The human lord of this epoch." The marquis answered, "Su Yu."
"Su Yu?" North Heavenly King said, "I heard this name before...but this is a young man about twenty years old. He might be a human lord, but he was merely appointed because of his good relationship with the guardians. He was merely appointed to secure the support of the guardians. Is that the case?"
"Yes." The marquis said, "He's not too strong, but he is capable of boosting his strength by consuming blood essence. At times, he can muster the combat strength of Daofuses."
"Someone relying on borrowed power to gain the combat power of a Daofuse can't defeat East Heavenly King."
North Heavenly King frowned. How did East Heavenly King die? Things were getting more and more confusing.
Suddenly, he frowned and coldly said, "Why are you here without an invitation? Are you trying to die?"
"North Heavenly King is as cold as ever..."
A chuckle rang out. Then, a robed figure appeared. A woman. She smiled and said, "It has been a while, North Heavenly King."
North Heavenly King said, "West Royal Consort. Why are you here instead of the West Heavenly Palace?"
Chapter 1745: Advancements (3)
West Royal Consort.
The moment that title was mentioned, the marquis' expression changed. With a slight bow, he hurriedly left. Of the four heavenly kings, the South and West Heavenly Kings used to be the supporters of humanity.
As for the North Heavenly King, he had always maintained an ambiguous stance. Meanwhile, the East Heavenly King was the direct opponent of humanity's rule. However, West Heavenly King had changed his stance after the conclusion of the ninth epoch. It was said that his change of mind was related to the West Royal Consort. Soon after he changed his stance, he became one of the loudest opponents to humanity's rise.
With the departure of the marquis, only two of them were left in the hall. Each of them was a formidable expert.
West Royal Consort smiled and said, "North Heavenly King, East Heavenly King is dead. Do you know that?"
North Heavenly King coldly replied, "I'm not blind."
"His death might be related to the humans." West Royal Consort said, "North Heavenly King, now that East Heavenly King is dead, things might grow troublesome for us. I am here to discuss the possibility of a cooperation to kill the South Heavenly King together."
"Killing South Heavenly King?" North Heavenly King said, "You are very ambitious. With him out of the way, you can proceed to join hands with West Heavenly King, kill me, and unify the Death Realm. Is that the plan?"
"No way!" West Royal Consort spoke softly, "I am but a weakling. You are a formidable expert. Furthermore, we are allies. We need each other to keep the Death Realm under control. How can we turn against each other and throw the Death Realm into chaos? I'm merely worried that the humans will come after you next. Meanwhile, South Heavenly King is still as stubborn as ever. Does he not love this freedom? Must he insist on remaining a dog of humanity?"
North Heavenly King snapped, "Enough. Don't worry. It's not a bad thing that East Heavenly King is dead. With his death, the rest of us will grow stronger. Just because the humans can kill him does not mean that they can kill us. We can decide what to do after further observation."
"North Heavenly King, how can you be so indecisive?" West Royal Consort said with a regretful tone, "If it wasn't for your indecisiveness, we could have joined hands with East Heavenly King to kill South Heavenly King long ago. Peace would have arrived for the Death Realm long ago. With East Heavenly King around, there wouldn't have been a need for you to fear the cooperation of me and West Heavenly King. Things wouldn't have devolved to this state."
She added, "I know that you have been wary that I'll join hands with West Heavenly King to act against you. There is no need for you to worry about us. In truth, I won't be able to last much longer. I need to leave the Death Realm soon or I'll fully transform into a death spirit."
North Heavenly King snorted and said, "Leaving? You have been saying this for a long time yet you're still here. I suppose you'll only leave after the connection with the Upper Realm opens. You have been hiding down here for so many years. Why? Because you're waiting for the connection with the Upper Realm to open. Is that not the case?"
"North Heavenly King is wise indeed. But things have changed." West Royal Consort sighed and said, "The humans have gained an upper hand in the world of the living. Tiangu and the others are too useless. They somehow allowed humanity to rise again. Now, all of them are forced to hide in their respective realms. At this rate, humanity will grow stronger. I must leave. I need to go to the world of the living and find a way to suppress or even kill Grand Dream."
She smiled and said, "He is the strongest on their side. With the cooperation of South Heavenly King and him, things will grow even more troublesome for us in the Death Realm. It's time to deal with him."
North Heavenly King raised his brow and said, "Killing Grand Dream? That guy won't be easy to kill. He's only slightly weaker than us, but he has free passage in the worlds of the living and dead. He also has the support of the laws in the Spirit Suppression Domain. Those were the laws granted to him by the imperial court. In his own domain, he is comparable to us in strength."
Yes. The old turtle was as strong as the heavenly kings in his own domain. Upon leaving, his strength would drop slightly. However, a tiny drop was enough for them to gain the upper hand against him in combat.
Hearing that, West Royal Consort laughed and said, "He seems strong because there isn't enough pressure from the outside world. Those outside and in here have never been able to establish a seamless cooperation. But with me out there, we can find a chance to kill him. With him dead, it's only a matter of time before the dead gain access to the world of the living." The rıghtful source is novel(ꜰ)ire.net
"Access to the world of the living..."
North Heavenly King looked up and sank into thought. Was that...even possible? Could they really return to life after leaving? Going back to life! That was their dream! But he didn't have the answer to that question.
West Royal Consort said, "Consider my proposal. Perhaps East Heavenly King's death is an opportunity for us. Spend some time cultivating and growing your strength. After some growth, you can probably surpass the old turtle even in the Spirit Suppression Domain."
With the removal of East Heavenly King from the dao of death spirit, the three heavenly kings would gain a bigger share of the dao. As a result, they would all grow stronger. North Heavenly King said nothing. Before long, West Royal Consort departed.
With a frown, North Heavenly King sank into thought again. It might not be wise for West Heavenly King to get too involved with that woman. Then again, their cooperation was not a good thing for him either. She was very strong.
Over the years, she had been staying in the West Heavenly Palace, helping West Heavenly King with the suppression of all opposition in that domain, including the marquises there. During her stay there, all the human marquises of that domain had vanished mysteriously.
One could say that the entire West Heavenly Domain had turned into the personal domain of that woman. She alone controlled a fourth of the Death Realm. Just what was West Heavenly King thinking for allowing this?
As North Heavenly King thought about the matter, a tiny sense of crisis enveloped him. He decided that the safest thing for him to do was to grow stronger as soon as possible. It would be even better if he could reach the level of an ancient human king.
At present, they were still weaker than the ancient human kings. Then again, the ancient human kings who had achieved Daofuse through physical cultivation would be limited in strength even if they were also excessively strong.
Hundred Battle King was the best example. He reached an extremely high height through physical cultivation alone. It was said that he was comparable to the ancient human kings. But the truth was that he was only as strong as the ancient human kings who followed the dao of physical body. He was still weaker than the ancient human kings walking their own unique daos.
Then again, Hundred Battle King was stronger than the four heavenly kings.
"East Heavenly King is dead...West Heavenly King, Grand Dream...and human lord..."
North Heavenly King was feeling quite doubtful about the entire matter. Was a youth of about twenty years old really the leader of that alliance? Or was he merely a figurehead, with the real ruler being someone else hidden behind him? This was a reasonable suspicion to have. After all, Su Yu was simply too young.
He was so young that many found it hard to believe that he was really the human lord. Not a single one of the previous human lords had become a human lord at such a young age. Even Hundred Battle King had only attained that position at about three hundred years old. Prior to that, humanity was under the control of some survivng old fossils from the eighth epoch.
Those old fossils had only handed power after Hundred Battle King became a Daofuse.
"Tenth epoch..."
While muttering to himself, North Heavenly King vanished with a flicker.
***
Seventh level.
Su Yu's body shook as his nine apertures finally started their fusion.
He exhaled in relief.
But he was also feeling quite doubtful. Why was Martial Emperor doing nothing? Was Martial Emperor going to attack him or not? Whatever. So be it. He was nearly done absorbing the power of laws.
Not far away, Marquis Lanshan had opened her eyes as well. Her aura had strengthened considerably. In fact, she felt even stronger than her previous peak. After all, she alone had monopolized the remains of all the dead marquises on top of the dead heavenly king.
Coupled with the power of laws, she had repaired her dao body and grown even stronger than before. She was still not at East Heavenly King's level, but she had surpassed the level of a regular marquis.
The moment she opened her eyes, she looked at Su Yu and dropped down on one knee. With a look of admiration, she said, "Lanshan thanks the human lord!"
The human lord of this epoch...was an inconceivable person.
East Heavenly King had remained a thorn on humanity's side for nine epochs. And he had finally been removed. Not even Hundred Battle King had achieved that during the ninth epoch despite his multiple journeys into the Death Realm.
It wasn't like he had never tried. Once, he nearly succeeded. But North Heavenly King interfered, forcing Hundred Battle King to withdraw. He couldn't do it. Then again, he had never dared to put too much effort in the Death Realm as he still had to carefully manage the big picture.
But Su Yu had succeeded. He was weaker than Hundred Battle King. He looked scholarly and weak, yet he was incomparably terrifying.
Looking at Su Yu, Marquis Lanshan couldn't help but be reminded of Culture King. Hundred Battle King greatly resembled Martial King, while Su Yu greatly resembled Culture King. Back during the ancient past, even someone as powerful as Martial King was not immune to defeat. Meanwhile, it was widely known that Culture King had never tasted defeat.
Marquis Lanshan might be a subordinate of Martial King, but that did not stop her from worshipping Culture King. Looking at Marquis Lanshan's expression, Su Yu could guess her thoughts. He found it annoying. He did not feel like he resembled anyone. Supposedly, Culture King was a scholar who enjoyed wearing white robes like him. But why must all scholars be compared with Culture King?
Su Yu didn't know what to say anymore. When did white robes become a trademark of Culture King?
Sigh.
"Be at ease."
Su Yu waved her up and looked around with satisfaction.
Six Daofuses.
He was deliberately neglecting He Tu, the sole flaw to this beautiful scenery. He had successfully gained six Daofuses from this trip to the Death Realm. The addition of these Daofuses would most certainly shock the Myriad Realms.
Coupled with the book spirit, tea plant, Fat Ball, Soy Bun, Flatbun, Iron Devourer Pseudo Emperor, September, and Grand Dream, he could muster a force comprised of fourteen Daofuses. He only counted those whose allegiance he was absolutely sure of.
The support of people like Great Zhou King, Primordial Giant King, and Spatial Beast Pseudo Emperor was still questionable. He could only say that these people were on humanity's side, but that was not the same as being on his side.
Su Yu looked up at the calm sky and wondered if he should leave or enter the eighth or even the ninth level. Perhaps he could find a way to handle Martial Emperor up there.
Since Martial Emperor had regained his clarity of mind, he was now a hidden danger. He was filled with hatred toward the current humanity. He was only holding back for fear of losing his clarity of mind again.
How was Su Yu so certain that Martial Emperor was still holding a grudge against the current humanity? Because the promised complete cultivation method was still nowhere to be seen. He would rather renege on a promise than let Su Yu have the complete cultivation method.
Then again, this would only slow Su Yu down slightly. This was no big deal, but it was good enough for Su Yu to determine Martial Emperor's stance toward humanity. He was no friend. In fact, he hated them. He would rather stoop to breaking promises just to make things difficult for them.
Su Yu found Martial Emperor's grudge understandable, but that did not mean that he would tolerate it. Martial Emperor was free to keep hating Martial King and the others. Su Yu wouldn't care so long as he wasn't affected by this grudge.
Su Yu only feared that after regaining his freedom, Martial Emperor would act against humanity instead of the myriad races. Human Emperor and the others were most certainly aware that Martial Emperor wasn't dead.
At that thought, Su Yu sent Heavenbridge Marquis a voice transmission, "Open the gate to the eighth level."
Ultimately, he decided to take a look. For his own peace of mind, he needed a method to contain Martial Emperor. He loved the mad Martial Emperor, but he feared the rational Martial Emperor. He did not need such a powerful enemy around. He needed a way to restrict this person.
Heavenbridge Marquis said nothing and swung the gate open. Su Yu wasted no time and stepped straight through the gate. The rest entered as well.
The gate vanished.
Up in the sky, an indistinct face appeared and stared at the disappearing gate with a pensive expression.
Chapter 1746: Eighth Level (1)
Eighth level.
Su Yu was there once before, but he had not explored it. He had departed after killing Blood Fire. And now, he had returned. Unlike his previous visit, he was brought straight onto the eighth level by Heavenbridge Marquis this time.
The moment they reached the reception hall, Heavenbridge Marquis looked at them and said, "The three guardians only have a level-five authority. He Tu was a member of the Heavenly River Guard before his death. He has a level-six authority. Marquis Lanshan is a posthumous marquis. She has a level-four authority. Tian Yue is a department head of the Heavenly Supervising Pavilion. He has a level-five authority. Human Lord, with the human lord's token, has a level-three authority."
Su Yu's authority had increased by one level. Previously, he enjoyed the level-four authority due to the Culture Tomb in his possession. At the time, he was considered the Culturekeeper Marquis. As the human lord, his level of authority had been adjusted appropriately. This was the level of authority enjoyed by the ancient human kings and Pseudo Emperors. It was quite a high level of authority.
Su Yu felt a lot more relaxed after entering the eighth level. It seemed as though Martial Emperor's power did not extend to this level.
Hearing Heavenbridge Marquis's explanation, he said, "Just what is the purpose of these authorities? Previously, I heard that even those with a level-four authority can visit the area for those with level-one authority. In that case, what's the point of having a higher authority?"
Heavenbridge Marquis said, "As you said, you can only visit that place. You will be allowed to walk through that place with a level-four authority, but you will be killed if you attempt to enter the human king residences there. Generally, a human king will have a level-three authority, with some even enjoying a level-two authority.
"With a level-three authority, you are allowed to visit these residences. Even when the owners aren't around, you can explore the area to a certain extent. This is allowed since anyone with a level-three authority is considered a peer of the people with residences in that area."
Su Yu nodded.
Beside him, Heavendoom snorted and said, "The damn eighth level has too many rules. Those old bastards are too annoying. This is why I hate the eighth level."
Noticing Su Yu's gaze, he explained, "This used to be the location of the assembly. The rules here are very strict. No normal people will want to live here. Most only stayed because they had no choice. In any case, I certainly don't want to live here."
Empyrean Cloud laughed and said, "You're saying that because you don't have a residence here. You're unqualified to stay here. Even titled generals can stay here, while a small number of untitled generals can stay here as well. You are not important enough to be given a residence here."
Heavendoom snorted and said, "I don't have a residence here because I didn't want it. Some of the titled generals back then were weaker than me."
He could be considered a top expert even during the ancient past. All marquises were Daofuses, and a small number of titled generals were Daofuses as well. However, a majority of them were ninth-degree Eternals. And Heavendoom was stronger than a large number of them.
Silence was a luxury with Heavendoom around, but Su Yu didn't mind it. They started heading out of the hall. This time, the reception hall wasn't covered in darkness.
With Heavenbridge Marquis personally leading the way, the door of the hall was wide open. As he walked, he said, "Human Lord, the eighth level has been empty for countless years, but all the ancient residences are still around."
Su Yu asked, "Have you been guarding this place all these years?"
"Yeah."
"How did the ancient past collapse?"
"I don't know."
"Hmm?"
Su Yu looked at him with surprise. He didn't know? But he had been here all along!
Heavenbridge Marquis explained seriously, "I really don't know. I only know that first, Culture King disappeared. After a while, Martial King went looking for him, only to never return. With both Culture King and Martial King gone, a small chaos erupted in the Luminous Domain Mansion."
Heavenbridge Marquis sighed and said, "Human Emperor, Culture King, Martial King, Control King, and Radiant King. Those were the five pillars of humanity. Two were gone suddenly...no, Control King left even earlier due to Culture King's punishment. Only Human Emperor and Radiant King were left. As a result, the Myriad Race Assembly started stirring. Initially, they were still very careful and wary. But eventually, they started losing fear..."
Heavenbridge Marquis recalled the past and said, "I only know that the end of the ancient past had happened silently and peacefully. One day, the assembly convened a meeting. Attendance was compulsory for everyone at the Eternal Realm and above within the Luminous Domain Mansion.
"That day, countless Eternals entered the assembly hall. Then, they all entered the ninth level for a further meeting. They called it a meeting, but in my opinion, they tried to force the Human Emperor to abdicate.
"The Human Emperor was greatly involved in the disappearance of the ancient past. He rarely showed himself in public, and he was a man of few words. However, he was a terrifying man. At the time, the myriad races took the absence of several human experts as an opportunity to resist humanity's rule. During the meeting, everyone disappeared."
"All gone?" Su Yu frowned, "What do you mean they all disappeared?"
Heavenbridge Marquis said, "I mean it literally. They entered the ninth level and that was it. Everyone went missing. There were no intense battles. That era ended just like that. All the Eternals in the mansion vanished together. Not a single one of them remained."
He sighed and said, "Only those below the Eternal Realm were left. But soon, the mansion started shaking, killing a large number of people. The survivors couldn't leave either since they couldn't activate the teleportation formation. A bunch of them died in here. And just like that, I became the sole survivor in here."
Heavenbridge Marquis said awkwardly, "I was excluded from the meeting because I was a gate. It doesn't make sense that a gate needs to attend meetings as well. In any case, they needed someone to watch the entrance even during their meeting. Thus, I was left alone."
Su Yu looked at Heavenbridge Marquis with surprise. The end of the ancient past was too peaceful. In one day, everyone vanished. Only a single gate remained. Was this...the sole living being left in the mansion? No, there was also the Martial Emperor.
Heavendoom and the others were very surprised as well. Heavendoom said, "Gate, are you saying that the ancient past ended just like that? This...seems unlikely. There were so many assembly members around. All of them were Daofuses. Back then, Human Emperor only managed to prevail over them with the assistance of Culture King and the others. Are you saying that all of them were killed by Human Emperor?"
Heavenbridge Marquis shook his head and said, "I don't know. But many died. After they vanished, the various great daos shook violently for a while. I caught a glimpse of a gigantic palm appearing on the ninth level, erasing several great daos and the smaller daos attached to these great daos. That might be the Human Emperor. He must have erased some disobedient fools."
As Heavenbridge Marquis spoke of that event, fear covered his face. "I was terrified. Fortunately, I was spared by everyone since they needed a gate around. I only need to keep fulfilling my duty. I'm telling you. I have been diligently carrying out my duty all these years!"
He looked at Su Yu and emphasized, "Human Lord, I am a dutiful gate! I have done my job dutifully! Even when I hid the gate previously, that was in accordance to the laws. As per the laws, when uncontrollable variables appear, I am to shut the entrance to keep the eighth level undisturbed."
Su Yu chuckled and said, "Don't worry about it."
But at his answer, Heavenbridge Marquis paled. A long story seemed to be brewing in his mind as he stared at Su Yu in fear. It was over! He would die soon!
Don't worry about it?
He understood the meaning behind those words. Shit, shit, shit! Clearly, this human lord intended to settle scores with him at a later date. Sure enough, he would be the one to suffer.
At first, Su Yu didn't notice anything. But upon noticing Heavenbridge Marquis' silence, he looked over and noticed the terrified, helpless, indignant, and sorrowful expression on Heavenbridge Marquis' face.
Noticing Su Yu's gaze, the gate sighed and said, "I understand. Just be straightforward with me, Human Lord. I knew it! This is indeed my fate...Perhaps...the time for me to join my ancient friends in the afterlife has arrived."
"..."
Su Yu stared at him. Everyone stared at him. All of them were rendered speechless. Was this gate being serious? Or was this gate joking? When he spoke to East Heavenly King previously, they had assumed that he was deliberately saying those things to enrage East Heavenly King.
Empyrean Cloud gave Heavendoom a kick and sent him a voice transmission, "You're quite familiar with this guy. Has he always been like this?"
Heavendoom replied through voice transmission as well, "How am I supposed to know? Wait, I'm not even familiar with him. I only saw him a few times before, but nobody bothered to talk to him. What's the point of talking to a gate? I'm not crazy."
Su Yu stared at the gate for a long while before saying, "For your punishment, you are to shut your mouth. Don't speak to me unless I speak to you first."
"Sure enough." The gate sighed again and said, "The human lord is truly the same as Culture King. Back then, he gave me the same punishment. Martial King was different. He directly gave me a beating instead..."
"..."
Everyone was rendered speechless.
The gate continued, "In truth, I don't talk as much anymore. You can see that up until now, I have not said much. I have been restraining my mouth. Even when I speak, I am constantly wary of what I say. I understand that nobody likes to hear what I have to say. Sigh."
They were further rendered speechless.
The gate said, "Don't worry. I understand. I will say less in your presence, Human Lord. Wait, why isn't anyone saying anything?"
Su Yu didn't know what to say. Was this guy...born so talkative? Was he sure he was already restraining his mouth? Was he not tired of making up imaginary scenarios in his mind all the time? Whatever. He decided to stop wasting time on a gate.
Heavenbridge Marquis...only nonsense would come out of his mouth, as though he was the incarnation of the Heaven Connecting Acupoint. Su Yu started suspecting that this was a title with a unique origin. He asked, "By the way, who gave you your title?"
"Oh, you're curious about that? It's quite a long story." The gate spoke in excitement, "At year 369 of the Yong'an Calendar, I gained sentience, becoming a spirit. Initially, I wasn't a marquis. But at year 380, the time for the second round of appointments arrived. Some said that I deserved a title for my great contributions. Before long, that proposal was approved. And then, Culture King personally named me the Heavenbridge Marquis, guardian of the gate to heaven."
Heavenbridge Marquis!
Culture King.
Su Yu raised his brow and said, "Culture King was right. You are indeed a heaven connecting gate."
There were various meanings behind that title. His words were akin to fart. He would speak endlessly, and he would rarely say anything useful. Recalling the location of Devote King's Residence and Devote King's unique title, Su Yu started suspecting that this was also Culture King's handiwork.
He asked, "Who gave Devote King his title?"
"Human Emperor and the others."
Heavenbridge Marquis explained, "The titles of all the human kings were personally chosen by Human Emperor and Culture King. Some of the marquises were also named by them. As for the others, they had to submit their titles for approval. Some were also named by the assembly."
He continued proudly, "I am one of the few with the honor of being personally named by Culture King!"
Su Yu asked, "How long did the ancient past last? Was Yong'an the official name of the Human Emperor's era?"
"Yes. It lasted over thirty thousand years. At year 35000, Culture King and Martial King vanished. Less than a thousand years later, the ancient past ended."
Over thirty thousand years. That was a long time. But for people like them, that was perhaps not a long time. Just like that, the imperial court that had unified the Myriad Realms had collapsed. And then, the myriad races started defeating humanity again and again, nine epochs in a row. A hundred thousand years had passed, and it was now the tenth epoch. The glory of the ancient past was over.
Su Yu recalled something else. The old turtle was incredibly old. Old enough to be born before the ancient past. Perhaps the old turtle had experienced even the primordial past as well.
At his age, how was he still a Daofuse--cough, cough. It would be rude to speculate. Sure enough, there was an upper limit to what some people could achieve. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel{f}ire.net
As they conversed, they walked out of the reception hall. Outside, the sky was bright and calm. The environment was as pretty as ever. Massive residences stretched out endlessly, and plants decorated the space between residences, with the White Jade Avenue stretching across the entire level like a spiderweb.