"There's no need to do all these right now. You're all here and saw what the kid did. From this, you can tell that we can quicken this thing's growth."  A man who looked to be in his forties said. He was the other one who was in the Eighth stage of the Sovereign Plane present. "Hmm, what are you implying?" The lady asked. She was the only lady present, but she could be said to be the most dangerous. "We should all take out a share of treasures to feed it. Once it's fully developed, it belongs to anyone who has the ability." The man said. The others thought about it and nodded. This was well within the rules in such a situation. "What about those little guys who are watching on the side?" Old Light asked. "Either you come out to help out, or die." The Old man said softly, but his words spread across the entire place. A few Early stages Sovereigns who were hiding came out. And even two Fourth stage Sovereigns came out as well. These were the guys who headed to the side of the miasma Grey came out from when he was injured. They could only come out with a wry smile. They weren't strong enough to fight for this treasure. If they dared to fight, they would be killed, this is something they were all too aware of, yet the man was forcing them to feed it with their treasures. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do, after all, the world was ruled by the strong. If the Royal Family didn't have the strength to rule the Gnome world, they would've been killed a long time ago and people who were strong enough would've taken control of the world. "You will all take an oath not to mention a word of what happens here today to anyone after you leave this place, if not, you'll die." The man said, bringing out something they would use for it. The weaker ones didn't have any choice but to do as they were told. In the end, it was only wishful thinking to believe they had a shot at the treasure. In all honesty, they didn't expect such a group to appear. They felt at most, the strongest person would've been in the Sixth stage, after all, all the experts were summoned by the Emperor for the expedition to the God's tomb. But these guys refused to leave, and even an Eighth stage Sovereign was present here. This wasn't within their expectations, so when they eventually found out there were people like this here, it was already too late. With no other choice, all they could do was expend their treasures as they tried to hasten the maturity of the treasure. This was the price they had to pay for keeping their lives. They've already sworn the oath to not say a word about what happens here. ….

Under the sea. Grey was hiding in a cave on the side of the island beneath the sea. The bunny leader had some bunnies there that were keeping track of the situation. So Grey is well informed on what was happening there. He knew about the presence of the strong guys, as well as the weaker ones present. The weaker ones not coming out was a good thing for him. He would've expended some effort on them, and maybe even wounded a few which wouldn't be good for him. The underground cavern he was currently sitting in was filled with water, but it wasn't something that could threaten him. He looked around and noticed the place headed further. He was curious, but for some reason, he could sense a great sense of danger from that place. If he dared to go into a place he felt was dangerous just due to his curiosity, then he was a fool who didn't care about his well-being. He shook away the thought of heading there and focused on being updated on what's happening outside. ….

"How much longer will this take?" "This thing is a bottomless pit."

"My hundred years of savings is gone. I'm ruined!"

Cries of discontent echoed around the place. The treasure was taking so much from them and they didn't know how to deal with it. Those who were weaker were the ones who had to face the behemoth task of spending their treasures. It's either they used it or they were killed. Knowing how ruthless the two Eighth stage Sovereigns there were, they didn't dare to stop even though they felt their hearts bleeding. Almost anything of value in their storage ring has been taken out, yet the treasure wasn't fully mature yet. One of them reduced the essence he was putting in.

The eyes of Old Light turned cold as he said, "If you try this one more time, I'll kill you." He didn't care that these people were spending all they had, if these guys weren't here, he would've had to spend so much effort. The sacrifice would've been worth it if he manages to get the treasure, but of course, with those duo present, his chances weren't too high. But he has the speed advantage. Once he gets his hand on the item, he would be able to escape.

They watched on as the others could only spend all they had. After a few more minutes, the treasure finally started to show signs of maturity. The eyes of those in the Early stages who had spent all they had on forcing the treasure to maturity were red from pain and anger, but there was nothing they could do. The two Eighth stage Sovereigns were the first to make a move. Before they could get there, a Third stage Sovereign that was one of the people who offered their treasures' essence to hasten the maturity of the tree grabbed the item that was covered with light and flew in the other direction. "You're tired of living."

The two Eighth stage Sovereigns didn't hold back, they attacked without hesitation.

The Third stage Sovereign exploded out with a powerful aura, his cultivation base moved from the Third stage to the Sixth stage of the Sovereign Plane, and an Eighth stage Sovereign puppet appeared and blocked the attacks of the two Eighth stage Sovereigns. The Gnomes were taken aback when they saw that the Gnome who they thought was supposed to be in the Third stage was actually a Sixth stage Sovereign. What was worse was that they didn't use their puppets to attack, so the puppet of the Gnome was able to block the attack. The Gnome's speed increased and he bolted away from the island. The faces of the two Eighth stage Sovereign turned sour and they chased after him. The other Mid stage Sovereigns gave chase as well. Among them all, even with the two Eighth stage Sovereigns, Old Light was the fastest. He had a Light Elementalist as a puppet, people still didn't know he was able to achieve such a feat since Light Elementalists have an advantage over Gnomes, but he was able to, and he was faster than the others with the aid of the Light puppet.

….

Under the island. Grey was well aware of what was happening outside, he didn't expect that the two Eighth stage Sovereigns missed that guy. He had already sensed him for a long time, and when he didn't see him come out with the others, he knew the Gnome was trying to take advantage of the others, but seeing how he was able to do it successfully surprised him. 'Looks like they're a bunch of dumb guys.' This was the only thought in his head. The fact that they allowed someone like that to get close to the treasure shows how dumb they are. An Eighth stage Sovereign is definitely stronger than a Sixth stage Sovereign. But when said Sovereign has an affinity with elements that increases his speed while the other has something like the water or earth element, it's almost impossible for the Eighth stage Sovereign to catch up to the Sixth stage Sovereign. Adding his Eighth stage Sovereign puppet to it makes it perfect for him to further increase the distance between them. 'That guy with the Light Elementalist as a puppet will surely catch up. I wonder if they'll try to take the thing for themselves.' Grey thought about it as his body disappeared into the void. He knew these people weren't trustworthy. If he wanted to wait for them to fight it out, his chances would be slim. He originally thought they would fight there, but he didn't expect this guy to run away with the treasure. The carelessness of the two Eighth stage Sovereigns is about to make things hard for him. ….

Far away from the seven islands. Old Light caught up to the man who took the treasure. "Hand it over and you'll leave with your life." Old Light said with a calm voice. "And what? You hand it over like an obedient dog to them?" The man didn't budge, he looked at Old Light and continued, "Why don't we share it. We can use it to strengthen ourselves, and we don't have to be afraid of them any more. You know this will be enough for even three people, much less just us two."