Tribulation of Myriad Races

That day, Su Yu unsealed Martial Emperor, Death Imperator, and Consort Emeritus.

Three Masters of Laws had appeared in a single day.

That day, Su Yu pushed Hundred Battle King from a position of moral superiority, forcing Hundred Battle King to agree to deal with Control King’s lineage. Of course, Hundred Battle King might not be happy about this.

***

Death Realm.

Su Yu was back.

Heavenbridge and the others were with him. Noticing Su Yu’s cold expression, Lan Tian said, ”Your Majesty, are you worried that Hundred Battle will break his word?”

Su Yu said, ”No. There is no chance he will keep to this promise. Just what is his plan?”

From Hundred Battle King’s hesitation and that final smile, Su Yu could feel it. Hundred Battle King would never fulfill this promise. He was forced into agreeing, but that was never what he wanted. A forced cooperation would never work.

Su Yu frowned and said, ”Even if he worships Human Ancestor, I don’t understand this. Why is he so obsessed with summoning Human Ancestor back? Unless...there is a different factor at play. Human Emperor’s return might be disadvantageous for him. Or perhaps there is a conflict between Human Emperor and Human Ancestor.”

That would explain things. There might be a deep grudge between Human Emperor and Human Ancestor. But of the two, one belonged to the early primordial era while the other belonged to the late primordial era. How did that grudge between them even form?

Or perhaps it was because of a difference in ideologies. That was likely. From how Hundred Battle King was behaving, he had never considered helping Human Emperor. That did not make sense.

Hundred Battle King must be aware of something Su Yu didn’t know. Or perhaps he simply wanted to rule himself instead of getting himself a superior.

Was that possible?

That was possible.

As Su Yu contemplated, Lan Tian said, ”If he breaks his word, at least half of his people will abandon him. You’re doing all this for the sake of humanity. These people were deserters six thousand years ago, but that does not mean that they don’t care about humanity.”

A majority of people still cared deeply about their race. Even someone at Consort Emeritus’ level still cared so much about her race. Human Emperor had opted to give up on his semi-pioneered dao to fight on the frontline because he cared about his race.

One would not forget one’s race just because one was strong. It was in everyone’s nature to care for their own. In a way, one’s race was a sort of faith. Furthermore, some of the deserters from six thousand years ago had been forced to do so back then. They had never been too happy about that.

Of course, there was no doubt that there were some among them who had completely ceased caring about humanity. But it was very unlikely that all of them were like that. Someone who had abandoned their innate nature could hardly reach the levels of Daofuses, heavenly kings, and Venerables.

And some of these ancient marquises might be the students or loyal subordinates of some ancient kings. Thus, Hundred Battle King would lose many of his people the moment that promise was broken. Breaking his word was the same as turning his back on humanity.

Su Yu nodded, ”Yes. Some might leave him. But would Hundred Battle care?”

Lan Tian blinked.

”You mean...”

”Does he really care about those people?” Su Yu frowned, ”Hundred Battle...according to Great Zhou King, he is someone who cares deeply about his people. But from what I can see, he’s faking everything.”

How did he reach this conclusion?

Lan Tian couldn’t understand. For now, one could see that Hundred Battle King was indeed very loyal to his people. Even when some were not entirely supportive of him and his policies, he never showed his anger toward them.

Noticing Lan Tian’s confusion, Su Yu explained, ”Setting everything aside, the first impression Hundred Battle gave me was...he’s either a brute or an ambitious tyrant. Domineering and self-centered. He will kill one’s entire family for killing one of his. But today, I heavily injured his father-in-law with a single punch. His father-in-law!”

Su Yu’s voice turned cold as he said, ”If I had a father-in-law, and if someone were to heavily injure him, I would fight. Even if I weren’t a match, I would not let the matter slide easily. I am a hegemon as well. Injuring my father-in-law is tantamount to creating a blood feud with me.”

Lan Tian nodded. To the side, Heavenbridge Marquis exclaimed in astonishment, ”Are you looking for a father-in-law, Your Majesty?”

”...”

What the fuck? Su Yu cursed inwardly. He was in the middle of a serious speculation. Why was this brainless fellow interrupting?

Hearing that, Fat Ball asked curiously as well, ”Su Yu, who are you trying to make your father-in-law?”

Fat Ball had always addressed Su Yu by his name or the new human lord. Su Yu did not mind that. After all, the dog only cared about his master and little master. He wouldn’t have bothered to leave home if Su Yu hadn’t promised to help look for them.

No, this wasn’t the point here. Su Yu felt quite helpless. He was talking about something serious!

He had to forcefully drag them back to the original topic and said, ”If Hundred Battle were really the type who cared deeply, he wouldn’t have allowed the matter to drop. Sure, dropping the matter made him look like a generous leader, but that is utter nonsense. Fat Ball turned Longbrow into a clown. That’s a Venerable under him, also his unofficial spokesperson. But he did nothing. When I was testing his strength, he was also testing the strength of those on my side.

”He did not wish to have a fallout with me right now. He didn’t want me to be hostile. He wouldn’t have released Heavenbridge so easily otherwise. Instead, he would have given Heavenbridge a beating as well.

”Slapping Longbrow’s face is tantamount to slapping Hundred Battle’s face. As a hegemon, how can he let the matter slide so easily? He should have humiliated Heavenbridge to return the favor.”

Lan Tian raised his brow and said, ”You’re saying that Hundred Battle was too agreeable. Thus, something is fishy. A powerhouse like him shouldn’t have swallowed the humiliation. He should have repaid you for the humiliation. His seeming generosity only signifies that he has a far bigger goal. Is that so?”

”Yes.”

Su Yu nodded. That was it.

Hundred Battle King seemed to have suffered a minor loss. He seemed polite and humble. But it was more appropriate for such characteristics to appear on advisors such as Great Zhou King and Evergreen. These characteristics shouldn’t have appeared on a hegemon like Hundred Battle King.

If he were such a person, he wouldn’t have been able to rise into the most beloved human lord of the ninth epoch. He wouldn’t have been able to convince so many people to follow him during the ninth epoch.

Thus, something must have changed massively during the past six thousand years. He must be aiming for something far bigger, to the point where he was willing to bow just to avoid a conflict against Su Yu.

”Hundred Battle has changed.”

Su Yu did not know the Hundred Battle King from six thousand years ago. But he knew that Hundred Battle King had changed. This was no longer the same person.

At this point, even those under him were starting to doubt him. Six thousand years ago, all these people were willing to die for him. Even South Suppression Marquis, who had detonated himself unhesitatingly for Hundred Battle King, had opted to tell Su Yu more about Hundred Battle King.

Su Yu still remembered the bleak figure of South Suppression Marquis’ departing back. He was still willing to fight for Hundred Battle King, but his emotions were extremely complicated.

If Hundred Battle King were really so useless, South Suppression Marquis would have left long ago. But that did not happen.

What did that signify? It meant that South Suppression Marquis was still hoping that Hundred Battle King would change to how he was in the past. South Suppression Marquis still hoped that Hundred Battle King could change things. Such a Hundred Battle King would still be worth following.

The more hope he had, the more disappointed he would be. Deep inside, South Suppression Marquis was filled with admiration for Hundred Battle King. But he had been deeply disappointed by Hundred Battle King’s recent actions. That was why he had informed Su Yu all that during their previous meeting.

Su Yu continued his analysis. He concluded that Hundred Battle King had changed. And the change was likely quite thorough.

A Hundred Battle King willing to swallow the humiliation of his subordinates would not be someone capable of winning the hearts of so many loyal subordinates. One ought to know that many of them were ancient marquises. These people had abandoned Human Emperor for him.

One or two might turn blind and decide to abandon Human Emperor for no good reason. But there were over fifty of them over there. One should also remember the many ancient powerhouses who had died and vacated their dao for his sake.

”Something is wrong about Hundred Battle.”

Su Yu shook his head. This was way too abnormal. He felt a slight sense of unease as he thought about all that.

Even Lan Tian started taking the matter seriously. He nodded, ”Based on your analysis, something is indeed off. From a domineering hegemon to a smiling tiger. Hundred Battle must have experienced something major to change so much.”

After some thought, he asked, ”Could his change be related to the giant race and Zhou Ji?”

”Why so?” Su Yu asked curiously, ”Tell me your thoughts.”

Lan Tian said, ”I doubt Hundred Battle’s change is recent. Perhaps it happened before the final battle six thousand years ago. Or to be precise, it happened after Zhou Ji’s birth. Think about it. He wouldn’t have been able to gain so many supporters with his current style.

”Those ancient fossils had always been very guarded against the successive human lords. There was also the Torchbearers, the faction led by Great Zhou King, the great, old fox. Yet even the Torchbearers fell under his camp. They wagered nearly everything on him. Was Great Zhou King really incapable of stopping that?

”I suspect that the appearance of Bing Ku and the others was actually a bet by Great Zhou King. At one point, he believed that Hundred Battle could accomplish what he had been dreaming of for countless years. Thus, he decided to support Hundred Battle.

”I acknowledge that Great Zhou King has keen eyes. And someone like that made such a heavy gamble on Hundred Battle. This signified that at the time, Great Zhou King believed that Hundred Battle King was a suitable leader. Toward the end, he finally realized that something was off and preserved himself. However, he was left with no choice but to abandon the Torchbearers.

”I suspect that was the period of time when Hundred Battle changed, ultimately leading toward the great defeat at the end of the epoch. Perhaps we will learn more after asking Great Zhou King about this.”

Su Yu asked pensively, ”What role does Zhou Ji play in all this?”

Lan Tian smiled and said, ”Hundred Battle had essentially grown under the eyes of all these ancient humans. The only time he vanished from their vision, he went to the giants and gave birth to Zhou Ji. As for the scheme involving Yue Luo, I suspect Great Zhou King has been aware of it all along.

”Hundred Battle must have started identifying as a descendant of Human Ancestor after his contact with the giants. He never had such a thought prior to that. What do you think, Your Majesty?”

Su Yu’s eyes flickered. That made so much sense. Lan Tian’s analysis could very well be correct. Hundred Battle King’s change was most likely related to Zhou Ji.

Su Yu said, ”We only need to stay aware. Only Hundred Battle himself can know the full truth. However, there might be a relationship between Zhou Ji, the giants, Human Ancestor, and the Hell Gate. There must be a thread connecting everything together, but I can’t think of anything at the moment.”

Su Yu was no god. The clues were too few for him to come to a reasonable deduction. However, as more and more clues were unveiled, he would eventually know the truth.

Suddenly, Su Yu’s eyes flickered as a dark figure with a pair of shining eyes appeared before them. The newcomer looked completely different from a regular death spirit, but it was indeed a death spirit.

Death Imperator.

He had broken free. He maintained a safe distance from them so as not to trigger an unnecessary conflict. He revealed his full appearance, one that looked quite similar to a living being. That was expected due to his cultivation level.

He still looked slightly withered, but there was more color to his person, unlike the regular death spirits. Due to his thick death qi, he looked more like a pseudo death spirit than a proper death spirit.

His slim figure even emanated a slightly refined presence. It was likely that he was a scholar in life.

”This Chen greets Emperor Su.”

Su Yu asked in astonishment, ”Why are you...subjecting yourself to me just like this? Are you not going to talk terms or something?” (Chen = Subject)

”...”

Awkward.