The Seven Great Lords of the Empire of Darkness.

Each one of them had the ability to destroy a superpower on their own.

The entire sub palace of the northern continent might not be able to stand up against a lord.

Su Yu began his return to the Yinyu Area with worry in his heart.

Multiple days later, Su Yu returned to the Yinyu Manor.

The manor was peaceful as always, but Su Yu could sense that the citizens of Yinyu City had respect for the manor.

Su Yu had gone on a killing spree during the ceremony, and had suppressed two vice palace masters, Xue Yao and Feng Qing, on his own. His incredibly powerful figure was unforgettable, inspiring awe in the citizens.

Zi Yunxiang was seated silently in a pavilion at the backyard, engrossed in reading through an official document. Her figure was beautiful. Surrounded by the flowers in the backyard, she looked like a flower deity. One could observe her from far away, but could never develop any indecent thoughts.

"Yunxiang!

" Su Yu called as he walked forward.

"Ah…..

" Zi Yunxiang was startled, her figure trembling. Her heart relaxed when she turned around.

"You wished to scare me to death!

" Zi Yunxiang complained, her beautiful eyes hiding some traces of worry.

"It's good that you returned safely. Did that Palace Master Zang Jian put you in any trouble?

"

Feeling her concern, Su Yu laughed,

"He will not return.

"

As intelligent as Zi Yunxiang was, she understood immediately.

Her elegant expression gradually turned serious, as she gravely said,

"I had once heard father say that vice palace masters are people that the Empire are nurturing with great priority. The main palace would send people to investigate, should anyone of them die. Did you leave any traces behind?

"

Shaking his head, Su Yu said,

"There is always a solution to the problem, I have no regrets killing him! Alright, let's not talk about this. Were there any important things that require my attention that happened while I was gone?

"

Zi Yunxiang nodded,

"There is one matter that you need to personally tend to! The Black Water Pirates are causing trouble, their attacks frequent and spread over all eighteen cities. You need to take the necessary precautions!

"

Black Water Pirates?

Su Yu thought for a moment. The Black Water Pirates were active in the intersections between the Nameless Area and the Shenkong Area, causing troubles there.

Over the years, attempts to capture them had failed.

Now that Su Yu was in charge of the Yinyu Area, he naturally had to get rid of this threat, returning peace to the Yinyu Area.

"En, notify the eighteen cities to increase the strength of their patrol. I'll confront the Black Water Pirates after my injuries heal!

" Su Yu inspired awe, even without being angry.

Zi Yunxiang stared at Su Yu's handsome face, gently licking her lips, her heart filled with mixed emotions. When they first met, Su Yu was but a nameless junior from the rural areas near the ocean. In just a few months, he had amassed quite the reputation, becoming a vice palace master of the Empire. The difference between then and now was stark.

Suddenly, Zi Yunxiang recalled the decision of her father to betroth her to Su Yu. Back then, she did not know why her father would want to do that. To betroth his only daughter to a person he had met for the first time was too rash, even if he was a person recommended by Lin Yunhe. But now she could see just how great her father's foresight was.

Perhaps he had long realised that Su Yu was not an average person. If Su Yu had promised him back then, wouldn't she be the wife of a vice palace master?

Thinking about this, Zi Yunxiang blushed, muttering under her breath,

"Ridiculous, he already has a fiancee. This thought is too vulgar.

"

At that moment, Zi Yunxiang regained her composure. Her feelings for Su Yu were more of respect than love.

"Oh, the tributes of the eighteen cities have been placed in your house. You can use them as you wish.

" Zi Yunxiang was secretly jealous.

Just how abundant were the tributes from the eighteen cities, considering the size of the mass of land they sit on? If it was in the past, Zi Yunxiang would have no need to be jealous. But now, she was downtrodden and had no training resources available at her disposal.

Su Yu nodded,

"En, you take thirty percent for your own cultivation and give ten percent of it to Elder Fan. Take it as the compensation for your efforts in the manor.

"

Hearing this, Zi Yunxiang cupped her mouth in disbelief. The amount of tributes of the eighteen cities was an astronomical figure. Thirty percent was enough for a year's worth of cultivation!

"Su.... Yu..... How can I repay you?

" Zi Yunxiang bit her lip, her expression devoid of happiness.

A favor too big was a burden. Su Yu had saved her father from death. He had taken her in and given her a place to stay. Now he was giving her resources to aid in her cultivation. If not for Su Yu, the fate of her father and her would have ended in the dust.

"Hehe, at the birthday celebration, you stepped out and blocked Lu Jun to save me and An Yurou. I have always remembered this favor in my heart.

"

"Now that you are in trouble, is it wrong for me to repay you?

"

Zi Yunxiang hung her head low, her fists clenched. Her expression was that of shame, as she spoke with difficulty,

"But... I was not being selfless when I saved you, instead...

"

The reason why Zi Yunxiang stepped out that day was not that pure.

"Hehe.... I know. You saw my potential and wanted to use me. Otherwise, considering how we had barely met, how would you step out for me and offend the vice alliance master?

" Su Yu let out a light laugh.

He knew all along.

Zi Yunxiang let out a self deprecating laugh,

"Then you should understand that I am not worthy of your repayment.

"

But what she did not expect was that Su Yu would still have the smile on his face, looking at the horizon,

"I have had many trials in my life, my fate filled with tribulations. I have already faced many of life's ups and downs.

"

"It was their selfless help that gave me a chance to change my life. Without them, I, Yin Yu, would already be a skeleton beside some road. My lover, my ideals, my dreams, they all would have long been relics of the times.

"

Su Yu thought about the duke of Xianyu, Li Guang, An Yurou. It was them that gave Su Yu a new lease of life.

"Living in this world, status and reputation are fleeting. I only wish to live my life without regrets. So just use the resources as you wish. This is my repayment for the favour you did for me in the past, you need not take it to heart!

"

Zi Yunxiang was lost, staring at Su Yu's expression of melancholy. Hearing the heartfelt, meaningful words of Su Yu, her heart thumped.

To Su Yu, an act of benevolence was as heavy as a mountain. For an act of benevolence, he did not care if he entered the Hundred Territories Alliance Meet alone and defeated all of its geniuses. For an act of benevolence, he did not care if he was reduced to the common enemy of the Hundred Territories, killing Lu Jun in the sight of everybody.

She had never seen someone pay so much heed to an act of benevolence. A ripple formed deep in her heart. It was the first time in her life that she was feeling lost. But the fact that Su Yu had a fiancee calmed Zi Yunxiang down instantly.

A bolt of bitterness enveloped her heart. She had met him in the wrong time! She had met the right person at the wrong time! Silently sighing, Zi Yunxiang glanced at Su Yu, her eyes filled with complicated emotions, before turning to leave.

Su Yu was clueless as to what she was thinking, taking a large bulk of the resources and entering meditation immediately. He silently tended to his injuries, as he used the resources to breakthrough his cultivation level.

Three days later,his injuries had now been more or less healed, but his cultivation level had come to a halt, with no progress. Slowly opening his eyes, Su Yu had a look of frustration,

"The bottleneck between Dragon Realm and Immortal Realm cannot be bridged with these average resources!

"

Su Yu had used thirty percent of the tributes, but his abilities showed no improvement. The energy harboured by these average resources were far from being able to satisfy the requirements for him to breakthrough to the Immortal Realm.

"It looks like my only hope lies in waiting for the next time they give out the Spirit Fate Elixir.

" Su Yu was deep in thought.

Giving up on cultivation, Su Yu closed his eyes again to practice his techniques.

After undergoing the battles in the ceremony and the relic, Su Yu had gained many things. First, he could finally conclude that his Divine Grade Divine Decree was not at its final stage. Even though the power of the Divine Decree was immense and able to alter the weather, it still lacked a certain something. But Su Yu did not know what that certain something was.

Taking his doubts, Su Yu took the initiative to ask,

"Master, do I still need to persevere in cultivating the Divine Decree?

"

If it was as the man in black said, the Divine Decree would get more lackluster as a fighter's cultivation level improved.

Su Yu had began cultivating his Divine Decree the moment he had stepped onto the Martial Paths. It took him two years to achieve Divine Grade. The arduous journey was hard to imagine.

A normal person might require half a year to reach Su Yu's stage. This made Su Yu incredibly doubtful as to whether or not he still needed to continue cultivating the Divine Decree. It was not going to be a short time before he could achieve another breakthrough in his Divine Decree.

Yun Yazi was silent in Su Yu's robes. It was a long time before he questioned,

"Then, what do you think the Divine Decree is?

"

This question shocked Su Yu. He had obtained the Divine Decree purely by accident. He had cultivated and gained insight into it, but he had never thought about what the Divine Decree actually was.

Lowering his head and thinking for some time, Su Yu said with reasonable confidence,

"It is the understanding of heaven, earth, and nature. The deeper you understand, the more in tune with nature you become.

"

This was the nature of Su Yu's Divine Decree. From the start, he could conjure some form of a natural scene. Now, he could become one with nature. The upgrade of the Divine Decree was the process of becoming one with nature.

"Right, and also wrong.

" Yun Yazi gave another unfathomable answer.

"At your level, it is right. But at my level, the definition is too narrow.

"

Narrow? Su Yu did not understand,

"Then what is the Divine Decree to you?

"

Yun Yazi calmly said,

"In my eyes, the Divine Decree is a path, a path to godhood!!

"

"God? A path to godhood?

" Su Yu's eyes were filled with shock.

Is there really a god in this world?

Yun Yazi continued speaking,

"That's right, god! The one that presides over this world, god!

"

"To look past the fleeting and become god, that is the extreme of the Martial Paths!

"

"There is only one way to become god! Divine Decree!

"

"To understand nature and create a path to the position of god, that is the Divine Decree!

"

The Divine Decree is a path to godhood? This is a theory unheard of. It completely flipped Su Yu's view of the world.

Su Yu was in disbelief,

"But my Divine Decree is already at Divine Grade, why can't I sense this so-called position of god?

"

Unexpectedly, Yun Yazi laughed,

"Hahaha... A mere Divine Grade, your Divine Decree is not even at the beginner level and you talk about the position of god?

"

Not even at the beginner level? Su Yu pouted. The Divine Grade Divine Decree Su Yu had spent much effort in cultivating was not even at the beginner level!

"Even my Divine Decree has only touched a mere hair of the position of god, much less yours!

" Yun Yazi shook his head laughing,

"The Divine Decree is split into many levels. Your Divine Grade Divine Decree is but at the lowest level.

"

Su Yu was deep in thought. Had Yun Yazi touched the position of god when he was alive? God... Just how strong was Yun Yazi when he was alive? Su Yu gasped in secret!

"But master, since the Divine Decree is so important, why do the fighters of the Zhenlong Continent not pay any regard to it?

" Su Yu voiced his doubts.

Yun Yazi muttered,

"Hehe, do you think everyone is like you, having a master that knows everything?

"

"There are not more than five people in the Zhenlong Continent that know that the Divine Decree leads to godhood!

"

Sssss!

Su Yu gasped. Not more than five people?

In other words, the average person does not know that the ultimate goal of the Divine Decree was to become god?