Tribulation of Myriad Races

Grandstar City.

When Xia Huyou entered the city with great fanfare and handed the invitation over, Su Yu blanked out.

Was his father’s fiftieth birthday something worthy of a celebration by these people? Why was the son the one receiving an invitation to the celebration instead of being the one to send the invitations out?

What was this?

Inside the mayor’s residence.

Xia Huyou looked around while sipping his tea in an unhurried manner. He said, “Are you returning?”

Seated atop the main seat, Su Yu asked, “Who sent you here?”

“My old man.”

“Prefect Xia?”

“Yes. Do I have two fathers?” Xia Huyou said, “Are you attending your father’s birthday celebration?”

Su Yu frowned and asked, “Are you trying to make me return?”

“Yes. Are we supposed to hold the celebration in the Allheaven Battlefield?”

Su Yu asked, “Anything else?”

“Nope.”

Su Yu said, “You may leave.”

“Are you going back?”

“Is this a question you should ask? What is the motive behind this? Why are you investigating my whereabouts?”

Xia Huyou rolled his eyes. How was this an investigation into his whereabouts?

He said, “Fine. We wish to discuss something with you. Great Qin King and the others suggested founding a new holy land during the council meeting. This time, they are doing things differently. You have been suggested as the leader. I doubt the proposal will go through. What do you think? Clearly, Great Qin King is trying to make you his successor.”

Su Yu snorted, “Successor? Great Qin King should focus on truly unifying humanity first. Even now, the human race is still split into multiple camps. Why is he wasting his time with successors?”

“You know what I’m trying to say here.”

“I don’t know.”

“If you insist…” Xia Huyou said helplessly, “Great Qin King might not have the supreme leadership over humanity, but he can at least influence half of humanity. Including the support of Great Xia, Great Ming, and a few other prefectures, about two-thirds of humanity would support you upon your return.”

Two-thirds.

Su Yu sneered, “And why should I return and deal with this terrible mess? I have a lot of freedom right now. When restrictions were slapped onto an expert, the expert would turn into a schemer. Even someone as strong as Great Qin King is being dragged behind by the burden on him. Even after so many years, he is still stuck below the Daofuse Realm. He doesn’t even have the courage to try pursuing a new dao. Is he talentless? No. He simply can’t afford to try. He can’t risk losing his strength.”

Su Yu said, “What he has is not authority. Rather, he has a chain around him. I now enjoy a great deal of power and authority. The so-called leader of humanity is worth nothing for me. Alone, I can challenge the world and build my own empire. Why should I return and take all that shit from humanity?

“There are a bunch of seniors waiting there. Some are probably waiting to make things difficult for me. They might even scheme to kill me. Anything is possible. Why must I return, bow, and act like an obedient little brother? Here, my word is the law.”

That rendered Xia Huyou speechless. After a short silence, he argued, “But there are no potential successors for Great Qin King and the others. If they were to die in battle, humanity would have nobody to prop its sky up again. Would you watch as humanity fades away?”

Su Yu said, “No, I’m not that cruel. I will save my father and friends. As for everyone else…it’s none of my business.”

Xia Huyou stood up and said, “Su Yu, some things are in the past. If you really want to talk about this, everyone has suffered losses all these years. Don’t keep thinking about only the bad of humanity. You need to realize that you also have a lot of support among humanity. Many are willing to serve you.”

Xia Huyou solemnly said, “Ignoring everything else, how many people in Great Xia rose in protest upon your departure back then? Even the Xia Family’s Mansion was surrounded by those people during the protest. My grandpa and granduncle were scolded like they were worth nothing by the masses. Did all those people not step forth for you?

“When outsiders invaded Nanyuan, the people of Nanyuan stood in front of your house. They would rather die than take a step back. Ultimately, Nanyuan was destroyed. Countless people were rendered homeless. Even now, they are still rebuilding their homes. Are these your enemies?

“For you, Great Ming fought the Myriad Race Cult. They even got into a conflict with the leadership of the Knowledge Seeking Realm for your sake. Did they do all that for themselves?”

“…”

Xia Huyou looked right into Su Yu’s eyes and said, “Yes, I admit that there are some schemers and parasites among humanity. But you have the habit of judging everyone guilty. Have humanity done nothing for you?”

Xia Huyou said, “I won’t pressure you with what’s right morally. But I still wish to say that humanity is not as dirty as you think. Great Qin King has guarded the frontlines for over four hundred years. Even after losing his tri-life bodies, he is still trying hard to persist until a suitable successor appears. Zhu Tianfang has spent many years as a spy in the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion. All these people aren’t as bad as you think.”

Su Yu listened silently.

Xia Huyou continued, “Deep inside, you still care about humanity. Since you feel that many things are wrong with humanity, why don’t you do something and fix it? Why did Great Qin Kinf decide to invite you back? Because they have no way of fixing this themselves. They would have done something long ago otherwise. They care too much. They are a part of the existing status quo. They can’t do much when they’re part of the established order. You are an outsider. And you also have the ability to change what you dislike about humanity.”

“Why?” Su Yu coldly asked, “Why should I?”

“Why? Because you’re a human. Because of your eighteen years of peace in the Human Realm. Because your family is human. Because of the boiling passion inside you. Why? You’re asking me why?”

Xia Huyou raised his voice furiously, “You dislike humanity, but you’re unwilling to help solve the problem. Aren’t you the same as those who enjoy complaining about the unfair society all the time, yet are unwilling to do something to change?”

Su Yu sneered, “Fatty, you seem to have gotten better at talking.”

Xia Huyou gnashed his teeth and said, “There was never a need for me to learn that! I have always been good at talking! I’m only here to tell you that upon your return, Great Xia will stand behind you. No matter how difficult things get, the million upon million of Xia soldiers will stand behind you. The millions upon millions of people in Great Xia will stand behind you. Even the blade of Xia will fight for you!”

At that, Xia Huyou drew a blade, dropped one knee on the ground, raised the blade, and roared, “Accept this blade and Great Xia will stand against the world for you!”

“…”

That stunned Su Yu. As he studied the worn saber, he sank into a long silence. Finally, he exhaled and said, “Don’t play this game with me. It doesn’t work.”

“No, this is no game.” Xia Huyou said, “This is the support of Xia. The blade of Xia is not sharp enough. There are too many enemies to kill. My great-grandfather, my granduncle, and my father have all agreed to this. If you were to return, the blade of Xia would be yours to wield!”

Su Yu said coldly, “I told you. This doesn’t work on me.”

Xia Huyou kept the saber raised and said, “Mayor Su, this saber is the will of Xia. It represents the will of Great Xia. You are the pride of Great Xia. Accept it, and the fate of all lives in Great Xia would lie upon your shoulders.”

Su Yu snorted and said, “Don’t bother putting on a play in front of me. Take your saber. Are you trying to move me by playing the damsel in distress?”

Suddenly, Xia Huyou laughed and stood up. After putting the saber away, he grinned and asked, “How do you like the show? Did it feel right? Come on, Su Yu. For my sake, just come back and celebrate your old man’s birthday.”

He seemed to have returned to how he was, but he was sighing inwardly. Su Yu…was unwilling to accept that saber.

The spear of Qin. The blade of Xia. The Qins were willing to hand Su Yu their spear. But the Xias were also willing to hand Su Yu their blade.

Alas, Su Yu was unwilling.

They were handing him the truest form of human legacy.

But he seemed to know something instinctively. Thus, he had refused to accept the burden. Or perhaps he was still not ready to make such a commitment. Or perhaps he simply didn’t want to lead humanity.

Xia Huyou didn’t know what Su Yu was really thinking. He only felt greatly disappointed inside.

His father was right. Su Yu had refused to accept that saber.

At present, Su Yu was still too dissatisfied with humanity.

He was dissatisfied with the current humanity. He was also dissatisfied with the past humanity.

He had not seen the many sides of humanity. He had only lived eighteen years in Great Xia. Since then, he had lived a life of bloodshed, killing his way all the way to the Allheaven Battlefield before becoming the leader of the ancient cities. Most of what he had seen was the dark side of humanity. And thus, that was all he knew.