Chapter 405: Supreme

The Solar Radiance Gate, part of the Solar Radiance United Empire, was a city-state force named after Solar Radiance. It stood outside a vast forest labyrinth. Inside this labyrinth, countless corrupted demonic creatures from the Blood Moon Gorge roamed.

These creatures were mostly spiders but also included many Beastfolk and evil demons. Among them, there were three legendary demonic creatures. Additionally, a large number of quasi-legendary Evil Giants lurked within.

The forest labyrinth itself was relatively safer, home to high-tier, top-tier, and lord-level demonic creatures mingling together. However, deeper within the Blood Moon Gorge, more than half of the creatures were lord-level.

No one knew the exact number of these creatures in the Blood Moon Gorge, but the numbers inside the central regions had at least reached a hundred thousand. Of these, over half were lord-level creatures.

The force was so overwhelming that it felt utterly suffocating.

Although Solar Radiance Sovereign had established the Solar Radiance Gate outside the labyrinth, the pressure on him was far greater than anyone realized.

If fifty thousand lord-level creatures were to surge out, even half of them would be enough to turn the Solar Radiance Gate and the entire Solar Radiance United Empire into a nightmare.

***

Solar Radiance Sovereign was sitting calmly in a room with an elegant wooden floor within the Solar Radiance Gate. His appearance was a harmonious blend of age and vitality—his silver hair hinted at his years, while his radiant, youthful demeanor defied the passage of time.

Before him, two projections appeared. One was Dao Ming, a Legendary figure in Solar Radiance, who was very close to reaching the level of the Supreme Expert. The other was Kui Sha, the Sovereign's eldest disciple, a Legendary expert capable of commanding Atomic Will with his own spiritual will.

Although both appeared before the Sovereign in projection form, it was evident that they held him in the highest regard.

The Solar Radiance Sovereign said calmly, "Our time is running out. I don't believe that the Blood Moon Demon King has been biding its time for so long only to passively wait for the second phase.

"The Demon King will not place its hopes on the Homo Sapien Alliance's decisions. Like us, they have great power and only need to eliminate their competitors to become the final victor. No one will remain idle."

"So... has your request been rejected again, my Lord?" Dao Ming asked.

The Solar Radiance Sovereign nodded slightly.

This gesture sparked a flare of uncontrollable anger in Kui Sha's eyes. "This is too much! The good-for-nothing bureaucrats of the Human Alliance are going too far!"

He stood up, unable to hold back. "The ones standing on the frontlines against the Blood Moon Gorge aren't Yuan Zhenchuan, Fu Qingtian, Zhao Kunwu, Ji Xuanyuan, Xiao Donghai, Ge Lin, Wu De, or Fan Xiu—it's you, Master, and our Solar Radiance Empire!

"None of them understand the true level of threat the Blood Moon Gorge poses! They stand by without doing anything! If it erupts, it will bring apocalyptic disaster to humanity! Yet, despite this, they continue to ignore your requests.

"Must they wait until the Blood Moon Gorge erupts and turns our entire Solar Radiance Gate and Empire into rivers of blood before they regret not acting sooner?"

Dao Ming's expression turned cold. "The Solar Radiance Empire, once known as the Empire of the Eternal Sun, was one of the greatest in the world, the strongest globally. But ever since the Blood Moon Gorge rooted itself within our borders, Solar Radiance has been dragged into the mud.

"Countless young warriors have sacrificed their lives in the fight against Blood Moon Gorge. Now, Solar Radiance is weaker than ever, with its overall strength barely ranking among the bottom of the Six Extremities. Even the once insignificant Tianyuan Dynasty has formed the Tianyuan Federation, earning more international prestige than we ever have..."

"

Hah

, Fu Qingtian was almost chosen as the first chairman of the Human Alliance. But because he disagreed with Li Pin's choice, the Tianyuan's reputation suffered. If not for that, the powerful alliance between them would have secured Fu's victory.

"But they seem to have forgotten that the first chairman of the alliance will bear the immense responsibility of liaising with the Homo Sapien Alliance. Above all, they must demonstrate the strength of our side. And when it comes to strength..."

Kui Sha glanced at the Solar Radiance Sovereign. "Master, if you claim second place in this world, who would dare to claim first?"

"Enough," the Solar Radiance Sovereign said calmly. "Waiting is a form of slow suicide. We can't afford to remain passive any longer."

"So, what do you intend to do, my Lord?" Dao Ming asked.

"People... once their numbers grow, their ideas inevitably diverge. When those ideas conflict, they'd only end up hindering each other, drastically reducing efficiency. I was once a strong advocate for reforming the Human Alliance, but... after all these years, reform remains nothing more than talk. I've lost all hope in them."

The Sovereign sighed wearily. "I'm tired. I don't want to regret it when death comes—regret that in the last years of peace, we did nothing, that we failed to act, missing the final opportunity to turn things around."

He turned to Kui Sha. "Has the connection device for that alternate dimension been completed?"

"It is complete," Kui Sha responded solemnly.

"Then, you will take my place and guard the Blood Moon Gorge for a time. Just make sure the Moon Demon scouts sent by the Blood Moon Demon King remain unaware of it," the Solar Radiance Sovereign said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Dao Ming's heart skipped a beat.

The Solar Radiance Sovereign, who had been guarding the Solar Radiance Gate and facing the Blood Moon Demon King for decades, was about to leave!?

Dao Ming could only think of one reason for this.

He asked, "Are you really going to contact the Divine Dragon Empire!?"

The risk of rashly contacting an alien civilization was enormous.

The Solar Radiance Sovereign had clearly made up his mind. "Waiting is slow suicide. Why not take a gamble instead?"

He glanced at Dao Ming and added casually, "I hold the Rebirth Ring. Even if there is danger, the worst that will happen is the destruction of that dimension—I'll die once, that's all."

Dao Ming's solemn expression didn't fade. However, he understood. The Solar Radiance Sovereign might appear as though he never argued with others, but that was only because his position no longer required him to.

Nearly everyone acted according to his will. In reality, he rarely made decisions, but once he did, no one could change them.

***

After leaving Dark Moon Island, Li Pin didn't head straight to the Celestial Martial God Hall. Instead, he first visited Great Shang, where the Human Alliance's headquarters was located.

After obtaining a batch of top-tier resources, he activated the power of the Void Ring and returned to the Celestial Martial God Hall.

***

Inside the training room at the peak of Hualong Mountain, Li Pin held a treasure the size of a soccer ball in his hand. Despite its small size, it radiated a brilliant light so intense that it was almost blinding.

"Celestial Core Fragment!"

He quietly sensed the energy fluctuations emanating from the treasure. "This was discovered by the Supreme Expert Ji Xuanyuan of Great Shang. He had been digging deep underground to study why demonic creatures prefer to live beneath the surface. During his excavation, tens of thousands of meters down, he accidentally unearthed it."

There was only one fragment of its kind in the entire Legendary Treasure Vault.

The value of this Celestial Core Fragment was a hundred billion contribution points! Yes, the same price as top-tier divine relics!

The Primordial Electric Crystals produced by Great Shang were found in the same area where the Celestial Core Fragment was discovered. They were crafted using a special method that triggered heavenly thunder, supplemented by geomagnetic force, and partially refined through artificial means.

These crystals were a key material for several astral techniques in the Astral Palace System, including Heavenly Thunder Aurora, Thunderbolt Technique, and Primordial Magnetic Technique.

In theory, this Celestial Core Fragment could be used to refine a large amount of Primordial Electric Crystals. However, many Legends considered it a waste to use the fragment in such a way.

Unfortunately, no one had found a better use for it, so it remained in the Legendary Treasure Vault, priced at a sky-high one hundred billion—far more than any other legendary astral equipment.

"My mental spirit has now broken through to the Legendary realm. From this point on, my focus should be on tempering my physique and enhancing my magnetic field strength—especially the latter..." Li Pin said.

While outside Gaia's surface, he could use Gaia's Celestial Force Field to annihilate his enemies. However, most demonic creatures preferred to live underground in order to be closer to the Celestial Core. His own Celestial Force Field might have sufficed, but Gaia's force field was vast and overwhelming, stretching thousands, even tens of thousands, of miles.

By right, when Li Pin activated Gaia's Celestial Force Field, it should cover at least several thousand miles. It's just that he tended to concentrate the power within a few kilometers.

If he were to unleash a force field of this magnitude underground, it would clash with the land surface first before it reached the demonic creatures.

In other words, the activated Celestial Force Field would first crush through the mountains, cave domes, and other structures before it could further harm the demonic creatures.

However, as the force passed through the mountain and the cave's ceiling, its power would be significantly weakened. Additionally, due to the interaction of forces, Li Pin would also bear the strain of crushing the mountain, ultimately making the effort counterproductive.

"Unless there was an enormous underground space—spanning several kilometers, or even tens of kilometers in length, width, and height—Gaia's Celestial Force Field would only be marginally effective.

Such a space, however, was exceedingly rare.

Given this, if Li Pin wanted to maintain his combat effectiveness against underground demonic creatures, enhancing his magnetic field strength became an urgent priority.

With this in mind, he held the Astral Core Fragment and quickly activated the Celestial Martial God Manual.

The Celestial Magnetic Field within him, built around his Lifeform Force Field, began to run rapidly, drawing energy from the Celestial Core Fragment and feeding it into the field.

The strength of his Celestial Magnetic Field quickly surged at an astonishing rate—fifty! Sixty! Seventy! Eighty! Ninety!

With the help of the terrifying energy from the Celestial Core, Li Pin's magnetic field strength broke through the one-hundred mark in one go!

He had officially entered the final realm of martial cultivation he had created—the Supreme Martial God!