Through his own Divine Master Rongbing, Li Che gained his first systematic understanding of how the Human Race's 1008 Universe Nations administered their many intermediate civilizations.
Generally speaking, the universe countries governed by the great nation lords contained countless large, medium, and small star domains, and their administrative policies could not possibly be identical for every domain.
The Ganwu Universe Country, for instance, contained over ten thousand star domains of various sizes. Naturally, the richest among them went to the Ganwu Nation Lord's closest followers, such as his descendants and the three hundred kings and marquises under his command.
As for the many remaining star domains, their allocation generally fell into two categories.
In the first, an Undying Deity voluntarily entered the great Ganwu Nation Lord's service and obeyed his commands. The Ganwu Nation Lord might then grant that Undying Deity an unclaimed star domain to administer and establish an intermediate civilization.
Such intermediate civilizations received the great Ganwu Nation Lord's protection free of charge, along with generous rewards. In exchange, however, the Undying Deity became one of the Ganwu Nation Lord's employees.
Exploring newly discovered secret realms, maintaining order in those already explored, joining the Extraterrestrial Battlefield, nurturing the core geniuses of the Ganwu Secret Realm...
Over all these years, the Ganwu Nation Lord had never stopped recruiting unaffiliated Undying Deities.
The other way to become the ruler of an intermediate civilization was rather more straightforward: pay the great Ganwu Nation Lord directly for the right to establish a nation in a star domain.
Undying Deities in this category enjoyed far greater freedom. As long as no galaxy-scale mass extinction of humanity occurred within their territories, the Ganwu Nation Lord would not interfere.
"In that case, Divine Master, you and that Divine Master Hufeng must belong to the second category." Li Che gave a slight nod.
"Back then, Qi Yao and I jointly purchased the right to use this star domain for fifty million eras. Hufeng did something similar, so the Nation Lord won't favor either side in our dispute."
Divine Master Rongbing explained.
"In fact, His Majesty doesn't mind seeing interstellar wars. War isn't necessarily all bad. As long as there is no mass extinction of humanity, it can encourage the emergence of geniuses to some extent."
Divine Master Qiyao chimed in.
"Understood." Li Che nodded.
It sounded as though he would be staking a marquis-level immortal's legacy on a battle alongside Rong Bing and Qi Yao Divine Masters against Divine Master Hufeng and the Master of Yunmo Star.
"Divine Master Hufeng isn't particularly powerful. By human standards, his combat strength is roughly 650 to 700 times that of a peak World Lord. He hasn't mastered an undying body and is on the same level as Qi Yao and me."
"But the helper Divine Master Hufeng found is anything but ordinary."
After confirming that Li Che fully understood the situation, Divine Master Rongbing began describing their opponents in the coming conflict.
"According to reliable intelligence, the Master of Yunmo Star is an extraordinary figure. He has only lived for a little over six thousand eras, yet he is a genius spirit reader controller with an immensely powerful soul. His own combat strength is already close to marquis level."
"What's more, he has at least seven Undying Deity servants under his command. One of them, Iron Sword Marquis, is a marquis-level Undying Deity certified by the Extraterrestrial Battlefield..."
Li Che listened silently as Divine Master Rongbing recounted the intelligence on the Master of Yunmo Star, sinking into thought.
As a transmigrator, Li Che could safely say he knew a great deal about Hu Yanbo, the Master of Yunmo Star.
The man was a peak immortal army lord, a spirit reader controller and soul master who had nearly reached marquis level. He was protected by an immortal-level auxiliary plant life-form, a Cloud-Contact Vine, had created the secret technique "Soul Imprint," possessed nine immortal slaves, and owned a top-tier spaceship forged entirely from red mixed copper mother...
All told, when Hu Yanbo unleashed his full power, he should barely possess the combat strength of a marquis-level Undying Deity. With his nine Undying Deity servants added to the mix, even ordinary marquis-level Undying Deities were unwilling to make an enemy of him.
Under normal circumstances, if Divine Master Hufeng had truly secured the Master of Yunmo Star's help, Li Che's own Divine Master would have almost no hope of winning.
"For a conflict of this scale, the Master of Yunmo Star probably won't mobilize his entire force. He'll likely only send Iron Sword Marquis."
"When the conflict begins, Li Che will deal with Divine Master Hufeng, while Qi Yao and I will handle Iron Sword Marquis, the marquis-level immortal warrior under the Master of Yunmo Star. Although he's a marquis, he's ultimately someone else's Soul Servant and doesn't have any valuable treasures on him."
Divine Master Rongbing laid out the plan for the conflict. Perhaps out of consideration for Li Che's status as a World Lord, she assigned him Divine Master Hufeng, the weakest opponent on the other side.
It was easy to imagine the immense pressure the two Immortal Military Lords would face against a marquis-level immortal, even if that immortal was perhaps quite unremarkable among his peers.
But what they were fighting over was, after all, the legacy of a marquis-level Undying Deity. According to Divine Master Rongbing's information, that immortal had been far more powerful in life than the likes of Iron Sword Marquis, and his assets at his peak might have reached tens of millions of Hunyuan Units.
Selling his inheritance and other possessions to the Universe Mercenary Alliance would also fetch a considerable sum.
At least in Li Che's Divine Master's eyes, this was already worth taking a gamble on.
Just as Divine Master Qiyao was about to say something more, Li Che, who had been sitting upright on the sofa, suddenly raised his hand, drawing the attention of both female Undying Deities.
"There's no need for either of you to take that risk. I'll hold off Iron Sword Marquis."
His voice was calm, steady, and commanding. The confidence in it drew the gazes of both Rongbing and Qiyao. Neither had expected Li Che to be so certain of himself.
"Li Che, I've already learned from the Extraterrestrial Battlefield that you've killed a top-tier Immortal Military Lord. But Iron Sword Marquis is a marquis-level existence, after all, and he possesses an undying body. Even the ordinary marquises under the Nation Lord's command wouldn't be confident of taking him down easily..."
Rong Bing, a World Lord, tried to dissuade him. Iron Sword Marquis was not like those kings and marquises under the Ganwu Nation Lord whose ranks were somewhat inflated. His strength was genuine.
Divine Master Rongbing wanted to say more, but she saw that Li Che's expression had not changed in the slightest. Only after she finished speaking did he nod.
"Divine Master, I already had the strength to defeat a top-tier Immortal Military Lord more than an era ago. My secret techniques have since undergone a transformation, and I can now face a marquis-level expert head-on."
"If either of you has doubts, we can go to the Slaughterhouse and test it."
Li Che certainly had that confidence.
Inheriting the legacies of his selves across the myriad worlds had already transformed his comprehension many times. His understanding of the laws and his development of secret techniques had both reached sufficient depth.
Moreover, Li Che was about to inherit the legacy of his counterpart from the Mountain Sea Realm era.
In the hazy memories of the Mountain Sea Realm's Li Che, he had killed a top-tier marquis-level Undying Deity in a head-on battle while still at the World Master Level.
Hu Yanbo's immortal servant, the one called Iron Sword Marquis, was formidable, but in Li Che's eyes, he was far from invincible.
More importantly, Li Che understood that he needed an opportunity like this to fight a powerful opponent-an opportunity to make his name truly known throughout the Ganwu Universe Country.
The reason he had not immediately accepted Nine Sword Venerable's invitation was that the venerable's intentions were too clear. He regarded Li Che as a subordinate with some potential and would put thought into nurturing him, but certainly would not expend too much effort.
Moreover, Nine Sword Venerable was too young by the standards of universe venerables. Having lived only a few hundred thousand eras, he fell somewhat short in both strength and accumulated resources.
Li Che's ambitions were considerable. He wanted to make a name for himself and draw the attention of the truly powerful figures within the Human Race's Five Major Powers.
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