Chapter 1882: To Cross Swords (III)
Within Thunder World.
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when Li Hao returned from his exploits.
“Are you unable to ascend to seventh rank?” The Thunder master was rather confused. Li Hao had said that he was going to try for seventh rank when he left. Had he come back because he was unable to make the leap?
“Seventh rank is a bit too flashy. There’s no rush. It’s not hard for me to make the breakthrough if I want to, but it won’t increase my strength all that much. Hence, it’s the same to me whether I’m a seventh rank or not.” Li Hao smiled and looked at the group. He now had a roster of powerhouses under his command as well. He had two eighth ranks!
Then there were Number Two, Void, the dao chess, and Orchid Forest for seventh ranks. Li Hao himself counted as a seventh rank too. This kind of collective strength put them on par with an eighth rank dao universe.
Even when the two eighth ranks might only be the equivalent of one eighth rank with home world advantage, that was enough.
It’d only been three years since Silver Moon emerged in the chaos. There’d been a time when Li Hao was the only first rank in the world, but now there were almost one hundred. They even had some high ranks, which made for an incredible feat.
“It’s actually rather quiet in the four regions these days!” was all that Fog Mountain said. “Only Red Moon’s been wandering around, trying to convince some seventh rank world masters to not involve themselves with the conflict between New Martial, the chaos beasts, and Silver Moon. There is almost no movement from Dragon Region...
“But the more they are thus, the more worried I become. So many chaos beast powerhouses died in those skirmishes. It doesn’t make sense that a peak eighth rank such as the Dragon master wouldn’t have any reaction to that.”
It would be more reassuring if the Dragon master rampaged through the four regions in a fit of rage. That would mean that he truly was infuriated and thus highly affected by the events.
And yet, Dragon Region was eerily quiet. Fog Mountain wasn’t the only one to be unsettled by this.
The five monster spirit words in Dragon Region were highly concerned that the Dragon master would come for them. They continuously shuffled toward Thunder Region these days, both worried about a sudden strike from the Dragon master and not knowing who they could work with.
New Martial was a difficult target to be involved with and Li Hao of Silver Moon didn’t seem inclined to partner with them.
The monster spirits had eight seventh ranks among them. The Ironeater master had thought that either New Martial or Silver Moon would extend olive branches. It was the worst feeling to find out that neither side cared for them.
They’d thought that the Dragon master would be wary of the monster spirits after losing so many seventh ranks. Skycloud and Blazing Sun would be further deterrents. But who would’ve thought that those eighth ranks would be dispatched as well?
“The Dragon master...” Li Hao nodded. “Is a very difficult opponent! The quieter he is, the more terrifying! The senior has sensed this properly. We’re still digesting what we gained from the last battle, the same goes for the Dragon master.
“It’s not like he came up empty-handed at the end of the day. He killed two eighth ranks and two seventh ranks... so he probably won’t pay attention to us for now.”
“Do you have any thoughts when it comes to the monster spirits?” Fog Mountain asked after some thought. “The five monster spirit words don’t seem to be having a good time of things. I think that if someone approaches them, you’ll be able to immediately recruit eight seventh ranks! You might even be able to bring the five major worlds into the fold...”
This was a great opportunity to strengthen themselves!
If it came down to it, he could just make a few more trips to move those worlds into Thunder Region. Thunder World could be the venue through which to transport them into the outer regions. Li Hao’s strength would absolutely be transformed with eighth seventh ranks under his banner!
He would truly become one of the three tyrants of the four regions!
He would dominate even the outer regions! The outer regions were vast and heavyweights abounded. But very few factions could collect two eighth ranks and more than a dozen seventh ranks.
“That’s alright!” Li Hao shook his head. “Monster spirits don’t like to bow their heads and they didn’t even want to join in on chasing down the chaos beasts. The Ironeaters have a rebellious heart and will readily go down in a blaze of glory with everyone. It would just be creating trouble for ourselves if we went to take them in!
“As for the other worlds... they actually want to surrender. They’re simply being threatened at the moment and being led by the Ironeaters in this rebellion...
“In my view, it’s not likely that the Ironeaters will be able to lead them out of the four regions. If the Ironeater master is wise, he will leave with his own people and seek independent freedom. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before the Dragon master kills them!”
“Then... should we not stop them?” asked a solemn Thunder master.
“Stop them?”
Stop what? Li Hao shook his head.
“The Dragon master is not someone to antagonize and we have no need to create further trouble for ourselves. Since the monster spirits chose to rebel that day, then they should’ve been more decisive about it.
“But when the fighting wound down, only the Ironeaters remained steadfast. The other worlds... were not that resolute. Recruiting them might create bigger trouble for us!” Li Hao looked outside Thunder Region. “We don’t need to think too much. They know best if this is a disaster or an opportunity. They have their own decisions to make.
“The monster spirits can choose to abandon their worlds and flee while it’s a lull period in Thunder Region. If not, they’re in for a difficult time. It’s impossible for them to hang onto their worlds, have someone save them, and not have to invest too much of their own resources.”
Li Hao dropped the topic. If the Ironeaters were wise enough, they would abandon their world, find a mid or minor world to move their people to, devour the world and flee with it. They wouldn’t be able to move fast enough with a major world, but three seventh ranks could move a mid world.
That would give them a chance.
At the end of the day, the young man wasn’t too close to the monster spirits. Their last partnership had been born out of mutual need. Li Hao wasn’t inclined to rescue the monster spirits from their current catastrophe.
“As for us, we should get going!” Li Hao declared. “We’ve spent a while in this region. Thunder World is going to have issues hanging on much longer!”
“Are we heading out?” The Thunder master looked to the outer regions with emotion. “I... don’t know much about the outer regions, just that a ninth rank has been born lately. He seems to be waging a war as well. It’s not very safe out there!”
The chaos was vast, but also not that vast at the same time. The four regions were in an uproar, as were the outer regions.
“It’s incredibly childish for a ninth rank to think of conquering the chaos!” Li Hao raised an eyebrow. “Unless he wishes to establish order, there’s no need to do so. He won’t be able to strengthen himself even if he devours ten thousand worlds.
“At his level, he should be considering how to further incorporate all daos as one.”
Li Hao’s opinion of the ninth rank decreased as soon as he heard that the ninth rank was seeking to unify the outer regions. At the same time, he was also skeptical of the heavyweight’s actual strength.
Ninth rank meant at least nine thousand daos being one. Such a powerhouse could crush eighth ranks. Even the Dragon master would find it difficult to withstand a ninth rank. It would have to take another ninth rank to stand toe-to-toe to one.
Did they really have to go to the hassle of conquering the chaos?
Li Hao wasn’t quite sure and didn’t understand what was going on, but he wasn’t overly concerned. “It’s fine, their fighting shouldn’t reach us for a while. The Skyward master and master of calamity should still be alive. If that one is a ninth rank, he should sense them as well...”
Even though the two ninth ranks were in the outer regions, that didn’t necessarily mean they were in foreign territory. A newly ascended ninth rank shouldn’t take the risk of attacking two peers.
“Let’s take a look outside first...” Li Hao mused. “We won’t be focusing on devouring dao strength or seizing worlds. But if we encounter a target such as Gemini, we can still give it a try.
“My goal is to construct a system of a myriad daos, so I actually want to have some conversations with those powerhouses. I’m not going to attack them on sight!”
The young man was quite resigned. Exchanging reflections on dao had been his original goal, but none of the other powerhouses in the chaos seemed to share his thoughts. Who had the time to chat with him?
A bunch of seventh and eighth ranks spent their days scheming over how to devour worlds. They wouldn’t stop for a debate. They just wanted to kill the other and spend time studying dao only after their opponent was dead.
This was one area that Li Hao felt most regret about. Couldn’t they all sit down and talk after reaching their level of cultivation? These guys didn’t seem to have anything else in mind apart from devouring worlds and more worlds.
Conversation ceased among the group. The Thunder master steered Thunder World at a glacial pace toward the outer regions.
......
At the same time, Dragon Region.
The Dragon master had completed his own dao domain. At the same time, an overwhelming presence shot out of Dragon major world as a black tiger hovered out of it. It was like a spirit from hell and the sight of it prompted the chaos beasts to crow with excitement.
Eighth rank! They had a second eighth rank among them!
The Dragon master smiled faintly. Black Tiger had not disappointed. Although it’d swallowed two eighth rank corpses, crossing the threshold was still not an easy task. Neither of the two eighth ranks had come with their own world or dao universe. They’d only possessed eighth rank dao strength.
Given such circumstances, it was not the easiest to produce another eighth rank.
“Congratulations!” The Dragon master appeared, further agitating Black Tiger.
“My deepest thanks for my liege’s help!" He looked at the far-off Thunder Region with eagerness and anger. “I will kill that Silver Moon king and avenge us all!”
The Dragon master inclined his head without a word. Meanwhile, Black Tiger sensed something and cast a puzzled look at the Dragon master. The latter had been one with Dragon major world before, but now seemed to be a bit... out of tune with it.
The world even seemed to be repulsed by the Dragon master. What was going on here?
“Can you tell?”
“My liege, this...” asked the baffled Black Tiger.
“Feng Yan has inherited Dragon major world.”
The tiger jerked with astonishment! Why?? How??
“There’s no need for such theatrics. At eighth rank...” The Dragon master looked at Black Tiger. “Building our own dao domain is key at this level! If you wish to walk further down the path of eighth rank, then you must understand this well.”
The Dragon master laughed and looked around him, at the powerhouses swiftly congregating upon them. “Black Tiger has entered eighth rank, Feng Yan has entered seventh rank, and we have six more seventh ranks born among us today...”
Devouring the six major worlds had enabled six peak sixth ranks to break through. He now had more than twenty seventh ranks at his command and three eighth ranks, if including himself. This kind of force would be enough to sweep through any location.
“Black Tiger, you and Red Moon will lead the rest into taking the five monster spirit worlds!”
Black Tiger started. Will I... be able to accomplish that?
Although there were only eight seventh ranks in residence among the monster spirits, they all had their own worlds. The Ironeater master was a premier peak seventh rank and formidable in battle. He might not be weaker than a newly ascended eighth rank.
“Don’t worry, of the eight monster spirits... some of them will outright surrender when you go. I am still here,” the Dragon master said calmly. “You will be able to take them this time!
“As for me... I’m going to take a look at Light. New Martial might intervene, so I’ll pay them a visit...”
