“Anyone who wants to leave may do so!” The Thunder master’s voice rang in the four corners. “What are you still doing here? You guys should know me after all these years. Since I’ve raised the issue, I will not make life difficult for anyone who wishes to go!”

Of the several dozen exalted emperors, some finally inclined their bodies at the Thunder master and flew off world with complicated expressions. Their great dao disengaged from the dao universe at the same time. A stream of dao crystals followed them.

Thirty million dao crystals were their parting gift. The Thunder master didn’t blame them for their actions. He could only say that he was too weak to let them see hope.

He’d killed his teacher only because his teacher hadn’t asked him before making an irredeemable decision for the entire world. That was a betrayal!

Exalted emperor upon exalted emperor left. Some did so with pained expressions, others with numb looks. Some sighed...

Roughly half of the sparse group of exalted emperors left the world. Only twenty remained in the seventh rank world.

This was less than some mid worlds. Fifth rank worlds that were more battle hardy might have that many as well. Orchid Forest had almost forty when it was a sixth rank.

The Thunder master simply glanced at those who’d left; the dao universe was much weaker after the exodus. He smiled ruefully at those still standing around him. “Why are you guys still here?”

“Why should we leave? We’ll fight them to the death!”

“We’ll just die if it comes down to it!”

“Those animals entertain themselves with eating humans! Am I supposed to imitate that bunch of trash and fall in line with those animals?!”

“Thunder World is the only world of humans in Dragon Region. The day it stands is the day I fight!”

“......” Furious roars rose from the group. No one was willing to accept their fate! They knew that staying meant they were doomed, but so what of it?

The Thunder master smiled, then looked at the world. He suddenly sighed to himself. That’s right. I can still fight. But what about them and the people?

As sparsely populated as Thunder World was, there was still a general population of roughly ten billion. They were all Thunder World citizens. Although there might not be anything good in store for them if he surrenders, were they to follow him in destruction as well?

Countless thoughts filtered through the Thunder master’s mind. Moments later, he called out, “Phoenix, this emperor will give you a chance to kill me and seize the world!” He threw his head back with laughter. “Continue the bet and sign an agreement of life and death with me! We duel to the death! If I lose, I die, but I will leave you the dao universe!

“If I win, I will not kill you. You must give me a sixth rank world for me to situate my citizens and I will still give you Thunder World. You guys will need to let us go according to the dao treaty!”

The Phoenix master looked sharply at her counterpart. So she would be receiving Thunder World, the entire world, no matter if she won or lost? The Thunder master only had one request if he won, and that was to leave with ten billion citizens and a piddling amount of exalted emperors.

Would that be permitted?

She wanted to kill them all if possible, to eliminate future trouble. But... this might be the best choice. The Thunder master did not have the ability to leave with his world, so he had to give it up.

Would it matter if he was permitted to leave with his people? And would he actually be able to win?

Phoenix knew that the other was still reluctant to accept his fate, that he wanted to kill her in battle. While he said that he wouldn’t kill her, he might do so if the opportunity presented itself. He was a thunder exalted emperor, after all, so he didn’t mind a chaos tribulation.

But could the Thunder master kill her?

She saw through his intentions with a quick look!

“Very well, I agree to these terms!” smiled the Phoenix master. “Sign the dao treaty. Violators are subject to an eighth rank chaos tribulation! Thunder master, if you really can win and even kill me, then survive an eighth rank tribulation... then I will accept my death!”

To be honest, she might have agreed to letting him leave with his people if he left behind the dao universe. But she also would’ve pursued him afterward.

The Thunder master hadn’t mentioned it, but he clearly understood the implications as well. Therefore, he opted to make a try. Perhaps he might really be able to kill Phoenix.

The Phoenix master didn’t care about anything at this stage. She had to kill the human! Although Long Xuan and Earth Dragon’s death had nothing to do with her, the Silver Moon king had signed a dao treaty with Phoenix in the guise of Black Dog. She’d known what the problem was as soon as the chaos tribulation materialized.

Although the Dragon master might not punish her for any of this, he was bound to be disappointed once he learned that Feng Yan had signed a dao treaty with the enemy.

The Phoenix master would not permit that to happen! They needed to take Thunder World in its entirety! They even needed to kill the world master and eliminate all potential sources of trouble. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Thunder Emperor, I am not a vicious being either. We can sign a dao treaty and I will even promise you that your exalted emperors can leave with your people, no matter if you win or lose.

“But,” the phoenix sneered. “You must remain behind!”

“Very well!” The Thunder master looked coldly at her and smiled after a while.

“Good! Then let us sign the dao treaty!” Phoenix was overjoyed. They’d spent several hundred years attacking Thunder World and never came close to succeeding. She’d finally done it! Her enormous investment in dealing with Thunder World was finally paying off.

As for the exalted emperor that the Thunder master had killed... she’d spent a fortune to recruit that one. The argument that’d finally stuck was that this would be for the good of the world master. All the same, the price she’d paid had been unbelievable.

She’d even had to promise him that he would be permitted to oversee a seventh rank world when all was said and done. Thankfully, that nuisance had been taken care of.

......

Dragon Region shook from Li Hao killing a seventh rank. Chaos beasts rejoiced in the changes in Thunder World. The world was theirs!

The seven seventh ranks could rest easy after they took over Thunder World. It wouldn’t be too late to chase after the Silver Moon king then. But if they tried to find success on two fronts right this moment, that would easily lead to failure.

This was also the trade-offs that the chaos beasts weighed up. One had to say, their goals were very well defined. If some of the seventh ranks had peeled off to come after Li Hao, then the Thunder master may not have made the same decision. He could’ve put everything on the line for a desperate gamble.

......

In the depths of Dragon Region.

Silver Moon furiously absorbed the body of a seventh rank dragon. Li Hao, however, frowned slightly. He’d seen everything that’d taken place in Thunder World and heard it all because he’d integrated one of the queen’s dao stars into a false world and given it to the Thunder master.

He’d done so as a precaution, but had somehow borne witness to the world falling from within. It’d stood strong for so many years, but now its world origin was half silenced.

It wouldn’t be hard to revitalize it, just some dao crystals and a powerhouse skilled at revitalization were required. A powerhouse such as Void.

But at the moment, there were seven seventh ranks outside Thunder and three of them were world masters. Alright, there wasn’t a difference between world masters and regular exalted emperors to chaos beasts, but they were still somewhat enhanced.

Li Hao scanned Silver Moon’s dao universe—it was still devouring Long Xuan. He then turned to the highly excited Void.

“Brother Void, are you confident of handling a seventh rank by yourself?” he grinned.

“Me?” Void assessed his capabilities, then shook his head. “I can hold out for a bit, but if you want me to kill him... I can’t. I won’t be able to revitalize myself as time drags on, which will spell me defeat!”

He knew that much, at least. He could fight a seventh rank and even endure for a while, but he would absolutely be defeated in a prolonged engagement.

Li Hao nodded and looked at the busy dao masters. “If Silver Moon sets foot into a sixth rank, it will be able to stand against a seventh rank. If you can as well, and me... that’s the equivalent of three seventh ranks!”

His friend looked intently at him.

“If you truly rise to seventh rank, you’ll be a lot stronger than regular seventh ranks, right?”

“Of course!” Void smiled. “If I make it to seventh rank, an exalted emperor of six extreme daos can dominate regular seventh ranks! I wouldn’t dare say that I’m invincible among my peers, of course.”

“In that case... wanna do it again?” A crazed light dawned in Li Hao’s eyes.

“Do what?”

“Seize a major world!”

What major world?

Void blinked at him.

“Phoenix!” Li Hao chuckled.

“Huh?”

“Phoenix is going to duel Thunder! Two peak seventh ranks are going to fight... The Thunder master has agreed to hand over his world. Thunder World is dead in the water right now, so he’s prepared to duel to the death!

“We have a chance of breaking through Phoenix’s defenses. They have two seventh ranks in residence and a large sum of foreign and local exalted emperors. But they’re all preoccupied by Thunder World at the moment.

“When the two fight, some of the exalted emperors might enter the world to seize it. If we set up an ambush there... we might have a chance to kill a seventh rank!

“If we don’t, then we can attack Phoenix! And if we still don’t... then... we can devour Thunder World after the Thunder master leaves!”

Devour Thunder World?

“Is that... appropriate?” Void couldn’t help but ask. It’s not, isn’t it?

“He’s already agreed to give up the world,” Li Hao said, deadpan. “If he really does, are we going to let it go to the chaos beasts? This is the safest way. He’ll withdraw no matter if he wins or loses.

“Since he’s signed a dao treaty to protect his ten billion citizens, he probably will give it up. In that case, we’ll help him since he doesn’t want to break the agreement!”

Void had to agree, this was the safest plan. They didn’t need to think about the Thunder master!

Whether he won or lost, he would retreat from Thunder World. There would be an open period. A world without a master was the easiest to devour!

There would be no resistance or counterattack. It would be easy to consume!

Phoenix would probably cry then.

“If possible, I think we should save the Thunder master,” said Void. “He stood his ground in Dragon Region for hundreds of thousands of years. He didn’t need to do so just for personal safety. It would’ve been much better had he become a wandering cultivator. I think he really did mean to set a standard for humanity...”

Having been blockaded for so many years, it would’ve been a much more comfortable life for the Thunder masters had he become a wandering cultivator. He’d just refused to abandon his world.

Clearly, the identity of being the master of Dragon Region’s only world for humans had been the key to his reluctance. There was almost no hope for humanity in the region. At least Thunder World represented some hope.