Tribulation of Myriad Races

They killed dozens of death marquises?

Was this the truth?

Or was this a lie?

Numerous thoughts emerged in Topsoil Spirit’s mind.

If it was a lie, so be it.

But if it was the truth…firstly, it would signify that the power under Su Yu’s control had reached a terrifying level. Secondly, his race was in danger since they knew this before the other races. This was too terrifying.

Topsoil Spirit broke out in cold sweat as understanding dawned on him. This was a crisis. If this were true, and they were aware of this secret, what would happen to them if they refused to submit?

Extermination?

Topsoil Spirit grew restless. He looked up at Su Yu, who was lazily lounging on the throne. He solemnly said, “Emperor Yu, the five elemental race used to be a close ally of the human race in the ancient past.”

Su Yu yawned and said, “That has nothing to do with me. I am not the ancient Emperor. I don’t care about the past or the future. I only care about the present. Brother Topsoil, you’re a smart guy. You are the only five elemental capable of catching my eye. As for these Eternals…allow me to be frank. I only intend to use them as chess pieces. That is the only thing they are good for. You, Topsoil Spirit, are the only exception of the five elemental race. Someone I can at least communicate with.”

“How arrogant!”

The fire ancestor had always been someone with a fiery temper. Thus, he was the first to be enraged.

Chess pieces?

Useless?

Su Yu might be powerful, but how powerful was he compared with those from the Upper Realm?

Su Yu looked at the fire ancestor indifferently and said, “I’ll speak, and you’ll listen. You may stop me at any time. After all, knowing too much can be disastrous at times. At your age, you shouldn’t be too ignorant.

“Do not try to act ignorant before me. The five elemental race has survived for so long without a Daofuse. You have been bowing for years. Don’t bother showcasing your fake courage or stupidity in front of me. I prefer working with smart people. Those truly silly are acceptable as well. But those pretending to be stupid irks me.

“Firstly, Great Xia King and Great Qin King are now Daofuses.

“Secondly, Heavendoom, Empyrean Cloud, and Grandstar are now Daofuses.

“Thirdly, Tian Yue, disciple of Heavenly Overseer Marquis and head of Heaven Department, is now a Daofuse.

“Fourthly, the Death Realm has been pacified–”

“Stop!”

Topsoil Spirit was already shivering in fear. His head snapped in the direction of the five ancestors. The expressions of the five ancestors had changed drastically as well. Was that the truth? Or a lie? They looked at Topsoil Spirit, allowing him to be the judge of that.

He was the most familiar with Su Yu here. They would accept his judgment, whatever it may be.

Still lounging on the throne, Su Yu smiled. With a flicker, a young girl appeared. The moment she appeared, she knew what to do. It was time to make Su Yu some tea. And thus, the girl plucked a few strands of hair from her head and started making tea with them.

She was already used to this. Alas, she had been losing hair as of late. Her tea had been quite popular recently. While making tea, she wondered if she should find a time to take another bath in the river. Otherwise, she would go bald soon. And she disliked the bald look. The faces of the five ancestors changed yet again, but none said anything.

As for Topsoil Spirit, his eyes flickered. After a short moment, he lowered his head and said, “The five elemental race is willing to form an alliance with the human race. Humanity will be the leader of this alliance.”

“How slippery.”

Su Yu did not even spare them a glance. He focused on the tea and said, “It’s not wise to be too crafty. Not the human race. Not the leader of an alliance. I am me. A leader is a leader. There is no point in making up something like the leader of the alliance.

“I don’t intend to exterminate your race. Don’t be too scared. You only need to keep my secrets. It is unlikely that you will be able to spread this news if I don’t want it to happen. So don’t worry.”

Su Yu smiled and said, “You can also choose to be neutral and refrain from interfering with everything I’m trying to do. When I finish my conquest, those close to me will receive first-class treatment. Those who have never gone against us will receive second-class treatment. Those neutral will receive third-class treatment. The enemies will all be wiped out. What do you think, Topsoil?”

Topsoil Spirit continued sweating. The alliance offer had been rejected. Submission to the alliance had also been rejected. Su Yu would only accept a submission to him as an individual. No alliance was required.

Third-class treatment for those neutral…what was the so-called third-class treatment, then?

He did not know. He didn’t want to find out. Inhaling deeply to calm himself, he said, “The five elemental race pays its respect to Emperor Yu!”

Then, he dropped to one knee. Behind him, the five ancestors frowned. Submitting without even talking about any terms or benefits? Without even making a single demand? This was something that had never happened before.

Su Yu looked at the five elementals before him and asked, “Topsoil, do your words count among the five elemental race? If not, I allow you to join me as an individual. You will be appointed an untitled general. An outstanding man recognizes the current trends.”

Topsoil Spirit looked at his ancestors and solemnly said, “Ancestors, please trust me. I was born from the old ancestor’s essence. I am the sole hope of the five elemental race. I will never lead my race toward disaster.”

The five ancestors had mixed feelings about this.

After a long while, they finally dropped to one knee as well. They did it with resignation, indignation, and hesitation. They believed that Topsoil Spirit was too trustful of Su Yu. Topsoil Spirit had submitted without further deliberation. They hadn’t even investigated Su Yu’s claims.

Just like that, he had entrusted the fate of their race to Su Yu. The five ancestors found this hard to accept. They felt too insecure. Su Yu had not bothered to give them any promises.

But it was also true that Topsoil Spirit was the sole hope of their race. Since their sole hope had submitted, what else could they do but trust him? He was the direct descendant of their old ancestor.

“The five elemental race pays respects to Emperor Yu!”

The five ancestors lowered their heads as they greeted. Never had the future of their race seemed so uncertain before.

Just moments ago, they were still in a discussion about the alliance. But out of nowhere, they had all dropped to their knees and submitted. They weren’t even allies anymore. They had fully submitted.

Up on the throne, Su Yu smiled.

“I believe you will thank Topsoil Spirit for his choice today. I am here only for him. Everyone else is only benefiting because of him. I wouldn’t have arrived personally if it weren’t for my faith in his wisdom.”

Finally, Topsoil Spirit raised his head, the previous solemnity gone. Instead, he smiled sheepishly and said, “You flatter me too much, Emperor Yu.”

“Stand.”

With a smile, Su Yu sent a cup of tea flying toward Topsoil Spirit. He said, “Take a seat.”

“Thank you, Emperor Yu.”

But the moment Topsoil Spirit smelled the fragrance of the tea, he shook. Daofuse tea!

He sat down with a smile. Just as the five ancestors were about to sit as well, Su Yu said, “Seniors, may I trouble you to stay standing for now? Only one decision maker is needed for a race. Too many decision makers will only complicate things.

“Feel free to voice any disagreement you might have with my words…but I would much prefer you keep your complaints to yourselves. I dislike a situation where there are multiple races in a single race. We are faced with a war against the Myriad Realms. If we can’t even unify our rule, how are we supposed to conquer the world? Five elemental race, either accept that Topsoil Spirit is the one sitting here or find another person to take this seat.”

The five ancestors looked at each other silently. After a long while, the wood ancestor said gently, “Emperor Yu is right. Our race will naturally be represented by Topsoil Spirit. Nobody else is qualified to represent all five elements.”

Su Yu smiled and said, “I knew it. As a race that has survived for so long without a Daofuse, you are not stupid. Sure, there are probably some idiots in your race as well, but they are the minority.”

Su Yu asked, “How many Eternals do you have in your race?”

After a slight hesitation, Topsoil Spirit answered, “Nineteen. Excluding the five ancestors, we have fourteen more Eternals. Six are known to the outsiders, while eight are still in slumber. Nobody knows about them.”

Su Yu said, “Not bad at all. In that case, your race has eleven public Eternals and eight secret Eternals.”

“Yes. But some must have guessed that we are hiding some.”

Topsoil Spirit said, “We have survived since the ancient past. All along, we have been cautious, neutral, and quick to bow. These are the reasons for our survival till this day. We have never participated in the power struggle between the various races. That only changed this epoch because of me. Prior to that, we had maintained a low profile.”

Su Yu asked, “I require eleven Eternals from your race. Is this doable?”

“Eleven?”

Topsoil Spirit was alarmed. The expressions of the ancestors changed as well. Excluding the ancestors, they had fourteen. Removing eleven at once would require them to awaken even the slumbering Eternals. That…was essentially the same as betting everything they had in a single gambit.

Su Yu said, “Yes. Eleven from your race, fourteen from the human race, and ten from the iron devourer and hou races. That will be enough. Is this doable?”

Thirty-five!

Topsoil Spirit’s eyes flickered as he said, “Guarding the ancient cities?”

“Yes.” Su Yu took a sip of his tea and continued, “This is why I love talking to smart people. The Death Realm will be mostly fine apart from the occasional new death spirits waking up from the Celestial River of Death. That is not something we can change unless we can completely flatten the Death Realm.

“I intend to replace the thirty-five guardians. The hou and iron devourer races do not have a lot of members. Many of them are high-degree Eternals. I can’t take too many from them. What about your race? Can you provide me with eleven low to middle-degree Eternals?”

Su Yu asked, “Of the fourteen Eternals apart from the ancestors, how many of them are high-degree Eternals?”

Topsoil Spirit said, “Six.”

Su Yu raised his brow and said, “That’s not low at all. How surprising. Are you saying that you have eleven high-degree Eternals in your race?”

The five ancestors were all eighth and ninth-degree Eternals.

Topsoil Spirit solemnly said, “Yes, that’s a decent number. But this is our accumulation over nine epochs. In fact, to prevent the myriad races from seeing us as a threat, some of our Eternals had even voluntarily dispersed their dao and died to make way for the youngsters. All along, the myriad races had thought that these deaths were a result of our internal conflicts. Thus, they had never been too worried about us.”

Su Yu said, “How admirably decisive.”

Topsoil Spirit shook his head and said, “No. That was merely an act of desperation. Nobody wants to die. But we don’t have any Daofuse, and we also don’t have any experts in the Upper Realm. You understand what will happen to us if we gather over a hundred Eternals.”

Su Yu nodded, “Yes. Even the powerful immortal race only has slightly over a hundred Eternals. You don’t even have a Daofuse. Producing so many Eternals is the same as an invitation to wipe you out.”

Topsoil Spirit’s voice turned bitter as he said, “Exactly. Our seniors understand this. Not even hiding can solve this. They must die and produce a reaction from the daos for the myriad races to understand that we are no threat. This is our path of survival.”

Truly admirable. This was their way of survival. It was cruel, but it was also effective. They had remained a top ten race for many years, maintaining their average level of strength. So long as they didn’t have a Daofuse, no major race would view them as a threat. Everyone knew that they had a decent number of Eternals, but everyone also knew that these Eternals would eventually die to internal conflicts.

Therefore, the major races were never too worried about the five elemental race. They didn’t even have a power base in the Upper Realm. Thus, the major races couldn’t even be bothered to do anything to them. The five elemental race was truly a wise race.

They had chosen a cruel path, but it was better than extinction. A sacrifice must be made. And the five elemental race was exceptionally good at choosing what to sacrifice.

“In other words, you have eight early and middle-degree Eternals.”

“Yes.”