Born When I Was Already Old

The Dao Origin Land. Su Yu had arrived once more. This time, he had come openly and without disguise to shear wool—no, to save the Human Sovereign! The Human Sovereign was in truly dire straits! Even if he wanted to merge his dao into his own heaven and earth, it was an exceedingly difficult feat. One careless step and the influx of power would burst him apart. To keep the sovereign alive, Su Yu had no choice but to help weaken his world. Stepping into the Dao Origin Land, Su Yu remarked as he walked, "An expert like the Human Sovereign refuses to let himself be weakened. Even in death, he clings to the hope of churning out two first-rank experts. That's entirely unnecessary!" He shook his head. "Someone else's dao remains someone else's in the end! With an elite like the Human Sovereign, given time, he could rise again even if he were weakened. But he simply can't bring himself to sever his own arm—or rather, he didn't dare to before, and he doesn't dare to now!" The Human Sovereign was well aware that a path to survival existed, but the burden he carried was simply too heavy. His triumph lay in his Dao of Responsibility, and his downfall lay in it as well. His Sovereign Dao, without a doubt, was deeply entwined with responsibility. And a Great Dao's nature inevitably shaped the world it formed... King Dazhou only half-understood, but grasped the general gist. In a low voice, he asked, "Does Your Majesty mean to say that His Majesty the Human Sovereign can still be saved?" He wouldn't die after all? "Nonsense!" Su Yu laughed. "Barring instant obliteration, how could a powerhouse of his caliber die so easily? The Human Sovereign keeps claiming he's about to perish only because of the heavy burden on his shoulders. But think about who is coming to his aid right now." King Dazhou stared at Su Yu. With complete composure, Su Yu said, "What are you looking at? Am I, Su Yu, in any way inferior to him? I've weathered circumstances far more desperate than this, to say nothing of our current position. At worst, we retreat back into the myriad realms, lie low, and wait for the Three Gates to open. Do you really think the experts inside those three gates will be of one mind? Figures spanning three distinct eras—how could they ever stand united?" "So with me here, what does he have to worry about? Nothing at all!" The Human Sovereign feared being drastically weakened, figuring it was better value to birth two first-rank Rulers of Rules instead. But in Su Yu's eyes, even a Human Sovereign brought down to the second rank was far more formidable than a pair of first-ranks! Their mindsets were fundamentally different. The Human Sovereign could not bear to see the power of his heaven and earth siphoned away, as that would bring decline upon his world. Su Yu couldn't care less. So what if the world weakened? What was the big deal? As long as the foundation endured, hope remained to rise again! A figure like the Human Sovereign had the nerve to start from scratch, and his speed of resurgence would hardly be sluggish. It was high time he shed his heavy baggage and traveled light! Why shoulder such an overwhelming burden and torment oneself, whining from morning till night about kicking the bucket? Su Yu found him exasperatingly soft and overly fussy! When Su Yu uttered those words, King Dazhou's face turned purple. Soft and overly fussy? If the Human Sovereign caught wind of that, he would risk his life just to beat Su Yu black and blue. Who would dare call the Human Sovereign womanish? Su Yu continued, "Therefore, my plan is to siphon out the power within his heaven and earth, allowing a portion of it to collapse while preserving the most quintessential core, so that he can start over from scratch! When the time comes for him to merge into it, whether he wants to reshape his physical body or transform into a woman, he can do whatever he pleases!" "Your Majesty..." King Dazhou looked profoundly conflicted. Could he please not talk like that? That was his old master! It put him in an excruciating position! It was only because he couldn't beat Su Yu right now; otherwise, he would have picked a fight no matter what! Su Yu chuckled indifferently and went on, "I will drain the majority of the dao power from his world into mine, leaving only the origin untouched. Beyond that, there's his Sovereign Dao..." He spoke briskly. "Once I return, I'll also extract the strength from his Sovereign Dao, draining that dao power as well! That way, both sides will be weakened. Then we'll have him integrate into either his world or his dao. Once stabilized, we'll merge the Sovereign Dao back into his world to grant him a burst of reinforcement..." That was Su Yu's plan. Hearing this, King Dazhou furrowed his brow slightly. "Will His Majesty the Human Sovereign... agree to this? Doing so would dismantle both a world and a dao that could have produced two first-rank experts." "You're all a bunch of hand-wringers!" Su Yu cursed in exasperation. "Hesitant, timid, constantly looking over your shoulders! Do you think I, Su Yu, give a damn about two first-rank fighters? As long as the Human Sovereign survives, his presence alive is worth far more than two first-ranks. Don't you even understand that simple truth?" Growing impatient, Su Yu snapped, "I'm merely informing you, not asking you to make a decision. The same goes for the Human Sovereign—he doesn't get a vote! Now that he's incapacitated, I call the shots. If he refuses to listen, I'll smash his world to pieces!" "Understood!" King Dazhou instantly shut his mouth. He understood Su Yu's temperament; once Su Yu resolved to do something, resisting was out of the question. As for the Human Sovereign... well, his temper was generally mild. While not indecisive, he rarely refused those on his own side and showed immense leniency toward his comrades. If Su Yu forced the matter, the Human Sovereign wouldn't be able to refuse him, and would likely just go along with it. …… Ignoring King Dazhou, Su Yu tore through the void directly and entered the Dao of Heaven and Earth belonging to the Human Sovereign. He rushed straight to the terminus of the Human Sovereign's Dao of Responsibility. Seeing the waters of the river still cascading through, Su Yu wasted no time. Strands of dao power rapidly extended outward, stitching the opening shut! He had to plug this breach first! The Human Sovereign was already crippled; what did he need such a massive aperture for? It would be best to sever his world entirely! The moment Su Yu began sealing the breach, the Great Dao seemed to sense the disturbance and trembled faintly. "Who is it?" *Boom!* Su Yu threw a punch. The Great Dao quivered violently, and the voice that had just spoken was instantly shattered into oblivion! King Dazhou's jaw dropped. *Holy shit!* *Is that how you persuade the Human Sovereign?!* …… At that exact moment. Back at the encampment. The Human Sovereign, who was in closed-door cultivation working to stabilize his sea of will, suddenly jerked. His mouth gaped. *Fuck!* What was going on? Su Yu had gone back, barged into his heaven and earth, and what in the world was he doing? He had merely wanted to inquire and say hello, yet that lunatic Su Yu had abruptly punched him! The sovereign's faint wisp of will had been obliterated in one blow, nearly disrupting his own recovery. "Is he out of his mind?!" The Human Sovereign felt exceedingly vexed. *I've dominated the world for countless years; by any measure, I'm this kid's senior, aren't I?* *And he treats me with such total disrespect?* He wanted to complain, but on second thought, he let it go. He had already abandoned that world anyway. Fine, let the kid mess around as he pleased! The crux of the matter was: what was he trying to do? At this moment, the Human Sovereign couldn't quite fathom Su Yu's intent. It seemed as though he was sealing the opening of his world! …… In the Dao Origin Land. King Dazhou opened his mouth, entirely speechless. Meanwhile, Su Yu continued to patch up that colossal breach. He wove chaotic power unceasingly to mend the aperture and block the flow, but the opening was simply immense! Su Yu couldn't help but mutter a curse. Back then, making such an enormous breach—did the man really think his world could expand that quickly? Ha! Barely after starting, the whole venture had collapsed. Opening such a massive gap for nothing had only left a hole that was now a nightmare to close! Su Yu continuously wove chaotic power to repair the gap. The barriers of the River of Time were fundamentally forged of chaotic power. Having done this once before, Su Yu possessed the requisite experience. Yet the opening at Tianhekou was truly too vast. Even with his immense strength, far superior to what he had wielded back then, the onslaught of rushing river water still proved exhausting. He couldn't help but curse, "Better if we'd just let someone blow it up last time!" "Your Majesty, do you intend to seal this breach completely?" King Dazhou ventured. Recalling something, Su Yu turned his head and ordered, "Go! Head over to the far end, fetch Lan Tian, and link the Human Sovereign's Great Dao to my heaven and earth. I'm going to siphon some power over there!" "This..." "Move!" Su Yu snapped. King Dazhou felt utterly helpless. *I only wanted to say that I really don't want to deal with that freak Lan Tian.* *I was thoroughly revolted by him last time!* Forget it. Su Yu likely had no interest in hearing his excuses anyway. Besides, it was best that Su Yu never found out about what had happened. He only hoped those bastards hadn't recorded anything last time; otherwise, Su Yu would demand to see it without a shadow of a doubt! If anyone dared record him, he would extract his vengeance! King Dazhou steeled his heart in secret. *Yes, I will definitely get back at them!* Putting the matter to rest, King Dazhou swiftly departed to find Lan Tian. Lan Tian was far more useful than Liu Hong—at least in a situation like this. Meanwhile, Su Yu continued mending the massive breach. Patching it bit by bit was only feasible here in the myriad realms. Upstream, he would never have had the luxury of squandering so much time. Under Su Yu's swift repairs, the gaping breach began to shrink. To Su Yu's current self, the impact of the cascading water was no longer as terrifying as before. He could endure it on his own without needing the Human Sovereign's Star Residence Seal. "The Human Sovereign possesses a Human Sovereign Seal, hailed as the paramount divine artifact of the heavens... Perhaps it can serve as a foundational anchor!" Su Yu calculated in his mind. "Furthermore, the power within this world can't be wasted. It has all been purified by the Human Sovereign's heaven and earth. Though it isn't entirely suited to me, I can absorb a small portion and leave the rest for the others!" The reason was simple: the power within the Human Sovereign's heaven and earth contained far too much of the Dao of Responsibility. Strictly speaking, the Human Sovereign's dao was a massive trap! It was just like Human Mountain. Human Mountain was merely the dwelling place of the sovereign's physical body, yet it had constantly exerted a subtle influence over everyone who lived upon it. Given enough time, everyone began regarding the human race as their own responsibility. Su Yu had known this long ago, and it was precisely why the myriad races had previously refused to occupy Human Mountain. Only later, when the myriad races needed a gathering point, did they congregate on Human Mountain, solely because of its immense durability and resistance to being breached. The power of the Human Sovereign's heaven and earth operated in identical fashion, imperceptibly influencing those within it. Back in the day, experts who cultivated pseudo-daos had gradually grown far more sympathetic toward humanity as time wore on. To Su Yu, this stuff was sheer poison. The contagious effect was alarmingly severe! "This power, however, is quite suited for the myriad race experts who defected to us earlier. King Dazhou and the rest should absorb a bit, and the Martial Emperor ought to take an especially large share..." Su Yu mulled it over. *I'll absorb just a sliver myself, and leave the lion's share to them.* Before long, a harmonious big family would be forged. All for one, one for all! Su Yu couldn't help but admire the Human Sovereign's world—no wonder King Wen had avoided it like the plague! Had he been in King Wen's shoes, he would have fled as well. It was downright horrifying! One didn't fear the Human Sovereign being a saint; one feared the Human Sovereign believing that everyone ought to become a saint. That was the truly terrifying part. With that thought in mind, as soon as Lan Tian linked Su Yu's dao with that of the Human Sovereign, Su Yu promptly mobilized his heaven and earth to draw in massive quantities of the Human Sovereign's Great Dao power. The overwhelming majority of this energy was shoved directly into the Dao of the Physical Body. As long as it didn't disperse across his entire world, Su Yu would only feel minimal influence, diluted to near insignificance, whereas those cultivating the physical body dao would bear the brunt of it. …… At that very moment. Back at the encampment. The Martial Emperor, currently integrating into the Dao of the Physical Body, suddenly twitched. Glancing back at several individuals chatting behind him, his brow furrowed as he barked, "Enough! Haven't you talked enough? Cultivate properly! Not a single one of you has improved your strength, yet you have the leisure to gossip? Wuji, if there is anything you don't understand, you may ask me. You walk the martial path as well, which is quite similar to mine..." "..." The entire clearing fell dead silent! Was he out of his mind? Wuji wore a look of sheer terror. What had gotten into the Martial Emperor? The Martial Emperor shook his head slightly, an ominous premonition surfacing within him. He felt an urge to curse. *Fuck, what is wrong with me?* *Why did I bother addressing Wuji?!* *Why do I care what they do?* *Seriously! Only a fool would care about these people. Let them live or die as they please; I'll just follow Su Yu. Once I reach the first rank, I'll go settle the score with Taishan... Wait, Taishan is human too. Do I really have to kill him?* The next instant, he panicked. *Holy crap, Taishan is my arch-nemesis! Of course I must take my revenge! What in the world is happening to me?!* He was thoroughly spooked. Internally, he remained aware of what was happening, yet no sooner did he formulate a thought than a second, conflicting sentiment arose unbidden: *Why bother? We're all members of the human race, there's no need to take things so far...* "What the hell is going on?" The Martial Emperor cursed inwardly. Yet he couldn't deny that the Dao of the Physical Body felt significantly stronger. Impressive! Why did it feel as though integrating this physical body dao made him far more powerful than he had been before severing his original dao? Strange. Had Su Yu truly become that formidable? Could he have actually elevated the Dao of the Physical Body to the first rank? If so, there was genuine hope for him to reach the first rank! As those thoughts swirled in his mind, his gaze fell back upon Wuji's terrified expression, and he snapped once more, "What are you staring at?! You foolish insect, get over here and listen to my exposition on the martial path!" "..." Wuji grew even more horrified, casting pleading looks toward the others. Yet the others merely returned looks that said: *Just go, he won't kill you. At worst, he'll give you a lecture about life... But if you refuse to go, none of us can afford to provoke him!* Wuji felt utterly miserable. His dao was indeed very similar to the Martial Emperor's, but... he had no desire to learn from the Martial Emperor, nor was the Martial Emperor likely to teach him in earnest. With the Martial Emperor's temper, the idea of him offering genuine instruction was ludicrous! He felt unimaginably dejected! Behind him, someone was gloating. But just as the amused grin spread across that person's face, the Martial Emperor glared over and roared, "Big monkey, you come listen too! This emperor is proficient in the ways of diverse weaponry—get over here!" Tianmie stared blankly. *I... I'm not going! Ah!* Just as he was about to speak, the Martial Emperor's expression turned ferocious, bellowing, "If you dare refuse, I'll slap you to death right now! Big monkey, do you really think you can match this emperor?" After scolding Tianmie, the Martial Emperor inwardly cursed again. *Fuck, why am I bothering with this big monkey? Am I sick in the head?!* Yet looking at them today, he felt an overwhelming frustration at their lack of ambition, seeing them as useless wastes squandering their precious time! If they carried on like this, how could they face everyone, face their race, and face Emperor Yu? "Huh?" The Martial Emperor shook his head, a chill running down his spine. *Holy shit, after integrating with Su Yu's dao, does it passively make you revere him? Damn, no wonder something felt off. This is terrifying!* In the distance, the Human Sovereign, engaged in closed-door recovery, abruptly opened his eyes and looked toward the Martial Emperor. He vaguely caught sight of wisps of power dispersing into the air. His jaw dropped, and he remained speechless for a long while. *This... Did that brat Su Yu go and siphon the power of my heaven and earth?!* *The Martial Emperor has clearly fallen under the influence of my world's power!* "Well, that works too..." The Human Sovereign observed him, pondered for a moment, and nodded. It wasn't bad. The Martial Emperor was a man without sense of good and evil, devoid of moral judgment, and utterly heedless of rules. Receiving some edification from his Great Dao wasn't the worst outcome. The Human Sovereign nodded slightly. Quite acceptable, in fact! His Great Dao was not something he would expound upon or transmit to just anyone. For the Martial Emperor to partake in its resonance was an enormous bargain for the man! Still, had Su Yu drained his world's power earlier simply to brainwash—ahem, enlighten—the Martial Emperor? The Human Sovereign would never admit to brainwashing. This was called moral transformation! A barbarian like the Martial Emperor possessed no manners; being enlightened would do him some good. The power of the sovereign's Great Dao would not strip someone of their true nature; their underlying personality would remain largely unchanged, but upon seeing their own kin and the human race, a greater sense of responsibility would awaken within them. They would feel compelled to step forward and save everyone. Indeed... this was not brainwashing; it was moral education. "Draining my world's power... That brat truly dares to do anything... Let's just hope he doesn't take too much, or his successor will struggle to inherit the strength of the first rank!" Thinking of this, he couldn't help but curse again. Su Yu was truly out of line, siphoning the power of his world without even asking! In his prime, he would have blown the brat apart with a single punch! Ah, forget it. With age came a mellowed temper, and seeing that he was on the verge of dying anyway, let him siphon it. Even if he drained it entirely into his own world, so be it; the sovereign had no use for it anymore regardless! …… Su Yu paid no heed to any of that. Truth be told, the Human Sovereign's heaven and earth had absorbed an immense volume of dao power over countless years, and it was remarkably pure! Far away, Su Yu's own heaven and earth was expanding. He, too, had absorbed a considerable amount of the Human Sovereign's world power! As for the Dao of Responsibility, it held little sway over Su Yu. On one hand, he was exceptionally powerful; on the other, responsibility was something inherent to any human being to varying degrees. Su Yu's sense of responsibility toward humanity was far from weak, making the Human Sovereign's subtle influence virtually negligible. With a resounding *boom*, Su Yu completely sealed the entire breach at Tianhekou! At that moment, the Human Sovereign's heaven and earth shook violently. Severed from its connection to the River of Time, the world became unstable, showing signs of rapid disintegration. Viewed from the outside, the river that had once resembled an arched bridge began to crumble! Copious amounts of rule power spilled outward! Right then, Su Yu's heaven and earth surged, swiftly enveloping the Human Sovereign's world and compressing it. The radiation range of the Dao Origin Land shrank in an instant. What had once been an immense realm was compressed down to the size of a small city in the blink of an eye. Yet Su Yu continued to compress it! Having lost its tether, the Human Sovereign's world was exceedingly hollow and precarious. Just then, a wave of life-and-death power drifted over, and Xingyue's voice echoed through the void: "My brother asks if you've lost your mind! Why are you throwing a fit out of nowhere? He says to stop messing around at once!" "Ignore him. Head back immediately; don't linger here and disrupt the flow of time!" Having delivered the message, Xingyue vanished without delay. Su Yu continued compressing the Human Sovereign's world until it was reduced to the size of a small town. Only when it could be compressed no further did he stop. Soon, Su Yu emerged from the Great Dao. Looking again, the Human Sovereign's world had been fiercely suppressed by his own, its footprint reduced to minuscule proportions. Su Yu chuckled! This was much better! However, the internal energy remained exceedingly potent, which was suboptimal! "Keep siphoning!" His world swiftly drained more power from the Human Sovereign's realm. Yet the Human Sovereign's world still lacked foundational items to anchor it. At that moment, Su Yu suddenly retrieved an object—the cover of the civilization chronicle, which was also the Human Sovereign's Dao diagram! Su Yu let out a breath. Returning it to its original owner! "Integrate!" With a low shout, the page drifted forth, instantly merging into the world. The Dao diagram was restored, immediately stabilizing the Human Sovereign's heaven and earth. Yet this was still not enough! Su Yu called out, "Warden of Heaven!" The Warden of Heaven manifested at once, his aura formidable. Su Yu said in a solemn tone, "Extract one-fifth of my world's destiny and merge it into this place!" The Warden of Heaven's expression shifted. In the distance, King Dazhou's face changed as well. What was Su Yu doing? Su Yu said coolly, "Hurry!" His destiny was extraordinarily flourishing! Much of it, however, had been inherited from ancient times. When the Warden of Heaven had integrated into his world, Su Yu had effectively seized a substantial portion of ancient destiny. Otherwise, the Human Sovereign would not have suffered such dreadful misfortune. In the previous battle, the Human Sovereign had been exceptionally unlucky. Had his destiny remained flourishing, his physical body might not have been utterly ruined. Su Yu hadn't cared much about seizing ancient destiny before. Now, he faintly understood that it had only happened because the Human Sovereign had permitted him to take it; otherwise, wresting it away would not have been so simple. Yet at present, the Human Sovereign's destiny was dismal. If this continued, misfortune would dog him sooner or later, perhaps even killing him. Su Yu wouldn't give too much—just one-fifth! His destiny was immense, composed of the Giant race's destiny, his own, that of the ancients, of the modern human race, and of the experts who supported him. He had even stripped away large amounts of destiny from the myriad races; every grand victory was an act of plunder. Even one-fifth was a staggering amount. At this moment, the Warden of Heaven's aura was formidable indeed. Vaguely, he was on the verge of reaching the second rank. He was the embodiment of the destiny within Su Yu's world; the stronger the destiny, the stronger he became. Hearing Su Yu's command to divide the destiny, he said in a low voice, "Emperor Yu, this..." Su Yu replied coldly, "Move quickly. I am the lord of this world. You... just obey orders!" The Warden of Heaven sighed, offering no further objection. He swiftly separated a portion of the destiny. The power coalesced into a golden dragon, let out a mighty roar, and plunged toward the Human Sovereign's world, merging into it in an instant! The Human Sovereign's world shuddered, and its previously hollow power rapidly solidified. A great dragon of destiny roared within his realm. Su Yu observed with a cool gaze, then raised an eyebrow. Power rippled outward from his heaven and earth, and the projection of Xingyue, which had departed not long ago, reappeared with a bewildered look. "What now?" *You told me to leave, so why call me back?* "Tell the Human Sovereign to toss out his Human Sovereign Seal and the Star Residence Seal. Quick!" "What for?" "Why do you care so much? Fine, I'm missing a stool and want to use them to sit on. Satisfied?" Xingyue was speechless! Knowing Su Yu had an actual purpose, she refrained from asking further and vanished promptly. …… Back at the encampment. The moment Xingyue finished speaking, the Human Sovereign's brow furrowed! He vaguely deduced what Su Yu was up to! Scowling, he said, "That brat is fooling around..." Xingyue was merely a messenger. Seeing her brother's irritation, she couldn't help saying, "Just give them to him! You don't want them anymore and can't use them right now anyway. Didn't you want him to become the next Human Sovereign? Then hand over the seals! Are you trying to hoard them?" "..." The Human Sovereign was so furious his nose almost twisted out of shape! Absolute nonsense! And what did she mean by hoarding them? They were his in the first place, all right? What did she know?! He immediately said, "You don't understand..." Xingyue replied nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter if I don't understand, as long as Su Yu does! Can't you just give them to him?" *My heart is so tired!* The Human Sovereign wanted to weep. *Are you still my sister? Whose side are you on?!* "No, he wants to—" "He isn't a bad person!" Xingyue snapped irritably, "Brother, will losing them harm you?" "..." It seemed... not. Before the Human Sovereign could say anything, Xingyue pressed on, "See? It doesn't harm you, yet you're still reluctant to part with them. Brother, are you reluctant to give up your power? You've grown so used to being the Human Sovereign that you're unwilling to hand over authority now?" "..." The Human Sovereign felt an overwhelming urge to beat her to death! "Brother, hurry up! A brief moment here is a long time over there!" "..." His heart was utterly exhausted; he felt he couldn't take it anymore and simply wanted to die. Harried relentlessly by Xingyue, the Human Sovereign gritted his teeth and cast the two large seals into the river. Carried along by Su Yu's world power, the seals drifted swiftly downstream. The Human Sovereign couldn't help cursing under his breath, "He's acting completely recklessly!" "He's trying to save your life, and you don't even know gratitude!" Xingyue muttered. She wasn't an idiot. Having visited twice before and seen Su Yu's world with her own eyes, she knew Su Yu was likely trying to save her brother. That was why she had deliberately provoked him into relinquishing the seals! Su Yu was saving her elder brother! The Human Sovereign's expression shifted slightly as he looked at Xingyue. "You figured that out?" He was somewhat surprised! Xingyue wore a cross expression. *Nonsense, I'm not a fool. Besides, Su Yu never does anything without profit. For him to act like this, there had to be a reason. Combine that with your attitude and view it from Su Yu's perspective—was it really that hard to guess?* *Was it difficult at all?!* She was at a loss for words! Did her brother look down on her intelligence? Xingyue said tartly, "Is it strange that I figured it out? Did you really think I couldn't see something so simple? You never trust me. Back then, when I said my subordinate would come to save you, you didn't believe me either. Do you believe it now?" "..." The Human Sovereign had no rebuttal. Hearing those words made him feel rather sorrowful! Just as he was thinking this, his expression suddenly shifted. …… At the same time, Su Yu's heaven and earth surged as he hauled the two great seals out of the river. Paying no mind to King Dazhou's dropped jaw, Su Yu let out a low roar and unleashed a punch. Countless rule powers vibrated violently, grinding the Star Residence Seal directly to powder in an instant! A colossal wave of energy burst forth, flooding into the Human Sovereign's world to bolster its stability. Meanwhile, the Human Sovereign Seal descended directly into the world. Thousands of Su Yu's Great Daos unfurled, beginning to comb through the internal daos of the Human Sovereign's Great Dao. He intended to use the Human Sovereign Seal as the foundational anchor of the Human Sovereign's world! This would make the realm resemble his own, anchored at one end so that it would no longer depend on the River of Time as it had before. While this would slow the expansion of the Human Sovereign's world, it was supremely suited to the sovereign's current condition. Su Yu had planned it all out: *You just merge into your own heaven and earth, sever your Sovereign Dao, and then integrate that dao into your world to expand it. That way, your new world will be far better suited to you than before.* As for whether the Human Sovereign agreed... what did that have to do with him? *I've arranged it for you. If you refuse, your Human Sovereign Seal and Star Residence Seal are already gone, and your world has been detached from the River of Time.* *Deal with it yourself!* The Human Sovereign was an honest man; honest men should just obediently await their arrangements. At this moment, the Human Sovereign's world rapidly stabilized. Anchored at one end, the formidable Human Sovereign Seal was fully capable of suppressing the entire realm, rendering it even sturdier than Su Yu's own. Since the Human Sovereign's world was not currently powerful, having such a mighty seal anchor it was more than sufficient! Moreover, the daos within the Human Sovereign's world were not overly numerous. Su Yu had woven thousands of Great Daos to complete his world, but he noticed that the Human Sovereign's realm only aggregated several hundred daos. "So... the Human Sovereign only attained comprehension of a few hundred daos... Pathetic!" Su Yu chuckled aloud. King Dazhou, hearing this, was struck speechless! *Are you addicted to humiliating the Human Sovereign or something?* Su Yu chuckled with great satisfaction. *You wouldn't understand!* The Human Sovereign had previously bragged about how complete his world was, claiming he simply hadn't wanted to take a reckless gamble... Please! If his talent was inferior to mine, he should just say so. Granted, I took a bit of advantage from the Time Master and dabbled in many daos. Yet after all these years, the Human Sovereign had only researched a few hundred daos. Truly uncultured! In Su Yu's view, the number of daos one mastered and comprehended was merely a reflection of how many books one had read. Evidently, the Human Sovereign hadn't read enough! Whereas he possessed a Time Record, worth ten thousand books. After amusing himself for a moment, Su Yu swiftly bound the Human Sovereign's world to the great seal. The void trembled, the world stabilized, and the great seal sank into the fabric of the realm! Su Yu's world power rapidly receded. In an instant, the once-mighty Dao of the Human Sovereign had weakened by at least half! Yet it had become infinitely sturdier! As for the Dao Origin Land of the Upper Realm, it had completely vanished this time! The barriers that had once enclosed the Dao Origin Land dissipated entirely. Before long, only a small patch of black earth, no larger than a village, remained in its place! King Dazhou had finally grasped the full picture. Seeing this outcome, his expression shifted repeatedly. "Your Majesty, you... compressed His Majesty the Human Sovereign's world to this degree?" "Is there any problem with that?" Su Yu smiled. "Only this fits his current strength. If it were too powerful, he would collapse under the strain! All right, that's roughly that. Consider this saving the Human Sovereign's life. Once he returns, merges into the world, and severs his Sovereign Dao to integrate it as well... I reckon he can still maintain the peak of the second rank, or barely touch the first rank. That's quite an achievement!" The man hadn't died! And there was a strong likelihood he could recover to the first rank—what was there to be dissatisfied about? King Dazhou gave a wry smile, then nodded. "Perhaps Your Majesty is right. As long as one is alive, there is hope! His Majesty the Human Sovereign possesses extraordinary talent and experience; he merely lacks the accumulation of power. I believe he will soon return to his pinnacle!" Su Yu shrugged. That was beyond his concern; it was up to the Human Sovereign himself. In any case, he had made the decision on the sovereign's behalf. Whatever came next was the man's own affair. "Xingyue!" Su Yu summoned her again. Xingyue materialized once more, complaining, "Didn't you say not to disrupt the flow of time?" "Yeah, I won't summon you again next time. Nothing much—just tell the Human Sovereign to hurry back. Make a trip down, merge into the world, and recover a bit so he doesn't drop dead anytime soon. That's all!" "My brother can be saved?" "It was never that big of a deal to begin with!" Su Yu dismissed it casually. "He was just backing himself into a corner!" Su Yu did not agree with the Human Sovereign's line of thought. The current arrangement was ideal. Perhaps they would miss out on one first-rank expert, or even two—so what? What was so special about the first rank? He would find ways to deal with whatever came; solutions were devised by men. As long as the Human Sovereign lived, the job was done! At this moment, Su Yu was in high spirits. On his very first day back in the myriad realms, he had accomplished a momentous deed: saving the Human Sovereign's life! "Go back and tell the Human Sovereign that I've saved his life. This makes twice now, meaning he owes me two lives. Without my permission, he isn't allowed to die. That's that!" Two lives? Xingyue was puzzled. Had it really been two? Oh well, she was just the messenger! …… "To hell with him!" At that moment, the Human Sovereign cursed aloud! He completely lost his temper! Who owed him two lives?! That Su Yu was truly a master at keeping score! Right now, he felt profoundly aggrieved. *He won't even let me die in peace?!* *Making decisions on my behalf... what in the world are you playing at?!* Two first-rank powerhouses were gone! Otherwise, he could have definitely produced two first-rank experts, yet now this brat had ruined it all! Of course, he could still hold out, ignore Su Yu, and continue yielding his Sovereign Dao. But... forget it. A newly minted first-rank might not compare to himself anyway! The Human Sovereign let out a deep sigh. Then, a smile crept onto his face, and he chuckled softly. "Fine. That kid knows his own limits! He knows that without me, he can't hold the line!" Looking at it from another angle instantly improved his mood. That little brat Su Yu—he was scared, wasn't he? Scared that I would die, right? Afraid that without me, you wouldn't be able to hold on? As expected, I, Xingyu, am the sole pillar of the heavens, the most crucial figure of all. Who wouldn't fear my demise? Just look: back then, King Wen was terrified that I might kick the bucket. In every major battle, he would fret anxiously: *Big Brother, stand back, let me handle this!* And now, with Su Yu, it was the exact same story. My importance superseded everyone else's! Xingyue was rendered speechless. "Brother, he told you to return soon to merge with your world!" "What's the rush?!" The Human Sovereign wouldn't lower himself to argue with Su Yu, nor with his own sister. "How can I leave right now? The myriad races are still out there. We'll talk once he returns!" Dismissing his sister, the Human Sovereign comforted himself for a short while, only to sigh once more. What a mess! Even if he merged with his world, recovering would remain an arduous uphill battle. And right now... what they lacked most was time. Did that fellow really not understand that? Otherwise, why would he have sought to pass his mantle to others? All because Su Yu had risen too late! Had he emerged decades or a century earlier, there would have been no need for his assistance; the Human Sovereign could have handled everything himself. "You were born when I was already old!" It was too late! At this moment, the Human Sovereign sighed with deep emotion. His life was preserved, but what about Su Yu? Once he severed his dao to save himself, Su Yu would realize the crushing weight of the pressure he would face. Severing the dao would inevitably cause a massive disturbance, and the myriad races would certainly move to obstruct it. Su Yu... was bound to face a crisis! In this moment, the Human Sovereign felt a tangled knot of emotions—gratified, yet profoundly helpless.