A Hypocritical Smile

At this moment, Su Yu and the Human Sovereign were chatting with immense pleasure... or something along those lines! Su Yu still had many questions he wanted to ask, but after considering it, there was no rush to ask everything right now. He quickly steered back to business. "So now that we've arrived from the rear, once the myriad races on the front line discover our presence... it'll effectively give them an incentive to unite! Your Majesty, do you have any plan to deal with them?" They had been at a standoff for so many years; Su Yu refused to believe the Human Sovereign had not thought of anything. Since the Human Sovereign had prepared long ago for reinforcements from behind, what about now? At that moment, the Human Sovereign suddenly sighed. "If I were still in my prime, I could just charge out by force! Slay a few first-rank Rulers of Rules, and cowards would naturally appear among the myriad races... Not everyone is fearless in the face of death! If that were the case, dealing with them would be simple!" Unfortunately, this was no longer his prime. The Human Sovereign continued, "When fighting the myriad races, we also can't push them too hard. If we force them into a desperate, mutually destructive struggle, we won't have time to recover and grow. Once the Three Gates open... we'll be done for too!" Their losses could not be heavy either! Over eighty Rulers of Rules against more than one hundred and twenty—over two hundred Rulers of Rules across both sides. Once a grand battle broke out, even if humanity won, it would certainly be a pyrrhic victory. If only ten or twenty Rulers of Rules remained, then once the Three Gates opened... it would be game over! There were quite a few formidable figures within the Three Gates. Those gathered here now could be considered remnants of the Primeval Era, the Ancient Era, and the New Yu Era. Strictly speaking, they were practically the powerhouses of a single era! Just how many experts were inside the Three Gates? Thinking of this, Su Yu asked, "Which era is sealed within the Human Gate? The Heavenly Gate seals the Heaven-Opening Era—I know that. The Earth Gate seals the Chaos Era—I know that too... But what puzzles me is, which era does the Human Gate seal?" Su Yu was indeed curious about this! The Human Gate seemed connected to the Human Ancestor, yet it also seemed connected to the Master of Time. It might even be one terminus of the River of Time. "The Human Gate..." The Human Sovereign remained silent for a moment, wrestling with his thoughts before finally explaining, "The Master of Time rose to power in the Chaos Era—there's no question about that, right?" Su Yu nodded. Of course there wasn't! "Just like you, who rose to power in this era... Let me ask you: once you become all-powerful, would you seal your own era?" Su Yu paused. Surely not? *If I become powerful, why would I seal my own era?* His eyes flickered. The Human Sovereign smiled. "Exactly! The Human Gate is likely the very origin of the Grand Dao when the Master of Time opened the heavens. Therefore, what it seals is the era before the Master of Time! The era before Chaos!" Su Yu drew in a sharp breath. "Then... how do Hundred Battles and his people know how to open the Human Gate?" "It has to do with the Human Ancestor. The Human Ancestor might have entered the Human Gate before." The Human Sovereign truly knew a great deal. He smiled and said, "The worlds cycle endlessly. In truth, the era sealed within the Human Gate was likely a glorious age, perhaps the very first era! Meanwhile, the Master of Time hailed from that era, but grew into a mighty existence during the Chaos Era! "He opened his Dao of Time. For what specific purpose, I do not know. But with the Human Gate at one end, the Heavenly Gate at the other, and the Earth Gate sealed in between... don't you think the Master of Time's Dao resembles a colossal seal?" Su Yu's mind shook violently! The Human Sovereign continued with a smile, "Yes, it is a seal! The Master of Time may have opened his Dao precisely to seal all of them. As for the Heaven-Opening Era being sealed into the Heavenly Gate, logically speaking, the Master of Time had already vanished by the time of the Heavenly Gate... but whether he truly vanished or not, who can say? "And opening up the myriad worlds and allowing people to cultivate Daos is merely a way to reinforce the power of the seal. The more cultivators there are in the myriad worlds, the stronger the seal becomes!" The Human Sovereign said softly, "All of us have been strengthening the River of Time! Reinforcing the seal's power! By all accounts, the seal should only grow stronger, not weaker. Yet now, the Three Gates are about to open... Some unforeseen variable must have occurred! Someone might even be deliberately weakening the power of the River of Time!" At this, Su Yu's eyes gleamed. "Does Your Majesty know about the three-body art?" "The three-body art..." The Human Sovereign fell silent for a moment. "You realized it?" "Yes!" The Human Sovereign gave a self-deprecating smile. "That was likely one of their methods! Someone spread the three-body art precisely to weaken the River of Time. However, I suppressed it back then!" Su Yu's gaze flickered. The Human Sovereign... had suppressed the three-body art! Seeming to guess that Su Yu might have used it, the Human Sovereign sighed. "When we extract our origins, we become stronger, but the River of Time is weakened... Of course, it doesn't matter now. The Three Gates are on the verge of opening anyway, so extract away!" He sighed again. "Besides, you weren't the first to do it. I extracted my three-body origins back then as well!" He added helplessly, "At first, after I extracted them, I realized there were issues... So during that period, I sealed away the three-body art! But it had already been leaked and disseminated. Unless I slaughtered all those experts, it was impossible to prohibit!" "Where did the three-body art come from?" Su Yu was perplexed. According to the Human Sovereign, he had known about the art and its drawbacks. As expected, this Human Sovereign was truly omniscient, or at least possessed all the intelligence Su Yu had gathered so far. A terrifying existence! For someone so formidable to still be plotted against and left half-dead showed that the mastermind behind the scenes was not weak either. The three-body art had undoubtedly come from within the Three Gates! Sure enough, the Human Sovereign said, "The three-body art... came from within the Three Gates, a hundred percent! As for who specifically spread it, I can't say; it's too difficult to trace. The three-body art already existed before my time! By my era, I minimized its impact, but by your era... the embers probably flared back to life!" Su Yu nodded. "Not only did they flare back up, but by the sixth tide, the three-body art had already become mainstream. Anyone who didn't follow the three-body Dao was annihilated by the rules!" The Human Sovereign's gaze sharpened. "Annihilated by the rules? Xingyue didn't mention this... That means... after the sixth tide, someone might have altered certain rules of the myriad worlds..." "The sixth tide..." He calculated in his head, then pondered aloud, "Someone from the Three Gates might have emerged—a powerhouse! The Three Gates might have opened once during the sixth tide, or someone stepped out by borrowing power. The sixth tide..." He thought for a while. "Did anything unusual happen then?" Su Yu shook his head; he truly did not know. But he quickly glanced over at the group in the distance. Perhaps someone there knew. Su Yu called out, "Tianming, come here for a moment!" Unlike the others, Marquis Tianming had never gone into hibernation. He likely knew a bit more. Soon, Marquis Tianming flew over, bowed slightly to the Human Sovereign, turned to Su Yu, and said respectfully, "Your Majesty!" Su Yu asked in a heavy voice, "Did any unusual events occur during the sixth tide?" "Unusual events?" Marquis Tianming pondered for a long while before replying, "If we're talking about unusual events in the sixth tide, there were indeed a few! First, after the sixth tide, the Hunting Heaven Pavilion ceased aligning with the human race. Jiantian chose neutrality! "Second, the Human Master of the sixth tide was exceedingly powerful. Back then, he defeated the myriad races. While not as formidable as Your Majesty, by today's standards, he was at the Heavenly Venerable level, perhaps even a fifth-rank Ruler of Rules. But after humanity triumphed, he perished while cultivating to break through, which brought the sixth tide to a premature end! "Third, toward the end of the sixth tide, the sixth-generation Human Master rarely made public appearances. At that time, instead of rushing to deal with the myriad races, he spent all his time secluded in cultivation. I'm not sure if that counts as strange?" Apart from those, he racked his brain and couldn't think of anything else. The Human Sovereign asked softly, "Tianming, did the sixth-generation Human Master ever open the Three Gates?" "Huh?" Marquis Tianming thought it over, then shook his head. "Your Majesty the Human Sovereign, I truly don't know that. After all, I'm not human." Fair enough. As for the humans... they might not have known either. Su Yu waved a hand. "All right, I understand. You may head back!" "This old subject takes his leave!" Marquis Tianming quickly departed. The Human Sovereign murmured, "The sixth-generation Human Master... might have opened the Three Gates, triggering an accident that allowed an entity from within to emerge and kill him! That entity then warped certain rules, making cultivation after the sixth tide primarily follow the three-body art!" The Human Sovereign chuckled faintly. "So the opening of the Three Gates might have been moved up ahead of schedule! Otherwise, it might have been delayed even further!" From just a few simple remarks, he had pieced together a deduction. He added, "The entity that walked out of the Three Gates was probably no pushover—likely stronger than Zhou Tian. Otherwise, Zhou Tian would have known something. Since he didn't mention this to you, he probably didn't know either." Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "That's hard to say. Ninety-nine out of a hundred words that fellow tells me are lies! Your Majesty chose a fine commander for your shadow guards—loyal to no one except the Human Sovereign!" The Human Sovereign chuckled. He didn't dwell on the matter, continuing, "The entities within the Three Gates wanted the three-body art to spread, but we... we also hoped to strengthen ourselves through it. It was simply unavoidable!" Su Yu nodded. The three-body art did have its merits! Moreover, it consumed relatively few resources, mainly because the power of origins bypassed the need for them. By elevating oneself directly through origin power, it felt like little was being spent, when in reality, what was being consumed was the power of origins. It was draining the power of the River of Time! And the Human Sovereign had actually defined the River of Time as a seal—a seal containing the entities of the Three Gates. Countless cultivators had pursued the Dao simply to reinforce that seal. Then which was stronger: the Human Gate, or the entities inside the Heavenly Gate? And what was the Human Ancestor's stance, truly? With that in mind, Su Yu continued, "Your Majesty, I heard that back then, the Prison King wanted to open the Earth Gate to release the Human Ancestor, but Your Majesty refused. Is that true? Did the Human Ancestor have a change of heart?" "The Human Ancestor?" The Human Sovereign smiled faintly. "Yu... it's hard to say! Releasing the Human Ancestor wasn't necessarily a bad thing in my eyes, but the timing wasn't right! Opening the Earth Gate might have triggered the opening of all Three Gates, and back then was not the time to unseal them!" "Didn't Yu know that?" Su Yu asked in a heavy voice, "Why did she betray you?" As one of the Four Cardinal Human Kings, knowing full well the danger of opening the Three Gates, why had she insisted on it? Even to the point of treachery! Could the Human Ancestor truly have meant that much to her? Nonsense! The Prison King was one of the Four Cardinal Human Kings, likely at the peak of the second rank or already at the first rank back then. Would such a powerhouse pin all her hopes on the Human Ancestor like Hundred Battles did? Regarding the Prison King's betrayal... Su Yu still couldn't comprehend what she had hoped to gain! Besides, it wasn't as if the Human Sovereign had been in the dark; he had known the situation, and likely explained it to her, yet she had still refused to listen! "Yu..." Speaking of this old comrade-in-arms, the Human Sovereign fell silent for a moment before saying, "Yu had her own ideals, her own ideas! Bringing back the Human Ancestor was merely an excuse! When she wanted to open the Three Gates, it wasn't necessarily just the Earth Gate she intended to breach; perhaps she wanted to use the Earth Gate to unlock the other portals. I asked her once, but she gave me no answer. And I had no desire to fall out with her over it. "King Wen went to persuade her back then, but she ignored him as well. King Wen was furious. It just so happened that cracks had begun appearing in the Earth Gate at the time, so King Wen had her go slay the ancient beasts, slay the ancient clans, and slaughter the powerhouses emerging from the Earth Gate... using that to sever her hopes!" Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "Slaying the ancient clans would sever her hopes? Wasn't King Wen being a bit naive?" Surely King Wen wasn't that simple-minded? The Human Sovereign gave a bitter smile. "King Wen... was somewhat more ruthless than me! In truth... he wanted to use that opportunity to set a trap and kill Yu! If Yu had attempted to open the Earth Gate back then, King Wen would have struck her down. But Yu was sharp enough to realize this, so during her time guarding the gate, she performed her duties diligently and dared not step out of line!" Su Yu understood in an instant! He clicked his tongue in wonder! King Wen was ruthless indeed! Since they were old comrades-in-arms, it wouldn't have looked good to strike down the Prison King openly, especially since she hadn't explicitly declared she was going to open it. But... King Wen was a master angler. He was fishing! He had intentionally assigned her to guard the gate to give her the chance to open it! As it turned out, the Prison King was clever enough to guess his intent, and held back! In the end, King Wen had to depart early, and the Human Sovereign reassigned Yu away from the Hell Gate. Wasn't that just entrapment? Pretty ruthless! Even toward an old comrade, he showed no quarter—holding back from a direct strike was merely out of lingering sentiment for their past ties. Having deduced all this in a flash, Su Yu looked at the Human Sovereign. The Human Sovereign nodded slightly. "King Wen did have that in mind." Knowing Su Yu could understand, he smiled. "Still... we had fought side by side for tens of thousands of years! From unifying the heavens to the imperial court ruling over the realm in the later years, Yu was an old comrade, an old companion with whom we conquered the world! After King Wen left, I summoned her back and dropped the matter!" Su Yu frowned. "Yet later on, Yu caused no small amount of slaughter..." "I know a bit about that." The Human Sovereign shook his head. "Back then, she didn't cause any major trouble. It was only at the very end, when I wanted to lead the myriad races to fight in the upper reaches, that she wanted to lead everyone to retreat behind the Earth Gate. I refused. Unwilling to accept it, she resisted, so I personally suppressed her and sealed her into the Earth Gate! Little did I expect that she would leave behind some loose ends. That was an oversight on my part; I didn't pay much attention to those remnants back then." In truth, he didn't care to elaborate further. Those loose ends hadn't seemed like a major threat. Logically, Zhou Tian should have been able to handle them. Yet the other side had lurked in the shadows for countless years, and before King Dazhou could even detect much, Hundred Battles pulled off a colossal blunder! Otherwise, before that, the Prison King lineage would never have dared to stir up trouble. Su Yu thought of this as well and couldn't help saying, "So in the end, it was King Dazhou being useless. He put his trust in Hundred Battles, and immediately got screwed over!" "Hundred Battles..." Though the Human Sovereign had never met him, he smiled and said, "Since Zhou Tian regarded him highly, he must have possessed some capability! But based on what you said, having opened the Human Gate, his disposition might have been influenced by it!" Su Yu's expression shifted slightly. "The Three Gates can influence us?" "Yes!" The Human Sovereign nodded slightly. "The Earth Gate contains ancient beasts, so the problem isn't too severe—summoning a few phantoms of ancient beasts is about the limit of it! The Human Gate is mysterious, and I don't know too much about it. As for the Heavenly Gate..." He chuckled. "The Heavenly Gate also affects cultivators. Of course, you opening the Heavenly Gate won't affect you much. You haven't truly made proper use of it anyway; using it as a divine tool to observe Daos isn't bad either!" Su Yu stared blankly for a moment, then stammered, "Your Majesty means... my Heavenly Gate is practically just a decorative showpiece?" "Is it not?" The Human Sovereign laughed! *I could tell at a single glance!* He smiled. "If the Heavenly Gate were truly utilized properly, it wouldn't be like this! All Three Gates share a common function: sealing! Under normal circumstances, experts of equal rank can be sealed! Let me ask you: can your Heavenly Gate seal a second-rank powerhouse?" Er... no! Su Yu had never even tried. The greatest utility of his Heavenly Gate had always been peering at Daos! The Human Sovereign continued, "The Heavenly Gate's primary function is sealing; its secondary function is borrowing power. Do you know how to borrow it?" Su Yu blinked. He had no clue. How was he supposed to borrow it? "By utilizing the entities within the Heavenly Gate. Some powerhouses inside possess Daos similar to yours. You can summon them and borrow a measure of their power!" It was somewhat similar to the function of the Time Record! However, Su Yu quickly spotted the drawback. "That... wouldn't that allow their power to seep out? They could even manipulate the host!" "Correct, that's the drawback!" The Human Sovereign nodded. "So it's actually a good thing that you don't know how!" Su Yu, however, drew in a sharp breath. "Wait, does Your Majesty mean that if I borrow too much power, they might use me as a conduit to walk straight out of the Heavenly Gate—as a projection or something?" "Yes." Su Yu bared his teeth in a grin. "Isn't... isn't that a prime method for baiting enemies? Before, I worried about the Heavenly Gate opening, but now it doesn't matter anymore. This is an absolute masterpiece of an angling technique! No, Your Majesty, you have to teach me this!" Su Yu's interest was piqued instantly. "I borrow their power, they use me to infiltrate the myriad worlds, projecting through the Heavenly Gate phantom, casting their strength through... or even stepping out in true body... Tsk tsk... If I hook a few second-rank Rulers of Rules, that's pure profit! And if I hook a first-rank... we stand a chance of taking them down together!" Su Yu added excitedly, "Could that be how the Martial Emperor ended up like that?" Er! The Human Sovereign hesitated, words catching in his throat. *Damn brat, you really aren't a good person!* He laughed, not bothering to dissuade him, merely saying, "It's hard to predict. If you happen to borrow power from top-tier entities and they emerge through you, the danger is immense—your physical body could even be seized by their will! Of course, you needn't worry excessively. Nowadays, even if a powerhouse infiltrates through a Heavenly Gate phantom, a second-rank is the absolute limit of what can emerge! It's still manageable!" He spoke with considerable bravado, but he possessed the strength to back it up, even in his injured state. "Back in our day, it was best avoided. Back then, we didn't want the Heavenly Gate to appear!" Only at this moment did Su Yu realize that the Heavenly Gate possessed so many functions! The Human Sovereign continued, "The Heavenly Gate has other uses as well. You have to develop them yourself. Your low utilization of the Heavenly Gate is actually a blessing in disguise!" Su Yu took a deep breath and nodded. Perhaps! No wonder he had always felt that aside from observing Daos, the Heavenly Gate seemed inferior to the Human Gate and Earth Gate. It turned out he simply hadn't known how to use it. There was nothing he could have done; previously, only the Martial Emperor had possessed a Heavenly Gate, and even if the Martial Emperor knew how to use it, he wouldn't have shared it with Su Yu. "So Your Majesty means that Hundred Battles might have been influenced by the Human Gate?" "Very likely!" The Human Sovereign didn't seem too bothered by it. Su Yu, however, noted, "He seemed to have been intimidated by the Human Ancestor's Dao-validation weapon!" The Human Sovereign pondered for a moment. "Then it was a dual influence! The influence of the Human Gate was probably more significant. That fellow was likely swayed by the permeating will of the Human Gate. Such a figure..." The Human Sovereign hesitated before saying bluntly, "...is rather pathetic. Forget it, no need to pay him much mind! Someone who can't even withstand a tiny shred of will-influence is destined never to achieve greatness! Those who truly achieve greatness are never swayed!" As he spoke, he shot Su Yu a look. *Understand now?* *Those who achieve great things are like me!* *Hundred Battles being influenced just proves he's trash!* *Does hearing this make you feel inadequate?* Su Yu thought about it and nodded in agreement. "Makes sense. Hundred Battles is just trash! Never mind a mere phantom will of the Human Gate; even if the true Three Gates were standing right here, I'd smash them to pieces, melt them into a single lump, feed them to Tongtian, and lock up everyone who refuses to obey or whom I don't feel like killing!" Su Yu added, "Frankly, I think the Three Gates are pretty useless. Sealing things is meaningless. If it were me, I'd just slaughter all the enemies and be done with it. Why make things so complicated?" He looked at the Human Sovereign, grinning. "Wouldn't Your Majesty agree?" "..." The Human Sovereign was left speechless. There was some truth to that, but the look this kid was giving him felt wrong—as if to say, *If you, Human Sovereign, don't behave, I'll smash you to pieces too!* Not a good person at all! At this, the Human Sovereign couldn't help but chuckle. Perhaps it was a good thing; lawless and unrestrained—that much was clear! Su Yu beamed as well. The Human Sovereign truly possessed an immense wealth of secrets, all fascinating to hear. In this brief span, Su Yu had straightened out many things he previously hadn't understood. Soon, he returned to the main topic: "So, does Your Majesty have any plans regarding the myriad races now?" "Regarding the myriad races..." The Human Sovereign fell silent for a moment, pondering before replying, "I have an idea, but... it might not succeed!" "Tell me!" Su Yu hadn't come all this way just to sit on the sidelines! He wanted to hear the Human Sovereign's thoughts. "We have to take a gamble!" The Human Sovereign stated, "Either we wait—wait until we return to the myriad worlds, when all Three Gates open and the world falls into chaos. At that point, neither the myriad races nor our side will necessarily have the leisure to worry about the other! However, that will inevitably be the most turbulent period. Once the myriad races are absorbed by the Three Gates, we'll be in massive trouble!" Su Yu shook his head. "No waiting!" Waiting was never a good option! If he had been willing to wait, Su Yu wouldn't have brought his forces here in the first place! The Human Sovereign smiled. He had guessed as much. This grandson was not someone content with loneliness or mediocrity. "The second option... take a daring gamble!" The Human Sovereign raised his brow. "The myriad races are actually quite cowardly; they don't dare to risk their lives! However... if something happens to me, their courage will swell! Therefore, I need to take a gamble—betting that the myriad races will dare to make an aggressive move! Their cowardice is a blessing, but also a curse. The blessing is that we've held out for so many years! The curse is... even if we lay a trap, an ordinary trap won't tempt them; they won't dare step into it!" Cowardice depended on the circumstance. It wasn't as if the Human Sovereign had never set traps, but when the enemy simply ignored them, there was nothing he could do, and he lacked the strength to mount a frontal assault! Su Yu's eyes flickered. "Your Majesty means... using the fact that you're heavily wounded to lure the myriad races into taking the bait?" "Yes!" The Human Sovereign smiled. "Naturally, under normal circumstances, they wouldn't dare gamble or believe it. But I haven't taken action in years, only confronting them with an illusionary projection. The myriad races are actually worried and suspicious, wondering if something has gone wrong with me! Yet they still lack an opportune catalyst to make their move against me!" Su Yu chuckled. "Then if Your Majesty takes this gamble, how will you lure them into the trap? What is the trap's target? How should it be set up? What is the ultimate objective? And what are the specific operations... Would Your Majesty mind sharing?" The Human Sovereign looked at Su Yu, sinking into deep contemplation. After a moment of silence, he said, "You must understand, the myriad races aren't fools. Once I take this gamble, they will realize I am truly grievously wounded. If the trap fails, the pressure on you afterward will be unimaginably immense! "As for the objective, it's simple: eliminate a portion of them, weaken the myriad races' strength, and re-establish a balance of power between the two sides at the minimal cost! Chip away at them bit by bit, weakening them before we return to the myriad worlds until they can no longer threaten us!" "And the specifics?" Su Yu pressed. The Human Sovereign smiled faintly. "Lure the enemy in deep! Divide and conquer! Cut them off, fragment them, and slaughter them!" Lure the enemy in deep! Su Yu fell into thought. After a long while, he said, "It won't be easy for me to set an ambush. The River of Time is too exposed. Am I supposed to hide at the bottom of the river?" As for how to lure the enemy deep, Su Yu stroked his chin and grinned. "If Your Majesty is truly willing to take a gamble, it's actually... simple! The myriad races don't believe you are heavily wounded, but Your Majesty can make them believe it... For instance, have your shattered physical body return... showing that Your Majesty intends to make one final, desperate stand to annihilate some of their supreme experts! "Once the myriad races receive that news, they will definitely divide their forces to wipe you out! One group will destroy your body, while the other annihilates Your Majesty's sea of will!" In truth, splitting the myriad races was not difficult. It all depended on whether the Human Sovereign dared to take the wager! Separating the physical body from the sea of will showed that if the two reunited for a desperate fight, they could slay a first-rank powerhouse—everyone believed the Human Sovereign had that capability. A separated flesh and spirit, however, would naturally be far easier to destroy than a unified one! At that point, there would naturally be a way to divide the myriad races! The Human Sovereign chuckled softly. "I personally don't mind, but you must think it through... If it fails, the news of my severe injuries will be completely exposed! Furthermore, these old brothers of mine... won't necessarily take orders from you! And what about you? Are you willing to listen to them? If not, do you really think a bunch of old fossils who have lived for countless years will obey a young man in his twenties? After all, you didn't grow up fighting alongside them! "What's more, the worst-case scenario is my complete demise. If that happens, morale on my side will likely shatter... Will you be able to pull them back together?" As he spoke, the Human Sovereign let out a sigh. "So you see... there are times I want to take a gamble, yet fear failure. I can't even afford to die!" He couldn't afford to die! If he died, these Ancient Human Kings would descend into absolute chaos! Even King Ming currently lacked the clout to suppress those proud and fierce warriors! If King Wen were here, he would have been able to keep them in line, but King Ming fell slightly short. There was nothing the Human Sovereign could do about that! And Su Yu... was too young, too weak, and lacked prestige! Su Yu was certainly a daring fellow. The moment the Human Sovereign mentioned it, he picked up the thread immediately. Clearly, this kid had the same idea and had no intention of playing a waiting game! He wanted a swift resolution! Su Yu chuckled. "True enough. It really is a tough bet!" Winning the bet was one thing, but losing it... meant catastrophe! These two, upon their very first meeting, had already begun discussing such matters. Su Yu was a decisive person who disliked dragging things out. After pondering for a moment, he added, "The news of our arrival can be kept secret for a while, but not forever! While the enemy remains ignorant of our background, an opportunity still exists. Otherwise... our chances will dwindle! Does Your Majesty believe there is any other way to lure the myriad races into dividing and advancing deep?" "It's difficult!" The Human Sovereign shook his head. "Mainly because they've been terrified by our schemes over the years. The powerhouses of this generation were repeatedly tricked by us back in the day; they've gained ample experience from being plotted against!" "..." Su Yu found himself momentarily at a loss for words. He let out a dry laugh. That... made some sense. Anyone familiar with the past exploits of King Wen and the Human Sovereign knew this bunch hadn't been saints back then—they had swindled the myriad races' experts countless times. Having been burned so often, the myriad races were seasoned. In short, unless they saw a guaranteed path to victory, the myriad races rarely mobilized. That was precisely why the stalemate had lasted for so many years! Naturally, because of this, the myriad races had also missed countless opportunities! The Human Sovereign chuckled as well, not overly concerned. The myriad races fearing them was a good thing; it was a badge of honor! Yet now, with Su Yu's arrival, he wanted to seize the opportunity, but it seemed there weren't many openings. He sighed. "Unfortunately, you aren't first-rank, or even stronger. Otherwise... I wouldn't mind taking a gamble!" What a pity! Su Yu stroked his chin. True enough! *I'm still a bit too weak. Even at second-rank, I fall slightly short!* "What about borrowing power through the Heavenly Gate?" Su Yu asked. "Can it boost me to first-rank?" "Difficult!" "Then..." Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "Your Majesty, uh... you aren't using the Star Residence Seal, right? How about lending it to me to integrate into my heaven? Besides, since Your Majesty is about to die anyway, why not just merge yourself into my heaven? That way, there might be hope for you to live again, and you might push me straight to the first rank!" "..." The Human Sovereign stared at him blankly. *This... we just met for the first time. Isn't this a bit improper?* *First you occupied my dao arena and borrowed my heaven, and now you want to borrow my person?* *Are you not going to rest until you've killed me off?* The Human Sovereign laughed! "Actually, believe it or not, if you truly had the combat record—a truly formidable record—I wouldn't mind. But... not right now. To be realistic, you haven't demonstrated the capability to suppress the myriad races and the Three Gates. Until you do, I can't rest easy entrusting my old brothers to you!" Su Yu grinned. "Just a joke. If Your Majesty really merged in, I'd get a headache! Besides, the heaven you opened is still over there; abandoning it would be quite a loss! "Furthermore, counting on me alone... I don't have the confidence either. If Your Majesty can recover, it will lighten my load. Killing Your Majesty off right now would only force me to shoulder even greater pressure. Dying is fine, but you can't die just yet..." "..." *Can't you speak like a normal human?* *What do you mean, 'dying is fine'?!* The Human Sovereign found it hilarious. "You... truly aren't afraid of me?" Su Yu was far too blunt! "Afraid of what? Afraid Your Majesty will move against me? Or afraid Your Majesty will think I'm usurping your authority?" Su Yu sighed softly. "Truth be told, I never wanted to be this leader; I was driven to it like a duck pushed onto a perch! It's too exhausting, too tiring. I didn't even want to come rescue Your Majesty and the others. But... my subordinates disagreed, and I felt I ought to contribute... However, if Your Majesty is wary of me and tries to plot against me... heh, I'll walk away in an instant!" Su Yu shrugged. "I'm not afraid of Your Majesty moving against me. If you did, it would be to absorb the people under my command. But... if something happens to me, not a single one of them will meet a good end! Your Majesty wouldn't gain the slightest benefit! If Your Majesty were to do something so unwise, you would be utterly foolish!" "Hahaha, well said!" The Human Sovereign nodded. "So young, yet calculating things so clearly! But since you're here, making an appearance is still necessary!" He pondered for a moment, then said, "Give me a straight answer: if I let thirty Rulers of Rules slip through—potentially including a first-rank powerhouse—can you take them down? "If we don't kill twenty or thirty Rulers of Rules... honestly, exposing my condition isn't worth it!" The Human Sovereign spoke gravely: "Out of one hundred and twenty-five, twenty must die—no, a net loss of more than twenty—for our side to maintain stability even with me heavily wounded! If I let thirty through, can your side resolve them? If not... there's no need to pursue this plan any further! Because it would be entirely meaningless!" Right now, they still had to rely on his deception to mislead the myriad races. Thirty, including a first-rank! Su Yu bared his teeth. "Your Majesty truly thinks highly of me!" That was far too many! Ten, even with a first-rank, was manageable! Thirty... that was almost equal to the number of experts on Su Yu's side. Crucially, there was a first-rank, along with who knew how many second-ranks. If things went awry, Su Yu's forces might be wiped out in an instant... On their very first arrival, total annihilation! That would be disaster! The Human Sovereign had fifty-two powerhouses. Even if thirty were let through, ninety-five remained. The pressure on the Human Sovereign's end would be immense as well! Su Yu laughed. "Your Majesty truly has the nerve to pull off a big job?" "Of course!" The Human Sovereign dismissed the doubt nonchalantly. "To be honest, who would willingly maintain a stalemate with the myriad races for years unless left with no choice? If I had the strength, I would have struck long ago! Unfortunately, my power fell short! One must always maintain ambition! Over these years, I have dreamed day and night of resolving the myriad races, returning early, and freeing up my hands to deal with the Three Gates... Sadly, there was no opportunity!" Regrettably, he truly lacked the time to manage the matter of the Three Gates right now! Heaven was not on his side! Otherwise, given enough time, the peril of the Three Gates was not insurmountable. Now, seeing Su Yu brimming with drive, the Human Sovereign was reminded of his own youth. Yet, he could never return to the past! "Thirty..." At this moment, Su Yu was still calculating. After a long while, he asked, "In Your Majesty's view, how many second-rank Rulers of Rules can a single first-rank take on?" "Three to five is no problem!" The Human Sovereign explained, "Those few aren't particularly strong among the first-rank. With you, the Martial Emperor, and King Zhan thrown in, three against one, there's hope of handling one!" They had to include King Zhan! Otherwise, Su Yu's side lacked the strength to match a first-rank, as the gap among the others began to widen significantly. Su Yu swiftly weighed the options. "Your Majesty is willing to lend King Zhan?" "Certainly!" The Human Sovereign smiled. "The first-ranks must stay behind, but one or two second-ranks can leave. No more than that!" Su Yu continued to evaluate and calculate. The risk was enormous! Yet, without taking risks, they could only wait and endure! Enduring here... who knew what unforeseen changes might occur in the myriad worlds over time. "Then... does Your Majesty have a way to leak the news to the myriad races without arousing their suspicion?" That was another major hurdle! Seeing Su Yu inquire into the details, the Human Sovereign's eyes gleamed. "Naturally. After all, I know the myriad races all too well! If you believe you can handle your end of the trouble, I can resolve the rest. Don't assume that just because we're stationed here, we do nothing. Over so many years, we haven't sat idly without making preparations!" Su Yu nodded. True enough; the Human Sovereign was quite reliable when it counted! The Human Sovereign's voice turned somewhat eerie: "However... do you truly want to do this? Screwing me to death... will bring you no benefit!" *Little brat, why do I get the feeling that you're itching to pull a massive scheme on me?* *Am I taking too great a risk?* *We've only just met for the first time, and I haven't even properly evaluated him. If I trust this grandson and get myself killed, it won't just be my life at stake!* Su Yu put on an innocent, honest smile. "Your Majesty, fortune favors the bold! We've already reached this point... are we supposed to just sit around waiting? I didn't come here to be an idle mouth to feed. If I just gave King Zhan a beating and called it a day, what would be the point?" "..." *Er, King Zhan got beaten up?* "Did you record it?" "..." The Human Sovereign's abrupt question caught Su Yu off guard. After a moment, he bared his teeth, tossed over a jade slip recording, and the Human Sovereign caught it, tucking it away with deep satisfaction. He smiled. "Well done! I think highly of you; you have a bright future!" *Just for this, I have high hopes for you!* Su Yu almost blurted out, *Aren't you being a bit too hasty?* *Damn it!* *Just because I made a recording, you think highly of me?* *You're ready to settle the plan over that?* The Human Sovereign chuckled. "The small reveals the great! In truth, it's not as if I know nothing about you. Some things require deep observation, which takes too much time, and right now, time is the one thing we lack! "Su Yu, polite pleasantries are meaningless!" The Human Sovereign turned solemn. "If you can handle the experts I send your way... then the plan is a go. As for whether it succeeds, we leave it to heaven!" Su Yu raised an eyebrow, paused, and then bared his teeth in a grin. "I'll give it a shot and go all out. If it doesn't work... then there's nothing more to be done!" The Human Sovereign met his gaze, brilliant light flashing in both of their eyes! Then... let's give it a shot! The Human Sovereign laughed, and Su Yu laughed as well. The two suddenly burst into shared laughter. Behind them, King Zhan, King Ming, and the others glanced over. *They seem to be chatting quite delightfully. Looks pretty good!* Yet at that very moment, Su Yu and the Human Sovereign had already reached a tacit understanding! Do it! What was there to fear! The Human Sovereign wasn't being hasty, but he knew that perhaps... this was their only choice! While Su Yu was still daring enough and willing enough, they had to act swiftly. The only fear was that if things went south, this grandson would turn tail and run—that was the true terror! He had to guard against that! He needed to find a way to place a constraint on Su Yu. Otherwise, the Human Sovereign was genuinely worried that this troublesome-looking kid was entirely capable of pulling such a stunt! Thinking of this, as the Human Sovereign laughed, he suddenly said, "By the way, last time you lent me your heaven's power, I borrowed it. If I'm about to die, right before my demise, I'll merge my entire heaven into yours. How about that?" "..." Su Yu froze. "Your Majesty... can remotely control that?" "A dying man doesn't care how great a price he has to pay!" The Human Sovereign chuckled. "I do have a bit of strength, after all. When that time comes, my heaven's Dao will likely become the dominant Dao in your heaven, and you'll be considered the inheritor of my legacy!" The corner of Su Yu's mouth twitched. In plain terms, the Human Sovereign's meaning was simple: *If I die, I'll merge my Dao—the Dao of Responsibility—straight into your heaven!* Then, his Dao of Responsibility, being immensely powerful, would seize dominance over Su Yu's heaven... Altering the core structure of Su Yu's world in an instant, turning Su Yu into the next Human Sovereign! With the Dao of Responsibility reigning supreme! Su Yu looked at the Human Sovereign and smiled—a stiff, hollow smile. "Your Majesty, is that really necessary?" "Entirely necessary!" The Human Sovereign chuckled. "If I die, everyone won't submit to you! But with my heaven merged, your strength will soar, and having inherited my Dao, my old brothers will accept you too! Isn't that wonderful? Right?" "..." *Screw you!* Su Yu cursed inwardly. *You just want to drag me down with you, huh! Heh!* *So you're afraid I'll screw you over?* *Giving me a preemptive warning: if you die, I'll be just as miserable as you, inheriting that damned Dao of Responsibility. Wouldn't that make me a full-time babysitter?!* Seeing that Su Yu understood, the Human Sovereign chuckled softly. *I'm offering you a grand gift; I never threatened you. Little fellow, you'd better think it through carefully!* For a moment, the two looked at each other and smiled once more—only this time, the smiles on both their faces were thoroughly hypocritical!