Tribulation of Myriad Races

Su Yu hesitated. His desire to study the dao was strong. If he were alone, if there weren’t anyone relying on him, he would have jumped down unhesitatingly.

“Responsibility…”

Suddenly, a certain concept appeared in his mind.

Responsibility.

He still had numerous responsibilities on his shoulders. He once said that the position of the human lord represented burden and responsibility. It was no reward.

He struggled with his desire to learn more. The burden on him was too heavy. A neccessary risk could be taken, but this was not necessary. This was merely curiosity. What would happen to the people he had brought to the Upper Realm if something were to happen to him here?

“It is said that one’s dream is worth dying for.”

Lan Tian had said something similar before. He envied Lan Tian for being so carefree and unconstrained.

He, too, was a cultivator. He, too, wanted to be so carefree in his pursuit of the dao.

To cultivate the dao. To seek the unknown.

To study the future.

The dao was boundless. To cultivate the dao was to study the unknown and to pursure the path forward.

Alas, he was hesitating.

“I…have ultimately shackled myself.”

Su Yu muttered to himself. As of late, he was starting to pursue stability over anything else. He was no longer as carefree and unrestrained as he was.

In the past, he was fearless.

In the past, he had nothing to lose.

He had no burden. He had no responsbility.

“Responsibility.”

Su Yu sank into deep thought. These responsibilities. These shackles. He was the one who had shackled himself.

He had easily fallen into the scheme of Great Zhou King and the others. At the time, he was slightly unwilling, but at the same time, he also desired that power. Furthermore, he had also done so for some people. For a certain belief.

The greater the strength, the greater the responsibility.

According to Wan Tiansheng, the capable shall shoulder the burden of the world. At the time, Su Yu could already be considered one of the capable with his control over the thirty-six ancient cities.

Thus, he had returned to the Human Realm with a sense of responsibility.

Responsibility. Once again, the concept echoed in his mind.

Should he go down?

Forget it.

This was too risky.

And it didn’t even guarantee a return. Previously, he had sacrificed greatly for Lan Tian because there was a guaranteed return. It would grant humanity one powerful expert. And he had wagered correctly. This time, he would need to take such a huge risk just to satisfy his curiosity.

“No, forget it. I can always do this in the future.”

Su Yu felt regretful. He really wanted to take a look down there. But his people were still waiting for him to take them back home. There was no need for him to take such a big risk here. Even if he knew that he could potentially comprehend something new down there, this risk was unecessary.

With that in mind, Su Yu stood up, turned around, and slowly walked away. He had to leave. He was scared that he would succumb to the temptation if he looked at the waterfall any longer. As he walked away, the entire human emperor dao trembled slightly.

Su Yu looked down at the river in surprise. Slowly, a tiny yet stable dao floated out of the river.

He blanked out.

The tiny dao resembled the crimson path Lan Tian had opened not long ago. It rested atop the river, spreading a path beneath Su Yu.

“Responsibility.”

Su Yu muttered.

Human Emperor!

Was this…the main attribute of this dao?

Was it that simple? Could it be that the core dao the Human Emperor pursued was responsibility?

“Did he believe that protecting humanity was his sole responsibility and mission in life?”

Su Yu’s emotions turned complicated. Was this the path of an emperor? A path of responsibility? A path not even the ancient Human Emperor could escape from. The power of dao started surging into Su Yu’s body from the river. At that moment, Su Yu frowned and shook the power off him.

He sighed and said, “You’re looking for a responsible successor? I am not one. Sorry.”

Su Yu shook his head.

A sense of helplessness flickered in his eyes.

He had actually triggered this inheritance by complete accident.

The core of this incomplete dao was responsibility. The sense of responsibility toward humanity. And now, this dao was trying to make him the successor to that burden.

“Isn’t this too careless? Are you not going to test your candidate first?”

Clearly, Human Emperor had left something in this incomplete dao. He was actually trying to pass this dao on. This was Su Yu’s first time being picked by a legacy just because of his mentality.

“If I were to accept this dao, I would slowly gain mastery it before becoming the master of the Dao Origin Land. And then, I can continue expanding this dao following Human Emperor’s path. Is that so?”

Su Yu felt like this was such a stupid arrangement. Shouldn’t the candidate be tested or something first? Fine, fine, he also understood that this wasn’t an easy dao to trigger.

It required a human, or a human lord, with a sense of responsibility toward humanity. At the same time, the candidate also needed to long for the dao and possess a deep comprehension of the various daos.

But Su Yu did not want this dao. He wasn’t rejecting it because it was too easy or something stupid like that. He simply didn’t want to become the next Human Emperor. This was an incomplete dao.

Upon inheriting it, he would need to spend a lot of time mastering and growing it. The end result would be his full transformation into the Human Emperor. After all, even his very own dao was something he had received from others.

“I have my own dao to pursue.” Su Yu laughed and said, “Also, I am only interested in borrowing your strength, not becoming the next you. We view the concept of responsibility differently. We are ultimately different. My sense of responsibility, my leniency, and my kindness only apply to those who are lenient and kind toward me. Our responsibility is different.”

But the dao power of the river continued flowing into his body, even as he rejected it. The river was forcing him to inherit it.

“Fuck!” Su Yu cursed, “I’ve never seen a dao so cheap! I said no! Why are you insisting? Are you trying to force me into this? Are you?”

Su Yu had a feeling he had stepped onto yet another trap. He couldn’t chase this dao power away. He already made it clear that he didn’t want it. He had his own path. Yet the dao was forcefully entering his body. What was the meaning of this?

He looked at the little stone before looking at his own token.

Sure enough!

The two tokens were still actively suppressing the numerous powers around him, but the power of responsibility was unblockable.

“A trap!”

Su Yu cursed. Yet another trap!

What was this?

Did that old fart see this day coming a hundred thousand years ago before laying down a trap in advance? The stone and human lord’s token could suppress all the other daos except the responsibility dao. This was clearly a trap!

“Fuck!”

Su Yu cursed again. That old fart must have done something here back then!

“I refuse!”

Su Yu rejected this dao. He would never accept it. He had accepted the position of human lord out of his sense of responsibility as a fellow human, but he certainly wasn’t interested in shackling himself with responsibility. That would never be his core mission.

What was this? At this rate, he would start believing that his mission in life was to protect all humanity. Bullshit! That was not his path! With this dao, he might even be forced to be lenient toward those attempting to step on him just because they were humans.

“Fuck you, Old Fart!”

Su Yu cursed again. Damn this trap!

No! No! No! He could not accept this!

He could leave the river forcefully, but he suspected that this dao would continue forcing itself upon him the next time he entered the river.

Screw that!

Su Yu made a drastic turn and started running back toward the end of the river while cursing, “Dream on! I’m not inheriting this bullshit! Trying to buy my future with an incomplete dao? Screw this! Do you think I’m dumb?”

With a rumble, he leaped off the top of the waterfall. That sense of responsibility earlier had only arisen due to a burst of sentimentality. It did not mean that he couldn’t shed that responsibility. He had never promised to protect all humans. For example, should he protect Control King’s lineage as well? They were humans as well, right?

Should he protect Hundred Battle with all his power? That brainless fool?

Dream on!

Human Emperor could do it himself!

As Su Yu leaped off the top of the waterfall, the dao of responsibility started hesitating before withdrawing back into the river.

***

At the same time.

Deep inside the River of Time proper.

A mysterious silhouette appeared yet again.

The sighing figure looked confused.

“Just what is up with the current humanity?”

As of late, the River of Time had been shaking frequently. Something massive must have happened among humanity. And that was not all.

His human emperor dao, or to be precise, his responsibility dao, one that could propel someone to the very peak of existence, had found an inheritor moments ago. Someone capable of triggering all the inheritance conditions would definitely not be a simple person. Only the perfect successor in his mind could trigger all the conditions.

But…what was going on?

That damn successor had vehemently rejected the dao. And that fellow had done something unknown, forcibly ending the succession. What was that? Was his dao not powerful enough?