An eighth rank world naturally exerted immense authority. Strictly speaking, the Dragon master really was an overlord to the chaos beasts. His rule prevented many clashes between chaos beasts.

Otherwise, it was normal for the strong to prey on the weak when they encountered each other in the chaos. No one would say anything if Panther ate the rat. But now, a first rank dared refuse a fifth rank’s demand! That was the reassurance that Dragon major world instilled in the region.

“From the perspective of the chaos beasts, the Dragon master has done a better job in his territory than Red Moon and Skycloud!” Li Hao transmitted to Void. He didn’t include Light in that judgment, but the connotations were clear. They were all overlords of their region, but their effectiveness was less than the Dragon master.

Li Hao had never heard of these other worlds sending out patrols to inspect the region and maintain peace within their territory. Those guys wouldn’t care at all! They would only bestir themselves when they wished to devour a world.

“Why else do you think a chaos beast can find its footing in the four regions?” Void nodded. “And dominate a region to boot? The Dragon master does have real skill to his name—he well deserves the title of foremost chaos beast within the four regions!

“My father once said that it’s because there are so many humans in the universe with too many powerhouses that results in our ascendency. Otherwise, if the eighth ranks fought in single combat, they might not be able to triumph over the Dragon master!

“It’s been less than one million years since the formation of Dragon Region. And yet, the Dragon master has recruited many chaos beast powerhouses during this time. It’s clear to see from this just how impressive he is!”

The two conversed for a while since they weren’t overly concerned about the large rat. Meanwhile, the rat readily opened the world gate.

A fifth rank wouldn’t offend the Dragon master for the sake of a first rank world. If the visitor dared devour this world, he would be done for. While such occurrences had happened early on in the region’s creation, they ceased to occur after the Dragon master personally killed a seventh rank chaos beast.

Chaos beasts were by nature wild and intractable. Under the Dragon master’s rule, however, not even a seventh rank dared seize a world occupied by a chaos beast if they didn’t receive permission to do so.

It was fine if local monster spirits or humans occupied the world. Such worlds existed in Dragon Region as well. New worlds were also born all the time, most of them being ruled by humans. They ultimately became chaos beast territory.

......

Panther arrived at the world gate in a flash. The gate of a minor world was exceedingly frail. It could be forced open if a strong enough offensive was launched at it. However, that would create too big of a ruckus.

When the dog landed near the world gate, the big rat swung its head back. Surprise shone out of its eyes. Was it... sensing those two?

They were crazy, weren’t they?! How dare they appear on their own??

A man and a woman appeared in the distance, to its immense astonishment. The man was overbearing and the woman frostily aloof. But when they saw Panther, they both seemed a bit... dejected.

Although they’d already sensed the dog, to see it was another thing entirely. What a coincidence! So they were running into each other again! And the key was, Panther seemed scarily strong. Then what about Li Hao?

That guy was the most perversely strong of all!

“Senior, that’s them!” gaped the rat. So it really was them, were they crazy? This wasn’t how they should act even if they had a death wish!

I might not be able to easily take them if I was the only one here, but there happens to be a fifth rank today! Fifth rank is far too much stronger than them. Even a sneeze would easily take them out.

How dare they show themselves here? Aren’t they delivering themselves on an empty platter?

Li Hao had already set up the domain of hiding; the world of emptiness crept through the first rank world. Having silenced Skyward, it was all too easy for Void to blanket a first rank world.

The entire world quietly landed into the duo’s domains—such was a dao domain!

And the key was, the rat exalted emperor didn’t even sense it. The gap between first and fifth rank was also massive!

It was still highly excited at the moment, which suited Li Hao’s purposes. That would take care of some trouble for the young man.

Just as the rat’s thoughts ran wild, the woman suddenly said, “How does the marquis have the spare time to come to a dilapidated world like this one?”

The rat blinked, then registered the appearance of another person in front of it. Li Hao!

The startled rat wanted to shout, but abruptly found that it was frozen in place! Not only that, but its chaos dao had been silenced. Even its thoughts were grinding to a halt!

The Great Li king and queen also saw the immobilized exalted emperor. The rat’s eyes were wide open with disbelief! The two of them marveled to themselves. That was an exalted emperor! How could it have been spontaneously restrained like that?

What heights had Li Hao reached now?

“How come you didn’t verify your dao?” Li Hao smiled at the two of them.

“We’re prepared to form a good foundation here, then return to Silver Moon to verify our dao.” The queen smiled faintly. “Being Silver Moon cultivators, how would we ever verify our dao elsewhere...”

She spoke like she meant it!

“Are the two of you feeling uncomfortable due to my presence?” Li Hao grinned.

“...not at all!” the queen quickly denied.

“It looks like you guys blame me for disturbing you.” Li Hao’s grin deepened. “It’s just that, do you know that this is part of Dragon Region? An eighth rank rules over the region and he has a ton of seventh ranks under his banner! Powerhouses from his world will be here in half a year at most to patrol the area...”

The two blinked with surprise.

“How can that be?” asked the surprised queen. “Why would an eighth rank world care about a first rank world?”

They’d spent some time in Skyward prior to this, but they’d never heard of an immensely strong world looking out for a minor world before.

“That’s the case in Dragon Region!” answered Li Hao. “The Dragon master is a rare tyrant of the chaos beasts. It wants to rule over all chaos beasts and be proclaimed the sole sovereign! Hence, it holds the region in a tight grip!

“There are patrols set up throughout the region and one will reach this area in half a year! If the world master is no longer this large rat, you guys will be dead meat unless you think you can take on an eighth rank!”

“......” The queen had been thinking that it was so annoying that Li Hao was here, but now she was rather gratified. This was news to her as, in her mind, why would a major rank care about a minor world or the changing of rulers in a minor world?

And yet, it really would!

As for whether or not Li Hao was lying, there was no need to consider that. He wouldn’t bother lying to them; there also was no need to do so.

“I see,” the queen said with regret. “And I was just saying that this is a sacred land for the dao of faith. So it turns out that no one else has come here because an eighth rank world is behind it!”

What a shame!

That meant they would have to forgo the faith they’d collected. They couldn’t afford to make enemies of an eighth rank world!

“You guys aren’t thinking of devouring a minor world first, then slowly expanding outward, are you?” laughed Li Hao. “You’ll verify your dao first, then second, third, and fourth rank, all the way up to seventh or eighth rank. If it’s that simple, then all humans in the chaos are morons. How come no other powerhouse has made their way here before?”

“......” The queen looked around sheepishly. That’s... what I thought before. I really did think that no one else had discovered this area, or that they had and didn’t cultivate the dao of faith. That’s why...

It looks like I thought too simply.

“Then we’ll absorb the faith here, verify our dao, and then... leave!” she said with resignation.

“What’s the rush?” Li Hao chuckled. “Isn’t there another half year until the patrol gets here?” He looked out at the bleak world. “This world is too small and there’s not that many people. Even if you collected all of the faith, that won’t be enough to get you to third rank. Queen of the west and the Great Li king, are you guys interested in pulling off something big with me?”

“......” The king started shaking at these words. No, please no! It’s always bad luck for me when you say that!

To be fair, he did always get stronger after each instance. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

“So Your Lordship means...” The queen’s eyes darted around.

“Gather ten billion, one hundred billion, even one trillion people!” Li Hao’s eyes twinkled. “Collect so many that Skyward won’t hold them all. Have them all believe in you—how great would your gains be then?

“The dao of faith is relatively easier, but it’s hardest to get people to put their faith in you. The humans here, however, suffer in abject misery. What would be hardest for you to achieve normally is the easiest here. This is a sacred land for the dao of faith! It’s absolutely possible for a seventh, eighth, and even ninth rank to be born here!”

The two swallowed hard, then jerked back to their senses. How would it be that easy?

The thought of so many people that not even Skyward would be able to hold their number... Forget it, the two would be dead first. They weren’t that ambitious. Pulling from the faith of ten billion or even one hundred billion was their limit.

They would die of exhaustion beyond that and wouldn’t be able to digest all of the faith.

“Don’t worry, you’ll have help,” Li Hao laughed softly again. “There’s a lot of exalted emperors loafing around in Silver Moon these days, as well as a ton of cultivators. I’ll have them help you. They’re not doing anything, in either case. It’s nice for them to do something!”

“But Dragon major world...”

“It won’t matter when you two reach seventh rank. Perhaps you’ll even overtake me and reach seventh rank before I do. I’m just a fifth rank! If you proceed at the normal cultivation pace, you won’t have a chance of overtaking me in this lifetime.”

The two struggled with their decision, but there was also nothing to be conflicted about.

“I have no opinions otherwise!” The queen capitulated. Li Hao was here. Was she actually supposed to turn down the young man when he was right in front of her?

No way. There was no way that anyone could turn him down!

She flicked a glance at the Great Li king. What are you thinking about? Do you actually think this is a discussion? Are you not familiar enough with Li Hao yet?

Just try declining. If you do, I might see you stripped naked and being whipped by the world gate tomorrow!

Don’t bother thinking about anything! It’s useless!

The Great Li king thought things through by now and said helplessly, “I... have no options otherwise either. This is good, thank you!”

It was a good thing, but he wasn’t that happy. He needed to work under Li Hao’s command again! Even though it might lead to an increase in cultivation, he still wasn’t happy all the same. It was always better to start one’s own business, no matter how hard it was.