Chapter 629: Fortune

Xuan Jian quietly watched as Li Pin crushed a Demon God Clan's Astral God Avatar.

He had only raised his voice earlier to remind Li Pin to kill these Demon God Clansmen, so that Li Pin wouldn't be taken advantage of.

As for being afraid of the Demon God Clan? Ridiculous. The Demon God Clan had always been a race that bullied the weak and feared the tough. Weak forces might be fearful of them, but for Xuan Jian, who came from an aristocratic family, they were nothing.

He even felt that at this moment, Li Pin's enjoyment was more important than the life and death of these Demon God clansmen.

However, it was obvious that the ordinary Astral God's avatars could no longer hold much interest for Li Pin at this point. After destroying all the Astral God's avatars, he reached out and raised his hand high into the sky.

In the next moment, dozens of streams of light rose up in the air from his hand and flew toward the Demon God clansmen who were still wreaking havoc on this planet. The light directly penetrated through all their heads.

After doing this, he withdrew his hand and said to Xuan Jian, "You can clean up the Demon God clansmen in the surrounding area. I'll head back first."

Xuan Jian nodded. "Leave it to me."

However, any of the remaining Demon God clansmen who still had some brains should have already withdrawn from the periphery of the Candle Light Star Ring as fast as they could.

***

On the Alliance Star.

At this point in time, the planet was no longer a mere commercial gateway in the Gaia Alliance.

Dozens of stellar years down the line, the Gaia Alliance had expanded rapidly and spread throughout the entire Candle Light Star Ring. Even the other two major forces that originally belonged to this star ring—the Immortal Wood Empire and the White Dove Federation—were also looking up to the Gaia Alliance.

Under such circumstances, the Candle Ring Star Ring had already completed substantial unification. They had even constructed beyond the Candle Light Star Ring.

However, this Astral Gate was the final gateway to the Gaia Alliance's core planet, Gaia. To ensure the security of both the gate and the planet beyond it, this commercial foreign trade planet had been fortified into a fortress.

This fortress was constructed by Yu Clan. They had spent a large amount of precious materials, and was manned day and night by a Tier Four Legend who had comprehended inner spirit power.

When these defenses were fully operated, even a Divine Being could be held back for a moment.

When Li Pin emerged from the Astral Gate, Xuan Jian was no longer with him. Lan Yan had taken his place.

Li Pin was not familiar with the Gaia Alliance's Astral Gate. He had teleported directly to the Alliance Star through the White Dove Federation's Astral Gate. The White Dove Federation had arranged for Lan Yan to accompany him.

Originally, Lan Chi wanted to join Li Pin but was rejected by him because he didn't want to make a scene.

Upon stepping onto the planet, Li Pin quickly sensed a familiar yet unfamiliar aura. Only when that aura arrived quickly did Li Pin recognize it.

"Ge Lin?" Li Pin smiled and congratulated the figure. "Congratulations."

"Chairman." Ge Lin bowed his head slightly. "Thanks to Miss Moon Spirit's guidance, I was able to understand my heart and comprehend inner spirit power."

"Are you the one manning the Alliance Star?" Li Pin asked.

Ge Lin quickly introduced the situation. "Yes. Currently, a total of four people have comprehended inner spirit power on Gaia: Xiang Tianxing, Solar Radiance Sovereign, Miss Li Yunyao, and I.

"I'm responsible for manning the Alliance Star while Solar Radiance Sovereign is stationed at the newly constructed Gaia Gate. Chairman Xiang watches over the Alliance's new political center, which was originally the Ashen Council's primary planet. Miss Li Yunyao remains in Gaia.

"Chairman, why didn't you give a prior notice of your return, or let Chairman Xiang, Secretary-General Yuan, and the others prepare to meet you in advance?"

"There's no need for that. It's just a trip back to Gaia. There's no need to make a fuss," Li Pin said.

By now, he no longer needed to display his strength as a deterrent for Gaia, like he once did.

The news that he had crushed a combat-specialized avatar had already circulated throughout the entire Yuan Yang Star Domain in these dozens of stellar years. Apart from those nebula-level civilizations, all the more well-informed forces had received the information and regarded the Candle Light Star Ring as a place not to be messed with.

"Has Yuan Zhenchuan not managed to comprehend inner spirit power yet?" Li Pin asked.

Ge Lin shook his head. "Not yet."

Li Pin said nothing in response.

Yuan Zhenchuan was over sixty years old in terms of stellar years.

Legends who had not comprehended inner spirit power had a lifespan of around two to three hundred stellar years, which was already the result of prolonging their lifespan through other means. Otherwise, most Legends only had a lifespan of a hundred stellar years or so.

The earlier a person comprehended inner spirit power, the better. The longer a person lived, the more complex their mind became, and the more difficult it was to realize the wonders of the inner spirit.

Yuan Zhenchuan still hadn't taken this step after fifty stellar years. This made the hope of him ever succeeding relatively small. There was basically no hope for him. In fact, it wasn't just him. The earliest batch of Legends on Gaia would also lose all hope of making a breakthrough if they didn't achieve it in the coming ten or more years.

However, as Li Pin did not have much relationship with the other Legends, he would not interfere in their life and death.

At this time, Li Pin seemed to have thought of something. "Speaking of which, is it reasonable that Li Yunyao completed the inner spirit cycle so quickly?"

"It's reasonable," Ge Lin answered, smiling softly. "Allow me to keep it a secret for now. Once we meet Ms Li Yunyao, you will understand."

Hearing this, Li Pin didn't insist for an answer but said, "Go and prepare the Astral Gate."

"Understood. Should Chairman Xiang, Secretary-General Yuan, and the others be notified?"

Li Pin answered, "I will find some time to hold a meeting and will notify them, as well as other influences in the Candle Light Star Ring, when the time is set. It's not too late to meet them again, then."

Ge Lin nodded. "Alright."

Despite knowing knew that Li Pin's status and position were many times higher compared to his current Tier Four legendary status, he still maintained a calm demeanor before Li Pin, not appearing overly submissive.

This was the direction he took for the completion of his inner spirit cycle.

Soon, Li Pin crossed the Astral Gate prepared by Ge Lin and once again set foot on the land of Gaia after dozens of stellar years.

"Thinking about it, I have left for fifty-three stellar years this time. It's fitting to the sentence, 'I left home when I was young and am returning when I'm old. My accent remains, but my sideburns have grayed. Children... [1]" Li Pin lamented.

A considerably powerful consciousness swept in at this moment. However, it quickly subsided when it sensed Li Pin's aura fluctuations. Soon after, it slowly settled down after some sort of a greeting.

That was Fu Qingtuan.

Li Pin could tell at a glance,

He is already considered a true Demigod... What's limiting him now would just be Gaia's volume.

At the same time, Li Pin noticed something about Gaia that caught him off guard.

Something about Gaia... seemed to be off! Other than Fu Qingtian, there seemed to be another invisible force enveloping it.

Li Pin clearly felt that the Dao Realm in his body, located in the depths of his inner spirit, was shining brightly. It resonated with this invisible force and silently provided it with a power that transcended time and space.

Moreover, this power was not limited only to him or Gaia. It even spread beyond Gaia, resonating with hundreds of planets and countless living beings. Although the intensity was so weak that it was difficult to detect at all, no one could deny that this power belonged to a whole entity.

Li Pin's mind raced. Before long, he found a node located on Gaia based on this force.

"This is..."

He took a light step forward, and the node got closer and closer.

Eventually, he landed directly in the Divine Martial Sect located outside of the original Taibai Kingdom's Jiang Province.

At this moment, he vaguely understood something.

"Fortune," muttered Li Pin.

That force was Gaia's fortune.

At this time, a figure in the Divine Martial Sect also ran out swiftly as if sensing Li Pin's arrival.

When the person saw Li Pin, she was filled with surprise. "Brother..."

Li Pin smiled. "Long time no see, our Gaia's Child of Fortune."

These nodes of condensed Fortune eventually focused on Li Yunyao. This characteristic was exactly the same as the Child of Fortune recorded in the manuals.

In other words, Li Yunyao had become Gaia's Child of Fortune.

Li Yunyao still seemed unsure. "Me? I really am?"

"Yes," Li Pin confirmed.

At this moment, he finally understood why Li Yunyao was able to complete her inner spirit cycle.

It was Fortune. In times of good fortune, heaven and earth all work together. As the Child of Fortune, as long as this civilization was strong enough, her strength could surge.

And the Gaia civilization's Fortune... was peculiar. Li Pin felt the power of Fortune that vaguely mirrored the power of the Dao Realm in his inner spirit. This caused him to understand why Li Yunyao was chosen as the Child of Fortune and was able to complete her inner spirit circle.

Li Pin felt a little emotional. "Speaking of which, back in those days, I was once considered to be the Child of Fortune of the Gaia Civilization."

He, indeed, fit the criteria. He himself felt that if the Gaia Civilization was to nurture a Child of Fortune to change the Gaia Civilization's destiny, he should be the most suitable target.

It was just that he knew very well that he was different from the others. He came from another world. He might have the body of this world, but his soul did not belong to Gaia.

Perhaps this was the reason why he had never been able to become Gaia's Child of Fortune.

He was the most suitable candidate to become Gaia's Child of Fortune, but he was ultimately unable to take on the role. Li Yunyao, being the person closest to him and the person with the most focused nurturing, had received the identity of the Gaia Civilization's Child of Fortune instead. It was a reasonable outcome.

Relying on the resources that Li Pin had invested in her over the years, coupled with the power of Gaia's Fortune, she was able to complete her inner spirit circle in one go, stepping into Tier Five Legend. She leaped to become an existence that could be ranked among the top thirty when placed on the list of successors.

Li Pin said, "Originally, I was worried that you wouldn't be able to keep up in the competition with the other successors. But it's good that now that you've become Gaia's Child of Fortune.

"As long as Gaia's civilization can vigorously develop and expand, the larger the scale, the stronger the support you will receive. In the next dozens of stellar years, you will be able to advance further. You'll be able to ascend to Tier Six Legend and stand in front of the door leading to the Astral God Realm. By then, receiving Astral God Yin Luo's inheritance wouldn't be an extravagant hope."

Li Yunyao was slightly stunned at Li Pin's words. She then associated his words with his trip to Gaia this time.

She asked, "So, we're going all out to compete to be Astral God Yin Luo's successor?"

"Correct."

Li Pin nodded and looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the void and take in the entirety of Yin Luo. "From this day on, anyone seeking the inheritance across Yin Luo, Xian Ying, and the Yuan Yang Star Domain will be our opponent."

1. An extract from a poem written by He Zhizhang, On Returning Home. ☜