The First Marquis of Daxuan

"Su Mu, Su Mu, how could you agree to that? Out of ten battles, we can only win two at most. Doesn't that mean sacrificing 80% of the lives of our people?"
This is even worse than facing a cataclysmic disaster head-on, so why are we going through all this trouble?

"Transcendent Jin Hong said anxiously."

"You're too optimistic."

Master Xuanxuan crossed his arms and sneered, "What makes you think you can win two matches without a doubt?"

Do you really think you can easily beat 'bitterness'?

The detached Jin Hong fell silent.

Who can guarantee something like that?

Having never actually fought one, he wasn't sure if he could defeat the desolate creature "Bitter".

Even if the two sides are evenly matched, there are many variables in a real battle, and no one dares to say that they can win for sure unless they have overwhelming strength.

such as--

Su Mu.

Su Mu's cultivation level was not higher than his, but Su Mu created his own Dao Scripture, which was just right to restrain the creatures of the Desolate Heaven.

Therefore, Su Mu will have the advantage no matter which desolate creature he fights.

If there's one battle out of ten that you can be sure of winning, it's the one where Su Mu is fighting.

Even Jin Hong, who has transcended worldly concerns, must admit this.

This is also where Jin Hong, who has transcended worldly concerns, feels inferior.

"A..."

Jin Hong, the transcendent one, muttered to himself, his face contorted with grief.

If in the end only 10% of the beings in the myriad realms can be saved, then what's the point of all their fuss?
Even if they faced the Great Calamity of Desolation head-on, at least 30% of the beings in the myriad realms would survive.

After all that trouble, fewer people survived in the end. What was the point?

"However, I think Su Mu wasn't just talking nonsense; he probably has other plans."

Master Xuanxuan looked at Su Mu, and he was also a little curious.

Ever since Su Mu proposed the contest to the desolate creature "Bitter," he had been pondering Su Mu's purpose.

He thought it over and over, but he couldn't see where Su Mu's chances of winning lay.

It's no exaggeration to say that you couldn't find ten powerful beings in all the worlds who could rival the creatures of the Desolate Heaven.

In the past, when the myriad realms faced the Great Calamity of Desolation, they relied on sheer numbers to resist it.

Even if you were to gather the ten most powerful people from all the realms together, fighting alone would still lead to certain death.

Although Su Mu scheduled the competition for three years later.

But what can you do in three years?
For powerful individuals like them, three years is but a blink of an eye.

To expect to cultivate a powerhouse comparable to the Desolate Heavenly Creatures in such a short time is simply a pipe dream.

According to Master Xuanxuan's own thinking, Su Mu's suggestion was no different from sending someone to their death.

But Master Xuanxuan knew that Su Mu was not that kind of person.

Su Mu was definitely not the kind of person who would sit idly by and wait for death. Since he dared to make such a suggestion, he must have had other plans.

However, Master Xuanxuan couldn't figure out where Su Mu's chances of winning lay.

"You really have another way?"

Jin Hong, the Transcendent One, looked at Su Mu and said, "I know your Dao Scripture is extraordinary, but with just the Dao Scripture, three years is far from enough to cultivate eight strong individuals comparable to the creatures of the Desolate Heaven."

“If we start training strong individuals to participate in the competition now, three years is naturally not enough.”

Su Mu smiled faintly and said, "What if there's one already available?"

You're not talking about me, are you?

Master Xuanxuan said with a smile, "I can go into battle, but I can't guarantee a victory."

If I'm lucky, I might encounter my own body segment, and I might have a slight chance of winning.

Besides that, I can't give you any other guarantees.

"You're at best a backup option."

Su Mu said calmly.

"You don't actually think there are any hidden powerhouses in the myriad realms, do you?"

That's just a legend in the folk tales of ordinary people. The strongest people in all the heavens and myriad realms are only those who transcend.

But there is only one attainment for the one who transcends.

Master Xuanxuan said, "You are too young to know these things, but Jin Hong and I know this better than anyone else."

Where in the myriad realms are there so many hidden masters?
He, Master Xuanxuan, is the one who hides the deepest secret.

If the myriad realms truly possessed such power, how could there have been a desolate calamity?
The Great Calamity of the Desolate Heaven occurred because there were no powerful beings in the myriad realms capable of resisting the creatures of the Desolate Heaven.

In all previous great calamities of the desolate heavens, only at the very end would some powerful beings from all the heavens and myriad realms emerge from the carnage.

Even so, those powerful individuals would be no match for the Desolate Sky Creatures in a one-on-one fight.

Trying to protect all living beings in the myriad realms through ten one-on-one battles is a dead end.

"Not a hidden powerhouse."

Su Mu shook his head and said, "It's the Dao Ancestor Realm."

There are quite a few Dao Ancestor level experts in the myriad worlds, and their cultivation is only slightly inferior to that of the creatures of the Desolate Heaven.

There's no time to cultivate strong individuals from scratch, but three years is barely enough to help a Dao Ancestor realm expert take that first step.

"Ha ha--"

Master Xuanxuan laughed loudly, "This is your plan?"

Su Mu, I always thought you were a smart person, but I never expected you to be so naive!

The distance between the Dao Ancestor Realm and the Desolate Heaven Creature seems to be only one step, but that step is as vast as clouds and mud.

Moreover, the next step beyond the Dao Ancestor realm is transcendence.

If Jin Hong doesn't die, even I won't be able to transcend it, let alone those mediocre and incompetent people!
You're really dreaming.

"It's not me being delusional, it's you."

Su Mu said calmly, "Have you forgotten what you did?"
"A portion of your body has been transformed into a Desolate Celestial Creature, and your strength is no less than that of other Desolate Celestial Creatures."

"You wouldn't be thinking of finding some Dao Ancestor Realm cultivators, assimilating them into Desolate Heaven Creatures, and then using that knowledge to fight against the Desolate Heaven Creatures, would you?"

That's impossible.

Master Xuanxuan shook his head and said, "Once you are assimilated into a Desolate Heaven creature, you will become a true Desolate Heaven creature and stand with other Desolate Heaven creatures. They will definitely not help you anymore."

He himself can't even get that part of his body back now, let alone other Dao Ancestor Realm experts.

"If you really have this ability, then we don't need to compete with the Desolate Sky Creatures at all. Why don't we just wipe them out?"

"Transcendent Jin Hong said with murderous intent."

Ten matches, if you can win, there's no need; if you can't win, there's even less need.

If the person on the other end wasn't Su Mu, the transcendent Jin Hong would have already told him to get lost.

Isn't this just making things worse?

"If we face the Great Calamity of Desolation head-on, at most only 30% of the beings in all the heavens and myriad realms can survive, is that right?"

Su Mu wasn't in a hurry at all, and instead spoke slowly.

The transcendent Jin Hong nodded.

"In other words, if we can win more than three out of ten matches, it's more worthwhile than facing the Great Calamity of Desolation head-on, right?"

Su Mu continued to ask.

"Correct."

The transcendent Jin Hong said, "But—"

"There's no 'but.' What we need to do is deal with the Great Calamity of Desolate Heaven. If we can't completely eliminate the Great Calamity of Desolate Heaven, then we should try our best to preserve as many lives as possible under it."

This is our goal, a goal we won't easily change.

Su Mu interrupted the Transcendent Jin Hong and said seriously, "Brother Jin, you can't get fat in one bite."

When I saw the word 'bitterness', I realized that we had been oversimplifying things.

To completely eliminate the Great Calamity of Desolation, we cannot do so at least for now.

The only thing we can do now is to minimize the impact of the Great Cataclysm.

In my plan, I think if we can win five out of ten matches, we'll have already achieved our goal.

"I understand what you're saying, but the problem is, we don't even have a sure chance of winning five games right now."

After a moment of silence, Jin Hong, the Transcendent One, said with a wry smile.

"If I say it exists, then it definitely exists."

Su Mu said with a confident expression.

Neither the transcendent Jin Hong nor the Xuanxuan Shangren knew where Su Mu's confidence came from.

Before they could ask anything more, Su Mu waved his hand.

"You two, the Great Calamity of Desolation will not break out again within three years. You are free to do whatever you want during these three years."

Three years from now, we'll meet again in the desolate wasteland.

After Su Mu finished speaking, his figure transformed into a streak of light and soared into the sky, disappearing completely into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Jin Hong, the Transcendent One, hesitated for a moment but still did not chase after him.

Master Xuanxuan's eyes rolled around.

"Jin Hong, I don't think Su Mu is reliable. Shouldn't we make some backup plans?"
What if Su Mu can't gather enough men for the battle?

Master Xuanxuan suddenly spoke to the transcendent Jin Hong.

"What do you want to do?" Jin Hong, the Transcendent One, frowned.

"If you promise me one thing, then regardless of how many of the ten matches we can win, I can at least guarantee that the result will not be worse than facing the Great Calamity of Desolation."

Master Xuanxuan said, his voice full of seductive charm.

Jin Hong, the detached one, couldn't help but frown.

…………

Su Mu returned to the universe where the Great Xuan Dynasty was located.

This time he had a clear perception.

The fruit that bears the weight of this universe resides on the thinnest branch of this tree.

No wonder the transcendent Jin Hong said this place was a remote and desolate place.

The reason why Master Xuanxuan chose this place as the location for his layout is because it is remote enough.

It was so remote that even the detached Jin Hong wouldn't bother to look at it.

No matter what Master Xuanxuan does here, it will not attract the attention of the transcendent Jin Hong.

But neither of them expected that such a powerful figure as Su Mu would emerge from such a remote and desolate place.

In just a hundred years, Su Mu has risen from a refugee to the supreme ruler of all realms.

Currently, with the fruits of the heavens and the desolate plains, there are very few people stronger than Su Mu.

Su Mu knew very well that his achievements today were not only due to his own efforts, but also largely due to the system panel he possessed.

The system panel that had accompanied him through countless battles has now disappeared, completely merging with his body.

Although the system panel is no longer there, Su Mu now understands the principles behind it.

If he wanted to, he could make something similar himself right now.

In other words, if Su Mu wanted, he could choose a person from all the worlds, place a system panel on that person, and nurture that person's growth.

Of course, even with a system panel, the other party might not be able to grow to his current level.

The system panel is just one of the conditions that led him to where he is today. His personality, his hard work, and his choices are all reasons why he is where he is today.

The same system panel will yield drastically different results for different people.

This is similar to those scions of wealthy families who are born with resources that ordinary people can hardly obtain in their entire lives. They have ample opportunities, but only two or three out of ten can truly grow into strong individuals.

"Now I am also capable of recreating a system panel."

So who created the system panel on my body?

Is the other person dead or alive? And what was his purpose in doing this?
Am I merely a puppet in their hands?

As Su Mu walked through the universe, countless questions flashed through his mind.

He didn't know who had given him the system panel, but the previous words of the Desolate Creature "suffering" had already alerted him.

He knew that he and the Wilderness Creatures "Bitter" had never dealt with each other before, yet the other party sensed the aura of an old friend on him.

Su Mu was certain that he had never seen him before, so this familiar aura was probably left by the system panel.

Su Mu's quick change of mind was not unrelated to the fact that Huangtian Biotechnology had said "bitter".

Regardless of whether the entity that granted him the system panel was acting out of good or bad intentions, he had to be prepared.

Su Mu was never one to passively accept his fate.

If anyone tries to scheme against him, he will make sure they understand that he, Su Mu, is not someone who can be manipulated at will.

"If the other party really wants to scheme against me, then the system panel will definitely be one of their tools."

If there were more system panels in the world, I wonder if he would still be able to find me.

Su Mu pondered to himself.

He has now mastered the principles of the system panel, and he can easily replicate several identical system panels.

This is the secret he didn't tell the transcendent Jin Hong and Xuanxuan Shangren.

It was this secret that gave Su Mu such strong confidence.

He comprehended the Dao Scripture with the help of the system panel. If other Dao Ancestor Realm peak experts were to receive the help of the system panel, they would naturally be able to master the Dao Scripture as well.

He deduced the Dao Scripture himself back then, but now those peak Dao Ancestor Realm experts don't need to deduce it themselves; they only need to cultivate it.

With these thoughts in mind, Su Mu quietly returned to Da Xuan.

The Great Xuan Dynasty is now a behemoth.

The entire universe is under its rule; all land under heaven belongs to the king, and all people within the borders are his subjects.

Su Mu was already a legend in the Great Xuan Dynasty.

Everyone has heard of this name, but those who have actually met Su Mu are all important figures in the Great Xuan Dynasty.

These days, even these important figures are rarely seen.

Those who truly controlled the Great Xuan Dynasty were the "young people" who were gradually coming of age.

Su Mu landed on "Blue Star," the central hub of the Great Xuan Dynasty. The streets were bustling with people, but not a single person recognized him.

"Back then, in a fit of rage, Master Su unleashed his divine power of 'Heaven and Earth Manifestation,' cleaving the extraterrestrial demon into ashes with a single strike..."

A storyteller is telling a story inside the tavern.

Su Mu stood by the roadside for a while, a wry smile creeping onto his face.

The Bull Protector and his followers had always called themselves "Master Su," but they never expected that this title would become so widely known.

Moreover, these people even gave this universe a nickname, calling it "Su Zhou".

Su Mu's Universe.

The transcendent beings, Jin Hong and his group, use numbers to distinguish the fruits on the tree. If they were to hear the name Su Zhou, they would probably laugh at him for a hundred years.

Su Mu felt extremely ashamed after hearing this.

However, he was too lazy to show up and correct him, and instead continued forward.

Not long after, he arrived at a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters.

"I heard magpies calling early in the morning, and I thought something good was going to happen."

Dongfang Liuyun walked out of the thatched hut and, upon seeing Su Mu, smiled and said, "You busy man, how come you have time to visit your old friend?"

Dongfang Liuyun is indeed an old friend.

When they first met, they were both powerful young people, and their cultivation levels were insignificant by today's standards.

Over the years, Su Mu has been at the forefront of battles, and Dongfang Liuyun has never fallen behind, always working with Luo Anning and others to stabilize the rear for him.

Aside from Luo Anning, Xiang Xiaoyuan, and the other girls, Dongfang Liuyun has always been Su Mu's most trusted brother.

"There's something I need your help with, but it might be dangerous."

Su Mu got straight to the point.

Dongfang Liuyun is his brother who would risk his life for him; there's no need to hide anything.

"Dry."

Dongfang Liuyun said without hesitation, "We're doing dangerous things."

Since we met, what haven't we done dangerous things?
"I wasn't afraid back then, and now I'm a Dao Ancestor. Does that mean I'm not as good as before?"

"I knew it."

Su Mu smiled and said, "When it really matters, it's still your own brothers who you can rely on."

He flicked his sleeve, and a force isolated the inside from the outside. He then briefly explained the system panel to Dongfang Liuyun.

"Is this your biggest secret?"

Dongfang Liuyun's expression was somewhat strange.

He was also a prodigy, confident that his talent for cultivation was second to none, but when facing Su Mu, he felt like a complete idiot.

Only now did he realize that Su Mu possessed such a mysterious treasure.

"That's it."

Su Mu said that his biggest secret was that he came from another dimension.

"I don't know the origin of the system panel. It may or may not have a mastermind behind it."

If so, you might be implicated in the future.

Su Mudao.

"Who have I ever been afraid of?"

Dongfang Liuyun laughed and said, "Perfect, I also want to try what it feels like to make rapid progress in cultivation."

To be honest, watching you grow up over the years has made me so jealous I'm almost splitting apart.

I really want to try it out and see just how amazing this system panel you described is.

I want to experience what you feel too.

Su Mu smiled slightly, raised his hand, and placed his fingers between Dongfang Liuyun's eyebrows.

Dongfang Liuyun's body stiffened for a moment, then an excited look appeared on his face.

"So that's how it is. As long as you add a little bit, you can improve your cultivation without any bottlenecks. No wonder your cultivation improved so quickly."

Dongfang Liuyun asked curiously, "Where did this increase in cultivation come from?"

What's the working principle behind this thing?

"You don't need to worry about those things. You just need to use it to practice the Taoist scriptures to a certain level as much as possible."

Su Mu did not explain, but shook his head and said, "The lives of billions of beings in all the heavens and myriad realms are in your hands."

Don't try to morally blackmail me.

Dongfang Liuyun said irritably, "My abilities are limited, and I can't shoulder such a heavy responsibility."

All I can say is that I'll do my best. If I really lose, don't blame me. (End of Chapter)