Chapter 267: Reaction

In the brightly lit grand hall, Bai Xuan, the Saintess of the Divine Adoration Sect, looked up, her expression tinged with surprise. "He has vanished?"

Before her stood her trusted aide, Chang Shu, a Top-Tier Astral Cultivator.

"Yes," answered Chang Shu, his face solemn. "We've double-checked. His Life Ring isn't transmitting any signals. There are only two possible reasons for this. Either the Life Ring has been damaged, which is highly unlikely, given the precautions taken during its creation to prevent destruction. Or..."

He glanced at Bai Xuan. "Your Highness, I'd like to request you to authorize the use of the Detection Treasure Necklace again."

"Any astral equipment will wear out after extended use. Their durability determines how many times they can be used. The Detection Treasure Necklace is no less valuable than a piece of legendary astral equipment," said Bai Xuan.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

She fell into thought for a moment, then stood up. "I'll go myself and use the Detection Treasure Necklace for one search. But our target won't be Gao Feng, instead, it will be Li Pin! He went to kill Li Pin. If it turns out that Li Pin is still unharmed after Gao Feng's Life Ring has stopped transmitting signals, then there could only be one explanation."

Chang Shu's heart skipped a beat. "This... how is that possible!?"

A Martial Saint like Li Pin killing Gao Feng, a High-Class Astral Cultivator?

That would go down in the annals of martial arts history. Throughout the ages, only one High-Class Astral Cultivator had fallen to a Martial Saint. As for the rest, even a Supreme Martial Saint armed to the teeth with top-tier astral equipment could only hold their own against a High-Class Astral Cultivator.

Actually, "holding their own" was already giving the Martial Saints too much credit. In a real fight, they could at most ensure they wouldn't be instantly killed by a High-Class Astral Cultivator in just a few exchanges.

Gao Feng had been a High-Class Astral Cultivator for six years, leading his team for three. With several teammates backing him up, how could this happen...?

"Your perspective is too limited," Bai Xuan remarked calmly. "We were too narrow-minded in our thinking. Did we really believe the Tianyuan Federation would let such a supreme prodigy act as bait without protection?"

Chang Shu quickly caught on. "Your Highness, are you saying that Tianyuan has arranged for a High-Class or even Top-Tier Astral Cultivator to guard him?"

"A peerless prodigy, crowned as the 'King of the Century' at the age of twenty-three, a legendary seed. Do you think Tianyuan would allow him to fall so easily?"

As Bai Xuan walked toward the palace where the Detection Treasure Necklace was stored, she continued, "The Detection Treasure Necklace is not some all-seeing radar. It can only track the specific target you wish to detect. If someone is hiding near Li Pin, the necklace won't reveal them.

"But when two Astral Cultivators are near each other, they can usually sense each other. Top-Tier Astral Cultivators have stronger astral energy fluctuations, making them even easier to detect than High-Class Astral Cultivators...."

Chang Shu furrowed his brow.

Bai Xuan acknowledged, "There are many divine relics in this world. Just as our Divine Adoration Sect possesses a treasure like the Detection Treasure Necklace, it's not impossible for Tianyuan to have items that can conceal astral energy fluctuations.

"Let's see what happens. If Li Pin is still alive... then my guess is most likely correct. At that point, we'll have to deploy a Top-Tier Astral Cultivator-level assassin to deal with him"

Bai Xuan looked hesitant, shaking her head. "Our sect cannot afford to lose assassins on that level."

Top-Tier Astral Cultivators held more weight than even the rulers of provinces in Taibai.

Across the entirety of Taibai, there were only a few dozen such individuals. When wielded wisely, they possessed the power to overturn nations.

As Bai Xuan and Chang Shu conversed, they arrived outside a building that, while not particularly tall and grand, was constructed like a fortress.

Upon entering, Bai Xuan offered a respectful bow to an elderly man guarding the Astral Equipment. "Dharma King, I need to use the Detection Treasure Necklace for a search."

The elder nodded slightly.

Bai Xuan soon found herself within the fortress's interior, standing in a windowless, roofless, empty chamber. There were no lamps in sight, but at the center stood a crystal-like treasure box, emitting a faint blue light that illuminated the space.

For Astral Cultivators, as long as there was a light source, their vision remained unaffected.

Bai Xuan approached the box and picked up a necklace adorned with a massive gemstone.

The gem, pale yellow in hue, seemed to encapsulate a starry sky within it. Countless star-like points of light swirled and emitted a brilliant glow.

Bai Xuan then entered a state of meditation. In her trance, her mind perceived a vast domain.

In this domain, countless thoughts and consciousnesses intertwined, communicated, and exchanged. Some with powerful minds could even transmit messages with remarkable precision.

This was the Divine Kingdom of the Divine Adoration Sect! A spiritual space built upon the exchange of information carried by Astral Energy.

Ordinary disciples could only communicate and sense the vastness and greatness of the Astral Gods here. Those of higher status could transmit information during these exchanges.

But for the ruling class of the sect, they could draw upon the spiritual power of other disciples to enhance themselves. It was like a master server borrowing computational power from other computers to boost performance.

As the Saintess of the Divine Adoration Sect and a strong contender for the future sect leader, Bai Xuan naturally belonged to this ruling class.

With the activation of the Detection Treasure Necklace, countless starlights were projected from it.

At first glance, it would seem like it would be almost impossible to search for a specific target in this immense sea of starlight. But as Bai Xuan mobilized, empowered, and amplified the spiritual power of countless disciples within the Divine Kingdom, the countless starlight in the sky visibly shifted.

After a moment of such change, a patch of starlight was quickly locked onto and rapidly pulled closer.

At that moment, Bai Xuan's target, Li Pin was exposed within her perception.

"He's still alive," Bai Xuan remarked.

This was surprising but still within her expectations.

"Looks like Tianyuan has really arranged for someone to protect him, acting as a guardian," Chang Shu murmured.

Gao Feng hadn't been acting alone; he had had a team with him. Knowing the opponent had been crowned the King of the Century, they surely hadn't gone in underestimating Li Pin.

Given the circumstances, she couldn't think of any reason that would make it so Gao Feng's team would fail to kill Li Pin.

Li Pin fought back and killed them himself? Ridiculous. He's just a Martial Saint.

Bai Xuan's gaze lingered on the starlight for a moment. "This position..."

As she waved her hand, the starlight intertwined to form a map, which immediately overlapped with the starlight marking Li Pin's location.

"He's now in Jiang Province City."

"Jiang Province City!"

Chang Shu was standing beside Bai Xuan as she came to this discovery. He frowned when he heard this. "Xiang Tianxing, that Top-Tier Astral Cultivator who is only half a step away from becoming a Master Astral Cultivator, is stationed there... Even if we deployed our Top-Tier Astral Cultivator-level assassins, we might not succeed in assassinating Li Pin."

With a wave of her hand, Bai Xuan dispersed the starlight, reluctantly withdrawing from the Divine Kingdom.

The immense mental spirit, amplified by countless beings in the Divine Kingdom, left her somewhat intoxicated.

Bai Xuan couldn't help but be slightly entranced. If she could fully control that power... what kind of ferocious beasts and demonic creatures couldn't she tame?

Unfortunately, she wasn't yet the leader of the Divine Adoration Sect and the true ruler of that Divine Kingdom.

Bai Xuan quickly regained her composure. She returned the Detection Treasure Necklace to its place and said, "We will continue to hunt Li Pin, but killing him will take time. If they don't want to wait, they can send someone themselves."

"And those astral equipment..." Chang Shu hesitated to ask.

"We're not giving up on hunting Li Pin," Bai Xuan replied indifferently. "Besides, to kill him, the Divine Adoration Sect lost an elite combat squad led by a High-Class Astral Cultivator. We can also offer them the information that Li Pin has a Top-Tier Astral Cultivator protecting him. What's wrong with charging them a few pieces of astral equipment?"

"I'm just worried this might upset them. After all, they are our main benefactors."

"Times have changed," said Bai Xuan. Her tone remained calm, but her words were filled with confidence. "The Divine Adoration Sect has developed to the point where it can no longer be easily shaken by one person or even one faction. If they don't want to support us, plenty of others will."

Who says the Divine Adoration Sect is a heretical sect!?

She thought.

Before long, the Divine Adoration Sect will inevitably become a unifying target for Tianyuan, or even the Six Extremities

***

At Jiang Province City.

Li Pin returned to the city he knew best in this world, safe and sound.

He was just as familiar with Zanglong City, but the market there was too small for him to sell his spoils. He had a high-grade astral equipment battle axe with him. There was no way he was selling that over at Zanglong City.

Li Pin calculated. "Selling these spoils should easily bring in over a billion. Then, I'll have Xiang Tianxing buy some Primordial Electric Crystals to aid in my body-tempering process."

He had performed body-tempering more than once on his way back, and the results had been impressive.

While it couldn't match the Astral Cultivator's method of enhancing strength through astral energy empowerment, it was far more efficient than his previous methods, especially after his recent breakthrough. This was the time when body-tempering would yield the most significant results.

At this rate, reaching the qualification standard comparable to an Astral Cultivator before the King of the Century Competition shouldn't be an issue.

"Astral Cultivators have qi and blood ranging from 50 to 150, High-Class Astral Cultivators from 150 to 300, while Top-Tier ones can reach as high as 500."

As for Master Astral Cultivators, who stood above Top-Tier Astral Cultivators, having qi and blood over 500 held little meaning; most of them simply accumulated up to six hundred or so with time.

For one, Top-Tier Astral Cultivators could already turn their bodies into energy, and Master Astral Cultivators took this even further.

For another, Master Astral Cultivator merged their will with the Atomic Will, shifting their focus from qi and blood to mental spirit.

Unless it was an Astral Cultivator who was formerly a Martial Saint, most Top-Tier Astral Cultivators would have a mental spirit attribute of less than a hundred. Meanwhile, for Master Astral Cultivators, their mental spirit would usually be over a hundred.

This value was at least over a hundred.

Li Pin remained calm. "Legendary status represents the peak of the Astral Cultivator path for now. Though it's not the final destination, it's enough for them to slow down.

"Prior to reaching the Master Astral Cultivator level, Astral Cultivators focus solely on physique. But after that, they begin emphasizing skill, mental spirit, and willpower. It's similar to how Martial Saints approach cultivation before and after reaching the Martial Saint realm."

Therefore, the Martial God path he pioneered had every potential to catch up with the Astral Cultivation system.

Thinking of this, Li Pin quickened his pace. He couldn't wait to acquire the new batch of Primordial Electric Crystals for the next two months of training.

However, before he could reach the Guardian Hall, a swiftly approaching car stopped right in front of him. Inside sat none other than Xiang Tianxing, the Guardian Hall Warden.

Seeing Li Pin walking alone, a flash of disbelief crossed Xiang Tianxing's eyes. "You're... by yourself!?"