Li Hao regarded his visit to Phoenix major world with increasing gravity. Void was likewise looking around with a deep frown on his face.

Light had locations to conduct trade in as well, but they were reserved for local inhabitants. Much care needed to be exercised when transacting with those off world. It could be a very dangerous prospect.

Dragon Observatory had had a transaction hub, but the most precious object traded there was just a minor world. Prices of ten million dao crystals were the most that circulated the boards. But on Phoenix major world... there were even mid worlds available for trade.

Li Hao and Void’s eyes came to a stop on a shop to their right. The door was shut and some characters branded on the signboard overhead.

“Searching for a seventh rank world with a dao universe! All terms are open to negotiation, please come inside!”

Li Hao almost audibly sucked in a breath. Hot damn! So even seventh rank worlds were on the table?? Seriously?!

Seventh rank worlds with a seventh rank major were true overlords of the chaos. Although they didn’t measure up to the few eighth ranks, seventh ranks were the cream of the crop. Who would sell their world?

Well, chaos beasts would because they didn’t need a dao universe.

Li Hao gaped at the sign. The potential buyer must be at least peak sixth rank or a seventh rank as well. They would have no need for a seventh rank world otherwise. Neither would they possess sufficient capital.

The young man was stunned by the sights soon after entering the city. There really were seventh rank worlds potentially up for grabs here! Was this just a marketing ploy, or had transactions really been concluded before?

He didn’t know.

A humanoid cultivator suddenly appeared by their side and said softly, “I see that the fellow daoist has observed from the sidelines for a while. Can it be... that the fellow has access to a seventh rank major world? If the senior does, you are welcome to head inside for a conversation...”

“You are...” Li Hao’s voice sounded when Panther looked at the speaker.

“This is my master’s shop and we have been here for one thousand years. I am the shopkeeper. If the senior is willing to negotiate, we can do so inside. My master is strong, so all requests can be considered...”

The cultivator seemed to be a real human and not a chaos beast or monster spirit in humanoid form. He was... decently strong, a fourth rank!

A mid rank was the doorkeeper watching over a small shop. That in itself was remarkable. There was also a little golden dragon hovering in and out of sight on his forehead. Li Hao instantly understood that this was what the phoenix guard had spoken of, a human accepted by Dragon major world.

“Who would transact with a seventh rank world?” Li Hao said swiftly. “Isn’t that the mark of an idiot? If this seat had one, I would refine it for myself. Sixth rank would be no problem for me, if not seventh rank. Who would sell one?”

“The fellow daoist is right,” smiled the slightly disappointed cultivator. “But all things are possible. A seventh rank major world was traded a few years ago, but a dao universe was sadly not attached to it.

“My master wished to buy it, but it was a bit too pricey. A world without a dao universe was also not the most ideal. However, it was proof that seventh rank worlds can be found on Phoenix major world.”

This human liked to talk.

Or rather, he didn’t. He’d simply seen fifth rank Panther look this way and that. Perhaps something might come from a conversation, which inspired the man to approach. He wouldn’t have engaged a low rank in this much conversation.

A powerhouse who could offer up a seventh rank would have mid ranks for servants in managerial positions. There was truly nothing a low rank could offer, unless they were the child of a seventh rank.

“So there really are seventh rank worlds available for sale?” Li Hao was surprised.

“Naturally!” The genteel cultivator’s smile was open and refreshing. “That’s very normal. For seventh rank chaos beasts, owning two seventh rank major worlds is useless if one world cannot propel them into eighth rank. It would be more useful to trade the world for some treasures.

“This kind of trade is only possible at Phoenix City throughout all four regions. Only here are people able to offer the requisite price and dare conduct a transaction. There is no fear of being plotted against as the world master is a peak seventh rank. She can come down on all misbehavior. Not to mention, Dragon major world is nearby...

“Has the fellow daoist just arrived at Phoenix City?”

Panther nodded its massive head, anticipating how Li Hao would want it to respond. The young man didn’t say anything; he grappled with his shock from these findings. In terms of commerce and civilization, it was the three regions that were the undeveloped backwaters.

He’d been misguided by the rat’s world, since it was the first world they’d encountered in Dragon Region. Li Hao had extrapolated from that experience and thought that the entire region was a messy disarray.

The truth was otherwise. Only the weak worlds were gripped by upheaval. The major worlds were a picture of prosperity.

Li Hao took another glance at the shop and didn’t ask who the owner was. They would be peak sixth rank, at the very least. Possibly a seventh rank chaos beast. There was nothing to ask about.

He was prepared to have Panther leave and continue onward when the human cultivator spoke again.

“The fellow daoist should be one of the wanderers of the chaos beasts. My master does not simply seek to buy a seventh rank world. If the fellow daoist can provide some specific information and coordinates of the seventh rank worlds you have encountered on your travels, that can be transacted for as well!”

Li Hao blinked. What did the human’s master seek to do? Did he wish to seize a world from the three regions?

Some seventh rank worlds kept an astonishingly low profile to the point that their existence wasn’t common knowledge. They might be discovered by happenstance. Clearly, the other wanted information about major worlds that wasn’t general knowledge. Perhaps he wanted to conquer one, if he could.

That was a very bold idea!

Li Hao was starting to suspect that it was more than one seventh rank behind the shop. How would they dare scheme about a seventh rank world otherwise?

“I’ve come across a few seventh rank worlds in my time, those with an unknown level of strength and of some reputation. Is that what you’re looking for?”

The cultivator remained wreathed in smiles, but the look in his eyes dimmed somewhat. “They are acceptable as well, but that kind of information will not fetch a high price. If the fellow daoist can supply information about lesser known worlds or completely unknown worlds, you will be thanked with a mid world after verification!”

Simply supplying information was sufficient for a mid rank world reward. Li Hao clucked his tongue, this faction leader was damned rich!

The key was, these kinds of worlds were difficult to encounter.

“What a pity... my strength is decent enough, but I don’t dare wander off. It’d be tough to survive coming across such a world!”

The human cultivator said nothing else. Li Hao ended the conversation as well; Panther walked forward.

The human cultivator quietly assessed the other. Fifth rank, wandering cultivator, and judging from the dog’s footsteps and presence... there might be a world within him. Had the chaos beast devoured a world and not digested it, so that it could nurture the world?

Those with sufficient experience could tell with a glance whether or not a chaos beast held a world within themselves.

Holding a world within its body... so this one’s probably not the Heavenly Dog?

Of course, that was just a preliminary assessment. New Martial only had one world, and that was stored within the Ash Cat. As for whether the dog held a major or mid world within it, there were clues that could be gleaned.

It was true that the human cultivator was here as a doorkeeper, and they really did conduct transactions, but it was also true that they collected intelligence reports when convenient.

All of these goals did not conflict with each other!

It was best if someone offered a seventh rank world for trade. No matter how expensive that price might be, it would have nothing to do with him.

......

Li Hao frowned slightly and transmitted to Void, “The master of that human cultivator is quite a character! Judging from his manner of speech, demeanor, and display of dao foundation, he should be a cultivation genius. He’s not a crude or base person, and he doesn’t cultivate chaos dao.

“Whoever was able to recruit this fourth rank or raise such a talent must be extraordinary. It’s one thing if this master is a human, but it's a chaos beast...”

Li Hao stopped talking.

That would be even more incredible! That chaos beast would’ve had to break some long cherished prejudices to raise human talents and powerhouses, and to do so in a way to win the human’s undying loyalty. The human cultivator had been completely sincere when he used the word ‘master’. If they were to extrapolate from the tiny detail that the ‘master’ title was so willingly used in front of outsiders...

The connotations were frightful indeed.

Li Hao suddenly felt that he was mired in an unexpected morass in Dragon Region and would find it hard to extract himself. This place was so much more dangerous than he’d thought! He’d underestimated the region!

He wasn’t the only one. The other three regions might’ve all underestimated Dragon Region! The humans in this area might not all be resisting either. A portion could have been completely conquered.

This was well outside the realm of his expectations. He’d thought that humanity would be defiant and suffering in all of the worlds.

If the Dragon master was truly wise... he might purposefully put on a show of oppressing humans for outsiders, but be secretly brainswashing vast numbers of human powerhouses.

An involuntary shudder ran down Li Hao’s back when he thought of this possibility.

“Brother Void... has your father ever made an assessment of that one?”

“He has.” Void paused to think for a moment. “His martial might is powerful and his knowledge of dao runs deep. He is unparalleled in dominance, but restrained from expanding Dragon Region due to his identity.

“Chaos beasts are limited in what they can do throughout the four regions, after all. They can find peace and tranquility in their homes, but do not have the right to vie for supremacy...”

And why not?

They were precluded from being the overall sovereign of the four regions just because they were chaos beasts. There were plenty of human eighth ranks out there—any of them would be the final victor, not the Dragon master.

Such was the Light master’s judgment.