Phoenix Pavilion.

Phoenix major world authorities arranged a massive residence for Li Hao to stay in. All manner of buildings, ornamental gazebos, and terraces were present. It almost felt like another pocket of space.

A fifth rank was worthy of such treatment.

Although fifth ranks were not a sovereign in their right, they were one step away from sixth rank. Sixth ranks mostly carried out seventh rank orders since seventh ranks wouldn’t easily join a battlefield. Hence, fifth rank was the premier battle force in the chaos.

They were commonly referred to as the vanguard among exalted emperors.

Stronger fifth ranks were the peak battle force below what major worlds could field. They were neither here nor there in the bigger picture of things, which made them perfect for a variety of uses.

Li Hao didn’t care what his surroundings looked like. He frowned after exploring them. A species with ‘chaos’ in their name created lavish, ornate residences set in an idyllic backdrop for themselves.

That did not seem to be a good fit with the chaos beast identity.

Li Hao stopped poking around his lodgings. The chaos beast that was Black Dog would not care about its surroundings. He cultivated silently, operating cultivation methods to absorb the dao strength in the surroundings.

The dao strength in this area was exceedingly concentrated.

Panther also cultivated via the Five Styles. The energy of the five elements surged toward the dog, with water being the main attribute. The dog’s core method of the Nine Forged Force came from Liu Long and centered on the water element.

The Five Styles were its secondary method, one that devoured the five elemental energies on its own.

Li Hao didn’t know if anyone was keeping an eye on him, neither did he care. Cultivating the five elements was the most common method in the chaos. Meanwhile, the Five Styles Method of Silver Moon was nearly unknown.

His teacher had been so weak that he hadn’t had a chance to demonstrate it.

On the other hand, Li Hao had once displayed his control over the five elements, but it’d been nothing noteworthy. His skill with the sword was what caught the eye and to a much lesser degree, his control over time that’d once frozen a world.

The five elements were too common.

......

The city in the sky.

Princess Feng Yan had returned to the palace. Her royal mother was off on Thunder World-related business. That seventh rank world was the only one controlled by humans in Dragon Region. She did not need to be bothered for the recruitment of a fifth rank.

That would hold true even if it was the New Martial sixth rank Heavenly Dog. The princess could call the shots herself. Her response to Li Hao that she could not make the decision in their discussion had simply been a play for time, but now that she considered how young she was...

The princess walked toward another massive palace hall, arriving in front of opulent doors before long. They were gilded with gold and studded with jewels, appearing even more elaborate than the Phoenix palace. This was where the draconic delegation resided on Phoenix major world.

Outsiders only knew that dragon powerhouses were present on the world, supposedly to help Phoenix corral external foes and prevent the accessible world from being attacked.

No one knew that there was a prominent dragon powerhouse holding down the fort.

“Feng Yan requests to meet the revered elder!”

“Enter.”

The girl gracefully glided over a path of gold. She made straight for a large hall in which sat a nondescript elder. He poured tea for himself and smiled at Feng Yang.

“Powerhouses of the human major worlds do not like to drink wine or blood, they prefer tea. They often relegate chaos beasts and monster spirits to animals because we eat flesh and drink blood!

“The Dragon master was infuriated by that characterization early on. Drinking blood strengthens us and replenishes our vitality. It fortifies our health and blood qi—it is how chaos beasts survive and creates our strongest heavyweights!

“But once the Dragon master set foot into eighth rank and unified the region, he said that there were certain human habits that could be imitated. To know the enemy as deeply as we know ourselves is how we ensure constant victory.

“There are countless worlds in the chaos, but humans are the dominant species whether within the four regions or outside of it. Why is that?”

Feng Yan was used to the old man’s routine. He almost never displayed his true form in Phoenix major world. The elder usually appeared as human and imitated everything humans did from eating preferences, drinking tea, playing chess, wearing clothes, and tending to a garden...

Such was the custom of all premier dragon personages, because they imitated the Dragon master.

Humans stood tall and proud in existence, dominating the chaos. Chaos beasts were stronger than them on an individual basis, but they were subject to human oppression and drifted through the universe, scrabbling for small plots of territory.

The Dragon master had delved deep into human culture and imitated their strong suits. He was determined to reform the chaos beast race. After all these years, his efforts were bearing fruit and Phoenix major world was also deeply affected.

“Revered one!” Feng Yan politely raised the topic of why she was here. “Will Dragon Region participate in the war against New Martial?”

“Do you wish to be part of that conflict?” smiled the old man.

“The phoenix race will naturally follow the Dragon master!”

“The phoenixes have always been our most stalwart allies,” the old man nodded with a smile. “I would say that it would depend on the right opportunity if anyone else asked. Since it is you... then it’s only a matter of time!”

A matter of time!

Enthusiasm lit up Feng Yan’s face. “So this means to say that we’ll need to recruit our armies and take in forces from all over?”

“The key will lie with the high ranks—they will determine if our campaign is a success. Granted, we should recruit whatever exalted emperors we can.”

“I’d like to bring a fifth rank under our banner. He comes from another region. Does the revered one think it is worth it to pay a price of a sixth rank world and permit him to have jurisdiction over one hundred worlds?”

“It is worth it if you think it is worth it,” chuckled the old man. “But regular fifth ranks won’t be worth this price. They deserve this offer only if they are strong. So it depends on their abilities and if they have a hope of setting foot into seventh rank...”

This was a minor task in his eyes. Phoenix was a seventh rank major world, so such trivialities were not worth mention. But since Princess Feng Yan had personally come to ask his opinion... did she mean to indicate respect toward the dragons or have some other notion in mind?

“I am worried... that this exalted emperor might be the New Martial Heavenly Dog!” admitted the girl. “Otherwise, I can handle a fifth rank by myself. My royal mother is focusing on Thunder World at the moment.

“I plan on signing a dao agreement with this exalted emperor, but also recall how Red Moon major world was devastated by such an agreement. I’m concerned that I am not considering all possible aspects in my youth, so I hope that the revered elder can bear witness to signing this contract.”

So this was the case!

“A dog cultivator?”

“Yes.” 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

I understand. The old man hadn’t been keeping a close eye on things lately, so this was the first he heard of the situation.

“You are likely overly concerned,” he said with a smile. “The New Martial Heavenly Dog was seen in Blazing Sun a few days ago. It was so arrogant that it swallowed a sixth rank world, killed many exalted emperors, and subsequently taunted a seventh rank.

“The seventh rank broke its tail and sent it scurrying off. It should still be recovering from its wounds in New Martial.”

Feng Yan’s eyes widened. “He provoked a seventh rank??”

“Correct.”

Being a peak sixth rank, Feng Yan was well aware of how strong seventh ranks were. She was rather confused. “Revered one, why is it that New Martial powerhouses such as the Sword Sovereign and Heavenly Dog can fight seventh ranks while they are sixth ranks?”

She didn’t understand it. Phoenix major world was very strong and she was one of their best. However, she wouldn’t be the least bit confident about marching into battle against a seventh rank.

And yet, more than one such talent had appeared in New Martial.

“New Martial... Yin and Yang... is very different from the rest,” the old man said after some thought. “But as for why, I’m not sure. I just know that New Martial might have been a ninth rank world to begin with. However, I only heard the Dragon master mention that in passing once.”

“Ninth rank?”

“That’s not quite it either, it was difficult for the Dragon master to explain. He simply once heard some rumors at Skyward. According to the Dragon master, New Martial might have existed earlier than we thought.

“Life might have appeared in it one million years ago and entered Skyward to converse with its powerhouses...” the old man recounted with amazement. “But based on what we‘ve learned from New Martial, they say that their world is only one hundred thousand or so years old...”

Either those New Martial folks didn’t know about their own history, or they were lying. If someone had emerged from their world one million years ago and come in contact with Skyward powerhouses or even the Skyward master, how could it only be one hundred thousand years old?

Hence, neither the elder nor the Dragon master was not surprised by what New Martial demonstrated. The Dragon master had once postulated that New Martial might have eighth or ninth rank powerhouses, just like Skyward, but that they departed and left behind an empty world. Again, just like Skyward.

Skyward powerhouses left behind the world in its entirety, but New Martial’s heavyweights might have left with all of the world’s energy. Yin and Yang was thus an empty shell...

All of this was the Dragon master’s speculation from a few clues.

“New Martial’s dao universe of yin and yang, and their dao of core origin might map to a ninth rank dao universe! It simply hasn’t fully revitalized yet...”

“New Martial is a ninth rank world??” Feng Yan was shaken.

“It appears so from our current deductions,” nodded the old man. He wasn’t able to explain the situation otherwise. In addition, he trusted the Dragon master’s deductions. Since his master had spoken, that meant cultivators had existed on Yin and Yang one million years ago.

“I see!” Feng Yan blinked. No wonder New Martial powerhouses were so strong. They had a ninth rank world as their foundation! While they didn’t have proof for their theories, it must be true if the Dragon master thought so. “Then the exalted emperor called Black Dog is not the Heavenly Dog...”

“Most likely not.” The old man wasn’t completely certain either. “If he is, then Blazing Sun Region would be its chance to set foot into seventh rank. There is no such opportunity to be found with us.

“New Martial desperately needs new seventh rank powerhouses. How would they send out their peak sixth rank heavyweights now? Instead, they should be recalling all of their people to fight Blazing Sun...”

“Then I really have thought too much,” Feng Yan nodded.