An Interesting Soul

Huntian departed, and Long Zhan departed as well. Tianfang World was rapidly deteriorating. One after another, the Xinwu Sovereigns revived. In this era, the Human King treated self-detonation as an absolute finisher and regarded the heaven-defying act of resurrection as trivial. Every single powerhouse of Xinwu had blown themselves up multiple times. At the periphery, Li Hao merely watched in silence. Could this truly be done without consequences? Yes, reviving once carried a tremendous price. Yet how could anyone be like Xinwu, constantly and maniacally self-detonating and reviving, time after time? Were there truly no aftereffects? Was no lifespan consumed? When he traversed the Dao of Life and Death for a single revival, it cost him roughly a hundred thousand years of lifespan. Even as heaven-defying as he was, Li Hao dared not endlessly cycle through life and death to resurrect others. Why did the people of Xinwu dare to do so? Was Xinwu more special? Was the Dao of Yin and Yang better suited for resurrection than the Dao of Life and Death? Absolutely not! Li Hao sank into deep contemplation. Could there be a drawback? There had to be! Detonating like that over and over was bound to cause problems. *** While he was lost in thought, the faint lightning tribulation dispersed after a brief moment. The Human King materialized before Li Hao. His aura had weakened considerably, yet his spirit remained soaring and his face was bright with smiles. "Little Li Hao, well? Was your senior fierce today or what?" A smile returned to Li Hao's face, and he gave a slight nod in agreement. However, he did not hide the question weighing on his mind; with Xinwu, there was no need to be overly secretive. "The Human King was naturally peerlessly ferocious. Still, there is one thing I cannot comprehend. Why does it seem that when the Xinwu powerhouses self-detonate repeatedly, they suffer no loss at all?" If anyone could casually self-detonate and casually revive, everyone would have done so long ago. On Silver Moon's side, whenever someone died and was revived, setting aside all other costs, the revived person's lifespan was affected, and their memories suffered to some degree as well. It was by no means harmless! When a Sovereign of the Samsara Domain was resurrected, they also lost more than half their lifespan. Clearly, resurrection was extraordinarily difficult—an act that defied the natural order of heaven! "Heh heh..." The Human King chuckled. "This is Xinwu's trump card!" Li Hao smiled. "Then forget I asked!" Since it was a trump card, it was likely unique, and there was no need to pry into it. Yet just as Li Hao dropped the subject, the Human King laughed, glanced back at the revived powerhouses, and suddenly remarked, "Of course, there are definitely drawbacks. No matter how miraculous the method, one cannot repeatedly defy the laws of the Great Dao and revive without limit!" The Human King paused for a moment, then chuckled again. "Still, it's manageable. Blowing yourself up once shaves off a bit of your spiritual nature. It isn't much—excessive yin, lacking yang. Reversing yin and yang ultimately has its limits. If you do it too many times... you just turn a bit slow-witted and foolish." Li Hao frowned! He had known all along that there had to be a drawback. It seemed quite similar to Silver Moon's resurrection. It might not deplete much lifespan, but the loss of spiritual nature... What made a human human, and what made a living being a living being, was their spiritual nature! If one lost their spiritual nature, they would be no different from a rock or a vegetable. There was indeed a price on the Human King's side, yet you still dared to make them self-detonate over and over? Are you insane?! Indeed, at this moment, Li Hao felt the Human King was mad. You call me heartless? You are the truly heartless one! At the very least, I would never repeatedly order Silver Moon cultivators to blow themselves up! As Li Hao frowned, the Human King regained his composure. "It's nothing serious. Xinwu's rise is built upon ruthlessness! If a person isn't ruthless, they cannot establish a foothold! In truth, everyone knows this. Why do they still listen to me?" The Human King smiled. "I, Fang Ping, possess no peerless talent, nor do I have peerless capability. My foothold in Xinwu and the chaos is built purely on ruthlessness! No—all of Xinwu is ruthless! Truth be told, my talent isn't as great as yours. That's a fact! But even if you and I were in the same rank, I would still kill you! You are ruthless enough, heartless enough, but compared to me... I have conviction! I have faith! I have an obsession!" A proud expression surfaced on the Human King's face. "If we were of the same rank, I could still defeat you! Even if you cultivate Time and embrace all Daos, I cultivate my own Dao. No matter how powerful your Dao is, my Dao is invincible! If you don't believe it, you can test it yourself!" Li Hao remained silent. Invincible in the same rank? What astounding confidence! He cultivated Time, encompassed the myriad Daos, reversed time, and inverted heaven and earth... yet the Human King claimed his own Dao was invincible! Was it truly invincible? He did not know. Yet so far, within the same rank and under the same Dao principles, the Human King was indeed invincible. Whether facing ninth-rank avatars, Huntian, or Long Zhan, once the Human King closed the gap in cultivation realms, he stood undefeated! Regardless of what trump cards were hidden, he was invincible! "Ruthlessness... makes sense. Still, if the Human King continues down this path, Xinwu..." The Human King laughed. "I have no fear!" Why? The Human King sneered, "Once I kill enough ninth-rank experts and seize their spiritual nature to replenish Xinwu's spirit, everything will be made whole! What is there to fear? If one cringes and cowers, how can they stand tall beneath the heavens? Whatever Xinwu sacrifices today, those who forced us to pay will repay a hundredfold, a thousandfold tomorrow! "Li Hao, I am arrogant because I do not fear! I dread nothing, not even life or death. The people I want to kill, I will kill sooner or later. Even if I can't kill you right now, I'll tear a chunk of flesh off you! You and I are different. You prefer to calculate before acting; I hate doing that. It isn't that I, Fang Ping, lack cunning. Don't doubt it—if I felt like it, I could scheme you to death anytime, but what meaning is there in that?" At this moment, the Human King exuded supreme dominance. "A person only lives one lifetime, and they ought to live it wild and rampant, invincible to the end! Schemers exhaust their minds and spirits, living without freedom. After I killed the Heavenly Emperor, I tasted every sorrow of parting and every grief of bereavement. From that day forth, I told myself: in the days to come, I, Fang Ping, shall live with absolute satisfaction! If I live today, I must enjoy today! Every day without joy is a day wasted! "The people of Xinwu understand this as well. Everyone knows one truth: each day lived is a day gained. A thousand years have passed; we are all mortals! The limit of a mortal life is a century. We have already profited—we gained nine hundred extra years! Every extra day lived is pure profit!" He fixed his eyes on Li Hao, enunciating each word with deliberation: "The people of Xinwu are humans—mortals! There are no gods, no immortals, no demons, no ghosts, no monsters! Beyond a hundred years, anyone can die!" Li Hao was shaken to the core! Mortals. No gods, no demons, no immortals. A century was the limit; anything beyond that was borrowed time, and all could face death without regret! This was a cultivation world where lives spanned ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or even millions of years... Yet Xinwu, established in the chaos and reigning over the east, told him: all of Xinwu are mortals! Mortals bound by a hundred years—living today meant profiting today. So that was it. With such a mindset, why would they ever care about losing lifespan from self-detonations? What did it matter? A loss of spiritual nature? Treat it as growing old and senile. At worst, blow yourself up one last time to take down a few bastards, and the profit would be even greater. Was there a solution? Yes! Slaughtering a few ninth-rank experts would naturally resolve it. And what if they couldn't be killed? If they couldn't be killed, then I would simply die—why worry about such things after death? This... felt like the true Jianghu! Li Hao stood somewhat dazed. The Human King chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Little brother... you're still too young! Once you live to a hundred, you'll understand—what is there that can't be let go? "In my twenties, I swept all before me and quelled the turmoil of Xinwu! Back then, I was already invincible throughout the realm. For a thousand years, I made almost no progress because... I was already invincible!" Reminiscing about the past, the Human King smiled faintly. "When a person remains invincible for a while, it gets dreadfully lonely. No enemies, no rivals, nothing at all... Back then, I was utterly despondent. What was the meaning of life? From my twenties to a hundred, I could still endure it. Past a hundred, I almost loathed living!" Today, the Human King was actually sharing the journey of his heart. He looked at Li Hao. "You are like me, but you have it better. You became invincible on Silver Moon and entered the chaos soon after. There are many powerhouses in the chaos, so it's interesting. But what if, in a few years, you conquer the chaos and stand invincible here? When that time comes, you will also discover... that you are terribly lonely. "Young man... find a wife, have a child, and enjoy every day as it comes. Otherwise... you'll regret it. Take a bit of advice from someone who's walked the path: don't talk about waiting until the world is peaceful before considering marriage. By then... you'll already be old!" To someone in their twenties, the Human King said, "by then you'll be old." This was the chaos! Evidently, the Human King had lived through such a phase. Li Hao thought of something and suddenly asked, "Right, I have always wondered: as far as I know, the Human King's consort... why have I never seen her?" Indeed! Where was the consort? He had never seen her. Though she was rumored to be in Xinwu, it was only hearsay; across several wars, Li Hao had never caught a glimpse of her. Furthermore, the Human King spoke of having children... did he not have any? A thousand years had passed! With the Human King's personality, had he really never fathered a child in a millennium? How strange! "Yunxi?" The Human King chuckled, his smile laced with deep meaning. "Little brother, don't go poking your nose into things blindly. You're still young and don't understand. When you grow up, you'll get it!" "..." Damn it! Li Hao was speechless. I merely asked an ordinary question—what is with that suggestive expression of yours? What do you mean I'm still young... what part are you referring to? Besides, you are the childish one; I am perfectly serious. Even at a thousand years old, the Human King lived like a child. Of course, perhaps living this way brought happiness. Perhaps it was his own way of adjusting after experiencing invincibility and loneliness, resulting in the multifaceted Human King of today. Still... this personality of yours is truly... exasperating. After chatting with the Human King for a while, Li Hao gained some fresh perspectives. Just then, the Human King spoke again: "In this lifetime, one ought to set an almost impossible goal for themselves... Before completing it, you still have motivation; once completed, you're finished... Back then, my goal was to end the turmoil in Xinwu. I accomplished it, and I fell into despondence... "Now, you should also have a goal!" Li Hao smiled. "I do..." "To revive your parents and friends?" "Yes." "Is that hard? Once you kill the ninth-rank experts, it will naturally be done. Today we can kill a ninth-rank avatar; tomorrow we can kill Tianfang. Therefore, this goal of yours isn't grand enough!" Li Hao was taken aback. Are you insane, or am I? I want to slay all ninth-rank experts—and you think such a goal isn't enough? What about yours? "Then what is the Human King's goal?" Li Hao asked with renewed curiosity. "Since the Human King feels that taking on all the ninth-rank experts shouldn't be the ultimate goal, what could the ultimate goal possibly be?" The Human King grinned. "I have just one dream... to have everyone in the entire chaos write me an IOU... I calculated it: there are countless worlds in the chaos. Even if everyone alive today writes me one, what about their descendants? What about newly born worlds? If sons and grandsons, generation after generation, all do this, I can keep waiting, keep enduring, and keep collecting IOUs... That way, as long as worlds do not perish and living beings do not go extinct, I will always have a goal!" Damn! Li Hao was completely bowled over. What a truly "magnificent" aspiration. Such a goal was fundamentally impossible to complete. Just as the Human King said, unless the chaos was entirely extinguished, so long as there was chaos, there would be living beings, and so long as there were living beings, there would be bloodlines continuing generation after generation... endlessly into eternity! He was thoroughly convinced! No wonder he was so confident he would never lose his goal. For a goal like this... just wait! Wait until the day the chaos itself collapsed, and then you would win! Li Hao could neither laugh nor cry. "Then... I surely can't do something like that, can I?" What a joke! How childish! The Human King laughed. "What does it matter? As long as you live happily! For instance, you could set a goal—don't you love researching Daos? Go search, search through a hundred million Great Daos of Chaos... Who dictated that there are only ten thousand Daos? That flatterer among your subordinates—does his Dao exist among the ten thousand Daos of Time? Farting is a Dao, cursing is a Dao, killing is a Dao—everything and anything can be a Dao! The Dao is boundless: One begets Two, Two begets Three, Three begets all things, and all things beget all things..." Li Hao froze. He stared at the Human King, rendered speechless for a long time. The Human King smiled again. "I don't particularly like Zhan, even though he helped me tremendously. The opportunity that spurred my rise originated from him, but I do not like him! Even though countless people admire him, I do not. He left behind far too many messes. He considered himself standing above it all and abandoned everything, thinking this filthy world had tainted him... What a laughable fellow!" The Human King was filled with boundless pride. "He was an irresponsible man! I don't like him. No matter how hard or bitter it gets, I will never abandon the responsibilities that I, Fang Ping, ought to bear! I don't care how many things he left behind, how immense his talent was, or how detached he was from worldly competition—he was simply a coward! "Li Hao, I don't want you walking his old path. Yet right now... it seems the influence you've received is beyond your imagination. Once you revive your loved ones and stand invincible in the chaos, perhaps... that will be the moment you, like him, descend toward destruction amidst solitary invincibility!" Li Hao frowned slightly and fell silent for a time. "Perhaps. But... I don't think it will come to that for me." "It doesn't matter what you think; it matters what I think!" The Human King remained as overbearing as ever. So overbearing that Li Hao felt unaccustomed to it. "Fine, I know you might not take it to heart, but no matter... go ahead and die if you wish; do as you please! Good advice cannot save someone determined to court death. Just remember: if you ever decide to die, hand over everything useful to me before you go." "..." The corner of Li Hao's mouth twitched. "That... will hardly be necessary!" To hell with that! He had always held a measure of respect for this senior. Yet today, he genuinely felt like cursing. To hell with you! If I die, I leave my things to you? What on earth are you dreaming about? Stop daydreaming! The Human King chuckled and patted Li Hao once more. "Mm, looks like you don't plan on dying anytime soon. No problem, I can wait!" "..." Li Hao was speechless, feeling thoroughly exhausted. He swiftly changed the subject: "Senior Human King, I shall take my leave first. The Four Regions may not be safe either; it is best to abandon this place for now. There are still tribulation remnants and arrangements left by Tianfang here, and their return cannot be ruled out..." "Don't worry, we'll leave this place to Long Zhan for now!" The Human King smiled. "Long Zhan refuses to budge from here, Tianfang took root here, Xinwu established its foundation here, and the Emperor of Battle Heaven, capable of roaming past and future, never departed from here to lead Xinwu away... You were also born here... This Four Regions territory is by no means simple! Perhaps the very root of the Great Dao of Chaos lies here. Perhaps the boundary of chaos is here! Perhaps the core of chaos is here... In short, the Four Regions are extraordinary!" He was far from being as reckless as outsiders assumed. At this moment, he grinned like a sly fox. "Let Long Zhan guard this place first. Long Zhan rose here and obtained the spirit of chaos; clearly, the Four Regions are unique... How did he get it? From where? Could just any chaotic beast acquire it? Impossible! So... just wait and see. In the future, if ninth-rank experts manage to descend, the Four Regions will become lively once more!" "..." Li Hao's thoughts stirred slightly. Indeed, the Human King was no mindless brute. It was just that... well, even if he wasn't a brute, he was still a hooligan. Being a hooligan had nothing to do with wisdom; his conduct and demeanor were entirely those of a hooligan. A hooligan roaming the chaos! Li Hao nodded and said no more. "Then I shall return first. I still need to send everyone back." Ten thousand spiritual bodies were still gathered here. The Human King smiled and nodded. "Sure. By the way... I have a grand plan recently that I'd like to pull off with you. Interested?" "..." What? Li Hao asked in confusion, "Kill who?" "..." The Human King was speechless. "Kill who? Aside from killing, don't you have any other interests? I want to build sky screens—sky screens spanning the entire chaos! Didn't you do that in Silver Moon? It just so happens you're setting up the Myriad Heavens Dao Arena, right? At the entrance of every secret realm, mount a sky screen—a colossal one—to livestream the chaos!" The Human King beamed with excitement. "Now that would be thrilling! Next time there's a fight or a kill, livestream it across the chaos! The chaos is so dull; if you want fun, you have to create it yourself! Also, I have an idea: rent a spot in your Myriad Heavens Dao Arena to establish a livestreaming platform right inside, where all spiritual bodies can watch!" The Human King grew more animated as he spoke: "Discussing Dao every single day without actual combat? How boring! What I mean is, today's scene, for instance, could be put on a continuous loop so those Sovereigns can watch how we kill enemies and beat down ninth-rank avatars! "There are numerous benefits! First, let the Sovereigns of chaos get to know us! "Second, show them our might so they won't dare provoke you and will tremble at the sight of you... Yes, to be ruthless, you must instill fear. "Third, give everyone a little perk by letting them witness a ninth-rank battle—something they might never have the chance to experience in their entire lifetimes. "Fourth, with ninth-rank battles livestreamed... you can recruit more people. It'll be a massive gimmick for the Myriad Heavens Dao Arena. Others might be too embarrassed to do it or afraid of exposing their strengths and weaknesses, but what do you have to fear? I'm not afraid either! Livestream it, loop it! "Fifth, subdue the enemy without fighting! When Xinwu marches forth and Silver Moon sweeps through, all will bow their heads in submission. Wouldn't that be satisfying?" "..." Li Hao stood stunned, lost in thought. The Human King's words sounded somewhat absurd, yet the reasoning he provided was by no means fabricated out of thin air. Li Hao sank into contemplation. The Human King continued, "The chaos is inherently boring; only when interesting people multiply does the chaos become interesting! I've found that this entire chaos, including you, is exceedingly dull. Meanwhile, I love interesting people, and I love interesting souls even more! "Once we do this, information will flow freely, and everyone will know. And of course... we get to show off!" The Human King winked. "Manifesting glory before men is the true path; walking in fine silk at night is utterly dull! If I'm already invincible yet nobody knows me, isn't that lonely? Isn't that boring? If you don't show off before others, why bother cultivating? Among the Jianghu folk you speak of, who doesn't pursue fame?" He laughed again. "We can establish a chaos ranking list—one screen, one leaderboard! For example: Human King first, Silver Moon King second, Tianfang third... Once the rankings come out, we use Tianfang's name to elevate our own... Of course, people might not buy that initially, so we exclude the ninth rank first. Let the chaos know whose banner offers a future! The rankings might not be entirely genuine, but what do ignorant fools know? Does everyone know Huntian is stronger than me? Not necessarily! When you first left Silver Moon, what did you know? Did you know who was formidable? But if you saw a leaderboard that everyone was reading with Li Hao at number one, tell me, would you believe it? Even if you didn't, you'd still know Li Hao was ranked first... This aids governance! "You possess a Myriad Heavens Dao Arena yet fail to utilize it—what a waste! If it were me, I would have already let the entire chaos know that I am invincible in this chaos! Following me is the righteous path; winning the hearts of the people wins the realm! Look at you this time: when ten thousand spiritual bodies gathered, your power surged. Why? Because of the Myriad Heavens Dao Arena! Ordinarily, where on earth could you gather ten thousand Sovereign spirits? "This is fame and fortune in the chaos!" This time, Li Hao genuinely saw him in a new light! After a long pause, he nodded. "I understand. I have learned much!" Regardless of how eccentric the Human King seemed, when he became serious—even if still tinged with absurdity—one had to admit that some of his ideas were remarkably sound. Regarding the sky screen system, the other reasons might merely be incidental to the Human King, whose primary goal was showing off... but for Li Hao, the sky screen system was indeed exceptionally useful. In the past, within Silver Moon, it had worked smoothly. Secondly, broadcasting inside the Myriad Heavens Dao Arena... that was also reasonable. When discussing the Dao, having illustrative materials was genuinely necessary! As for who the protagonist was, that was unimportant; the Human King merely wanted to boast, which could be ignored. The rankings... held some merit, though their significance was limited. The Human King wanted to show off there too... yet it might draw out certain individuals, which could serve a purpose. For instance, if the ancient worlds of certain ninth-rank experts had just revived and saw the power rankings... would they come knocking on his door directly? If so, it could bring him a bit of extra revenue. Thoughts surfaced one after another. Considering the Human King's suggestions, Li Hao found several of them quite brilliant—provided one filtered out the Human King's core motive, which was simply showing off, with everything else being secondary. This was an expert whose confidence seeped into his very marrow. "Alright, as long as you understand. Now that you get it, I'll have the Divine Caster send you some sky screens later—an upgraded version. The old versions won't do in the chaos; we need the new ones!" The Human King said with a chuckle, "You should know, in order to forge these, the Divine Caster spent hundreds of years entirely on them. Much of the resources Xinwu plundered was invested into this..." Li Hao was speechless! Was that truly necessary? I really am convinced by this old... gentleman! As long as the Human King lived, this chaos would never know peace. Truly, a scourge lasts a thousand years! "I'm leaving..." Li Hao turned to go. The Human King called after him, "Remember, forgetting the other things is fine, but take this matter to heart! Carry it out swiftly before the ninth rank returns! If you lack anything, tell me, and be quick about it..." "..." Li Hao remained silent, instantly departing with his people. I surrender to you! This old fellow... well, to be polite, Senior Human King was truly wonderfully childlike. *** No. 9 Alliance City. The Myriad Heavens Secret Realm. When the spiritual bodies returned, the Sovereigns were exceptionally thrilled and agitated. Although several spiritual bodies had shattered during the ordeal, the vast majority had returned safely. At this moment, who cared about those who fell? Everyone was in a state of high excitement! Slaying Tribulation, slaying the Life and Death Emissaries, forcing the Five Elements, pressing Long Zhan and Huntian... Besieging Tianfang... They had laid eyes upon every single one of these legendary figures today—it had been utterly exhilarating! Incredibly thrilling! The entire Myriad Heavens Secret Realm now resembled a bustling marketplace. The Sovereigns' spiritual bodies were like marketplace aunties, bickering, discussing, and savoring the memories. Even though all of them had participated, everyone was eagerly recounting their own experiences as if the others hadn't been there at all! Watching this bustling scene, Li Hao suddenly smiled. Perhaps... the Human King was right. The chaos was dull, but when interesting people made it lively, it became fascinating. Just like right now! A group of Sovereigns, who ordinarily acted dignified and solemn, were now behaving like street aunties, arguing until their faces flushed red, vividly recounting every detail... and even though everyone present had taken part, they still listened with relish. Was this... the true nature of cultivating the Dao? Cultivating the Dao did not necessarily mean cold tranquility and inaction; perhaps it also held boisterous vitality. All things are the Dao! Liveliness is a Dao, serenity is a Dao—where is the Dao not present? Clamor is a Dao, silence is a Dao, and wordlessness is a Dao as well. In today's chaos, very few people could speak to Li Hao as equals, and even among those qualified, none would speak in such a manner. The Human King was truly a wonderful man, a fascinating soul! "All things are the Dao; everything is the Dao..." Li Hao murmured, vanishing in an instant. A hundred million Great Daos? The Human King certainly dared to imagine it. Yet... thinking about it, didn't it sound fascinating? Every blade of grass and tree is a Dao! Peeing is a Dao... and farting truly is a Dao, a sky-reaching Dao! The more he pondered, the more reasonable it seemed—truly fascinating. *** No. 9 Alliance City. Sovereigns materialized rapidly. Some were injured, some elated, some chatting, while others tallied the spoils of war. This time, Silver Moon's harvest was substantial. Seeing Li Hao arrive, the crowd grew animated. "Marquis!" Hu Qingfeng, completely heedless of the occasion, immediately stepped forward to flatter: "The Marquis is peerless, slaying a ninth-rank avatar with his sword, invincible beneath the heavens..." "..." Li Hao laughed despite himself. This, too, was a Dao. A genuine Dao. Waving his hand to bid him sit and keep quiet, Li Hao smiled. "How much did we gain this time?" From within the crowd, Qian Wuliang stood up. "Reporting to the Marquis: from the cultivators of the Thunder Domain, we slew six eighth-rank experts! Sixteen seventh-rank experts... However, much of their energy was drained, so what remains is somewhat depleted. "Additionally, we slew the Life and Death Emissaries and claimed seven seventh-rank corpses of Tianfang! "Furthermore, we captured seventeen seventh-rank worlds of Tianfang. There were originally more, but a portion was seized by Xinwu! "As for the Life and Death Emissaries... the life qi was given to Xinwu, while the death qi was given to Governor-General Lin..." Qian Wuliang reported each item in detail. The harvest was massive! There was also energy left behind by the Lord of Tribulation, which Li Hao had taken for himself and excluded from the tally. At this moment, the pale-faced Queen of the God Nation said weakly, "This time, we also gathered hundreds of billions of humans..." She looked utterly helpless. "There are simply too many mortals, and... Academy Director Hong is still continuing to gather more. My... Divine Kingdom cannot hold any more!" Please, no more! During this campaign, Hong Yitang had done nothing else. While everyone was fighting, he participated briefly at the Thunder Domain, and upon seeing that he was no longer needed, he hurried back to the Four Regions to gather mortals. By now, the Queen of the God Nation could no longer count how many people were sheltered in her Divine Kingdom. Far too many! So many that... she was nearly in despair. Of course, there was another factor: Li Hao had kept something hidden this time. Among those trillions of mortals, many were cultivating divine characters. Li Hao had extracted divine characters from the Silver Moon cultivators, but he had refrained from drawing upon the characters of these mortals. Therefore... Li Hao had still held cards in reserve earlier. One could not reveal everything; in these times, who didn't possess a trump card or two? Perhaps only the Human King had none! The harvest was indeed tremendous! They had gained a great cluster of seventh-rank great worlds alone. This was primarily because, during the battle in the Four Regions, nearly all the experts of the great worlds had fled, and it was now too late for regrets. Of course, had they not fled, they would likely have died! "This is no small harvest!" Li Hao nodded and smiled. "Then this time... I shall be selfish for once. Grant all the power of the great worlds to me; I need to fill four thousand domains! Or perhaps even five thousand domains..." Li Hao sighed with emotion. "From this battle, I've realized I still have many shortcomings! Among the chaos champions, judging by true strength, I am likely the weakest. Five thousand Dao principles... it is embarrassing to speak of! The Human King has advanced considerably again, wielding at least seven thousand Dao principles now! When he absorbed and devoured Xinwu, he was infinitesimally close to nine thousand... "Long Zhan's displayed strength is already close to eight thousand. And Huntian... Chunqiu's strength is likely not far behind Huntian's..." All things considered, he remained the weakest! Pitiably weak. Five thousand Dao principles... was roughly on par with figures like the Life and Death Emissaries or the Light and Dark Emissaries. When working in pairs, those emissaries were even stronger than him. If he hadn't borrowed the power of myriad spirits and integrated the Sovereigns, he would never have slain a ninth-rank avatar. Yet such an opportunity would not present itself every time. To strike iron, one's own body had to be hard! Li Hao already had plans for four thousand and five thousand Dao domains, centering around Huntian's Order and Chunqiu's cycle of flourishing and withering. He had yet to use their avatars from earlier, so his reserves were abundant! With so many great worlds—almost the entirety of the Four Regions—it should be enough. The consumption was growing increasingly massive. None of the others raised any objections. Li Hao added, "In addition, give the world source to Senior Er Mao. With so much, Senior Er Mao's breakthrough into the eighth rank is fully secured!" Er Mao raised its head, completely indifferent, acting as if it hadn't heard a thing. Whatever you say. What was an eighth rank anyway? Still just a laborer! This guy fought battles every single day—how annoying. "The eighth-rank corpses from the Thunder Domain... prioritize satisfying the cultivation needs of our eighth-rank cultivators. If the attributes don't match, they can be awarded to those who rendered major merit!" "Give the leftovers and scraps to Black Panther to devour!" Having distributed these, Li Hao finally looked toward one person and, after a slight hesitation, spoke: "Prioritize Hu Qingfeng's cultivation and elevate him to the peak of the sixth rank as quickly as possible!" "..." Hu Qingfeng was overjoyed! Truly? The others were speechless, yet they understood. One had to admit that this fellow was occasionally quite daring; earlier in the Thunder Domain, posing as Li Hao had bought them valuable time. Furthermore, his Dao was indeed peculiar. Li Hao continued, "If there are further surpluses, prioritize Qian Wuliang!" Qian Wuliang was startled. Li Hao said, "You cultivate the Dao of Emotion and integrate the Dao of the Virtual and the Real, studying all Daos." Recalling something, Li Hao added, "The Xinwu Supreme possesses thousands of Sovereign avatars! And in the future..." Li Hao cast his mind back, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I saw an individual... ever-changing and protean. Though the image was indistinct, I saw... that person was terrifying as well, possessing all Daos and seemingly countless avatars... I cannot be certain if my vision was accurate, but it signifies that in the future, this Dao is remarkable and formidable. Otherwise, they could not stand beside the Future Emperor, holding a position at the very forefront! "Qian Wuliang... you... must strive toward that direction. Cultivate millions of incarnations, with each incarnation as a Sovereign. Sooner or later, you will become the Supreme of Silver Moon!" This was an extraordinarily high evaluation! Yet Qian Wuliang trembled with trepidation. "Marquis, how could I ever compare to the Xinwu Supreme..." That was a ruthless figure who dared call the Human King his son! Would I dare? If I become the Silver Moon Supreme, then you... how would I dare! Li Hao seemed to divine his thoughts and raised a brow. "What are you thinking? I'm telling you to learn their Dao, not their foul mouths!" "..." Qian Wuliang was intensely embarrassed. Li Hao continued, "Also..." He looked toward Lin Hongyu, who was standing quietly in a corner of the crowd. After some thought, he said, "Hongyu, you may absorb the death spirit qi, but do not absorb too much. Unrestrained cultivation is not necessarily beneficial. I noticed that beside the figure from the future, there was also a cultivator of the death spirit path... which means that in the future, this Dao should be relatively complete. When I have time, I will take you on a journey through the river so we can learn from it." Lin Hongyu nodded slightly without speaking. This time, she had absorbed all the Great Dao power of the Death Emissary and hadn't digested even a tenth of it yet. Her death qi was already becoming difficult to suppress; the gulf between her and an eighth rank was simply too vast! Yet she uttered no complaint, resolved to slowly grind through it. "Troops should be refined rather than numerous... Everyone, cultivate diligently. Although our rise has been slow, do not forget that Xinwu does not have more eighth-rank cultivators than us, nor did they advance faster, and the same goes for Long Zhan's side!" "We are all on the same starting line. Therefore... do not assume that simply because they are older, they are stronger!" Li Hao smiled, then concluded, "Lastly... the sky screen system..." He briefly summarized what the Human King had proposed, then added, "Our Myriad Heavens Dao Arena can also expand! Currently, with a thousand entrances, we haven't even fully covered the east. First, cover the east entirely! Then... expand toward the north!" Yes, the north. The Five Elements of the north! Trash! He had no fear of them whatsoever. Having fought Tribulation and Tianfang, he had no dread of the northern Five Elements Sovereigns, even if the Five Elements Emissaries had gone there. Of course, sending the Five Elements Emissaries there had actually been Li Hao's idea all along. It would check the expansion speed of the southern and western factions. He had no desire for hegemony, yet... Xinwu did. If he wished to remain a man of leisure, he would help Xinwu expand while helping himself. This time, he intended to absorb all the power of the great worlds alone. He needed to elevate himself as quickly as possible. Now that ninth-rank avatars had appeared, could the true bodies be far behind? He hoped the power of these great worlds would help him expand five thousand Dao domains. If so, even if he did not reach nine thousand Dao principles, he would be infinitesimally close to eight thousand. That would suffice! At the very least, he could not be weaker than the Human King... Indeed, this was the goal Li Hao had set for himself. In order to grow stronger, the Human King had devoured the Xinwu world and consumed Xinwu cultivators... Such a frantic surge in power was undoubtedly driven by the fear of being surpassed by him. One hundred percent! That man had never been in such a rush before; now, he was devouring frantically, and Li Hao refused to lag behind. At present, the cultivators on his side had little urgent need for breakthrough resources. In that case... I shall take them myself! *** In the north. A thunderous roar echoed through heaven and earth. A glint of coldness flickered in Sovereign Chunqiu's eyes, but it soon gave way to a smile. Ceasing her attacks, she watched the rapidly approaching Five Elements Emissaries and giggled. "The Five Elements of Tianfang have arrived... Looks like a pack of beaten remnants is joining hands!" At this moment, the Metal Spirit Sovereign looked thoroughly grim! Earth Spirit had previously been slain by Li Hao. Today, Chunqiu had intercepted him and even killed the Water Spirit Sovereign, leaving only himself, Fire Spirit, and Wood Spirit. Chunqiu's might was beyond imagination. Sensing the arrival of Tianfang's Five Elements Emissaries, his expression shifted slightly. The Five Elements formed the fundamental laws of chaos. Many cultivated them! Yet throughout history, the only ones of genuine renown were Tianfang's Five Elements Emissaries, the former Lord of the Five Elements, and the Five Elements overlords of the north. The arrival of these five offered timely relief from their pressing crisis... However... His thoughts stirred, though he said nothing. Turning to the five newcomers, his eyes flashed as he spoke hastily: "Five Elements Emissaries... your great names precede you! I am Tianjin, a cultivator of the metal path in the north..." Since both sides were Five Elements cultivators, he naturally could not style himself as 'Metal Spirit' now. Among Five Elements cultivators of the same attribute, opportunities for absorption existed, and 'Spirit' represented the pinnacle of a Dao. The Five Elements Emissaries wore solemn expressions as they looked toward the overlord Chunqiu. Soon, the metal spirit cultivator among the emissaries responded hurriedly, "Greetings. I am Jinyang! Coming to the north this time... we are but stray dogs who lost our Dao Lord's face and had no dignity to remain in the Four Regions. We have come specifically to seek shelter!" He cast aside the pride of an expert from a ninth-rank world. I came here simply to seek shelter! Of course... joining forces was more appropriate, because... this side was in a rather miserable state as well. The Five Elements overlords... had only three members left. Not far away, Chunqiu, still in the form of a young child, chuckled. "Interesting... devouring each other would be quite amusing! Since you are all here, I won't bother teasing you further. Tianjin... next time, I hope there are only five of you, not ten... That would be far too boring!" With those words, she vanished into the void. Flitting through the cycle of flourishing and withering, she was impossible to pursue! The Five Elements Emissaries were slightly shaken; this figure was formidable as well! Indeed, they had sorely underestimated these overlords. And the Five Elements overlords... were genuinely disgraceful, suffering a crushing defeat at Chunqiu's hands alone. Meanwhile, the three surviving Five Elements overlords exchanged subtle glances without speaking. Soon, with warm introductions and hidden agendas, they invited the Five Elements Emissaries to visit the Five Elements World. Both sides found mutual interest, and given the shifting tides of chaos, the group of eight swiftly flew toward the Five Elements Domain. At the same time. Farther back, a figure faintly materialized, took a deep breath, and cursed under his breath! Eight of them! This was bloody troublesome. Five reduced to three had been manageable, but now it had suddenly jumped to eight... What a headache. That thoughtless disciple of mine only knew how to boast—and boast on his master's behalf, demanding that his master exterminate the Five Elements overlords... And now you let the Five Elements Emissaries come here too? You truly love me to death! Recalling Chunqiu's earlier strike that swiftly felled one of them, he felt a flicker of shock. This one... was also exceedingly difficult to deal with. That disciple of his better not underestimate her. Fighting one against four, she casually killed one; had she not harbored reservations and seemingly held back from going all out, perhaps... all the Five Elements overlords would have died today! In this chaos, each was more ruthless than the last. Turning his gaze toward the east... it seemed Silver Moon had reaped another harvest. Hopefully, he wouldn't fall too far behind over here. In hindsight, he felt a twinge of regret: following his disciple, he had always eaten his fill; striking out on his own, he discovered he was starving one meal and feasting the next—how desolate. Soon, Yuan Shuo vanished as well. Once he was gone, Chunqiu's figure suddenly reappeared with a faint smile. She cast a glance toward the east... Li Hao, it looks like you intend to set foot in the north as well? If I kill your master... will you seek me out for vengeance, or will you use it as a pretext to invade the north? How interesting! Never mind—let Huntian handle such offensive chores. Chunqiu vanished in an instant, as if the chaos itself were merely suspended between the cycle of flourishing and withering, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye. *** On this day, the chaos went mad. Yet on this day, the powerhouses fell quiet; following the great war, they all seemed to vanish. This day also marked the moment when the overlords stepped fully onto the grand stage, and tales of their might began spreading throughout the chaos.