Tribulation of Myriad Races

Su Yu asked, “What is the name of this method?”

“Weapon Fusion Method.” Grandstar explained, “Forge a powerful weapon and become one with it.”

Su Yu said, “This reminds me of someone.”

“Zhao Li?” Wan Tiansheng nodded, “Are you thinking of him?”

“Correct.” Su Yu smiled, “Him.”

Grandstar, who had seen Zhao Li before, nodded and said, “Yes. He seems to be walking a similar path. That was one of the mainstream cultivation methods in the ancient past.”

Su Yu asked, “Lord, do Eternals need to follow specific power of laws during their cultivation?”

After some hesitation, Grandstar answered, “I can’t answer that question well as my cultivation is not high enough. But I can say that most of your guesses are right. The process of Daofuse might really be the process of increasing one’s compatibility with a certain dao. But you need to ask the boss to be certain. He should know the answer.”

Grandstar looked at them with complicated expressions. There was not one Eternal among them, yet they were discussing the process of Daofuse and transcendence here. Grandstar felt lost. He didn’t know what to think.

Was this how cultivation was supposed to be? Wasn’t one supposed to only worry about the cultivation level one was in? Why were these people who weren’t even Eternals exploring the possibilities of Daofuses and beyond?

Was this how humans were? Was this why humanity had produced so many supreme experts?

Grandstar did not have the answer.

Ads by PubRev He could only stare at them absent-mindedly.

Su Yu was a man of action. He did not wait and said, “Lord, can you take me to Lord Grand Dream? I’ll know the direction of my willpower cultivation moving forward after getting some answers from him.”

Heavenly laws.

Yes. He would start targeting the heavenly laws.

But he had to first verify his theory. This could very well be the best method to cultivate one’s characters. Naturally, it would only be suitable for experts and geniuses. Such a method would not work for weaklings. Of course, the weaklings could try if they were feeling particularly brave. After all, heavenly laws could be deadly.

Grandstar nodded, “Sure. I’ll take you there.”

Shortly after, the two left.

Then, Wan Tiansheng looked at Liu Hong thoughtfully and said, “Researcher Liu Hong, you sure are knowledgeable.”

Liu Hong said awkwardly, “Principal, don’t tell me you’re suspicious of me as well. I was being honest. That was merely a speculation on my part. If Bai Feng were here, he would have reached the same conclusion. As researchers, it is only natural for us to be more capable in this aspect.”

“Heh.” Wan Tiansheng chuckled and said, “It doesn’t matter. You’re a smart man. Since your Culture King’s token had saved Su Yu once, he probably wouldn’t do anything serious to you. He is petty, but he also remembers his favors. He won’t say it, but he won’t harm you anymore. Don’t worry.”

Liu Hong said gloomily, “Fine, fine. But I really did nothing! Sigh. So be it. You can believe what you want, Principal. There is nothing I can do about this.”

Wan Tiansheng couldn’t be bothered to argue.

***

Su Yu arrived at Grand Dream City after a short journey.

The old turtle appeared before him.

Before the smiling old turtle could speak, Su Yu asked, “Lord, I have a question. Is the realm after the Daofuse Realm the Great Dao Realm? That is a custom name, but you should understand the meaning from its name.”

The old turtle blanked out slightly before asking, “What…are you trying to say?”

Su Yu wasted no time and said, “I’m wondering if the process of Daofuse is the same as increasing one’s compatibility with a law. Are you walking your own law or are you following an existing law?”

After a slight pause, Su Yu added, “I reckon you’re cultivating your own law. After all, you’re old enough to be around even before there were so many heavenly laws around.”

“…”

The old turtle looked at Grandstar questioningly. Grandstar merely looked up without saying anything. Why was his boss looking at him? He said nothing. It wasn’t like he knew too much about this anyway. What was he supposed to leak if he didn’t even know it in the first place?

Su Yu continued, “Thus, the gap between different Daofuses can be quite big as well. Or perhaps Eternal is already the start of Daofuse. The two are actually the same realm as both can be considered Daofuse. However, one can only be called a Daofuse upon reaching a certain level of fusion. Am I right?”

“…”

The old turtle didn’t know what to say.

Su Yu’s eyes flickered as he continued speaking to himself, “Right, I think I see it now. Dao affirmation is the start of Daofuse. I understand now. Laws. Yes. One can start utilizing the laws at the Eternal Realm. From the first degree to the ninth degree…I understand the classification now. For example, someone at the first degree might have walked only ten percent of a dao. A second-degree cultivator will be at twenty percent, and so on.”

Suddenly, Su Yu exclaimed in shock, “I understand why the minor realms are weak now! The minor realms have the lowest compatibility with the laws. Thus, those affirming their daos in the minor realms will be among the weakest. Meanwhile, most major realms have more compatibility, allowing one to reach the second degree right after dao affirmation!

“As for the Allheaven Battlefield, I understand as well. The power of laws is the strongest here. The compatibility is higher, allowing one to grow stronger upon dao affirmation. As for the minor race experts, I suspect they will be stuck at the first degree forever without entering the Allheaven Battlefield. The passage of time won’t change anything.”

“…”

The old turtle was completely dumbstruck. He swore he had not said a single word here. The kid had been talking to himself right after arriving.

He swore that was the case!

The kid kept understanding one thing after another by himself. What was the point of coming here, then?

Was the damn kid here to show off? Was that it?

Was this fun?

Su Yu continued muttering, “As for ninth-degree Eternals, these must be the people with around ninety percent compatibility. To qualify as a Daofuse, one needs to reach ninety-one percent compatibility. Is that the case? Thus, the Daofuse Realm should be split into several stages. At that realm, the only competition is one’s mastery over the laws. Those with more mastery will be stronger. Of course, the chosen dao probably plays a big role as well…

“Right, there are also other variables. For example, when there are three Daofuses cultivating the same law, they will have to share the power of that law. They will definitely be weaker than someone monopolizing an entire law alone.

“Thus, to guarantee strength upon achieving Daofuse, walking an original path is the better option. To be precise, one should start this path from the Eternal Realm. To cultivate one’s own dao instead of following an existing dao.

“…”

The old turtle sighed and started making a cup of tea. When he was done, he did not drink it. Instead, he left it for Su Yu. The kid must be thirsty after saying so much, right?

When he offered Su Yu the tea, Su Yu drained the tea absent-mindedly and continued, “Therefore, the more difficult the dao is, the stronger one will be upon cultivating it. After all, there might be no other competitors for such a difficult dao. A simple dao will be shared by many, producing many weak cultivators, Daofuses included.

“Also, it seems like there is only one Daofuse in each race currently. Is this a preventive measure to ensure sufficient strength for their Daofuses? Is this why there is only one Daofuse in the immortal race even when they have so many ancient fossils around? Because they can’t find the correct dao to cultivate?”

Su Yu rubbed his chin and said, “Yes, that’s possible. Perhaps there’s a limit to Daofuse. For example, a single dao with ten people cultivating it at the same time. Nine are hidden somewhere, with the tenth being the sole Daofuse visible. No additional person will be able to achieve Daofuse through the same dao anymore.”

“Great Qin King and the others have been stuck below the Daofuse Realm. There are two possibilities. Too many humans walk the same dao. The quota is fully taken by those old fossils, leaving no space for Great Qin King and the others. This is the first possibility.

“Secondly, the dao of humanity has been damaged. Too many people once walked that dao, and too many perished. Each death would damage that dao slightly, to the point it became too damaged to sustain more Daofuses. Thus, the present humans would need to seek a new path to achieve Daofuse.”

Su Yu thought more and said, “No, there is another possibility. For example, the Hundred Battle King of the ninth epoch must have nearly transcended the dao with his strength. However, he was stuck. But due to how strong he was, he alone occupied a majority of that dao. And the truth is that he is still alive somewhere, rendering it impossible for anyone else to achieve Daofuse.

“Right, that must be the case! It is said that during the ninth epoch, humanity wagered fully on the Hundred Battle King. I understand now. Some old fossils must have withdrew voluntarily from the dao to make way for him, granting him the strength comparable to that of the ancient human kings. Am I right?”

“…”

The old turtle was completely dumbfounded. He poured himself a cup of tea and drained it to calm his nerves. After a long while, he said, “Su Yu…you…that…previous epoch…yes, humanity lost many Daofuses during the previous epoch. Some of them had died suspiciously, as though they had deliberately asked for it.”

Su Yu exclaimed in excitement, “Sure enough, my conclusion is correct!”

Su Yu looked at the turtle and said, “Lord, if those of your race walked the same dao, you could simply kill them all. The possibility of becoming a super expert with ninety-nine percent compatibility would open up! That would push you to the level of the ancient human kings as long as you were talented enough!”

The old turtle stared at Su Yu and said, “I didn’t kill them!”

“…”

Su Yu blanked out. The old turtle continued, “Why are you looking at me like that? I didn’t kill them. Some died of old age, while some died during the collapse of the ancient past. I did not kill my own people!”

Su Yu said, “Lord…I was merely stating an example. Wait…do you already have a compatibility of ninety-nine percent with your dao?”

This time, it was the old turtle’s turn to blank out. He hurriedly denied, “Of course not! According to your classification, I can be considered one of the weakest Daofuses in existence!”

Su Yu merely stared at the old turtle thoughtfully.

The old turtle’s expression when saying that was rather…unnatural.

Beside them, Grandstar said, “Boss, did the kid somehow guess the truth? No way. He must be making things up. Are you really near the level of the ancient human kings? That’s truly unbelievable.”

The old turtle said, “Bullshit! Su Yu, as for your guesses…some of the things are beyond our knowledge as well. When we cultivate, we prioritize following the flow. We rarely investigate things thoroughly. That is how you keep cultivation interesting and fun.”

He did not give Su Yu an answer. He only said that going with the flow was better in cultivation.

Naturally, Su Yu was dissatisfied with such an attitude toward cultivation. He complained, “Lord, cultivation is serious business! It’s not something you do by going with the flow! If you really want to go with the flow, the most natural flow is one where you don’t cultivate. Nothing can be more natural for that. Since you have stepped on the path of cultivation, you naturally need to be inquisitive!”

The old turtle was left completely speechless.

A twenty-year-old kid was giving him a lecture.

He was two hundred thousand years old.

Had he wasted his life away?

The old turtle looked at Su Yu helplessly and said, “When I cultivate, I don’t like to think. Just cultivate as you wish. Why do you ask so many questions?”

“I’m thinking of a way to increase my speed of cultivation. Su Yu asked, “I have a question, Lord. Have you noticed any heavenly laws compatible with the laws you’re proficient with?”

“Proficient?” The old turtle asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“For example, encountering a lightning tribulation that is surprisingly not harmful to you. I think that’s a form of compatibility. Or you might feel like the heavenly laws are arriving when utilizing the power you’re proficient at. That can also be viewed as a form of compatibility.”

The old turtle nodded thoughtfully and said, “Yes. That is a normal occurrence for all Daofuses.”

“I understand now.”

Understanding dawned on Su Yu.

Sure enough, he was a genius. He had found a path for himself. He also knew how he should form more characters and strengthen his existing characters. He knew what to do now. This could be considered a lucky day for him. He had somehow stumbled upon the truth behind the cultivation of characters.

Some random words of Liu Hong had surprisingly enlightened him.