Thunder World yet stood, but it was empty inside. There was nothing left. While the various worlds in the eastern region joined hands in preparation for attacking Thunder World, Li Hao had already left with everyone.

They left without a sound, lacking the fanfare that the Human King traveled with. They kept such a low profile that no one was aware of their departure. Having entered seventh rank, Li Hao possessed a greater capacity to hide himself and others than before. There were also more people by his side these days.

The group of high ranks came and left as they would. Without the burden of a world, the Thunder Emperor and Orchid Forest both demonstrated improvement in their cultivation. Of course, their peak strength was still less than that of when they possessed home world advantage. But when all of their strength was gathered in one body, they weren’t too far off from their previous level of strength.

Although Li Hao had many powerhouses on his side now, he still lacked a heavyweight that would definitively end any conflict. The dao chess, Fog Mountain, and Thunder Emperor were weaklings when it came to their fellow eighth ranks. Of this, all three eighth ranks had to admit it as well.

They either suffered from recent ascensions or were treasure spirits like the dao chess. The dao chess wasn’t meant to be used in conflict or slaughter, but to supplement one’s cultivation. Hence, it wasn’t very strong in battle either.

The combined efforts of the three eighth ranks might be able to triumph over the Human King, but they did not measure up to the Reincarnation master. They were even weaker than Long Zhan.

The Human King had also just recently ascended. These three would likely fall behind as well once time dragged on.

......

The void of the chaos, the sixth level.

Li Hao didn’t take his group to the upper third realm as that would easily put them in the path of high ranks. He chose the mid third instead. High ranks rarely chose to journey through the lower six levels.

There was no physical barrier preventing them from doing so, just their hearts.

The group currently traveled toward the south. Li Hao still wished to take a look there. They could scope out ideal locations for the false chaos as they traveled, while collecting large sums of chaos strength at the same time. They could comprehend more great daos and obtain more heritages to complete the construction of a myriad worlds.

Since this trip wasn’t made to kill others or to seize worlds, there were more members in the party. There were some Silver Moon martial masters. Apart from those in seclusion on Great Li World, anyone who wished to travel was granted permission. There were also some exalted emperors who did not wish to fall asleep on Thunder World and Orchid Forest. Li Hao didn’t stop them either.

They would raise quite a fuss in the four regions due to the number of exalted emperors they traveled with. But in the outer regions, exalted emperors that traveled in a group did not result in too much attention.

There were so many worlds in the outer regions, far more than those in the four regions. With how the chaos had shook lately, many exalted emperors didn’t dare travel by themselves. Those from the same world generally clustered together to collect some resources or chaos strength.

Exalted emperors in the outer regions had an easier time when it came to cultivation because there were few worlds in the upper third realm and dense chaos strength in the ambient atmosphere. The large amount of chaos strength in between the barriers of each level was also a valuable resource for exalted emperors that didn’t dare travel to another level.

It was far simpler to collect dao strength in the barriers.

This created a unique sight of multiple exalted emperors being situated at the barrier between sixth and seventh layer. They were either cultivating or absorbing the chaos strength to perfect their own dao.

When they set aside their bloodthirsty tendencies, the other aspects of everyone’s personality began to come to the fore. They were much more at ease and didn’t care if Thunder World would be attacked or not.

Matters in the upper third realm seemed to have nothing to do with those in the mid third realm.

In the east, eighth rank Gemini had been completely toppled and the eighth rank Reincarnation had been injured too deeply. It seemed that those affected were simply the overlords of the region. The rest continued about their days and lived their lives as they should.

None of this had anything to do with them.

Li Hao had also discovered that whether it was the order of the mid three realm or popularity, they overshadowed the upper third realm in all aspects. The exalted emperors here were relatively more peaceful and weren’t too domineering.

Some of the exalted emperors that they came across along the way were actually inclined to exchange a few words, as opposed to being on guard as soon as they saw each other.

Compared to three days in the outer regions, Li Hao saw only cold-blooded law of the jungle in the four regions. It was so much better here.

The sixth layer was supposed to be where sixth rank major worlds dwelled. But it seemed that no one minded even if those of the lower third realm set foot in this level. Exalted emperors of the mid realms were not as stern sticklers for protocol as those of the upper third levels.

Li Hao’s group walked through the void like they were moving across flat ground. Exalted emperors in the surroundings occasionally looked at them, some completely ignored them. Everyone kept to their own business and didn’t make a big fuss over travelers in the area.

The group even picked up some stragglers in their wake. Perhaps they felt that it would be safer to attach themselves to a larger entourage of exalted emperors. It was interesting that they weren’t concerned about these exalted emperors turning on them instead.

“It looks like there might be an island in front of us,” said Li Hao.

The islands were points of trade between chaos levels. Many exalted emperors came and went from them. Hence, it was likely that those following behind Li Hao’s group were headed to the nearest marketplace island.

The entire group was unfamiliar with the outer regions. Li Hao had released their previous guide that was Kang Han, leaving everyone floundering around for direction. They only knew the cardinal directions and traveled in a southern trajectory.

At the moment, the one traveling by Li Hao’s side was none either than Big Claw. Even some of the Silver Moon martial masters were unfamiliar with the monster spirit. He was a bonafide outsider.

Big Claw had whiled away his time in Silver Moon after verifying his dao. He’d chosen to leave the world this time as well. He didn’t have any high expectations for himself after becoming an exalted emperor. The big crab didn’t hope that he would become a mid or high rank.

He’d served as a guide or a servant for exalted emperors for many years in Dragon Observatory. He didn’t have anything else he needed to do on this excursion. Contrary to the Silver Moon martial masters taking in the sights, he’d been keeping his attention on Li Hao’s movements.

He appeared every bit to be a servant or butler. The young man had expressed that there was no need for this, but Big Claw hadn’t taken it in. Li Hao refrained from repeating himself afterward.

“Milord, I can scope out the situation...” Big Claw quickly said when he heard the young man’s remark. Based on his habits, he would’ve long gotten the lay of the land. However, he didn’t dare leave brashly.

Li Hao and his people were wanted criminals in the east. If he left now, the monster spirit was worried that it would cause some misunderstandings. Although he also felt that Li Hao wouldn’t think that way of him, it was good to be alert himself. Hence, Big Claw always gave advance warning before he moved out.

“Mmhmm, be careful.” Li Hao inclined his head. Big Claw was swiftly on his way.

“We have so many people with us that it’s like we’re the children of a world master out on a trip, accompanied by an entourage of exalted emperors,” laughed Void. “I’ve never experienced anything like it.”

Light major world had many exalted emperors in the past and as the son of an eighth rank. Void was typically accompanied by exalted emperors when he traveled. However, he was a recluse and rarely ventured out with a large entourage. Towards the end, he only wanted one exalted emperor assigned to him as contact person.

Despite his preferences, he was aware that the children of high ranks frequently set out with great fanfare. Numerous exalted emperors filled their entourage to showcase the heights of their dignity.

“Novels say that in situations like these, we often run into second gen blockheads looking to make trouble. Brother Hao Moon, do you think we should beat up the younger one first, then the older one if we come across one?”

“What kind of novels is Brother Void reading?” Li Hao burst out laughing. “Those who travel the chaos are all of the exalted emperor level. It’s rare for one of them to cause issues for no reason at all.

“We’ve journeyed through the universe for a while ourselves. Although there are smart exalted emperors and dumb exalted emperors, there... doesn’t seem to be any exalted emperors that court death?”

There were all manner of exalted emperors, but even the dumbest ones wouldn’t pick a fight for no reason at all. That just didn’t happen at this level of cultivation.

Neither were there many children of high ranks. If there were any, they either ignored all comers like Void, or became friends. Even someone like Phoenix’s daughter had been very polite at first, although they eventually became enemies at the end.

Rare were those that came in hot.

Void grinned. That was true enough.

“It looks like I’ll be disappointed in this area then. There’s actually nothing I’d want more these days. We used to be focused on achieving our goals or obtaining large sums of world strength and dao strength. We didn’t cause trouble, but would always take someone along for a ride if they knocked on our doors.”

Li Hao grinned as well. His friend really was different from before.

“Let’s take it one step at a time.” Li Hao didn’t immediately weigh in on his friend’s desire for some future fights. He looked around them and said, “I’m beginning to understand the meaning behind the nine layers of the chaos.”

He hadn’t felt it that clearly before, but now had some thoughts in mind.

“I’d felt that there was no need to divide the chaos into nine layers,” the young man began slowly. “I actually thought it was a waste of time and effort. But now... I see that there are some benefits to this course of action. Everyone is of the same level, which means like calls to like!

“High rank, mid rank, and low rank worlds are mixed in with one another in the four regions. This creates an atmosphere of fear and tension in the lower ranked worlds near the high rank worlds. They might be devoured at any time or be oppressed when they encounter a powerhouse from the higher ranked worlds. They’ll either have to be vassals or food...

“While their societal status is lower here, an artificial segregation of higher ranked worlds means that the exalted emperors of the lower ranked ones can live with some more freedom and carefree ease.”

While it appeared on the surface that rules were stricter here and a social hierarchy was more firmly reinforced, after traveling through the mid third realm... Li Hao changed his previous opinion that this was an unfair arrangement.

It was... rather nice.

His original goal had been to attain parity throughout the chaos and fairness for all. That seemed rather naive after everything he’d experienced. As a member of the martial world, he should understand that a martial world sprang up wherever there were people. It was impossible for everyone to be on the same footing throughout the chaos.

The best way to achieve this goal was to split everyone up into different levels. The strong would interact with the strong, or be punished if they ventured into the worlds of the weak.

That would ensure that powerhouses wouldn’t easily take action if they trespassed. Meanwhile, the weak could rest assured that they wouldn’t be attacked at the drop of a hat, but also know that the strong had the ability to kill them. That would instill fear and respect into their hearts, but not terror or panic.