Preparations for the fourth.

Entering the shark-shaped ship was like entering an entirely new world. The air was warm and pleasant, the faint fragrance of blooming flowers drifting through the air. Yao Jun and Gideon entered the ship from the very rear, where those who paid the smallest possible amount of Spirit Stones were going to live.

But even then, the inside of the ship was extremely luxurious. It was like entering a large hall, an arched ceiling covered in a stained glass artwork featuring two elegant men engaged in battle spreading out above them. The floor and walls were made out of polished wood that shone slightly and was soft to the touch, releasing a faint warmth. Verdant flowers and plants were scattered around, tables covered in silk cloth and soft chairs spread around at an even distance.

The wall to the left was lined with doors that had numbers carved into them, the doors had no handles, only a plate where one could put their palm. The wall to the right was mostly bare, but it had an arched door one could use to move from this area to the area where those who had paid more for their seats lived. If just this area was so luxurious, how did the other areas look? Seemingly noticing Yao Jun's thoughts, Gideon let out a light chuckle, giving Yao Jun a quick warning.

"Extravagant, right? You should see the locations that the richer people have access to, those are truly luxurious. But before you get any crazy ideas, just stay far away from anyone or anything that has anything to do with those people further up. They are the epitome of unreasonableness, so there is no telling what might happen to you."

Since they had been willing to pay so much for a better seat, it was clear that they came from very illustrious backgrounds. People like them were often extremely arrogant because of their connections and upbringing, so they could be hard to deal with. Yao Jun gave a slight nod in understanding, prompting Gideon to point at the wall to the left of them, at the doors that lined it.

"You can pick any room you want, entering it will cause the room to recognize you as its temporary owner, making it so that only you or those you authorize can enter it. I suggest you go do that, maybe get used to the room and this common area."

Gideon was unable to tell Yao Jun's cultivation, but he was still able to guess at Yao Jun's age through his bones, so he knew that Yao Jun was very young. It was common for young people like him to be a bit uncomfortable and awkward when they came to places like this, so Gideon wanted to be thoughtful and give him some time to adjust. But he did not forget to give Yao Jun a heavy pat on the back and send him a quick wink.

"I'll come bug you again in a few days. The trip is going to last for about three months, so we'll have plenty of time to chat, maybe even find some women that are interested in the adventurous kind."

After letting out an expectant laugh, Gideon headed over to one of the doors, placing his hand on the plate. Yao Jun could tell that he inserted some Qi into the plate, which quickly turned into a handle that had a shark's head carved into it. Gideon sent Yao Jun one last wave before entering his room, shutting the door behind him. Yao Jun casually picked a door and walked over, muttering slightly as he placed his palm on the plate.

"Three months... Arthurius said it should only take about two months, so either he was wrong, or this ship is moving slower than the normal speed."

The plate quickly turned into a handle once he inserted his Qi, allowing him to enter the room. Once he entered the room, the handle sank into the door, completely vanishing and preventing others from entering without him wanting them to.

The room was larger than he expected, at least a few tens of meters in each direction. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a pleasant light onto every corner of the room. The four corners of the room were decorated with verdant miniature trees that filled the room with a fresh and calming scent. There was a bed placed at the center of the room, large enough to hold at least five people at once. A tall cabinet was placed to the left of the bed, giving those who wished for it a place to hang their clothes. Other than the bed and cabinet, the only other pieces of furniture was a table surrounded by chairs, a small kitchen corner, as well as a simple desk covered in writing utensils.

Yao Jun waved his hand after entering the room, causing his shadow to rise up and surround him. He then covered that shadow with a layer of distorted space, preventing anyone from being able to see him. Only after doing all of this did his gate appear in front of him, Sirius and the others jumping out from the gate. Once all his Demonic beast had left the gate, the ones who could not take human shape started to shrink, their appearance changing and becoming more common. Once they all looked like normal Demonic beasts, Yao Jun put away the gate and spoke up.

"Du Xiao and the others can take human shape, so you can move around as you please, just try not to get into trouble. Sirius, you guys can only wander around if you are walking alongside Siwang or one of the others, walking around on your own would look too suspicious."

As Divine beasts, Sirius and the others had their ways to hide exactly what they were. It cost them a bit of energy to keep it active, but it was better than staying within the God Gate at all times, so it was a small price to pay. They finally had a chance to leave the God Gate, so they did not mind such a minor inconvenience, quickly agreeing.

They immediately took the chance, leaving the room in one large group to check out the inside of the ship. Yao Jun, on the other hand, walked over to the bed and sat down, closing his eyes and focusing on his cultivation. He was still weak, there were still far too many people who could rob him of those he cherished. Because of that, he had to focus on his cultivation, on becoming stronger. But his quiet cultivation was cut short after a few days passed, Gideon knocking on his door and calling out loudly.

"Brother Yao, I have arrived! Now let us go and get some good food and drinks. We can chat while eating, and once we have finished that, we can see if we can find anyone looking to have some fun."

Yao Jun ended his cultivation and stood up, putting on a fresh robe before he walked over to the door. Sirius and the others were out and enjoying themselves, so the only one currently in the room was Yao Jun. He left the room and met up with Gideon, who brought him through the common area and to a large room filled with chairs and tables that served as a dining hall. They bought some food and drinks, which were freshly prepared aboard the ship, and sat down at one of the empty tables, Gideon starting his promised explanation.

"Alright, so the most important thing to know about the God Hunter Pavilion is that even though most of the members will be your allies, some will try to kill you if they learn that you hold valuable information or items, so hide as much as possible. The less information others know about you, the warier they will be of moving against you."

The people of the God Hunter Pavilion were only allies as long as they were inside the God Hunter Pavilion. The moment they left, everyone was a possible enemy out to steal their wealth. This was why most of the members hid not only their items but also their strength and various trump cards. Gideon quickly finished the first jug of wine, pulling out a second one from his interspatial ring as he continued to explain.

"The second most important thing to know. Always ask for more information, dig as deep as you can and learn as much as you can. The more you know about the quests you take on, the greater your chance of survival is. I have seen far too many brazen newbies die because they didn't ask for more information and were caught unaware."

If one picked a mission that took one through a large swamp but failed to ask about what type of Demonic beasts or people lived in that swamp, they could only blame themselves when they were caught unprepared and died. People who asked too many questions were seen as annoying, but it was better to be annoying than to be dead.

"And thirdly, don't overreach and risk things. Settle for missions you are 100% certain that you can complete, settle for missions that are below you. Don't bother taking risks, just make sure that you will be able to come back home alive. The mission turned out to be harder than you first thought? Flee. Run away and make sure you keep your own life safe. Did you get all that, any questions?"

His third point was a more commonly known one, but he still felt it was important to mention it, as it was easily overlooked. Youngsters were confident to the point of arrogance, so they would pick tough missions and simply shrug their shoulders when asked if they were strong enough to complete them. After hearing his question, Yao Jun rolled his eyes for a bit, sipping his wine as he thought it over. In the end, he raised three fingers, stating questions that had nothing to do with what he was just told.

"Questions? I do indeed have three. One, do you know anything about the cargo that this ship is delivering? Two, who is that man sitting over there, the one drinking tea from that crystal cup? Third, why are there no Earthly Deities on this ship, shouldn't there be at least one as a guard?"

Gideon seemed to be well-informed, so Yao Jun felt that it would be a bit foolish to not take advantage of him while he could. The corner's of Gideon's mouth twitched slightly after hearing Yao Jun's question, sending a quick glance at the male Yao Jun had asked about. After glancing at the male, he let out a chuckle and shook his head, starting his explanation.

"Your questions really are weird ones, I can already tell that you are going to drive the poor girls working for the God Hunter Pavilion to insanity. Let me answer your third question first. There is, in fact, one Earthly Deity on this ship, one at the early stage, he is Saraya's personal guard. But just what do you think Earthly Deities are, do you think they grow on trees? Just the fact that there is one aboard this ship is rather uncommon, they usually hide away in quiet cultivation or scour dangerous areas for items to help them breakthrough to the higher stages."

Most people weren't like Yao Jun, who had gotten to meet Diana and Gilberd, two Earthly Deities right after passing through a spatial rift. After that, he had even seen several Earthly Deities battle, even seeing Arthurius, a Heavenly Deity. One could either say that his luck is great for seeing so many strong people, or that his luck is terrible for getting caught between all these strong people. The one Earthly Deity on this ship did his best to hide, but Gideon was close to him in cultivation, so he was able to just barely sense him. Before he continued talking, Gideon sent another glance at the man Yao Jun had pointed out, once again shaking his head.

"Your second question. Don't get close to that man, just stay away from him. He is one of the more talented juniors of the Final Demon Sect, a subsidiary of the Eternal Demon Clan, which is a subsidiary of the Merged Heaven Clan. Nothing good will come of associating with him, he will just drag you along with his whims and toss you away like a broken toy once he is done."

The man Yao Jun had pointed out looked like he was in his early twenties, with silky brown hair that hung down to his waist, had pink scales growing on his cheeks and on the back of his hand, and had two amber eyes. Facing Gideon's warning, Yao Jun could only shrug his shoulders. It was not that he had an interest in that man, but ever since Yao Jun entered the room, the man had glanced at him several times. When it came to answering the last of Yao Jun's three questions, Gideon simply gave a casual shrug of his shoulders.

"As for your first question, they haven't been hiding what they are transporting, so I do indeed know what it is. It's a Demonic beast called a Magnetic Seahorse, a fairly common Demonic beast. But this one is a bit special, in that it just got through its Three-Fold Lightning Tribulation, managing to absorb a bit of the heavenly lightning and incorporate it into itself, greatly increasing its own strength. It is to be sent to the Heaven's Secrets Company as a tribute to increase Saraya's standing amongst the younger generation of the God Hunter Pavilion."

It would only attract more attention if they tried to hide what they were transporting, so they had early on spread the news about their cargo. Yao Jun had heard about this Three-Fold Lightning Tribulation before, Leylan had told him about it when he asked about more in-depth information concerning the cultivation levels.

For the first level of cultivation, one only had to absorb enough Qi, maybe even touch the laws a little bit, just enough to get your body used to it and form a seed, the Immortal Foundation, in your dantian. This seed would be the same as Yao Jun's God Gate, the nucleus of a person's power and cultivation. Once you wanted to break into the Immortal Rebirth realm however, then you would have to alter the process a little bit.

You would have to engrave that immortal foundation, as well as all the Qi in your body, with a few laws of your choosing. The higher your understanding of said law, the easier the engraving process would be. After engraving your immortal foundation with enough laws to bring to the breaking point, your Three-Fold Lightning Tribulation would arrive to let you break into the Soaring Immortal stage.

The tribulation was said to be sent by the universe itself, to test the cultivator who wanted to ascend to the peak. There were three outcomes to the tribulation, you would either die, end up a cripple without a cultivation, or overcome the tribulation and reach a higher peak. The stronger a person was, or the higher his cultivation was, the stronger the tribulation would be. The lightning used in these tribulations was a special type that was only found in some rare places, so for the Magnetic Seahorse to be able to absorb some and incorporate it into its body was quite a fearsome feat that greatly increased its value.

After giving an answer to all three of Yao Jun's questions, Gideon downed the last of the wine that remained in the jug, storing it back into his interspatial ring and turning towards Yao Jun with a wide grin.

"Now that I've answered your questions, it is time for you to join me and hunt for some women! We won't rest until we've gotten to dip our sticks in some sweet juice!"

Gideon stood up, full of excitement at the prospects of hunting for girls with someone new. He thought that he might even be lucky and that Yao Jun was still a virgin, meaning that he could help Yao Jun get rid of it. But contrary to his excitement, Yao Jun simply raised one hand and shook his head.

"Sorry, but I'm married, so I won't do that."

Gideon instantly deflated, his mouth agape as he looked at Yao Jun. His mouth opened and closed for a bit before he managed to collect himself, grabbing onto Yao Jun's shoulders and calling out in an unintentionally loud voice.

"You...You what?!"

He had been looking forward to prowling with Yao Jun, teaching him the tricks he had learned over the years, molding him into a younger version of himself. Facing the desperate Gideon, Yao Jun simply repeated himself.

"I'm married, very happily might I add."

Yao Jun felt that the current situation was very similar to the first time he had met with Reyner and the others, as Hamlyn had reacted very similarly. Faced with the truth, Gideon could only speak out in confusion.

"But you aren't even twenty yet! How can you be married?!"

Much less when he was twenty, even when Gideon was thirty, he had never even left the sect where he was raised, much less been in contact with women. And now this Yao Jun, who had yet to reach twenty, was already happily married? What exactly was his secret? But the only response to his question was a vague answer and a faint smirk.

"I got lucky."

Yao Jun's meeting with Guo Luo was very strange and relied on a lot of luck, both good and bad. First, he had to be sucked into a spatial node and be transported to the Guanyu continent, where he would then meet the traveling Yun Yantian and become friends with him. This would lead to him following Yun Yantian to the Soaring Cloud City, where the Guo clan would capture him because of his friendship with Yun Yantian, torturing him and leading to him meeting Guo Luo. Faced with Yao Jun's smirk, Gideon could only let out a snort and pull out another jug of wine, leaving behind a few sulking words as he started to scour the dining room for women.

"Tch, fine, just smirk away! I'm gonna go find myself something sweet, something unmarried! I'll come to find you again later, don't think I'll let you slip out of my hands just yet."

With Gideon leaving, there was nothing left for Yao Jun to do in the dining room. He quickly finished the remainder of the food and wine he had bought, returning to his room to cultivate. A few hours after he entered the room, Ba-Shei and the others returned, the smell of alcohol hanging around them, so they had clearly been out drinking. Once they closed the door to the room, Yao Jun told them about the plans he had made.

"In a few days, I will see if I can manage to carve the next channel, so please guard me then."

His body had strengthened quite a bit thanks to the training of Arthurius, so he felt that he should be able to carve the fourth channel of the Crumbling The Nine Heavens Technique, once more raising his strength. Little Thunder and the others quickly promised that they would protect him, so Yao Jun gave a nod and closed his eyes to cultivate. He took the main bed, but there were several different beds in his interspatial ring, so he had already handed some to Du Xiao and the others, so they could all sleep whenever and wherever they wanted.

Yao Jun didn't stop his cultivation for a few days, but neither did he start his attempt at carving the fourth channel, so his Demonic beasts guessed that he was waiting for something. After waiting for almost half a month, Yao Jun's waiting came to an end, a quiet knock sounding at the door to the room. Yao Jun opened his eyes and waved his hand, sending a stream of Qi into the door, causing the handle to appear as he spoke out and stood up.

"Please come in."

As he stood up, the door to the room opened, a male youth at the 9th Xiantian Heaven entering the room. The male youth was the same person that had glanced at Yao Jun while he was chatting with Gideon, it was also this person that Yao Jun had been waiting for. The brown-haired youth gave Yao Jun a slight nod, introducing himself and pointing at Du Xiao.

"Good morning, I am Elenordius Dalivu, I come from the Final Demon Sect. Please forgive me for not beating around the bush, but I have come to ask how much it will cost me to buy that female servant of yours."

Elenordius had seen Du Xiao the day the ship departed, as well as spotting her a few times as she brought Sirius and the others to wander around. She was quite beautiful and graceful, so it was easy to see why Elenordius had gotten somewhat smitten by her. The expressions of Du Xiao and the others sank, but Yao Jun simply gave a nod of his head, sitting down at the table in the room and pointing at the seat across from him.

"I see. Please, take a seat here. Little Xiao, would you mind steeping us some tea?"

Du Xiao swallowed her anger, nodding her head and moving over to the corner that served as a kitchen. Elenordius joined Yao Jun at the table, politely waiting for Du Xiao to finish the tea. He felt somewhat uncomfortable having Sirius and the others glaring at him, but he managed to simply ignore it. Du Xiao finished the tea after a few minutes, bringing it over and pouring two cups. Elenordius sipped the tea a bit to be polite, but was quickly shocked after tasting it, speaking out in a surprised voice.

"This is excellent tea!"

The tea was far more fragrant and light than he had expected. But what shocked him most was the fact that someone like Yao Jun was able to acquire tea like this. Yao Jun calmly drank his tea, returning a faint smile as he gave his gratitude.

"Thank you, we had to work quite hard to get our hands on it."

Almost all the food and drinks in his interspatial ring came from the corpses of the people they had killed during the war, so it was not a lie to say that they had to work hard to get them. Elenordius quickly finished the first cup, pouring himself another and sipping it, glancing at Yao Jun as he spoke.

"It should be from Dawn's Drop planet, I can't think of any other place that makes this kind of tea. Am I correct?"

Elenordius wore a faint smile as he spoke, trying to show off his knowledge, a fact that Yao Jun was easily able to tell. Yao Jun merely gave a shrug of his shoulders, turning towards Little Gray, who was perched on one of the miniature trees located in the corners of the room.

"I don't know, we took it off the body of a man we killed a little while ago. Yingzhu, did the man know where the tea came from?"

Only Yao Jun and those close to him could call Little Gray as Little Gray, Whenever they were in the presence of others, he went by the other name that Yao Jun had given him, Yin Lingzhu. It was the same for Little Thunder, who to others went by the name Lei Wang. Little Gray gave a short nod of his head, speaking out in the common language.

"He did. It is just as Elenordius said, it comes from Dawn's Drop planet. The planet is quite famous for its tea."

Little Gray could simply let out a caw, and only Yao Jun would be able to understand his words. But that could cause some suspicions as to how Yao Jun was able to understand that, so they chose to avoid that. After all, Yao Jun wanted to solve this without violence if possible.

As to how Little Gray knew what the man he had killed knew, it was because Little Gray had been the one who killed the man who carried this tea. And even though the Illusory Roc specialized in the laws of space, they were still rather adept at the laws of mental energy, so searching a few memories or messing with them was not hard.

Yao Jun continued to peacefully drink tea with Elenordius as if nothing was wrong, but Elenordius felt a strange tension fill the air, his vigilance rising a bit. After the finished the pot of tea, he put down his cup and faced Yao Jun, once again stating his question.

"Now that we have enjoyed the tea, would you mind telling me how much I need to pay? I have a rather high position within the sect, so money won't be a problem."

The strange tension made Elenordius mention his position in the sect, hoping to make Yao Jun too wary to try anything. Yao Jun also placed his cup down, raising an eyebrow at Elenordius as he returned a question of his own.

"Before that, let me ask you something. What makes you think that I am selling her to you?"

He could not help but wonder, was this Elenordius really that arrogant? Did he really think that anyone would simply sell one of their own people to him because he said so? Was arrogance like that really possible? Elenordius seemed to have somewhat expected Yao Jun's question, puffing out his chest as he spoke in a proud manner.

"The fact that I am from the Final Demon Sect. Selling her to me will allow you to build a relationship with the sect, maybe even the Eternal Demon Clan once I manage to join them. So you see, selling her will not only give you ample funds but also excellent connections."

As one of the more talented youngsters in the Final Demon Sect, Elenordius had the opportunity to join the Eternal Demon Clan, he only had to show that he was worth it. After joining the Eternal Demon Clan, if he stood out enough, he could even join the illustrious Merged Heaven Clan! But contrary to what he expected, Yao Jun didn't seem impressed in the slightest, calmly shaking his head and waving his hand in a dismissive manner.

"I see, that might indeed entice some others. But Du Xiao is not for sale, nor is she my servant, she is a friend and a compatriot, so there is no way I am selling her. You can leave now, I have entertained your silly delusions enough."

Du Xiao and the others lit up with bright smiles, but Elenordius was caught completely off-guard. He took a deep breath to gather himself again, looking meaningfully at Yao Jun as he spoke out.

"You should really reconsider, chances like these are incredibly rare, it is important to know when to grab them."

He seemed to hope that giving Yao Jun a reminder would work, but Yao Jun merely glanced at him with an annoyed gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Did you not hear it when I told you to leave? Would you like to be escorted out instead?"

Yao Jun wanted to solve this without violence because of the fact that they were currently on this ship, but that did not mean that he was going to accept Elenordius's downright insulting words forever. Seeing that Yao Jun didn't intend to back down, Elenordius's eyes narrowed, his voice turning cold.

"I have been polite and patient, but you are testing me quite heavily. Don't be foolish or act brave, I suggest you tell me how much I have to pay before I stop asking nicely and just take her."

Elenordius had a high status within his sect, he was used to bossing around others and taking what he wanted. Had it not been for the fact that he was a bit wary of Gideon, he would have already tried to take Du Xiao by force. But since Yao Jun didn't seem to want to listen to sense, he could only take Du Xiao by force and have the elders of his sect deal with the aftermath. After being given an ultimatum, Yao Jun could only let out a sigh and shake his head.

"I'd say you are the one being foolish."

Elenordius wanted to retort, but he suddenly found that his voice would not come out, his chest tightening. His body suddenly turned stiff and he lost all control over his body, falling powerlessly down onto the chair. Thanks to his cultivation, he was still able to force out a few words, even with his chest quickly tightening.

"You...You...What...Is...This...?!"

Elenordius had not felt any unknown Qi enter his body, so he was simply unable to understand what had happened to him. Yao Jun stood up from the chair, picking up the two cups and the empty pot, bringing them over to the kitchen corner as he gave a calm reply.

"It's a type of poison that acts on the nerves, paralyzing its victims. If left unchecked, it will infect the lungs and heart, causing them to slowly stop functioning. A slow, but mostly painless way to die."

The laws of poison encompassed more than just acidic poison, there were also poisons that induced sleep, ones that created slaves, ones that induced paralysis, even ones that could absorb Qi and cripple people. The moment Yao Jun made Du Xiao steep tea, he had made her put some poison into it, allowing them to activate it with a mere thought. Yao Jun wanted to solve things peacefully, but from the very start, he had been prepared for the opposite. Elenordius quickly turned pale after hearing Yao Jun's explanation, so Yao Jun spoke up once more.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you, that would attract a lot of attention after all."

Yao Jun was uncertain how many other members of the Final Demon Sect were on this ship, as well as what their strengths were, so for now, he could not kill Elenordius. Elenordius calmed down slightly, but Yao Jun's next words instantly caused him to turn pale again.

"Yingzhu, please work together with Xiao and mess with his head a little bit, just wipe away any memories he has of us. And if possible, try to make it so that he won't ever come near us again."

Little Gray and Du Xiao ignored the pale face of Elenordius, quickly invading him with their Qi. Once his memories were thoroughly wiped out and Little Gray had used his laws of mental energy to leave behind a deep fear of Yao Jun, they let Elenordius leave, making him believe that they had just had a pleasant chat about tea. Once he was gone, Yao Jun clapped his hands and returned to the bed.

"Alright, the nuisance has been dealt with, so I am going to focus on carving the next channel. Don't let anyone enter the room, no matter who it is."

--

While Yao Jun was preparing to increase his strength again, time on his own home planet was continuously moving, one event after another taking place. But at the bottom of the ocean stood a castle that seemed completely untouched by the hands of time. At the center of the castle was a massive hall that currently only contained two people. One of them was a man covered in white hair who was currently chained to a throne, and the other was a man whose head was comprised entirely of black smoke. The headless man was currently kneeling on the ground in front of the man who was chained to the throne, listening to him calmly speak.

"Little Chao... Eight cycles and who knows how many lifetimes have we spent watching the same cycle repeat itself. The gate holders are born, meet the fragment lords, reunite the Supreme Laws into one, and then they reset this entire blasted universe, forcing us to once dance in their palms."

The voice of the man contained a strange mixture of hatred and resignation, as well as a bit of exasperation. He had fought for so long already, far longer than time had recorded, far longer than people could remember. The man tried to raise his head to glance through the ceiling of the castle, but the chains around him prevented him from making even such a slight movement. In the end, he could only give up on moving, a rare weak laughter escaping from his lips.

"Eight cycles I fought for change, even when I died time and time again I fought for change, only to fail time and time again. But now, during this ninth cycle, things keep changing. The seal on this planet has shattered, once again connecting it with the wider universe. Do we know which of the gate holders cracked that seal? It was placed by that little brat all those years ago, so only the power of a gate holder should be able to shatter it without relying on brute force."

When this ninth cycle first began, he feared that it would go just like the last eight cycles, but slowly and surely, things started to change, as if all his preparations in the previous cycles bore fruit. Five of the nine gate holders had fallen into his hand, so he was certain that nothing could stop him this time, he would certainly be able to break the cycle this time. But then, things started to slowly change in a manner he had not expected, control leaving his hands. The headless man, Little Chao, lowered his head even further, his voice apologetic and quiet.

"Forgive me, my lord. The connection between the Human God Gate holder and her servants has been cut because of the vast distance between them, so close to 70% of our information network has been crippled, we have no idea which of the three remaining gate holders broke the seal."

They had been extremely reliant on Qiao Xian Yi and the slaves she made using her God Gate, that was how they managed to gather so much information so quickly. Without her, they would have to build up their information network basically from scratch. Chao expected to be scolded, but the only response he got was another light laugh from the chained man.

"Really. That little Demon God brat truly threw a wrench into our operations with that move of his, I almost feel like praising him for it."

Chao was shocked at the words of the chained man, but the man paid him no heed, chuckling to himself. Countless years had passed without change, the man forced to watch all his hard work and effort end up as futile. Now that change had finally started to appear, something as little as them having to rebuild their information network from scratch was not enough to dampen his mood. After all, he had waited for countless years, so what did a few more matter. But even with his cheerful mood, there was an uncertain worry, as well as a new hope, that lingered in the man's mind.

"So many things are changing in this cycle, but in the end, what will all the change bring? I hope one of my seals is broken soon, I wish to see the change with my own two eyes."