Chapter 875: Chapter 875

Divine Emperor Xi glanced at Zhu Zhao, then looked again at Jin'que. Even with the power of the formation, Jin'que still might not be able to suppress Li Pin. In the end, he said nothing more.

He was strong. It wasn't that he couldn't fight another Divine Emperor. It just wasn't worth it over something so trivial.

With the power of the formation now flowing into him, Jin'que no longer lacked energy. He didn't even need to convert matter into energy anymore.

Backed by the core formation that supported the entire Myriad Astral God Hall, every strike he launched matched Li Pin's blow for blow, each one pushing his strength to the limits of the Astral World.

The ripples from their clashing sword lights spread through the hall, making the entire structure tremble faintly, like a mild earthquake.

Inside the Myriad Astral God Hall, many Heavenly Emperors and Sacred Monarchs were deeply alarmed.

Some even thought the Five Major Factions had joined forces to launch a counterattack. They rushed to the edge of the hall, straining to see what was going on, only to find a dozen or so figures aboard a Supreme-class warship outside. But they were just watching from afar, with no sign of making a move.

Which meant... the battle was happening inside the hall.

And with such intense energy waves, everyone couldn't help but think of another neutral figure within the court, Divine Emperor Xi.

Since this battle clearly involved the struggle over the rightful leadership of the Human Race, none of the Heavenly Emperors or Sacred Monarchs dared to act rashly.

After dozens of fierce clashes, Li Pin suddenly swept the Ruoxi Sword sideways. A burst of sword light erupted.

In that instant, the force that had originally peaked at the Astral World's 10-billion limit surged to 15 billion.

That fifty-percent increase instantly pushed the Eternal Swordlight to its most dazzling brilliance.

Jin'que reacted at once, using his grasp of time and space to block the strike, but the blast of energy carried by the blade, like a burning sun crashing down, still shattered his defense in a single blow.

His expression changed drastically as he retreated. "Not good!"

But even so, the sweeping sword light still surged forward, crashing against the golden battle armor on his body. In just a moment, the radiant glow covering the armor faded.

Zhu Zhao frowned at the sight. Supreme!? Only those aiming to break into the Supreme Realm could push their strength to the absolute limit in an instant, breaking through the bounds of the Astral World. And once that kind of power was used...

The entire Grand Celestial Constellation Cycle Formation shook violently.

It was the backlash of the Astral World, triggered by a power that had surpassed its limits.

Fortunately, the great formation around the Myriad Astral God Hall had been laid out by the Supremes themselves, with Transcendent Jun Tian overseeing its design. Its defense and concealment were far beyond any ordinary formations.

And since the power Li Pin released had lasted only a brief moment, the tremors quickly faded.

The Astral World's backlash was absorbed by the formation, and none of it touched Li Pin.

"Is this all you've got?" Li Pin asked.

Jin'que squinted. "You..."

At this moment, he realized it. At this rate... I might not be able to defeat Li Pin.

"Right, you're still just a Heavenly Emperor. I shouldn't have expected too much," remarked Li Pin.

He glanced at Zhu Zhao, whom he was going to deal with next, and raised the Ruoxi Sword high. "Then let's finish this."

"Finish!?" Jin'que stared at Li Pin. "How can this be finished!"

He had betrayed the Supreme Council, betrayed the Human Race, and turned to the Astral Lord Council, all for one goal: to one day become the true and unrivaled Central Sovereign Heavenly Emperor.

Only then could he carry the Human Race's fortune, even the fortune of the universe itself, and become the Universe's Child. Then, he would finally step onto a path where he could one day face the Supremes with dignity and brilliance.

As long as he could set foot on that path, whether the Supremes sought revenge or not would no longer matter. Even if they wanted to seek revenge... they'd have to be strong enough to do it.

That was why he had the courage to defy the Supreme Council.

But to reach that goal, the title of Central Sovereign Heavenly Emperor had to remain his. He couldn't yield it to anyone. The Human Race's fortune had to stay tied to him. No one could take it away.

Which meant... he could not lose.

If he lost... that fortune would scatter, and what awaited him would be a fate beyond redemption.

"Li Pin! Who do you think you are!?" Jin'que's eyes turned sharp, even a little twisted. "Standing before you is the greatest Supreme Prodigy the Human Race has seen in millennia! The rightful Central Sovereign Heavenly Emperor! The one destined to unify the Five Great Factions and command the entire Human Race! You think you can defeat me!?"

He raised his sword high and roared, "Jiu Yue!"

The moment the command was given, Heavenly Emperor Jiu Yue and the other five Heavenly Emperors shot into the sky at once. They crossed the air and flew straight toward the six key positions of the grand formation.

Around each of those positions, over three hundred Sacred Monarchs and Tyrants were already in place, sustaining the core structure of the formation.

With the six Heavenly Emperors in position, the Grand Celestial Constellation Cycle Formation finally began to operate at full power.

Starlight flooded outward, engulfing the entire Myriad Astral God Hall. It looked as though the space around the Hall was being torn away from the Astral World, evolving into an entirely new universe.

Or rather... a universe that only the Supremes had the right to command.

What's more, because of the presence of a Transcendent Being, this newly formed universe remained hidden from the Astral World for the time being, avoiding immediate backlash.

Standing at the formation's center, Jin'que had his power rapidly amplified by the formation. His aura surged sky-high.

In that moment, he no longer seemed like a mere Heavenly Emperor. He stood tall, radiating the might of a Supreme, ruling over the Astral World.

The ultimate formation, created through the combined efforts of all the Supremes, Highlords, and Transcendents of the Supreme Council, had finally begun to bare its true fangs.

Feeling as though he had become the master of this entire "world," Jin'que's fighting spirit and will to battle surged to an all-time high. "I am the Supreme now!"

With a long roar, he raised his massive sword, dragging the power of countless stars with it, and brought it crashing down toward Li Pin. "Let's see how you stop this!"

"Well struck," praised Li Pin.

Facing a blow empowered by the strength of 6 Heavenly Emperors and 354 Sacred Monarchs and Tyrants, he didn't back down. Instead, he stepped forward.

The Eternal swordlight from the Ruoxi Sword burst forth in full brilliance, like a blazing star falling into the dark sky, ready to burn itself away to light up the entire heavens.

Outside the battlefield.

Divine Emperor Xi's expression turned grim as he witnessed this scene. "Outrageous!"

He struck out abruptly, intending to disrupt the formation using his deep understanding of the Grand Celestial Constellation Cycle Formation.

But at that moment, Zhu Zhao, who had been watching him closely, moved in swiftly to block him.

"Emperor Xi, stay calm," he said in a deep voice.

"Is gathering the power of 6 Heavenly Emperors and the 354 Sacred Monarchs and Tyrants what you call fair?" Xi's tone turned cold. "Or is your goal simply to stop me! To stand against me?"

Zhu Zhao didn't want to fight him. He replied, "Jin'que holds the title of Central Sovereign Heavenly Emperor. That title is part of his strength as a cultivator. Now that he's using his position to rally support... I'd still call it fair. You wouldn't expect a king to duel a commoner to the death just for the sake of fairness, would you?"

But even as the words left his mouth, Zhu Zhao felt his reasoning was starting to sound weak.

Divine Emperor Xi was having none of it. He struck without hesitation. A moon-white brilliance shot into the sky like a long spear. It seemed as though it was about to shatter the stars.

Seeing Emperor Xi had struck, Zhu Zhao followed with a move of his own. "Xi! Stay calm!"

A brilliance on par with Li Pin's Eternal Swordlight erupted from him like a golden ocean, surging forward to bombard the spear of moonlight.

Under the relentless assault, the radiant spear began to corrode and dissolve.

"We've sparred many times, but neither of us has ever truly won. Today, I want to witness for myself just how strong you really are!"

Behind Xi, a massive river rose into the air. It was filled with countless grains of starlit sand, each grain shimmering with light.

Every point of light carried a piercing sharpness, able to cut through matter, energy, even time and space itself. This was his Supreme Divine Weapon: the Starstream River.

"Heavenflow Starstream!"

At the sight of this, Zhu Zhao's expression grew solemn. He murmured, "Must it come to this?"

The next moment, a dark sun appeared behind him. It resembled a black hole, but emitted terrifying brilliance.

The black sun erupted with fierce brilliance. It carried no trace of the sun's gentle sunlight, but rained down torrents of radiant power that clashed directly with the starlit sands.

The violent collision created visible waves of energy that rocked the entire Grand Celestial Constellation Cycle Formation.

Though the shaking lasted only a moment, Zhu Zhao had already sensed it.

With both of us going all out, and with Li Pin and Jin'que unleashing their full power as well, the energy surging from all sides has already surpassed what the formation could withstand or contain.

If this goes on... the Transcendent power within the Grand Celestial Constellation Cycle Formation, meant to shield against the Astral World's backlash, would eventually be broken. When that happens, the entire formation would be forced to stop running. And without the formation, how could Jin'que possibly be a match for Li Pin?

With that in mind, Zhu Zhao instantly transmitted a message, "Hand over control of the formation to me!"

He thrust out his hand, drawing in more than half of the formation's power.

With the formation's support gone, Jin'que was briefly overwhelmed. But he immediately chose to avoid a direct clash and instead focused on stalling for time. Orıginal content can be found at novel·fiɾe·net

Now empowered by the formation, Zhu Zhao pressed down with a phantom hand. The black sun's light erupted to its peak, surging like a black hole. The unleashed energy roared forward, slamming into Xi's Starstream River.

Amid the deafening boom, the glow of the Starstream River dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This sight made Xi's fury explode. "Zhu Zhao!"

He had promised. He had sworn that he had the power and certainty to give Li Pin a fair and honorable battle. But in the end...

Zhu Zhao and Jin'que had completely disregarded the rules he set. They acted as if he didn't even exist.

Now they were using the formation's power to suppress him entirely, trying to drive him out of the battlefield shaped by the Grand Celestial Constellation Cycle Formation!

A Divine Emperor, being treated ? What an insult. What unbearable humiliation!

Xi roared in fury, "Zhu Zhao!"

The light of the Starstream River flared to its peak.

But Zhu Zhao, now strengthened by the formation, was like a Supreme descending in person. At this moment, he had evolved beyond the level of a Divine Emperor. In every aspect, he now stood above Xi. No matter how humiliated or unwilling Xi felt, all he could do was watch as the light of his Supreme Divine Weapon continued to dim...

Xi's furious roar caught Li Pin's attention, who had been locked in battle with Jin'que, waiting to see what kind of impressive moves he would unleash.

Only now did he realize... the two Divine Emperors were no longer in a standoff. They were truly fighting.