Tribulation of Myriad Races

Su Yu thought about it and nodded, “Yes. Where do you intend to build this canal?”

While asking that question, Su Yu granted Great Zhou King a miniature Heaven Gate.

After taking a look with the Heaven Gate, Great Zhou King said, “The exact position doesn’t matter as long as it connects the two, but I’m worried that building it outside the river itself will expose it to the destruction of others. Therefore, I intend to build it right inside the river.

“There is some distance between all these tributaries, and there are some other tributaries between the patient and endure tributaries. Forming a connection between the two is the same as pioneering a small dao, one that is just enough to connect the two.”

Su Yu nodded, “That’s a feasible idea. But can you do it?”

“I believe I can, but I might require your help, Your Majesty.”

“How can I help you?”

Everyone had their own unique comprehension on the various daos. Thus, Su Yu didn’t know how he could help Great Zhou King here.

Great Zhou King knew that as well. After a short silence, he said, “I will be pioneering a dao on the tributary to connect the two tributaries. However, I don’t need the power in the river. Instead, I only need to establish a connection between the two tributaries. Can you build a sort of dam for me and block the water from the river from entering the canal I’m building?”

That was easy to understand. He wanted to build a canal, but he only wanted the water from the two tributaries, not the main river.

Su Yu’s face twitched slightly as he asked, “So…you want me to build a dam for you?”

Great Zhou King nodded with a smile. That was an easy job, right? He didn’t need Su Yu to do more.

But Su Yu’s face was still twitching. He asked, “Are you sure? The water from the River of Time is incredibly powerful. And you’re telling me to block it for you.”

“Yes.” Great Zhou King said, “You don’t need to keep it up for long. I only need enough time to connect the two tributaries.”

Su Yu gave Great Zhou King a long stare before asking, “You’re asking me to act as a human sandbag and block the river for you. When you’re done, I can leave. Is this what you’re saying?”

“I…guess?”

Great Zhou King asked stiffly, “Your Majesty, this…shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

Piss off.

Su Yu had the urge to curse someone.

How could the water of the River of Time be blocked so easily?

Screw that!

Su Yu frowned deeply. This wouldn’t be an easy task. He had to admit that Great Zhou King’s idea was incredibly creative. In an era where advancement into a Master of Law was impossible, this would be his sole means to grow stronger.

From the perspective of his naked eyes, the two tributaries were only hundreds of meters apart. Great Zhou King wanted to connect the two with a canal, while Su Yu needed to block the water from the main river from entering the canal.

Great Zhou King said, “Your Majesty, I specialize in the patient dao. I can’t allow the water from the main river to enter and dillute the composition in the canal as that might interfere with my attempt to bring the two daos together. The water from the main river contains the power from various daos. Thus, it is very important that not a single drop of water from the river is allowed to enter the canal. And such a task can only be completed by someone with a Heaven Gate.”

Su Yu asked, “What will happen when I fail to block the water from the river?”

Great Zhou King sighed and said, “I’ll have to completely give up on this method and pray for an opportunity to become a proper Master of Law.”

Su Yu asked, “Will it be difficult for you to reach the level of a heavenly king after connecting the two daos?”

“No.” Great Zhou King said, “Linking the two daos will raise my potential. In such a situation, it won’t be too difficult for me to become a heavenly king. I might be able to become even a Venerable. No matter what, two daos are stronger than a single dao.”

Su Yu inhaled deeply and said, “I can’t guarantee anything. You understand your dao and your future path well. I am not you, so I can’t give you any suggestions. Since this is how you want me to help, sure. But I require both Xing Yu’s token and human lord’s token. Both are currently stored in Culture King’s Residence. I should have taken the two with me. So be it. I’ll retrieve them. Wait here.”

“Your Majesty…” Great Zhou King pleaded softly, “Please be sure to return after leaving…”

For some reason, he felt like Su Yu would disappear on him after leaving. Yes, this was a hard task. But it wasn’t an impossible task, right?

Su Yu was disgusted by Great Zhou King’s soft voice. He said, “Don’t imitate Lan Tian. We only need a single Lan Tian around.”

Damn it! Why were these people learning from Lan Tian? That look in Great Zhou King’s eyes was giving him goosebumps. Why were these old fellows so disgusting? Great Zhou King hurriedly schooled his expression. He definitely didn’t want to be accused of being the second Lan Tian. With a snort, Su Yu departed.

The moment Su Yu left, Great Zhou King’s expression returned to its usual calm. He gazed into the distance, as though he was looking far away and sighed. Human Emperor might still be fighting somewhere at the very end of the river. Meanwhile, he was incapable of doing anything to help.

Even the bold Su Yu had not suggested moving upstream and joining the battle at the end of the river. That was a battle between over a hundred Masters of Laws. None of them was qualified to participate in it.

They were simply too weak.

***

Great Zhou King did not need to wait for long.

Su Yu was back soon after.

Fat Ball had been sent back to stabilize Culture King’s Residence since the two tokens couldn’t be kept there anymore.

“Let’s start.” Su Yu said, “We will start at the same time. You are essentially pioneering a new dao here. Your dao comprehension will greatly affect the speed. If your dao comprehension is deep enough, you can complete before I reach my limit. I doubt I can keep this up for long.”

“Okay.”

Great Zhou King wasted no time and stepped into the patient tributary.

Boom!

A rumble rang out as a tiny protrusion grew from the end of the tributary facing the river. Now, Great Zhou King needed to push it all the way to the endure tributary. Before long, it surpassed one meter in length. But at that moment, the water from the main river started rushing over. With a roar, Su Yu suppressed the river with both his tokens.

With Su Yu blocking the water for him, Great Zhou King wasted no time and continued pushing forward. His comprehension of both the patient and endure daos were deep enough that he was able to grow the tributary rapidly. The longer the canal grew, the larger Su Yu’s dam grew.

Eventually, Su Yu started reaching his limit. Great Zhou King’s speed started slowing down as well. Su Yu felt very helpless. He prayed that something similar to Lan Tian’s dao pioneering wouldn’t repeat itself here. He did not have the lifespan to do the same here.

After some time, the canal was halfway through. The pioneering of a dao relied on one’s dao comprehension. It wasn’t something one could complete through brute force.

Clearly, Great Zhou King was finding it hard to keep pushing forward. Eventually, Great Zhou King’s progress ground to a halt. Instead of giving up, he sank into comprehension as he started comprehending his daos rapidly.

Seeing that Great Zhou King was deep in thought, Su Yu did not interfere and waited silently. After a short pause, Great Zhou King resumed his progress. Meanwhile, Su Yu continued exerting himself. He was on the verge of coughing blood as he grumbled inwardly.

Why? Why were these people so bothersome? Why were their daos so hard to pioneer? Su Yu couldn’t help but praise Old Wan inwardly as he recalled that he didn’t even need to do much during Old Wan’s dao pioneering.

Eventually, only a third of the distance remained. But just as the endure tributary was within reach, Great Zhou King suddenly left the tributary. Su Yu was left dumbstruck. Holy shit! What was this guy doing now?

“Your Majesty, I’m running out of inspiration. I’ll try to push forward from the endure tributary instead.”

“…”

Was this a joke?

Su Yu gnashed his teeth and said, “Make it fast! I can’t last much longer!”

With a sheepish smile, Great Zhou King rushed into the endure tributary.

Since he was starting a new tributary, he was able to progress at a relatively faster speed. As for Su Yu, he was forced to hold back the water on both sides. He was so tired that he was already gasping for breath.

The tributary continued growing. Eventually, only about ten percent of the distance was left to cover. But at that point, Great Zhou King slowed down yet again. Su Yu was cursing inwardly while gnashing his teeth. Damn it! Could this guy do it or not? Not long ago, he was still filled with confidence, as though he would complete the task soon.

How bothersome!

As Great Zhou King worked hard, Su Yu started measuring the gap. Eight percent. Seven percent. Five percent…

And finally, only three percent was left.

The progress halted yet again.

As a super genius himself, Su Yu was able to understand what was happening with one look. Some of the daos in the remaining gap were the daos Great Zhou King had yet to comprehend. Thus, he was stuck.

With a sigh, Su Yu activated the Book of Time. An incorporeal power rippled out and helped him with the suppression of the river. He had no choice but to do this. He was already at his limit.

Damn that Great Zhou King! How much longer would he take?

***

Naturally, Great Zhou King was greatly pressured as well.

His comprehension of the patience and endure daos was incredibly deep. Thus, he had been confident that he could complete this task easily. But now, he was in deep thought. He had exhausted all he knew, yet the tributary was yet to be completed. What was missing?

“What do I lack?”

Great Zhou King muttered to himself. He sat down cross-legged and sank into contemplation. What was he missing from the patient and endure daos? Only a tiny bit of the gap was left, but he had no way of punching through the bottleneck.

This signified that his comprehension was incomplete. He shut his eyes and sank into deeper thought. He forgot everything and focused only on the two concepts. Patient and endure.

When Su Yu looked down, he started cursing again. He understood that the old bastard had encountered a bottleneck. They were only a tiny bit away from success. Su Yu sank into thought as well. Was Great Zhou King’s comprehension of the two daos not enough?

Why was he stuck? As he sank into thought, the pressure on him grew stronger, causing him to start cursing again. Damn it! Didn’t Great Zhou King promise to finish this quickly? What was the endpoint of patience?

Finally, Su Yu roared, “Try to give yourself a release instead!”

Great Zhou King looked up blankly.

Noticing Great Zhou King’s blank expression, Su Yu said, “To be patient. To endure. What if you have reached the limit of your patience and endurance? Are you going to stay patient? We endure for the sake of erupting properly in the future. Not for the sake of enduring for eternity. Only a fool will stay patient forever. After running out of your patience, release your emotions! You are good at holding yourself back, but after holding yourself back, you need to erupt at the right time to reap your rewards! Are you a living being or are you a stone?”

Great Zhou King’s eyes flickered. Patient. Endure. Eruption. They were different. Was an eruption required for this? He did not know the answer, but he could feel the pressure on Su Yu. He could see that Su Yu was on the verge of burning more lifespan.

He inhaled deeply.

Perhaps.

Perhaps…he had truly been holding back too much. Holding back to erupt at the right time?

Was that the case? He had no answer. But he was willing to give it a try. And next, the eternally calm Great Zhou King turned murderous. His entire presence changed as a baleful air wrapped around him. It was as though he had been set on fire.

Boom!

He was erupting. What was the extreme end of patience?

Eruption. Extreme eruption. That was Great Zhou King’s answer. An eruption of boundless fury. Rumble!

And finally, the final bit of the gap was covered as well.

Under Great Zhou King’s furious glare, the two tributaries were finally connected.

Boom!