Tribulation of Myriad Races

At the same time.

April and the other two were observing their surroundings atop a mountain peak.

After a long while, April inhaled deeply and said, “I don’t know the exact number of the experts hidden around us. But the experts who had exterminated the dragons are probably here as well. Wen Qi has been captured without a single fluctuation. These people are very powerful.”

May asked, “Are they threatening us?”

“Not really.” April gazed at a distant mountain peak and said, “It’s not a threat. That fellow beside September might not be someone from our race. He might be someone extremely important in their camp. If they’re here to threaten us, someone so important won’t make the trip personally.”

“Not a member of our race?” May asked doubtfully, “But I sensed the aura of the 72-Forged Iron Devourer from him.”

“Um.” April sensed the same. He said, “He must have cultivated our cultivation method. It’s not surprising. With enough talent, even an outsider can cultivate our cultivation method.”

To the side, Full Moon asked curiously, “That September claimed that he’s pursuing the devouring dao. Ancestor April, has our race’s devouring dao really returned?”

“He said that he inherited the dao from February, but I didn’t ask too much. Great Bamboo Marquis might know more about this. We can talk about this when he’s back.”

April continued, “These people are very decisive and ruthless. If September has been honest, things must have changed completely in the Lower Realm. We can ask more when Great Bamboo Marquis is back. We need to see if we can contend against the divines, devils, and immortals after joining hands with them. If not, we might need to discuss more about this matter.”

“Father, are you still supportive of an alliance?” May was displeased. He said, “Humans are treacherous. I am tired of allying with them.”

April laughed and said, “It depends on which human you’re dealing with. You also need to see who they’re directing their cunning toward. Wen Qi and his people are using their tricks against us. It is only natural that we’re displeased with them. But it’s perfectly fine for them to direct their cunning toward their enemies. Do you want to face the divines, devils, and immortals alongside some stupid allies?”

May thought about it and nodded in agreement. But he was still unhappy. He grumbled, “Humanity wasn’t like this during the ancient past. But their successors were all bastards. They knew nothing except sacrificing their own allies. How disappointing.”

The ancient humans were incredibly impressive.

The iron devourers were one of the races that had conquered the Myriad Realms alongside humanity. At the time, they would win all their battles and reap numerous benefits. Even in the battles they lost, they wouldn’t suffer too many casualties. Furthermore, humanity would suffer these casualties alongside them. All would suffer together.

At the very least, the ancient humans were impartial. But after the ancient collapse, the allies of humanity had been reduced to mere meatshields. By the time the ninth epoch arrived, a majority of them had gone extinct.

April said nothing.

May wasn’t wrong. If the current human lord were the same as Hundred Battle King, he would never ally with humanity again. Even knowing that their race would be the next to suffer after humanity’s defeat, he would not volunteer as a meatshield for Hundred Battle king.

For now, he could only see if the so-called Emperor Yu, one whom September had praised endlessly, could give them a different offer.

***

A day passed peacefully.

The next day, a powerful aura started approaching from afar.

Far away.

A gigantic iron devourer with a gigantic bamboo stick was flying rapidly toward the bamboo forest. He was moving so fast that a path of shattered space was left behind him. There were also dao centers of other races in the neighboring regions. The dao masters of these dao centers all looked up solemnly. Great Bamboo Marquis had returned.

Wasn’t this fellow supposed to be in the Dao Origin Land? Did he return to protect the iron devourers after sensing the tense atmosphere of the Upper Realm?

A devil spread his willpower over from afar and asked, “Great Bamboo Marquis, why are you back? Well, you’re back at the right time. The Myriad Race Assembly is convening a meeting soon. Do you want to attend the meeting, Great Bamboo Marquis?”

Great Bamboo Marquis looked in the devil’s direction and asked with the trademark innocence of his race, “Myriad Race Assembly? What’s that?”

“…”

What manner of a question was that?

It was a stupid question, but the devil continued, “The myriad races need to talk about the incident concerning the dragon race. We need to come up with a solution to handle those violent criminals.”

“Oh.” Great Bamboo Marquis nodded, “I don’t know yet.”

“Great Bamboo Marquis, even if the iron devourer race isn’t interested in participating, it would be unwise to interfere. Do not get mixed up with the remnant humans. It won’t benefit you one bit…”

That was a warning. The myriad races were also worried that powerful races like the iron devourers would side with the so-called chaos race. The iron devourer race might not have a lot of Daofuses, but their Daofuses were incredibly strong.

Great Bamboo Marquis was a pseudo king himself. And March might still be alive. He might still be hiding somewhere in the Dao Origin Land.

“Oh.” Great Bamboo Marquis nodded, “Understood.”

“Also…”

Great Bamboo Marquis interupted, “I’m going back home. Stop talking to me or I’ll eat you. Be good, okay?”

“…”

The devil Daofuse shut his mouth and left unhesitatingly. Great Bamboo Marquis was actually known as a friendly Daofuse. But after such a warning from him, it would be unwise to push on.

With the same innocent expression on his face, Great Bamboo Marquis looked at the departing devil before resuming his journey home. What a bothersome fellow. He would have smashed that fellow to death with his bamboo stick if he weren’t so busy.

He continued ahead. After a while, his eyes flickered as he glanced toward a certain hill near Bamboo Mountain. Doubt flickered on his face before it was replaced by a solemn expression. But even the solemn expression lasted only a split second before his face returned to normal.

Everything was still fine in the Bamboo Mountain. Great Bamboo Marquis was wondering if that hidden expert was one of these so-called Lower Realm experts mentioned by April. That was an incredibly powerful expert.

That expert had nearly avoided his detection. Nevertheless, he still managed to detect the outsider since this was his very own territory. A territory his people had ruled for many years.

“When did the Lower Realm produce so many powerhouses? That was an unfamiliar aura. Was that someone new?”

A short while later, three Daofuses approached him.

“Great Bamboo Marquis!”

April and the others greeted him.

Great Bamboo Marquis smiled and looked at the distant bamboo palace. After sensing the auras inside, he asked, “Are they still there?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me their story. Make it simple.”

April started telling Great Bamboo Marquis the content of their conversation previously, including the matter concerning General Wen Qi.

As they spoke, the four landed on the ground. While walking toward the bamboo palace, Great Bamboo Marquis said, “Wen Qi…South Suppression Marquis…these fellows are still unwilling to give up. That’s fine. But they are trying to use us as meatshields. Ignore them.”

April nodded.

Great Bamboo Marquis asked, “What about the fellow with September? Have you ascertained his identity?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Great Bamboo Marquis nodded. As he looked at the bamboo palace, he slowed down and asked, “How long did they take to kill those dragons? And how many people did they lose?”

“Zero casualties. They completed the whole operation in less than what it takes to finish a meal.”

“How fast. Blood Dragon Marquis is not weak. How did he die so quickly?” Great Bamboo Marquis said with surprise, “In short, eight Daofuses were killed in two battles. And they lost nobody doing so.”

“I think so.”

Great Bamboo Marquis knocked on the ground lightly with his bamboo stick and said, “We’ll talk more inside.”

***

“Greetings, Great Bamboo Marquis.”

The moment Great Bamboo Marquis stepped into the room, Su Yu could clearly feel just how powerful this person was. This was someone at the level of a pseudo king.

Instead of maintaining his original form, Great Bamboo Marquis transformed into a middle-aged man and said, “Respected guest, relax and make yourself at home.”

Su Yu smiled and said nothing. He transformed back into his original appearance.

May and the others were alarmed, but Great Bamboo Marquis appeared unbothered. He said, “How did you exhaust so much of your lifespan?”

“A hundred years is more than enough.”

“True.”

Great Bamboo Marquis sat down, gestured at Su Yu to take a seat, and said, “How may I address you, Fellow Daoist.”

“Su Yu.”

“The Emperor Yu September mentioned?”

“You can say so.”

“Forgive my bad manners.” Great Bamboo Marquis smiled and said, “If this were the ancient past, I would need to salute you. But I suppose that’s not needed for now since we have yet to reach an agreement to cooperate.”

Su Yu smiled as well and said, “That is only natural. You are too polite, Senior.”

April and the others couldn’t find the chance to join the conversation. As for September, he was too awed by Great Bamboo Marquis to speak.

After shooting Little Moon a glance, Great Bamboo Marquis said, “Little Full Mon, go prepare some food. Don’t come with only bamboo. Prepare some meat and liquor. This is an esteemed guest from the human race. How can we slight such a guest?”

Su Yu chuckled and said, “You seem to know the ways of humanity well, Senior.”

“You can say so.”

Great Bamboo Marquis said, “During the ancient past, a few of your human kings and human marquises enjoyed visiting our place. I still remember our discussions about the great dao like yesterday. Alas, everything has changed. I don’t even know if those old friends of mine are still alive.”

He asked, “Do you know the whereabouts of Culture King and the others?”

Su Yu thought about it and said, “Culture King and Human Emperor might not be together. Culture King, Martial King, and Time Sage are probably together. They have encountered a powerful enemy. As for Human Emperor and the others, I believe they are all tied down at the end of the River of Time with some assembly members. Perhaps they will back in a few years.”

Great Bamboo Marquis said, “You sure know a lot.”

Su Yu said, “Won’t I be a fool if I know nothing?”

“Do you know about the current number of human experts?”

Su Yu asked, “Do we include Control King’s lineage?”

“Hmm?”

Su Yu continued, “If we include that lineage, I’m uncertain. But humanity might still be the number one race in existence.”

Great Bamboo Marquis gasped and asked, “Is that lineage really that powerful? I know that they have quite a lot of experts, but according to you, they are much stronger than that?”

Su Yu nodded and said, “I believe they have no fewer than five pseudo kings.”

“That’s impressive.” Great Bamboo Marquis said, “I only guessed three previously.”

“Have you interacted with them before, Senior?”

Great Bamboo Marquis laughed and said, “No. But there were a few times when some unknown experts had notified me to help the humans when they were in trouble. Initially, I assumed that it was Shadow Marquis. But eventually, I noticed that I was wrong. After thinking about all that has happened, I managed to reach my own conclusion. Of course, I am still unclear.”

“Notifying you to help humanity?”

Great Bamboo Marquis nodded, “Yes. Why did they do that? What do you think?”

“They want to keep humanity around to distract the myriad races.”

“In short, they are not friends.”

“You can say so.”

Great Bamboo Marquis asked, “Are you strong enough to contend against them?”

“I doubt so.”