Chapter 623: Bias

As Li Pin reviewed his gains, Xuan Jian promptly reported the findings to the Divine Treasury Hall.

The three Hall Masters—Yun Tu, Ran Shenji, and Bai Chao—were immediately alerted. Listening to Xuan Jian's account, they exchanged glances, each seeing the disbelief in the others' eyes.

"Luo Fang," Yun Tu called out.

Luo Fang, the computational core of the Void Divine Treasury Hall, swiftly provided the analysis. "Based on Astral God Xuan Jian's description, there is an 81.77% probability that Li Pin achieved the mentioned feats, a 98.14% likelihood that he possesses methods beyond Xuan Jian's understanding, and an estimated Power Level of 452,400 for the assailant..."

"Power Level 452,000!? That's tier nine combat strength!" Ran Shenji couldn't help but exclaim, "Impossible! Aside from Cosmic Radiance and Eternal Solar Flare's combat-specialized avatar equipped with Solar Flare Divine Weapons, how could a mere Divine Being possess such overwhelming power!?"

He immediately turned to Luo Fang. "Retrieve my archived 1S file from 51 stellar years ago and run a data match."

"Retrieving file... Matching data..." Luo Fang responded at once.

Yun Tu, knowing exactly what the 1S archive contained, frowned. "Do you really think Li Pin has mastered Void? That he relied on it to defeat the Eternal Solar Flare's combat-specialized avatar?"

Ran Shenji's tone was firm. "I can't think of any other way a Divine could unleash tier nine combat power."

Bai Chao chimed in. "Li Pin isn't like other Divines. You saw Luo Fang's analysis. He has a 99.91% probability of achieving the Perfect Realm.

"After leaving the Void Divine Treasure World, he exchanged for an Astral World Fragment, which greatly enhances his energy reserves.

"Add in the secret arts, battle techniques, and divine weapons under his command, and it's not impossible for him to have tier nine combat power."

"That's the real issue. He never entered the Astral World. Without the omnipresent Eternal Oblivion Force, how could he have achieved the Perfect Realm?" Ran Shenji said coldly. "Among all our human prodigies, has anyone ever reached this level without first stepping into the Astral World?

He challenged, "Are you suggesting that every past prodigy falls short compared to Li Pin alone?"

Bai Chao countered, "He isn't the only one to achieve the Perfect Realm at Tier Six Legendary..."

"That's different! Those Tier Six Legends had already entered the Astral World. They refined their strength within that environment, reaching the Perfect Realm through moments of enlightenment. But Li Pin... he doesn't even understand the Eternal Oblivion Force."

Ran Shenji swept his gaze across the others. "And more than that... doesn't this seem strange? In the Void Divine Treasure World, he fought the Void Emperor and was ejected prematurely. Has that ever happened before?"

Yun Tu fell silent. He, too, found Li Pin's experience in the divine treasure world far too easy, unreasonably easy.

Almost as if... he had already known everything.

What should have been insurmountable trials crumbled effortlessly in his hands.

The same had happened in the Mara Divine Treasure World. And now, the Void Divine Treasure World as well.

Hearing how the hall masters' debate had shifted from Li Pin's ambush to questioning the extent of his power, Xuan Jian couldn't help but interject. "Shouldn't we be focusing on tracking down that mysterious Astral God to demonstrate our stance?"

"Of course, we'll investigate. But we also need to understand the anomalies surrounding Li Pin," Ran Shenji's tone was firm. "His performance... defies reason."

"Defies reason?" muttered Xuan Jian.

He recalled how Li Pin had charged headfirst into danger despite knowing the risks.

With such willpower and conviction, constantly pushing past his limits and even surpassing them, was his success really so unreasonable? It seemed to me that it was actually inevitable as long as Li Pin survived.

"Hall Masters," Xuan Jian took a deep breath and said solemnly. "Have you considered the possibility that Li Pin's talent is even greater than we expected?"

"How great?" Ran Shenji scoffed. "The Hall Master already treats him as a prodigy. Just how much higher could it be? Don't tell me you think he's a once-in-an-era supreme prodigy!"

"Why not?" Xuan Jian questioned steadily.

His words left Ran Shenji momentarily speechless. Even Yun Tu and Bai Chao exchanged incredulous looks.

An era was a unit far beyond a stellar year, representing 100,000 stellar years, the maximum lifespan of a Divine. It also marked the upper limit for non-Astral God species and other cultivation systems within human civilization.

In other words, only once in 100,000 stellar years would a supreme prodigy emerge. This was why an era was synonymous with an age.

But that wasn't the point. The key was the scope of an era. It spanned the entirety of humanity's domain.

A prodigy might appear once or twice within that timeframe, their brilliance illuminating the heavens, casting a shadow over all others. But that was typically within a single Star Abyss, such as the Frostbound or the Glorious Star Abyss.

A supreme prodigy, however, stood above all. Their presence encompassed the entire human domain, every Star Abyss combined. Even the most dazzling prodigy of a single Star Abyss, who once overshadowed countless others, would pale in comparison, reduced to nothing more than a backdrop for their radiance.

If every prodigy was considered a reserve candidate for the Cosmic Radiance, then a supreme prodigy, as long as they did not fall prematurely or lose themselves in obsession, was almost guaranteed to reach that pinnacle.

It was only a matter of time until they did so.

Once such talent was confirmed, the Cosmic Radiance powerhouses would compete to take them as disciples. As long as they had a decent temperament and weren't arrogant beyond reason, becoming Supreme Direct Disciples would be fairly easy for them.

At that point, with both talent and status, they would be treated nearly on par with the Cosmic Radiance powerhouses themselves.

Yun Tu said, "Enough, Xuan Jian. We understand the situation. You may step back now."

"Hall Master... I know my words may seem presumptuous, but... no matter what, Li Pin is someone the Grand Hall Master favor and intend to recommend for the Eternal Ascent of Humanity Initiative. If anything else happens to him—"

Ran Shenji cut him off before he could finish. "Use a Primordial Astral Chart on him."

Yun Tu gave him a surprised look.

The Primordial Astral Chart was a supreme treasure crafted by the Heaven Ordainment Sect. Once activated, it could instantly transmit an Astral God's avatar to any marked target through the Astral World, including the powerful combat-specialized avatars.

Considering the Grand Hall Master's regard for Li Pin and his status as a candidate for the Eternal Ascent of Humanity Initiative, Yun Tu nodded. "Then use a Primordial Astral Chart."

He then turned to Xuan Jian. "Does this put your mind at ease?"

"It was reckless of me. I will take my leave now," replied Xuan Jian.

He let out a small breath of relief and departed.

Once he was gone, Yun Tu said, "I'll head to the Judiciary Department and ask the Minister to place the marker—"

"I'll go," Ran Shenji interrupted. "At the same time, I'll apply to be Li Pin's protector... or rather, his observer."

His voice was solemn. "I still believe there is a serious issue with Li Pin. I am convinced that back on Gaia, he had already become a seed sent by Void. Otherwise, there is no way to explain the anomalies surrounding him. His rapid and unreasonable rate of improvement, his ability to break through the Mara World, the Transcendent path, the Void Emperor, the Void Divine Treasure World—"

Something suddenly occurred to him, causing his expression to turn taut. "Wait! That Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapon! The Supreme Demonic Sword..."

He turned to Luo Fang at once. "Run the calculation formula again. Factor in that Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapon and recalculate the correlation probability between Li Pin and Void."

"Calculation complete. The correlation probability has increased from 0.05% to 1.08%."

The pupils of Ran Shenji, Yun Tu, and Bai Chao all dilated.

It exceeded one percent?

For anyone who simply heard and knew about the Void Emperor, a correlation probability of 0.01% to 0.03% was normal.

Li Pin had come into close contact with the Void Emperor in the VoidDivine Treasure World, so 0.05% was already on the high side but still within reason. 1.08% was simply too high.

Ran Shenji demanded at once, "I want the detailed data!"

Luo Fang quickly presented the analysis.

The key point lay in Li Pin subduing the Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapon, the Supreme Demonic Sword.

Every Hall Master of the Divine Treasury Hall understood the sword's extraordinary nature. They knew very well how powerful a Cosmic Radiance-grade Supreme Demonic Sword could be.

According to Luo Fang's calculations, the probability of Li Pin succeeding was less than 3%. Yet, despite such low odds, he had done it.

More importantly, even under the sword's corrosive influence, his emotions had remained eerily stable. That kind of stability was dubious.

Ran Shenji spoke with certainty. "Either he has already cultivated True Spirit, or he has fallen into Void to the point where emotions and thoughts no longer hold any meaning. He feels nothing, no sympathy, no emotions. Even his arrogance could be nothing more than a facade."

Yun Tu took a deep breath. "1.08% might not seem like much, but when it involves the Void... we cannot afford to be careless."

Bai Chao, however, countered, "It's just 1.08%. He has had direct contact with the Void Emperor to attempt to break open the divine treasure world. Given that, this level of correlation is expected."

"I know. We still need his strength to breach the Void Divine Treasure World. That's why, for now, I will only use the Primordial Astral Chart to monitor him. I will observe his actions, analyze his behavior, and track his movements. I won't take any unnecessary actions."

Ran Shenji's expression turned solemn. "Once the Void Divine Treasure World is breached, I'll compile a full report on him and submit it to the Grand Hall. The final decision will be theirs to make."

Bai Chao initially wanted to point out that Ran Shenji's deep bias against Void stemmed from his family being consumed by it. Once such a prejudice took root, maintaining objectivity became nearly impossible.

However, considering the Grand Hall would make the final decision—and that trying to convince a Solar Flare to change his mind was almost impossible—Bai Chao chose to keep his thoughts to himself.

Regardless, securing the protection of the Primordial Astral Chart comes first. With that safeguard in place, if Li Pin encounters danger again, there would be no repeat of this near-disastrous delay in rescue. The moment any information surfaces, the Judiciary Department's Astral Gods will be able to descend instantly through the Primordial Astral Chart.