Without question, taking the four peerless imperatores of the Yueling Starcage as concubines was the maddest declaration ever uttered in the entire Realm of Chaos. Anyone who dared say such a thing before the Yueling Starcage’s cosmic gods would normally be blasted to ashes on the spot!

To the Yueling Starcage, those four female imperatores were sacred figures of faith beyond reproach.

The starcage hadn’t always been this powerful. It was those four sisters, each a peerless prodigy, who had led the Yueling Starcage to its miraculous rise and unrivaled status.

The devotion the Yueling cosmic gods had for the four imperatores was almost the same as the faith the flameyellow descendants placed in Tianming... except that the Yueling side lacked omnisentient threads.

When Tianming spoke those words aloud, the hundred thousand Yueling cosmic gods felt as much revulsion as if their ancestral graves had been desecrated.

“Shut the fuck up!”

“You’re asking for death!”

“Kill that insolent fool!”

“Such blasphemy! My Yueling will trample your Nullity flat and make you pay for those words!”

They shouted and cursed, their eyes red with fury, itching to tear Tianming apart. Yet, the skypole stars above them left them unable to vent their rage.

Tianming remained calm amid the uproar. He smiled carelessly. “Don’t get angry yet. It was your imperial daughter who told me to name my own terms. I simply voiced what I wanted. It’s fine if you can’t accept it, but no need to lose your temper.”

“Letting you name your terms doesn’t mean you can defile our imperatores!” said Yueling Momo coldly.

“How is it defilement?” Tianming asked, pointing at himself. “I’m a sky plunderer! With my youth and virility, it would be your four imperatores’ luck to marry me.”

“You—!” Yueling Momo was so utterly ballistic. I’ve never met anyone so shameless in my life!

Before he could say it aloud, Tianming waved his hand dismissively. “You dare ask me to name the wager but don’t have the guts to accept it? If you’re that spineless, don’t come to the Dongshen Arena. Go home and drink milk!”

Yes, demanding four female emperors as brides was absurd. But then again, that little imperial daughter had wanted to imprison Tianming as a hostage for ten thousand years in exchange for a single dazzling radiance and a Godly Sands. That was equally delusional.

“Wait!” After her initial burst of anger, the imperial daughter Yueling Zhao showed surprising restraint. Though provoked to the limit, she forced her fury down. She smiled calmly and said, “Imperial Son, this wager is between the two of us. The stakes should involve us. By naming such an absurd condition, are you not admitting fear? You know I can’t possibly involve my mother and three aunts without their consent. Even if you defeat me, they would never honor such a wager. So tell me, are you simply too afraid to fight me directly?”

“Not at all,” Tianming said, shaking his head. “At my level, ordinary women no longer interest me. The only ones who truly stir my heart are your mother and your three aunts. This duel between us is my chance, and I intend to seize it.”

Then he grinned and added teasingly, “But don’t be so hasty to refuse. You can always go back to Yueling Starcage and ask your mother what she thinks. Who knows, she might actually agree to make me your father! After all, she’s of advanced age and I’m young, so this would be quite a bargain for her. The only downside is that if we wager and I win, I’ll have to part with a lovely daughter.”

Yueling Zhao almost lost her composure again.

She had been warned before that the imperial son had grown far more shameless and arrogant since his return, his former grace completely gone. Someone had told her that rogues like these were more troublesome.

A genius without shame was truly unstoppable.

She hadn’t believed it at first. She’d thought that he could handle any terms Tianming proposed and start the fight.

But this wager... it involved the honor of the four imperatores of Yueling Starcage. It was almost identical to that time when Tianming wagered his wife. She simply couldn’t accept it.

She wasn’t afraid of losing. But even just agreeing to such a bet was enough to stain the names of the four imperatores.

“Imperial Daughter, why not just agree?” Yueling Momo urged through gritted teeth. “You’re certain to win anyway.”

Yueling Zhao’s chest heaved, fury blazing in her eyes as she glared at Tianming. “No! The reputation of the four imperatores must not be used as a wager!”

“Why not?” Tianming replied mockingly. “What’s embarrassing to be a wife and have children? I’d like to have a few with them, actually.”

Tianming nodded earnestly. “Little girl, I’ve said it plain as day. Are we fighting or not? If you’re too scared, pack up and leave. Don’t make such a big show if you can’t follow through. It’s pathetic.”

His words drew laughter from the spectators. Everyone could see how Yueling Zhao had come with much pomp, only to be completely undone by Tianming’s sheer shamelessness.

“Imperial Daughter, should we... find another way?” Yueling Momo asked through clenched teeth.

“Find what way?” Yueling Zhao turned sharply, her voice cold and venomous. “Li Tianming dares insult the four imperatores of Yueling Starcage. These people of the Nullity Guild are his accomplices!”

“So...?” Yueling Momo was taken aback.

“No more wagers,” Yueling Zhao hissed. “All of us will attack! If we can’t kill that bastard, we’ll slaughter everyone around him and erase his foundation here in the Dongshen Arena. Let’s see who regrets it more!”

That was her true nature laid bare.

Yueling Momo’s eyes widened. He hesitated, then asked cautiously, “Imperial Daughter, wouldn’t that break the rules and the unspoken agreement here? It could provoke backlash and end the Dongshen Arena itself—”

Before he could finish, Yueling Zhao struck his face. Her eyes burned with fury as she snarled, “What matters more? The rules of this arena, or the honor of our four imperatores? Our Yueling Starcage reigns supreme in the Realm of Chaos. How could the four imperatores suffer such humiliation? As one of our own, do you not know how to defend their honor?”

When she finished, Yueling Zhao gave a cruel smile. “Old Mo, don’t worry. The Inverse Battlefield is ruled by strength; might makes right. This so-called capital of gambling and its rules should’ve been destroyed long ago!”

Yueling Momo clenched his teeth. He knew this decision would ruin everything he had worked for. But at this point, he had no choice.

He’d long known that this was Yueling Zhao’s true backup plan. If she couldn’t outsmart or outargue her opponent, she’d fall back to violence.