Chapter 80 - 80

Chapter 1289: Ancient History (1)

Empyrean Cloud was back.

It had taken her quite a while, but Su Yu wasn't bothered. Since he didn't know where the empty ancient city was, he wouldn't suspect anything even if she were to return a day or two after. In fact, he was quite surprised to see her back in less than two hours.

"Lord, you're back already?"

"..."

Empyrean Cloud thought about it and asked herself the same question. Why was she back so soon? Just look at Su Yu! He was still perfectly fine! Fortunately, this would only be a temporary stop. She decided to take a longer detour on her second journey.

"Yes." She nonchalantly replied, "I worried you couldn't last too long. Let's go. We'll be meeting my boss."

Su Yu grew excited. It was time for him to meet the boss! The two vanished with a flicker.

***

At the same time.

Heavendoom opened his eyes expectantly when he sensed Su Yu's movement. Was Su Yu finally coming?

No, wait. Why was he leaving? Where was he going?

"Grandstar, where is Empyrean Cloud taking him?"

Heavendoom was very anxious. If it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't leave the city, he would have given chase and demanded that Empyrean Cloud explain herself for taking his little brother away from him.

Grandstar blanked out in confusion. But shortly after, he thought of something. With an odd look in his eyes, he glanced at Heavendoom before saying, "Just be patient. Empyrean Cloud...might have something to do, I guess?"

Nobody could say for sure. Could Empyrean Cloud be visiting their boss? If that was the case, Heavendoom could forget about getting Su Yu as his mayor. Su Yu's current strength was insufficient to withstand the burden of too many cities. Read full story at novel-fire.net

Without Empyrean Cloud's meddling, Heavendoom would naturally be next. However, Empyrean Cloud had taken Su Yu away instead. Perhaps...Heavendoom would need to taste disappointment before long.

Heavendoom was not dumb. He reached the same conclusion as well. However, he was in denial as he continued comforting himself, "Yes, they are definitely out for some business. No matter what, it will be my turn next, right? That old fellow doesn't care about going outside anyway, right?"

"Yes."

Grandstar agreed. Heavendoom was relieved to hear that.

Then, a different stone statue joined the conversation, "They must be going to see our boss. Is there any doubt about that? Empyrean Cloud will naturally think of our boss when she has something good to share. Heavendoom, why are you still dreaming?"

"Eternal Serenity!"

Heavendoom was furious. He knew that. But he was still in denial. How could Eternal Serenity destroy his dream?

Boom!

A short moment later, Mayor Tian He flew out of the city with a blank expression. He did not intend to say anything, but his mouth still opened as a loud voice rang out of it, "Ping Du! How dare you go against the will of the guardians? Today, I shall punish you on behalf of the guardians!"

Boom!

With the same blank expression, Tian He drew his sword and charged into Eternal Serenity City. The mayor of Eternal Serenity City was completely stunned. Was there a need for that? Yes, he did try to ruin the alliance. But he had yet to do anything substantial apart from saying some words. Because of that, he had been turned into mincemeat by a stone statue. And now, Tian He was coming to step on him as well. Wasn't this too excessive?

He was being attacked inside his city! This...was intolerable!

Meanwhile, the other mayors were alarmed.

Just because Ping Du had spoken against Su Yu, he was turned into mincemeat by a stone statue. And that was not all. A mayor was even attacking him in his own city just to punish him.

Wasn't that...a tad bit too aggressive?

The fight was well on its way when Tian He regained control over his body. Realizing what was happening, he felt like coughing blood from sheer frustration. Holy shit! It was the stone statue! Damn you, Heavendoom! What was it this time? Why was Heavendoom going mad again?

As of late, Heavendoom had been extremely unstable emotionally. That was driving Tian He mad. Just why was this happening? The stone statue that had barely spoken or moved in countless years had suddenly gone as active as a hyperactive child. Why was he doing this?

Why did the damn stone statue send him to attack a different mayor in the mayor's city? Had that stone statue gone mad? Regardless of what Tian He was feeling, he did not hold back in the fight. After all, Ping Du was already fighting seriously. He had to take this fight seriously if he didn't want to die here.

***

Meanwhile, the other stone statues were enjoying the childish antics of the two stone statues.

Tsk tsk. Why must Eternal Serenity provoke Heavendoom like that? Why provoke someone who was already losing his mind? Sigh. He was merely stirring trouble for himself. Eternal Serenity was left quite speechless himself. Heavendoom must have gone mad to go this far for such a tiny provocation. How unlucky must Tian He be to be his mayor?

At the same time, the stone statues were wondering if Empyrean Cloud was really taking Su Yu to see their boss. That would change everything.

Back then, their boss had a mayor as well. And that mayor was a lunatic. Meanwhile, Su Yu did not look like someone they should underestimate either. He was still weak now, but would history repeat when he grew stronger?

In fact, this alliance Su Yu was attempting to build gave all the stone statues a sense of deja vu. Wasn't this...the same as what happened back then?

Back then, that crazy mayor had caused massive upheavals after bringing all the ancient cities together. Both the Death Realm and Allheaven Battlefield were implicated by his madness.

Ultimately, their boss was forced to kill the mayor. Would history repeat itself?

Was life a big circle, after all? Would the same thing happen again and again?

Each stone statue felt differently about this. Some were melancholic, and some were indifferent. But none of them appeared too surprised. They had lived for too long. Nothing could surprise them anymore.

***

Meanwhile, Empyrean Cloud was taking Su Yu on a scenic route to the underwater city.

The journey lasted hours.

When night arrived, and when Su Yu was starting to grow confused, Empyrean Cloud finally went into the sea, parting the water as they descended.

A bizarre expression covered Su Yu's face. He was quite familiar with this place. He recalled coming here before. It wasn't really that far away from Grandstar City. Why...did it take them hours to reach this place?

Was this a city one could only reach through a very specific route? Was the boss of the stone statues a unique existence living in a special spatial pocket that couldn't be reached through regular means?

With such thoughts in his mind, they continued descending. One kilometer, ten kilometers, fifty kilometers...

The Sea of Stars was a unique place.

It was a floating sea with a depth of only about ten kilometers when seen from the outside. But when one was actually in the Sea of Stars itself, one could sink a hundred kilometers or even a thousand kilometers at certain parts of the sea without seeing the bottom.

If one continued further, one would end up entering the many minor realms at the bottom of the sea. Such bizarre locations could be found all over the Allheaven Battlefield. Plain of Desires was one such location.

This time, Su Yu did not encounter the minor realm entrance he encountered previously. Perhaps it was due to Empyrean Cloud. They were able to continue sinking deeper. Eventually, a massive ancient city appeared before his eyes.

No activity whatsoever could be seen in the ancient city. It was essentially a dead city. It contained no life, but there was also barely any death qi in it.

Incredible.

Su Yu was greatly impressed when he saw the city. The stone statue had carried the burden of an entire city all by himself. That was even more so considering the fact that the tunnel beneath this city was the strongest of all death tunnels. Such was the strength of a Pseudo Emperor.

At that thought, Su Yu grew excited again. He had seen such experts before, but he had never interacted with one. During his previous encounter with the Devil Pseudo Emperor through Mo Duona's body, he did want to converse with the Pseudo Emperor. Alas, the old devil had not deigned to grant him that opportunity. And now, he could finally have a proper interaction with a Pseudo Emperor.

He was still immersed in his thoughts when an ancient voice rang out in his ears. The voice sounded very unique, as though it carried the principles of the great dao itself. "Are you Su Yu?"

At the same time, Su Yu's vision blurred before he found himself in an unfamiliar world. This was similar to what he had experienced during his first encounter with Heavendoom. However, he felt no discomfort whatsoever this time. In fact, he felt as though his transition into this world had been perfectly smooth and natural.

Empyrean Cloud was still beside him. In front of him was a crooked old man with a long, white beard and a walking stick. Slowly, the old man walked toward him.

Su Yu blanked out. Was this the so-called Pseudo Emperor?

"Your subordinate, Su Yu, greets you..."

The old man smiled. Just as he was about to speak, Empyrean Cloud asked curiously, "Boss, what's wrong with you?"

"Oh, I'm fine."

Instantly, the old man turned into an incomparably handsome young man with an indolent look in his eyes. He said, "Were you surprised by my previous appearance? I suppose that is your ideal image of a mysterious expert."

"..."

Once again, Su Yu blanked out. What?

Instead of entertaining his thoughts, he hurriedly offered another greeting, "Greetings, Lord..."

The old turtle, or the young man, to be precise, waved his hand lazily. A chair appeared in front of Su Yu. The young man sat down on a second chair before saying, "Take a seat. It has been quite a while since I last conversed with the young."

With an odd expression, Su Yu started stealing glances around him as he started blaming himself for being too careless. He was suddenly feeling very insecure. He had forgotten himself in all his excitement. This was the territory of a Pseudo Emperor. He should have prepared himself before coming.

Thus, he nonchalantly dragged the little furball out before placing the furball on his shoulder.

When the young man looked at the little furball, the little furball met his gaze innocently. After a while, the young man laughed in amusement, "How interesting. Is Soy Bun well?"

"..."

Su Yu stared blankly. The little furball also stared blankly. Even Empyrean Cloud was confused for a long while before asking, "Boss, who's Soy Bun?"

"Oh, that's the guy from the soul devourer race." The young man explained with a cheerful smile, "I doubt you know him, but I still remember him well. In fact, I felt his aura nearby not long ago."

"Oh." Empyrean Cloud said, "The soul devourer? Yeah, he fought the Devil Pseudo Emperor not long ago."

"Pseudo Emperor?" The young man laughed, "That devil is not worthy of that title. The devil race is one of the five strongest races. Back then, their Pseudo Emperor was boundlessly powerful. With one punch, he could destroy a world, crush the heavens, and suppress death itself. The current Devil Pseudo Emperor...is far from qualified to call himself that."

He shook his head, "The gap between them is too big. Not even Soy Bun himself would have the courage to provoke the real Devil Pseudo Emperor. Back then, the sky would change colors and the world would shake just because he was feeling some anger. Looks like even the devils have declined."

Su Yu was confused. What was he talking about? The ancient past? Was he saying that the ancient Devil Pseudo Emperor was incomparably strong and the current Devil Pseudo Emperor was far weaker than that?

Chapter 1290: Ancient History (2)

The young man laughed again and continued his story, "At the time, I was nothing before the Devil Pseudo Emperor. Sigh. Everything has changed. A long life is indeed better than more strength. With a long enough lifespan, I was able to outlive him despite his strength."

He shook his head as he immersed himself in his ancient memories. A sense of melancholy enveloped him as he was reminded of just how much everything had changed.

Empyrean Cloud waited in silence. After a while, the young man looked at Su Yu again. With a faint smile on his face, he looked Su Yu from head to toe, as though he was seeing through Su Yu's entire existence.

Su Yu, for his part, hurriedly schooled his thoughts. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn noᴠelfire.net

Only Soy Bun was left in his mind. The name of Little Furball's father. What an adorable name. What a mundane name. Not bad at all!

The dad was Soy Bun while the son was Furball. What a suitable name. It would be inappropriate to call him Big Furball, right? Soy Bun was a much better name. Of course, he would only use that name in the big furball's presence if he was feeling particularly suicidal.

As Su Yu continued thinking all sorts of thoughts related to the big furball, the young man continued studying him. After a while, he slowly said, "You opened your grand cycle acupoints, but you have yet to open your grand cycle apertures, right?"

"Yeah." Su Yu hurriedly answered.

The young man said, "I guess you got lucky and somehow opened the heaven acupoint halfway. Or maybe you're simply unlucky. This is not an acupoint you want to open halfway. In fact, it's very troublesome. I see that you're feeding it with death qi for now. What a creative idea. And what a...brazen idea."

"Lord...I..."

The young man stopped him with a gesture and continued, "It's not a good thing to fill it with too much death qi. One day, it will be full, and death qi will start overflowing from it. At that time, it won't be so easy to do anything about it anymore."

With a slightly complicated tone, the young man said, "But...nobody can say if this is a good thing or a bad thing for you. I don't have the heaven acupoint open, so I don't know too much about it. You might be the first cultivator to open the heaven acupoint after the ancient past..."

Su Yu explained, "I don't think so. A human opened it in the recent past, but he died after failing to feed the yang acupoint with sufficient energy..."

"What's his cultivation level?" asked the young man curiously.

Su Yu answered awkwardly, "Ninth-stage Cloudbreach."

"..."

Empyrean Cloud sank into silence. The young man sank into silence as well.

Cloudbreach...what level was that again? It had been too long since they were that weak. They couldn't remember anymore.

After a long time, the young man spoke again, "The human race...is indeed loved by the heavens. Again and again, you collapsed. Again and again, you returned."

Su Yu blanked out.

"Collapsed again and again?"

What was the meaning of that?

The young man waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about something else. Things must have changed a lot for humanity. Has your legacy been severed?"

Su Yu answered carefully, "Not really. We still have quite a lot of Invincibles..."

"I'm referring to the legacy from the ancient past."

Su Yu shook his head, "I don't know. I'm a nobody in the Human Realm. I lack information."

He was being honest. He didn't know humanity that well. When he left, he was still a mere Skysoar.

Empyrean Cloud seemed to know more about this topic. She offered her knowledge, "I believe they lost their legacy. They are only sustaining themselves on some ancient ruins. That was how they gained some Eternals out of nowhere a few hundred years ago."

The young man sighed and said, "They are truly blessed by the heavens. Their fortune has yet to wither. With only some remnants of their ancient legacy, they were able to produce dozens of Eternals. How inconceivable. This is both luck and talent at work."

Su Yu nodded in agreement. Humanity was actually quite impressive. A few hundred years ago, it did not have a single Invincible. But when it was on the brink of destruction, it had produced dozens of Invincibles in the blink of an eye. That must have caught the myriad races by complete surprise.

Any other race would have failed to produce so many Invincibles at the same time, even with access to sufficient ancient ruins.

Humanity had indeed done the impossible, changing the balance of the Myriad Realms and securing the rise of humanity, placing humanity among the ten or even the five strongest races.

The young man maintained his gaze on Su Yu as he muttered, "You have the grand cycle acupoints opened. You have also learned the Five Elemental Art, even if it's slightly incomplete due to a lack of use. The gap between your willpower and body is too big. As for your body, you cultivate the...72-Forged Iron Devourer? It looks to be near completion. What a surprise."

He continued, "Your character technique..."

A look of recognition appeared on his face. But after some time, he shook his head as he said, "The difference is still quite big. You're far from completion. Is this a good thing? Or is this a bad thing?"

"Culture Tomb?" Suddenly, he blanked out.

Meanwhile, Su Yu was alarmed. How did this man notice even the Culture Tomb?

After a slight hesitation, the young man explained, "This...is an inauspicious item. I would advise...no, forget it. This is the legacy of your line. But it's not a good thing to keep around. Back then...it wasn't forged for the sake of inheritance. Rather, it was truly meant to serve as a tomb."

Su Yu asked in confusion, "A real tomb?"

The young man said, "Yes. A group of character cultivators at the end of the road forged it to grieve for that man. With destruction as the price, they forged this tomb. I did not expect to see this tomb out of its resting place."

Empyrean Cloud said, "No wonder it looked familiar. So it's really that tomb!"

The young man nodded, "Yes, it's the same tomb. It has actually left its resting place. This shouldn't have happened..."

He looked at Su Yu and asked, "Who brought it out?"

After a slight hesitation, Su Yu answered, "The first principal of Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, younger brother of Great Xia King."

"Great Xia King..." The young man sank into contemplation. After a long time, he said, "The person capable of taking this tomb out will not be an ordinary person. Great Xia...Great Xia King...is this perhaps the bloodline of an ancient human king?"

"..."

Su Yu blanked out again. What was this new term? Human king? What was that?

The young man did not elaborate. Instead, he said, "I guess you should keep the tomb. It might be an inauspicious item, but it has the same origin as your line. It should be fine for you to keep it. That won't be the case for someone not from your line. Bad things might happen."

At this point, Su Yu was fully confused. He only knew that the tomb might be a bigger deal than he had expected. Whose tomb was it? Where did Xia Chen uncover it back then?

It was said that he had discovered it in a ruin. Unlike the other Invincibles at the time, Xia Chen did not manage to enter the Invincible Realm from the ruin he found. Instead, he found the tomb.

Su Yu couldn't resist asking, "Lord, I heard the Culture Tomb was found in a ruin. Over the years, humanity has gained a lot from these ruins. All our founding kings had affirmed their dao in these ruins. However, the ruin this tomb came from contained nothing else..."

After a short silence, the young man said, "Ruins...and dao affirmation...There are many variations of what you can represent with the term ruin. The ruin you understand might be different from what I understand."

The young man explained, "For me, a ruin is the location where items of inheritance from the ancient past can be found. Some of these things might not be particularly powerful, but their importance can't be doubted. Their value is far higher than the ability to affirm one's dao." "Some of these items might not be able to provide you with much direct strength, but they are still very important. Not everything left from the ancient past is meant to directly increase your strength. Some are meant to help you thread your own path, to explore your own dao."

"As for the ruins you're referring to..." After a short pause, he said, "They remind me of the legacy humanity left behind during their first return."

Yet again, Su Yu blanked out. This seemed to be happening a lot today. But this time, he was both confused and alarmed as he asked, "Lord...what do you mean by the first return?"

The young man asked, "Do you believe that the current balance of power is the result of the ancient collapse?"

Su Yu stared blankly. Was that not the case?

Empyrean Cloud explained, "After the ancient collapse, the various races have returned multiple times. When I say return, I mean the return of their civilization. This applies to humanity as well. The Human Realm has reconnected to the Allheaven Battlefield multiple times before. The world you see today is a result of multiple collapses and returns."

Su Yu was shocked. This was completely different from the history he knew. Then again, the recorded history of humanity he knew only went back as far as four hundred or so years.

Prior to that, humanity was ruled by a feudal dynasty. One day, the dynasty was destroyed as foreign invaders arrived. Then, the various founding kings rose in power, giving rise to the era of prefectures. That was the history Su Yu and many others knew. There were barely any records about the time before then.

And now, someone was telling him that the Human Realm had actually been reconnected to the Allheaven Battlefield multiple times before. And humanity had also been destroyed multiple times before.

That was...inconceivable.

Empyrean Cloud didn't have much reaction to the reveal. She indifferently said, "The last collapse of humanity happened about five thousand years ago. I still remember some of the events from back then since my mayor at the time was a human."

Su Yu's mind was in a mess from the overdose of information. He said, "So...the ruins we have today aren't even from the ancient past?"

"How was the ancient past supposed to leave enough ruins to last so many collapses?"

Empyrean Cloud said, "As far as I'm aware, the Luminous Domain Mansion is a real ruin from the ancient past. As for the rest, very few of them are actual ancient past ruins. Granted, I have only seen a few of these so-called ruins, but I'm sure about that. Most of the proper ancient past ruins I saw had been emptied long ago. But based on what you said, the younger brother of Great Xia King might have entered a real ancient past ruin. As for Great Xia King, the ruin he entered was probably a ruin from the recent past.

"Why would the humans of the ancient past spend all their time leaving places of dao affirmation behind? At the time, such locations could be found everywhere. Most of these ruins were left behind by humanity during the first return. Numerous trump cards were left behind to ensure the continuation of human civilization."

Realization dawned on Su Yu. So that was how it was. In the ancient past, people could affirm their dao everywhere. There was no need to leave these special dao affirmation spots behind. Furthermore, the humans of the ancient past must not have seen their civilization collapsing. They never bothered to leave proper inheritances behind to help their descendants. It was completely unnecessary.

But after the first collapse, humanity stopped believing in its invincibility. They knew that their civilization might collapse for a second time. After all, it had happened even during the peak of their civilization. That was when they decided to leave some inheritances behind to help their descendants. That was perfectly logical.

After rearranging his thoughts, Su Yu inhaled deeply and asked, "In that case...how many times have humanity collapsed and returned?"

Empyrean Cloud smiled and said, "I won't really put things in such absolute terms. One time, humanity won. Most of the time, both sides were left equally damaged. There is simply no way for humanity to avoid becoming the target of the myriad races. Their immunity to the suppressive force of the various realms is too threatening. Each time they returned, they had to either defeat the myriad races or endure yet another collapse.

"Nobody is willing to tolerate humanity's existence. Furthermore, humanity is too warlike. I remember that during the first return, numerous human experts proclaimed that they would recover their ancient glory and declared war against the myriad races. Ultimately, they were defeated and nearly suffered extinction."

"Has humanity not produced even one cultural researcher Invincible? Has nobody ever managed to reactivate Human Realm's suppressive force?"

Empyrean Cloud hesitated to answer, but the young man laughed and said, "We don't know too much about the suppressive force of Human Realm since we're not humans. But I do know that the difficulty of reactivation is massive. Perhaps only humanity itself will know the truth.

"In short, throughout the ages, humanity had gone through numerous cycles of outright defeat or short-lived domination before defeat. It always ended with the collapse of your civilization. Why? Because the myriad races would not give up even during your initial victories. They would keep fighting. And eventually, they would win. Humanity had not been able to return to its previous height even once in its many returns."

Chapter 1291: Ancient History (3)

Suddenly, the young man said, "Let's stop here. This is ancient history. I can only say that humanity is indeed blessed by the heavens for surviving until now."

He had been repeating this point again and again. After thinking about it, Su Yu nodded in agreement. True. After so many defeats, and after the extinction of so many races, humanity still persisted. It must not have been easy. In fact, the same could be said about the other ancient races. Just surviving for so long was in itself an impressive achievement.

The young man moved on from the topic with a question, "Are you sure you want to be the mayor of this city?"

After a slight hesitation, Su Yu nodded, "Yes. I wish to be the mayor of this city."

The young man smiled, "You don't have to rush your decision. Before making you the mayor, I need to explain some things to you. This city is known as the Grand Dream City. It has existed since the ancient past. It is also the first of the thirty-six cities. Without this city, the other thirty-five cities would not come to be. The death spirit race is a very peculiar race. Its realm is seemingly as old as time itself."

The young man explained slowly, "The history of the death spirits is as long as the history of humanity. Initially, everything was fine. But one day, the world of the dead overlapped with the world of the living. That allowed the dead to invade the world of the living. That was when we received the mission to seal all connections between the two worlds. These holy cities are the nodes connecting the two worlds.

"And the node of this city is the one with the highest degree of overlap. Under this city is an incomparably powerful kingdom of the dead. There will be no end of death sovereigns wishing to invade the world of the living through this city.

"Before becoming the mayor of this city, you should know that a day might come when I am no longer capable of withstanding the death qi beneath the city. At the time, you will be burdened with an unimaginable amount of death qi. Things have been relatively peaceful here. But that's because the death spirits are also waiting and accumulating strength. They wish to wait me out. It is only a matter of time before those powerful death spirits renew their attempt to invade the world of the living. This will not be an easy mission for you."

Su Yu waited for the young man to finish before speaking. He did not seem to care about the potential danger as he went straight to the point, "Lord, if I help you with the death qi, will you be willing to teach my enemies a lesson?"

As far as he was concerned, nothing mattered apart from what they could gain from this. If the young man was willing to help him, he would be more than happy to help the young man as well.

Great riches were always accompanied by great danger. He wasn't even surprised that there was a risk to this exchange. Nothing was free. Why should the Pseudo Emperor help him if he didn't need to risk anything? Were they close? The young man was not even a human. Was he supposed to help because Su Yu was handsome or something like that?

One would always pursue things that could benefit oneself. This was the one truth that could always be relied upon.

The young man smiled, "If you can help me when I require it, I will be willing to help as long as it does not require me to break the laws."

"Laws..." Su Yu asked, "Are your laws the same as what the other ancient cities are following?"

"More or less." The young man said, "You must be willing to give if you wish to take. If you are able to contribute by suppressing the death tunnels, you naturally deserve to be rewarded. There is no act worthier than the suppression of the death tunnels. Alas, the ancient past has collapsed, and we no longer have the ability to build a new holy city. Otherwise, you could have gotten a brand new city for yourself. That will make you a colleague of ours."

Su Yu cursed inwardly. No thanks. That was most certainly not the kind of life he pursued. How miserable. Su Yu wasn't sure he would be able to maintain his sanity for long if he had to live like that.

The young man, or to be precise, old turtle, could see what Su Yu was thinking. He merely smiled as he took out a black medallion and said, "This is the mayor's medallion. After refining it, you will be the new mayor of the Grand Dream City."

Boom!

Immediately after that, a burst of incomparably powerful aura erupted from the medallion.

"Hahaha! Allow me to get a good look at the person deemed worthy of inheriting my seat!"

The powerful burst tore through Su Yu's arm, sending blood and flesh everywhere. His face fell. Was this a trap? He gnashed his teeth. What was happening? With a roar, he mustered his strength and grabbed the medallion with his other hand. Then, he threw a punch with his injured hand.

A silhouette manifested above the medallion.

Empyrean Cloud was about to act when the old turtle stopped her with a wave of his hand. He spoke to her through a voice transmission, "Be patient. We'll wait and see. This is an imprint he left on the medallion back then."

"Sky! Sunder!"

Su Yu reversed his death qi and added the power of his yang acupoint before launching a saber strike with only his fist. The manifested silhouette laughed haughtily and threw a punch as well.

Boom!

Su Yu was sent flying away while coughing blood. Meanwhile, the silhouette merely warped slightly. With a smile, it said, "Too weak. Old Turtle, is someone like this even worthy of being the mayor of Grand Dream City? This is an insult to me!"

Too weak? Su Yu gnashed his teeth. An insult? Was he really so weak? After the exchange, he could see that the silhouette was merely an imprint, the memory of someone who was no longer around. Content orıginally comes from NovєlFіre.net

Weak?

He was merely young. He had yet to cultivate for long. How dare the silhouette underestimate him? In his fury, Su Yu charged forth and started raining punches and kicks at the silhouette. He also activated his Time technique.

Why was a mere remnant so arrogant? Did the silhouette really think that he was helpless against it? He would use the power of time and exhaust the damn remnant to death.

At the same time, he was also throwing verbal insults at the silhouette, "Weak? I have cultivated for less than a year. Who the fuck are you? Who do you think you are? Are you even worthy of comparing yourself against me? I once reigned atop the Heaven Index. The geniuses of the myriad races were forced to acknowledge my genius. Who are you?"

"Are you the dumb mayor who has gotten himself killed by the weight of his own ambition back then? Are you the dumb mayor who had dreamed of conquering the Myriad Realms before dying miserably?"

Su Yu was able to easily guess who this silhouette was. He continued his verbal assault, "I'm weak? I'm only a Skysoar. What's your cultivation level? Who are you to compare yourself against me? Do you know what a Skysoar is? If you're really so great, fight me at the same cultivation level. If I can't kill you with one punch when both of us are at the same level, I'll die from shame.

"What a clown. How old are you? You're probably tens of thousands of years old. And you're comparing yourself against me? I'm less than twenty. Who are you to compare yourself against me?"

Su Yu's tongue was as sharp as ever.

Due to the Time technique, the silhouette was starting to warp from instability. After hearing Su Yu's words, the silhouette retreated before smiling, "Interesting. Skysoar?"

Was this human a Skysoar? That...seemed to be the case.

Cloudbreach willpower and Skysoar body.

But his body also felt like a Cloudbreach at the same time. That was due to his incomplete source qi transformation. However, there was no denying that his actual cultivation level was low.

"A low cultivation level is not an excuse for anything." The silhouette said, "You can't complain that others are stronger just because you're weak. You can't complain that others are bullying you because they started cultivating before you. Nobody is obligated to wait for you to grow up. Youth is not an excuse. Your ancestors aren't youngsters, right? Where are they? Why aren't they all-powerful? Why aren't they here to smite me down?"

"..."

That made a lot of sense. For the first time, Su Yu encountered someone with a tongue as sharp as his. But instead of growing discouraged, he grew excited at finally meeting his match.

"You're right. In that case, let me kill you with my own hands. There is no need to trouble my ancestors."

Boom!

The battle resumed. Su Yu utilized all sorts of techniques. Punches, kicks, blades, and anything he could think of.

Divine Transformation, Devil's Descend...he wasn't even holding back on the abilities he knew.

If it wasn't for the fact that he lacked Sunmoon blood essence, he would have swallowed some blood essence to throw even more abilities at the silhouette.

As he used the Time technique repeatedly, even the spacetime stability around the silhouette started growing unstable.

That was not all. A tiny furball was also sneaking up on the silhouette to devour the willpower around the imprint. Yes, this silhouette was a manifestation of willpower, an imprint left behind by an expert long gone. Thus, the furball could feast on it.

As the battle progressed, Su Yu even assumed his death spirit form. In that form, he started madly pulling Xing Yue's death qi to power himself. However, Xing Yue seemed quite reluctant to supply him with death qi as she resisted his pull. Noticing what Xing Yue was doing, Su Yu cursed inwardly. What was she doing? Why was she so stingy with death qi?

It had been quite a while since Su Yu had last fought in such a manner. He did not hesitate to use everything he was capable of.

Elemental transformations, transforming into shadow, planting a sense of impending doom, sneak attacking from a hidden position...

The silhouette was also someone with numerous tricks up its sleeve. But as the fight progressed, the silhouette started dispersing slowly. Noticing that, the silhouette stepped back and lamented, "This remnant of mine...is strained after existing for so many years. Otherwise—"

Boom!

Su Yu did not even bother to listen. Why should he care about what the silhouette had to say? He only cared about beating the silhouette to oblivion.

"Screw you! Didn't you tell me that being too young is not an excuse? Hah! Being an old, depleted remnant is not an excuse as well! If you're so great, why don't you come back to life and kill me?"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He pulled his hammer out and brought it down repeatedly. The Soul Expanding Hammer was probably a much better weapon against a willpower projection like this. The silhouette tried to say more, but Su Yu did not present it with the opportunity to speak. Why should he wait for an enemy to speak?

Hammer strikes, fire attacks, water blasts...

And death qi corrosion.

Like an untiring machine, Su Yu attacked relentlessly for more than an hour. Finally, the silhouette broke down with a rumble.

"I—"

It dissipated away indignantly.

Fuck! Why? Why wasn't it given a chance to speak first?"

"Oh, you have something to say? Fine. You may say it now."

Su Yu offered graciously even as he was gasping for breath. But at the same time, he also gestured at the little furball to eat more.

"I'll take your silence as your agreement that you're a piece of trash. Why did a piece of trash like you presume to test me?" Su Yu sneered, "Are you so stupid you can't come up with an argument when I'm insulting you? Come on, say something!"

Nearby, the old turtle and Empyrean Cloud had odd expressions. The silhouette had dissipated away. How was it supposed to say anything? Was it really so enjoyable to speak to himself? Was he not aware that the silhouette was fully gone by now?

Su Yu was naturally aware of that. But that was no reason for him not to throw some insults his opponent's way. It did not matter if his opponent wasn't around to hear his insults anymore. The only thing that mattered was that he got to say those insults.

After a long while, the old turtle said, "You...may become the mayor. But I wish to remind you of something. You might have gained a new powerful enemy."

Su Yu looked at the old turtle, but the old turtle did not elaborate. The tunnel under the city was shaking again. A certain someone, or to be precise, a certain death sovereign was roaring in fury.

He was furious. Not only had his imprint been defeated, but the opponent had not allowed his imprint to get even a word in. The opponent had even insulted his imprint, challenging him to come back to life. Fine! Here he was!

The death sovereign continued roaring furiously. How could he? How dare he? The death sovereign swore to kill the new mayor. Su Yu! He had zero respect for his predecessor! The death sovereign swore not to forget this!

Chapter 1292: Conscience Is Important (1)

The death sovereign was raging in the death tunnel.

As Su Yu's surroundings warped, the young man vanished before his eyes. Next, he found himself in a large hall with a massive stone statue in front of him.

The first thing he heard was the furious howls in the air, "I'm here! Su Yu, didn't you challenge me to come back from the dead? I'm here! Wait for me!"

"..." Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs NoveIꜰire.net

Once again, Su Yu blanked out. This had happened too many times today.

What the hell was that? That voice...was quite similar to the voice of the silhouette he had defeated not long ago. It seemed to be coming from the death tunnel.

Boom!

The old turtle merely released a little of his aura and suppressed the tunnel. Before long, silence returned.

Noticing Su Yu's expression, Empyrean Cloud assumed that Su Yu had been intimidated. She hurriedly placated him, "It's fine. That guy won't be able to leave easily. There are no residents in the city. He won't be able to get a reason to leave."

"That's not it..." Su Yu asked in confusion, "Lord Empyrean Cloud, what's going on?"

"It's no big deal. Back then, he was killed in the city. Then, he rose as a death spirit before growing into a death sovereign. He is currently the most aggressive death spirit beneath the city."

Su Yu asked with surprise, "You mean the previous mayor is now a death spirit?"

"Yeah."

"And he still has his past memories?"

"Some, but not everything."

Su Yu was rendered quite speechless. In short, the previous mayor was aware of what he did. And the previous mayor his challenge. Sure, the mayor had technically not returned to life, but the mayor was now a powerful death sovereign.

Was this really possible?

Clearly, it was.

Su Yu had imagined himself invading the world of the living for vengeance after dying. But someone else was already doing that?

He looked at the stone statue. This stone statue, in particular, did not maintain a humanoid form. Rather, it maintained the form of a large turtle. In fact, it looked quite similar to a looping turtle.

A turtle?

Su Yu was surprised to see that the true form of such a powerful Pseudo Emperor was actually a turtle. The turtle race was not known for its fighting prowess. Surprisingly, there was actually a Pseudo Emperor among them. And the greater turtle race was probably completely unaware of this.

Done with suppressing the death tunnel, the stone statue did not bother with returning to his humanoid form. He said, "Su Yu, you may proceed with the refinement of the mayor's medallion."

Su Yu couldn't resist asking, "Lord...did he become a death spirit?"

"Yes." The old turtle answered, "That is the eventual fate of many holy city mayors."

The conversion rate of ancient city mayors into death spirits was much higher than the rate of regular experts.

Su Yu nodded and asked nothing else. Was he supposed to fear the previous mayor? He feared nothing.

It wasn't like that guy could leave. Even if the former mayor was somehow able to leave the tunnel, he could simply leave the city. That would put him completely out of the former mayor's reach. If the former mayor wanted to do more, he would need to first deal with the old turtle.

And Su Yu did not believe that the former mayor was stronger than the old turtle. He tossed the matter out of his mind and sat down to start refining the medallion.

This medallion was much more powerful than all the other mayor's medallions. The death qi in it was much thicker, and it was also much harder to refine. As the refinement progressed, numerous information flowed into Su Yu's mind, to the point he was seeing visions.

In one such vision, he could see a powerful individual.

With his hands clasped on his back, the mysterious individual gazed into the distance. Behind him, one death spirit after another appeared. Su Yu could see that all of them were death sovereigns. That was obvious due to their lively eyes and their unique outfits. For example, Xing Yue loved wearing cloaks.

"Death spirits are also a part of the myriad races. To rise from death is much harder than natural birth. How can the death spirits be excluded from the struggle for the domination of the Myriad Realms?"

The mysterious individual declared, his voice reverberating in the air.

"My friends, let us break free of this cage known as the holy city. Let the Myriad Realm be ours!"

"Let us...kill!"

Countless death spirits followed him, their death qi spreading everywhere.

In a different vision.

One death sovereign after another was killed. An incomparably massive turtle was stomping through them. The death sovereigns were either kicked back into the tunnel or killed on the spot. But with their deaths, the death qi in the world of the living ran out of control.

"He Tu, you crossed a line."

The old turtle looked at the mysterious individual with a crown on his head. Slowly, the old turtle said, "The laws are absolute."

"The laws?" The mysterious individual looked up at the sky and sneered, "The myriad races are allowed to fight for the domination of the Myriad Races. Why can't the death spirit race do so as well? Are the laws...so unfair? Are the laws so laughable? If there is no justice in these laws, I shall shatter the laws."

"Sigh."

A massive battle erupted. The battle was so intense it felt as though the world was ending.

The River of Time unfurled across all of existence as the battle progressed. After an indeterminate amount of time, the mysterious individual collapsed onto the ground as life slowly faded from his eyes while blood dripped out of his mouth.

At that moment, the look in Su Yu's eyes changed drastically.

On the arm of that mysterious individual...was a symbol. That was something Su Yu could never forget. It was slightly different from the symbol he saw previously, but there was no denying that it was there.

Just what was going on?

Lying in a pool of his own blood, the man gazed at the sky and sighed, "Old Turtle, it is my defeat. I only have my lack of strength to blame. But not even death can stop me. Mark my words. I will return, Old Turtle!"

Black flame engulfed his body.

Darkness covered the world.

Crimson clouds spread in the sky while a rain of blood wailed down as the man rose from the black flame as a death spirit. Step by step, he walked into a massive tunnel that had appeared after his return, a blank look in his eyes.

As he walked away, his voice rang out, "I might have forgotten a lot...but I still remember one thing. I will return. I will shatter the laws. Wait. Wait for me."

"..."

Su Yu's vision blurred as he was brought back to reality. Beads of sweat filled his forehead. Through the mayor's medallion, he seemed to have witnessed the past of the previous mayor.

As mentioned by the stone statues, the previous mayor had invaded the world of the living with an army of dead behind him. Ultimately, he was slain by the old turtle before rising immediately as a death spirit. Even as a brand new death spirit, his memories were partially intact.

How terrifying.

The phenomenon his death had generated felt comparable to the phenomenon the Devil Pseudo Emperor had generated when one of his tri-life bodies perished. It was clear that this former mayor was absolutely a top expert even if he was still weaker than the Devil Pseudo Emperor.

He might be comparable to Great Xia King in strength.

Su Yu was unsure if that was the case. He had witnessed the deaths of several Invincibles not long ago, but not one of them had generated a rain of blood. They had merely generated the phenomenon of crimson clouds.

"He transformed into a death spirit right after dying?"

Su Yu was greatly shocked by what he saw.

That was such a strong mayor. But the old turtle was clearly even more terrifying than that. Not only had the old turtle killed numerous Invincible death spirits, but he had also been able to kill the previous mayor without exerting too much of his strength.

How terrifying.

Su Yu stole a glance at the old turtle, still overwhelmed by his shock. If he were to break the laws...would the old turtle kill him as well?

Sensing Su Yu's gaze, the old turtle opened his eyes. Seemingly understanding what was happening, he said, "The ancient laws are inviolable. Since the laws have allowed us to live until now, he must follow the laws. Without the laws, the holy cities will cease to exist."

Su Yu's heart thumped as he promised, "You're right, Lord. I will do my utmost to uphold the ancient laws of the holy cities."

In a completely nonchalant manner, he took the chance to ask a question, "Lord, I saw several scenes earlier. I noticed a symbol on the arm of the previous mayor. What is that?"

Before the old turtle could say anything, Empyrean Cloud answered indifferently, "That's the symbol of an ancient bloodline. Someone with a strong bloodline or an exceedingly powerful ancestor will manifest such a symbol."

Su Yu's heart skipped a beat. He hesitated slightly and said, "Lord, you mentioned previously that Great Xia King might hail from the bloodline of an ancient human king. Will such a symbol manifest on them if that is the case?"

The old turtle said, "That was merely a guess. I'm still unsure if the Xia Family is really descended from an ancient human king. With the collapse of the ancient past, there is no longer a guarantee that such a symbol will manifest in those descended from the ancient experts."

Su Yu asked, "Are you familiar with a lotus-like symbol that would manifest on the arm? Which bloodline does this symbol belong to?"

He hurriedly drew the outline of the symbol he had seen previously in the air. He had been silent about this symbol for a long time. He did not want to mention it lest it somehow misled the others while they were searching for the traitor. Now, a chance to find out more about it had finally arrived.

When the symbol was fully drawn, both the old turtle and Empyrean Cloud stared at it for a long time in silence. Finally, the old turtle said, "This...does not look like a lotus."

Empyrean Cloud offered her opinion, "This looks like the symbol manifesting from a mixed bloodline. It might have descended from two ancient bloodlines. It looks more like a hibiscus...mixed with a flame..."

After studying it for a bit, she shook her head, "It's too hard to say. The symbols manifested from pure bloodlines will be much easier to determine."

Su Yu wasn't too disappointed. This was already more than he knew. He asked, "Will such a symbol persist after manifesting?"

The old turtle said, "No. But when emotions run high or when one is exhausted, it might manifest. A long time has passed since the ancient collapse. Where did you see this symbol? According to what I know, an ancient bloodline with enough concentration to manifest a symbol should rarely appear in the human race anymore. It has simply been too long."

After a short pause, the old turtle added, "There is an exception. Upon reaching the Eternal Realm, a descendant of an ancient bloodline might be able to trigger the awakening of the ancient bloodline."

Chapter 1293: Conscience Is Important (2)

Su Yu asked, "Lord, are these ancient bloodlines powerful?"

"Yes." The old turtle said, "Your predecessor, He Tu, was one such person. He hailed from the main branch of an ancient bloodline, and the legacy of his bloodline was intact at the time. Not long after becoming an Eternal, he was strong enough to dominate the Myriad Realms. The symbol served as a mark to prove that at least one of his ancestors was someone who had stepped into the Daofuse Realm."

"Daofuse?"

Noting Su Yu's confusion, Empyrean Cloud explained, "That is what you call Pseudo Emperor nowadays. That was not what they were called back then. My boss is in the same realm as well. If my boss were to produce a descendant, the descendant might manifest a bloodline symbol as well. Perhaps the symbol of my boss' bloodline will be a turtle?"

"..."

The old turtle looked at Empyrean Cloud. Wouldn't that be normal? Why was she saying it in such a bizarre tone? It would be more surprising for the symbol of his bloodline not to be a turtle.

The old turtle said, "The bloodline symbol might arise for many reasons, such as unique cultivation methods, unique techniques, or even carrier treasures. For example, the symbol you showed me might have derived the flame from a technique and the lotus from...a race, a carrier treasure, or a cultivation method. But it's too hard to say for sure."

He asked curiously, "Where did you see it?"

Su Yu gave a nonsensical reply, "In a ruin."

The old turtle did not push further. He did not enjoy knowing too much about affairs unrelated to him. The less he knew, the more peaceful his mind would be. With a peaceful mind, he could sleep better.

Aware that Su Yu had seen some of what the previous mayor had done, he warned, "Remember this. The laws are inviolable. These laws are different from the laws or rules you know of. They are different than the laws or rules set by me, you, or anyone else. Not everyone is capable of elevating their laws into something inviolable. To go against the inviolable laws is to court disaster. Remember this well, Su Yu."

Su Yu's heart skipped a beat as a realization dawned on him. The so-called laws weren't set by the old turtle. Instead, they were set by someone much stronger. Perhaps it was the ancient Emperor.

The old turtle was merely an enforcer. He did not have the authority to go against these laws. He could only enforce them. He had only killed his previous mayor because the mayor had broken these laws.

Su Yu inhaled deeply and promised, "I understand."

At that point, he was already done refining the medallion. He noted that apart from the slight burst of death qi when he first started the refinement, he had not suffered the inflow of any death qi since then. Clearly, the old turtle was withstanding all the death qi of the city alone. This was truly impressive.

He still remembered how he had to endure the assault of a large amount of death qi from the moment he started refining the medallions of Grandstar and Empyrean Cloud Cities. Did this mean that he could become the mayor of a few more cities?

Of course, that was on the premise that the old turtle would not move around randomly or that might kill him. After all, a furious death sovereign was waiting to burst out of the tunnel and kill him.

The old turtle said nothing. He shut his eyes, as though he was returning to sleep. But instead, his voice rang out in Su Yu's ears, "I hope you won't repeat He Tu's path. I went through a lot of struggle before reaching the decision to kill him. Hopefully...you won't be a second He Tu."

Su Yu shook his head. There was no need to worry about that. He Tu was simply stupid. With the old turtle droning on about the laws repeatedly, only a fool would go against the laws and challenge the old turtle. Shatter the laws? One shouldn't dream of doing that before one was actually strong enough to do that.

Doing so without sufficient strength was not a demonstration of valor. Rather, it was a demonstration of stupidity.

Su Yu continued insulting the previous mayor inwardly. There was no way he would do something so stupid.

Before he had the strength to kick the old turtle's arse—hahahahahehehehuhuhu...

Su Yu hurriedly disrupted his own thoughts the moment he thought of fighting the old turtle. He had to be very careful with his thoughts in the presence of a super expert like this. He even activated his calm character to silence his mind.

Stop thinking!

Keep a low profile!

He was a law-abiding mayor! His big brother, the stone statue, was amazing!

He started hypnotizing himself to convince himself that he truly believed all that. The eyelids of the old turtle flickered slightly, but ultimately, the old turtle decided not to say anything.

He was indeed capable of sensing Su Yu's thoughts.

But those thoughts were a complete mess, mixed with a string of praises to fawn over him. In fact, the praises were so excessive that the old turtle even started to doubt life itself. Were the young geniuses nowadays so shameless?

Even in his innermost thoughts, Su Yu was still trying to butter him up.

When Su Yu was done rearranging his thoughts, he flashed a wide smile at Empyrean Cloud and said, "Lord Empyrean Cloud, am I now the mayor of Grand Dream City?"

"Yeah." Empyrean Cloud nodded, "Let's go. We're done here. Don't bother my boss for no good reason. Of course, you can summon this city when you encounter trouble. That is allowed by the laws."

Su Yu's grin grew wider as he said, "I understand. I know the laws well. Basically, I only have to prevent the death spirits and death qi from invading the world of the living. When I'm left alone, I'll leave everyone alone. When someone provokes me, I'll slaughter them and their family. Am I understanding the laws correctly?"

Empyrean Cloud nodded blankly. That was not exactly accurate, but that wasn't wrong either.

Their one job was to prevent the invasion of death spirits and death qi. As for the rest of what Su Yu said...Empyrean Cloud couldn't help but recall how Grandstar had stealthily killed some Invincibles. Even she herself had attacked some mayors inside their cities. These actions were not against the laws.

Su Yu smiled.

So that was it?

What was the big deal?

This would be an easy job for him.

He asked, "Lord, is killing a large number of death spirits considered a form of contribution to the holy cities? Previously, I killed many death spirits in Grandstar and Heavendoom Cities. That was a form of contribution, right?"

After a slight hesitation, Empyrean Cloud answered, "Yeah..."

Su Yu continued, "If I were to make use of death spirits to fight against powerful opponents and both parties ended up dying together, would I suffer the same fate as He Tu?"

"..."

This question was too tricky for Empyrean Cloud to answer. Thus, the old turtle was forced to open his eyes again. He had a helpless expression as he was starting to suspect that getting this mayor was a mistake. This might be a...troublesome mayor. Follow current novᴇls on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

After hesitating for a bit, he answered, "Making use of death spirits to kill your enemies is not prohibited by the laws. But if the death spirits refuse to leave after the battle..."

That reminded Su Yu of something. He asked, "Lord, aren't all death spirits required to leave after three days? Furthermore, they aren't supposed to be able to leave the cities. How was He Tu able to wage his war using death spirits?"

How odd.

The old turtle did not answer.

Empyrean Cloud was just about to speak when the old turtle said, "Empyrean Cloud, take him away."

Empyrean Cloud swallowed her words and said something else instead, "Stop asking questions you shouldn't ask!"

She was angry. She had nearly blurted the answer and offended her boss because of Su Yu. How fortunate that her boss was here to stop her. Sure enough, humans were too cunning. Su Yu was clearly trying to trick an answer out of her.

Su Yu felt quite regretful of not getting an answer. It was obvious there was a way to get the death spirits out of the ancient cities. But since these stone statues weren't answering, he wasn't going to push them.

Perhaps the devils had the answer. How were they supposed to return Yanmo to life otherwise?

So be it. This was not something he should concern himself with for now. What a great day. The Grand Dream City might be empty, and the old turtle might not be too willing to fight for him, but this was still a city he could summon when required. Just the presence of the city was probably enough to deter a lot of people from trying anything stupid against him. No matter what, this was a city with a Pseudo Emperor.

He did not need the Pseudo Emperor to do anything. He only needed the Pseudo Emperor to sit there and look all intimidating. He would do the rest. After all, he was quite good at posturing with some fake influence he didn't actually have.

Before long, Empyrean Cloud and Su Yu were gone from the city. After the two departed, the old turtle opened his eyes again. He looked in Su Yu's direction with doubt in his eyes. Su Yu seemed rather abnormal.

The old turtle had taken the effort of inspecting Su Yu's bloodline. He was sure there was nothing special about Su Yu's bloodline. Yet Su Yu had successfully cultivated the 72-Forged Iron Devourer. That was not supposed to be possible.

The 72-Forged Iron Devourer was a top cultivation method of the iron devourers. Even among actual iron devourers with great talent, it was rare for someone capable of cultivating this cultivation method to appear. How did Su Yu accomplish that?

Furthermore, how did he modify the cultivation method into one that was suited for a human?

Furthermore, he also had an abnormal character technique.

Furthermore...well, simply put, he was filled with abnormalities.

The Five Elemental Art was a lost art even among the five elementals. Back then, the five elements were forced apart. The Five Elemental Art was returned to the Human Emperor and made a forbidden art.

Su Yu's Five Elemental Art was not perfected yet, but it wasn't something he should know at all. The doubt in the old turtle's eyes thickened. What a bizarre kid. Just then, furious roars started coming out of the tunnel beneath him again.

"Old Turtle! Release me! I will teach that bastard what real strength looks like!"

The old turtle sighed and said, "After losing your memories, even your temper has worsened. Back then, you were always calm. This is nothing worth losing your temper over. Just take a nap. You won't even remember it anymore after waking up."

What was the big deal about this?

Just take a nap.

A good sleep could cure everything.

Shutting his eyes, the old turtle returned to his slumber. He completely ignored the roaring He Tu in the tunnel. He Tu should stop dreaming about breaking through his suppression.

After a while, He Tu finally stopped. With a snort, he turned and left.

A large entourage of death spirits left with him. The old turtle was too strong for him to contend against. It did not matter. He Tu had decided to call for help and break free together.

***

On the way back, Empyrean Cloud took the scenic route yet again.

Round and round she went.

The route she took was completely different than the route she used previously. But Su Yu appeared unbothered. He was already aware of what she was thinking. Clearly, she was trying to stay outside as long as possible. One did not need to take a special route in order to reach the Grand Dream City.

This wasn't a bad thing.

After all, it was giving Su Yu an opportunity to ask more questions.

For example, when they reached the Plain of Desires, he asked, "Lord, this is such an odd place. The stronger one is, the easier it is for one to lose one's way. Why is that the case?"

In truth, Empyrean Cloud City was located near the Plain of Desires. Thus, it wasn't surprising for Empyrean Cloud's stroll to take them here.

Sure enough, Empyrean Cloud had an answer for him. "Back then, an expert died here. Prior to his death, he cultivated the dao of desires. The stronger one was, the easier one would resonate with this expert and subsequently fall under the control of their desires. That was how this place came to be. Of course, most Eternals are capable of subverting the effects of this dao."

Su Yu nodded in understanding. So a super expert had died here.

Chapter 1294: Conscience Is Important (3)

When they reached the Sea of Stars, Su Yu asked, "Lord, why is this sea floating in the sky?"

Again, Empyrean Cloud had an answer. "Back then, an expert of the ancient past was passing by when his lover complained that the stars weren't as beautiful when the sea was grounded. Thus, the expert spent a long time setting up a formation, elevating the entire sea into the sky. He did this just to give his lover a better view."

Holy shit!

Su Yu was rendered speechless.

Did that expert not have anything better to do with his life?

"Lord, there are so many stars in the sky. But why can't one reach these stars even after entering the Skysoar Realm?"

Again, Empyrean Cloud answered, "Those stars...are not actual stars. They are most likely acupoints. It was said that when building the Allheaven Battlefield, numerous experts perished from exhaustion. After dying, their acupoints rose into the sky to shine upon the world below. They are not real stars."

Once again, Su Yu was left speechless. Acupoints? Acupoints as big as stars? How terrifying. Was this true? From how Empyrean Cloud was saying it, she had only heard about it instead of witnessing it with her own eyes.

"Lord, why is it easier for young geniuses to encounter each other in the Allheaven Battlefield?"

"Because the Allheaven Battlefield was meant to be a training ground for young geniuses. At the time, the young geniuses of the various races will enter the Allheaven Battlefield to temper themselves. How are they supposed to temper themselves by hiding? Thus, the Allheaven Battlefield was designed with a law enabling young geniuses to encounter each other easily."

"But isn't peaceful coexistence good? Why must there be war?"

"That is a question for humanity to answer." Empyrean Cloud said, "Nine out of ten wars during the ancient times were triggered by humanity. Eventually, the myriad races learned the lesson of stopping humanity whenever humanity rose in strength."

"Why didn't the myriad races eliminate us when we were at our weakest?"

"Were you weak enough over four hundred years ago?" Empyrean Cloud asked, "And what was the result? Humanity had too many trump cards hidden away. It is too difficult to fully eliminate humanity. Furthermore, the Allheaven Battlefield would always shut itself from the various realms after enough time had passed. And each time, humanity would take the chance to recover."

Listening to the story, Su Yu had the urge to laugh.

How interesting.

This was a race that couldn't be fully eliminated. Left alone, it would rise in power and start picking fights again. This was probably driving the myriad races mad.

"So how long would Allheaven Battlefield remain open each time?"

"Between thousands of years to over ten thousand years. It varies."

Fine. That wouldn't happen anytime soon. The Human Realm had only regained its connection to the Allheaven Battlefield a few hundred years ago.

"Lord, how much do you know about the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion?"

Empyrean Cloud was still enjoying the scenery around them as they traveled. Thus, she did not mind the questions. She absently answered, "Yeah. When the Allheaven Battlefield was inactive, the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion was one of the few unique places where life could continue. Thanks to the Heavenly Hunt Index, the Heavenly Hunt Pavilion was able to keep its members alive during the period of inactivity. Life would also continue in the holy cities, but most people in the holy cities would die before the next reactivation."

"Is the Heavenly Hunt Index a divine weapon?"

"Yes."

Just then, Empyrean Cloud caught a big fish from the sea. She was just about to start feasting on it before she recalled that Su Yu was beside him. She hesitated, wondering if her image as a powerful guardian would be ruined if Su Yu saw her chomping on some random fish she caught.

Fortunately, Su Yu was observant enough to say, "Lord, I'm getting hungry. Can we roast this fish and grab a meal?"

"..."

"Sure."

Empyrean Cloud nodded and agreed graciously.

Su Yu wasted no time and roasted the fish with his five elemental fire. But after thinking about it, he switched to the fire of inheritance. He reasoned that a fish roasted with the fire produced by a natural character would probably taste better.

He didn't even need any condiment. With the wood character, he produced numerous greenery around the fish, releasing an explosion of aroma. Then, he utilized the water character to wash over the fish with the purest of water. Finally, he used the Soul Expanding Hammer to strike the fish and increase the texture of the meat.

Beside him, Empyrean Cloud stared in stupefaction. A simple fish...could actually be cooked in this manner?

She looked at Su Yu with a pleased expression. She was very satisfied with this new mayor. But...she also noticed that Su Yu seemed to be preparing the fish for him alone. What about her?

That thought had just crossed her mind when Su Yu was done. With the aromatic fish in hand, Su Yu smiled, "Lord, do you want to try it? I don't enjoy eating alone. It's much better to eat in the company of others."

"Fine. I'll take a bite," Empyrean Cloud answered flatly.

Instantly, Su Yu produced a pair of golden chopsticks and handed them over. Empyrean Cloud held the golden chopsticks awkwardly and picked the entire fish before swallowing it in one bite. Then, she nodded expressionlessly, "Not bad."

Su Yu was rendered speechless.

Was this stone statue a cat? How did she finish such a large fish in one bite?

Empyrean Cloud remained expressionless. What was so surprising about that? She had said that she would take a bite. And she had done just that.

Su Yu was more and more convinced that Empyrean Cloud's true form was that of a cat.

Seeing that Empyrean Cloud was looking quite happy, he smiled and asked, "Lord, did you build your holy city yourself?"

"No, it was a joint effort. Back then..."

She stopped before concluding with a perfunctory answer, "You can consider me the builder."

"Lord, I heard you can find some treasures and opportunities in the ancient cities. I have been staying in ancient cities for quite a while, but why haven't I encountered any?"

The ancient cities were supposed to be filled with opportunities. Many people had found weapons, cultivation methods, and other treasures in ancient cities. Why hadn't he found anything? Were the ancient cities looking down on him?

Empyrean Cloud wasn't too bothered by this question. She answered, "Some of the things you can find in the ancient buildings were left by the previous inhabitants. And some of them were heavenly rewards for your contribution in defending the living from the dead. You don't know this, but every now and then, heavenly rewards will descend upon the holy cities. Even the guardians will be rewarded as well. I guess you can consider these rewards...our wage for defending against the Death Realm. This will happen once every one thousand years. Those in the city at the time will receive these rewards, including the mayor." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novelꜰire.net

Understanding dawned on Su Yu. So those rewards and opportunities were wages for fighting against the Death Realm.

"Lord, after so many years, the ancient cities must have accumulated a lot of treasures from these rewards, right?"

Empyrean Cloud replied, "You can say so. But most of these treasures have already been used up. Only those we find no use for will be left to accumulate."

"Where do heavenly rewards come from?"

With a smile, Empyrean Cloud answered, "Luminous Domain Mansion."

"..."

Su Yu was completely dumbfounded.

Luminous Domain Mansion?

What was the meaning of that?

Empyrean Cloud said, "Have you forgotten what my boss said? First, there was the Luminous Domain Mansion. Then, there was the Allheaven Battlefield. Therefore, almost all the heavenly rewards originate from the Luminous Domain Mansion. That place might be called a mansion, but it is much more complicated than you know. Even us, the guardians who had entered the mansion before, had never been able to enter the core of the mansion. That mansion...is a lot more important than you know."

Su Yu asked, "Wasn't that the residence of the ancient Emperor?"

"Yeah." Empyrean Cloud said, "Don't ask too much. There are things that we can't explain because we lack information as well. And some of what we know, we can't speak of since these matters concern some ancient experts. It is not a good idea to even speak of these experts. They might be dead. Or they might not. There are a lot of secrets in the Myriad Realms."

Su Yu inhaled deeply and asked, "One last question, Lord. Were there a lot of Invincibles during the ancient past?"

The thirty-six holy cities represented thirty-six Invincibles, with one of them being a Pseudo Emperor. And such experts were only qualified to serve as guards.

Empyrean Cloud said, "I guess so. It's not too crazy. Even back then, we were already strong enough to be considered experts. We wouldn't have been picked for this job otherwise. Of course, we are much stronger now. It has simply been too long."

And finally, the city was within sight. Empyrean Cloud looked greatly reluctant. She really didn't want to go back. So be it. She couldn't exhaust Su Yu to death in one trip, right? She should take things slow.

With a flicker, the two vanished into the city as she said, "You better take a trip to Rainbow Rain City. Rainbow Rain is near his limits. Since you're not burdened by Grand Dream City, Rainbow Rain City will be needing your assistance."

Su Yu nodded.

He was planning to visit Heavendoom. But after becoming the mayor of Rainbow Rain City, it would be quite difficult for him to take on more cities. Should he still visit Heavendoom? Maybe...he should forget it?

Just look at how energetic Heavendoom was. He did not look like he was in need of help.

***

Not far away, Heavendoom stared wide-eyed at Su Yu and Empyrean Cloud expectantly.

He wanted to go outside as well! He did not want to stay in the city anymore!

Pain and suffering? What was there to fear about that? The presence of an alternative was the far scarier thing. He couldn't stand seeing Grandstar and Empyrean Cloud leaving their cities freely while he couldn't.

Heavendoom would be a lot more patient if those two weren't doing that. Alas, those two had left their cities while he hadn't. He couldn't accept it!

Su Yu was his disciple! Why wasn't his disciple helping him? He had taught Su Yu the breathing technique and the vibration method! Had Su Yu forgotten that?

Where was his conscience?

Chapter 1295: When In Trouble, Call Daddy (1)

Su Yu was back.

The area was packed with ancient cities.

The people of the nine realms were feeling greatly pressured by the presence of all these ancient cities. The thirty-five ancient cities had surrounded the nine realm entrances in the middle.

The locals felt like crying, and there was nothing they could do but pray that things would remain peaceful. If the ancient cities must fight, then please let the fight not spread to their homes. This was too dangerous. Clearly, one needed a lot of courage to become a neighbor of Grandstar City.

Right after Su Yu stepped out of Empyrean Cloud City, draconic roars filled the sky. Several massive dragons appeared in the sky. Among them was a golden dragon emanating an incomparably powerful aura. Yet even the powerful golden dragon was regarding the ancient cities with fear.

When the golden dragon saw Su Yu, his voice rang out.

"Since ancient times, the Sea of Stars has always been the territory of the dragon race. We do not wish to create trouble or interfere in the assembly, but Grandstar City must leave the Sea of Stars."

If the alliance were to happen, a powerful faction would emerge in the Sea of Stars. This would threaten their interests in the region. Thus, the dragons had to voice their objection even at the risk of provoking the stone statues.

Su Yu smiled and said, "I'll assume this is a joke, my friend. Grandstar City is probably older than the dragon race itself. How is the Sea of Stars your territory? Furthermore, I'm not in charge of where the city settles. You're speaking to the wrong person. Perhaps I should get the lord guardian to speak with you instead."

The golden dragon said, "Su Yu, don't forget that there are Eternals and a Pseudo Emperor in the dragon race as well. By setting down your roots here, you will become our direct competitors. The Dragon Realm can't be moved, but the ancient cities can. We only need you to move elsewhere. Why must you make the dragon race your enemy?"

Su Yu rolled his eyes and said, "That is not my intention, and this is not something I can decide alone. How about this? I'll pass your words to the guardians. Will that do? You can't be expecting me to make this decision, right? Do you think I can move against the will of the guardians?

"At times, a little bit of patience is all it takes for everyone to prosper. There is no need to escalate every little matter you dislike. Does the dragon race really want to challenge more than thirty Invincibles over such a trivial matter?

"You'll have to forgive me if I'm being too blunt. That's just who I am. We can always talk things out. Must you trigger a battle between Invincibles for something like this? It is pointless, if you ask me. We can talk more later. At the very least, you need to wait for me to unite the ancient cities first, right? Before that, my words will hold no weight among the other mayors. Am I right?"

Su Yu started soaring into the sky as he said, "Give me a moment. I have been instructed by the leader of the guardians, Lord Grand Dream, to take over the Rainbow Rain City as well. Mayor of Rainbow Rain, are you present?"

"Hey! Me! What about me?"

Suddenly, a gloomy, depressed, jealous, bitter, and sorrowful voice rang out.

Heavendoom.

What about him? Why did it become Rainbow Rain? When would his turn come?

Su Yu cupped his fists at Heavendoom City in surprise. Floating above the city was Mayor Tian He...with a bloody head. What was up with that?

Su Yu did not think too much about it. Perhaps the mayor had encountered some difficulties during cultivation. He said, "Lord Heavendoom, please wait. This is the instruction of Lord Grand Dream. I'll need to prioritize it. Is the mayor of Rainbow Rain here?"

At that, a black tiger flew out of a nearby ancient city.

Su Yu blanked out. What a big tiger.

From the name of the city, he had thought that both the guardian and the mayor would be females. Was he wrong? Or perhaps this was a tigress? He wasn't sure. Also, what was the breed of this tiger? Why was its fur black instead of the usual color?

The tiger spoke weakly, "Mayor Su, are you here to take over my city? Good. Very good..."

Clearly, Rainbow Rain City had been pushed to its limits. This was now obvious to Su Yu. In fact, he suspected that this tiger wasn't originally dark in color. Rather, the death qi in his body had grown far beyond what he could control, changing the very color of his fur.

The mayor was probably so weakened he couldn't even maintain his humanoid form anymore. Were things really that bad in this city?

***

Right at that moment, multiple experts appeared in the sky.

One of them spoke through voice transmission, "The stone statue of each city taken over by Su Yu would gain the ability to fight outside the city. Does this mean that the stone statues will be prevented from leaving as long as he's prevented from taking over these cities? Shall we stop this? In the past, the stone statues were not able to leave their cities. Those were good days. But now, Grandstar and Empyrean Cloud have both gained the ability to leave their cities. If this happens to more stone statues, the balance of the Allheaven Battlefield will change drastically."

More and more experts appeared.

Noticing that Su Yu was flying toward Rainbow Rain City, someone else spoke through voice transmission, "Su Yu has the ability to free the ancient stone statues. Killing him will put a stop to this. Yes, that will be dangerous to attempt. But the ancient stone statues are too dangerous to be allowed outside their cities. Don't forget that Su Yu is a human."

Yes. For the myriad races, humanity was the root of all evil.

When weak, humanity would suffer the suppression of the myriad races. When strong, humanity would pursue vengeance. Then, the myriad races would bide their time before pursuing their vengeance against humanity.

This was an unending cycle. A vicious and unending cycle. Again and again, the myriad races would choose to suppress humanity. Again and again, humanity would rise again and pursue vengeance.

Su Yu was a human as well. At its current state, humanity was already very powerful. If this alliance were to take form, humanity would be even harder to handle.

Should they kill Su Yu? If they let him be, the alliance might form. What, then? They had intended to let some of the mayors stop the alliance from forming. Alas, with Empyrean Cloud and Grandstar appearing outside their cities to back Su Yu, it was unlikely the mayors would have the courage to stand up to Su Yu anymore.

After all, these stone statues were the biggest backers of these mayors. Just look at how silent the mayors of Eternal Serenity and Openmountain Cities had gotten after the two stone statues voiced their backing for Su Yu. They had nearly been beaten to death just for speaking up against Su Yu. Who among them would have the courage to further challenge Su Yu?

Thus, the myriad races were forced to take action themselves. One Invincible after another appeared.

A little over a month ago, a battle between Invincibles had erupted, resulting in the deaths of multiple Invincibles. Thus, these Invincibles were very unwilling to come. But they had to do this.

Su Yu was alarmed to note the Invincibles.

Holy shit!

Was there a need for this? Weren't the myriad races a tad too impatient?

The powerful dragons from earlier reappeared in the sky, accompanied by the aura of an Invincible. Even higher above them, a gigantic celestial dragon appeared. Hovering in the sky, the celestial dragon looked down upon Su Yu. When his gaze landed on Su Yu, a bizarre look flickered in his eyes.

He said, "Su Yu, the dragon race does not wish to fight you. Move all the ancient cities out of the Sea of Stars. This is not coming from me. This is the will of the Dragon Emperor. You humans have a saying that there is no room for two tigers on the same mountain. We are not seeking trouble with you, but we can't allow the establishment of a new power so near our core territory."

That was actually a very reasonable reason. Su Yu himself would do the same in the same position. But...where was he supposed to go?

He smiled and said, "Everyone is misunderstanding me. I do not intend to settle all the ancient cities in the Sea of Stars. We're only here for a meeting. Since we need to suppress the Death Realm, we can't really move around too much. After the meeting, everyone will leave. Only Grandstar City will remain. Is the dragon race thinking of kicking us out of the Sea of Stars even though the city has been here for countless years?"

Su Yu was more than willing to negotiate. There was no point in clashing against all these major races.

"That is no longer allowed." The dragon Invincible said, "Grandstar City is allowed here in the past, but things have changed with you as the mayor. As long as you remain the mayor, Grandstar City will not be allowed to remain in the Sea of Stars."

Basically, they were more worried about Su Yu than the stone statue. Su Yu was simply too great a threat. He had a history of stirring trouble of immense proportions, causing the deaths of many Sunmoons and tri-life bodies of Invincibles.

The Luminous Domain Mansion was going to open soon. And Grandstar City occupied a strategic location in regard to the mansion. They couldn't allow Su Yu to remain here during such a sensitive time. It was too dangerous and risky.

Su Yu frowned. So they were insisting on forcing him to leave. It didn't look like they would relent. After all, even the other races were in agreement about this.

Su Yu smiled and said, "Isn't this a tad bit too excessive? How are you sure that the dragons were here first? Perhaps Grandstar City was already here long before that. I have already conceded by suggesting that only Grandstar City will remain. It's only one city. Why must you be so aggressive against only one city? How will triggering a conflict between us benefit you?"

While speaking to the dragon, a certain medallion in his sea of willpower was flickering madly.

"Lord Grand Dream! Lord Grand Dream! The dragons are kicking us out of the Sea of Stars! That includes your Grand Dream City! Lord, what should I do? Maybe we should relent and just move away?"

Since he wouldn't be a match for the dragon race, he decided to seek the old turtle's opinion. If the old turtle agreed to move, he would move. Grandstar and Empyrean Cloud would probably not be sufficient to deter the dragons. After all, the dragon race was also a race with a Pseudo Emperor, a top-five race.

Su Yu was not interested in provoking a race like this for no reason. It wasn't like he was the one who had decided to build all these ancient cities here. He certainly didn't mind moving away.

***

Grand Dream City.

After countless years of peace, the old turtle's peace had been broken right after meeting Su Yu.

He opened his eyes and looked up helplessly. He knew it! It was wrong to find a mayor! He would rather handle the death qi alone than deal with all the troubles a mayor could cause. In his experience, all mayors were shit-stirrers. That was the case for He Tu. That was clearly also the case for Su Yu.

For countless years, the dragon race had left the ancient cities alone. They wouldn't provoke the ancient cities for no reason. Clearly, they were doing this because they were feeling threatened by Su Yu.

***

At the same time.

Above the ancient cities.

The numerous stone statues released their auras, causing reality itself to shake. But as far as the myriad races were concerned, Empyrean Cloud and Grandstar were the only credible threats since they were the only stone statues with the ability to leave their cities. Googlᴇ search novel~fire~net

A devil king stepped forth and slowly said, "The devil race does not intend to interfere in the matters of the Sea of Stars. The Devil Emperor has decided to withdraw all our operations from the Sea of Stars. However, the Devil Emperor has also cautioned against starting another conflict. Su Yu, if you remain stubborn, the myriad races will be forced to act. Because of you, the human race and the ancient cities will be plunged into a conflict they don't want."