Su Yu was willing to fight his way back.

That was enough to make him a good human lord for many. Yes, that was what everyone felt. It was that simple. They didn't know Hundred Battle King. Who knew what type of person he was?

Morale was high.

Su Yu's excitement did not last long, however. He sent a voice transmission with resignation, "These bastards. They're doing this deliberately, right? I guarantee they would all forget their previous words if Hundred Battle was really willing to treat them well. So be it. Fortunately, I am a reliable, refined scholar."

They all looked incomparably excited. But when Su Yu gave it more thought, he cursed inwardly. He knew very well what they were thinking. Since they were leaving, the masses would be in turmoil. Those leaving and those staying would both feel uneasy.

They were worried about the future. Those staying were worried about a purge, and those leaving were worried that they wouldn't return anymore. When they forced an answer out of him, most of what they said was actually a performance.

Su Yu glanced at Great Shang King, noting the perfect calm on Great Shang King's face. It was as though this was a completely different person from the agitated Great Shang King earlier.

Noticing that Su Yu was staring at him, Great Shang King started feeling uncomfortable. He sent a voice transmission, "Stop looking at me like that, Emperor Yu. I did that to improve morale and encourage everyone."

Yes. Even his words were partly performative. He was honest about not wanting to serve Hundred Battle King and wanting to return. But if he really couldn't return, he would be fine with it as well. In that case, he could first focus on survival before thinking about the future.

And to be perfectly honest, even if Su Yu were to fail even after exhausting his remaining lifespan, well, it wasn't like it would be that long. At that time, they could always return if Hundred Battle King was really that kind.

What if Su Yu could overcome his remaining lifespan? That would mean that he was already a Master of Law. At that time, it was only natural for them to return and reclaim their homeland. A Master of Law was enough for them to fight for the domination of the world.

Yes. Everyone knew very well what they were doing. Their previous words were mostly for the sake of placating the masses. They couldn't have those staying behind believing that Su Yu was abandoning them.

Su Yu had been too busy to placate the masses recently, and everyone had been doing that for him. But that wasn't enough. Su Yu had to say something as well. He had to promise that this was temporary. The masses only needed to wait. They only needed to be patient.

The various founding kings had defended humanity for over four hundred years. They had a strong support base. No matter how incredible Hundred Battle King was, he would need decades or more to fully win the popular support.

Su Yu couldn't be bothered to reply. Earlier, Great Shang King had spoken so passionately, giving off the impression of a hot-blooded man. But that was all a lie. Great Shang King was a shrewd one. He was different from Great Xia King and Great Qin King.

To the side, Great Han King remained completely expressionless as well.

Su Yu couldn't be bothered to say more. Nobody could promise what would happen in the future. If he grew strong enough to fight his way back, he wouldn't mind doing so. He was certain a fight would erupt between him and Hundred Battle King sooner or later. And upon defeating Hundred Battle King, wouldn't the Human Realm become his again?

Thus, he wouldn't withdraw his promise. The hesitation he showed was real, but it was also partly performative.

"Enter, everyone. We will return soon."

With one order from Su Yu, everyone streamed inside the pages with excitement, the previous gloomy atmosphere gone.

But as Su Yu waited, he suddenly frowned.

With the same frown on his face, he focused on Xia Huyou. When the expressionless Xia Huyou noticed Su Yu's gaze on him, he flew over and spoke softly, "I'm not leaving. I was speaking the truth. I'm staying."

Su Yu was stunned. He asked, "What do you mean?"

Wasn't the entire thing a performance?

Xia Huyou bowed slightly and said, "I was speaking the truth. I will stay, not to live and die with everyone else, or for any other reason. I'm only staying to fulfill the responsibility of Xia Family. The countless people of Great Xia believe in us. We can't all leave them behind.

"My father can leave. My second granduncle can leave. They are strong enough to be viewed as a thorn in Hundred Battle King's side. But I'm merely a weak Sunmoon.

"I'm not worth the effort of killing, yet I can keep Great Xia stable with my presence. Taking me down would cost Hundred Battle King the support of the masses. He needs me to placate the people."

Su Yu's frown grew deeper.

After a long silence, he said, "Do you know that if you stay, your strength will remain stuck for a very long time? Also, Hundred Battle could also use you as a hostage against me the moment I attempted to return..."

Xia Huyou laughed and said, "If that day were to arrive, I simply needed to die. If he didn't even have the courage to fight you, would he still be an opponent to be worried about? He would be ruining his own foundation doing that. Just pick me up in the Celestial River of Death after that. I wish to keep living.

"Su Yu, would you really fear a Hundred Battle King who is weak enough to take me hostage?"

He grinned, "A truly powerful leader would not do something so stupid. But if he were really so stupid, he would no longer be someone you needed to fear."

There would no longer be anything to fear.

After a short silence, Su Yu chuckled and said, "We have all...grown up."

It had been four years since their academy days. Or to be precise, the fourth year had arrived since he first entered the academy. When he first met Xia Huyou, Xia Huyou claimed to be a regular cleaner and a small merchant. At the time, Su Yu himself was merely a little fox with countless schemes in his mind.

Both had experienced different things in recent years, and both had grown differently. Nevertheless, both of them had indeed grown. Xia Huyou had grown to know what responsibility was. For the sake of responsibility, he decided to remain and take charge of his people. This was not a choice the previous Xia Huyou would make.

Xia Huyou smiled and said, "Everyone was young once. In recent years, I had fought in major and minor battles, I had embarrassed myself, I had swindled others, and done many other things. It has been quite an interesting life.

"No matter what, I am a member of the Xia Family, the prefect of Great Xia. Great Xia has never abandoned us. How can I abandon them? Brother Yu, this is merely a temporary farewell. It's not like we'll never meet again after this."

Su Yu laughed, "True. But I might not return before gaining enough strength. I might be away for a very long time."

"How long would you need?"

"I'll try my best to grow faster."

Xia Huyou said, "I see. You'll return within three years. You won't be Su Yu if you can hold back even after the opening of the Upper Realm. Don't worry. If I manage to survive that long, the Human Realm will still be yours."

Su Yu said, "That doesn't matter. Fine, since you're willing to stay, I believe you will do decently. I'm confident in your ability to bend over for anyone."

Xia Huyou's face fell slightly as he gave Su Yu a glare. He was definitely not the type to bend for everyone!

No way!

He adamantly rejected that notion.

With another hearty laugh, Su Yu looked around. Suddenly, he said, "In other words, all Eternals are leaving while a majority of the rest are staying. Is that so?"

He could see the various Eternals bidding farewell with the various prefects. Some were parents bidding farewell to their children, and some were grandparents bidding farewell to their grandchildren. How interesting.

Qin Zhen, who was busy saying something to his younger brother, flew over after hearing Su Yu's words. He said, "The Eternals are considered high-tier combatants. It's better for them to leave than stay and endure the prejudice from Hundred Battle King's side. As for those below the Eternal Realm, they are far less conspicuous. I'm only worried about how brash Qin Hao is. Emperor Yu, why don't you give him a military order to be a good boy during his time here?"

Not far away, Qin Hao's expression darkened.

Was his elder brother any better than him?

Su Yu laughed and said, "Is Qin Hao staying? Why don't you pick someone else? I'm worried about his temper as well..."

Qin Zhen sighed and said, "That won't do. I need to go, and my son, Qin Fang, is decently talented as you know. I need to take him with me lest someone decides to kidnap him or something. Qin Hao has a rather ordinary talent so he is the only one we can leave behind. It wouldn't be a big loss even if he were to die..."

How...rude.

Not far away, Qin Hao glared at them with a sullen expression. Damn it! If it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't defeat his elder brother, he would have rushed forth to give his elder brother a good beating.

They were all bullying him!

Zhu number two bullied him. Xia number two bullied him. Liu number one bullied him. And now, Qin number one was bullying him as well.

Su Yu merely smiled without saying anything.

When his gaze landed on the nearby Su Long, his smile grew wider. Met with Su Yu's gaze, Su Long merely coughed awkwardly before looking away.

With the same smile on his face, Su Yu asked, "Who brought my father here?"

Nobody answered.

With the same genial tone, Su Yu asked again, "Were you worried that you couldn't keep me calm without my father around?"

"..."

Again, nobody answered.

Noticing the awkward silence, Zhu Tiandao coughed and said, "Nobody brought him here. General Su came by his own initiative."

"His own initiative?" Su Yu asked, "And none of you noticed that? Don't bother putting on an act before me. None of you can act better than me."

He wanted to say that they weren't even born when he started acting. Alas, these were all old fellows, so that wouldn't be right. Even the youngest among them, Xia Huyou, was slightly older than him.

Zhu Tiandao smoothly switched the topic and asked, "Emperor Yu, are we heading to the Celestial Chasm Realm?"

Su Yu naturally noticed the attempt.

He stared at Zhu Tiandao with a smile before saying, "Old Zhu, you have quite a shifty look on you. I suspect you are involved in the whole performance today."

"..."

Zhu Tiandao was left completely speechless. That was quite rude, to be honest. How was he shifty? Had Su Yu forgotten about how he had claimed that Zhu Tiandao was his grandpa back then?

In truth, Su Yu was in a decent mood, even when he was maintaining a heavy expression. Looking at the crowd streaming into his book, he said, "Don't play with the heart of the masses too much."

With a completely indifferent tone, he said, "It's not wrong to attempt to improve morale. But you need to be wary of a potential backlash. I might be younger than all of you, but I am not stupid. I have chosen to not do certain things, but not because I never thought of doing these things.

"I understand why you did that. I understand that you meant well. But everyone would fail spectacularly if I failed to reach the top in the future. Upon my defeat, everything you did today would create a split among humanity.

"Most of you here are my seniors. I understand that you're biased toward me. But stop seeing me as the savior. I am not omnipotent. Understand this well. Trusting me too much might result in a massive defeat. Obey my commands, but don't change your entire mentality for my sake. Don't fully believe in my omnipotence. That is not a good belief to have."

Great Han King joked, "Are you telling us to play both sides, Emperor Yu?"

At that, Su Yu laughed. "Not really. You understand what I'm saying, Great Han King. So be it. I'm even starting to suspect that you all did that on Great Zhou King's guidance."

"Wait! Is Great Zhou King not dead?"

Great Han King exclaimed with surprise.

Su Yu sneered and said, "Are you going to keep acting? Nobody took that seriously. Who would believe those people were dead with the wide smiles on the faces of Marquis Xia and Prefect Zhu? That was only a lie meant to fool the outsiders. I wasn't even bothered to say more about it."