Tribulation of Myriad Races

The Invincibles circled them like predators. Was this enough? They had brought twelve Invincibles just to deal with Great Qin King and Great Xia King. The other three were regular Invincibles. Three Invincibles would be enough to keep them busy.

Great Qin King frowned. He was starting to feel the pressure. He couldn’t see a way out of this. Xia Longwu would definitely fail. Both he and Great Xia King were very strong, but there was a limit to what they could do. Twelve Invincibles? Six would be enough to keep them occupied. Twelve was already an overkill.

After all, none of them would be one of the weaker Invincibles. Such a person wouldn’t even be here. This was a group of above-average Invincibles.

While Great Qin King was frowning, some Pseudo Invincibles further away were already getting ready for their dao affirmations. A dao affirmation was not a process that would end in one day. If one was unlucky, it might take a very long time.

Fifteen Invincibles.

This was more than he had expected.

The myriad races were clearly determined to stop Xia Longwu’s dao affirmation. Despite their numerical advantage, this was still a risky task. Yet they were determined enough to take the risk.

Back then, less than forty Invincibles had acted during Ye Batian’s dao affirmation. At the time, humanity was still capable of putting up a good fight.

This time, humanity had split their Pseudo Invincibles around. Even so, Xia Longwu had still managed to attract fifteen Invincibles. Elsewhere, each group was only faced with three to five Invincibles. The only other exception was Great Zhou King, who was also faced with more than ten Invincibles.

Including those in the boundless void, the myriad races had mustered a force of nearly one hundred Invincibles for this. The major races such as the divine and devil races had even deployed over ten Invincibles each. Even the immortals were participating in this.

As Great Qin King’s gaze settled on the immortal in the opposing group, he sighed, “Have the immortals decided to sever our alliance?”

The immortal replied calmly, “The human race has gone against the will of the myriad races repeatedly. The discontinuation of the multiple character faction is the consensus of the myriad races. The ban of Xia Longwu’s dao affirmation is also a consensus of the myriad races. Even the immortal race is not exempt from the execution of justice. We can’t allow humanity to bring chaos to the Myriad Realms.”

“Heh.”

Great Xia King sneered, “You’re like a whore insisting to still have your maidenhood.”

The immortal said, “Xia Longwu won’t succeed. Even if we can’t kill him here, the Emperors are on standby to descend upon us at any time. Great Qin King, are you really willing to risk humanity for his sake?”

The deaths of Great Qin King and Great Xia King could very well spell the end of humanity.

Without Invincibles of their prestige, it would be hard to maintain what little unity humanity had. Sure, there was a traitor in the midst of humanity even now, but a form of unity was still possible. And that was all thanks to the likes of Great Qin King.

Great Qin King said nothing.

The immortal continued, “If you agree to withdraw, nobody will interfere with Qin Zhen’s dao affirmation. He will be allowed to make his attempt in peace. This offer extends to Qin Hao’s future dao affirmation as well.”

“Great Qin King, with the freedom of dao affirmation, you will be the next Human Emperor after a few generations.”

Great Qin King coldly said, “Human Emperor? You think that’s what I care about?”

The immortal indifferently said, “You might not, but someone else will. You don’t want to be the Emperor, but there will be someone else with such an ambition. And you’re standing in their way. Not every human expert is happy to see you around.”

“A childish attempt.”

Raising his spear, Great Qin King took a step forward and said, “Try me. Let’s see if you can step over my corpse today.”

Further behind Great Qin King, Xia Longwu appeared indifferent to the ongoing conversation. He tore the space in front of him apart, allowing the River of Time to spill out of the opening.

Then, he started roaming the river, seemingly in search of his final tri-life body before completing his fusion.

***

At the same time.

Heavendoom City.

Mayor Tian He was ignoring the previous beating he had received from the stone statue for no reason. Walking into the stone statue’s room, he respectfully said, “Lord, I will be using my authority as the mayor shortly. The various mayors will come together to protect the dao of a single individual.”

The stone statue remained silent.

With his head lowered, Mayor Tian He said, “I know you don’t wish to interfere in such matters. I also know that this is not in line with your laws. But…please forgive me, Lord. I know you have been kind to me. But I still wish to regain my freedom. I don’t want to continue as a living dead. I don’t want to become a death spirit after death.”

Suddenly, Heavendoom opened his eyes and said, “Well said. I hope Xia Longwu can sever your death qi connection and grant you your freedom. If you had stepped down earlier, I could have gotten myself a much better mayor. This is vexing. Why didn’t you leave earlier?”

“…”

Tian He was completely dumbfounded.

This was supposed to be a sorrowful moment of separation. Why was the stone statue saying this? The stone statue had barely spoken to him for hundreds of years. Now that he was bidding his farewell to the stone statue, why was the stone statue suddenly so talkative?

Also, why was the stone statue so happy to see him leave? He had served the stone statue faithfully for so many years!

Fine, fine. The heartbroken Tian He started sulking. This was essentially a resignation. Prior to this, he had been a hardworking and honest employee. But during his resignation, his boss was telling him to piss off instead of persuading him to stay.

This was too hurtful! Incredibly hurtful!

Furious, Tian He couldn’t help saying, “Lord, I did deliver Su Yu right to you. You were the one who had sent him away! You were the one who had provided him those teleportation talismans to leave! He wouldn’t have been able to leave otherwise! You can’t blame me for this, Lord!”

He was heartbroken. Thus, he decided to speak the truth. The stone statue could only blame himself.

Heavendoom widened his eyes in fury. How dare the mayor! How dare the mayor talk back to him! The mayor was actually talking back! This mayor had been incredibly obedient for hundreds of years. But now, the mayor was talking back to him!

“Tian He.” Heavendoom said, “Don’t forget that you were converted personally by a death sovereign. That fellow won’t die so easily. You won’t be able to get your freedom so easily even after severing your death qi connection.”

Hmph!

Since his mayor wanted to compete in breaking hearts, so be it. He was very good at breaking hearts.

It was unlikely that Tian He would be able to regain his freedom. He could sever his death qi connection. He could run. But that would be temporary. Sooner or later, the death sovereign would reform the connection.

Tian He was too heartbroken to shut his mouth. He argued defiantly, “I only need more time. By being free from the death qi for a period of time, I’ll be able to live longer even after the connection is reformed. This will give me more chance to seek a more permanent solution!”

Heavendoom said, “And you will become a resident here once again.”

How dare Tian He talk back to him?

Hmmph!

To break free, one needed to sever the death qi connection and kill the death spirit. Tian He would never be able to kill the death sovereign. He would only be free temporarily before he was forced to return again. Was he sure he wanted to offend the true overlord of the city?

Tian He blanked out as the realization hit him.

Holy shit!

Yes. His freedom would be temporary. After some time, he would be back here. In that case, wasn’t it unwise of him to offend the true overlord of the city?

His attitude changed instantaneously. With a fawning smile, he said, “Lord, you misunderstood me. I was trying to say…say…uhm..right! I meant to say that I greatly regretted my bad service over the years. I am guilty of incompetence. If Su Yu is willing to become the mayor, I will be more than happy to let him take the position instead. After severing my connection, I’ll look for him and beg him to accept a post here. He owes you that much since you’re his benefactor, Lord. He should be thankful for the chance to serve you faithfully…”

Heavendoom didn’t even want to hear the name Su Yu anymore. The more that name was mentioned, the more envious he would feel. Why was this damn guy so talkative?

With a glare from the stone statue, Tian He vanished with a flicker before reappearing outside the room. The stone statue’s voice rang out in his ears, “If you really manage to leave, don’t forget your promise. Otherwise, I will transfer all my burden to you when you return.”

Holy shit!

The stone statue might as well kill him.

Tian He cursed inwardly. Su Yu was already a mayor. Was he dumb enough to take on another city?

Dream on!

How could the stone statue blame him? The stone statue was the one dumb enough to let Su Yu go previously! How vexing! Whatever. Tian He decided to forget about the stone statue.

Promise? After severing his connection, he would consider hiding in the Luminous Domain Mansion. It was said that one would die if one stayed in there past the closure of the mansion. But he would rather die than return and become a living dead yet again.

Tian He cursed repeatedly inwardly. He kept swearing that he would rather die than return.

But soon, he calmed down and told himself that he shouldn’t be so rash. It wasn’t that bad a choice to return. No matter what, he would still be an overlord of a region back here. Thanks to Su Yu, the various mayors had found their importance greatly elevated. The masses were a lot more wary of them than before.

Life as a mayor really wasn’t that bad.

Soon, Tian He tossed the matter to the back of his mind. This wasn’t what he should worry about for now. He had to first get through his first obstacle. The various mayors would come together and protect Xia Longwu’s dao. This wouldn’t be an easy job.

All hope would be lost if Xia Longwu ended up dead.

Meanwhile, Heavendoom was looking at Tian He in silence. It was unknown what he was thinking about. But it was very likely that he was thinking about Su Yu. He wanted to go out and see the world as well. Grandstar…damn that lucky bastard!