Chapter 910: Chapter 910

Sasha said, "It's a good thing you descended in a relatively quiet region of the universe. Had you appeared at the heart of a bustling star system, countless civilizations might have already been wiped out.

"But you still need to be cautious. Your mass is equivalent to a small-scale gravitational anchor. You've already drawn in thirty-four nearby star systems, and even eighty-four more in the distance are beginning to show signs of orbital disturbance." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel fire.net

She spoke in a tone that was uncharacteristic of her usual demeanor.

"If you stay in this current state... twenty-nine of the thirty-four systems will eventually begin orbiting you, and the five closest will be swallowed in 18,024 years. On an epoch scale, tens of thousands of systems in this star region will be affected by your presence, causing their trajectories to shift entirely. The resulting upheaval, the civilizations lost, the lives extinguished... will be too many to count."

Li Pin chuckled lightly. "Hmm? Now that you're in the Material World, even your personality seems a bit different."

"Ah..." Sasha quickly realized it too and explained, "It's probably because this isn't my true body. As a sub-body, I'm missing some of the maturity and composure of my main form. If it's a problem, I can make adjustments immediately."

"No need. Just be yourself," Li Pin replied.

At the same time, he sensed the shift in the surrounding laws and started compressing his Divine Body.

After a moment, he frowned. "It's hard not to influence the surroundings. At best, I can shift from a gravitational anchor to a quasar-like high-energy form. But to suppress my energy level any further would be like binding my limbs with overwhelming force. It's extremely uncomfortable."

He thought of something and sighed with some emotion. "Now I truly understand how difficult it must have been for the Black Abyss Highlord to reveal his true form before me back then."

Sasha followed, "So now you understand how bold it was to request a glimpse of His Majesty Black Abyss's true form. Still... the fact that he actually agreed speaks volumes about how much he valued you."

Li Pin gave a slight nod.

The feeling of being completely restrained, unable to make a single unnecessary move, was deeply unpleasant. It was like someone standing at the pinnacle of the world, with infinite wealth and absolute power, trying to have a normal conversation with an ordinary person. Every word and gesture had to be carefully measured, so as not to hurt their pride or shatter their worldview.

What he considered mundane might be something that average people could never attain in a lifetime. Even a casual comment could inflict a massive psychological blow.

Li Pin's Divine Body continued to compress. But even so, the waves radiating from him remained unimaginably powerful.

To him, stars, which were the very lifeblood of civilizations, were no stronger than paper. A mere flick of strength could tear them apart.

"This is about as far as I can go," Li Pin sighed. "Unless I take a more extreme approach, like giving up part of my power, I can only reduce the energy leakage to the level of a supermassive black hole."

Sasha suggested, "Your Majesty, that's why you should consider using an avatar. Keep your true form somewhere secure. It doesn't matter if it's a perilous region or the Void of Chaos, provided you are sure no one can cause harm to it.

"Then, separate a portion of your power. Mold it into a body with a more stable and controllable energy level. Let that body act on your behalf across the universe. It might seem like it would limit your strength, but in truth, it'll make your travels far more manageable. All the Supremes and Highlords follow this practice."

Li Pin gave a small nod. That might indeed be the only way.

He murmured, "I never realized just how fragile this starry sky, so admired by all, really is."

Sasha said, "That's an inevitable result of your growing strength. Take Gaia, for example. Before the arrival of Astral God Yin Luo, people were still in the age of primitive farming. Back then, when faced with a towering city wall ten zhang high, fully stocked with grain and supplies, they were utterly helpless.

"But as technology advanced, those once-imposing walls became as fragile as paper before nuclear weapons. Under temperatures reaching hundreds of millions of degrees, even the grandest city would collapse like a sandcastle swept away by a tsunami, reduced to dust in an instant."

Sasha smiled and added, "Now, Your Majesty, you're looking at this starry sky just as a nuclear-powered civilization would view the stone cities of a primitive one. With a single push of a button, you could erase an entire city from the surface of the earth."

Li Pin glanced at Sasha. Her analogy was a perfect description of their current situation.

At that moment, Sasha suddenly said, "Your Majesty, we've received a message from Supreme Primordial. Do you wish to connect?"

Li Pin was a little surprised. "Primordial?"

So it wasn't Supreme Dao Origin, but Primordial instead? He thought for a moment. Considering how the Supreme Council and the Astral World had been out of contact for quite some time, they were likely trying to understand the current developments.

With that in mind, he nodded. "Connect me."

"Understood," Sasha replied.

A moment later, a light projection of Supreme Primordial appeared.

"Origin? We detected a signal from Sasha over at the Homo Sapien Alliance, so I had someone initiate a test connection. And it's really you? You actually got out of the Astral World?"

Primordial looked genuinely surprised. Then, as if something clicked in his mind, he added, "Hold on a second."

A signal was also a carrier of consciousness. And for a Supreme, what they saw could instantly become reality.

The moment his gaze landed on Li Pin, information was transmitted. That information could then be used to alter the matter around him. Just like now, he immediately began manipulating nearby matter and energy to condense a physical body.

However, since the "gaze" could only transmit limited data, the body he created wasn't very powerful. But given enough time, that body could grow rapidly, eventually becoming comparable to an Astral God's avatar, or even its true form.

Li Pin greeted him, "Supreme Primordial."

But the moment he spoke, even that tiny vibration from his voice triggered a wave of power. The message hidden within his words carried such immense weight that it shattered the newly-formed avatar on the spot.

The figure, which at best was only on par with a Legendary-level avatar, exploded like a watermelon struck by a high-caliber sniper round. Energy splattered outward, forming a small storm that rippled through the starry sky.

Li Pin was at a loss for words.

Sasha said gently, "You still need some time to adapt to your condition."

Li Pin shook his head. "Why bother forming an avatar? Wouldn't regular communication be easier? Doesn't he know that an avatar created purely from the mental impressions in a 'gaze' is incredibly weak?"

Sasha offered a possible explanation. "Maybe... he thought it'd come across as more respectful? Or perhaps he felt it would help him understand you better?"

"It's my fault. I'm still not used to the way the Supremes communicate," Li Pin said, shaking his head. "Forget it."

He instructed, "Split off a sub-body to keep searching for Supreme Dao Origin. My true body will head to the Supreme Council to report on what's been happening in the Astral World. As for the avatar I've cultivated... send it to Gaia."

His karmic ties with Gaia's civilization were already settled. This time, he was simply going to see whether, with his current cultivation, he could uncover the reason his past self had transmigrated to Gaia.

"Yes," Sasha responded.

Soon after, Li Pin's true body departed. But one of his avatars remained. While its power was far inferior to his true form, the energy it contained was still on par with a supermassive star.

More importantly, with his extraordinary control, even with such immense power, he could walk alongside a mortal without worrying about accidentally killing them.

Not long after the avatar was left behind, Sasha's communication link reconnected.

Supreme Primordial's projection reappeared.

This time, he didn't form a new avatar from the mental data in his "gaze," but instead maintained a standard communication mode, a mere illusion of light and shadow with no physical effect.

Even so, there was still a trace of disbelief in his eyes. His gaze lingered on Li Pin, carefully studying him, as if trying to confirm something.

After a while, he couldn't hold back any longer. "You broke through the Astral World's shackles... and became a Supreme?"

He drew in a deep breath. "That avatar of mine just now...?"

Li Pin replied, "Yes and no."

There was no way to keep something under wraps, nor did he intend to. He saw no point in hiding his strength or pretending to be weak. His cultivation was what it was, nothing more, nothing less. He preferred to be open and honest about it.

Li Pin said, "After the Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War, Divine Martial and the others should've already shared my information with you. That's likely why you all wanted me to serve as the adjudicator for the Heavenly Emperor Council. Since you made that choice, you must've already developed a clear understanding of the path I walk."

He smiled. "At the moment, I'd say I've stepped into the fifth stage of that path... But I've only just entered it and am still far from being halfway through. So, when you say I've broken the Astral World's shackles and become a Supreme... that's true, but it's not entirely accurate."

Supreme Primordial's pupils dilated slightly. "The fifth stage..."

The data Divine Martial provided had included Li Pin's own description of this path. Li Pin had named the fifth stage as Liberation. If it was truly as described, that realm was a stage beyond the Supremes.

In other words... Li Pin has not only reached the realm of a Supreme, but has already begun moving toward something even greater? But since he hadn't fully stepped into that stage called "Liberation," he chose not to call himself so?

"Your path... is it truly viable?"

For a moment, even Primordial, being a Supreme, felt a surge of emotion he couldn't suppress. It was... a mix of excitement and yearning.

Li Pin nodded slightly. "Of course."

Considering how shocking this news would be to the Supremes, and not wanting to explain it repeatedly to each one, he said simply, "Convene the Supreme Council. Give me a location. I'll have my true body meet you there."

He smiled. "Once you see my true form, I believe all your questions will be answered."