Negotiation

"Lord of Ashen Soul!" The Mechanical Race Father God led a full ten Universe Masters of the Machine Race to the Primal Star.

Upon arrival, they could see only faint traces of combat, evidence that a great battle had taken place there. But now there was no one in sight. Both Lord of Ashen Soul and the human Universe Masters had vanished.

If Lord of Ashen Soul's divine power avatar had not still been present within the Machine Race, the Mechanical Race Father God would probably have gone mad on the spot.

"Those cunning humans fled ahead of us." The Mechanical Race Father God's eyes blazed with fury. He had brought ten Universe Masters to settle the score, only to make the trip for nothing.

"This is going to cost us dearly!" The Mechanical Race Father God felt a pang of anguish. A Universe Master, especially one with such an enormous divine body, would surely give the Human Race a chance to bleed them dry.

There was nothing he could do but return and wait for word from the Human Race. Without a doubt, Giant Axe would be the one to negotiate the exchange.

"Peng Gong, you contributed a great deal this time. You unleashed your ultimate move twice in succession and lost five percent of your divine power." The Chaos City Lord handed two Supreme Treasures to Lord Peng Gong.

"Lord of Ashen Soul had four Supreme Treasures on him: a top-tier armor Supreme Treasure, a high-grade soul attack Supreme Treasure, a top-tier attack Supreme Treasure, and an ordinary Palace-type Supreme Treasure. These top-tier attack and armor Supreme Treasures will go to you, Peng Gong."

"Mm..." Lord Peng Gong had indeed lost some divine power, and these two top-tier supreme treasures were enough to compensate him. Besides, he had contributed a great deal and deployed his strongest combat clone, so he had no qualms about accepting them.

Although Supreme Treasures of this level did not mean much to him, he was the founder of the Universe Galaxy Bank and had a large number of subordinates to support. How could he ever have too many Supreme Treasures?

"The high-grade soul attack Supreme Treasure isn't a particularly good fit for any of you, so I'll place it in the race's treasury for now," the Chaos City Lord said.

"Everyone who took part deserves a share. Once Giant Axe completes the exchange, how about we distribute the Supreme Treasures together?"

"No problem."

"We'll leave it to you, Chaos."

The Universe Masters nodded. Ordinary Supreme Treasures hardly interested them. The upcoming exchange was where the real prize lay.

"Qian Wu, you contributed quite a bit this time as well. As for Yuxiang, would you..." Chaos said, looking at Qian Wu.

"Chaos City Lord, I'll return Yuxiang to the race for now. Once the proceeds are distributed, I'll decide which Supreme Treasures to purchase." Yang Hao took Yuxiang out of his chest and handed it to Chaos.

Yuxiang was good, but it always felt as though something was missing. Yang Hao wanted to get it right in one go and acquire a better Supreme Treasure for himself. It all depended on how much of the spoils he received this time.

"Mm, then we'll wait for word." The Chaos City Lord nodded and continued, "By the way, the Primal Star is about to close, and most of its Supreme Treasures have already appeared. You've had a good haul over these years. I think you should stay away from the Primal Star for now."

A Universe Master of the Machine Race had been captured, and Yang Hao was the cause of it all. They were surely frantically gathering information about him. If he appeared on the Primal Star again, he would probably be captured before long.

"I won't go back to the Primal Star." Yang Hao nodded.

After chatting casually for a little longer, they returned to their respective homes.

The Qian Wu Secret Realm.

"Haha, this was quite a haul. Now let's see how many Supreme Treasures Giant Axe can get in the exchange." Yang Hao sat on his throne and laughed.

There was only one thing to do now: wait. Wait for Giant Axe to take Lord of Ashen Soul to negotiate with the Mechanical Father God.

The Human Race's Core Land, the Initial Universe.

"Chaos, why did you ask me to rush back from the Universe Ocean?" A hulking man with thick fingers and wild, disheveled hair, looking much like a savage, questioned the Chaos City Lord. A giant axe was strapped to his back.

"Giant Axe." The Chaos City Lord smiled faintly. "Naturally, I called you back because something good happened."

"We captured a Universe Master of the Machine Race alive on the Primal Star—Lord of Ashen Soul!"

This savage-looking man with the giant axe on his back was humanity's strongest being, the Giant Axe Founder. He was the pillar supporting the Human Race, as well as the founder of the Giant Axe Arena, one of the two strongest among humanity's five major powers.

"Hmm? You actually captured a Universe Master alive?" Giant Axe was stunned. He had never expected the Human Race to pull off something so extraordinary while he was exploring the Universe Ocean.

"Haha, it all started with the Qian Wu Country Lord," the Chaos City Lord said with a laugh.

He then recounted everything: how the Qian Wu Country Lord had gained a special opportunity and his strength had soared; how he had not only paid off his debts but accumulated some wealth; how his Supreme Treasures, comparable to those of a Top Universe Overlord, had drawn the covetous attention of that Machine Race Universe Master; and how they had finally laid a Super Trap and dispatched five Universe Masters to capture him alive.

"Oh? The Qian Wu Country Lord? I remember him somewhat. That he gained a special opportunity and improved his strength is good fortune for our Human Race." Giant Axe nodded. Another powerful expert among the humans could help shoulder his endless burden. Even easing it a little was a wonderful thing.

"Haha, Qian Wu's strength doesn't seem to have reached its limit yet. Give him some more time, and he may become a Top Universe Overlord!" The Chaos City Lord smiled as well.

A Top Universe Overlord possessed combat strength comparable to a weaker Universe Master and could also be resurrected by a strongest being. Such an expert stood among a race's peak combat forces and could even be called a nuclear weapon.

If provoked, a Top Universe Overlord could charge straight into an enemy race's territory and attack madly, destroying vast domains and countless weaker members. Since such experts could be resurrected, they were essentially enormous suicide bombs-a race's strategic weapons.

Because of the nature of Human Race divine bodies, the proportion of Top Universe Overlords among humans was far lower than among other races. Gaining another expert of that caliber would be a blessing for the race.

"Good, very good. Since his strength still has room to grow, the race can direct some additional resources his way." Giant Axe nodded.

As humanity's strongest being, the Giant Axe Founder actually spent the vast majority of his time exploring the Universe Ocean. Most affairs of the Human Race were managed by the Chaos City Lord.

"Let's set Qian Wu aside for now. This is a Universe Master with an enormous divine body, Giant Axe. Make sure you negotiate a good deal!" The Chaos City Lord took out the Ice Mountain Palace.

The shrunken Ice Mountain Palace was crystal clear, a magnificent work of art.

"Haha, leave it to me. The Mechanical Race Father God is going to bleed dearly this time!" Giant Axe gave a wild grin and accepted the Ice Mountain Palace.

Within an immense void in the Primal Universe.

This immense void stretched across hundreds of millions of light-years, with only a handful of galaxies scattered within it. It was a barren region of the universe, and no race had even arisen there.

Boom!

A mighty being with a body forged entirely of metal, eight arms, and two legs abruptly appeared. He released 10,081 Mechanical Puppets, each more than ten thousand kilometers tall.

Had any powerful expert been nearby, they would have recognized the Mechanical Race Father God and the Mechanical Puppets perfectly attuned to him. Any one of those Mechanical Puppets alone was probably worth as much as a top-tier attack Supreme Treasure.

Under his control, the combined combat power of the 10,081 Mechanical Puppets could even rival a supreme supreme treasure!

This placed his combat strength among the foremost of the many strongest beings in the Primal Universe. Even without a supreme supreme treasure, he surpassed the Demon Race's two strongest beings.

"Mechanical! Do you intend to fight me?" A wild voice thundered through the starry sky.

Before these two strongest beings, even the Will of the Original Universe had to retreat temporarily.

"Giant Axe!" The Mechanical Race Father God stared at the savage-looking man before him. Although he believed Giant Axe was no match for him, strongest beings could only unleash a limited level of strength within the Primal Universe.

He could do nothing to Giant Axe and could only glare at him.

"Where is my Lord of Ashen Soul?" The Mechanical Race Father God was somewhat anxious. He could not let the Human Race kill the Universe Master.

"Haha, right here!" Giant Axe laughed.

He held the Ice Mountain Palace in his hand and projected an image of its interior into the void.

Within it, a Universe Master was bound by countless chains. Both his divine body and his soul were entangled in them, subjecting him to endless torment.

Please vote with your recommendation tickets. (This makes up for the updates missed while I was sick. There will be two more updates today.)