Taking Action

The man guessed Su Yu had come from beyond the Heavenly Gate, ultimately narrowing his suspicions down to King Wen and his circle. Su Yu felt entirely helpless. Why think that? How unfitting was that? "They're so old, and I'm so young—what are you people thinking?" Yet this man was utterly convinced that no one native to the world behind the gate could possibly open a world. Clearly, he placed immense faith in his own intelligence, firmly believing only his information was true. Thus, he dared to contemplate what others never dared imagine. No one had ever suspected Su Yu came from beyond the gate, yet this man had been convinced from the very start that Su Yu was tied to the outside world. At that moment, Su Yu simply watched him in silence. His face covered in blood, the man struggled in agony and pleaded, "Can you... can you restore my strength? Heal my injuries a bit, I can't take this anymore!" It hurt too much! Su Yu looked at him and smiled. "Afraid of death?" "Who isn't?" The man was at a loss for words. Who wasn't afraid of dying? Su Yu smiled again. "If you fear death, then we can talk. I assumed you were incapable of communicating." "..." The man was left speechless. Su Yu waved his hand, restoring the man's aura, which instantly surged back to the power of twenty Daos. At that level, flesh wounds were truly trivial; skin and mangled flesh regenerated in an instant. Of course, his physical body was no longer as sturdy as before. His original physical form had been blown apart; reconstructing it left it weaker, requiring time and the extraction of Great Dao power to gradually reinforce it. Right now, Su Yu found him quite intriguing. With a flick of his sleeve, heaven and earth inverted. The world transformed before their eyes. In an instant, they appeared inside a pavilion surrounded by a churning river shrouded in dense mist. Inside the pavilion, tea simmered over a stove. The man showed no interest in the tea. Instead, he peered toward the river beside him, feeling a sudden jolt of terror. Su Yu smiled. "Don't stare. It's just the Myriad Dao River, created by mimicking the River of Time. The waters are a mixture of Great Dao powers. Shove someone inside, and the violent surge of myriad Daos will corrode physical body and spirit until they are washed away and become part of the river... Actually, this Myriad Dao River is quite fun. Care to take a swim?" The man went silent for a moment before replying, "Is that really necessary?" It was a blatant threat. The man sighed helplessly. "I've already entered your world; I'm on your boat now..." Su Yu shook his head. "No, it's not the same! What does entering my world amount to? At worst, death! Some people fear death, yet don't fear dying. Sounds contradictory, doesn't it? Actually, it's quite simple..." The man sighed. "No need to preach grand truths to me. I've likely lived longer than you." Just a youngster—no need to lecture him about life. He sat down, picked up a teacup, poured himself a cup, and held it as he stared at Su Yu, falling deep into thought without uttering a word for a long time. He knew what Su Yu wanted to ask! However... The man studied Su Yu for a while, appearing slightly dazed, and suddenly said, "Could you... change into a white robe?" Su Yu raised an eyebrow. The man said awkwardly, "Well... how about... trying a change of clothes? A black robe is a bit... not quite suited for a chat. Too grim." Su Yu looked at him and smiled. The black robe on his body automatically shifted into a white robe. The man stared at him. Seeing Su Yu smile, his heart stirred slightly, and he asked dryly, "Uh... could... could you hold... a book in your hand?" Su Yu looked at him without a word, and a book materialized before him. The man swallowed hard and added dryly, "Then... how about... smiling? A bit more brilliantly?" Su Yu smiled! Brilliantly! The man stared, and after a long time, he said blankly, "It really is! You truly are King Wen's son, which exceeds my expectations. Who... did he have you with?" He scratched his head, completely bewildered. "All these years he's only been with King Wu, and he hasn't seemed to leave the vicinity of Mount Yongsheng for long... How strange!" Su Yu watched him and smiled. "Why not suspect Wen Yu?" Why insist he was King Wen's child? The man went silent, only speaking after half a beat. "Impossible. If you were truly Wen Yu's son, you couldn't resemble King Wen so much. Even if a nephew takes after his uncle, they'd have to meet often. Aura and temperament—without frequent contact, how could you be so similar?" Su Yu smiled again. "You've seen King Wen?" Otherwise, where did all those specific requests come from? Otherwise, how would he know so well? The man was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "I saw him once... but from very far away. I didn't dare approach—too dangerous!" "Are you human?" Su Yu looked at him. The man nodded. "You could say so. But compared to the humans you speak of, perhaps... not quite the same. After all, we're not from the same era." Su Yu gave a slight nod. He simply watched the man, and the man watched Su Yu. After quite a while, the man said sheepishly, "Uh... can you provide a bit more corroborating evidence that you're King Wen's son?" Su Yu said nothing, merely staring at him. The man sighed helplessly. "If you are King Wen's son... then there are things we can discuss. But if you aren't, it's hard to say too much. Even if you beat me to death, I can't say!" Su Yu was in no hurry and asked, "What did you come to the City of Light for?" "To scout for intelligence." The man didn't hide this. "Isn't the Forbidden Land Conference about to begin? King Wen and his group are probably in danger, including his younger sister. They're all in danger. I came to assess the situation and see if there was a chance to meet King Wen... But there was so much commotion here, so I thought I'd scout for news here first... only to get caught by you right after arriving!" Truly helpless! Su Yu asked calmly, "Why meet King Wen?" "To warn him to be careful, not to go to Mount Yongsheng at this time—it's very dangerous! As far as we know, Mount Yongsheng has reached an agreement with several forbidden lands. Once King Wen and his companion enter Mount Yongsheng, the masters of the forbidden lands will swiftly converge to encircle and kill them!" The man said urgently, "It's extremely dangerous! Previously, they didn't join forces because everyone wanted someone to keep Fa in check. Fa is exceptionally gifted, and he imprisoned Wen Yu; some actually know his goal is to successfully open a world!" "However, others couldn't easily intervene. So King Wen and King Wu were effectively pawns keeping Fa in check and preventing Fa from dealing with Wen Yu! Now, Fa has compromised, deciding to let everyone share a slice of the pie. Because of this... some forbidden land masters agreed to help him slay King Wen and the others!" Su Yu swiftly assessed this: it was likely true. Of course, he kept the Human Sovereign's words firmly in mind: behind the Heavenly Gate, trust no one. Not even his own ancestors! Because behind the Heavenly Gate lay another era, no longer the present! Here, sentimentality had no place. Naturally, whether intelligence was true or false was for him to judge. "You mean that even now, Fa hasn't been able to take down Wen Yu, but he can't hold out any longer, or rather, he feels he can't drag it out anymore, so holding the Forbidden Land Conference at Mount Yongsheng this time is a sign of Fa's compromise?" "Yes!" The man nodded. Su Yu smiled. "What is your name? That shouldn't be a secret, right?" "Ming Xiao!" Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "Fake. What's your real name!" The man's mouth fell open, and after a while, he said, "Yue Xiao!" "Real name!" Su Yu gazed at him impassively. The man said helplessly, "It's true... Just a name, a code name..." Su Yu merely looked at him in silence. The man struggled internally for a bit, then finally groaned in distress, "Riyue!" Su Yu's eyes flickered slightly. Staring at him, it took a long moment before Su Yu spoke: "Heaven-Opening Era human experts, descendant of Ri and Yue?" The man was thoroughly depressed and sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have given my real name!" Su Yu's pupils shrank slightly. "Are you together with Xing, Wen, and the others?" The man said nothing. Su Yu raised his eyebrow: "As far as I know, Ri, Yue, Xing, Wen, and the rest were top-tier experts, tribal leaders of the human race back then, figures from the same era as Human Ancestor Zhou. So you're a descendant of that group?" "Not of that group..." The man said exasperatedly, "Just two people. My father is Ri, my mother is Yue..." What did he mean by "that group"? Su Yu frowned. "That can't be right. Are you really? Were Ri, Yue, Xing, Wen, and the rest very strong? You possess twenty-four Daos of power; could they be even stronger than you?" "Some are stronger, some weaker!" Su Yu remembered what Xing's projection had said to him back in his youth: "Seven Daos supreme..." Calling a peak third-rank "supreme"? In the Heavenly Gate, third-ranks were a dime a dozen. If so, Xing should be weak—second-rank at best. Yet this Riyue possessed a full twenty-four Daos of power! Thinking of this, Su Yu asked, "Let me ask you something, not overly critical. Is Xing in league with you?" Riyue didn't speak. Su Yu added, "Fine, that's not important. What is Xing's strength?" Riyue still didn't reply. Su Yu's gaze turned increasingly chilling. Riyue had no choice and said, "Asking this is useless to you, isn't it?" Su Yu continued to stare at him coldly. Riyue felt his scalp tingle under the gaze and could only say, "A dozen or so Daos of power." "That weak?" Su Yu looked at him, frowning. "Wasn't Xing one of the human leaders in the Heaven-Opening Era? Even you have twenty-four Daos of power, and his descendant, the Human Sovereign, is a top expert. Even if countless generations have passed and the connection is distant, an ancestor's bloodline influence wouldn't be negligible." A dozen or so Daos? He didn't say sixteen Daos, meaning he might truly be second-rank! How could Xing be so weak? Of course, from the perspective of outside the gate, second-rank wasn't weak, but inside the gate, it was truly weak! Ri, Yue, Xing, Chen... Chen didn't need mentioning, having died countless years ago, perishing very early on. But Xing hadn't died; he was still alive! The man had a headache and said helplessly, "Not everyone can reach sixteen Daos. There's always a limit. A tribal leader back then... back then, possessing even one Dao of power was enough to be a leader... That was countless years ago. Cultivation isn't a contest of who lives the longest!" "You think living long means being powerful, but among the masses who've lived long, how many actually became forbidden land masters?" He felt Su Yu didn't need to get hung up on this. Talent determined the ceiling. Over countless years, being unable to break through and stuck at a realm was hardly unusual. Su Yu didn't reply immediately. After a while, he suddenly asked, "Tell me, would an expert with a dozen or so Daos call someone a 'seven-Dao supreme expert'?" "Of course not!" Riyue rolled his eyes. "If I have a dozen-plus Daos, they'd at least have to be slightly stronger than me, even by one or two Daos. For instance, if I'm at fifteen Daos and see a seventeen-Dao expert, calling them 'seventeen-Dao supreme' makes sense!" Su Yu's eyes stirred. "Does Xing have fifteen Daos?" "Roughly around that. After all, it's been countless years; I don't know the exact details. Powerful as I am, I'd be too embarrassed to ask how many Daos he has. A rough estimate is enough. He's a senior after all, so probing him wouldn't be respectful, right?" Su Yu nodded. True enough. However... Su Yu fell into contemplation, recalling the circumstances of that day. Did Xing say "seven-Dao supreme" or "seventeen-Dao supreme"? According to Riyue, if Xing was around fifteen Daos, seeing a seventeen-Dao expert would indeed cause astonishment, especially outside the gate. But could King Dazhou have been a seventeen-Dao expert? First-rank? Hardly likely! At this stage, King Dazhou had even met the Human Sovereign, and the Human Sovereign confirmed King Dazhou was indeed only at seven Daos back then. With his seal unbroken, even if King Dazhou cultivated other Great Daos well, he couldn't break through. Yet if he truly was only seven Daos, would Xing, a fifteen-Dao expert, have called him that? Also, Xing had been extremely wary back then. Remember, as a fifteen-Dao expert, his projection was cast from the main gate, able to suppress the Time Book somewhat. Even if he and the Time Book weren't strong back then, Xing probably possessed second-rank power, perhaps eight or nine Daos? Would he have been so wary of King Dazhou? Instantly, Su Yu fell deep into thought. What was going on? Had Xing said "seventeen-Dao supreme"? If King Dazhou was seventeen Daos and Su Yu hadn't noticed even by now, wouldn't his concealment be too perfect? Was there any need for him to conceal that? Su Yu felt a headache! Or was there something else amiss—perhaps Xing just threw out the phrase offhand because people liked to toss around "supreme expert"? Before this, outside the gate, Su Yu hadn't pondered this question. Seven-Dao power was already far from weak outside. Calling someone a supreme expert wasn't strange. But now, having witnessed the plethora of experts inside the gate, that remark seemed deeply problematic! While Su Yu was deep in thought, Riyue watched him and took a sip of tea, wondering what this guy was thinking. Soon, Su Yu snapped out of it and asked, "Where is Xing? Can I meet him?" Su Yu wanted to meet him! On one hand, to understand what happened back then; on the other hand, Xing might have some connection to the Time Master. To rescue the Time Master, Su Yu might need to meet Xing. Could something be wrong with King Dazhou? Su Yu didn't want to speculate! He felt King Dazhou shouldn't have any issues, nor could he. Yet if King Dazhou truly had seventeen-Dao power under those circumstances, when the Human Sovereign was in dire peril, a first-rank expert should have long rushed to the front lines to join the battle. Riyue fell silent again. Su Yu looked at him coldly. Still being evasive. Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Riyue sighed, "Heimu, I don't even know your real identity. I know nothing about you. You open your mouth asking for secrets—how can I just blabber?" Su Yu frowned. "I am King Wen's son!" "..." Now Riyue grew suspicious and mumbled, "You... you call your father King Wen? You... don't even know King Wen's name, do you?" "Taboo of the venerable!" Su Yu said calmly, "Do you go around calling your father Ri and your mother Yue every day?" "..." Makes sense! "Still, when introducing him to outsiders, you'd give a name!" He coughed lightly. "Uh... then what is King Wen's name? Do you know?" Su Yu cursed inwardly. To tell the truth, he really didn't know! True enough, nobody seemed to have ever mentioned King Wen's actual name. What was King Wen's name? He knew King Wu was called Taishan, the Time Master was called Wen Yu, the Human Sovereign was called Xingyu. As for the others, including King Ming, Su Yu had never asked. Who would go out of their way to ask for their personal names? They weren't peers; knowing their titles was enough. Not just King Wen—Giant Axe, Tongtian, Yingwu, Huoyun... all of them went by titles. Su Yu didn't know their original names either, nor Southern King's. This truly stumped Su Yu. But who was Su Yu? If I don't know, how could you know? The next moment, Su Yu said calmly, "Wen Dao!" No matter what the name was, it had to sound grandiose. "Dao", how about that? King Wen naturally needed an imposing name. Look at the Human Sovereign and me—our names make up the cosmos; King Wen being named Wen Dao was perfectly fitting! "Wen Dao?" Sure enough, Riyue repeated it. Really? So King Wen was named Wen Dao! He didn't know either! Completely normal; they weren't from the same era. In the Human Sovereign's era, few dared speak King Wen's name. Those who did, like Taishan and the others, called him Second Brother or Old Second Wen. Su Yu was certain this fellow didn't know! And indeed, Riyue was merely testing him. Now that he heard the name, he didn't know what to say for a moment. Only after a while did he say, "Uh... do you have any other proof?" Su Yu looked at him coldly. A moment later, a brush materialized in his hand—the Great Dao Brush. He asked coldly, "Is this enough?" "This is... the legendary Brush Dao?" Riyue examined it closely, assessing it. It wasn't forged or simulated with Great Dao power, but a natural Great Dao shaped as a brush. But... why didn't it look quite like a brush? Regarding King Wen, he had only heard bits and pieces, knowing little of the specifics. Could he really be King Wen's son? He asked again, "Then your mother..." Su Yu flared in anger! In an instant, waves surged all around, and heaven and earth flipped! The pavilion vanished! The tea vanished! Su Yu's voice turned ice-cold: "Don't think I won't kill you! You are a prisoner, a caged bird. I am questioning you, not you interrogating me!" Riyue's expression changed. This fellow had quite the temper. He hurried to say, "I won't ask anymore! A misunderstanding!" Su Yu snorted. Soon, the tension cleared like clouds parting. Everything returned to normal, and the teacup reappeared in Riyue's hand. Riyue was shaken. Looking at Su Yu, he saw Su Yu had already regained his calm, wearing a faint smile. Riyue shuddered inwardly. This guy's mood swung terrifyingly fast! Su Yu regained his calm and asked again, "Did you come here purely to notify King Wen to be careful?" "Yes." Su Yu didn't dispute it, nor did he believe it. He asked, "Then how did you plan to find him?" "Search around Mount Yongsheng. Perhaps I'd run into him." Not a word of truth! This Riyue looked as though he was telling the truth, appearing honest and simple, but in reality, Su Yu knew hardly a word was genuine. Even whether his name was Riyue was questionable! "Does your faction stand with the Myriad Realms, or with those inside the Heavenly Gate?" "Neither. We stand purely from the perspective of the human race!" Riyue explained, "We don't care about inside or outside the gate; we only consider things from the perspective of the human race!" Su Yu said coldly, "Tracing back, who isn't human?" Except for the beast races, all of them were human! He didn't believe their claim of acting solely for humanity. The "humans" in their eyes were different from the humans in Su Yu's eyes! Riyue shook his head. "It's different. The humans in our eyes date back to our era. When Zhou unified humanity, or rather let humanity formally rise in the Myriad Realms—only then were humans considered humans! Only after the merging of the human race was it called the human race! Before then, races weren't clearly defined! Back then, the Immortals, Fiends, Gods... were actually names of tribes..." Su Yu looked at him, frowning, still sensing the fellow wasn't being truthful. Never mind; he wouldn't press further on that. He asked, "So you want to save King Wen and his companion?" "Yes!" "Why?" "He is human, a descendant of Wen, and the pillar of humanity in the Myriad Realms... If he dies, big trouble follows! Once the Heavenly Gate opens, those from the Three Gates will definitely embark on a slaughter to return to the present!" Su Yu gave a slight nod. "Give me some useful information. Can you contact Wen Yu?" "Huh?" Riyue said in surprise. "How could that be possible!" Su Yu stared at him coldly, his frown deepening. After a while, he said calmly, "Are you a forbidden land, or a territory?" "Who is your leader?" Su Yu said flatly, "Telling me a name won't kill you! I also don't believe other forbidden lands know nothing. Believe it or not, if I go ask Mount Tianqiong right now, I'll get results!" Ordinary people might not know, but what about the Sword Sovereign and his tier? Su Yu said coldly, "The Sword Sovereign and the others might soon become prey in my bag as well. If what you say now is false, I'll naturally have ways to deal with you!" Riyue went silent for a while before saying, "We count as a forbidden land. As for our leader..." He paused. He seemed reluctant to reveal the name. Su Yu wasn't in a hurry and waited patiently. After a while, Riyue exhaled. "Ren!" "What?" "Ren!" Riyue said, "You heard correctly: Ren! An ancient being, the origin of the human race! During the Heaven-Opening Era, countless experts entered the Myriad Realms to pioneer Great Daos—some from the Chaos Race, some humans... Back then, it wasn't called the human race! There was no concept of a human race! Back then, races weren't distinct; humans and beasts could even unite... Back then, everyone called each other Dao companions, fellow seekers of the Dao... Regardless of form or appearance, all were cultivators!" "And Ren led other humans into the Myriad Realms and established the tribal era... But at first, it wasn't clearly defined either. It wasn't until later, when the current Human Ancestor, Zhou, unified those tribes, that a clear concept of race was formally established!" Ren! Su Yu fell silent. The leader of these people was actually called Ren. This was completely unexpected. Every race had a founding ancestor. Humanity's Human Ancestor was Zhou, but Zhou wasn't the founding ancestor. Race names were usually determined by the founding ancestor's title. Su Yu had thought the human race was an exception. Now he realized it was the same. The human race truly had an original ancestor—not Zhou, but Ren! Even the Human Sovereign and the others probably didn't know this, right? Su Yu exhaled. "Humanity actually has a founding ancestor. I thought it was the Lord of Time!" It wasn't the Lord of Time! Riyue knew some things about this and explained, "Whether the Lord of Time was human or something else isn't clear—most likely human. But he opened a world and disappeared; he wouldn't bother creating a race... Just like the current River of Time, after opening a world, he managed nothing! He is the true embodiment of the ruthless Dao—only opening a world, never interfering in anything else!" "For example, you now: you opened a world, and if you manage nothing inside, experts will naturally arise, forming factions and cliques... Perhaps countless years from now, you will be the next Lord of Time, but you won't be the founding ancestor of the human race!" Su Yu nodded slightly. He understood the reasoning. Still, Su Yu found it odd: "Then why have I never heard anyone mention Ren... Never mind, I'll call him... Renrui!" Riyue hesitated, wanting to tell him not to change names arbitrarily! "Why have I never heard anyone mention Renrui's existence?" "According to you, he was an existence from the early Heaven-Opening Era, likely of the same generation as the Immortal Ancestor and others, or even a generation prior... right?" "Yes!" Riyue explained, "It's normal not to have heard of him! Because his existence was erased by time long ago! Many people deliberately downplayed his existence, including Human Ancestor Zhou and the others! Otherwise, Human Ancestor Zhou wouldn't be called the Human Ancestor! Even we only learned of his existence later..." "Why?" Su Yu was curious. Riyue said, "Because the leader has always been dedicated to the merging of the human race. Simply put, back then, the leader always hoped the Immortal Ancestor and the others would return to humanity so the human race could unite rather than split apart. But he couldn't gain their agreement..." Su Yu rolled his eyes. "Really?" I don't believe it! Why insist on uniting? Look at the Sacred Race created by King Yu—I never thought of reuniting with them; if you want to split off, then split off! "It's true!" Riyue nodded. "Later, those experts became independent, yet strictly speaking, the leader was still their head. To eliminate his influence, they joined forces long ago to attack the leader, severely injuring him... Ever since, he has been recovering from his wounds! Later, those traitors continuously diminished the leader's influence, and later still, after the human race merged again, they designated Zhou as the Human Ancestor, thereby stripping the leader of his title..." Su Yu felt something was deeply amiss! He listened quietly. It could be nine parts false and one part true, or entirely fabricated! Yet Su Yu still listened. It provided more information. People behind the gate couldn't be trusted; Su Yu naturally trusted the Human Sovereign, so he would just take these words as a reference! He stopped questioning Riyue. There was too much he didn't know, but he could slowly gather intelligence to reconstruct the truth of the past! Renrui was not necessarily a good person. Of course, whether he was villainous was hard to judge, but strictly speaking, he had little to do with modern humanity. Thoughts flashed across Su Yu's mind. Looking at Riyue, he smiled. "Do you have spies at Mount Yongsheng?" "No—" Boom! The Dao power on Riyue's body was extinguished. Countless bolts of lightning crashed down, and the waters of the river surged over him! In an instant, Riyue was battered until his flesh tore open! Not only that, countless chains shot out from the river, binding Riyue and dragging him into the depths of the river. Lightning pounded relentlessly, and river water violently battered him! Su Yu stood up, listening to Riyue's agonizing shrieks, and smiled. "Enjoy it! Since entering my world, this is the first time I've met someone so unappreciative and stubborn!" "Heimu, you... Aaargh!" Riyue screamed in agony, his cries echoing continuously. "Whatever you asked... I told you... Some things... aaargh... I really don't know..." Cold and indifferent, Su Yu vanished on the spot, leaving only Riyue's wails and shrieks behind. Su Yu stepped out of the sealed aperture, shaking his head slightly. No mercy. This Riyue was too tight-lipped; most of what he said was false, offering almost zero useful intelligence. In that case, Su Yu would let him taste his methods. He wouldn't die! Even if he really died, within my world, I can revive you! What a pity! Su Yu sighed inwardly. At this realm, extracting memories was exceedingly difficult. Back in the day, Su Yu would have slapped such a person to death, extracted their blood essence, and extracted their memories—no need for such hassle. At their level, blood essence no longer retained memories. Memories resided within the origin in the River of Time. Probing an origin was still difficult for Su Yu right now. Otherwise, he wouldn't bother with a crude method like torture. He walked out of that place, and soon a group of people gathered around, looking at Su Yu. Su Yu smiled. "Time to take action. A month and a half has passed; only a month and a half remains before the Forbidden Land Conference begins! Time waits for no one!" Everyone was delighted! It was beginning! Yes, Su Yu was about to make his move against Jian Kong and the others. He sensed that more experts from various factions had arrived. In the city, between the forbidden land experts and hidden rogue cultivators... there were at least ten first-rank experts who hadn't been subdued yet. More than enough to push him to twenty-nine Daos of power! Afterward, he would see if he could lure out the Sword Sovereign and his peers. Once they were captured, that would be enough. Su Yu inhaled and smiled. "Take care of the rogue cultivators first!" "Understood!" Everyone was thrilled. Finally, rewards were coming, especially for those cultivating similar Daos! *** Inside the city. The arena battle continued! At this moment, the number of experts in the city had indeed increased. Reinforcements from the three major forbidden lands had arrived. Several experts from Mount Tianqiong had come to assist! Beside Jian Kong stood several Mount Tianqiong experts, while Blade Master and his group also stood beside him, their aura formidable. For a moment, Jian Kong felt that coming out to be a territory lord was quite nice! As for Heimu not showing up, he wasn't surprised. Secluded cultivation—what was a month or two to an expert? Even a decade or two was normal! Opposite them, Qu's faction also had experts standing tall, glaring at each other. All around, rogue cultivators continued watching the show. Just then, Jian Kong frowned slightly, seemingly sensing something. He looked around in confusion and looked up at the sky, where the sun and moon alternated. He glanced at it, paid it no mind, and continued surveying his surroundings. He vaguely felt something had happened in the city, something amiss, but couldn't identify what. Sword cultivators were quite perceptive! Right at this moment, Qu said sinisterly from across the way, "It's always the same people fighting; how boring. I hear Jian Kong of Mount Tianqiong is exceedingly powerful, invincible among his peers. Lord Hei Long and Lady Xue Lian wish to experience Lord Jian Kong's sword dao. I wonder if you dare accept the challenge?" Beside him, Hei Long and Xue Lian were taken aback. They glared at Qu, frowning! Hei Long snapped via voice transmission, "Qu, who gave you the authority to make decisions on your own?" When did we ever say we wanted to fight Jian Kong! Qu transmitted back, "My lords, two on one! Provoke Jian Kong into fighting. Taking him down means taking down Mount Liufang! You two are in the same realm as him. Jian Kong cultivates the sword dao and is arrogant; I believe he will accept! Mount Tianqiong claims to be the foremost forbidden land... If we keep fighting like this, who knows how long before a victor emerges!" Hei Long cursed via transmission with an icy tone, "Even so, it's not your place to make decisions for us, bastard!" Qu showed no deference, replying via transmission, "Emperor Mingtu sent Daoist Hei Long to assist me, not me to assist you. I've already spoken the words. Refusing now means showing disrespect to the Emperor!" "You..." Hei Long was furious! Are you crazy? Offending me like this—even if I yield to the Emperor's face and agree to deal with Jian Kong, how do you expect to survive afterward? An eighteen-Dao expert dares to offend me to death! Yet why would Qu care about the future? After today... will you even have a future? Crucially, once Hei Long surrendered this time... apologies, the Dead Spirit Dao is already occupied by me! You will either merge into me and follow me, or be eliminated! And I might step up to become a twenty-two-Dao expert in one fell swoop! Qu could barely contain his excitement! He had wanted to act long ago, but the Tribulation Lord had been preparing until now, making him anxious with anticipation. Now that the Tribulation Lord had given the order, why would he care about what happened to you afterward? He was certain Hei Long wouldn't dare refuse! With countless rogue cultivators watching, refusing now would reach Mingtu's ears. While Mingtu wouldn't be overly polite to Qu, he certainly wouldn't spare Hei Long for insubordination—after all, Mingtu had explicitly stated Hei Long was only there to assist Qu! Hei Long was enraged! Insolent bastard! Just then, on the other side, Blade Master began shouting abuse: "Even in a one-on-two, Lord Jian Kong can handle you both! Do you really think Mount Tianqiong being the foremost forbidden land is an empty boast? Lord Jian Kong is the son of the Sword Sovereign, and the Sword Sovereign is the greatest expert beneath the forbidden land masters! How dare you provoke him!" "..." Jian Kong actually wanted to curse too! Fuck your mother! I have twenty-two Daos, and the two opposite me also have twenty-two Daos each. We're in the same realm. Even though sword cultivators have strong attack power... fighting one against two, how could I win easily? A loss is almost guaranteed! Yet now that Blade Master had proclaimed it, refusing would make him look cowardly. He cursed wildly in his heart! Damn fool, running his mouth without restraint. Even if he was flattering me, he should look at the occasion! Now, he was caught on the horns of a dilemma! Across from him, Hei Long frowned, cursing Qu internally. Still, if Jian Kong truly dared to fight one against two... he wouldn't mind outnumbering him to teach Jian Kong a harsh lesson. Hearing Blade Master's boast, Hei Long actually sneered. He would settle scores with Qu later—he'd definitely teach that fellow a lesson! For now, he transmitted to Xue Lian, "If Jian Kong truly dares accept, let's join forces to take him down. Don't kill him, lest the Sword Sovereign flies into a rage..." Xue Lian responded calmly via transmission, "Fine. But this Qu... possesses no discipline and no respect for hierarchy! If this battle ends in victory... I won't interfere in your Dead Spirit Hell's affairs, but you must discipline him thoroughly!" "Rest assured!" Hei Long was cold. Rest assured, I will teach him how to behave! Only then was Xue Lian satisfied. She felt Hei Long's rage; this Qu was indeed repulsive! The next moment, under the gaze of the two opponents and the surrounding rogue cultivators, avoiding battle would be far too humiliating. Even if he lost, losing a two-on-one duel wouldn't be shameful. Soon, Jian Kong made his decision and said coldly, "Are you two planning to outnumber me? Very well, my Mount Tianqiong fears nothing! Come!" With those words, he flew straight onto the arena. The two opposite him rejoiced and quickly flew onto the arena as well. Outside the arena, countless restrictions instantly manifested. Blade Master laughed heartily: "My lord's sword qi is formidable! Everyone, stand back! Activate the strongest restrictions to prevent the sword qi from leaking!" The restrictions were ramped up to maximum! Simultaneously, silently and without warning, numerous experts suddenly emerged across the city. Completely soundless! The watching rogue cultivators didn't pay attention at first, their eyes glued to the arena where the fight was starting. However, someone soon cried out in shock, "What are you doing?" At that exact moment, Blade Master, Qu, and their subordinates turned on the experts beside them! The experts from the three forbidden lands didn't even react before several first-rank experts were heavily injured and vanished from where they stood, dragged into various apertures! Meanwhile, the rogue cultivators were terrified to the extreme, because around them, several hundred experts suddenly materialized out of nowhere! Among them were quite a few first-rank experts. A booming voice thundered against their eardrums: "Kneel and surrender!" An overwhelming aura bore down upon their hearts, shaking their seas of will! At this moment, the entire City of Light was enveloped in a thin mist! Instantly, rumbles erupted! The slaughter began! Su Yu knew these people wouldn't surrender easily, so he would kill the chickens to scare the monkeys! *** At the same time. Inside the arena, the three experts were locked in combat. Looking outside from their vantage point, the rogue cultivators were still watching, cries of shock continued, and Blade Master's shouts kept ringing out, irritating Jian Kong. "My lord, kill them! My lord is truly magnificent!" Jian Kong cursed inwardly. To hell with you! This Blade Master... sooner or later I'll deal with you. I thought he was decent before, but now... bastard, are you watching a monkey show?! Despite his internal cursing, Jian Kong unleashed his formidable strength, clashing violently with the two experts. He wanted the outside world to see that Mount Tianqiong's sword cultivators were unmatched! Even in defeat, he would make his opponents lose face! His two opponents also roared repeatedly, fighting with all their might! Two against one—could they possibly lose? The three turned heaven and earth upside down within the arena. The arena was like a pocket world; even for three first-rank experts, there was ample space for combat. Around them, the images of the rogue cultivators were still visible, though somewhat robotic. Yet in the heat of battle, how could the three have the leisure to inspect them! *** In the real outside world, the entire city was filled with sounds of slaughter! Boom! As a first-rank rogue cultivator was blasted apart by several first-ranks joining forces, shouts of surrender suddenly rang out in droves. "Don't kill me... I surrender!" "I surrender!" "..." Instantly, several hundred rogue cultivator experts fell to their knees. Those who tried to flee were struck down on the spot! In midair, Su Yu's face materialized, wearing a smile. A loose sheet of sand—subduing them was no surprise. Even with several first-ranks among them, they were easily taken down. "Tribulation Lord!" The previously hostile factions all dropped to one knee, deeply thrilled. "Greetings, Tribulation Lord!" Su Yu smiled, while the kneeling rogue cultivators' expressions changed drastically. What in the world was going on? Who was this person? They seemed to have walked into a den of thieves! Who could have imagined that Mount Liufang and Hupo Cave, after fighting for over half a month, were actually in cahoots! Unbelievable! On top of that, the experts from the three major forbidden lands had seemingly been heavily injured by them. Were these people insane? Or was there another faction behind them? One by one, the rogue cultivators felt utter terror. This Tribulation Lord... what kind of expert was he?