At this point, everyone had accepted Su Yu as the human lord, even if some were hesitant. They knew that his father, his teachers, his friends, his seniors, his fellow students, and his brothers were all here.

All of them were humans.

Humans of the current epoch.

The connection between Su Yu and humanity could never be severed.

Would he be willing to completely give up on Great Xia?

No!

Would he be willing to completely give up on Great Ming?

No!

Would he watch as Great Qin was destroyed?

No!

Thus, he was an acceptable human lord, even to those opposed to him. Even if some believed that he was unsuitable, they were still willing to accept him.

But Hundred Battle King was not someone they could accept if they knew the truth. Who among them could accept the leadership of someone with no stake among the current human race?

That wasn't possible.

The well-being of the current human race would never be his priority. Perhaps the current human race would be nothing but numbers to Hundred Battle King. For him, he only needed to preserve enough numbers to continue reproduction.

That was all.

The various experts stared at Su Yu, awaiting his answer. Would they return? Countless eyes focused on him. Would they come back after leaving? They understood leaving when things were so uncertain. They understood that nobody could win forever.

But they wanted to return one day.

***

In the sky.

Su Yu wanted to say that he wasn't returning. Was this place really that amazing? He did not care about this place. He was going to throw this burden to Hundred Battle King. He wanted his freedom. He felt great without his shackles.

But...he seemed to have neglected something. Would Hundred Battle King treat the current human race well? Would he even view these people as his fellow humans? Would he stand guard at the Eastrift Valley for hundreds of years like Great Qin King and the others? Would he protect humanity with his life? He seemed to trust the primordial giant race more than humanity.

He had faked his defeat during the previous epoch. If the Allheaven Battlefield hadn't shut down at that time, and if the likes of Great Zhou King and Xia Chen weren't around, would humanity even last until the current epoch?

Had Hundred Battle King abandoned humanity back then?

Su Yu had completely neglected that. If he could abandon even the previous humanity, what about the current humanity? Su Yu was at a loss. What answer should he give? He had firmly believed that Xia Huyou would go with him. But even Xia Huyou was staying. Even Xia Huyou wanted to remain and protect their homeland. Xia Huyou was willing to stand and die with his people. They did not acknowledge Hundred Battle King's leadership.

Su Yu also saw Qin Hao among the group. The usually flippant Qin Hao was looking incomparably solemn. He was staying as well. Su Yu saw the always smiling Zhu Guangshen as well. Even Zhu Guangshen wasn't leaving.

They were all staying. They were all worried that Hundred Battle King would mistreat humanity. Nobody had asked Su Yu this question before as they had all assumed that he wouldn't abandon humanity.

Su Yu's expression changed repeatedly. He turned to look at Marquis Xia and Zhu Tiandao, his longest supporters. With the usual smile on his face, Zhu Tiandao said, "Your Majesty, we will return, right?"

A temporary defeat was nothing. They could simply retake what they lost. Even when things seemed hopeless, they needed a flicker of hope to strive for.

Su Yu looked around, looking at the people of all ages in the crowd. All of them were looking at him expectantly, as though they were telling him that as long as he intended to fight his way back in the future, no hardship would be too much for them to endure.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be willing to leave even if they were going to live a life of comfort and luxury moving forward. The Human Realm was their homeland. They couldn't abandon their homeland.

"Do all of you wish to return one day?" Su Yu asked softly.

"Yes!"

Someone answered.

Marquis Xia.

Instead of his usual smiling face, Marquis Xia had a solemn expression as he said, "We wish to return. Emperor Yu, this is our homeland. We can give up on it temporarily, but we must return one day. If that isn't possible in this generation, the next generation can do it. Or the generation after that. We only worry that you don't have such plans. That would sever all our hope of returning."

Even further away, Liu Wenyan spoke with a complicated expression, "We all want to return one day. However, we are also willing to leave with you due to our trust on you. However, the hope that we can return one day is our spiritual pillar. We are moving to a different world. This is different than migrating from Great Ming to Great Xia."

They didn't mind a migration within the Human Realm. But they were going to move out of the Human Realm.

The new place was no home. It was an entirely different world.

Su Yu shut his eyes as he sank into contemplation. What about him? Had he thought of returning in the future?

Just then, someone stepped forth from the crowd, removed his helmet, and showed his face.

It was Su Long. He roared at Su Yu, "Have you never thought of returning? Are you viewing humanity as your burden? If that's the case, leave alone. This is our homeland! Look around you! This is Nanyuan! When I rejoined the army a few years ago, I did not do that for the Xia Family. I did it for my home! For my family!

"Su Yu! Humanity is no burden! You can flee when you're losing. But you can't take everyone with you without intending to take them back!

"There are tens of millions of people here! They trust you! They are willing to advance and retreat with you! But they are humans!

"Answer me! Have you thought of returning in the future? If not, leave without us, or leave only with those willing to go with you. The rest of us must return! We don't want someone asking us if we know what the human race is hundreds of years in the future!"

Su Yu looked at his father silently. He was aware that his father was here. He had thought that his father would not hesitate to leave. But now, his father was telling him that he could leave alone.

He was at a loss.

It turned out that...his thoughts were not aligned with the others. He had intended to start a new era outside of the Human Realm. He intended to give them the best environment he could provide and allow them to live in peace and comfort.

But was that not what they wanted?

Su Yu spoke softly, "Fighting our way back...might require war. Many would die. There are fifty million people here. If you follow me, I guarantee I won't mistreat you. You can rest while everyone else fights to their deaths. Many of you will be able to survive the coming chaos. That is my intention."

Great Shang King roared, "Are we scared of death? Many of the people fighting alongside us back then are no longer around! They could have left and hidden themselves in some minor realms to survive, but no! They stayed, fought, and died!

"We are selfish. We are power hungry. We are vain. We love fighting among ourselves. But we have never abandoned our homeland! We have the determination to retake everything that is ours!"

After a long silence, Su Yu sighed and said, "I see. All of you wish to fight your way back one day. Is that so?"

"Yes."

Su Yu smiled bitterly and said, "I believed that as a fellow human, Hundred Battle would not mistreat everyone. I never said that I would ignore humanity even when survival is at risk. I only believed that..."

Su Long said, "That is your personal opinion! Hundred Battle King? Nobody knows who he is! I don't know him! I only know you! You are my son. You are the elected human lord. No matter how unreliable you are, your father and your teachers are here. No matter how ruthless you are, you won't abandon your father and your teachers. But what does Hundred Battle King have to lose? Answer! Do you intend to return in the future? If not, feel free to piss off yourself!"

With a look of resignation, Su Yu asked, "Am I right to believe that everyone thinks that I'm more reliable than Hundred Battle?"

That was a hard question for many to answer. But Zhu Tiandao did not hesitate to say, "Of course. No matter what, you are a human whose rise we had witnessed with our own eyes. You are a fellow human, a comrade, a friend.

"You did your best during the battle of Nanyuan. You risked everything to protect Great Qin King in the Luminous Domain Mansion. You killed numerous people in the Allheaven Battlefield, but you never turned against humanity. You killed numerous myriad race Daofuses, but you never killed a human Daofuse."

Su Yu laughed, "How fucking interesting. I believed that everyone would cheer my departure. Everyone would celebrate the departure of a cold-blooded killer like me and welcome the gentle Hundred Battle King. But instead, you're asking me to fight my way back?"

"Of course!" Marquis Xia said, "This is our territory. Our homeland. How can we give it away to some outsider? You might believe that you haven't done much for humanity, but you're wrong. Your appearance allowed humanity to dominate the Myriad Realms and avenge our past losses. All those races that had humiliated and bullied us back then had all been defeated. Even the three major races are being as obedient as a puppy. We might not be the strongest, but this is a glory we enjoyed under your leadership!"

Su Yu inhaled deeply as he looked at the crowd before him. After a short while, he laughed, "You're all stupid. You're rejecting a good life, insisting on fighting your way back. Must you bleed before you're happy?"

Before anyone could respond, he continued, "But I like it. Perhaps I was wrong. Yes, I believed that losing the Human Realm was no big deal. But you're right. This is my territory. My conquest. It was previously your place, but it's now mine!

"This territory belongs to me, and it belongs to all of you as well. You are right. Why should we give it away to someone else? Unfortunately, I am still not Hundred Battle's match, and I'm not interested in serving as his little brother. I have to leave.

"No matter. We will return when I grow strong enough. At that time, Hundred Battle’d better do the smart thing and move aside. Otherwise, we'll give him the beating of his life."

Su Yu roared, "Humans, heed my order! Submit to Hundred Battle for now! If he dares to mistreat you, I will kill him the moment I grow strong enough! Be patient and endure! Do not resist his rule! If he treats you well, so be it. If he dares to mistreat you, I will find a way to kill him!"

Su Yu's voice spread everywhere.

"I will lead everyone back! We will retake our homeland! I will tolerate him for now, but not forever! If you really can't stay under him any longer, contact me! I will make things right for you! At worst, we will throw caution to the wind and ensure mutual destruction with him!"

Cheers rang out throughout the Human Realm.

"Return!"

"Return!"

Spirited roars resounded everywhere.

And right at that moment, Su Yu sensed a massive surge of humanity's fortune. He was rendered quite speechless. Even he couldn't help feeling some sympathy for Hundred Battle King. Poor guy. He was already so hated even before his return.

He swore this wasn't his handiwork. In fact, he had been saying good things about Hundred Battle King as of late to ensure a smooth transition of power. But nobody was blind. They could all see that Hundred Battle King was not a good leader to follow.

At that thought, Su Yu laughed.

"Let's go. This is a temporary withdrawal. Before long, we will be back again."

As of that moment, morale surged. The gloomy atmosphere was no more.

A departure.

A temporary one. They would be back.