Tribulation of Myriad Races

“Human Lord, do we see Cloud Fire Marquis or South Suppression Marquis now?”

The group of two had transformed into a group of four.

Both Brave Martial General and Cloud Water Marquis had left without any of their subordinates. After all, they were unsure how long they would stay beside Su Yu. Maybe they would need to leave after only a few days.

Before Brave Martial General’s question was answered, Cloud Water Marquis interupted softly, “I am more curious about how you reached the Upper Realm, Human Lord.”

Su Yu smiled and said, “The passage of the Torchbearers.”

Seeing that no precise location was given, Cloud Water Marquis did not push. She merely smiled and maintained her gentle appearance.

Su Yu sent Great Zhou King a voice transmission to Great Zhou King, “Keep an eye on Cloud Water Marquis. Gentle women like this are the fiercest when they decide to be ruthless.”

“How do you know that?”

“Books.”

Su Yu snorted with disdain. Did Great Zhou King think that he knew nothing? He had read countless books. People like Brave Martial General were much easier to handle. But people like Cloud Water Marquis were much harder to handle.

Just listen to her.

Could he really tell her the location?

And she was clearly trying to figure out the location of the alternative passage. Could he reveal something like that?

“She doesn’t have a good relationship with Hundred Battle, right?”

Great Zhou King answered, “Not bad, but not good either.”

Su Yu nodded and spoke out loud, “Brave Martial General, from your previous words, Hundred Battle King was tangled with a woman. And you even warned him about that woman. Who was that woman?”

Brave Martial General snorted in fury and said, “Who else could it be? The slut called Yue Luo.”

Great Zhou King frowned slightly and said, “Yue Luo? But there was nothing between her and Hundred Battle King.”

“You know nothing!” Brave Martial General snorted and said, “What do stinky men like you know? Hundred Battle and Yue Luo were together way earlier than that. I even saw them together once. At the time, I advised him that Yue Luo was too flirtatious. He shouldn’t get himself tangled up with her. Cloud Water Marquis would be a much better partner…”

With the same gentle smile on her face, Cloud Water Marquis looked at Brave Martial General.

At that, Brave Martial General coughed awkwardly and said, “But that idiot did not take my words seriously. In fact, he ignored me completely! Who was Yue Luo? She had ambiguous relationships with a few other human geniuses before Hundred Battle’s rise. She took all of us as fools, but her intentions were clear! Eventually, she caught Hundred Battle’s heart, the most talented of all. I already knew Hundred Battle would suffer because of her early on.”

What was the point of pretending to know it after it happened?

Great Zhou King grumbled inwardly and said with a smile, “Yue Luo, yes, I remember her. But she didn’t participate in the final battle, right? She wasn’t strong enough…”

“Heh.” Brave Martial General sneered, “Not in the final battle? Of course. And in order to protect her, Hundred Battle must have kept her in his weapon during the final battle. That slut is either dead or sealed alongside him. Or perhaps that slut was the one who had betrayed him.”

“I might dislike Hundred Battle, but I won’t say that he was a complete piece of trash.” Brave Martial General said, “He was truly strong. He could probably kill even five pseudo kings at once. In the final battle, he fought seven pseudo kings and more than ten peak Daofuses alone. But even if he couldn’t win, it was impossible that he would be sealed before killing anyone.”

Brave Martial General continued, “But you all know the result. He vanished just like that. Sure, you can say that he might have betrayed us. But if that were the case, he could have killed all of us. We wouldn’t have been able to survive that. Thus, he must have been sealed. And he must have been stabbed in the back by someone unexpected.”

“Apart from Yue Luo, I can’t think of anyone capable of stabbing him in the back.” Brave Martial General shook her head and said, “It was definitely Yue Luo. Hundred Battle fully trusted her, to the point he allowed her to stay in his weapon or a tool he would carry on him at all times. That was the perfect opening for her to stab him in the back during a critical moment.”

Countless expressions flashed across Great Zhou King’s face. After a long while, he sighed and said, “That explains his easy defeat.”

Carrying someone from Control King’s lineage on him at all times.

He was basically opening his back wide for a nice stabbing.

That was the only explanation for Hundred Battle King’s quiet defeat. Otherwise, he could have killed a pseudo king or two before his eventual defeat.

Su Yu merely listened in silence without interrupting.

Interesting.

Yue Luo.

Was that someone from Control King’s lineage?

If that were the case, she would definitely not be weak. Someone capable of hiding her strength from Hundred Battle King would not be weak.

Yue Luo, Zi Yan…

Suddenly, Su Yu thought of himself and laughed. He was also carrying a powerful woman with him at all times. He was basically doing the same thing as Hundred Battle King. Then again, Hundred Battle King did so to protect the woman. Meanwhile, Su Yu did so to use the woman as a bomb at any time.

If West Royal Consort were kept in the Mark of Civilization without being sealed, she could get Su Yu killed during a battle with a heavenly king even if Su Yu himself was already at the level of a heavenly king.

“I guess he truly deserved that defeat.”

Su Yu muttered to himself. That idiot had carried a suspicious woman with him during such an important battle. Who could she stab in the back if not him?

Yue Luo.

Su Yu noted that name. Perhaps he could talk about that name with West Royal Consort when he had the time. Maybe that was West Royal Consort’s relative.

For the remaining journey, Cloud Water Marquis stayed silent.

Su Yu moved in silence as well. Surprisingly, Great Zhou King, who was never a talkative person, was the one talking a lot. He started chatting Brave Martial General up, but he was mainly try to gather more information from her. It was inappropriate for Su Yu to ask too much, but Great Zhou King did not mind asking some questions himself.

After six thousand years, much of what he knew was already outdated.

***

Eventually, Divine Fire Mountain was near.

Only then did Brave Martial General knew that Cloud Fire Marquis was their first target, After some thought, she said, “Cloud Fire Marquis has a bad temper. He is also slightly stronger than us.”

Brave Martial General was a tier-three Daofuse.

Cloud Water Marquis was a peak tier-three Daofuse, one who was near tier two. Clearly, these Daofuses who had survived for so long couldn’t be underestimated. Even Stable Army Marquis was a tier-three Daofuse.

Cloud Fire Marquis was near a peak tier-two Daofuse, someone nearly at the level of a heavenly king.

“South Suppression Marquis and Cloud Fire Marquis are both extremely strong. Marquis Minshan, who had died, was a pseudo king. Unfortunately, he died. Between South Suppression Marquis and Cloud Fire Marquis, we don’t know whose the stronger one.

“Shadow Marquis is the most mysterious among them, and he is also near the level of a peak Daofuse.”

In short, Brave Martial General and Stable Army Marquis were similar in strength. Shadow Marquis and Cloud Water Marquis were similar in strength. The other two were stronger than the rest.

Su Yu nodded.

There were very few human survivors in the Upper Realm, but all of them were elites. Inside the Divine Fire Mountain, Cloud Fire Marquis was probably strong enough to contend against heavenly kings.

When they were near the Divine Fire Mountain, Su Yu activated his Heaven Gate again. The mountain range that was the Divine Fire Mountain was filled with numerous peaks, while the air was saturated with the power of fire. Su Yu scanned the place while continuing ahead.

Noticing that Cloud Water Marquis seemed uncomfortable here, Su Yu wanted to suggest something. But before he could, she said, “I can go on. It’s fine.”

She was very understanding. But Su Yu did not like this. He much preferred those incapable of guessing what he was doing. For example, he loved Brave Martial General. She would talk needlessly, revealing many things in the process. Meanwhile, those who were silent and observant were far harder to deal with.

Cloud Water Marquis was naturally unaware of what Su Yu was thinking about exactly. She was observing Su Yu in silence. For some reason, this human lord gave her a sense of familiarity, as though she was looking at a younger Culture King. But she was also observant enough to see that he wasn’t that similar to Culture King as well. It was merely a misconception.

Su Yu asked through voice transmission, “Great Zhou King, are the two of us enough to capture Cloud Fire Marquis?”

“That won’t be easy.” Great Zhou King replied, “It’s very hard to capture him in the Divine Fire Mountain. This is someone near the level of a heavenly king. We can contend against him, but anything else will turn unpredictable.”

“Lan Tian can be here at any time.” Su Yu said, “With his clone here, his main body can arrive quickly.”

Great Zhou King gasped. Holy shit! No wonder Su Yu had insisted on taking Lan Tian’s clone with him.

“With his help, it won’t be an issue as long as Cloud Water and Brave Martial stay out of our way.”

Suddenly, Su Yu looked in a certain direction. At the same time, Shadow Marquis, who was somewhere in the mountain range, sensed someone spying on him. Su Yu did not bother to hide himself. Shadow Marquis was alone. And he was alarmed. Why was this guy here?

When Su Yu told him to contact the other marquises, Cloud Fire Marquis was the first person he thought of. He had asked Cloud Fire Marquis to meet here, and he was currently waiting for Cloud Fire Marquis to arrive.

Upon sensing Su Yu’s aura, he hesitated slightly before soaring into the sky as a clump of shadow. A short while later, he appeared before them. He looked surprised. Cloud Water and Brave Martial were there as well!

From afar, he said, “Fellow Daoist Nameless.”

Su Yu smiled and said, “Are you waiting for Cloud Fire Marquis here?”

“Yes.”

“Your efficiency is too low.”

“…”

He had nothing to say. He was still waiting for Cloud Fire Marquis while Su Yu had recruited two Daofuses himself. That was a pure display of efficiency. How could he argue against that?

Then again, he wasn’t as brazen as Su Yu. He had been moving cautiously, resulting in a slow speed. But that was also how he had survived for so many years. In truth, only two days had passed since they parted. In such a short time, he had gained two additional Daofuses.

Helpless, Shadow Marquis could only say, “I’m being very careful because I’m worried of attracting unwanted attention.”

Furthermore, he didn’t actually know the exact location of the hiding places of the human Daofuses. He only knew the general location of their hideouts. Thus, it wouldn’t be easy for him to contact them either.

He asked, “Fellow Daoist, are you here for Cloud Fire Marquis?”

Su Yu nodded, “Tell Cloud Fire Marquis that he owes me his life. He might not know this, but you know this. I won’t say much. To repay me, he needs to serve me for three years. Go.”

After a short silence, Shadow Marquis said, “Fellow Daoist Nameless, if you wish to recruit Cloud Fire Marquis, I believe a softer method is preferred. Using the favor as the chip…”

Su Yu said, “Yes. That’s precisely what I’m doing. I don’t need his true allegiance. Everyone says that he has a fiery temper. I don’t mind that. Usually, people like that are honest and straightforward. If he only has a fiery temper but not a straightforward temperament, well, I don’t need such a person by my side.”

That was also reasonable.

To the side, Cloud Water Marquis and Brave Martial General looked surprised. Here, the human lord had seemingly changed.

Brave Martial General looked at Shadow Marquis and asked, “You met before?”

She asked warily, “Shadow Marquis, who do you support?”

What was the meaning of that question? Shadow Marquis was confused.

Thankfully, the kind Brave Martial General provided the answer immediately, “The human lord will be contending against Hundred Martial King over the leadership of humanity. Who do you support?”

“Human lord?”

Shadow Marquis was stunned. Su Yu had never revealed his identity to Shadow Marquis. But he had since changed his plan. He was not going to let Shadow Marquis go. Thus, he did not mind exposing his identity anymore.

Noticing Shadow Marquis’ gaze, he smiled and said, “I am the human lord from the Lower Realm. Are you that surprised, Shadow Marquis?”

Shadow Marquis’ heart thumped.

Human lord!

What question was that? Of course he was surprised!

But he knew far more than Brave Martial and Cloud Water. This was not someone to be trifled with. And this was an extremely decisive individual. Furthermore, he was extremely crafty, with numerous powerhouses serving under him.

He was also someone who had opened the Heaven Gate. Heaven Gate…Human lord…Shadow Marquis relaxed. It was perfectly logical for someone with the Heaven Gate to become the human lord.

He said, “Yes, that is surprising. Shadow Marquis greets the human lord. Please forgive my lack of manners before this. I was unaware of your identity.”

Su Yu said, “You are too courteous. Go. Cloud Fire Marquis is hiding under the seventh peak. See him and tell him that the time has come for him to repay his life debt to me. I only need his service for three years. That is all.”

“What…if he’s unwilling?”

Su Yu answered indifferently, “What does an ungrateful person who is willing to even forget a life debt deserve? What do you think?”

Shadow Marquis’ heart thumped again. He stealthily spread his willpower around. He wanted to see if that lunatic with countless clones was here as well. If that lunatic were here, coupled with this person, who had opened the Heaven Gate…Escape would no longer be possible for Cloud Fire Marquis. If he remained stubborn, he might really die.

He was also aware of how Stable Army Marquis had been forcefully captured by these people back then. Since then, Stable Army Marquis had served this human lord obediently. This human lord was no pushover.

With a heavy tone, Shadow Marquis said, “Fine. I will see Cloud Fire Marquis.”

“Thank you.”

“No, I am only doing what’s right.”

Before long, he left again.

Brave Martial General looked at Su Yu and asked curiously, “Do you know him? That fellow is quite mysterious most of the time. He seems a lot more agreeable today.”

Su Yu laughed and said, “He’s not aware of my stance against Hundred Battle. That’s why he’s cooperating. He might be a lot less agreeable otherwise.”

“True.” Brave Martial nodded and said, “These fellows are all stubborn. They might really stand against you after learning of your stance. By the way, you mentioned that Cloud Fire owes you a debt. Are you talking about the attack against the dragons?”

Su Yu nodded, “Yes. I led an attack against the dragons, dispersing the encirclement around the Divine Fire Mountain. Therefore, Cloud Fire Marquis owes me his life. Isn’t that the case?”

“That is only natural.”

Brave Martial nodded. That was a reasonable argument.