Published at 5th of March 2026 6:40 am

Chapter 1880: Scholars Are Growers (2)

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Su Yu smiled and said, "Succeed or die. We can no longer afford to take things slow. Since he's monopolizing the ink dao, he has to demonstrate some strength or he's better off dead. I'll get someone better to take over this dao instead."

Hearing all that, Liu Hong's heart thumped violently. He asked in horror, "Where are you taking me?"

Holy shit!

Why was he so unlucky?

These fellows were so terrifying!

Lan Tian and Wan Tiansheng had grown surprisingly strong. And Su Yu was also incredibly strong.

Su Yu said indifferently, "The place where life and death intertwine. Don't you understand? The node connecting the death spirit dao and the River of Time. The death spirit dao is also a tributary of the River of Time. Since your ink dao is a tributary of the death spirit dao, you should know all this. I'm taking you to the node where life and death coexist. Comprehending life and death there will help you greatly with your dao.

"Do not waste my effort. Yes, that is a place that can easily kill even heavenly kings, but I have confidence in your ability to survive. Know that I trust you fully."

"No!" Liu Hong was horrified, "Please don't! Grandpa! I'm sorry for everything! Please don't joke around with me, Su Yu! No matter what, I used to be your teacher! Principal, Elder Lan, please talk to him! Stop playing with me!"

Was this a joke?

Wasn't this the same as killing him?

Lan Tian merely laughed and said, "Just go. Don't be scared. We were just there moments ago. We nearly died, but we're still alive, right? Well, Tiansheng got himself injured badly, and Su Yu burned almost all his lifespan. But look at me! I'm perfectly fine! You can do it!"

The more he spoke, the more horrified Liu Hong was. They nearly died? That was a place that had nearly killed the three monsters. And they were taking him there?

Please!

He roared, "I will really die there! Su Yu! No, Emperor Yu! Please, I will work for you! I will kill death spirits for you! Stop playing around!"

"Playing around?" Su Yu looked at him and coldly said, "How am I playing around? A great catastrophe is upon humanity. All of us have the courage to put our lives on the line. Do you not have the courage to do the same? Why must you be excluded? The ink dao was a weapon Culture King left behind to handle the powerful enemies of humanity. And now, you're telling me that you're rejecting your responsibility after inheriting this dao? Sure, I can separate this dao from you. What do you think? If you still want this dao, work for it. Either you grow strong or you die."

Su Yu's tone was frosty as he said, "Do you think you received the ink dao to slack around? All four daos have appeared. I control the pen dao. Lan Tian controls the paper dao. Great Xia King and Great Qin King control the inkstone dao. You alone control the ink dao. Great Qin King and Great Xia King are capable of facing peak Daofuses when working together. They can even contend against heavenly kings. Lan Tian alone is as powerful as a heavenly king. You are the sole exception, you piece of trash. Can you even handle Daofuses now?"

Liu Hong was rendered completely speechless.

"Don't give me that nonsense about time. I have cultivated for far less time than you." Su Yu snorted and continued, "You are too timid. You only do what's safe in everything you do. It might seem like you are meticulous, but in truth, you have been missing out on countless opportunities. This is an era of strife. Instead of rising to the challenge, are you trying to survive like a rat until your end comes to claim you?

"This place where life and death intertwine is the number one cultivation land in existence. A regular person can never reach that place. Even Masters of Laws can't reach that place. I am the sole person capable of giving you this opportunity. Instead of treasuring the opportunity, you're refusing me? Refusing an opportunity I created by sacrificing so much of my lifespan?"

Su Yu's eyes turned frosty as he said, "Answer me. Are you going? If you don't want to go, I will sever your dao. You will drop back into the Sunmoon Realm. You won't die. You will only return to being a regular person. At that point, you are free to abstain from everything. You can do whatever you want. I won't force you. I will find someone worthy to inherit the ink dao."

Liu Hong opened his mouth, but no voice came out. After a long while, he said bitterly, "But this is how I am. Can't you let me stay at the back and scheme around? Why are you making me charge at the front? That isn't me!"

"And what have you accomplished with your schemes?" Su Yu asked, "There are so many Daofuses out there. Have you managed to scheme anyone to death so far?"

"..."

Liu Hong had a sheepish expression. What question was that? Not everyone was a freak like this guy!

"Your schemes are shit! With your shitty strength, what can your schemes do?"

Su Yu asked again, "I'll ask you again. Are you going?"

After a long while, Liu Hong nodded with resignation, "Yes. But...can you at least tell me about the place? And tell me about my path of retreat from that place. I need to prepare well before going, right?"

"There is no retreat. Succeed or die. It's very simple."

Liu Hong felt like crying. He was losing his mind. This was not his style!

Su Yu gave a simple explanation of the place they were going before saying, "Don't even dream of returning yourself. It's not possible. The moment you step into the River of Time, you will die. Not even heavenly kings can survive there. As for returning through the death spirit dao, you will be devoured by the countless death spirit experts in the river before you can leave without my protection. You can only grow strong. Strong enough to return safely to your ink dao. That is your only path of survival.

"At the place where life and death intertwine, both life and death exist in an endless cycle. As long as your comprehension of the dao grows fast enough, you won't die so easily. This depends on your talent. Without enough talent, you die."

Liu Hong still felt like crying. What did he do to deserve this? This was such an unreliable plan! That was truly a path of no retreat. It was do or die. He must grow strong or he would die.

Before long, they reached their destination. It was the end of the death spirit dao. The stone had played a big role in helping Su Yu reach this place again. At the very end of the river, light and darkness interweaved with each other.

Even without a Heaven Gate, Liu Hong could sense the two powers coexisting at the same place. He gasped and said, "This...the moment I lose control of the balance, I'll die!"

"Yes!" Su Yu said, "Therefore, you need to control everything and maintain balance or die."

Liu Hong smiled bitterly and said, "You overestimate me too much."

"No." Su Yu said, "I'm not overestimating. I simply think that it doesn't matter for you to die if you can't even do this."

"Fine." Liu Hong stopped his struggle. Suddenly, Su Yu tossed him over. He wailed in shock, "Hey! You should at least give me a little time to get ready!"

Su Yu ignored him and grabbed the Heavenly Hunt Index in Lan Tian's hand. With a flicker, the index vanished into the river before reappearing near the node connecting the two rivers.

"Go!"

Done with that, Su Yu turned around to leave. Both Lan Tian and Wan Tiansheng followed behind him. Only then did Liu Hong land on the river again. With the powers of life and death surging into his body at the same time, he instantly coughed a mouthful of blood. Over half his body rotted, causing him to yell in alarm, "Hey! Leave me some healing treasures or something! I'll really die like this!"

"You're fine. Just persevere."

"Fuck!" Liu Hong cursed, "You're a bastard!"

But at that point, Su Yu's group had vanished into the distance.

Liu Hong did not have the luxury to keep cursing. He hurriedly adjusted himself and focused on maintaining the balance. Inwardly, however, he never stopped cursing.

Those bastards!

Just wait, assholes!

How could they do this to him?

***

Somewhere in the Celestial River of Death, Wan Tiansheng laughed and asked, "Can he do it?"

"Yes." Su Yu nodded, "That guy might be young, but he has probably received an incredible inheritance. With the Heavenly Hunt Index there, we can bring him back even if he fails."

He inhaled deeply and continued, "We can't let the power of an entire dao go to waste. He has the ink dao, but he's too lazy. He must have been stealthily capturing some death sovereigns when we found him earlier. That's a decent idea, but too slow."

Earlier, he was probably in the middle of capturing some death sovereigns to steal from them and expand the influence of his ink dao. However, that was too slow for Su Yu's liking. Furthermore, Dragonblood Marquis was already doing so. He didn't need another person doing the same thing.

The fastest way he could improve was by comprehending the dao at the node between life and death.

Wan Tiansheng and Lan Tian did not protest. The three continued traveling along the Celestial River of Death. And after returning to the spot they found Liu Hong, they exited the river.

There, some people were already waiting. South Heavenly King and Marquis Lanshan had sensed the aura of a living being not long ago. Thus, they had all gathered here.

The moment South Heavenly King saw Su Yu, she asked in alarm, "What happened to you?"

Marquis Lanshan was greatly shocked as well. She exclaimed, "Your Majesty!"

What happened to him?

The sight of Su Yu with his white hair had greatly alarmed them. Did he encounter a crisis or something?

Su Yu smiled and answered nonchalantly, "I'm fine."

Next, South Heavenly King's gaze landed on Lan Tian. Her heart thumped with shock as she asked, "Who...who are you?"

Lan Tian grinned and answered, "Lan Tian. Deputy Director of the Clearfilth Office."

South Heavenly King was unbothered about Wan Tiansheng since she knew Wan Tiansheng. But Lan Tian's appearance and introduction gave her a massive shock.

Yet another super expert had appeared beside Su Yu.

Su Yu did not have the time to explain anything. He said, "I need to return immediately and start my recuperation. For now, ignore the Origin Land.

"Chase all the disobedient experts from the river to the Origin Land. Ignore all the battles in the Origin Land. Let them be. Don't think of taking advantage of the chaos. Do not enter the Origin Land without my order.

"Open a passage to the experts in the river toward the Origin Land. Tell them to enter the Origin Land if they don't want to suffer our suppression. A day will come when I return and go after everyone in the river."

Everyone listened seriously. For some reason, it felt as though Su Yu had changed yet again. The atmosphere around him had seemingly changed. Previously, he was domineering and arrogant, but he still felt like a part of the mundane world. He felt human. But now, even that had vanished. The white covering his body gave him a bleak and lonesome disposition.

Su Yu was unbothered about what they thought. His injuries were heavy. It was the same for Wan Tiansheng. In fact, even Lan Tian was also seriously injured despite looking fine. He needed to return and stabilize his new cultivation level. None of them had much time to waste here.

Having given all those commands, Su Yu left. Lan Tian and Wan Tiansheng followed him. With a flicker, all three vanished into thin air.

When the three were gone, Marquis Lanshan said, "His Majesty...is even better looking than before. He has grown...more charming than before."

She spoke with admiration, as though she was speaking about her idol.

South Heavenly King couldn't even be bothered to say anything about that. Instead, she stared into the distance for a long while before saying, "Two individuals capable of reaching the level of peak Daofuses right after pioneering a dao. What an...interesting era."

She could see that the two individuals beside Su Yu had only pioneered their daos not long ago. Yet one was already as strong as a peak Daofuse while the other was as strong as a heavenly king. How terrifying.

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