Chapter 747: Chapter 747

In a vast conference hall within the Sacred Flame Hall, one of the elite human factions in the Astral World, four massive square stone pillars stood at each side of the hall.

Suspended high above them were two ornate cloud platforms, each etched with intricate patterns, floating silently in the air.

At the moment, the cloud platforms remained empty. However, three figures had already appeared atop the stone pillars.

These three were three of the Four Heavenly Emperors, responsible for overseeing all matters within the Sacred Flame Hall.

The Four Heavenly Emperors were: Eastern Heavenly Emperor Miao Zhuan, Western Heavenly Emperor Ji Shun, Southern Heavenly Emperor Yan Hao, and Northern Heavenly Emperor Mo Xuan.

Of the four, only Miao Zhuan was absent. The other three had already arrived.

The Heavenly Emperors represented the pinnacle of cultivation in the Astral World. Each of them stood at the very summit of the Astral World. Space, time, and the universe itself were all within their grasp. Their power had nearly reached the limit of what any Astral God could imagine.

Now, because of Li Pin, a being so exceptional that ninety-nine percent of Astral Gods in the Astral World wouldn't even dare dream of, three Heavenly Emperors had come in person.

This alone spoke volumes about the significance of the meeting.

Below the three emperors, beams of light projected numerous figures into the hall.

Although many were unable to attend for various reasons and the room wasn't filled to capacity, the number of projected presences still exceeded a hundred.

In the next instant, the Humanity Sanctum's Vice Hall Masters, Yuan Guang, Zhen Ming, Wan Gujie, and Shi Xingzun, appeared simultaneously.

As they arrived, dozens of fluctuating inner spirits rippled outward.

"Xingzun and the others are here."

"What's going on in the Humanity Sanctum? How did you fail to identify and cultivate someone like that? Are you trying to hand the Heaven Ordainment Sect, the Omni-Merchant Guild, and Endless Divine Mountain a reason to laugh at us?"

"It's already beyond that. We've made a fool of ourselves in front of outsiders. Just recently, some of my friends from allied races messaged me, asking about the one ranked ninth on the Black List. I didn't even know how to respond."

"Exactly. All I could do was say something vague like, 'It's part of the plan.' But what plan? Honestly, I have no idea either."

Inner spirit inquiries kept pouring in, and none came from ordinary cultivators—they were all Cosmic Tyrants at minimum, with even a few Sacred Monarchs among them.

Thanks to the unique laws of the Astral World, Tyrants and Sacred Monarchs could gather on relatively equal footing, allowing direct communication without hierarchy.

Faced with such questions, the Vice Hall Masters of the Humanity Sanctum could only respond with wry smiles.

"To be frank, we don't know much more than you do."

"As for why the Divine Race ranked Li Pin ninth on the Black List... we're still in the dark. It was a serious oversight on our part."

"We've already attempted to contact him, but he's currently in seclusion. Unless we disturb his cultivation session, there's no way to get a clear answer."

Hearing their vague responses, the questioners were visibly frustrated. Even the Vice Hall Masters themselves felt ashamed. They had utterly lost face.

A moment later, they turned and cupped their hands respectfully toward Mystic Emperor Mo Xuan, the Northern Heavenly Emperor overseeing the Humanity Sanctum. "Hall Master, we've let you down."

Mo Xuan's gaze sharpened, and his tone grew heavy. "Now's not the time to admit fault. The top ten rankings on each Black List are personally reviewed by the Supremes. That might not mean much for others, but for Li Pin, it's different.

"After the Black Abyss Highlord incident, he caught the attention of the Supremes. Every single one of them remembers him. If they start asking questions... how do you plan to explain this?"

Yuan Guang, Zhen Ming, Wan Gujie, and Xing Zun exchanged glances.

In the end, Wan Gujie stepped forward. "There were two main reasons we downgraded Li Pin's evaluation. First, it was because of the Eternal Oblivion Force he carries. Yes, he reached peak Solar Flare in just a few dozen stellar years. But the Eternal Oblivion Force he bears rivals that of those who've wandered the Astral World for hundreds of thousands of years.

"To us, it looked like a case of overreaching—a limited foundation and an eagerness to prove himself by biting off more than he could chew. If others with similar potential start imitating him and recklessly overloading themselves with Eternal Oblivion Force, they might reach similar heights in just a few decades. Take Fan Jingtian, for instance."

He paused briefly before continuing, "The second reason was his result on the Supreme Ladder. He only made it to the sixty-sixth step. While impressive, it wasn't enough to truly shock the higher-ups or attract the interest of a Highlord. So... we didn't include him in the high-priority intelligence reports."

"The sixty-sixth step?" One of the Sacred Monarchs widened his eyes. "Are you certain that was his limit? What if he stopped midway—because he had some kind of sudden insight and chose to retreat early to cultivate?"

Another person spoke up. "As for the Eternal Oblivion Force, your theory makes sense in principle, but how can you be sure he obtained it through reckless cultivation? What if he gained it in battle?

"Don't forget, he once appeared in the Shattered Star Sea and was hunted by numerous alien races. If he accumulated the Eternal Oblivion Force during those fights rather than through training... then reaching peak Solar Flare in under thirty stellar years would be nothing short of extraordinary. Shouldn't that have been reported directly to the Supreme Council?"

Yuan Guang, Zhen Ming, Wangu Jie, and Shi Xingzun froze for a moment. Gaining Eternal Oblivion Force through combat... not cultivation...

A cold sweat broke out across their foreheads. That's right. If the Eternal Oblivion Force on Li Pin didn't come from cultivation, but was something he picked up through battle... And if he really reached peak Solar Flare in under thirty stellar years, then... what kind of terrifying progress was that!?

If those sixty-six steps on the Supreme Ladder weren't his true limit, but he chose to stop because of a sudden insight, retreating to cultivate further, then they may have completely misjudged him

Situations were common throughout the history of challenges to the Supreme Ladder.

Li Pin had only attempted the challenge once. It didn't prove anything.

Putting aside the Eternal Oblivion Force, if he had truly reached the peak of the Solar Flare Realm in just thirty stellar years and climbed all the way to the sixty-sixth step in a single attempt... wasn't that achievement already extraordinary enough?

For a moment, not a single Vice Hall Master could offer a rebuttal to the two men's questioning.

Seeing this, Mo Xuan lowered his eyelids slightly.

"Ultimately, it all comes down to a subconscious belief that because Li Pin was rejected by the Black Abyss Highlord, becoming a direct disciple of a Heavenly Emperor would already be considered impressive."

"None of you ever truly believed he could be extraordinary enough to shock the world. And this result—reaching the sixty-sixth step of the Supreme Ladder—perfectly matches the image you've crafted of Li Pin: someone who seems remarkable on the surface but lacks true substance!"

The Sacred Monarch who spoke first continued swiftly, "Watching a dazzling genius lose their brilliance, fall from the heavens, and fade into obscurity—this act of witnessing beauty crumble is the root of the darkness hidden in human nature. It lingers and can never be erased."

He stood as he spoke. "The Humanity Sanctum is meant to be the cradle of human experts. If even during talent selection it cannot uphold fairness and justice and instead lets the darkness within cloud its judgment... then I believe Yuan Guang, Zhen Ming, Wan Gujie, and Shi Xingzun are no longer fit to serve as Vice Hall Masters of the Humanity Sanctum."

His words quickly resonated with several Tyrants.

"To hold a post without doing a thing, just like a corpse eating plain rice."

"I agree with Sacred Monarch Gao Yang. The Humanity Sanctum holds great responsibility. A single misstep could ruin a human prodigy with the potential to reach Sacred Monarch or even Heavenly Emperor level. If you lack the ability, then you should step down and make way for the worthy."

"When someone personally named by the Highlord is right before you, how bad could they possibly be? Yet this is how seriously you treated him? After he became an Astral God, none of you reached out? You didn't even send a single envoy along the way to ensure his safety? This is nothing less than sabotage against one of our race's greatest prodigies! You must be held accountable!"

Voices rose one after another, the tone anything but friendly.

In the past, when a few prodigies went unrecognized and only revealed their brilliance after leaving the Humanity Sanctum, they could still convince themselves that perhaps those talents were just late bloomers with their own unique fortunes.

But this time, the Sacred Flame Hall had truly brought disgrace upon the entire human race. A genius they had all but ignored had been ranked ninth on the Divine Race's Black List.

If that wasn't a disgrace, what was?

At that moment, Southern Heavenly Emperor, Yan Hao, who had remained silent on the far end of the platform, finally spoke. "Enough."

His voice rang out like the toll of a divine bell, carried by inner spirit power. In an instant, it silenced the entire hall.

"As for the recent actions of Yuan Guang, Zhen Ming, Wan Gujie, and Shi Xingzun, I will refrain from passing judgment for now. A dedicated investigation team from the Sacred Flame Hall will handle the matter. But for the time being..."

He turned to Mo Xuan. "What we must uncover is why the Divine Race ranked Li Pin ninth on the Black List. There's clearly a critical detail we've missed."

"Li Pin is currently in secluded cultivation, so summoning him for questioning would be inappropriate. In that case..." Mo Xuan paused in thought. "Let's reach out to First Galaxy."

The name instantly hushed the murmuring Tyrants and Sacred Monarchs.

First Galaxy was the strongest AI within the Sacred Flame Hall. It was a peak existence, just one step away from the Transcendent path. Every piece of information across the Sacred Flame Hall was within its grasp.

It was no exaggeration to say that, apart from certain matters involving the Supremes themselves, there was virtually nothing First Galaxy didn't know.

"Then let's call upon First Galaxy," Western Heavenly Emperor Ji Shun agreed.

With three of the Four Heavenly Emperors in favor, Mo Xuan immediately used his authority to contact First Galaxy.

Time flowed swiftly as First Galaxy began collecting and analyzing data.

Before long, the expressions of Ji Shun, Yan Hao, and Mo Xuan changed all at once.

That alone told everyone present—whatever truth they had uncovered was far more shocking than anyone had anticipated.

Voices rang out across the hall.

"What did First Galaxy find?"

"Why was Li Pin ranked ninth on the Divine Race's Black List?"

Amid the rising tide of questions, Mo Xuan fell silent for a few seconds. Then, he spoke, "The truth... we've known it all along. But just like Yuan Guang, Zhen Ming, Wan Gujie, and Shi Xingzun, we instinctively ignored it."

The crowd exchanged confused glances.

By "we," were the three Heavenly Emperors including themselves?

None of them said a word.

All eyes turned to the results displayed by First Galaxy—and just as Mo Xuan said, the answer had always been right there in plain sight.

"Ancestral God Hentian personally investigated every intelligent lifeform permission across the Ocean of Time and confirmed that the branch authority, Sasha, has already been transferred to Li Pin.

"The one who authorized the transfer... was the Black Abyss Highlord."