Tribulation of Myriad Races

Topsoil Spirit said, “All of them are seventh-degree Eternals. It is too hard for them to match even one Daofuse. Perhaps this will be feasible if they are at the ninth degree. Back then, even Great Qin King, Great Zhou King, Great Xia King, and Great Ming King could only handle one Daofuse together.

“And they are incredibly powerful. To be frank, they are much stronger than the five ancestors of my race. And even people like them can barely match a Daofuse upon joining hands. And you’re telling me that you can let five of our seventh-degree Eternals match a Daofuse?”

Was Su Yu trying to send those people to their deaths? This was absolute nonsense. It was too dangerous to bluff in such matters.

Su Yu narrowed his eyes and said, “Topsoil Spirit, this is your second time doubting me.”

Su Yu would not tolerate something happening three times. If Topsoil Spirit were to doubt him one more time, he wouldn’t let it slide any longer.

Topsoil Spirit said awkwardly, “I’m not doubting you. I’m just worried about them. After all, I need to be responsible toward the five elemental race. I understand what you’re suggesting. You wish to create two teams, each capable of handling a Daofuse. But…the cost of failure is too high.”

They would lose eight Eternals to the ancient cities, and on top of that, they had to provide ten more to face Daofuses. That would leave them with only one to guard their realm. It wasn’t exactly a bad plan. But it was far too risky. Failure would ensure the extermination of their race.

Su Yu laughed and said, “They can test their strength before going into a real battle. I’m not telling them to march straight to battle.”

“But who can they test their new strength on?”

Topsoil Spirit looked at Su Yu doubtfully. He said nothing, but the look in his eyes made his suspicion clear. Was Su Yu going to get a human Daofuse to fight these five elemental Eternals and go easy to mislead them? That wouldn’t be wise.

Su Yu laughed and said, “Heavendoom. He will never go easy in fights. He will swing his staff as hard as he can. What do you think?”

“…”

Topsoil Spirit thought about it and nodded. Yes. That was true. Anyone else could potentially go easy on them, but Heavendoom would never do so.

“We can even do the test in Grand Dream City. There is a formation there. Nobody can sense any fluctuations from a battle there.” Su Yu said, “But there is promise to that. You require my guidance. You can’t accomplish this yourselves. None of you can see the nature of your dao. Your utilization of your dao is too rough. I suggest they all open 180 apertures and cultivate the Five Elemental Art. That will greatly help with the fusion.”

With a cheerful tone, Su Yu said, “With the Five Elemental Art, the fusion will be far more effective. The five seniors here will be able to crush Heavendoom. As for the other five seniors, they will be able to put up a fight even if they can’t defeat him.”

Heavendoom was no weakling. However, his time as a Daofuse was still short. Without his weapon, he would most likely lose to the five ancestors.

That was because the five elemental dao was truly not weak. Just a look at the dao told Su Yu how powerful their ancestor was back in the day. Hearing his promise, the five ancestors couldn’t resist feeling somewhat excited.

Was that really possible? If that were true, they would essentially gain two powerful Daofuses. Was that really possible? Previously, the so-called cooperation between the five ancestors was merely a regular cooperation. Together, they could handle a regular Daofuse. But the cooperation mentioned by Su Yu was different. He was referring to the fusion of their dao. That was completely unlike how they used to cooperate.

The earth ancestor, who had been relatively silent all along, said, “Emperor Yu, can you push Topsoil Spirit to the Daofuse Realm directly? We are willing to pay the price for it. Even our lives can be given away.”

Su Yu blanked out slightly before chuckling, “Him? He’s too weak. Or to be precise, his resources are too insufficient. In truth, he will be able to smoothly achieve Daofuse. But the resources he requires are probably five times, or ten times, or even twenty times of what the five of you will need to achieve Daofuse.”

Hearing that, Topsoil Spirit nodded gloomily, “Yes. Cultivation is very costly for me.”

“It’s normal. Your dao is strong. They are essentially pursuing the tributaries while you’re pursuing the main branch. It’s normal for your path to be expensive. Even your ancestors require a regular amount of resources for their cultivation when they’re only pursuing the tributaries. I reckon you have exhausted as many resources as me to reach the Sunmoon Realm.”

Suddenly, Su Yu gasped and said, “Impressive. The resources I have used so far are enough to produce a regular Daofuse. So you have received just as many resources. How rich.”

Topsoil Spirit said bashfully, “After all…I’m the hope of the race.”

“The five elemental race sure is generous. Allocating so many resources to a Sunmoon with the combat strength of a regular eighth or ninth-stage Sunmoon? Truly generous.”

Even the five ancestors were feeling awkward after hearing that.

What was that? Topsoil Spirit was a brand-new Sunmoon. Wasn’t it impressive for him to have the combat strength of a late-stage Sunmoon?

Su Yu laughed and said, “But at your current level, regular treasures won’t be of much use for you anymore. You need a large amount of five elemental treasures. And I mean high-grade treasures. Just by consuming them blindly, your comprehension of your dao will increase rapidly. Since you’re not dumb, advancement won’t be hard. You only need the resources. That is the main problem here.”

Topsoil Spirit nodded in agreement.

Su Yu gave it some thought and said, “If you are brave enough, enter the Luminous Domain Mansion and visit the residence of your ancestor. You might find an opportunity there. I remember seeing his residence there before. They must have kept the residence running even after your ancestor’s death back then. I believe it had been kept under your race’s control.”

Topsoil Spirit nodded, “Yes. I think that was the case. When our ancestor died, we still had one or two marquises left. They died later…”

Su Yu said, “Nobody can afford to raise you anymore. Not even me. Don’t look at me. Only your ancestor’s residence might help. You might be able to find enough five elemental treasures there to support your cultivation. How lucky of you. With a rich ancestor, you can grow easily upon inheriting the belongings of your ancestor. We are different. I can only rely on myself.

“But there is a flaw to your path. You will be limited to this dao as you are already one with this dao. You can’t pursue any other dao. Then again, it doesn’t matter. Upon mastering this dao, you will reach your ancestor’s level. You will be strong enough to not require a second dao. This will be your limit. To become the second Five Elemental Ancestor. Your future is limited.”

“…”

Was that not enough? Topsoil Spirit felt like crying at that remark. That would be more than enough for him! Yes, he was confident in his own genius. But even reaching his ancestor’s level was something he had never dared to imagine. His ancestor was very powerful!

“Well, I guess we can’t make any conclusions yet.” Su Yu added, “I don’t know what will happen at that level. Perhaps there are other ways for you to grow upon reaching that level. After all, your ancestor wasn’t strong enough to be unkillable. You need to grow beyond him if you don’t want to die so easily. But I guess this is a problem for the future, not now.”

Topsoil Spirit smiled helplessly and said, “No, that’s enough for him. As long as I can reach my ancestor’s level, I will consider myself undefeatable.”

Stop kidding. Why was Su Yu speaking like he was guaranteed to reach his ancestor’s level?

Su Yu laughed and said, “Sure. We won’t speculate about the future. There’s no guarantee you can reach that level, anyway.”

Su Yu said, “I will teach you all the Five Elemental Art. Previously, Topsoil Spirit said that you have opened many apertures, but you still lack some from the full 180. I’ll help you open the rest. Upon learning this art, a heavenly tribulation will appear. But since I’m the teacher, I can face the tribulation. I will take it all.”

The ancestors looked at each other with hesitation. After a short pause, the water ancestor laughed lightly and said, “There is no need to trouble yourself with our tribulations, Emperor Yu. You’re far too important to risk yourself like this. We can’t bear this risk. But don’t worry. We won’t forget this favor.”

Su Yu raised his brow. Why would he care about whether they would forget this favor? Was this why he had made the offer?

Fortunately, Topsoil Spirit was as smart as ever. He said, “Just let Emperor Yu handle the tribulations. He loves eating the power of laws to grow his characters. Don’t fight over this food with him.”

What was this? He could easily see through Su Yu’s plan. The tribulations were most likely why he had decided to help them. Refusing him would only displease him. Su Yu nodded at Topsoil Spirit with a satisfied smile. What a smart guy. Not bad at all. He believed that every race should produce someone like Topsoil Spirit. It was rare for him to encounter someone he was so satisfied with.

The iron devourers weren’t that bad, but the hous…seemed to be filled with quite a lot of brainless fellows. Even Skyeater, the hope of the race, was not too bright.

Su Yu couldn’t be bothered to say more. He went straight to business and said, “Reveal your apertures. I’ll take a look and derive a suitable art for your race.”

At that, all of them were stunned. So he didn’t actually have the art yet?

Su Yu rolled his eyes. What was that reaction? He only needed to take a look at their apertures to deduce the complete art. It was so easy. Why were they so surprised?

If he could derive even the Grand Cycle Method, what problem would he have with some trash 180-aperture method? He only needed to compare their opened apertures with the human version of the art to instantly derive the art for them.

Was there even a need for him to prepare for a job this simple in advance? It was only natural for him to not waste his time and only start deriving the art after obtaining their loyalty. Naturally, he couldn’t tell them that.

“Hurry up. All five of you need to show me your apertures. This will make comparison easier. It’s only an 180-aperture art. It’s easy. Don’t worry. I was able to complete even a cultivation method with 720 acupoints and apertures. An 180-aperture art is nothing to me.”

Nevertheless, the five ancestors couldn’t help but feel nervous. For some reason, this human lord was starting to seem unreliable. What was this? Shouldn’t the art be ready if he was going to make all those plans with it?

But instead, he was planning to start his research on the spot. Wouldn’t this take hundreds of years? The connection with the Upper Realm would be restored within ten years! Nevertheless, the anxious ancestors still did as told and revealed their apertures.

So be it.

It was already too late for them to change their minds.

After taking a look at their apertures, Su Yu said, “Release the strength of each aperture, one at a time. I need to compare the strength of each aperture.”

The ancestors did as told, their despair deepening. This human lord was feeling more and more unreliable. But after only a short moment, Su Yu started drawing a chart with 180 apertures in the air. Then, he started modifying it here and there while thinking deeply.

All cultivation methods follow the same universal laws. He only needed to identify several nodes through comparison and he would be able to finish his deduction easily. And finally, Su Yu completed his chart. Meanwhile, the five ancestors were still deep in despair.

Boom!

Suddenly, lightning appeared in the sky.

A tribulation had appeared. The Five Elemental Art was not allowed to resurface in the Five Elemental World.

The five ancestors widened their eyes in shock, their mouths agape.

Holy shit!

Did that really work?

Only a minute of deduction?

Damn it!

This shouldn’t be possible!

The five ancestors were completely stunned. Was this a joke? Deducing their lost art in only one minute? No! That must be a lie! He already knew the art in advance, right? That must be the case!

Yes!

Definitely!

That whole thing must be an act because Su Yu loved showing off too much! Yes, definitely! They definitely wouldn’t fall for his lies! Deducing the art in one minute? What nonsense!

Su Yu must have obtained their art way before this. This new human lord sure was shameless!

The five ancestors were in deep denial.

Even Topsoil Spirit was looking at Su Yu with suspicion. Was he for real? No. He must have obtained the art during his venture into the Luminous Domain Mansion. Definitely. Deducing the complete art in one minute? He would be a fool to believe such a lie!

Noticing their expressions, Su Yu felt an anger rising within him. Screw these bastards! He had really deduced it on the spot! Sure enough, his genius was so overwhelming that nobody could believe it anymore.

So be it. How could a fool understand the ways of the wise?

What did these frogs under the well know?

Nevertheless, the five elementals were still tearing up in excitement.

Their fabled Five Elemental Art!

The treasured art of their race!

After over a hundred thousand years, it had finally returned to their race! Was this a blessing of their ancestor from the afterlife?

Su Yu reminded them, “Open your remaining apertures and start cultivating the method. I’m a busy man. Don’t waste my time.”

He did not have much time to waste here!

“Seal your realm. Teach this method to all your geniuses. Teach it to as many people as you can. Produce as many tribulations as you can.”

He loved five elemental tribulations. He believed his five elemental characters would love them as well.

Hopefully, this would also help him form a few more characters. He couldn’t wait to gather all ninety-nine characters and get a look at the fabled pen dao. After showing so many people their daos, he was starting to grow envious of the others as well. He really wanted to get a good look at the pen dao. Just how powerful was it?

Was it thick?

Was it long?

Was it wide?

It must be thick, long, and wide. Culture King wouldn’t have been so powerful otherwise!

Su Yu was filled with expectation toward the five elemental race. If everything went smoothly, this race could probably end up stronger than the hou race by the time they were done growing!

Sure enough, they were worthy of being a former major race!