Tribulation of Myriad Races

“No matter how talented you are, you’ll never be as important as their son or grandson. Great Ming King and Niu Baidao were close enough, right? But when Great Ming King found two ruins, he kept the spare for his own son instead of handing it to Niu Baidao.”

Su Yu remained silent.

Wan Tiansheng said, “That is a perfectly regular choice. It’s not wrong. It is perfectly normal for one to save something good for one’s children. A friend or a comrade is not comparable to a son. Even your father would prioritize you over his comrades if he were to find something good, right?”

“My point is, you’re Su Yu. Not Zhu Yu. Not Qin Yu. Not Zhou Yu.”

Su Yu nodded and said, “Principal, I’m not Wan Yu.”

So why did the principal give him the carrier treasure? It wasn’t like there was nobody else in the Wan Family. Wasn’t Wan Mingze an up-and-coming youngster of the family?

Wan Tiansheng laughed, “I have no need for the carrier treasure. As for my family, you need to understand that some windfall may prove disastrous. Without sufficient strength, they will eventually lose it. There is no point in taking this risk. Are they supposed to use the treasure to test their trust in their fellow humans? It is never a good idea to put something like trust to test.”

Su Yu nodded and asked, “Principal, will you be remaining in the Human Realm after this?”

“No.” Wan Tiansheng replied nonchalantly, “I will only put everyone else in a difficult position if I remain. I am better off leaving.”

“Must you proceed? You can always let those Invincibles teach these people a lesson. They can handle this…”

“That’s foolish.” Wan Tiansheng said, “That will sow dissent between those Invincibles. Rather than that, I might as well give them a clear target to hate. Let me be the sole villain of this story. I am cruel. I am cold-blooded. And since I have never been too involved with the multiple character faction, it is unlikely they will take their anger out on the multiple character faction. Not everyone is like Fiery Sea King.

“After this battle is over, make sure everyone realizes that you have kept numerous Invincibles occupied through those young geniuses. Make sure everyone knows of your contribution. Just because we know this doesn’t mean that everyone else will know it. Don’t hide your contribution. Tell everyone about the ruin as well. You don’t have to say that the ruin is fake, but you need to let everyone know that this ruin was contributed by you for the scheme. And because of the scheme, you no longer have a ruin.”

“As for the Culture Tomb…” Wan Tiansheng said, “That is something the myriad races are paying close attention to. Remember to let everyone know you no longer have the Culture Tomb. It has been stolen by Hollow. I’ll think of a way to get it back for you. You only need to insist that he has the Culture Tomb. He won’t have the courage to show his face and explain himself anyway.”

Su Yu blanked out. What?

When Su Yu took the Culture Tomb out, Wan Tiansheng didn’t even bother to look at it as he said, “It’s fake. I know the Culture Tomb better than you. Even the fake ruin was something I made. I’m a lot clearer about all the happenings in the ruin. The Culture Tomb is on First Yellow. He was probably acting under Zhu Tianfang’s orders. It doesn’t matter I’ll get it back for you. Not even Zhu Tianfang himself will realize it. Make sure to not explain anything. Let First Yellow take all the blame.”

Su Yu asked doubtfully, “Is it really on First Yellow?”

“…”

Wan Tiansheng hesitated slightly before smiling, “Sharp indeed.”

He then tossed something over and said, “Take good care of it. I switched it before it was stolen. It doesn’t matter. I only need him to believe that he has the real Culture Tomb.”

Su Yu rolled his eyes. He knew this would happen. Since Old Wan was aware of what was happening, would he actually allow First Yellow to take the Culture Tomb away?

Wan Tiansheng reminded, “Be very careful with this thing. Since everyone is already aware of its existence, we will let First Yellow be the scapegoat. Otherwise, you will have the attention of even Pseudo Emperors.”

“Principal, is this proper? He did help me with my escape. Is this how I should be repaying him?”

Wan Tiansheng said, “It’s fine. He will survive. In any case, he did steal it. If you’re worried about him, you can throw the blame on Zhu Tianfang instead. Do you think that Zhu Tianfang is planning to return it to you?”

He shook his head, “Don’t be too naive. This is a treasure for all cultural researchers. And Zhu Tianfang is a cultural researcher. If you allow someone else to keep it, you might not be able to get it back anymore.”

Su Yu felt a headache coming. He said, “Principal…I…”

“Just pretend you know nothing.” Wan Tiansheng said, “You would have remained clueless without me anyway. Forget it. I’ll think of a way to make First Yellow the scapegoat. Maybe I can get the ruin to shake and shatter before revealing a fragment of time. In that fragment of time, the scene of First Yellow’s thievery will be played for all to see. Remember, Hollow isn’t a human. Do you think he stole the Culture Tomb with the intention of helping you?”

Su Yu shook his head. That was unlikely.

“I understand.” Su Yu nodded, “I’ll pretend I know nothing. As for Hollow…we’ll see.”

“Good.” Wan Tiansheng said, “That’s all I have to say. You may decide what to do yourself. With the ancient city backing you, the loss of your ruin, and the absence of the real Culture Tomb on you, the myriad races will know what to do about you. They aren’t stupid. Most of your strength comes from your physical cultivation, not your willpower cultivation. With the reappearance of people like Nan Wujiang and Yun Chen, and the advancement of people like Liu Wenyan, the myriad races will no longer view you as the biggest threat.”

Su Yu nodded. That was true.

He asked curiously, “Principal, why does it feel like…you don’t like Nan Wujiang, the third principal, that much?”

First Profound, or Nan Wujiang to be precise, had left a good impression on Su Yu. That was supposed to be Wan Tiansheng’s teacher, yet Wan Tiansheng had been addressing him by his name.

Wan Tiansheng said, “I’m only his nominal student, but he has never taught me. I don’t know him that well. Furthermore, do you think he has been completely unaware of the plight of the multiple character faction during his time in the pavilion? I guess I shouldn’t judge since I have also been doing nothing. We’re the same. I was aware of all those deaths. He was aware as well. Even Senior Brother Yun Chen was aware. A lot of people were aware. So what? For most people, baiting the traitor out was more important. Gaining new Invincibles was more important. The lives of those multiple character faction members were nothing in comparison. How many people still remember their names?”

Wan Tiansheng laughed in a self-mocking manner as he continued, “Hence, I reminded you that you’re only Su Yu. Not Nan Yu, not Wan Yu…none of that. Your line…cares too much. Strictly speaking, you should only count your line starting from Ye Batian. Only Ye Batian, Liu Wenyan, Hong Tan, Bai Feng, Chen Yong, you, and Wu Jia can be considered fellow members of the same line. The rest of us…are outsiders. Because we don’t care.

“Do you understand now? Those are the real members of your line. Ye Batian was too loyal. He was hot-headed, egotistical, and arrogant. Thus, he died. Liu Wenyan and the others are too loyal as well. Thus, your line is the most miserable line in the Myriad Realms. The rest of us are much better off.

“Because of their loyalty, Liu Wenyan became a cripple for fifty years. Hong Tan became a turtle for fifty years. Chen Yong lost his closest friend. Bai Feng was forced to leave his home. Wu Jia lost her parents. You were hunted by everyone in the Allheaven Battlefield.

“You are the only ones who have been suffering. From Ye Batian to you. All of you are merely the chess pieces in the game of chess between humanity and the myriad races. The rest of us…have only been working on our own agendas. Of course, I don’t deny the sacrifice the Xia Family made for your line. But remember who you are. Do not mistake kindness as true loyalty.”

Then, Wan Tiansheng inhaled deeply and said, “I’ll be doing some cleansing. I’m not doing this for any of you. I’m doing this for myself. I can’t accept being used like a chess piece. Su Yu…grow strong. You can only rely on your own strength.”

Finally, Wan Tiansheng left. Su Yu gazed at Wan Tiansheng’s departing figure as he stayed silent for a long time. Wan Tiansheng had never said so much to him before. These were the words that couldn’t be spoken lightly.

When everyone was celebrating their victory, Wan Tiansheng was showing him the cruel reality.

And now, he was gone. Gone to settle some debts.

Su Yu had thought that this was enough for Wan Tiansheng. But he was wrong. Wan Tiansheng was unwilling to let go of his grudge.

Perhaps after today…Wan Tiansheng would turn from a hero into a…villain.

He had gone mad.

Yes. He had gone mad.

Su Yu could see that Wan Tiansheng might be even crazier than Lan Tian. Wan Tiansheng was too smart. He could see the truth behind all the deception. If he stopped now, he would be hailed as the hero of humanity. But that was not the path he had chosen.

Su Yu didn’t know what to feel. Before leaving, Wan Tiansheng had taught him about survival and removed all future troubles he might face. He was told to not trust anyone. Not even Wan Tiansheng. But…was that really the case?

Su Yu sighed.

That day, humanity lost Wan Tiansheng.