Tribulation of Myriad Races

The white-haired old man from the immortal race opened his eyes again. He looked around and said, ”Almost everyone is here. As for the ones who are still not here, there is no need for them to be here anymore.”

The ones who were supposed to arrive had all arrived.

”This is the second conference of the Myriad Race Assembly in one month. During the previous conference, we weren’t able to reach a decision. Let us work hard to reach a decision during this conference. The second conference won’t end until a decision is reached. Sacred Source, you’ll host the conference.”

Sacred Source Marquis was a peak expert of the immortal race. He was a heavenly king.

At that, a middle-aged man with a powerful aura stood up behind the old man. With a smile, he stepped forth to stand at the middle of the room and said, ”I will be serving as the host for this conference. A lot more people have arrived this time. For this conference, there is only one topic. The chaos race.

”They acted three times this year. First, they saved Stable Army Marquis, killing two Daofuses from the devil race.

”Next, they attacked the dragon race, killing six Daofuses and millions of regular dragons.

”Then, they entered the Dao Origin Land and released Hundred Battle King. In the process, they killed eight pseudo kings and two Daofuses while losing three pseudo kings and multiple Daofuses.”

He was forthright about the losses. His voice turned solemn as he continued, ”We were already aware of this race some time ago. At the end of the ninth epoch, Hundred Battle King gathered over a hundred Daofuses. The most intense battle in the past hundred thousand years erupted between them and us. During the critical moment, Yue Luo of the chaos race betrayed Hundred Battle King and sealed him. That resulted in our eventual victory.

”About four thousand years ago, a powerful being entered the Dao Origin Land and attempted to release Hundred Battle King. That being was forced to retreat. That was also someone from the chaos race.”

He scanned the gathered experts and asked, ”Any questions?”

Someone spoke up, ”Yes. Why did they release Hundred Battle King after betraying him?”

This was the exact question Sacred Source Marquis had been waiting for. He smiled and said, ”Because they were afraid. Back then, they were afraid that Hundred Battle King would defeat us and conquer the Myriad Realms. Without the chance to fish in troubled water, the chaos race won’t be able to do much.

”With Hundred Battle King’s defeat, humanity was greatly weakened. Thus, they decided to release him to prevent us from winning.

”If this is not clear enough, I’ll be direct. Six thousand years ago, they believed that they were too weak to contend against the myriad races and humanity. But now, they are confident.”

Hearing that, the sole heavenly king among the dragons spoke out impatiently, ”Sacred Source, is this all you know about the chaos race? This is all speculation.”

Sacred Source Marquis nodded and said, ”Therefore, we need to prioritize reaching an agreement and finalizing our alliance. Then, we can gather our strength and sweep through the Chaos Mountain to learn more about this race. We need to avoid fighting alone and give them the chance to deal with us separately.

”In the past, the myriad races weren’t a match for humanity. After joining hands, we managed to contend against humanity. Apart, humanity would have defeated all of us separately during the ancient past. We are now in the same position. This is the purpose of our assembly. The time for us to join hands has arrived yet again.”

The heavenly king from the dragon race said, ”Yes, there is a need for an alliance. We’re not disputing that. The chaos race attacked us and murdered many of our people. Their sins can never be forgiven. There is no guarantee that they won’t move against other races after what they did to the dragon race.”

”The Chaos Mountain is too dangerous. It is indeed too dangerous for us to stay separate. At present, I am the only pseudo king of the dragon race. We still have three Daofuses in our race. I hereby pledge our strength to this alliance.”

”...”

A prop.

Instantly, Su Yu concluded that the dragon was merely a prop.

Clearly, the dragon race was no longer interested in fighting to power. They were willing to act as a mere prop for the other major races.

Everyone could see that. It was too obvious.

Sacred Source Marquis smiled and said, ”Fine Dragon Marquis is right. If only everyone has the same sense of justice. We wouldn’t have needed to waste so much time for a second conference. We would be attacking the Chaos Mountain by now.

”The biggest question here is the number of experts each race will send for the expedition into the Chaos Mountain.”

Sacred Source Marquis continued, ”There is no questioning that we need to act against the chaos race. That isn’t even a point of contention. But the amount of effort each race is willing to put will be the biggest question.”

He did not give anyone the chance to interrupt as he continued, ”I suggest that the five major races take the lead for this expedition. Each of the five will deploy a Venerable. Five Venerables will lead our efforts. In the event of a disagreement, the five Venerables will consult with each other before reaching an agreement. If no agreement is reached, we will vote on it.”

At that, numerous gazes landed on the iron devourers. They finally understood why the iron devourers were invited to sit there. March’s expression changed slightly.

Sacred Source Marquis continued, ”Apart from a Venerable, each of the five will also send a pseudo king to lead the expedition into the Chaos Mountain. The Venerables will be the ones making the strategic decisions while the pseudo kings will be the ones taking action.”

Su Yu cursed inwardly. This was a good scheme. With this plan, even Great Bamboo Marquis would be forced to participate.

How incredible.

”As for the dragon, phoenix, and other relevant races, each will send a pseudo king.”

Those seated in the second circle were required to deploy a heavenly king and three Daofuses per race at a minimum. Those seated in the third circle were required to send a peak Daofuse per race. Beyond that, each race only needed to send one Daofuse.

The amount of effort required differed depending on one’s seat here. With this, a force with at least five Venerables, fifteen heavenly kings, and even more Daofuses would be assembled. This was a powerful force. It was powerful enough to face even the human race of the ninth epoch.

They were calling this a conference, but a decision had actually been reached by the three major races and some other races. This conference was merely an excuse to make the iron devourer, fate, and other races fight for them.

Just then, Venerable Scrape smiled and said, ”Since Fellow Daoist Thunderstorm and Fellow Daoist Heavenly Fate are here, I suggest that we have the two of them join us as well. We will form a council of seven for our coming expedition. This is a great opportunity for us to learn more about the chaos race.”

He looked at the two and said, ”If you’re unwilling, it’s fine. You only need to send a pseudo king each.”

What he didn’t mention was the fact that this might be a one-way trip for the two pseudo kings. As for March, he wouldn’t be allowed to sit out of the expedition. In comparison, they were willing to let the two off the hook.

March frowned and said, ”So, according to your arrangement, I need to fight. Great Bamboo needs to fight as well. On top of that, we even need to send five Daofuses for this expedition. I don’t even know if we have five Daofuses.”

Venerable Moon laughed and said, ”In that case, just have April, May, and Full Moon join the expedition. That would be sufficient.”

Bullshit!

March had the urge to shout. Were they supposed to send every last Daofuse in their race?

Venerable Scrape said, ”No, Venerable Moon. How can we empty their fighting force? Full Moon may stay behind to watch over Bamboo Mountain. This way, Fellow Daoist March can fight without reservations.”

He smiled, as though he was doing March a favor.

March asked, ”What if I refuse to go?”

Venerable Desolate asked coldly, ”Why not? The chaos race has sinned heavily by slaughtering the innocent and ruining the peace of the myriad races. Is the iron devourer race thinking of sitting at the sidelines and benefiting from our suffering? Or perhaps you’re actually involved with them?”

They were all eyeing the iron devourers like a tiger watching its prey. They would not let the iron devourer race off.

March inhaled deeply and said, ”Are you saying that opting out is not an option?”

Venerable Desolate answered, ”Yes. March, a battle between Venerables won’t happen so easily. During the early phase, we only need to be around to keep an eye on everything. When Great Bamboo Marquis arrives, he will be the one representing you on the field.”

March looked at them before looking at Heavenly Fate Marquis and Thunderstorm. Then, he flashed them his innocent smile and said, ”Aren’t we here to discuss things? Why do I feel like we’re being ordered around instead of discussing things?”

Venerable Desolate said, ”The discussion is over. Do you disagree with our consensus?”

Understanding dawned on March. The claim that no agreement had been reached during the first conference was nonsense. In truth, an agreement had been reached. The second conference was merely a trap for those absent during the first conference.

Meanwhile, Su Yu was taking note of the number of experts who would participate in the expedition. He was quite shocked. The myriad races had deployed such a large force before learning more about the chaos race. Clearly, they were taking this very seriously. The chaos race would be wiped out easily if they were too weak.

March no longer felt like saying anything, so he inhaled deeply and said, ”April, you’ll take charge.”

With that, all the Venerables focused on April. Some smiled, while some remained cold.

Su Yu flashed them the trademark innocent smile of the iron devourers and said, ”The iron devourer race is naturally agreeable to this. However, we don’t have the numbers to participate in the entire thing. I suggest that I participate during the early phase. As for Great Bamboo Marquis, he can join when the chaos race deploys their pseudo kings as well.”

The myriad races were clearly trying to make Great Bamboo Marquis the vanguard in the fight against the chaos race. Su Yu was worried that this might result in unexpected consequences.

The others considered the suggestion. April was March’s son. Thus, it would be fine to have him replace Great Bamboo Marquis.

They nodded. It didn’t matter. They only needed the iron devourer race to participate. If they dared to refuse participation, it was unlikely that March would be allowed to leave this place alive.

Seeing that the Venerables weren’t protesting, Sacred Source Marquis smiled and said, ”In that case, let’s deploy our experts as soon as possible. We will gather here instead of heading to the Chaos Mountain independently. We can’t give the chaos race the chance to ambush us while we’re separate, right?”

First, they would ensure the participation of the various races by forcing them to come. As for March and the others, they naturally wouldn’t be allowed to leave since they were already here.

They wouldn’t be given the chance to flee after agreeing to participate in the expedition.

”In three days, we will set off for the Chaos Mountain. Each race is required to deploy ten thousand combatants on top of the Daofuses and those above. These people will be in charge of sweeping through the outer region of the Chaos Mountain and dealing with the ancient beasts there.”

Sacred Source Marquis started giving out orders.

”Since the Venerables are busy people, I will be hosting the strategic council for them. The other races can each send a representative to this council.”

He looked at Su Yu and asked, ”Fellow Daoist April, are you going to be the representative or are you going to wait for Great Bamboo Marquis to arrive?”

Su Yu answered, ”I’ll be the representative.”

The others smiled. The iron devourer race sure was obedient this time.

Good.

But still, they had to keep an eye on the iron devourer race to prevent anything unexpected from happening.