Chapter 510: Newcomer

The words caused a stir among the pioneers.

"A God Emperor!?"

"Pioneers can actually reach the God Emperor level!?"

"How did he manage to achieve this?"

"Someone broke through the power cap? A God Emperor!? Could there be power beyond that? If such strength exists, it might be possible to break the stalemate and reverse the situation!"

The room buzzed with voices. Even the previously dejected pioneers lifted their heads, their expressions showing interest as they listened intently.

"Very few know that pioneer's identity for now," Lie Qingqing explained, "but many are looking into him, hoping to uncover useful clues and perhaps work together to break open the Mara World."

She continued, "Let's set aside distant possibilities for now. Just the fact that he has surpassed the power limit to reach the God Emperor level has already advanced the progress of opening the Mara Divine Treasure significantly. What a God King can achieve and what a God Emperor can achieve are worlds apart."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Wait, a God Emperor!?" Fang Zhiqian suddenly exclaimed, turning sharply to Lie Qingqing. "Is it true that a pioneer has broken through to the God Emperor realm?"

"If I'm saying it, it's certainly true," Lie Qingqing replied calmly. "I assigned Xi Lin, a member of my team who failed to reach the Myth Realm, to gather intelligence.

"According to her findings, this God Emperor not only crushed the Dragon Hawk Squad but also killed numerous Heavenly Demon Clan's Myths and God Kings. Moreover, he slayed the Slaughter God Monarch and the Destruction God Monarch."

She paused before adding, "These two God Monarchs are elite entities that appear in nearly every cycle. If you want proof, have your team confirm their deaths."

Every Gold Pioneer had their own team and pioneers willing to align with them.

Those who didn't stand out among the Pioneers and failed to reach the top thousand—achieving God King or Myth Realm—were excluded from the Starshine City operation, and Li Pin was among them.

"A God Emperor.... To think a pioneer has actually reached the God Emperor Realm..." Fang Zhiqian muttered, his disbelief evident.

Fang Chunyang, who knew him well, quickly realized something. "You know the identity of that God Emperor?"

The moment he spoke, all eyes, including those of Lie Qingqing and Xu Anping, turned toward Fang Zhiqian.

Despite the inner spirit requiring stricter adherence to one's true self compared to Divinity, Fang Zhiqian's mastery of it allowed him to quickly regain his composure.

Recalling a certain communication, his expression grew complex.

Faced with the questioning gazes of his team, he didn't hesitate and said, "Before the Starshine City operation, we were tasked with notifying everyone to gather. I was responsible for informing Li Pin. He told me he wasn't joining, claiming he had reached the God Emperor Realm and was attempting to break open the Mara World...."

He let out a bitter chuckle. "In the hundreds of cycles we've gone through, no pioneer has ever reached the God Monarch Realm. I assumed he hadn't even achieved the Myth Realm and was too embarrassed to admit it, so he used this as an excuse. But now that I have heard that someone has actually reached the God Emperor Realm...."

"Li Pin!? That newcomer!?" Xu Anping's pupils dilated. "If I recall correctly, this is his first time in the divine treasure world, right? His first cycle? That's impossible!"

"How is that impossible!? Newcomers are the true monsters! Each one brings unique ideas. They're like a fresh stream of water, often bringing change when they enter a divine treasure world that others failed to open despite immense effort!"

Fang Chunyang's eyes lit up with energy. "Looking at the history of divine treasure worlds, more than half of the breakthroughs were achieved by newcomers within fewer than ten cycles."

The other pioneers shared his enthusiasm, their eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Someone urged Fang Zhiqian, "Is it really him? Just contact him and find out!"

Fang Zhiqian acted decisively, quickly taking out a jade communication tablet. After a while, the connection was established.

On the other end, Li Pin seemed already aware of what they wanted to ask.

—It seems the uproar caused by slaying the Destruction God Emperor and the Slaughter God Emperor wasn't small. You found out so quickly.

Fang Zhiqian's eyes widened. "It's really you!?"

He couldn't hold back asking, "Did you truly reach the God Emperor Realm?"

—I remember already telling you about it.

Hearing the confirmation directly from Li Pin, Fang Zhiqian took a deep breath. "You... you really are..."

The rest of the pioneers were visibly moved.

"It's really him!?"

"Are newcomers now this terrifying?"

"Who exactly is Li Pin? Could he be from a top-tier family, giving him access to key intelligence?"

One by one, they committed Li Pin's name to memory.

Fang Zhiqian suddenly thought of something and asked, "You've really become a God Emperor, and you mentioned before that if everything goes smoothly, you could break open the Mara World. Is that true?"

—I can't guarantee it. But if my assumptions are correct, I can break open the Mara World.

Fang Zhiqian's heart skipped a beat. He understood exactly what this meant.

"Thank you!" He nodded firmly. "Once the Mara World is broken, we'll ensure you receive a generous reward."

—No need to be so formal.

Li Pin replied with a faint smile before ending the call.

As the communication ended, Fang Zhiqian turned to Fang Chunyang and glanced at the others. After a moment's thought, he decided to share the news with them.

Those who had the potential to become Gold Pioneers were never lacking in ability. In the future, there was a significant chance they might ascend to the level of Astral Gods.

Thus, cultivating good relationships with them through some information was essentially setting up a network of interests in advance, which would benefit both him and the future development of their respective families.

"Everyone, the God Emperor who broke through the limits of power is him, Li Pin," Fang Zhiqian said solemnly.

Immediately after, he dropped a bombshell. "The news about him attempting to break open the Mara World is true. From his tone... he seems quite confident."

"Break open the Mara World!?"

"He can really do it!?"

"Wait, if he succeeds in breaking open the Mara World this time..."

The pioneers exchanged glances. As they each thought of something, a terrifying light flashed in their eyes.

In previous cycles, many factions and Pioneers didn't engage in life-or-death battles over divine equipment in the early stages.

If they sensed things were impossible, they wouldn't force the issue. They didn't know if the Mara World could be broken open, so they didn't risk everything for divine equipment in the early stages, leaving room for others to seize opportunities.

"The Mara World has thirteen Divine Weapons!"

"Among them, the Moon Goddess and the Reincarnation Shield—which are as powerful as the Supreme Demonic Sword—are too difficult to obtain. The Oracle's Blade is with the Netherlord, so we can't get them. But as for the remaining Divine Weapons..."

The Pioneers exchanged glances again, quickly reaching a decision. The leading Gold Pioneers spoke up one by one.

"We can't waste any time. Let's move quickly and gather all the divine equipment we can."

"I understand, but most of the divine equipment already has owners. Taking them from their hands will inevitably lead to battle, and some will certainly perish in the process. Therefore, we must arrange the distribution of benefits in advance."

"You're right. Although this will offend many, if all goes well, this will be the final battle. In the face of obtaining one or several divine equipment, who cares about offending others?"

Fang Chunyang quickly said, "This news came from Fang Zhiqian. Should we give him ten percent of the profits? Is that alright?"

One Pioneer hesitated. "Ten percent? Isn't that a bit too much?"

However, Xu Anping immediately interjected, "Ten percent is fair. Additionally, I suggest we allocate another ten percent to Li Pin as an information fee. What do you all think?"

Before anyone could respond, Fang Chunyang nodded. "Ten percent for information is reasonable. Don't forget the rules between pioneers!"

Lie Qingqing and the other Gold Pioneers agreed.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Indeed, information is priceless. If Li Pin hadn't informed us about his likelihood of breaking open the Mara World, how would we have dared to risk everything for these divine equipment?"

Seeing that, even the Silver Pioneers, who had been eager to act, nodded in agreement.

"As long as he can break open the Mara World, giving him ten percent of the profits as gratitude is only right."

Some people were reluctant to accept this arrangement. However, with the majority in agreement, this minority didn't dare voice objections. They feared incurring the displeasure of Fang Chunyang and the other Gold Pioneers, resulting in them getting excluded from the group.

"We can't delay. Let's move quickly and gather as much divine equipment as possible!"

***

Li Pin ended the communication and returned to focusing on adapting to the Demigod state.

He finally understood why Demigod had such rough control over their power and why those at the Tier Four or Five Legendary Realm, despite being weaker than elite Demigods, still looked down on this cultivation path.

On one hand, the potential of this path was far less than that of the orthodox system. On the other hand, it came down to how Demigods controlled their power.

It was like trying to integrate a Legend—who could originally control a domain of just a few thousand kilometers—into a planet with a diameter of tens of thousands or even over a hundred thousand kilometers.

It was like trying to run a large 3D game on an old computer. The only solution was to lower the graphics to the lowest settings, so much so that the game barely resembled the original.

"Luckily, when I manifested my power, I only projected the force field and intensity of a planet with a thousand-kilometer diameter, not an actual planet of that size. If I had, it would have been like trying to run a large game on an outdated computer—just a bare sphere with no details.

Li Pin chuckled lightly, then continued his training.

Occasionally, he visited the Netherlord's God Kingdom to interact with Cang Ruoxi, maintaining their father-daughter bond.

Unfortunately, after learning he had killed two God Monarchs and numerous Gods Kings and Myths from the Heavenly Demon Clan, the Netherlord didn't increase his trust in him. Instead, he focused more on studying the Supreme Demonic Sword.

This only pulled him deeper into its power.

Finally, less than a month after the Starshine City incident, Li Pin received news from the Netherlord's subordinates: the Netherlord was in danger, his life hanging by a thread.