Chapter 825: Chapter 825

The warship carrying the Human Race wasn't just an ordinary Sovereign Divine Weapon. It was forged from extremely rare and precious materials. Rumor had it that it even contained a tiny amount of Indestructible Matter—the primary material used to forge a Supreme Divine Weapon.

This warship cut through the sky like a blade on the sea, charging straight into the heart of the Weeping Emperor Battlefield. The waves of power it unleashed rippled outward in all directions, forcing nearby minor races to retreat and quickly clear a path.

"That's a Human warship!"

"Quick, make way! The Humans are here!"

"Is that the Human Race, one of the Nine Sovereign Races? They actually used such precious materials to build a warship? Just for traveling? Why not just run like the rest of us? With those resources, they could've forged another Sovereign Divine Weapon. Our clan has five Great Heavenly Emperors, and three of them still don't have one..."

"So this is the might of a Sovereign Race. Someday, I'll work twice as hard, rise to the top, and lead our race to greatness! And this Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War is our best shot at making a name in the universe!"

Countless races that had arrived early were deep in discussion, casting curious glances toward the approaching Human warship.

The warship advanced steadily, coming to a halt in the sky above the continent.

Floating above the land stood a massive palace, spanning over a dozen li in diameter.

This area was the core zone. Even when Tyrants fully extended their bodies, they could only reach a hundred meters, or at most a few hundred. Yet this palace held its immense size—over ten li across—even under the crushing pressure of the core zone. That alone revealed its extraordinary nature.

"That's the Star Spirit Clan's treasured artifact—the Temple of Chaos," the Divine Martial Emperor explained. "It's a defensive-type Supreme Divine Weapon. They say even a Heavenly Emperor can activate it to block a Supreme's ambush, as long as the attack doesn't trigger backlash from the Astral World."

"A Supreme Divine Weapon..." Li Pin's eyes lit up. He suddenly asked, "So, with enough Indestructible Matter, you can forge one? But what exactly is Indestructible Matter? And where does it come from?"

His questions stirred the curiosity of many nearby. Even though Supreme Divine Weapons were still a distant goal for them, it didn't hurt to start learning about them early.

"What exactly is Indestructible Matter..." The Divine Martial Emperor shook his head. "I don't know either."

He sighed. "No one knows how Indestructible Matter is formed, or where it comes from. Maybe... even a child on some remote, ordinary planet might stumble upon it by chance. It's like... a gift from the universe."

Li Pin and many of the other contestants were taken aback. "You don't know?"

"The defining trait of Indestructible Matter is that it's truly indestructible. No material can break it down. No energy can erase it. It's unaffected by space or time. Not even a Heavenly Emperor, or a Supreme, can destroy it. Once refined through special methods, it can suppress earth, water, fire, and wind. It can even stabilize shifts in time and space."

As he spoke, the Divine Martial Emperor swept his gaze over the group. "On the surface, Indestructible Matter looks no different from ordinary substances. Whether you find it or not comes down entirely to luck.

"But if you do happen to find a piece, you'll be greatly rewarded. And if the quantity is large enough, it wouldn't be unusual to be granted a Sovereign Divine Weapon. In fact..."

He paused and glanced at Emperor Ara. "Back when Divine Emperor Xi hadn't yet become a Heavenly Emperor, fortune was already on his side. He stumbled upon a large amount of Indestructible Matter.

"With the help of a Supreme who saw potential in him, he reforged his long-time companion weapon—a Pinnacle Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapon—into a Supreme Divine Weapon capable of sweeping away all obstacles. That weapon became known as Starstream."

His words stirred thoughts among the crowd.

So finding Indestructible Matter really came down to luck? And if someone found enough of it, and happened to know a Supreme, they might even be able to create a Supreme Divine Weapon?

That was a Supreme Divine Weapon!

Why are Sacred Monarchs and Heavenly Emperors so much stronger than Tyrants? Among many reasons, the most important is their control over space and time. But if a Tyrant could wield a Supreme Divine Weapon strong enough to suppress both time and space, why couldn't they rise up against a Sacred Monarch, or even stand against a Heavenly Emperor?

While everyone pondered this, a Heavenly Emperor flew out from the Temple of Chaos.

Smiling, he greeted the Human delegation.

The Divine Martial Emperor stepped forward to greet him as well.

Noticing the group's curious looks, Heavenly Emperor Gu You explained, "The Chaos Clan has no fixed form. Their structure allows them to shift shapes freely. But once they merge with their 'other half,' their form becomes fixed.

"This Heavenly Emperor is named Fengdu. His other half once appeared among the Human Race. For diplomatic reasons, after merging, he chose to remain in human form."

After exchanging a few words with Emperor Fengdu, the Divine Martial Emperor led his group down toward a palace complex.

By then, many alien races had already arrived and settled within the palace grounds.

As the humans descended, the aliens fixed their eyes on them. Some looked wary, some solemn, and others carried a sense of pride.

The humans ignored their stares and headed straight into a vast palace cluster that spanned nearly a thousand meters. They moved in without hesitation.

Once Emperor Fengdu departed, the Divine Martial Emperor began making a series of arrangements.

Not long after, Heavenly Emperor Gu You entered with someone by his side. Although this figure appeared in human form, it was clear he didn't belong to the human race. Li Pin hadn't even noticed his presence until he deliberately focused his gaze on him.

That made him pause in mild surprise.

The Divine Martial Emperor said with a smile, "This is the Heavenly Emperor Shadowstream from the Shadow Clan. The Shadow Clan has long stood with us humans. They're one of our most trusted allies.

"For thousands of years, Heavenly Emperor Shadowstream has operated beyond our borders, gathering intelligence on foreign contestants. He's done everything possible to help us know both ourselves and the enemy before the competition—especially those hidden threats."

As he spoke, his gaze landed on Yao Ji.

Among the humans, the obvious trump cards were Emperor Ara and Li Pin. The hidden one was Yao Ji.

This much was clear from the fact that she only joined the competition a few decades ago. Before that, she had never once left the Myriad Astral God Hall. Given such a short time and her isolated background, it would be nearly impossible for foreign races to gather any intel on her.

The only issue was that this trump card, meant to be a powerful secret weapon, seemed a little... underwhelming.

"Among the major races, the Demon Race only sent the few individuals we've seen so far. Their internal strife runs deep. Some have even considered using the power of the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations to eliminate their rivals. So they haven't shown much commitment to this contest.

"As for the Intelligent Lifeforms, Star Spirits, and Astral Beasts, I haven't found any signs of hidden power. It's possible that what we see is all they've brought. But the Chaos Clan, Divine Race, Unique Lifeform Alliance, and Sky Clan... those four definitely have stronger experts still in hiding."

Heavenly Emperor Shadowstream raised his hand, and a projection appeared. "This is the Chaos Clan's fusion cultivator, Tyrant Wu Jin; the Scorching Flame Divine Lord, a descendant of the Ancestral God Hentian; the Unique Lifeform, Shimo; and this trump card from the Sky Clan, still unidentified. But based on the clues, he might have already stepped into the Sacred Monarch Realm."

The Divine Martial Emperor was taken aback. "Sacred Monarch?"

"The Sky Clan is naturally attuned to space. Their mastery of spatial power surpasses every other race. If they'd focused solely on raising their cultivation level instead of training battle techniques or inner spirit secret arts, producing a Sacred Monarch in just one epoch wouldn't be surprising. It's just... that would spell trouble for us." This update ıs available on N0velFire.ɴet

Heavenly Emperor Tai Yi nodded in understanding.

Divine Martial Emperor composed himself. "The Divine Race has poured tremendous resources into this year's contest. Their cultivation path relies on enslaving countless beings to fuel their progress. The Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations hit them just as hard as they hit us. We should focus on two figures: the Bloodslaughter Divine Lord, who's already out in the open, and this hidden ace, the Scorching Flame Divine Lord."

Shadowstream nodded. "You already have Bloodslaughter's profile. Rumor has it he reached the ninetieth step of the Supreme Ladder without using any Divine Weapons."

He paused briefly. "By that, I mean he fought barehanded, relying on nothing but his own strength. From what I've heard, his real power likely falls between the ninety-first and ninety-second steps, probably closer to ninety-second. The Divine Race would've armed him with more than one Sovereign Divine Weapon to ensure victory."

"He's likely at the ninety-third step now, maybe even ninety-four," Li Pin said solemnly. "Divine Martial Emperor, according to your intel, he reached the ninetieth step of the Supreme Ladder three hundred years ago. With all that time passed, even if he spent every day slacking off, his strength should've gone up a level or two by now."

Emperor Ara and Yao Ji couldn't help but glance at Li Pin. Slacking off?

The other contestants twitched at the corners of their mouths. It felt like he was throwing shade at all of them.

"Uh... ninety-three might be barely possible," Shadowstream muttered, "but ninety-four? That's a real long shot..."

He gave Li Pin another look. Who is this guy? According to the intel I have, the humans' public trump card is Emperor Ara, and their hidden one is Yao Ji. But this guy wasn't in either file.

"Your judgment's likely right," the Divine Martial Emperor said firmly. "But Scorching Flame is our biggest threat. More dangerous than Tyrant Wu Jin, Shimo, or even the Sky Clan's Sacred Monarch. The other races won't go all out against us, but the Divine Race absolutely will."

The Divine Race cultivated their power by enslaving countless beings. Humans, with the largest numbers and strongest individual potential among the Sovereign Races, had always been their prime targets.

That made the conflict between the Divine Race and humans impossible to resolve.

As for the Sky Clan, the fight was more about territory.

In every Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War, humans always clashed hardest with the Divine Race and the Sky Clan.

It wasn't an exaggeration. Nine out of ten casualties came from fights with those two races.

When humans ran into either of them, only one side walked away alive.