Chapter 856: Chapter 856

"Was that really necessary?" said Divine Emperor Yuan Jie. "Hand over Li Pin, and I'll spare your lives."

Divine Martial Emperor replied in a deep voice, "Save your empty threats. The Human Race's Heavenly Emperor won't be so easily divided."

The intent behind those words was obvious. It was a ploy to sow discord.

"That's not necessarily true." Divine Emperor Yuan Jie chuckled. "Your so-called leader of the Myriad Astral God Hall, the Sovereign Heavenly Emperor of Central Jin'que, he's rather easy to talk to."

The name, Central Sovereign Heavenly Emperor Jin'que, cast a shadow across the hearts of Divine Martial Emperor, Heavenly Emperor Tai Yi, Gu You, and the others.

He had been the Human Race's brightest prodigy in nearly a thousand epochs. The Supreme Council once placed high hopes on him, even believing he might become the twelfth seat among them. No one expected him to go that far, joining the Astral Lord Council, betraying the Human Race, and breaking everyone's trust.

At that moment, Li Pin stepped forward. "This spot will do."

Ji Shun wanted to say something, "Li Pin—"

Li Pin cut him off. "I've been waiting for this fight for a long time. There's no need to say anything more."

With that, he stepped off the Light of Humanity warship and walked straight toward Divine Emperor Yuan Jie. He raised a hand and gestured. "After you."

When he saw Li Pin leave the warship, Divine Emperor Yuan Jie thought he was surrendering to save the others. But after overhearing Li Pin's words to Ji Shun, a flicker of surprise crossed his face.

Now, seeing Li Pin adopt a stance inviting battle... one could almost picture a question mark floating above his head.

"You?" He stared at Li Pin. "You want to fight me?"

"Yes," replied Li Pin, slowly drawing his Ruoxi Sword. "Actions speak louder than words. Come, let me see how powerful a Divine Emperor, said to embody the peak of the Astral World, really is."

Divine Emperor Yuan Jie looked at Li Pin's serious expression, then glanced over at the Divine Martial Emperor, Tai Yi, and the others, none of whom seemed interested in stopping him.

After a short silence, he sighed. "Truly the fearlessness of a newborn calf."

Nevertheless, he nodded slightly, like someone tolerating a child's boldness. "After sweeping through the myriad races, your confidence must be sky-high. And now you've chosen the Abyssal Rift as your battleground... no doubt to better draw out the power of that so-called Transcendent Divine Weapon of yours. Still..."

He couldn't help but applaud slowly. "Whatever the reason, for a mere Sacred Monarch to have the courage to challenge a Divine Emperor, Li Pin, I'll admit, you've earned my respect. After you die, when one of my disciples eventually steps into the Sacred Monarch Realm, I'll tell them: once, there was a supreme prodigy of the Human Race. He was only a Sacred Monarch, yet he dared to draw his sword against a Divine Emperor. You should learn from him."

"Divine Emperor Yuan Jie," Li Pin said calmly, "I'm not the kind of Sacred Monarch you think I am. You'd best give this fight your all."

He looked him straight in the eye. "Otherwise... you'll die."

Divine Emperor Yuan Jie couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh."

Li Pin spoke calmly, "Let me tell you something. Back in the Heavenly Prison World, many people have wondered why the Black Abyss Highlord handed Sasha's authority over to me, even though I wasn't his disciple. Not only that, he even gave me what you all call a 'Transcendent Divine Weapon' for protection...."

At those words, everyone lifted their heads slightly.

None of them had ever figured out why the Black Abyss Highlord would gift Li Pin such a treasure. After all... that was a Transcendent Divine Weapon. Its rarity alone made it priceless. It was said to be worth more than two Supreme Divine Weapons combined, so rare that even the Black Abyss Highlord likely only had one.

And yet, he had given it to someone who wasn't even his disciple. That was truly strange. Even Divine Emperor Yuan Jie, who already knew about this, had always wanted to understand why the Black Abyss Highlord had done that.

"The reason he didn't take me as a disciple wasn't because he didn't want to," Li Pin said nonchalantly. "It was because... I refused."

Everyone was stunned.

They froze for a moment, then disbelief spread across their faces.

The Highlord had offered to take him as a disciple, and he... turned him down!?

Yao Ji, Emperor Ara, Yue Shu, and Xuan Chengming all widened their eyes. He refused? Li Pin actually refused to become a direct disciple of a Highlord?

Li Pin explained, "I have my own Dao, and it's different from the Black Abyss Highlord's. The Highlord acknowledged that. But back then, my Dao was still weak. So he didn't walk it with me. Instead, he transferred Sasha's authority to me, hoping I'd grow stronger, strong enough that, one day, he could see my Dao fully formed."

Divine Martial Emperor, Ji Shun, Tai Yi, and Gu You all felt a jolt in their hearts. "Dao!"

Divine Martial Emperor was the first to recall when Supreme Dao Origin personally visited the human territory to meet Li Pin.

At the time, Dao Origin said he wished to "discuss the Dao" with Li Pin. Could it be... that wasn't just a formality? Was it because... Li Pin truly has the qualifications to explore the mysteries of the Dao alongside a Supreme?

"What are you trying to say?" Yuan Jie asked.

Unlike the others, he wasn't of the Human Race, and didn't know all the details. He even doubted what Li Pin had said.

"There has never been any Transcendent Divine Weapon," Li Pin laid it out honestly.

But what came next was like a thunderclap.

"The so-called 'Transcendent Divine Weapon' you all believed in... has always been my own power. The power of my Dao. You just couldn't see its true essence, so you mistook it for some mysterious Transcendent Divine Weapon."

"No Transcendent Divine Weapon?"

"That was your own power? How is that possible? Apart from the Transcendent forces aligned with the Void, what other power could resist the erosion of the Eternal Oblivion Force!?"

Divine Emperor Yuan Jie wasn't the only one shaken. A few of the Human Heavenly Emperors found it hard to accept as well.

After all, Heavenly Emperors couldn't truly resist the Eternal Oblivion Force. Not even Divine Emperors or Supremes could do that. At best, they could let part of their power be eroded, then slowly recover it through other means.

But Li Pin... actually claimed he could resist the power of the Eternal Oblivion?

"I've said all this to you for one reason only..." Li Pin stared at the Divine Emperor. His eyes gradually burned with intensity. "Take this seriously. In the next fight, I want you to go all out and show me everything you've got as a Divine Emperor. Otherwise... you really will die."

Earlier, when Li Pin mentioned the word "death," Divine Emperor Yuan Jie had dismissed it with disdain, not even bothering to respond. But this time, his heart clenched.

For Li Pin to say that the power he had used to fight against the Eternal Oblivion Force during the Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War didn't come from some Transcendent Divine Weapon, but from himself... Yuan Jie didn't know what to make of that.

He fell silent for a moment, then snapped in fury, "Arrogant fool!"

An ant could provoke you, and you'd turn the other cheek, not bothering to step on it! But this wasn't something he could tolerate!

"If you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish!" roared Yuan Jie.

A divine wheel instantly appeared behind him. The moment it emerged, the already faint and unstable forces of matter, energy, time, and space within the Abyssal Rift were completely stripped away.

Heavenly Emperor Dong Xu called out its name as soon as it appeared. "He's summoned the Supreme Divine Weapon—Six Paths Wheel!"

The Six Paths Wheel was Yuan Jie's natal Supreme Weapon, the one that secured his rise to the Divine Throne. The "Six Paths" referred not only to matter, energy, time, and space, but also fortune and spirit.

These six forces encompassed everything in existence.

So when Yuan Jie summoned this weapon, he created an absolute domain identical to the personal universes Supreme beings forged.

The fact that he revealed this weapon against a mere Sacred Monarch made it clear he had taken Li Pin's warning to heart and was ready to fight at full strength.

Or perhaps... he intended to end it with one overwhelming strike, leaving no room for resistance.

The Divine Martial Emperor, Ji Shun, and the others' faces tensed with unease. They called out involuntarily, "Li Pin..."

In the next instant, the Six Paths Wheel unleashed its power. A golden radiance spread from Yuan Jie like a Supreme manifesting his own universe.

Even in the Abyssal Rift, where no laws existed, the light instantly illuminated everything within ten thousand miles.

That entire expanse turned into a fully functioning universe, governed entirely by Yuan Jie's will. Its rules, its forces, even time and space, all bent to him.

Heavenly Emperor Tai Yi stared blankly at the spreading light. His mind stalled, as if it had jammed. "This is the ultimate move that earned Divine Emperor Yuan Jie his name... the Grand Primordial Domain!"

It took him a long moment to snap out of it. He shouted, "Li Pin! Run!"

Yet... faced with the golden radiance spreading outward, Li Pin remained still, like he wasn't even aware of it.

He simply let the light, or rather, the Grand Primordial Domain, engulf him.

He felt as though he had sunk into a sea of pure gold. In this golden sea, all the familiar laws—energy, time, and space—became strange and unfamiliar. In that moment, it was as if all his glory was being stripped away, dragging him down from divine heights to the mortal world. Follow current novᴇls on novel fire.net

"That's it?" Watching Li Pin get swallowed so effortlessly by his Grand Primordial Domain, Yuan Jie let out a light chuckle. "All that grand talk, and this is it?"

At that moment, Li Pin's voice rose in everyone's ears.

"To create a universe and form your own domain, this is the work of a Supreme. Even if it was only done with the help of a Supreme Divine Weapon, it's still quite impressive."

While speaking, the matter, energy, and spatial rules he had used to conceal himself from the Astral World's detection began to peel away from his body.

"I call this realm... the Dao Realm."

It was like a divine marvel hidden beneath a shell. Now, as that shell fell away, its true form began to emerge.

A soft, clear light spread from him, pressing against the golden radiance around him, pushing it back and washing it away.

"I call this light... the Great Dao Radiance."

In the next moment, that clear light grew dazzling, resplendent, radiant, until it shone like a supernova on the verge of detonation.

Then... it exploded with a thunderous roar!