Su Yu mengangkat alisnya, "Memotong jalurnya hanya dengan membunuh beberapa binatang kekacauan? Apakah Raja Budaya terlalu meremehkan hasrat wanita itu?"
Apakah Raja Budaya berpikiran sempit seperti itu?
Kaisar Manusia tersenyum pasrah dan berkata, "Raja Budaya jauh lebih kejam dariku. Dia berniat membuat Control terbunuh. Jika wanita itu memanfaatkan kesempatan untuk membuka Gerbang Bumi, Raja Budaya akan punya alasan untuk membunuhnya. Namun, Control menyadarinya, jadi dia menjalankan tugasnya dengan baik dan menjaga gerbang tanpa melewati batas."
Su Yu mulai paham.
Tsk tsk.
Raja Budaya memang sangat kejam.
Mereka adalah rekan-rekan seperjuangan lama. Tidaklah pantas baginya untuk menyerang secara langsung. Lagi pula, Raja Control belum secara terbuka menyatakan niatnya untuk membuka gerbang-gerbang tersebut. Oleh karena itu, Raja Budaya, si pemancing tua, mengirim Raja Control pergi untuk memancing alasan agar bisa membunuhnya.
Namun, Raja Control terlalu pintar untuk terjebak dalam tipu daya itu.
Pada akhirnya, Raja Budaya terpaksa pergi sebelum sempat menghadapi Raja Control. Dan selanjutnya, Raja Control ditarik kembali dari tugas menjaga Gerbang Bumi.
Pada dasarnya, ini adalah bentuk jebakan dari pihak Raja Budaya. Betapa kejamnya. Dia sama sekali tidak menunjukkan belas kasihan, bahkan terhadap rekan seperjuangan lama. Faktanya, itulah cara dia menghargai hubungan masa lalu mereka. Jika tidak, dia pasti sudah menyerang secara langsung.
Su Yu mampu menyimpulkan semua itu dengan mudah dari apa yang diceritakan oleh Kaisar Manusia. Saat ia menatap Kaisar Manusia, Kaisar Manusia mengangguk, "Ya, itu memang rencana Raja Budaya."
Ia tahu bahwa Su Yu akan memahami ucapannya tanpa perlu dijelaskan panjang lebar. Sambil tersenyum, ia berkata, "Bagaimanapun, kami telah bertempur bersama selama puluhan ribu tahun. Control adalah rekan seperjuangan lama yang telah mendirikan kekaisaran bersama kami. Jadi, aku mengakhiri hukumannya setelah Raja Budaya pergi."
Su Yu mengerutkan kening, "Tapi Control melakukan banyak dosa setelah itu. Banyak nyawa yang melayang..."
"Aku tahu sedikit tentang hal itu."
Kaisar Manusia menggelengkan kepala, "Dulu, dia tidak melakukan hal yang terlalu ekstrem. Menjelang akhir, pendapat kami mulai berbeda. Aku ingin menyeret berbagai alam untuk maju dan menghadapi bahaya secara langsung. Dia ingin mundur ke balik Gerbang Bumi. Aku menolak rencananya. Saat dia memprotes, aku secara pribadi menyegelnya di balik Gerbang Bumi. Aku tidak menyangka dia meninggalkan beberapa persiapan. Waktu itu, aku tidak terlalu memerhatikan orang-orangnya."
Sebenarnya, persiapan-persiapan itu terlalu sepele untuk layak mendapat perhatiannya. Zhou Tian saja sudah cukup untuk menghadapi mereka. Namun, mereka justru menghabiskan begitu banyak waktu untuk bersembunyi. Sebelum Raja Zhou Agung sempat mempelajari banyak hal tentang mereka, Raja Seratus Pertempuran mengacaukan segalanya bagi dia.
Sebelum itu, garis keturunan Raja Control tidak pernah berani menimbulkan terlalu banyak masalah.
Su Yu sampai pada kesimpulan yang sama dan berkata, "Singkatnya, Raja Zhou Agung itu tidak bisa diandalkan. Dia memercayai Seratus Pertempuran dan kehilangan segalanya."
"Seratus Pertempuran..." Kaisar Manusia belum pernah melihat Raja Seratus Pertempuran. Namun, ia tersenyum dan berkata, "Pasti ada alasan mengapa dia bisa menarik perhatian Zhou Tian. Tapi menurutmu, dia mengkultivasi Gerbang Manusia. Mungkin pikirannya terpengaruh oleh hal itu."
Su Yu berseru, "Apakah tiga gerbang bisa memengaruhi kita?"
"Ya." Kaisar Manusia mengangguk, "Hanya ada beberapa binatang purba di balik Gerbang Bumi, jadi pengaruh Gerbang Bumi tidak begitu besar. Paling-paling, beberapa binatang buas bisa lolos melalui Gerbang Bumi yang dikultivasi. Aku tidak begitu paham tentang Gerbang Manusia. Itu terlalu misterius. Adapun Gerbang Surgawi..."
Ia terkekeh dan berkata, "Gerbang Surgawi juga dapat memengaruhi kultivatornya. Tentu saja, pengaruhnya tidak begitu besar pada dirimu karena kau hanya memanfaatkannya sebagai pengamat dao dan tidak lebih dari itu. Itu cara pemanfaatan yang bagus."
Su Yu mengerjap dan bertanya, "Yang Mulia, apakah Anda sedang mengatakan bahwa aku... menyia-nyiakan potensi dari Gerbang Surgawiku?"
"Bukankah memang begitu?"
Kaisar Manusia tertawa. Ia bisa melihat hal itu hanya dengan sekali pandang.
Ia berkata, "Jika kau tahu cara yang tepat dalam memanfaatkan Gerbang Surgawi, wujudnya seharusnya tidak seperti ini. Ketiga gerbang memiliki satu kemampuan yang sama: menyegel. Secara umum, gerbang itu mampu menyegel kekuatan apa pun pada tingkat kultivasi yang sama. Apakah Gerbang Surgawimu bisa menyegel petarung tingkat dua?"
Ehm... tidak. Su Yu belum pernah menggunakannya dengan cara seperti itu. Selama ini, ia hanya menggunakan Gerbang Surgawinya untuk mengamati dao.
Kaisar Manusia melanjutkan, "Pertama, Gerbang Surgawi bisa digunakan untuk menyegel. Kedua, itu bisa digunakan untuk meminjam kekuatan. Bisakah kau melakukannya?"
Su Yu mengerjap lagi. Tidak. Bagaimana caranya ia melakukan hal itu?
"Pada dasarnya, beberapa makhluk di balik Gerbang Surgawi mungkin mengkultivasi dao yang mirip dengan milikmu. Dalam situasi seperti itu, kau bisa meminjam sebagian kekuatan mereka."
Pada dasarnya, itu agak mirip dengan Buku Waktu.
Namun, Su Yu langsung menyadari kelemahan dari praktik ini. "Bukankah ini akan membiarkan kekuatan pihak lain merembes keluar dari gerbang? Pada akhirnya, makhluk itu bahkan mungkin bisa mengambil alih kendali atas peminjamnya."
"Tepat sekali." Kaisar Manusia mengangguk, "Oleh karena itu, bukan hal yang buruk jika kau tidak mengetahuinya."
Su Yu menarik napas terkesiap, "Bukan, itu tidak benar. Maksud Anda, jika aku meminjam terlalu banyak kekuatan, pihak lain mungkin bisa mengirimkan proyeksi atau semacamnya keluar dari gerbang melalui diriku, begitu?"
"Ya."
Su Yu memasang ekspresi masam, "Bukankah ini sangat sempurna untuk memancing? Dulu, ada kekhawatiran tentang membuka Gerbang Surgawi secara tidak sengaja. Tapi itu bukan lagi masalah sekarang, kan? Ini sungguh sempurna! Anda harus mengajari aku metode ini, Yang Mulia!"
Su Yu menjadi bersemangat. "Aku akan meminjam kekuatan mereka, dan mereka akan mengirimkan proyeksi mereka melalui diriku. Atau mereka bahkan mungkin muncul secara langsung. Tsk tsk... Bayangkan bisa menangkap beberapa petarung tingkat dua melalui metode ini... atau bahkan petarung tingkat satu! Kita bukannya tidak punya peluang melawan petarung tingkat satu! Apakah ini yang dilakukan oleh Kaisar Bela Diri?"
Ehm...
Kaisar Manusia dibuat tertegun. Sialan! Benar juga, anak ini memang bajingan! Licik!
Ia tersenyum. Alih-alih melarang, ia berkata, "Tidak ada yang pasti dalam hal ini. Situasi masih bisa menjadi sangat berbahaya jika kau tanpa sengaja terhubung dengan makhluk yang sangat kuat saat meminjam kekuatan. Kau bahkan mungkin kehilangan tubuhmu akibat kerasukan kekuatan kehendak. Tentu saja, itu bukan kekhawatiran besar karena peluangnya sangat kecil. Sebagian besar, tidak ada makhluk di atas tingkat dua yang bisa melewati gerbang sebelum terbuka sepenuhnya. Dan petarung tingkat dua sama sekali bukan ancaman."
Rasanya ia sedang menggertak, tetapi ia cukup kuat untuk mengatakan hal itu meskipun sedang terluka.
"Dulu, ini adalah ide yang buruk karena kami tidak ingin memberikan Gerbang Surgawi sedikit pun celah."
Baru sekarang Su Yu menyadari bahwa Gerbang Surgawi bisa melakukan jauh lebih banyak hal.
Kaisar Manusia melanjutkan, "Gerbang Surgawi mampu melakukan lebih banyak hal, tetapi kau harus menemukannya sendiri. Pemanfaatan Gerbang Surgawimu terbatas, namun itu bukan hal yang buruk."
Su Yu menarik napas dalam-dalam dan mengangguk.
Mungkin saja.
Tidak heran ia merasa Gerbang Surgawinya tidak sehebat Gerbang Manusia dan Gerbang Bumi. Ia hanya menggunakannya untuk mengamati dao. Ia belum mengeksplorasi fungsi lainnya. Lagi pula, hal itu wajar. Sebelum ini, Kaisar Bela Diri adalah satu-satunya orang selain Su Yu sendiri yang memiliki Gerbang Surgawi. Dan Kaisar Bela Diri tentu saja bukan tipe orang yang suka membagikan pengetahuannya.
"Jadi, maksud Anda Seratus Pertempuran mungkin telah dipengaruhi oleh Gerbang Manusia?"
"Itu tidak mengejutkan." Kaisar Manusia tampak tidak peduli.
Su Yu menambahkan, "Dia tampaknya kehilangan keberanian setelah menyaksikan senjata dao Leluhur Manusia."
Kaisar Manusia memikirkannya dan berkata, "Itu pasti pengaruh yang menumpuk. Namun, Gerbang Manusia kemungkinan besar memainkan peran yang lebih besar dalam hal itu. Dia pasti sudah dipengaruhi oleh Gerbang Manusia sebelum terpapar oleh pengaruh Leluhur Manusia. Orang seperti itu..."
Setelah sedikit ragu, Kaisar Manusia berkata blak-blakan, "Cukup tidak berguna. Biarlah. Itu tidak penting lagi. Seseorang yang tidak mampu melawan pengaruh kekuatan kehendak sekecil apa pun tidak akan pernah menjadi orang besar. Seseorang yang benar-benar kompeten tidak akan terpengaruh."
Lalu, ia menatap Su Yu dalam keheningan. Apakah anak ini mengerti? Seseorang yang benar-benar kompeten. Seseorang seperti dirinya. Seratus Pertempuran terpengaruh, yang menandakan bahwa dia hanyalah sampah belaka. Apakah anak ini akan merasa rendah diri setelah mendengar bahwa sosok hebat seperti Seratus Pertempuran ternyata hanyalah sampah?
Namun, Su Yu hanya mengangguk begitu saja, "Masuk akal. Seratus Pertempuran memang sampah. Dipengaruhi oleh proyeksi Gerbang Manusia? Tidak berguna. Bahkan jika ketiga gerbang aslinya berdiri tepat di hadapanku, aku akan menghancurkan semuanya berkeping-keping sebelum melemparkannya ke Heavenbridge untuk dimakan. Lalu, aku akan mengurung mereka yang tidak patuh, namun aku bahkan tidak ingin membunuh di balik Heavenbridge.
"Sebenarnya, aku yakin ketiga gerbang itu tidak ada gunanya. Apa gunanya menyegel sesuatu? Bunuh saja semua musuhmu. Kenapa membuat segalanya menjadi begitu rumit?"
Ia menyeringai dan bertanya, "Aku benar, kan, Yang Mulia?"
"..."
Kaisar Manusia dibuat tertegun. Ada benarnya juga dari kata-kata itu, namun ada sesuatu yang terasa ganjil dari cara anak itu menatapnya. Rasanya seolah-olah anak itu sedang memberitahunya bahwa tidak seorang pun akan diampuni jika mereka membangkang, termasuk Kaisar Manusia itu sendiri.
Anak ini benar-benar bukan sosok yang bisa diremehkan! Namun sesaat kemudian, Kaisar Manusia terkekeh. Mungkin ini adalah hal yang bagus. Ia sudah bisa melihat bahwa ini adalah tuan manusia yang tidak kenal aturan dan tidak konvensional.
Su Yu ikut tertawa. Kaisar Manusia adalah sumber pengetahuan yang melimpah. Ia sangat menikmati percakapan ini dengan Kaisar Manusia. Banyak pertanyaannya yang telah terjawab. Setelah menata kembali pikirannya, ia kembali membahas situasi saat ini, "Yang Mulia, apakah Anda memiliki rencana apa pun terhadap berbagai alam?"
"Berbagai alam..." Setelah terdiam sejenak, Kaisar Manusia melanjutkan, "Ya. Tapi itu mungkin tidak berhasil."
"Ceritakan kepada
Su Yu raised his brow, "Severing her path just by killing some chaos beasts? Was Culture King underestimating her desire too much?"
Would Culture King be so simple-minded?
Human Emperor smiled helplessly and said, "Culture King was a lot more ruthless than me. He intended to get Control killed. If she took the chance to open the Earth Gate, Culture King would have an excuse to kill her. But Control knew it, so she did her job well and guarded the gate without stepping out of line."
Understanding dawned on Su Yu.
Tsk tsk.
Culture King was ruthless indeed.
They were old comrades-in-arms. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to attack directly. After all, Control King had not openly declared her desire to open the gates. And thus, Culture King, the old fisherman, sent Control King away to fish for a reason to kill.
But Control King was too smart to fall for that.
Eventually, Culture King was forced to leave before he could deal with Control King. And next, Control King was pulled back from guarding the Earth Gate.
Basically, this was entrapment on Culture King's part. How utterly ruthless. He showed no quarter even toward an old comrade-in-arms. In fact, that was his way of accounting for their past relationship. He would have attacked directly otherwise.
Su Yu was able to easily deduce all that from what Human Emperor told him. When he looked at Human Emperor, Human Emperor nodded, "Yes, that was indeed Culture King's plan."
He knew that Su Yu would understand what he was saying without really saying. With a smile, he said, "After all, we fought together for tens of thousands of years. Control was an old comrade-in-arms who had founded the empire alongside us. Thus, I ended her punishment after Culture King's departure."
Su Yu frowned, "But Control committed a lot of sin after that. Many lives were lost..."
"I know a bit about that."
Human Emperor shook his head, "Back then, she did not do anything drastic. Toward the end, our opinions differed. I wanted to drag the myriad races upstream and face the danger head-on. She wanted to withdraw behind the Earth Gate. I rejected her plan. When she protested, I personally sealed her behind the Earth Gate. I did not expect her to leave some arrangements behind. At the time, I did not pay too much attention to her people."
In truth, those arrangements were too minor to be worth his attention. Zhou Tian alone should be enough to deal with them. But instead, they spent so many years hiding. Before Great Zhou King could learn much about them, Hundred Battle King messed everything up for him.
Prior to that, Control King's lineage never dared to cause too much trouble.
Su Yu reached the same conclusion and said, "In short, Great Zhou King was too unreliable. He trusted Hundred Battle and lost everything."
"Hundred Battle..." Human Emperor had never seen Hundred Battle King. But he smiled and said, "There must be a reason for him to catch Zhou Tian's eye. But according to you, he cultivated the Human Gate. Perhaps his mind was influenced by that."
Su Yu exclaimed, "Can the three gates influence us?"
"Yes." Human Emperor nodded, "There are only some ancient beasts behind the Earth Gate, so the influence of the Earth Gate isn't that big of a deal. At most, some of the beasts can escape through the cultivated Earth Gate. I don't know the Human Gate too well. It is too mysterious. As for the Heaven Gate..."
He chuckled and said, "The Heaven Gate can influence its cultivator as well. Of course, its influence isn't that big on you since you're only utilizing it as a dao viewer and nothing else. That's a good way of utilizing it."
Su Yu blinked and asked, "Your Majesty, are you saying that I'm...wasting the potential of my Heaven Gate?"
"Is that not the case?"
Human Emperor laughed. He could see that with a single gaze.
He said, "If you know the proper way of utilizing the Heaven Gate, it shouldn't look like this. The three gates share one ability: sealing. Generally, it is capable of sealing any powerhouse at the same level of cultivation. Can your Heaven Gate seal a tier-two?"
Uhm...no. Su Yu had never used it that way. All along, he had only used his Heaven Gate to observe the dao.
Human Emperor continued, "First, Heaven Gate can be used to seal. Second, it can be used to borrow power. Can you do that?'
Su Yu blinked again. Nope. How was he supposed to do that?
"Basically, some of the beings behind the Heaven Gate might cultivate a similar dao as yours. In that situation, you can borrow some of their strength."
Basically, it was somewhat similar to the Book of Time.
But Su Yu instantly noted the disadvantage of this practice. "Won't this allow the power of the other party to seep out of the gate? Eventually, that being might be able to even take control over the borrower."
"Exactly." Human Emperor nodded, "Therefore, it's not a bad thing that you don't know it."
Su Yu gasped, "No, that's not right. You mean that if I borrow too much power, the other party might be able to send a projection or something out of the gate through me, right?"
"Yes."
Su Yu grimaced, "Isn't this perfect for fishing? In the past, there was a need to worry about opening the Heaven Gate accidentally. But that is no longer a concern now, right? This is perfect! You need to teach me this method, Your Majesty!"
Su Yu grew excited. "I will borrow their strength, and they will send their projection over through me. Or they might even emerge personally. Tsk tsk...Imagine catching a few tier-twos through this method...or even a tier-one! It's not like we stand no chance against tier-ones! Was this what Martial Emperor did?"
Uhm...
Human Emperor was left speechless. Damn it! Sure enough, this was a scumbag! A scoundrel!
He smiled. Instead of advising against it, he said, "Nothing is certain about this. Things might still get very dangerous if you somehow connect to a supremely powerful being while borrowing power. You might even lose your body to willpower possession. Of course, that isn't that big of a worry, as the chances are minuscule. For the most part, nothing beyond the second tier can get through the gate before it opens fully. And tier-twos are no threat."
It almost sounded like he was bluffing, but he was strong enough to say that despite his injuries.
"Back then, this was a bad idea as we didn't want to give the Heaven Gate even a tiny bit of opportunity."
Only now did Su Yu realize that the Heaven Gate could do so much more.
Human Emperor continued, "The Heaven Gate can do more things, but you need to discover them yourself. Your usage of the Heaven Gate is limited, but that isn't a bad thing."
Su Yu inhaled deeply and nodded.
Perhaps.
No wonder he felt like his Heaven Gate was less impressive than the Human Gate and Earth Gate. He had only been using it to observe daos. He had not explored its other functions. Then again, that was understandable. Before this, Martial Emperor was the only person with the Heaven Gate apart from Su Yu himself. And Martial Emperor was certainly not the type to share his knowledge.
"Therefore, you mean that Hundred Battle might have been influenced by the Human Gate?"
"That's not surprising." Human Emperor seemed unbothered.
Su Yu added, "He seemed to have lost his courage after witnessing Human Ancestor's dao weapon."
Human Emperor considered it and said, "It must have been a stacked influence. But the Human Gate had probably played a bigger role in that. He must have been influenced by the Human Gate before he was exposed to Human Ancestor's influence. Such a person..."
After a slight hesitation, Human Emperor said bluntly, "Is quite worthless. So be it. It doesn't matter anymore. Someone incapable of resisting even a tiny bit of willpower influence would never amount to much. Someone truly capable would not be affected."
And then, he stared at Su Yu silently. Did the kid get it? Someone truly capable. Someone like him. Hundred Battle was influenced, signifying that he was mere trash. Would this kid feel inferior after hearing that even the great Hundred Battle was mere trash?
However, Su Yu merely nodded matter-of-factly, "That makes sense. Hundred Battle was trash. Influenced by Human Gate's projection? Worthless. Even if the original three gates were standing right before me, I would smash them all apart before feeding them to Heavenbridge. Then, I would lock those who were disobedient, yet I didn't feel like killing behind Heavenbridge.
"In truth, I believe that the three gates are useless. What's the point of sealing things away? Just kill all your enemies. Why make things so complicated?"
He grinned and asked, "Am I right, Your Majesty?"
"..."
Human Emperor was left speechless. There was some sense to those words, but something seemed off about how the kid was looking at him. It felt as though the kid was telling him that nobody would be spared if they were disobedient, including Human Emperor himself.
This was truly no pushover! But next, Human Emperor chuckled. Perhaps this was a good thing. He could already see that this was an unruly and unconventional human lord.
Su Yu laughed as well. Human Emperor was a fountain of knowledge. He very much enjoyed this conversation with Human Emperor. Many of his questions had been answered. After rearranging his thoughts, he returned to the present, "Your Imperial Majesty, do you have any standing plans against the myriad races?"
"The myriad races..." After a short silence, Human Emperor continued, "Yes. But it might not work."
"Tell me about it."
Su Yu wasn't here to go through the motions. He was truly here to win the fight. He wanted to hear about Human Emperor's plan.
"We need to take risks." Human Emperor said, "We can simply wait. Wait until we drift back to the Myriad Realms naturally. The three gates will open, and the world will be thrown into chaos. The myriad races and we will be too busy to care about each other. Of course, the myriad races might eventually submit to the forces behind the three gates. That would be disastrous for us."
Su Yu shook his head, "I'm not keen on waiting."
That was not a good choice. If he were willing to wait, he wouldn't have bothered coming upstream. Human Emperor chuckled. He expected this. Sure enough, this little shit was not someone who was willing to stay idle.
"The second plan is...take a risky gamble." Human Emperor said, "The myriad races are actually quite cowardly. They lack the courage to fight with their lives on the line. But their courage will grow exponentially when something happens to me. Thus, I need to bet on their courage.
"We have benefited from their cowardice, as we only lasted so many years because of that. But it is also a bad thing, as most tricks and traps are ineffective against them since they will simply refuse to step forward."
In short, cowardice could be helpful at times. It wasn't like Human Emperor had never tried setting up traps for them. But what could he do when they simply refused to step forth? Was he supposed to launch a decisive attack or something?
Su Yu's eyes flickered as he said, "Your Majesty, do you mean that we lure the myriad races in with the fact that you're heavily injured?"
"Yes!" Human Emperor smiled, "Normally, they won't have the courage to believe in something like this. But it has been too many years since I last fought. My projection has been floating there staring at them for many years. They are starting to suspect that something has happened to me, but they lack an opportunity to make a move. They need this opportunity to find their courage."
Su Yu smiled as well. "So how do you plan to reel them in this time? What will be our goal for this plan? What will our ultimate goal be? How should we do it? Do you mind telling me?"
Human Emperor looked at Su Yu and sank into contemplation.
After a while, he said, "You need to understand that the myriad races aren't stupid. The moment I do this, they will understand that I am truly heavily injured. The moment our trap fails, the burden on you will be far heavier than you can imagine.
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