Tribulation of Myriad Races

The north. A region populated with many dao centers of the dragon race.

Dao centers were the main centers of civilizations in the Upper Realm. The Daofuses of the Upper Realm had the tendency to occupy their own territories, start their own factions, and found their own cities, otherwise known as dao centers. This behavior was understandable.

Ten or so Daofuses could stay together, but the amount of power of law in the area would remain the same. Would there be enough power for the cultivation and absorption of everyone?

They knew that things would be more dangerous for them to separate. But they had no choice but to separate. Cultivation would be too difficult when staying together. Just a heavenly king alone could absorb all the power of laws in the area. The other Daofuses would not be able to cultivate anymore.

This wasn’t an issue in the Lower Realm as for the most part, there would only be one Daofuse in a single race. Some races didn’t even have a Daofuse.

The Upper Realm was different since there were more Daofuses there.

Of course, the Daofuses of the same race would still establish their dao centers within the same region to prevent their enemies from defeating them separately. In the event of an attack, a Daofuse only needed to last for a little time and help would arrive.

Of course, some of the more independent Daofuses would still move far away from others to open their own dao centers. This would reduce the competition for the power of laws in the air, but it would also be more dangerous for these Daofuses to be so far away from their allies.

Stable Army Marquis was sharing everything he knew about the north to Su Yu.

“Six thousand years ago, we had around twenty Daofuses. At the time, we would still strike back at the myriad races, killing some Daofuses here and there.

“Subsequently, five heavenly kings and dozens of Daofuses from the myriad races formed a group and went after us. Several of our top Daofuses died. Since then, humanity lost the ability to strike back. Six thousand years ago, the dao centers of the myriad races would always be established near each other. But now, they are starting to scatter far away from each other.”

Stable Army Marquis said, “The dragons should be similar in strength to the nethers up here. The nethers have seven Daofuses, so expect the same from the dragons. But I don’t know as much as Shadow Marquis. The last time I went to the north, it was three thousand years ago. At the time, there were only five Daofuses among the dragons, with three being ancient marquises.”

Su Yu interrupted, “Celestial Dragon Marquis is gone. Exclude him.”

“Gone?” Only then did Stable Army Marquis recall that matter. He nodded and said, “In that case, they will have only two ancient marquises left, two newer Daofuses, and more Daofuses who had advanced in the last three thousand years.”

“Golden Dragon Marquis and Blood Dragon Marquis are the two ancient marquises.”

Su Yu interrupted again, “I know of a marquis called Dragonblood Marquis. Is this Dragonblood Marquis related to Blood Dragon Marquis?”

“Dragonblood Marquis died long ago. The two are siblings.”

Su Yu nodded. Dragonblood Marquis. The destiny child of the Death Realm. His brother had actually survived until now. How lucky.

“Are the two ancient marquises as strong as heavenly kings?”

“Golden Dragon Marquis isn’t that strong. He’s about as strong as me. Blood Dragon Marquis is probably that strong.” Stable Army Marquis explained, “Blood Dragon Marquis is extremely talented so he can grow quickly. He has the strength of a heavenly king.”

They were not weak at all.

Stable Army Marquis knew four of their Daofuses. A few must have appeared in the past three thousand years as well.

“We will know after checking the number of dao centers they have.”

Su Yu said, “This won’t be a big secret. Everyone should know about the appearance of a new Daofuse unless the advancement happens in the Dao Origin Land. We will know more just by capturing and interrogating a random dragon there.”

He did not bother to ask Shadow Marquis since this operation was supposed to be a secret. He could never be too careful.

Stable Army Marquis said, “Additionally, you need to be careful of the phoenixes. They might decide to help.”

Stable Army Marquis explained, “The dragons and phoenixes are so close they are practically the same race. Their territories are located near each other. The phoenix race is also as strong as the dragon race. If we drag the battle out for too long, the phoenix race might arrive to help and things will get dangerous for us.”

Su Yu nodded.

He said, “I’m actually worried that they won’t be willing to help. What if the others run after finding one of them dead?”

Su Yu grinned, “Thus, I’m thinking of a way to wipe them out in one fell swoop.”

“One fell swoop?” Stable Army Marquis gasped and asked, “How many Daofuses are you planning to kill, Emperor Yu? Why don’t we run after killing one? That way, they won’t have the chance to encircle us…”

Su Yu laughed and said, “What’s the point of having so many experts with me if I’m going to settle for killing only one Daofuse? We will act reactively. Their reaction will decide what we do.

“Lan Tian, you will hide yourself at the route Blood Dragon Marquis will take to reach our point of attack. Ambush him when he’s rushing over. End the battle quickly. Withdraw the moment I give the order. Don’t drag things out.

“Great Zhou King, be on standby to teleport everyone away. Great Ming King, you are in charge of formations. Remember, make your formation as similar to West Heavenly Consort’s as possible. Leave some traces behind for the myriad races to investigate. As for September and Grandstar…”

When Su Yu looked over, September was showing his trademark innocent expression while Grandstar was waiting with anticipation. After some thought, Su Yu said, “September is good at devouring while Senior Grandstar is proficient with the sword…”

It was fine for Grandstar to act, but September’s true identity could be easily determined in combat. That was especially true for the weapon he used: a bamboo stick. With one look, everyone would know that he was an iron devourer.

After some thought, Su Yu said, “September will be in charge of cleaning up the battlefield. When I call for a retreat, swallow everything. Leave nothing behind.”

With his trademark innocent expression, September said, “Maybe the two of us can handle those below the Daofuse Realm. The dragons have a lot of Eternals. If even the miserable Stable Army Marquis can have so many Eternals under him, the dragons definitely have more.”

That made sense.

Su Yu nodded, “Sure.”

Su Yu looked at Stable Army Marquis and said, “Release the guy called Administrator Chong Ming under you. He will be joining the battle. He can attempt to reach the Daofuse Realm if possible.”

Stable Army Marquis was overjoyed. But he still asked cautiously, “Won’t it be too conspicuous for him to attempt a breakthrough now?”

“What nonsense. That is exactly what we want. We want to sow as much chaos as possible.”

Before long, Su Yu was done giving his orders. The plan was quite flexible. They would act according to what they encounter there. They would complete the battle quickly. Speed was of the essence here.

While flying toward the north, Su Yu said, “Why are the Upper Realm humans still hiding around? You have nothing to lose anymore. In that case, you’re better off running around ambushing the myriad races. Daofuses are hard to kill, but what about those below Daofuse? Just kill to the point that nobody below the Daofuse Realm dares to leave home.”

Stable Army Marquis sighed and said, “We wish to conserve as much of our strength as possible. No matter what, there is still a tiny bit of hope that we can turn things around. Sure, we can come out and start ambushing them, but we will also lose what little people we have left.”

Su Yu nodded, “You’re hiding and waiting for Hundred Battle?”

“Um.” Stable Army Marquis did not bother to hide anything. He answered, “Yes. Hundred Battle King is probably sealed near the Dao Origin Land. Back then, he must have been stabbed in the back instead of killed. He was too hard to kill. And the myriad races were also afraid of what he would do in desperation. He might end up dragging a few heavenly kings down before dying.”

“How do you know that?”

Supposedly, no human near Hundred Battle King survived that defeat. How was Stable Army Marquis so sure of that?

Stable Army Marquis answered, “Because someone tried to free Hundred Battle King previously, but they failed.”

“Hmm?” Su Yu asked with surprise, “Who?”

“I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

Stable Army Marquis explained, “I’m telling the truth. Thousands of years ago, a mysterious expert went to the Dao Origin Land to rescue Hundred Battle King. That day, all of us sensed Hundred Battle King’s aura. Thus, we became sure that he’s not dead. Instead, he’s sealed. Therefore, we decided to go into hiding.”

“You don’t know the individuals who had attempted to rescue him?”

Stable Army Marquis shook his head, “Nope. At the time, humanity was no longer in control of the Dao Origin Land. The rescuers were very powerful. I don’t know what happened during the rescue attempt, but I know that it failed. The rescuer also went missing after that. Their fate remains unknown.”

Su Yu’s eyes flickered as he asked, “Any special traits?”

“Special traits?”

“As experts, all of you managed to sense Hundred Battle’s aura. In that case, did you not sense the aura of the rescuer?”

Stable Army Marquis thought about it and shook his head, “No. The rescuer’s aura was very mysterious. They seemed to have utilized a concealment formation during the fight. The rescue attempt was only discovered halfway through the rescue.”

“Aura concealment formation?”

Su Yu looked at Great Ming King again before looking at Stable Army Marquis, “Was it similar to the formation we used against you previously?”

After a slight pause, Stable Army Marquis said, “Uhm…concealment formations are all the same, right?”

“No, not at all.” Su Yu explained, “The Dao Origin Land is filled with dense power of laws. Regular formations will easily trigger some fluctuations. Someone capable of laying down a concealment formation of such a level wouldn’t be weak. The formation in question wouldn’t be weak either.”

Su Yu chuckled, “Interesting.”

Great Ming King asked with his brow raised, “You mean…”

Su Yu nodded, “It was an act. A play to mislead everyone.”

With a slight pause, he chuckled and said, “Or perhaps it was serious. How interesting. If Hundred Battle was really sealed back then, this rescue attempt could be either serious or an act. But the betrayor and the rescuer were probably from the same side.”

Stable Army Marquis frowned in confusion.

Great Zhou King understood what Su Yu was saying. His eyes flickered as he said, “Emperor Yu, you mean that Hundred Battle King was betrayed by Control King’s lineage, resulting in his fate of being sealed. But subsequently, the same lineage attempted to free him. Is that the case?”

Su Yu nodded.

Stable Army Marquis’ expression changed as he said, “Impossible! It’s reasonable to assume that Hundred Battle King was betrayed by them, but I refuse to believe that he’s part of Control King’s lineage!”

Su Yu said with a tired expression, “Fool. Did I say that he’s from that lineage? First, that lineage betrayed him because they didn’t want him to win. With that defeat, humanity’s many years of accumulation were gone. But at the same time, the myriad races suffered a massive loss as well. Eventually, they attempted to free him to have him lead the remnants of humanity and clash against the myriad races again. Both sides would suffer even more losses. A one-sided massacre is too boring, right?”

Su Yu said, “Hundred Battle reversed humanity’s rise with his defeat. Upon regaining his freedom, he would definitely go against the myriad races again. Even if he were to ultimately die, he would deal the myriad races a major blow before that. Furthermore, his appearance would grant humanity a tiny bit of hope. Hope is needed for humanity to continue its struggle.”

With a deep frown, Stable Army Marquis said, “What are you trying to say, Emperor Yu? I’m confused. Since Control King’s lineage has betrayed humanity, why are they trying to preserve humanity? In that case, they shouldn’t have betrayed humanity in the first place.”

Su Yu said, “You’re wrong. Destruction of humanity might not be their goal. They might only want to keep humanity weak…Forget it. You won’t understand. A brute does not need to know too much.”

“…”

Silence descended.

The others had pensive looks.