Tribulation of Myriad Races

The expression of the Sunmoon beside Topsoil Spirit changed as well. He sent a voice transmission, “They are fusing the fortune of humanity! Back then, the thirty-six founding kings benefited from the past accumulation of humanity and affirmed their daos. It was then that they founded the various prefectures to shelter the numerous lives in the Human Realm.

“At the time, the heavenly laws deemed their accomplishment fit for reward, but all thirty-six founding kings gave up on their rewards. Instead, they fused the rewards into the thirty-six seals. Each seal became linked with the fortune of its corresponding prefecture, acting as the protector of the lives in the prefecture. As a result, each founding king became greatly linked to their respective prefecture. The stronger the prefecture becomes, the stronger the founding king will be.

“Great Qin, Great Zhou, Great Xia, and Great Ming are very powerful. Their founding kings are very powerful as well. They are blessed by the very heavens. Severing their connection to their prefectures suddenly like this might even lead to a backlash from the laws!”

Topsoil Spirit listened in silence. After a long while, he replied through a voice transmission, “Elder, are you saying that these prefects are tying the fortune of their prefectures with the holy lord’s token, tying the fate of the entire humanity with the token from now on?”

“Exactly.” The elder said solemnly, “With this, the holy lord’s token will no longer be a mascot or empty shell. Its destruction will affect even the fortune of humanity. Fortune, also known as luck, is a vague concept. But it truly exists. The moment the holy lord’s token receives the fortune from all thirty-six seals, it will become the true holy lord’s token.”

Topsoil Spirit exhaled deeply. Wasn’t this supposed to be a mere farce and excuse to keep Su Yu in the Human Realm? Why would they stake even their fortune on this, then? Even when Great Xia King was shouting all those words earlier, Topsoil Spirit had thought that it was merely an act. But surprisingly, they were actually serious.

***

The drop of blood essence in the sky finally completed its transformation into a tiny token.

Next, Great Ming King’s voice rang out, “Great Ming is hereby entrusting our fortune to the holy lord! May the holy land last forever! May humanity stand forever! May humanity prosper! May peace arrive!”

Boom!

With a rumble, the Great Ming seal erupted with blinding radiance.

The golden radiance spread out before turning into a projection of Great Ming.

Zhu Tiandao, the keeper of the seal, watched on with a boundlessly complicated smile on his face as the projection of Great Ming slowly imprinted itself on the tiny token, joining the projection of Great Xia that was already imprinted on it.

***

Not far away.

Yun Chen and the others from Liu City were watching in silence as well. Bai Feng was among them. After a while, he asked, “Grandteacher Yun, what are they doing?”

“The offering of their maps symbolizes the allegiance of humanity toward the holder of this token. With the fortune of humanity fused with the token, the holy land’s fate will be tied to humanity’s fate. Both will prosper or perish together.”

Bai Feng was greatly surprised to hear that. He said, “But…”

But…wasn’t this supposed to be an act?

Why was this happening?

Yun Chen sighed and replied, “Su Yu asked for it himself. He trapped himself without knowing it. He did not understand when he made the demand for their maps. But the various prefectures took his words seriously. And since they are taking it seriously, this holy land will naturally become a true holy land. Su Yu thought that this wasn’t serious. But the various prefectures are taking this seriously. The ceremony wouldn’t have been this solemn otherwise.”

“Back when the previous two holy lands were established, they only required the agreement of several Eternals. Only a short discussion preceded the establishment of the two holy lands. But things are different today. All human prefectures are here. Su Yu…has fallen to a trap unknowingly.”

“In that case, we need to stop this!”

Before he could do anything, Liu Wenyan stopped him and said, “Does he see himself as a human?”

Bai Feng blanked out.

Liu Wenyan sighed and continued, “When humanity encountered danger, would he be able to stay idle?”

Bai Feng shook his head.

“Do you think he’s still not aware? Even now? Even after all this?”

Bai Feng looked at Su Yu. Was Su Yu…aware?

***

Understanding was slowly dawning on Su Yu.

He…seemed to have fallen into a trap!

These people were actually being serious!

What was the meaning of this?

Even if he was still confused, someone would be around to explain. Inside his sea of willpower, the female furball leaped out of the Mark of Civilization and said, “The luck of humanity! I really want to give it a bite! Huh, it seems to have shrunk! During the time of the Human Emperor, the luck of humanity was akin to a dragon! It was powerful enough to shake the Myriad Realms! Why…is it so tiny now?”

The female furball started lamenting, “It seems…this is really humanity’s last chance. One more defeat and humanity will cease to exist.”

The tenth attempt.

And the final attempt. A defeat in this epoch would be humanity’s final defeat.

Humanity would be no more. After surviving on the accumulation of the ancient humans for a hundred thousand years, humanity had finally exhausted the benefits the ancient humans had left for them.

This was the final war for humanity. It would either rise again or fall completely.

“Maybe…the Allheaven Battlefield is not sealing itself anymore.”

The female furball guessed as well, “Wow! I know! This will be a war of elimination!”

In the past epochs, the Allheaven Battlefield would seal itself at the end of the war, forcing everyone to return home and wait instead of fully exterminating the losers.

But this time…the same might not happen anymore.

Su Yu’s heart thumped. He said nothing.

Sure enough, this would be the final war.

He frowned deeply, but soon, his brows relaxed.

Was he a human?

Yes.

Would the myriad races spare him upon humanity’s destruction?

No.

In that case…he might as well…do his best.

Su Yu remained silent. He watched in silence.

After the fortune of Great Ming and Great Xia was fused into the tiny token, Su Yu’s vision blurred. He felt as though he was looking straight at the two prefectures from the sky.

He was looking at the millions upon millions of lives living in these prefectures. He could see some people prostrated on the ground. They were paying their respects to the saint.

Surprisingly, Great Zhou King’s voice rang out at this time, “Great Zhou hereby entrusts its fortune to the holy lord’s token!”

Then, the golden seal of Great Zhou erupted with a blinding golden radiance.

The projection of the entire Great Zhou appeared in the sky.

“Great Qin entrusts its fortune!”

Qin Zhen roared next.

After a short silence, Su Yu continued climbing the stairs. So it turned out that the holy lord’s token he understood was different from the holy lord’s token everyone else understood.

He had thought of forging the token personally. But there was no need for that.

Humanity itself was forging a token for him, also a token for the holy land.

The experts of the various prefectures spoke up one after another.

Those without their founding kings around would be represented by their prefects.

Even Great Yuan King did the same, even when he was maintaining a complicated expression on his face the entire time.

As time went on, the tiny token grew brighter and brighter.

The maps of the various prefectures were imprinted on it. Slowly, all the maps joined.

Such was Su Yu’s coronation. A coronation he expected to be a casual performance yet was being taken extremely seriously by humanity.

***

Allheaven Battlefield.

Great Qin King was seated upright in a hall.

Behind him, golden radiance was erupting from the Human Realm.

Great Qin King maintained his cold expression while the other Invincibles watched on in silence.

After a long while, someone smiled bitterly and said, “May he…not disappoint everyone’s trust.”

Great Qin King remained silent.

A short while later, the hall shook.

Several figures appeared in it.

Great Zhou King’s group had arrived.

He wasted no time and manifested a large character immediately before saying, “Get on it.”

Everyone looked at each other in confusion before looking at Great Qin King.

He was the first to step onto the character as he said, “After so many years of peace, everyone has gotten unfamiliar in acts of war. The myriad races have never given up on eliminating humanity. Today, humanity has appointed Su Yu as the holy lord. From now on, his death will be a great blow to humanity. We shall fight the myriad races both for Su Yu and humanity. My old friends, do you still dare to do battle against the myriad races?”

Some of the Invincibles grew excited upon hearing that, some grew solemn, while some remained calm.

After a short moment, everyone stepped onto the character.

One of them laughed and said, “Things have been silent for so many years. It has been quite a while since we last fought a battle to the death. We are all antiques here, but since Great Qin King is still capable of doing battle…I shall follow you and face the myriad races yet again!”

“Since Qin King is going, how can we not go?”

“…”

All the founding kings were smiling.

This feeling. This sensation. It had been quite a while since they last felt it.

This was how things were over four hundred years ago, following Great Qin King and Great Zhou King as they battled the myriad races. Everyone was enemy. They fought the heavens. Divines, devils, dragons, phoenixes. They fought everyone. The Myriad Realms trembled before them.

Humanity had a lot more Invincibles before the founding of the various prefectures.

Many had not survived the war with the myriad races.

Eventually, only thirty-six survived. And thus, thirty-six prefectures were founded.

But with the passage of time, even more Invincibles died. Thus, the number of founding kings dropped. And today, most of them were here.

Great Qin King also blanked out as he sensed the familiar sensation. After a long while, he said, “Yes. It has indeed been quite a while. After the founding of the various prefectures, the myriad races ended their war against us. Instead, they switched to inciting disharmony among humanity, turning us against each other. Some still wanted to fight, while some started advocating for peace. I did not expect to get a chance to…fight the Myriad Realms with my fellow brothers yet again. But still…this day…has arrived.”

He turned to look at the Human Realm and smiled, “Su Yu has entered the trap. If we were to die in this battle, he would be around to keep humanity strong. Exchanging us for him wouldn’t be that big of a loss. This is the final chance for us to remove some of our powerful enemies. Friends, let us eliminate a realm as a gift for Su Yu’s ascension.”

He looked at all the Invincibles and asked, his voice turning into a growl, “Can we win?”

“Yes!”

With that, their blood started boiling again, just like how they were many years ago.

Great Zhou King smiled and said, “Eliminate a realm. Battle to the death. The battle will not end before the total elimination of one party.”

“Eliminate a realm! Battle to the death!”

Once again, the Invincibles roared.

Great Zhou King looked behind as well. His eyes started shining as he said, “Wait. Wait until the fortune of the various prefectures become one. The Human Realm and the Myriad Realms will shake. We will move. And slaughter.”

“Slaughter!”

The Invincibles roared yet again.

An intense desire to do battle started raging among them.

***

Opposite the Eastrift Valley, Heavendoom was frowning slightly as he stared at the Human Realm.

He sent a voice transmission, “Something seems off about the Human Realm. Great Qin King and the others have been staying in the hall for a long time. Their auras are still there…but the murderous intent there is also surging.”

He could feel it.

With thirty-five ancient cities in the area, the flow of auras in the air was chaotic. But he could still feel the change in the air.

He was not alone. The others were starting to sense it as well.

But for the most part, they had most of their attention on the Human Realm.

Up above the Human Realm, beyond the realm barrier, the faint projection of a token appeared. That was an extremely unique token, seemingly capable of suppressing the entire Myriad Realms.

***

Immortal Realm.

A figure slowly appeared outside the realm.

Tiangu.

He was trying to get a better look at the Human Realm. After focusing on the token for a bit, he muttered, “I…underestimated them.”

The humans had really fused their fortune with Su Yu. Had they gone mad?

Su Yu would definitely die. The myriad races would not spare him. How brazen of them! How bold of them! He was not alone. The various Daofuses appeared out of thin air and looked in the Human Realm’s direction, looking at the large token and its blinding radiance.

“Is humanity…going to produce a human king in this epoch as well?”

“Even Hundred Battle King lost. Could Su Yu…win?”

“In the ninth epoch, Hundred Battle King dominated the Myriad Realms. Even so, he ended up defeated after exhausting all the potential humanity had to offer. Could Su Yu reverse the fate of humanity in the tenth epoch?”

The various ancient existences spoke after another. They were seemingly conversing with one another, but it also felt as though they were merely muttering to themselves.

***

As for Su Yu, he was still climbing the stairs.

The golden token in the air was growing brighter and brighter. It was so bright that even the Myriad Races could see it, and Su Yu’s silhouette amid the golden hue. Slowly, he approached his throne.

Just then, someone roared, “Great Liao disagrees!”

Su Yu did not even bother to look at the speaker.

Instead, a blindingly bright saber appeared in the sky. It was Great Xia King.

Hum!

The saber descended. A head dropped. And a moon fell.

Great Xia King’s cold voice rang out, “Great Liao shall appoint a new prefect. We continue.”

The visitors from Great Liao trembled in fear. After a while, a pale youth stepped forth, gnashed his teeth, and declared, “Great Liao disagrees!”

Splurt!

Blood spurted into the sky.

Once again, Great Xia King said, “A new prefect shall be appointed.”

Silence descended.

He had killed two Invincible descendants in a row, including the first son of an Invincible. However, nobody dared to protest. Even more faces paled among the crowd.

A ninth-stage Sunmoon, a first son of an Invincible, had been killed like a bug.

After some time, yet another person stepped forth. With a sigh, he said, “Great Liao entrusts its fortune to the holy lord’s token.”

They bowed.

The entire time, Su Yu had not even bothered to spare them a glance. He merely needed to continue climbing the stairs.

With his saber in hand, Great Xia King looked at the Great Chu delegates. The Great Chu prefect paled. Why was Great Xia King looking at him?

He hurriedly shouted, “Great Chu entrusts its fortune to the holy lord’s token!”

Silence returned.

Nobody dared to protest. Nobody dared to go against Su Yu.

Many Invincibles were present, yet nobody had bothered to say anything when Great Xia King killed two prefects in a row. Some even suspected even an Invincible would be greeted with Great Xia King’s saber if they were to protest.

A ninth-stage Sunmoon was potentially a future Invincible. This was a rather significant loss for humanity. Yet nobody criticized Great Xia King’s action.

Among the Great Shang delegates, Shang Tianjiao paled. She was not alone. Some of the youths who were unsupportive of Su Yu were starting to pale as well. Not one of them had the courage to protest anymore.

Even a prefect had been killed without any resistance. If a prefect disagreed, they would merely be killed. If the next prefect disagreed, they would be killed as well. The killing would persist until an agreement was reached.

Those dying in such a situation wouldn’t even be praised for their courage. They would only be viewed as fools.

Thirty prefectures. Thirty-one prefectures.

One prefecture after another fused its fortune with the golden token. Golden stripes started appearing on the token. One stripe. Two stripes.

In the blink of an eye, a hundred and eight golden stripes appeared on it.

The heaven grade was within reach.

Boom!

With a rumble, the 109th golden stripe appeared. The token had reached the heaven grade.

A natural-born heaven weapon. Yes. It was considered a natural-born heaven weapon since no forging was involved.

Even more golden stripes were appearing.

At this point, Su Yu had climbed nine hundred steps of stairs. He continued. The entire Human Realm continued bathing in the golden radiance. More and more maps were imprinted onto the token even as the golden stripes continued growing, eventually reaching 120 stripes.

As for Su Yu, the pressure he felt started growing. The higher he climbed, the stronger the pressure.

He was unsure if it was merely mental pressure or if there was really pressure here.

Finally, the golden token received the fortune of the final prefecture.

With a rumble, the golden radiance covering the Human Realm intensified before leaking outside the Human Realm, covering even the Allheaven Battlefield. A massive golden pillar of light appeared above the Human Realm.

Instantly, the gazes of the myriad races were attracted.

At the same time, Great Zhou King chuckled and tossed numerous characters out. As the auras in the air reached their most chaotic state, he teleported everyone away.