Chapter 860: Chapter 860

Li Pin had no objection to the title Divine Emperor Origin. In fact, his original plan had always been to enter secluded cultivation for a thousand years. By then, he would fully comprehend the nature of time, and the unification of time and space would come naturally.

Now that he also wielded Supreme Divine Weapons, becoming a Divine Emperor was merely a matter of time.

Li Pin thought to himself, However,there's still the Heavenly Emperor Realm, which focuses on comprehending time.

He had already passed the stage of merging time and space. His cultivation method, secret arts, and battle techniques, all self-created, met the three core requirements for ascending to Divine Emperor status.

Even so, bypassing the Heavenly Emperor Realm altogether left him feeling that something would be missing, like he was treating that realm too lightly.

Still, after some thought, Li Pin accepted the Divine Martial Emperor's suggestion.

"Then, as you say, I'll take on the title of Divine Emperor publicly," Li Pin said.

"So, I'll take it that you've agreed?" said the Divine Martial Emperor.

He continued, looking at Li Pin, "We're calling you Divine Emperor Origin mainly to stabilize the Human Race. With another Divine Emperor among us, we'll suffer fewer losses in this Astral World crisis. But if you're unwilling, we can claim that Yuan Jie was severely wounded under our joint assault, and you simply delivered the final blow.

"That way, even if the Astral Lord Council uses some special method to learn that Yuan Jie died by your hand, they won't direct all their attention solely at you."

"It makes no difference," Li Pin replied calmly. "If the Astral Lord Council wants revenge, let them come."

Claiming the title of Divine Emperor without having fully stepped into that realm might invite danger. But Li Pin had already mastered space.

With his self-created cultivation method, secret arts, battle techniques, and the divine radiance of Heavenly Fate, his strength was already on par with a newly ascended Heavenly Emperor.

Now, with the addition of the two Supreme Divine Weapons, the World Stabilizing Halberd and the Six Paths Wheel, his power soared to an entirely new level.

He might fall just short of the very elite Heavenly Emperors like the Divine Martial Emperor and Ji Shun, but he was now on par with figures like Heavenly Emperor Gu You.

In other words, aside from a handful of the most powerful Heavenly Emperors, no one in that realm could truly pose a mortal threat to him anymore.

At this point, only those peak Heavenly Emperors and true Divine Emperors could pose a threat to him. That was precisely why claiming the title of Divine Emperor now made sense. Anyone from the Astral Lord Council sent to avenge Yuan Jie would be at that level. It saved him the trouble of dealing with ordinary Heavenly Emperors.

Calling it a waste of time might sound arrogant. After all, any Heavenly Emperor who stood at the top of the Astral World had their own exceptional qualities. If one of them challenged him to a life-and-death battle, he wouldn't turn it down. Fresh chapters posted on N0v3l.Fiɾe.net

But given the chance to face stronger opponents, to push himself in real battles that walked the line between life and death, why bother fighting those weaker or on the same level?

"That settles it," Li Pin said with a faint smile.

He cast a glance at the Heavenly Emperors and spoke truthfully. "This is my Dao."

The moment Li Pin said those words again, the Heavenly Emperors present felt their hearts tremble.

Just moments earlier, it was this “Dao” that had allowed Li Pin to display a strength far beyond imagination and defeat the Divine Emperor Yuan Jie.

Though part of it had stemmed from the unique nature of the Abyssal Rift, what they witnessed still offered a glimmer of unprecedented hope, like a beam of light piercing through darkness, showing them a way forward.

Li Pin looked at the Heavenly Emperors and said calmly, "When I truly prove my Dao and confirm that it's the right path, I'll write it down in full. If any of you are interested, you're welcome to read and study it."

His words struck a deep chord.

Ji Shun couldn't help but ask, "You... actually plan to share your Dao with the world?"

"Why not?" Li Pin turned his gaze toward the Abyssal Rift, the bridge between the Astral World and the Void of Chaos. "Martial inheritance, divine techniques, secret arts... only when more people take part can we gather true wisdom, keep pushing the boundaries, and continuously innovate."

Then he looked back at them and said sincerely, "If you want to learn, I'll teach you."

Listening to Li Pin talk with the other Heavenly Emperors, Yao Ji felt the pride she once held as a Supreme's personal disciple, and as a supreme prodigy, quietly fade away.

She willingly admitted, "I'm not as good as him."

Watching Li Pin defeat Divine Emperor Yuan Jie, she already realized she could never catch up to his pace.But now, seeing him generously share a path that could very well surpass the Supreme without holding anything back, a deep, uncontrollable sense of admiration surged from her heart.

"That's why I say, living in the same era as Li Pin is our greatest fortune. Standing beside him, we're not just witnessing history. We might be witnessing the dawn of a whole new age," Emperor Ara said with a smile, standing next to her.

Yao Ji repeated the words softly, "A new era..."

In the end, she nodded firmly. Li Pin is the one who would open the gates to a new era—the true trailblazer.

The Light of Humanity warship once again broke free from the Abyssal Rift and surged ahead.

But this time, the atmosphere had completely changed. Whether it was the Cosmic Radiance participants in the Prodigy Competition, the Tyrant-level contenders in the Overlord Competition, or even the few Heavenly Emperors present, every gaze directed at Li Pin now carried deep respect and reverence.

Even Ji Shun, Tai Yi, and Gu You no longer spoke to him with the tone of seniors addressing a junior. On the contrary, they treated him as an equal. More than that, their words were filled with admiration for Li Pin's righteous deed. In their conversations, they had already begun to show deference to him.

At the same time, the Divine Martial Emperor was doing everything in his power to sense and control his avatar stationed at the Supreme Council, urgently transmitting the news back to them.

In addition to the three rotating Supremes, Primordial, Genesis, and Ordainment, others like Foundation, Great Heaven, Unity, and Grand Luo had also gathered at the Supreme Council through avatars or other means. Even the Prime Abyss Highlord had arrived in person.

Only Supreme Primeval and Unbound remained absent, still exploring the Void of Chaos.

As for Regalheaven... he just so happened to be in seclusion again.

The looming calamity threatening the Astral World was now left to be discussed by these seven Supremes and the Prime Abyss Highlord.

The Prime Abyss Highlord clearly held some dissatisfaction with the three active Supremes under whose watch the current chaos had unfolded. He bluntly said, "The Astral Lords couldn't have joined forces without warning. In the end, this happened due to your oversight.”

Supreme Unity remained composed. "There's no point assigning blame now. What matters is finding a way to resolve the crisis as quickly as possible."

Supreme Foundation spoke in a cool, distant voice. "This isn't something any one race can fix on its own. The Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations were written into law by the Nine Sovereign Races, using the Divine Creation Jade.

"The Astral Lords merely acted according to those laws, choosing the path that best served the Astral World. But we were careless, and the situation spiraled out of control. The Eternal Oblivion Disaster has grown beyond anything we've seen before. If we want to stop it, the Nine Sovereign Races must stand united."

She was also the only female Supreme present.

From the Astral God stage onward, cultivators reached Primordial Unity and lost all gender distinctions. Keeping any particular appearance became purely a matter of personal choice.

Supreme Foundation turned to Genesis and the others. "What are the other major races saying?"

Supreme Genesis explained. "Our avatars are attending the Myriad Races Conference. Those races naturally want this crisis resolved quickly. The Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations were meant to ease the Astral World's burden, but that doesn't mean sacrificing ninety-nine percent of all Astral Gods to do it.

"Matrix Mother of the Intelligent Lifeform Race ran some calculations. If forty-nine Supremes act together, with three willing to risk themselves by confronting the Eternal Oblivion Tsunami head-on, they can halt the cyclical surges of the Eternal Oblivion Force and stabilize it."

Several Supremes spoke up.

"No Supreme would willingly take that risk."

"Getting forty-nine Supremes to agree is nearly impossible. And who can guarantee that while stopping the Tsunami, others won't exploit the chaos?"

"That's why the universe has Nine Sovereign Races and over three hundred top-tier races. The Supremes are divided, each forming their own alliances and spheres of influence."

Prime Abyss Highlord frowned. "So we're just going to stand by and watch the Eternal Oblivion Disaster keep unfolding?"

Supreme Genesis glanced around. "This is only the beginning. The losses are still small. When the threat grows severe enough that every race fears extinction, the Supremes will step forward on their own."

They needed forty-nine Supremes. Given the total number of Supremes in the universe, it wasn't an impossible goal.

Just then, Supreme Primordial received a message. An unintentional wisp of inner spirit leaked out.

All six Supremes and Highlords quickly turned to look at him.

"Impossible..." Supreme Primordial murmured.

Supreme Ordainment asked, "What happened?"

Supreme Primordial took a breath, steadying his mind before replying. "I just got a report from Divine Martial. On their way back to the Human Race territory, Yuan Jie ambushed them. But Li Pin... he killed Yuan Jie. Yuan Jie's entire team was wiped out."

The Supremes and Highlords all froze. Even the inner spirit wave they used to communicate faltered for a moment. Silence fell over the chamber.

Supreme Genesis broke the quiet, saying, "That can't be."

"There's something even harder to believe," Supreme Primordial added in a strange tone. "Divine Martial said Li Pin might have stepped beyond the Supreme Realm. He used laws from the void to annihilate Yuan Jie's team at Shadowherd Abyssal Rift."