Chapter 2138: Darkness Recedes (II)

Chaos Sky was still absorbing the power of order. As more energy flowed into his body, the increasingly unruly strength of disorder began to settle down.

Chaos Sky breathed out with relief. His battle strength hadn’t increased, but his cultivation level had fully stabilized. The threshold to ninth rank was in front of him. He could attempt it at any time.

That was so reassuring.

He looked at Skyward and the rest, then at Su Yu. Chaos Sky chuckled softly, no longer as highly on guard as before. His laughter carried the same tranquil tones as it usually did.

“Little friend... no, Emperor Yu!” Chaos Sky smiled. “Don’t fall for their tricks, Emperor Yu. These people are the survivors of those who destroyed the chaos one million years ago. They focused only on short term profits and didn’t care about the consequences of extracting spirit from the chaos.

“Even now, they have not recovered to their full strength, but they are ninth ranks! Once they seize time and use it to stabilize the chaos, they will recover everything they have lost. I will not be able to stand against them then!”

“Do you really think of yourself as an emperor, Chaos Sky?” sneered Calamity. “Are you worthy of being one? Also, the new guy have a path to survival if he hands over time. If he doesn’t... do you think anyone from this new chaos will live past today?”

A battle would be avoided if time was handed over. If not, the ninth ranks would seize it all the same!

Time might not dissipate that quickly at this level, they could afford to disturb it slightly while they fought over it.

Su Yu nodded in the river of time, his feet still on the dao star. He understood something.

“I see... ninth rank...” He paused with uncertainty. “The power hierarchy of Myriad Realms is different from that of the chaos. What kind of strength is ninth rank?”

“Little does Emperor Yu know, the cultivators of the chaos practice a myriad of daos.” Chaos Sky was much more friendly now. “Mastering more than nine thousand dao rules makes one a ninth rank. I can see that Emperor Yu is on par with the previous Silver Moon King Li Hao. You are both around five thousand daos.

“That makes you an eighth rank. Anyone greater than two thousand is an eighth rank. But with the strength of your daos and how they have become ordered dao, you likely possess the strength of eight thousand dao rules. That makes you a supreme powerhouse in the chaos universe!”

“I see... I understand some of this new land.” Su Yu brightened with enlightenment. “In that case, two thousand dao rules should be the equivalent of more than twenty ordered daos.

“But dao rules from Myriad Realms seem to be stronger, so sixteen should be a more accurate conversion. That means this is the equivalent of a tier one master of law!”

He nodded with full understanding. It was fine if the others didn’t understand. He turned back to his people and sized them up.

I see. Tier one is not weak. Only some of our peak powerhouses are that level, and they’re all overlords of their worlds. So they’re only eighth rank here.

There’d been several dozen heavyweights of that cultivation level at their peak. Many had died, but many had also been born. They still had several dozen, making for a sizable force.

That’s fine. It looks like Myriad Realms is not weak.

Su Yu smiled.

Granted, there was a large difference among eighth ranks. Anywhere between two thousand to nine thousand all counted as eighth rank. It was an enormous interval, yet there was also a group of ninth ranks facing Su Yu.

The youngster marveled at the numbers he faced. There were two dozen of them!

No wonder the old geezer acts like that and runs around everywhere. Not only is he constantly on the run, but he’s dragged me along for the ride. I get it though, he was looking for someone else to fight his battles, wasn’t he?

This was a massive pit that he’d fallen into!

In the distance, the Sun God looked on worriedly. He wanted to say something, but the supreme grabbed his arm and subtly shook his head.

Confusion appeared on the Sun God’s face. This was a very dangerous situation and those in front of him were actually familiar. Although the memories weren’t that clear, they were continuously sharpening after the flow of time was standardized.

It was this group of people who’d taught him so many things back in the day. They’d now emerged from their home and come face to face with a terrible situation. He wanted to offer some words of advice, but Zhang Tao stopped him.

Why?

Of course, Zhang Tao always had many plans in mind. So although the Sun God didn’t understand, he tamped down the worries in his heart.

“Su Yu, since you are aware of the difference in power levels between us, you should relinquish the dao of time now,” said Calamity. “That is your only hope of survival, otherwise...”

Su Yu looked steadily at him, only confused instead of angry. “If I may ask... what is your title?”

“Calamity!” The man smiled faintly.

Su Yu blinked, then inclined his head. “Calamity... that sounds so familiar...”

Familiar?

The Calamity master raised an eyebrow. Had a spirit inside remembered him? But why?

Meanwhile, what Su Yu had in mind was that Calamity was a bad title.

I was once hailed as the tribulation of the myriad races and the forefather of calamity. I was the calamity of Myriad Realms!

If you’re called that too... that’s an overlap!

He looked around again, confirming that the master of time was not present. Su Yu was a little disappointed.

He’s really not here! Does he want to test me with this situation and see how I turned out?

But why?

Su Yu didn’t consider the possibility that Li Hao had gone on the run. That wasn’t likely to be the case. He glanced behind him, at Topsoil that wielded the five elements. The youngster realized something at this point. The look in the simple and honest Little Topsoil was changing.

That impish being was always one step slower than others, but somehow still made it to his present heights. He was the master of the five elements in Myriad Realms and... seemed to be connected to that one.

Su Yu didn’t mind the revelation. It wasn’t a big deal. Time had created their river of dao and nurtured Myriad Realms. It was fine that Li Hao had left behind some plans of his own. Su Yu never cared about that. He’d massively benefited from the dao of time over the years as well.

Topsoil was one of the core members of his team, but the least core of the members. Su Yu wouldn’t mind if he wasn’t present. His focus was on making sure nothing went wrong with Ole Wan, Lan Tian, and a few others.

Prior to walking out, he’d felt that a lot of people would awaken to their true selves. Now it looked like only a select few were affected. That was within his range of tolerance.

It looked like Old Geezer Time really had been very generous and didn’t leave behind too many traces of himself or his plans.

Su Yu listened intently to the conversation going on, swiftly assessing the situation.

The Human King and master of time should be on the same team. They were from the same system, after all. The impudent child lurking in the background was a monster spirit and could just barely be counted as part of the same team, but relations didn’t look to be that close between her and the rest.

Chaos Sky was probably competing with these ninth ranks, but also working with them for the moment.

Su Yu easily identified the web of connections. He took another look at the only somewhat familiar faces in the crowd—the Human King’s side.

He’d studied New Martial’s rise and understood that the Human King wasn’t a benevolent sort. He also liked to talk, but wasn’t saying a single word today.

So both he and that old geezer want to see how I turned out, is it?

Their intentions were very clear to read. We won’t lift a finger if you’re not up to snuff and end up dying here. You’re one of us only if you have some skill to your name.

“Myriad Realms has been at war for many years,” sighed Su Yu as he looked in all directions. “Our peace was hard won. I have actually never controlled the dao of time either. It’s just that our dao is built atop it. If we hand it over but receive nothing in return, things will be very troublesome for all of us!”

The dao of time was the core, that was true. But ever since he’d independently created a world of his own, he’d mostly emptied the river of time. The civilization of the universe was now his roots.

As for time... it was now weak and full of holes after being depleted for so many years.

Su Yu looked at Chaos Sky again and said softly, “Emperor Chaos Sky, who calls the shots in the chaos universe? I could hand over the dao of time if that resolves conflict and ensures that we can coexist peacefully... but the caveat is that Myriad Realms must not collapse from this course of action.”

Chaos Sky was tempted. He looked at the ninth ranks.

“Let’s just kill him and be done with it,” someone was already transmitting. “We can’t permit the appearance of someone as uncontrollable as Li Hao. Let’s suppress him first! If we’re worried about time collapsing because of his death... To be honest, I’m more inclined to think that it won’t, not this time!”

“Me too. The dao of time seems to have solidified after becoming the foundation of Myriad Realms. Logically speaking, it shouldn’t collapse after we kill this person!”

“It’s better to kill him to prevent future troubles. Chaos Sky is still absorbing order. Once he enters ninth rank, he’ll be another thorn in our side. Let’s kill him too, while we’re at it!”

“That’s a good idea!”

The ninth ranks looked at Skyward. Although everyone suspected him, he was indeed the strongest one here. Everyone was waiting for his decision.

Do they kill this Emperor Su or wait?

There wasn’t much point in waiting, so it was better to kill him and get it over with!

The dao of time had solidified into a river. It was no longer the river that no one else could see before. That meant that this dao had solidified by now, which also meant that anyone could wield it.

The Skyward didn’t say a word. He flicked a glance at Su Yu, waiting as his replica melded back with his primary body. His presence was much stronger than other ninth ranks, rivaling the Chaos Sky who was newly fortified with order.

“We can’t wait any longer. If we do, Chaos Sky really is going to reach ninth rank. Everyone, since Brother Skyward has yet to come to a decision... it’s the majority rule. Let’s vote on whether we kill him or not!”

“Kill!”

“Let’s kill him!”

“I vote for killing him too...” The group of exalted emperors swiftly came to a decision. Apart from a select few who were uneasy, the others agreed to killing Su Yu first before doing anything else. The dao of time had solidified, that was their greatest confidence boost in deciding on such an action.

It was enough that it probably wouldn’t break apart.

They hadn’t moved against Li Hao before because they were afraid of causing time’s disappearance. Now that that was no longer a concern, what were they worried about?

Of those eighth ranks?

What a joke!

They were ants at the end of the day, no matter how many they were!