Chapter 742: Chapter 742

"My true self." New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

Li Pin met the gaze of his past self, which was an incarnation conjured by the Endless Reincarnation Secret Art.

In that instant, their thoughts, consciousness, and very sense of existence seemed to transcend time and space, colliding like two intertwined trajectories.

A brief daze swept over Li Pin. "My past self..."

He had refined the Endless Reincarnation Secret Art countless times, even making it one of the foundational methods of the Phantom Space Technique.

When he unleashed it with all his might for the first time, his thoughts still transcended the boundaries of time and space. It felt as though he had actually seen his past self.

That version of him had lived on the Blue Planet. Scarred by a troubled youth and deeply affected by the fragility of life, he had stepped onto the path of evolution, determined to transcend his limits.

He chose martial arts and pressed on alone, without guidance. Even after breaking his body beyond repair, he refused to stop—continuing forward until he finally died, just before forming his Core.

That version of him was him. And yet, not him.

The difference between them had long surpassed anything that could be measured by degrees.

If one spoke in terms of "fate" and "destiny," then the current Li Pin could easily reshape every aspect of his former self's life—his fortune, his path, his future. He could even bend the will of billions across an entire planet to revolve around his own, building a world with himself at its very center.

There was simply no comparison.

So when he said that version of himself was him—and yet wasn't—it made perfect sense.

Li Pin's thoughts suddenly came to a halt. A flash of unprecedented insight burst through his mind. Me, but not me...

He is me, yet not me? True self... original self?

Could it be... the true self and original self spoken of in the martial scripture gifted by the Void Emperor?

In that moment of what felt like a sudden, heaven-sent enlightenment, he realized something.

That martial scripture and the Endless Reincarnation Secret Art he had personally refined... bore a shocking resemblance.

To pierce through illusion and behold the void.

To treat the void as truth, and the original self as existence.

The idea of simultaneously cultivating both the Supreme and Transcendent paths, a thought that had crossed his mind more than once, resurfaced.

Among all of humanity, only one person had truly achieved this: Regalheaven and Equiheaven.

They were split into two, yet capable of merging as one—just like the true self and the original self, like "me" and "not me," reflecting both the past and the present.

He had "seen" his former self, lamenting the fragility of life and resolutely stepping onto the path of evolution.

And in a daze, he "saw" another figure.

Someone who had also suffered a family tragedy, who, too, sensed the fragility of life, and ultimately cast everything aside to walk the path of martial evolution.

That man, the one who wrote the martial scripture he had studied—Li Qiuxian.

In him, Li Pin saw his own reflection. "Good! Good! Good!"

He knew these were merely illusions conjured by the turmoil of his inner spirit, perhaps the mind's way of filling in the gaps with a figure he had never truly met.

He didn't even know the details of Li Qiuxian's life. But at this moment, none of that mattered, as there was one thing he could be sure of.

"My Dao is not one of solitude."

Li Pin was overwhelmed with an indescribable joy. All he wanted to do was laugh aloud.

"Hahaha! Li Qiuxian! Let me take you, and let me take the version of me from Blue Planet, as the origin of my path to fulfill my true self. Let us merge the past, realize the present, and surpass the future. Let us pursue the true ultimate, the eternal, and glimpse the mystery of fate!"

As his laughter rang out, his inner spirit, thoughts, and consciousness soared. In that moment, he elevated the refined Endless Reincarnation Secret Art to its absolute peak.

"Surpass! Surpass the eternal! Surpass the ultimate! Until I pierce through all causes, all—"

Before Li Pin could finish, he collapsed and disintegrated.

In the midst of the life-or-death battle, his sudden epiphany caused his movements to slow ever so slightly. But in that brief moment, the Heavenly Emperor's personal disciple assigned to test Li Pin seized the opening and instantly severed the space around him into countless fragments.

Li Pin was torn apart along with the space around him, completely erased.

He was forcibly ejected from the Supreme Ladder.

By the time Li Pin regained awareness, he was already standing at the foot of the Supreme Ladder.

The sudden change in his surroundings startled him for a moment, though his inner spirit felt clearer, freer, and more transparent than ever before.

His sudden appearance immediately drew the attention of everyone present, but Li Pin had no time to pay attention to any of that. At this moment, all he wanted was to leave as quickly as possible, complete his enlightenment, and perfect his cultivation of Endless Reincarnation.

With that thought, he turned into a streak of light and vanished from the outer edge of the Supreme Ladder in the blink of an eye.

The moment Li Pin appeared outside the Supreme Ladder, an Astral God gasped in surprise, "He's out!"

"It's Li Pin! He was directly teleported out of the Supreme Ladder... Did he fail to advance?"

Before anyone could react or comment further, Li Pin had already transformed into a beam of light and disappeared.

This unexpected turn of events stunned the previously excited and expectant Astral Gods.

A murmur of discussion broke out among the crowd.

"He stopped at the sixty-seventh step of the Supreme Ladder? That's already an incredible achievement! In the entire sanctum, only a handful of people have reached that level.

"With such a result, his Sacred Child title from the Humanity Sanctum is well-deserved. If he continues at this pace, breaking into the top ten of the overall ranking won't be just a dream.

"Anyone would be satisfied with such a result. So why did he leave without saying a word?"

"Could it be that Li Pin isn't satisfied with this result?"

Liang Qiu, Wang Fuyun, Yu Xuexian, and the others exchanged glances. They all thought the same thing.

Puzzled, Yu Xuexian spoke up. "Sixty-seven steps. That's no small feat. No... within the Humanity Sanctum, it's dazzling. But the Hall Master..."

Wang Fuyun recalled his past interactions with Li Pin and reflected, "Maybe Li Pin is being too hard on himself. With his current achievements, no one could question the Vice Hall Masters' decision to appoint him as a Sacred Child. The Humanity Sanctum should be celebrating. He's bound to become a Cosmic Radiance, maybe even a Tyrant, in the future. But... Li Pin was once personally acknowledged by a Highlord. If we compare that to the standards of a direct disciple of the Supreme..."

The others quickly understood what he meant.

It was widely known that from the sixty-sixth step onward, the opponents simulated by the Supreme Ladder were of an extraordinary level.

Beyond the sixty-fifth step, every opponent simulated was someone who could capture the attention of a Heavenly Emperor. At the sixty-seventh step, there was more than a thirty percent chance of facing a personal disciple of a Heavenly Emperor.

Even if Li Pin's opponent at that step wasn't one, the implication was clear: his current strength and potential still fell short of a Heavenly Emperor's direct disciple. At best, he matched the level of an outstanding disciple under a Sacred Monarch.

If he couldn't even reach the level of a Heavenly Emperor's direct disciple, how could he aspire to the personal discipleship of a Supreme, let alone a Highlord?

Li Pin had originally been driven by a desire to prove the Black Abyss Highlord wrong. He took the risk of bearing the Eternal Oblivion Force, made rapid progress after becoming an Astral God, and hoped for a breakthrough that would make a lasting impression.

He wanted to show the Black Abyss Highlord, and the Supremes, that his talent was real. Yet the outcome showed that he still lagged behind even a Heavenly Emperor's disciple. That blow left him not only disappointed but also unable to face the crowd.

So, he left without hesitation, not even pausing outside the Supreme Ladder.

At this realization, Wang Fuyun and the others exchanged a look.

After a moment, Wang Fuyun said, "Let's wait and see. If Li Pin goes into seclusion for a while, let's not disturb him. He needs some time to himself."

Yun Lai, Yu Xuexian, and the others nodded in agreement.

Yu Li couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Even if Li Pin didn't quite reach the level of a Heavenly Emperor's disciple, he's at least qualified to be a Sacred Monarch's disciple, isn't he? That's a personal disciple of a Sacred Monarch! Any one of us would've been overjoyed if a Cosmic Radiance had chosen to take us in and guide us.

"But Li Pin... he went beyond both the Cosmic Radiance and Tyrant levels, clearly meeting the standard of a Heavenly Emperor's personal disciple. Yet he's still so disappointed.... We..."

She had originally intended to say they had no right to feel sorry for him, but considering their friendship, she chose to hold her tongue.

Still, her words made Wang Fuyun, Yu Xuexian, and Yun Lai realize something.

That's right. He has already reached the level of a Sacred Monarch's disciple.

With his achievement of sixty-six steps, if he sought apprenticeship under a Sacred Monarch, his chances of being accepted were extremely high.

Our expectations weren't even that high. We'd be thrilled if a Cosmic Radiance offered to take us in. But unfortunately... not one had. So, what right do we have to feel sorry for someone like him?

It was like someone earning ten thousand a year feeling sorry for someone making millions, just because they didn't land a job that pays a hundred million. Even if that person missed out on the top role, they were still making millions. Why would they need your sympathy?

Especially since your ten thousand is pre-tax, while the other guy's millions might come with ways to dodge taxes.

Wang Fuyun said in a deep voice, "Everyone, when Li Pin entered the Heavenly Prison World with us, he was only at the Divine Realm. Now, he's at the peak of Solar Flare and has reached the sixty-sixth step of the Supreme Ladder. Compared to him, we've barely made any progress. Maybe it's time to reflect—have we truly worked hard enough in our cultivation? Why haven't our own results improved after all these years?"

The others listened, nodding solemnly.

With that, they no longer stayed outside the Supreme Ladder and quietly left one by one.

Like Wang Fuyun and the others, the rest of the crowd quickly reached the same conclusion about Li Pin's swift departure.

They may not have witnessed a miracle or the dawn of a new era, but how many miracles does the world really have? Li Pin had already done exceptionally well, surpassing many's expectations that he would only reach the sixty-fifth step or below.

It was simply that his near-"Highlord disciple" status had raised everyone's expectations too high.

But had Li Pin truly met those expectations, he would never have come to the Humanity Sanctum. Instead, he would have directly become the Black Abyss Highlord's personal disciple.

So, in the end, his climb of the Supreme Ladder... didn't mean much.

With these thoughts and quiet sighs, the gathered Astral Gods, including the Cosmic Radiances, also left one after another.

What should have been a celebration ended in silence—unexpected, yet, in hindsight, unsurprising.