Tribulation of Myriad Races

Wen Qi said, “Stable Army Marquis and the others will keep the myriad races occupied for us. As long as the iron devourers are willing to help us, we can free Hundred Battle King. With him free, our chances of victory will grow exponentially.”

He had an expectant tone as he spoke.

Su Yu stared at the general for a long while before saying, “Freeing Hundred Battle King? It has been so many years. If that’s really possible, humanity would have done so long ago. Yes, the iron devourer race has a pseudo king. But the Dao Origin Land is an incomparably dangerous place. Is that really possible?”

Wen Qi hurriedly said, “It might be near impossible in the past, but our chance is right in front of us. Something major has happened to the dragon race. Their experts will definitely withdraw from the Dao Origin Land. Without the dragons, the other races will also pull back some of their experts for the safety of their own races. In the end, only the three major races will maintain a major presence there.

“As long as we can free Hundred Battle King, the iron devourer race will be considered our closest ally in the future. After humanity’s conquest, the iron devourer race will reign above countless other races, second only to humanity.”

Su Yu thought about it and asked, “In that case, how many experts can you send for this operation?”

At that question, Wen Qi’s expression changed. After a slight hesitation, he said, “South Suppression Marquis and I will be there. We will also notify the others and have them operate alongside us. We won’t let the iron devourers fight alone…”

He hurriedly added, “Of course, even the human experts who are not participating in this operation will continue stirring trouble for the myriad races.”

“Will that pseudo king really participate in this operation?”

“Of course.”

Su Yu narrowed his eyes and said, “If those experts stop stirring trouble for the myriad races, our attempt to free Hundred Battle King will receive the full attention of the myriad races. That will put us in great risk.”

“Don’t worry.” Wen Qi said, “They will definitely help us.”

What nonsense. Help his ass.

Clearly, this guy was here to promise anything to gain the help of the iron devourers. By the time the iron devourers were fighting in the Dao Origin Land, it would be too late for them to pull back. At that point, they would be left with no choice but to do their best to free Hundred Battle King.

What a good idea.

Su Yu laughed and said, “How about this? We can’t fully trust you. Why don’t you get Cultured Peace Marquis to visit us personally and finalize things with us?”

General Wen Qi said, “Cultured Peace Marquis is being monitored by the myriad races. He can’t move around easily lest the myriad races detect our alliance in advance. That might prove disastrous for the iron devourer race as well.”

“True.”

It was as though Su Yu had transformed into a spokesperson of the iron devourers.

He thought about it and said, “How about this? Between you, South Suppression Marquis, Cloud Water Marquis, Cloud Fire Marquis, Shadow Marquis, and Brave Martial General, we need at least three of you to join the operation. If this is a one-sided idea on South Suppression Marquis’ part, it will be a disaster for us.”

General Wen Qi’s expression changed again. After a short moment, he gnashed his teeth and said, “Sure! I will try my best to contact the other lords! We will make a satisfactory arrangement!”

Su Yu smiled and said, “In that case, let us talk more when they’re here.”

When Wen Qi looked at April, April smiled and said, “We’ll do that. It’s not that we’re unwilling to help, but we need to ensure the safety of our race. Hundred Battle can’t be released so easily. It’s hard for us to make such a massive commitment on your words alone.”

General Wen Qi was feeling quite helpless. Prior to this, the talk had been quite smooth. But this descendant of Great Bamboo Marquis had disrupted everything. So be it.

He said, “In that case, I’ll be taking my leave for now. I will show our sincerity during my next visit.”

Su Yu smiled and said nothing.

A short moment after General Wen Qi’s departure, Su Yu smiled and spoke to the bamboo in his hand, “Capture him. Keep a low profile. Don’t leak any fluctuations. I don’t want to have my plan ruined by these fools.”

Previously, he was prepared to let these humans alone. But now, they were trying to steal his allies. That was not all. They were trying to use his allies to release Hundred Battle King. What nonsense was that? Wouldn’t that attempt ruin his plan to provoke a war in the Chaos Mountain?

Screw them!

They were bad at fighting, but they were very good at stirring trouble for him. The attempt to release Hundred Battle would most certainly distract the myriad races.

The myriad races would never allow him to be set free. At the time, they might even send some of their heavenly kings back to the Dao Origin Land. At that point, they wouldn’t have enough strength to wage war against the Chaos Mountain.

That was not what Su Yu wanted to see. As for the bamboo in his hand, that was naturally a clone of Lan Tian.

Su Yu couldn’t be bothered to consider the morality of Wen Qi’s action. Then again, he wasn’t actually being a bad person here. Rather, this was simply a strategic choice. As for the fact that this would bring trouble to their ally, well, the Upper Realm humans were veterans at fucking up their own allies.

In Su Yu’s eyes, they could do whatever they wanted as long as it wouldn’t interfere with his plans. The moment they started interfering with his plans, he would need to teach them a good lesson.

April, May, and Full Moon stared at him blankly. Who was he talking to?

Who was he capturing?

April looked at September and solemnly asked, “Fellow Daoist, why do you have the Iron Devourer Token?”

September, who was busy chatting Full Moon up, flashed his usual innocent smile and said, “Ancestor April, I am the current Iron Devourer Pseudo Emperor. It is normal for the token to be in my possession.”

April blanked out.

September scratched his head and said, “Ancestor June abdicated the position not long ago. I’m September. I guess that makes me the Pseudo Emperor, right? Does that position mean anything up here?”

May’s jaw dropped. He said, “Aren’t you…a descendant of Great Bamboo Marquis?”

Full Moon stared at September with surprise as well.

September said, “Nope. I never made such a claim. You reached that conclusion yourself, Ancestor May. I am a descendant of Ancestor June.”

“You came from the Lower Realm?”

“Yes.” September stood up and bowed at the two ancestors with the same innocent expression and said, “I ascended from the Lower Realm. We have been up here for quite a while. In fact, we were the ones who had attacked the dragons.”

April and May were shocked.

“Wen Qi…”

“That’s a scammer.” September said, “We were also the culprits behind the Brightmoon Flower Valley incident. I even ate eight dragon cities at once, swallowing millions of dragons…”

At that, he burped, releasing a dragon from his mouth. But before the dragon could flee, he crushed it and said, “Oh, I’m not done digesting them. But don’t worry, I’ll take my time. Do you want some dragons, Ancestors? I have enough for many meals.”

“…”

The Daofuses were completely stunned. The dragons had been eaten by September.

Millions of them.

April’s eyes flickered as he glanced at Su Yu before looking at September again. He asked, “How did you ascend from the Lower Realm? Who did you come with?”

“I came through a different entrance with the Human Emperor.”

Before the others could say anything, September continued, “We have allied with them down there. Our race, the spatial beast race, the hou race, and the fate race have all allied with humanity. We killed numerous Daofuses, forcing the major three races to seal their realms and hide inside.”

“Under Emperor Yu’s help, I became a Daofuse after inheriting Ancestor February devouring dao. After coming from the Lower Realm, we killed two devil Daofuses and six dragon Daofuses. This is only the start.”

September maintained his usual innocent expression even as he spoke quickly, “Prior to our departure, Ancestor June told me to listen to the ancestors up here. He also told me to bring some gifts for the ancestors up here. I’m worried that regular gifts won’t be enough for the ancestors so I swallowed millions of dragons to share with the ancestors here. They actually taste decent.”

April, May, and Full Moon all stared at him in stupefaction. The shocking incident of the dragons was not caused by some secret human experts. Rather, it was caused by some people from the Lower Realm. And someone from their race was actually involved in the matter.

“You…” April asked with shock, “How did you find a pseudo king from the Lower Realm?”

September explained, “Oh, that’s a new pseudo king. A subordinate under Emperor Yu. Only one came with us, but there are more down there. Emperor Yu has conquered both the living and the dead. East Heavenly King and West Heavenly King are dead. South Heavenly King has submitted. North Heavenly King has been expelled. We only spared the three major races to not alert the Upper Realm too early. Otherwise, we would have completed the conquest long ago.”

April felt like he was listening to a fairy tale.

Suddenly, May roared, “You claimed that Wen Qi is a scammer! Are you lying to us as well?”

Humans were all crafty and treacherous. This fellow might be an iron devourer, but May was still furious of having been fooled.

September smiled and said, “Nope. I’m being completely honest. I am now the Pseudo Emperor of the Lower Realm iron devourers. What’s the point of lying? If you doubt me, I can call those people over as well. We’re here to do something big. Only the Upper Realm remains unconquered.”

Silence descended.

After a while, April asked, “Are you saying that the iron devourers of the Lower Realm have picked a side?”

“Exactly.”

“Why didn’t you learn from history? How many allied races were wiped out during the previous epoch while helping Hundred Battle King?”

September shook his head and said, “No, it’s different. Emperor Yu, the human lord of this epoch, is a sagely ruler. We have barely lost anyone since joining the war. Instead, I managed to become a Daofuse due to this alliance. Numerous races flocked under his banner, including people like General Grand Dream.

“Everyone is racing to submit under Emperor Yu. Even when he was still a Skysoar, Emperor Yu already enjoyed the protection of the thirty-six guardians. He eliminated the myriad race Daofuses, suppressed Hundred Battle’s influence, and reunited humanity. He did all that alone without the support of some old fossils of the previous epochs.

“Emperor Yu is different from Hundred Battle. The races that have submitted have all gained massively and barely lost anything. Not a single Daofuse of the allied army has died in the process of conquering the living and the dead. Instead, we killed dozens of powerful enemies.”

To the side, Su Yu was listening in silence. He had a heavy suspicion that this fellow was using this chance to fawn on him. Alas, he couldn’t prove it.

So be it.

September continued fervently, “Yes, our current strength is still weaker than that of the Upper Realm. But only a third of our power base has ascended. If all of us were here, we would definitely be capable of contending against the myriad races.

“As for Hundred Battle, Emperor Yu intends to ignore him. He will be left alone, but he will not be spared if he dares to stand in our path. Ancestors, a new era has arrived! Down there, the calendar has been changed to the New Domain Calendar. The ancient past has ended. A new era has arrived.”

“…”

April blanked out.

May was greatly shocked as well. He asked, “What’s the strength of this Emperor Yu?”

September answered, “Peak Daofuse.”

“Only a peak Daofuse?” May cursed, “What joke are you playing? Are you saying that he’s not even a pseudo king?”

September flashed an innocent smile and said, “Emperor Yu is still young. According to the human calculation, he is only twenty-two. He already has several pseudo kings serving under him.”

Once again, May blanked out. He asked, “Twenty-two?”

He added suspiciously, “Twenty-two tides?”

“No. Twenty-two human years.”

September said, “He’s as old as a single nap we take.”

September continued his story, “Emperor Yu is immensely talented. He is also boundlessly kind toward the various races under him. At nineteen, he became a Skysoar. At twenty-one, he started his dao fusion. At twenty-two, he became a peak Daofuse. I believe he will become a pseudo king soon. I reckon it won’t take him long at all.”

The three iron devourers greatly suspected that they were listening to a fairy tale. Was this a joke? Was September trying to fool them?

Shortly after, they forced themselves to calm down. April looked at Su Yu and asked, “Is this an expert from our race?”

This person felt like an iron devourer, but at the same time, he didn’t feel like one.

September smiled and said, “You can consider him one. But forget about him for now. I’m here today to seek your opinion, Ancestors.”

“Are you asking for an alliance?” April asked solemnly, “Is that the case?”

“No.” September said, “I’m here to ask if you’re interested in migrating the iron devourers up here to the Lower Realm. Things are too dangerous up here. A war will start soon. We intend to migrate our people to the Lower Realm and wage war against the entire Upper Realm.”

A migration.

April was shocked to hear that. He said, “This is too important. I can’t make a decision. Also, I have no way to be sure if you’re telling the truth. You might have the Iron Devourer Token, but…this is an important decision. I will contact Great Bamboo Marquis and have him return as soon as possible.”

“Sure.” September said, “In that case, this is all. We will be here for a few days. Please have Great Bamboo Marquis return as soon as possible. As for Wen Qi and South Suppression Marquis, just ignore them. Hundred Battle’s faction is filled with brutes. Just ignore those barbarians.”

“…”

That was way too honest. April didn’t know how to react to it.

“Is this…the stance of that Emperor Yu as well?”

“Of course.” September said, “Hundred Battle is like a walking trap. According to Emperor Yu, even upon his release, he will only act as bait for the myriad races. We can all ignore him. This is a new era.”

April’s eyes flickered repeatedly. After a while, he said, “Fine. I’ll contact Great Bamboo Marquis as soon as possible.”

He was taking this a lot more seriously than the previous discussion with General Wen Qi.