“We need to get out of here!” Li Hao transmitted urgently. “But I might have said the wrong thing before we came inside. I said that we wanted to join Dragon major world. If we leave now and don’t head there... we’ll attract even more attention! But it’s also very dangerous if we don’t leave...”

It would be safer here than on Dragon major world, however.

Various ideas popped into his mind. He hadn’t liked to overestimate his opponents ever since defeating the four major worlds. But now, his brain spun fast again.

“Stop looking, Panth. Let’s go ask someone else where sixth rank worlds are available for sale. Sixth rank worlds of the water attribute are the best!”

Although Panth didn’t quite understand what Li Hao meant, the dog didn’t care. It scanned some more signboards before patting a muscular humanoid next to it. It didn’t matter what species the ‘man’ was, the dog was stronger.

“Where can sixth rank worlds be found, ones of water...” Li Hao quickly asked.

The second rank whirled around to see a fifth rank staring at him. Although he wasn’t afraid of being attacked, he didn’t dare do anything but show utmost courtesy.

“Sixth rank worlds are a rare sight... and with an attribute requirement even rarer... You typically have to wait a long time for one. It depends on your luck. But if you’re in urgent need, you can ask at the Phoenix Pavilion. That’s the major world’s own storefront. They can issue missions, requests, or have them search for what you desire. However... their prices are steep...”

“Where is it?”

“Up ahead!”

Panther sauntered forward.

......

Within the sky.

The blonde girl looked down over the city, then at her mother after a while of study. “Is it the Heavenly Dog?” she asked with uncertainty.

“What do you think?” smiled the Phoenix master.

“It’s hard to say.” The girl shook her head. “Based on what we know... if that is the Heavenly Dog... then it should take an interest in the Monster Spirit Envoy! The serpent-dragon is its descendant!

“In addition, if it learns that Dragon major world wishes to march on New Martial, it might join the recruitment drive underway...”

“The Heavenly Dog might also be pretending not to care,” smiled the Phoenix master. “We can also continue to wait and watch. There’s no rush. And as stupid as the Heavenly Dog may be, you’re also in too much of a rush. Repeated moves might clue them in.

“It’s fine if the dog exalted emperor isn’t the Heavenly Dog. It can be your next observation target instead. We’ll either accomplish a deed of great merit in capturing the New Martial Heavenly Dog, or gain some additional experience if not.” 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Thank you, royal mother!”

“Keep at it.” The Phoenix master rose with a smile. “Someone from the Thunder World has entered ours. The lull in the Thunder Region has permitted outsiders to set foot into the four regions. They’ve come in contact with Thunder World, which is a good development.

“It might be our chance if powerful outsiders have come to us!”

“Our chance?” repeated the confused blonde girl.

“The Thunder master is highly wary of us, but will be more relaxed against outsiders,” explained the woman. “He might even hope to obtain some support from them! We’ve blockaded his world all these years, resulting in a lack of inherent resources. We’ve also removed the chaos energy around his world.

“He lacks resources, so even without support from neutral powerhouses, he will hope to obtain some dao crystals, imperial weapons, and dao foundation crystals from a fresh source. In that case, he might permit some outsiders to enter his world and leave it himself to trade.

“Thunder World has secretly conducted transactions on Phoenix in the past, but those were far from enough for his world...” chuckled the Phoenix master. “I can even gauge how many exalted emperors they have!

“They have one seventh rank, four or five sixth ranks, fewer than twenty fourth and fifth ranks, and at most thirty low ranks. They all lack energy!”

That was a total of fewer than sixty exalted emperors, a conclusion derived from the dao crystals and other resources that they secretly traded for. Phoenix major world was not only a hub of commerce, but also an intelligence network. She had information about the entire region, including the territories of some of the monster spirits.

“So royal mother means... that we really do have a hope of taking down Thunder Region this time!” Joy bloomed in the blonde girl’s eyes.

“That’s right, so there’s no need to waste too much energy on that dog. You can have your fun, but Thunder World is our primary mission!” smiled the Phoenix master. “I’m going to take a spin around. If you still feel uneasy, you can meet that dog in person. A fifth rank is worthy of being recruited, so your meeting it wouldn’t be out of the norm.”

“I understand.”

The Phoenix master quickly left. Even if the sixth rank Heavenly Dog was truly here, it was nothing compared to a seventh rank world. If they uprooted Thunder World, all support for human defiance within Dragon Region would spontaneously disappear. It would completely eradicate human influence in the region.

They’d permitted many human rebels to escape to Thunder World over the years. If they tightened the net now, it wouldn't be just the demise of one major world. The human powerhouses that they supported would replace Thunder World’s position and instantly become the mental pillar of strength for Dragon Region humanity.

It was a matter of the region’s unification!

There would be no voices of dissent in Dragon Region then. As for the worlds of monster spirits, negotiations could be conducted with them. Chaos beasts and monster spirits descended from the same heritage, at the end of the day.

Humanity was the greatest enemy of the four regions.

......

Li Hao reached the Phoenix Pavilion. An exalted emperor personally came out to welcome Panther. An awkward expression crossed its face when the dog raised its request, but he smiled again when he received a message.

“Milord, a transaction involving a sixth rank major world is beyond my authorization level! Phoenix Pavilion is overseen by our princess, the Exalted Emperor Feng Yan! A deal for a sixth rank major world is also a rare sight. If the lord truly has need, we can notify the princess to discuss in person!”

Panther paused, as if thinking the matter over. It nodded after a moment. “Very well, I did not expect to disturb the direct descendant of a seventh rank. But that makes sense, this is indeed a large transaction.”

“Then please wait a moment, milord...” The exalted emperor rushed off.

“Take shelter inside Silver Moon for now.” Li Hao looked at Void. “You and Panther are of a different origin. That might become apparent at close distances.”

Void quickly disappeared without a word.

......

After a while, a blonde girl in humanoid form appeared at Phoenix Pavilion.

“Apologies to keep you waiting, fellow daoist!” The other sized up Panther when she appeared, flashing a sweet smile.

“Greetings to Exalted Emperor Feng Yan!” Li Hao swiftly sent out mental ripples.

“You are too kind!” The girl was the picture of grace and elegance. “I hear that the fellow daoist desires a sixth rank world, and that it’s best to be one of the water attribute. Do you seek it for yourself or...?”

“Myself. It’s been some years since I’ve set foot into fifth rank and it’s too hard to make it to sixth! I’ve nurtured a fifth rank world these years, but it’s so hard to advance a world. I need a sixth rank world instead, and water attribute would be the best since that’s what I train. Devouring it might help my world progress to sixth rank...”

“I see!” The princess nodded with understanding. “Sixth rank worlds are a rare sight to begin with, and ones of water even rarer! In addition, they will be pricey...”

“Will it be expensive?

“Very!” nodded the Phoenix princess. “Phoenix City does have records of transacting with sixth rank worlds. Of course, they’re not the kind of famous worlds that everyone knows. The usual price would be the equivalent of two billion dao crystals or so.”

“That high??” Li Hao gasped with mock shock. Well, he was actually surprised. That was seriously expensive!

It wasn’t a world with a dao universe that he wanted, just a regular world. Although he spent billions or tens of billions at the drop of a hat, a regular sixth rank would only need a few billion to cultivate from scratch.

An empty sixth rank world didn’t mean a sixth rank exalted emperor. It only represented a hope of ascension, and that was from peak fifth to sixth rank.

“Right, and that’s the lowest price we have on record...” said the princess. “If it’s not dao crystals, then we must assess what the fellow daoist can offer. Dao foundation crystals, dao crystals, and worlds are all must-haves for powerhouses.

“You can also trade powerful imperial weapons, the corpses of powerhouses, premier cultivation methods, and the like. But they must be rare finds.” She suddenly smiled. “Is the fellow daoist assured of rising to sixth rank?”

“I’m relatively certain, but can’t guarantee it, of course,” Li Hao replied. “These things are always down to luck. What makes Exalted Emperor Feng Yan ask that?”

“If you are highly confident but unable to pay this price, you can consider joining Phoenix major world!” the princess said bluntly. “Our world is recruiting heavyweights. But if we are to pay a hefty price, then we might need the fellow daoist to respond in kind as well!

“The sixth rank world that the fellow daoist needs, for example, is worth two billion dao crystals. If the fellow daoist can prepare half, Phoenix can pay the other half. Based on the fellow daoist’s strength, you can accumulate roughly ten thousand dao crystals a year! One billion will take one hundred thousand years...

“If you wish for Phoenix to pay the other half, then the fellow daoist must sign a ten thousand year agreement with us. You just need to serve Phoenix for ten thousand years and save yourself the other ninety thousand!

“We will compensate you accordingly if you are injured or fight during the course of your service. And if the fellow daoist does set foot into sixth rank, you will receive other benefits. If Phoenix is able to seize some seventh rank worlds, we will prioritize those with great accomplishments under their name!”

“......” Li Hao’s jaw dropped. Damn, she comes out the gates with a recruitment spiel!

Simply ten thousand years was all they required from him, with the caveat that he prepared half of the resources he needed. Perhaps they were just running their mouths. Maybe they purchased sixth rank worlds for one billion dao crystals no matter who it was that sold it to them.

That meant they would hire a half step sixth rank for free for ten thousand years. And the key was, he needed to sign a dao agreement. That was brutal! Li Hao remembered very well how the four major worlds had been toppled!

This agreement couldn’t be haphazardly sighed! The chaos tribulation really would smite offenders to death! Granted, he was so used to being struck by tribulation thunderbolts that he didn’t mind them anymore.

He’d survived seventh rank tribulations, to say nothing of sixth. Speaking of that, could he enter some weak dao alliances and break them so he could study the power of destruction?

Inspiration sprang forth in his mind.