Chapter 489: Seed

The first Candle Light Alliance Expansion Conference had begun. The representative from Dragon Swamp Nebula, a nebula-level faction, drew considerable attention. The reason was simple: while other nations had dispatched at least a Legend-level figure, Gaia sent only a Heavenly Realm representative, which made them stand out like a sore thumb.

Despite that, no one dared provoke them. For one, Gaia's representative, Yuan Zhenchuan, was accompanied by Xue Feng, a Tier One Legend. For another, a quick inquiry revealed that Gaia had a Celestial Martial Artist whose combat strength rivaled a Tier Three Legend.

It wasn't as powerful as the Immortal Wood Empire, the Ashen Council, or the White Dove Federation. However, this sort of strength was still formidable among nebula-level factions.

Moreover, the Legendary Celestial Martial Artist from Gaia was rumored to be exceptionally talented. If they found a suitable primary planet, they could very well become a Demigod.

It was no wonder the other factions chose to turn a blind eye to the fact that Gaia had only sent a Heavenly Realm representative.

The conference proceeded smoothly. Beyond discussions of mutual aid and trade alliances, the key agenda was the cultivation of "seed candidates."

As Lan Chi had predicted, the Immortal Wood Empire's Ling Rui and the Ashen Council's Radiant Silver would never let the White Dove Federation take control of resource distribution.

In the end, they agreed to rank candidates based on their performance at the Divine Transformation Peak, followed by a mutual selection process where the top-seeded candidates and civilizations chose each other for support.

During the process, the other nations argued fiercely and secured some favorable terms.

First, to ensure a fair chance for other civilizations, the Immortal Wood Empire, Ashen Council, and White Dove Federation were each limited to sending no more than two candidates from the top ten at the Divine Transformation Peak.

Second, if more than one candidate chose the same civilization, that civilization was required to provide equal resources to both of its seeded candidates.

With these conditions settled, the top ten were soon determined.

As expected, the Immortal Wood Empire, Ashen Council, and White Dove Federation dominated the top six spots.

Surprisingly, the candidate ranked first did not come from the deeply rooted White Dove Federation but from the Ashen Council. Hong Feng, of the Ashen Council, reached the fourth level of Divine Transformation Peak, displaying peak Tier One Legend combat strength.

The second spot went to the Immortal Wood Empire's Ling Yi, who also reached the fourth level, though she took slightly longer than Hong Feng.

The third spot was claimed by the Ashen Council's Luo Si. The White Dove Federation's ace, Lan Yan, secured fourth place.

The fifth and sixth spots went to the Immortal Wood Empire's Yu You and the White Dove Federation's Chi Bailian from the Chi family, respectively.

The candidates were all at the third level of the Divine Transformation Peak. Notably, Chi Bailian barely managed to clear the third level, revealing his potential as the weakest among the six major Legends.

Past the top six, the remaining four in the top ten had only reached the second level of the Divine Transformation Peak.

Gaia had three Legends, but they were all born prior to Astral God Yin Luo's descent. They were not qualified to compete for his inheritance.

As for the others... Solar Radiance Sovereign had became Gaia's strongest with all of Gaia's support invested in him. He also received occasional guidance from Si Xing. Despite this, he still needed time to challenge the Legend rank.

He attempted the Divine Transformation Peak trial with utmost effort but failed to clear even the first level. If he couldn't succeed, the others had no chance.

Fu Qingtian had chosen the Demigod path but had yet to make any breakthroughs. Even if he succeeded later, the path clearly did not meet Astral God Yin Luo's criteria for selecting an inheritor.

Under these circumstances, Gaia's civilization was effectively excluded from the competition and relegated to the role of a supplier. The high-ranking officials of Gaia, though filled with resentment, were left with no alternative.

Looking out across the vast cosmos, they were simply too weak.

***

Li Pin, who was preparing for the Mara Divine Treasure World, received a message from Yuan Zhenchuan and sighed.

The Divine Treasury Hall contained the Astral Source Spirit, a treasure capable of greatly enhancing the physique. Coupled with other cultivation resources, it would be easy to push the Solar Radiance Sovereign to the Legendary Realm. But such resources weren't cheap.

If these resources came for cheap, Li Pin might've considered the idea. After all, it would allow Gaia to stand out. But spending tens of thousands of Divine Treasury Points would affect his own cultivation progress, and he couldn't have that. It was out of the question.

His Divine Treasury Points were borrowed, not truly his. Helping had to be done within reason—he wasn't Gaia's caretaker, and Gaia couldn't rely on him for everything.

Yuan Zhenchuan spoke with a respectful tone.

Yuan Zhenchuan: Chairman Li, the top ten candidates have been finalized. I've sent you their details. Which seed candidate do you think Gaia should support?

Li Pin: I'll take a look and get back to you.

After ending the communication, he thought for a moment and contacted Si Xing. The moment the call connected, Si Xing's voice came through.

—You're calling about the seed candidates prioritized by the Candle Light Alliance, right?

"Exactly. You've been observing for a stellar year. Any suggestions?" Li Pin asked.

—The Candle Light Alliance's tripartite power structure is already far more democratic than most. In other star rings, alliance nations wouldn't even have a choice. Typically, the alliance leader would directly designate two or three candidates for focused cultivation.

Si Xing continued.

—As for the top ten, I won't bother mentioning those who are just there to fill the numbers. But of the top six, Hong Feng undoubtedly has the highest talent. He came from a native civilization, and the Ashen Council spared no expense to win him over.

—By the time their civilization entered the cosmic stage, he had already achieved the Legendary Realm. That's the mark of a true genius.

Si Xing paused briefly, then added.

—Considering the limitations of his perspective in the past... even among geniuses, he can be considered one of the very best.

"A top-tier genius..." Li Pin murmured thoughtfully.

—In theory, it's unlikely a single peerless genius would appear in a galaxy even over tens of thousands of stellar years. However, the Yin Luo Galaxy has been altered by Astral God Yin Luo, greatly increasing the chances of producing geniuses.

—There's a considerable chance of several peerless geniuses emerging. You, however, are a special case—perhaps a once-in-ten-thousand-year martial arts genius unique to this galaxy.

—As a top-tier, peerless genius yourself, you naturally understand the vast gap between geniuses and ordinary people. If nothing unexpected happens, this batch of individuals will likely reach at least Tier Two Legendary within just eleven stellar years.

—If any of them were born into a major cosmic civilization, I wouldn't be surprised if they reached Tier Three or Four Legendary.

Li Pin was speechless. "Tier Three, Four Legendary!?"

Hong Feng, the strongest genius in the Candle Light Star Ring... was only at the peak of Tier One Legendary. The gap between them was enormous.

However, Li Pin soon thought about his own cultivation progress.

In less than two stellar years, his cultivation had already reached the peak of Tier Three Legendary. In some areas, he had even touched upon the fourth tier. It seemed he didn't have much room to criticize others.

—People are just that different. If you're serious about supporting a genius, Hong Feng is your best choice. He's the only one qualified to compete with the others.

—As for the rest, Ling Yi is currently on par with him, but he comes from the Immortal Wood Clan, which enjoyed vastly superior treatment ten stellar years ago. This was something Hong Feng simply couldn't compare to.

—The remaining few are even far inferior to Ling Yi. Within three stellar years, the gap between Hong Feng and the others will widen significantly.

Si Xing paused.

—Of course, if you make a fortune in the divine treasure world and are willing to pour in several, or even tens or dozens of times the resources, then just pretend I didn't say anything. Now that you're at the Divine Treasury Hall, you must have realized a truth: while those with talent can still thrive without ample resources, for geniuses and peerless geniuses, talent alone, no matter how extraordinary, is not enough.

Li Pin nodded.

His gaze lingered on Lan Yan's profile for a moment.

Provided the candidate's skill levels weren't too far apart, Li Pin would prefer to invest in someone familiar like Lan Yan.

However, the main goal of the Candle Light Alliance in introducing the Legendary Seeds was to nurture a successor capable of competing for Astral God Yin Luo's inheritance. The higher the talent of this successor, the better. After all, this was about the survival of civilizations.

For advanced cosmic civilizations like the White Dove Federation, the Immortal Wood Empire, or the Ashen Council, as long as the successor of Astral God Yin Luo didn't seek retribution, their losses would be limited to a generation of Astral Cultivators at most.

But for native civilizations that had just stepped into the cosmic era... complete annihilation awaited them.

"Gaia truly has no one who could be considered a genius?" Li Pin asked.

—I can only tell you that the absence of geniuses is the norm. A concentration of geniuses is what's abnormal. For Gaia to have someone like you is already an extraordinary blessing. Even if another genius emerged, it would be the result of tens of thousands of years of accumulated fortune.

Si Xing paused for a moment. After some thought, he added.

—If you're determined to pick the best among the mediocre, Solar Radiance Sovereign, Ge Lin, and Fu Qingtian might barely qualify as quasi-geniuses.

"Got it." Li Pin nodded. "Thanks for keeping an eye out for me."

Si Xing nodded.

—No worries.

Li Pin ended the communication and once again reviewed the profiles of the ten candidates.

Eventually, he contacted Yuan Zhenchuan.

"Quality matters more than quantity. Focus on Hong Feng," Li Pin said.

—Understood. We'll reach out to Hong Feng to see what assistance he requires. Should we also prepare a cultivation plan for him?

Theoretically, Legendary Seeds usually outlined their own cultivation needs, and civilizations willing to assist would strive to fulfill them. However, if the Seed's perspective was limited, some civilizations might offer suggestions instead.

Ultimately, the choice to accept such guidance rested with the Legendary Seed. As a peak Tier One cultivator, a Legendary Seed was far superior to many native civilizations and had their own plans and opinions.

This was inherently a mutual selection, with no compulsion involved.

"The Ashen Council has likely already provided him with a reasonable cultivation plan. There's no need for us to intervene further," Li Pin replied.

Yuan Zhenchuan acknowledged.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

—Understood.

He then reported on various matters regarding Gaia, such as the number of Heavenly Realm cultivators now exceeding three digits, with several among them achieving the Top-Tier Realm.

While Li Pin could have dismissed such reports, he knew that showing complete indifference to Gaia's affairs could easily incite internal panic. For the sake of stability, he had to demonstrate some degree of involvement.

Once the communication ended, the profiles of the top ten Legendary Seeds surfaced in his mind again.

If possible, he still hoped Gaia could produce someone exceptional. Yet, on the cosmic stage, Gaia had no talents worth mentioning. And he lacked the resources to compensate for such gaps in innate ability.

Shaking his head, Li Pin refocused his attention on studying the records of the Mara Divine Treasure World.