The Battle to Slay the Heart!

Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it! This was the realization Zhou arrived at in his final moments. Relying on the faith and fortune of the human race, he had siphoned away Su Yu's fortune, manipulated the fortune of the Human Sovereign and his comrades, and suppressed their growth. In the end, he had perished beneath that very fortune! Back then, when the Human Sovereign and his peers were plotted against, Zhou had contributed immensely to the scheme. He had personally directed the manipulation of fortune; otherwise, under ordinary circumstances, how could an expert who was not of this era, not of the human race, have so easily seized control over their power of fortune? Only Zhou and the Heavenly Gate could have accomplished such a feat. Yet the Heavenly Gate had been sealed off and severed across eras, making it practically impossible for the gate to pull it off. He had schemed for an entire lifetime, only to scheme himself to death in the end. At the brink of death, he had finally seen through it all! Pity it was too late. At this moment, a chill hung over Su Yu. "Walk by the river often enough, and your shoes are bound to get wet!" Manipulating the fortune of humanity, manipulating the fortune of the myriad realms. Gathering all fortune onto a single individual! Using Su Yu, he had drawn out the Great Sages of the Human Gate and slain six of them. Using his manipulation of fortune, he had engineered the ancient cataclysm, plunging the Human Sovereign and his peers into dire peril. And now, relying on that same power of fortune, he had sought to strip Su Yu of his fortune. Did Zhou truly believe everything was within his control? Earlier, even when on the verge of death, the fellow had not stripped Su Yu's fortune—whether because he lacked the opportunity or because he was certain he could not die. Yet this time, he had truly died! This man, who had once led humanity to open an era, had sought from start to finish to control the myriad realms. He had always believed that everything lay within his calculations! Today, however, he had died because of fortune. He had died at his absolute peak, so in a sense, he got what he wanted. In his final moments, the power of fortune had propelled him to thirty-eight Daos. Had Su Yu not disrupted his plans that day, he might have become even stronger! If he had merged his world with his Great Dao back then, he might have reached thirty-eight Daos that day, and today he could perhaps have entered thirty-nine or even forty Daos! Perhaps that had been Zhou's intention all along! Unfortunately for him, his plans collided with Su Yu. Su Yu never played by the rules and had shattered every last one of his schemes. Otherwise, if the Prison King reached forty Daos that day and he had reached forty Daos as well, two forty-Dao powerhouses might have even rivaled the two gates! "What a shame!" Su Yu swung a backfist, knocking the Prison King's ferule off course, his voice laced with chilling mockery: "Without emotion, without desire! How laughable! When disaster befell the Human Sovereign and his comrades, I didn't see you like this! When Yan Huo died for your sake, I didn't see you like this! When your Sacred Race out in the world was exterminated, I didn't see you like this! But now that your father and mother have fallen, suddenly you can't accept it! If that's the case, when you were killing others, why didn't I see you go mad?" Su Yu sneered repeatedly, every word piercing like a dagger! "Selfish to the core! Your so-called strict and solemn Dao of Law... is only because the law does not apply to you! Your so-called Dao of Law merely carves out exceptions for yourself, your father, and your mother!" At this moment, Su Yu laid bare the bloody truth! "Your law is built upon the premise that your entire family is exempt from it!" "Your so-called world of law, your claim that everything must abide by rules... all of it is founded on the condition that you, Yu, along with Zhou and Tian, are beyond control and subject to no restraint!" "Manipulating the hearts of men, manipulating the myriad races, manipulating the myriad realms, manipulating this entire era... Is this your law?" Su Yu's voice was frigid and sharp: "Yu, do you even deserve to speak of law? Does law truly exist in your eyes?" Boom! Su Yu's aura surged violently. What did the power of fortune matter? He had never cared about it in the first place! Besides, if one truly spoke of the power of fortune... right now, his was grander than anyone else's. Since the Spirit of Heaven and Earth had its own designs, it would never let Su Yu die right now. The so-called fortune was merely the fortune of this heaven and earth, and as the acting master of this realm, could your fortune possibly surpass that of the Spirit of Heaven and Earth? Rumble! In the distance, the battle erupted once more. Ji Tian grew frantic and roared, "Gates of Heaven and Earth, give it your all!" Zhou was dead! Could a thirty-eight-Dao Yu truly match Su Yu? Once Yu died and Su Yu was freed up, catastrophe would follow! They had agreed back then that whoever died, their Great Dao would be absorbed by the others. Unfortunately, Su Yu had immediately seized the other's world. Who could absorb it now? No one could! If Yu also fell in battle, they would be in tremendous trouble! "Noisy!" Su Yu scoffed, glancing over with a chill in his voice: "Did you truly think you had me cornered?" At that exact moment, Su Yu waved his hand, sending a figure shooting outward. The figure flew not toward Ji Tian and his group, but toward Ri and Yue, where King Wu was suppressing the two transcendents in combat! Yet Ri and Yue were immensely powerful transcendents themselves, not easily slain! Yet at this moment, Ri and Yue's expressions changed drastically! In midair, a figure twisted uncontrollably, a contorted look of agony on his face as he shrieked, "Su Yu... what did you do to me?" It was Riyue! This was Riyue, whom Su Yu had captured—the offspring of Ri and Yue. Fa had once revealed that Riyue was a being born from the union of the Great Daos of Ri and Yue! Only when Riyue cultivated the Dao of Sun and Moon would he be at his strongest! That was the most terrifying prospect, for it would affect Ri and Yue, perhaps even stripping them of their mastery over their Great Daos. That was why Ri and Yue had never taught him the Dao of Sun and Moon! Yet at this moment, despair welled up in Riyue's contorted eyes. The next instant, an eerie chuckle spilled from his mouth: "Not a bad physical body! Has quite the spirit-like flavor!" It was Lan Tian's voice! Lan Tian, who had not shown himself all this time, suddenly made his appearance. Rather than aiding Su Yu, he took over Riyue's body at this crucial juncture, remarking with a brilliant, beaming smile, "The Dao of Sun and Moon... truly wonderful!" In the next breath, a dazzling radiance of sun and moon erupted from Riyue's body! The Great Daos of Sun and Moon merged! Between heaven and earth, two Great Daos suddenly manifested, manipulated by Lan Tian as though forcibly being torn from their bodies. Transcendents could internalize their Daos, yet in this instant, a large portion of the Daos drawn inside them was violently dragged out! Lan Tian cackled weirdly, "King Wu, what are you waiting for? Kill them!" King Wu was astounded! He had fought for so long without managing to kill the two. Their combined strength was truly formidable; even with power bordering on thirty-six Daos, he hadn't been able to finish them off. Yet now, their Great Daos had actually been forcibly yanked outward! That kid Su Yu really knew his stuff! King Wu, a seasoned fighter through and through, seized the moment. With a furious bellow, a greatsword manifested in his grip. Roaring at the top of his lungs, he brought the door-sized blade slashing down upon Ri! This strike was peerlessly fierce! A thirty-five-Dao powerhouse going all out against an opponent whose power was partially suppressed—their coordinated front shattered in an instant! Boom! A thunderous crash reverberated, as if the heavens had collapsed and the sun itself had shattered! Rumble! As if a colossal sun were blowing apart, Ri let out a shrill shriek as his body was hacked to pieces by the sword. His Great Dao was exposed. Filled with despair, Ri bellowed and forcibly shoved his Great Dao toward Yue! The sun and moon must merge! Only then could they match King Wu; otherwise, both would die! "No..." Yue also cried out in grief. Just moments ago, the two had held King Wu at bay. Yet the moment Riyue appeared and Lan Tian took control, their twin Daos instantly showed flaws. King Wu seized the opening, slaying Ri in the blink of an eye! Yue wailed hysterically, striving to seize the Dao and merge with it, but in the distance, Lan Tian laughed eerily. The next instant, Riyue's body flew forward and detonated with an earth-shattering boom! As a spirit born of the convergence of both Daos, his self-destruction sent violent tremors through the Daos of Sun and Moon! King Wu seized the opportunity, snatching hold of the Great Dao of the Sun. Snorting coldly, he lashed out with a kick that blew Yue's physical body apart with a deafening blast! The tides of battle had turned far too fast! No one expected King Wu to instantly slay one of his opponents while leaving Yue on the brink of death. In the distance, the Heavenly Gate's face darkened! Generals Ri and Yue were the most loyal commanders under his banner! Now that Ri had fallen and Yue was about to die, he barked an order and transformed into the Heavenly Gate, descending upon Qiong. The sealing power of the Heavenly Gate manifested, pressing down to suppress the giant sword! With a resounding boom, Qiong erupted wildly, his sword qi tearing through heaven and earth, yet he could not break free! Simultaneously, the Heavenly Gate extended a colossal palm, pressing down toward King Wu! Even now, he unleashed tremendous might, keeping the thirty-eight-Dao Qiong pinned down! At the same time, Su Yu snorted coldly and threw a punch! His other leg whipped out in a kick toward the Prison King. Time revolved, heaven and earth inverted, and everything seemed to flow backward, as if the river were reversing course! Having cultivated the method of time to this point, Su Yu had brought it to a terrifying height. With a single kick, he sent the Prison King hurtling back thousands of meters. With a single punch, he collided head-on with the Heavenly Gate's palm! A massive explosion rang out! The fist imprint shattered, and the giant palm instantly disintegrated! The Heavenly Gate grunted in fury! He was roughly on par with Su Yu, both possessing around thirty-nine Daos of power at the moment, and both were actively suppressing a thirty-eight-Dao combatant. The amount of strength he could divert was about equal to what Su Yu could spare. Both strikes crumbled at the same time! Over on the other side, freed from interference, how could King Wu—a battle-hardened thirty-five-Dao powerhouse—possibly miss his chance? With a fierce shout, King Wu slashed out with his sword. Boom! The Great Dao of the Moon was instantly sheared apart! King Wu reached out, seizing both the Great Dao of the Sun and the Great Dao of the Moon. Sun and moon revolved as various weapons materialized in his hands, hacking and slicing frantically; sabers, spears, swords, halberds—he was proficient in them all! Almost in the blink of an eye, another curdling shriek sounded as Yue's fading silhouette emerged along the Great Dao of the Moon, filled with despair. Did she regret it? She did! Riyue should never have been allowed to exist. Had they known their downfall would come because of Riyue, they would never have spared him out of a momentary lapse of sentiment all those years ago! This spirit born of the twin Daos had not been particularly strong and had been captured by Su Yu early on. Yet in several of Su Yu's battles, he had played a pivotal role. Including dealing with Fa and rescuing Wen Yu. And today, he had fulfilled his final purpose, dragging both Ri and Yue—two transcendents—down into ruin alongside him! Boom! The thunderous roar shook heaven and earth as the Great Daos of Sun and Moon collapsed and began to merge. While King Wu was still pondering whom to give them to, Su Yu's shout rang out: "Devour them yourself! Hurry!" The merged Dao of Sun and Moon was formidable. The Daos of two transcendents might just push King Wu into thirty-six Daos! Although King Wu did not cultivate this category of Great Dao, absorbing two transcendent Daos still held tremendous promise for advancing him. King Wu had originally considered saving them for someone else, but hearing this, he hesitated no longer and swiftly drew both Great Daos into his body, devouring them by force! These underworld Daos were inherently of immense benefit to them! Just as the Heavenly Gate and his allies hoped to kill Su Yu's group to grow stronger, Su Yu and his comrades likewise pinned their hopes on slaying these underworld Dao experts and consuming their Daos to elevate themselves. Sun and moon instantly rotated, radiating brilliant bursts of light from King Wu's frame! At this point, Ji Tian could hold back no longer! Once King Wu also reached thirty-six Daos, the offensive and defensive positions would completely invert! "Gates of Heaven and Earth, what are you doing?" He roared in fury. Jingtian, having been wounded earlier by Qiong, was currently locked in a stalemate with Wen Yu, while King Wen and the Human Sovereign teamed up against him, a thirty-six-Dao combatant—and both were Heaven-Openers! Though he was not losing ground, neither did he hold the slightest advantage! Meanwhile, on Su Yu's side, if King Wu advanced, disaster would strike! Even without advancing, King Wu's slaughter of Ri and Yue had already shifted the entire battlefield as powerhouses fell one after another! The death of three mighty figures sent waves of doomsday aura crashing through the River of Time. Vaguely, a gateway seemed to be hurtling toward them from the future! The Human Gate might be descending! The mass demise of top experts was accelerating the Human Gate's arrival! Ji Tian inwardly breathed a slight sigh of relief. The arrival of the Human Gate was not necessarily bad news. Within the Human Gate, there were still multiple transcendents! There were eight Great Sages of the Human Gate, but the number of transcendents exceeded the sages—more than a dozen in total, comparable to the forbidden zone lords under the Heavenly Gate back then. Nevertheless, Ji Tian remained worried! Worried that before the Human Gate arrived, even more experts would fall! Especially himself and Jingtian! With that thought, Ji Tian swiftly forced back the Human Sovereign and regrouped with Jingtian, bellowing, "If Jingtian and I fall, when the Human Gate arrives and those fused beings run rampant out of control, have you thought through whether you still want to stick to defense?" If he and Jingtian died, the transcendents in the Human Gate might very well slip beyond control! Had the two gates of Heaven and Earth truly considered the consequences? Even now, both gates were only exhibiting thirty-nine Daos of power—he didn't buy it! The two gates had been holding back all along! It wasn't that they didn't want to kill, nor that they wanted others to die; rather, both had their own calculations and neither wanted to pay the price to forcefully unleash greater strength right now, which would leave lasting repercussions! ... At this moment, Su Yu grew impatient and shouted, "King Wu, once you break through, go join the siege on Ji Tian and his cohort!" That fellow talked far too much! All one heard was his endless bellowing! Anyone who didn't know better would think your parents had died! It was the Prison King's parents who died, and she hadn't been screaming nonstop! Su Yu was fighting at full throttle, unleashing all manner of Great Dao powers. Strict and solemn law? The strongest aspect of Yu's path was precisely her Dao of Law! Manifested as a ferule, each strike summoned an infernal hell; each strike brought discomfort to Su Yu, as though interrogating and flogging him. Fighting with desperate resolve, the thirty-eight-Dao Prison King was still remarkably formidable! Just as the Heavenly Gate could not quickly subdue Qiong, Su Yu could not easily bring down Yu! For a time, the fight reached a stalemate! Meanwhile, Lan Tian, having detonated Riyue's body to kill Riyue and taking Ri and Yue down with him in the process, gave an eerie chuckle and vanished once more. When he reappeared next, he had drawn close to Su Yu's battlefield! Lan Tian was not strong! Even now, he was only in the low twenties of Daos! Yet Yu was well aware of Lan Tian's nature: he specialized in willpower attacks. While she was already at a disadvantage against Su Yu, if Lan Tian invaded her world and unleashed a mental assault, it would cause immense trouble! The Prison King barked coldly, and a colossal world of hell manifested! Raging flames bordered the perimeter of the hell! Hellfire incinerated the void! Blocking Lan Tian from slipping into her world, the Prison King's expression took on a peculiar hue. She suddenly let out a sorrowful sigh that resonated with compassion for humanity, sending a slight jolt through Su Yu's mind! The seven emotions and six desires! Having absorbed multiple Daos from the Great Sages, the Prison King now began to unleash the terrifying potency of the Dao of Seven Emotions and Six Desires! "Su Yu... a murderer must pay with their life! You have slaughtered countless souls; it is time for you to forfeit yours!" Strict and solemn law! The ferule and chains, wrapped in various Daos of desire, swept toward Su Yu! Su Yu sneered, "Yu, you're more disgusting than any of them! I told you: your law is yours, not mine! Aren't you afraid of becoming a laughingstock?" With that, Su Yu suddenly laughed: "The Dao of Seven Emotions and Six Desires? The Dao of Law?" "Do you think I'd be afraid?" In that instant, Su Yu allowed those Great Daos to invade his flesh, allowed the chains to bind him, and allowed the ferule to drill straight into his body. Even the Prison King was taken aback! What was Su Yu doing now? Right then, an expression of madness crept across Su Yu's face, mingled with sorrow and joy, fury and grief. His face remained his own! Yet his countenance shifted incessantly. "I am so enraged..." "I am guilty!" Su Yu cried out shrilly, his voice weeping tears of blood, agonizing and boundless: "I am guilty! Judge me! Yu, come and pass judgment on me!" "Heaven and Earth shall send down great tribulations, and the sinner shall never find redemption!" "I summon the tribulations of Heaven and Earth to punish me!" Under the Prison King's horrified gaze, countless devouring locusts suddenly sprang into being across the realm! Right beside Su Yu and Yu, swarms of devouring locusts materialized out of nowhere—guilt, wickedness! Guilty! These devouring locusts were exceedingly potent. In an instant, they surged in from every direction as dark lightning manifested within the River of Time, striking down at Su Yu with a thunderous roar! Evil! Law! Bolts of lightning crashed down relentlessly. Not only was Su Yu struck, but the ferule and chains wrapped around him were also blasted by the thunder! Boom! The Prison King's world trembled violently. Her Dao core was wound around Su Yu's body, and Su Yu was actively summoning tribulation to descend! The power of the lightning was astonishingly immense! Countless devouring locusts swarmed furiously toward them! A mutual-destruction tactic! "Strict and solemn law?" Su Yu sneered, "If I am guilty, so are you! Yu, between the two of us, whose sins are heavier? Furthermore, even if our sins were equal, in the end it comes down to power. Without peerless strength, you still hope to act as the enforcer of the law... Do you even deserve it?" At this exact moment, Su Yu's world expanded outward, sweeping across heaven and earth! The next second, it collided and overlapped directly with the Prison King's world! The Prison King's face drained of color! Su Yu gripped her chains and ferule tightly, letting the heavenly lightning blast him and the devouring locusts gnaw at him, smiling radiantly: "Yu, wasn't the Dao of Law what you pursued? How about we face the judgment of Heaven and Earth together, and face the judgment of our Great Daos?" The Prison King tried to retreat rapidly, but Su Yu entangled her in an unyielding grasp! The next moment, their two worlds merged completely! In a flash, the world was locked down! Two layers of worlds, above and below, merged seamlessly into a colossal sphere, trapping the two within! Myriad Daos manifested! Su Yu smiled, while the Prison King's face turned pale. Su Yu said with a grin, "Strict and solemn law... pitiless and unyielding law! Very well, let your world's Daos merge with mine, and let us see whom this Dao judges! Let Heaven and Earth judge! Let the River of Time judge! Let all living beings judge!" A book manifested—the civilization chronicle! The civilization chronicle instantly enveloped the ferule! In the next second, the Human Lord Seal also appeared, firmly binding the chains! The four treasures intertwined instantly, blending with one another. Su Yu had taken a page out of Lan Tian's book—he too was forcibly fusing into the other's world! Yet Su Yu was far more ruthless than Lan Tian! He was stronger than the Prison King, but killing her outright was exceedingly difficult! At this juncture, Su Yu suddenly hurled something out—what seemed to be a fractured world. This shattered world instantly transformed into a sphere of light, serving as a conduit linking directly to the River of Time! In all directions, everyone was shaken! Qiong roared, "Su Yu, what are you doing?" What was Su Yu doing? It seemed he was going to scrap the world left behind by the freshly slain Human Ancestor! Su Yu laughed: "The Human Ancestor's world was formed from the fortune of Heaven and Earth! The Human Ancestor is her father, and also the founding progenitor of our human race's era! In death, he will surely be fair, just, and impartial! Using the Human Ancestor's world as the power source, and using the Human Ancestor's myriad realms fortune as the benchmark of judgment, I shall gamble with Yu—to see who is truly the sinner, who is truly wicked! Doesn't she pursue the Dao of Law? I want to see whether the laws of Heaven and Earth will judge me, Su Yu, or judge her, Yu!" Boom! With a colossal roar, the Human Ancestor's world dissolved into the River of Time, coalescing into a single bamboo pole—immeasurably potent, yet completely devoid of life! As his Great Dao tangled violently with the Prison King's, Su Yu sneered, "Yu, you walk the Dao of Law, so I will use your own Dao to shatter your law! Stop struggling. To kill you today, I've gambled my very self. I, Su Yu, want to see who is the true sinner of this realm!" He was utterly mad, using the Human Ancestor's world as the source of punitive power! Right now, he entangled the Prison King's Dao! Let Heaven and Earth judge! Let Yu's deceased father and mother judge from beyond the grave! A public trial for himself, and a public trial for the Prison King! That gigantic bamboo pole hung suspended above heaven and earth! Su Yu's voice sounded like a great bell, brimming with boundless power as he grappled incessantly with the Prison King's Dao, bellowing: "Gather the will of the myriad realms, gather the will of Heaven and Earth! With the fortune of the myriad realms as the source! With all living beings as the witness!" Rumble! The river surged violently. Across the myriad realms, all things and all living spirits felt a sudden tug at their hearts and looked up toward the sky! In that instant, it felt as though someone were asking them a question: "Judge Su Yu, judge Yu, with the myriad realms as witness!" They raised their heads, gazing into the firmament, beholding that jade-green bamboo pole and the two supreme experts suspended in the air, locked in combat! At that moment, a figure materialized atop the jade-green bamboo. It was Lan Tian. Lan Tian smiled and declared, "With all living beings as my Dao, I enact judgment on behalf of Heaven! Yu, you are the master of the Dao of Law, holding that only law governs Heaven and Earth. Are you willing to accept the judgment of Heaven and Earth?" Yu's expression flickered erratically as she looked at her own world, which Su Yu was rapidly merging into, nearly becoming one with it. Her face shifted before she said coldly, "Judge me? Very well, this king will see just how you judge me!" Lan Tian chuckled, "Impartial and just, with Heaven and Earth as witness, and all living beings as mirror! Otherwise, if the Dao of Law does not crumble, it cannot wound or slay you!" With that, he gripped the bamboo pole and shouted in a stern voice: "For humanity, the seven emotions and six desires are the foundation, and abiding by discipline and law is the root! Yu, Su Yu, with all living beings as witness, in the rise of the human race, have the two of you merit? Have the two of you fault?" His voice boomed like a great bell, reverberating through heaven and earth: "Judged by the living beings of the myriad realms, whose merits are greater? Whose faults run deeper?" In the unseen depths, the river rippled! Images of the past involuntarily surfaced in the minds of the myriad realms' inhabitants. Did the Prison King have merit? She did! In the ancient era, she purged internal strife and quelled rebellions; her strict and solemn laws struck fear into both insiders and outsiders! Governance was clean and order unbending; meritorious officials dared not become arrogant, and enemies dared not step out of line... The Prison King had merit! And Su Yu had quelled the threat of the myriad races, rescued humanity, resisted enemies outside the Human Realm when the three gates returned, pacified the realms, suppressed the three gates, and protected all living beings—his merits were immense! Did they have faults? They did! At this moment, as if collecting the wills of all races and spirits, Lan Tian spoke indifferently: "Yu, you executed allies, framed Wen Yu, acted lawlessly and recklessly, flouting Dao and rule. You shall be punished!" Boom! The bamboo pole struck down toward Yu. Bound tightly with Su Yu as both wore each other down, she could not resist at all! Bang! That bamboo pole possessed terrifying might. With a single strike, it snapped the Prison King's left leg, forcing her to one knee with a dull thud! Su Yu burst into loud laughter! Even as he laughed, Lan Tian seemed to embody the Heavenly Dao, speaking aloofly: "Su Yu, merit does not erase fault! Venting personal vendettas might be concealed from the world, but it cannot be concealed from all living beings! The people are a clear mirror. Since this is a trial, it must be impartial. You shall be punished!" The bamboo pole crashed down, striking Su Yu's leg with a loud crack. Su Yu stumbled from the searing pain, though the bone did not break, and cursed: "Whom did I enact a personal vendetta against?" What was wrong with this trial?! When did I ever take personal revenge? At this moment, Lan Tian had to remain strictly neutral to control the river and the Great Daos of the Human Ancestor's world, for only then could the Dao unleash its full potency. Su Yu knew this was fundamentally his own scheme. Still... how in the world did I have faults like that? As though channeling the thoughts of all living beings, Lan Tian said indifferently, "Su Yu, the people harbor grievances, and humanity harbors resentment. When you ascended as Human Lord, some refused to submit, and you executed them without instruction! You slaughtered powerhouses of the thirty-six prefectures, slaughtered meritorious officials, slaughtered leaders of various prefectures..." Su Yu cursed, "That counts too?!" He had indeed done that! When he took the mantle of Human Lord, some opposed him, so Su Yu had simply slaughtered them all without caring whether they were good or bad, including prefecture-lord figures! Even that was held against him? Su Yu was speechless! Ignoring him, Lan Tian continued: "The Human Sovereign, King Wen, and other powerhouses earned great merits for Heaven, Earth, and humanity! Yu, you betrayed your elder brothers and framed the loyal, causing the collapse of the ancient era and plunging the people into misery... You shall be punished!" Boom! The bamboo pole lashed down again with a thunderous impact, snapping the Prison King's right leg. Blood spurted forth! Gritting her teeth, the Prison King fell to her knees, glaring icily upward: "I acted for the sake of all living beings! The ancient rules were lawless and chaotic! I plead not guilty!" Lan Tian did not care about her objections! "Su Yu, the Human Ancestor Zhou opened an era, led humanity to rise, and achieved peerless feats. For your execution of Zhou..." Su Yu's face turned green. "Killing him is a sin too?" "It is!" Lan Tian said calmly, "Executing a meritorious hero without a public trial. You shall be punished!" "Fuck!" Su Yu cursed loudly. This definitely wasn't what he had anticipated! With a solid thud, the bamboo pole came down, snapping Su Yu's left leg. Yet Su Yu refused to kneel, roaring in fury: "I don't accept this bullshit!" He was stronger than the Prison King; even under judgment, he held an inherent advantage over her! Ignoring him, Lan Tian continued: "Yu, this is the Dao of Law! True law does not mean punishing whomever you please, nor that you can enforce law in Heaven's stead. Everything must abide by proper statutes!" The Prison King gritted her teeth: "An impartial trial? This king accepts it!" Even Su Yu killing Zhou was deemed a crime; at this moment, she accepted it! She accepted this law! "Yu, your lineage slaughtered humans without sanction, broke away from humanity, abandoned the human race to one hundred thousand years of crisis, and repeatedly assassinated the inheritors of King Wen... You shall be punished!" Boom! The bamboo pole struck once more, shattering the Prison King's arm with a loud crack! "Su Yu, Wen was your progenitor. Cold-blooded and ruthless, you struck down your ancestor. You shall be punished!" Su Yu spat, "Are you grasping at straws just to find fault with me? He tried to kill me first, am I not allowed to fight back?!" With a loud crash, the bamboo pole came down again! Lan Tian suddenly chuckled: "You wanted a public trial, the judgment of Heaven and Earth... so take it, or shut your mouth! It's not like I'm controlling this. These are the thoughts of all living beings, the will of the River of Time!" He had no way to control it; he merely voiced everything on behalf of the myriad realms and all living souls! Su Yu's right leg took a heavy hit as well, but the pole's destructive force against him was far milder than against the Prison King! "Yu, colluding with the Human Gate, Heavenly Gate, and Earth Gate to harm all living beings. You shall be punished!" Boom! Another thunderous blast! Both of the Prison King's arms were completely broken, and she cried out in rage, "This king refuses to submit!" She also refused to yield! Lan Tian couldn't even be bothered to explain further. Submit or not, think what she would, it was useless—this was the very law she had demanded! Pitiless law! Before results manifested, if the process was tainted, punishment followed! Heroes were not judged solely by their ends! Merit could not cancel out guilt, and what was more, Yu's ideal world of law had never even come to pass; there was no way she could be pardoned just because of her intentions! Lan Tian continued the judgment: "Su Yu, for executing the powerhouses of Hundred Battles, executing Yunshui, Anying..." Before he could even finish, Su Yu broke into another round of curses: "What utter nonsense! They plotted against me, they were rebelling..." Crack! Another sharp impact cracked Su Yu's right leg. He swayed and stumbled, yet stubbornly refused to fall! In any case, these punishments were far less severe than those dealt to the Prison King. This whole thing was something he had brought upon himself. Yet by now, it had truly escaped his control! Of course, Su Yu could release the Prison King right now and withdraw the setup to put an end to it, but... hell no! Su Yu was determined to see the trial through to the end, even if he felt every crime Lan Tian listed against him was completely unwarranted! As long as the Prison King suffered worse injuries than he did, that was enough! "Yu, exploiting bonds of affection to send Yan Huo to his death, acting callous and ungrateful. You shall be punished!" Boom! The bamboo pole struck down again, bashing the Prison King until blood streamed down her head! "Yu, bending the law for selfish ends, secretly manipulating Yan Huo to deal with the Martial Emperor, triggering the opening of the Martial Emperor's Heavenly Gate, causing Xingyue's wrongful death, and showing favoritism by sparing Yan Huo..." This was something no one had truly known about! The moment those words rang out, the Human Sovereign's expression in the distance shifted drastically, and he snapped his gaze toward the Prison King! Livid with rage, the Human Sovereign roared: "Yu, tell me—was the Martial Emperor opening his Heavenly Gate back then truly instigated by you manipulating Yan Huo?" The Prison King remained dead silent! With a solid thud, the bamboo pole came down once more. Lan Tian's ghostly, chill voice echoed: "Heaven and Earth are witness; only truth is punished! This is the Dao of Law! Interrogating the true heart of Yu—whether it is true or false, Yu knows best!" The Human Sovereign erupted in fury! "Damn you! You bastard! Back then, I knew you committed errors, yet out of sibling affection, I forgave you time and again. Yu, you dared to secretly orchestrate the death of Xingyue... You wretched monster!" The Human Sovereign was thoroughly enraged! Xingyue's death back then had driven him mad with rage. If he had possessed a slightly crueler heart, he would have vented his wrath on the Martial Emperor and slain him long ago! Yet considering that the Martial Emperor had made an unintentional mistake, he had refrained from pursuing it. When King Wu stepped forward and insisted on punishing the Martial Emperor, the Human Sovereign had known and tacitly consented, but he had still spared the Martial Emperor's life. As it turned out, the true culprit was the third sister he had forgiven again and again! At this moment, consumed by furious wrath, the Human Sovereign delivered a punch that sent Ji Tian staggering back several paces. He bellowed in sheer rage: "Yu, I tolerated you again and again, refusing to kill you out of sibling affection! You used me over and over, yet out of deep sibling bonds, I still refused to turn on you! And yet you killed my sister—you are utterly unforgivable!" With that, he shouted sharply, "Today, this Sovereign cuts my robe to sever all ties with Yu! If Yu does not perish today, I shall spend the rest of my life ensuring she is slain!" He was incandescent with rage! This was the ultimate betrayal! Rip! The golden robe tore in two, sundering tens of thousands of years of sibling bonds! Su Yu curled his lip in slight disdain: "I told you to kill her long ago, but you just had to refuse..." He didn't say it too loudly, fearing the Human Sovereign would lose his mind from the shock. The Human Sovereign could be indecisive at times, making repeated mistakes over the Prison King. Now that it involved his own flesh-and-blood sister, he finally couldn't bear it. Served the guy right! Of course, it was better to keep such thoughts to himself! Meanwhile, King Wen and the others looked equally grim, severing their robes one after another. King Wen snorted coldly: "You plotted against Wen Yu's Dao, stole Wen Yu's name to slaughter the innocent! For your sake, I had Wen Yu conceal her identity. When the myriad realms believed the Time Master had murdered countless lives, I offered not a single word of defense, letting Wen Yu shoulder it all. And now, Wen Yu's entrapment is tied to you! Xingyue's death is tied to you! Yu, you have parents and kin whom you cherish, but did you ever consider ours?" Those were their dearest loved ones! Both he and Xingyu had only one younger sister. Their parents had died early; these sisters were their sole remaining blood relatives in the world! Yet both had been harmed by her! King Wen was also boiling with fury! The Prison King maintained a cold visage as the bamboo pole battered her until her skull began to fracture. Once they finished speaking, her voice came out freezing: "Everything I did was not wrong!" She still refused to plead guilty! Su Yu laughed, "She's hopeless. Keep going!" The Prison King would likely never admit guilt even in death! At this moment, the Human Sovereign and his companions fought with boundless fury and rabid intensity. Teaming up, the three powerhouses battered Jingtian and Ji Tian backward step by step, inflicting visible injuries until Ji Tian felt like cursing out loud! The trial over there wasn't even finished, yet the three powerhouses here had gone berserk! The Human Sovereign and his peers might have lacked some inner drive before, but now... they were thoroughly enraged. Their blood lust awakened, and their fighting prowess became several times more ferocious than before! In the distance, King Wu was about to complete his breakthrough. Equally infuriated, he charged toward their battle! Ji Tian felt like screaming! Go kill Yu, why are you coming at me?! Meanwhile, the two gates of Heaven and Earth could not quickly overcome their opponents. The Earth Gate couldn't help but curse: "The Dao of Law... is so damn unreliable!" The Prison King had dug her own grave! Su Yu was using the Dao of Law to judge her! If Yu did not recognize this judgment of the Dao of Law, then her own Dao was wrong—fatally wrong—and her world would shatter. She had no choice but to accept the trial of the Dao of Law. That was the greatest joke of all! Yet Lan Tian's voice of judgment rang out once more: "Yu, you plotted to slay Ji Tian and Jingtian to perfect your world and supplement your Dao of Desires, betraying your allies and piling error upon error. You shall be punished!" Boom! The bamboo pole descended again, shattering the Prison King's body further. Yet Yu remained detached: "What is wrong with killing them to perfect the Dao of Seven Emotions and Six Desires and resist the Human Gate?" Ji Tian: "..." Ji Tian and Jingtian both wanted to curse aloud. Fine, just go ahead and get beaten to death! They knew this woman had ulterior motives, but as it turned out, she had genuinely planned to murder them! If she didn't die here, falling out with them was only a matter of time! The Prison King's physical form was battered beyond recognition, and her world was beginning to fracture. Su Yu bared his teeth—this woman was truly something! Beaten half to death like this, and she still wouldn't admit fault! This was the very Dao of Law you desired; today, your wish has been granted! Lan Tian paid her no mind. Realizing he hadn't judged Su Yu in a while, he suddenly declared, "Su Yu, for swindling, conning, and deceiving Qiong and Yin..." To hell with your grandmother! Su Yu wanted to curse. Even that counts?! Bang! The bamboo pole swung down and struck him. Fortunately, the force wasn't too heavy. Su Yu snapped his gaze toward the Lord of Dead Spirits and Qiong. For such a verdict to emerge, those two obviously harbored a bit of resentment in their hearts, which the Great Daos of Heaven and Earth had picked up on! Those two were holding a grudge! The Lord of Dead Spirits and Qiong kept their mouths shut, fighting like madmen. Don't look at us! We obviously had a little resentment, but looking at us won't help—this thing is out of our control, what can we do? "Yu, you sought to extinguish humanity, sever the seven emotions and six desires of the human race, and turn humans into puppets. You shall be punished!" Weak and fading, the Prison King suddenly roared, "Emotions and desires should never have existed in the first place..." "Then what are you angry about?" Lan Tian's retort stopped her in her tracks. Since you think they shouldn't exist, why are you so angry?! "Stones have no emotions or desires. Why don't you just become a stone? Actually, no—even stones develop emotions and desires once they gain a spirit!" "Utter nonsense!" Crash! With another tremendous boom, the Prison King was battered so hard by the bamboo pole that her body tore apart into four pieces, groaning in agonizing pain! Meanwhile, Su Yu was still up and kicking! Su Yu laughed heartily: "It seems if Heaven and Earth are truly just, you, Yu, should be the first to die! An unfair and unjust person like you daring to lecture on the law—how ridiculous!" "This is the Great Dao embodied by your father punishing you! Whether this is the Dao of Law, you know best..." The Prison King's physical form could barely reconstitute itself. Despair, indignation, and confusion flooded her mind... Was the Dao of Law I pursued truly wrong? In the eyes of Heaven and Earth, were my sins greater than Su Yu's? Su Yu was merely wounded, yet she was punished by the Daos of Heaven and Earth to the brink of utter destruction. Why? Su Yu sneered, "The Lord of Time who opened the heavens possessed emotion! Where does this 'freedom from emotion and desire' come from? Total rubbish!" Spurt! A mouthful of blood spewed from her lips as the power of her Great Dao scattered. Yu was engulfed in deep reluctance and regret. Was I wrong? Su Yu pressed on, striking straight at her heart: "Your parents couldn't stand you, your brothers all severed ties with you, your allies all wish you dead, and your Great Dao has betrayed you! You might as well die. Living—isn't it just a waste of food? A waste of Great Dao power? A waste of origin qi? A waste of space? For an existence that has no need to be, according to the rules of fairness and justice... shouldn't you destroy yourself?" Spurt! Mouthful after mouthful of blood erupted as her Great Dao disintegrated. Pale as death, Yu looked at Su Yu, and then around her... Did not a single person agree with her? "In this world, perhaps that fool Yan Huo was the only one who acknowledged you. Why don't you just go join him?" Su Yu continued his taunts! Her Great Dao fractured. Blank and lost, the Prison King wondered: In this world, was Yan Huo truly the only one who acknowledged me? At this moment, Lan Tian also sighed: "For a law enforcer, failing to uphold strict law adds one degree of guilt. Punish her once more!" Boom! The bamboo pole descended once more. Yu sought to become the law enforcer of the myriad realms, yet she was far from a strict upholder of the law, steeped in heinous sins! Guilt compounded upon guilt! With a deafening blast, Yu was utterly shattered. Her Great Dao fell apart, and her world cracked and crumbled. She looked at Su Yu with a plea in her eyes: "Was my Dao... truly wrong?" Su Yu showed no mercy, replying coldly, "Heaven and Earth bear witness. Don't ask me!" Yu gave a miserable laugh. "Su Yu... you are truly ruthless!" Executing her through the most heart-shattering, soul-crushing means! In that instant, Yu's world began to crumble, and her Great Daos snapped! Her Dao of Law could no longer be sustained!