Calling it protection money sounded rather crude; more often, it was called tribute.
Back when the Liang Clan and Bai Clan held the Xuanling Domain under their oppressive might, every eighth order tribe had to hand over enormous quantities of high-grade spirit crystals and spirit materials each year. That was protection money.
Paying did not mean the Liang Clan and Bai Clan would stop bullying you-it depended on their mood. But if you dared not pay, they would bully you immediately, and wipe out your entire clan.
So back then, that money had to be paid, willing or not. There was no room for negotiation.
When Shi Ding'an heard Chen Fei mention borrowing money, his first thought was protection money. And from the Supreme Races of the core region, no less. Just thinking about it made Shi Ding'an visibly excited.
They had suffered far too much bullying over the years.
For all these years, the Supreme Races in the Void Return Realm's core region had suppressed every eighth order tribe. To preserve their rule, they had never stated it outright, but they absolutely would not allow a new Supreme Race to emerge.
With so many ninth order Supreme Realm cultivators in the core region, they could accomplish that with ease. The gap in strength between the two sides was simply too vast.
Those Supreme Races knew perfectly well that many eighth order tribes were looking for opportunities, searching for ways to secretly break through to the Supreme Realm.
But the Supreme Races were not worried. Even if one eighth order tribe lucked into a successful breakthrough, it would amount to no more than the ninth order early stage.
Wiping it out would still be child's play.
Most of the time, those who carried out such deeds were the more ordinary