Tribulation of Myriad Races

Empyrean Cloud was busy reminiscing on the sensation of being outside the city. She really wanted to leave again. However, she forced herself to calm down and remain patient. Forcing an indifferent expression onto her face, she nonchalantly said, “It’s no big deal. Organizing the holy cities into an alliance is a good idea. However, you need to be prompt in using your reversal method lest you turn into a death spirit accidentally.”

“You’re right, Lord.”

Empyrean Cloud continued, “If I leave again, how long will it take before you reach your limit?”

After thinking about it, Su Yu answered, “If you leave for an hour, I’ll need to work for half an hour to reverse the resulting death qi. It’s the same for Lord Grandstar as well. When the two of you are out at the same time, I’ll only be able to maintain the balance. Including the death qi I’m receiving from Xing Yue, the balance will be off. But it’s no big deal. I have my yang acupoint. If I feed the death qi to my yang acupoint as well, I’ll be able to handle the death qi of two guardians and Xing Yue at the same time.”

“…”

Empyrean Cloud was rendered speechless.

“Then…” After a slight hesitation, Empyrean Cloud said, “The city will also produce its own death qi. As the mayor, you’ll need to deal with it as well.”

Su Yu nodded, “Yeah. Normally, I’ll need at least an hour for that. Since I now have a second city under me, I’ll need two hours to reverse an entire day’s worth of death qi from the two cities.”

Su Yu sighed and said, “Thus, if the two of you wish to leave, you must not exceed twenty-two hours. You need to spare me two hours to work on the death qi of the two cities or I’ll die.”

“…”

So he could withstand their burden for twenty-two hours?

Su Yu continued, “Of course, that is only applicable if I’m in the city. If I’m outside the city, you won’t be able to stay outside for more than sixteen hours. And if I leave the Allheaven Battlefield entirely, the two of you won’t be able to stay outside for more than ten hours. Otherwise, things will be very hard for me.”

Holy shit!

Empyrean Cloud had the urge to curse at someone.

Even when he was not in the Allheaven Battlefield, they could still stay outside for ten hours per day? Was the kid serious?

Su Yu was naturally serious.

He added, “But at times, Xing Yue will go crazy for no reason. So I don’t think you should stay outside until the very limit of the time. I need at least seven or eight hours to do some cultivation myself as well or things might get dangerous.”

Su Yu was being very earnest. He still needed to cultivate and grow. Thus, they better not stay outside for too long.

At this point, Empyrean Cloud didn’t know what to say anymore. Basically, they could freely leave as long as they didn’t exceed his limit.

“So…you can take on the burden of more holy cities?”

Su Yu smiled, “Yes. With my current strength, I only need an hour to neutralize one day’s worth of death qi from one city. But I need at least eight hours for myself to cultivate, and two more hours on top for rest. Thus, I can only spend fourteen hours per day on the death qi. In other words, if all of you stay inside your cities, I can take on fourteen cities.

“But that’s not possible. You will need to leave or fight at times. Thus, I need to leave enough space to account for emergencies. If you all leave and fight together, it might also be beyond my ability to sustain.”

After calculating silently for a bit, Su Yu concluded, “Five. No more than five cities. I will need around six hours per day for that. That’s a quarter of the day gone. I need to leave the rest of my time for my other affairs. And this can be very risky as well. If I’m in a situation where I can’t reverse the death qi in time, I might die.”

Then, Su Yu stopped talking and showed the stone statue his honest smile. That was all. He couldn’t take more than five cities.

But he thought of something and asked, “Lord, perhaps I should try asking the other cities then…”

“No!” Empyrean Cloud hurriedly said, “There is no need for that. I have a suggestion. You may consider it.”

“Yes.”

“People like me, Grandstar, or even Heavendoom are stronger than some of the modern Eternals. But we are not omnipotent. We have our mission. But you can…enter a certain city secretly. If you are successful in becoming the mayor of that city…you will be in a much stronger position.”

Su Yu blanked out.

“Of course, you might not be able to take on more cities after that one city.”

Empyrean Cloud warned, “To become the mayor of that city, you will be subjected to a very heavy burden. The death qi of that city will be incredibly dense as well. The death qi you will need to withstand from that city will probably be three to five times of the other cities.”

Su Yu asked, “Are you talking about…the empty city under the sea?”

“Yes.” Empyrean Cloud said, “That city is different. As it has been empty for too long, it has accumulated a lot of death qi. The tunnel under that city is also much more powerful than the others. However, the guardian is also far stronger. He is the guardian general of the thirty-six holy cities, the leader of all guardians.”

Su Yu asked, “Is that respected guardian…even stronger than the rest of you?”

Empyrean Cloud said, “That is only natural. That is the strongest expert among us. If we follow the classification you use nowadays, he can be considered a Pseudo Emperor. In truth, that is not a proper cultivation realm. But since not everyone has the courage to call themselves one, it became something to denote one’s strength as well.”

Su Yu asked curiously, “Lord, are the Pseudo Emperors of the nether and dragon races as strong as those from the immortal, devil, and divine races?”

“No. Some of them are stronger. But the Pseudo Emperors of these races are too old. That makes them stronger than regular Eternals. Time itself is enough for them to accumulate a large amount of strength. The one known as Great Qin King of humanity is not far from that level.”

Su Yu nodded and asked, “Is there any clear classification of levels within the Eternal Realm?”

“In a way. You will understand when you become one. For now, you’re not even a Sunmoon yet. It’s pointless for you to know too much. Any Eternal can easily kill you.”

Su Yu nodded. Fine.

So…was he going to become the mayor of the strongest ancient city? He started growing excited. Should he give it a try? That was a proper Pseudo Emperor!

He asked, “Uhm…will the lord inside that city be willing to fight for me?”

Empyrean Cloud said, “It’s hard to say. He is the guardian general. He cares a lot more about the laws than us. Back then, someone broke the laws and…Just know that he might not necessarily be willing to fight for you. But he will always fight to uphold the laws.”

Su Yu nodded understandingly. The person who had broken the laws must be the one Grandstar had mentioned. The city was completely empty because the guardian of the city had killed some people in the city many years ago, including the mayor.

The mayor back then was an ambitious individual. He dreamed of conquering the Myriad Realms with the death spirits and stone statues. Ultimately, he was killed by his own guardian.

Somewhat worried, Su Yu asked, “Lord Empyrean Cloud, if I become the mayor there, won’t I be the sole person in the city?”

“Yeah.” Empyrean Cloud said, “He has guarded that place alone for many years. I think…he’s nearing his limit. Over the years, he has only received some help during a short period of time. He has been withstanding the burden alone for the rest of the time.”

Incredible.

Su Yu was quite impressed. Clearly, that stone statue was far stronger than Grandstar and the others.

Empyrean Cloud added, “Furthermore, the other guardians might not necessarily be willing to help you without his support. But if you are able to gain his support, all of us will consider it carefully.”

“This is a good opportunity for you. Grandstar might not be able to convince him, but I’m very close with him back then. I can convince him for you.”

Su Yu was tempted. That was a Pseudo Emperor. A Pseudo Emperor from the ancient past. That must be an incredible expert. He was probably strong enough to fight seven or eight Invincibles alone, right?

He alone was as good as multiple stone statues!

“Then…I’ll be troubling you, Lord…”

Whoosh!

The stone statue vanished.

Su Yu blanked out. What happened?

Empyrean Cloud was gone.

She did not hesitate to leave once Su Yu agreed. She was definitely doing this to help Su Yu. Her previous foray out of the city had been too short. Thus, she had been getting impatient to leave again.

Fortunately, Su Yu required her help to do something outside the city. What else could she do but leave?

Empyrean Cloud’s voice rang out in Su Yu’s ears, “Wait here. I’ll be back soon.”

Su Yu nodded. He was very impressed. How efficient.

How fast.

She had set off to work right after he agreed. How hardworking of her.

***

Meanwhile, Heavendoom was still waiting expectantly.

Come on!

Where was Su Yu?

If he could take on the burden of two cities, three cities shouldn’t be a big deal, right?

Come on already!

But next, he blanked out. Empyrean Cloud…was out again. Was she…out for another walk?

He felt greatly envious! Where was Empyrean Cloud going? What was she doing? She must be having so much fun! He wanted to join as well!

***

Grandstar sensed the same thing Heavendoom sensed.

He was surprised. Where was Empyrean Cloud going now? Should he go as well? No, he had to follow the laws. He couldn’t run off for no good reason. That Empyrean Cloud must have failed to resist the allure of freedom. As for Su Yu, Grandstar suspected he could take on one or two more cities.

He sent Heavendoom a voice transmission, “Be patient. What’s the rush? I’m sure Su Yu can take on at least one more city. You will probably be the next. Get ready to taste freedom again, Heavendoom!”

Heavendoom grew excited. Was that true? Would his turn come next? Could he finally go out?

Damn that heartless Su Yu! Had he forgotten where he had received his cultivation method and teleportation talismans?

Finally! A sense of bliss enveloped Heavendoom.

Meanwhile, Tian He was rendered quite speechless. Heavendoom was getting so excited even Tian He could feel it. The stone statue must be desperate to leave the city. Tian He wasn’t opposed to this. He could finally quit being a mayor and reduce the burden on him.

He would be happy enough to stay as a regular resident. He was sick of the death qi. As a normal resident, the amount of death qi he had to deal with would be greatly reduced.

***

Prior to this, Su Yu had been planning to make Heavendoom City his next stop. But Empyrean Cloud had successfully persuaded him to change his mind. There was no rush to set the other stone statues free. He had to first deal with their leader, the guardian general!

That was a Psedo Emperor. If he managed to win the guardian general’s favor…holy shit! Would he still need to fear anyone?