Senyum muncul di wajah Raja Langit Utara saat ia berkata, "Mungkin kamu...adalah satu-satunya yang menikmati keberadaan sebagai roh kematian. Darah Naga, kamu benar. Kamu adalah satu-satunya yang layak menjadi raja alam ini. Ini...alam kematian. Kamu adalah satu-satunya orang yang menikmati eksistensimu saat ini. Kita semua...terlalu ingin hidup."
Auranya terus menyebar saat ia terus bergumam. "Aku tidak pernah ingin menjadi roh kematian. Aku tidak pernah ingin menjadi raja surgawi. Raja Langit Utara? Aku tidak pernah ingin itu. Aku hanya ingin hidup damai.
"Lebih baik menjadi anjing di masa damai daripada manusia di masa kekacauan."
Ketika tubuhnya mulai menghilang, ia menghela napas. "Darah Naga, kamu ingin menjadi penguasa roh kematian. Kamu memiliki jalan yang sulit di depan. Perkembanganmu selama ini terlalu mulus. Aku menyadarinya semua. Tapi menurutmu, bukan semua berjalan begitu tiba-tiba? Kamu sama selama begitu lama sebelum tumbuh pesat tiba-tiba. Seolah-olah surganya sendiri sedang membantumu..."
"Kamu tidak mengerti." Marskuk Darah Naga mencibir, "Raja Langit Utara, kamu memang sudah tua. Kamu memang terlalu biasa. Kamu tidak mengerti bahwa ini adalah era di mana ada makhluk yang mustahil untuk dipercayai. Keberuntunganku. Bakatku. Segalanya...aku terima dari Penguasa Kematian.
"Orang di depan kita hanyalah sekedar sidik jari. Seperti yang Su Yu katakan, itu bukanlah penguasa sebenarnya. Dari segi status, aku lebih mulia daripada itu. Aku adalah yang terpilih sejati dari dunia ini. Penguasa Hukum yang sejati memilihku. Kamu mengerti?"
Akhirnya, Raja Langit Utara menoleh ke arah Darah Naga. Sedikit kejelasan kembali muncul di mata yang mengendur saat ia tersenyum, darah menetes dari mulutnya. "Kamu? Siapakah menurutmu diri kamu? Darah Naga, kamu juga biasa saja. Dengan siapa kamu bersaing? Kaisar Manusia? Su Yu? Raja Budaya? Raja Bela Diri? Kamu benar-benar percaya dirimu lebih baik dari empat raja surgawi?"
Darah gelap terus mengalir dari mulutnya saat senyum semakin melebar. "Kamu...terlalu muda. Kamu...tidak layak. Aku tidak mengatakan ini...karena pengkhianatanmu. Aku...hanya ingin kamu menyadarinya...Lihatlah dirimu sendiri, Darah Naga. Bukan...terlalu lambat lagi. Jika kamu...tetap buta, kamu...akan mendapatkan akhir yang mengerikan."
"Sayangnya kamu tidak akan ada untuk menyaksikan akhirku lagi."
Marskuk Darah Naga tertawa. Apakah orang ini benar-benar mengira dirinya penting? Apakah kata-katanya benar-benar berarti? Akankah seseorang dianggap tidak layak hanya karena ia mengatakan demikian?
Betapa lucunya.
***
Baik si raksasa maupun Su Yu dapat merasakan apa yang terjadi. Sesuatu terjadi pada Raja Langit Utara.
Di momen terakhir Raja Langit Utara, Su Yu tiba-tiba kutuk, "Sial! Ini sudah lama sekali!"
"..."
Fat Ball, yang telah berubah dari anjing hitam menjadi anjing merah, memandang Su Yu dengan bingungan. Apa?
Su Yu terus mengutuk, "Kenapa kemampuan itu begitu lama untuk membunuh Raja Langit Utara?"
Dia telah menunggu agar orang itu membunuh Raja Langit Utara, namun orang itu menunggu sangat lama sebelum melakukannya.
Betapa menjengkelkannya.
Marskuk Darah Naga baru saja naik ke level Venerable tidak lama yang lalu. Setelah membunuh Raja Langit Utara dan Daofuses lainnya, kekuatannya semakin bertambah. Su Yu merasakannya dengan jelas.
Namun, ia masih lumayan jauh dari Tingkat Master Hukum. Itu mungkin seberapa jauh yang bisa iajangina saat ini. Tidak perlu bagi Su Yu untuk menunggu lebih lama lagi. Marskuk Darah Naga hanya bisa bertambah kekuat dengan membunuh Death Imperator, namun mungkinkah?
Tidak mungkin.
Saatnya bagi anak takdir untuk menghadapi akhirnya.
Meskipun kini, si raksasa masih tumbuh. Ini adalah lawan yang sangat mengganggu. Untungnya, Su Yu harus fokus pada menghidupkan kembali orang-orangnya. Ia tidak memiliki waktu untuk berkonsentrasi pada si raksasa.
Tepat ketika Marskuk Darah Naga selesai menelan Raja Langit Utara, Su Yu mendaki.
Sebuah halaman muncul dari tetesan air di dalam Sungai Kematian Surgawi. Itu adalah halaman kematian yang telah Su Yu tanamkan lama yang lalu. Ini bukanlah halaman yang murah karena Su Yu telah menggabungkan karakter kematiannya dengan halaman tersebut.
"Kembalikan!"
Dan kekuatan di dalam tetesan air pun mulai bergerak menuju Su Yu.
Su Yu mendaki lagi, "Turuni!"
Boom!
Gempa kuat terdengar. Marskuk Darah Naga, yang masih memegang Raja Langit Utara, muncul di alam dao roh kematian.
Marskuk Darah Naga kebingungan.
Si raksasa mengerutkan kening.
Raja Langit Utara yang sedang mati memandang Su Yu, memandang tetesan air, kemudian memandang halaman yang tersembunyi di dalam tetesan air. Lalu ia tertawa.
"Ha-ha-ha!"
Ia belum pernah tertawa seperti ini sebelumnya. Betapa menggelikkan. Ia melihatnya. Marskuk Darah Naga adalah seorang bodoh. Tentu saja perubahan itu terlalu tiba-tiba. Dan telah terjadi tidak lama setelah Su Yu muncul. Tentu saja, ini adalah karya Su Yu.
Di sementara, Marskuk Darah Naga masih kebingungan. Ia memandang Su Yu. Mengapa ia muncul di sini?
Namun, Su Yu tidak memiliki waktu untuk menjawab pertanyaannya. "Jangan bertanya. Ingat, kamu adalah anakku, eh, itu omong kosong. Aku tidak menginginkan anak seperti kamu. Kamu mengaku sebagai anak takdir, dan aku adalah takdir. Tunggu, itu juga omong kosong. Apa pun. Sudah tidak relevan lagi. Cukupkan, fusi dengan esensimu!"
Akhirnya, ekspresi Marskuk Darah Naga berubah saat ia menedang, "Kamu menggoda kematian, Su Yu!"
"Cukup bicara."
Su Yu terlalu sib untuk menggoda si anak takdir.
Lalu, esensi mulai bersatu dengan tubuh Marskuk Darah Naga. Marskuk Darah Naga mencoba melawan, namun ia tidak bisa melakukan apa-apa. Bahkan tidak bisa bergerak. Akhirnya, sebuah kemungkinan muncul di pikirannya. Ia mencedak, "Kamu...alat dao roh kematian itu..."
"Milikku." Su Yu melengcongkan bibir dan berkata, "Apa lagi yang bisa kamu katakan? Bagaimana seseorang seperti kamu bisa mendapatkan peluang jika bukan karena aku? Ayo, berhenti sia-siakan waktu. Fusi dengan esensimu. Mari kita lihat apakah kamu bisa menjadi Master Hukum setelah selesai. Meskipun kamu tidak bisa mencapai tingkat itu, cukup bagi kamu untuk berada di dekatnya."
"Mustahil!" Marskuk Darah Naga tidak bisa menerima itu. "Ini tidak benar! Aku adalah penerus yang terpilih dari Penguasa Kematian! Kamu pemboong, Su Yu!"
"Diam. Aku punya masa depan yang lebih cerah daripada Penguasa Kematian sendiri. Karena kamu menganggapnya sebagai ayah, kamu juga sebaiknya menganggapku sebagai ayah."
Tanpa mengatakan lebih banyak, Su Yu meregangkan tangannya. Tepat ketika Marskuk Darah Naga akan melawan—BOOM!
Dao gemringaan saat Marskuk Darah Naga hilang dari kendalinya sendiri.
Dan apa yang ia miliki tanpa dao-nya?
Tidak ada apa-apa.
Dalam seketika, ia muncul di telapuk tangan Su Yu. Dengan tetesan air di tangan lainnya, Su Yu tersenyum dan berkata, "Jadilah anak yang baik dan makan ini."
Su Yu memberinyakan makanan kepada Marskuk Darah Naga seperti sosok yang baik dan paternal.
"Tidak...Su Yu...engkau..."
"Diam dan makan!"
Su Yu meninju mulut Marskuk Darah Naga terbuka sebelum melemparkan tetesan air ke dalamnya. Itu tidak semua. Ia menggigit dan memasukkan halaman tersebut juga. Ia khawatir Marskuk Darah Naga akan kehilangan kekuatan ketika halaman itu diekstraksi.
Tiba-tiba, aura Marskuk Darah Naga melonjak. Kemudian ia mencapai tingkat Venerable puncak sebelum perlahan melebihi tingkat Su Yu.
"Su Yu!"
Marskuk Darah Naga mencoba melawan, namun ia benar-benar tidak berdaya. Di bawah tatapan yang tercengang, Su Yu terus memberinyakan makanan kepada si yang tidak berdaya itu.
Si raksasa berhenti berkelahian terhadap tiga penjaga Venerable dan bertanya dengan dingin, "Apa yang kamu coba lakukan?"
"Tidak tahu?" Su Yu berkata, "Kamu muncul karena aku mengambil terlalu banyak esensi dari dao. Tapi lihatlah ini. Aku sedang memberikan kekuatanku ke dao ini. Setelah membunuh begitu banyak ahli, Darah Naga telah mengumpulkan cukup energi esensi. Aku akan memasukkan seluruh esensinya ke dalam dao ini. Dengan begitu, kamu tidak akan memiliki alasan untuk melanjutkan kebangkitan.
"Kenapa aku harus menghabiskan waktu melawan boneka seperti kamu? Bukan berarti aku bisa mendapatkan apa-apa dari sebuah kemenangan melawan kamu. Tidak ada yang perlu dan banyak yang harus dikorbankan. Dalam hal ini, aku akan mengembalikan kekuatannya ke dao ini. Dengan begitu, kamu tidak akan memiliki tujuan di sini. Benar tidak?"
Su Yu tertawa dan menunjuk ke arah Darah Naga.
"Lihat dia. Lihat betapa kuatnya. Lihat, dia sangat kuat—hampir sampai Master Hukum. Selain itu, pemahamanku sendiri tentang kematian juga termasuk dalam halaman ini. Aku menambahkan semuanya ke dalam dao ini. Kamu disilih. Tentu saja, jika Penguasa Kematian tersisa tidak menyadar tentang hal ini, ia mungkin akan kehilangan seluruh dao-nya sebelum kembalinya."
Su Yu mulai tertawa seperti ia adalah penjahat yang tertinggi.
"Saudaraku, aku tidak tertarik bertarung melawan boneka yang tak berguna dan berakhir dengan kerusakan besar. Cukup tenang dan kembalilah. Sampai jumpa."
Tiba-tiba, Darah Naga mencium dan meluncun ke arah raksasa dengan marah, frustasi, dan putus asa. Pada titik ini, auranya telah mencapai tingkat yang mengerikan.
Su Yu berkata, "Fat Ball dan yang lainnya, mundur."
Ketiganya tiga Venerable tampak cemas. Mereka dengan cepat melarikan diri. Jenderal Besi dan March, khususnya, sedang mengutuk dalam hati. Tempat mana ini?
Baru-baru ini, mereka sedang bertarung melawan Master Hukum. Atau lebih tepatnya, menerima pukulan dari Master Hukum. Dan kini, Master Hukum lainnya telah dilumpuhkan oleh Su Yu. Sungguh menakutkan.
Apakah ini benar-benar Alam Atas?
Apakah ini benar-benar Alam Kematian?
Mengapa pertempuran di bawah ini terasa lebih intens daripada yang pernah mereka rasakan di atas?
Belum ada seorang pun Venerable yang telah tewas di Alam Atas. Namun di bawah ini, sekelompok Venerable telah tewas.
Dan dari arah pengembangan, dua Master Hukum juga akan tewas dalam waktu dekat.
Betapa menakutkannya.
Si raksasa tidak membiarkan ketiganya melarikan diri. Ia juga tidak membiarkan Darah Naga yang semakin dekat. Ia tampak acuh saat bertanya, "Su Yu, apa menurutmu perbedaan antara Master Kematian dan aku?"
Su Yu tersenyum, "Ada banyak perbedaan."
"Bisakah kamu mengajarku?" Si raksasa bertanya.
Su Yu menjawab, "Pertama, kekuatmu.
"Kedua, kebijaksanaanmu. Kamu kelihatan pintar, tapi kamu hanyalah salinan dari aslinya. Segala sesuatu tentangmu sudah ditentukan. Kamu tidak memiliki perasaan sendiri. Kamu tidak memiliki pemikiran mandiri. Kamu hanyalah mengikuti serangkaian aturan yang telah ditetapkan. Kamu tidak bisa bertindak di luar batasan aturan ini.
"Ketiga, kamu kekurangan kemampuan untuk menghadapi perubahan. Kamu hanya bisa bertindak sesuai dengan aturan yang telah ditetapkan. Kamu tidak bisa menghadapi variabel tak terduga. Keempat, keberanian.
"Kelima..."
Saat Su Yu berbicara, si raksasa mendengarkan dengan cemas. Ketika Darah Naga tiba di pelosok raksasa, Su Yu tertawa dan berkata, "Lihat, keadaan akhirnya berjalan baik untukmu. Kam
A smile appeared on North Heavenly King's face as he said, "Perhaps you...are the only one who enjoys being a death spirit. Dragonblood, you're right. You are the only deserving ruler of this realm. This is...the Death Realm. You are the only person who enjoys your current existence. The rest of us...long for life too much."
His aura continued scattering away as he continued muttering. "I never wanted to be a death spirit. I never wanted to be a heavenly king. North Heavenly King? I never wanted that. I only wanted to live in peace.
"Better be a dog in times of peace than a man in times of chaos."
As his body started dissipating away, he sighed. "Dragonblood, you wish to become the master of death spirits. You have a challenging path ahead of you. Your progress thus far has been too smooth. I noticed all your changes. But don't you think that everything has happened too suddenly? You remained the same for so many years before growing rapidly out of nowhere. As though the heavens themselves are helping you..."
"You don't understand." Dragonblood Marquis sneered, "North Heavenly King, you have indeed grown old. You are indeed too ordinary. You don't understand that this is an era where some unbelievable beings exist. My luck. My talent. My everything. I received from the Master of Death.
"The person before us is but a mere imprint. As Su Yu said, that's not the real master. In terms of status, I am more noble than it. I am the true chosen of this world. The true Master of Law picked me. Do you understand?"
Finally, North Heavenly King looked back at Dragonblood. A tiny bit of clarity returned to his slackening eyes as he smiled, blood dripping out of his mouth. "You? Who do you think you are? Dragonblood, you are mediocre as well. Who can you rival? Human Emperor? Su Yu? Culture King? Martial King? Do you really believe yourself better than the four heavenly kings?"
Dark blood continued dripping down his mouth as his grin grew wider. "You're...too young. You...are unworthy. I'm not saying this...because of your betrayal. I'm...only saying this to make you realize...Take a good look at yourself, Dragonblood. It's...not too late. If you...remain blind, you...will suffer a miserable ending."
"Too bad you won't be around to witness my ending anymore."
Dragonblood Marquis laughed. Who did this guy think he was? Did he believe that his words mattered that much? Would someone be unworthy just because he said so?
How laughable.
***
Both the giant and Su Yu could sense what was happening. Something seemed to have happened to North Heavenly King.
At North Heavenly King's final moment, Su Yu suddenly cursed, "Damn! This has been such a long wait!"
"..."
Fat Ball, who had turned from a black dog to a red dog, looked at Su Yu in confusion. What?
Su Yu continued swearing, "What took that dumbass so long?"
He had been waiting for that fellow to kill North Heavenly King, but that fellow had waited so long before doing it.
How annoying.
Dragonblood Marquis had advanced into a Venerable not long ago. After killing North Heavenly King and the other Daofuses, his strength was growing yet again. Su Yu could sense it clearly.
However, he was still quite far away from a Master of Law. That was probably as far as he could reach for now. There was no need for Su Yu to wait any longer. Dragonblood Marquis could only grow further by killing Death Imperator, but was that possible?
Nope.
It was time for the destiny child to welcome his end.
Even now, the giant was still growing. This was an extremely troublesome opponent. To make things worse, Su Yu had to focus on resurrecting his people. He did not have the time to focus on the giant.
The instant Dragonblood Marquis was done devouring North Heavenly King, Su Yu roared. A page emerged from a drop of water within the Celestial River of Death. That was the death page Su Yu had planted long ago. This hadn't been a cheap page to create as Su Yu had fused his death character with the page.
"Return!"
And then, the power within that drop of water started moving toward Su Yu.
Su Yu roared again, "Descend!"
Boom!
A rumble rang out. Dragonblood Marquis, who was still holding onto North Heavenly King, appeared in the death spirit dao.
Dragonblood Marquis blanked out.
The giant frowned.
The dying North Heavenly King looked at Su Yu, looked at the drop of water, before looking at the page buried in that drop of water. Then, he laughed.
"Hahaha!"
He had never laughed like this before. How comedic. He saw it. Dragonblood Marquis was a fool. Sure enough, the change was too sudden. And it had happened not long after Su Yu's appearance. Sure enough, this was Su Yu's handiwork.
Meanwhile, Dragonblood Marquis was still blanking out in confusion. He looked at Su Yu. Why did he appear here?
However, Su Yu did not have the time to answer his questions. "Don't bother asking. Just know that you're my kid, wait, what bullshit is that? I don't want a kid like you. You claim to be the destiny child, and I'm destiny. Wait, no. That's bullshit as well. Whatever. It's pointless to explain. Start fusing with your essence!"
Finally, Dragonblood Marquis' expression changed as he roared in alarm, "You're courting death, Su Yu!"
"Enough talking."
Su Yu was too busy to entertain the destiny child.
Then, the essence started fusing into Dragonblood Marquis' body. Dragonblood Marquis tried to resist, but he couldn't do anything. In fact, he couldn't even move anymore. Finally, a certain possibility appeared in his mind. He exclaimed in alarm, "You...that death spirit dao..."
"Mine." Su Yu curled his lips and said, "What else could it be? How can someone like you get a fortuitous opportunity if not for me? Come on, stop wasting time. Fuse with your essence. Let's see if you can become a Master of Law when you're done. Even if you can't reach that level, it's good enough for you to be near that level."
"Impossible!" Dragonblood Marquis couldn't accept it. "This is not true! I am the chosen successor of the Master of Death! You're a liar, Su Yu!"
"Shut your mouth. I have a brighter future than Master of Death himself. Since you're taking him as your daddy, you might as well take me as your daddy."
Not bothered to say more, Su Yu reached out. Just as Dragonblood Marquis was about to resist—BOOM!
The dao shook as Dragonblood Marquis lost all control over his own dao.
And what was he without his dao?
Nothing.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared in Su Yu's palm. With the drop of water in his other hand, Su Yu grinned and said, "Be a good boy and eat this."
Su Yu started feeding Dragonblood Marquis like a kind, fatherly figure.
"No...Su Yu...you..."
"Shut up and eat!"
Su Yu punched Dragonblood Marquis' mouth open before tossing the drop of water inside. That was not all. He gnashed his teeth and stuffed even the page inside. He was worried that Dragonblood Marquis would drop in strength the moment the page was extracted.
Instantly, Dragonblood Marquis' aura surged. And then, he reached the level of a peak Venerable before slowly growing beyond Su Yu's level.
"Su Yu!"
Dragonblood Marquis attempted to resist, but he was completely helpless. Under everyone's shocked gaze, Su Yu continued feeding the helpless Dragonblood Marquis.
The giant stopped fighting the three Venerables and asked coldly, "What are you trying to do?"
"Wait, you don't know?" Su Yu said, "You appeared because I took too much of the essence from the dao. But look at this. I'm contributing my own power to the dao now. After killing so many experts, Dragonblood has gathered quite a lot of essence power. I will stuff his entire being into the dao. With this, you will no longer have any reason to continue your awakening.
"Why should I waste my time fighting an imprint like you? It's not like I can gain anything from a victory against you. With nothing to gain and many to lose, what's the point? In that case, I'll return the power to the dao. With this, you no longer have any purpose here. Am I right?"
Su Yu laughed and pointed at Dragonblood.
"Look at him. Look at how strong he is. Look, he's so strong he's nearly a Master of Law. Also, my personal comprehension over death is included in this page as well. I'm adding all to the dao. You're welcome. Of course, if the Master of Death remains clueless about this, he might end up losing his entire dao to me before his return."
Su Yu started laughing like he was the ultimate villain.
"Brother, I'm not interested in fighting a mere puppet and ending up with heavy losses because of it. Just calm down and return. Bye."
Suddenly, Dragonblood Marquis roared and flew toward the giant with indignation, fury, and despair. At this point, his aura had already reached a terrifying level.
Su Yu said, "Fat Ball and the others, retreat."
The three Venerables looked alarmed. They hurriedly fled. Giant Axe Marquis and March, in particular, were swearing inwardly. Just what place was this?
Not long ago, they were fighting a Master of Law. Or it would be more accurate to call that receiving a beating from a Master of Law. And now, another Master of Law had been driven mad by Su Yu. This was too terrifying.
Was this really not the Upper Realm?
Was this really the Death Realm?
Why did the battle down here feel even more intense than the ones they had experienced up there? Not a single Venerable had perished so far in the Upper Realm. But down here, a bunch of Venerables had died.
And from how things were developing, two Masters of Laws would perish before long as well.
How terrifying.
The giant did not stop the three from escaping. It did not stop the approaching Dragonblood Marquis either. It appeared indifferent as it asked, "Su Yu, what do you think is the difference between the Master of Death and me?"
Su Yu smiled, "There are many differences."
"Could you educate me on that?" The giant asked.
Su Yu answered, "First of all, your strength.
"Secondly, your wisdom. You look smart, but you're but an imitation of the real thing. Everything about you is predetermined. You don't have your own feelings. You have no independent thought. You are merely acting out of a series of predetermined rules. You can't act outside the bound of these rules.
"Thirdly, you lack the ability to react to changes. You can only act according to the set rules. You can't react to any unexpected variable. Fourthly, courage.
"Fifthly..."
As Su Yu spoke, the giant listened pensively. When Dragonblood Marquis reached the giant, Su Yu laughed and said, "Look, things are finally going well for you. You are finally capable of thought. Perhaps you really want to be the next Master of Death. But ultimately, you are only an imprint. Then again, who says that the fate of an imprint is fixed? If I were you, I would first change my name. Do not keep seeing yourself as the Master of Death."
Su Yu smiled, "Do you want a name from me?"
The giant stared at Su Yu. It did not step back. It was pointless. The moment Dragonblood Marquis exploded, all the gathered power would return to the river. And at that point, the giant would disperse. Thus, it was pointless to avoid Dragonblood Marquis.
"I await your guidance."
He agreed that he should have his own name as well.
Su Yu said, "Master of the Perished."
Su Yu said, "The other guy is the Master of Death. You can call yourself the Master of the Perished. If you ask me, you may fade away soon, but your imprint will remain. You can keep stealing from the river, slowly forming your very own perished dao. By the time the Master of Death returns...hehehe. There won't be anything left. The entire death spirit dao would have turned into the perished dao."
The giant sank into contemplation. Silence enveloped the world. Everyone was listening in silence.
Holy shit!
Su Yu, the ultimate scoundrel, was instigating the clone of the Master of Death to betray its master. What an...utter scumbag!
The giant, no, perhaps it would be more apt to call it, or him, the Master of the Perished now. He casually stabbed his trident through the Dragonblood Marquis with a contemplative look while muttering, "Master of the Perished? Fellow Daoist Su, what is the difference between death and perishing?"
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!