Lord of the Galaxy, rest assured. This defeat will certainly cause some of the casual factions who had previously pledged allegiance to the Insectoid, Demon, or Machine races to reconsider their stance." The Cosmic Master, whose upper body resembled that of a human but whose lower body consisted of numerous octopus-like tentacles, spoke with a deep, echoing voice. "The alliance of those three races was never stable to begin with. Now that they have been defeated, it is only natural for some factions to break away. Those three races naturally wouldn't dare to forcibly restrain them; such an action would surely provoke backlash from many factions. When our race breaks free, we will immediately join the Hong Alliance." "Good!" Luo Feng smiled and nodded. "By joining the Hong Alliance, regardless of whether we ultimately win or lose the final war, we humans will guide you with some of the experience we gained from the ancient civilization that led to the Universe's Strongest." "However, I cannot release you temporarily right now. Once your race’s Master of Qu’an comes to pledge allegiance, I will release you," Luo Feng promised.

"I understand that," the alien with the cephalopod lower body replied obediently.

What a joke. Being imprisoned within the Star Tower, with his life completely in the hands of this Lord of the Galaxy, how could he possibly harbor any dissatisfaction?

Luo Feng leaned on the railing, gazing out at the Thousand Treasures River swirling beneath the endless darkness. His expression, however, was exceedingly grave.

Although he had gained some insights from speaking individually with the twelve alien Cosmic Masters just now, Luo Feng was well aware... that persuading some casual factions to defect and join them would have only a minuscule impact on the overall situation. But even a mosquito's flesh is still flesh. The Human Race faction, currently in dire straits, had to seize every single piece of potential gain and devour it fiercely!

"The allied force of the three races was merely a dress rehearsal."

"The real war has not yet begun." Luo Feng felt immense pressure as he looked into the distant, boundless void.

A storm was coming.

This would be a terrifying tempest sweeping across the entire Primal Universe!

The defeat of the three-race allied army had consequences far-reaching.

For the Human Race, there were both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage was that other hostile forces would likely escalate their threats against humanity and fight with even greater ferocity! However, relatively speaking, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. After all, those intent on attacking the Human Race would already be aiming for a kill anyway! The advantages, on the other hand, were far more numerous, the most significant being the attraction of the 'middle powers' to defect!

In the territory of the Demon Race, on an ordinary life planet named 'Bloodfang Star'—once the exclusive domain of a Demon Race Immortal God—a meeting ground had been established for the high echelons of six major powers.

On a beautiful prairie.

Six immense wills converged here into avatars: the Demon Race's 'Dream Demon Ancestor' and 'Shocking Demon Ancestor,' the Insectoid Race's Empress, the Machine Race's Father God, the Prison Race's Demon Ancestor, and the Crystal Race's Holy Lord. These six Universe's Strongest represented five of the nine supreme powers in the Primal Universe.

"Why hasn't the Northern Border Alliance arrived yet?" the Demon Ancestor growled, his massive tail coiling around him as his scarlet eyes swept around.

"We descended our wills instantly, naturally we are faster. The Northern Border Alliance has to rely on God Country Teleportation or instantaneous movement. Let's wait a moment," the Shocking Demon Ancestor said deeply.

"After all, the true decision-makers for the Northern Border Alliance are not that Northern Border Alliance Master, but those Cosmic Masters," the Crystal Race's Holy Lord stated slowly, then turned his gaze toward the distance. "They are here." They all sensed the fluctuations of instantaneous movement; clearly, powerful beings were arriving at the planet via teleportation.

"Buzz~~" "Buzz~~" "Freeze~" Three figures flew in from afar.

They landed in an instant.

"The five races are all here? We, the Northern Border Alliance, are a bit late." The leader of the three figures, whose entire body shimmered like flowing crystal, was none other than the Star River Master. As the most powerful figure in the entire Northern Border Alliance, the Star River Master usually manifested as the silhouette of the 'Dark Void,' but this time, meeting the six strongest beings, he naturally revealed his true form.

"Star River Master, Black Lotus Master, Liulan Star Master," the Machine Race Father God spoke. "This is the first time I've seen the three of you appear together."

"This matter involves a great deal; how could the three of us not show up?" said the 'Black Lotus Master,' whose head resembled a plant stamen surrounded by concentric lotus leaves.

These three were far from ordinary.

The Northern Border Alliance was a super-alliance, gathering numerous scattered factions, with a Cosmic Master count reaching nearly a hundred! For comparison, the elite Hong Alliance had about forty Cosmic Masters.

Given the sheer size of the loose Northern Border super-alliance, the number of 'Cosmic Masters' could be imagined, and it was internally divided into numerous factions.

As for the Northern Border Alliance Master?

He was merely a figurehead; the alliance was based on mutual assistance.

Instead, the Star River Master, the Black Lotus Master, and the Liulan Star Master held the real influence. All three were peak 'Concubine-rank' battle strengths!

The Black Lotus Master represented the six major plant life factions within the Northern Border Alliance, forming a super-faction unto themselves.

The Liulan Star Master was the spiritual leader of the Liulan Clan, the largest race within the Northern Border Alliance. The Star River Master, although a special lifeform, was renowned for his ability to reverse time and space to resurrect countless Venerables of various races, establishing widespread goodwill. Within the Northern Border Alliance, he held a position akin to 'Chaos City Lord' within the Human Race faction; he handled many matters with extreme fairness and was supported by many smaller factions, representing a united front of 'Special Lifeform powerhouses' and 'Lesser race powerhouses.'

These three constituted the three major factions within the entire Northern Border Alliance. If they agreed, it meant 95% of the Northern Border Alliance factions agreed.

Such a loose alliance lacked the cohesion of factions like the Humans or the Demon Race.

"Since everyone has arrived, let's begin," the Shocking Demon Ancestor roared deeply. "Everyone knows that in the previous battle, our Demon Race, allied with the Insectoid and Machine races, was defeated by the Human Alliance. The gains Luo Feng secured from severing the inheritance of the Duandong River lineage have already shown significant impact on the humans. Will-impact treasures, the Black Prison Tower, and so many other artifacts—before this, the Human Race possessed none of these!" "Indeed. Before, who ever possessed will-impact treasures? We hadn't even heard of them. Artifacts like the Black Vein Stone Pillars were immovable oddities."

"The Human Race faction has indeed grown much stronger."

"How much benefit did the Human Race truly gain from that Duandong River lineage inheritance?"

Just as the others were conversing, the Machine Race Father God suddenly spoke, drawing the attention of the other five Universe's Strongest and the three Cosmic Masters.

"All of that is secondary!" the Machine Race Father God spoke slowly. "The inheritance’s true weight lies in the guidance on cultivation experience! With cultivation guidance, I believe the Human Race will see the birth of even more Universe's Strongest in the future! The God-Eye Race once had seven of them. If the Humans have obtained the ancient civilization's inheritance, perhaps ten or even more Universe's Strongest are possible!" "Back in the First Reincarnation Era, the God-Eye Race was incomparably tyrannical in the Primal Universe, occupying vast territories." "As the Human Race faction grows in power, they are destined to seize more territory. More territory means more lifeforms nurtured, more geniuses born, and thus more powerhouses emerging. More powerhouses mean larger territories—this will form a cycle, causing the Human Race's influence to swell continuously." The Machine Race Father God stated solemnly. "How powerful will the Human Race become? Imagine the situation of the God-Eye Race back then, multiplied by three. Gentlemen, ponder that!" Three times?

For a moment, silence descended upon all parties.

The God-Eye Race, with their seven strongest beings back then, controlled an immensely broad swathe of the universe's territory. Three times that?

Twenty-one Universe's Strongest? Three times the territory?

"Then the territories of our five peak races combined would not be enough," the Demon Ancestor emanated an evil, frenzied aura. "This absolutely cannot be allowed to happen." "The Primal Universe territory is fixed, and the lifeforms it can nurture are limited! The expansion of the Humans naturally entails the weakening of all other races," the Machine Race Father God continued. "Previously, I didn't think the threat from the Humans was so great, but right after obtaining the inheritance, they actually defeated the three-race alliance. If we give them more time, perhaps all the other forces in the entire Primal Universe combined won't be able to match the Humans! By then, the Primal Universe will be dominated by Humans alone. By then, regretting it will be too late." "Yes, yes."

"If they can defeat the three-race alliance now, how terrifying will they be in the future?"

Even the Star River Master conceded, "This cannot be allowed to happen."

After the Machine Race Father God laid out the reasoning, the six powers quickly reached a consensus. Territory was the foundation of each of their races; the expansion of the Humans meant the shrinkage and decay of their own territories—this was a natural consequence.

"Our six major powers..." a gentle voice sounded as the Insectoid Empress slowly spoke, "can easily unite because we all occupy extremely important and vast territories in the Primal Universe. But the other factions are different. Take the Ancestor God Sect, for example—it is purely a gathering of various special lifeforms, whose only domain is that Ancestor God Secret Realm. They have no territorial conflict with the Humans! The Star Beast Alliance is even more transcendent; when those weaker Star Beasts are born, they drift aimlessly in the universe and do not require much territory. As for the lone strongest beings, they require territory even less."

"Mhm." "Indeed. Disputes over territory make it easy for us to unite. But the lone strongest beings, the Star Beast Alliance, and the Ancestor God Sect may not care as much. They value the inheritance of transcending reincarnation more! If the Humans try to win them over, they might defect to the other side! If that happens, even our six major powers united won't be enough."

"Therefore, we must unite every force we can. All the lone strongest beings, the Ancestor God Sect, and the Star Beast Alliance must be courted as much as possible. I refuse to believe the Humans will tell them the secrets of transcending reincarnation; even if they do, it might not be true."

"Furthermore..." "The largest power in the entire Primal Universe is not any single one of our nine major powers, nor the lone strongest beings. It is the countless scattered casual factions spread across the various territories of the Primal Universe. These casual factions number in the hundreds of millions; some of the powerful ones might only have one or two Cosmic Masters, but all added together, they might field several hundred Cosmic Masters. But because they are too dispersed, they only form small factions among themselves. What we must do is try our best to win them over." The threat of the Ancient God Eye, while not small, was manageable.

A trump card yields its maximum effect only when kept hidden. Now that it was exposed, there were naturally many countermeasures to reduce the threat of the Ancient God Eye to a minimum.

"Hundreds of millions of races, each appearing weak and unremarkable, the powerful ones having only one or two Cosmic Masters. But combined, their territory is vast, incredibly vast. As the Humans expand in the future, they will likely eliminate them and occupy their territories as well. Based on this fact alone, we can win over quite a few casual factions," the six major powers conferred and plotted among themselves.

They needed to find every possible means to increase their own power and weaken that of their opponent.