There were seven seventh ranks out in the void. If Li Hao could kill one ahead of time, then kill another, that would leave Phoenix and the Thunder master duking it out. Li Hao, Void, and the two dao master could engage the remaining four exalted emperors. That left only one unaccounted for on the other side.

So what if Li Hao was one short?

If that’s what it comes down to, I can get another one out here!

Get who?

The dao chess!

Whether the Skyward dao universe revitalized or not, that one could come and go from the dao universe at will. It just wasn’t willing to demonstrate its abilities in regular times. It would revert to being an eighth rank dao universe as soon as it emerged in the chaos universe at large. But who would care about that then?

If I succeed today, then the debt I owe the dao chess, Void, and New Martial... I’ll be able to clear them all in one go today!

He owed the dao chess, Human King, and Void each a seventh rank dao universe. It’d been three years since he entered the chaos. Apart from also owing the Skyward fire envoy, Exalted Coiling Dragon Emperor, and water envoy a favor, he didn’t owe anything to anyone else.

Perhaps Number Two could also fully descend upon reality after devouring a few more world origins. It would be a seventh rank exalted emperor!

Li Hao’s heart pounded when his thoughts traveled here. Maybe this really is the path I should take! What opportunities would there be left for me once the Dragon master appears?

“Let’s bring down another four worlds!”

The last four worlds he’d brought down had gone to the Sword Sovereign, Li Zhu, and Fog Mountain. if this venture succeeded, then the dao chess could return to its strength of a ninth rank weapon, Void could ascend, his debt to the Human King could be cleared, and the remaining one could go to himself and Silver Moon.

The more Li Hao thought of it, the more excited he became.

Perhaps he could leave a world behind as a temporary shelter for humans. Number Two might be able to drag a seventh rank world along once it broke through.

Greed reared its head.

Was this from the dao of desire?

No, not this time. He wanted to do this in order to fully find his footing in the chaos.

Li Hao looked into the distance, toward Skyward. The Human King must have certain goals in mind with these actions. If they really were the ones behind Skyward opening... then they must be conducting certain plans in the three regions.

The young man grew agitated. You guys might be attacking eighth rank worlds, but I won’t be falling behind that much!

Let’s see who makes more from this operation!

“Senior Dao Chess!” He finally activated the long inert dao chess brand in his river.

......

Utter mayhem reigned in the Skyward dao universe.

Countless exalted emperors furiously chased after one man and a cat. Meanwhile, the dao chess trembled in the darkness. It carefully inched through the void.

I haven’t fully recovered yet, I’m just a seventh rank. The weakest in this group is a seventh rank!

Don’t look at me. If we really run into each other, I’ll just have to make a run for it. But... it may not be safe if I go out there. This Human King really does know how to stir things up!

A unique ripple reached it as it mulled over its next steps. Hmm?

Li Hao?

“Li Hao...”

The dao universe was closed, but the dao chess could still receive messages. It was evident from this just how close its connection was with the dao universe.

“I need the senior’s help! I won’t go into detail now, that would just be a waste of the senior’s energy. The senior needs to teleport over when I next activate the seal. Help me hold off a seventh rank!

“Once the deed is done, the senior will be able to return to peak condition and won’t have to fear any major world anymore! So long as we succeed, there will be no one who can stop us!”

Now that was bold!

The dao chess didn’t have time to react before the ripples vanished.

What now?? Don’t these guys ever take a break??

It snuck a peek at the madly fleeing Human King and Ash Emperor. This was such a dangerous place!

Whatever, I’ll... go out if the kid wants me to help. It’s just as terrifying staying in here. The Human King and Ash Emperor are completely insane as they keep stopping the other guys from getting out. What do those two want to do?

And where has Li Hao gone to now? Dragon Region?

Dragon Region is very dangerous. Is there a bigger opportunity there?

Are they taking down a seventh rank world?

That seems nice, but pales in comparison to what the Human King is accomplishing. Li Hao needs to act on a grander scale. Just look at the Human King—he’s fighting with more than a dozen seventh and eighth ranks!

The dao chess daydreamed wildly, both admiring the mad courage of the Human King and his people, while also thinking that it might be time to take shelter outside.

Alright! Then let’s go outside for safety!

Li Hao is facing a seventh rank world. There won’t be much danger if I go join him and Void. I’ll be able to defend against one seventh rank. It’ll be difficult if it’s two seventh ranks though... It’s going to be tough for those two to go against one seventh rank.

......

Over at Thunder World, both seventh rank world masters possessed dao universes of their own. They’d signed a dao treaty with an eighth rank tribulation as the penalty.

Following that, the two dao universes surfaced and engaged each other in battle. They let loose with full force straight from the get-go. Fire and thunder energy exploded in all directions!

Shocked exalted emperors swayed with the ebb and flow of battle. This was the true mirth of seventh ranks!

The seventh rank draconic powerhouse and phoenix elder over at Phoenix major world observed for a while, in no hurry to enter Thunder World. Even if they were going to enter that world ahead of time, they needed to do so when the Thunder master was fully preoccupied.

Otherwise, it’d be an enormous loss if the human suddenly decided to double back and trap them in the world. He might suddenly lose his mind and desire to take out one of them with him.

But they needed to enter the world once he was completely engaged with the Phoenix master. If they didn’t, they ran the risk of the human destroying his world in his last moments.

Hence, the two seventh ranks waited quietly.

In the surroundings, heavyweights from Giant Elephant, Valiant Tiger, and Treasure watched from a distance. They maintained the siege to prevent the Thunder master from escaping. Well, it was fine if he ran, but he needed to hand over the dao universe!

There was no place for him to go this time!

......

At the same time, outside Skycloud.

A group of people scaled mountains and forded rivers to finally reach Skycloud major world. Supreme Zhang, the Sword Sovereign, Li Zhu, Sun God, peak sixth ranks Exalted Blood Emperor and the Earth Emperor were all present. The latter two were yet to enter seventh rank.

They were just one step away. The key bottleneck was that it took too many resources for them to advance. Flaming Sun hadn’t been near enough.

They were a group of four seventh ranks and multiple peak sixth ranks. These sixth ranks could even be viewed as seventh ranks.

They hovered outside the Skycloud world gates, but someone appeared in front of them—Fog Mountain.

He’d left a long time ago, but returned now to consider them gravely. “I am here to request a favor! Whether it is the world or exalted emperors, you can kill whoever that should be killed. But there are one hundred billion humans in Skycloud who are all innocent.

“When Silver Moon King Li Hao breached Red Moon, he did not slaughter the general population. Hence, I’m here to ask for a favor!”

As soon as the various powerhouses were trapped in Skyward, he knew that the end was nigh for Skycloud. The world master had fallen for a trap.

And Fog Mountain didn’t care.

But here he still was, addressing the invaders.

“I know Skycloud very well and can sneak into it. Although you guys are strong, they have home ground advantage. There are two seventh ranks in residence and hundreds of Skycloud exalted emperors working in tandem. You will have to pay a certain price if you wish to spontaneously break through the defenses without prior preparation...”

The supreme smiled, slightly surprised by the development. Fog Mountain was here!

“Of course we won’t butcher humans,” the supreme chuckled after casting a glance at Fog Mountain. “But certain fallout is unavoidable when powerhouses exchange blows. We don’t purport ourselves to be kind and benevolent either.

“If the fallout really does affect them, then they will become casualties. However, since Fellow Daoist Fog Mountain is here, we will naturally show you this face!”

Fog Mountain was a peak seventh rank. He was formidable in battle. Granted, the supreme wasn’t afraid of him. He would be unafraid even if Fog Mountain decided to work in tandem with the remaining Skycloud seventh ranks.

New Martial and Fog Mountain had worked together before and all Fog Mountain wanted was the safety of the mundanes. That was easily done.

“It’d be best if the fellow daoist is willing to help...” A mysterious smile suddenly spread across the supreme’s face. “Fellow Daoist Fog Mountain, you hail from Skycloud. Why don’t we give it to you after we conquer it today?”

“Eh?” Fog Mountain blinked.

“We will give Skycloud to the fellow daoist after we take it!” the supreme said easily. “Whether the fellow daoist wants it for yourself or devour it to ascend to eighth rank, anything goes! You are of the same origin, so eighth rank would be easy for you!”

Fog Mountain stared. He’d just wanted to come and save the people. But now... he suspected that he was hearing things. New Martial had paid an enormous price to take Skycloud—the Human King and Ash Emperor teetered on the edge of disaster.

They’d done all this to obtain Skycloud, but now... they want to give it to me? This is a joke, isn’t it?

“Does the fellow daoist not want the world?” smiled the supreme. The New Martial exalted emperors around them didn’t say a word, they simply looked at Supreme Zhang.

He must have a plan in mind, if he’d proposed this.

As expected, the supreme added, “The fellow daoist only needs to help us with a little favor once you enter eighth rank. Help us conquer Blazing Sun! There are four seventh ranks at Blazing Sun and possibly heavyweights from the regions outside. There might be a seventh rank or two among them, or even an eight rank.

“Blazing Sun is our greatest target. Skycloud is just icing on the cake! If the fellow daoist is able to set foot into eighth rank, then we are certain to be successful at Blazing Sun!”

What was Skycloud worth?

It would only give birth to another two or three seventh ranks if they took Skycloud. The Exalted Blood Emperor and Earth Emperor would ascend, but none of the rest. They lacked yang qi. Could a group of six seventh ranks break through Blazing Sun’s defenses?

Not necessarily!

Blazing Sun had four local seventh ranks at the moment and possibly more from outside the four regions. The supreme even suspected that it had eighth ranks!

Supreme Zhang was highly confident in New Martial, that they could take the world in a forced offensive. However, the toll that exacted might be enormous!