Meeting Again

The Black Panther forged ahead, carrying the group. Beneath its colossal ears stood Li Hao and Kongji. Sensing Li Hao's simmering wrath, Kongji sent a voice transmission: "Don't be reckless... The Dragon Region is immensely powerful. Let us observe the situation first!" "I know." Li Hao said little. He was calm—in fact, the angrier he became, the calmer he grew. Anger would never make him lose control. Kongji seemed to want to ease the tension and transmitted again, "The strong prey upon the weak..." He wanted to say that certain realities simply could not be changed. Li Hao nodded and replied through transmission, "I know about the strong preying on the weak and the law of the dark forest. However... in my view, if a powerhouse bullies the weak and slaughters living beings not for survival, how can such an expert truly be considered strong?" Killing could be justified by survival, pursuing the Dao, war, or clashing ideals. Yet Li Hao could not tolerate treating humanity as food merely to satisfy an appetite. Looking at Kongji, he asked, "The three regions held by humanity possess formidable power. Why haven't we seen humans slaughtering countless monsters purely to satisfy the cravings of the mighty?" Kongji pondered before answering, "Humans possess more reason than beasts, while beasts rely more on instinct. Humans have moral teachings and civilization, whereas beasts rely only on ancient inheritances passed down through bloodlines. As a result, the wildness and bloodlust of beasts are far more pronounced." He analyzed it theoretically, but Li Hao shook his head. "No, it is because... certain powerful figures among humanity are plagued by excessive greed and selfishness. Being selfish is one thing, but their greed makes them completely terrified of offending an overlord like the Dragon Lord! Like monkey see, monkey do, from rank eight Sovereigns down to newly emerged Sovereigns from various worlds, they are all weighing these petty interests. The situation in the Dragon Region is actually quite simple and easily solved!" Indeed, it was far too simple. All it took was a single word from a few rank eight Sovereigns speaking together, and no matter how bold the Dragon Lord was, he would never dare act so unscrupulously! It was literally a matter of a single statement! Yet no one spoke up. Speaking up meant offending the Dragon Lord, jeopardizing their own status, and threatening their own rule. This statement even encompassed the Bright Light Sovereign. Feeling somewhat awkward, Kongji hesitated before saying, "There are other reasons as well... We don't all belong to the same world, so..." He did not know quite how to explain it. After a moment of thought, Li Hao said, "Let me make a hypothesis—just a hypothesis. If the Xinwu Human King had unified the other three regions and chose not to manage the Dragon Region, would the beasts here still dare to treat humans as blood food so brazenly?" Kongji pondered this. If the Human King unified the three regions but left this place alone, would the experts of the Dragon Region fear him? Yes, they would! It came down to temperament. The Dragon Lord understood the nature of the other rank eight Sovereigns and had no fear of their opposition. But the Human King... even if he were unaware or didn't bother to intervene, the Dragon Lord and his kin would still dread him. Because the Human King could turn hostile at any moment and slaughter every single one of them! Kongji let out a breath. "You mean... the current human leaders of the Four Regions are too timid and selfish..." "When the Lord of Tianfang was present, did the Dragon Region dare to act like this?" Li Hao countered. Kongji shook his head. "Back then, Chaos Beasts had not even established a foothold in the Four Regions. The Dragon Region was not yet called the Dragon Region; in earlier years, this too was human territory." "Isn't that just bullying the weak while fearing the strong?" Li Hao asked again. "So in the eyes of the Dragon Lord, the current rank eight Sovereigns, along with those rank seven Sovereigns, are all soft pushovers, aren't they?" "You could put it that way." Kongji nodded once more. It was a fair assessment. At this point, it was awkward to dwell on the matter, as those leaders included his own father. Dropping the topic, Kongji asked instead, "So what do you plan to do? The Dragon Region has rank eight Sovereigns and rank seven Sovereigns... and many of those rank seven Sovereigns hold the home-field advantage! These aren't like the non-Dao Lords of Red Moon. Aside from those in the Dragon World, almost all the rank seven Sovereigns here are Dao Lords. Their combat prowess surpasses Qishui, whom we killed earlier—Qishui was only slain by us because he had left the Qishui World!" They couldn't handle such foes. Currently, by joining forces, the two of them could contend with a rank seven Sovereign, provided that Sovereign was not backed by a great world or was merely a non-Dao Lord realm lord from a rank eight world. However, once confronted by a true lord of a rank seven world, the two of them would stand no chance even together. That was the difference between being a realm lord and not. The Dragon Region was hostile territory. Even combined with Silver Moon, their maximum strength merely matched a weak rank seven world, whereas the Dragon Region possessed at least a dozen rank seven worlds. "We sustain war through war!" Li Hao's expression remained tranquil. "Presently, I have opened over a thousand minor realms, but only five or six hundred—less than half—are truly infused with energy. Once all one thousand minor realms are saturated, I will be able to fight a rank seven Sovereign on my own!" Of course, that was only an expectation; whether he could actually achieve it would depend on accomplishing the feat first. "The Dragon Region contains numerous worlds..." Li Hao gazed across the surroundings and said slowly, "In the words of us Silver Moon folk, this journey is about cutting down the strong to aid the weak, upholding justice! That alone gives me ample justification to slaughter them!" Looking into the barren chaos, his gaze gradually turned resolute. "Not only that! The fault does not lie solely with the Chaos Beasts of the Dragon Region—or rather, it isn't just their doing. There is also... the collapse of order and the inaction of the strong. Long ago, I told Yao Si, my Minister of the Night Patrol, that those not in the office shouldn't deliberate on its governance, but if you take the mantle, you must shoulder its duties! "If you wish to be rulers, overlords of the chaos, and leaders of a region... you cannot act like this! "Striking hard against your own people while cowering before outsiders! At this moment, I am reminded of certain individuals—people I killed in the past. Back then, within the Silver Moon world, they exercised ruthless oppression over the human populace! Yet toward the monster race, even when those monsters were pathetically weak, they still fawned and groveled..." Li Hao sneered. "In their eyes, oppressing the weak and crushing their own kin seemed to offer a far greater sense of achievement! As for foreign enemies... at most, they would cede territory, pay indemnities, and offer up blood food, believing that trading for brief moments of peace was the finest outcome... History is rife with such examples. Even when a world is prosperous and a nation mighty, such vermin are never absent... "In their minds, foreigners naturally hold higher status, even when those races are utterly feeble... Yet they would rather enshrine them than risk offending them! Those rank eight Sovereigns bark orders at the rank seven Sovereigns beneath them, but when facing sixth- or seventh-rank figures of the Dragon Region, they might treat them with utmost politeness. They reserve their majesty for their subordinates, their cruelty for their own people, and their so-called respect and face for foreign races..." Kongji looked at him, temporarily at a loss for words. Was that really the case? Thinking carefully... perhaps it truly was. Human rank eight Sovereigns across the three regions carried immense dignity and looked down upon even other rank seven realm lords. Yet upon arriving in the Dragon Region, facing rank seven entities of this domain... they would undoubtedly be extremely polite. That was inevitable. No matter who it was, his own father included, that was almost certainly how they would behave. "Could that... be considered respecting all living things...?" Li Hao shook his head. "No, respect is mutual. Only when the other party respects you do they deserve your respect! Brother Kongji, respect is never a one-way street! When one side offers respect while the other regards you as blood food, that is not respect—it is groveling! "Therefore, a question lingers in my mind... Even if we slay all these Chaos Beasts, you cannot keep killing forever, nor can you wipe out their entire race—there are bound to be innocent ones among them. If these people continue to lead the Four Regions, the tragedy of the Dragon Region will inevitably repeat itself!" Li Hao wore an indifferent expression. "Thus, in my view, these so-called human leaders deserve to die just as well!" He spoke with chilling tranquility. Kongji was momentarily taken aback. In his memory, Li Hao was decisive and ruthless in battle, but... he had never exhibited such iron blood, bordering on cold-bloodedness. Li Hao, however, gave a soft laugh. "Back in Silver Moon, our nation was governed by the Nine Departments! In truth, not everyone in the Nine Departments deserved death, nor were all their leaders thoroughly wicked... Yet in the end, I slaughtered nearly all of them. Do you know why?" Kongji furrowed his brow and shook his head. "I don't. Was it because they stood in your way?" "No, it was because of dereliction of duty. To me, dereliction of duty... is far more terrifying than corruption, cruelty, heartlessness, or incompetence! "The current rank seven realm lords lack the capability, so I won't fault them. But those rank eight realm lords... every single one of them dreams of unifying the Four Regions, yet their virtue and talent fall far short of their stations. If such people truly unify the Four Regions, it will be an absolute disaster and a curse!" Li Hao said no more. At this moment, he was merely a rank five Sovereign, but... what did that matter? Back when the Nine Departments ruled the world, he hadn't even been among the top figures in a single one of the ninety-nine provinces. Yet what had the outcome been? "Let's go, Black Panther. Find the Queen and the King of Dali!" Black Panther was startled. While that was along the way... according to its expectations, Li Hao was furious and should have headed straight for the Fire Phoenix Great World. Why go look for those two? Meanwhile, Li Hao pondered quietly, unsure whether he was speaking to himself or to the others, and murmured, "Those two are here... and they certainly won't be sitting idle. The Queen especially excels at bewitchment, faith, and proselytizing. She is a clever woman; being here, she must have seen an opportunity—an opportunity for an explosion of faith! "The humans of the Dragon Region have suffered under the monster race and Chaos Beasts for far too long! "Here, merely doing a tiny good deed can reap an enormous harvest of believers... Both of them were former rulers adept at propagating the Dao of Faith. What do you think they are doing right now?" Black Panther seemed to understand. They were probably harvesting faith. Black Panther knew those two well; they were never ones to sit still. Li Hao had witnessed atrocities immediately upon arrival, proving that such conditions were ubiquitous. With those two here right now... given their restless nature, it would be strange if they weren't harvesting faith! "Attaining the Dao through faith, achieving Sovereignhood through faith... I don't care much for it because its limitations are too severe. But for them, it is a radiant path to the heavens. As long as faith remains intact, they can advance rapidly, effortlessly stepping into rank four, or even... rank seven!" With enough people and devout enough faith—if ten billion wasn't enough, then a hundred billion, a trillion, ten trillion... Sufficient faith and believers could allow someone to ascend to the heavens in a single leap! The Dao of Faith was remarkably similar to the Dao of the People. It was an opportunity to rapidly gain strength. Li Hao said, "Right now, I need to seize a world... a vast world to serve as a foundation for people to cultivate the Dao of Faith. We will conquer worlds, rescue humans, and gather them together... The Queen and the King of Dali are well-suited for this work." Kongji's heart stirred. "You... want others to cultivate the Dao of Faith, but what about yourself...?" Li Hao cultivated all Daos; why wouldn't he cultivate it himself? If he truly had that intention, this might genuinely be a tremendous opportunity, provided they survived. "Faith... carries both benefits and drawbacks, just like my reluctance to become the Great Dao Lord... In truth, I am an irresponsible person." Li Hao shook his head. "I don't like having my freedom constrained by these Great Daos! Silver Moon martial artists fundamentally pursue unbound freedom, and I pursue it even more than the rest. Faith is also a form of bondage; I understand it all too well." It was far too easy to suffer backlash! Of course, for many people, who would care about backlash when presented with a chance to ascend to the heavens in one leap? Black Panther held its tongue and flew silently in a particular direction. *King of Dali, Queen, it seems you two have been targeted again.* Black Panther didn't know whether to pity or envy them. Li Hao seemed to want the pair to spearhead the upcoming upheavals, acting as vanguards or rear commanders tasked specifically with sheltering humanity. Conquering a world meant dealing with countless humans, and managing such an endeavor was agonizingly difficult. They had to be fed, clothed, made happier than before, provided with food and shelter... disparate civilizations had to be integrated, and everyday affairs had to be managed... It sounded simple for a few tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands. But millions, billions, tens of billions... Once it reached that scale, even a Sovereign would be driven mad! Feeding them, clothing them, tending to their daily survival—Li Hao dared not even contemplate it. Just thinking about it threatened to give him a breakdown. In any case, he wouldn't place them inside Silver Moon; cramming countless mortals into Silver Moon would collapse its entire system. It would utterly crumble! Their only option was to seize a world and herd the people inside, maintaining basic survival at first... ensuring they didn't starve. The rest would fall upon those two to figure out. If they managed it well, it would undeniably be an immense opportunity for them! …… "Achoo!" The King of Dali, on the verge of attaining Sovereignhood, suddenly sneezed, feeling inexplicably uneasy. He glanced at the Queen. "Do you feel... like some unexpected trouble is brewing?" The Queen frowned without speaking. She merely stared beyond the heavens. Trouble? She indeed had a bad premonition. In the past... such premonitions had only ever been brought about by Li Hao. Yet right now, Li Hao should still be entangled with powerhouses from Red Moon and Yunxiao. She had fled all the way out here, where Chaos Beasts and monsters dominated; surely it wouldn't happen, right? She felt rather perplexed. Back then, to escape that vexing fellow, she had risked her life fleeing across the void... He couldn't have followed them to the Dragon Region, could he? Feeling uneasy, the Queen—who hadn't even feared the realm lord of this small world—now grew somewhat anxious. "It couldn't be that Li Hao is here, could it?" "That's impossible!" The King of Dali laughed. "Do you really need to fear him that much? Besides, he's probably still clashing with those high-rank Sovereigns, or being hunted down... The Dragon Region is dominated by monsters and Chaos Beasts. Why would he come here?" "Hard to say." The Queen sighed softly and shook her head. "In any case, it's best to stay as far away from him as possible." "Don't worry. It's probably just the realm lord of this world preparing to make a move against us. Stay sharp, and don't let our ship capsize." The Queen nodded, saying no more. True enough. It was better to stay vigilant against that instead. As for Li Hao... the chaos was vast; they wouldn't run into him that easily. …… The Dragon Region. A small world stood on the periphery of the domain. Lately, the master of this world had been troubled. Out of nowhere, two half-step Sovereigns had arrived, bold enough to cause chaos on its territory! As a Sovereign, killing half-step Sovereigns should have been effortless. However... the reality was that these two were far from simple. Though merely half-step Sovereigns without backing from any great world, their combat strength was formidable, and they fought like seasoned veterans of a hundred battles—incomparable to the two-legged beasts native to this world. Furthermore, the pair was exceptionally cunning. Even as the realm lord, it couldn't easily locate them. When it did manage to find them once before, the two had joined hands and managed to escape. Now, an even greater annoyance was that a massive number of two-legged beasts had been spirited away by them... In truth, the realm lord didn't care about the two-legged beasts themselves; the issue was that without them, the subordinate Chaos Beasts and monsters were growing unruly. They had grown accustomed to feeding on them, and the sudden scarcity agitated them. Crucially, the remaining two-legged beasts were growing restless, bent on escaping... That created a massive headache. Chaos Beasts were terrible at administering worlds. When it came to developing and evolving worlds, humans were far more adept; hand them a desert, and they could transform it into green fields. Chaos Beasts were far better at destruction. Asking its underlings to develop a world? Utterly impossible. With fewer humans, world development had ground to a halt. For any realm lord, this was unbearable; no realm lord wished to see their world stop growing. Whether they slaughtered or consumed them... they generally practiced sustainable development rather than eating everything into extinction, ensuring the world's development never ceased. Now, the entire world's progress had stalled, striking directly at this Chaos Beast's core interests. "Those two bastards!" The Chaos Beast, which strongly resembled a giant rat, felt both irritated and furious. If word got out, it would be laughed at by other Chaos experts. Failing to suppress two half-step Sovereigns within its own world was simply laughable. "Have you found them yet?" It unleashed an enraged roar at several half-step Sovereigns gathered below. "N-Not yet..." A half-step Sovereign below answered apprehensively. "Those two are hiding exceptionally well. We even slaughtered many of the two-legged beasts they took away... but they still didn't show themselves. We were worried that if we killed them all and they still refused to appear, world development would be permanently ruined... so we halted the slaughter... Yet the moment we withdrew, they ambushed us again and killed numerous kin..." Having finished, it looked toward the giant rat with an expectant gaze. As the realm lord possessing absolute authority over the world, it should have been easy to locate them, yet their realm lord... seemed equally helpless. This was thoroughly baffling! The giant rat remained silent, inwardly cursing. There was a crucial difference between Chaos Beasts acting as realm lords and humans: generally, Chaos Beasts were outsiders rather than natives, meaning their control over the world was inferior to that of a realm lord who had risen from the world itself. Those two were masters of hide-and-seek, making tracking them down exceedingly difficult. Just as it was pondering how to find them, it suddenly paused, perplexed. Quickly rising into the air, it darted toward the World Gate. Was a powerhouse passing through? It seemed to sense a powerful aura approaching. …… Outside the minor world. Black Panther moved with startling speed, approaching the world ahead. At that moment, Hong Yitang's voice echoed from within Black Panther's body: "I feel we are close to the King of Dali and the Queen. They should be in the world right ahead!" Li Hao peered into the distance. It was merely a minor world, probably rank one or two, resembling a tiny firefly in the chaos. It looked nothing like a great world, which shone like a colossal sun. A rank one or two world... No wonder those two were still alive. Both the King of Dali and the Queen had clashed with him in the past and had constantly matched wits against Li Daoheng and Zheng Yu. Such individuals were by no means inferior to ordinary Sovereigns. Having survived until now in Silver Moon, facing only a rank one or two Sovereign, the local lord might truly be incapable of dealing with them. Even from afar... Li Hao felt a peculiar sensation. A unique power of faith seemed to be emerging within that world. He chuckled softly. "No wonder those two refused to return. So they really are spreading faith here!" Though he had guessed it beforehand, actually sensing it still drew his admiration. Did those two even realize where they were? The Dragon Region! Rank seven and eight Sovereigns were everywhere. For two mere half-step Sovereigns to spread the Dao of Faith and shelter humans here... was outrageously daring. If any passing powerful Sovereign took a dislike to them, killing them would be effortless. What reckless fools! …… Soon, Black Panther drew near. At that moment, the giant rat materialized above the world, transmitting mental fluctuations: "Which senior graces my world with their presence? Senior's journey must be exhausting; do you require blood food to feast upon? My world is modest, making it inconvenient to properly host Senior..." The giant rat was remarkably courteous. Just as the giant beast earlier had explained, whenever a formidable Chaos Beast like Black Panther passed by, minor realm lords would proactively offer blood food to avoid trouble. Let them eat their fill and leave! …… Meanwhile. The King of Dali stared at the Queen, and the Queen stared back at him. After a long pause, the King of Dali murmured, "Did you... feel that?" The Queen rubbed her brow. Her cold face revealed a hint of gloom, icy and exasperated, as she gritted her teeth. "I felt it. The Silver Moon... Cosmos!" *Fuck!* She wanted to curse. *Dammit.* *I fled all the way here, yet Li Hao's ghost still won't leave me alone. This is truly... a headache.* *He's here!* Yes, at this moment, the Queen was certain Silver Moon had arrived—or rather, Li Hao had arrived. She could already sense familiar auras, and the local realm lord seemed to be welcoming someone. Needless to say... it was most likely Black Panther. Black Panther was now a Chaos Beast as well. Evidently, the Silver Moon World was carried within Black Panther's belly. Feeling helpless, she shot a glare at the King of Dali. "It's all your fault!" The King of Dali was speechless. *What does this have to do with me?* "You definitely have ties with Tianji... Tianji couldn't bear to let you go and insisted on finding you." Bullshit! The King of Dali was thoroughly exasperated. With Tianji's temperament, even if he died outside, Tianji wouldn't bother sparing a second glance, let alone seek him out! Indignant, he retorted, "It's clearly you! I say Li Hao couldn't bear to let you go... You've always been flirting and scheming with him..." The Queen flared with fury! Glaring at him, she snapped, "You dare slander this King?" Who flirted with Li Hao? The King of Dali scoffed disdainfully. As a former sovereign, he had no fear of this woman. *What, I can't say it?* *Consider this: which of Li Hao's enemies is still drawing breath?* *As for me... I had the sense to compromise with Silver Moon early on.* *Combined with Tianji's face, he spared my life.* *What about you?* *Right up until the end, you concealed Heaven's Will and harbored treacherous designs, yet Li Hao still didn't kill you. There must be something going on between you two.* Incensed, the Queen couldn't be bothered to argue further. Yet at the same time, she felt a slight sense of relief. "That fellow Li Hao is here... He's probably planning something major. If the rest of the Dragon Region is like this, once his knight-errant chivalry flares up, blood will likely flow like rivers!" At that point, she paused slightly and glanced at the King of Dali. "Tell me... is he just passing through, or did he come specifically for us... to make us work for him?" *Work for him?* The King of Dali froze. What kind of work? "Forget it, let's go take a look!" By now, the Queen didn't feel like talking anymore, nor did she fear the realm lord. Going near the World Gate to check things out made sense; since Li Hao and the others had come here, they were likely looking for the two of them. If they didn't show themselves, he might find some excuse, claim they lacked respect, and smack them dead with a single palm! …… Outside the world. This time, Black Panther did not speak. Li Hao directly transmitted his mental thoughts: "I smell a sweet scent. There seem to be two delectable morsels in your world... Present them to me as tribute!" *What a sharp nose!* The giant rat was speechless. It could smell them from out there? It knew who the beast was referring to, but... it hadn't even caught them yet. If it had caught them, it would have eaten them itself. Yet with a middle-rank Sovereign passing through, how dared it object? It had no choice but to say, "Senior, forgive me. Two outsider two-legged beasts entered my world... both at the half-step Sovereign level. I have yet to capture them... Once I do, I will offer them to Senior..." "No need. I will enter and capture them myself!" At these words, the giant rat grew anxious. "Senior, powerhouses from the Dragon World patrol the Dragon Region. My world is not open to outsiders. The Dragon Lord decreed that worlds with masters may not be seized without authorization!" "Do you think this seat would covet a mere rank one minor world?" Li Hao's voice carried intimidating authority. "A tiny world like this isn't even enough for a single bite. Who would dare defy the Dragon Lord's decree? However... the Dragon Lord never forbade passing travelers from lending a hand when a world is in distress! You cannot even catch two mere half-step Sovereigns; what is wrong with this seat catching them for you? Instead of being grateful, you threaten me with the Dragon World?" The giant rat cursed inwardly once more. Yet upon reflection, the other party appeared to be a rank five Sovereign who likely had no interest in swallowing its minor world. Still feeling troubled, it said, "Senior misunderstands. I merely worried about inconveniencing Senior... When the Dragon World patrol passes by, I will report the situation, and they will assist..." "The Dragon World patrol oversees the entire Dragon Region. How long will it take them to reach this minor world? Are you certain your world can maintain peace until they arrive?" Li Hao's voice boomed majestically, "Are you doubting this seat?" "I dare not!" The giant rat grew increasingly gloomy. After some thought, it replied, "Actually, it won't be long. According to the usual schedule, the patrol will arrive in at most six months... Still... since Senior is willing to assist, then... Senior may enter my world..." It didn't say it outright, but the meaning was clear: catch them and get out. The patrol would arrive in six months at most; if you don't leave, I will lodge a complaint! Li Hao, meanwhile, felt a twinge of admiration. The Dragon World actually dispatched experts to patrol the Dragon Region, which explained why the Chaos Beasts here were relatively peaceful and engaged in little infighting. A rank eight world holding down the fort naturally exerted immense deterrence. Strictly speaking, from the perspective of Chaos Beasts, the current Dragon Lord truly displayed the demeanor of an overlord, preventing excessive slaughter among his kin. Otherwise, when Chaos Beasts met in the void, the strong preyed on the weak, and swallowing this giant rat whole would draw no objection. Yet here, a puny rank one Sovereign dared to push back against a rank five Sovereign's demands—all thanks to the confidence bestowed by the Dragon World. "From the standpoint of Chaos Beasts... the Dragon Lord does far better than Red Moon or Yunxiao!" Li Hao sent a voice transmission to Kongji, omitting Bright Light, though in truth it was included as well. All of them were regional overlords, yet none performed as well as the Dragon Lord. He had never heard of those great worlds dispatching experts to patrol their domains and maintain peace; they couldn't care less unless they were looking to devour worlds themselves. Kongji nodded. "Otherwise, do you think a Chaos Beast could gain a firm foothold in the Four Regions, let alone dominate an entire region? The Dragon Lord possesses genuine capability and is hailed as the foremost Chaos expert of the Four Regions! My father once remarked that were it not for humanity's sheer numbers and powerhouses... in a one-on-one contest, those rank eight lords of the Four Regions might not best him! "The Dragon Region was established less than a million years ago, yet the Dragon Lord has already subdued numerous Chaos Beast experts... That alone speaks volumes!" As the two conversed, the giant rat—not overly terrified—opened the World Gate. A rank five Sovereign had no reason to offend the Dragon Lord over a rank one world. If this beast dared to devour the realm and the Dragon World discovered it, it would be doomed; such incidents had occurred in the past. Chaos Beasts possessed untamable wildness, prompting the Dragon Lord to personally execute a rank seven Chaos Beast back then to shock the domain. From that day forth, without the Dragon Lord's permission, no one—not even rank seven Sovereigns—dared seize a world held by Chaos Beasts. Of course, native monster race worlds and human-occupied worlds were another matter; such realms also existed in the Dragon Region. The region continuously gave birth to new worlds, most of which were initially dominated by humans before eventually falling under the domain of Chaos Beasts. …… In an instant, Black Panther arrived at the World Gate. The World Gate of a minor realm was fragile. A brute-force assault could easily shatter it. However, forcing entry would cause too much commotion. Black Panther landed directly near the gate. Just then, the giant rat glanced back, looking startled. It seemed to sense the auras of those two troublemakers. *Are they insane?* *They dare appear openly!* Under its astonished gaze, a man and a woman materialized in the distance—the man domineering, the woman cold and aloof. Yet the moment they saw Black Panther... both wore expressions of deep gloom. Though they had sensed it, seeing Black Panther in person still left them helpless. *What a coincidence!* *We meet again. More importantly, Black Panther has grown terrifyingly strong—so what about Li Hao?* *That freak!* "Senior, that's them!" The giant rat was stunned. It truly was them; had they lost their minds? Seeking death wasn't supposed to be this reckless. Had it been alone, capturing them might not have been easy, but... a rank five Sovereign had just arrived! The gap between rank five and half-step Sovereigns was vast enough that a single sneeze could obliterate them. Appearing now was practically walking straight into the beast's jaws! At that moment, Li Hao directly deployed the Stealing Heaven Domain, while the Quiescence World silently enveloped the entire surroundings. For Kongji, who had once quenched Tianfang itself, shrouding a rank one world was child's play. Without a sound, the entire world fell under the domain. This was a Dao domain! Crucially, the giant rat Sovereign remained completely oblivious. The disparity was simply too immense! It was still reveling in excitement, glad to have its troubles resolved. Just as the thought crossed its mind, the woman spoke, "To what do we owe the honor of the Marquis visiting such a desolate world?" The giant rat froze. Before it could process her words, a figure materialized before it. It was Li Hao! The giant rat was terrified and opened its maw to roar, only to find itself frozen solid—utterly incapable of movement! Not only that, its Chaos Dao felt extinguished, and even its thoughts ground to a halt! The King of Dali and the Queen watched as the Sovereign froze motionless, its beady rat eyes bulging in disbelief! Both were inwardly shaken. *This is a Sovereign, yet he subdued it in an instant?* *Just how far has Li Hao progressed?* Li Hao glanced at the two and smiled. "Why haven't you attained Sovereignhood?" The Queen smiled faintly. "We planned to lay a solid foundation here before returning to Silver Moon to achieve Sovereignhood. As Silver Moon cultivators, how could we break through outside...?" She said it with absolute sincerity! Li Hao laughed. "Did my arrival make you two very uncomfortable?" "..." "Not at all!" the Queen denied swiftly. Li Hao chuckled again. "It seems you still resent me for disturbing you. But did you not realize this place falls under the jurisdiction of the Dragon World? A rank eight Sovereign! With a horde of rank seven Sovereigns beneath him! In six months at most, experts from the Dragon World will patrol this area..." The two froze, and the Queen looked surprised. "How could that be? Would a rank eight world care about a rank one world?" They had spent time in Tianfang before. They had never heard of an overwhelmingly mighty world meddling in the affairs of a minor world. "The Dragon Region does!" Li Hao explained, "The Dragon Lord is a rare overlord among Chaos Beasts. He intends to subjugate the entire Chaos Beast race and dominate a region, maintaining iron control over the Dragon Region... He established patrols across the chaos, and in six months, they will arrive here! Once that happens, if this world's master is no longer this giant rat, you will be dead, unless you believe you can rival a rank eight Sovereign!" "..." The Queen had initially found Li Hao's arrival a nuisance, but now she felt fortunate. She truly hadn't known this; in her mind, why would a great world care about the life and death of a minor world or the change of its ruler? Yet they actually did! As for whether Li Hao was lying to them, there was no need for him to do so. The Queen sighed with immense regret. "So that's how it is. No wonder this place is a sacred ground for the Dao of Faith, yet no one came—it's backed by a rank eight great world!" What a pity! That meant they had no choice but to abandon the faith they had gathered; a rank eight world was not something they could provoke. Li Hao smiled. "Did you really plan on swallowing one minor world, expanding slowly, breaking into rank one, rank two, rank three, and rank four Sovereignhood, climbing step by step until you reached rank seven or eight? If it were that simple, would all the humans in the chaos be fools for never coming here?" "..." The Queen felt somewhat embarrassed. That was indeed what she had planned... thinking no one had noticed, or that those who did simply didn't cultivate the Dao of Faith... Now it seemed she had been far too naive. Helpless, the Queen had no choice but to say, "Then we will absorb the power of faith here, break into Sovereignhood, and... leave this place!" "What's the rush?" Li Hao laughed. "Don't we still have six months before the patrol arrives?" With that, he surveyed the desolate world. "This world is too small with too few people. Even if you gather all their faith, it won't be enough to push you to rank three... Queen, King of Dali, care to join me in a massive enterprise?" "..." Hearing those words, the King of Dali shuddered. *Please don't. Every time you say that, misfortune befalls me!* Granted, his strength had indeed grown. The Queen's eyes flickered. "What does the Marquis mean...?" "Gather ten billion, a hundred billion, a trillion... or even ten trillion people!" Li Hao's eyes gleamed. "A population so vast that not even Tianfang could contain them all, offering their faith to you—how immense would your harvest be? The Dao of Faith is relatively straightforward, but winning genuine faith is the hardest part. Yet the humans here have suffered endlessly. What is normally the hardest part becomes the simplest here... This is a sacred ground for the Dao of Faith! It is entirely possible to birth a rank seven, rank eight, or even rank nine Sovereign of Faith here!" Both of them swallowed hard. A moment later, they snapped back to reality. How could it be that simple? Just imagining a crowd so vast that even Tianfang couldn't hold them... Forget it; it would be the death of them. They harbored no such grand ambitions; having ten billion or a hundred billion believers was already their limit. Any more, and they would be worked to death, unable to digest it all. Li Hao chuckled again. "Don't worry, people will help you. Many Silver Moon Sovereigns are sitting idle, along with a massive host of Silver Moon cultivators... I will have them assist you. Since they have nothing better to do, giving them something to work on is a good thing!" "What about the Dragon World...?" Li Hao smiled. "Once you reach rank seven, who cares about the Dragon World? You might even surpass me and step into rank seven before I do—after all, I am merely at rank five! "Through conventional cultivation, neither of you could ever hope to surpass me in this lifetime." Both struggled internally, though in truth, there was nothing to struggle over. The Queen resigned herself to fate. "I have no objection!" For no other reason than Li Hao had tracked them down. Now that he was standing right here, could they refuse? What a joke. Refusal was impossible! She shot a glance at the King of Dali. *What are you thinking about? Do you really believe he's consulting you?* *Do you still not know Li Hao?* *What is there to ponder? Just try refusing... Tomorrow I might see you stripped naked and strung up outside the World Gate, getting thrashed for all to see!* *Pondering is utterly redundant!* The King of Dali seemed to understand as well, sighing in resignation. "Then... I have no objection either. It's a fine opportunity; thank you!" Though it was a good opportunity, neither felt particularly thrilled. Once again, they had to labor under Li Hao's command! Even advancing their cultivation felt tainted with gloom. Starting their own venture, difficult though it might be, at least felt liberating. Li Hao laughed. "Why the grim faces? It's not like I've ever mistreated you, have I?" The two smiled, neither speaking. *Not mistreated us... my foot!* *Have you never beaten us?* In any case, being around this fellow brought crushing pressure. At that moment, the two exchanged a glance, sharing a look of mutual pity. They might as well cherish their final moments of freedom!