Tribulation of Myriad Races

With a frown, North Heavenly King roared. The world shook, causing the pen in the sky to shake as well. But Su Yu’s aura surged as he pointed the pen forward and caused a massive explosion.

His laughter rang out as he said, “North Heavenly King, you are a rebel. Witness me as I strip you of your title and cut you down!”

North Heavenly King gave a cold reply, “A mere Daomeld like you dreaming of stripping my title?”

Was this a joke?

His title was granted by the ancient imperial court. Nobody in this era was qualified to remove it!

Unlike him, the marquises in the hall panicked even more. One of them said, “Heavenly King, that pen of his…resembles…Culture King’s pen! All the ancient conferments were written with the same pen! Since he’s saying that so confidently, is it possible that he can really affect the laws with that pen?”

North Heavenly King trembled.

Instantly, chill seeped in. Would he lose his title just like that? If that were possible, Su Yu could simply appoint a new heavenly king to render North Heavenly King an outsider here. In turn, he would be the one suppressed here.

He would stand no chance against them with such a suppression on him.

Finally, North Heavenly King started to worry as well. But he maintained a nonchalant expression as he denied, “No. He’s not strong enough.”

No matter what, he couldn’t lose his calm.

An immortal marquis suggested, “Heavenly King, why don’t we kill our way out now?”

“Killing our way out?”

North Heavenly King frowned and asked, “And? What next?”

“Next?”

The marquises blanked out. Yes, what could they do next?

What to do?

Su Yu had a world of the living to return to. What about them?

The immortal marquis said, “Contact the immortals, devils, and divines in the world of the living and have them kill Grand Dream! We will snatch control over the tunnels!”

Snatching the tunnels?

North Heavenly King frowned and said, “The immortals are all hiding in their own realm. Are you sure they can deal with that dog?”

“…”

The mood of everyone dropped further. That was unlikely. The more they thought about it, the more they despaired. What would happen if Su Yu could really strip North Heavenly King of his title?

Defeat would be certain.

At that point, Su Yu wouldn’t even need to appoint a new heavenly king. South Heavenly King was still a heavenly king. She could suppress the other death spirits with her authority.

Morale continued dropping.

It was likely that some of them were starting to waver. That was perfectly understandable. Previously, Su Yu’s side was weaker. As for the ten marquises under South Heavenly King’s command, their previous loyalty was shaky. Not that had now changed.

The same was happening with those under North Heavenly King’s command. North Heavenly King was not weaker than the other side, but they had no way out. Should they remain trapped here with him? They would be pardoned by killing only a marquis from the immortal, devil, or divine races.

Outside, Su Yu even started writing the pardon for them before sending numerous sheets over. Some of the death spirits caught these sheets by instinct. To their surprise, they could feel the imperial power radiating out of them.

“Kill a death spirit of the same cultivation level from the immortal, devil, or divine races and be pardoned.”

The sheets were flying into the hall as well. But with a snort by North Heavenly King, all the sheets were destroyed. Alas, everyone had already seen those sheets.

Through the human lord’s token, Su Yu imprinted his offer into the sky. His voice rang out, “In the name of the human lord’s token, I promise you this. The Myriad Realms shall bear witness. This is now a part of the laws. We shall bring order out of chaos. Gentlemen, do not stray further.”

With a furious roar, North Heavenly King punched the words in the sky apart.

He roared, “Su Yu, don’t even dream of sowing dissidence within the North Heavenly Domain with your cheap tricks! If you want me, why don’t we fight alone? If you win, you can have the North Heavenly Domain! As a human lord, are you only capable of these tricks?”

Su Yu’s reply came, “According to the human calendar, I am only twenty-one. If you think you’re amazing because you can defeat the current me, sure. I admit that I am still weaker than you in combat. But if you’re really feeling so confident, seal your strength to the level of a marquis. I will meet you in combat. I may only be twenty-one, but I am confident I can defeat a marquis. Do you dare?”

“…”

Damn it!

North Heavenly King trembled with shock. Was he really twenty-one?

No way!

Su Yu’s voice rang out again, “You can also send a marquis to battle me. I promise you I’ll leave the North Heavenly Domain alone if I lose. It will be yours forever. But if I win, scatter your power. Do you dare?”

“…”

Bullshit!

North Heavenly King would never let his subordinates determine his fate. Was he supposed to really scatter his power because some subordinate of his was defeated? His head started aching.

He wanted to fight Su Yu alone, but Su Yu clearly wasn’t interested. He wanted to hurt Su Yu’s prestige, but Su Yu claimed that he was only twenty-one. He used his age to challenge a marquis instead. What could he even say to that?

Hurting his prestige through that? Nonsense! North Heavenly King sank into hesitation. What should he do? He couldn’t seek help. And he couldn’t even flee. There was nowhere for him to go.

But was he supposed to remain in this standoff forever? What if a death tunnel were to appear above him one day with a white dog on the other end? How could he escape the white dog?

A helpless sigh rang out inside his mind. He felt miserable.

***

Meanwhile, South Heavenly King was observing Su Yu.

She couldn’t resist asking, “Will those marquises really betray North Heavenly King?”

Su Yu laughed and said, “Not now. But this is a seed. Loyalty is easy when everything is going well. Everything can change in a crisis. I dare bet that some will definitely betray him when his position grows weak and an opening appears.”

Su Yu continued, “It’s the same with me. Perhaps some of the people under me are also considering betrayal when an opportunity presents himself.”

The marquises around South Heavenly King maintained the same expression, but inwardly, they shivered.

Was…the new human lord talking about them?

Suddenly, Su Yu laughed and said, “That was a joke. How would Marquis Lanshan betray me?”

Marquis Lanshan was rendered speechless. How did this relate to her?

But still, she said, “Your Majesty, I will never betray you! I will fight for you with everything I have!”

Su Yu nodded.

Clearly, the simple Marquis Lanshan had completely missed the meaning behind his words.

Once again, he regarded the North Heavenly Palace. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the Celestial River of Death. At the moment, it was roiling madly. That was probably due to what He Tu and the others were doing.

As far as he was concerned, North Heavenly King had already lost. He only needed to worry about the cost of conquest.

Shortly after, he sent South Heavenly King a voice transmission, “Can you handle North Heavenly King alone?”

“We have the same cultivation level, but he has the advantage since this is his domain. He will be slightly stronger, but he won’t be able to kill me.”

Su Yu said, “In that case, I’ll focus on killing those marquises first when the battle begins. Try to last long enough for me to arrive with help.”

“Be careful, Human Lord!”

Su Yu nodded, but he wasn’t too worried. He could see the power of laws. It would be too hard to ambush him. He couldn’t handle North Heavenly King easily. If it were any other marquis, he could probably seal or snap the dao of that marquis with a jab of his pen. These death spirits lacked trump cards. They wouldn’t be too difficult to handle.

While deep in thought, he was also trying to strip North Heavenly King’s title. Naturally, he failed. He couldn’t even remove the old turtle’s title, not to mention a heavenly king’s title. The gap between him and them was too big.

He would probably need to grow strong enough to set up new heavenly laws before he could do something like that. Or perhaps the fortune of humanity simply needed to grow strong enough to suppress the laws here.

“As long as I can kill a marquis or two, some will definitely defect. This is the beauty of legitimacy.”

North Heavenly King was ultimately a rebel. A traitor. If nothing else, the ancient conquest had brought one benefit to the current humanity. The death spirits all knew that the four heavenly kings were appointed by the human court.

They wouldn’t have taken Su Yu’s threat to strip North Heavenly King’s title so seriously otherwise. For now, he could only wait. Hopefully, the guardians could catch more experts. These experts would serve as the fuel for the advancement of the guardians.

***

At the same time.

Phoenix Realm.

A tiny phoenix was flying toward the realm entrance. The expert keeping watch there shouted at the tiny phoenix, “Tian Huang, don’t run around! It’s dangerous outside! Per the Pseudo Emperor’s order, nobody is allowed to leave!”

With a pitiful expression, the young phoenix said, “I want to take a look outside! I want to temper myself! If I can’t leave, at least allow me to take a look through the entrance! It has been so long since I last left.”

With a sigh, the guardian shook his head, “No.”

“Fine, fine…” The young phoenix’s voice grew even more pitiful. “I wanted to see Lan Tian and ask him to return my little brothers and sisters…”

Instantly, the expressions of the guardians around the entrance changed. Some gnashed their teeth in anger, and some started burning in anger.

Lan Tian.

They were enraged the moment they heard that name. That was someone they would never forgive! That was someone who had stolen three thousand of their descendants!

“No, don’t even think of it! That bastard! That vile person!”

The guardians were furious.

The young phoenix chuckled and said, “Fine, I’ll wait here. I want to wait for my little brothers and sisters.”

With a pout, the young phoenix flew away and stopped atop a nearby tree. Then, she started crying there. The grief in her cry caused even the guardians to tear up.

Sigh.

The situation had worsened so much that not even their young geniuses could leave their realm anymore. Just when would this end?

***

This was not only happening in the Phoenix Realm.

The Ape Realm, Dragon Realm, Nether Realm…the same was happening in most of the major realms apart from the Immortal, Devil, and Divine Realms. New individuals had appeared near their entrances.

They were all waiting.

***

Human Realm.

A seductive female Lan Tian appeared with a flicker and said, “Great Zhou King, my brothers and sisters are all in position! They are all waiting for the tokens. When will you lure those Daofuses away?”

With a twitching face, Great Zhou King said, “Wait. Wait for the chance.”

He couldn’t resist asking one question: “Just how many clones do you have?”

“Teehee, that was so rude. I have no clones! Those are my brothers and sisters…”

Lunatic.

Great Zhou King considered himself a knowledgeable person with a rich experience in life. He had seen many things. But even someone like him would feel uncomfortable facing a madman like Lan Tian. He said, “Uhm, yes. You’re right. Wait here. I have some business to attend.”

“I can help!”

“That won’t be necessary.” Great Zhou King hurriedly refused the offer and said, “There is no need to trouble you for that. Your main task is to plant the tokens as near the Daofuses as possible. But be careful. Things will get very troublesome if you’re caught.”

“Don’t worry.”

After giving Great Zhou King a seductive wink, Lan Tian said, “You can trust me, Your Majesty. I am not a brute like those stinky men. Us women are the best at burying treasures.”

“…”

Great Zhou King shivered. With a stiff smile, he said, “Good. I’ll be taking my leave now…”

But before he could leave, Lan Tian asked with the tone of a disappointed wife, “Your Majesty, why are you in such a rush? Do you hate me so much?”

Great Zhou King was losing his mind.

He swore to never cooperate with this person anymore unless absolutely necessary. Alas, Lan Tian was needed for this task.

He answered, “No, not at all. I’m really busy. Emperor Yu gave me a lot of tasks. I’m running out of time.”

“Okay. I understand.”

Great Zhou King exhaled in relief. But before he could leave, Lan Tian spoke again, “The Human Realm sure is boring. I’ll go have some fun with my old friends. Come find me if you need me again, Your Majesty.”

“Don’t run around. I might not be able to find you anymore…”

“No, that won’t happen.” Lan Tian giggled and said, “Just shout at me when you need me. I am everywhere, especially within Great Zhou. I have millions upon millions of brothers and sisters there. Half of the citizens in your capital are my brothers and sisters!”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Great Zhou King was so shocked he choked on himself. Was that for real?

Why hadn’t he discovered any?

Stop messing around!

With a flicker, Lan Tian vanished. His voice came from afar, “Your Majesty, remember not to make me pour you tea the next time you return. The last time I poured tea for you, you nearly scared me to death by standing so close. I thought you caught me!”

“…”

Great Zhou King stiffened. Just fuck off already!

He swore he wouldn’t talk to this person anymore! He did not want to have anything to do with that lunatic anymore. That damn lunatic had traveled further and further in his path of insanity. His clones would remain completely normal so long as they weren’t fighting.

But was that a weakness?

Who would fight all the time?

“Why are there so many crazies among the humanity of this epoch?”

Was this the final madness of humanity before the end? Was the threat of extinction the reason for so many crazy geniuses to emerge at the same time? He reckoned Su Yu was the only person capable of handling someone like Lan Tian.

“But it’s not a bad thing to have him around. He has clones in the various races. With Su Yu’s plan, we’re not far from pacifying the Lower Realm.”

As Great Zhou King sank into thought, he blanked out. Humanity was too weak in this epoch. Things were so difficult that he was starting to sink into despair. Yet it was also in this epoch that he could see the hope of unification.

How…odd.

Even in the previous epoch, when humanity was so powerful, he had never felt that way. At most, he had expected that humanity would rule the Myriad Realms alongside the myriad races. Had the myriad races grown weak? Or had humanity grown strong?

Great Zhou King sighed. It was meaningless to think about all that. Even if Hundred Battle King were to return, he would need to submit to Su Yu. That crazy guy was also no pushover.