Chapter 527: News

At the Mara Divine Treasury Hall.

On the island where Long Ying resided, the Gold Pioneer, with the power of a Tier Six Legend, was operating a formation. Under its effects, any energy fluctuation around the mountain where Li Pin resided would be clearly displayed.

"This makes it foolproof," Long Ying remarked with a smile. "As long as Li Pin leaves his residence and takes to the skies, my Multiversal Spiritual Resonance Formation will immediately detect the energy waves emanating from him and lock onto his position."

He chuckled. "That is unless he decides to travel over a thousand miles on foot, of course. That would be beyond the array's sensing range."

Qi Ming chimed in confidently, "That won't work either. I've stationed people near several Astral Gates. If he tries to leave through one, I'll know immediately. Which means this time, Li Pin has no chance of escape."

Another Pioneer sighed. "The various divisions of the Divine Treasury Hall are being dismantled and relocated. In the past, we wouldn't have dared to act so boldly. Everyone followed the rules diligently."

Wearing a faint smile, Bai Lu said, "That's precisely why Li Pin is in such a hurry to leave before the Hall is fully dismantled. If he waited another ten or so stellar years until the Hall was gone, he'd truly be a fish in a barrel."

"What's left is to see when his true form will—"

Long Ying halted mid-sentence. His expression shifted as he took out a jade token.

With a glance, his face darkened. The once-radiant token, shimmering with starlight, had now turned completely dim, devoid of all color.

"This is... a life token?" mused Qi Ming, identifying the token in Long Ying's hand. "Whose life token is it?"

Long Ying's eyes flashed with uncontrollable fury. "Han Ze... is dead!"

Han Ze?

The mention of his name made everyone, including Bai Lu's team and Qi Ming's men, immediately recall the Tier Five Legend.

Wasn't he the one tracking down Li Pin's avatar?

Even Qi Ming and his group were familiar with this name. Han Ze's skills preceded him. He was a master of stealth with unparalleled skill. He had once infiltrated within a hundred meters of a Divine Being, yet the Divine Being remained completely unaware. To a Divine Being, a hundred meters was no different than face-to-face proximity.

Long Ying said nothing, his face dark as he worked swiftly on the life token. Soon, a faint trace of mental spirit fluctuation emerged from it.

When creating life tokens, cultivators often left a sliver of their inner spirit within. Using special techniques, the holder could glimpse the final moments of the deceased.

Now, under Long Ying's manipulation, Han Ze's last moments came into view. A terrified scream echoed, "No!"

In the next instant, a sword light, not overwhelmingly powerful but precise to an extreme degree, pierced through Han Ze, annihilating everything.

At the end of the image, a vague figure loomed. Its right hand stretched skyward, controlling countless sword lights that rained down like a storm, blanketing every corner of a planet.

The scene... the precision in wielding such overwhelming power... there could only be one possibility.

Qi Ming shot to his feet. "An Astral God?"

The others were equally stunned, their voices filled with shock.

"Yes, it's an Astral God!"

"Only an Astral God could divide their power into millions of fragments and still maintain absolute precision."

"It must be an avatar of the Astral God!"

An Astral God had acted in person!

In theory, Supreme Legends, Divinities, and Astral God avatars all belonged to the seventh step on the Supreme Ladder. However, among these, Supreme Legends were the weakest, typically possessing a Power Level of just over 100,000. Divinities were stronger, with a baseline starting at 120,000.

Of course, there were exceptions. Some Divinities out there had a Power Level ranging from 100,000 to 110,000. These were often individuals who attained Divinity through unique circumstances or shortcuts, and their foundations were weaker due to refining their Natal Planets to less than the optimal hundred-thousand-kilometer sizes.

As for Astral God avatars, those were in a tier of their own. Even the weakest among them started at the peak of the seventh tier, with a Power Level of at least 150,000. The elite avatars could reach 160, 170, or even 180 thousand.

Some avatars, meticulously prepared by Astral Gods and equipped with Divine Weapons, could easily breach the eighth tier, entering the 200,000 Power Level range. This was the immense power of an Astral God.

For a Divinity to reach such strength, they needed a Solar Flare Divine Weapon at the bare minimum. Even with such a weapon, their Power Level would only rival Astral God avatars in the 170,000 to 180,000 range.

As for Supreme Legends, they were even weaker. With a Divine Weapon, their combat strength could reach 150 to 160 thousand at best. Only those with weapons tailored to their cultivation techniques and fighting styles could compete with similarly armed Divinities.

Among their group, Long Ying had an advantage, having pledged allegiance to an Astral God and earned a Divine Weapon as a reward. Qi Ming, however, still relied on a Semi-Divine Weapon. In terms of Power Levels, Long Ying barely reached 100,000, while Qi Ming was above 120,000.

This narrow gap was why Long Ying chose to collaborate with Qi Ming. While Qi Ming was stronger, the Divine Weapon Long Ying possessed made the difference negligible.

Against an Astral God avatar, however, both were hopelessly outmatched. A ten percent disparity in combat strength created a clear advantage. At thirty percent, the dominance became overwhelming. A fifty percent gap meant survival was in question. As for a hundred percent increase, that was an outright instant kill.

With even the weakest Astral God avatars exceeding 150,000 Power Level, they... had no chance.

A pioneer bellowed angrily, "Astral Gods! Astral Gods! How dare they!? Targeting the pioneers who breached the divine treasure world! This is a slap in the face to the Divine Treasury Hall. Aren't they afraid of retribution?"

Long Ying exhaled heavily, regret lacing his voice. "The Solar Flare Divine Weapon! I should have realized. A treasure like the Solar Flare Divine Weapon would attract the attention of the Astral Gods.

"I thought they would respect the Divine Treasury Hall's rules and hold back, but I never expected them to be this bold."

Another pioneer said, their tone tinged with schadenfreude, "Fortunately, it was just Li Pin's avatar. Risking being hunted by the Divine Treasury Hall only to target an avatar...

"I wonder how the Astral God will feel when they find out they killed nothing more than a clone of Li Pin. Will they regret it?"

His words were met with silence. Long Ying and Qi Ming's faces darkened further, and the atmosphere grew tense.

The pioneer glanced around, confused. It seemed like he was wondering why no one was speaking.

Bai Lu broke the awkward silence with a sigh. "Feigning the real with the false, blurring truth and illusion. Li Pin.... he's a master tactician!

"Everyone assumed the first figure he sent out was an avatar, but instead, he sent his true self. It's hard to decide whether to call him audacious or brilliantly strategic."

The pioneer's eyes widened in realization. "You're saying... the first one wasn't an avatar?"

Bai Lu nodded. "Never underestimate an Astral God's attention to detail. Their strength goes far beyond our understanding. For an Astral God to risk incurring the wrath of the Divine Treasury Hall, they wouldn't act recklessly without confirming Li Pin's identity."

She paused before adding, "And if Li Pin's avatar could fool even an Astral God, then everything we've worked on these years has been for nothing."

The pioneer's expression darkened. They had all been outmaneuvered by Li Pin. They had thought victory was within their grasp—just keep watch on his residence, and he would eventually slip up.

But in reality, his true body had already slipped away from the Divine Treasury Hall and was almost back in his homeland.

If words about this got out... the Dragon Hawk Squad would be the laughingstock.

Long Ying sighed heavily after a long silence. "It's over. With an Astral God personally intervening and deploying an avatar, Li Pin is already in their hands. His treasures, resources, divine equipment... none of it is ours anymore."

They had spent several stellar years on painstaking research and secret planning, but it had all been in vain.

The others remained silent, their faces etched with disappointment.

"Report this to the Divine Treasury Hall," a pioneer said coldly.

"If we can't have it, no one else should. And if they manage to get it, they won't enjoy it for long."

"I'll send the report anonymously," Long Ying said, regret lingering in his heart.

Had he known an Astral God would intervene, he would have informed his Astral God benefactor beforehand. This way, the Astral God could have seized the Solar Flare Divine Weapon and perhaps rewarded him with a share.

With luck, he might even have received a custom Divine Weapon to elevate his power above most Tier Seven combatants.

At that moment, Qi Ming's communication device buzzed.

He looked at the incoming message and froze, unable to stop himself from reading aloud, "Li Pin has arrived at the Myriad Astral Gate and is in the queue. Once through, he'll reach the heavily monitored Yin Luo Galaxy, under the Homo Sapien Alliance's jurisdiction... Li Pin is already at the Myriad Astral Gate!?"

His eyes widened as he stopped reading, stunned. "That's impossible!"

Long Ying, too, was filled with disbelief. "The next stop after the Sunset Astral Gate is the Myriad Astral Gate! But with an Astral God's avatar at the Sunset Astral Gate, how could Li Pin have left unharmed to reach Myriad?"

"No way, Li Pin couldn't have escaped an Astral God's avatar alive," a Pioneer murmured.

To survive an Astral God's avatar required strength on par with Qi Ming's—Divine level—yet even Qi Ming himself couldn't guarantee a successful escape from such an encounter.

But now, Li Pin had safely arrived at the Myriad Astral Gate... What did this mean?

All eyes shifted to Qi Ming.

His expression grew even more somber. If this information was true, then Li Pin's strength was on par with his. Or perhaps... even stronger?

At that moment, Bai Lu, who had been searching for information, suddenly found something that shook her deeply. Her inner spirit cycle faltered, and she emitted a strong mental pulse.

"No way! Absolutely impossible!" she screamed, her voice filled with disbelief.

"What did you find?"

The others quickly gathered around her, and Long Ying immediately stepped forward to check her communication bracelet.

On the screen, the message was something no one could have expected.

"A suspected battle broke out between a Divine Being and an Astral God's avatar at the Sunset Astral Gate, ending with the defeat of the Astral God's avatar."