There was still a period of respite before the Holy War in the Underworld, before the Gold Saints burned their souls to break through the The Wall of Sighs.
Li Yu gazed at the suspended phantom of the divinity; his divinity was only 0.2 at the moment, far from enough to activate the divinity and ignite the divine flame.
Moreover, the one hundred essence crystals required to exchange for the divinity were like distant, unreachable stars.
"One hundred essence crystals just to exchange for a divinity? Isn't that too expensive?"
As soon as Li Yu had this thought, the Main God immediately explained.
[The essence crystals obtained from repairing high-level worlds are far more than just one!]
Li Yu raised an eyebrow, understanding dawned on him.
It seemed that when choosing Reincarnation Space worlds in the future, he couldn't just look at the difficulty; he also had to calculate the cost-effectiveness.
First, he would return to the Saint Seiya World to check things out. With the sagittarius gold cloth missing, that old fellow Shion was probably in a frantic state right now.
He also needed to observe Athena's reaction before he could finalize his next plan.
Li Yu's figure transformed into specks of golden light, dissipating into the white light of the Reincarnation Space.
At the same time, in an independent secret room deep within the Reincarnation Space, dozens of hooded figures sat around an obsidian round table.
Candlelight flickered before them, stretching their shadows like ghosts.
The figure in the center, clad in a black and gold robe with a golden number '001' embroidered on his chest, slowly spoke, his deep voice like grinding sand.
"Have you all heard? Hunter 042, Thor, and Hunter 033, Corpse God, have both fallen."
Gasps of cold air came from beneath the hoods, and the figures stirred.
"How is that possible?"
A sharp female voice rang out.
"Thor didn't enter the divine rank, so his fall is normal, but Corpse God had already stepped halfway into the divine realm. Who could kill him?"
Number 001 slowly nodded, his gaze sweeping across the room from beneath his hood.
"Their life flames in the Pantheon have been extinguished; the news is confirmed."
He flicked his finger, and a light screen materialized in the center of the round table.
"Ten days ago, a new Hunter entered the Main God Space. This is the recording of his initial entry into the space."
The man in the middle flicked his finger, and a light screen appeared in the center of the round table, playing the scene of Li Yu first entering the Reincarnation Space.
They watched as Li Yu walked up into the sky step by step, touched the light orb, and then he and the Main God disappeared simultaneously.
All the Reincarnator figures in the room fell silent.
After a long while, someone finally spoke with a sigh.
"This is... too strong, isn't it? It's truly unimaginable that anyone could possess such terrifying strength the moment they enter the Reincarnation Space."
Reincarnator Number 004 shook his head.
"This generation's Hunter is ridiculously efficient. In just ten days, he's managed to take out two members of our organization. What exactly is his strength? Eleventh-tier? Or twelfth-tier?"
Number 001 gently tapped the table with his finger.
"I don't know, but judging by his ability to easily take out Corpse God, he shouldn't be lower than eleventh-tier..."
Reincarnator Number 036 below exclaimed.
"Eleventh-tier? Possessing eleventh-tier strength right after entering the Reincarnation Space? When did the Main God recruit such a terrifying Hunter?"
"What do we do now? If we let him keep killing, our Pantheon will soon completely collapse!"
Reincarnator Number 001 rested his chin on his hands, his eyes cold.
"During this time, everyone should keep a low profile, don't become a target for the Hunter. At the same time, quickly ascertain his true identity in the real world and initiate the hunting plan."
He waved his hand, and dozens of gold-edged cards flew towards the various figures.
"If anyone comes under attack, activate the Pantheon Card, and I will descend to your world with the heroes of the Pantheon. At that time, I will deal with him!"
The figures caught the cards, and the cards instantly transformed into tattoos branded on the backs of their hands.
"With those words from our leader, we are at ease."
"Remember!"
Number 001's voice suddenly sharpened.
"My descent will be suppressed by the world's rules. Don't attract his attention unless absolutely necessary!"
The figures all assented and dispersed like wisps of smoke.
Only Number 001 remained in the secret room. He repeatedly replayed Li Yu's video, a cold sneer playing on his lips beneath his hood.
"Third-generation Hunter... your honeymoon period with the Main God won't last long."
...As soon as he returned to the Saint Seiya World, a golden light appeared before Li Yu's eyes—a psychic message sent by Shion.
"Li Yu, return to the Sanctuary. I have an important matter to entrust to you..."
Li Yu sighed. As Shion's life neared its end, his reliance on him grew, almost wishing Li Yu would handle everything.
Shion even euphemistically called it preparing Li Yu to familiarize himself with the Pope's workflow.
But Li Yu had no interest in the position of Pope.
To use a somewhat inappropriate analogy:
Originally, he was just Athena's employee, and the relationship between him and Athena was like that of a superior and subordinate. If he was unhappy with the work, he could change jobs or resign.
But if he became the Pope, he would become Athena's personal secretary, privy to many of Athena's secrets. At that point, breaking free from the shackles would require a much higher price.
As he continuously entered the Reincarnation Space, his abnormalities would definitely be discovered by Athena.
Before completely breaking free from Athena's control, Li Yu only wanted to stay as far away from the goddess as possible.
However, it wasn't yet time to completely reveal his hand to Athena.
Li Yu thought for a moment. At this point in time, Shion seeking him out must be about that matter.
Li Yu transformed into a streak of light and headed straight for the Sanctuary.
At the foot of the sacred mountain, the Gold Saints who were training suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.
"This Cosmo... it's Li Yu!"
Milo frowned, his Scarlet Needle almost going out of control.
"He's gotten stronger again?"
"Last time, he made significant progress after a night of seclusion in the Aquarius Palace. This time, he's only been gone for a week, and he's already much stronger..."
Aiolia clenched his fists, the muscles in his jaw bulging.
"Is he even mortal? Could he be the reincarnation of some god?"
Recently, there had been rumors that Pope Shion was about to step down.
If nothing unexpected happened, the next Pope should be Li Yu, right?
Amidst the discussions, Li Yu's figure landed outside the Pope's Palace.
The sacred flames on the steps extinguished the moment he walked past.
Stepping into the Pope's Palace, a heavy shadow enveloped him. The Pope's Palace was pitch black, and Shion's eyes had become as azure as the sky.
The Pope, clad in white robes and wearing a golden crown, sat upon the throne. He did not descend the steps as usual, his voice ethereal, as if coming from the void.
"Aquarius Saint, Li Yu!"
Li Yu's heart tightened. Shion's Cosmo had changed; the originally aged and weakened energy was now as vast as an ancient beast, faintly exuding an unfamiliar majesty.
At this moment, Li Yu, having experienced the world of "I Am Legend", possessed a trace of divinity.
He followed the oppressive aura, only to see a massive dark shadow vaguely emerging from the void behind Shion, holding a shield in its left hand and a scepter in its right, with long hair falling like a waterfall... Was this... Athena herself intervening?
Seeing that things were progressing beyond her expectations, Athena finally couldn't sit still and directly intervened in the arrangements?
Shion's voice became even more ethereal, carrying an unyielding determination.
"The Sagittarius Cloth, which went missing from the Galaxy Tournament, is of grave importance!"
"I order you to investigate and retrieve the Sagittarius Cloth within ten days. All Silver and Bronze Saintss of the Sanctuary are at your disposal!"