Tribulation of Myriad Races

Sealed Region.

The moment Su Yu landed, the Death Imperator manifested on his pillar.

”Are you looking for me, Emperor Su?”

He took the initiative to speak since Su Yu had stopped here.

Su Yu nodded, ”Yes. Some disturbances erupted in the Upper Realm. The Hell Gate swung open and released two Masters of Laws. I wonder if you know them. They’re Yu Qing and the matron dragon.”

”Matron dragon...” Death Imperator said, ”I heard of that being before. That is someone behind the Hell Gate. Early in the primordial past, the Hell Gate stirred once. At the time, a beast known as the matron dragon attempted to rush out of the gate. But I don’t know how that incident ended.”

”Yu Qing...” After some thought, he asked, ”Is that a spear-wielding woman?”

Su Yu nodded. He was quite surprised that Death Imperator actually knew of the two.

Death Imperator said, ”Many years ago, Control King came to the Death Realm. I saw the group from afar. A spear-wielding woman was following behind Control King during the visit. I heard someone calling her Qing. Since she’s from behind the gate, they must be the same person.”

He looked at Su Yu and said, ”There are some notable powerhouses under Control King. Since they are coming out of the gate, is Control King behind the gate as well?”

”Perhaps.” Su Yu nodded. He said, ”Forget about her for now. Previously, I promised to set you free. But I’m worried that you’ll cause trouble for me after you’re free. After all, you’re quite strong. How about this? I’ll set you free and appoint you the Death Spirit King. You can rule the Death Realm for me.”

After a short silence, Death Imperator asked, ”What if I refuse?”

Su Yu said, ”It’s fine. You didn’t attack previously, and I promised to set you free. I will fulfill my promise, but I might kill you if you do something wrong after coming out.”

After some time, Death Imperator said, ”Allow me to think about this.”

”Sure.”

Su Yu did not say too much. Death Imperator was a smart man. At the very least, he was smarter than Martial Emperor. He would know the right choice to make.

***

Before long, Su Yu arrived at the tunnel leading to the seventh level of the Luminous Domain Mansion.

The tunnel was shut tight.

Su Yu chuckled and said, ”Martial Emperor, are you avoiding me?”

There was no response.

The tunnel remained shut.

Su Yu said, ”I’m not here to fight. I’m only here to chat. Why must you shut me outside your door...or would it be more accurate to say that you’re shutting me outside your ass?”

A furious Martial Emperor appeared. He stared at Su Yu coldly and said, ”You’re playing with fire.”

Su Yu said, ”I wouldn’t have said that if you hadn’t shut me outside.”

Martial Emperor asked, ”Why are you here again?”

Su Yu replied, ”I’m here to see you. At the same time, I wish to discuss cooperation between us.”

”Heh.” Martial Emperor sneered, ”I knew it. You won’t be here for no reason. Are you trying to make me fight for you? You are dreaming, Su Yu.”

”Not even Human Emperor and those fellows managed to make me submit, let alone you.”

”Yeap. That was why you did so badly.” Su Yu was very blunt. ”If only you had a brain. If you hadn’t been all alone, you wouldn’t have done so badly that your entire body was turned into a pillar with your head buried all the way to the Death Realm. Learn from your past mistakes. It has been over a hundred thousand years. Have you learned nothing? Don’t you know that even a great hero can’t operate alone? Do you think that you’ll still be the hegemon of a region after being sealed for more than a hundred thousand years? Do you really think you’re the strongest in existence?”

Martial Emperor had an ugly expression.

Su Yu grinned and said, ”Those who have joined me have yet to suffer from their choice. If you were one of mine back then, I would have stripped Martial King and planted him upside down on the ground long ago. His ass would have been exposed to the sun for a hundred thousand years by now.”

Martial Emperor’s face darkened. Was this guy talking about Martial King, or was this guy talking about him?

Su Yu said, ”If I may be blunt, you’re a typical prideful man without the ability to back your pride. You are stubborn, and you refuse to learn. You deserve your current fate.”

Martial Emperor’s expression turned ashen. Was Su Yu here to recruit him or pick a fight with him? Was this how one should behave when recruiting someone?

Su Yu continued, ”I’m speaking the truth. It’s unpleasant to hear, but I’m not wrong. You are senior to even Human Emperor and his people. Yet Martial King alone was enough to deliver you your current fate. And Martial King was the dumb guy among them. He won not because he was too impressive for you to handle, but because he had support.

”A lone brute will be nothing but a lone brute. But with proper support, a brute will transform into a weapon of mass destruction. You will be able to kill anyone you wish. As for all the resulting troubles, someone else will be wiping your ass for you.”

”Su Yu!” Martial Emperor raged, ”Stop using that word!”

Why couldn’t this guy speak normally? Why was this guy mentioning the word ass repeatedly? What was the meaning of this?

Su Yu continued, ”Simply put, when a brute declares hegemony alone, it won’t last long. That is undeniable. You need to read more. Learn some history. Can you name a single independent brute who was able to last long in their hegemony? The few who had managed to last long were the ones who had studied diligently to improve themselves after gaining power. Pure brutes can never last long.

”It’s pointless to say too much to a brute like you. I’ll be very straightforward. Firstly, I can keep Culture King and Human Emperor occupied in the future when you do decide to seek Martial King out for revenge. Without this offer, you can forget about your revenge. You don’t have the brains to go against Culture King. You know this very well, Martial Emperor.”

Martial Emperor had an unsightly expression, but he did not argue. Could he go against them? No shit!

He was already weaker than they were before he was sealed away. Over a hundred thousand years had passed since then. How was he supposed to be his match during the second round after being sealed off for so many years? In fact, he held an intense fear of Culture King deep inside.

”Secondly, I will try to help push you to Martial King’s level. If you wish to grow strong relying on yourself, there is honestly no hope.”

Martial Emperor’s face darkened further.

”Thirdly, you don’t even need to address me as his majesty or milord or whatever. I can’t be bothered to subdue you. I am only proposing a cooperation where we make use of each other. You can address me as Emperor Su or Emperor Yu and I’ll address you as Martial Emperor. We can be equal in this partnership.”

Martial Emperor’s eyes flickered.

”Fourthly, I can try to release you right this moment.

”Fifthly, you don’t need to follow my command or report to me. I only have one request. Kill three Masters of Laws for me as repayment for your release.

”Treat this as a trade, not a submission. Three Masters of Laws for my help against esteemed personages like Human Emperor and Culture King. If this is acceptable, agree. If not, you are free to reject me.”

Martial Emperor sank into silence.

A trade?

Yes, that sounded much better than submission. If Su Yu were here to ask for his submission, he would respond by spitting on Su Yu’s face. But a trade...was perhaps...maybe...worth considering?

As he thought over it, Su Yu continued, ”Three Masters of Laws. This can also serve as your whetstone before you actually go against Martial King. If you can’t even kill three Masters of Laws...you should forget about your revenge lest you get yourself killed. Are you really that useless, Martial Emperor?”

Martial Emperor gnashed his teeth and said, ”I’ll kill you one day!”

”...Heh.”

What an amusing thing to say.

That laugh further infuriated Martial Emperor. ”Do you think I can’t kill him?”

”Of course.”

Su Yu nodded with a straight face. ”He’s with Culture King. Before killing him, you need to get through Culture King. The two are so close I’m starting to suspect they share even their underwear. Don’t bother bragging if you can’t kill Culture King.”

”...”

Instantly, Martial Emperor’s fury faded.

Despair sank in. He couldn’t kill Culture King. Forget about Culture King. He wasn’t even a match for Martial King.

He despaired. He would always shout about how he was going to kill Martial King, but that was merely a fantasy on his part. Now that the truth was laid out before him, he couldn’t help but feel despair.

Su Yu said, ”Wait. Were you never serious when you shouted about revenge in the past? In that case, you’re truly a coward. You must have been hoping that Martial King wouldn’t return after you regained your freedom. You will be free to strut around. Unfortunately, he’s going to return sooner or later. Won’t things be awkward for you then?”

Martial Emperor flew into a rage out of humiliation. ”I have been waiting for my revenge! That never changed! I will kill him one day!”

”Hehe. You have merely been fantasizing. When you do see him, you will drop to your knees and call him daddy.”

”Fuck you!”

Martial Emperor was furious.

”By the way, Tai Shan has a different meaning. Father-in-law. Isn’t that the case? You have basically been calling him daddy all these years.”

Su Yu laughed, ”Wow. So you’re actually scared of him. You fear him so much you want him as your daddy.”

”Absolute nonsense!”

Martial Emperor was furious. That was not true! This damnable Su Yu was trying to spur him into agreeing by angering him. Definitely! He wouldn’t fall for this!

Su Yu said, ”Alright, alright. What’s the point of raging helplessly? Just answer me. Do you want your revenge?”

”Can you really handle Human Emperor and the others?” Martial Emperor said, ”You’re bluffing as well.”

Su Yu laughed. ”Back then, I told you that I would grow strong enough to kill you before you broke free. Did you believe me? But look at me now.”

Suddenly, Su Yu’s presence swelled. The world shook.

”How am I right now?”

Martial Emperor’s pupils shrank.

Su Yu said, ”Do not try to understand me through your standards. Martial Emperor, you are only a brute. You can never understand people like me. When I declare something, I’ll do it.”

Martial Emperor sank into silence. Su Yu had grown yet again. It was as though Su Yu would undergo massive changes each time they met. It hadn’t even been that long since he first rose into a Venerable. But now...his presence was already near that fabled level. In fact, Su Yu had probably grown strong enough to handle Masters of Laws inside his world.

Envy, fury, indignation...all sorts of emotions stirred within Martial Emperor.

Finally, his numerous emotions converged into a single bellow, ”What did brutes do to offend you? Su Yu, you are unworthy of looking down on brutes. You are a brute as well. All of us are brutes!”

Su Yu was quite brutish himself! Why was he pretending to be different?

Su Yu smiled, ”See, brutes love raging like this. A true cultured man will always stay calm. The moment they grow angry, blood will flow and people will die. This is the difference between us.”

Martial Emperor was left speechless. Damn it! Why did that make so much sense? But he was still filled with indignation. He couldn’t accept this. He had promised to kill Su Yu after breaking free. Was he supposed to make a deal with Su Yu instead? Just what was going on?

Su Yu maintained his gentle smile as Martial Emperor sank into thought.

Seemingly having guessed what Martial Emperor was thinking, he said, ”How about this? Kill three Masters of Laws for me and I’ll offer you a public apology for insulting you. That would gain you a lot of face, right?”

Martial Emperor blanked out. Wait...that seemed...to be a great deal!