CHAPTER 888: Fight Me If You Dare

The Omphalos merchants were no fools. Although they had no idea who these bandits were, they could tell that Han Shuo must have something to do with it.

The merchants had been waiting for the three sovereigns to take action. But even after waiting for a long time, the three Sovereigns still seemed to have done nothing. With all their goods stuck outside the Omphalos, and their sales taking a nosedive, they had no choice but to gather together and make contact with the Three Sovereigns.

Tyre, Logue and Wasir knew that it was Han Hao who had been raiding the merchant caravans outside the Omphalos. The Three Sovereigns commanded large forces with influence in every region of the Fringe. They were informed of this significant activity by Han Hao shortly after he began his raids.

However, the three Sovereigns also knew that Han Hao and Han Shuo were closely related. Not wanting to fall out with Han Shuo so soon, they kept quiet to see how long Han Hao could keep it up. But even after such a long time, with Han Hao still showing no signs of stopping any time soon, and the daily operations of the Omphalos grinding to a halt, the three sovereigns finally ran out of patience.

When nearly all the merchants of the Omphalos issued a joint statement to the three Sovereigns, they had no choice but to take action. They responded by telling the merchants not to worry, and that they would soon resolve the matter.

***Within the Celestial Pearl of the Omphalos, Han Shuo meditated in a secluded gymnasium. He felt as if he had merged with the Omphalos, as if he had enveloped the entire space with his mind.

Ever since he had entered the Skybreak Realm, whenever Han Shuo had free time, he had used it to meditate. Back then, the moment he entered the Skybreak Realm, he was enlightened with all kinds of profound information, including the true essence of demonic arts and various demonic techniques. By carefully understanding this information, Han Shuo could unleash his energy to its greatest potential.

The further one progressed in the demonic arts, the harder it would be to progress further. It would take a long time to accumulate and condense demonic yuan to advance to the next realm. Someone with insufficient talent might never be able to break through to the next realm. Even an extremely talented cultivator would need hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Han Shuo had no idea how long his journey to the next realm would take, or if he would ever get there. But he did know that he could only get there one step at a time. All Han Shuo could do now was to stabilise the new realm state as much as possible and familiarise himself with the new demonic concepts and techniques.

With everything that needed to be taught, instructed, and his plan set in motion, all Han Shuo had to do now was wait. But Han Shuo didn't want to do nothing during this time. He used his free time to cultivate, as he always did.

One day, while he was calmly deciphering a profound demonic idea of the Skybreak Realm, Han Shuo suddenly sensed that an extremely powerful life force was slowly moving towards the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy.

After Han Shuo reached the Skybreak Realm, no living being could escape the terrifyingly sensitive senses of his consciousness, except for an existence of much greater strength than Han Shuo.

With just a pulsation of his consciousness, Han Shuo figured out that the powerful being approaching him was Sovereign Ossora. When they first met in a pavilion in the Omphalos, Han Shuo had not yet reached the Skybreak Realm, so he could not clearly sense the energy that Ossora was hiding. But now, Han Shuo could sense Ossora's presence from miles away.

Han Shuo opened his eyes and walked calmly out of his secluded gymnasium. He flew to the highest clock tower in the Celestial Pearl and waited for Ossora.

Moments later, Ossora, who had also sensed Han Shuo's aura, appeared before Han Shuo smiling.

"Tyre, Logue, and Wasir invite you to a meeting. Haha, it seems they finally want to discuss what's going on outside the Omphalos," Ossora said straightforwardly. It was obvious that Ossora had found out that Han Shuo was behind the rampant looting outside the Omphalos.

Han Shuo nodded and replied, "Hehe, the three of them are really quite patient to have waited so long before looking for me."

"You must be careful, Bryan. It's possible that Tyre, Logue and Wasir intend to join hands and attack you," Ossora warned with a furrowed brow, "They are not known for playing by the rules. If they unite and attack you, you will be in great danger."

"Don't worry, I can handle it," Han Shuo replied with a smile. He did not take Ossora's warning seriously.

Han Shuo was able to easily escape from Salas before he reached the Skybreak Realm. With his strength now, Han Shuo was confident that he could easily escape from the three sovereigns. Therefore, he wasn't worried about it at all.

"Well then, I will show you the way," Ossora said before leading Han Shuo to the meeting place.

The meeting place chosen by Tyre, Logue and Wasir was not the Omphalos. Fighting was strictly forbidden in the Omphalos as it was the trading centre of the Fringe. The three Sovereigns would not violate this rule, as they were the ones who were supposed to enforce it. That was why they had chosen a dormant volcano in the northwest as the meeting place.

It was because of the meeting place the three had chosen that Ossora warned Han Shuo to be careful. If Tyre, Logue and Wasir had wanted to talk peacefully with Han Shuo, they would have set up the meeting somewhere in the Omphalos. But their choice of a remote and uninhabited extinct volcano meant that they intended to do more than just talk.

Han Shuo wasn't afraid of the three Sovereigns ganging up on him. As Han Shuo and Ossora made their way to the extinct volcano, they chatted casually about recent events.

The extinct volcano of dark red rocks soon came into view. It was barren. There were no plants or animals.

Han Shuo sensed the life force of Tyre, Logue and Wasir even before he approached the volcano. The three did not hide their auras and Han Shuo sensed the location of the three with a single pulse of his consciousness.

Han Shuo received a slight shock after taking a moment to carefully sense their auras. He sensed that the life force emanating from Tyre was much stronger than that of Logue and Wasir. It seemed that the hearsay about Tyre being the strongest sovereign in the Fringe was indeed true. His power was undoubtedly greater than that of Logue and Wasir.

"Haha, welcome, welcome! It's great to finally meet the talented young man who defeated Salas!" A hearty laugh rang out from a bulky and virile man standing atop the extinct volcano. His voice was loud, clear and rather pleasant to the ear.

Tyre did not look as treacherous and sinister as Han Shuo had imagined. In fact, he looked like an open, guileless gentleman. Han Shuo had not expected this.

Logue and Wasir, however, were nothing like Tyre. Logue nodded at Han Shuo in greeting, while Wasir wore an unconcerned expression and did not even acknowledge Han Shuo's arrival.

After Han Shuo and Ossora landed on the extinct volcano, Tyre laughed again before saying, "The Fringe has been peaceful for a long time and I'm getting bored. Haha, but luckily you came along to make things interesting again! That Salas bastard is a real idiot for making trouble for you. Served him right, he got his butt kicked!"

Tyre spoke to Han Shuo as if they had been friends for a long time. Those who didn't know better might even be fooled.

"Haha, you're welcome," Han Shuo replied with a friendly smile as he secretly assessed Tyre. Although Tyre appeared to be an honest man on the outside, his eyes glowed with the light of wisdom.

After a moment of careful observation, Han Shuo could tell that Tyre was a formidable character. He felt that Tyre would be far more difficult to defeat than any of the other Sovereigns. He knew from experience that a person who looked honest on the outside was usually more treacherous than one who looked sinister. Han Shuo had already taken Tyre as his most formidable opponent in the fringe.

While Han Shuo was sizing up Tyre, Tyre was also secretly sizing up Han Shuo.

The more he observed Han Shuo, the more confused he became. Since the energy that Han Shuo cultivated was different from the fundamental energy practised in this universe, Tyre could not determine Han Shuo's true strength. And when Han Shuo stood still, it felt as if he had merged with the environment. When Tyre closed his eyes, he felt as if Han Shuo wasn't even there, that he was just one of the rocks around him.

The less he understood Han Shuo, the more cautious he became. He secretly gave Logue and Wasir meaningful looks, hinting that they should take a softer approach.

"Ahem... So, gentlemen, how can I be of assistance?" asked Han Shuo after assessing the three sovereigns.

Logue smiled faintly and said warmly to Han Shuo, "We know that those godhunters outside the Omphalos are related to you. Haha, that's why we did nothing all this time, even though they were causing so much trouble."

Logue forced a smile and seemed embarrassed as he said, "We know it's right for things to be chaotic outside the Omphalos. But if it continues, the businesses in the trading centre won't be able to sustain themselves without supplies coming into Omphalos. No Fringedweller would want to see Omphalos disappear. That's why we suggest that..."

Han Shuo listened patiently to Logue's explanation with a faint smile. And after Logue finished, he put on an equally embarrassed face and said, "Well, I can see that they are in a difficult situation. Without sufficient supplies, it would be difficult to maintain their businesses. Sigh, what a shame they couldn't just charge people to enter the Omphalos. Then they could just tap their feet as the black crystal coins rolled in..."

Wasir groaned coldly and said in a cold voice, "Bryan, the Fringe has its rules, and your actions have broken those rules!"

Han Shuo pretended to be astonished. He looked at Wasir with astonished eyes and said, "The rules of the Fringe are made by you gentlemen. If you can make those rules, why can't I? Hehe, do you think I'm not qualified?"

"How long has it been since you set foot in the Fringe? You think you can just walk in here and take a piece of the cake?" Wasir sneered and said contemptuously, "Don't tell me you really think you're stronger than Salas. You were only able to defeat him because he had exhausted his divine energy after fighting Ossora!"

Han Shuo's face turned dark and he glared at Wasir intensely. After a few seconds, Han Shuo grinned and challenged, "I wonder if you dare to fight me in a duel, Wasir?"