Published at 26th of January 2026 7:37 am

Chapter 1803: Grand Dream Turtle (1)

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One after another, the guardians were swapped.

All the old guardians were filled with excitement.

Grand Dream City.

Slowly, the number of guardians standing before Su Yu increased. He had opted to free them now to grant them more freedom. That way, they could fight elsewhere without worrying about the Spirit Suppression Domain.

"For now, don't remove your petrification."

Su Yu reminded them. That was a good technique to seal their auras and resist death qi. With the petrification technique, they could enter the Death Realm without triggering much reaction from the Death Realm.

He didn't know the technique. Otherwise, he would have used it on all the living beings going down there with him. This was quite a useful technique. The guardians listened in silence. Inwardly, they were still incomparably excited.

After taking a glance at them, Su Yu sank into thought. Of the thirty-five guardians, he was familiar with Heavendoom and a few others. Most of the rest were still strangers to him. But he needed them. Of the people under his command, they were the nearest to the Daofuse Realm.

People like Xia Longwu had exhausted all their previous accumulation after reaching the seventh-stage Eternal Realm. Killing a few marquises would not be sufficient for them to achieve Daofuse.

As for these old guardians, their foundation had long grown strong enough to help them achieve Daofuse. They only lacked a push from the power of laws.

A hundred thousand years of guardianship. A hundred thousand years of endless duty. The powerhouses of the other realms could go into slumber during the long wait, but these old guardians had remained awake the whole time. They had given their all to resist the Death Realm. They had contributed greatly to all living beings.

While sipping tea, Su Yu said, "Guardians, all of you are greatly meritorious individuals. I understand that some of you would rather not have this merit. And some of you didn't start this job for the merit. The sudden end of the ancient past had trapped you here for a hundred thousand years. For some of you, this is a punishment."

Su Yu raised his head to meet their gazes and said, "Anger, hatred, fury, you all have these emotions. Some don't even know who you should hate. Some hate the ancient humans or myriad races."

Heavendoom wanted to speak, but Su Yu stopped him with a gesture.

Su Yu continued, "Seniors, you have all helped me tremendously. I will be frank with you guys. If you can't let go of your hatred, if you don't wish to fight for me, I give you a choice. You can come with me, or you can go wherever you want and enjoy your newfound freedom. This is my way of repaying all of you.

"If you do choose to leave, please remain hidden for a short time. Perhaps you can stay in Grand Dream City for a bit before leaving. I believe you can trust the Spirit Suppression General."

Once again, Heavendoom tried to speak. Su Yu laughed and said, "Senior Heavendoom, not everyone is the same as you. Not everyone can be happy so long as they have something to fight. Of the thirty-five seniors here, some must be tired. They must not want to fight any longer. But they have been forced to remain for the sake of the other guardians. But things have changed."

Su Yu smiled and said, "Your fate is no longer tied to everyone else. There is no need to force their hand by talking about morality and favors. If you are feeling tired, find a place to rest. I will allow that. I only have one requirement. Please don't stand with the myriad races.

"I am being absolutely frank with all of you here. So long as you don't stand with the myriad races, all of you will be treated as heroes upon my victory in the future. It doesn't matter if you help me or not. I will take your previous contributions into consideration. But if you do stand with the myriad races, all your previous contributions will be wiped clean. I will not spare a single person who has sided with the myriad races."

Meeting Su Yu's gaze, the guardians reacted differently. Some were nonchalant, some had mixed feelings, and some were discussing among themselves through voice transmissions.

Beside Su Yu, the old turtle was sipping from an empty cup. He was still holding the cup as he waited nervously. How many of them would leave? How many would stay?

The old turtle felt like Su Yu was giving them a very good offer here. They could leave without repercussions. Su Yu was not someone who would go back on his word. Su Yu might be lacking in some aspects, but his promises could be trusted.

The old turtle was only worried that some of his old companions would choose to stand with the myriad races. And in that situation, Su Yu would also fulfil his promise. He would hunt them down.

Seeing that nobody was saying anything, the old turtle said, "My old friends, if you are tired, find a place to rest. When we win, we can all gather and drink again. Emperor Yu does not wish to see any of you standing with the myriad races. I am of the same opinion. I do not want to meet any of you on the opposing sides of the battlefield."

He sighed and said, "I have wronged all of you. Because of me, you were all trapped in this duty for a hundred thousand years..."

"Boss!" An old guardian said, "Nobody expected that. You invited us back then for our good. A thousand years of duty and an appointment as a general after that. That was a good offer. What happened next was merely an accident."

This guardian was right. Back then, this could indeed be considered a good and easy job. There wasn't much danger. That was an era where the dead would not dare to provoke the living.

The four heavenly kings were incredibly docile. They would personally deal with the death spirit marquises audacious enough to challenge the living. The guardians wouldn't even need to raise a hand.

Finally, Heavendoom had the chance to speak. He said impatiently, "Okay, let's get to the point. Brothers, who's leaving? Be honest. We won't stop you from leaving. Su--cough, Emperor Yu was right. As long as you don't side with our enemies, we will remain brothers!

"But if you decide to stay, let us continue fighting together. We won't be fighting purely for humanity. We are also fighting for ourselves. To gain strength. To gain safety. In the past, nobody dared to touch us due to our duty. But we are no longer guardians. An Eternal can be killed too easily."

At times, Heavendoom's mind could be exceptionally sharp. Those who thought that he was a fool were the actual fools. As a ninth-degree Eternal with a fiery temper, he had actually survived the ancient past when there were so many stronger experts around. Why?

The old turtle was his backer. But there was another reason. Heavendoom was one of the few individuals who were close to the students of Culture Tomb. In fact, he was there when the Culture Tomb was erected.

Would an ordinary friend be allowed to bear witness to something like that? Thus, Heavendoom could also be considered an outer member of Culture King's faction. Thus, those marquises and kings had to show him some respect. And he knew very well that if they did not fight for Su Yu, Su Yu would not help them grow strong. He could liberate and protect them out of respect for their previous help.

Even Su Yus promise to honor their contributions was given out of respect for their pevious help. But he was no fool. He would not help the individuals who had opted to stay out of the war grow strong. That would be stupid. What if they decided to join the myriad races upon growing strong? Wouldn't that be the same as growing his own enemies? Eternals could be easily suppressed. But Daofuses were different.

***

In truth, a lot of the guardians were hesitating.

It didn't matter if some of them harbored the thoughts of aligning with the myriad races. This wasn't the place to voice it. That would be the same as seeking death. After all, they knew full well about the events in the Death Realm.

Thus, most of them were hesitating between two choices: join the war or enter retirement. After a hundred thousand years of duty, some were indeed tired. Some of them wanted to fight no longer.

Previously, they all thought that Su Yu would force them to join the war on his side. But surprisingly, they were given the chance to choose. And since their boss had not protested, it was obvious Su Yu was serious about his promise to not go after them if they were to retire. They could not trust Su Yu, but they could definitely trust the old turtle.

After all, the old turtle had played a big role in their survival for a hundred thousand years. Not a single one of the original guardians had died. No matter how important they were, they were only Eternals. If those from the Upper Realm wanted to, they could easily deal with these guardians.

After a long while, Eternal Serenity said, "Back then, I received some benefits from the divines and devils. Of course, it has been countless years since then. I won't use that as the reason behind my choice. I am simply tired. Since Emperor Yu is giving us a chance to choose, allow me to be honest. I don't want to fight anymore."

Eternal Serenity continued, "My race is already extinct. I am all alone now. I don't have a race to fight for. I don't care about my own strength. I only want...freedom."

At first, Heavendoom and a few others stared at him unhappily. But soon, their expressions calmed. Everyone was free to make their choice.

Freedom.

That was something all of them yearned for. But for some, like Heavendoom, he wanted to fight and earn his freedom with his own two hands. A freedom they had not earned might not be so easy to enjoy.

Su Yu smiled and said, "I understand, Senior Eternal Serenity. It is not a bad thing to make your choice clear now. I only have one requirement. Please spend some time in Grand Dream City first. When the new guardians or the things we're doing in the Death Realm are exposed, you will be free to go everywhere you want."

Eternal Serenity inhaled deeply and nodded. He had opted to withdraw from the war.

He cupped his fists at the old turtle and Heavendoom. Then, he looked at the others and bowed slightly, "Brothers and sisters, to those who are staying, I wish you a smooth journey ahead. Allow me...to be a deserter for once. I am too tired."

Then, he vanished with a flicker. Moments later, the door of a building in Grand Dream City swung open as he stepped inside. He was making it clear that he wouldn't leave that building until the time was right.

Some of the guardians sighed, and some looked at him with regret. They had been comrades for a hundred thousand years. They couldn't blame anyone for wanting to leave. Even Heavendoom, with his fiery temper, was staying silent.

He left. Because he was tired of this.

Su Yu asked, "Anyone else? Don't worry. Just be honest. Even if you choose to stay, there is no guarantee that you can achieve Daofuse. And you might not be able to do much in the coming war without being a Daofuse."

Su Yu smiled and said, "In war, the willingness to fight is very important. There is no point in forcing anyone to stay. A winning battle might be fine for these people, but things might go wrong the moment we encounter a difficult battle. You can leave now as I will still keep your past contributions in mind. But if you leave in the middle of a difficult battle, I won't forgive it.

"I am being very open here. For me, the Spirit Suppression Army is too important. I do not wish to trigger a conflict between me and the Spirit Suppression Army because of something this minor."

The old turtle remained silent.

Heavendoom was the one to speak, "Don't worry. Those who have chosen to stay will naturally go all the way with you."

He looked at the others and said, "Openmountain, you look the most cowardly among us. Why don't you leave now?"

A burly guardian gave Heavendoom a long stare before asking, "Are you serious? You must be saying that to trigger me into staying because you can't bear to let me go, right? I understand you. You can't show off in front of Grandstar anymore. And the others will ignore you, however hard you try to show off. I am the only person you can show off to. Am I right?"

"..."

Heavendoom snorted disdainfully. What nonsense!

Openmountain smiled and said, "I'm not leaving. I have been a guardian for so many years, but I have never gone too deeply into the Death Realm. I'm looking forward to my trip down there. Who knows? I might get lucky and become a marquis in the future. This has always been my dream."

The guardians started making their choices one after another.

Rainbow Rain, one of the female guardians, stepped forth and said weakly, "I won't bother joining the war. Don't waste your effort on me. I am the weakest here. Over the years, Boss had worked very hard to preserve my life. Anyone else might be able to achieve Daofuse, but there is no hope for me. I am too useless. Even now, I have yet to recover from my previous injuries. Allow me to take my rest."

The old turtle nodded and said, "Yes, you should retire. Your very essence has been damaged after all these years. Even your dao has been damaged."

He looked at Su Yu and said, "Emperor Yu, you are aware of her injuries..."

Su Yu nodded, "I understand. Find a nice building here and take a good rest. I will inform everyone when you are free to go."

The guardians continued conversing among themselves through voice transmissions. Subsequently, a few more guardians opted to leave. Eternal Serenity, Rainbow Rain, Broken Jade, Buried Sea, and Moonlight.

These five guardians had opted out of the war. A hundred thousand years of duty had completely worn them down.

Thirty remained. Some remained for strength. They were tired of being weak. Some remained because they wanted to fight for their own freedom. Some remained for the sake of their comrades. Since Heavendoom and the others would fight, they would fight as well. This result was much better than expected.

Su Yu had chosen to hold this discussion openly out of respect for the old turtle and the ones close to him, like Heavendoom. He had deliberately done it after freeing them so as not to coerce them to stay.

The old turtle and the others understood his thoughts. It was likely that all of them would choose to stay if the discussion were held prior to their liberation. After all, they would be worried that he wouldn't free them if they were to refuse his recruitment.

This was a powerful faction. Su Yu did not want to distance himself from them for such a minor reason. Losing a few of them was no big deal. After all, not all of them could achieve Daofuse. For some, staying was pointless.

With the departure of a few, Su Yu could better concentrate his resources on the remaining guardians, increasing their chances of achieving Daofuse.

Su Yu said, "As for the switching of the cities..."

The old turtle laughed and said, "That won't be hard. The cities are our weapons. But some of the unique buildings and the systems in place to handle the death spirits are not bound to our weapons. Instead, these things are tied directly to the power of laws around the tunnels. The new guardians only need to place their weapons down and we will be able to remove our weapons."

Su Yu nodded and asked, "Will that create a lot of ruckus? After all, there are a lot of pseudo death spirits in these cities."

The old turtle said, "No. We only need to ensure that the switch is undetected by the outsiders. Sunmoons are the strongest beings in these cities. We can easily conceal the entire process from them."

Su Yu laughed, "True. As for the existing mayors, the new guardians will need to avoid interacting with them for now."

After giving some additional reminders, the matter concluded. The various guardians proceeded with the switching of their weapons.

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