A Small Test of Skill

In the blink of an eye, Su Yu's side slaughtered those Rulers of Rules down to the last one! The cost was not great! Well, in truth, it was not small either. The Human Sovereign's physical body was even more battered, the Martial Emperor had dropped a rank from the second rank, the Human Ancestor's bamboo pole had shattered... None of this mattered much to Su Yu. What mattered was that shortly after the battle began, he had achieved a heaven-defying record: 0 to 29! When the final group, driven to utter despair, helplessly detonated themselves, the clash on Su Yu's side could practically be considered over. Of course, the Nether Emperor was still alive! In the distance, the myriad races' powerhouses looked on in stunned disbelief, chilled to the marrow. Had these people come from the myriad realms? They recognized many faces! Then... who on earth was the person impersonating King Wen? He was not King Wen! At this moment, everyone was certain: that was not King Wen! Meanwhile, the Nether Emperor's expression warped drastically, cold dread gripping his heart. Through years of brutal warfare, they had grown accustomed to casualties and death. Self-detonation was a tactic both humans and the myriad races had employed; back when the Human Sovereign was not yet gravely wounded, powerhouses from the myriad races had blown themselves up just to wound him. Yet ever since the Human Sovereign had been crippled and forced to exist as a mere phantom, such large-scale self-detonations had never been seen again... The Nether Emperor stood in something of a daze. The clash had actually begun less than three minutes ago! That was how battles between top experts went. Either they dragged on for days, or victory and defeat were decided in an instant. Battles lasting several days usually involved closely matched combatants unable to break the stalemate, ultimately resulting in minimal casualties. The longer a battle of supreme experts lasted, the smaller the losses—that was the normal course of war. A clash that ended in mere moments meant that one side had suffered a total collapse! A rout! Unless it was a probing skirmish, nothing ended so swiftly without an absolute rout. At this moment, the Nether Emperor's face turned completely pale. Disaster! All those combatants were dead, and the others were struck dumb with terror. Right now, not a single soul dared approach this sector. Even the myriad races' powerhouses who had previously obstructed the Human Sovereign's physical vessel were frantically backing away in sheer fright! None dared advance; none dared engage! The Nether Emperor knew he stood at death's door. The instant the surrounding human experts closed in, he... would surely die! A first rank powerhouse was formidable indeed! A peerless combatant across the myriad realms! Yet here, the fake King Wen wielded first rank combat power as well. There was also King Zhan at the peak of the second rank, accompanied by over thirty powerhouses. He could never withstand them alone. In that split second, the Nether Emperor roared furiously, "If I fall and the myriad races lose a first rank, we will surely collapse!" The moment those words rang out, everyone understood his intent. A plea for aid! Right then, the God Emperor, who was locked in battle against the Human Sovereign, shouted coldly, "Let the Nether Emperor withdraw! If this continues, the Human Sovereign will die!" The Nether Emperor was a first rank expert. Even though the myriad races were shaken and disoriented, the God Emperor and his peers knew this titan could not be allowed to perish. With that roar, the God Emperor barked, "Kill! We have not lost our advantage! The Human Sovereign's physical body has collapsed, and his sea of will is destabilized! Slaying the Human Sovereign makes any sacrifice worthwhile!" *Boom!* A great seal materialized in his grasp, radiating the majesty of the God race! The seal struck out, suppressing all directions as waves of sacred power erupted, shaking heaven and earth. The God Emperor roared, "Immortal Emperor, stop playing dead! Do you really want to see us routed?" At those words, the eyes of the Immortal Emperor—who had been gravely wounded moments before—flickered. The next instant, he let out a low growl, and a colossal tree resembling the Tree of Life pierced through the river in the void! Every injured warrior of the myriad races instantly felt a surging wave of life force flood their bodies, their injuries mending at incredible speed! His long hair fluttering and his face pale, the Immortal Emperor healed everyone's wounds in a single breath. He coughed, spitting a mouthful of golden blood, yet paid it no heed as he barked, "Kill! As long as you do not die, I will save you!" Instantly, the shaken morale of the myriad races' warriors surged back. Roaring in unison, they pushed the human forces back step by step! Even after Su Yu had butchered so many powerhouses and five had defected, the myriad races still vastly outnumbered the humans. In the blink of an eye, a deafening boom echoed through the heavens. A human powerhouse was surrounded and struck down on the spot by six Rulers of Rules! The God Emperor's furious shout rose again: "Kill! Fight to the death! If he kills the Nether Emperor, he will not spare us! With losses this catastrophic, even if we pull back, we will only be routed in the next clash!" By this point, the leaders of the myriad races harbored no more illusions of peace. The humans clearly had no intention of waiting to return to the myriad realms before launching a decisive battle. This scheme was plainly designed to conclude the conflict ahead of time and return to the realms early. With a ferocious bellow, the God Emperor unleashed a blinding, sacred brilliance. The radiance blanketed all the myriad races' warriors, invigorating their spirits and instantly washing away the dread in their hearts! A sacred blessing! Between the God Emperor's sacred blessing and the Immortal Emperor's healing, both supreme powerhouses paid a steep price to ensure the myriad races would not suffer an immediate collapse. Once a rout began, superior numbers meant nothing. Their only choice was to fight! Either Su Yu's side allowed the Nether Emperor to retreat, or they fought a bloody war of attrition to the bitter end—even trading one for one would steadily whittle down the humans' strength! *** In the rear. Su Yu frowned slightly. It was always like this! When the myriad races held the upper hand, they were actually easier to deal with. But the moment they were backed into a corner, they became a pack of lunatics, uniting as one! Every single time! Without exception! There was good reason the myriad races had survived and waged war against humanity across countless eras. When strong, they fought among themselves; when weak, they banded together—just like humans. This made eradicating them excruciatingly difficult! At that moment, the Human Sovereign barked coldly, "Kill! Su Yu, slay the Nether Emperor! I want to see how long they can keep fighting!" "Sacred and fearless? Then fight!" The God Emperor shouted, Great Dao power pouring forth to bolster every combatant. With a thunderous boom, another human powerhouse was slain on the spot! With their wounds fully healed and bolstered by the sacred blessing, the warriors of the myriad races fought with reckless ferocity! The Human Sovereign bellowed in rage, "Do you take me for a corpse?" Engaged in direct combat with him, the two supreme powerhouses dared to divert strength to aid others. They were blatantly taking advantage of his battered physical body and wounded sea of will, assuming he was powerless to stop them! The Human Sovereign's phantom trembled as he roared. At that very instant, the physical vessel that had fallen into the River of Time tore through the void in a flash, appearing right before him. The phantom plunged straight into it! It turned out he had always been able to summon it to his side in an instant; he had simply held back earlier to cooperate with Su Yu's scheme. Yet the moment the physical body merged with his true self, Su Yu's expression shifted slightly. Across the field, the God Emperor also bellowed, "Do you truly seek death?" *Boom!* At that moment, everyone sensed something amiss. Previously, the Human Sovereign's physical vessel and sea of will had shared his injuries to barely maintain balance. Merging them now only aggravated his wounds, causing them to multiply. His flesh was rapidly breaking down! His sea of will was withering at terrifying speed. Yet in the instant of their union, the Human Sovereign's aura surged with boundless might. Blinding radiance erupted as he raised the Human Sovereign Seal and slammed it down, suppressing heaven and earth. With an earth-shattering crash, the God Emperor, just about to counter, took the brunt of the strike, his flesh cracking apart! The God Emperor fled in retreat, and the Immortal Emperor scrambled backward as well. The Demon Emperor, who had been locked in close quarters, took the seal directly to the head, which exploded into paste! At this moment, the Human Sovereign was overwhelmingly powerful and peerlessly ferocious! Yet his physical body was collapsing at an alarming rate. With a furious roar, the Demon Emperor regrew his head and fled frantically. Madman! The Human Sovereign had lost his mind! Did he care nothing for his life? The Human Sovereign sneered, glancing down at his decaying body. "Scum looking for death! Did you truly think I could do nothing to you?" With those words, his flesh suddenly burst into flames! "I told you—even if I die, I will strike terror into your souls!" *Boom!* In a flash, he tore through the void and appeared before a Ruler of Rules. The seal smashed down, grinding the foe into mincemeat. His figure flickered, appearing before another expert, and a single palm strike shattered the target into pieces! He was burning his physical vessel! Turning trash into treasure, nothing more! The body was already ruined beyond repair. He had nurtured it for years, yet the Dao injuries had never healed, and it had just absorbed the brunt of that wave of self-detonations, leaving it utterly useless. At this point, the Human Sovereign cared nothing about recovery. He would terrorize the myriad races first! *** Behind him, Su Yu's gaze flickered. The next instant, he roared, "Over here! Surround and slaughter him!" He did not rush to aid the Human Sovereign. With so many experts gathered, slaying the Nether Emperor took precedence. First rank combatants were exceedingly difficult to kill; even Su Yu, having attained first rank combat power himself, found it arduous. Every first rank was extraordinarily tough to eliminate! One needed only look at the Human Sovereign, who had chosen not to pursue the three heavily wounded sovereigns simply because killing them was too difficult. Rather than chasing them, it was far better to cull a few more Rulers of Rules first! In the distance, the three retreating sovereigns looked grim. The Immortal Emperor yelled, "Fall back! He only has the strength for one final burst! When his body collapses, we strike again!" There was no need to meet the Human Sovereign head-on right now! As for the Nether Emperor... nothing could be done for him. He was trapped deep in enemy territory, besieged by dozens of powerhouses. His chances of survival were microscopic. Swaths of the myriad races' warriors fell back in retreat, while the Human Sovereign bellowed, "Pursue them!" Before his body finished burning away, he would kill as many as he could! Once his physical vessel fully disintegrated and the three sovereigns counterattacked, he would be helpless. Right now, the Human Sovereign was entirely indifferent to life and death. For no other reason than Su Yu... was too damned scheming, too damned strong, and too damned ruthless! This kid was a terrifyingly vicious character! If this battle crippled the myriad races, even if the Human Sovereign died, Su Yu could hold up the sky. He had wanted to test Su Yu, only to realize... *Holy shit, this kid can truly fight!* His decisiveness was frightening. The Human Sovereign was even contemplating that if he truly died in battle, he had to merge his heaven and earth into Su Yu's world before drawing his last breath. That would guarantee Su Yu attained the first rank. With the amplification of a world, Su Yu needed only guard this path to ensure the myriad races never dared return to the realms. As Su Yu's heaven and earth expanded, the myriad races would eventually be forced into it. That way, eradicating them would only be a matter of time! Weighing all these calculations, the Human Sovereign realized that even if he fell, this brat could hold the line! What a formidable figure! *** The Human Sovereign fought like a madman, burning his flesh to rapidly slaughter powerful foes! On Su Yu's side, his expression turned icy as he roared, "Relinquish your strength! Channel your power into the heaven and earth to suppress him!" Hearing this, Tongtian and the others exchanged glances and hesitated no longer. They poured all their strength into their Daos, allowing Su Yu to manifest chains of Great Dao power that whipped forward to bind the Nether Emperor! The Nether Emperor tried to flee, only to find the power of over thirty Daos closing in from all directions, encircling him completely. Despair crept onto his face as he screamed, "If you kill me, your heaven and earth will be crippled as well! You—" "Noisy!" Su Yu could not be bothered to waste words. Limitless Dao power bore down. The Nether Emperor roared, unleashing a furious surge of Yin death energy that corroded all things and degraded all Daos. Nether Soil expanded wildly, threatening to burst the world open from within! Yet even after severing several Daos, the surrounding power only grew stronger. Despair washed over him. *Am I going to die?* *No... I don't want to die!* At that moment, an idea struck the Nether Emperor. His gaze sharpened, and he let out a savage howl: "I will drag you down with me!" His aura swelled violently to its peak! It looked as though he was about to self-detonate! On the perimeter, Su Yu frowned slightly. A self-detonation would indeed be troublesome. Even so, he was prepared for it. If he wanted to blow himself up, so be it! Yet what happened next caught Su Yu completely off guard. The Nether Emperor glanced around, then suddenly charged straight toward King Zhan. King Zhan's face turned purple with fright. "Don't!" *I'm getting out of here!* *Damn it, don't do this—I'll be blown to pieces!* *Why am I so bloody unlucky?!* He bolted. A first rank self-detonation would tear even a peak second rank expert like him to shreds! King Zhan scrambled toward the depths of the heaven and earth. Running away was nothing to be ashamed of; staying behind to get vaporized was true stupidity! He ran like the wind! Meanwhile, a flicker of struggle appeared in the Nether Emperor's eyes. Drinking poison to quench a thirst! Or rather, to survive, this was the only viable path. Besieged by so many experts and suppressed by a heaven and earth, he had only one way out! Indeed, there was one other way to escape. At his level of cultivation, even without having opened a world, he possessed some understanding of how one functioned. He saw King Zhan fleeing, then looked at the Rulers of Rules channeling their Dao power to suppress him, their collective might converging onto Su Yu alone... The next instant, the Nether Emperor made his choice! *I... don't want to die!* *Drinking poison to quench a thirst? I don't give a damn anymore!* *There is no other way!* *Perhaps this is courting death, but it's better than dying right here and now!* "Die together!" With his Great Dao crumbling, a thunderous roar shook heaven and earth. Su Yu's expression changed. *He really is blowing himself up! These myriad races' experts are truly vicious bastards, worthy of having waged war against the Human Sovereign for so many years.* Yet a moment later, he realized something was terribly wrong! The Nether Emperor had severed his Great Dao, but not completely—roughly ninety percent had been cut, leaving a faint connection. In that exact fraction of a second, an overwhelmingly potent wave of Yin death energy surged directly into Su Yu's heaven and earth! This colossal power did not seek destruction; instead, it actively integrated itself into Su Yu's world in the blink of an eye! It was overwhelmingly massive! The sudden influx of power from a first rank being proved almost too much for Su Yu to endure! He had no choice but to hurriedly suppress and forcefully assimilate it! Yet the power was so vast that his heaven and earth shuddered, expanding violently! For a moment, Su Yu was entirely preoccupied. While he was busy subduing that tremendous energy, the Nether Emperor's eyes lit up. With a sharp hum, he ripped through the void. Powerless to stop him, Su Yu could only watch helplessly as the lunatic tore free from his world. Not only that, the moment he broke out, the Nether Emperor roared, "Immortal Emperor!" In the distance, the Immortal Emperor's expression shifted, and he instantly channeled a surge of powerful life force into the Nether Emperor's body. Drawing on that potent vitality, the Nether Emperor expanded his Nether Soil until it stretched right before the Human Sovereign and his vanguard. With a sharp hum, his true form materialized amidst the retreating warriors of the myriad races! The Human Sovereign instinctively threw a punch, blasting the Nether Soil apart, but the Nether Emperor flickered, guided by the Immortal Emperor's Dao, and instantly landed beside them! He had escaped! *** The Human Sovereign could not help glancing back at Su Yu. *Fuck, how did you let him get away?* Su Yu was utterly dumbfounded himself! Inside him, his heaven and earth expanded continuously, and his strength climbed at a dizzying pace. His mouth opened, yet no words came for a long time. *How did I let him get away?* *It wasn't that I let him go—this bastard... Holy shit, he voluntarily merged over ninety percent of his Great Dao into my world, stuffing me to the gills! My heaven and earth are completely bloated!* *Because of that, I couldn't stop him at all!* *Holy shit!* Su Yu was completely floored. Talk about an eye-opener—the bastard had literally buffed him into a stupor! What a brilliant maneuver! Had the Nether Emperor self-detonated or launched a desperate strike, Su Yu would not have feared it. A fight to the death was fine; at worst, his world would suffer minor damage, and he was certain he could kill the Nether Emperor. Yet... knowing that meant certain death, the man had chosen to feed him instead! "Nether Emperor..." Su Yu muttered, genuine admiration welling up. *To save your own skin, you didn't hesitate to screw over your entire coalition!* The Nether Emperor undoubtedly knew that merging his Dao power into Su Yu's world would make Su Yu vastly stronger in short order. But compared to dying on the spot, making Su Yu stronger was acceptable—at least he remained alive to see another day. Once dead, all hope vanished. Reaching this point, Su Yu truly had to admire these veterans. They possessed far more wit and cunning than the myriad races back in the realms. In that situation, even Su Yu would have viewed it as a dead end. He would never have considered integrating his own Dao into an enemy's world to empower his foe, overloading them just to slip away! For almost anyone else, it would have been certain death! Yet... the Nether Emperor had escaped! Severing ninety percent of his Dao was a crippling injury, but no matter how severe the wound, it beat being dead! Escaping alive from an ambush of over thirty Rulers of Rules was an achievement worthy of a prominent place in the annals of history, even ten million years from now! "Nether Emperor, what a talent!" Su Yu marveled. *A total bloody genius!* Meanwhile, his heaven and earth continued expanding, his strength climbing as a particular Great Dao inside his world swelled dramatically. The Nether Emperor cultivated the Dao of Nether Death, similar to the Dao of Death. Just how potent was ninety percent of a first rank powerhouse's Dao? One needed only look at how this Dao instantly surpassed every other Dao in Su Yu's world to understand. In the blink of an eye, Su Yu felt that this single Dao could support a second rank expert on its own! This was likely the very first second rank Dao in his heaven and earth! Su Yu had previously lacked a second rank Dao; it was only by drawing upon the origin of all Daos that he had reached the peak of the second rank here. But now, he felt that once he digested this power, he could unleash true first rank combat power within his world! Even outside his heaven and earth, he could display mid-to-high or peak second rank combat strength. At this moment, Wan Tiansheng and the others sensed the shift as well, staring with dropped jaws. What a talent! A true genius! They were utterly dumbfounded. *That works too?* *Aiding the enemy! A first rank titan actually devised such a scheme just to survive—it really wasn't easy for him!* Marquis Tongtian, the Chaos Dragon, and a few others had not merged their Daos into Su Yu's world and still possessed their full combat capabilities, but they had been so thoroughly stunned that they had frozen, allowing the Nether Emperor to slip past. Anyone in their shoes would have frozen in disbelief! Farther out, King Zhan stopped in his tracks, stunned for a moment before erupting into furious curses! *Fuck!* *He was bluffing me!* He had been scared off by the Nether Emperor. Otherwise, with a peak second rank expert like him standing in the way, the Nether Emperor could never have escaped. But the Nether Emperor's suicidal posture and threat to drag him to the grave had terrified him, leaving him no choice but to run. Now, regret ate at him! He had been too careless! No wonder the Nether Emperor had chased after him before fleeing—it was all to force him out of the way. Su Yu was still busy digesting that colossal wave of power. Seeing the Nether Emperor escape while his allies were busy absorbing the world's feedback, he realized pursuit was out of the question. Everyone was suffering from severe indigestion! Su Yu had no choice but to bellow, "Do not pursue a cornered foe!" Stop chasing! Pressing forward might invite disaster. Meanwhile, the Human Sovereign had completely burned through his physical body. With a furious roar, he crushed another Ruler of Rules with his seal and barked, "Withdraw! Fall back into Su Yu's heaven and earth!" He hurriedly ordered a retreat! Do not pursue! If they pressed on, they risked being counter-slain. Once his physical vessel fully collapsed and his deterrent vanished, the myriad races might turn and strike back. Before long, the human combatants fell back in orderly waves. In the blink of an eye, they retreated into the boundaries of Su Yu's heaven and earth, feeling as though they were in a dream. Had the clash... ended? Just like that, over in a flash? From start to finish, barely five minutes had passed! Yet the number of fallen powerhouses likely exceeded all the Rulers of Rules who had died over countless years combined. In this clash, Su Yu's side had slain twenty-nine Rulers of Rules. The myriad races had executed one traitor who had defected to the humans, bringing the tally to thirty. The Human Sovereign had gone on a rampage at the end, slaying a full five Rulers of Rules, while others had killed two more during the pursuit. In a single battle, thirty-seven of the myriad races' Rulers of Rules had fallen. Additionally, four powerhouses who had rebelled from the myriad races now stood awkwardly in the distance, unmoving. That meant a total loss of forty-one combatants! Out of 125 Rulers of Rules, only eighty-four had managed to escape. However, in the fierce melee, while Su Yu's side suffered no casualties, the Human Sovereign's vanguard had lost four Rulers of Rules due to fighting heavily outnumbered. The myriad races were no pushovers; under the blessings of the Immortal and God Emperors, almost all their kills had occurred during that brief surge. Forty-eight Rulers of Rules on the Human Sovereign's side had survived, keeping their losses relatively modest. A casualty ratio of 4 to 41—and factoring in the four defectors from the myriad races, it was practically a net loss of zero. Of course, the dead were dead. Yet in the face of all-out war, no one had the luxury to dwell on grief. Beneath the level of Ruler of Rules, both sides had suffered considerable losses, with humanity taking the heavier blow. Of their eighty-odd experts below that level, the sudden and violent outbreak of battle had claimed over twenty lives. Only about sixty ancient marquises remained. Opposite them, the enemy had started with nearly a hundred ancient marquises, outnumbering humanity, and their losses were slightly lighter, with a dozen or so dead. At the sub-Ruler level, the disparity was minor, and neither side had gone out of their way to target the weaker combatants, resulting in fewer deaths for the enemy. Nearly ninety experts below Ruler of Rules remained on the other side. In a single clash, both sides had suffered heavy casualties. Yet at the level of Rulers of Rules, the enemy had lost ten times more than humanity! However, the moment the Human Sovereign and his vanguard stepped back into the boundary, the smiles vanished from the faces of the celebrating humans. With an earth-shattering crash, the Human Sovereign's physical body collapsed entirely, its immense essence dissolving instantly into Su Yu's heaven and earth. The Human Sovereign's phantom reappeared, fraying at the edges, yet he barely managed to hold it together without scattering completely. The Human Sovereign remained easygoing, not minding too much, though he felt somewhat speechless and sullen. "Damn it, I really want to curse! My body completely crumbled, and all I managed was heavily wounding the God Emperor and his cronies and killing a few Rulers of Rules. In the end... I didn't even kill as many as you?" He was in a rather foul mood! As for his physical body crumbling—what did it matter? Wasn't he still alive? It was nothing! He just felt a bit aggrieved. A legendary figure such as himself had killed fewer foes than this kid's group? Infuriating! Naturally, he ignored the fact that his side had held off the enemy's strongest combatants, every one of whom was far more formidable than the Nether Emperor. He paid it no mind! Because he was the Human Sovereign! Handling those supreme threats was his duty. Yet his nonchalant demeanor could not lighten the somber atmosphere. At this moment, Su Yu's followers stepped behind him, while the warriors under the Human Sovereign wore expressions of deep grief. Losing a few Rulers of Rules in an army clash was just the cost of war; people died! There was no war without death. They were used to it! Yet... the Human Sovereign's physical vessel was utterly gone, and his sea of will was trembling violently, threatening to collapse at any second. That was what filled everyone with sorrow. If their leader fell, their spiritual anchor would shatter, and they could not fathom what horrors awaited them next! Su Yu looked somber as well. The Human Sovereign's wounds were truly too severe! Only now did he realize that had the Human Sovereign not been so peerlessly powerful, he would have dissipated into the void long ago. He had endured this agony for countless years simply because he refused to die. Because he could not afford to die! Had he fallen, humanity would have collapsed ages ago. Soon, Su Yu smoothed his brow and chuckled. "Your Majesty the Human Sovereign was still mighty. Though you fell a bit short of my tally, you faced far stronger foes. Let's call it a draw!" The Human Sovereign burst into hearty laughter. "Look at how you put it... Do you think I'm a sore loser?" He chuckled again. "That's right, I am a sore loser! A draw it is!" "..." Su Yu smiled. Looking around, he took in the fierce generals under the Human Sovereign's command—they were truly valiant! Fighting at an almost one-to-two disadvantage, these veterans had killed without batting an eye! Compared to Su Yu's forces, the ferocious aura of these old warriors was even sharper! Su Yu preferred to fight only when victory was guaranteed. These veterans had never enjoyed such a luxury. Every battle they fought was a desperate struggle for survival, leaving the survivors tempered to absolute savagery! At this moment, suppressing their grief and unwilling to speak of the Human Sovereign's condition, they turned their gazes toward Su Yu. The Human Sovereign laughed boisterously. "I forgot to make introductions! This is Su Yu, the Tenth Generation Human Master! Barely in his twenties, an opener of worlds! Right now, he's roughly... at the first rank! He quelled the chaos in the myriad realms, executed the human traitors, drove the myriad races' powerhouses into the Hell Gate, conquered the upper realm, the myriad realms, and the dead spirit realm, unifying the worlds! This time, he brought his people to our rescue! Hahaha, how shameful that we old bones had to be saved by a junior..." He laughed heartily, showing not a trace of sorrow. Recounting Su Yu's accomplishments, he continued with a grin, "Most of you probably know of him—he was the one who revived Xingyue earlier. A truly formidable character! It was his idea to take advantage of his arrival, which the myriad races knew nothing about, to lay this trap!" "Heh, credit where credit is due—this kid has tricks! I thought I'd let thirty-odd experts slip past to see how many he could kill, maybe manage a one-for-one trade... Good grief, the kid pulled it off without spilling a drop of his own blood, wiping them all out in one fell swoop! That idiot Nether Emperor even expanded his heaven and earth just to save his own hide..." "Hahaha!" The Human Sovereign roared with laughter, then added, "Brilliant! Disguising himself as Second Brother Wen—even I nearly failed to see through it! With that move alone, you prove yourself a cunning... ahem, a deeply resourceful fellow! I thought if you managed to kill thirty Rulers of Rules, escaping with fewer than twenty casualties would be pure luck... Instead, you came out completely unscathed and even got a power boost out of it... Even I have to admit my admiration!" "Though you're still a bit weaker than me—lacking the sheer valor to take on three sovereigns at once—for a commander, being that reckless is useless anyway. I was plenty fierce, and look where it got me... Heh, my body is done for!" The Human Sovereign continued laughing heartily. Su Yu looked at him, then spoke up: "There is no need to flatter me. These veteran brothers of yours know the score. If you think a few kind words will make them submit to me once you're dead... you are being far too naive. The best solution is for you to stay alive! Only by living... is there hope!" The Human Sovereign was trying to pave a path for him. Yet Su Yu had no need for it! Su Yu said calmly, "I don't need you to pave my way, nor do I want to take over your subordinates. They have followed you for far too long, fought by your side for countless years, and won't necessarily see eye to eye with me. Rather than having them follow me, you should lead them yourself! Your physical body has merely collapsed, that's all. You are the Human Sovereign, the ruler of humanity—you won't be defeated by such a trivial setback, will you?" *A trivial setback?* Bitterness filled the Human Sovereign's heart. *It's not trivial at all—what the hell do you know?* *If it were trivial, why would I act like this?* *If I could recover, I wouldn't even bother paying attention to you, you little brat!* *Paving your way?* *Dream on!* Su Yu stared at him, frowning. "It's no big deal. Dying is easy; living is the hard part! You've already opened a heaven and earth. At worst, merge into it and become its world spirit—what's so terrible about that? Entities like Doubao and Chubing exist; it's not as if you don't understand or haven't seen it! If I were in your shoes, as long as I could live, I wouldn't care whether I had a physical body. As the grand Human Sovereign, do you really need a twenty-two-year-old youth lecturing you?" "..." The Human Sovereign froze, looking at Su Yu before breaking into a sudden smile. "You brat... when you scold people, you truly carry a bit of Second Brother Wen's presence..." Su Yu remarked impassively, "He is inferior to me! There is no need to place me on the same level as King Wen! At the very least, I don't screw over my own people. Everyone who follows me knows that when I scheme, I scheme against my enemies, never my allies! Naturally, I can understand him leaving to save his sister... but departing before resolving the looming crisis... in that regard, he falls short of me!" What massive arrogance! Even the Human Sovereign was amused. "That tone of yours... If Second Brother Wen heard that, he'd probably refuse to accept it!" Su Yu chuckled as well. "So what? It's not as if I haven't met him. When I entered the Heavenly Gate once before, I ran into King Wen and King Wu, and I told him to his face that he screwed people over. What could he do about it? I speak the truth. If he cannot even stomach that much... then he is even less worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as me! I inherited his mantle in the Brush Dao, making me half his disciple, and half a disciple of the Time Master as well... My relationship with him and the Time Master is complicated. I admire him, yet I look down on him as well. Is there any problem with that?" He admired his strength and his carefree nature, yet looked down on the mess he had left behind! Since he knew the myriad races might rebel after his departure, he should have eliminated potential threats before leaving, rather than vanishing into thin air and leaving humanity and the Human Sovereign to take the fall. As for King Wu... King Wu was a complete blockhead, which King Wen knew full well. Before leaving, he should have explicitly told King Wu not to run off recklessly. He probably said nothing, prompting King Wu to rush off in search of him—that was King Wen's fault as well! Thus, Su Yu felt both admiration and resentment toward King Wen. The Human Sovereign smiled, though several people beside him glared at Su Yu, clearly displeased. King Wen was one of their spiritual pillars! Hearing Su Yu belittle King Wen rubbed them the wrong way! Su Yu knew they were irritated, which was only natural. People favored those close to them; he had no relationship with these veterans, whereas King Wen was the second brother who had fought alongside them across the heavens. Even so... *I'm not going to coddle you!* Without waiting for them to speak, Su Yu cut in, "Enough, let us not speak of King Wen and his affairs! Talking achieves nothing; they are still waiting for us to rescue them, so we cannot count on them saving us!" Su Yu stated indifferently, "This clash was a minor victory. We failed to slay a single first rank expert. The myriad races suffered heavy losses, yet they still retain eighty-four Rulers of Rules. Moreover, with so many Rulers of Rules dead, quite a few of their Celestial Venerables might achieve breakthroughs... Before long, the enemy may muster ninety Rulers of Rules again!" "And us... On the Human Sovereign's side, only forty-eight remain!" Su Yu shook his head. "My side has even fewer. Counting Xingyue, we only have thirty-seven!" "..." The Human Sovereign stared at him for a long moment before saying, "Xingyue... is my sister!" *She's my person!* Su Yu chuckled. "So what? Xingyue's Dao of Life and Death belongs to my world! Didn't she rely on me to be revived? Is Your Majesty the Human Sovereign planning to contest her allegiance with me?" Together, the two factions possessed eighty-five powerhouses, not counting the four defectors from the myriad races who still stood awkwardly to the side. In truth, that made eighty-nine Rulers of Rules in total. Humanity had lost four powerhouses in this battle, and it remained to be seen whether any of the survivors could achieve a breakthrough. Even if someone broke through, it would likely be one or two at most. By that calculation, their numbers would roughly balance with the enemy's. In terms of quality... the Human Sovereign was now half-crippled, if not completely so, meaning their overall strength was not necessarily superior to the enemy's. Still, at least the massive disparity in combat power no longer existed! The enemy's first rank titans were all heavily injured as well. The Nether Emperor in particular would not find recovery easy, and the three sovereigns had also suffered considerable wounds! As Su Yu was conversing with the Human Sovereign, a figure stepped forward from the Sovereign's camp. Radiating a ferocious aura, the warrior brandished a cleaver and glared coldly at the Martial Emperor. "Martial Emperor?" The Martial Emperor's expression darkened! He... seemed to recognize who this was. At that moment, a full nine powerhouses—all female generals—stepped forward simultaneously! The Martial Emperor's face turned even uglier. He had fallen to the third rank! Leave aside this first rank powerhouse; he wasn't even a match for the second rank one among them. Were these Taishan's family members? Gritting his teeth, his expression grew foul. Yet Su Yu spoke up indifferently: "Enough! A man's business should be settled by men! If King Wu cannot even resolve this matter himself and must rely on his kin, then King Wu is a piece of trash—though he is already useless to begin with!" "Insolence!" King Zhenwu barked in fury. Su Yu's gaze turned chillingly cold. "Presumptuous! King Wu knows how many people he has burdened, and so do you! If you dare act insolently before me again, I will strike you down without mercy! Even with the Human Sovereign standing here, I will execute you on the spot!" Su Yu's presence was overwhelmingly majestic. In an instant, even King Zhenwu was somewhat cowed. Her expression shifted, and muttering a curse under her breath, she snorted and stepped back. Su Yu snorted coldly. "All of you, quiet down! The Human Sovereign is severely wounded. If you want him to live, and if you want to survive yourselves, then behave! The grudge between the Martial Emperor and King Wu will be settled by the two of them; everyone else, stand aside! Otherwise, do not blame me, Su Yu, for showing no deference to you seniors!" Radiating an overpowering aura, Su Yu stood proudly above the river, declaring coldly, "I respect the Human Sovereign, and I respect all of you. However, I am the supreme overlord of this heaven and earth. If anyone believes they stand on equal footing with me, go slay thirty Rulers of Rules first, then come back and talk!" Those words struck everyone dumb. Only then did they remember that despite his youth, this man was a ruthless figure through and through! In the crowd, the Martial Emperor bared his teeth. *Damn it all... this feels... a bit humiliating.* *Yet at the same time... it feels oddly satisfying!* *Truly satisfying!* Just moments ago, he had assumed those madwomen were about to tear him apart. He had never expected a lunatic like Su Yu to berate them directly, shouting down a first rank powerhouse until she was forced to back down. Even in the presence of the Human Sovereign, Su Yu remained this domineering. In the past, the Martial Emperor had found it infuriating, but today... it felt immensely gratifying! Across from them, the Human Sovereign chuckled softly. "Alright, King Zhenwu is a straightforward person who speaks her mind! As for Taishan's affairs, let Taishan and the Martial Emperor settle it between themselves. We don't even know if he can return, so there is no need to cause a scene over this! That fellow the Martial Emperor—even I wanted to beat him to death. But forget it, seeing as he rendered great service today and turned over a new leaf, it's a good thing!" The Martial Emperor looked awkward. *When did I provoke you? Why do you want to beat me to death? I didn't mess with you! Seriously!* Su Yu let the matter drop as well. A smile returned to his face as he swept his sleeve. "Just a jest. If you want to thrash the Martial Emperor, I have no objections. Hahaha, I can't stand him either! But wait a while—at least let me help him restore his strength first. This time, he broke the Heavenly Gate and severed his Great Dao for us. If nothing else, I, Su Yu, am a man of loyalty!" His smile was radiant. The Human Sovereign chuckled, and the tension dissipated. Together, they looked toward the distant continent of the myriad races. Over there, auras crisscrossed with extreme vigilance. Seeing this, Su Yu burst into loud laughter: "Rebels of the myriad races, lay down your arms and surrender early! The roots of your races in the myriad realms have long been excised by me! I left a few seeds behind, so do not force me to annihilate your foundations entirely!" Exuding supreme dominance, Su Yu shouted again, "My thanks to the Nether Emperor! If you surrender, I will surely spare your life! Thank you for aiding my ascent to the peak of the first rank!" Those words were met with a prolonged silence from the opposite side. A moment later, the voice of a formidable existence echoed over, laced with cold fury: "Who are you?" "Su Yu!" Su Yu laughed. "Remember this name! In the myriad realms, Tiangu and the others tremble at the sound of it! The God Imperial Consort would tell you that whoever you provoke, never provoke me! In the final battle that united the realms, they helped me eradicate formidable foes and traitors, then fled to the Hell Gate rather than stand against me. I imagine they must be terribly worried about you all, because I, Su Yu... have arrived!" "They... went to the Hell Gate?" The voice betrayed a tremor of shock. Su Yu laughed heartily. "Indeed, scouting the Hell Gate on my behalf! If you think you can stand against me, then come try! This clash was merely a small test of skill—within three months, I will eradicate the threat of the myriad races!" "Arrogant fool!" A furious roar echoed back. Even the humans on this side wore strange expressions. *This kid... sure knows how to boast!* Yet when they looked at the figures standing behind Su Yu, every single one of them was utterly calm, their expressions seeming to say: *Forget three months—you'll be eradicated in no time!* Seeing their serene confidence sent a tremor through the veterans' hearts. Several powerhouses in the crowd spotted familiar faces—King Xue saw his daughter, King Gong saw his descendant, and their hearts quivered. These people... believed in him implicitly! Just as they trusted the Human Sovereign, these newcomers held unquestioning faith in Su Yu! In the crowd, Tianmie chuckled mischievously. "Three months? One month is enough!" Each was wilder than the last! At that moment, the Human Sovereign simply smiled, saying nothing aloud. Instead, he sent a voice transmission to Su Yu: *I'm about done for!* Su Yu's heart tightened, but his expression remained unchanged as he replied via transmission: *Hold on even if you can't! Losing your strength is fine, but dying would be a disaster! As long as you don't die, your people won't fall into chaos, and with me here, I can at least deter the myriad races from making reckless moves!* He added, *"The Human Sovereign went to his death, slaying five Rulers of Rules before falling..." If you drop dead right now, I will etch that prominent record into eternal history! The grand Human Sovereign, fighting to the death, didn't even kill a fraction of what I did!* "..." The Human Sovereign stared at him, smiling at first before his expression stiffened. *Are you serious?* *I don't joke about such things!* The Human Sovereign thought it over, then nodded! *Fuck!* *This brat loves making recordings. If he says he'll etch it into history, he probably will.* *That... would be far too humiliating!* With a heavy sigh, the Human Sovereign transmitted: *I care about fame, not profit—don't ruin my reputation!* *All I care about is my good name, and you're dragging it through the mud! The grand Human Sovereign, fighting to the death, only killed five trash Rulers of Rules... If word gets out, people will think my reputation was all hot air! That won't do! I heavily wounded three supreme sovereigns and withstood the self-detonations of ten Rulers of Rules—why don't you mention that?!* Su Yu smiled, seemingly catching his drift, and shrugged. *I won't mention it. If it didn't kill anyone, I don't count it!* For a moment, the two exchanged glances. Under the bewildered eyes of the onlookers, both suddenly broke into chuckles, laughing so heartily that no one could make sense of it. What on earth were those two talking about that made them so happy?