The Omphalos merchants were no fools. Although they had no idea who those 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 and initiate contact with the Three Sovereigns.
Tyre, Logue, and Wasir knew that it was Han Hao who had been rampantly looting those merchant caravans outside the Omphalos. The three Sovereigns commanded great forces with influence over every region of the Fringe. They were informed about this significant activity of Han Hao’s soon after he started looting.
However, the three Sovereigns also knew that Han Hao and Han Shuo were closely related. Not wishing to fall out with Han Shuo so soon, they remained silent to see just how long Han Hao could keep it up. But even after such a long time, with Han Hao still showing no sign of stopping anytime soon and with the daily operations in the Omphalos grinding to a halt, the three Sovereigns finally ran out of patience.
With nearly all the merchants of the Omphalos issuing a joint statement to the three Sovereigns, they had no choice but to take action. They responded by telling the merchants not to be anxious and that they will resolve the issue soon.
***Inside the Celestial Pearl of the Omphalos, Han Shuo was meditating inside a secluded gymnasium. He felt as though he had fused with the Omphalos, as though he had wrapped the entire space with his mind.
Ever since stepping into the Skybreak Realm, whenever Han Shuo had free time, he would use it for meditation. Back then, the moment he broke into 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 their greatest potential.
The further one progressed in demonic arts, the harder it would be to make further progress. It would take a long time to accumulate and condense demonic yuan for progressing to the next level. One who did not possess sufficient talent might even never be able to break through to the next level. Even an extraordinarily gifted cultivator would take hundreds if not thousands of years.
Han Shuo had no idea how long his journey to the next realm will be, or if he will ever reach there. But he knew that he could only reach there one step at a time. All that Han Shuo could do now was to stabilize the new realm state as much as possible and familiarize himself with the new demonic concepts and techniques.
With everything that needed to be instructed, instructed, with his scheme set in motion, all that Han Shuo needed to do now was wait. But Han Shuo wasn’t going to do nothing during that time. He used the free time to cultivate as he always does.
One day, while calmly deciphering a profound demonic idea of the Skybreak Realm, Han Shuo suddenly sensed that an extremely strong life-force was slowly moving towards the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy.
After Han Shuo reached the Skybreak Realm, no living thing could escape from the frighteningly sensitive senses of his consciousness, except for an existence of much greater strength than Han Shuo’s.
With just a pulsation of his consciousness, Han Shuo figured out that the mighty existence approaching was Sovereign Ossora. Back then when they first met in a pavilion at the Omphalos, as Han Shuo had yet to attain Skybreak Realm, he could not clearly detect the energy Ossora concealed. But now, Han Shuo could sense Ossora’s presence from miles away.
Han Shuo opened his eyes and walked out from his secluded gymnasium unhurriedly. He flew to the highest clock tower in the Celestial Pearl and waited for Ossora.
Moments later, Ossora, who also sensed Han Shuo’s aura, appeared before Han Shuo smilingly.
“Tyre, Logue, and Wasir are inviting you to a meeting. Haha, it seems that they are finally going to discuss what’s happening outside the Omphalos,” said Ossora most straightforwardly. It was obvious that Ossora had figured 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 need to be careful, Bryan. It’s possible that Tyre, Logue, and Wasir intend to join hands and attack you,” warned Ossora with his brows creased, “They are not known for playing by the rules. If they were to join hands and attack you, you will be in great danger.”
“Don’t worry about it, I can handle it,” replied Han Shuo smilingly. He did not take Ossora’s warning seriously.
Han Shuo was able to easily escape from Salas before he had advanced to the Skybreak Realm. With his strength now, Han Shuo was confident that he could escape from the three Sovereigns with ease. Therefore, he wasn’t worried about it at all.
“Well then, I will show you the way,” said Ossora before leading Han Shuo to the meeting place.
The meeting location that Tyre, Logue, and Wasir selected were not the Omphalos. fighting was strictly prohibited in the Omphalos as it was the trading center of the Fringe. The three Sovereigns would not violate that rule as they were the people who were supposed to enforce it. That was why they had selected an extinguished volcano in the Northwest as the meeting place.
It was because of the meeting location the three had selected that Ossora warned Han Shuo to be careful. If Tyre, Logue, and Wasir wished to speak peacefully with Han Shuo, they would have set up the meeting somewhere in the Omphalos. But them having selected a secluded and uninhabited extinct volcano meant that they intend to do more than talking.
Han Shuo wasn’t afraid of the three Sovereigns ganging up on him. As Han Shuo and Ossora head for the extinct volcano, they chatted about recent happenings relaxedly.
The extinct volcano made of dark red rocks soon entered their sight. It was barren. There were neither plants nor animals.
Han Shuo sensed the life forces of Tyre, Logue, and Wasir before he was even near the volcano. The three did not conceal their auras and Han Shuo sensed the three’s location with just one 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 gave off by Tyre was much stronger than that of Logue and Wasir. It seemed that the hearsay of Tyre being the strongest Sovereign in the Fringe was indeed true. His strength was without a doubt greater than Logue and Wasir’s.
“Haha, welcome, welcome! It’s great to finally meet the talented young man who has defeated Salas!” A burst of cordial laughter sounded from a bulky and masculine man standing on top of the extinct volcano. His voice was loud, clear, and rather pleasing to the ear.
Tyre did not look as treacherous and sinister as Han Shuo had imagined. In fact, he looked like a frank, guileless, gentleman. Han Shuo had not expected that.
Logue and Wasir, however, were nothing like Tyre. Logue nodded at Han Shuo as greeting while Wasir wore an unconcerned face and did not even acknowledge Han Shuo’s arrival.
After Han Shuo and Ossora landed on the extinct volcano, Tyre yet again laughed before saying, “The Fringe has been peaceful for a long time and I’ve gotten rather bored. Haha, but luckily you have come to make things interesting again! That Salas bastard is indeed an idiot to find you trouble. Served him right he got kicked in the butt!”
Tyre talked to Han Shuo like they had been friends for a long time. Those who didn’t know better might even be fooled.
“Haha, you’re welcome,” replied Han Shuo in a friendly smile as he secretly sized up Tyre. Although Tyre seemed like an honest man on the outside, his eyes, however, brightly glistened with lights of wisdom.
After a moment of careful observation, Han Shuo could tell that Tyre was a formidable character. He felt that it would be much harder to defeat Tyre than all other Sovereigns. He knew from experience than a person who looked honest on the outside was usually more treacherous than those who were sinister looking. 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 puzzled he became. As the energy Han Shuo cultivated was unlike the Fundamental Forces practiced in this universe, Tyre could not determine Han Shuo’s true strength. And when Han Shuo stood still, it felt as though he had fused with the environment. When Tyre closed his eyes, he would feel as though Han Shuo wasn’t even there, that he was just one of those rocks around him.
The less he understood Han Shuo, the more cautious he became. He secretly gave Logue and Wasir meaningful glances, hinting at them to use a softer approach.
“Ahem… So, gentlemen, how may I assist you?” asked Han Shuo after sizing up the three Sovereigns.
Logue put on a faint smile and cordially said to Han Shuo, “We know that those godhunters outside the Omphalos are related to you. Haha, that’s why we have been doing nothing all these while even though they had been causing so much trouble.”
Logue forced a smile and seemed embarrassed as he said, “We know it’s proper for it to be chaotic outside the Omphalos. However, if this keeps going, without any supplies entering Omphalos, the businesses in the trading center won’t be able to sustain themselves. No Fringedweller would wish to see the Omphalos gone. That’s why we are suggesting that… “
Han Shuo patiently listened to Logue’s explanation with a faint smile. And after Logue was done, he put on an equally embarrassed face and said, “Well, I can see that they are in a tough situation. Without sufficient supplies, it would be difficult to sustain their businesses. Sigh, what a shame that they couldn’t just charge people for entering the Omphalos. Then they could just rock their feet as black crystal coins came rolling in…”
Wasir coldly groaned and said in a cold voice, “Bryan, the Fringe has its rules, and your actions have broken those rules!”
Han Shuo acted as though he was astounded. He looked at Wasir with astonished gazes and said, “The rules of the Fringe are set by you gentlemen. If you can make those rules, why can’t I? Hehe, do you think that I’m not qualified to do so?”
“Just how long has it been since you stepped into the Fringe? You think you can just walk in here and take a piece of the pie?” Wasir sneered and disdainfully said, “Don’t tell me that you really consider yourself stronger than Salas. You’ve only managed to beat him because he had exhausted his divine energy after fighting Ossora!”
Han Shuo’s face turned dark and he stared intensely at Wasir. After a few seconds, Han Shuo grinned and challenged, “I wonder if you dare fight me in a duel, Wasir?”
