“360 corporeal and immaterial dao meridians... While I wouldn’t say that I’d be able to rival an exalted emperor after integrating half of them, I should have no problem with seventh level Fused Dao, right?” Li Hao pondered. Seventh level Fused Dao made one a half step emperor. He would be just a little weaker than premier half step emperors then. Li Daoheng and Zheng Yu were both premier half step emperors, but at this point in time, they counted as Li Hao’s peers. Thoughts flitted rapidly through the young man’s mind. He had 360 dao stars on him and 180 in the mental world. There was sufficient energy for his needs at the moment. It looked like everything was in readiness. If the three Saints from Sword City could withstand Earthturner Sword intent, then they should be able to endure an integration with great dao. It was just... where should he do it? There weren’t many requirements when it came to crafting a world of the body. Any place would do. But if he wanted to capture the star of time while doing so... then it was better to do so in the dao universe. “Perhaps I’ll need to craft the world inside the dao universe... But there are drawbacks to that too since it might easily create openings for invaders to slip through...” It would be one thing if the dao universe was still under his control. But if he established his world there and something untoward developed... Hong Yitang was now fully part of the dao universe. Whatever happened could easily drag him in and cause the disintegration of the great dao. Once this possibility occurred to him, Li Hao’s inclination to create a world in the dao universe withered. But how was he to tempt the star of time if he conducted his actions elsewhere? “...should I do it inside the immaterial dao universe?” There were three half step emperors in there right now. They could beat him to death without breaking a sweat if he entered the immaterial dao universe. As for leaving Silver Moon world, that was even more implausible. Or perhaps the world barrier? But the star of time wasn’t able to leave the dao universe, was it? Li Hao quickly ran through and discarded a variety of ideas. The question of where to combine the corporeal and immaterial, as well as to craft his world of the body, was very difficult to answer. The young man proposed and discarded numerous strategies, trying to account for all possible eventualities. How would he capture the star of time if it appeared? What should he do if the world’s ambient energy continued to rise during this period of time, to the point where half step emperors were tolerated? The three half step emperors were gathered in the immaterial dao universe and no longer seemed to be fighting each other. Were they calling a truce to ally against him? Where was the heavenly will? Would anything result from the queen that was good for nothing, but plenty good to ruin everything? He had to consider all of it. Enormous problems might develop if he set a foot wrong. The eight main cities were suppressing the seal during this time, could they keep the exalted emperor’s primary body under full control? How should everyone handle the exalted emperor if his primary body appeared? Li Hao also had Gan Wuliang and Dao Sword by his side. Were they pawns or truly chosen by the heavens? New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novel⸺fire.net Would the one in Great Li throw a wrench in his plans? A myriad of thoughts ran through his mind, sending him into a melancholic mood. This was so hard! He rather admired New Martial heavyweights such as the Human King and others. He himself lacked a guardian that could stand against external changes at a critical time. The only powerhouse by his side now was Hong Yitang, yet the man was also in play on the chessboard. It was better for him not to appear at the moment. Once he did, it might cause further ripple effects. In addition, Hong Yitang had just been incorporated into the dao universe. Although his strength had risen quickly, it was nowhere near the level of half step emperor. If it was up to him to protect Li Hao during this process... that would be courting death. Finally, Li Hao’s thoughts turned to his conveniently gained wife. What a random turn of events that’d been! He was yet to touch even her fingers. Should he take her dao star with him upon creating the new world? Thoughts, ideas, questions, and possibilities rushed through his mind. This would be difficult! Everything pointed to a very difficult path ahead! He would fail at the slightest mishap. But since he’d chosen this path, he needed to continue down it even if he was on his knees. Li Hao wasn’t willing to make use of those he wasn’t too close to. Otherwise, establishing his world in the north would be a good choice as well. Perhaps he needed to find life again after death. In that case, Silver City was the best option since that was the closest to the seal. Perhaps... he could even voluntarily relax the restrictions of the world and break the seal. That would set the two half step emperors against that exalted emperor! Would those two choose to deal with him or the Red Moon exalted emperor? Since he couldn’t determine the most likely outcome, then he could keep this in the back of his pocket as a contingency plan. Of the eight main cities, seven of them were in the outside world. They required competent, biddable hands at the helm. He also needed to be wary of enemies killing his people in place at the eight cities. That would cause the main cities to rage out of control. I still don’t have enough trump cards! His position wasn’t safe enough and his aces were not powerful enough. He needed to get some more that he would deploy against a half step emperor at a critical time. They were necessary even if they could only stop a half step emperor for a split second. He needed to utilize the power of time again! Would he summon his future self once more? He was already slated for one instance of certain danger, was he afraid of a second one? Granted, summoning his future self twice in quick succession... He hadn’t fully weathered even the current crisis—death was a very real possibility. But if he summoned his future self, that might be a decisive card that he could play at a critical time. “Looking back for thirty seconds...” Li Hao suddenly murmured. He could trace his footsteps for thirty seconds. Not the kind that summoned a person, but the type that came back from a death that was thirty seconds ago. Perhaps he could use this ability! If he had no protectors, then he would protect himself. If he had no trump cards, then he would create them himself! There was nothing to it! He only needed to rely on himself in all things, it was no big deal. The future would be even more expansive and carefree because of it. Another smile appeared on Li Hao’s face when a new thought occurred to him. The Great Li king was traveling all over the land these days. Celestial Pole had given him some missions—capture the heavenly will, extract the bloodlines of the eight families, borrow the Battle Heaven characters... There were a lot of tasks to accomplish. Because of it, the king had given up hope of vying for supremacy over the world. He just wanted to complete these missions so that one would offer Great Li some protection once the fighting started. There was no helping it—the king had improved extremely rapidly after consuming the skeleton. Li Hao was such a wonderful person to give him the entire skeleton! He’d wanted nothing more than that before and only dreamed that the young man would be so generous. As reality turned out, the young man was indeed that generous. The king had even set foot into the Empyrean King level. Yet after that, the situation of the world changed drastically; Li Hao killed a bunch of Empyrean Kings. The king gave up after that. There was no need to struggle for power against the other factions. He couldn’t keep up the fight. It was time to give up! No matter how he fought, he would never surpass Li Hao. He might as well just lay back and forget about it all. Just as he searched everywhere for the heavenly will, a person appeared. The one who caused him no end of pain and resignation was here. There was both good and bad if he stuck with Li Hao. The good was that the king was now an Empyrean King, the bad was that he’d been tricked a few times. If it wasn’t for Celestial Pole lending a hand... the king would’ve never been able to help Zhou Chuan set foot into Fused Dao. Therefore, he viewed Li Hao as a harbinger of doom whenever he saw the young man. It was better to stick with the Initial Martial god! At least that one couldn’t be bothered to scheme against others. He was more the sort to lay back and abstain from everything, so he would never plot against the Great Li king. It was a good thing that Li Hao was stronger now, so he might not have any more tasks for the king. “Long time no see!” Li Hao grinned as radiantly as usual. The king wanted to roll his eyes. Had it been a long time? “I was just looking for you, Li Hao...” “I’ve returned the Battle Heaven characters to the city. But, you don’t need them anymore. The cat has already absorbed whatever was inside.” “Is that so?” The king relaxed upon hearing this. That’s good, I’m one less hassle down. “Do you want to grow stronger?” Li Hao’s grin brooded. “......” Not this again!” “No!” “......” Li Hao blinked and stared at the king. “This makes it hard for me to continue... You’re the king of the north, but you’re... giving up?” “What else can I do?” The Great Li king was immensely resigned. “This is now a battle between half step emperors and exalted emperors. I’ve finally absorbed that massive skeleton, but what of it? You can easily dispatch Empyrean Kings! This king and the one in the west are both disheartened by the situation. We’ve had good pickings all the way to the Empyrean King level, but it’s still not worth anything in the end!” What else could they do? “So you don’t want to be a half step emperor or exalted emperor anymore?” “What do you think?” The king rolled his eyes. “If I could, you would’ve reached it a long time ago. How would it ever be my turn first?” “I like a straightforward person!” Li Hao laughed and stroked his chin. “Why don’t we have a chat? I don’t want to ask the ancients, but don’t mind discussing the future with modern cultivators...” “I’m not interested!” “Are you really willing to give up!” The Great Li king snapped his mouth shut. It would be impossible to say that he was really willing, but... he was already an Empyrean King! Li Hao certainly had nothing good in mind with this visit. “Out with it, what do you want me to do?” “Attack half step emperors and exalted emperors!” “Farewell!” The king raised a cupped fist salute and spun on his heel. Stop joking! I’ll just pretend I didn't see you! “There’s a lot in it for you after the matter is complete!” “And if we don’t complete it?” the king snorted with laughter.