The Origin of the Gates

The heroes bowed low as the Tribulation Master revealed himself. High in the void, Su Yu's colossal visage materialized, gazing down upon the multitude. Within the City of Light, the rogue cultivators had been rounded up in one clean sweep. Those still resisting were swiftly slaughtered, and in the blink of an eye, the entire City of Light was transformed into a city of darkness. Down below, Blade Master and the others were already well-versed in the routine. At this moment, Blade Master was thrilled beyond measure. The other two first-rank experts from Mount Tianqiong were both blade cultivators—Jian Kong truly was reliable! This time, those two were destined to fall right into his grasp! However, the heavily wounded first-ranks were still sealed within Su Yu's apertures. Blade Master knew he couldn't afford to rush. Soon, a group of silver-tongued experts trained by Su Yu stepped forward and began to pitch. "Lord Tribulation Master is a world opener, intending to establish a new forbidden land and vie for supremacy over the myriad heavens!" "Right now, the Tribulation Master is broadly recruiting heroes from all directions to shatter the stagnation of today's forbidden lands..." "Rogue cultivators originally had no hope. You have all seen it for yourselves: no matter how many times you slaughter and fight, joining a forbidden land remains harder than ascending the heavens!" "Only the Tribulation Master can grant us new life!" "..." One expert after another hurriedly explained to the crowd. High in the void, Su Yu's colossal visage loomed, his eyes like the sun and moon, completely calm and composed. Meanwhile, a stir rippled through the crowd below. Establish a new forbidden land? Tribulation Master? Just how strong was this figure? They could not tell, but they knew he certainly wasn't weak. Moreover, many experts here had already been subjugated—not just one or two, but more than a dozen with sixteen Daos or more. Such strength was already formidable. If rogue cultivators united, they would form a massive power as well. Aside from lacking someone on the level of a forbidden land master, an alliance of rogue cultivators would even stand a chance of attacking a forbidden land; it was simply that rogue cultivators were disorganized and notoriously difficult to rally. Under the mixture of threats and inducements from this band of experts, some finally broke under the pressure and chose to sever their Daos and merge. It was always like this the first time. People feared dying from severing their Daos. Yet as long as a single person succeeded, the rest naturally fell into place. However, one issue remained unavoidable: some experts practiced Daos that overlapped with existing ones, leaving them no choice but to merge into another's Dao. Once merged, even if a first-rank expert merged in to broaden the Dao, it would already be considered impressive if they could become a fifth- or fourth-rank Ruler of Rules; reaching third-rank was practically impossible. Even for something as formidable as the human race's Physical Body Dao, cultivated by Human Kings over countless years, someone like King Ping had only barely stepped into the third-rank by now. Thus, opening only a single avenue for the same kind of Dao was inherently a source of utter helplessness for many newcomers. Unless the Dao Master perished, advancing was exceedingly difficult. At this moment, many among the rogue cultivators wore helpless expressions. There were even first-rank experts whose faces turned deathly pale upon hearing they had to merge into someone else's Dao. Merging meant a drop in cultivation realm, while refusing meant death. How could they choose? Right then, Su Yu's voice suddenly boomed like a great bell from the void, reverberating far and wide: "For cultivators of the same Dao, those who govern the Dao will face performance quotas. Only by cultivating to a designated level within a set time limit may one retain control of the Dao! Otherwise, one must yield the Dao to someone more gifted and await the next evaluation!" Competitive posting! Indeed, Su Yu had sensed their profound dissatisfaction. In that case, he would paint them a big pie first. Competitive posting was actually a good thing. If two people cultivated the same Dao, the stronger would rise while the weaker stepped down. The one who stepped down would continue merging into that Dao, waiting for the active Dao Master to make a mistake or fail a quota, at which point they could compete again at the next review! As soon as these words rang out, a stir swept through the crowd. Even some of the experts who had previously merged and taken charge of Daos changed color. On the other hand, those forced to merge into another person's Dao showed delight. Presently, they had no choice! Yet if rotations and competitions were truly implemented, there was still hope. Several experts beamed openly. Currently, some second-rank experts had merged into the Daos of third-rank experts. But insights—even if wholly contributed—remained fundamentally one's own. The other person could only borrow from them, not assimilate them entirely. Could a mere third-rank truly compare to a second-rank? Given comparable ages, if I could reach second-rank before you, our wisdom and talent are fundamentally on different levels! At once, many were overjoyed. Falling to their knees, they shouted at the top of their lungs, "The Tribulation Master is wise!" This was infinitely better than having no hope at all! Meanwhile, several Dao Masters immediately grew tense. Su Yu's voice remained detached as he continued, "The Three Gates are about to open, ushering in an era of great contention! Lack of progress may mean death! The mediocre step down; the capable step up! If you cannot manage it yourself, letting someone else take over might give you a better chance of survival! Do not think of scheming to kill your own Dao Master. If they die, you who are attached to the Dao will hardly fare well. If the Dao should snap completely... everyone on that entire Dao will perish!" Completely snapping a Dao was difficult! Nowadays, a Dao snapping merely referred to an expert's own power anchored to the Dao snapping; the Dao itself remained intact. But if the Dao itself were shattered by an almighty expert, everyone tied to it would die. This had happened in the past: at the end of the ancient era, the Human Sovereign and his comrades had shattered several Daos—completely shattered them—causing all cultivators on those Daos to perish, leaving behind no corpses, reduced to ash. Of course, ordinary people could never achieve such destruction. Back then, Su Yu hadn't paid it much mind. Now he knew that thoroughly snapping a Dao and erasing it from the River of Time was exceedingly difficult! A normal snap merely broke one's individual connection, while the Dao remained. Those anchored to it could continue cultivating, and could even seize the opportunity to take charge of the Dao. Su Yu issued this warning to prevent these people from constantly scheming to murder their own Dao Masters, which could easily cause disasters. Naturally, it was also a reminder for those Dao Masters to be sharp! Everyone voiced their agreement! As for whether they would actually plot against their Dao Masters, that was up to them; Su Yu couldn't be bothered to police it. Rogue cultivators accustomed to deceit and betrayal were more than capable of backstabbing. At this point, the merging of Daos proceeded in an orderly manner throughout the City of Light. Seeing that the first rogue cultivator had not perished after merging and had even taken charge of a new Dao, one rogue cultivator after another set aside their burdens and began merging! ... Su Yu's massive face vanished. Closing his eyes, he began to receive the insights transmitted through those Daos, like experiencing multiple lifetimes firsthand. Everyone had different methods of cultivation, different life experiences, and different comprehension. Insights into the Great Dao lay in daily accumulation. Killing was an insight; marrying and having children was an insight; failure was an insight; battle was an insight... The civilization chronicle had possessed such an ability very early on, even allowing him to personally experience other people's lives. That had been a harbinger of Dao insights, yet he hadn't understood it back then. At that time, Su Yu had merely treated them as memories to browse, never grasping their deeper significance. Back then, his favorite thing was prying into other people's memories and impersonating them. He hadn't touched upon the rest yet. Today, although the Dao insights within his world were different from before and did not display all memories, the understanding of the Dao grasped by these cultivators was poured into their respective Daos and transmitted directly to Su Yu. "Is it only my world that works this way, or is everyone's world like this?" Su Yu fell into deep thought. It was likely that all worlds were like this, right? While they cultivated, I am actually receiving this information and these insights. In that case, the River of Time... Su Yu dared not imagine just how powerful the Lord of Time must be! For over countless years, the cultivation of all beings—save for world openers—had been anchored to the River of Time. The Lord of Time... if he were an enemy, could anyone truly match him? Where was this being whose world had birthed numerous forbidden land masters? Just how strong was he? Su Yu pondered while absorbing the insights of those experts. Having absorbed only a portion of their insights, he was already striding toward the twenty-nine-Dao level. The insights of these older generations saved Su Yu an immeasurable amount of time. His progress was astonishingly rapid! "When King Wen opened his world, why didn't he choose to have people merge their Daos?" Su Yu pondered, quickly coming to an understanding. Back then, there hadn't been many experts; for King Wen, having others merge into his world wouldn't have provided much of a boost. Instead, it would have exposed his world. After all, even after merging so many first- and second-rank experts, once Su Yu reached twenty-eight Daos, advancing further had become immensely difficult. "A world is not omnipotent!" "When these people's insights are no longer useful to me and can no longer help me take another step, merging any more people will merely add life experiences without offering any tangible benefit!" "Furthermore, the Daos within King Wen's world aren't particularly numerous. Even if he were to bring in people, he should choose powerful experts..." King Wen's Daos were actually not few, while the Human Sovereign had even fewer. Yet compared to Su Yu, who had incorporated three thousand Daos in the Myriad Realms, their numbers were far lower. At this moment, Su Yu gained new appreciation for these matters. Looking at the people in his world, a sudden thought struck him... What if these people were the Demon Ancestor, Immortal Ancestor, God Ancestor, Human Ancestor... If they fought among themselves, would he bother interfering? Not necessarily! If he truly reached a state of transcendence, would Su Yu still care about their struggles? Could this also be the attitude of the Lord of Time? If the Lord of Time was truly alive, would he be just like Su Yu now? Right now, Su Yu still cared because he needed their combat strength; but once he no longer needed it, would he care at all? Was this... the reason the Lord of Time had never appeared? "The Tribulation of the Three Gates... might not necessarily be a bad thing... From the Lord of Time's perspective, it might simply be a turnover of generations, preventing old figures from monopolizing the Great Dao indefinitely..." "The Heavenly Dao is heartless, and this Lord of Time is just like the Heavenly Dao: orchestrating tribulations, establishing rules, and cycling out the old for the new!" Reaching this point, Su Yu vaguely understood the purpose of the Tribulation of the Three Gates. And the Three Gates—could they be the foremost experts of those respective eras, unwilling to accept the destruction of their times, who left behind a glimmer of hope to stage a comeback? Otherwise, all three eras should have been wiped out, rather than capable of reappearing! The gates were the sole way out to the Myriad Realms! "If the Three Gates are experts—the strongest of their eras, or world openers... does that mean only a world opener can bridge the present and the past...?" Why did it have to be a world opener? Su Yu analyzed and weighed it: perhaps because world openers had transcended, they could connect the path between the past and present, preserving a sliver of hope for a doomed era! If it were himself, he would count as a Fourth Gate! In the end, if he were defeated, if the Myriad Realms were defeated and unable to match the experts of the Three Gates, would he, for the sake of the Myriad Realms, leave behind a sliver of hope by transforming into a gate—using his world as a gate to seal off the Myriad Realms and become the previous era? "Perhaps that truly is a possibility..." At this moment, Su Yu suddenly had an epiphany regarding the nature of the Three Gates! Three supreme experts, witnessing the imminent doom of their eras, had no choice but to take this path, preserving a sliver of hope to await a resurgence and return to the present. And the gates indeed existed in the past! These eras, which should have been wiped out, had been preserved under the gates' protection! "In all three eras, did someone ultimately choose to transform into a gate?" "Then why does no one speak of their meritorious deeds?" Transforming into a gate, world openers sacrificing themselves to protect their eras—shouldn't they be remembered? Or was it merely an involuntary, desperate choice? Or even... were they forced by other powerful figures of their era to transform into gates for protection? Countless thoughts surfaced once again! As Su Yu comprehended all this, his aura gradually grew stronger! A moment later, several first-ranks from the forbidden lands were expelled from Su Yu's apertures. In the crowd, several individuals were extraordinarily excited. Blade Master, Shang, and Qu were all thrilled! The Daos these captives cultivated were similar to their own, belonging to overlapping categories. Taking down these people meant they would all make immense progress. By fully absorbing the insights and rule force of a first-rank, even if they couldn't instantly jump from sixteen Daos to twenty-two, taking in everything from a twenty-two-Dao expert made reaching twenty Daos far from difficult. Given some time to digest and comprehend, reaching twenty-two Daos wouldn't be too hard either. Su Yu paid no mind to any of this. Be it the Blade Dao or other Daos, none were particularly strong back in the Myriad Realms. The Blade Dao in the Myriad Realms was governed by Xia Longwu, who was currently only at the third-rank. It didn't matter if this side grew a bit stronger. Meanwhile, Su Yu continued solidifying his Gateway Dao. Behind his Gateway World lay the Heavenly Gate. The Heavenly Gate flickered indistinctly. Su Yu began pondering another question: "Back then, someone told me that cultivating the Three Gates might be related to bloodlines... Marquis Tongtian said the Human Ancestor could cultivate the Human Gate, perhaps because the Human Ancestor left something behind inside it... And the human race can cultivate the Heavenly Gate, perhaps because of some bloodline connection to it..." In the past, Su Yu had thought that perhaps some ancient human experts—their ancestors—had left something in the Heavenly Gate. Yet now... Su Yu harbored a different suspicion! "The Heavenly Gate... Ren... the ancestor..." Some of Riyue's words echoed in his mind. "If the Heavenly Gate was formed from an expert's transformation, why couldn't the Heavenly Gate... be Ren?" "Or perhaps... Ren is the Human Gate?" Idea after idea flashed through his mind, and Su Yu's eyes flickered constantly. The Gates! The leader of Riyue and his cohort... was he truly an ordinary living person you could see? Did he truly exist? What if... the Gate itself was their leader? Except he was currently asleep! Could the goal of Riyue and his cohort be to revive the Three Gates? To break open the Three Gates? To allow the Three Gates to fully awaken! That would mean their leader could awaken. Otherwise, why act so furtively? Forbidden lands were never furtive! All forbidden lands—even the most mysterious Soul Domain, said to be everywhere—were known to all. Yet the forbidden land led by Ren was known to none. Utterly enigmatic! At this moment, Su Yu seemed to have grasped the crux! In an instant, several guesses crystallized, and his expression shifted slightly. I think I've figured it out! The Heavenly Gate might very well be what that being had transformed into! Riyue, Xing, Wen, and even Riyue's parents had likely gathered together for the sake of reviving this being. And this person was likely truly the human race's primordial ancestor, which was why the human lineage could cultivate the Heavenly Gate! Because that bloodline had been passed down from the primordial era! Su Yu smiled! It was merely a deduction, yet built upon the clues he had gathered... it was highly probable! "I think I understand!" At this moment, Su Yu once again exercised his exceptional deductive prowess, confident he wasn't mistaken. "So the reason Xing was able to follow along and venture outside back then was probably because of a connection to the Heavenly Gate!" "Xing ventured outside wanting to find the Human Sovereign..." Su Yu reasoned: For what purpose? To tell the Human Sovereign not to obstruct the opening of the Three Gates? To revive the Three Gates? Because the Heavenly Gate might be Renrui, the first ancestor of the human race? Unfortunately, Xing hadn't encountered the Human Sovereign; he had encountered Su Yu, and had been forced to merge the Time Book into Su Yu's body. This part remained unclear for now. Nevertheless, Su Yu had deduced some incredible secrets. The next moment, Su Yu abruptly vanished. ... "Aaargh!" Bloodcurdling screams echoed incessantly. In the next instant, the lightning subsided. Riyue, corroded almost to bare bones, was lifted into the air by a wave of Su Yu's hand. Floating weakly with a thread of breath remaining, he looked at Su Yu in utter despair. In this short span of time, he had nearly died several times over. Su Yu smiled playfully. "Fun?" Riyue's breath was faint, gasping weakly, "What... what on earth do you want?" Su Yu chuckled. "Nothing much. I just want to ask: where is your world?" "What?" Su Yu said calmly, "Where is Renrui's world? Could it be within the gate? That you people actually live inside the gate was something I never expected! No wonder you understand worlds so thoroughly! And that Renrui actually transformed into a gate was another surprise! As for you lot... are you waiting for him to awaken?" Su Yu wore a brilliant smile, while Riyue, suppressing his shock in midair, managed, "What?" "Fascinating!" Su Yu sighed in wonder. "Utterly fascinating! Can he be considered the progenitor of the human race? No wonder you're all willing to serve him. However..." Su Yu frowned. "He wants to bring his era back, do you know that? Which means he is fated to be our enemy—do you understand?" Trembling, Riyue stammered, "No... you... you also belong to this era... Even if you carry the aura of the living realm... you belong to this era... The leader is not your enemy..." "What about King Wen?" Su Yu smiled. Groaning in pain, Riyue gasped, "Heimu... we... we all belong to this era. King Wen... King Wen can coexist peacefully too... We are all humans..." Su Yu sighed. "All Three Gates are enemies!" At this moment, Su Yu let out a sigh tinged with sorrow. "I think I fully understand what the Human Sovereign meant. I think I completely grasp why he treated Xing with that attitude!" Su Yu sighed, "Because if they want to revive in the new era, they have to kill someone of the same tier—a peer of the new era! If they don't kill, their only choice is to lower their cultivation and absorb enough yang aura to offset their yin aura! If the Human Sovereign sheltered Xing just because Xing was his ancestor... then others would follow suit, and before long, all the experts of the Myriad Realms would be slaughtered!" "And once the Myriad Realms' experts are slaughtered, that won't even be enough. When that time comes, to survive, perhaps even Dao Merge, Eternal, and Sun Moon Realm cultivators will become your targets!" Su Yu sighed, "I think I truly understand." "This is a struggle of the Dao, a clash of eras!" "You refuse to accept your end, you wish to revive, but have you ever considered the Myriad Realms?" At this moment, Su Yu truly and completely understood the Human Sovereign's words. He looked up toward the sky, his feelings intensely complicated. The Human Sovereign had said never to trust anyone from behind the gates, even if they were his ancestors. He knew Xing was his ancestor, but he hadn't cared, because the Human Sovereign's responsibility was not to ancestors who were already dead in his eyes. It was to the living human populace still surviving in the Myriad Realms! And the Heavenly Gate—or rather, Ren—was the greatest protector of the Heavenly Gate Era. And this protector wanted to revive the Heavenly Gate Era! At this moment, Su Yu reached complete clarity! Looking at Riyue again, Su Yu had no sympathy or pity left, only cold detachment: "There are no races behind the gates! Behind the gates, there are only eras! The heroes of your era, for the sake of revival, for the sake of returning, want to exterminate our era... Riyue, I think I understand now!" Riyue's body trembled violently as he stammered, "You... you are not from behind the gates?" Su Yu said softly, "Naturally!" At this moment, he hid nothing. Despair washed over Riyue. "Are you... going to kill me?" Knowing too much was never a good thing! "No, I'll seal you!" Su Yu smiled. "If I truly kill you, your bloodline connection might allow your parents to notice! Right now, I'm actually curious about something else: if there is a world inside the Heavenly Gate, why haven't you connected your Great Dao to that world?" Su Yu rubbed his chin and murmured, "Could it be there aren't enough Daos? Or because the Gate is slumbering, Daos cannot be connected? Or something else?" He chuckled. "None of that matters! I've probably already guessed your hiding place! But logically speaking, you and the forbidden lands should be of one accord—so why do you slink around in shadows, not daring to show your faces?" "Could it be... that the Heavenly Gate sealing itself was not entirely voluntary?" As Su Yu reeled off deduction after deduction, Riyue shuddered with every word. A devil! Su Yu continued, "Never mind, perhaps there is still room for cooperation!" Su Yu smiled. "Renrui might not necessarily want to protect everyone, right? Maybe just a select few? If surviving strictly requires killing someone of the same tier... why not go kill members of the myriad races?" Su Yu laughed. "We don't necessarily have to be enemies—don't you agree?" Riyue said with great difficulty, "You... are only guessing... If you say so, then so be it..." "Though they are guesses, they're not far from the mark!" Su Yu said with a grin, "This is getting more and more intriguing. If the Heavenly Gate is the human race's primordial ancestor, then who is the Earth Gate? Who is the Human Gate? The Human Gate should date prior to the Heaven-Opening Era; it can't possibly be the Lord of Time himself, can it?" "What the Earth Gate seals, or protects, is the Chaos Era... Yet the Prison King lineage can cultivate the Earth Gate. The Prison King was involved with the Yanhuo Demon Emperor—one a Demon Emperor, the other a Prison King. This Earth Gate might be related to those two, but where does the crux lie?" Stroking his chin, Su Yu murmured, "Could all Three Gates be human? Well, humanoid beings are often considered human, aren't they? But the Chaos Era mostly sealed chaos ancient beasts... Logically speaking, it should be a beast! Could it be that the Yanhuo Demon Emperor possessed beast bloodline?" Doubt after doubt arose, but Su Yu soon smiled. "Forget it. I'm not interested in their exact identities; knowing the general picture is enough! As for the Human Gate, it might be related to Human Ancestor Zhou... or maybe not. I've only seen Hundred Battles and Yu open the Human Gate, but I never saw the Human Ancestor open it!" By this point, Su Yu had largely untangled the origins of the Three Gates and roughly deduced the Heavenly Gate's identity. As for the other two, he could investigate them later. Although Riyue hadn't said many substantial words upon arrival, those few simple phrases—including revealing the existence of Ren—had provided Su Yu with endless inspiration. Of course, the critical factor was that this fellow possessed an intimate understanding of worlds. Since no one behind the gate could open a world, how could they understand them so well unless they were from Dead Spirit Hell or had laid eyes upon another world? Su Yu beamed broadly. "Many thanks! Brother Riyue has cleared up many of my doubts! Moreover, you've made me aware of a hidden almighty being whom I hadn't paid much attention to before. Now I finally understand. My thanks!" Riyue's face turned deathly pale. "No... you... you aren't Heimu! Who on earth are you? Your world wasn't opened here... Wait... perhaps... you opened a world in the Myriad Realms too... Are you the Human Sovereign, Xingyu?" Could this person be the Human Sovereign? How was that possible?! Yet aside from the Human Sovereign, who could be so powerful, who could enter behind the gate, and who could penetrate so many truths at a single glance? At this moment, Riyue's face changed completely. He hadn't revealed much! He had merely spoken a hundredth of the truth, or perhaps none at all; he had only mentioned a few names. Yet he had never dreamed the person before him would deduce so much. Su Yu chuckled and waved his hand. "Rest and recuperate peacefully. I'll find a quiet place for you to heal. Don't try killing yourself—it's useless! With me here, you won't die! Furthermore, I might have seen through a few more truths... Mount Yongsheng was your doing, wasn't it?" Su Yu chuckled softly. "Isn't that right? Perhaps you couldn't make direct contact, but... if the Gate briefly awakened, couldn't it be done? The Time Master... was probably lured here by you! Ruthless enough, indeed!" Su Yu marveled, "If she was lured here by you... then everything makes sense! The Time Master probably fell into a trap, while the Time Book was likely deliberately let out by someone—and Fa probably knows about it..." "And right now, Fa wants to devour the Time Master and open a world... Could it be that opening a world... allows one to pass through the Heavenly Gate?" Su Yu muttered, "Perhaps it does! Because a world can pierce right through the Heavenly Gate! That makes sense: since our worlds envelop our Daos without obstruction, walking out through the gate seems entirely possible! But for ordinary cultivators, their Daos are probably still constrained, right?" "How could a sealed era be left so easily?" "If that's the case, luring the Time Master here probably had an objective beyond merely trapping King Wen and his group..." Su Yu spoke continuously, then soon furrowed his brows. "So, is there some connection between the Human Gate and the Heavenly Gate? Good grief, did the Three Gates reach some sort of agreement?" "Could the Time Master have been duped?" Su Yu murmured, "You were even able to trick her into sending out the Time Book... sending it out from Mount Yongsheng. The Human Sovereign said what she sent out might just be a copy. Could it be that you still want the original?" "Is the original the core with which the Time Master counters Fa?" "So, could this visit of yours have been aimed at that very goal?" "..." Riyue trembled all the more violently! Meanwhile, Su Yu continued weighing possibilities. After a long while, he smiled. "It's very likely! The Time Master has always held onto the original. Earlier, you probably contacted her in secret, fabricating the illusion that you would rescue her... when in fact, you wanted her to hand over the original!" "Unfortunately, it seems the Time Master didn't hand over the original!" "Letting a copy circulate outside... Xing wanted to find the Human Sovereign... Could the plan have been to dupe the Human Sovereign as well? With the Human Sovereign's discerning eye, he would likely realize the Time Book was a copy... When that happened, were you planning to spin a web of lies to deceive the Human Sovereign, prompting him to tell the Time Master to surrender the original?" Su Yu spoke to himself. Today, he had truly uncovered far too many truths! Soon, Su Yu chuckled. "Forget it. What's known is known. Now that I know, how could I let you succeed?" With that, he swept his large hand, and Riyue vanished completely, sealed away down to his very consciousness! All right, this fellow was of no further use. Even though the guy hadn't confessed to much, uttering a few crucial pieces of information had been enough for Su Yu to piece together earlier clues and deduce a wealth of secrets. ... Soon, Su Yu rematerialized within the city. By now, the rogue cultivators had all been subjugated by him. The same went for several experts from the forbidden lands, though three people were still locked in combat. Beside him, Blade Master was ecstatic: "Tribulation Master, I've reached eighteen Daos!" Su Yu nodded slightly. Two first-ranks merged into you and you only reached eighteen Daos, you piece of trash. Do you know you've cost me two first-rank combatants? When first-ranks merged their Daos, even if Blade Master rose to eighteen Daos, those two would at most retain three or four Daos of power—hard-pressed to even qualify as third-rank. Trading two sixteen-Dao experts just for this fellow to advance a single Dao was actually a poor deal. However... it didn't matter. Giving his subordinates a taste of sweetness made them serve with enthusiasm—hadn't Blade Master been brimming with passion lately? Su Yu checked his own strength; he was only a sliver away from twenty-nine Daos. And three experts still remained. He wouldn't need all of them to merge; perhaps just one would be enough to elevate him. ... Su Yu said nothing more, quickly leading the first-ranks under his command toward that area. At this moment, Su Yu had a full eighteen first-rank experts under his banner! In truth, that wasn't that many. Several first-ranks had experienced a realm drop after merging their Daos; for instance, Qu and Shang had both merged the Daos of first-ranks. Otherwise, after ambushing here for so long, Su Yu wouldn't have gained only a few first-ranks. In Jinduan Gorge alone, he had already subjugated ten! After baiting so many rogue cultivators and forbidden land experts, the newcomers numbered far more than eight! ... Meanwhile, inside the arena, the three great experts were still locked in combat! Jian Kong was injured and panting for breath. From outside, Blade Master's voice rang out once again: "My Lord is mighty!" Mighty your ancestors! Jian Kong's lungs nearly burst with rage. Can't you see I've been heavily wounded? Mighty, my foot! At this moment, Xue Lian from Luohun Valley couldn't help but chuckle. "Jian Kong, are the people of Mount Liufang simply eager for you to die?" Still shouting at a time like this. Wasn't it laughable? Utterly ridiculous! Beside them, Hei Long sneered as well, glancing around. As he looked, his brows twitched slightly, and he suddenly remarked, "These fellows... keep repeating the exact same words. Do they take this for a monkey show?" He was rather disgruntled! Jian Kong let out a cold snort, thoroughly dispirited, and said in a low voice, "I lose... I wager you dare not kill me. So be it. I concede this battle; you win! If you want Mount Liufang... it's yours..." Admit defeat when bested! He accepted it! Besides, that Blade Master was too infuriating; Jian Kong didn't even want to protect Mount Liufang anymore! And right at this moment, the restriction suddenly unlocked, and a figure walked in, chuckling, "Jian Kong, Mount Liufang is mine. You can't just give it away!" "Heimu?" Jian Kong was stunned. Heimu was back? In the next instant, the faces of all three contorted! Because Su Yu hadn't come alone. The people who had been shouting and cheering earlier—Qu, Shang, Blade Master, Xue Long... were all trailing right behind Su Yu. The expressions of Jian Kong and the others changed drastically! Hei Long barked in fury, "Qu, what are you doing?" Just then, another shout echoed from the surroundings: "My Lord is mighty!" Blade Master's old face flushed red. Looking around, he hurriedly slashed an external Dao restriction apart with his blade and gave an awkward laugh: "Apologies, apologies! It was on a loop and I forgot to turn it off!" At that moment, all three faces paled in shock! It was fake! Jian Kong's expression shifted before he looked at Su Yu and let out a sigh. "It was all fake? Jinduan Gorge... has already been unified by you?" At this moment, he realized the truth! Jian Kong smiled bitterly. "Heimu, the battle in the City of Light was just a front all along, wasn't it?" Su Yu smiled and nodded. "I thought it would take you a while longer to realize. Good thing you finally noticed!" Jian Kong gritted his teeth. "My father knows I am here. He may come looking for me very soon..." Su Yu nodded. "I'm waiting for him! If he didn't come, I'd be rather disappointed!" "You..." Before he could finish, Su Yu brought down a massive palm carrying boundless majesty. Jian Kong's face changed drastically! "Impossible!" This momentum was no weaker than his father's! Hei Long and Xue Lian's faces warped in shock as well! On the level of the Soul Claiming Envoy! Boom! Having fought for so long, the three exhausted experts coughed up blood and stumbled backward under the force of Su Yu's single strike. Su Yu smiled, "You've exerted yourselves too much and your wounds aren't light. It seems conceding defeat is your only option!" All around, eighteen first-rank experts emerged, some excited, others wearing conflicted expressions. Eighteen first-ranks, plus an incomparably powerful Su Yu! At this moment, despair washed over the three. How could this be? This was not the outcome they had sought! Qu and the others spoke up one after another, explaining everything. Qu and Shang were especially thrilled: no one was governing the Sword Dao yet, but the Daos of the other two overlapped with theirs! This was their chance! They spoke excitedly, and the more the three listened, the more terrified they became. A world opener! Merging Daos into a world! No wonder... the entire City of Light had been within the domain of his world all along! At this moment, the three were consumed by despair, left with no way out! The most despairing were Hei Long and Xue Lian, who would likely have to serve as subordinates; Jian Kong, on the other hand, kept his mouth shut, as he would probably be able to govern the Sword Dao. Whether to merge into the world... either die or merge, there was no other choice! After a while, all three sighed and spoke up: "We... surrender!" Forbidden land experts were more difficult to deal with than rogue cultivators, but pushed to this brink, they could still make the choice between life and death. And Su Yu broke into a smile. A brilliant smile! Three twenty-two-Dao experts! ... After some time passed, Su Yu's aura shifted, and his world trembled. Twenty-nine Daos—achieved! Not only achieved, but the three twenty-two-Dao experts had pushed him another step forward on the path toward thirty Daos. Su Yu believed that once he merged one of those figures like Jianzun, he might have hope of stepping into thirty Daos. And of the three-month timeframe, only half had elapsed!