Chapter 817: Chapter 817

Upon seeing Li Pin step onto the ninety-third step of the Supreme Ladder and vanish into the corresponding zone, the Sacred Monarchs and Heavenly Emperors, who had been murmuring moments before, all fell silent at once.

A moment later, waves of spiritual fluctuations quickly spread from many of them.

"Ninety-third step? Did I see that right? Ninety-third step?"

"If it's the ninety-third step... that's already in the range of Top-Tier Sacred Monarchs, right? Yao Ji and Emperor Ara only dared to cautiously start exploring the Supreme Ladder from the ninety-first step. And Li Pin... he has the courage to begin directly at the ninety-third?"

"Every member of the Bloodblade Squad is no weakling. Li Pin killing four of them alone proves his strength beyond question.... But still, choosing to challenge the ninety-third step, basically top-tier Sacred Monarch level, feels a bit arrogant. After all, there's a fundamental difference between Sacred Monarchs and Tyrants."

Doubt and questioning filled their minds.

"Ridiculous. In name, the gap between Sacred Monarch and Tyrant is small. In a fight, three to five Peak Tyrants could easily gang up to kill one Sacred Monarch.

"But why do these two realms still have different titles? It's because of the Sacred Monarch's superior mobility. He may not defeat three to five Peak Tyrants together, but by relying on his speed advantage, he can always keep the fight one-on-one!"

A top-tier Sacred Monarch of notable background sneered, "Give a Sacred Monarch enough space to move and stretch out the time. Forget three to five, even thirty or fifty Peak Tyrants would be killed by him one by one. Does Li Pin really think that killing a few Tyrants capable of surrounding a Sacred Monarch is the same as killing an actual Sacred Monarch?"

"I'll admit, I was surprised when I saw him step onto the ninety-third," said a Heavenly Emperor, speaking with measured tone. "But after the shock faded, it started to make sense. He was never the type to stay in the shadows.

"It's either obscurity or brilliance with him. Starting from the ninety-first step like everyone else? What's the point? Better to take the risk. Maybe he'll get lucky and land in an environment that perfectly suits him. If he makes it through, the result on the ninety-third step would silence any doubts about him becoming the commander."

No matter how one looked at it, Li Pin's bold move to step onto the ninety-third level of the Supreme Ladder had drawn everyone's attention. At the very least, it shifted much of the focus away from Yao Ji and Emperor Ara.

In that sense, Li Pin clearly knew how to steal the spotlight.

Li Pin remained unaware of the outside world's discussions.

At this moment, he had already stepped into the world within the Supreme Ladder.

"The ninety-third step. The opponent's strength should be about the same as a Top-Tier Sacred Monarch."

That was also how he assessed his current level.

Of course, with a bit of luck, like encountering the Sky Clan in the Astral World's core, the Star Spirit Clan on the main continent of a Great Emperor, or the Divine Race in a lifeless environment, he might be able to climb one step higher.

If the battle took place in the Abyssal Rift, that would be another matter entirely. But those situations held little meaning. He would never place his hopes on something as unreliable as luck.

Li Pin quickly took in his surroundings. "A continent? One created by a Sacred Monarch?"

This was indeed a continent formed by a Sacred Monarch. It wasn't large, just a hundred thousand li across.

With a Sacred Monarch's power, maintaining a continent of this size gave it tremendous resilience. Ordinary Astral World Fragments crashing into it would be shattered instantly by the sheer force of the continent itself.

On top of that, it gave off a terrifying gravitational pull, constantly drawing in fragments, matter, and energy from the Astral World.

Powered by the Astral World Fragments the Sacred Monarch could absorb, the materials and energy it gathered turned this place into a sacred ground for cultivation, especially for Astral Gods.

Of course, if it were a continent shaped by a Heavenly Emperor, the effect would be even greater. Just like spiritual veins: the higher a person's cultivation, the more powerful the benefits to lower-level cultivators when they manifest as a continent.

Those Sacred Monarchs or Heavenly Emperors who travel alone might not bother, but the ones with sects or clans behind them usually maintain part of their form as a continent.

As long as their True Body was strong enough, whether they stayed in Divine Form or not didn't matter. Anyone capable of destroying their True Body could also destroy their Divine Form. It would just take longer.

"Come to think of it, a Sacred Monarch's biggest advantage is the speed they get from mastering space. Choosing to stay in continent form is basically giving that up. Isn't that the same as running into a hard counter?"

Li Pin observed the place for a moment and felt a little disappointed. A terrain that countered the opponent... their strength might drop by one tier. If the suppression was severe, maybe even two.

Just as Li Pin was surveying his surroundings, a figure with a human head, serpent body, and six arms strode toward him.

That was... the Canaan Tribe?

The Canaan Tribe wasn't part of the Nine Sovereign Races, but it was still among the top-tier races.

The Sacred Monarch of the Canaan Tribe radiated a power that resonated with the continent. That resonance channeled through the land and quickly sealed off the surrounding space.

Meanwhile, Li Pin sensed something unusual.

"No... this continent doesn't belong to him. It's not his natal land... This must be an ancestral land. A Heavenly Emperor from the Canaan Tribe must have fallen here, and their death gave rise to this land to shelter their descendants."

He quickly made a judgment.

"This Sacred Monarch is likely the patriarch of that lineage. Through bloodline resonance, he's linked to the continent and is drawing on its power. It's unleashing force on par with a Sovereign Divine Weapon."

Once the Sacred Monarch locked onto Li Pin's presence, he surged forward, flowing like water at incredible speed toward Li Pin's location. It felt like someone gliding effortlessly on a conveyor belt.

Li Pin understood that this was the key difference between a Sacred Monarch and a Tyrant. A Sacred Monarch, with a deeper understanding of space, could perceive the subtle flow of spatial currents and move in perfect harmony with them, achieving a seamless, effortless motion.

This was also why many believed that while Sacred Monarchs only had better survival abilities and battlefield mobility compared to Tyrants, they still held a clear five-tier advantage on the Supreme Ladder.

In direct combat, a Sacred Monarch held a greater advantage over a Peak Tyrant than a Peak Tyrant did over a High-Class one. This update ıs available on Nove1Fire.net

"With continental amplification rivaling a Sovereign Divine Weapon, and power that ranks among the top Sacred Monarchs. Ninety-third step, truly a well-deserved rank."

Li Pin drew his sword. Space warped.

Ripples spread from the Ruoxi Sword, instantly disrupting the Sacred Monarch's control over space. At the same time, his own mastery of space disrupted the spacetime power within the Ruoxi Sword.

Li Pin carefully sensed the interference and changes. In the next moment, his sword crossed through time and space, unleashing a burst of brilliant sword light that shot toward the Sacred Monarch at an impossible speed.

If this strike had been aimed at a Tyrant, they would've been killed on the spot, unless they had a Sovereign-grade life-saving treasure.

But the Sacred Monarch of the Canaan Tribe reacted with astonishing speed. He moved like a rootless leaf drifting before the sword light.

Even though the sword light wasn't physical, its disruption of space alone was enough to force an evasion.

It was like shooting an arrow at a leaf floating on water. No matter how skilled the archer was, the moment his arrow entered the water, the ripples it caused pushed the leaf aside first. The sharp arrow pierced the water's surface and sank below, yet the leaf remained perfectly unharmed.

Li Pin's eyes brightened. "Impressive spatial control."

The Ruoxi Sword trembled as another beam of sword light shot out.

This sword light carried a temporal trait, as if it sped up the process of crossing the distance.

Even the Sacred Monarch couldn't react in time. By the time he sensed it, the sword light was already inches away.

He had no choice but to push his spatial mastery to the limit, evading along the spatial ripples embedded in the sword light once more.

As the Sacred Monarch dodged the Eternal Swordlight, Li Pin watched carefully. He compared the moves to his own understanding of space, using this to improve the Eternal Swordlight, patching its flaw that allowed even a Sacred Monarch to evade it.

Because the battlefield was the Canaan Tribe's ancestral land, the Sacred Monarch couldn't simply retreat. To Li Pin, this was like being handed a perfect sparring partner at the Sacred Monarch level.

For now, he wasn't eager to change his battle tactics.

He could have, for example, sent the "dodged" Eternal Swordlight toward the ancestral land to destroy it and remove the boost granted by the Sovereign Divine Weapon. Or he could have unleashed the Ring of No Bound to disrupt the Sacred Monarch's spatial control.

Instead, he calmed his mind and entered a "battle-learning" state. With each strike, he refined how the Eternal Swordlight interacted with the Sacred Monarch's spatial mastery, while also addressing the flaw that allowed the Sacred Monarch to evade it.

Li Pin's progress slowed at the ninety-third step of the Supreme Ladder.

But Yao Ji and Emperor Ara were different. Especially Yao Ji. She had entered the ninety-first step only a few days ago, yet her form had already manifested.

Her aura showed little change, clearly indicating she had defeated her opponent with ease.

After appearing, she glanced around.

Neither Li Pin nor Emperor Ara was in sight.

Normally, after defeating a Sacred Monarch-level opponent, one would need time to recover before advancing to the next level.

But since no one was around, there was only one explanation: they hadn't passed yet.

At that moment, the Supreme's personal disciple said calmly, "The ninety-first step of the Supreme Ladder? Nothing special."