Tribulation of Myriad Races

Su Yu grinned, “You’re right, Teacher. By sacrificing the puny Liu Family, several Zhous were able to affirm their dao. This is indeed a worthy sacrifice from the perspective of the Zhou Family. For me, sacrificing the Zhous for the dao affirmations of you, my father, and a few other people will also be a worthy sacrifice. It is normal for everyone to be selfish. There is no need to get too hung up on the matter since Great Zhou King wasn’t the one who had personally killed all those people. You did what you did. So be it. But there is no reason for us, the abandoned chess pieces, to treat you lot as our benefactors, right?”

Su Yu was all smiles as he continued, “For example, if I sacrificed the Zhou Family for the dao affirmations of those around me, should I demand the descendants of Zhou Family to understand me and see me as a hero? Should I tell them to prostrate themselves before me in worship? Would that be appropriate? Nope. Yes, the people around me would protect humanity after becoming Invincibles, but I wouldn’t demand the descendants of Zhou Family to worship me as a hero.”

His words silenced everyone.

After a while, Great Zhou King nodded. With a smile, he said, “You’re right. There is no need to beat around the bush. I did what I did. I won’t hide anything. I can only say that our views differ because our positions are different. Even now, I still believe that what I did was right. What do you think, Su Yu?”

Su Yu nodded, “For many, you are right. After all, this matter had not harmed them. They would only benefit from the prosperity of humanity as a whole. However, there is no need for any sort of gratitude from the victims as well. Am I right, Your Majesty?”

“Yes.” Great Zhou King nodded.

Su Yu said, “Good. As expected, you’re a reasonable person. Cultured people like us are always reasonable. Only fools love preaching about virtue and morality all the time, forcing victims to be understanding toward the perpetrators of their disaster. If they refused, they were unreasonable. But this expectation in itself is unreasonable. So you only need to apologize after killing my entire family to wipe the slate clean? Is that really appropriate?”

The Great Zhou expert’s face was flushed red as he said with his teeth gnashed, “But His Majesty wasn’t the culprit…”

Su Yu beamed, “I know. I had never claimed that I would kill Great Zhou King or something similar, right? He is a leader of humanity. He is a ruler. He is not a commoner. When a ruler ignores a crime, who shall be held accountable? The criminals? Or the ruler? If I were to kill your entire family in Great Zhou right in front of Great Zhou King and he proceeded to ignore everything, would you still view him as a hero? If you say yes, let’s put it to test. I’m more than willing to have some fun with you.”

The expression of the Great Zhou expert changed repeatedly before finally settling at a somewhat bleak expression. He lowered his head and said nothing else. He didn’t know what to feel anymore. Perhaps…he lacked understanding of the matter because he was not a victim.

Su Yu might not be a direct victim, but he was a student of Liu Wenyan. He was also the successor of the multiple character faction. Thus, he had the right to deny Great Zhou King his respect.

Great Zhou King did not interrupt while Su Yu was speaking.

When Su Yu was finally done speaking, Great Zhou King asked, “So can we have our chat now?”

Su Yu said, “Sure. It would be my honor.”

Great Zhou King glanced at the three stone statues and asked, “Can they…”

“No.”

Su Yu shook his head, “Don’t worry. The three lords won’t harm me before I’m dead.”

Great Zhou King said nothing else. Next, Su Yu’s vision blurred as his surroundings were replaced by darkness.

Standing ahead of Su Yu was Great Zhou King. With his hand clasped behind him, he stared at Su Yu for a long while. Finally, he sighed, “What a pity. If I had known that you’re so talented, I would have tried to keep you in the Human Realm.”

Su Yu laughed, “I might not have grown to such an extent if I had remained. My so-called talent is merely an exaggeration. Don’t take it seriously. Without experiencing all these, would I have grown so much? Tell me. Do you really think that none of those so-called secret multiple character geniuses are as talented as I? But why aren’t they as strong? Because they lacked experience. For them, Sunmoons and Invincibles are equal to heaven. They worship Invincibles. For me, Invincibles are killable as well.”

“Invincibles are killable as well…”

After muttering to himself for a bit, Great Zhou King nodded, “Yes. Invincibles are killable as well. Invincibles are not truly invincible. In all existence, who dares to say they are truly invincible?”

He asked, “Do you think you can break free?”

Su Yu smiled, “It depends on luck, but it’s not hopeless. For example, I can sever my death qi connection and kill Death Sovereign Xing Yue. That might work.”

Great Zhou King asked, “What if humanity is willing to kill Xing Yue for you? Would you be willing to return?”

Su Yu laughed, “You jest, Great Zhou King. Death Sovereign Xing Yue is not a regular death spirit. Killing her might trigger the appearance of a Pseudo Emperor or someone even stronger. It’s not worth losing the lives of Invincibles for a mere Cloudbreach who is no longer loyal to humanity.”

How odd. Was Great Zhou King being serious? Or was this merely a test? Furthermore, he wouldn’t allow them to kill his beloved Xing Yue. That was his omnipotent portable charger. He would regard any attempt on Xing Yue’s life as a declaration of war.

After a short silence, Great Zhou King said, “There is no need for you to view me with hostility. Or to be precise, I don’t mind your hostility. It doesn’t matter. I only want to ask if you could go further than Ye Batian if you were to break free? Could you reactivate the suppressive force of Human Realm?”

That had been Great Zhou King’s goal for many years. He did not support any outward aggression. His sole goal was to reactivate the suppressive force of Human Realm. He had always been honest about this. He had never tried hiding this goal of his.

Great Zhou King said, “The so-called cultural researchers of the myriad races are nothing but a joke. Only the cultural researcher Invincibles of humanity can be considered true Invincibles. But this is a difficult path. An extremely difficult path. Ye Batian failed. Nan Wujiang failed. Yun Chen Failed. Wan Tiansheng failed. Even Xia Chen…failed.”

He shook his head and said, “Liu Wenyan, the so-called Ye Batian number two, is extremely talented. But he is still slightly lacking. He will fail as well. Su Yu, can you do it?”

Just as Su Yu was about to speak, Great Zhou King solemnly said, “Don’t give me a perfunctory answer. It’s pointless. Su Yu, if you really believe you can do it, return to humanity. You will have my full support. You will have the support of many people. At the very least, more than ten Eternals will give you their full support. Until the very end!”

Su Yu’s eyes flickered slightly. But soon, he shook his head, “Thank you. Perhaps I might really gain your support by saying yes. However…I don’t need your support. It doesn’t matter to me. I never cared for the suppressive force.”

He smiled toyingly and said, “Did you not ask me about what I would do as king? Why don’t you ask me what I would do as Emperor?”

Great Zhou King looked up with surprise. He asked, “What would you do as Emperor?”

Su Yu declared emotionlessly, “Kill all who resist me. Kill all who disobey me. The myriad races will worship me. I alone am supreme. Suppressive force? Is there really one in the Human Realm? Is there? Is there?”

He repeated his question thrice as his eyes turned cold. “Great Zhou King, in my opinion, you are dreaming. If I have the myriad races worshipping me as the sole supreme existence, why should I care about the suppressive force? If I fail to defeat the myriad races, humanity shall decline. If my descendants are too weak, the other humans should rise. If they can’t rise, accept the fact that they are weak. Accept that they deserve extinction. Why? Because the weak are prey to the strong. This is the way of nature. Suppressive force? It is only good for suppressing yourself. It’s completely pointless.”

Great Zhou King stared blankly. After a long while, he muttered, “Is there a suppressive force? T-there must be one!”

Had he considered this possibility before? Yes. But he…or to be precise, the entire human race had viewed this as the final hope. He couldn’t be the one to start doubting. He wouldn’t allow anyone to doubt it. There must be a suppressive force! There must be a way to reactivate it!

The Human Realm would be the most secure home of humanity! It must exist!

Great Zhou King exhaled and said, “Su Yu, do you know that your words are too unpleasant to hear? Your words will only plunge humanity into the depths of despair. It won’t bring anyone hope. Do you think you can give humanity the determination to fight till the end with these words? No. Under the weight of despair, unimaginable consequences might arise.”

“Unimaginable consequences? What’s the worst that could happen? Betrayal. So what?”

Su Yu laughed, “Perhaps some have considered this long ago. Perhaps some have started betraying humanity. You wish to give everyone hope. But are Invincibles fools? Will they believe every word you say? Will they not think of a possibility a mere Cloudbreach like me can think of? I doubt the fifth principal was the sole reason for Fiery Sea King’s betrayal. Perhaps his despair had also played a big role in his choice.”

Great Zhou King sighed and said, “I understand. Allow me to ask you one last question. If a day arrives when humanity needs you, will you return?”

“It depends.” Su Yu replied indifferently, “If I can help, I won’t mind helping. No matter what, I’m a human. But don’t dream of ordering me away. Don’t dream that I will sacrifice myself for the good of humanity. Don’t dream of sacrificing my teachers to save humanity. Don’t dream of sacrificing my father to save humanity. Self-sacrifice for the greater good? I am no saint. Perhaps I will have a different answer when I do become a saint.”

Great Zhou King exhaled and nodded, “That is enough. I have no ulterior motive for asking you all these questions today. If a day comes when you wish to break free, feel free to contact me.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. However, I don’t think that day will arrive. Perhaps…I would rather enter the Death Realm than beg for humanity’s help.”

Great Zhou King’s body trembled as he heard that. He looked up at Su Yu again before vanishing with a flicker. The other humans also vanished with a flicker, brought away by Great Zhou King. This included Liu Wenyan’s group.

Su Yu merely smiled and turned to face the ancient city.

The stone statues reappeared around him. Empyrean Cloud asked curiously, “I believe he’s earnest. If you wish to return, he can help with Xing Yue. With his support, your safety in the Human Realm will be assured. I can feel that this human is…very strong.”

Grandstar solemnly said, “He is very strong. Su Yu, he might not have achieved Daofuse, but…he feels as strong as a Daofuse. I will need to fully depetrify to put up a fight against him.”

That was a surprise for Su Yu. He said, “You mean…”

“Even now, we’re not fully free. Even when we look de-petrified, we’re not fully de-petrified. We still need to guard the tunnels. That human feels stronger than my current form.”

In short, Great Zhou King was extremely strong.