Chapter 775: Chapter 775

In theory, the Supreme and Highlord paths were not something a mere, insignificant Cosmic Radiance could ever question.

After all, these were the paths carved out by the most exceptional beings in the universe, those who stood at the very peak of existence.

They had been affirmed by countless Supreme beings who came after, and recognized by the Highlords themselves.

This was authority. This was the truth. This was the tide of the times. More than that, this was the law.

But Li Pin... he had never followed trends, never feared rules, and never bowed to authority. To him, wrong, simply meant it was wrong.

Does the so-called doctrine of success, written by the successful, truly lead to success? Are the rules set by those in power always right? The source of thɪs content is novel·fire·net

Any path that ceased to move forward, any path that demands the sacrifice of the self, that places hope in external forces, any path that no longer puts the human at its core... was wrong. All of them were wrong.

No matter how powerful a path is, no matter how bright its future or how highly it's praised, none of that can change one truth—Wrong is wrong.

Humans were not an appendage of the universe. Humans were the universe.

"Only with the concept of 'I' can there be the myriad beings, the universe, and all things."

With that, Li Pin calmly cleared his mind of all the scenes of Supreme Primeval's breakthrough into the Supreme Realm.

That was not the Dao he sought.

Even if... it was a rare opportunity for any cultivator, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to possess a Supreme body and ascend to Supremacy.

"Cultivation is neither lofty nor sacred. It's not noble, nor is it selfless. For an evolver walking this path... I am everything."

He looked toward the gradually dimming Gate of Time and Space. In that moment, his mind became crystal clear. "And I... will surpass all."

Fearless. Unshaken. Supreme. Unrivaled.

A burst of radiant light erupted from his Great Dao Radiance, shining even more brilliantly than before.

Back when Li Pin had yet to reach the Cosmic Radiance Realm, his Great Dao Radiance had already grown once more. It happened when he declared, "I seek my own Dao," and condensed something resembling a True Spirit.

In that moment, his Dao Realm had surged from around level 23 or 24 to 29.

And now, as he stood before the path to Supremacy, fully convinced that it was the wrong way, as he grasped, deep in his soul, the truth that "Man is the universe," "I am the universe," and embraced his unwavering belief in transcending it all...

That understanding shattered the bottleneck holding him back.

His Dao Realm leapt from 33 straight to 35.

Waves of invisible ripples surged from him, pushing away the surrounding forces of laws.

Energy, space, time, even the Eternal Oblivion Force, were repelled, forced apart, and scattered in all directions.

Shockwaves of energy, space, time, and even the Eternal Oblivion Force spread outward. It rippled through the vast white space surrounding the Gate of Time and Space, causing the entire space to tremble slightly.

It was as if a steel bead had been dropped into a glass of water. Rather than merging with the water, it pushed the water aside.

What came next was clear: either the bead would fully settle into the water, rendering the flow powerless to affect it again, or the buoyant force would lift it, casting it off the surface entirely.

Outside the Gate of Time and Space, Heavenly Emperor Mo Xuan immediately sensed something strange. "This is...?"

He stared at Li Pin, stunned and filled with disbelief. He sensed a feeling... the feeling of being rejected by the Astral World emanating from Li Pin.

Mo Xuan was no stranger to this sensation.

Long ago, before becoming Heavenly Emperor, Black Emperor Miao Zhuan, who had already demonstrated extraordinary talent, was ambushed by a Sky Clan's Heavenly Emperor during a cultivation trial.

At that time, Miao Zhuan had become a personal disciple of Supreme Primeval and was greatly favored. He bore the Supreme's mark.

In that life-or-death moment, he activated the mark and held off the Sky Clan's attack until the Supreme arrived.

Ultimately, Supreme Primeval struck across the void with his Supreme power, tearing through the Material and Astral World's barrier, erasing the ambushing Heavenly Emperor on the spot.

However, as the Supreme displayed his power, he triggered violent backlash and rejection from the Astral World. That feeling of rejection was exactly the same as the one Li Pin now radiated.

The only difference was that, back then, Supreme Primeval first faced the backlash, followed by the rejection.

But Li Pin... faced rejection far more than backlash.

Before Mo Xuan could understand the cause of this anomaly, Li Pin had withdrawn all his energy.

As if skilled in the practice, he sealed all his power deep within his inner spirit, not allowing a single trace to escape.

And as that power was sealed away, the rejection force, once growing stronger with each passing moment. lost its target, quickly dissipating and calming.

It was as though the tremor that had just swept through the Gate of Time and Space in this white void had never occurred.

Mo Xuan frowned in confusion. "This..."

But then, a thought struck him. Supreme Primeval!?

The repulsive force he had just sensed from Li Pin felt eerily familiar to that of Supreme Primeval.

The entity Li Pin had possessed through the Gate of Time and Space... was also Supreme Primeval.

Could it be that... when he possessed Supreme Primeval and witnessed the moment of his ascension, he had unknowingly become completely immersed in the experience. In that state, he might have briefly glimpsed a trace of Supreme Primeval's Supreme power.

And when the Gate of Time and Space closed, he subconsciously reenacted that sliver of Supreme power, triggering the disturbance just now, one that even stirred the repulsive forces of the Astral World?

Since Li Pin had only caught a fleeting glimpse of that Supreme power, it posed no real threat to the Astral World. At most, it prompted a moment of rejection, and nothing more.

Like a person swatting away a mosquito. An annoyance, but hardly a threat worth taking seriously.

Moreover, the power Li Pin comprehended was too weak. And once the possession ended, he could no longer maintain control over it. The trace of Supreme power faded entirely, and the Astral World's rejection quickly subsided as well.

Yes, that has to be it.

To glimpse Supreme Primeval's power through a single possession via the Gate of Time and Space...

Heavenly Emperor Mo Xuan took a deep breath. His gaze toward Li Pin experienced a subtle shift.

"Light of Origin... he might just carry the bearing of a Supreme."

Yes. The bearing of a Supreme.

Glimpsing Supreme power through a single possession was a level of potential beyond what even a Heavenly Emperor could typically achieve. Only a seed of Supremacy could accomplish such a feat.

In other words, Li Pin was no longer just someone destined to become a Sacred Monarch with hopes of ascending to Heavenly Emperor.

Now, there was a flicker of hope in his mind that Li Pin might one day reach the Supreme Realm. And that single glimmer meant everything.

Having that hope, even just a sliver of it, was entirely different from having none at all. It's the difference between zero and one.

Li Pin withdrew the Great Dao Radiance, allowing the space around him to return to stillness.

Fortunately, the area surrounding the Gate of Time and Space was itself an adaptive Sovereign Divine Weapon.

Since the Great Dao Radiance flared briefly before he restrained it, it didn't provoke significant rejection from the Astral World, preventing the shockwave from spreading further. Otherwise, the tremor wouldn't have remained confined to this pure white space.

Li Pin sensed the settled Great Dao Radiance. "That's enough Dao."

For a long time, he had been unable to reach the third level of the Phantom Space Technique. The main reason was his lack of sufficient "Dao."

According to his theoretical deduction, the third level of the Phantom Space Technique required using the power of the "Dao" to replace space itself. Then, he would use that space as a vessel to carry matter and energy.

At that point, he would be capable of infinite matter and infinite energy.

However, his understanding of the Dao Realm had not been deep enough, and the Great Dao Radiance lacked the strength to bear the weight of "space." Despite having the concepts, he couldn't test or implement them to confirm whether this was the correct path.

But now, the Great Dao Radiance had grown brighter and more brilliant. It had even begun to evolve into the very concept of "space" itself.

The issue now wasn't with the Dao's power, but with his own limited understanding of "space." He couldn't fully harness the Great Dao Radiance to manifest it completely.

Space belongs to the realm of Sacred Monarchs, Li Pin thought.

This meant that, from this point forward, he needed to focus on reaching the Sacred Monarch stage.

From Cosmic Radiance to Tyrant, the path was about the accumulation of energy, experience, secret arts, and combat techniques.

Only by mastering these elements, eliminating every weakness, and meeting the basic standard of "omniscience and omnipotence" could a Cosmic Radiance truly grasp the structure of the universe and attempt to manifest it.

Li Pin had bypassed this path by using the Great Dao Radiance to simulate matter and energy. It was a clever shortcut to reach this stage.

After all, secret arts, experience, and energy levels ultimately boiled down to the manipulation of matter and energy. Once one understood their essence, manifesting a universe was a natural next step.

That's why he now had to circle back and patch the gaps in his secret arts, combat techniques, and experiential foundation.

As for the Tyrant stage, it was a phase of continuous expansion—of sheer quantity. Cultivators at that level manifested larger and more complex universes, unleashing increasingly vast energies.

It was a stage that simply stacked quantity. Once that quantity approached 100 million—nearing the upper limit a True Spirit could bear—they would then use that simulated universe as a foundation to begin perceiving space.

And space, in turn, could distort time. Once they grasped space, they could extend their reach to time itself.

But in truth, not every Tyrant had to reach that full quantity of 100 million before touching upon space or beginning to comprehend it.

Most Tyrants pursued both paths simultaneously.

The more enlightened among them could even begin to approach the concept of time at this stage, laying the groundwork for the Heavenly Emperor Realm.

After all, these stages weren't like the jump from Solar Flare to Cosmic Radiance, which required a concrete condition like the awakening of the True Spirit.

As long as one's comprehension and talent were high enough, there was no need to rely on a simulated universe to comprehend the mysteries of space.

It's like learning to drive. If you're naturally gifted, once you grasp the theory, you can get behind the wheel and pass the test on your first try.

If not... even after years of practice, you might still struggle to drive smoothly and fail the test time after time.

"Though my energy level has yet to reach the peak of the Cosmic Radiance stage... it's time to start preparing for my advancement to Sacred Monarch."