Calling it a protection fee sounded rather vulgar; most of the time, it was called tribute.
Back when the Liang Clan and the Bie Clan bore down on the Profound Spirit Domain, every Tier 8 Race had to hand over enormous amounts of High-Grade Essence Crystals and spirit materials each year. That was a protection fee.
After paying that money, it was not that the Liang Clan and the Bie Clan would stop bullying you; it depended on their mood. But if you dared not pay, they would bully you at once—and it would be the kind that wiped out your entire race.
So at the time, this money had to be paid whether you wanted to or not. There was no room for negotiation.
At this moment, when Shi Ding An heard Chen Fei say he wanted to borrow money, his first reaction was a protection fee. And it was a protection fee collected from those Supreme Races in the core region. Just thinking about it made Shi Ding An's expression grow excited.
They had been bullied far too miserably over the years.
The Supreme Races in the core region of the Ruin Realm had suppressed all Tier 8 Races for so many years. In order to maintain their rule, though they never said it outright, they absolutely did not allow any new Supreme Race to appear.
With so many Ninth-Order Supreme Realm experts in the core region, they could accomplish this with effortless ease. The gap in strength between the two sides was far too great.
Those Supreme Races knew very well that many Tier 8 Races were searching for opportunities, searching for ways to secretly break through to the Supreme Realm.
But those Supreme Races were not worried about this. Even if some Tier 8 Race truly