Chapter 738: Chapter 738

The Humanity Sanctum was an educational institution directly overseen by the Sacred Flame Hall. However, due to its long-standing operation, fair and just teaching approach, and the successful implementation of the Eternal Ascent of Humanity Initiative, this educational institution has gained the trust of all human factions.

Except for a few Sacred Monarch heirs and Heavenly Emperors' direct disciples who looked down on the Humanity Sanctum's resources, many major powers eagerly sent their juniors and heirs there, hoping the Sanctum's training would produce another Cosmic Radiance-level being.

To date, the Humanity Sanctum was no longer considered an ordinary educational institution. Its head was no longer a placeholder elder but one of Sacred Flame Hall's vice hall masters—Mo Xuan. He was also known as Emperor Xuan and wielded control over time and space.

However, he only held the position in name.

In practice, it was still the Cosmic Tyrants serving as vice hall masters of the Humanity Sanctum who handled all affairs.

At that moment, the four vice hall masters—Yuan Guang, Zhen Ming, Wan Gujie, and Shi Xingzun—were engaged in a heated discussion. The main topic of the debate was which Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapon should be bestowed upon Li Pin as a reward for clearing the Void Divine Treasure World.

Naturally, Yuan Guang, who believed in Li Pin's potential, was the one arguing most fervently.

"This matter was approved by the Supreme Council. The task was handed to us solely because Li Pin is currently a part of our Humanity Sanctum. If we can't even bear to give a decent weapon, how will the Supreme Council view us? How will they perceive the Sacred Flame Hall? They'll think we're so poor we can't even reward our own properly."

The strongest opposition came from Cosmic Radiance Zhen Ming, who had nurtured a Cosmic Radiance junior of his own. "Yuan Guang, calling him one of us might be premature. If Li Pin truly intended to join Sacred Flame Hall, he wouldn't have remained indifferent until now."

Zhen Ming snorted. "Even when he recently encountered danger when trying to ascend to Astral God, why didn't he seek aid from the sanctum? Clearly, he didn't want to owe us favors. He wanted to keep his distance. Why grant such a precious treasure to a Solar Flare who is not aligned with us? I already think a high-grade divine weapon is too much, and you want to give him the Primordial Disk?"

"That's your reasoning? Li Pin didn't ask for help because he had confidence in himself and didn't want to trouble us with every little issue. And facts have proven him right. He went from Starshine to Solar Flare in just a few decades, being too fast for even the alien races to react."

Yuan Guang waved his hand. "Our Sanctum's motto has always been to welcome talent from all walks. Li Pin is a rare genius, even named by top-tier figures. Now, he has achieved great merit and earned a reward from the Supreme Council. Why shouldn't we go along and grant him the Primordial Disk to aid in refining the myriad changes of the laws?"

"It's true he made contributions in the Void Divine Treasure World, and I don't deny his talent...but still invoking that great figure's name at this point is a bit much, isn't it?"

Zhen Ming chuckled. "At first, no one noticed, but after that, King Great Luo of Wisdom from the Heaven Ordainment Sect tested him personally, and it became clear that he had failed to become a disciple. Missing out on an opportunity is a failure; being completely disregarded by the Highlord is also a failure. However, these two failures are completely different."

Zhen Ming's words left Yuan Guang momentarily speechless.

Zhen Ming was claiming that Li Pin had previously scored a 59 on a test with a passing score of 60. Now, however, he had scored a 0. The two were considered failures, but one was exceptionally horrible, while the other was merely acceptable. [1].

In the past, people thought Li Pin was the former. But now, he appeared to be trending toward the latter.

After all, the amount of Eternal Oblivion Force accumulated in his body was equivalent to what a Solar Flare Astral God would cultivate over hundreds of thousands of years.

Even though Li Pin had reached peak Solar Flare in an astonishing speed of just a few decades, the burden of Eternal Oblivion Force equal to hundreds of millennia's worth still severely lowered his evaluation.

If another Dao Child or even a Sacred Child took such a risk to rapidly increase strength by burdening themselves with massive Eternal Oblivion Force, they wouldn't have needed much more time than Li Pin.

And in many people's eyes, Li Pin was already regarded as a Dao Child. That was why he had been granted the Sacred Child title without undergoing any assessments.

After a long pause, Yuan Guang finally said, "Li Pin's ascension to Astral God happened at a location that is far from our hall. To ensure his safety, he had to advance rapidly and took on Eternal Oblivion Force. This is due to us providing insufficient protection. We should offer some compensatory ai—"

"Hold on." Before he could finish, Wan Gujie interrupted, "We're not taking the blame for that. Even if he was in danger, had he projected his avatar and informed us of his location at the instant he became an Astral God, we'd have sent people to get him. Ultimately, he was overconfident and misjudged, which led to him burdened with the Eternal Oblivion Force."

Zhen Ming laughed and added, "Pride and arrogance, failure to assess the situation properly. Those are follies that should count against him, right?"

"Zhen Ming, your real reason for withholding the treasure is to save it for your junior, Zhen Xuntian, isn't it?" Yuan Guang asked.

"He was the top of the last Wildfire List and once made it into the top three of the World Glory List. Why shouldn't he receive a top-tier divine weapon?" Zhen Ming countered.

"Even the sanctum has only a few top-tier Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapons like the Primordial Disk. I think Zhen Ming has a point. For his achievements, a high-grade divine weapon should suffice. Why the need to bring out the Primordial Disk?"

Wan Gujie turned to Yuan Guang. "He's still a youngster who hasn't even condensed his True Spirit. Getting his hands on such a treasure may not be a blessing but a path to disaster. It's for his own good."

Seeing that Wan Gujie had also changed his stance, Yuan Guang's expression shifted slightly.

Just as he was about to speak, Shi Xingzun suddenly said, "Everyone, I just received word that Li Pin's first move after returning to the Humanity Sanctum was to take the internal route to Sacred Flame Hall to get his ranking classification. Why don't we all go take a look?"

Yuan Guang was shocked. He exclaimed, "Getting his classification!? Isn't it too soon for that? He has just arrived. Isn't he going to catch his breath?!"

"Let's go take a look," Wan Gujie said quickly. "The Supreme Ladder is second only to life-and-death battles in testing one's strength. This is the perfect chance to see what he's really capable of. If he's truly talented, the Primordial Disk will have found a worthy master. If it's all for show... then a mid-grade divine weapon will suffice."

Hearing the two of them speak, Yuan Guang knew that the discussion was over. It was now up to Li Pin to prove himself.

He nodded. "Then let's go and see."

Li Pin himself had already been a topic of discussion within the Humanity Sanctum. Especially with the rumors coming from the Heaven Ordainment Sect, many began to question the authenticity of this so-called prodigy, and countless people paid close attention to him.

Therefore, as soon as he returned to the Humanity Sanctum, word quickly spread.

Moreover, to most within the Humanity Sanctum, rather than witnessing the rise of a prodigy, they preferred to see such a figure exposed as a fraud and fall into ruin.

With such malicious intent, once they learned that Li Pin planned to challenge the Supreme Ladder at the Sacred Flame Hall, the prodigies of the Humanity Sanctum began to take action. Thousands of figures followed closely behind him, crossing the Primordial World and arriving at the Sacred Flame Hall.

Such a commotion naturally drew the attention of the Sacred Flame Hall.

Although Li Pin's fame in the Sacred Flame Hall was not as great as in the Humanity Sanctum, many still knew of him thanks to the Black Abyss Highlord.

Some idle individuals, driven by curiosity, also headed toward the Supreme Ladder, hoping to watch a show in their free time.

Under these circumstances, Li Pin, Wang Fuyun, Liang Qiu, and the others arrived at the Supreme Ladder's site within the Sacred Flame Hall. With their arrival, the already bustling area, filled with others who were also trying to ascend in ranking, became even livelier.

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Li Pin looked up. "The Supreme Ladder...."

The name of the Supreme Ladder had echoed in his ears like thunder. It was said that the Supreme Ladder's true form lay at the very core of the Astral World. It was even one level higher than the core.

In the past, Sovereigns, Highlords, and Transcendents had used special methods to draw and project the Supreme Ladder's power. This was how this Supreme Ladder was created, allowing others to access it within the Sacred Flame Hall.

The entire Supreme Ladder resembled a towering structure made of steps. It was a square-typed structure and was climbable from four directions.

It was said that each of the ninety-nine steps represented a different level of heaven. Each step was a different world.

With each step forward, one would face a completely different trial, and passing each trial signified a leap in the cultivator's strength.

The Supreme Ladder that was projected in the external world only had ninety-nine steps. Reaching the eightieth step signified a Monarch, while the ninetieth marked a Sacred Monarch.

Since Sacred Monarchs and Heavenly Emperors commanded time and space, together seen as the power of spacetime, the ninety-fifth step was often called the Heavenly Emperor level.

However, the Supreme Ladder had never been a representation of one's cultivation realm, but rather of their true strength. A Sacred Monarch who had grasped the power of space might still fail to reach the ninetieth step, while a Monarch who hadn't grasped it could surpass the ninetieth.

For this reason, when evaluating the power of an Astral God, people didn't look at their realm, but at how many steps they could ascend on the Supreme Ladder.

"You're really not going to take time to adjust your condition?" Wang Fuyun couldn't help but ask. "The Supreme Ladder's trials are comprehensive. There's absolutely no room for shortcuts. If you rank beyond the fortieth step and are confirmed to have broken through to the Solar Flare level... all the Solar Flare Prodigies will definitely come one after another to challenge you..."

"That's exactly what I need." Li Pin said calmly, "Besides, the Supreme Ladder's trials are said to be second only to life-and-death combat. In terms of comprehensiveness, they even surpass it. So using these trials to fine-tune my condition couldn't be more ideal."

With that, Li Pin said no more. He leapt forward and directly crossed dozens of steps before landing on the forty-ninth step—the one representing the peak of the Solar Flare level.

1. In China, the passing score for examinations is generally 60 marks instead of 50 ☜