"You don't need to worry about Suihuo's strength. I have my own way of handling that. What we need now is a pillar to hold the clan steady.
Let him go. No one in the clan will object.
As for the other three candidates for Universe Master, you'll have to decide. You're the one calling the shots for the Human Race now.
You need to make your own judgments!"
Noah's plan for Giant Axe was clear: he would be the Human Race's powerful bodyguard.
After all, although Giant Axe's mind was sharp enough to handle the schemes of other races, he was the adventurous type by nature.
A reckless man like him, bold to the very core, was the perfect person to lead the Human Race in conquering new territory.
But if they wanted to develop in peace, Chaos City Lord and Peak were the ones for the job.
Even Peng Gong Master wouldn't be a bad choice.
But no matter what, Giant Axe was now the head of the Human Race. As a "dead man," Noah couldn't get involved in many things.
"Th-this... I..." Giant Axe's face was full of hesitation.
Even after founding the Giant Axe Arena, he had hardly taken part in its management.
All along, the arena's administration had been handled by his disciple, Xu Jin Master.
Compared to Giant Axe's hands-off approach, Xu Jin Master had practically built the Giant Axe Arena's entire structure by himself.
"You need to grow in more than just strength. What the Human Race lacks isn't combat power, but someone who can plan for the whole picture.
Perhaps your strength already makes you one of the most powerful beings in the Human Race. But in this vast world,
you and I are still nothing more than ants—not quite as weak as most, perhaps, but ants all the same!"
Seeing this, Noah understood what Giant Axe was thinking, but Giant Axe needed to develop this ability now.
"I understand!" Giant Axe finally saw the light. He nodded and walked out of the Plasma Spark Tower.
Meanwhile, as the Human Race's representative in the negotiations, Lord of Qingdong arrived at the border of the Machine Race's territory first, after several God Kingdom Teleportations and the aid of his teleportation secret technique.
"Lord of Qingdong, I'll be handling the negotiations with you this time!"
Hengxian Master, gleaming with silvery-white light, stood on an asteroid and spoke in his clattering mechanical voice.
"Good!"
As the founder of the Universe First Bank, Lord of Qingdong was somewhat different from Peng Gong Master.
Peng Gong Master was more skilled at business management, while Lord of Qingdong was responsible for trade with the Alien Races.
That was one of the main reasons he had been chosen to handle compensation and ransom negotiations.
Of course, the most important reason was that Peng Gong Master had already begun preparing to break through.
And Lord of Qingdong was the only remaining negotiator in the Human Race with enough influence.
"Good. In accordance with the agreement between our Father God and Giant Axe Founder, our race has prepared ample resources and is ready to make the exchange at any time!"
With a wave of his hand, Hengxian Master presented a list of items for trade—or, more precisely, exchange.
"You're not planning to reclaim your members below the Immortal Level, then?"
Looking over the list, Lord of Qingdong keenly realized that the Machine Race had given up on the Immortal-level members of their race captured by the Human Race.
Hengxian Master didn't deny it. Streams of data flickered through his eyes.
"Fine! We weren't planning to release those Immortals anyway. The Human Race could use some more data on the Machine Race!"
Lord of Qingdong spoke bluntly, but Hengxian Master remained calm in the face of his open hostility toward the Machine Race.
Lord of Qingdong knew there was little point trying to provoke a lump of iron that had no feelings to begin with.
So he stopped wasting his breath and started thinking about how to use the leverage he had to secure a better deal.
Before long, Lord of Qingdong had made his selections.
They both gestured behind them, and several World Rings appeared before them.
The truth was, the exchange was being monitored the entire time by Mechanical Father God and Giant Axe Founder.
Only they could instantly send the items into the negotiators' hands.
The first step after the exchange was to verify that the items were genuine.
Once Lord of Qingdong confirmed everything was in order, Giant Axe's will vanished in an instant.
Hengxian Master also nodded after confirming the items were as agreed.
"Payment and goods are settled. Hengxian Master, I'll be going now!"
With that, Lord of Qingdong sped off into the distance.
Hengxian Master used God Kingdom Teleportation to return to the Machine Race's territory.
"Have you made up your mind, Minglian Master?"
Lord of Qingdong stared at the hesitant Bug Race powerhouse before him and pressed her for an answer.
"This is too... Lord of Qingdong, your Human Race is simply..."
Minglian Master held the list of demands Lord of Qingdong had presented. Her expression trembled uncontrollably.
Even the surrounding space quivered with her.
"These are the Human Race's terms! Minglian Master, you should understand the value of the Bug Race Mother Emperors to other races...
If we're willing to hand over a large number of Bug Race Mother Emperors and provide the secret technique of Soul Enslavement, I'm certain they'd be worth no less than the price I've quoted—perhaps even more!"
Lord of Qingdong looked completely unconcerned as he calmly watched Minglian Master.
"But..."
Minglian Master was at a loss for words. As for fighting?
Lord of Qingdong stood backed by numerous master weapon crafters, and his equipment was almost on par with that of an ordinary solitary Universe Strongest.
Meanwhile, during this war that had swept across the entire universe, she had suffered heavy losses at the hands of a Universe Master from the Human Race called the Goddess of Creation.
She had lost nearly a third of the resources and treasures she had accumulated over countless years.
Worst of all, she had lost the many king-level Zerg Warriors she had painstakingly bred.
And now... Lord of Qingdong's demands were outrageous. Each Zerg Venerable was worth almost as much as an entire Cosmic Secret Realm.
The Bug Race had thirty Venerables captured during the war, enough to secure three sizable territories for the Human Race.
"These are our terms. If you can't accept them, I'm sure someone else will be willing to take these powerful fighters off our hands!"
As he spoke, Lord of Qingdong made as if to leave.
"Wait!" Minglian Master could no longer sit still. "We... accept!"
Lord of Qingdong's expression instantly shifted from stern to delighted. He stepped forward and clasped Minglian Master's hand with great warmth.
"I hope we can reach a new understanding on the other matters as well!"
As he spoke, Lord of Qingdong produced a World Ring.
Minglian Master waved a hand and handed over the agreed-upon resources.
"My race will clear the territories listed in the agreement as soon as possible. I'll personally hand them over to the Human Race."
"Pleasure doing business!"
Lord of Qingdong smiled, but Minglian Master showed no hint of happiness.
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