Su Yu nodded and clenched his teeth, "I'm from Great Xia. I know how the people there think. In Great Xia, military glory is the biggest honor of all. For them, fighting and dying on the battlefield is not scary. Running from a battle is disgraceful. And they will definitely interpret this action as running from a battle. The prestige of Great Xia will drop greatly."

Zhu Tiandao sighed, "Perhaps that is the kind of price they need to pay to make the divines and devils believe in their sincerity. If the Xia Family remains as militant as ever, nobody will dare to let Xia Longwu complete his advancement. But with a change in the Xia Family's reputation, that might change. Some people might even start using the Xia Family as the peace faction or even the submission faction. They will say that even the iron-blooded Xia Family has compromised. Peaceful coexistence with the divines and devils are definitely possible. That slow change in mindset is the scariest thing of all."

Su Yu frowned, "Can't the Invincibles declare their support to the Xia Family?"

"That's not the issue." Zhu Tiandao shook his head, "The biggest issue is the fact that many people are clearly planning to use Xia Longwu as a shield. The moment Xia Longwu attempts his advancement, all those people will also attempt to break through. And if people like the Zhou brothers break through at the same time as Xia Longwu, who will Great Zhou King protect?

"What about Qin Zhen of the Qin Family? Who will Great Qin King protect? There's also the junior of Great Han King. How will Great Han King choose?

"Everyone will be selfish at times. There is no avoiding that. For many people, sacrificing Xia Longwu for the advancement of someone from their own family is worth it. You might think that this is cold-blooded, but it is unreasonable to expect these people to give up on their own family members to support Xia Longwu instead."

"They can simply break through at different times—"

Before Su Yu could finish his sentence, Zhu Tiandao said, "But this is an extremely rare chance. For example, I would have a ninety percent likelihood of failing a breakthrough at any other time. Meanwhile, with Xia Longwu breaking through at the same time and attracting all enemy attacks, my chances would increase to fifty percent. When do you think I should attempt my breakthrough?"

Suddenly, Su Yu felt a sense of sympathy for Xia Longwu. This was too sorrowful. Could they even blame those Invincibles for their choice? Not even Su Yu could say that he would sacrifice his family for Xia Longwu.

If his father was capable of dao affirmation and he was capable of protecting one person during the attempt, who would he protect? Naturally, it would be his father. This would not change despite how much he idolized Xia Longwu.Thus, the choice of the other Invincibles was understandable. Those Invincibles were still humans with feelings. Their loved ones would always take priority over outsiders.

Su Yu thought for a bit and asked, "Since everyone is waiting for Prefect Xia to become their shield, why are the single character faction and Great Zhou creating trouble in Great Xia? Are they not afraid that Great Xia would decide to simply give up on the breakthrough?"

Zhu Tiandao smiled, "Do you want to listen to the truth or a lie?"

"The truth."

Zhu Tiandao said, "Since the Xia Family can be forced to compromise, why can't the Zhou Family do the same? It is perfectly normal for them to use the single character faction to grab some benefits from the Xia Family. It's not surprising at all. " "Why did the eight families agree to the suppression? Is everyone blind to the fact that the divines and devils are wary of the multiple character faction? No. They are not stupid. But what if the divines and devils promise to let them produce a few Invincibles in exchange for the suppression of the multiple character faction?"

Su Yu's heart thumped as he heard that.

Zhu Tiandao coldly said, "As the saying goes, one does not bother about trifles to accomplish great things. How many people are there in the multiple character faction? With the suppression of a few individuals such as Liu Wenyan as the price, they can produce several Invincibles. If you were the one making the choice, what would your choice be?"

Su Yu was left speechless for a very long while. He had thought that he already knew everything. But it was proven that he still knew nothing.The suppression of the multiple character faction might actually be due to a deeper layer of transaction. Yes, a transaction.

Zhu Tiandao stepped forth to stand before Su Yu. Gazing at Su Yu, he said, "Su Yu, after leaving this room, I won't admit to a single word of what I said to you. Now, I only have one question for you. With the suppression of Liu Wenyan, Hong Tan, and a few others as the price, humanity can gain five new Invincibles. Is that a worthy trade? Don't think from the perspective of the multiple character faction. Think from the perspective of humanity. Is this worth it?”

Su Yu felt his lips go dry. He couldn't find anything to say.

"Don't they know how important the multiple character faction is? Of course they do. But some people think that they can always agree first and produce a few Invincibles before turning against the divines and devils again. At the time, they can restore support to the multiple character faction. So, is this trade worh it?"Are the Yuan and Zhou Families traitors for making this trade? In my eyes, they aren't. They have their own plans. In their minds, people like Liu Wenyan are too weak. Suppression is fine since those people are still left alive. By suppressing a few talented individuals, they can gain a few proper Invincibles. Isn't that a worthy deal? Only that one hidden Invincible is trying to kill Liu Wenyan. Perhaps that's due to a personal grudge.

"Su Yu, you're a member of the multiple character faction. That's why you hate the suppression. But if you aren't, what would you think about trading a few geniuses for a few Invincibles? Take me as an example. Previously, we lost nine civillians. But I was relieved because you were fine. Is that really proper?

"But in my eyes, your value is far above the nine civillians. Thus, I believed that you couldn't die while the nine civillians could. So do you think that I'm merely cold-blooded and realistic or am I a traitor of Great Ming?"

Su Yu's words were stuck in his throat. After a long while, he said, "You mean...everyone is already aware of this. And everyone has tacitly agreed to this. This isn't a pure competition between factions. The suppression also isn't due to their fear of our growth and the trigger of more wars. No, all this is for the sake of helping a few individuals affirm their dao."

"Yeah." Zhu Tiandao said, "Great Han King and the others aren't blind. Even my old man isn't blind. Why had they remained silent? Liu Wenyan had stayed low profile for decades. Hong Tan was suppressed so badly the multiple character faction nearly ceased existing. Why were everyone silent?

"Because the multiple character faction did not have enough value. That was the only reason. Not even the fifth principal was as valuable as five Invincibles. Sure, he could kill one Invincible. But could he kill five Invincibles?"

Su Yu clenched his teeth, "I understand. I finally understand. Everyone has reached a tacit agreement. Only the Xia Family is resisting. But now, even the Xia Family has reached their limits. They have to compromise. Am I right?"

Zhu Tiandao nodded, "Perhaps. There are things that I could have kept from you. But after thinking about it, I still decided to tell you. You need to understand that some things are a lot more complicated than you think. No matter how you look at this, it is a worthy trade for the human race. The Xia Family had been uncompromising only because the multiple character faction was founded by the Xia Family.

"They were unwilling to accept the end of the multiple character faction. That was why the whole deadlock lasted decades. But now, for the sake of Xia Longwu's dao affirmation, they might finally compromise. As for the price of their compromise, I don't know. But it is likely that they will have to give up on your grandteacher.

"Even your Teacher Liu Wenyan might be pulled back into Great Xia as well. They can't use him as a bargaining chip if he remains in the Allheaven Battlefield where Great Qin King is active. But if he returns to Great Xia, the Xia Family will be able to do whatever they want."Su Yu's thoughts were in a mess. After a long while, he asked, "Prefect, what if my teachers and grandteacher come to Great Ming?"

Zhu Tiandao took some time to think before saying, "I can allow Hong Tan to come, but not Liu Wenyan. As someone who has inherited the legacy of the fifth principal, he is a thorn in the eyes of the myriad races. If he comes, Great Ming will sink into chaos. Also, he might not be willing to come. His teacher was Ye Batian. He won't leave Great Xia."

"I...understand." Su Yu had a helpless smile as he said, "I have never expected the multiple character faction to be so important. We are actually the root of all chaos. So it turns out that everyone has been aiming to wipe us out."

With a sigh, Zhu Tiandao nodded, "We have a vague guess as to how important the multiple character faction is for humanity. This might be related to the suppressive force of the Human Realm. But Ye Batian failed. The cautiousness of the divines and devils, the stirring of the immortals, all these are telling us that we can't act blindly. Also, not everyone in the multiple character faction has been eliminated. I have a feeling that the faction itself isn't a threat. Rather, something the fifth principal left behind is being viewed as a threat. That was probably the main reason for the incident back then."

After a short pause, Zhu Tiandao continued, "Ye Batian must have discovered the path toward becoming a true Invincible cultural researcher. And his characters might have something to do with that secret."