Tribulation of Myriad Races

After having a meal of red braised pork made with love by Su Long, Su Yu had nothing else to do. Thus, he prepared to visit Zhao Li. Just then, someone knocked on the door of the Su Residence.

The door swung open by itself, but Su Yu was the one who had actually opened it from afar.

There were two visitors.

Marquis Xia and Xia Huyou.

Great Xia King wasn’t with them. He was too embarrassed to see Su Yu again. He was trying to avoid having Su Yu mention the matter about his past in front of his son and great-grandson.

Marquis Xia had a wide smile on his face. Su Yu still remembered hearing this guy wailing in pain earlier. He was probably still confused about the beating his old man had given him out of nowhere. It must be quite embarrassing to be beaten by his father at his age.

“Su Yu!”

The moment the door swung open, Marquis Xia’s passionate voice rang out, “If it weren’t for you, I would have died previously! I need to take this chance to express my gratitude! Feel free to inform me if you need anything here!”

Su Yu smiled and asked, “I don’t need much, but when are you giving me the Willpower Grotto? Has Great Xia King told you about that?”

“…”

What an awkward question to answer.

Marquis Xia laughed and said, “There is no rush. There is still something for you to handle during your return this time.”

“Are you talking about my old man’s birthday?”

“That’s not all…” Marquis Xia inhaled deeply and said, “This time, Great Qin King intends to gather the people of thirty-six prefectures in Great Xia for two reasons. Celebrate Su Long’s birthday and hold a conference to discuss the establishment of a new holy land.”

“Are the Invincibles not coming?”

Su Yu looked quite surprised.

Marquis Xia nodded, “The Invincibles aren’t coming. Or to be precise, a few will come to give the conference some weight, and some will be absent. After all, the Allheaven Battlefield still requires them.”

“Why not hold the conference at the Allheaven Battlefield?”

Marquis Xia explained, “It’s impractical to expect all Invincibles to attend the meeting. Furthermore, we’re trying to avoid conflicts between Invincibles, so we’ll have their subordinates negotiate instead. They will only get involved when things are mostly finalized. The prefects will be the ones joining the negotiation in the beginning.

“Also, the establishment of a new holy land is mainly an internal matter. Some of the Invincibles on the front lines do not like to get involved in such matters. The prefects or their representatives will be making the decision first. If everything were to proceed smoothly, we could even skip the meeting between the Invincibles.”

Su Yu chuckled, “Such a holy land would be pointless.”

“No, you’re wrong.” Marquis Xia solemnly said, ‘Perhaps it’s pointless in your eyes, but for humanity, it has great significance. This is one of the ways humanity is changing after a crisis. We can’t remain stubborn. Anyone with an eye can see the approaching crisis. Thus, everyone is seeking change. Naturally, everyone has a different idea as to how we should change. But that doesn’t change the fact that everyone believes change is needed.”

It was rare to see Marquis Xia so serious. Su Yu said, “Are you saying that everyone is seeking change to save humanity, with the only disagreement being the leader of this new holy land?”

“Correct.”

Su Yu laughed and asked, “This is odd. Isn’t it a good idea for Great Qin King to serve as the leader? Why bother with all these disagreements?”

Marquis Xia thought about it and answered, “That’s feasible, but Great Qin King is only good at facing external enemies. Internally, he can be quite indecisive when dealing with his fellow humans.

“Everyone respects him. And he will have the support when running the Human Realm. But he will be indecisive whenever a big decision concerning the internal affairs needs to be made.”

Marquis Xia continued, “The current Invincibles are all his friends and comrades of many years. He can’t steel his heart against them. In short, he is an excellent chief commander, but he is still lacking when handling the internal affairs.”

Su Yu sneered and said, “Just make sure everyone is obedient and he won’t be lacking anymore.”

“That’s easy to say, but nobody is perfect. Can anyone be truly obedient?” Marquis Xia said, “Therefore, Great Qin King is making it clear that he is too busy to handle the matter of the new holy land. Thus, he is handing it over to the next leader of humanity.”

Su Yu shook his head, “I don’t want this job. Also, I am too unfamiliar with everyone.”

“That’s exactly what we’re looking for.” Marquis Xia said, “We don’t need you to know everyone. We only need everyone to know you.”

“I’m not interested.”

Marquis Xia sighed and said, “I understand what you’re thinking. But don’t you want to know the Human Realm better? Who are the supporters of war? Who are the supporters of peace? Who are the supporters of surrender? And who are the supporters of compromise? When you know more, you will know what to expect.”

Marquis Xia continued, “Do you remember the public trial for Feng Ji? At the time, the voting was done anonymously. This time, the votes will be public. Anonymous voting might still give space for some people to play their tricks. But open votes will show everyone their true faces. A small number of people might change their votes because of this, but you can still get a relatively accurate picture of the current situation in the Human Realm.”

Su Yu had a thoughtful look as he listened.

Marquis Xia added, “Also, legitimacy matters.”

“Hmm?” Su Yu looked at Marquis Xia in confusion.

Marquis Xia smiled and said, “Let me give you a simple example. Say you wish to kill Huyou…”

Xia Huyou’s face turned ugly.

“You do have the courage to do that. But if you were to do it, Great Xia would never let this slide. The Human Realm would never let this slide. Just look at Wan Tiansheng. He is now known as the demonic human.

“But with your legitimacy as the leader of the holy land, you have the authority to claim that Huyou is being punished for an offense before killing him. If the Xia Family dares to protest, you can label them as rebels. With legitimacy, anyone going against you can be labeled as rebels.”

Marquis Xia said, “Strength is very important. But legitimacy matters a lot as well. Get the moral high ground. Be the one judging others instead of being judged. Fifty years ago, Ye Batian died. Since then, the multiple character faction became everyone’s enemy.

“But what if? What if there were a holy land leader making the claim that the myriad races had killed Ye Batian because they were terrified of the multiple character faction? The holy land leader could declare further support for the multiple character faction. That would change everything. With legitimacy, the multiple character faction could have developed into the main faction of humanity.

“Wan Tiansheng has killed so many people. But if there were a decree from a holy land leader claiming that Wan Tiansheng was actually an enforcer of the leader instead of a human fiend, everything would change as well. Such is the power of legitimacy.

“During your previous quarrel with Great Yuan King, you couldn’t kill him as Su Yu. But if you were the holy land leader, you merely needed to ask for his life, and the likes of Great Qin King, Great Zhou King, and Great Xia King would present his head to you. Legitimacy matters!

“Su Yu, you still don’t understand the importance of a holy land. You have always believed that the holy land is pointless. You can do anything you want with strength. But what about it? Is the immortal race not strong? Is the divine race not strong? What about the devil race? When a conflict arises between you and humanity, both sides will suffer. What can you get from such a conflict? By becoming the leader of the holy land, you’re not gaining the strength of humanity. You are merely gaining the legitimacy to enforce your will upon humanity.”

“…”

Su Yu stared at Marquis Xia blankly. After a long while, he rubbed his chin and said, “Marquis, with your mouth, it’s a waste that you’re not the leader of humanity.”

Marquis Xia laughed and said, “I need strength for that. If I had your strength and talent, I would have asked for my old man’s support to ascend to that position long ago. Strength and talent still matter, or you won’t gain the acknowledgement of the other humans. Not just anyone can take this job. You can. You have the talent, strength, and support for it. Even those who dislike you will have to acknowledge this fact.”

Su Yu frowned.

“If you still don’t understand what I’m trying to say, allow me to be blatantly honest. If you don’t get your legitimacy now, a day might arrive when an old human fossil emerges out of nowhere. That old fossil might decree that you must die. Humanity would naturally heed that command. But upon claiming your legitimacy, even the human fossils would need to acknowledge your reign if they still wanted to consider themselves humans.”

“Human fossils?” Su Yu asked with surprise, “So you are aware of the past as well?”

Marquis Xia laughed and said, “A little. It doesn’t matter if there are actually such fossils around. But what if one were to come out? And what if that fossil were the elder of some of your past victims? Would that fossil start targeting you?

“But if you were the leader of humanity, things would be different. Regardless of which era the fossil came from, they would need to respect your authority so long as they were human. Even the Human Emperor would need to treat you as an equal. Without legitimacy, who would humanity listen to? A human fossil with their seniority? Or you, someone with no official position among humanity? The answer is clear. But as the leader of humanity, you could decree even the fossil a traitor, and humanity would still heed your command.”

“…”

Su Yu chuckled and asked, “Aren’t you trying to make me a tyrant? You’re totally making me the villain here.”

Marquis Xia laughed and said, “History is written by the victors. Winner takes all. There are no heroes or villains here. You only need to lead humanity to victory against the myriad races. The future generation will have their own judgment on your ways, but in your era, you will never be wrong.”

Su Yu sank into thought.

Marquis Xia was truly good at persuasion. Even Su Yu was tempted. Previously, he had zero interest in this. But he was starting to sway. It felt as though Marquis Xia had spoken to his very soul. If he were to kill any human right now, he would incur the hostility of countless humans. He and even his family might be labeled traitors. He did not mind that, but it was still an annoying feeling.

Just like what happened to Wan Tiansheng.

When Wan Tiansheng left the Human Realm, Su Yu felt boundless indignation and fury. He couldn’t accept that. That was why he had said those words to Wu Ji back then at the Allheaven Prefecture. He had said that he would fight. Fight until nobody was standing in his way anymore. At that point, his words would be law. Wan Tiansheng would be a hero just because he decreed so.

But now, Marquis Xia was telling him that his path was too troublesome. He only needed to be the leader of the holy land. With legitimacy, he could declare Wan Tiansheng his enforcer and make Wan Tiansheng a hero.

Using force?

He could beat all resistance down. However, that was still not acceptance. But as the leader of the holy land, everyone would need to accept him. They might feel indignant. They might dislike him. But they would need to swallow their feelings and accept him.

They could resist, but he could also declare them traitors for their resistance. This was the path to thoroughly suppress all resistance.

Su Yu said, “You know this. Everyone knows this. This won’t be an easy job.”

“What nonsense. If it were so easy, I would have taken the job myself.” Marquis Xia said, “But it’s a hard job. That’s why we’re pushing for someone capable like you to take the job. Not now, but we can first get you some manner of legitimacy for now. The support of the thirty-six prefectures does not matter. The support of the other Invincibles does not matter either. You only need the legitimacy. When the time comes, it will transform into the authority to dispense punishment as you deem fit.

“Right now, Great Qin King would go crazy if you were to kill even one human Invincible with the help of the ancient city guardians. That would be tantamount to collusion with an external force. But as the leader of the holy land, the same action could be labeled as the enforcement of a wise human king with the help of his powerful subordinates. Great Qin King might still be unhappy, but he would swallow it. Why? Because you have the legitimacy. At that time, the guardians would no longer be considered an external force. They would only be considered your subordinates, regardless of their origin.”