Published at 13th of August 2026 6:21 am

Chapter 2201: Self Reliance Is Better (2)

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Everyone listened in silence. The atmosphere was grave.

Suddenly, someone spoke. It was South Suppression Marquis. With a complicated expression, he said, "Your Majesty, are you saying that back then, we deliberately allowed Control King's lineage to grow strong?"

Hundred Battle King answered, "That is not entirely accurate. Firstly, they were already strong enough to deliver us heavy losses. Ultimately, the myriad races would be the ones to benefit from our clash.

"Secondly, we need them strong to enlarge the opening and allow the Masters of Laws to start returning. Only then can we summon Human Ancestor back earlier.

"Thirdly, I had my arrangements. Yue Luo and Yue Xiao were meant to serve as our secret cards."

South Suppression Marquis sank into silence. He struggled with a complicated expression before saying, "But still...Bing Ku and the others died."

Hundred Battle King said nothing.

With his head lowered, South Suppression Marquis continued, "They are really dead. If...if this old subjects guess is right, they must have guessed your plan as well. However, they disagreed. Is that so?"

Before Hundred Battle King could say anything, Evergreen frowned and said, "South Suppression, you misunderstand. Back then, His Majesty treated everyone with sincerity. Bing Ku and the others knew his thoughts.

"But they wished to first defeat the myriad races and Control King's lineage before breaking the restriction and producing several Masters of Laws. They would then head upstream and save Human Emperor..."

Evergreen continued bitterly, "Bing Ku wasn't wrong to want that. But could a few extra Masters of Laws really be enough to help Human Emperor and the others? Nobody could say for sure. We didn't even know if we could defeat the myriad races and Control King's lineage.

"After His Majesty explained the pros and cons of both plans to them, Bing Ku and Dan Yu decided to die fighting. His Majesty once promised them to save them even if they could escape with only their seas of willpower. But they ultimately decided to detonate even their seas of willpower."

Evergreen sighed and said, "I understand their choice. They were the loyal guards of Human Emperor. But from the big picture, His Majesty's choice was wiser. Wouldn't you say so?"

South Suppression Marquis' expression turned even more complicated as he muttered, "Therefore, the near-extermination of the Torchbearers was self-inflicted?"

"Yes."

South Suppression Marquis asked again, his voice soft, "Allow this old subject to ask one more question. If Su Yu disagrees with you and insists on eliminating Yu Qing to keep the Hell Gate locked away for longer before heading upstream to help Human Emperor, how would you choose, Your Majesty?"

He looked up with an incomparably complicated gaze and asked, "Your Majesty, will there be a repeat of what happened to the Torchbearers? Will you stop Su Yu?"

After a short silence, Hundred Battle King spoke softly, "I will have someone explain things clearly to Su Yu. Control King's lineage must remain for now. The appearance of two Masters of Laws has enlarged the opening of the gate. We only need to keep pressuring them to make them summon even more Masters of Laws. The opening will keep growing. As long as the opening is big enough, I'll be able to summon Human Ancestor back."

South Suppression Marquis questioned, "What if that fails? Is Human Ancestor really behind the Hell Gate?"

Hundred Battle King nodded, "Definitely. And he can definitely be summoned."

"Control King is inside as well. By summoning Human Ancestor, will you be releasing Control King as well? What about the chaos powerhouses behind the gate? Is Human Ancestor sufficient to suppress them all?"

"Yes." Hundred Battle King answered, "Trust in the might of Human Ancestor."

South Suppression Marquis sank into silence. After a while, he said, "In other words, we are placing all our hope on the strength of Human Ancestor. Is that so? How reliable is the source of your information about him? Your Majesty, why aren't you placing the hope on yourself instead of someone else?"

After another pause, Hundred Battle King said, "Because...our enemies are far more terrifying than you can imagine. The enemy is a supreme being who had dominated an entire era. That is a being who has lived for countless years. I can try very hard to grow, but is six thousand years enough for me to reach the level of the Four Cardinal Kings? Is that enough for me to become the next Human Emperor?

"I don't think so. It's not that I'm being defeatist, but I understand very well that it will be very hard for me to reach the heights of Human Emperor or Culture King."

Was he being honest here?

Yes.

Hundred Battle King was very strong. But the Four Cardinal Kings would probably be his extreme limit. Could he become the next Human Emperor? Nobody could say for sure. Thus, he could only place his hope on Human Ancestor.

South Suppression Marquis mumbled, "Therefore...we are doing all this so that Human Ancestor can come in and save everyone? Is this what you're saying, Your Majesty?"

"Yes."

"If Su Yu gets in your way, you will move against him as well. Is that so?"

Hundred Battle King said nothing.

Suddenly, Longbrow snapped, "South Suppression, are you questioning His Majesty? Do you really believe that Su Yu can save humanity just by producing a few Masters of Laws?"

South Suppression Marquis shook his head, "I'm not saying that. I only think that...between Su Yu and His Majesty, Su Yu...has more confidence in himself."

His expression turned more and more complicated as he said, "He believes himself capable of resolving all crises. He believes himself capable of being the savior instead of hoping to be saved by others. He is different from Your Majesty. He has a blind confidence in himself..."

Was it really a blind confidence? South Suppression Marquis had no answer. He only knew that not long ago, Su Yu had declared that he would take the fight to the Upper Realm and give everyone a good beating. And he had accomplished just that. How long did it take him to do that? Less than a year.

From what he could see, the biggest difference between Su Yu and Hundred Battle King was where they placed their hope. Hundred Battle King placed his hope on Human Ancestor, while Su Yu placed his hope on himself.

Which was the better choice?

Su Yu's near blind confidence gave the feeling of an ignorant yet proud child. Anyone would snort with disdain upon hearing about him if they didn't know him well. Did he believe himself better than Human Emperor? Did he believe himself better than Human Ancestor? Did he believe himself capable of becoming an Emperor in three, no, in one year?

Who would believe that? But South Suppression Marquis knew full well that everyone on Su Yu's side believed in him. They wouldn't have followed him so faithfully otherwise. Just like how all these people here believed in Hundred Battle King. They wouldn't have followed him back then otherwise.

In the past, South Suppression Marquis would definitely snort with disdainupon hearing about Su Yu's choice. He was a kid of slightly over twenty years old. He did not know the immensity of heaven and earth. Did he understand just how powerful the Four Cardinal Kings were? Did he have an idea just how mighty Human Emperor was?

But...South Suppression Marquis no longer viewed Su Yu with contempt.

He had fought alongside Su Yu once. After that battle, he had heard even more about Su Yu's past exploits. He had personally witnessed how arrogant Su Yu was even when he was withdrawing from the Human Realm.

Su Yu had declared that he would return soon. It hadn't even been two months since then. And it already felt as though Su Yu would be returning anytime now. Yes. South Suppression Marquis had a feeling that Su Yu's return was near.

With Su Yu's character, a clash would definitely happen between him and Hundred Battle King. Definitely. South Suppression Marquis was confident in that.

In fact, he was not alone. Those familiar with Su Yu, like Cloud Water Marquis and Shadow Marquis, looked off as well. They were certain that a clash between Su Yu and Hundred Battle King would happen. They differed too greatly in ideology.

Hundred Battle King would not allow Su Yu to exterminate Control King's lineage too soon. But Su Yu would definitely seek to exterminate them as soon as possible. The others didn't know Su Yu too well since they lacked interaction with him. However, the three knew Su Yu very well. They had only stayed with him for a short time, but they knew that he would definitely not listen to Hundred Battle King.

It didn't matter how convincing Hundred Battle King could be. Su Yu would only follow his own plan. And if Hundred Battle King were to stand in his way, he would kill even Hundred Battle King.

South Suppression Marquis struggled for a while before saying, "Your Majesty, if Su Yu insists on eliminating Control King's lineage, can we...join hands with him? Can't we open the Hell Gate without Yu Qing and the others?"

"You don't understand." Hundred Battle King frowned slightly and said, "Yu Qing was released through the power of bloodline and dao by Control King's lineage. She is definitely carrying a marker on her to help the chaos beasts lock onto the world outside. That is the only way for them to keep opening the Hell Gate.

"I am certain killing Yu Qing will also destroy the marker. Thus, she can't die. Her death will end the current opening of the Hell Gate. Its full opening will be delayed for an untold period of time. It might end up opening at the same time as all the other returning eras. At that time, we will have zero initiative."

Hundred Battle King was giving a lot of explanation. The pressure slowly pressing down on him was making him explain his decisions to his subordinates. Prior to this, he had always been mysterious and unfathomable. But now, he was making things clear to maintain their conviction.

This was all because of Su Yu. At this point, even Hundred Battle King himself knew that a clash between him and Su Yu might happen soon. Their clash wouldn't happen due to humanity, the Human Realm, or even their status. Rather, it would be purely due to their difference in opinion and ideology.

South Suppression Marquis asked again, "What...if there is a way to kill Yu Qing while preserving the marker?"

Hundred Battle King said with the same frown on his face, "If you were one of the chaos beasts behind the gate, you would send your people out to be killed one after another by Su Yu after both Yu Qing and the matron dragon were dead?

"They have no way of coming out together. They can only leave one after another while slowly opening the gate wider. Would they be dumb enough to come out when death is guaranteed?"

Thus, the chaos will would be rendered worthless even if Su Yu could preserve it. The beings behind the gate could sense what was happening outside. With two Masters of Laws dead, were they supposed to keep throwing their lives away?

"Therefore, our sole option is to wait. Wait until more Masters of Laws are out and the opening widens. We can then attack, but we can't kill them all. For example, we can kill one or two out of five Masters of Laws. This way, they will be motivated to keep summoning more help from behind the gate. We can wipe them out at one go. We only need to keep their strength checked, but we can't eliminate them completely. Do you understand now?"

South Suppression Marquis nodded. "Can...this old subject see Su Yu as an envoy of our side? I will explain the pros and cons to him. I still believe there is a little possibility of a cooperation between us.

"Both Your Majesty and Su Yu are fighting for humanity. We share the same end goal. Won't it be better to try reaching an understanding between our two camps?"

He wished to visit Su Yu as an envoy. Many looked at him with odd gazes upon hearing that.

After a short thought, Hundred Battle King nodded, "That is acceptable. I wish you success in convincing Su Yu to not push ahead stubbornly."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Suddenly, Longbrow protested, "Your Majesty, I don't think this is a job for South Suppression alone. Why don't we send more people with him?"

South Suppression Marquis frowned and asked, "What are you trying to say, Longbrow Marquis?"

Longbrow said, "Nothing much. I'm simply worried about your safety, South Suppression Marquis."

South Suppression Marquis said, "Su Yu's camp is currently staying in the Death Realm. If I go, he will allow me entry. He might not be willing to allow us entry if I'm not alone."

"Wow, you sure have a high status among his camp." Longbrow said, "Since Su Yu will only allow you entry, perhaps the two of you are closer than we know?"

South Suppression Marquis was displeased, but he still explained himself, "Not really. But he met me once before his withdrawal. He asked me to look after the Human Realm. There is good karma between us. If you must send someone with me, just send Xia Huyou."

South Suppression Marquis was quite familiar with Su Yu. Su Yu might not refuse entry if there were others with him, but the moment something went wrong, Su Yu might start killing.

Yes.

South Suppression Marquis was sure of that.

And the moment an envoy was killed, things would worsen considerably. Reconciliation would no longer be possible. Thus, he did not want to take anyone else with him. But it would be fine if the other person were Xia Huyou.

Suddenly, someone suggested, "Marquis, don't you have a lot of death qi in your possession? Why don't you open a death tunnel and let us have an open negotiation with Su Yu? Won't that be better?"

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