Chapter 403: Getting Close

A trace of pain flickered in Wu De's eyes. "I thought... we still had more time."

Li Pin remained silent. He searched through the shattered, porcelain-like remains of the Ox Demon Bishop.

These demonic creatures—or rather, the master of the dark magic—clearly had no intention of letting Gaia civilization reach the second phase. If he could use an avatar to control a powerful race within Gaia and gain recognition from the Homo Sapien Alliance, he would effectively monopolize two civilizations under his influence.

By then, his chances of becoming the successor to the great Astral God would be twice as great as those of other civilizations.

No! He might not even stop at two civilizations!

Civilization competition was never about absolute fairness. If the master of dark magic could secure control of one Gaia civilization before the Homo Sapien Alliance intervened, he could expand his reach to a second, a third—perhaps even a tenth or a twentieth!

The more civilizations he controlled, the higher his odds of claiming the position of successor. Being one step ahead meant securing an unassailable advantage at every turn. This wasn't just a saying—it was a truth written into history.

Zhao Kunwu's gaze was icy. He declared, "We must accelerate our pace... We've been too cautious. We can no longer let the slightest injury to a Master Astral Cultivator stop us in our tracks. Regaining Gaia's dominance cannot happen without sacrifices! No matter what, Gaia's humans cannot falter in the first phase!"

Xiao Donghai nodded in agreement.

If the Gaia humans failed in the first phase and the Homo Sapien Alliance recognized those creatures as Gaia's rightful representatives, their demonic factions would gain unprecedented support. Their power would multiply exponentially, and it wouldn't take long for them to crush all resistance.

The Gaia humans... would face extinction.

In the face of such a dire threat, they had no choice. Victory had to come—whatever the cost.

At that moment, the sound of rushing wind echoed through the hall.

Whoosh!

Yuan Zhenchuan, leading the Special United Squad, had charged into the grand hall. He spoke with a broad smile across his face. "The Ox Demon Temple's demonic creatures have collapsed! Victory is ours! We can now prepare to announce that the three perilous regions of Dark Moon Island have been completely cleared. The Human Alliance has successfully reclaimed Dark Moon Island!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Donghai, Wu De, and Zhao Kunwu nodded, but their expressions remained heavy.

Yuan Zhenchuan noticed this and sensed something was wrong. "What happened?"

Wu De quickly explained the appearance of the second Ox Demon Bishop and Li Pin's suspicions.

Yuan Zhenchuan's face visibly darkened. "Impossible... Isn't the Homo Sapien Alliance overseeing everything? All factions are still in their formative stages. Even if other forces had the capability, they shouldn't be able to interfere with neighboring civilizations!"

Xiao Donghai sighed. "That's why they sent avatars... or rather, avatars modeled after the creatures of our world. It's like international politics. Nations aren't supposed to interfere in another's internal affairs, but if they persuade a faction within a country to incite rebellion, and it succeeds, can that still be considered interference?"

Yuan Zhenchuan fell silent.

The actions of other civilizations against Gaia mirrored Xiao Donghai's analogy perfectly.

The master of dark magic sent avatars. It was like sending a group of technical experts to help the country develop its industry. It was still a long way from actual intervention in internal affairs or deploying troops.

Li Pin, holding the Ox Demon Bishop's broken guandao, said, "In the end, Gaia has too many internal problems, and they remain unresolved."

Gaia's internal issues....

Yuan Zhenchuan and the others had no solutions. Unable to continue the topic, they shifted their attention to the weapon in Li Pin's hands.

Yuan Zhenchuan quickly recognized the material used to forge the guandao. "This is... Dark Star Iron."

Wu De nodded, a trace of longing flashing in his eyes. "Yes, Dark Star Iron, the primary material for crafting the legendary astral equipment Rage War Halberd."

Zhao Kunwu lamented, "It seems the weapon in the hands of the other Ox Demon Bishop was also made from Dark Star Iron. Unfortunately, the enhanced Legendary Astral Technique completely obliterated them."

"Accomplishing the decapitation in that situation was already our greatest success. There was no time to consider anything else," Xiao Donghai remarked.

The other Legendary figures nodded in agreement.

"I killed this creature, but all of you contributed to the effort. I'll be sharing a portion of the spoils," Li Pin said.

"You can keep my share," Xiao Donghai quickly offered. "Without you, Hall Master Li, I... might not have survived."

He turned to Li Pin and bowed deeply. "Thank you for saving my life, Hall Master Li."

Li Pin waved it off. "I believe any of us would have done the same if we could."

Wu De smiled. "Hall Master Li, since you have only recently joined the Human Alliance, you'll need contributions to exchange for cultivation resources from the Legendary Treasure Vault. Consider my share a gift to celebrate your joining. We only hope for you to lend more support when we tackle the Tenfold Heavenly Domain."

Zhao Kunwu quickly thought back to when Li Pin had suddenly disappeared only to appear by Xiao Donghai's side in his moment of danger.

That didn't seem like a special secret art... but more like... void teleportation?!

However, since Li Pin had been close to Xiao Donghai at the time—less than a hundred meters apart—it was hard to tell whether that power was truly void teleportation. 100 meters was within the range of certain secret arts Legends use.

However, what Zhao Kunwu saw was enough to make him want to leave a good impression. He smiled and said, "I still feel guilty about what my disciple, Cang Shengdao, did. I've been waiting for the right opportunity to apologize to you, Hall Master Li. Therefore, I absolutely cannot accept this."

Li Pin didn't argue with them.

Dark Star Iron was the main material for the Rage War Halberd, but this legendary astral equipment wasn't something he could use. It would eventually be sold to the Legendary Treasure Vault. Once the item entered the Legendary Treasury and contribution points were obtained, he'd directly divide them among the group.

After that, aside from Xiao Donghai, Li Pin, Wu De, Zhao Kunwu, the others gathered the Special United Squad and continued the hunt for the scattered demonic creatures.

The pursuit lasted for three whole days!

During these three days, over four thousand Ox Demon Priests and Warlords had died at the hands of the Squad, while the remaining Warriors, Generals, and Sorcerers numbered in the tens of thousands.

The seventh palace complex of the Ox Demon Temple was completely cleared.

After clearing the seventh palace complex, the group discovered that an eight palace complex didn't exist.

With that, the Ox Demon Temple was effectively breached.

The entire territory of Dark Moon Island, covering millions of square kilometers, was fully restored.

***

In a small fishing village that had developed into a town on Dark Moon Island, the Master Astral Cultivators and Legends who had retreated from the Ox Demon Temple were finally able to relax a bit.

The full restoration of Dark Moon Island was a significant event for all of humanity.

The news had already spread when the demonic creatures of the Ox Demon Temple were defeated.

Mainstream media outlets widely covered this unprecedented victory.

It was well known that the danger of Dark Moon Island was as severe as that of Slave Valley, the Tenfold Heavenly Domain, Blood Moon Gorge, and the Demon-Sealing Fortress.

Since humanity had the power to cleanse Dark Moon Island and wipe out all the demonic creatures there, it was evident they also had the strength to clear the creatures in the previously mentioned perilous regions.

For a time, everyone seemed to see the dawn of humanity's victory and their return to the throne of Gaia as its supreme ruler.

***

While others celebrated, the Supreme Experts with the highest authority were far from as carefree as people believed.

At present, in a newly constructed room on Dark Moon Island, filled with a strong technological atmosphere, the Supreme Experts of the Special United Squad were all present in person.

In addition, several other Supreme Experts stationed at various perilous regions appeared in the room via projections.

In a sense, this was a Supreme Council.

Compared to the last Supreme Council held after the Human Alliance Expansion Conference, this meeting was even more serious.

Not only were over twenty Supreme Experts in attendance, but many also appeared in their true forms.

***

The person speaking was Yuan Zhenchuan. He carefully relayed Li Pin's suspicions to the Supreme Experts.

The expressions of all the Supreme Experts instantly grew even more solemn.

One by one, the Supreme Experts spoke with heavy words.

"I thought... we still had at least five or six years..."

"Spring warmth is foretold by the ducks... The second phase is coming soon. Those powerful civilizations will definitely make preparations ahead of time!"[1]

"We must raise our response level to alien civilizations once more."

The atmosphere in the meeting room grew tense for a while before Ge Lin, the Supreme Expert stationed at Slave Valley, spoke up. "Dark magic severely suppresses our astral energy. Although this is due to their far deeper understanding of dark magic, it still means our astral energy is at a disadvantage when facing them. Once dark magic grows stronger, the results that await us will not be good."

He glanced at Li Pin. "Unless... we all abandon the Astral Cultivators path and switch to the Martial God path."

Tu Tan quickly objected, "If we truly choose to abandon the Astral Cultivator path and switch to the Martial God path... it would mean abandoning our identity as inheritors of the Astral God's power. At that point, we'd effectively have no chance at the second phase!"

His words received the support of everyone in the room.

The Astral Cultivator system couldn't be abandoned at any cost.

Fan Xiu said in a heavy tone, "Choosing the Martial God path might not resolve the imminent crisis. Don't forget, once the Homo Sapien Alliance arrives to guide the development of various civilizations, the use of astral energy will surge to an astonishing level.

"Strong individuals, far beyond Legendary status, will emerge in droves. At that point, what will we, relying solely on the Martial God path, have to fight against them?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell into a heavy, oppressive silence.

Compared to the vast expanse of the universe, Gaia... was far too small.

1. A metaphorical expression to suggest certain people are more perceptive and aware of changes than others, referring to the powerful civilizations. ☜