Chapter 858: Chapter 858

Brilliant, clear light burst wildly from within Divine Emperor Yuan Jie. He struggled violently as golden streams of radiance surged relentlessly about him.

But... it was too late.

If he had chosen to retreat from the Abyssal Rift the moment he realized Li Pin's power surpassed the Supreme in essence, Li Pin wouldn't have pursued him.

Rules were almost nonexistent in the Abyssal Rift. Under its influence, even if he had unleashed his strongest self-created battle technique with the aid of a Supreme Divine Weapon, as a Divine Emperor, he could at most illuminate ten thousand miles.

And even then, it could only be done once. Every move after would only further weaken the Grand Primordial Domain.

By contrast, outside the rift, a Divine Emperor could draw power endlessly from the laws of the Astral World. With an overwhelming advantage in the quantity of matter, energy, time, and space, they could completely offset any qualitative edge.

However, Divine Emperor Yuan Jie was broken the moment he personally witnessed Li Pin unleash a power that transcended the Supreme. It shattered his reason, leaving behind only the urge to destroy.

It was as if someone had stolen what should have been his. Like a woman who once obeyed his every word, whom he had always scorned, now suddenly treasured by another and about to leave. He wouldn't let her go, nor let them be. He would rather destroy her.

And so, the Divine Emperor chose to keep fighting. The Grand Primordial Domain that once spanned ten thousand li had shrunk to just ten. From it, he condensed one final, ultimate spear strike aimed directly at Li Pin's Great Dao Radiance.

But in the end, the domain was dissolved inch by inch. Just as the spear was about to pierce Li Pin, it was completely worn down by the Great Dao Radiance. That same radiance engulfed the strike, seized it, and turned it against him, driving it straight through Yuan Jie.

In a sense, he hadn't been wrong. Li Pin's heretical words had indeed shaken the foundation of his Dao Heart. But it wasn't the words, but Li Pin's actions that shattered him. The undeniable truth revealed within the brilliance of the Great Dao Radiance, something no amount of words could ever compare to.

Yuan Jie struggled violently for a moment longer before finally falling still. The madness and destructive intent in his eyes slowly faded.

"So it's true. Without an overwhelming advantage, there's no way to cross that threshold. A power beyond the Supreme.... Why now, of all times... and why... within the Human Race..."

Li Pin looked at him, gradually realizing that the reason Yuan Jie had chosen to fight to the death wasn't simply because his Dao Heart had been shattered.

For beings who stood at the very pinnacle of the Astral World, no truth or fact could ever make them admit they were wrong or had failed. There was only one moment when they would accept that reality, and that was the moment of their death. Only death would prove failure. Only death would mark the end.

Some people could be so stubborn that they'd hold out until their final breath and die with their eyes wide open, refusing to yield.

Yuan Jie hadn't reached that level of obstinacy, but even so, the only way to make him admit he was wrong was to kill him—just like now.

Li Pin said, "You just mentioned 'Them.' Are there others behind the Astral Lord Council?"

Yuan Jie glanced at Li Pin, then let out a bitter laugh. "Hahaha... It's too late. Far too late... You won't make it in time... Hahaha..."

His laughter lasted briefly before the Great Dao Radiance seeped through every inch of his divine body, piercing it through.

Then, with his final breath, a sigh resounded. "The Dao Realm..."

As the divine light burst forth from within him, the golden radiance that once defined his form faded completely, scattering like dust.

Li Pin stood still, watching the figure dissolve into light. He frowned. "A Divine Emperor... is weaker than I expected."

So weak, in fact, it caught him off guard.

But he soon shook his head. "It doesn't mean anything."

Yes, this battle didn't mean much.

In truth, there wasn't a fundamental difference between a Divine Emperor and a Heavenly Emperor. A Divine Emperor was simply the perfected state of the latter, pushed to its limit within the uniquely favorable environment of the Astral World. That was what gave them their fearsome power, power that reached the upper bounds of the Astral World.

But outside of that environment, while a Divine Emperor was indeed stronger than a Heavenly Emperor, the gap wasn't as wide as it seemed.

Li Pin had chosen the Abyssal Rift as his battlefield. Technically, it was still part of the Astral World, but it sat right at the boundary where it connected to the Void of Chaos.

That place greatly suppressed all lifeforms aligned with "Existence," including Divine Emperors.

So this battle proved little. And truth be told, it wasn't even satisfying. His only real gain was having witnessed the Supreme power the Divine Emperor had drawn forth through his Supreme Divine Weapon.

Li Pin reached out, and the Six Paths Wheel fell directly into his grasp.

The weapon contained six powers: Matter, Energy, Time, Space, Spirit, and Fortune.

Among these, he had fully comprehended Matter, Energy, Space, Spirit, and Fortune. Only Time remained.

Now, with the Supreme Divine Weapon in his possession, it would undoubtedly become a key aid in his understanding of Time. In the future, when he used the Great Dao Radiance to simulate time itself, the results would surely be significant.

Once he mastered Time, the Phantom Space Technique would advance to the fourth level. By then, he would be no different from a true Supreme.

Of course, if he wanted to go beyond even the Supremes... he was still missing one crucial element, and that was Reincarnation.

Li Pin pondered, I wonder if Supreme Dao Origin has found a suitable Abyssal Beast for his experiments, and how deep his understanding of that power has grown,

But after a brief moment, he realized now wasn't the time to be dwelling on such thoughts. He turned his attention back to the Light of Humanity warship.

Back when Li Pin unleashed the Great Dao Radiance to counter the Grand Primordial Domain, all the Heavenly Emperors aboard had been thrown into an inexplicable state of trembling and shock. The deep and overwhelming sense of awe, joy, and emotion surged from within them, flooding their entire beings.

The battle progressed at lightning speed. By the time Li Pin struck down Divine Emperor Yuan Jie and shattered his Divine Body with the Great Dao Radiance, the Heavenly Emperors and the other contestants aboard the warship were all stunned. Their minds went blank, and many of them lost the ability to think altogether.

It wasn't until Li Pin finished collecting his spoils of war and turned to look in their direction that their thoughts slowly began to return.

After a long silence, it was the Divine Martial Emperor, arguably the one most mentally prepared, who finally snapped out of his daze. "We... we won..."

Then, as he looked at Divine Emperor Yuan Jie—truly reduced to dust, completely and irreversibly dead—he went numb. The shock left him frozen. He didn't even know what expression or reaction would be appropriate for the staggering scene in front of him.

The battle then advanced at lightning speed. By the time Li Pin struck down Divine Emperor Yuan Jie with his strike, shattering his divine body with the Great Dao, the Heavenly Emperors, along with the other contestants aboard the ship, felt their minds go blank. Many of them lost the ability to think altogether.

After he came to his senses, Heavenly Emperor Tai Yi, Gu You, Ji Shun, and the others gradually recovered as well. Next were the Tyrant-level contestants, those who had also achieved True Spirit and were considered ultimate lifeforms.

But just like the Divine Martial Emperor, they stood there in a daze, staring at Li Pin as he put away the Supreme Divine Weapon, Six Paths Wheel, unable to utter a single word.

A Divine Emperor was supposed to represent the upper limit of the Astral World! They were the most powerful beings in the entire Astral World! Among the Human Race, Divine Emperors were even rarer than the Supremes! Evident in the fact that there were only three Divine Emperors, fewer even than Supremes.

And yet... this pinnacle figure representing the very ceiling of the Astral World had just died before their eyes, obliterated right in front of them.

The last time a Divine Emperor perished was Divine Emperor Wan Jie, and he died during his attempt to ascend to Supreme, having failed because he refused to let go of everything in the Astral World.

There had also been others who met the same fate on the path to becoming a Supreme.

But a Divine Emperor that died in the hands of another... across the entire universe, in nearly a thousand epochs, there had never been such a case.

And yet... Divine Emperor Yuan Jie of the Chaos Clan had fallen to Li Pin right in front of them. This was... an overwhelming, mind-shattering victory. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on noᴠelfire.net

A full breath passed. It wasn't until the battleship Yuan Jie had piloted suddenly changed direction and accelerated that everyone finally snapped back to their senses.

Divine Martial Emperor quickly realized what they were trying to do. "Stop them! We can't let them escape!"

"The Astral Lord Council isn't a single individual. It's an entire organization. In the current climate, humanity can't afford to become their primary target."

Ji Shun, too, realized how grave the situation was.

The Astral Lord Council still had eight other Divine Emperors and thirteen Elders who were close to that level.

Word of Li Pin killing Yuan Jie could get out, but not .

In that instant, Ji Shun, the Divine Martial Emperor, and the others all struck at once.

But just as they moved, Li Pin took a step forward. The laws of space unfolded before him, stretching out toward the fleeing battleship.

In the Abyssal Rift, where laws were suppressed to their absolute limit, Li Pin's ability to manipulate spatial law and travel through space made him akin to a cultivator carrying countless spirit stones in an era devoid of spiritual energy. To the others, it was a complete dimensional suppression.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of the battleship.

The three Heavenly Emperors onboard reacted immediately, unleashing a barrage of dazzling brilliance laced with terrifying energy, each strike capable of pulverizing stars.

But as Li Pin swept his Great Dao Radiance across, all their attacks were instantly engulfed, dissolved, and dismantled.

The next moment, he drew his sword.

Three sword lights, empowered by the simulated forces of matter, energy, and space within the Great Dao Radiance, tore through space and slashed toward the Heavenly Emperors.

They could clearly perceive the changes in space, energy, and matter within the sword lights, but... they couldn't stop them.

With the laws suppressed to their limits, the three Heavenly Emperors couldn't fully unleash their power. Li Pin's simulated energy and laws were equally limited in quantity, but they still carried enough force to overwhelm all techniques through sheer might.

He had always felt the Great Dao Radiance was insufficient. But at this moment, facing these three Heavenly Emperors, the power he displayed was pure and overwhelming, instantly blasting their Divine Bodies into the air.

If not for the protective divine gears on their bodies, those few sword strikes would have seriously injured or even killed them on the spot.

"The Abyssal Rift..."

Li Pin once again sensed the Abyssal Rift, or rather, the way the Void of Chaos suppressed all cultivators aligned with the force of Existence. It's no wonder even beings as mighty as Supremes fear the Void of Chaos so deeply. They had lost the courage to keep exploring it, and instead convinced themselves that this was the sole universe in existence.

With Li Pin intercepting them, the three Heavenly Emperors had no chance of escaping.

By the time the Divine Martial Emperor, Ji Shun, and the others arrived, the battle was already over, its outcome no longer in question.