Play a Bigger Game

The moment Xinwu took the field, the entire vibe shifted dramatically! At that instant, the colossal mirror began projecting the battle scene outward, beaming the spectacle far and wide... In that exact moment, lurking in the shadows, Li Hao seemed to recall something. Silver Moon had once done something similar. Yet... thinking about it now, hadn't the sky screen originally been inherited from Xinwu? He had always assumed Xinwu developed it to maintain contact across distances—a mere communication tool. Looking at it today... Was this damn thing really just for communication? Back then, had Xinwu truly researched the sky screen for communications, or... just to let the Human King show off? He had serious doubts! ... In the darkness. The Silver Moon martial masters clicked their tongues in awe, unable to hide their envy... It was childish, sure, but... it was wildly arrogant, completely unapologetic, and thoroughly ostentatious. A man like He Yong absolutely loved that kind of flair. Li Hao, by contrast, wasn't fond of showing off, so for now, all they could do was drool with envy. Xinwu had charged straight onto the main stage! Meanwhile, they were stuck sneaking through the shadows. The contrast left a bitter taste in a few mouths. Look at Xinwu—arrogant, tyrannical, brazen beyond measure... In the eyes of their enemies, they were detestable, shameless bastards. But in the eyes of martial artists... what did death matter if your name shook the world? Then again, remembering that Li Hao was hardly the type to put on a grand show, they could only silently swallow their saliva. Fine, let's just drool in secret. Martial artists fought for fame and fortune! Who cared about a nameless martial artist? Back on Silver Moon, native fighters had sparred endlessly, piling corpses high, all to make a name for themselves. Even now, that drive hadn't changed. It was just that... opportunities like this rarely came along anymore. Li Hao sensed their feelings. He knew how envious they were, knew they longed to make their names resound throughout the Chaos, rather than remain nobodies brushed aside as "the rest of Silver Moon." They wanted their titles celebrated across the world, even if it meant dying today the moment they achieved fame! Yet... Li Hao felt helpless! I don't have the means for that! Xinwu went out of their way to have a seventh-rank Sovereign forge a dedicated Sovereign weapon, then assigned another seventh-rank solely to maintain the projection instead of fighting. Facing that kind of Xinwu... that kind of theatrical atmosphere, that level of preparation, who could compete? Having personnel dedicated purely to stage effects in the middle of a massive war... Li Hao had no choice but to admire it. There was a reason the Human King had made a name for himself across the Chaos so quickly. A man like that was never meant to be obscure. With Xinwu's intervention, the Chaos race—previously on the back foot—stabilized their battle lines and were no longer completely crushed. Xinwu had immediately tied down four top experts right out of the gate. Meanwhile, Long Zhan engaged the Five Elements Emissaries, fighting one against five without giving an inch. The Emissaries of Life and Death along with Sovereign Panlong were formidable, but the combined forces of the Black Tiger Sovereign, Qingqiu, Feng Yan, and the Red Moon Sovereign barely managed to hold them off. In a single stroke, the entire tide of battle had turned. Even so, uniting Xinwu and the Chaos race only served to barely balance the scales. One could only imagine how terrifyingly powerful the Tianfang Great World truly was. As for the Thunder Domain, it remained completely quiet. Letting Xinwu enter hadn't necessarily been out of fear; they likely had other designs. When you tried to fish for someone, they might be fishing for you as well. Could Silver Moon possibly ignore an upheaval of this scale? Obviously not! "So letting Xinwu pass was meant to... conserve strength to deal with me?" Li Hao had a flash of insight. The Thunder Domain loomed around the perimeter, crackling with intense lightning. Clearly, a large number of powerhouses had revived inside. Yet they hadn't stepped forward to block Xinwu, choosing instead to hold their ground. If he couldn't see through their game by now, he would be a fool. They were waiting for him! Across the Four Regions, the war raged like an inferno. Far to the north, battles seemed to have broken out as well, though the distance was too great to sense clearly. Li Hao's eyes flickered. Perhaps... northern Chaos was engaged in a fierce struggle of its own. Chunqiu, or Huntian? He couldn't be certain. Yet he knew the north almost certainly lacked the leeway to intervene here. Those two overlords also wanted the ninth-rank factions thwarted. If the north tried to interfere, the southwest factions would surely check them. This was an unspoken understanding between them. Without any direct communication, both sides operated on mutual instinct. "My Lord..." One by one, the Silver Moon martial masters grew restless. Sure, they were a bit weaker, but sitting by and watching was agonizing! "No rush. Hasty men burn their tongues. Xinwu looks magnificent, but their net gains from every battle are actually quite small..." Li Hao offered a soothing word with a slight smile. "When we fight and kill, aside from making a name, there are spoils of war... Xinwu fights more battles than us and kills no fewer enemies, but their net gains are never richer than ours. They fail to maximize profits..." Of course, there were pros and cons. The advantage was that Xinwu pushed everything to the absolute limit every time, driving everyone into a frenzy and sustaining that madness. The downside was... they paid too steep a price every time, squandering most of their spoils in the process. When the dust settled, their net harvest was meager. For example, during their last assault on the Polar Ice World, the Human King had spent a vast portion of their loot purely on resurrections. That was their weakness. Silver Moon, on the other hand, suffered fewer casualties, preserving far more usable spoils. While their gross haul might not surpass Xinwu's, they retained much more. Naturally, there were trade-offs. The Silver Moon martial masters were rarely able to cut loose and fight to their hearts' content in sheer madness. Even though Li Hao had ordered them to disregard life and death this time, that didn't mean throwing their lives away blindly... Xinwu's people sometimes struck Li Hao as suicidal, detonating themselves even when it wasn't strictly necessary. That was genuine madness, a style even he found hard to stomach. Seeing the intense anticipation in their eyes, Li Hao had no choice but to say, "Soon, don't rush... We haven't fully gauged the Thunder Domain's total strength. If we act, we must wipe them out in one fell swoop! Furthermore, we aren't sure if experts from other ninth-rank worlds will emerge nearby. They might not all use that passage; dead worlds might revive without our knowledge... A degree of caution is warranted." Everyone felt a touch of helplessness, but with Li Hao taking this stance, there was nothing they could do. Li Hao had always operated with calculated caution. He aimed for absolute victory in a single strike! One battle had to be enough to plunge the enemy into irrecoverable ruin! At that moment, Li Hao gently nudged the ripples of Time. ... Near the Thunder Domain. Several figures appeared. A divine character of tribulation hovered above the Black Panther's head, releasing faint tremors of tribulation. Beside him, Hu Qingfeng summoned a figure almost identical to Li Hao... Aside from a slightly weaker aura, it was virtually indistinguishable from the real thing! The moment this aura rippled outward, it instantly drew attention. ... Inside the Thunder Domain. A group was observing the great battle when Venerable Lei's eyes suddenly flickered. He turned toward the periphery, a faint smile creeping onto his face. "It seems... he has arrived!" The cultivator of Time had finally appeared. The Dao of Tribulation! Belonging to the realm of tribulation themselves, they could effortlessly perceive that microscopic tremor. Li Hao was here. I knew Silver Moon wouldn't sit idly by, though they arrived considerably later than Xinwu. Showing up was all that mattered! "Lei, should we lure them into the Thunder Domain's encirclement, or... strike out proactively?" "Silver Moon doesn't seem to have many eighth-ranks. According to the ones we executed earlier who trespassed into our domain, there's the Thunder Emperor, Wushan, Dao Chess, Li Hao himself, and possibly Wanhua..." It seemed Silver Moon only had that many eighth-ranks. Kongji's breakthrough to the eighth rank remained unknown to the outside world. Several cultivators who had previously wandered into the Thunder Domain had been slain by them, yielding some intelligence before their deaths. But all of them were newly minted eighth-ranks, hardly anything to fear. On the Tribulation side, over twenty experts had returned this time. Aside from six eighth-ranks, the rest were all seventh-ranks, every one of them formidable. With such strength... they would have stood a solid chance even against Xinwu earlier, not to mention that Tianfang was nearby. While the World of Tribulation was naturally not as overpowering as Tianfang, it wasn't far behind. Their leader, Lei, was by no means inferior to the Light and Dark Emissaries; in a one-on-one duel, he might even have the upper hand. It was just that Tianfang's powerhouses excelled at coordinated combat. If it came down to a true clash, Light and Darkness fighting together could defeat him, but those two combined could contend with Long Zhan or the Human King. Clearly, Silver Moon's leader lagged far behind. The remaining eighth-ranks were all seasoned veterans. Suppressing a few novices would pose no difficulty whatsoever. Venerable Lei quietly gazed into the distance and spoke in a low voice: "We must remain cautious... Time! Time is convoluted. According to the Dao Lord, reversing or accelerating time can produce unpredictable repercussions! Therefore, it is best to wait until they step into the Thunder Domain. Trap them within, deny Li Hao any chance to employ Time, and even if he does, suppress it immediately... Only then will we have the certainty to exterminate him completely!" He then chuckled. "Xinwu is quite amusing, concocting such an enormous projection. It allows us to focus entirely on Silver Moon without worrying about their battlefield spilling over..." There was no need to worry now; the projection showed the state of the battle in crystal clarity. That Human King... had a screw loose! It wasn't even a one-sided slaughter, yet he laid everything bare for all to see. For such an idiot to survive to this day only proved how barren this era was of real talent! Otherwise, how could a buffoon like him dominate the East? He possessed raw power, certainly, but at most he was on par with Lei himself. There was nothing to strut about. A million years ago, a temperament like that would have gotten him beaten to death by offended ninth-ranks long before he could make a name for himself! "Indeed. For someone like that to lord over the East... back in our day, we would have taught him how to behave in no time!" "Don't be too harsh, he's young..." "So what if he's young? Death makes no distinction between the young and the old..." "Fair point!" "..." The group bantered lightly, unconcerned. Tianfang hadn't fallen behind, and even if it did, it hardly mattered. Based on their understanding of the Lord of Tianfang and the hints given by their Dao Lord... Tianfang's return would not be limited to this. An avatar of the Lord of Tianfang would very likely descend in person! His absence now didn't mean he wouldn't appear; he was likely waiting for spirituality to gather, or plotting something else. In short, those people were marked for death! Their own side also needed to harvest a massive amount of spirituality to provide their Dao Lord an opportunity to descend. And the Dao Lord's descent would likely be far easier, because... the Chaos lightning tribulations were omnipresent! "They seem to have... entered!" Venerable Lei suddenly smiled. They had actually stepped in. His eyes turned razor-sharp. "Seal the Thunder Domain! Trap them inside!" Throughout the Thunder Domain, countless pillars of lightning flared with blinding radiance. The domain, previously open to entry and exit, locked down tight in an instant. Hu Qingfeng's small group, having just crossed the threshold, instantly stiffened with tension. At this moment, their party consisted of only three... No, one person, one weapon, and one dog. Hu Qingfeng's heart pounded frantically! His cultivation was meager; he was entirely here as bait. Li Hao had made that crystal clear. As long as this succeeded, the Marquis would spare no effort in helping him grow stronger. He had already reaped considerable benefits, having been forcibly dragged from the peak of the third rank straight into the fifth rank, surpassing many veteran Silver Moon martial masters. If this venture succeeded, the sixth rank was guaranteed, and even the seventh rank was within reach... But the danger was monstrous. Even though the Marquis promised to resurrect them if they died, still... Hu Qingfeng trembled uncontrollably. Beside him, the Black Panther cast him a sideways glance. Coward! Dao Chess remained somewhat calmer. He possessed eighth-rank strength after all, having absorbed the Myriad Poison Needles from Fengming. With such power, even if the enemy boasted multiple eighth-ranks, killing him quickly wouldn't be easy. Right now, trailing behind Li Hao's phantom, he felt a strange sensation. This dao... was damn uncanny. The Li Hao before him seemed entirely real, save for a slight lack of sapience. He couldn't fathom how it had been manifested. Having contemplated myriad daos for ages, he knew Hu Qingfeng's dao was largely conceptual, turning illusion into reality in a way that even Dao Chess couldn't fully comprehend. "Stay calm..." Being older and experienced, Dao Chess offered Hu Qingfeng a quiet word of comfort. "Don't be so nervous... Someone may be watching us. As long as we stay together, we aren't in immediate danger." As for when Li Hao would arrive, he didn't know. But he knew everyone carried a phantom world; Li Hao could appear in an instant if he wished. The real worry was... once he arrived, could they actually handle these foes? After all, the Lord of Tribulation was a ninth-rank powerhouse, and the experts under his command were formidable. Their intel on the Thunder Domain was far from comprehensive. If the enemy proved too strong, rushing in would be suicide. Li Hao, having completed his three thousand realms, currently possessed the strength of roughly five thousand Dao laws. He was powerful, but hardly invincible. On a stage like this, there was only so much he could accomplish. ... Outside. Li Hao's eyes flickered slightly. "The Thunder Domain is sealed. It seems they think they have us in their grasp!" He glanced at the sprawling projection stretching past the Thunder Domain and casting its light across the Four Regions. In the image, the Human King fought two great experts single-handedly, remarkably suppressing both of them. The Emissaries of Light and Darkness each possessed roughly five thousand Dao laws of strength by a rough estimate. Fighting together, their combined output approached nearly seven thousand Dao laws—a terrifying amplification. Yet the Human King was still keeping them pinned down. The Human King's progress... was alarmingly fast. Li Hao frowned slightly. His goal had always been to catch up to the Human King. Having fused three thousand realms, he now commanded around five thousand Dao laws of power. If the Human King hadn't made dramatic strides, Li Hao would have been roughly on par with his previous state. Yet... A moment later, understanding dawned, and Li Hao cursed silently. That shameless bastard had almost certainly gone back to take control of Xinwu's origin universe! I didn't even swallow Silver Moon. Look at how kind-hearted I am! Right now, the Human King likely wielded close to seven thousand Dao laws of power. Paired with his unhinged ferocity, he completely held the upper hand. "This won't be an easy fight..." Beside him, Wushan gazed into the distance, his brow furrowing as if he had spotted something ominous. Li Hao, however, let out a chuckle. "Why wouldn't it be easy? I'm not the Human King—I don't just mindlessly chop people up. This time... I, Li Hao, won't be taking the glory. Instead, I hope all of you display your full might, fight a grand battle, kill to your hearts' content, and let the myriad worlds know your names..." The crowd was left speechless! You won't take the glory? What does that mean? You're not participating? Then what the hell are we supposed to do? Can we actually fight those powerhouses on our own? Are you kidding us? Even the Thunder Emperor looked exasperated. Don't fool around! The other Silver Moon martial masters felt awkward as well. Was he... tossing the burden onto them? We can't handle this! We're still too weak; even self-detonating won't bridge the gap when the other side has an entire flock of seventh-ranks. Li Hao, however, grew solemn. "Don't be afraid! They've only just revived, and their power source is drawn entirely from the Thunder Domain. Right now, the domain remains their primary battery. Over countless years, it has stockpiled staggering reserves of energy, making them devastatingly strong while fighting inside it." Li Hao narrowed his eyes. "However, the Lord of Tribulation has always targeted me, targeted Time... Did he forget that the bulk of the Chaos lightning tribulations' energy originates from the Thunder Domain, not the Chaos at large?" Everyone froze! Li Hao smiled. "I'm heading over to the Human King's side. The Thunder Domain is yours to resolve! I intend to... draw down an apocalyptic lightning tribulation and use the power of tribulation to batter Tianfang! Remember, until I trigger the tribulation, do not rush to strike. I am going to siphon away every scrap of energy from the entire Thunder Domain!" "Without their foundation, they're just rootless duckweed—you can wear them down to death! Whether you make a name for yourselves and vent your frustration depends entirely on you. What can a pack of seventh and eighth-ranks do once their reserves run completely dry? Weather their opening salvo, and the rest of the battle will be your turn to grind them into dust!" A violent tremor shook everyone's hearts! Yet the Thunder Emperor remained worried. "You... you plan to draw off all the tribulation lightning and tribulation energy by yourself? How... how do you intend to pull that off?" What could possibly achieve such a feat? Li Hao offered a meaningful, enigmatic smile. How? By using Time, of course! How do you push a lightning tribulation into sheer madness with Time? There were countless ways! This time, he would show those ninth-ranks—show the Lord of Tribulation—that striking him with lightning tribulations was their greatest mistake. They should never have programmed the Chaos lightning tribulation to target him in the first place! "Don't worry about that... Just remember your task!" He looked back toward the projection and smirked. "The Human King is still too weak. With only that much strength, how can he quickly slay two great experts? Following the Human King might feel satisfying in a brawl, but when have his followers ever walked away with massive rewards? Drag the fight out, and even if those Sovereigns die, their Great Dao power will be worn down to scraps..." Everyone was speechless. You're still competing with the Human King at a time like this? "I'm leaving. Watch for your opportunity, and don't act rashly! Let Dao Chess and the others hold out for a bit... they won't die. While the enemy's attention is fixed on Dao Chess, I'll make my move!" With that, Li Hao vanished into the void, slipping into the River of Time and surging straight toward the Four Regions. As for the Thunder Domain, sealed tight and wholly focused on Dao Chess's party, who would notice such a minuscule fluctuation? Before, they might have caught a trace; now, they were blind to it. The moment he left, everyone grew intensely nervous! "He... he really left?" Holy shit! With a massive battle at their doorstep, their core, their pillar of support, had just walked away! Honestly, while they had always complained that Li Hao never gave them the spotlight, this... dammit, this opportunity was way too big! Leaving them to face the powerhouses of a ninth-rank world all on their own? It was terrifying! Even the eighth-ranks felt their hearts pounding against their ribs. Can we really pull this off? Without Li Hao, they felt as if their backbone had been ripped out, their hearts adrift with unease. The thought of confronting those ancient powerhouses by themselves left even Wushan and the Thunder Emperor with parched throats! ... Tianfang. The battle reached a fever pitch. The Human King slashed with his blade, Long Zhan struck with his fists; both overlords fought with terrifying ferocity, yet their opponents were no pushovers either! They were astonishingly powerful! Though the Human King held the upper hand, securing a victory—let alone a kill—remained exceedingly difficult. His blood qi soared to the heavens as he fought with increasing madness. Nearby, the Supreme and several others joined forces against the Yin-Yang Sovereign, finding it an uphill struggle. Meanwhile, Xinwu's seventh-ranks were locked in bitter combat against Tianfang's seventh-ranks. For the moment, neither side could claim supremacy! Tianfang's forces found the situation infuriatingly tricky. Their very first battle upon reviving was turning out to be far more troublesome than anticipated. Their earlier complacency had evaporated completely. At this point, they almost wished for the Thunder Domain to send reinforcements! Yet the Thunder Domain... seemed to be experiencing fluctuations of its own, likely on guard against Silver Moon. Frustration mounted among the Sovereigns. Suddenly, the Light Emissary bellowed furiously: "My Lord is about to return! All seventh-ranks within the Four Regions, join the fray and surround them now, and Tianfang shall reward you handsomely! The might of the ninth rank is beyond anything you can fathom..." Within the Four Regions, dozens of seventh-rank Sovereigns from various worlds had held back. When the battle erupted, none had participated, watching in silence and even seeking an opening to flee. Yet fleeing right now was no simple task. Hearing the Light Emissary's roar, many felt their hearts lurch. A ninth-rank descending? Could it be...? Yet recalling the sheer ferocity of the Human King and Dragon Lord, none dared intervene. It was too dangerous; they would get killed! The Light Emissary roared again: "As long as you join the battle and help us destroy them, Tianfang will not take a single scrap of the spoils once our Dao Lord descends! You need not take excessive risks—simply assist Tianfang's seventh-ranks in slaying the subordinates of Long Zhan and the Human King!" There was no need to participate in the eighth-rank clashes! They only had to encircle the seventh-ranks. That carried far less danger, as Tianfang already had over twenty seventh-ranks in the field. Though Xinwu and Long Zhan fielded plenty of seventh-ranks as well, many were recent ascendants. Add several dozen more, and they would be dead meat! A few spectators grew genuinely tempted. To be frank, they had little love for Long Zhan, and even less for Xinwu. Both were slaughterhouses incarnate. Over recent years, turmoil had racked the Four Regions, claiming countless experts—most of them felled by these two factions. Yet... fear held them back. The Light Emissary cursed inwardly. A bunch of useless cowards! With so many present, they simply stood by watching. If even a fraction dared step in—dozens of seventh-ranks, not just two or three—they could easily swing the entire battlefield! Useless trash! To force their hand, he dropped a bombshell with a thunderous roar: "Everyone, as long as you help Tianfang maintain stability, you need not even kill! Hold on for just a moment, and my Lord shall descend upon this place... Currently, our Dao Lord is too mighty for the Chaos to accommodate. Tianfang must expand its Dao universe to envelop the Four Regions and stabilize the perimeter before he can arrive!" The moment those words landed, the surrounding seventh-ranks gasped in shock! Was it true? Yet Tianfang had genuinely revived; the descent of the Lord of Tianfang seemed entirely plausible. Right then, the Human King's saber cleaved down, forcing the Light Emissary back. The Human King sneered, "Who are you trying to fool? Daring to lose focus while fighting me! Return, my ass! The Lord of Tianfang died ages ago—I watched with my own eyes as his corpse burned to ashes..." This was complete nonsense, of course, but the Human King's expression turned grim nonetheless. Could it be real? A return? The true body was impossible, but an avatar... was very much within the realm of possibility. If that happened, things would get ugly. He shot a glance at Long Zhan... The Human King suspected this old beast was holding something back. Otherwise, knowing the risks, would he really just sit here waiting to die if Xinwu hadn't come to help? Impossible! That old fossil had to have an ace up his sleeve. "Long Zhan, invite your old man out to fight, we're not afraid of him!" The Human King bellowed, "I dare any of you bastards to interfere! Do you really think Xinwu's rise over a thousand years was a fluke? That we have no backing? Xinwu isn't without ninth-ranks of our own! In this day and age, who doesn't have a few ninth-rank Sovereigns backing them? Long Zhan has the Chaos Sovereign behind him—a ninth-rank who attained the Dao through Chaos itself!" When it came to bluffing and intimidation, who feared whom? He glared at the hovering seventh-ranks. Go ahead, try stepping in! He slashed out with another strike, roaring, "Help me surround and kill Tianfang... The moment Tianfang rises, it will sweep across heaven and earth, swallowing every single world whole..." "..." The surrounding Sovereigns who had been wavering promptly backed down. Pretend we aren't here! We're not getting involved! It was hard to tell whether the Human King was lying, but Xinwu had risen at an insane speed, and Silver Moon under it had risen even faster! Did they have a ninth-rank behind them? Who knew? Either way... they were definitely bad news. Getting blinded by temporary greed would be the death of them. The Light Emissary nearly spat blood in rage! This Xinwu Human King was spouting pure drivel, yet he had actually managed to intimidate them. His eyes turned vicious. "Fang Ping... do not think my words are hollow! If you take Xinwu and retreat now, you still have a chance. Otherwise, the day our Dao Lord descends will be the day Xinwu is wiped from existence! Our Dao Lord once said that Xinwu survived only because of that cultivator of Time from back then... not because you were strong!" "This Chaos is far more complex than you can imagine... Furthermore, the Chaos race consists of mere beasts, while we are the true human race! Aiding beasts is a path to self-destruction. Not a single ninth-rank Sovereign belongs to the Chaos race—do you truly dare defy the entire cosmos?" Threats and intimidation! Failing to take them down after so long, and even being suppressed, made him furious. Even now, he was being battered by the Human King. This madman didn't care about his own injuries; whenever his opponent took a scratch, he acted as if he had won the lottery, roaring in manic delight. Anyone looking on would think he had already slaughtered two great experts. After several exchanges, the Light Emissary felt utterly suffocated. Joining forces with the Dark Demon Emissary, his fury flared as they lashed out with wild abandon. This bastard had to die! ... While they were locked in combat, Long Zhan was battling the Five Elements Emissaries, though he seemed somewhat distracted. The Light Emissary might not have been lying. Tianfang's avatar might truly descend. If the Dao universe expanded to shield the surroundings, Tianfang's arrival was entirely feasible... At this moment, he felt an unprecedented unease. It was rare for him! But the anxiety was very real. If Xinwu hadn't come to his aid, he might not have dared attempt this plan, let alone succeed. Yet with Xinwu's help, he might actually have a shot... at destroying Tianfang's avatar! The avatar of the foremost powerhouse, even if inferior to the true body or a genuine ninth-rank, would still be an invincible entity among the eighth rank—surpassing even Huntian! Could he... bring it down? If he could defeat and seize it, he might become a presence comparable to Huntian, or even surpass him. Only then would he possess sufficient capital to compete for dominion over the Chaos! His gaze swept across the battlefield... As long as Xinwu didn't collapse, as long as no unexpected variables arose, holding out for a while gave him hope. They could not afford to crumble. Otherwise... he would be forced to use his trump card early and likely flee the Four Regions. Furthermore, the Thunder Domain needed to become entangled with Silver Moon. If the Thunder Domain sent reinforcements here, it would spell disaster. Li Hao should be making a move, right? "Hold the line!" Long Zhan bellowed, his golden dragon form sweeping across the void, driving back all five powerhouses! The Five Elements Emissaries wore grim expressions. This monster was too difficult to handle! An instant later, Long Zhan's eyes changed. He whipped his head toward the distance, his gaze trembling. How... could this be! Ripples of Time? It had to be! He was the strongest present, making him the first to detect the faint disturbance. It was undeniably the fluctuation of Time! Has Li Hao lost his mind? Did he come alone? Then who... was fighting the Thunder Domain? Was he insane? Did he leave Wushan and the others to face the Thunder Domain's experts while coming here to assist me, or perhaps attack me? Regardless... Wushan's group was hopelessly outmatched against the Thunder Domain. That was suicide! That young man had always been the epitome of caution. Why had an anomaly occurred now? The one person who shouldn't have made a reckless move had just done so! Long Zhan felt a wave of dread wash over him! ... A moment later, the Human King also sensed it, his expression shifting. In a flash, Time rippled! The sound of flowing water seemed to whisper into everyone's ears. The Light Emissary and his allies froze in shock. A moment later, realization dawned, followed by disbelief. Quickly, two of the Five Elements Emissaries twitched... Was it... that cultivator of Time? Li Hao! Was it him? Why would he come here? What were the Thunder Domain cultivators doing? Right then, a violent uproar erupted from the distant Thunder Domain. The enraged roar of Venerable Lei echoed across the heavens: "It's not him! Dammit!" It wasn't Li Hao! Boom! A deafening explosion rang out across the cosmos. In the next instant, the River of Time surged violently as figures seemed to emerge from within. Auras of the eighth rank rose into the sky in succession—the Thunder Emperor, Wushan, Dao Chess, and the rest unleashed their might all at once. "We shall take your lives!" Their roars shook the heavens, declaring that even without Li Hao, they were more than enough to kill their foes. At this sight, even the Human King's expression warped. He cursed loudly, "You reckless brat, get back there right now! When I arrived, I sensed at least six eighth-rank auras, all of them terrifyingly strong! You've underestimated your enemy!" Though he welcomed Li Hao's arrival, this was not the time! The kid was still too green! He had underestimated the foe, and now Silver Moon was about to suffer devastating, perhaps fatal losses! Li Hao had actually run over here alone—was he completely mad? Leaving those people to fight the experts of a ninth-rank world? Six eighth-ranks and a horde of seventh-ranks—your tiny force isn't enough to fill their stomachs! You're playing with fire! "Is that the Silver Moon King?" The Light Emissary bellowed, "Silver Moon King, do you still recognize Panlong and Huo Yan? I hear you have a grudge against Long Zhan—help us slay him now..." He shouted at the top of his lungs, but in the next instant, his brow furrowed. Li Hao's silhouette materialized, his aura fully revealed. A glance from the Light Emissary brought a flicker of disappointment. Whether Li Hao came to help them or kill them, this legendary cultivator of Time commanded merely... around five thousand Dao laws of power. He wasn't nearly as formidable as the rumors suggested! He was only on par with one of them individually. Among those present, the Light and Dark Emissaries, the combined Life and Death Emissaries, the combined Yin and Yang Emissaries, the Human King, and Long Zhan... all surpassed Li Hao. Far below expectations! An extra hand might influence the broader board, but truthfully... he wouldn't change much. He wasn't strong enough! At the very least, he lacked the invincible might everyone imagined Time to possess! Yet Li Hao didn't seem to care about any of them. He merely offered a faint smile. "I am Li Hao!" Nonsense, everyone knows who you are! He raised his head to the sky, as if gazing upon something, and chuckled—a cold, venomous sound. The Time Star hovered above his head. Li Hao's smile turned brilliantly radiant. "I wield Time!" In a flash, the Time Star spun wildly, releasing a peculiar force as a torrential river came crashing into existence. Li Hao stood atop the river, his smile blindingly bright! His aura erupted completely! Three thousand realms manifested, their Great Dao laws weaving together into a vast domain. He made no move to join the battle, simply wearing that dazzling smile as he unleashed the power of Time. "Freeze!" With a low command, Time washed across the cosmos, seemingly freezing the entire universe in place! Powerful forces of Time erupted in wild waves! Above his head, the Chaos lightning tribulation abruptly formed... Small at first, it swelled at a staggering speed, gathering immense tribulation power. From the distant Thunder Domain, vast quantities of tribulation lightning surged forth. Compared to the lightning energy wielded by others, the laws of the Great Dao were the true core! And long ago... the master of the Great Dao of Tribulation had established an absolute rule: Slay Time! Whoever invoked the power of Time would summon the lightning tribulation! That was the prime directive. Unless the Lord of Tribulation appeared in person to revoke the law, Venerable Lei and his cohort had zero power to control it! "Not good..." Far away, Venerable Lei and his subordinates, who had initially paid no mind, suddenly felt a jolt of alarm! Innumerable rivers of tribulation lightning surged out. Even the strength they were recovering began draining away, because their power source was the Thunder Domain, and that energy was tribulation lightning! At this moment, Li Hao's hair whipped in the wind as he stood tall upon the river, a smile playing on his lips. Was this enough? Not nearly! This was barely scratching the surface! Today, I shall challenge the ultimate lightning tribulation! Draining the Thunder Domain dry was no simple feat. Merely freezing Time wouldn't suffice! "Time is singular... Reverse Spacetime!" With a low roar, space and time seemed to invert! Li Hao shouted sharply as the river thrashed violently. At that moment, myriad phantom silhouettes materialized above the waters... At the far end of the river, a single figure appeared, wearing an expression of shock, surprise, and sheer bewilderment... He looked around, utterly astonished. How... did I come out? Is the Lord of Time opening the Chaos? So soon? Li Hao's voice echoed through the void: "Upon the river, there is no past, no present, no future... Rooted in the river, the three bodies unite! Be it past or future, all reside within the river!" He spoke as if addressing that person, yet also as if speaking to himself! Li Hao wasn't surprised to see that group manifest on the river; that young man had seemed eager to emerge earlier. Now, the group drew closer, their features growing sharper, while the tribulation above Li Hao's head reached a peak of utter madness! Because Li Hao was being too unhinged! He was actually reversing past and future—insanity! "Human King, Long Zhan... turning the tide still falls to me!" Li Hao chuckled suddenly. Under everyone's stunned gazes, he gave a light laugh: "Watch me reverse the past and slay their past selves!" Time reversed! The river flowed backward. Li Hao took a step forward, marching upstream against the current. The crowd fell into a trance. What... are you doing? Altering the past? The past cannot be undone! Even the Human King's expression changed. Li Hao... you're crazy! How can you reverse the past? Yet Li Hao didn't travel far, stopping just a short distance upriver—at the moment Tianfang had just revived. A smile touched his lips. Above the river, endless tribulation lightning gathered. Li Hao suddenly turned his gaze toward the downstream reaches of the river... "Hey... why don't you come out and help me block this tribulation?" "..." Far in the distance, the young man wore a blank expression tinged with pure disgust! Fuck! What are you doing? You summoned me just to... take a lightning strike for you? Is this tribulation even strong? Even you're afraid of it? "You should wield the Dao of Tribulation as well. Since this is your first time appearing, you can only act atop this river... I haven't opened the Chaos yet, so you cannot step beyond the River of Time... But this lightning tribulation has invaded the river. You can fight it and test the mettle of the powerhouses of my era. This tribulation... is merely approaching ninth-rank power, nothing major. In my world, ninth-ranks are everywhere. If you can't even withstand something near ninth-rank, you'd better not come out. It's too dangerous; you'll die!" "I saw you strike last time, and it was pathetically weak... There are more of you now, but I wonder if you can withstand it..." Li Hao offered a thin smile. "If you can't... back off on your own!" "Goading me?" The young man seemed to respond, though no sound escaped. ... At the far end of the river, the young Su Yu suddenly bared his teeth in a grin, turning to those around him. "He's goading me. Did you hear that?" His grin was slightly unhinged and thoroughly sinister. "He's goading me... that old Time fossil actually dared to goad me..." Around him, everyone stood speechless. Yes, he's goading you, but... haven't you already taken the bait? The young emperor flashed a savage smile. "Fine! I'll take the bait! I've made up my mind: once I'm out—once I truly step out into the world... I'm going to beat him to a pulp! That old bastard can't handle it himself, yet he dares look down on me?" He laughed. "Lightning tribulation? Approaching the ninth rank? Interesting... Is it that strong? I already control forty-nine rules, invincible beneath heaven and earth! Approaching the ninth rank means it's eighth rank. Are eighth-ranks from this ancient era... really that tough?" He wanted to test it. He was intensely curious. This was his first time truly clashing with a powerhouse of this era, even if it was just some lightning tribulation seemingly manufactured by someone. The Dao of Tribulation? Fascinating! So it was concocted by a single ninth-rank? A Ruler of Rules? What a joke! I'll test it out! Beside him, someone advised caution: "Do not be careless. Even the youthful Lord of Time couldn't withstand it... As for you..." "No matter, let's test the waters. If it's truly strong... we'll gang up on it together!" The young man chuckled as a book gradually manifested in his hands. "I want to see if the power of my Universe Civilization can fail to suppress a mere lightning tribulation! I weathered plenty of these on the Allheaven Battlefield..." What did it amount to? Even if it was an ancient lightning tribulation, he feared nothing! He took a step forward, seemingly crossing time and space, stepping into the modern era in a true sense. Though he couldn't leave the river, this was enough. At that moment, his future self stepped out from tomorrow... In an instant, the tribulation lightning that had been tracking Li Hao suddenly whipped around! A terrifying burst of tribulation power instantly coalesced into a colossal spear, hurtling straight toward Su Yu! An entity like this, drenched entirely in the power of Time, had to be eradicated! Far away, Li Hao grinned. Enjoy this era's lightning tribulation. I won't stay to chat; I'm off to... slaughter their past selves! The tribulation will keep growing stronger! Because I'm still using Time, it might push infinitely close to the ninth rank! Whether you can take it... I don't know, but even if you're shattered, you probably won't die, right? At this moment, a figure stood atop the river holding a book inscribed with four characters: Universe Civilization! Meanwhile, Li Hao dissolved into the river of the past, slipping back to the exact moment Tianfang had revived. He intended to execute the past versions of the Light Emissary and the others. Even if their present selves didn't perish, they would suffer catastrophic disruption! If we're going to play, let's play big! Tribulation, you're going to love this! Boom! The boundless lightning tribulation went completely berserk with fury. Someone was endlessly provoking the Chaos lightning tribulation! The spear of lightning stabbed toward the young man, aiming to obliterate him in a single strike! The young man said nothing. His book manifested, and Great Daos emerged, thick and boundless! The power of rules instantly blanketed the river. Forty-nine colossal rules of Dao appeared, each seemingly endowed with a soul of its own. They instantly commanded everyone's attention. The Human King glanced over and froze. What the hell is that? He couldn't discern the specifics, but he could gauge the intensity of the tribulation. His face drained of color: "Careful, it's nearing eight thousand Dao laws..." Holy shit! What an absurdly strong tribulation, and it was still climbing! Could that thing summoned from the river actually survive this? Li Hao was out of his mind! If it failed to hold, Time would shatter, and Li Hao would be ruined, permanently lost within the river or directly annihilated! I thought I was crazy enough, but there's someone even crazier! Just as the thought crossed his mind—Boom! A deafening blast echoed through the river, reverberating across past and future. Atop the river, the young man was violently thrown back, blood spraying through the air. The Civilization Book fractured, and he coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood, his face dark with rage! "Fuck!" So strong! Damn Lord of Time, I'll remember this! You massive troll! You set me up! The Human King and his allies were stunned. Fuck! He didn't die from that? Long Zhan's expression shifted slightly. "He only has five thousand Dao laws of strength, yet... by attaining the Dao through rules, he approaches eight thousand Dao laws... It's equivalent to Li Hao's realm-dao power!" Each rule was worth at least one and a half times standard Dao power. This person wielded less than five thousand Dao laws, yet his combat strength approached seventy-five hundred! A person of the future? Where on earth had Li Hao dragged such a monster from? They seemed to have glimpsed him before, but back then, his strike across space hadn't seemed particularly strong. Today, stepping out in person, he was terrifyingly potent! ... Knocked backward, Su Yu looked thoroughly displeased. One strike, and I lost! Damn it! Is this era really this dangerous? Mangled the very first time I stepped out? Isn't this excessive? "This era is packed with ninth-ranks, yet right now, it's merely... eighth-rank power, and I can't even withstand it..." The young emperor felt a wave of frustration. I've already reached the pinnacle of Chaos with forty-nine Dao rules. When the Lord of Time opened the Chaos back then, he was probably around this level, maybe slightly stronger. Does that mean... in this Chaos, I'm nobody? No wonder Qiong said powerhouses were everywhere back in the day! It was true! Talk about an eye-opener! A moment later, he rallied his spirits. Alright, not bad. Maybe... I can still grind this thing to death! "Civilization!" Countless divine characters surged forth, transforming into Great Daos that ensnared the lightning. Some characters suppressed, some eroded, some trapped, and some extracted... Gradually, the tribulation lightning began to wear down! In the distance, more tribulation power was violently siphoned from the Thunder Domain, the tribulation recognizing that its current output was insufficient to crush the target and ramping up its intensity. At that exact instant, Li Hao merged into the past, stepping into that fleeting moment. Tianfang was just beginning to revive! Without a single word, Li Hao materialized inside Tianfang, slashing his sword across the space to decapitate dozens of cultivators! Boom! The River of Time convulsed violently! Across the battlefield, many of the Sovereigns currently locked in combat with the Human King suddenly coughed up blood, their eyes widening in sheer terror. New memories seemed to force their way into their minds. In the next breath, sword gashes split open across their flesh... blood gushing in torrents! "Li Hao!" Powerhouse after powerhouse screamed in pure fury! He had struck down their past selves in the past, and it was... reflecting into the present! ... Inside the Thunder Domain. The cultivators roared in outrage: "Li Hao!" Countless threads of tribulation lightning were being violently stripped away, causing their power to plummet at a terrifying rate. Li Hao had gone completely mad! The energy accumulated by the Thunder Domain over countless ages was being drained away by him alone, and the hemorrhage was accelerating. If this continued, they would be sucked dry! ... At the far end of the Chaos. The Lord of Tribulation, who had kept his eyes closed all this time, snapped them open with a low snarl: "Li Hao!" Fury blazed in his gaze! Damn him, damn him to hell! That brat had actually weaponized his own rules against him! If this continued, the Thunder Domain would be ruined. He didn't care whether Tianfang lived or died, but he had paid an immense price—even offending Tianfang—to facilitate the return of his subordinates... Only to suffer a catastrophic loss here! No, he had to stop this immediately! Yet his true body wasn't present within the Chaos. The rules governing the Chaos were ancient edicts established long ago, and he couldn't simply overturn them on a whim! "Damn you!" He roared in boundless fury. Li Hao, you deserve a thousand deaths! I will tear you to pieces!