Chapter 948: After All the Turns, It's Still You

Su Yu's power was growing continuously!

The power of the future was too easy to borrow, which was why the Three Bodies Art had once been so popular—it gave a sense of reaping without sowing.

Yet in this world, nothing comes without effort.

Only equivalent exchange exists!

What you give is what you get.

When a pie falls from the sky, you have to wonder: is it a real pie, or a millstone that will crush you?

The more convenient the power of the future, the more vigilant you must be!

Thus, when Su Yu merged with the power of the future and instantly grew stronger, his Great Dao itself strengthened. Su Yu, who had originally not merged with any Dao and was only at the 36th rank, still short of the 37th, now instantly entered the 37th rank!

And he was still rising.

He had fused with a powerful future!

Su Yu's physical body could barely withstand it, a testament to just how immense this power was.

This power seeped into every fiber and cell of his being!

Acupoints, heavens, divine apertures, flesh, blood…

It even began to spread, reaching into his will. And Su Yu let it spread, letting it strengthen him, even actively guiding this power to concentrate almost entirely on his will!

He was utterly reckless!

At this moment, Su Yu maintained an inner calm, eerily serene, as if nothing were happening, as if he felt nothing at all. He simply let the power permeate every part of his body!

Gradually, this power merged into Su Yu's body.

Su Yu's aura grew stronger and stronger!

There seemed to be no side effects, no influence at all. He was still Su Yu, unchanged.

Even Su Yu himself could detect no problem!

He was the same Su Yu as before.

But deep down, Su Yu knew that perhaps something had crept into his body, lying dormant, waiting, biding its time!

Perhaps the merging of Su Yu's future self was exactly what the other party had hoped for.

They might even have been eager for Su Yu to merge with his future self as soon as possible!

Su Yu smiled as always, his strength still climbing, his grin radiant: "Blue Sky, maybe you should try merging with your future self too! It would be quite interesting!"

Blue Sky glanced at him, shrugged, and didn't take the bait.

Forget it!

I'm not as crazy as you. I'm still a normal person—well, at least relatively normal. Su Yu is a lunatic. He's already guessed it, yet he keeps playing with fire. But I have to admit, his strength is rising alarmingly fast. It's enviable.

It seemed that the spirit who controlled the River of Time had paid a heavy price.

To boost a powerhouse like Su Yu from the 36th rank to the 38th rank in an instant, and still climbing… truly, they had invested a fortune!

That guy Su Yu was still highly valued!

If it were them, they probably wouldn't have gained much.

At this moment, Blue Sky was also certain: such an entity existed, most likely the spirit controlling the River of Time, but it was probably entangled with that Seventh Gatekeeper of the Human Path.

Thus, it now hoped to use Su Yu's hand, Su Yu's power, to break some deadlocks!

Su Yu was truly audacious.

He had guessed it, and now he was about to test it.

And that future just now—it had many flaws. For a powerhouse like Su Yu, creating a completely real, logical future was extremely difficult. On the surface, it seemed fine.

But Blue Sky quickly realized there were huge loopholes and defects.

Su Yu killing people? That was nothing.

Whether the Human Emperor and the others escaped or not, Blue Sky didn't really care.

"Alone in the world, the sole being under the sky"—that wasn't a problem either.

That look in his eyes… well, Blue Sky thought it was nothing.

The key was that after annihilating all enemies and destroying everything, leaving only Su Yu himself, the emotion was wrong. Su Yu wouldn't feel lonely, desolate, or sorrowful. That bastard would be thrilled!

In Blue Sky's mind, at that moment, Su Yu would probably roar, "Damn it, they're finally all dead! I'm free!"

Yeah, probably!

Blue Sky muttered inwardly: The spirit didn't understand Su Yu!

Of course, not many people understood Su Yu anyway.

Su Yu would never wear an expression of sadness, loneliness, or solitude. He would definitely feel relieved, ecstatic—if everyone died, so be it. Might as well all perish together.

He might even burst into manic laughter!

That future just now, so sorrowful, so regretful, as if the destruction of all realms was utterly hopeless—that could never be Su Yu's attitude.

That was the biggest flaw!

Blue Sky thought to himself as he watched Su Yu rapidly grow stronger. He knew this strength was illusory, but… but Blue Sky also had his own ideas. This power didn't belong to Su Yu yet, but it was indeed a formidable force, and also a kind of insight. The forced enhancement wasn't obvious because it came from the River of Time's comprehension.

It was far superior to the Ten Thousand Dao Stone!

In fact, it was normal insight, normal growth—only the power carried a special will. If that will could be severed, the power would truly belong to Su Yu!

That was probably Su Yu's plan!

And for that, he needed Blue Sky's help.

Su Yu really thought highly of him!

Blue Sky knew that Su Yu was placing some bets on him, but Blue Sky was also frustrated. Kid, you really overestimate me. Can I contend with that entity?

It was both trust and pressure!

He looked at Su Yu again, saw him still boosting his power, and couldn't help saying, "That's enough!"

You're pushing it too hard—I can't handle it!

Su Yu looked at him, surprised: "What's wrong?"

Are you scared?

You're a madman—what are you afraid of?

I'm not afraid, you know!

Blue Sky hesitated, wanting to curse. What's wrong?

He looked at Su Yu again, somewhat helpless: "I won't call you 'Brother Yu' anymore. That's enough. We're tight—I won't gross you out, and you stop messing with me!"

Let's not hurt each other anymore!

He sighed wistfully: "I remember when you were still a good kid. Back on the academy arena, you knew when to admit defeat. Now you've learned to go all out!"

I remember clearly, back then you could admit defeat eight thousand times—why are you so stubborn now!

Su Yu couldn't be bothered to respond. That was how many years ago?

Ancient history!

With a thunderous crash!

Su Yu and the other stepped out of the river of memory, their aura trembling for a moment. In an instant, it reached the 38th path, faintly pressing toward the 39th. Su Yu sensed it—he might reach the 39th, or he might not; it depended on luck.

Since he was already bleeding, he might as well bleed more.

If he didn't reach the 39th, it would be hard for him to contend with the Two Gates.

If the other side wanted to scheme something, they should provide him with enough insight and power to reach around the 39th path—only then could he be of use. Otherwise, he'd be nearly useless.

Of course, not too strong.

If they directly boosted him to the 40th path, first, the other side might not be able to supply such immense power.

Second, if he became too strong and wiped out the Heaven and Earth Gates outright, their plans would fall through.

Third, if the Seventh of the Human Gate truly existed, the commotion would be too great, and the other side would notice.

Fourth, if Su Yu grew too powerful, once something went wrong, it would be hard to counter-control him.

Su Yu weighed the options—the 39th path was neither too high nor too low, just the right choice.

With that thought, Su Yu smiled and waited calmly, anticipating the rise to the 39th path. A flood of insights poured into his mind—insights into heaven and earth, into the myriad paths. Such insights, such elevation—if it had nothing to do with the River of Time, Su Yu would sooner die than believe it!

Only the River of Time could provide insights surpassing the Myriad Path Stone!

Not just insights, but also those pure laws of order and the power of the paths.

Throughout the myriad realms, only the River of Time could offer Su Yu such things.

This, the Human Gate surely could not achieve.

If it could, why bother with sealing? It could just casually elevate some strong beings.

And even if the Spirit of Heaven and Earth managed it, it likely paid a heavy price.

Was it staking everything on him?

"An outstanding person—no matter where, they shine brightly!"

Su Yu suddenly sighed. Lan Tian was speechless, staring at Su Yu, utterly at a loss. I always feel that compared to you, what I lack is this thickness of face!

Not as thick as yours!

At this moment, both of them felt much more relaxed. Su Yu smiled and said, "Don't mention it—before, with my strength too low, I was always worried and fearful. Now, suddenly, I feel at ease!"

Lan Tian said nothing.

Yes, you're at ease, but I'm not!

He glanced at Su Yu, somewhat gloomy, and muttered, "My strength is a bit weak, and my willpower is lacking too. Is there any way to make me stronger... the normal kind of strong—don't give me any abnormal boosts!"

For instance, merging with a future self!

"Poison to counter poison is actually not bad!"

Su Yu still suggested he merge with his future self. How wonderful—you are the poison; maybe you could even confuse the Spirit of Heaven and Earth.

Wasn't that how they dealt with Heaven last time?

Lan Tian was speechless again, grumbling, "Last time against Heaven, her strength wasn't great—probably around the 30th path, at most. I'm not her match, but her willpower was just so-so..."

Do you understand?

Even so, I nearly lost myself.

And that was just Heaven. If he encountered the Spirit of the River of Time, he couldn't imagine it—the gap was too vast.

"Don't you have me?"

Su Yu chuckled. "What are you afraid of, Old Lan? If you weren't afraid, I'd stay calm. But you're so scared, it's making me uneasy! I believe in you—no problem!"

Shut up!

Lan Tian was almost losing it.

Do you think I'm like you?

Now you're just handing me the dirty work, so of course you're not afraid. What good is your belief in me?

He thought for a moment and then said, "Alright, I need to use the world to nourish my body and strengthen my willpower. Prison's!"

He said gravely, "Although Prison isn't completely devoid of emotion or desire, her world is still very complete, with many fused paths, and it's strong. I don't need the paths—I want her world's will! You can give the paths to Qiong, or to the Dead Spirit Lord, or to anyone... but I want her world's will!"

That way, he could strengthen himself, make his willpower formidable, and then cooperate with Su Yu to have a chance against that being that might descend at any moment.

Having said that, he asked, "Is it okay to talk about this now?"

Su Yu shook his head and smiled. "If you're monitoring someone, would you watch them 24 hours a day?"

"Yes!"

Su Yu glared at him. If you don't answer as expected, it's no fun.

"Don't worry. I'm at least a clever man, a vigilant one, and a strong one. If they kept watching me all the time, they'd be treating me like a fool—though there's already a tendency to treat me like one!"

Lan Tian nodded slightly.

The two stepped out of the small realm. He looked at Su Yu. "What are your plans now?"

On Su Yu's side, his strength had suddenly jumped significantly.

Su Yu might enter the 39th path, while Wen Wang and Wen Yu had both entered the 36th, and Wu Wang had entered the 35th—all successes, huge leaps!

He felt that Su Yu might stir up trouble ahead of time.

Would he go kill someone early?

With such a sudden surge in power, perhaps even the Heaven and Earth Gates hadn't expected it.

Su Yu smiled. "The Heaven and Earth Gates, the Human Ancestor and Prison King, Ji Tian and Jing Tian, plus Sun and Moon... Shi has either fled or gone into hiding. Now it seems there are eight strong ones. On our side, not counting you and Old Wan, there are seven. Wu Wang is enough to deal with Sun and Moon!"

That leaves six against six.

Suddenly, the strength is quite balanced.

But the other side is still a bit stronger—they have two at the 38th path and one at the 37th, while on Su Yu's side, Wen Wang, Wen Yu, and the Human Emperor are only at the 36th. Qiong can match one at the 38th.

There's a gap in strength, but it's shrinking!

And at this point, their power has actually reached its peak.

The Blood World is gone, Kong is gone, Su Yu's future self is merged, the Human Emperor and the others have reached their limits, and Qiong and the Dead Spirit Lord have nothing left to improve. Expecting others to quickly enter the super tier is like climbing to heaven.

Su Yu didn't rush to talk about this. He raised his eyebrows and looked around, smiling. "There are quite a lot of Devourer Locusts! Let all the strong ones in the myriad realms go kill them! Don't let them idle! Are they all just eating for nothing? Kill more!"

Lan Tian understood and nodded slightly, then added, "As for Tian Sheng, he'll probably need a few more days. His improvement isn't slow... but he's still a bit short. I suggest you'd better kill Prison King first. That way, the benefits from her world will be enormous!"

"Prison King is the key!"

Lan Tian said solemnly, "First, her Yang Path can make Qiong stronger! Second, I can use her world's will! Third, the Path of Seven Emotions and Six Desires is useful for Old Wan... In short, if we kill her, we can feast all at once!"

Lan Tian said gravely, "I know you might want to leave her for later, but she must die first! Once she's dead, the subsequent difficulty will drop significantly!"

This is the core, the key issue!

Su Yu, however, had been hesitating all along, which left Lan Tian somewhat helpless. He knew what Su Yu was worried about, and added, "The Human Emperor and the others are all clear-headed people. I don't think there's much need to worry! Some things, spoken openly, aren't happening for the first time! Just because she's connected to King Wen and the others doesn't mean we can ignore the immense, enormous benefit of killing her!"

Su Yu seemed lost in thought, then nodded.

Lan Tian was actually right. Killing the Prison King would mean a single feast that fills you up for good. Devour the Prison King, and offense and defense would swap places. Even if the Heaven and Earth Gates truly recovered to their peak, Su Yu's side would still have a fighting chance!

Qiong would surely gain a massive boost from devouring the Prison King's Great Path!

Perhaps Qiong would even enter the 40th Path before the Lord of the Dead.

Lan Tian's will would grow stronger, and Wan Tiansheng's understanding of the Path of Seven Emotions and Six Desires would reach perfection; he might even inherit the Gate of Seals.

Su Yu pondered for a moment, then nodded: "This issue is worth taking seriously. No rush for now. I'll go first and capture the Great Zhou King and the others, make them work for me to merge the Paths. They're not much use now; let's merge the Paths first... Today is the ninth day since the Heaven and Earth Gates revived... There's still a little time!"

Nine days since the two gates revived!

Earlier, the Earth Gate said one month; three days later, it said twenty days—meaning twenty-three days to recover. According to the Earth Gate, that leaves only about half a month before they can recover.

Su Yu felt he needed to cut that time short.

The descent of the Human Gate!

Probably around eighty or ninety days as well.

"Within three days, there will be results!"

With that, Su Yu patted Lan Tian: "Go on, do your thing. Gather the myriad-race experts, strip those who need stripping of their Great Paths, merge those who need merging, and get things in order!"

Lan Tian nodded, said nothing more, and vanished instantly.

But Su Yu didn't leave in a hurry.

He lingered on the spot for a while, his aura rippling once more.

39 Paths!

And then the improvement came to an abrupt halt!

As if all insights had faded away, all power of rules and Great Paths consumed to the last drop—just exactly, not a bit more, not a bit less.

Su Yu felt like complaining!

It was too deliberate!

If you didn't pay attention, fine; but once you did, it was full of flaws. If the Spirit of Heaven and Earth had orchestrated this, the craftsmanship was too crude. If Su Yu had done it, it would never have been this rough!

Indeed, a spirit is just a spirit—still somewhat clumsy at its core!

Doubao, Chuibing, Maoqiu, Book Spirit, Lord of the Dead...

Su Yu had also come to realize that spirits, in truth, didn't possess such high intelligence. In this world, humans were far more terrifying.

Everything seemed reasonable, but if you looked closely and paid attention, there were indeed plenty of loopholes.

Still, it was enough to fool ordinary people.

Those who never thought about this wouldn't dwell on it; only those who did would find holes everywhere.

...

Soon, Su Yu left the small realm.

After a while, he appeared in the Human Realm.

The Human Emperor and the others saw him flash by without greeting them, and they didn't bother him either. The kid was too young and liked to run around everywhere. At a time like this, he really wasn't afraid of being surrounded and killed before anyone could rescue him.

...

"Zhou Tian, come out!"

The Great Zhou King was cultivating. Two days ago, he had gone out to kill a rogue cultivator and was still absorbing the power of the Great Path. Su Yu's shout nearly made him choke on his breath. He emerged from his secluded room and looked at Su Yu with some helplessness.

Really no sense of ceremony!

He had gone from "Great Zhou King" to just "Zhou Tian."

"Your Majesty..."

Su Yu glanced at him, stroking his chin: "Only 18 Paths of power—a bit weak!"

The Great Zhou King was speechless. I'm not you; I don't have your monstrous talent.

"I'm going to kill your ancestor!"

Originally, the Great Zhou King had hoped Su Yu would cooperate with the Human Ancestor, but now Su Yu was clearly opposing him. Su Yu had come to ask his thoughts.

The Great Zhou King was silent for a moment, then spoke: "I've lived here for hundreds of thousands of years... I've had a few encounters with that one... but... I do have my inclinations. Your Majesty came to me just to say this?"

"No, I'm saying I'm going to kill your ancestor, and you need to do your part!"

The Great Zhou King sighed helplessly. Saying that—aren't you afraid of chilling my heart?

"How can I help?"

"I'll give you 20 acupoints—merge them for me!"

The Great Zhou King was taken aback: "20 acupoints..."

"Yes!"

Su Yu pointed at his own head: "Divine acupoints, in the Sea of Will! Enter my Sea of Will and merge the Paths for me! I've decided to follow the plan the Academy Head proposed. You'll become part of my body, my tools, specifically helping me merge the acupoints! As for improvement... not much need! Even if you improve, you won't reach 32 Paths. Don't compare yourselves to me—I'm too talented; no one in this era can catch up to me!"

He had to learn to use resources wisely, to use manpower and material resources.

The Great Zhou King hesitated. Su Yu couldn't be bothered to argue and quickly shouted: "Come here! Everyone, come over..."

Soon, a group of people flew over rapidly.

Some were absent, out killing, but Su Yu didn't wait for them.

He glanced at Blade Lord and the others who had arrived, then said: "Blade Lord, you lot... well, break your Paths and leave!"

Everyone was stunned!

Blade Lord's face changed drastically—was Su Yu going to kill them after crossing the river?

Su Yu quickly added: "Sword Kong too!"

At the mention of Sword Kong, everyone relaxed a bit. Sword Venerable was still alive, and Qiong was now a 38-Path cultivator; Su Yu wouldn't kill even Qiong, would he?

"Pack your belongings and go. Follow the Human Emperor and the others!"

Su Yu said rapidly: "If the Human Emperor and the others have vacancies in their Great Paths, take whichever you fancy! The Human Emperor, King Wen, Wen Yu, the Lord of the Dead, and the Four Directions of Heaven and Earth—there are plenty to choose from!"

At this moment, Snow Dragon's voice sounded strange: "Master of Calamity, are you..."

Su Yu waved his hand: "I'm preparing to fight the Heaven and Earth Gates to the death—self-destruct and take them down! You and I aren't that close, so I can't bear to take you with me in a self-destruction. I, Su Yu, even if I die, I'll die with those I know well. If we're not that familiar, following me to self-destruct—you wouldn't be willing anyway!"

Everyone was taken aback. Was he serious?

But Su Yu rarely joked about such things.

Was he really going to self-destruct and fight to the death?

Their faces changed slightly.

Su Yu laughed: "What are you looking at? Think I'm lying? I am going to self-destruct and take them down! I'm tired of living! I've long wanted to die! Leave or not—think it over. There's no test or anything... If you don't want to leave, I'll take you to die with me!"

Everyone looked at each other, hesitating for a moment, genuinely afraid that Su Yu might be testing them.

Just earlier, Su Yu had said they would each take control of their own paths, and now he was telling them to leave—could this be a test of their loyalty?

Su Yu grew impatient: "Do you all want to die? Don’t think about testing loyalty—it doesn’t exist. You’ve never been loyal to me, and I know it better than anyone. You’re all just trying to survive! I’m only avoiding burning bridges; otherwise, I’d kill you all outright! But since you’ve followed me, I’m finding you a way out! You decide which of those fellows gives you the best chance to live, and go with them. I’ll explain the situation and make proper arrangements for you. If no one takes you in..."

Su Yu thought for a moment and said, "Then we’ll see if we can reconnect to the River of Time—it shouldn’t be a big problem!"

Hearing this, everyone felt awkward. The Blade Master quickly said, "Lord of Calamity, we are utterly loyal to you..."

Su Yu smiled: "Fine, you stay, and I’ll take you with me!"

The Blade Master’s face changed!

Well... if you put it that way, given your situation, you might really be heading into a hard fight—how dangerous.

He didn’t quite dare.

The others fell silent instantly!

If they spoke up, Su Yu might say, "Then I’ll keep you all here," and that wouldn’t be good.

At that moment, Jian Kong couldn’t help but speak: "Lord of Calamity... do we... do we really have to leave?"

Su Yu smiled: "Don’t want to go?"

Jian Kong, being the son of the Sword Venerable, and with Qiong now a major figure on Su Yu’s side, wasn’t too afraid. He hesitated and said, "Then... Lord of Calamity, if we leave, aside from keeping our insights, can we... take some of the power of the Great Dao with us?"

That was what he really wanted to say!

If they took the power of the Great Dao, Su Yu’s strength would be weakened!

This was a difficult thing to bring up.

But it had to be said!

Otherwise, cultivators of over twenty paths would leave with nothing but themselves. When they reached the realms of the Human Emperor and others, even if their sword paths weren’t already occupied, would they have to start from scratch, cultivating from a single path?

That would be too miserable!

After all, they had once fused vast amounts of world power and rule power into Su Yu’s realm. If they took that power away, what if Su Yu’s strength dropped?

No one else dared to say this!

Jian Kong, relying on the Sword Venerable’s influence, cautiously raised the point.

Su Yu smiled: "It’s fine! Let me put it this way: those above sixteen paths can take away the rule power exceeding sixteen paths! Those below sixteen paths don’t need to. The Human Emperor and the others are now cultivators of thirty-six paths. Even if their Great Dao realms are weaker, they’re not necessarily weaker than mine! Taking it or not makes no difference—once you’re there, your strength will remain roughly unchanged!"

Hearing this, Jian Kong and the others were moved. Those above sixteen paths could take away the excess rule power—that was generous!

"Then... thank you, Lord of Calamity!"

Jian Kong bowed in thanks. If Su Yu did this, it was truly considerate. Those below the first rank would see no change in strength, and those above the first rank, taking their own rule power and insights, would also remain unchanged.

In the end, only Su Yu would suffer the loss, while the Human Emperor and the others might even gain something.

After all, they would be taking away part of Su Yu’s power.

At this moment, the Great Qin King frowned slightly and said gravely, "Your Majesty, if you do this, your strength will decline. How will you face powerful enemies?"

This wasn’t good!

He felt that Su Yu was sometimes too kind.

Jian Kong dared to propose this—even if out of consideration for Qiong, Su Yu should at least punish Jian Kong severely, not let him off!

Did he think he could just take the power away?

Su Yu had fused the power of two realms, along with much power from the Yin and Yang realms. In fact, many had improved significantly. How could Jian Kong just take it away?

Su Yu smiled: "It’s fine. At my level, the power they take isn’t much. Besides, it originally belonged to them."

With that, Su Yu called out: "Human Emperor, Wen Wang, Wen Yu, Old Death... come and take these people! I’m going to separate some cultivators—you receive them!"

In an instant, several figures appeared.

The Human Emperor looked at Su Yu, frowning slightly. "Take people?"

Su Yu briefly explained the situation, not hiding anything: "It’s to balance the power of the Great Dao. Too strong is bad, too weak is also bad. I might transform like Lan Tian, merging my will... It’s inconvenient to take them along. But since they’ve followed me, I’m finding them a way out."

Su Yu chuckled: "If I merge my will, taking them along won’t work—conflicts might arise. But for you, it’s not a big problem. The Great Dao is in your hands; if necessary, you can strip it away."

Wen Wang frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Su Yu, this path is not easy to walk. Lan Tian split by accident—you..."

Su Yu smiled: "It’s fine! Am I worse than Lan Tian? Besides, the ones I’m keeping are old brothers. The chance of will conflicts is small... That’s it. I’ve made my decision. If you’re willing to take them, take them. If not, I, Su Yu, am not unreasonable. I’ll arrange for them to find a way to reconnect to the River of Time!"

The group exchanged glances. The Dead Spirit Master sighed: "Cultivators related to the paths of death, darkness, and life can come to me!"

Wen Wang considered and said, "Cultivators of the paths of exploration, knowledge, the five elements, yin and yang... can come to me!"

The Human Emperor thought for a moment and said, "My realm has many people. In the last era, they were human cultivators. They can consider coming to me!"

Wen Yu shrugged: "Anyone can come. Those no one wants, I’ll take them all in!"

She didn’t mind. Her realm gathered all paths, even more comprehensive than Su Yu’s.

If Su Yu didn’t want them, she wouldn’t mind taking them in, to prevent them from running wild without restraint.

With that, these people suddenly had a place to go.

Su Yu smiled: "What are you waiting for? Hurry up! Those who need to leave, leave now! I suggest you mainly go to Wen Yu’s realm. Her realm has many paths, and it’s full of scattered cultivators. Besides, there aren’t many humans from this era, so there won’t be too much favoritism. Go less to the Human Emperor’s side—you know the situation with his paths..."

Everyone trembled. Indeed, they vaguely knew about the Human Emperor’s paths—they were very sinister!

As for Wen Wang, they were somewhat afraid.

Wen Yu... Wen Yu had taken in many scattered cultivators before. To be honest, going to Wen Yu’s path was indeed more suitable.

As for the Dead Spirit Master, he was powerful, but the restrictions were too great.

After addressing them, Su Yu looked at Xing Yue, who was inconspicuous among the crowd, and said, "Xing Yue, you go to your brother’s side too. The path of life and death should now be separable..."

Su Yu added: "If your brother’s realm has no suitable path for you, then go to the Dead Spirit Master’s side. The path of life and death in his realm is now fairly complete."

The Dead Spirit Master smiled: "That’s fine. This little girl once entered my realm in the past and governed the path of life and death. She’s quite skilled at it. I see she’s fused life and death well!"

If Xing Yue came, the Dead Spirit Master wouldn’t object.

This could work!

The Human Emperor’s sister had talent.

At this moment, Xing Yue looked at Su Yu and snorted coldly: "Did I say I was leaving? Have you forgotten who the leader is?"

You forgot—I’m your boss?

How dare you order me around?

Su Yu raised an eyebrow slightly: "I’ve made it clear. If you follow me, the chance of death is high!"

"Hmph!"

Xing Yue sneered: "Have I never died before? Do you need to remind me?"

Who do you think you are?

I was already a dead spirit when you weren’t even born!

Su Yu looked at the Human Emperor, who frowned slightly. After a moment, he said, "If Xing Yue wants to stay, let her stay. The path of life and death is currently unclaimed. Let Xing Yue fuse with it!"

He looked at Su Yu: “You want to merge the Dao—do you need our help here?”

“I really do!”

Su Yu laughed, looking at him: “Call Xinghong and the others over, ask if they’re still willing to come back. If not, you keep them; if they are… now that a batch has left, I don’t mind that they’re rather dull—I can recycle some!”

His face was full of jest. The Human Emperor nodded slightly, reached out a hand, and a group of people appeared.

These people had once followed Su Yu, but later they couldn’t advance; Su Yu’s Dao wasn’t strong enough, so to improve, they had gone to the Human Emperor’s side.

Now, these people appeared one after another.

Su Yu looked at them and smiled: “On my side, I’ve sent away those I’m not too familiar with. Xinghong, you can come back now… Of course, if you don’t come back, that’s fine too—same as before! If you come back, you’re just asking for death! Just a casual question… don’t say later that I didn’t inform you.”

Su Yu’s smile was bright: “I’ll say it straight—if you come back, you’re still destined to be a laborer!”

From the crowd, Xinghong chuckled: “On the sword Dao, do I share it with Yunxiao, or with Jiankong?”

“Jiankong is gone; Yunxiao has mastered the sword Dao well enough—why share with you… Aren’t you a fish? If you come back, I’ll give you a water Dao to help me merge the Dao!”

You’re the fish, your whole family are fish!

Xinghong sighed: “I’m not a fish; my true form is a wenyao…”

Su Yu rolled his eyes: “Still a fish, isn’t it?”

Xinghong was a bit helpless, also a bit frustrated: “If you say so, then so be it!”

Nothing worth arguing about!

Just then, Tianmie suddenly interjected: “He wants to come back? I say, Xinghong, you’ve been working at the Human Emperor’s side for a while now—switching masters every day, isn’t that bad?”

Xinghong just stared at him—you big macaque, what do you mean?

Tianmie laughed heartily: “Better you don’t come back; coming back is useless! His Majesty wants to merge the Dao—he needs someone with a good head, someone who merges smoothly. You’re not up to it!”

“You are?”

Xinghong was a bit annoyed. Tianmie grinned: “Sure, of course I am. I know the staff Dao, the club Dao, the bamboo Dao, the halberd Dao, the spear Dao… all similar paths. I’m much more useful than you, aren’t I?”

He wasn’t trying to drive Xinghong away out of spite; he just felt that Su Yu was growing more and more reckless, might really take risks, so it was better to stay with the Human Emperor.

At least it was safer.

They were all old brothers of many years; those who hadn’t switched Daos and had stayed all along should just keep staying. Xinghong didn’t need to come back.

Xinghong laughed: “Come off it! There are plenty who know those Daos—who among the Great Qin King and the others doesn’t? What use are you?”

With that, he directly severed his connection to the Human Emperor’s heaven-earth Dao and walked toward Su Yu.

He took a deep breath—at this moment, it was time to return!

Su Yu said nothing more. Tianmie bared his teeth but also said nothing—if he was back, he was back.

From the crowd, Hongmeng smiled and waved at Xinghong, his mood also somewhat complicated.

On the Human Emperor’s side, Marquis Dingjun looked at the Human Emperor, then at Su Yu.

He was an old subordinate of the Human Emperor; logically, he had come and stayed, and at the Human Emperor’s side, he had at least advanced.

He had missed every opportunity.

Now, go to Su Yu’s side to die?

It felt like Su Yu was heading straight for death!

Marquis Dingjun scratched his head, a bit sheepish, and after a long while said: “Um… Your Majesty the Human Emperor, I… I’ll go over there too?”

The Human Emperor was slightly surprised. Prince Ping beside him stared at this old subordinate with a strange look.

What are you going over there for?

I’m your superior!

Marquis Dingjun gave an awkward smile: “The spear Dao was taken by the Great Qin King… I couldn’t break through before, so I thought I’d advance under Your Majesty. But now His Majesty the Yu Emperor means to merge the Dao, fuse it into one… so maybe the spear Dao isn’t that important anymore…”

Marquis Dingjun gave a dry laugh and scratched his head again: “Mainly… the pressure’s a bit much. Over here at the Human Emperor’s side, it’s all big shots from back then, and Prince Ping is here too—it’s awkward. I… I’ll go over there! I know Yingwu, Zhennan, and Ju Fu over there…”

Prince Ping quietly stepped on his foot and transmitted: “Don’t be a fool! It’s not that I’m afraid to die, brother… but I think Su Yu is a bit off now. The Human Emperor at least knows when to advance or retreat. Su Yu’s current stance seems dead set on a fight to the death… If you go with him, you might not live past next month!”

Marquis Dingjun smiled and nodded, but said nothing, and walked toward Su Yu, thinking as he went: Off?

Not live past next month?

Old boss, I know.

But you were gone for a full hundred thousand years!

A hundred thousand years—do you know what that means?

It means I fought alongside Yingwu and the others for a hundred thousand years, fought for a hundred thousand years!

And I fought many great battles with Su Yu too—got excited, got passionate, got thrilled, got happy, felt like I mattered…

You say, if Yingwu and the others all die in battle, then you and I… we’re really not familiar anymore!

A full hundred thousand years apart; back then, I was just a nobody, and with you, I had no common language.

Marquis Dingjun walked cheerfully toward Su Yu. Halfway there, he had already severed his Dao, looked at the Great Qin King, and grinned: “Hey, little Qin, give me a bit of the spear Dao… you’re already so strong, giving a little won’t hurt!”

The Great Qin King was helpless—give you nothing, go cultivate another Dao yourself!

And Su Yu, silently watching for a moment, spoke again: “Anyone else going to their realm? Ju Fu, Qirong, Hetu, Chen… any of you who want to go, go ahead!”

“And Tianming Hou and the rest… anyone who wants to go, go!”

No one answered.

Su Yu looked at them and laughed: “What’s the matter? Can’t bear to leave me? If you’re going, go. Hetu, your ancestor Gong Wang is over there—what are you doing here? Lanshan, you can go to King Wen’s side too, and Nan Wang as well…”

Lanshan was a fangirl of King Wen, and so was Nan Wang.

Lanshan Hou’s voice was low: “Your Majesty, being all fussy like an old woman—that’s not your style!”

“…”

Su Yu was stunned, looking at her—what the, Lanshan is… scolding me?

Su Yu was dazed for a moment; Lanshan had always been obedient—today she actually cursed me!

Heavens!

And Nan Wang, glancing at King Wen, then at Su Yu, suddenly smiled: “He is in a dream, you are in reality; he is in the heavens, you are in the mortal world.”

It was said poetically, but in truth, it told Su Yu that adoring King Wen was ultimately just a dream.

At this final moment, she still chose to follow Su Yu—Su Yu… was more real than King Wen, truly real. King Wen was merely a dream!

At that moment, King Wen himself didn’t know what he felt; he glanced at them and said nothing.

And Su Yu, looking at the people around him, suddenly laughed.

Somewhat surprised, somewhat relieved, somewhat amused.

“After all the twists and turns… it’s still us!”

Round and round, in the end, by his side were still those people, still the ones from the beginning.

The ones who had fought together until now!

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