At the corner tavern.

Carodion stood coldly before the two of them.

"By order of my king, I invite the two of you to come as guests."

Conrad and Mara were deeply shaken.

They had been so cautious, yet they had still been discovered. This could only mean that the powerhouses hidden within the world of Aetheria were far from as simple as they appeared on the surface.

What they did not know was that from the moment they stepped into Aetheria, Faustus had already learned of the arrival of outsiders through the alert sent out by the Arcane Weave Sky Net.

The Sky Net was a fusion of magic energy and technology. Not only did it cover all of Aetheria, but the Aerial Realm also had an independent system of its own.

Forget powerhouses from other worlds—even if a butterfly flew in, the Sky Net would detect it.

After Faustus discovered these two, he did not act rashly.

Since they had chosen to sneak in, he wanted to see exactly what they intended to do.

Through the Sky Net, Faustus watched their every move.

He could see through Mara’s foundation. She was at the peak of supreme-grade. She was indeed not weak.

But Conrad’s strength was something he could not quite pin down.

It felt as if Conrad was stuck somewhere between supreme-grade and Divine-grade. He was far stronger than ordinary supreme-grade beings, yet he had not truly touched the threshold of Divine-grade.

Under the eyes of the Sky Net, the two of them were like torches in the night. There was no hiding at all.

Faustus followed their trail the whole way and repeatedly went over their conversation, roughly piecing together the cause and effect behind the matter.

So these Starfolk powerhouses were blades hired by the Godkin to destroy the human race.

But this blade seemed to be hesitating!

In the end, they were nothing more than pitiful wanderers with nowhere to call home.

Faustus made up his mind.

He would use them to make a move.

If the Godkin could use them, why couldn’t he?

Not only would he use them, he would also make them turn around and bite the Godkin back.

The Godkin were too troublesome. They kept playing dirty tricks behind the scenes.

Then he would let them have a taste of being stabbed in the back too.

...

Conrad and Mara exchanged a glance, instantly understanding each other’s thoughts.

Conrad had always been cautious.

Mara shook her head slightly, signaling that he must not go.

Although the Starfolk had become wandering people of the stars, precisely because of that, they had seen many things out there.

What if the other side had set up some sinister magic formation?

What if they had hidden some strange artifact?

If the two of them foolishly barged in without knowing anything, it might be difficult to leave afterward.

The corner of Carodion’s mouth curled in disdain, and he let out a cold laugh.

"As expected, exactly as my king guessed. You have ghosts in your hearts! Fine, then. If you want to fight, come."

"Wait!"

Conrad suddenly called out to stop him.

His expression turned solemn. He turned to Mara and said,

"You stay here. I’ll go take a look."

Mara was just about to speak, but Conrad raised his hand and stopped her.

"I’m a demi-sage. I can come and go as I please."

"You’re different. Wait here. I want to see exactly what the powerhouses of this place are trying to do."

"Mm... Then you must be careful!"

"If things really don’t work out, we can leave this star region and stay far away from the Godkin!"

Conrad nodded gravely.

...

Whoosh!

Carodion brought Conrad to a reception hall.

"My king."

Carodion walked behind Faustus and bowed respectfully.

Faustus studied Conrad.

This purple-skinned non-human being was a type of lifeform he had never seen before.

The other party had sealed away his aura completely, so Faustus could not accurately judge his foundation either.

At the same time, Conrad was also sizing up Faustus.

Legendary-grade?

That was all?

How could someone like this command a supreme-grade powerhouse?

It seemed he was not as simple as he looked on the surface.

Either this person was hiding his true strength, or he had someone powerful backing him!

Conrad had always been cautious. He never underestimated any opponent.

"Starfolk, Conrad."

He was the first to announce his name.

"Human race, Faustus."

Boom—!

The aura around Conrad suddenly erupted.

Carodion’s expression darkened.

What a powerful aura!

That pressure far exceeded supreme-grade. It had already reached a higher level of Strength.

Could he be Divine-grade?

Carodion instantly tensed.

Even if the one before him was truly Divine-grade, he had nothing to fear.

With Faustus here, even if he had to die, he had to ensure Faustus’s safety.

Faustus raised an eyebrow.

Sure enough—

This non-human race member had not yet reached Divine-grade. He was still half a step away.

He should be considered a demi-sage.

Conrad did not attack.

What he was doing was a display of strength.

My strength is right here. If you cannot show something worthy in return, then don’t blame me for what happens next!

Only if you can reveal Strength no weaker than mine can you intimidate me.

Faustus saw through the other party’s thoughts clearly.

Whoosh—!

A mass of light suddenly emerged in his palm.

Conrad’s gaze locked firmly onto that light.

The aura of the light surged upward layer by layer.

In the end, it actually transformed into a black hole!

The radiance was too intense. Even space could not withstand it and teetered on the verge of shattering. To the naked eye, it looked like light, yet all one could see was a pitch-black abyss.

Conrad sucked in a cold breath.

What terrifying strength!

Although it was still inferior to Divine-grade, it was not too far off.

At the very least, within the realm of supreme-grade, this kind of strength was already invincible.

Even he, Conrad, would not be able to withstand sustained damage of this level.

Conrad’s expression turned completely solemn.

But inside, his heart was already churning violently.

Damn it!

He was clearly only legendary-grade, so how could he unleash damage that was invincible beneath Divine-grade?

This was far too absurd!

Now, he understood.

The person opposite him truly had confidence.

No wonder the Godkin found this world so troublesome. They would rather seek out outsiders than take action themselves.

Against a monster like Faustus, no matter how many supreme-grade Godkin came, they would only die.

And since Divine-grade beings could not descend, this person was an invincible existence within this world.

Faced with such a burning hot potato, the Godkin could only borrow another’s blade to kill.

Conrad instantly understood.

This job really would not be easy!

...

Faustus smiled.

"What do you think?"

Conrad took a deep breath.

"You’re very strong."

"But..."

His eyes darkened.

"It’s still not enough."

The corner of Faustus’s mouth lifted.

"What if I told you that this is only a fraction of my strength?"

What kind of joke is that?

Conrad’s heart trembled.

Could a legendary-grade really be this strong?

But Faustus’s next words completely stunned him.

"If I truly wanted to keep you here, you wouldn’t be able to leave."

Faustus’s tone was calm, as if he were talking about something utterly ordinary.

"I have also fought Divine-grade powerhouses of the Godkin before—even a sage could do nothing to me."

Boom—!

Conrad’s entire worldview shattered.

How great was the distance between legendary-grade and Divine-grade?

It was even greater than the gap between a human and an ant.

A legendary-grade going head-to-head against a Divine-grade?

Was he joking?

Wait...

Faustus?

Why did that name sound somewhat familiar?

A bolt of lightning flashed through Conrad’s mind. His entire body staggered several steps back, and even his voice changed from shock.

"Faustus—you’re the one who ascended Cloudcrest Peak! The supreme-grade starlight of this generation, Faustus!"

Boom—!

Conrad instantly figured everything out!

Cloudcrest Peak.

Faustus.

This was the heaven’s chosen who would suppress an entire era!

Everything matched.

That explained why Faustus, despite being merely legendary-grade, could be powerful to such an extent.

He had reached the summit of Cloudcrest Peak!

That was the supreme honor of the Endless Starfield.

Although it was merely an honor in a symbolic sense, it was still a genuine achievement, a feat that could be sung across countless universes...

He was actually the one who had reached the summit!