Chapter 831: Memories of Being Six Years Old

The Three-Body Method merges the three bodies.

It draws back the past and future from the river of time, in truth drawing upon the power of origin.

...

"The Three-Body Method requires a vessel; the vessel is a conduit and medium that links the river of time and channels the origin... If the physical body is strong enough, no vessel is needed; one can channel directly."

At this moment, Su Yu sank into contemplation.

Now, he had returned to his own world. He gazed upon his world, pondering matters: if he were to draw his past and future from the river of time, would he need a vessel?

Could his physical body bear the three bodies?

"A vessel bears the three bodies because the physical body is not strong enough to contain the excess power, so another medium is needed to shoulder it. If my three bodies are weak, I can bear them, but once they grow strong..."

Su Yu's physical body might not keep pace.

His body was not yet as formidable as Baizhan's—though that was before; later, when Baizhan and Zhou Ji severed their paths, Su Yu's world absorbed the path of the physical body, and his body had indeed grown strong.

Perhaps he could attempt it!

To merge the three bodies into one was the better choice.

A vessel, after all, introduced a trace of separation.

"Now, what I need to consider is how to channel the three bodies. Will channeling them bring any unforeseen consequences?"

Thoughts flickered one after another. Soon, Su Yu's lips moved slightly.

...

A moment later, several figures appeared.

The Great Zhou King, Wan Tiansheng, Princess Qi, and the Southern Heavenly King—these few. Su Yu had not summoned the others; it would be useless, and they might not offer good advice.

The four entered, exchanged glances, and felt a hint of surprise.

When Su Yu summoned them, it usually meant he faced a dilemma.

They stepped inside.

Before anyone could speak, Su Yu said directly, "What do you know of the Three-Body Method?"

"The Three-Body Method?"

They looked at one another.

Before the Great Zhou King could answer, Princess Qi said, "Does Your Majesty refer to the method that was once little regarded?"

She knew quite a bit and quickly added, "During the Third Tide, few cultivated it, but after the Third Tide, many seemed to take it up..."

She had gone into seclusion in the mid-Third Tide, but later inquired of others and learned that the Three-Body Method had become mainstream.

Now, hearing Su Yu's question, she continued, "In my view, the Three-Body Method is quite peculiar—it grants two extra lives. Later, it even became a required part of the rules..."

Su Yu interrupted, "Was the Three-Body Method not mandatory during the Third Tide?"

Were there no rule penalties?

Those who did not follow the Three-Body Method would suffer rule punishment.

Princess Qi explained, "It wasn't so severe back then. Not walking the Three-Body Method only incurred light rule punishment. Later, I heard that most who did not walk it would perish, body and soul—this was different from the Third Tide."

Su Yu fell into thought and said slowly, "When did the Three-Body Method begin to flourish?"

The Great Zhou King knew this and said, "After the Sixth Tide, the Three-Body Method became completely mainstream! The rule penalties grew heavier, posing a tremendous threat to those who did not walk it!"

Su Yu frowned: "So, after the Sixth Tide, the Three-Body Method became mainstream. But from what we understand, the rules were set by the Council and the Human Emperor of that era. That means they gradually tightened the paths for others to cultivate other methods. Why?"

He looked at the Great Zhou King: "Do you know why? Why force everyone to cultivate the Three-Body Method?"

The Great Zhou King thought for a moment and said, "It should be related to the world's primal energy, or perhaps to the increase in those who merged with the Dao across the myriad realms, or the growing number of rule masters consuming too much. The Three-Body Method reduces consumption significantly."

"You don't know more?"

The Great Zhou King looked puzzled. "Which aspect does Your Majesty refer to?"

This time, he truly did not grasp Su Yu's meaning. What more did he need to know?

Su Yu frowned: "The Three-Body Method grants three lives. Shouldn't that be highly valued?"

"But the Three-Body Method is very weak..."

The Great Zhou King murmured. Such a feeble method was only cultivated as a last resort. Even if it gave three lives, what use was it?

Why was Su Yu suddenly bringing this up?

Yet Su Yu frowned again: "Is resurrection from death not worth valuing?"

I hadn't paid much attention before, but now it seemed the Great Zhou King and the others also did not care. Resurrection from death—was that not worth valuing?

Leaving aside myself, logically, in the era of the Human Emperor and others, the Three-Body Method had already appeared. Why did they not care about it either?

Cultivating the three bodies meant three lives!

Resurrection from death!

If others did not know, the Human Emperor and King Wen, who wished to resurrect Xingyue, should have understood the difficulty of resurrection. Why did they not value this method much?

At these words, the Great Zhou King and the others were slightly taken aback. Three bodies, three lives—indeed worthy of attention. But the Great Zhou King still said solemnly, "But this method is very weak, and those so-called three lives seem to have little effect..."

What was he saying?

How could it be useless?

Cultivators of the Three-Body Method were naturally better at preserving their lives than others!

Su Yu looked at them, also lost in thought, and then said, "So you disregard it because you think it's useless?"

This did not match the nature of these strong ones.

Under normal circumstances, even if Su Yu did not care, he would have investigated it. But before, Su Yu seemed not to have paid much attention and had not deeply studied the Three-Body Method.

Su Yu thought of a possibility... rule influence!

Now that he had opened his own world and broken free from rule influence, could this be the reason?

Just like the Great Zhou Heaven Method, it could not be fully propagated because it would be affected.

Could it be that some powerful being had laid down such rule influence?

Something clearly important, yet no one cared about it.

In the era of the Human Emperor and others, because the Three-Body Method had just emerged and few cultivated it, no one valued it. According to the Great Zhou King and the others, it only became fully valued after the Sixth Tide!

At this moment, Su Yu was somewhat puzzled.

The Great Zhou King and the others all fell into thought. After a long while, Wan Tiansheng spoke: "Your Majesty suddenly mentions the Three-Body Method. Is there something special about it? The Three-Body Method can save lives—I have personally experienced this. Resurrection from death has indeed occurred, but it is also true that its power is not strong."

Su Yu smiled: "That refers to the ordinary Three-Body Method. I am thinking, for people like us, if we could now channel our three bodies, what would the result be?"

Wan Tiansheng was slightly startled.

Now?

None of them were walking the Three-Body Method anymore. Could they still channel the three bodies?

That would be icing on the cake, raising them to an even higher level!

The Great Zhou King’s heart trembled slightly: “Your Majesty means we can still summon the Three Bodies at this moment?”

That can’t be possible!

Su Yu smiled: “Just a try, besides, in my view, the Three Bodies method is about summoning the origin back, just like resurrecting the dead! Fuse the power of origin, strengthen oneself!”

“Of course, doing so would cause the River of Time to have its origin power drained by us. If the Lord of Time were like the Lord of the Dead, we’d certainly be in trouble… But the Lord of Time—I don’t know if he’s truly dead or simply doesn’t care. After all, everyone who cultivates the Three Bodies method is stripping away origin, yet the River of Time has never minded, has it?”

At this moment, Su Yu himself didn’t know what the Lord of Time’s situation truly was.

But he knew that summoning past and future from the River of Time—the Lord of Time seemed never to mind, never to stop it. That was what made it curious.

The others’ eyes flickered. If what Su Yu said was true, that they could summon the Three Bodies, then everyone could grow stronger by a notch.

The Great Zhou King said gravely: “Your Majesty, the Three Bodies method summons past and future—that refers to the peak of the Sun and Moon realm, when one first touches the River of Time and the power of rules. Only then can one summon. Now, it seems we can no longer summon, can we?”

How could they summon now?

Wan Tiansheng also spoke: “Now that we have all merged our Dao with Your Majesty, can we still summon the origin from the River of Time?”

That was also a question!

Su Yu thought for a moment and said: “Let’s try! I observed earlier—after all, we have always lived in the Myriad Realms, leaving many traces there. That is origin!”

“Calling a few of you here is only to perfect the method of summoning, and also to let you observe whether it suits everyone… And the last point is… how to open different Rivers of Time?”

Everyone was startled. Different rivers?

Su Yu said softly: “Have you all forgotten? The Rivers of Time we open are different. The current river does not contain memories! But the river opened by the Three Bodies method is personal memory…”

At these words, the Southern King and Consort Qi were taken aback. Consort Qi asked in surprise: “What memories?”

The Great Zhou King was also startled, looking at the two: “You two have never opened such a river?”

“…”

Suddenly, everyone was baffled.

Su Yu didn’t seem too concerned: “I’ve never opened such a river either! I always open the main path directly, and what I see is the current river. It seems that without walking the Three Bodies method, one cannot open it!”

Wan Tiansheng had opened it before and had even shown Su Yu.

Now, Wan Tiansheng was also surprised: “Does everyone open the River of Time differently?”

It grew stranger and stranger!

He had thought everyone had seen it.

Su Yu turned to the Great Zhou King again: “When you merged your Dao before, did you open the river like this? Did you see the memory river or the main river?”

The Great Zhou King thought for a moment and said: “I… I myself have never opened the memory river, but someone took me to see it. Besides, last time I went with Your Majesty to see Wang Hu’s memory river… So I think perhaps I had already merged my Dao long ago, so I lack that experience… But I know the Three Bodies method exists!”

He explained: “I thought it was a matter of the technique, but I figured the Southern King and the others would know. Now it seems they don’t—does that mean it didn’t exist before?”

Strange!

He thought, comparing it to ancient times, but unfortunately, there were too few cultivators back then, and he had never heard of such things.

By now, Wan Tiansheng was also puzzled: “Has no one else ever opened it?”

“I have opened such a memory river… Is there any difference?”

He added: “Later, I thought it was because I had grown stronger that I could no longer open it, and I didn’t mind. Perhaps the illusions of past and future in the river had vanished…”

He defined these as illusions!

In his weaker days, that was how he saw it.

But Su Yu was quickly thinking. Illusions?

His own memory river…

He closed his eyes and sank into contemplation. After a long while, Su Yu suddenly said: “What do you think—does the Three Bodies method cultivate oneself, or cultivate the Dao?”

What did that mean?

Everyone looked at him again, even more confused.

Su Yu explained: “That is, does the Three Bodies method cultivate one’s own River of Time, or does it cultivate the Dao power within the Great Dao of Time?”

Nonsense!

The Great Zhou King said solemnly: “All cultivation naturally cultivates the Great Dao of Time!”

How could it be cultivating oneself?

That would be the Chaos Dao!

Su Yu shook his head: “Not necessarily. The Three Bodies method grows stranger and stranger. I rather think it’s like cultivating one’s own river, then drawing power from the River of Time. Simply put, like opening a heaven—cultivate one’s own Dao, borrow the river’s power, then strengthen one’s own Dao, and finally break away from the River of Time!”

Su Yu said softly: “The memory river… and the River of Time may not be together!”

Everyone was confused by his words, but they could roughly understand.

Wan Tiansheng mused for a moment and said: “Your Majesty means that every being who cultivates the Three Bodies method has their own memory river, but through that memory river, we draw power from the River of Time. Eventually, after draining the origin power, we break away from the River of Time and form our own heaven?”

If so, the Three Bodies method would be terrifying!

Wan Tiansheng shook his head: “Wouldn’t that mean everyone could open a heaven? Is this still the Three Bodies method? Isn’t it a heaven-opening method?”

Such a fearsome technique, yet it was regarded by all as the most worthless path to enlightenment—was that possible?

Su Yu didn’t know either!

“Let’s try!”

Su Yu smiled: “True or false, we’ll know by trying! The Three Bodies method summons one’s own past and future… Perhaps the memory river is just another form, not necessarily a separate river…”

By now, Su Yu himself wasn’t too clear.

Only by testing it personally!

As long as it could strengthen himself, who cared!

Whatever problems or origins the Three Bodies method had, they would be known in time. It might have been developed by some great power, or by an ordinary person, but it inadvertently possessed the ability to absorb origin.

The Myriad Realms were vast, with countless extraordinary people!

If it was a technique born by chance, then nothing much.

If it was created by some great power… that one was far from ordinary!

As for the purpose, it might be for one’s own cultivation, or to prepare beings to break away from the River of Time, denying it the chance to grow further.

To suppress the Lord of Time?

That was possible!

If everyone cultivated the Three Bodies method and absorbed their own origin power, how could the River of Time continue to grow?

If so… the war of the Myriad Realms might have some issues!

At this moment, Su Yu thought of this.

The Three Bodies method, because it was very weak, was hardly cultivated by anyone. The Human Emperor and others were all in the Myriad Realms, and they had actually suppressed the growth of the Three Bodies method. None of the ancient powerhouses thought highly of it.

Their disciples, friends, relatives, subordinates… no one would cultivate the Three Bodies method!

It was too trashy!

But when all the mighty ones of the myriad realms departed, the Three-Body Method quickly became the mainstream.

If so, that means there are some problems lurking within.

“The departure of the Time Master was the root cause of the turmoil across the myriad realms… King Wen and King Wu also left! And these accidents might have been orchestrated by the Human Ancestor’s lineage, but what could they use to scheme against King Wen and the others? Yu? She lacks both the strength and the wits!”

“Yet when I said this last time, Baizhan did not deny it… Does that mean the Three-Body Method is also connected to the Human Ancestor?”

The purpose, naturally, was to weaken the River of Time.

Things were growing ever more complicated!

So complicated that Su Yu, as he was now, could not see through anything.

Enough!

Su Yu stopped pondering deeper. The urgent task was to enhance his strength. He had seen through the essence of the Three-Body Method; for him, the danger was not great—it was merely about extracting the origin of the River of Time.

“Weaken the River of Time…”

In the depths of his mind, Su Yu suddenly felt that some conspiracy, or grand scheme, was unfolding!

“Lord of the Dead… Lord of Time… Three Gates… Opportunity…”

One term after another surfaced, and Su Yu suddenly called out, “Death Spirit King!”

From the void, the Death Spirit Emperor appeared.

Su Yu said gravely, “You said before that the Three-Body Method might be linked to a remark made by the Lord of the Dead. What exactly did he say?”

The Death Spirit Emperor was a bit unsettled—why ask again?

But he still spoke: “The Lord of the Dead said that if someone wanted to devour the River of Time, it would be extremely difficult. They would need to find three mighty beings, separate into three bodies, lift the front, middle, and rear segments, compress the river, and only then could they hope to swallow it!”

“That’s roughly the gist of it!”

He repeated it once more.

And Su Yu’s eyes suddenly flickered: “Three bodies, three gates, devouring!”

He seemed to grasp something, then drew a sharp breath.

Not only him—at that moment, because he had uttered those words, Great Zhou King and Wan Tiansheng both showed expressions of shock, their faces filled with doubt.

Nan Wang, who hadn’t thought much, saw their looks and asked in surprise, “What’s wrong?”

Great Zhou King said solemnly, “Didn’t Nan Wang hear His Majesty’s words? Three bodies, three gates, devouring the river!”

What?

Nan Wang was still a bit puzzled. Then the Death Spirit Emperor seemed to realize something and said incredulously, “Does Your Majesty mean that some mighty being is now using the Three-Body Method to weaken the entire river? And then perhaps three mighty ones have entered the three gates, which might be the three nodes of the river, and now someone wants to swallow this River of Time?”

He added in horror, “Is the Lord of the Dead one of them?”

Was that so?

Because these were ideas the Lord of the Dead had proposed long ago.

And the Lord of the Dead had also said that the Lord of Time had seized some great opportunity—if he had come first, he could have done it too!

Su Yu was silent for a moment, then said uncertainly, “I don’t know. But if the judgment is correct, then within the three gates, there is a supreme being in each! The Gate of Heaven, Earth, and Man—the Earth Gate is in the myriad realms; the Heaven Gate and Man Gate should be on the left and right of the river, the three gates supporting the entire river! Now, the Earth Gate might hold the Human Ancestor, the Heaven Gate might hold the Lord of the Dead, and the Man Gate… I don’t know who exists there, or perhaps the Human Ancestor is actually in the Man Gate? Could someone else be in the Earth Gate?”

Su Yu said gravely, “The spread of the Three-Body Method might be to weaken the River of Time; the appearance of the three gates might be for a grand plan… to devour the river!”

Having said this, Su Yu suppressed the tremor in his heart and said sternly, “Let’s not discuss this further. Depriving the origin might not be a good thing; weakening the River of Time might also… not be a good thing! Whether the Human Emperor and the others know about it is also a question!”

Were there three supreme beings preparing to swallow the river?

Was that why countless upheavals had been set in motion?

This, Su Yu could not determine.

But now, he could no longer speculate. Further speculation might stir up trouble and provoke the interests of some great figures.

The Human Emperor and the others—perhaps they were not simply plotted against, but because they obstructed the actions of certain great beings, they were framed and targeted!

“The situation… is growing ever more complex!”

Su Yu sighed inwardly, while Wan Tiansheng and the others’ expressions shifted for a moment, but they said nothing more.

Su Yu did not elaborate further and said directly, “I will try to summon the power of past and future! Watch closely and see if there are any problems. If not, perhaps you can all give it a try!”

…

Su Yu stopped talking about those matters and simply asked them to observe.

This time, he did not tear open the River of Time. Amid a whirl of heaven and earth, Su Yu returned to the battlefield of the myriad realms. The others barely sensed any fluctuation before Su Yu appeared there.

“Tracing the three bodies to their origins…”

Su Yu murmured. He had some vague understanding of how to open the River of Memory.

The source!

At that moment, the others seemed to hear the sound of surging waves—great waves crashing!

Boom!

Their vision blurred, and suddenly they seemed to appear in a place different from the River of Time, yet very similar, yet somewhat distinct.

Waves surged sky-high!

There were no tributaries—or rather, no tributaries existed. It was a dark great river, with waves rising and falling within.

This place was very much like the river Wan Tiansheng had once led Su Yu through!

Su Yu’s voice echoed over: “The Three-Body Method and the River of Memory are both paths of tracing origins!”

They did not fully understand, but they noted it, having no time to ponder deeply.

Then Su Yu’s figure suddenly appeared before them, looking ahead. “Ahead is the past, behind is the future. Each wave is a significant memory left in your life. Uniting the three bodies means fishing out a powerful self from the past or future to strengthen yourself!”

That was the foundation of the Three-Body Method!

“And each of these waves is actually an important origin in your life… The true convergence of origins is to incorporate all of past and future into the main body, uniting myriad origins into one!”

“Of course, you may not be able to fish them all out. Under normal circumstances, fishing out one is enough!”

At this moment, Su Yu led them forward, looking at the waves, and said with a smile, “This is my past and future! What do you think—if I were to fish out my past or future, when would I be at my strongest?”

Which moment of the past, when fished out, would make him more powerful?

Great Zhou King said solemnly, “Your Majesty’s strongest past is naturally just now!”

Only just now was Su Yu’s strongest past, wasn’t it?

Could Su Yu have an even stronger past?

The future was unpredictable—perhaps very weak, perhaps dead, perhaps very strong—who knew!

Fishing out the past, then, was without doubt!

Su Yu said softly, “Perhaps. But I wonder—in the heavens, I am only second-class; outside the heavens, merely third-class… My past, existing in the River of Time, is probably only third-class. If I fuse two third-class selves, can I become second-class?”

Great Zhou King thought for a moment—that… wasn’t certain!

That is, even if Su Yu fished it out, he might not become second-class outside the heavens, let alone first-class!

Su Yu added, “Fishing out power requires a vessel and a strong physical body. With my current strength, if I try to fish, my body might bear it once. As for a vessel—such a powerful vessel… unless I use the Human Sovereign Seal, but even then, it might only be a single chance!”

"So, either don't take it, or take the strongest!"

"When in my past was I truly at my most powerful?"

The group exchanged glances—wasn't it just now? Su Yu asked several times; did he think there was a time when he was even stronger than now? Impossible! Su Yu wasn't some ancient relic who had been immensely powerful from the very beginning.

"Your Majesty... do you think it's not the past?" Wan Tiansheng was also puzzled. I've watched you grow; you've always been getting stronger, never weak.

Su Yu smiled faintly. "Not necessarily. I have indeed been growing stronger, but... I'm wondering, when I was six years old, at the moment I merged with the Time Scroll... was I stronger then?"

The group was taken aback.

Su Yu said softly, "When the Time Scroll first appeared, did it carry some of the Time Master's power? The Time Master must be stronger than I am now. At that moment, when the Time Scroll unleashed its power, could it have made me, for that instant, stronger than I am now?"

Impossible? The group was horrified. Could a six-year-old Su Yu have possessed strength surpassing his current self? Even if only for a moment!

Wan Tiansheng said gravely, "That can't be. If Your Majesty was stronger back then than now... you would have exploded long ago!"

Su Yu shook his head. "Not necessarily. Maybe... I did die? The Time Scroll saved me again. Who knows? When I got the Time Scroll, its energy was almost depleted... I want to see what really happened when I was six."

That moment might truly have been his strongest. Regardless, he would go and see.

"Let's go. I still have the power to swim against the current now. Let's return sixteen years and see how I merged with the Time Scroll that day."

Su Yu was also curious about this. The Time Scroll—was it really as easy to merge with as his father had said? Such a powerful treasure, even when he merged with it recently, had elevated him greatly. How could a six-year-old, weak and helpless, have merged with the Time Scroll? Just a day of fever? And then it was done?

Su Yu didn't believe it. Perhaps there were some issues. He had always felt it wasn't that simple. Before, he couldn't open the River of Memory and had no chance to look. Today, having understood the essence of the Three Bodies Method, he had opened the River of Memory. So now, he would go and see what really happened when he was six.

...

A group swam upstream.

Su Yu knew that even if he didn't remember, returning to his six-year-old self would allow him, like Mie Can Wang, to witness what happened. Mie Can Wang had been in seclusion and didn't know what occurred, but in his memory, Su Yu saw that Jin Tian Wang's father had changed his bloodline. Mie Can Wang himself was completely unaware. So now, by tracing back his memory, Su Yu could also observe that scene as a bystander.

As for bringing Da Zhou Wang and the others, it was partly to let them see if there were any issues, and partly to have them help identify things.

Su Yu didn't look at the great waves along the way; they were meaningless. He knew those were scenes of his battles, and he didn't need to see them again. As he walked, he smiled and said, "My Time Scroll was given to me by my father. What do you think—could my father be a hidden supreme powerhouse?"

He had speculated about this before, but... his father didn't seem like a supreme powerhouse!

The others also found it strange. Nan Wang said in surprise, "Your Time Scroll was given to you by your father?"

That was quite unexpected.

Su Yu nodded. "Yes, not only that. My father obtained the treasure at Xingluo Mountain. He told me there seemed to be ruins there, and he heard a sound... Now it seems that sound was the Time Waterfall, the one in front of King Wen's former residence, the sound of the waterfall crashing down. Can ordinary people hear that sound?"

"No!" Da Zhou Wang said in surprise. "I can't hear it either!"

Su Yu squinted. "You didn't guide my father?"

He had thought Da Zhou Wang was the one.

Da Zhou Wang swore to heaven, almost taking an oath, and said hurriedly, "Really not! I knew where King Wen's former residence was, and I had thought about guiding someone to find it, but... I couldn't go there, and I couldn't open the Time Waterfall. I swear, it wasn't me."

"I thought it was you."

Da Zhou Wang said helplessly, "It really wasn't, Your Majesty. If it were me, I would have admitted it! Let me put it this way: the emergence of the Brush Dao was actually guided by me... I knew where Xia Chen was hidden. Later, when Bai Zhan's side had trouble, I deliberately suppressed Xia Chen and kept him in the human realm... So when he awakened, he found himself alone in the human realm, and in the end, he had no choice but to bring out King Wen's stele and establish the Multi-God Literature Academy."

Su Yu smiled. Da Zhou Wang continued helplessly, "Really, the Brush Dao's emergence is related to me! The Ink Dao... also related! The Ink Dao inheritance was originally in the Netherworld. Later, I went there and retrieved it... and gave it to Liu Hong. Actually, I didn't give it to him; he was compatible with the Ink Dao himself. I chose him, and the Dao chose him!"

"As for the Paper Dao, it's somewhat related... but my initial choice wasn't Lan Tian. That freak Lan Tian, he went mad by accident, split his personality, and incarnated into thousands... I originally wanted Wan Tiansheng..."

Wan Tiansheng said quietly, "Is that so? So my Seven Emotions and Six Desires Dao has something to do with you? It influenced me deeply. The person who influenced me the most was my senior brother. He was very good to me, and when he fell, I felt the warmth and coldness of human relationships, the vicissitudes of life, joy and anger, sorrow and happiness... My life was greatly influenced by my senior brother."

The senior brother he referred to was Ye Batian. Wan Tiansheng didn't take the Three Bodies Method; instead, he chose the current Human Dao, the so-called Seven Emotions and Six Desires Dao, which was indeed inseparable from Ye Batian.

Da Zhou Wang was speechless. Yes, Wan Tiansheng was still here. He had to say, "I don't know about that... As for Your Majesty's case, it was truly an accident, unrelated to me! I never expected that Your Majesty would ultimately inherit the Brush Dao, nor that Your Majesty would inherit the Time Master's legacy."

Su Yu frowned. "Really not you?"

"Really not!" Da Zhou Wang protested. If I had known you were this formidable, I would have cultivated you long ago. This was beyond his calculations. "I never thought the Time Scroll would return to the myriad realms!"

Da Zhou Wang explained, "For it to return, the Heavenly Gate must have opened. How else could it return? So I'm actually puzzled: who brought the Time Scroll back? If the Time Master could open the Heavenly Gate and send the Time Scroll back, wouldn't it have returned to the myriad realms long ago?"

That made sense.

Su Yu's heart stirred slightly. He said in a low voice, "You mean... there might be a supreme powerhouse who opened the Heavenly Gate and sent the Time Scroll back from within?"

"Yes!"

Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "As far as I know, the time I got the Time Scroll was roughly the same period as when Liu Hong inherited the Ink Dao."

Da Zhou Wang thought for a moment and explained, "That... I'm not entirely sure. The reason I chose that time was because there was a great tremor in the Dao at that time—the River of Time trembled, and the Nether Dao seemed to tremble as well. I thought the timing was right, so I guided Liu Hong to inherit the Ink Dao."

He had simply chosen the optimal moment for Liu Hong to inherit the Dao. "Otherwise, under normal circumstances, inheriting the Ink Dao is very difficult because the Nether Dao suppresses it..."

Su Yu nodded and said no more. Da Zhou Wang had repeatedly denied it, so the probability that he was responsible was not high. Otherwise, there was no need to deny it. Now that Su Yu was about to see for himself, Da Zhou Wang should have taken the opportunity to claim credit—"Your Majesty, look, I gave you this opportunity." But since Da Zhou Wang didn't admit it, the possibility was actually less likely.

The group continued forward. Soon, Su Yu's eyes flickered.

Ahead, a massive wave, larger than any before, was surging violently.

At this moment, Da Zhou Wang and the others also changed color slightly. What a huge wave! It felt even bigger than the wave when Su Yu killed Bai Zhan and the others.

It turned out Su Yu had guessed correctly!

When he was six years old, he might have been truly strong—or strong for just an instant!

Su Yu gazed at the spray before him, took a deep breath, and smiled: "Let's go. Let's see what really happened when I was six!"

The spray was so immense, even more turbulent than when the Silkworm Exterminator King discovered Blue Sky's true identity. This was highly unusual!

Without further hesitation, Su Yu swiftly led the others into the spray.

Boom!

The world spun, and the group seemed to return to sixteen years ago.

Nanyuan appeared before their eyes.

The ancient city of Nanyuan from sixteen years ago!

And in front of them stood a child—a small child, tiny in stature, with a hint of frailty.

"Ah Yu, your dad isn't back yet!"

A voice, youthful yet brash, rang out. Even at such a young age, the tone was already reckless. Su Yu instantly knew who it was: Chen Hao. That guy had known him for many years.

When they were kids, they were neighbors. Later, Chen Hao's father got promoted, and they moved away.

"Not yet!"

The little sprout everyone had just seen sniffled, his voice still childish: "Haozi, my dad said he'd be back soon, and he'd bring me good food... I'll share half with you..."

"Good food?"

Beside him appeared a larger child, sturdy and strong—much more robust than the young Su Yu!

Like a little bull!

He was almost drooling: "What good food? When can we eat it?"

Little Su Yu sniffled again: "If you go beat up Wu Asan first, I'll share it with you..."

"Beat him again? No way. Last time his dad came to complain to my dad..."

"Then do you still want to eat or not?"

Little Su Yu sniffled once more: "Worst case, your dad gives you a beating. He's your real dad, he won't kill you... You beat up Wu Asan, and you get a good meal... Wu Asan is scared of you now. Next time he has good food, he'll have to share it with you too. Then you can eat good food several times..."

"That's true!"

The sturdy kid nodded, a hint of anticipation in his voice: "Ah Yu, so if I take a beating, I can eat good food several times?"

"Yeah!"

"Then I'm off to beat Wu Asan!"

"Go ahead!"

...

For a moment, everyone turned to look at Su Yu, surprised. Damn!

How old were you then?

You were egging someone on to fight?

Were you already a little monster as a child?

Su Yu, lost in memory, finally spoke after a long pause: "I don't really remember... Wu Asan... I have a vague impression. When I was little, he often bullied me when my dad was away. My mother died early, so no one protected me... My dad wasn't home, and his mother was a fat shrew... Even when my dad came back, he couldn't out-argue her..."

Su Yu smiled: "That guy used to steal my food often. I do remember that. Haozi beat him up plenty when we were kids... That's probably how it was!"

Su Yu's smile grew bright: "Wu Asan... I wonder if he's still alive? I'd forgotten all about this. I didn't expect to remember it now. Right, he used to bully me a lot. Later he joined the army... I'll check later. He left when he was sixteen, so it's been six or seven years. I don't know if he's dead or not... If he's not dead, I'll settle accounts with him!"

...

Everyone was speechless!

Damn!

You... you're the Yu Emperor!

This was over a decade ago. That guy might only be at the Tengkong or even Wanshi level now. Do you really have the nerve to settle accounts with him?

Just as everyone was caught between laughter and tears, they suddenly heard little Su Yu shout in surprise: "Dad, you're back!"

At that moment, everyone turned to look.

And as they looked, their expressions changed!

Su Yu's expression changed too!

He looked toward Su Long. Su Long seemed to have suffered a minor injury—nothing serious—but he still wore a smile. That was fine. But what was terrifying was that behind Su Long stood a figure—a phantom, indistinct, yet radiating an overwhelming aura... as if it could blot out the sky!

The spray of Su Yu's childhood memories was so huge, perhaps because of this being's presence!

Su Yu's face instantly changed. He grabbed the others and quickly deployed the power of the Ten Thousand Daos to conceal their presence!

A powerful being might detect being spied upon!

Even if it was something from sixteen years ago!

Sure enough, there was a problem!

Su Yu was horrified. He dared not look too closely at the phantom standing behind Su Long. Who was this?

He was utterly shocked. Just then, the aura shifted again!

Another figure appeared, also immensely powerful—well, by the standards of that time. Now, it was nothing special.

It was... the gatekeeper of Su Yu's school. Well, later he learned it was the Great Xia King!

He had been guarding Liu Wenyan all along!

The Great Xia King seemed to sense something too. He rushed over quickly, looked around, found nothing, and was about to leave when suddenly a sturdy little kid bumped into him.

It was Chen Hao. Chen Hao slammed into him, then immediately ran off, shouting as he ran: "Wu Asan, my grandpa is here! He'll get revenge for me!"

Behind him, several children chased after him. When they saw the Great Xia King, they hesitated, saw how sturdy he was, and didn't dare cause trouble. They turned and fled.

The Great Xia King seemed startled. He looked around, chuckled, and shook his head.

Clearly, he had no interest in children's squabbles.

He glanced again in the direction where Su Long had appeared. The Great Xia King looked puzzled and muttered: "No one sneaked in?"

Then he shook his head and sighed: "Forget it. If that brat the Great Zhou King were here, maybe he could detect something... I clearly sensed something unusual... Or is it that brat Wan Tiansheng running around everywhere? Just stay hidden. What's the point of running around?"

...

The Great Zhou King looked at Wan Tiansheng, and Wan Tiansheng looked back at him. Both smiled.

Sixteen years ago, someone had cursed them here!

Of course, they had no interest in settling scores with the Great Xia King now. Both immediately grew serious, not daring to look back. Over there, Su Long was leading little Su Yu toward their home.

In the distance, they could faintly hear Su Long's joyful voice.

"Good son, we're rich!"

"Your dad got really lucky this time... We hit the jackpot!"

"Dad, Wu Asan is bullying me..."

"Oh... good son, bear with it. Once we make money, we'll get a bigger house and move away. His mother is a shrew—a good man doesn't fight with a woman. If we go settle accounts with her, that shrew could curse us for ten days and ten nights... Before we move, watch your old man punch a hole through their roof..."

"That'll cost money to fix... Dad, when we leave, let's trick Uncle Wu—tell him Aunt Wu found a new daddy for Wu Asan... so Uncle Wu and Aunt Wu will fight every day..."

"Son, that's not a decent thing to do, and you're so young... You should trick your Uncle Wu into thinking Wu Asan isn't his real son!"

"Oh, I get it!"

"Good boy!"

"..."

At that moment, Wan Tiansheng and the others felt even more uneasy—teaching by example, indeed!

They never would have guessed that Su Long, with his thick brows and big eyes, had taught his son such crooked ways as a child. No wonder he grew up rotten to the core!

Su Yu's face was impassive. What are you looking at? My dad was just afraid I'd get bullied. He was often away from home, and if a kid gets picked on, he has to defend himself, doesn't he?

Of course, none of that mattered.

What mattered was—who was that shadowy figure?

Even the Great Xia King, a peak Eternal powerhouse, hadn't noticed anything unusual, yet the few of them had all sensed that overwhelming force.

At this moment, Su Yu took a deep breath and abruptly closed his eyes. "Let's go—to my house. My dad should have gotten the Time Scroll this time. I want to see just how it merges with me."

My dad isn't a strong man, but there was someone following him. Had that person been tailing him all along, or did he come with the Time Scroll?

That was what Su Yu cared about!

And this person—who was he?