Tribulation of Myriad Races

Seventh level.

Su Yu and his group appeared out of thin air. Up in the sky, Martial Emperor’s willpower reappeared. Nobody could notice him. In fact, his conversation with Su Yu was also something none of them could hear. The face in the sky looked clearer than before, and it was gazing upon Su Yu.

Su Yu looked up at the face in the sky.

Martial Emperor’s cold voice rang out, “Truly impressive. You actually managed to complete the Heaven Gate.”

He was no longer called the little bug.

Su Yu smiled and said, “I’m not that special. Thank you for the cultivation method, Martial Emperor. With the Heaven Gate open, I finally understand that I was merely a frog at the bottom of the well. Allow me to ask this question. With the Heaven Gate, can you see the River of Time? Has that river existed since the beginning of existence, or was it something created by someone?”

Martial Emperor replied indifferently, “It has been around since creation.”

Sure enough!

Su Yu continued, “Allow me to ask one more question. Was the Celestial River of Death created by a supreme expert in imitation of the River of Time? Since you called it an incomplete product, did the creation fail?”

“Naturally.”

Martial Emperor maintained his indifference, but he seemed more willing to converse with Su Yu. People would naturally flock toward those who were similar. Both Su Yu and he were likely the only existences remaining capable of seeing the true nature of the world.

Explaining what they could see to others would be pointless, as nobody would be able to truly understand them.

Su Yu sighed and said, “The creator of the Death Realm must have been a monstrous expert.”

Martial Emperor sank into silence.

Su Yu asked, “Is that person alive or dead?”

“Dead.” Martial Emperor said nonchalantly, “That was too ambitious. How is this such a simple feat? Opening a new realm and gaining control over the cycle of life and death. The living will cultivate the River of Time while the dead will cultivate his dao. Such an ambition is even bigger than the conquest of the Myriad Realms.”

“Was that person killed?”

“I don’t know. I have only heard of this, but I have never met this person. The Death Realm was already around during my era, and its history would only be mentioned in the legends. According to the legends, the Death Realm was the result of a failed attempt.”

Su Yu nodded. With a look of yearning, he said, “Even after dying, his legend will remain even eons later so long as there are still people capable of seeing through the nature of his dao around. His mark on this world will never be erased. As long as there are still people capable of seeing through the nature of the myriad daos like you and me around, his legend will remain forever.”

Su Yu continued, “As for those incapable of opening the Heaven Gate to see the truth of the world, these people are so weak that they don’t even deserve the truth. A legend known only to the strongest beings in existence. Isn’t this an interesting way of preserving one’s glory?”

Martial Emperor sank into silence. Su Yu was right.

Even if millions of years had passed since the creator of that dao was dead, the moment someone with a Heaven Gate appeared, the legend of that person would return and live on. Anyone with the ability to see through the nature of the myriad daos would be able to comprehend just how impressive this feat was. They would come to understand that once, such a legendary being walked the world.

Su Yu said, “The ancient Human Emperor, the one from Culture King’s era. What do you think about him? Was he strong? Why are there so few legends of him? He didn’t even leave a legacy behind.”

Martial Emperor sank into silence.

Su Yu smiled and asked, “Is this unmentionable?”

After a long silence, Martial Emperor answered, “No. There is simply nothing to say. That man did not act much. I only know that Tai Shan and the others all obeyed him. He was only focused on being the ruler. All other affairs were handled by his subordinates. I never met or interacted with him before.”

Su Yu raised his brow. What a mysterious fellow.

He asked, “Forget about the Human Emperor, then. Do you still feel like killing me, Martial Emperor?”

“Of course.” Martial Emperor disdained hiding his intent. He said, “The grudge of subjecting me to such humiliation is bigger than the grudge of killing me. Tai Shan forced me to endure countless years of humiliation. This is a grudge I shall never forget.”

Su Yu said, “That’s your matter with Martial King. It has nothing to do with me. I don’t care about it. I only hope that you won’t involve those who are unrelated to this matter in your vengeance.”

Martial Emperor said, “The current humanity is the legacy of those people. Simply calling them innocent is not enough to make me forget a grudge involving a hundred thousand years of humiliation.”

A hundred thousand years.

He had spent that time with his head snapped and buried to the ground, his body forged into a mansion, and his buttocks turned into a garden–cough, cough. In short, this was not something Martial Emperor could forget. For him, this was worse than killing him.

Killing him would end the matter then and there. But instead, Tai Shan had subjected him to such humiliation. He could not accept this. His fury was understandable.

Su Yu thought about it and said, “True. It’s pointless to argue about this. I have one question. How long would you need to break free?”

Martial Emperor asked coldly, “Are you thinking of stopping me?”

“Nope.” Su Yu smiled and said, “I just want to know if I have enough time to grow strong enough to suppress you.”

“What a joke. Do you think you’re my equal just because you have opened the Heaven Gate?”

“Not at all. The path of cultivation is riddled with uncertainties. Perhaps I will be dead by the time you break free. I’m only asking because I’m curious.”

Su Yu persuaded, “Come on, tell me.”

Martial Emperor sneered and said, “You are truly an interesting person. You will naturally feel it when I break free. At present, the Myriad Realms are still sealed by the laws. When the seal is lifted, the suppression on me will weaken significantly. That will be the day I break free.”

“In short, you will break free when the connection to the Upper Realm is restored?”

“There is hope, but there are no guarantees.”

The two started chatting like old friends. Martial Emperor continued, “But if you kill more people and shatter more daos, the seal on the Myriad Realms will weaken. That will naturally accelerate my release. The world will become a much more interesting place with me free.”

Su Yu said, “I see. Yes, the world will definitely become much more interesting with you around. Martial Emperor, why aren’t you thinking of seeking Martial King and the others for your revenge? I know for sure that they aren’t dead.

“With your strength, you can definitely find them. If you really can’t, maybe you can simply search the River of Time. Since you fought him before, you definitely know what his dao looks like. Find his dao. That will be enough to force him into reappearing. If he doesn’t react even after you find his dao, he’s definitely dead. At that point, you can finally let go of your grudge. But if he’s still alive, your opportunity to kill him will arrive.”

Martial Emperor sank into silence.

That seemed to make sense. But just as Martial Emperor was about to agree, his voice turned cold as he said, “He is stronger than me. Do you take me for a fool? Why would I want to go after him now?”

“Think about it. If he’s not dead, then he must have been in combat for a hundred thousand years. He would be completely drained by now. Why are you still scared of him? Well, I guess you should simply give up on your vengeance. What’s the point of remembering the grudge against someone you can’t defeat even at that person’s weakest?”

Once again, Martial Emperor sank into silence. He did not want to continue this conversation. Conversing with Su Yu could be a very hurtful experience.

But soon, he thought of something. He sneered and said, “I won’t leave immediately. I will regain my strength, eliminate all their legacies and erase their hope before going after them.”

Su Yu laughed and said, “Sure, sure, whatever you say. In any case, I have plenty of time. The Upper Realm won’t open so soon. You are strong as a Master of Law, but do not make the mistake of underestimating everyone else. Pray you don’t annoy me enough.”

“Impudent!” Furious, Martial Emperor declared, “You will be the first I seek after regaining my freedom.”

“Whatever.” Su Yu said, “Do that if you want. If I’m still alive then, I will simply beat you to death if you’re dumb enough to come after me. That will save me the trouble of looking for you in the future. By the way, stay calm. Don’t lose your clarity of mind again. You might end up missing your window to break free. Over so many years, this is the sole instance you have been so awake. Appreciate what you have. If you lose your temper again, well, things might get troublesome for you.”

Martial Emperor said nothing. But that made a lot of sense. He couldn’t lose his temper so easily. He had only regained a tiny bit of clarity. If he were to lose control again, he might really return to slumber. And then, he would have to rely on Su Yu to regain his consciousness. And Su Yu was certainly not foolish enough to awaken him again after that.

Su Yu did not say more. At this point, he was already aware of what Martial Emperor would do. For the sake of his clarity, Martial Emperor would not do anything for now, even upon hearing Tai Shan’s name. In fact, he could probably tolerate even having more flowers planted on his buttocks right now.

“Martial Emperor, may I trouble you to clear the passage? I’ll be leaving through the death tunnel. I’ll need to wait longer to exit through the first underground level.”

“…”

Martial Emperor ignored the request.

Su Yu smiled and said, “If you refuse, I’ll go down there and pluck your hair. Since you insist, so be it. This is not a bad thing for me. I still need more carrier treasures, after all. You have my gratitude, Martial Emperor.”

“…”

Instantly, the seal over the death tunnel vanished. It was time for this bastard to piss off. Martial Emperor hated this guy. Unfortunately, he had to restrain himself right now. He couldn’t allow this guy to provoke him into losing his calm. He couldn’t miss this window to regain his freedom.

If he were to miss this window, his next window would only arrive the next time the Upper Realm was reconnected with the Myriad Realms. That would take at least ten thousand years.

Su Yu grinned. How obedient.

As for his threat to pluck Martial Emperor’s hair, that was merely an empty threat. He definitely didn’t want to provoke Martial Emperor too much, even if it was unlikely that Martial Emperor would spare him even without doing that.

But at the very least, their relationship might still be salvageable right now. So be it. For now, he had to leave. A beautiful world was waiting for him outside. He didn’t want to spend more time on a madman. He already learned all he needed to learn.

Su Yu looked at the gate and asked, “Heavenbridge Marquis, can you leave the mansion?”

Heavenbridge Marquis shook his head and said, “I need to watch the entrance. This is my duty as stipulated by the laws. I can only leave when the eighth level ceases to exist. But as the headquarters of the assembly, not even a Master of Law can destroy the eighth level so easily.”

Su Yu nodded with understanding. He looked up again and said with a smile, “Martial Emperor, consider destroying the eighth level after regaining your freedom. Do make that your first act. But if you really don’t feel like doing so, I will do so in the future and free Heavenbridge Marquis. You won’t waste your time making things difficult for a mere gate, right?”

Martial Emperor couldn’t be bothered to say anything.

Su Yu said, “Well, that’s all. Heavenbridge Marquis, continue your duty here. When I grow stronger, I’ll return and destroy the eighth level alongside the laws there. I will show you the beautiful world outside.”

“Thank you, Human Lord.”

Heavenbridge Marquis did not feel anything from that promise. He didn’t really mind his job. He was already used to his current life.

Looking at the death tunnel, Su Yu said, “Let’s go. We can grab a few death sovereigns while we’re at it. We will capture all the death sovereigns in the Spirit Suppression Domain. I don’t want them running around wreaking havoc while I’m doing something important.”

With a single step, Su Yu entered the death tunnel. The others followed him. All of them were in a great mood. They were finally leaving! This time, they had gained massive harvests from their trip to the mansion. They had entered without a single Daofuse. Now, almost all of them were Daofuses. Even Marquis Lanshan felt like everything had changed when she returned to the Death Realm again. Just like that, everything in the East Heavenly Domain was overturned.

Far away, the death sovereigns stared at them while trembling with fear. Su Yu flashed them a wide smile and said, “Marquis Lanshan, capture them all. Suppress them with the east heavenly token. Take them all back to your domain. We’re in need of people.”

“Yes!”

Marquis Lanshan accepted her order. Su Yu was right. She required more death sovereigns to help her keep the East Heavenly Domain under control. Upon hearing Su Yu’s order, the death spirit called Tuofa turned around and fled without any hesitation.

Behind him, He Tu’s voice rang out, “Tuofa, don’t run! Stick with us and do something big! You will live a good life following us! We killed so many death spirit marquises! We even killed a king! Are you blind? If you run, you will end up as food!”

“…”

Not long after, Marquis Lanshan and He Tu set off with six death sovereigns behind them. Su Yu and the others set off as well. First, they had to return to the old turtle. This was a precaution lest the other heavenly kings decide this was a good chance to cause trouble.

First, they had to pacify the Spirit Suppression Domain. Then, they had to pacify the East Heavenly Domain. At that point, he would be able to liberate all the other guardians. With the entire Spirit Suppression Domain pacified, the burden on the guardians would be light enough for the guardians to be replaced with regular Eternals.

It would be too much of a waste to let these powerful guardians remain in their cities. The weaker Eternals could take over instead. And finally, he could also assemble an army of death spirits. When required, he would be able to open a death tunnel and have the death spirits fight for him.

At the same time, he also needed to focus on converting all his abilities and techniques into characters. His current priority was to begin his dao fusion, becoming a Daofuse. That would grant him a significant increase in combat strength.