Methods

The Time Master was actually doing pretty well here. Su Yu was indignant, though of course it was only petty irritation. Her so-called "pretty well"... as she had put it, was merely finding joy in hardship. In truth, Su Yu felt somewhat helpless. She certainly knew how to make the best of things. Then again, whether to wait weeping for death or to live happily until the end—the Time Master had made her choice. With King Wen unable to breach Mount Yongsheng for so long, her chances were growing slimmer by the day. At this moment, she was nothing more than a prisoner. A prisoner caught in the schemes of multiple factions. Yet she remained remarkably carefree. Such an open-minded attitude left Su Yu at a loss and almost made him want to weep. In any case, he just did not want her to be happy! Only if she were living in utter misery would he feel that his past struggles had not been in vain. Otherwise, it felt like too raw a deal! Inside the barrier, the Time Master looked rather pitiful and aggrieved. *How was I supposed to know you'd come save me?* *It was just a copy! I merely left behind a few things at random. I thought it would end up in the hands of some mighty expert—who could have guessed it would fall to a brat like you?* *And... you really fought your way here!* *How many years has it even been?!* Musing over all this, the Time Master suddenly asked, "Are you from the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao?" The so-called Sacred Ground of the Human Dao was what Riyue and his faction called themselves. Wen Yu suddenly wondered: *Could this guy... really not be a fraud?* *Could this be another elaborate scheme by the Sacred Ground to swindle me?* *If so, that's pretty deep.* *Could he be an expert from the Sacred Ground?* *Was the copy intercepted by them back then?* *Yet I set up restrictions on the copy. Unless someone was a being of the all-heavens, they shouldn't have been able to fuse with it.* She, Wen Yu, at least possessed that level of skill. *Could he have been groomed by the Sacred Ground within the all-heavens?* At this juncture, Wen Yu could not help letting her imagination run wild. There was simply no other explanation—it was too terrifying. Just a few short years, and you leapfrogged countless levels to become a super-grade expert? Even as Wen Yu pondered this, she kept eating. As for Su Yu, having opened his Heavenly Gate, he was speechless to see her digging in once again. "I am not from the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao," Su Yu said calmly. "If the Sacred Ground could cultivate a super-grade expert in just a few short years merely to deceive you, they wouldn't even need to devour you! The reason I advanced so quickly is partly due to the Time Record, and partly due to the blessing of destiny! The destiny of the human race, the destiny of the all-heavens, the destiny converging before the impending crisis... The all-heavens—or rather, this entire era—generated boundless destiny in an act of self-preservation, seeking to raise someone of immense fortune, formidable willpower, and overwhelming power to save it!" "Throughout this process, I defeated countless opponents. Each victory was an elevation of my destiny. By now, the destiny of the all-heavens has converged upon my person alone, which is why everything goes so smoothly for me today!" By this point, Su Yu understood his own circumstances well. His success stemmed from several factors. The Time Record went without saying. His willingness to fight and risk his life, along with his sharp intellect, were also crucial. And another vital element was his flourishing destiny! It had not been so overwhelming at first. Rather, as he relentlessly slew his adversaries, swept across the realms, and rose meteorically through the all-heavens, destiny steadily concentrated upon him. Thus, as time went on, things went more and more smoothly for him because he had amassed an immense share of the all-heavens' destiny. When an era sensed its own impending destruction, it would naturally produce an innate sense of crisis. And from that crisis, a person of destiny would arise! Su Yu was that person! Having cultivated to his level, there were few things Su Yu could not see through. Having the destiny of the all-heavens concentrated in a single person was truly a terrifying prospect. Wen Yu felt a stir in her heart. Continuing to chew on her leg of lamb, she thought: *If this guy was groomed by the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao, then the all-heavens are in grave danger!* *How do I rule out that possibility?* Wen Yu grinned cheekily. "Then I must have misunderstood you! Oh right, did you see my brother?" "I did." "Did he mention..." "Stop probing," Su Yu said flatly. "It's pointless! The Forbidden Land Conference is about to convene, and countless forbidden land masters will assemble shortly. You have nowhere left to run. Either you wait to be killed in fifteen days along with your brother, or your only option is to cooperate with me and wait for my rescue!" Su Yu's tone was calm. "If I rescue you and you succeed, you come out ahead. If you fail, you don't really lose anything... The worst outcome is being devoured by Fa, making him stronger!" Wen Yu put on an innocent, naive look. "So that means you're a good person? You're really here to save me?" "Don't pull that act with me!" Rolling his eyes, Su Yu took a sip of wine. "I know how to play that game too. What I need is your genuine trust!" Wen Yu's face instantly fell, looking rather dejected. "But you haven't proven that you aren't one of those guys from the Sacred Ground! They're awful—even worse than Fa! What proof do you have that you aren't with them? I'd rather die than play into your hands!" Letting Fa grow stronger would be playing right into their hands! She refused! She would rather perish together in a fight to the death! Even if she could not tear the net, she would die before letting Fa have an easy time. Wen Yu huffed. "I've held out here for all these years. Fa has constantly tried to usurp my control, but I threw him back every single time. I'm not going to trust you just because of one story and a few words! I know these tricks too. Trying to play me at my own game?" Su Yu chuckled. "You won't even trust someone who's practically your half-successor?" "Why should I?" Wen Yu dismissed it nonchalantly. "You people are far too wicked. It was your doing that dragged me into Fa's forbidden land in the first place—did you really think I didn't know?" She was not stupid. King Wen's sister could hardly be a fool. She was not a shut-in like Xingyue. The Time Master loved roaming the world and traveling the River of Time. She was lively and fond of wandering everywhere, learning about the various races of the realms, and collecting ingredients along the way. From everything she had seen and experienced, influenced by years at the side of King Wen and the others, she actually understood everything quite well. Su Yu continued sipping his wine, feeling amused. At this moment, he was no longer so irritated. Using her head was a good thing; it would be far more troublesome if she had no wits at all. Right now, Su Yu was in no rush. Winning the Time Master's trust might not be that difficult, and even if he could not win her over completely, it did not matter as long as she cooperated. Unbothered by her suspicion, Su Yu asked, "Back then, what made you think to send a copy out?" "The Sacred Ground of the Human Dao wouldn't stop pestering me. Seeing that things were dragging on, I figured if I didn't give them a little taste of something... they'd stop sending me delicious food and drink. Besides, back then, I wanted to pass some information to the outside, so I chose to cleave off a portion of my power and create a copy of the cookbook." Regarding this, the Time Master held nothing back. After all, this fellow had already taken the thing. Still, Wen Yu asked curiously, "Even if I sent it out, it shouldn't have ended up with you. You said you were only six years old and very weak—how could it possibly fall into your hands?" Su Yu thought for a moment before replying, "Your Time Record flew toward the homeland you and King Wen came from. Crossing through time depleted far too much of its power..." "Homeland?" Wen Yu froze. After a long pause, she rejected the idea: "That can't be right! What good would sending it back to our homeland do? I placed tracking capabilities on the cookbook copy. My brother and the others were outside, so I locked onto Big Brother Xingyu's aura... It shouldn't have returned to the Human Realm." Su Yu was taken aback. He recalled what Xing had said in his memories; Xing had also thought the cookbook copy should have gone to the Human Sovereign. And Wen Yu was confirming that she had indeed aimed it at the Human Sovereign. "You sent it toward the Human Sovereign?" Su Yu asked in a deep voice. "Of course!" Wen Yu continued eating. Leaving it would be too wasteful; she had been very frugal all these years. Between bites, she said, "I knew the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao might notice and even send someone after it, but Big Brother Xingyu is extremely slippery..." *Slippery?* Su Yu was rather speechless at her choice of words. Wen Yu went on, "So the chances of the Sacred Ground pulling the wool over Big Brother Xingyu's eyes were very low. But I could deliver information to him, letting him know how things stood..." She added, "Back then, I never intended to use the cookbook copy to cultivate some mighty expert. The power of the ten thousand daos within it is actually insignificant to Big Brother Xingyu. If he got it, he wouldn't be constantly tormented like you were. Nothing would have happened to him at all!" She was just as puzzled: "Why did it end up back at our old home?" Su Yu frowned. "In your estimate, how strong would someone have to be to redirect your targeting system?" "Not overly strong, probably. After all, I only set up a tracking system... breaking that system would be enough. Once it crossed through the Heavenly Gate, its energy was basically drained. Having ten to twenty daos of power should be enough to redirect it, right?" Wen Yu then added, "You suspect someone redirected it? That someone didn't want it to reach Big Brother Xingyu's hands?" She was a smart woman and immediately pieced something together. Su Yu nodded. "I suspect someone tampered with it. However, Xing's projection went out along with it back then, possessing nearly second-rank power. To redirect it right under his nose..." Who could have pulled that off? To do so, it had to have been redirected the instant it passed through the Heavenly Gate, and it also had to have completely bypassed the Human Sovereign and his allies. Otherwise, since the true Heavenly Gate was situated at the upstream reaches of the River of Time, even drifting downstream would have brought it to the Human Sovereign first. Thinking back now, Xing had appeared directly in the all-heavens! That meant some power had transported him straight to the all-heavens. Thoughts flashed across Su Yu's mind. "Are you sure?" he asked quickly. Wen Yu rolled her eyes. "No shi—*cough, cough*—yes, I'm sure!" *This guy is very strong, so I'd better not curse at him. Besides, if his story is true, he really had it rough.* Vague ideas began taking shape in Su Yu's mind. If that were the case, certain puzzle pieces might link together. At that moment, hearing him mention their homeland, Wen Yu could not help asking, "Is my Fat Ball still alive?" "Alive!" Su Yu let out a cold sneer. "If not for Fat Ball, I wouldn't have bothered making any promise! You two certainly had it nice—leaving for a hundred thousand years just like that, while Fat Ball foolishly stayed in that place watering your flowers for a hundred thousand years. If left unwatered for three days, the flowers would wither, so for a hundred thousand years without sleep or rest... Is that something a decent person would do?!" Wen Yu fell silent. Only after a good while did she say, "It's always been silly... I never told it to keep watering the flowers forever... I just told it to look after the house..." Looking rather glum, she muttered, "Stop scolding me! I didn't want this either! Back then, I was drawn by the aura of Fa's Domain of Myriad Daos. Following the River of Time in search of it, seeking to perfect my Cookbook Dao, I was simply searching for an opportunity to advance, just as anyone would... Who knew my Heavenly Gate would erupt and suddenly transport me here? If I hadn't been clever enough to fuse with his world and seize partial control before he devoured me, I would have died long ago, okay?!" Wen Yu felt aggrieved and downcast. "I was plotted against by several formidable beings. How could I have known this would happen?" *Why does everyone keep blaming me?* *I've been locked in prison for thousands of years already!* Su Yu was equally speechless. "Keep pretending. Put on an even more pitiful act. Learn from that last time and shed another tear..." Wen Yu scowled in frustration. "No way!" *Why should I cry?* Having cultivated to her level, she was not about to start blubbering. With that, Wen Yu's sorrow abruptly turned to delight. She asked gleefully, "Fat Ball is still alive? Has it gotten bigger? Has it gotten fatter?" "It turned black!" "Ah?" Wen Yu immediately thought of something, looking like she wanted to cry. "No way! You didn't awaken its Sun-Devouring Divine Dog bloodline, did you? Black dogs are so ugly—white dogs are the cute ones..." "It's pitch black!" "You... have zero sense of aesthetics!" Wen Yu felt her outlook on life completely clashed with Su Yu's. How ugly was a black dog? White dogs were adorable! As for strength... what did she need Fat Ball to be strong for? Su Yu scoffed mockingly. "You certainly have an aesthetic sense—making the dog the exact same color as your brother. What were you thinking?" "..." *That... actually sounds pretty reasonable!* "Hey, can we have a normal conversation or not?" Wen Yu grew even more exasperated. "Don't always be so fierce! Be more optimistic, face life with some sunshine!" Adopting the role of a life mentor, Wen Yu offered her counsel: "Look forward. In life, you can't keep dwelling on the past... How old are you, anyway? Even if you suffered a lot, the future is bright!" "The future is the Three Gates emerging together and the world being destroyed." "You're far too pessimistic!" Wen Yu giggled. "So young, yet not a shred of sunshine in you. Look at me: I've been locked up for so long, with some fellow trying to eat me every single day, and I'm still optimistic! Once I'm truly out, to thank you, how about I cook you a Feast of Ten Thousand Beasts? It's delicious!" Optimistic... Wen Yu truly was optimistic, but optimistic to the point of being on the brink of death. Refusing to waste any more words on this banter, Su Yu said bluntly, "Cut the nonsense. The Sacred Ground of the Human Dao has devised a method to deal with you. Once it succeeds, you will be devoured by Fa..." "I've long been prepared for that!" Wen Yu grinned. "If it really happens, there's nothing I can do..." "You don't want your livestock ranch anymore?" "I'll eat every last bit before I die!" "..." Su Yu felt there was little point in talking about life and death with her. She truly had resigned herself to dying. And understandably so—after all these years of being unable to escape, whatever despair she could feel had likely been exhausted long ago. Dropping the scare tactics, Su Yu said in a solemn voice, "The Heavenly Gate's side has already figured out a way to locate your core. Because you and Fa hold sway over this world at the same time, this world—though incomplete—possesses two cores: one is your Time Record, and the other is Fa's core!" "Whether you devour him or he devours you, once the two merge into one, the world will come entirely under a single person's control without causing massive instability, because both of you already wield authority over it!" "If I'm not mistaken, your share of control is smaller than Fa's?" Wen Yu admitted gloomily, "Yeah. I wasn't as strong as him back then. I opened a world on the spur of the moment and unleashed my peak battle power, but even at my peak... back then, I only had a little over twenty daos of power, not even super-grade!" Wen Yu continued, "Actually, over the years, he's steadily encroached upon this world. Right now, he controls roughly seventy percent, while I only hold about thirty percent. That's why he can imprison me, suppress me, and devour me... while I can barely fight back! His only worry is that I might throw caution to the wind and detonate my thirty percent of the world. That could cause the entire world to collapse... and even if it doesn't collapse, he would be severely wounded. That's why, over all these years, he has constantly tried to force me to surrender my core!" Sighing, Wen Yu added with resignation, "My brother and the others have been tying him down all these years just to stall his progress. Otherwise, he might have already seized eighty or even ninety percent of the world... By that point, even if I self-detonated, I wouldn't be able to critically injure him! So if my brother and the others still couldn't save me... my plan was, once I finished eating all the food I raised, to fight Fa to the death!" As she spoke, she even pumped herself up: "I can win!" Su Yu rolled his eyes. *Win, my foot!* As a world-opener, Su Yu understood the situation clearly. With one controlling thirty percent and the other seventy percent, she was doomed to die. At most, she could shatter the world; Fa would most likely be gravely wounded, but he would not die. Naturally, Fa was unwilling to let that happen! In that scenario, his realm might even drop! That was why he had been locked in a struggle with Wen Yu for control all these years. Thirty percent... was still too little! Swallowing the larger share with a smaller one was immensely difficult. Nevertheless, Su Yu was also a world-opener. He knew and understood how these things worked, so he said, "You both hold sway over the world simultaneously. That means its essence and insights—whatever he knows, you should know as well. It's essentially equivalent to a super-grade expert sharing several thousand years' worth of insights with you. Thus, you could take full control of the world very quickly, correct?" "In theory, yes... but do you have a way?" Wen Yu looked at him with anticipation. "How about you join forces with my brother and the others, beat Fa within an inch of his life, and let me give it a shot?" "Forget it. Your brother is too conspicuous a target!" A whole crowd of people had their eyes on him! Fa was watching him like a hawk too; how could they possibly join forces? "Your only way is to devour his world core. Of course, I will also need to suppress Fa while you find a way to devour him in the shortest possible time. That way, even if he dies, it won't cause the world to collapse! Otherwise, the commotion would be far too immense!" Wen Yu clicked her tongue in amazement. Such bold talk! Refraining from comment on that, Wen Yu asked, "You mentioned that the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao has a way to deal with me. How do they plan to do it? I've hidden my world core very well. Unless I die, they can't reach it—and if I die, I'll self-detonate! How can they seize my world core?" She was skeptical. Su Yu sneered. "Don't be overly confident! Your so-called self-detonation depends on your core not being seized before you die. Otherwise... you can detonate all you want, but what good will it do?" "Your world core—to say it's hard to find, it's very hard. But to say it's easy to find, it's actually quite simple." Wen Yu refused to back down. "Then find it and show me!" "It's really not that hard. As long as Fa has enough guts, he can definitely find it!" "Tell me then!" Wen Yu remained unconvinced. Su Yu smiled. "As a world-opener, after enough time, one naturally understands a few things. Fa only needs to do one thing to make your core reveal itself!" "Hurry up and say it!" Wen Yu pressed anxiously. How could that be done? "Simple: draw out the world's power to expose the core!" Su Yu explained, "Although you didn't open your world late, the world is incomplete, and you've been fighting each other for control. Your mastery over the world isn't high, so you don't understand! Fa only needs to extract all the power from the world, turning it into an empty domain. Once he does, both your core and his core will emerge! Of course, at that point, his core will be stronger than yours, so you will definitely be devoured by him!" "Extract?" Wen Yu frowned in confusion. "How can he extract it? I won't agree to let my thirty percent be drawn out. If he extracts the portion under his control, I can kill him!" Su Yu shook his head. "Do you really think a world-opener is omnipotent? Let me ask you: if seventy percent of the power in Fa's world is drained away, how much power do you think you'll have left?" Su Yu calculated briefly before saying, "Fa currently possesses roughly thirty-two daos of power, and that's because he lacks full mastery over the world. In other words, the power he controls allows him to exert thirty-two daos of strength. But you, deprived of the world's foundation that he supports, would possess thirty daos of power at the very most!" "Possibly even less!" "Leaving everything else aside, once you lack thirty-two daos of power, if the six lineage masters join forces, do you think you can withstand them? Don't kid yourself. Without a qualitative leap, the six lineage masters can definitely slay you! And even if you chose to self-detonate at that moment, the blast wouldn't be very powerful because it couldn't resonate with the power of the entire world..." *Extracting the power!* Wen Yu fell deep into thought, somewhat puzzled. "But if he extracts the power, he won't be able to recover it. Where would all that world power be stored? Or would it be directly consumed and wasted?" "That's where the Heavenly Gate's methods come in!" Su Yu smiled. "The Heavenly Gate gave the original emissary a technique—or rather, a concept. The Heavenly Gate's plan is to have Fa extract all his power, temporarily detaching himself from the world, find King Wen, and detonate that power to kill King Wen and King Wu... Meanwhile, the six lineage masters will deal with you inside the world. Once Fa slays King Wen and King Wu and returns, you will be doomed, and so will your brother and King Wu... Well, perhaps they might escape if luck favors them, but no one will be left to stop him!" "Temporarily detach from the world?" Wen Yu was lost in thought. "How can he temporarily detach?" Detaching from one's world was no easy feat. Otherwise, she would have done so already. Su Yu smiled. "A pseudo-nirvana!" What he said now mirrored what King Wu and the Death Spirit Sovereign had discussed earlier. This was indeed the method provided by the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao. In this way, Fa could eliminate King Wen and his companion without causing his world to collapse. After slaying King Wen and King Wu and devouring the Time Master, Fa would suffer a brief period of declining strength, but he would recover very quickly and emerge even stronger—and it wouldn't take much time at all! "A pseudo-nirvana?" The Time Master frowned. "How does one achieve a pseudo-nirvana?" "It's actually not hard. When he fights the decisive battle against King Wen and King Wu, as long as it's calculated properly, your brother will inevitably fall for it... King Wen will actively create an opportunity for his nirvana. Fa will draw the daos into his body and take his world into himself. As long as he feigns weakness, will your brother try to seal him?" Wen Yu thought about it and nodded. "He will!" "He might even employ the power of the Heavenly Gate. Once he does, the Gate can channel some power over to completely isolate Fa from his world, creating the effect of a pseudo-nirvana... appearing as though he is no longer within the world and has already fallen..." Looking puzzled, the Time Master took another bite of lamb rib. "Can that really work?" "Of course!" Su Yu chuckled. "Did you think this was made up? The Gate is, after all, an expert who opened a world countless eras ago and understands worlds deeply! It's just that previously, it may have had other plans, or perhaps it hadn't fully revived, which was why it hadn't offered Fa any advice... In truth, this allows Fa to resolve all his troubles in one fell swoop! At the cost of thirty-two daos of power, even if he doesn't kill King Wen and King Wu outright, he can certainly wound them severely! At that point, where would you even begin to resist?" The Time Master weighed and considered the plan. Could such a method really work? Theoretically, it was viable! However, the risks were considerable. Should it fail, complications could arise. "So the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao even factored my brother into their calculations?" Su Yu smiled. "Even if your brother wasn't caught, King Wu would take the bait! Besides... they have no choice but to step into the trap. So long as Fa demonstrates an absolute determination to kill you... they must take the bait! If not for you, King Wen wouldn't need to keep tangling with Fa. But for your sake, he has no choice!" Wen Yu suddenly grew sorrowful. "Yeah... If not for me, if my brother acted on his own, things never would have turned out like this. Maybe he would have opened a world already—both inside and outside the gates!" *At least he wouldn't be weaker than you!* Wen Yu muttered inwardly, feeling terrible. Yet she was powerless to change it unless she self-detonated right away. But she couldn't bring herself to die just like that; if she died, her brother wouldn't be happy either. Su Yu continued, "So as long as Fa masters the pseudo-nirvana, he can act without restraint, swiftly killing or severely crippling King Wen and the others... And after that, you're dead meat!" "What if... what if I manage to devour his world core while he's in pseudo-nirvana?" "Then you win!" Su Yu chuckled. "But do you stand a chance? Six lineage masters, over a hundred Rulers of Rules, and quite a few first-rank experts—do you think you can beat them?" No! "Still, this is all theoretical... Fa might not dare to go through with it!" Su Yu smiled. "Not necessarily. If the chances of success are high, why wouldn't he dare? Besides, Fa is ultimately a junior in world-opening. At this stage, the Sacred Ground of the Human Dao has no reason to deceive him. Actually killing him wouldn't benefit the Sacred Ground in any way! Fa will most likely do it!" "Then am I really doomed?" Su Yu smiled. "Aren't I right here?" Wen Yu let out a self-deprecating chuckle. *I don't dare trust you!* *I still feel like you're not a good person!* "Sigh!" Su Yu let out a sigh. Women—being too foolish was no good, but being too clever was no good either. Wen Yu thought too much, but her suspicion was only natural. After all, his life was simply too legendary! It sounded like a myth! Yet an exceptional man remained exceptional even if he tried to downplay himself. He couldn't keep belittling himself forever, could he? Proving he was a good person was turning out to be quite troublesome. With that thought, Su Yu spoke up: "How about this: you know your brother well. I'll show you a projection recording. Ordinary people could never get their hands on this. If I have it, maybe it can prove I'm a good person..." "What is it?" Without another word, Su Yu brought forth an image. Wen Yu hurriedly opened her Heavenly Gate to look. At first glance, she froze in astonishment. In the void stood two figures. One was sitting right on the neck of the other, pummeling him relentlessly... Wen Yu stared dumbstruck, muttering, "A recording of Big Brother Xingyu beating my brother... I think I remember this. This was... this was recorded by Big Brother Taishan! That time, my brother had too much to drink and said that Big Brother Xingyu was so shrewd, but Sister Xingyue was a simpleton, so they couldn't possibly share the same parents... He also said Big Brother Xingyu had a screw loose, that he was only talking big at first, but ended up tricking himself into becoming a saint of the human race..." And so, he got beaten black and blue! Dazed, Wen Yu asked, "Where did you get this?" "King Wu gave it to me!" "That makes sense. Except for Big Brother Taishan, no one else had it... I didn't even have time to record it... Later, my brother and Big Brother Xingyu beat him several times, but they still couldn't get it from him..." Wen Yu remained baffled: "Why would Big Brother Taishan give it to you? Back then, my brother and the others beat him daily, and he refused to give it up no matter what—he wouldn't part with it even if it killed him! Why would he hand it to you?" It was too bizarre! "He was captivated by my personal charm!" "Shameless..." Wen Yu muttered under her breath. Then her interest was suddenly piqued: "Can you make a copy for me?" "..." Su Yu was speechless! We're talking about serious business here! "Does this count as proving my identity?" Wen Yu thought about it and said, "I don't know, but Big Brother Taishan gave it to you... Either he was tricked by you, or even my brother was tricked by you. If they were both tricked by you, your swindling skills are far too high, and maybe you even tricked Big Brother Xingyu back in the all-heavens... In that case, there's nothing I can do anyway!" With just that one projection, she decided to believe Su Yu! There was no helping it; if things truly had reached that stage, whether she believed him or not didn't matter anymore. Besides, she firmly believed that Big Brother Taishan would never casually give such a recording to an outsider—even if that person was remarkably powerful, and even if the recording was nothing serious, just harmless fun among friends. Big Brother Taishan still fiercely protected King Wen's reputation. He wouldn't show it to just anyone, let alone hand over the recording directly. "Seriously though, how did you trick... no, how did you swindle... wait, no, how did you get it from Big Brother Taishan?" Su Yu chuckled. "I gave him an opportunity to beat up a forbidden land master. As a reward, he gave it to me on his own initiative! I don't know if you sensed it, but a few days ago, I killed three forbidden land masters and let him have his fill of action. In a great mood afterward, he gave it to me willingly!" Su Yu added with a laugh, "He even promised that if I help him kill a forbidden land master one day, he'll give me the recording of your brother in women's clothing!" "..." Wen Yu was instantly thrilled. "Really?! Even I haven't seen that! I only heard Big Brother Taishan vaguely brag about it in secret once, and I tried sneaking around to steal it several times but failed! Would he really give it to you?" "..." Su Yu gave a sly grin. "Of course!" "Then... once you get it, can you share a copy with me?" "Why should I?" "I... I can cook delicious food for you! The ingredients here are lacking, but otherwise my cooking is incredible—my brother and the rest love it... though I usually don't bother cooking for them." "We'll see!" Su Yu chuckled and checked the time. "That's enough for today. From now on, I'll come see you once every day. There are fifteen days left until the Forbidden Land Conference; we must resolve this within ten days! Rescuing you isn't hard. The real difficulty lies in keeping your strength intact after saving you—or even helping you take another step forward. Otherwise, I could just take you away right now... force our way out, or even strike Fa down!" Wen Yu nodded. "You want me to emerge while also swallowing this world, becoming a super-grade expert directly instead of stripping away my strength to leave?" "Correct!" Su Yu added, "Of course, it will be riskier for you..." "I love taking risks!" Wen Yu smiled so broadly her eyes curved into crescents. "Taking risks is my favorite thing!" Indeed—how could the Time Master not love taking risks? Without another word, Su Yu destroyed every trace, rose to his feet, and turned to leave, his steps carrying a hint of relief. "Once I rescue you, I will owe nothing to anyone! Once I save you, the debt of your legacy, the favor of your brother's heritage, and the kindness of Fat Ball granting me his blood back then... all those debts of gratitude will be paid in full! At that point, I will be Su Yu, no longer your successor!" Su Yu spoke somewhat heartlessly, yet the Time Master fell silent. Seeing him walk away, she suddenly called out, "I'm sorry... I... back then, I never intended to pass this legacy to you..." "No need," Su Yu replied without looking back. "Without the Time Record, I wouldn't be who I am today. Every cause bears its fruit. I acknowledge how much the Time Record helped me, but it also brought me endless agony. Once I save you... our slate will be wiped clean. As for what comes after, we'll talk about it when the time comes!" *At that point, perhaps I'll carry fewer burdens,* Su Yu thought silently. *Once I have no burdens left, perhaps I can truly do as I please, and perhaps I won't have to keep worrying about whether I must wake up when my nirvana comes...* *** As Su Yu vanished from sight, the Time Master felt rather troubled. *I really didn't mean for this to happen!* *If that story is true, it does sound terribly pitiful. But... I never imagined a single copy could forge a peerless expert.* "At worst... I'll just cook him something delicious... If you eat enough, you can forget everything..." Muttering to herself, the Time Master closed her Heavenly Gate. *I... might truly be saved!*