CHAPTER 873: Not Qualified

Han Shuo stayed in the Pandemonium for a whole year, which passed in the blink of an eye. Aside from repairing and revamping the demonic formations with the Five Elite Zombies, Han Shuo had also been meditating and exploring his newfound powers.

Han Shuo found that after entering the Skybreak Realm, every strand of demonic yuan in his body had become much stronger than before. Han Shuo found that having seemingly unstoppable power coursing through his veins felt very pleasant and awesome.

Han Shuo had learned the basics of the Invincible Omen Body. When Han Shuo's body was attacked, the demonic technique would automatically activate and protect his body from harm even if he was unconscious. And when there was no danger, it would deactivate and not drain Han Shuo's demonic yuan. After ascending to the new demonic realm, Han Shuo had finally mastered the Omen Invincible Body.

Han Shuo was very happy to know that the Omen Invincible Body could not only automatically defend him, but also automatically counterattack.

Curious about the power of this demonic technique he had just mastered, Han Shuo decided to conduct an experiment on Romon, who had a relatively resilient body. He sat cross-legged, silenced his consciousness and entered a deep meditation.

Following his master's instructions, Romon suddenly charged at Han Shuo and threw a punch at him. As his fist of tremendous power made contact with Han Shuo, who was completely unaware of his surroundings, a great force suddenly erupted from Han Shuo's body. Romon was thrown backwards. For a long time, he saw stars and heard bells.

Since Han Shuo wasn't sure how powerful the automatic counterattack would be, he didn't let Romon attack him with all his might. From the fact that Romon was too scared to help Han Shuo with another experiment, Han Shuo guessed that the counterattack was quite formidable.

After breaking through the Omen Realm and reaching the Skybreak Realm, both his realm status and his strength had greatly increased. He had even mastered the Omen Invincible Body.

With that, even if Han Shuo wasn't constantly on guard, he wouldn't be afraid of sneak attacks. Those who tried to harm him would be hoisting their own petard.

During this one year, Han Shuo and the Five Elite Zombies had devoted their time to revamping Pandemonium, adding many more deadly demonic formations. Perhaps due to Han Shuo's influence, or perhaps due to his newfound knowledge in the use of the demonic formations, the Five Elite Zombies had made a breakthrough and were now just one leap away from the realm of the Highgod.

Through the Penta-Elemental Undead Formation, the Five Elite Zombies could fuse their energies into powerful attacks. The power of the Penta-elemental Undead Formation increased exponentially in relation to the power of the Five Elite Zombies. A cultivation breakthrough by one of the Five Elite Zombies could increase the power of the formation many times over.

After that year, the Five Elite Zombies remained in Pandemonium, focusing on stabilising the state of their realm. They had recently reached the Late-stage of Midgodhood, and were eager to further increase their power and gain even greater strength.

The concentration of elemental energies in the Pandemonium was greater than anywhere else on Elysium, which had greatly benefited Rose and the others. The gods who cultivated in the Pandemonium had gained an even deeper understanding of the energy they cultivated and had made breakthroughs in their cultivation.

The higher concentration of elemental energy not only allowed them to collect elemental energy faster, but also inspired them with new insights into these energies. The experts could feel the great benefits after spending a short time there. Even Rose was on the verge of another breakthrough. She had been in the gym for months.

Aside from the Five Elite Zombies, Rose had served Han Shuo the longest and had seen countless battles large and small. Each time she faced death, she gained a better understanding of herself. After ages, Rose had finally heard the call of the next realm, and she was now preparing to enter the Late-stage of Highgodhood.

Word of Han Shuo had spread through the Fringe like wildfire. Every Fringedweller who spoke of Han Shuo did so in an awe-inspiring tone. They had regarded Han Shuo as an existence of the same class as the Five Sovereigns. People had begun to worship Han Shuo, and experts with decent strength had come to the Pandemonium to serve under Han Shuo.

Han Shuo delegated the affairs of this aspect to Zovic and Goron. Those experts who were born with extraordinary talents and passed a background check were allowed to join. After all, it was part of Han Shuo's grand plan to rule the Fringe. Having enough manpower was a necessary component in the execution of the grand plan.

Aside from Han Shuo, there was another expert whose reputation had soared in the Fringe - he was none other than Han Hao.

Since Salas had fled the Pandemonium, there had been no news of him, as if he had suddenly disappeared. Not a single person on the Fringe had seen him in a year. Even his most loyal followers knew nothing of his whereabouts or current condition.

There had been many rumours about Salas' disappearance. Some said he was hiding in an unknown region to recuperate quietly, others claimed he was afraid of Han Shuo and had left the Fringe for good. But none of the rumours could be verified.

With Salas gone, his followers could no longer ride roughshod over others. Without the threat of Salas's retaliation, their enemies could no longer hold back and launched a campaign to massacre Salas's followers, forcing them into hiding.

And Han Hao was one of the predators they feared most!

But Han Hao was not hunting them out of spite. He was simply trying to take the vast wealth that Salas was unable to carry with him as he fled. With the band of godhunters he led, Han Hao wreaked havoc throughout the Fringe. Many of Salas' followers were killed, and most of his wealth fell into Han Hao's hands.

The remaining Four Sovereigns were also keen to take over Salas' treasures, and had ordered their troops to do so. However, the followers of the Four Sovereigns somehow seemed far less capable than Han Shuo. Their combined harvest was less than Han Hao's.

Although these followers of the Four Sovereigns were all vicious and ruthless in character, none of them picked a fight with Han Hao as if they had been specifically instructed to do so. Instead of eliminating their competition, they allowed Han Hao to compete with them for Salas' wealth and even avoided conflict with him.

The Four sovereigns were no fools. Although they did not know the true relationship between Han Shuo and Han Hao, after some investigation, they understood that the two must be closely related, as the energy they cultivated was quite similar.

Therefore, all four of the Sovereigns gave the same instruction to their disciples not to cause any friction with Han Hao when dealing with Salas' matter. The Four weren't worried about offending Han Hao, they were worried about offending Han Shuo, who had forced Salas into hiding.

Han Hao seemed to know what the Four Sovereigns were doing, and he too avoided conflict with their followers. And when he encountered Ossora's men, he was extremely friendly, sometimes even sharing some of their booty.

Although Han Hao had never been to the Pandemonium, he considered it his home. Since Ossora had helped to keep the Pandemonium safe, Han Hao considered Ossora to have done him a favour. That was why he was so generous in sharing with Ossora's followers.

***A year after Salas disappeared, Han Shuo returned to the Omphalos. He approached one of the entry checkpoints with a carefree smile.

The checkpoint was manned by Logue's followers. When it was Han Shuo's turn to enter, they coldly demanded "One hundred black crystal coins". It was obvious that they did not know Han Shuo.

Han Shuo glanced at the Omphalos guard who was demanding crystal coins from him with a funny look. Without changing the warm smile on his face, Han Shuo said arrogantly, "I'm sorry, but from now on, I won't pay a single crystal coin."

The Omphalos guard, who possessed Mid-stage Highgod strength in water energy, suddenly showed a dark face. With a wave of his hand, a group of Omphalos guards quickly surrounded Han Shuo. "Entering the Omphalos without paying? Tired of life, are you?"

"You don't have the qualifications to demand crystal coins from me, but Logue does. Tell you what, if Logue is here to collect the entrance fee from me, I will pay," Han Shuo replied with a smile.

"Heresy! How dare you address His Lordship so disrespectfully!" the Omphalos guard frowned and shouted at his comrades, "I don't care who he is, I want him dead! He didn't enter the Omphalos. Killing him here won't break any rules!"

These followers of Logue obviously had no idea who Han Shuo was, and did not treat him as the important figure he was. To them, any being who entered the Omphalos had to pay the entrance fee, except for the Five Sovereigns. Everyone was familiar with the faces of the Five Sovereigns, but few knew Han Shuo.

"I say it's you who are tired of life. The Fringe today is not the same as it used to be. Aside from the Five Sovereigns, haven't you forgotten that there is one more person you cannot insult? Haha, I think even if Sovereign Logue were here, he would welcome Bryan to the Omphalos!" At that moment, a gentle laugh came from the Omphalos. Haruli slowly emerged.

Although these followers of Logue did not recognise Han Shuo, they knew Haruli, who had established himself in the Fringe long ago. The Omphalos guard stared blankly for a moment before he suddenly remembered. He froze and began to stare at Han Shuo with some respect. With uncertainty in his voice, he asked, "Are you Mr Bryan?"

Han Shuo smiled and replied, "Now that you know who I am, do you still want crystal coins from me?"

"No!" the Omphalos guard replied with a startled face. He hastily explained, "Our sovereign has instructed us to allow Mr Bryan to do as he pleases!"

Han Shuo chuckled. He nodded and replied, "Very well then!" With those words finished, Han Shuo walked into the Omphalos without another look at those people.

The followers of Logue immediately stepped aside and showed Han Shuo the way in. Their gestures were very respectful.