Azrael, Luo Bingqing, and Elyara sat together in the living room of the spaceship, silently watching as a small planet in the distance gradually drew closer.
"It's fortunate we didn't encounter any space pirates. Otherwise, I doubt this old spaceship would have been able to protect us," Elyara remarked as her gaze remained fixed on the planet Fras, their destination. The rightful source is novel★fire.net
"We took the official route established by the Federation," Luo Bingqing replied calmly. "Federal patrol ships regularly monitor the official routes, so it's only natural that we didn't encounter any pirates. Besides, even if we had, it's not as if we would have been captured. The defense and attack systems of this spaceship are at the middle level of Legend. I highly doubt any pirates lurking in this remote region would possess a spaceship with planetary-level power that could threaten us."
Azrael did not join in their conversation. Instead, his second consciousness continued cultivating his source core while his main thoughts focused on how he should approach the mission ahead.
When they were only minutes away from reaching the planet, Azrael finally turned his attention to them and spoke.
"The security forces of Planet Fras initially requested assistance from Epic-level Warriors to deal with the Transdecent Organization. However, the academy chose to assign this mission to us."
Hearing Azrael's words, Elyara and Luo Bingqing immediately stopped their discussion and turned to look at him.
"When we meet the security forces later, don't reveal your levels unless they ask directly. Even if they find out we are only at the Class Rank level instead of Epic level, they would still be obligated to cooperate with us. But if they knew the truth right away, their attitude would definitely become troublesome, and they wouldn't be as cooperative as they would be with Epic-level warriors."
"Even if we don't say anything, wouldn't an Epic-level warrior still be able to sense our level?" Luo Bingqing asked in a low voice as he had not practiced any concealment skills, and he wasn't confident in his ability to deceive someone at the Epic level.
For Class Rank warriors, he was certain he could conceal his true level, but the senses of Epic-level warriors were on an entirely different scale, and he was unsure if the same trick would work on them.
Elyara also frowned slightly. She, too, lacked a concealment skill. However, unlike Luo Bingqing, she possessed some confidence in her ability to hide her true level from ordinary Epic-level warriors due to her exceptionally high affinity with cosmic energy, which allowed her to obscure her energy signatures to a certain extent.
Azrael nodded in response to Luo Bingqing's concern, then pointed toward himself.
"I know it won't be easy for you to conceal your levels, but they won't be able to sense mine unless I will it. As long as they believe one of us is at the Epic level, things will go smoothly. Just make sure you don't reveal anything about my actual level."
Both Luo Bingqing and Elyara instinctively tried to sense Azrael's level, but they felt nothing at all. It was as if he were an ordinary person who had not even awakened yet.
Luo Bingqing was not surprised, as he had already noticed this peculiarity during their sparring session. At that time, no one had been able to detect Azrael's level.
For Elyara, however, this was the first time she had paid close attention to it, and the discovery left her visibly surprised.
"Have you learned a powerful concealment skill?" She asked curiously.
"Something like that," Azrael replied vaguely. He did not disclose that it was actually due to the mid-level Cosmic Energy Breathing Method, which granted him perfect control over his energy.
Because of that mastery, he was able to suppress his energy signatures entirely. In truth, with his current level of control, even a Legend-level warrior would have difficulty sensing his true strength unless he deliberately released some of his energy.
"Your control over cosmic energy is already outstanding—we all witnessed it during the spar. On top of that, your use of wind powers is exceptional. And now, it turns out you've also mastered a concealment skill…" Elyara muttered, her lips twitching slightly. "Tell me honestly, was Professor Ronald serious when he said you completed your Eonrift Trial this month and not in January?"
Luo Bingqing harbored the same suspicion. He, too, couldn't comprehend how someone who had only recently completed their Eonrift Trial and activated their powers could already display such flawless control, reach level 12, and even practice concealment to this degree.
So, when Elyara questioned Azrael, Luo Bingqing instinctively turned to look at him as well.
Azrael glanced at Elyara from the corner of his eye and recalling the power of her trait, which he had uncovered just three days earlier, he simply nodded without elaboration.
Although they had both suspected it, hearing Azrael confirm that he truly completed his Eonrift Trial only this month left them momentarily stunned.
'Before this mission, I was 80% certain I could defeat him if I went all out,' Elyara thought, recalling how Azrael had discovered her trait without her ever mentioning it and her eyes narrowed slightly. 'But now… now I'm not even sure how strong he truly is, or just how many hidden abilities he possesses.'
Soon, the spaceship reached orbit above Planet Fras, which was slightly smaller than Earth, and came to a halt.
From the viewing windows, they could see one or two small-sized spaceships flying in and out of the planet's atmosphere.
(The guard team of Planet Fras is requesting communication.)
The mechanical voice of the spaceship's AI rang out as soon as the vessel stopped.
Azrael and the others were not surprised when they heard the voice of the Ai as they knew that before being granted entry, their identities and purpose would need to be verified—especially now, when the Transdecent Organization was wreaking havoc across the planet.
All three of them rose to their feet and made their way toward the control center of the spaceship.
"Remember, don't reveal your levels unless asked," Azrael reminded them.
Luo Bingqing and Elyara both nodded.
Satisfied with their response, Azrael turned his eyes to the spaceship's screen and spoke calmly.
"Accept the communication."