Chapter 370: Visit

The Royal Empire, officially known as the Divine Radiance True Dragon Empire, had long been dominated by the imperial family. However, with the advent of the Astral God era, powerful Astral Cultivators began to rise, breaking the imperial family's grip on absolute control and authority.

Fortunately, unlike the Great Moon, the imperial family did not attempt to suppress the Astral Cultivators. Recognizing the greatness of the Astral God and the limitless future of those born from its power, they swiftly embraced the Astral Cultivators, nurturing their own within the royal lineage.

When Ge Lin, an extraordinary Astral Cultivator prodigy, emerged from the common folk, the imperial family acted decisively, offering him a princess in marriage to bind this talent to their cause.

This proved to be the imperial family's most astute decision of the century. Ge Lin ascended to the Legendary realm at an unprecedented pace and soon developed his own invincible technique, earning the title of Supreme Expert.

Yes! Supreme Experts earned their title not just by reaching the pinnacle of the Astral Cultivation path, but also through mastering an aspect that made them invincible.

Take Zhao Kunwu of Great Shang, for example. He wielded the unique Sacred Word power.

Under certain conditions, he could deliver a fatal blow to his target. The specific conditions remained unknown, leaving no one willing to risk confronting Zhao Kunwu's Sacred Word, for fear of instant demise.

Similarly, Fu Qingtian mastered the world's ultimate movement art, the Void Walk, and commanded one of the Six Divine Rings, the Void Ring. It's no exaggeration to say that unless he chose to end his own life, no one could kill him.

Ge Lin was the founder of the Sword Nurturing Technique that Wang Liancheng practiced.

Back in his Legendary days, he had slain the Slave Lord with just ten years of sword-nurturing cultivation. It was a legendary demonic creature in Slave Valley, equivalent to a human Supreme Expert. His feat struck such fear into the valley’s creatures that they never dared to stir trouble again.

Now, he had nurtured a new sword for thirteen years. Its power far surpassed the one that felled the Slave Lord.

No expert today dared claim they could withstand this sword, not even the Solar Radiance Sovereign with his Rebirth Ring. He couldn't be sure if, in trying to block this strike, his ring might be shattered along with it.

Rumor had it that this sword came closest to surpassing the Legendary realm—perhaps even stepping into an entirely new one.

Two years ago, unrest in Slave Valley became more frequent, and Ge Lin set out for the valley. With Xiao Qianyuan, the imperial family's only Legendary figure, seldom leaving the capital, the empire was left without a powerful defender.

Even the Supreme Holy Sanctuary, the Royal Empire's foremost martial arts institution situated on the outer edge of the capital, had not a single Legendary figure in sight.

***

"Argue, argue, argue. All they ever do is argue! What's the point?"

In a courtyard at the Supreme Holy Sanctuary, one of the three leaders, Guardian Zhuo Jianyu, sat in a pavilion, yawning in boredom.

Another Master Astral Cultivator, Feng Yan, responded, "There's no helping it. The imperial family, the Ge family, the Elder Council, and our Astral Cultivator Council—who among them has any power left worth showing?

"Should we send Master Astral Cultivators to uphold the Royal Empire's honor? Just look at Zhang Dongwang's fiasco; if we fail again, the empire would lose face entirely."

Feng Yan wasn't originally from the Supreme Holy Sanctuary, but his expertise in illusions and spiritual secret arts had brought him here. He was tasked with uncovering Lin Xingchen's secrets.

"Who says we're out of power?" Zhuo Jianyu replied. "Doesn't the Elder Council still have a Grand Elder? Is he really so old that he can't even move? A Legend at one hundred forty is hardly past his prime—he could easily live two to three hundred years. For an ordinary person, that’s like being in their forties; he's still at his peak."

Feng Yan shook his head. "Li Pin isn't an ordinary person. He's the founder of the Martial God path! Anyone who strikes him down, even on orders, would be nailed to the pillar of shame in the martial world, marked as a sworn enemy by future generations.

"As long as the Martial God path endures, killing Li Pin would make an enemy of every martial artist. The Grand Elder has no desire to become that villain."

He chuckled. "And killing him isn't the end of it. Li Pin's death would only mark the beginning of trouble. Sure, the rewards are great, but the risks are even greater."

"True." Zhuo Jianyu nodded. "I heard they scoured the Black Gold Mines dozens of times and found only one Ghoul King. Those treasures may be precious, but they're scarce. If they search the entire mines only to find a handful of Skill Crystals, it'd be a huge loss."

Feng Yan sighed. "Too many risks, too many uncertainties...."

"The empire sent Zhang Dongwang earlier, more intent on cooperation than conquest. But he acted foolishly, offending Li Pin. Now he's detained. Did he even consider how quickly Li Pin advanced to rival a Master Astral Cultivator? After a few days apart, he assumed Li Pin was the same as before. That's practically courting death."

"Well, he's a prince-in-law, and he fancies himself destined to rival Lord Ge Lin one day. A little arrogance is to be expected," said Zhuo Jianyu.

While it might have sounded like he was defending Zhang Dongwang, the sarcasm was obvious.

"

Hah...

How many in this world could ever rival Lord Ge Lin?" Feng Yan mused.

As soon as he finished, both he and Zhuo Jianyu found their thoughts drifting to Li Pin. They exchanged a glance and sighed.

"A monster indeed."

At this moment, an unfamiliar voice rang out.

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment from you two."

Feng Yan and Zhuo Jianyu were startled by the voice and jumped to their feet, astral energy surging around them.

"Who's there?!"

"That voice... could it be..."

Under their stunned gaze, Li Pin stepped into the courtyard, his expression calm.

As they stared at the face they'd scrutinized over a hundred times recently, Zhuo Jianyu and Feng Yan's pupils dilated in shock. Despite their disbelief, they couldn't ignore the reality in front of them.

Li Pin! He is here!

He walked straight into the Supreme Holy Sanctuary, right into the heart of the imperial capital—without alerting anyone. Even the both of us, Master Astral Cultivators, only noticed him when he spoke.

If he'd chosen to strike before revealing himself....

A cold sweat formed on their foreheads.

"I'm here to take Lin Xingchen back. Will you try to stop me?" announced Li Pin, his tone calm and unhurried.

Zhuo Jianyu and Feng Yan knew they were at best on par with Ying Zhao and Hong Zhenshan—two Master Astral Cultivators who had once been forced to retreat against Li Pin, even in pairs. Now, Li Pin was clearly stronger than ever.

The two of them... didn't stand a chance.

"Forget it; I won't make things difficult for you," said Li Pin as he recalled his true purpose of coming here.

He was here to provoke the empire's Legendary figure into action.

What if these two Master Astral Cultivators decided to surrender to him? If there was no commotion, how could the Empire's Legendary powerhouse possibly reveal himself?

With this in mind, Li Pin's Celestial Force Field surged, instantly drawing in Gaia's omnipresent Celestial Force Field.

Li Pin was now deep in enemy territory. Unlike his clash with Zhang Dongwang at Hualong Mountain, he no longer had to hold back for fear of causing destruction.

In an instant, Gaia's Celestial Force Field descended!

All practitioners with keen senses felt a boundless and unstoppable force crashing down like a catastrophic grinding stone. It materialized from the void and swept across everything in its path.

The courtyard beneath the two Master Astral Cultivators was crushed under an indescribable, overwhelming force.

That feeling... it was like watching a steamroller flatten an anthill.

Buzz, buzz!

Without even a tremor, the courtyard—and the entire main hall of the Supreme Holy Sanctuary—was ground to dust, reduced to nothing.

The two Master Astral Cultivators shouted in shock, "Li Pin!"

"He's here!"

Dazzling starlight erupted from them, rising like two pillars of light aimed skyward.

However, in the face of Gaia's Celestial Force Field, even a Legendary expert would struggle to hold their ground.

Between a magnetic field intensity of 30 and 100, a unique phase existed for Martial Gods. At this stage, an embryonic form of their Celestial Force Field had formed but was not yet powerful enough to disturb Gaia's.

Like satellites on the edge of a gravitational field, they were not so weak as to be ejected, nor so strong as to be captured by the celestial body's gravity and become a part of it.

Because of this unique state, Li Pin could wield both his own Celestial Force Field and summon the might of Gaia itself.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

With his force field having taken initial shape, the power he could draw from Gaia was now approaching the peak strength he had unleashed on Crimson Flame Island when he had annihilated Cang Shengdao.

If no one stood in his way, he could unleash Gaia's Celestial Force Field to crush the entire imperial capital. It would be like a steamroller flattening sand sculptures on a beach, completely destroying the capital.

Against such might, the dazzling starlight from the two Master Astral Cultivators was swiftly crushed.

As the destructive force approached, they reacted instantly, transforming into starlight and darting out from its grasp like beams of light, fleeing for their lives.

Li Pin made no attempt to pursue.

His intent was solely to drive these two Masters away.

Otherwise, he could have summoned his own Celestial Force Field to bind them in their starlight forms.

What followed would depend on the strength of their minds. If their mental fortitude was strong, they could launch a Mental Spirit Storm to shake his will, using the momentary lapse in his control over the Celestial Force Field to escape.

If their mental spirit fell short... whether they lived or died would be entirely in Li Pin's hands.

"The Supreme Holy Sanctuary? It's not even the supreme title among Astral Cultivators. Which martial artist truly wields such power?"

Li Pin surveyed the ruins of the demolished buildings. By utilizing his Celestial Magnetic Field's sensitivity, he quickly pinpointed his target among the debris.

With a clap of his palms, the gravity from his Celestial Force Field seized a section of stone slab. There was a loud rumble as the slab cracked open, revealing a young man inside—physically weak and mentally exhausted.

It was Lin Xingchen.