Tribulation of Myriad Races

When they reached the Sea of Stars, Su Yu asked, “Lord, why is this sea floating in the sky?”

Again, Empyrean Cloud had an answer. “Back then, an expert of the ancient past was passing by when his lover complained that the stars weren’t as beautiful when the sea was grounded. Thus, the expert spent a long time setting up a formation, elevating the entire sea into the sky. He did this just to give his lover a better view.”

Holy shit!

Su Yu was rendered speechless.

Did that expert not have anything better to do with his life?

“Lord, there are so many stars in the sky. But why can’t one reach these stars even after entering the Skysoar Realm?”

Again, Empyrean Cloud answered, “Those stars…are not actual stars. They are most likely acupoints. It was said that when building the Allheaven Battlefield, numerous experts perished from exhaustion. After dying, their acupoints rose into the sky to shine upon the world below. They are not real stars.”

Once again, Su Yu was left speechless. Acupoints? Acupoints as big as stars? How terrifying. Was this true? From how Empyrean Cloud was saying it, she had only heard about it instead of witnessing it with her own eyes.

“Lord, why is it easier for young geniuses to encounter each other in the Allheaven Battlefield?”

“Because the Allheaven Battlefield was meant to be a training ground for young geniuses. At the time, the young geniuses of the various races will enter the Allheaven Battlefield to temper themselves. How are they supposed to temper themselves by hiding? Thus, the Allheaven Battlefield was designed with a law enabling young geniuses to encounter each other easily.”

“But isn’t peaceful coexistence good? Why must there be war?”

“That is a question for humanity to answer.” Empyrean Cloud said, “Nine out of ten wars during the ancient times were triggered by humanity. Eventually, the myriad races learned the lesson of stopping humanity whenever humanity rose in strength.”

“Why didn’t the myriad races eliminate us when we were at our weakest?”

“Were you weak enough over four hundred years ago?” Empyrean Cloud asked, “And what was the result? Humanity had too many trump cards hidden away. It is too difficult to fully eliminate humanity. Furthermore, the Allheaven Battlefield would always shut itself from the various realms after enough time had passed. And each time, humanity would take the chance to recover.”

Listening to the story, Su Yu had the urge to laugh.

How interesting.

This was a race that couldn’t be fully eliminated. Left alone, it would rise in power and start picking fights again. This was probably driving the myriad races mad.

“So how long would Allheaven Battlefield remain open each time?”

“Between thousands of years to over ten thousand years. It varies.”

Fine. That wouldn’t happen anytime soon. The Human Realm had only regained its connection to the Allheaven Battlefield a few hundred years ago.

“Lord, how much do you know about the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion?”

Empyrean Cloud was still enjoying the scenery around them as they traveled. Thus, she did not mind the questions. She absently answered, “Yeah. When the Allheaven Battlefield was inactive, the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion was one of the few unique places where life could continue. Thanks to the Heavenly Hunt Index, the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion was able to keep its members alive during the period of inactivity. Life would also continue in the holy cities, but most people in the holy cities would die before the next reactivation.”

“Is the Heavenly Hunt Index a divine weapon?”

“Yes.”

Just then, Empyrean Cloud caught a big fish from the sea. She was just about to start feasting on it before she recalled that Su Yu was beside him. She hesitated, wondering if her image as a powerful guardian would be ruined if Su Yu saw her chomping on some random fish she caught.

Fortunately, Su Yu was observant enough to say, “Lord, I’m getting hungry. Can we roast this fish and grab a meal?”

“…”

“Sure.”

Empyrean Cloud nodded and agreed graciously.

Su Yu wasted no time and roasted the fish with his five elemental fire. But after thinking about it, he switched to the fire of inheritance. He reasoned that a fish roasted with the fire produced by a natural character would probably taste better.

He didn’t even need any condiment. With the wood character, he produced numerous greenery around the fish, releasing an explosion of aroma. Then, he utilized the water character to wash over the fish with the purest of water. Finally, he used the Soul Expanding Hammer to strike the fish and increase the texture of the meat.

Beside him, Empyrean Cloud stared in stupefaction. A simple fish…could actually be cooked in this manner?

She looked at Su Yu with a pleased expression. She was very satisfied with this new mayor. But…she also noticed that Su Yu seemed to be preparing the fish for him alone. What about her?

That thought had just crossed her mind when Su Yu was done. With the aromatic fish in hand, Su Yu smiled, “Lord, do you want to try it? I don’t enjoy eating alone. It’s much better to eat in the company of others.”

“Fine. I’ll take a bite,” Empyrean Cloud answered flatly.

Instantly, Su Yu produced a pair of golden chopsticks and handed them over. Empyrean Cloud held the golden chopsticks awkwardly and picked the entire fish before swallowing it in one bite. Then, she nodded expressionlessly, “Not bad.”

Su Yu was rendered speechless.

Was this stone statue a cat? How did she finish such a large fish in one bite?

Empyrean Cloud remained expressionless. What was so surprising about that? She had said that she would take a bite. And she had done just that.

Su Yu was more and more convinced that Empyrean Cloud’s true form was that of a cat.

Seeing that Empyrean Cloud was looking quite happy, he smiled and asked, “Lord, did you build your holy city yourself?”

“No, it was a joint effort. Back then…”

She stopped before concluding with a perfunctory answer, “You can consider me the builder.”

“Lord, I heard you can find some treasures and opportunities in the ancient cities. I have been staying in ancient cities for quite a while, but why haven’t I encountered any?”

The ancient cities were supposed to be filled with opportunities. Many people had found weapons, cultivation methods, and other treasures in ancient cities. Why hadn’t he found anything? Were the ancient cities looking down on him?

Empyrean Cloud wasn’t too bothered by this question. She answered, “Some of the things you can find in the ancient buildings were left by the previous inhabitants. And some of them were heavenly rewards for your contribution in defending the living from the dead. You don’t know this, but every now and then, heavenly rewards will descend upon the holy cities. Even the guardians will be rewarded as well. I guess you can consider these rewards…our wage for defending against the Death Realm. This will happen once every one thousand years. Those in the city at the time will receive these rewards, including the mayor.”

Understanding dawned on Su Yu. So those rewards and opportunities were wages for fighting against the Death Realm.

“Lord, after so many years, the ancient cities must have accumulated a lot of treasures from these rewards, right?”

Empyrean Cloud replied, “You can say so. But most of these treasures have already been used up. Only those we find no use for will be left to accumulate.”

“Where do heavenly rewards come from?”

With a smile, Empyrean Cloud answered, “Luminous Domain Mansion.”

“…”

Su Yu was completely dumbfounded.

Luminous Domain Mansion?

What was the meaning of that?

Empyrean Cloud said, “Have you forgotten what my boss said? First, there was the Luminous Domain Mansion. Then, there was the Allheaven Battlefield. Therefore, almost all the heavenly rewards originate from the Luminous Domain Mansion. That place might be called a mansion, but it is much more complicated than you know. Even us, the guardians who had entered the mansion before, had never been able to enter the core of the mansion. That mansion…is a lot more important than you know.”

Su Yu asked, “Wasn’t that the residence of the ancient Emperor?”

“Yeah.” Empyrean Cloud said, “Don’t ask too much. There are things that we can’t explain because we lack information as well. And some of what we know, we can’t speak of since these matters concern some ancient experts. It is not a good idea to even speak of these experts. They might be dead. Or they might not. There are a lot of secrets in the Myriad Realms.”

Su Yu inhaled deeply and asked, “One last question, Lord. Were there a lot of Invincibles during the ancient past?”

The thirty-six holy cities represented thirty-six Invincibles, with one of them being a Pseudo Emperor. And such experts were only qualified to serve as guards.

Empyrean Cloud said, “I guess so. It’s not too crazy. Even back then, we were already strong enough to be considered experts. We wouldn’t have been picked for this job otherwise. Of course, we are much stronger now. It has simply been too long.”

And finally, the city was within sight. Empyrean Cloud looked greatly reluctant. She really didn’t want to go back. So be it. She couldn’t exhaust Su Yu to death in one trip, right? She should take things slow.

With a flicker, the two vanished into the city as she said, “You better take a trip to Rainbow Rain City. Rainbow Rain is near his limits. Since you’re not burdened by Grand Dream City, Rainbow Rain City will be needing your assistance.”

Su Yu nodded.

He was planning to visit Heavendoom. But after becoming the mayor of Rainbow Rain City, it would be quite difficult for him to take on more cities. Should he still visit Heavendoom? Maybe…he should forget it?

Just look at how energetic Heavendoom was. He did not look like he was in need of help.

***

Not far away, Heavendoom stared wide-eyed at Su Yu and Empyrean Cloud expectantly.

He wanted to go outside as well! He did not want to stay in the city anymore!

Pain and suffering? What was there to fear about that? The presence of an alternative was the far scarier thing. He couldn’t stand seeing Grandstar and Empyrean Cloud leaving their cities freely while he couldn’t.

Heavendoom would be a lot more patient if those two weren’t doing that. Alas, those two had left their cities while he hadn’t. He couldn’t accept it!

Su Yu was his disciple! Why wasn’t his disciple helping him? He had taught Su Yu the breathing technique and the vibration method! Had Su Yu forgotten that?

Where was his conscience?