Chapter 786: Chapter 786

Zhan Tianxiu, who was rescued by the Divine Martial Emperor using the power of formation, turned pale.

He had lost. He had also lost.

He had witnessed Li Pin defeat Zi Zaitian, Luo Wuji, and Yu Shenghui one after another before making a move. However, he still faced Li Pin head-on, believing that he was different from them and could perform better than them.

But the result was no different. In the end, he met the same fate as Zi Zaitian, Luo Wuji, and Yu Shenghui, rushing forward with rebuke and mighty battle intent, only to be defeated miserably under everyone's watchful eyes.

Had it not been for the Divine Martial Battlefield and the Divine Martial Emperor's support, he would have had no choice but to exceed his limits and unleash uncontrollable power to break the situation against that sword strike forcibly.

But once he used power beyond his limits to break the situation and attracted Eternal Oblivion Force, the balance of victory would tilt toward Li Pin. The situation would snowball under that influence, widening the gap until total defeat became only a matter of time.

Zhan Tianxiu opened his mouth, wanting to say something. "I... I..."

However, upon recalling Li Pin's words that provoked him into battle, he lowered his head in dejection.

That's right, they were afraid. It was one thing for Li Pin to defeat Zi Zaitian. They could claim Zi Zaitian was careless and caught off guard by some unknown means. But Luo Wuji and Yu Shenghui were defeated in a direct, aggressive confrontation. They were soundly defeated in a head-on battle.

Based on his performance in this battle, it was clear that Li Pin's strength was on par with anyone in the top ten.

No, worse. Wu Meng, Zi Zaitian, and Luo Wuji were in the same tier. Yu Shenghui was already in a different, higher tier. Only someone from an even higher tier could defeat Yu Shenghui head-on.

That meant Li Pin's displayed strength was already slightly above the people at Yu Shenghui and Yan Sheng's level.

If they included the unknown method Li Pin had used to defeat Zi Zaitian, which none of them had yet understood, then, in some sense, Li Pin's strength was already above theirs.

However, the pride of being a prodigy made them refuse to face that reality and admit defeat to a young man who had been cultivating for only a few hundred years. They unanimously accepted the narrative that Li Pin had relied on a Sovereign Divine Weapon to defeat Luo Wuji in order to preserve a shred of their dignity.

Had Li Pin not pressed them so hard, after the Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War was over, even if Li Pin surpassed them later, they could have smiled openly and accepted it with a senior's grace. They could say that the new generation surpasses the old.

They just hadn't expected Li Pin to be so merciless! And so audacious beyond belief!

He had dared to challenge everyone almost single-handedly, forcing them to face him despite their reluctance.

The result was as expected. Just as the dread, fear, and foreboding deep within their hearts had foretold... they lost. They were utterly defeated.

Zhan Tianxiu was devastated, but the rest of the Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War participants still had to face Li Pin, who stood in the sky with overwhelming momentum.

However, after the successive defeats of Yu Shenghui and Zhan Tianxiu, none of the participants dared utter a word or even comment.

One by one, they fell silent under Li Pin's pressure. For several breaths, not a single participant responded.

Half the participants, not daring to meet Li Pin's gaze, were secretly glancing at Yue Shu and Xuan Chengming.

Even Zhan Tianxiu had lost. At this point, the only ones with a chance to surpass Li Pin were these two participants, who belonged to a higher tier and ranked among the top three prodigies.

The Divine Martial Emperor sensed the stifling atmosphere in the scene, vaguely recalling something, and sighed. "A supreme prodigy..."

Mo Xuan received the inner spirit fluctuation from the Divine Martial Emperor and understood what he meant.

In every era, there were at least eighty to a hundred individuals honored with the title supreme prodigy. However, there had only ever been one true supreme prodigy.

This was the origin of the word "supreme" in the title supreme prodigy. A supreme prodigy was unrivalled!

Be it the Divine Martial Emperor or Mo Xuan, neither had been the supreme prodigy of their own era. However, both of them had experienced being completely overshadowed by one such figure.

The person's brilliance had been so overwhelming that any prodigy, even those once called ultimate, had willingly retreated, yielded, and even submitted before them.

Before the supreme prodigy truly severed their own path, reached the pinnacle, or fell midway, nearly everyone had to live under their shadow. The Divine Martial Emperor and Mo Xuan had been no exception.

However, the tallest tree in the forest was always the first to fall under the wind. The assassination attempts on the supreme prodigy by other races were more intense than ever. Of ten such prodigies, more than half were assassinated, and a small portion strayed into dead ends. Less than ten percent ever reached the ultimate limit of cultivation.

Even so, the birth of every recognized supreme prodigy remained cause for celebration across the Human race, which would send countless powerful forces to protect their growth.

Before them, Li Pin alone suppressed these qualified contestants of the Ten Thousand Tribe Dominion War so thoroughly that they dared not lift their heads.

He had already begun to reveal the true bearing of a supreme prodigy.

Mo Xuan remarked, "If he had taken tens of thousands of stellar years like Yu Shenghui and Zhan Tianxiu to reach this level, they might have grown wary toward him, not fearful.

"However, the fact is that Li Pin took only a few hundred years to get this far. Do you know what that means? It means that as long as nothing major goes wrong, and he continues to grow at this pace, none of them will ever surpass him in their lifetimes. That is true despair."

He paused before continuing. "A despair even greater than facing Emperor Ara."

"Emperor Ara was too proud and left too early. I wonder what his thoughts would be if he had stayed and had seen this," replied the Divine Martial Emperor, expressing regret.

He glanced at Mo Xuan and said, "I'm seriously considering whether to let him participate in the Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War now."

"I asked him the same question. His attitude was firm." Mo Xuan responded. "Besides, this Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War is of great significance. The rollout location for the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations Proposal must not be within our human territory. So the more outstanding Li Pin is, the more determined the Supreme Council will be to send him into the competition."

The Divine Martial Emperor frowned. "But his strength..."

Hardly had the words left his mouth that the Divine Martial Emperor was hit with realization.

Li Pin was a supreme prodigy.

If they used the Tian Ji's Horse Racing Strategy[1]">https://blogs.cornell.edu/info2040/2018/10/17/tian-jis-horse-racing-strategy-an-ancient-chinese-story-based-on-game-theory/[/ref], they might be able to eliminate a major threat directly, thereby increasing the odds of success for the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations Proposal!

"You still can't see it, can you?" Mo Xuan looked at Li Pin. "He may not necessarily be weak..."

He paused slightly. "Or let me put it another way. Right now, he may not be a trump card, but at his current growth rate... forty years from now, no one can say for sure whether he won't become a true ace."

"Forty years from now..." muttered the Divine Martial Emperor.

Was that even that long? he thought.

However, recalling how swiftly Li Pin had ascended to his current standing in the Astral God Realm, he felt immediately reassured, saying, "Yes, there's still forty years!"

"Forty years is a long time." Mo Xuan nodded. "Anything could happen during that time."

These were words that would sound awkward to any Cosmic Radiance, yet the Divine Martial Emperor nodded in agreement.

Next, he turned his gaze to Xuan Chengming and Yue Shu, waiting for them to make the final decision. After all, Li Pin had challenged all of them.

After a long silence, under everyone's gazes, Xuan Chengming finally spoke. "Li Pin, I admit, all of us underestimated you. You... truly do possess the strength to participate in the Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War. Regardless of whether we will be sparring, your name will be one of the thirteen lead commanders of the competition."

Li Pin's gaze fell on Xuan Chengming. "Hmm?"

Looking at Li Pin, Xuan Chengming said, "I will battle you, but not now. I can see that you still have several significant shortcomings yet to be resolved.

"Yes, you seem to have innovated upon the Quantum Sword Intent, pushing its power to a higher domain. Yes, you have a unique method to instantly see through an opponent's entire set of attack patterns. However, these are not yet in a cohesive system with your combat techniques or secret arts. But I..." Updates are released by novęlfire.net

His eyes gleamed with undisguised sharpness. "If we fight, I want to fight your strongest form!"

Li Pin remained silent.

"Thirty years." Xuan Chengming held up three fingers. "Thirty years from now, all participants of the Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War will gather again for another round of contest to determine who is truly the chief commander and who will take responsibility for the most crucial points of interest. So..."

He declared solemnly, "At that time, I will fight you, for real, and we will determine the true victor. I also hope that by then, you will have fully established your cultivation system and reached full mastery of your realm, so that you may show your strongest form as a Tyrant."

After speaking, the sharpness in his eyes grew even fiercer.

It seemed that he had developed a battle intent, as if meeting a worthy opponent, a fitting rival.

"I'll be waiting for you in the final round of the ranking matches," Xuan Chengming declared with great seriousness.

"So will I." Yue Shu nodded. "Thirty years from now, I hope you won't disappoint us."

Although Li Pin wanted to settle the score with these two right now, they had already made their position so clear. It wouldn't be right to force the issue.

He couldn't just start fighting whoever he saw for the sake of a fight, could he? How would that be any different from a demon? It would go against his upright and proper conduct.

At that, Li Pin gave a slight nod. "Then, as you said, we will have a battle thirty years from now."

1. A story from ancient China relating to the application of Game Theory. You can read more here: ☜