Chapter 838: Hypocritical Smile

At this moment, Su Yu and the Human Emperor were chatting amiably... something like that!

Su Yu actually still had many doubts he wanted to ask, but after some thought, he decided there was no rush; there was no need to ask everything now. He quickly returned to the main topic: "Now that we've come from the rear, once the myriad races on the front lines discover our presence... it's like we've given them a chance to unite! Your Majesty, do you have any plans to deal with them?"

They had been at a standoff for so many years; Su Yu didn't believe there wasn't a single idea.

Since the Human Emperor had long prepared for reinforcements from the rear, what about now?

And at that moment, the Human Emperor suddenly sighed: "If I were still at my peak, I would just force my way out now! Slay a few first-class Rule Masters, and among the myriad races, naturally some would cower... not everyone is unafraid of death! Then dealing with them would be simple!"

Unfortunately, that was not the case now.

The Human Emperor added: "We can't go too hard against the myriad races, or else, if they fight to the death, we won't have time to develop further. Once the Three Gates open... we're finished!"

The losses couldn't be too great either!

Over eighty Rule Masters against over one hundred and twenty, with more than two hundred Rule Masters on both sides.

Once the great battle began, even if humanity won, it would be a pyrrhic victory.

If only ten or twenty Rule Masters remained, then once the Three Gates opened... it was over!

There were plenty of strong beings within the Three Gates.

Those gathered here now were all remnants from the three eras: the Primordial Age, the Ancient Age, and the New Universe Age. To be more precise, they were all strong beings from a single era!

How many strong beings were in the Three Gates?

Thinking of this, Su Yu asked: "What era is sealed in the Human Gate? I know the Heavenly Gate is the Creation Era, and the Earthly Gate is the Chaos Era. But what I'm curious about is, what era is sealed in the Human Gate?"

This, Su Yu was indeed curious about!

The Human Gate seemed to have some connection with the Human Ancestor, but also seemed linked to the Lord of Time. This Human Gate might be one end of the River of Time.

"The Human Gate..."

The Human Emperor was silent for a moment, then after some deliberation, he explained to Su Yu: "The Lord of Time was powerful in the Chaos Era, no problem with that, right?"

Su Yu nodded; of course, there was no problem!

"Just like you,

powerful in this era... then let me ask you, if you became powerful, would you seal off your own era?"

Su Yu was taken aback. No way?

If I became powerful, why would I seal my own era?

His eyes flickered.

The Human Emperor laughed: "That's the logic! The Human Gate should be the starting part of the Great Dao when the Lord of Time created the heavens. So, it seals the era before the Lord of Time! The era before Chaos!"

Su Yu gasped: "Then... how did Baizhan and the others end up in the Human Gate?"

"It has to do with the Human Ancestor; the Human Ancestor might have visited the Human Gate."

The Human Emperor indeed knew a lot, and laughed: "The cycles of all realms—actually, the era sealed in the Human Gate should also be a glorious era; this might be the first era! And the Lord of Time should have come from that era, but became powerful in the Chaos Era!"

"He opened up his Time Great Dao. I don't know the exact reason, but one end is the Human Gate, the other is the Heavenly Gate, and the Earthly Gate is sealed in between... Don't you think the Lord of Time's Great Dao is more like a seal?"

Su Yu's heart shook violently!

The Human Emperor continued with a smile: "Yes, it is a seal! The Lord of Time opened the Dao perhaps to seal these things. As for the Creation Era being sealed in the Heavenly Gate, during the Heavenly Gate period, the Lord of Time should have long disappeared... but did he disappear or not? Who knows?"

"And opening up all realms, letting people cultivate the Dao, is merely to strengthen the sealing power. The more cultivators in all realms, the stronger the seal!"

The Human Emperor said softly: "We are all strengthening the River of Time! Enhancing the sealing power! Logically, the seal should only grow stronger, not weaker. But now, the Three Gates are about to open... there might have been some changes! Someone might even be deliberately weakening the power of the River of Time!"

At this point, Su Yu's eyes flickered: "Your Majesty, do you know of the Three-Self Method?"

"The Three-Self Method..."

The Human Emperor was silent for a moment: "You've noticed?"

"Yes!"

The Human Emperor laughed bitterly: "This should be one of the methods! Someone spread the Three-Self Method, actually to weaken the River of Time, but I suppressed it before!"

Su Yu's eyes flickered; the Human Emperor... had suppressed the Three-Self Method!

The Human Emperor seemed to guess that Su Yu might have used it, and sighed: "When we extract our origins, we become stronger, but the River of Time is weakened... Of course, it doesn't matter now; since the Three Gates are almost open, extract away!"

He sighed again: "Besides, you're not the first to do this; I also extracted the Three-Self origins!"

He said helplessly: "At first, after I extracted them, I knew there were some problems... So, during that period, I sealed the Three-Self Method! But by then, the method had already been spread. Unless I killed all the strong beings, it was hard to ban!"

"Where did the Three-Self Method come from?"

Su Yu was puzzled. According to the Human Emperor, he knew of the existence of the Three-Self Method and even its drawbacks. Indeed, this Human Emperor truly knew everything, or rather, he was aware of all the intelligence Su Yu had obtained.

A terrifying existence!

So terrifying, yet still nearly ruined by others—clearly, the hidden hand behind it was not weak.

The Three-Self Method must have been spread from within the Three Gates!

Sure enough, the Human Emperor spoke: "The Three-Self Method... it definitely came from the Three Gates! Who exactly spread it, I don't know; it's hard to trace back. It existed before my time! In my era, I minimized its influence, but in your era... it may have flared up again!"

Su Yu nodded: "Not only did it flare up, but by the Sixth Tide, the Three-Self Method had become mainstream. If you didn't walk the Three-Self Path, you would be destroyed by the rules!"

The Human Emperor's eyes flickered: "Destroyed by the rules? Xingyue didn't mention that... So... after the Sixth Tide, someone might have altered some rules of all realms..."

"The Sixth Tide..."

He calculated for a moment, then thought: "It might be that someone came out of the Three Gates, a strong being! The Three Gates might have opened once during the Sixth Tide, or someone borrowed power to come out. The Sixth Tide..."

He thought for a while: "Were there any special occurrences?"

Su Yu shook his head; he really didn't know about this. But Su Yu quickly looked toward the group over there—maybe they knew. Su Yu called out: "Tianming, come here!"

Compared to others, Tianming had never been in slumber; perhaps he knew more.

Soon, Tianming Hou flew over, bowed slightly to the Human Emperor, looked at Su Yu, and said softly: "Your Majesty!"

Su Yu said solemnly: "Were there any changes during the Sixth Tide?"

"Changes?"

Tianming Hou thought for a moment, then after a while said: "The Sixth Tide, as for changes, there were a few! First, after the Sixth Tide, the Lie Tian Pavilion was no longer aligned with humanity; Jian Tian chose neutrality!"

"Second, the Human Lord of the Sixth Tide was very powerful. He defeated the myriad races back then, though not as strong as Your Majesty. By today's standards, he was at the Heavenly Lord level, even at the Fifth-Class Rule Master realm. But after humanity's victory, he fell while attempting a breakthrough in cultivation, causing the Sixth Tide to end early!"

"Third, in the late Sixth Tide, the Sixth Generation Human Lord appeared very rarely. He wasn't in a hurry to deal with the myriad races but kept to himself in seclusion cultivation. I don't know if that counts as strange?"

Other than these, he thought carefully and seemed to find no other changes.

The Human Emperor said softly: "Tianming, did the Human Lord of the Sixth Tide open the Three Gates?"

"Hmm?"

Tianming Hou thought for a moment, then shook his head: "Your Majesty, I really don't know about that. After all, I'm not human."

That was true.

As for humans... they might not know either.

Su Yu waved his hand: "Alright, I understand. You may go back now!"

"Your old servant takes his leave!"

Mandate Marquis soon departed, and the Human Emperor said softly, "The sixth generation of human sovereign... may have opened the Three Gates, and some mishap occurred, causing beings within the Gates to emerge and slay him! This twisted some rules, so that after the Sixth Tide, the sovereigns began to walk the Three-Body Method!"

The Human Emperor smiled and added, "Thus, the time for opening the Three Gates may have been advanced! Otherwise, perhaps we could have delayed a while longer!"

With just a few simple words, he made his inference, then continued, "The beings that emerged from the Three Gates are likely not weak—perhaps stronger than Zhou Tian. Otherwise, Zhou Tian should know something; since he didn't mention it to you, he probably doesn't know either."

Su Yu raised an eyebrow: "That's hard to say. That fellow tells me ninety-nine lies for every truth! The Human Emperor chose a fine Dark Guard Commander—one who acknowledges no one but the Human Emperor!"

The Human Emperor chuckled.

He didn't dwell on the matter and went on, "The beings within the Three Gates want the Three-Body Method to spread, but we... actually also hope the Three-Body Method can strengthen us. It's unavoidable!"

Su Yu nodded. The Three-Body Method did have its benefits!

Moreover, it consumed few resources. The main reason was that by using the power of the Source, one could skip those resources and elevate directly through the Source. It felt like little consumption, but in truth, it consumed Source power.

It consumed the power of the River of Time!

And the Human Emperor's definition of the River of Time was that it was a seal—sealing the beings of the Three Gates. Countless people cultivated the Dao precisely to strengthen this seal.

So, which was stronger: the Human Gate or the beings within the Heavenly Gate?

What exactly was the Human Ancestor's stance?

Thinking of this, Su Yu continued, "Your Majesty, I heard that in the past, Prison King wanted to open the Earth Gate to release the Human Ancestor, but you refused. Is that true? Did the Human Ancestor change his heart?"

"The Human Ancestor?"

The Human Emperor smiled and said, "Prison... it's hard to speak of her! Releasing the Human Ancestor might not necessarily be a bad thing, but the time wasn't right! Opening the Earth Gate could trigger the opening of all Three Gates—that was not the moment to open them!"

"Did Prison not know this?"

Su Yu said gravely, "Why did she betray?"

As one of the Four Extremes Human Kings, knowing the danger of opening the Three Gates, why insist? Even to the point of betrayal!

Was the Human Ancestor truly so important in her eyes?

Nonsense!

Prison King was a Four Extremes Human King, possibly at the peak of the second rank or even reaching the first rank. Would such a powerhouse, like Hundred Battles, place all hope on the Human Ancestor?

As for Prison King's betrayal... Su Yu still hadn't figured out what she was after!

Moreover, the Human Emperor was not ignorant of the situation. He knew and might have told Prison King, yet she still refused to listen!

"Prison..."

The Human Emperor spoke of his old comrade from years past, fell silent for a moment, then said, "Prison had her own ideals, her own thoughts! The so-called summoning of the Human Ancestor was merely a pretext! She wanted to open the Three Gates, but not necessarily the Earth Gate. Perhaps she sought to open the Earth Gate as a means to open the other gates. I once asked her, but she gave me no answer, and I didn't want to fall out with her over this matter."

"King Wen once went to persuade her, but she refused to listen. King Wen was furious at the time. Just then, some cracks appeared in the Earth Gate, so King Wen ordered her to slay the ancient beasts, slay the ancient clans, slay the powerful beings emerging from the Earth Gate... thus cutting off her hopes!"

Su Yu raised an eyebrow: "Slaying the ancient clans cut off her hopes? Did King Wen think it was that simple?"

King Wen couldn't have thought so simplistically, could he?

But the Human Emperor smiled bitterly: "King Wen... had a heart harder than mine! He actually... wanted to use the opportunity to kill Prison! If Prison had opened the Earth Gate then, King Wen would have slain her. But Prison knew this herself, so during her time guarding the gate, she was diligent and dared not act rashly!"

Su Yu understood instantly!

He marveled!

King Wen was indeed ruthless!

They were old comrades; he couldn't directly strike at Prison King, since she hadn't explicitly said she would open the gate. But King Wen was an old angler—he was fishing. He deliberately assigned Prison King to guard the gate, giving her the opportunity to open it!

In the end, Prison King was also clever; she probably guessed his intent and didn't act!

Finally, King Wen had to leave early, and the Human Emperor recalled Prison from the Hell Gate.

Wasn't this entrapment?

Quite ruthless!

Even with an old comrade, he showed no mercy, though he didn't strike directly, out of some lingering affection.

Su Yu quickly judged all this, looked at the Human Emperor, who nodded slightly: "King Wen indeed had that intention."

He knew Su Yu could understand, and smiled: "But... after all, we fought together for tens of thousands of years! From the unification of the myriad realms to the later imperial court's rule over the world, Prison was our old comrade, our old partner in building the empire! After King Wen left, I summoned her back and didn't continue!"

Su Yu frowned: "But later, Prison committed no small number of killings..."

"I know something of that."

The Human Emperor shook his head: "At that time, she didn't cause much trouble. It was only at the very end, when I wanted to lead the myriad races upstream, that she wanted to lead everyone to retreat behind the Earth Gate. I disagreed, and she was unwilling, so I personally imprisoned her within the Earth Gate! I never expected she left some loose ends. That was a bit of my negligence; in the past, I didn't pay much attention to these remnants."

In truth, he didn't want to say more. These remnants were not a major problem; Zhou Tian should have been able to handle them. But the other side had lain dormant for countless years, and Great Zhou King hadn't detected much before Hundred Battles dealt a heavy blow!

Otherwise, the Prison King lineage wouldn't have dared to stir trouble before this.

Su Yu thought of this and couldn't help saying, "So, it's still Great Zhou King's fault—he trusted Hundred Battles and got badly burned!"

"Hundred Battles..."

The Human Emperor had never met him, but still smiled: "Since Zhou Tian valued him, he must have some ability! But according to what you say, he opened the Human Gate, which might have influenced his mind somewhat!"

Su Yu's expression changed: "The Three Gates can influence us?"

"Yes!"

The Human Emperor nodded slightly: "Within the Earth Gate are ancient beasts; the problem isn't too severe. Summoning some phantom beasts is probably the limit. The Human Gate is mysterious; I don't understand it well. As for the Heavenly Gate..."

He laughed: "The Heavenly Gate also affects cultivators. Of course, since you opened the Heavenly Gate, it doesn't affect you much. You haven't really used it anyway—you treat it as a tool for observing the Dao, which is fine!"

Su Yu was stunned, then said after a while, "Your Majesty means... my Heavenly Gate is just for show?"

"Isn't it?"

The Human Emperor laughed!

He could see it at a glance!

He continued: "If the Heavenly Gate were used properly, it wouldn't be like this! All Three Gates share a common function: sealing! Generally, they can seal opponents of equal strength. Let me ask you: can your Heavenly Gate seal a second-rank?"

Uh... no!

Su Yu had never experienced that. His Heavenly Gate's greatest use was for observing the Dao!

The Human Emperor added: "The Heavenly Gate's first function is sealing; the second is borrowing power. Can you borrow power?"

Su Yu blinked. I can't. How do I borrow?

"It means using the beings within the Heavenly Gate. Some powerful beings in the Heavenly Gate might have Daos similar to yours. You can summon them and borrow their power!"

Somewhat similar to the function of the Time Book!

But Su Yu quickly sensed the drawback: "This... would allow their power to seep out, wouldn't it? They might even control me!"

"Exactly, that's the drawback!"

The Human Emperor nodded: "So it's good that you don't know how!"

Su Yu sucked in a breath: "But wait—Your Majesty means that if I borrow too much power, the being might use me to step out of the Heavenly Gate, like a projection?"

"Yes."

Su Yu bared his teeth: "This... isn't this a perfect fishing tactic? Before, I worried about the Heavenly Gate being opened, but now it doesn't matter. This is an excellent way to fish! No, Your Majesty, you must teach me this!"

Su Yu suddenly became interested: "I borrow power from the other side, and through me, they seep into the myriad realms, projecting from the phantom of the Heavenly Gate, casting their strength... even manifesting their true selves... Tsk tsk... If I can hook a few second-class Rule Masters, that's a win! If I hook a first-class... we might even have a chance to kill it!"

Su Yu said excitedly: "Could it be that the Martial Emperor did just that?"

Uh!

The Human Emperor hesitated, then said, "You bastard, you're really not a good person!"

He laughed, but didn't dissuade him, only saying: "This thing is hard to be sure of. If you borrow power from some top-tier existence, and they come through you, the danger is immense. They might even take over your body with their will. Of course, don't worry too much. For now, even if a strong one seeps through the Heavenly Gate's phantom, at most a second-class can emerge. That's still manageable!"

His tone was also bold, and of course, he had the strength for it, even though he was gravely wounded now.

"Back then, it was best not to do it. At that time, we didn't want the Heavenly Gate to appear!"

Only at this moment did Su Yu realize that the Heavenly Gate seemed to have many, many uses!

The Human Emperor continued: "The Heavenly Gate has other uses too. This thing depends on your own development. Your utilization of the Heavenly Gate is too low, which is actually a good thing!"

Su Yu took a deep breath and nodded.

Maybe so!

No wonder I felt the Heavenly Gate, aside from observing the Dao, seemed inferior to the Human Gate and Earth Gate. Turns out, it was my own ignorance, and there was no help for it. After all, before this, only the Martial Emperor had the Heavenly Gate, and even if he knew how to use it, he wouldn't tell Su Yu.

"So, Your Majesty the Human Emperor means that this man, Hundred Battles, might have been influenced by the Human Gate?"

"Very likely!"

The Human Emperor didn't care much about this, but Su Yu said: "He seems to have been intimidated by the Ancestor of Humanity's Dao-proving weapon!"

The Human Emperor thought for a moment and said: "Then it's a double influence! The influence of the Human Gate is more probable. This fellow... might have been affected by some of the will seeping from the Human Gate. A person like that..."

The Human Emperor hesitated for a moment, then said: "A bit trashy. Forget it, no need to pay too much attention! If he can't even withstand a little influence of will, such a person is destined to accomplish nothing great. Those who truly achieve great things won't be influenced!"

With that, he looked at Su Yu, as if to ask: Do you understand?

Those who do great things are like me!

Hundred Battles was influenced, meaning he's trash!

If I say this, will you feel inferior?

Su Yu thought for a moment and nodded: "Makes sense. It's Hundred Battles himself who's trash! Not to mention the phantom will of the Human Gate—if the true bodies of the Three Gates themselves were here, I'd smash them all, fuse them into one, and let Tongtian eat them. All the disobedient ones, the ones I don't want to kill, I'd lock them all inside!"

Su Yu added: "Actually, I think the Three Gates are pretty useless. Sealing is meaningless. If it were me, I'd just kill all the enemies. Why make things so complicated?"

He looked at the Human Emperor, grinning: "Your Majesty, am I right?"

"..."

The Human Emperor was speechless. There was some truth to it, but the way this kid looked at him seemed off, as if he were saying: If you, Human Emperor, don't obey, I'll smash you too!

Not a good person!

At this moment, the Human Emperor couldn't help but laugh. Maybe it was a good thing—lawless and unbridled, he could see that!

And Su Yu was also chuckling.

The Human Emperor knew so many secrets, and they sounded thrilling. At this moment, Su Yu quickly sorted through some things he didn't quite understand, then returned to the main topic: "So, Your Majesty, do you have any thoughts on the Ten Thousand Races now?"

"As for the Ten Thousand Races..."

The Human Emperor was silent for a while, then said after thinking: "I have some ideas, but... they might not succeed!"

"Your Majesty, please share!"

Su Yu hadn't come here just to be a bystander!

He also wanted to hear the Human Emperor's thoughts.

"We need to take risks!"

The Human Emperor spoke: "Either we wait until we return to the myriad realms, when the Three Gates are all open and chaos reigns. At that time, neither the Ten Thousand Races nor we will have time to care about others. But that will also be the most chaotic period. Once the Ten Thousand Races are gathered by the Three Gates, we'll be in big trouble!"

Su Yu shook his head: "No waiting!"

Waiting wasn't a good choice!

If he were willing to wait, he wouldn't have brought people here!

The Human Emperor smiled, having guessed it. This bastard wasn't one to be content with obscurity or mediocrity.

"Second... take a desperate gamble!"

The Human Emperor raised his brows: "The Ten Thousand Races are actually very timid and dare not risk their lives. But if something happens to me, they'll become bold! So, I need to gamble once, to tempt the Ten Thousand Races into taking a reckless step. Their timidity is both good and bad. The good thing is that we've held on for so many years. The bad thing is that even if we set traps, ordinary traps won't make them step in—they won't!"

Timidity has its moments.

The Human Emperor had set traps before, but if the other side didn't respond, there was nothing he could do. He couldn't force an attack!

Su Yu's eyes flickered: "Your Majesty means to use your severe injury to lure the Ten Thousand Races into the trap?"

"Yes!"

The Human Emperor laughed: "Of course, under normal circumstances, they wouldn't dare to believe it. But I haven't made a move for many years, only confronting them with phantoms. The Ten Thousand Races have been worried and suspicious, suspecting that something is wrong with me. But they still lack a trigger to dare to act against me!"

Su Yu chuckled: "So, if Your Majesty gambles this time, how can you lead them into the trap? What is the target of this trap? How will it be set? What is the ultimate goal? And how exactly will it be carried out... Would Your Majesty mind explaining?"

The Human Emperor glanced at Su Yu and fell into thought.

After a moment of silence, he said: "You must understand, the Ten Thousand Races aren't stupid. Once I gamble this time, they'll know I'm truly severely wounded. If the trap fails, the pressure on you from now on will be unimaginably great!"

"As for the target, it's simple: kill some people, weaken the Ten Thousand Races' strength, and at the minimal cost, once again achieve a balance of power between both sides. Gradually weaken the Ten Thousand Races until, before returning to the myriad realms, they can no longer shake us!"

"And the specifics?"

Su Yu asked again.

The Human Emperor smiled: "Lure the enemy deep, then annihilate them separately! Cut them apart, divide them, and kill the enemy!"

Lure the enemy deep!

Su Yu fell into thought, then said after a while: "It's not easy for me to set an ambush. The River of Time is too obvious. Should I hide at the bottom?"

As for how to lure the enemy deep, Su Yu stroked his chin and smiled: "If Your Majesty is truly willing to gamble once, it's actually simple... The Ten Thousand Races don't believe you're severely wounded, but Your Majesty can make them believe it. For example, if your broken physical body returns... Your Majesty wants to make a final gamble, to annihilate some of the Ten Thousand Races' top powerhouses!"

"Once the Ten Thousand Races get the news, they will surely try to annihilate you separately. On one side, they'll destroy your physical body; on the other, they'll destroy Your Majesty's Sea of Will!"

In fact, dividing the Ten Thousand Races wasn't hard.

It all depended on whether the Human Emperor dared to gamble once!

Separating the physical body and the Sea of Will would indicate that if they were united, they could fight to the death and kill a first-class. Everyone believed the Human Emperor had that strength. A separated spirit and flesh would naturally be easier to kill than when combined!

Then, there would naturally be a way to cut apart the Ten Thousand Races!

The Human Emperor said softly with a smile: "I don't really mind, but you have to think it through... If it fails, the news of my severe injury will be completely exposed! Also, my old brothers... may not listen to you. And you, are you willing to listen to them? If not, do you think a group of old antiques, who have lived for countless years, will listen to a young man in his twenties? After all, you didn't grow up together!"

"And the worst-case scenario: if I fall completely, the people on my side will probably lose their morale. Can you pull them back?"

The Human Emperor sighed as he spoke: "So... sometimes I want to gamble once, but I'm afraid of failure. I can't even die!"

He couldn't afford to die!

If he died, the ancient human kings would surely fall into chaos!

Even if Ming Wang were there, it would be very difficult to suppress those proud and unruly soldiers and generals. If Wen Wang were still here, he might have a handle on it, but Ming Wang was still a bit lacking. The Human Emperor had no way around this!

And Su Yu... too young, too weak, lacking in prestige!

Su Yu, however, was a bold and audacious fellow—the moment the Human Emperor spoke, he took up the thread, clearly harboring the same intent, rather than adopting a delaying tactic!

He wanted a swift resolution!

Su Yu chuckled, "True, it's indeed not a good gamble!"

If he won the gamble, fine; if he lost... the trouble would be immense!

These two, meeting for the first time, had already begun discussing such matters. Su Yu was a decisive man, not keen on dragging things out. After a moment's thought, he added, "The news of our arrival can be concealed for a while, but not for long. While the enemy is still in the dark about our true situation, we still have a chance. Otherwise... the opportunity will slip away. Your Majesty, do you see any other way to lure the myriad races into division and deeper involvement?"

"Difficult!"

The Human Emperor shook his head, "It's mainly because they've been burned by us too many times. The current generation of myriad-race strongholds were tricked plenty back in the day—they've learned from experience!"

"..."

Su Yu suddenly found it hard to respond to that.

He gave a dry laugh.

This... made some sense. Knowing a bit about King Wen and the Human Emperor, one could tell that these people weren't exactly saints back then; they'd tricked many myriad-race powerhouses, and after being tricked so often, the myriad races had gained some experience.

In short, unless they saw a sure chance of victory, the myriad races rarely made a move.

That was also the reason for the years of stalemate!

Of course, in doing so, the myriad races had missed many opportunities!

The Human Emperor laughed too, not too bothered by it. The myriad races fearing them was a good thing—a mark of achievement!

But now, with Su Yu's arrival, he wanted to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, as he looked on, it seemed there weren't many opportunities.

He sighed, "What a pity you're not a First-Class, or even stronger. Otherwise... I wouldn't mind taking a gamble!"

What a shame!

Su Yu stroked his chin—true!

He was still a bit weak, even at Second-Class, still weak!

"What about borrowing power from the Heavenly Gate?"

Su Yu asked, "Can it lend enough power to reach First-Class?"

"Difficult!"

"Then..." Su Yu raised an eyebrow, "Your Majesty, that... you don't need the Star Universe Seal anymore, do you? Lend it to me to merge into my world! Also, since Your Majesty is about to die anyway, why not just merge into my world? There's still hope for another life, and it might push me quickly to First-Class!"

"..."

The Human Emperor just stared at him blankly. This... we've only just met, isn't this inappropriate?

You already occupied my domain and borrowed my world, and now you want to borrow me myself?

Are you determined to finish me off?

The Human Emperor laughed!

"Actually, to be honest, if you had real achievements, great achievements, I wouldn't really mind. But... not now. To put it bluntly, you haven't shown me that you have the power to suppress the myriad races and the Three Gates. I won't rest easy handing my old brothers over to you!"

Su Yu grinned, showing his teeth, "Just joking. If Your Majesty really came, I'd have a headache! Besides, the world you opened is still there; abandoning it would be a real loss."

"And if I truly had to rely on myself alone... I'm not confident. If Your Majesty could recover, it would ease my burden. Killing you now would only put more pressure on me. Dying is fine, but not now..."

"..."

Can't you speak like a human?

What does "dying is fine" mean!

The Human Emperor chuckled, "You... aren't you afraid of me?"

Su Yu was too direct!

"Afraid of what? Afraid Your Majesty will deal with me? Or afraid Your Majesty thinks I'm usurping power?"

Su Yu said with some emotion, "To be honest, I never wanted to be the leader—I was pushed into it! It's too tiring, too exhausting. I didn't even want to come rescue Your Majesty and the others, but my people disagreed, and I felt I had to contribute. But if Your Majesty is wary of me and tries to harm me... heh, I'll leave soon enough!"

Su Yu shrugged, "I'm not afraid of Your Majesty dealing with me. If you do, it's to take in my people. But if something happens to me, none of them will have a good end! Your Majesty would gain nothing. Such an unwise move—if the Human Emperor did that, it would be too foolish!"

"Hahaha, makes sense!"

The Human Emperor nodded, "Young as you are, you think clearly! But since you're here, making an appearance is necessary!"

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Give me a straight answer: if I let thirty Rule Masters slip away, possibly including a First-Class, can you take them down?"

"Not killing twenty or thirty Rule Masters... to be honest, exposing my situation wouldn't be worth it!"

The Human Emperor said gravely, "With 125 of them, if we can have a net death of over twenty, it will keep us stable even with my severe injury. If I let thirty through, can your side handle it? If not... there's no point in exploring this plan further. It would be meaningless!"

For now, he still had to pretend to confuse the myriad races.

Thirty, including a First-Class!

Su Yu bared his teeth, "Your Majesty flatters me!"

Too many!

Ten, even with a First-Class, he could handle!

Thirty... that matched Su Yu's numbers. The key was the First-Class and unknown number of Second-Class. If things went wrong, with one mishap, Su Yu's side would be wiped out—first visit, total annihilation!

Screwed!

The Human Emperor had 52 strong warriors; even if he let thirty go, that left 95, and the pressure on his side would still be immense!

Su Yu laughed, "Your Majesty really wants to pull off a heist?"

"Of course!"

The Human Emperor said nonchalantly, "To be honest, who would want to face off against the myriad races for years if not forced? If I had the strength, I'd have struck long ago. But I lack power! One must still have ambition. All these years, I've dreamed day and night of how to deal with the myriad races, return early, and free up my hands to handle the Three Gates... but there's no opportunity!"

What a pity—the matter of the Three Gates, he truly had no time to deal with now!

Heaven was not on my side!

Otherwise, given time, the calamity of the Three Gates might not have been hopeless.

Now, seeing Su Yu and his strong drive, the Human Emperor thought of his own younger days—he was the same. But I can't go back!

"Thirty..."

At this moment, Su Yu was still thinking. After a long pause, he said, "Your Majesty, how many Second-Class can one First-Class Rule Master handle?"

"Three to five, no problem!"

The Human Emperor explained, "Those few aren't the strongest among First-Class. You, the Martial Emperor, and if we call in the War King, three against one, there's a chance!"

They'd need the War King too!

Otherwise, Su Yu's side lacked the strength to match a First-Class, because the gap for others was too large.

Su Yu quickly weighed the options, "Your Majesty is willing to lend the War King?"

"Agreed!"

The Human Emperor smiled, "The First-Class must stay. One or two Second-Class can go, but no more!"

Su Yu continued to assess, calculating—the risk was too great!

But if he didn't take the risk, he could only wait, only endure!

Enduring here... who knew if, over time, the myriad realms might face some upheaval.

"Then... does Your Majesty have a way to leak the news to the myriad races without them suspecting?"

This was another major difficulty!

The Human Emperor, seeing his detailed inquiry, his eyes flickered: "Of course I do. After all, I know the myriad races too well! If you think you can handle the trouble, I can solve the other problems. Don't think we've been idle here all these years—we've made preparations!"

Su Yu nodded. That was true; the Human Emperor could be quite reliable sometimes!

The Human Emperor's voice turned a bit somber: "But... do you really want to do this? If you get me killed... it won't do you any good!"

Little one, why do I feel like you're itching to set me up for a big fall?

Am I being too reckless?

We've only just met; I haven't even properly assessed you yet. If I trust this brat and end up dead, it won't just be my own loss!

Su Yu grinned innocently: "Your Majesty, fortune favors the bold! We've come this far... can we just sit and wait? I didn't come here to freeload—just beating up the War King and calling it a day? Where's the fun in that?"

"..."

Uh, the War King got beaten?

"Did you record it?"

"..."

The Human Emperor's abrupt question caught Su Yu off guard. After a moment, he grinned and tossed out a copy. The Human Emperor took it, satisfied, and laughed: "Well done. I'm impressed—you've got potential!"

For this alone, I'm impressed!

Su Yu wanted to say, aren't you being too hasty?

Damn!

So just because I recorded a video, you're impressed?

And you've already made up your mind?

The Human Emperor chuckled: "A small thing reveals much! Actually, I'm not entirely ignorant about you. Some things require deeper understanding, which takes time—but time is exactly what we lack!"

"Su Yu, pleasantries are meaningless!"

The Human Emperor turned serious: "If you can eliminate the strong ones I've placed on your side... then the plan can proceed. Whether it succeeds depends on fate!"

Su Yu raised an eyebrow, then grinned: "I'll give it my all. If it doesn't work... then it doesn't work!"

The Human Emperor met his gaze, both their eyes gleaming with sharp light!

Then... let's try it!

The Human Emperor smiled, and Su Yu smiled too.

Suddenly, both burst into laughter. Behind them, the War King and the Bright King glanced over—seemed like they were getting along quite well, not bad at all!

At that moment, Su Yu and the Human Emperor had already reached an unspoken understanding!

Do it!

What was there to fear?

The Human Emperor wasn't being reckless, but he knew—perhaps this was the only choice!

While Su Yu was still bold enough and willing to act, they had to move quickly. The only fear was that if Su Yu, that brat, saw things going south and ran off—that would be truly terrifying!

He had to guard against that!

He needed a way to restrain Su Yu, or else the Human Emperor worried that this seemingly troublesome young man might actually do it!

Thinking this, the Human Emperor laughed, then suddenly said: "By the way, last time you borrowed my world's power, and I borrowed yours. If I die, just before my end, I'll merge my entire world into yours—how about that?"

"..."

Su Yu was taken aback: "Your Majesty... can you do that remotely?"

"When a man's about to die, no price is too great!"

The Human Emperor chuckled: "I still have some strength, after all. At that point, my world's great path should become the dominant path in your world. You'd be inheriting my will!"

Su Yu's mouth twitched.

In simple terms, the Human Emperor meant: if I die, I'll merge my great path—the path of responsibility—into your world!

Then, since his path of responsibility is strong, it would become the main structure of Su Yu's world, and... Su Yu would become the next Human Emperor!

With the path of responsibility as the core!

He looked at the Human Emperor, smiling a forced smile: "Your Majesty, is that necessary?"

"Very necessary!"

The Human Emperor laughed heartily: "If I die, no one will accept you! With my world merged, you'll grow stronger and inherit my path. My old brothers will also submit to you. Isn't that great?"

"..."

Damn you!

Su Yu cursed inwardly. You're just trying to trap me, huh!

So you're afraid I'll screw you over?

Thus, you're giving me a warning: if you die, I, Su Yu, will end up just as unlucky as you, inheriting this so-called path of responsibility—I'd become a damn babysitter!

Seeing Su Yu understood, the Human Emperor chuckled.

I'm offering benefits, not threatening you, little one. You'd better think it over!

For a moment, the two exchanged smiles again, but this time, both were tinged with a hint of hypocrisy!