Dead Spirits, the Martial Emperor had spoken with immense disdain, calling him merely a fool who failed to fully open his Dao... With that kind of attitude, had the Lord of Dead Spirits actually been present, a single breath would have wiped him out! At this moment, Su Yu smiled. So *that* was the real reason behind the Martial Emperor's sealing! No wonder! He had wondered why the Human Sovereign and the others hadn't simply killed him instead of sealing him. It turned out they merely wanted to prevent him from tampering with the Heavenly Gate, rather than genuinely wanting him dead. Had it been purely about King Wu's personal grudge, he would either have been executed or let off long ago; there would have been no need to seal him for ages. *Nearly opened the Heavenly Gate...* Su Yu made a mental note of those words. They would prove immensely useful! All in all, this first face-to-face conversation between Su Yu and the Human Sovereign went quite smoothly. They even seemed to share a common hobby: collecting gossip. That was a fine sign! Meanwhile, the Human Sovereign quietly observed Su Yu, a faint smile playing on his lips. *This kid... doesn't seem quite as difficult to handle as I feared.* *Not bad!* His greatest fear had been encountering an intractable troublemaker. Now, it seemed the young man was relatively easy to manage. *Just don't go stirring up trouble for me!*