Chapter 9: Star Family Lucian Star

Looking into Lucian Star's gaze, Ava Gray felt uneasy—she always had the impression that he was scrutinizing her, even though she considered herself nothing more than a small fry. Why would he pick on someone like her?

And Ava Gray's intuition wasn't wrong. Lucian Star had indeed been sizing her up. He was Chloe Star's cousin. It was said that the normally unapproachable Chloe—who always insisted on "no trespassing"—had already made friends at school, so he had come to the academy right away.

From the moment they met, he had been observing her. At first, her features revealed little; but when he tried to look closer, all he saw was a hazy blur. This only deepened Lucian Star's confusion. Even though the academy had a special barrier to protect the Divine Kingdoms—making deep inspection impossible—he was, after all, a Divine Lord. Surely he shouldn't be unable to gauge her true strength?

For some reason, when he examined Ava Gray, there was an almost surreal quality to the process. When he observed other deities, he could see their inner divine power, the laws that governed them, and their divine aura—where the aura was the very essence, divine power the energy, and the laws the instruments of operation. The school's array concealed everyone's aura, power, and laws; the only thing visible was the Divine Kingdom itself.

When he looked at others, some domains appeared as unbreakable stone walls, while others crumbled like eggs at the slightest touch. But when he looked at Ava Gray, it was as if he were gazing at a fragile bubble filled with strange, otherworldly energy.

How fascinating—could this be some new kind of hidden artifact? Even with my [True] Authority, I should be able to see through all beings below the level of a Divine King. For her to hide her true origins so completely, she must be far from ordinary!

(Ava Gray inwardly: "Could it be? Maybe my world's barrier is so fragile that even you can't see it.")

Raising the corner of her mouth slightly, she said, "Alright, now release your Divine Kingdom's basic information—I'll quickly tally it up."

Without delay, she distributed several concealed questionnaires to every desk in the room.The questionnaires were quite simple, asking only about the extent of one's domain, the number of devotees, and the current level.After carefully reviewing them to ensure no critical information would be exposed, Ava Gray filled them out generously.Stealing a furtive glance at the responses, she murmured, "Hmm… These rebellious numbers have already reached 150,000—and they're still rising."With a Divine Kingdom spanning 20,000 square kilometers and at the third-tier level, she completed the forms without hesitation and handed them over to Lucian Star.

Reviewing the documents, Lucian Star's interest was piqued. Even with the privileged status of the Star family, he couldn't directly probe any student's identity—the confidentiality of these Divine Kingdoms was far stricter than one might imagine. Contracts of divine decrees were inscribed, and once a contract was sealed, even a Divine Emperor couldn't break it.Thus, to trace someone, one could only glean clues from their name.Based on family background, this person named Ava Gray should be nothing more than an orphan, living in utter poverty with no distinguished lineage—merely ordinary.Yet, in the information she provided, it stated she had 150,000 devotees, a 20,000-square-kilometer Divine Kingdom, and that her level had reached the third tier.Moreover, her submission included concealed contract decrees which, under my [True] Authority, I can verify as genuine.

How fascinating—if she were simply an ordinary commoner, how could she possibly cultivate such an enormous number of devotees and reach such a high level?After all, a third-tier Divine Kingdom implies at least third-tier devotees, with no fewer than 5,000 third-tier followers and at least 10,000 devotees above the second tier.Even for races like the insectoids or goblins, which multiply rapidly, the required numbers would be exponentially larger.The higher the tier of the devotees, the more resources are required to nurture them. With such vast numbers, relying solely on the resource cards provided by the academy would be utterly impossible.

Unable to find further information, Lucian Star even searched relevant platforms for Ava Gray's logistical records.The data showed that her basic logistics comprised nothing more than ordinary resource cards and common everyday items.There were no additional cards for cultivating devotees—even when adding up all her logistics from birth to the present, it wouldn't be enough to nurture even a second-tier Divine Kingdom.Moreover, her logistics were far too meager; besides resource cards, what about basic Divine Kingdom enhancements such as fertility boosters, weather modification, talent awakening, and faith strengthening? Surely there had to be at least one of each?Taking a step back, without any Divine Battle fought, how could she possibly advance? The records even showed she had a "Universal Divine Battle" title on her profile, yet she hadn't fought a single battle.

Lucian Star smiled confidently, convinced that the data was fake. There must be a vast organization behind her, concealing all of her registration details.Although he hadn't mobilized all of the Star family's resources to scrutinize the data fully, he had examined it meticulously—every lifestyle habit and preferred brand of card was listed clearly.It was obvious at a glance that it was fabricated. All the information was worthless. Shaking his head, he resolved that once he returned home, he would terminate the investigation. They'd been so detailed in their forgery—it looked entirely authentic.Had it not been for the glaring display of third-tier strength and those bizarre hidden methods, he might have believed that this was merely an unremarkable student.

More information needed to be gathered. It seemed he'd have to find a way to acquire her Divine Battle records before making any further plans.And he couldn't push too hard—the last thing he wanted was for his underlings to spend days gathering nearly insulting data, which would serve only as a warning.If the information were any less fake, he would have had to swallow it on the spot! No one understood investigation better than he did!Alas, Lucian Star never expected that in a Divine Realm established for countless years—with the Supreme Deity's position having been replaced for decades—there would still be someone who advanced so rapidly without even engaging in a Divine Battle.

Looking at Ava Gray, who was earnestly watching the projected data on the screen, Lucian Star pondered deeply: How could he coax her into voluntarily providing her Divine Battle records?Recently, his cousin had grown too close to her. Though she clearly possessed extraordinary talent, she concealed it so well that it aroused suspicion.If his foolish cousin inadvertently got drawn into their disputes, the Star family might suffer serious consequences.

With the battle situation shifting and the Abyssal invasion underway, the Star family could ill afford any missteps. Even if a price had to be paid, he needed to uncover her true identity.