Chapter 127 - 127

Chapter 1612: Su Yu The Saint (1)

After having a meal of red braised pork made with love by Su Long, Su Yu had nothing else to do. Thus, he prepared to visit Zhao Li. Just then, someone knocked on the door of the Su Residence.

The door swung open by itself, but Su Yu was the one who had actually opened it from afar.

There were two visitors.

Marquis Xia and Xia Huyou.

Great Xia King wasn't with them. He was too embarrassed to see Su Yu again. He was trying to avoid having Su Yu mention the matter about his past in front of his son and great-grandson.

Marquis Xia had a wide smile on his face. Su Yu still remembered hearing this guy wailing in pain earlier. He was probably still confused about the beating his old man had given him out of nowhere. It must be quite embarrassing to be beaten by his father at his age.

"Su Yu!"

The moment the door swung open, Marquis Xia's passionate voice rang out, "If it weren't for you, I would have died previously! I need to take this chance to express my gratitude! Feel free to inform me if you need anything here!"

Su Yu smiled and asked, "I don't need much, but when are you giving me the Willpower Grotto? Has Great Xia King told you about that?"

"..."

What an awkward question to answer.

Marquis Xia laughed and said, "There is no rush. There is still something for you to handle during your return this time."

"Are you talking about my old man's birthday?"

"That's not all..." Marquis Xia inhaled deeply and said, "This time, Great Qin King intends to gather the people of thirty-six prefectures in Great Xia for two reasons. Celebrate Su Long's birthday and hold a conference to discuss the establishment of a new holy land."

"Are the Invincibles not coming?"

Su Yu looked quite surprised.

Marquis Xia nodded, "The Invincibles aren't coming. Or to be precise, a few will come to give the conference some weight, and some will be absent. After all, the Allheaven Battlefield still requires them."

"Why not hold the conference at the Allheaven Battlefield?"

Marquis Xia explained, "It's impractical to expect all Invincibles to attend the meeting. Furthermore, we're trying to avoid conflicts between Invincibles, so we'll have their subordinates negotiate instead. They will only get involved when things are mostly finalized. The prefects will be the ones joining the negotiation in the beginning.

"Also, the establishment of a new holy land is mainly an internal matter. Some of the Invincibles on the front lines do not like to get involved in such matters. The prefects or their representatives will be making the decision first. If everything were to proceed smoothly, we could even skip the meeting between the Invincibles."

Su Yu chuckled, "Such a holy land would be pointless."

"No, you're wrong." Marquis Xia solemnly said, 'Perhaps it's pointless in your eyes, but for humanity, it has great significance. This is one of the ways humanity is changing after a crisis. We can't remain stubborn. Anyone with an eye can see the approaching crisis. Thus, everyone is seeking change. Naturally, everyone has a different idea as to how we should change. But that doesn't change the fact that everyone believes change is needed."

It was rare to see Marquis Xia so serious. Su Yu said, "Are you saying that everyone is seeking change to save humanity, with the only disagreement being the leader of this new holy land?"

"Correct."

Su Yu laughed and asked, "This is odd. Isn't it a good idea for Great Qin King to serve as the leader? Why bother with all these disagreements?"

Marquis Xia thought about it and answered, "That's feasible, but Great Qin King is only good at facing external enemies. Internally, he can be quite indecisive when dealing with his fellow humans.

"Everyone respects him. And he will have the support when running the Human Realm. But he will be indecisive whenever a big decision concerning the internal affairs needs to be made."

Marquis Xia continued, "The current Invincibles are all his friends and comrades of many years. He can't steel his heart against them. In short, he is an excellent chief commander, but he is still lacking when handling the internal affairs."

Su Yu sneered and said, "Just make sure everyone is obedient and he won't be lacking anymore."

"That's easy to say, but nobody is perfect. Can anyone be truly obedient?" Marquis Xia said, "Therefore, Great Qin King is making it clear that he is too busy to handle the matter of the new holy land. Thus, he is handing it over to the next leader of humanity."

Su Yu shook his head, "I don't want this job. Also, I am too unfamiliar with everyone."

"That's exactly what we're looking for." Marquis Xia said, "We don't need you to know everyone. We only need everyone to know you."

"I'm not interested."

Marquis Xia sighed and said, "I understand what you're thinking. But don't you want to know the Human Realm better? Who are the supporters of war? Who are the supporters of peace? Who are the supporters of surrender? And who are the supporters of compromise? When you know more, you will know what to expect."

Marquis Xia continued, "Do you remember the public trial for Feng Ji? At the time, the voting was done anonymously. This time, the votes will be public. Anonymous voting might still give space for some people to play their tricks. But open votes will show everyone their true faces. A small number of people might change their votes because of this, but you can still get a relatively accurate picture of the current situation in the Human Realm."

Su Yu had a thoughtful look as he listened.

Marquis Xia added, "Also, legitimacy matters."

"Hmm?" Su Yu looked at Marquis Xia in confusion.

Marquis Xia smiled and said, "Let me give you a simple example. Say you wish to kill Huyou..."

Xia Huyou's face turned ugly.

"You do have the courage to do that. But if you were to do it, Great Xia would never let this slide. The Human Realm would never let this slide. Just look at Wan Tiansheng. He is now known as the demonic human.

"But with your legitimacy as the leader of the holy land, you have the authority to claim that Huyou is being punished for an offense before killing him. If the Xia Family dares to protest, you can label them as rebels. With legitimacy, anyone going against you can be labeled as rebels."

Marquis Xia said, "Strength is very important. But legitimacy matters a lot as well. Get the moral high ground. Be the one judging others instead of being judged. Fifty years ago, Ye Batian died. Since then, the multiple character faction became everyone's enemy.

"But what if? What if there were a holy land leader making the claim that the myriad races had killed Ye Batian because they were terrified of the multiple character faction? The holy land leader could declare further support for the multiple character faction. That would change everything. With legitimacy, the multiple character faction could have developed into the main faction of humanity.

"Wan Tiansheng has killed so many people. But if there were a decree from a holy land leader claiming that Wan Tiansheng was actually an enforcer of the leader instead of a human fiend, everything would change as well. Such is the power of legitimacy.

"During your previous quarrel with Great Yuan King, you couldn't kill him as Su Yu. But if you were the holy land leader, you merely needed to ask for his life, and the likes of Great Qin King, Great Zhou King, and Great Xia King would present his head to you. Legitimacy matters!

"Su Yu, you still don't understand the importance of a holy land. You have always believed that the holy land is pointless. You can do anything you want with strength. But what about it? Is the immortal race not strong? Is the divine race not strong? What about the devil race? When a conflict arises between you and humanity, both sides will suffer. What can you get from such a conflict? By becoming the leader of the holy land, you're not gaining the strength of humanity. You are merely gaining the legitimacy to enforce your will upon humanity."

"..."

Su Yu stared at Marquis Xia blankly. After a long while, he rubbed his chin and said, "Marquis, with your mouth, it's a waste that you're not the leader of humanity."

Marquis Xia laughed and said, "I need strength for that. If I had your strength and talent, I would have asked for my old man's support to ascend to that position long ago. Strength and talent still matter, or you won't gain the acknowledgement of the other humans. Not just anyone can take this job. You can. You have the talent, strength, and support for it. Even those who dislike you will have to acknowledge this fact."

Su Yu frowned.

"If you still don't understand what I'm trying to say, allow me to be blatantly honest. If you don't get your legitimacy now, a day might arrive when an old human fossil emerges out of nowhere. That old fossil might decree that you must die. Humanity would naturally heed that command. But upon claiming your legitimacy, even the human fossils would need to acknowledge your reign if they still wanted to consider themselves humans."

"Human fossils?" Su Yu asked with surprise, "So you are aware of the past as well?"

Marquis Xia laughed and said, "A little. It doesn't matter if there are actually such fossils around. But what if one were to come out? And what if that fossil were the elder of some of your past victims? Would that fossil start targeting you?

"But if you were the leader of humanity, things would be different. Regardless of which era the fossil came from, they would need to respect your authority so long as they were human. Even the Human Emperor would need to treat you as an equal. Without legitimacy, who would humanity listen to? A human fossil with their seniority? Or you, someone with no official position among humanity? The answer is clear. But as the leader of humanity, you could decree even the fossil a traitor, and humanity would still heed your command."

"..."

Su Yu chuckled and asked, "Aren't you trying to make me a tyrant? You're totally making me the villain here."

Marquis Xia laughed and said, "History is written by the victors. Winner takes all. There are no heroes or villains here. You only need to lead humanity to victory against the myriad races. The future generation will have their own judgment on your ways, but in your era, you will never be wrong."

Su Yu sank into thought.

Marquis Xia was truly good at persuasion. Even Su Yu was tempted. Previously, he had zero interest in this. But he was starting to sway. It felt as though Marquis Xia had spoken to his very soul. If he were to kill any human right now, he would incur the hostility of countless humans. He and even his family might be labeled traitors. He did not mind that, but it was still an annoying feeling.

Just like what happened to Wan Tiansheng.

When Wan Tiansheng left the Human Realm, Su Yu felt boundless indignation and fury. He couldn't accept that. That was why he had said those words to Wu Ji back then at the Allheaven Prefecture. He had said that he would fight. Fight until nobody was standing in his way anymore. At that point, his words would be law. Wan Tiansheng would be a hero just because he decreed so.

But now, Marquis Xia was telling him that his path was too troublesome. He only needed to be the leader of the holy land. With legitimacy, he could declare Wan Tiansheng his enforcer and make Wan Tiansheng a hero.

Using force?

He could beat all resistance down. However, that was still not acceptance. But as the leader of the holy land, everyone would need to accept him. They might feel indignant. They might dislike him. But they would need to swallow their feelings and accept him.

They could resist, but he could also declare them traitors for their resistance. This was the path to thoroughly suppress all resistance.

Su Yu said, "You know this. Everyone knows this. This won't be an easy job."

"What nonsense. If it were so easy, I would have taken the job myself." Marquis Xia said, "But it's a hard job. That's why we're pushing for someone capable like you to take the job. Not now, but we can first get you some manner of legitimacy for now. The support of the thirty-six prefectures does not matter. The support of the other Invincibles does not matter either. You only need the legitimacy. When the time comes, it will transform into the authority to dispense punishment as you deem fit. The source of this content ɪs Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

"Right now, Great Qin King would go crazy if you were to kill even one human Invincible with the help of the ancient city guardians. That would be tantamount to collusion with an external force. But as the leader of the holy land, the same action could be labeled as the enforcement of a wise human king with the help of his powerful subordinates. Great Qin King might still be unhappy, but he would swallow it. Why? Because you have the legitimacy. At that time, the guardians would no longer be considered an external force. They would only be considered your subordinates, regardless of their origin."

Chapter 1613: Su Yu The Saint (2)

Su Yu inhaled deeply and stared at Marquis Xia.

He was further swayed.

That made so much sense.

Marquis Xia grinned and asked, "So? Do you think I make a lot of sense?"

Su Yu nodded. Prior to this, he viewed the holy land as a joke. The leadership position was nothing to him. Why would he care about something like that? What a joke. That position would not grant him any power. Instead, it would grant him a massive burden. Why should he accept it?

But Marquis Xia was telling him he only needed the legitimacy. He could even ignore everything in the Human Realm after getting the position. He could ignore all the responsibilities attached to that position.

Right now, he did not have the courage to kill a human Invincible rashly. That would only trigger a war between him and humanity. But when he became the leader, he would have the authority to do so.

Everyone might be unhappy, but they would need to first dethrone him before doing anything. They would need to get really creative to punish him.

"Marquis, I must admit that you're really good at talking."

Su Yu raised his thumb and said, "Impressive. Truly impressive. When Xia Huyou proposed the same thing to me, I only thought that he was crazy for proposing something so stupid to me. But coming from you...The same job became boundlessly attractive!"

Beside him, Xia Huyou sighed helplessly. Was that the case? Was his second-granduncle really that much better than him?

Marquis Xia laughed and said, "No matter what, I am a businessman of many years. Also, I'm not lying here. I'm telling you the truth. Also, some bastards among the human Invincibles have been feeling too full of themselves due to their ancient bloodlines. But so what? Who are you? You are the direct successor of the Culture King."

"Some might not understand this, but we can always educate them. We can teach them the weight behind that title. Culture King was second after Human Emperor. The Human Emperor had left no legacies behind. That places Culture King's successor at the very top of the hierarchy. You are the most noble of all. None of them, with their fancy bloodlines, is as noble as you. Your bloodline doesn't even matter anymore. You are the true successor of Culture King.

"In terms of status, position, strength, background, support, and inheritance, you surpass them all. Who else can lead humanity but the most noble of all? Who can be more qualified than you? We can ignore everything else, but we will first make it an undisputed fact that you are Culture King's successor. With this identity, even if you failed to become the leader, nobody would be able to label you or the multiple character faction as a traitor. How would the successor of Culture King be a traitor?

"Sure, you might not care about things like fame and status. But your loved ones, your teachers, these people care. Do you think Liu Wenyan cares? How about Hong Tan? Will this help Wan Tiansheng return to humanity? Yes!"

Marquis Xia grinned and said, "Wan Tiansheng's return is possible. It depends on how we want to make it happen, but you need the legitimacy first. As for the hostility of the Invincibles, disregard them. We can start by slowly removing Wan Tiansheng's reputation as the demonic human. So tell me. Do you think we need a new holy land now?"

Su Yu answered seriously, "Yes!"

"Do you need to be the leader?"

Su Yu nodded and said, "Yes. I can put my name there even if I'm not going to actually do my job. No matter what, I need to present myself as the most righteous and rightful ruler of humanity. All who go against me are the enemies of humanity. They are the villains."

"Good."

Marquis Xia laughed and said, "See, I knew you would agree. Huyou actually claimed that you disagreed, but I couldn't believe it. Only a fool would say no to this. Why would you refuse something that would only benefit you? Burden? Pressure? No. Those do not exist. When humanity is in crisis, you will still help even if you aren't the leader of humanity. But as the leader, you can choose not to help and call it a strategic retreat.

"Thus, this is an easy and relaxing job. You can even throw the blame on someone else whenever anything bad happens. For example, you could blame Great Yuan King's disobedience for the defeat of humanity. You only needed to be shameless enough. Others are free to believe what they want, but you are also free to declare your version of truth."

Su Yu raised his thumb again and said to Xia Huyou, "Huyou, your second-granduncle has the best mouth in the world. With his mouth, even the dead can be convinced to come back alive. Witnessing him at work is eye-opening."

He was serious. How incredible. Marquis Xia's argument was one that he couldn't even argue against.

Xia Huyou nodded helplessly and said, "I'm truly still too inexperienced. A geezer like him is much better at this with his rich experience."

Marquis Xia grinned and said, "Let's not waste time with empty talk. Answer me. Do we proceed?"

"Yes!" Su Yu nodded and said, "I won't take no as an answer anymore. The holy land must be established. I have to be the leader. I have contributed so much to humanity. It is only natural that I become the leader."

He coughed and said, "Marquis, humanity is still unaware of all my contributions. I believe...we need to spread the stories of my deeds in the Luminous Domain Mansion. Everyone needs to know that. The immortals were harboring evil designs toward humanity. They were preparing to attack humanity. That was why I targeted them in the mansion and ruined their plan. I even killed Blood Fire, an expert stronger than Great Xia King!"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Su Yu coughed again and continued, "Scratch that. I killed Blood Fire, an expert stronger than Great Yuan King. I also killed Wisdom King. I did everything for humanity. When Prefect Xia affirmed his dao previously, I helped greatly by keeping over a dozen enemy Invincibles occupied.

"The Heavenly Hunt Pavilion has also been trying to harm humanity. Thus, I worked hard and killed many of their Invincibles."

Finally, Su Yu said, "Everyone needs to know this. All of humanity must know my contributions. Great Xia will help with this, but I'll also contact Prefect Zhu and solicit his help with this. The storytellers of Great Ming can be found everywhere. I will get them to spread the stories about me everywhere within three days."

"By the way, list the name of every single survivor from the Luminous Domain Mansion. I saved them all. They owe me one. They are the elites of the various prefectures, and some are even the successors or descendants of Invincibles. They need to know the truth.

"Would those Invincibles dare to dispute my contributions? Also, make it known that I am constantly under intense pain and suffering since I'm a pseudo death spirit. My suffering is worse than death itself. Make it known that I might smile a lot, but I am under constant torture."

Su Yu sighed and said, "Make sure to remind everyone that I'm still twenty. Tell everyone about my tragic life. At a young age, I started wandering the world alone with no place to call home. Even so, I did not forget to research and create all those cultivation methods to benefit humanity."

Beside him, Xia Huyou was completely dumbfounded.

Was Su Yu really under constant torture? Impossible.

Meanwhile, Marquis Xia was nodding while rubbing his chin. He said, "In truth, we have been preparing to generate support for you. But we haven't been able to think of an efficient way to do that. All the battles you joined were too high-leveled. The masses won't understand."

Su Yu smiled and said, "Oh, that's not an issue. Everyone knows the Myriad Race Cult, right? I eliminated them. Alone, I infiltrated the cult before killing all their Sunmoons. I did that as Profound Nine. Yes. This is a story you can spread as well. And it's an actual true story."

Marquis Xia rubbed his chin, nodded, and said, "Yes, that's a good idea. There are some survivors from the Myriad Race Cult around. We can catch them all and broadcast the execution live. We can even get those cultists to curse at you right before dying. That will be a lot more convincing for the masses compared to mere rumors."

"Will those cultists cooperate with us?" Xia Huyou was doubtful of this plan.

At that question, Marquis Xia and Su Yu looked at Xia Huyou like they were looking at a brainless fool. One of them said, "They are so weak and we are so strong. We only need to control their minds or bodies. It's not difficult."

"..."

Xia Huyou had a helpless expression. He kept feeling like he didn't fit in here.

True. The survivors of the cult were mostly weaklings. Wouldn't it be easy to control them and make them say those words?

Sure enough, Su Yu is a treacherous villain. Just look at how he's colluding with the villainous second-granduncle!

Xia Huyou sneered inwardly. Previously, Su Yu had adamantly refused to become the leader of the new holy land. But now, Su Yu seemed incredibly interested in the position.

Marquis Xia and Su Yu decided to ignore Xia Huyou and started perfecting their plan instead.

Finally, Marquis Xia concluded their conversation, "This is it, then. Everyone will know you within five days. Everyone will learn of your great and glorious contributions. We will set the public conference seven days later and let the public sentiment build up. Those from the thirty-six prefectures...no, we'll include the Allheaven Prefecture as well. All will be invited to the conference to vote for the proposal. The non-founding Invincibles will also be invited to send their successors or family over."

Marquis Xia asked, "Do you have any other experts you're familiar with? Get them to help gather support for you. For example, you can have someone like Zhu Tiandao sigh and mutter about how you have the bearing of a saint in public. Get him to claim that you will be the one to reclaim the ancient glory of humanity in the future. Create an impression that you have powerful supporters everywhere. We can do the same in Great Xia."

Su Yu gasped and asked, "Is this appropriate?"

"Yes." Marquis Xia said, "This will pressure some of the prefectures to support the proposal. Public sentiment is a powerful tool. Do you think all Invincibles are firm and unyielding? Some of them are indecisive. Some don't care and will simply follow the crowd. When they hear enough voices supporting you around them, they will be tempted to follow the trend."

Su Yu raised his thumb again, "True! But...I don't know that many human experts..."

Marquis Xia smiled and said, "That's not the case. Can you handle Great Ming?"

Su Yu nodded.

Marquis Xia continued, "Visit the old madam of Wu Family secretly tonight and Great Wu will be in your pocket as well. As for Great Tang, don't you know Cheng Mo? Just send him a message if visiting him is inconvenient. You won't have any issues with Great Qin.

"As for Great Zhou, don't you remember your previous deal with Zhou Polong? Previously, you agreed to spare his student because his father died helping Ye Batian. But his father has been alive all along. He owes you one. Make him choose between killing Shan Xiong or cooperating with your plan. Try to think of more people you know in the other prefectures as well. I will handle the rest. You can even get Zhu Tiandao to mobilize his connections and help with this."

Marquis Xia said, "Get any help you can. They don't even need to be that high up the ladder. You only need more voices speaking for you in every prefecture. Oh, right. Liu Wenyan and the others are back as well. Back then, the Liu Family saved quite a lot of people in the Allheaven Battlefield. It's time for these people to return this favor. Get Liu Wenyan and his uncle working. Remind these people of the favor they owe."

Marquis Xia grinned, "With this...hehehe. At the conference, anyone going against the proposal would be viewed as a cold-blooded person. They would all be viewed as the pro-surrender faction. They would all be viewed as cowards. Yes, we will have the moral high ground."

"..."

Su Yu inhaled deeply and asked, "Marquis, are we evil for doing this?"

"What?" Marquis Xia said with a displeased expression, "I call this a fair competition. Do you think you can garner support just by giving those Invincibles a beating? But with the public sentiment at your side, they will need to swallow any dissatisfaction they have for you. This is how a truly brilliant scheme works."

Su Yu nodded. He felt his horizons broadened yet again.

Marquis Xia was amazing.

Marquis Xia continued, "One more thing. I almost forgot about this. We need to get the myriad races to protest about your appointment. Make them threaten to attack when you become the leader. No, wait, that's too serious. Make them threaten to make humanity their enemy. Make them say that they would rather see Great Yuan King as the leader instead. This would work fine. Us humans have the tendency to work in contrast to what the myriad races want."

Su Yu frowned and said, "The myriad races won't say those things..."

"Are you dumb?" Marquis Xia said, "It doesn't matter what they're saying. We decide what they say. Are they going to go public and correct us? What are they supposed to say? Are they going to voice their support for you? Are they going to claim that you're a friend even after killing so many of their Invincibles?"

Yet again, Su Yu raised his thumb. This was an excellent idea!

Marquis Xia smiled and said, "We have an agreement, then? You will be present during the conference. It's up to you to perform during the conference. No matter what, get that new holy land approved. Don't even bother with any proper authority. Just ask for a ceremonial position. That alone would be a massive victory for you and your supporters."

Su Yu nodded. He could only agree. He would be stupid to still say no after hearing about the benefits.

With the discussion over, Marquis Xia stood up to leave. Just as he reached the door, Su Yu said, "By the way, when am I getting my Willpower Grotto?"

"..."

Marquis Xia felt like coughing blood.

Holy shit! The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novelfire(.)net

How was that not enough to distract the kid?

Su Yu said, "I need it for something. My growth depends on this. It's much more useful in my hands."

Marquis Xia considered the matter and nodded, "Sure. I'll hand it over as soon as possible. We will claim that it has been shut for maintenance. In any case, nobody has the riversand to use it. Just keep a low profile about it. You don't want to offend more people in the Human Realm."

"That won't be a problem."

Chapter 1614: Su Yu The Saint (3)

Marquis Xia left, leaving Su Yu to smile alone in the room.

Interesting.

He had to admit that Marquis Xia had successfully swayed him. Previously, he had rejected the offer because it was pointless. It wasn't like the position would make the human Invincibles or even the other humans obey him. What was the point?

But now...why would he even need them to obey him? He only needed the legitimacy provided by the position.

"The position alone is enough. I can't do much even after learning about the traitor without a proper position here. But with the position...hehehe, I can kill the traitor directly."

Su Yu narrowed his eyes. What could anyone even say about that? Was it wrong to kill a traitor? As the leader of the holy land, anyone he declared a traitor would be one, regardless of the truth. It didn't matter what the others thought. He was the leader in name. They couldn't do anything against him openly.

"Sure enough, using the brain can be a lot more useful than using only the fist."

Su Yu didn't know if the other Invincibles had considered this possibility. Perhaps they had. That was why they were so against this proposal. Or perhaps they simply disliked him. He couldn't be sure.

Before long, Su Yu sent Zhu Tiandao a message.

Zhu Tiandao was quite a famous person as well, especially after his recent feats as the Invincible-killer. His words would hold a lot of weight.

***

With Su Yu's agreement, both the Xia and Zhu Families got to work.

The next day.

Early in the morning, things started changing in the various prefectures.

In a certain busy morning market.

A storyteller spoke, "Mayor Su has returned to the Human Realm. Is anyone aware of this? He returned yesterday. His entourage...was incredibly impressive. Thirty-five Invincibles and five Pseudo Emperors acted as his mere honor guard. Do you even know what an Invincible is? Just view them as the same type of people as our founding kings. Wait, you don't know what a Pseudo Emperor is? What have you been doing at school? Are you stupid? A Pseudo Emperor is someone at the level of the Immortal Pseudo Emperor, Devil Pseudo Emperor, and the Divine Pseudo Emperor." Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by n0velfire.net

"Which five, you ask? Iron Devourer Pseudo Emperor, the two Soul Devourer Pseudo Emperors, and the Spirit Suppression Pseudo Emperor."

"You only listed four!"

"Four? Can you even count? Did you not hear me talk about the death spirit Pseudo Emperor? Yes. Mayor Su's influence reaches even the Death Realm. He has a wide support base there. That was how he killed an immortal expert in the Death Realm."

"You would never be able to imagine the sight of five Pseudo Emperors descending from the sky. Yesterday, numerous Invincibles and multiple Pseudo Emperors graced the Eastrift Valley with their presence. Mayor Su, the gloriously talented cultivator, loves humanity too much. Thus, he has returned to discuss the resistance against the myriad races with our Invincibles."

"The myriad races are still trying to exterminate humanity. The immortals have also exposed their wild ambitions. They attempted to kill Great Qin King in the Luminous Domain Mansion. Great Qin King was gravely injured during the battle. Fortunately, Su Yu was there to save the day! He killed five immortal Invincibles and Blood Fire Devil King. Yes. Just like that, he spilled the blood of the leader of the blood fire devils."

***

That day, Su Yu's name spread all over the Human Realm.

A hero.

A genius.

A living saint.

During the recent conflicts, he had helped humanity either covertly or openly by killing numerous powerful enemies. He had also eradicated the infamous Myriad Race Cult.

Zhu Tiandao of Great Ming was also caught muttering about Su Yu's greatness multiple times. According to Zhu Tiandao, Su Yu was a saint and savior of humanity.

The same was happening in Great Xia. Everyone was singing him praises, lauding him as the great savior of humanity.

According to the rumors, Great Qin King wished to establish a new holy land. He had gained the support of Great Xia King, Great Zhou King, and Great Ming King to appoint Su Yu as the leader, but Su Yu was unwilling to take that position.

Why? Because a bunch of traitorous rats were doing the bidding of the myriad races, preventing Su Yu from taking that position. These rats did not want to see humanity grow strong. They did not want to see humanity reclaim its hegemony in the Myriad Realms.

They were terrified of Su Yu. The power backing him was simply too powerful for them to handle. After all, he had the support of five Pseudo Emperors. Since entering the Allheaven Battlefield, he had killed over fifty Invincibles. That was more than the total number of Invincibles in the human race.

He would be a terrifying leader to have. None of these rats dared to let him ascend to a position of leadership in the Human Realm.

***

The rumors kept spreading.

Everyone was made aware that a conference to discuss the establishment of the new holy land would be held soon. Everyone was also made aware that a lot of rats were trying to sabotage the matter.

They were even planning to assassinate Su Yu to keep humanity weak.

According to the rumors, these rats were trying to use Su Yu's death to sow hostility between humanity and the numerous experts backing Su Yu. These rats were basically the running dogs of the myriad races.

***

Great Yuan.

Inside the capital, a bunch of people were whispering to each other, "I heard that...our king is opposed to the establishment of a new holy land."

"Watch what you say! How is that possible? Our king is an enlightened king! He wouldn't do something so stupid!"

"I'm serious! I heard about this from my brother's father-in-law's superior's son! When Su Yu returned, Great Qin King and the others welcomed him happily. Only our king...openly protested against his appointment as the leader of the new holy land!"

"That can't be!"

"But why?"

"He has the support of five Pseudo Emperors and numerous Invincibles. Why is our king...pushing a fellow human away from humanity?"

"Enough! Be careful what you say here! But I heard...I repeat, I heard that our king dislikes how close Su Yu is with Wan--that Wan Bastard. Didn't that Wan Bastard kill a descendant of our king previously?"

"I see."

"But...those killed during that incident were all who had disobeyed a military command...cough. Forget I said that."

"Enough, enough. Sigh. I can only hope that...our king remains wise."

"Yeah. Our king has always been quite wise. I believe he can separate his personal interests from his duty. Also, Mayor Su is not the same as Principal Wa--Demon Wan."

"That's right!"

"..."

The same conversation was happening in the various prefectures.

Rumors of certain founding kings' opposition to Su Yu's appointment continued spreading. The rumors did not go as far as accusing the founding kings as traitors. Instead, the rumors emphasized that they were opposing Su Yu due to Su Yu's relationship with Wan Tiansheng, the killer of their descendants.

Before long, the various rulers of the various prefectures started feeling the pressure. Could they censor the spread of these rumors? Would that even work? Censoring rumors was basically an impossible task.

Furthermore, the speed with which these rumors were spreading made it clear that this was the work of some experts. Were they supposed to arrest these experts? That would be a troublesome task as well.

Retorting against the rumors? What could they even say? This wasn't even something they wanted to make a clear stand on. Retorting would essentially be the same as making their stand.

Sure, they could try arguing that Su Yu was merely a puppet of those stone statues. But before they could say so, rumors of the stone statues started spreading as well. It was said that these were all subordinates of the ancient Human Emperor, and they would only serve the Human Emperor.

As such, it would be logical to assume that Su Yu had the makings of a new Human Emperor.

After all, the stone statues had remained neutral for a hundred thousand years. However, they had battled the myriad races for Su Yu's sake. Why? Because they saw the potential in him. They saw that he would be the next Human Emperor.

Was that true? Of course! As a twenty-year-old who had killed many Invincibles, Su Yu's story was a lot more legendary than even the stories of the various founding kings. Only a traitor would deny his potential!

The stone statues were the subordinates of the ancient Human Emperor.

Was that true?

Yes. Only a traitor would dispute it.

In such a manner, numerous rumors too annoying for the rulers to argue against continued spreading in the various prefectures.

The children of the various prefectures even started turning some of these rumors into nursery rhymes.

It was no longer possible to prevent the spread of these rumors.

After all, the rumors were simply spreading too rapidly. In only three days, it felt as though all of humanity had heard them. Su Yu became a name known to even toddlers.

***

At this time, the Invincibles in Great Zhou were looking around with odd expressions.

Before long, Great Yuan King heard the rumors as well. He snorted. With that one snort, rumors of Great Yuan King's wrath started spreading, which served to further infuriate Great Yuan King.

This was definitely the work of the human Invincibles supporting Su Yu! A non-Invincible wouldn't have such courage! Alas, it was too late for him to investigate more about the rumors. It wasn't like he could, either.

He had something more important to handle. Something major was about to happen in Great Yuan. The people of Great Yuan had somehow split into two major factions. Firstly, there were the ones blindly loyal to him as the founder of Great Yuan."

Secondly, there were those who believed that as the king, Great Yuan King should always be open to changes. All of them wanted to best for humanity. Why must Great Yuan King turn himself into a tool of the myriad races? And thus, a crowd gathered in front of the prefect's residence in protest. Eventually, this devolved into a clash between the two factions. The matter was beyond what the current prefect could handle.

The prefect could only inform Great Yuan King about the matter. Apart from that, he couldn't even harm these people. Perhaps he could kill someone to deter the rest. But that would only solidify his image as a tyrant in front of these people. That reputation would last with him forever. Some might even go one step further and call him a running dog of the myriad races.

***

Great Zhou.

With a chuckle, Great Zhou King said, "Truly impressive. The two...from the Xia and Zhu Families are truly not to be underestimated. They have turned Su Yu into a saint in only three days."

In three days, Su Yu became a legend.

The two had somehow packaged Su Yu's actual story with some exaggeration to turn him into a legend. For example, nobody had witnessed Su Yu's combat with Blood Fire, yet everyone was talking about the battle like they had witnessed it themselves.

Great Zhou King couldn't help but admit that even he was inferior to the two in this aspect.

What impressive work.

Chapter 1615: Martial King's Descendant (1)

Su Yu the saint.

In only a few days, Su Yu was turned into a legend. Some were suspicious as all the rumors had emerged suddenly. They wondered if Su Yu was deliberately spreading these rumors.

But did that matter? No.

The stories mentioned in the rumors were mostly true.

Su Yu was truly strong. His backers were truly strong as well. The various prefectures couldn't find an effective way to dispute those rumors. It was also true that Su Yu had saved Great Qin King. It was true that he had killed enough people for the myriad races to tremble in his presence.

When all the stories were true, how the rumors emerged was no longer important. The masses had their own way of judging the world. They did not care about the scramble for power of the strong.

What did they truly care about?

The safety of Human Realm. Their own safety. Their family's safety.

Su Yu was strong. He had powerful backers. He was willing to help humanity, but he could always ignore humanity. What would the masses choose? Help Su Yu return to humanity or push him away?

Any normal person would know the right answer to those questions. As long as the power backing Su Yu did not intend to invade and occupy the Human Realm, that was enough for many. They did not care about anything else.

Nobody was stupid. Even the ignorant masses knew what to choose here. After spending so many years in war with the various races, retired soldiers were practically everywhere. Even the commoners knew a little about what was happening outside the Human Realm.

The human race might be one of the more powerful races, but it was also being suppressed by the myriad races. Everyone knew this. Thus, what was the harm in letting Su Yu rejoin humanity with a powerful force behind him?

Su Yu himself was a human. He had fought against the myriad races in the Allheaven Battlefield. He was not a traitor. He hadn't defected to join a different race.

Thus, Su Yu became the ideal candidate to become the leader of the new holy land.

The masses did not care about the ploys and schemes of the rulers. They only cared about their own benefits. Because of that, more and more people gathered outside the prefect's residence of the various prefectures to make their stand known.

***

Three days had passed.

The conference would be held on the seventh day. Some people were already starting to head toward Great Xia.

As for Su Yu, he was too busy to care about the rumors. He had visited Zhao Li the day before. Upon seeing the pile of treasures Su Yu brought, Old Zhou had completely forgotten about everything else.

In truth, Zhao Li had just forged the Mark of Civilization with Su Yu not long ago. Thus, the two had not parted for long.

Old Zhao was warming up by forging some normal weapons. Thus, Su Yu was not afraid of disturbing Old Zhao during weaponsmithing. He asked, "Teacher, has Elder Zhao left seclusion?"

"No."

Zhao Li was quite annoyed. Why was Su Yu still here? He did not like to be disturbed during weaponsmithing.

The damn kid loved talking too much. Zhao Li had always been a man of few words, but Su Yu had been talking to him for an entire day. The fact that Su Yu had been bragging about his accomplishments nonstop did not help either. Zhao Li was finding Su Yu's presence annoying.

Alas, he was too embarrassed to kick the kid out since he had just received a pile of treasures from the kid. Thus, he could only force himself to stay patient.

Su Yu was naturally unbothered about how annoyed Zhao Li was. He asked, "Teacher, are you related to this Elder Zhao?"

"Nope."

"But you have the same surname..."

"So what if we have the same surname? There are plenty of people with your surname out there as well. Are they all your relatives?"

Well, that was true. But why did Zhao Li sound so grumpy?

Su Yu rolled his eyes and said, "That Elder Zhao has been in seclusion for so many years. Has there ever been a conflict between him and the multiple character faction?"

"Not really. He has been in seclusion long before the conflict between the single and multiple character factions intensified."

That was good to hear.

Su Yu said, "Can I visit him?"

"Why would you want to visit him?"

"To save him. His student, Liu Hong, asked for my help lest his teacher die in seclusion."

While forging, Zhao Li said, "Sure. Just go. But remember to inform Ji Hong about it beforehand."

"Fine."

Seeing that Zhao Li was only focusing on forging and not him, Su Yu curled his lips and tossed a jade talisman over.

Zhao Li asked indifferently, "What is this? I don't lack treasures."

Su Yu started walking away as he said, "Nothing much. Just a collection of trash. I killed too many people and received this Encyclopedia of Weaponsmithing as the heavenly reward. It was a manual left behind by an ancient heaven weaponsmith. Or perhaps that was a divine weaponsmith."

Su Yu sounded completely casual about it. But the moment he said those words, Zhao Li vanished with a flicker before reappearing to snatch the falling talisman out of thin air. The weapon he was working on exploded, but he ignored it and roared in fury, "How could you throw an ancient manual around like this?"

Su Yu shrugged. That was because of Zhao Li's clear lack of interest in conversing with him earlier. In fact, he had planned to hand it over the day before, but Zhao Li had been so dry in their conversations that he delayed it.

Zhao Li roared, "Bastard! This thing is far more valuable than your so-called dragonbind wood!"

Su Yu laughed and said, "Well, it's yours now, Teacher. Just look at you. Why are you getting so worked up? It doesn't look like a divine weaponsmithing method. It was probably the manual of a heaven weaponsmith. It contains the personal experience and theories on weaponsmithing of that ancient weaponsmith."

"Are heaven weaponsmiths that weak?"

Zhao Li didn't know what else to say. Was Su Yu listening to himself? Why was the kid talking like heaven weaponsmiths were very weak? Who was the kid looking down on?

Su Yu said, "Not at all. Well, get busy, Teacher. I'll be visiting Director Ji Hong and Elder Zhao now and get this request fulfilled."

"Alright. Time for you to get out of my face."

Su Yu rolled his eyes and muttered that he wouldn't give Zhao Li any treasures anymore after this.

***

Before long, he reached Ji Hong, the current acting principal of the academy.

Wan Tiansheng, the sixth principal, had retired. Ji Hong did not believe himself qualified to become the seventh principal. Thus, he had been maintaining his position as the acting principal.

Of the six past principals, each was more terrifying than the one before. Thus, Ji Hong did not even dare to covet that position even when Great Xia Cultural Research Academy had declined.

Wan Tiansheng had left with the Heart Cultivating Pavilion, but Ji Hong did not intend to rebuild a new Heart Cultivating Pavilion. He merely resided in a random large residence in the academy.

The environment was decent, but it lacked the solemn and dignified atmosphere of the Heart Cultivating Pavilion.

He was surprised to see Su Yu, but he still smiled and said, "Mayor Su! Welcome!"

He was aware of Su Yu's arrival at the academy, but he had not bothered to meet Su Yu. In any case, Su Yu's identity was too special for any random person to meet.

"Director Ji!" Su Yu smiled and said, "You are too polite. Strictly speaking, I'm a fellow schoolmate of your daughter."

Ji Hong nodded and said, "Please take a seat. Do you need anything from me?"

"Nothing so serious." Su Yu went straight to the point and said, "Two matters. Firstly, where is Liu Hong's teacher, Elder Zhao, secluding himself? Don't worry, I'm not here to kill him. I promised Liu Hong to help him. Secondly, you once gathered some information, but the information is no longer useful to you. Can I take a look at the information you gathered?"

The first request wasn't an issue.

Ji Hong said, "Elder Zhao is secluding himself at the bottom of the Jade Moon Lake. That place has been sealed. Nobody has been allowed to enter. Thus, it has remained undisturbed even during the previous battle. As for the second matter...yes. The information I collected is no longer useful after Fiery Sea's death. Do you need it?"

Su Yu nodded, "Yes. I'm trying to check if we missed anything."

He grinned and said, "Back then, there were quite a lot of traitors around. My martial uncle removed some of them. Subsequently, Principal Wan killed some as well. But I'm worried that some of them are still out there."

Ji Jong nodded and said, "Yes. There might still be some of them out there. Something still doesn't feel quite right about the traitor. Fine. I'll be sending the information to you."

"Thank you, Director Ji."

"You're too polite." Ji Hong paused slightly before saying, "Mayor Su, I need to trouble you for something as well." Read complete versıon only at novel·fıre·net

"Please do tell."

Ji Hong sank into silence. After a short moment, he said, "This academy was founded by Principal Xia Chen. The second principal strengthened its foundations, while the third principal developed and grew it massively. The fourth, fifth, and sixth principals were also incredible monsters in their own right. Therefore, I don't feel comfortable serving as the acting principal. Since so many of the multiple character cultivators have returned...why don't you ask Liu Wenyan if he's interested in the position..."

Su Yu stared at the director silently.

Ji Hong said earnestly, "If you ask me, you're the most fitting person for the job. But I doubt this position is worthy of your time anymore. However, Liu Wenyan and the others still care a lot about the academy. After all, people like Hong Tan and Chen Yong had spent half their lives there. The seventh principal must be someone from the multiple character faction."

Su Yu gave it some thought and said, "I'll ask, but I can't promise anything."

"Thank you."

"Don't worry about it." Su Yu smiled and said, "If that's all, I'll be taking my leave. Just deliver the information to my father's place later, Director Ji."

"Sure."

Ji Hong agreed easily. Just as Su Yu was about to leave, he recalled something and said, "Mayor Su, one more matter."

"What is it?"

After a short moment of hesitation, Ji Hong said, "You know Zhou Hao, right?"

"Yes."

"During the previous chaos, Vice Principal Xia Changqing was killed. Xia Yuwen...was deployed to the Allheaven Battlefield to serve his penal sentence. Since he did not participate in any direct acts of rebellion, he was spared from death. Zhou Hao is now without a teacher, but his talent is too good to be wasted. In my opinion, the cultural research academy can't do much for him anymore. Are you interested in taking a student, Mayor Su?"

"Hmm?" Su Yu blanked out.

Chapter 1616: Martial King's Descendant (2)

Ji Hong seriously said, "He is really talented, especially in physical cultivation. He has opened 270 acupoints, and he is already a Skysoar. He has also completed twenty-one forgings. But I know this isn't his limit. He is only stuck at 270 acupoints because he doesn't know the location of the other acupoints. Mayor Su, you are the human with the highest number of acupoints opened. I believe with your guidance, he will be able to grow rapidly."

Su Yu chuckled and said, "Me? Taking a student? I'm only twenty..."

Ji Hong said, "You are incredibly strong. I believe the time has arrived for you to start creating your own legacy."

Su Yu sank into thought. Accepting a student? He had never considered that matter. He was familiar with Zhou Hao. That was a wild man, but strictly speaking, he was quite principled and straightforward. He was also crazy in combat. In fact, he was the first person to have ever heavily injure Su Yu.

With 270 acupoints and 21 body forgings...Su Yu was certain that this was due to Xia Family's support. After all, it wouldn't be cheap to open so many acupoints and complete so many forgings. It was clear he had received the support of the Xia Family.

"What about the Xia Family?"

Ji Hong laughed and said, "Prefect Xia wanted to take him as a student, but Prefect Xia has not opened too many acupoints himself. He had also stopped at thirty-six body forgings. In truth, he won't be able to provide Zhou Hao with much guidance either. Thus, the prefect wishes to get your help in guiding Zhou Hao instead, Mayor Su."

Su Yu sank into contemplation. Zhou Hao. That was likely one of the most talented humans in physical cultivation Su Yu had ever met. Su Yu believed that in terms of acupoint opening, he believed Zhou Hao would surpass him if both were given the same amount of resources.

There was a limit to everyone's talent. A normal person would probably kill themselves opening 270 acupoints. Meanwhile, Zhou Hao was still perfectly fine. He had merely stopped because he didn't know the method to properly utilize the remaining acupoints.

"With his incredible talent, does he have the bloodline of an ancient king? Or is he a regular person?"

It wouldn't be too surprising even if he merely had a regular bloodline. Every now and then, nature would produce a monstrously talented freak.

After some thought, Su Yu said, "I'll take a look when I have the time. Or you can get him to visit me. What did he say about Xia Yuwen's punishment?"

"Nothing. He merely sent Xia Yuwen all the way to the Allheaven Prefecture. Xia Yuwen said nothing either, but he ended their status as official teacher and student. Xia Yuwen is not a good person, but he is still a principled man. By ending the official relationship between them, Zhou Hao was given the freedom to look for a new teacher."

That was Xia Yuwen's choice in regards to Zhou Hao. Xia Yuwen was a talented man. That didn't change even after his defeat in Bai Feng's hands. He had also not participated in the rebellion during the chaos.

Su Yu did not have a good impression of Xia Yuwen. As for actual dislike, he did dislike Xia Yuwen back then. But as he grew strong, he no longer cared since Xia Yuwen was as good as a nobody for him now.

Su Yu said nothing. He would decide what to do after seeing Zhou Hao.

Accepting a student?

Su Yu laughed with amusement. He had nearly forgotten that officially, he was still a senior researcher. He was also an elder of Great Ming. That gave him the qualification to officially accept a student.

After all, Bai Feng was still a research assistant back when he first became Bai Feng's student. At the time, Bai Feng was merely a...Skysoar.

At that thought, Su Yu laughed again. Finally, his Teacher Bai had reached the Cloudbreach Realm. The blood essence he had given his teacher previously had probably helped a lot as well. Perhaps his teacher had even reached the ninth stage.

Su Yu had not seen his teacher after returning. He heard that Bai Feng had followed Liu Wenyan and the rest to Great Ming. Su Yu wasn't too worried about them as things were mostly safe for them in the Human Realm for now.

The myriad races wouldn't even bother making a move against them since he was the actual priority target. They wouldn't want to trigger his wariness in advance by making a move against the others before him.

"Zhou Hao!"

Su Yu muttered to himself and vanished with a flicker.

***

A short while later.

Jade Green Lake.

A lake near the White Dragon Mountain.

As the name implied, the White Dragon Mountain was where a white dragon resided. The moment Su Yu arrived, a white dragon appeared. He looked at Su Yu with a complicated gaze and bowed, "Greetings, Mayor Su."

"You're too polite, Senior White." Su Yu laughed and said, "Looks like you have grown stronger again. You're near the ninth-stage Sunmoon Realm now."

The white dragon said, "I'm nothing compared to you."

"Well, your cultivation realm is indeed higher than mine." Su Yu said, "Senior White, I didn't get the chance to visit you before. I still need to thank you for the assistance you rendered to the multiple character faction previously. Thank you, Senior White!"

The white dragon said, "I was only doing what I should. There is no need to thank me."

"It's only natural that I thank you." Su Yu said, "Senior White, there is no need for you to bow before me. You are a senior. As for my quarrel with the dragon race, it has nothing to do with you. Just look at the young golden dragon in Great Ming. That is the descendant of an Invincible yet he never cared when Prefect Zhu fought the dragons. Of course, I understand the awkward position you're in since you're still a dragon..."

The white dragon sighed and said, "Perhaps you're right. I shouldn't have cared. I am merely a mount of the second principal. My name has long been struck off from the registry of my ancestral home. They no longer consider me one of them. But I still can't help but wonder if...a battle between the dragons and humans will arrive one day. At that time, what should I do?"

He felt lost. Would a major war between the dragon race and the human race happen? He still remembered that not long ago, Great Zhou King had attacked the Dragon Realm with a group of Invincibles, killing two dragon kings. In the Luminous Domain Mansion, two dragon kings had been killed as well. Not long after, another dragon king was eaten by the Iron Devourer Pseudo Emperor.

Five dragon kings had perished in a short time. The dragons weren't as powerful as the divines, devils, and immortals. Thus, losing five Invincibles at once was a heavy blow to them.

Su Yu nodded, "True. A war might really erupt between the human race and the dragon race. I did invite Long Wuyou to my father's birthday celebration. Perhaps you can have a talk with him then. He is the grandson of the grand elder of the golden dragons. He might know more."

"Thank you, Mayor Su."

"You're too polite."

Then, Su Yu stepped forth and descended into the lake.

As he approached, the water split apart, revealing a hidden building at the bottom of the lake. This was a location provided by the academy for those wishing to enter long-term seclusion.

Su Yu's eyes glowed, allowing him to see right through the walls of the building.

Inside, a frail old man could be seen. Long, dry hair reaching the floor, unkempt clothing, and a weak aura. It felt as though he was going to die soon.

This was none other than Elder Zhao, Liu Hong's teacher. He emanated the faint aura of a peak Mountainsea. From his aura, it was clear the Sunmoon Realm wasn't that far from him. However, he had still been stuck for many years.

With one look, Su Yu was able to see that Elder Zhao had formed too many characters than he could handle. Many of these characters were non-human characters. That was why Elder Zhao was stuck for so long.

His characters were repelling each other, stopping him from completing his advancement.

From what Su Yu had learned recently, he concluded that this was most likely due to the incompatibility between human laws and myriad race laws. And since these characters were the manifestation of the laws, it was only natural for these characters to reject each other as well.

During the early years, humanity was still able to advance with the characters of other races. Su Yu guessed that at the time, the Human Realm had just reconnected with the Allheaven Battlefield. The power of the laws had yet to penetrate too deeply into the Human Realm.

Subsequently, the influence of the heavenly laws in the Human Realm reached a certain point, intensifying the conflict between the laws of the various races.

This hypothesis was a lot more reasonable than any of the other hypotheses humanity had made in the past.

Su Yu observed in silence as he sank into thought. A conflict between laws.

A conflict between characters.

As a result, Elder Zhao was stuck, unable to advance. He had a decent number of human characters, but he also had a lot of myriad race characters. Naturally, advancement was still possible for him.

In fact, he had many choices.

Firstly, he could suppress the laws of humans in his body. Secondly, he could suppress the laws of myriad races in his body. Thirdly, he could maintain a balance between the two.

The little furball could help with this task. Su Yu could do it himself as well.

After a while, Su Yu sent Elder Zhao a voice transmission, "Elder Zhao, this junior is Su Yu, here to help you with your advancement on Liu Hong's request."

Splurt!

Inside the room, the old man coughed a mouthful of blood before opening his eyes weakly.

A figure appeared with a flicker before him. Read full story at novel(ꜰ)ire.net

He couldn't sense the aura or even the presence of this newcomer. But his very instinct was telling him that this was a powerful individual. An unimaginably powerful individual.

The newcomer had a calm disposition, his aura barely detectable. A gentle smile hung on his face.

Elder Zhao was greatly shocked by what he saw. He asked, "Who...are you?"

"Su Yu." Su Yu said, "The successor of the multiple character faction..."

"Multiple character faction...Ye Batian..."

Elder Zhao stared at Su Yu. In truth, Su Yu wasn't physically inside the room. The walls of the room weren't transparent either. But for some reason, he had appeared in Elder Zhao's vision, allowing Elder Zhao to get a clear look at him.

"Ye Batian...That's my great grandteacher. I am a student of Bai Feng. Do you know Bai Feng, elder?"

"Yes."

Elder Zhao was so weak that he had to gasp for breath with every few words he spoke. Bai Feng was already in the academy back when he accepted Liu Hong as his student. But in his memories, Bai Feng was still a boy.

Had Bai Feng grown old enough to accept students?

What year...was it now?

"Has everything...changed?"

Elder Zhao felt lost. Even Bai Feng's student had grown to such an incredible height.

What about Bai Feng himself?

How about Hong Tan?

"What year...is it?"

"Year 352 of the Anping Calendar."

"Year 352?"

Elder Zhao blanked out. It had only been ten years.

Would things change so much in only...ten years?

"Liu Hong...sent you?"

Su Yu said, "Yes. He went to the Allheaven Battlefield to handle some business. He's probably gone elsewhere by now. Before leaving, he told me to lend you a hand. I can see that despite your condition, you're only a step away from the Sunmoon Realm. I have three options for you.

"Firstly, we can remove all your non-human characters. Secondly, we can remove all your human characters. Thirdly, you can keep all the characters and I'll help create a balance between the two, but further growth might not be possible anymore unless you can keep maintaining the balance. You can reach the Sunmoon Realm with either of the three."

Elder Zhao's heart thumped. Three options. Each was capable of helping him reach the Sunmoon Realm. Just...how strong was this man?

This was all too sudden for him. He was both shocked and confused. He panted and asked, "What...is your strength?"

Su Yu smiled, "Mountainsea."

"Mountainsea?"

Impossible!

That enigmatic yet fear-inducing presence of his...was not something a mere Mountainsea could have!

Chapter 1617: Martial King's Descendant (3)

Su Yu chuckled and said, "Cultivation level and strength are two different things. Don't worry. Just make your choice and I'll assist you with your advancement."

Cultivation level and strength...

Elder Zhao was able to hear the unspoken meaning of those words. His strength was far beyond the Mountainsea Realm.

Elder Zhao asked, "Can I ask something?"

"Please do."

"How is Zhou Mingren doing?"

"Dead."

Elder Zhao sighed, but he wasn't surprised. He asked, "Did you kill him?"

"Nope." Su Yu answered indifferently, "You can consider his death a suicide. All the elders of the single character faction...are dead. No, that's wrong. Elder Zheng Yuming is still around, but he is currently in seclusion. Perhaps he would leave one day. Or perhaps not."

"Did the multiple character faction win? Did they take over the academy?"

Su Yu laughed and said, "No. The multiple character faction has withdrawn from the academy. I am no longer a part of the academy as well. I'm only back here for a visit. Elder, everything has changed. The conflict between the single and multiple character factions has ended.

"The single character faction has been eliminated, but the multiple character faction isn't doing that well either. We have completely withdrawn from Great Xia and even the Human Realm."

Withdrawn from the Human Realm!

Elder Zhao's expression changed as he said, "Is that the case? Sigh. After years of conflict with each other, both factions...have been defeated."

He asked, "What will my fate be after leaving this place?"

"Your fate?" Su Yu said, "I don't know. You can choose your own path. This is unrelated to me. There is nothing for you to fear. I have only returned to the Human Realm on Great Qin King's invitation. It has nothing to do with either you or the single character faction."

Silence descended.

Great Qin King's invitation.

Elder Zhao realized that he might have...underestimated the young man before him.

"Then...may I trouble you to remove my non-human characters, Sir?"

"Are you certain? You don't have too many human characters. There are only three of them. On the other hand, you have six non-human characters. All of them are quite powerful..."

"Yes."

Elder Zhao gave a simple reply. Su Yu smiled and rippled his sea of willpower, waking the little furball up.

"Go. Eat his non-human characters. Quick."

"Annoying!"

The little furball was displeased that he was told to eat these weak characters. These were merely Mountainsea characters. They weren't even yummy! He did not feel like eating them.

Whatever. He decided to finish the job and go back to sleep.

With a flicker, Elder Zhao felt his sea of willpower shaking. Next, six characters vanished from his sea of willpower.

By the time he started focusing on his sea of willpower, his three human characters were already erupting in strength.

The repelling force between characters vanished, and his apertures started fusing.

Boom!

He was already one step away from the Sunmoon Realm. Thus, the moment the repelling force vanished from his sea of willpower, eight of his apertures fused into one. He cultivated an old cultivation method with only seventy-two apertures. He only needed to fuse eight to become a Sunmoon.

The fusion completed in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

A crescent moon appeared in the sky.

Immediately after, numerous auras started approaching the lake from all over the academy.

Sunmoon.

Someone was advancing into the Sunmoon Realm!

Before long, someone arrived. The first to arrive was none other than Ji Hong. Not even he had expected the advancement to happen so fast. Shortly after, Wu Yuehua, Elder Qi, Old Nie, Old Huang, and the others arrived. These were the current higher-ups of the academy.

When they saw the lake, and when they saw Su Yu, who was floating above the lake, understanding dawned on them.

Su Yu wasn't the one breaking through. Rather, he was here to help someone with a breakthrough.

"Mayor Su!"

The shocked elders hurriedly cupped their fists in greeting. Su Yu nodded with a smile. He looked at Old Nie and Old Huang before saying, "Teachers, how have you been?"

Seeing that Su Yu was still quite friendly, Old Huang exhaled and said, "We're doing decently, but not as well as you. We were aware that you're back, but we did not expect to see you here."

"I'm here on Liu Hong's request." Su Yu landed in front of the new arrivals and asked, "How are things in the academy lately?"

"Decent." Old Huang asked, "How about you? How long are you staying this time?"

"It depends." Su Yu turned and looked at Elder Zhao, who was still in the middle of breakthrough. He smiled and said, "More and more people are arriving so I won't be staying for long. Teachers, feel free to visit me at Su Residence when you find the time. I still need to thank you for your favor during my time in the academy."

Not waiting for the two to reply, he looked at Wu Yuehua and said, "Martial Mother, I'll be taking my leave. You can visit me with Teacher Liu when he's back."

Then, he vanished with a flicker. Nobody saw how he left. Not even the white dragon. It was as though he was never there. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by noⅴelfire.net

The white dragon sighed and said, "He's too strong."

Wu Yuehua was grinning from ear to ear, but soon, her face turned cold as she said, "How is someone as shameless as Liu Wenyan worthy of having a student like Su Yu? He has been living off women his entire life. Is he going to start living off his student now?"

"..."

Nobody said anything.

She could say those words, but they definitely couldn't.

As a fifth-stage Sunmoon, even Liu Wenyan could already be considered an expert. He also wasn't far from the sixth stage. Furthermore, who would dare to offend him with that monstrous student of his around?

Everyone feared death.

They waited in silence. Before long, the lake parted and revealed Elder Zhao. His aura had grown significantly stronger, and even his skin had regained its luster. As for his long hair that was dragging on the ground, he cut some off, allowing the rest to cascade down his shoulders. After his advancement, even his hair looked much better.

He flew out of the lake and looked around. Too many familiar faces were missing.

He bowed slightly at the white dragon and nodded at Ji Hong before looking at the rest. "Looks like I have missed a lot of things. A lot of old faces are gone. That guy called Su Yu...he must be quite an extraordinary man, right?"

The expressions of some in the crowd turned odd upon hearing that. Some of them said, "Congratulations, Elder Zhao. Mayor Su...is naturally extraordinary. About a month ago, he killed numerous Invincibles. He is currently one of the hegemons of the Myriad Realms, an existence capable of contending against the various Pseudo Emperors..."

Elder Zhao was stunned.

Wu Yuehua sneered and said, "Elder Zhao, I advise you to focus on only your job as an elder. Nothing else. Zhou Mingren is dead. His backer, Great Zhou, is also trying to keep the peace. Even with their four Invincibles, the Zhou Family is still not a match for Su Yu."

Four Invincibles in a family. Elder Zhao felt like he had returned to a completely different world, even if only ten years had passed. Everything had changed.

Su Yu, one of the hegemons of the Myriad Realms.

Zhou Family, four Invincibles in one family.

The conflict between the single and multiple character factions had ended. Nothing was the same anymore.

Elder Zhao sighed, nodded, and said, "I understand. I owe Su Yu a favor for his assistance. I will not overestimate myself and cling to the past."

Seeing that nobody was saying anything, Ji Hong laughed and said, "This is a happy occasion. Let's talk about happier things. The academy lacks Sunmoons nowadays. Elder Zhao's advancement is a good thing for us. In fact, this is a good thing for even Great Xia as a whole."

After saying that, Ji Hong sighed as he recalled the many Sunmoons they had lost in the recent battles.

The others recalled the same thing as well. One of them said, "Director, it's all in the past. Everything will be better in the future."

"Yeah."

Ji Hong nodded. Meanwhile, Elder Zhao was standing there in confusion. But from their expressions, he could see that something bad must have happened. He said nothing. For now, he should first focus on understanding the current situation.

***

Su Yu was back at Su Residence.

Not long after, someone appeared outside the residence. He said nothing. He merely stood there and stared at the door stiffly.

Noticing the visitor, Su Yu chuckled.

Zhou Hao!

How fast. But...why was he standing out there like that?

Was he waiting for an invitation?

The female furball, who had been asleep all the while, woke up suddenly and said, "Martial King?"

"Hmm?" Su Yu blanked out.

The female furball said, "I'm not sure...but...this should be Martial King's bloodline."

"..."

Su Yu was completely stunned. He had been so focused on Culture King that he had nearly forgotten that there was a Martial King as well. Why was the female furball saying this?

The female furball said, "I'm unsure. It feels familiar...that guy outside...might be a descendant of Martial King. I'm not too close with Martial King so I can't be sure. My husband might know."

Su Yu's expression turned odd.

Martial King's descendant?

Culture King was single. Human Emperor was single. But Martial King...wasn't?

How was this possible?

Su Yu asked with astonishment, "Was Martial King not single back then?"

The female furball replied with even more astonishment, "Of course not! He had many wives! Many of them! Too many for me to count!"

"..."

Holy shit!

No wonder Martial King was number three after Human Emperor and Culture King. After all, Su Yu knew full well that one could only go further in cultivation by staying single. How could a man grow strong after getting a woman?

No wonder Martial King, someone capable of suppressing even someone like Old Zhou, wasn't as famous as Culture King and Human Emperor. He must have fallen at one point in his life and started taking wives. That must be the main reason for him to fall behind the other two.

Understanding dawned on Su Yu.

Women...sigh. So Martial King was corrupted. That was why he was the number three, not the number one.

Zhou Hao...might be a descendant of Martial King.

Su Yu inhaled deeply. If that was really the case, things would get really interesting.

Chapter 1618: Su Yu The Narcissist (1)

Martial King's descendant.

Su Yu had never considered that possibility. Was a wild child like Zhou Hao, who had grown up in the wilderness, really a descendant of Martial King?

Why was a descendant of Martial King doing so badly? Wait, that wasn't surprising. It had been a hundred thousand years. No matter how impressive Martial King was, long enough had passed for his bloodline to spread far and wide. Any random person on the street could be his descendant.

Bloodline might be important, but bloodline wasn't everything. One's accomplishments in life ultimately depended on one's hard work. Even with a powerful bloodline, a cowardly Martial King's descendant would still be nothing. The bloodline would only provide one with a better starting point, but that was all.

Su Yu wasn't too bothered about this matter. He laughed and said, "Come on in."

***

A short while later, Zhou Hao entered the living room of Su Residence.

Su Yu was leisurely sipping tea.

With a stiff expression and a tiny bit of wildness in his eyes, Zhou Hao cupped his fists and said, "Zhou Hao, a student of Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, greets Mayor Su!"

Su Yu asked, "Where is Xia Yuwen? He's your teacher, right?"

"He went to the Allheaven Battlefield."

"Why didn't you follow?"

"I'm too weak."

"A Skysoar isn't that much of a weakling anymore." Su Yu said, "You must be aware of what Director Ji said. Xia Yuwen used to be my enemy. Our past conflict is no longer important, but why should I train a student for him? What if Xia Yuwen told you to kill me when you grew strong in the future? What would your choice be?"

"Stay neutral."

Su Yu laughed and said, "Is that all? Is that all I get after training you to the point you're strong enough to kill me? Do you understand how much time, resources, and energy this task will take me? Do you think this answer is good enough for me?"

Zhou Hao said, "Suppress both of you." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel⚑fire.net

"..."

Su Yu chuckled, "Suppressing both of us? Are you aware that being unfilial toward your teachers is a despicable act even among the myriad races?"

"Yes." Zhou Hao said, "In that case, I have nothing to say. I know what answer you want, but Teacher Xia was the one who had taken me out of the wilderness. Without him, I would have been eaten by some wild beasts long ago."

Su Yu sneered and said, "He only considered you a wild beast to be tamed."

"I have always been a wild beast."

Su Yu laughed again. He said, "It's pointless to talk about this. Who knows what will happen in the future? We are quite familiar with each other, so let's not waste time and be straightforward. What can you give me for my guidance?"

"I can kill for you."

Su Yu asked, "Who can you kill?"

"With enough strength, anyone."

Su Yu took another sip of tea and said, "Do you kill humans as well?"

After a short silence, Zhou Hao said, "Yes. If that is your wish."

"What about Xia Yuwen?"

"That's my teacher." Zhou Hao met Su Yu's gaze and said, "My teacher is very weak. You're already one of the hegemons of the Myriad Realms. He won't be able to escape you if you want him dead. Since he's still alive, why are you asking this question repeatedly?"

Su Yu chuckled and said, "I like asking such questions. What can you do about it? Are you the one here for guidance, or am I the one here for guidance? Back then, I had to go through countless difficulties before I could become Teacher Bai's student. Do you think getting a teacher is so easy?"

"I don't have such experience."

Zhou Hao was telling the truth. When Xia Yuwen accepted him, the process was much simpler. He was brought back directly to Great Xia before being registered as Xia Yuwen's student officially. There was nothing complicated about it.

Su Yu said, "Fine. Let's get to business. Punch me."

Boom!

Su Yu did not even bother to dodge. He allowed the punch to land on his throat, but he was completely unaffected. After taking another sip of tea, he smiled and asked, "Did you not eat today?"

Zhou Hao's expression changed slightly as he roared and attacked at an even faster speed.

Instantly, Su Yu's head, eyes, chest, and crotch were attacked by numerous punches and kicks. When the attacks were about to reach his crotch...Su Yu sent Zhou Hao flying with a kick.

However, Zhou Hao recovered instantly and charged forth again before clawing at Su Yu's eyes, ears, and other body parts.

Su Yu sighed and said, "Too weak. You don't even have the strength of ten thousand acupoints. I can't be bothered to even put up my defenses."

Zhou Hao said nothing and continued attacking, to the point his fists and legs started bleeding.

Punches, claws, palm strikes...he used all the attacks he knew.

He even used his pitifully weak characters that were probably not even Skysoar characters. Meanwhile, Su Yu felt as though a weak breeze was massaging him. he said, "Too weak. Why don't you take a rest if you're too tired?"

Zhou Hao ignored the provocation and focused on Su Yu's throat. After several punches, he roared, drew a blade, and swung it. But when the blade struck, it only generated some sparks.

Su Yu laughed and said, "You can't even break through my skin. Too weak."

Zhou Hao remained silent and proceeded to ignite his blood, looking like he was going to go even wilder...before proceeding to vanish with a flicker.

Su Yu blanked out.

Outside the residence, Zhou Hao stated, "Since I couldn't beat you, I scared you before fleeing."

"..."

Was this a fucking joke?

Scaring him?

Su Yu was left speechless. Wow. So scary.

"Get back in here."

Zhou Hao entered and said, "I can't even break through your skin. It's pointless for me to keep attacking."

"So you do know that fleeing is an option."

Su Yu was very surprised.

Zhou Hao said, "Since I can't win, I'll die. Why can't I flee in such a situation?"

"True." Su Yu asked, "When you grow strong, will you fight for humanity?"

Zhou Hao stared at Su Yu blankly, surprised at the random question.

What was the meaning of that?

Su Yu said, "Tell me your thoughts."

Zhou Hao continued blanking out. After a long while, he answered, "I...I'll help anyone who is kind to me. I don't know...about humanity...and all that."

Clearly, he was in a state of confusion. This was a question he had never considered before.

Su Yu sighed and said, "What a pity. Your talent is wasted on you since you never even considered fighting for the greatness of humanity."

Zhou Hao still looked confused.

Su Yu said, "So be it. That doesn't matter. I only need you to kill for me. That is enough. There is no need for emotions in our dealings. As long as you have the talent and willingness to kill for me, I'll be willing to teach you. Feelings are fickle. A relationship maintained by feelings is unreliable. Let benefits tie us to each other instead, even if you are of no worth to me currently."

He took a chart out and said, "Take a look and start opening your acupoints."

Zhou Hao memorized the chart and said, "There are only 359 acupoints here."

"Yes!"

Su Yu grinned and said, "You need 360 acupoints to reach the grand cycle."

"Then..."

"The final acupoint is located somewhere on your ass. Look for it yourself. That is your trial. If you can't even get through this trial, there is no need for us to keep wasting time with each other."

Zhou Hao nodded and asked, "Will I be as strong as you after opening all 360 of them?"

"Not at all." Su Yu said, "I have 360 acupoints, 360 apertures, a 72-forged body, countless cultivation methods and techniques, rich experience fighting Invincibles, numerous characters, and a powerful willpower cultivation. Even if your body is as strong as mine, you will still be helpless against me."

Even if Zhou Hao were to open 360 apertures and complete 72 body forgings, Su Yu still wouldn't fear him. With all the tricks Su Yu could pull, Zhou Hao would not be a match for Su Yu even with the same physical strength.

Su Yu asked, "How long will you take to open these apertures?"

"I'm already a Skysoar. Opening new acupoints is harder. To open ninety acupoints, I'll need at least three months."

Three months? Su Yu cursed inwardly. One acupoint per day? That was actually an incredible speed for a Skysoar. Su Yu remembered that back then, even he himself was slower.

Su Yu asked, "What are the resources you need for this?"

"One drop of mountainbreak bull blood essence per day."

"Only that?"

"Yes!"

Fuck!

Was that all? With only a drop of mountainbreak bull blood essence per day, he could open one acupoint each day.

Heavenly source fruits were naturally the best resource for acupoint opening. Unlike heavenly source qi, the energy in heavenly source fruits was much gentler. Then again, Su Yu could produce heavenly source qi that was as gentle as what one could get from heavenly source fruits.

"How long will you take with one heavenly source fruit per day?"

"One fruit per day?"

"Yes."

Zhou Hao thought about it and answered, "No more than one month."

He paused slightly and asked, "Can I eat all thirty fruits at once? That might increase the speed by a lot."

Su Yu laughed and asked, "Are you not afraid of bursting your body apart?"

"My body is strong enough. At the Skysoar Realm, I can consume a lot of treasures without bursting apart."

"How long will you take if you can eat all the heavenly source fruits upfront?"

"Twenty!"

Su Yu said, "You're very confident. Four to five acupoints per day...that is almost comparable to me. What if you couldn't do it after receiving my heavenly source fruits? I'm talking about the final acupoint you need to open blindly as well."

"Since I can't afford to repay you, I'll avoid you."

"Is that all?"

Zhou Hao sank into silence. After a short while, he said, "I can kill one person for you. Anytime. Anywhere."

"Can you kill Tiangu?"

"Yes. After I become an Invincible!'

What a useless promise.