Chapter 410: Strength

The few Legends following Yuan Zhenchuan felt a chill run down their spine.

"An evil Dragon!? A Blood Demon!?"

"Another Blood Demon Bishop!? The Blood Demon Bishops are terrifying creatures on par with Supreme Experts! Battling them within their divine kingdoms would be even more troublesome than facing the Supreme Experts!"

"It seems the Blood Demon Bishop is the one leading this batch of demonic creatures at the Tenfold Heavenly Domains."

Yuan Zhenchuan swept a glance over everyone present and said, "We've detected only four legendary demonic creatures. We can't assume that's all of them."

By now, there were only 6 Legends by Yuan Zhenchuan's side. The rest had gone to the Forbidden Land. With Li Pin and the 4 Star Alliance Legendary experts on this floor, they had a lineup of 12 Legends.

Although they held the advantage in elite strength, the sheer number of demonic creatures meant part of the force had to assist the Master Astral Cultivators and Astral Cultivators to prevent them from being surrounded. It would be impossible for them to charge all at once. As a result, only nine Legendary powerhouses could be mobilized.

In order to ensure success, three Legends would usually team up to take down a single legendary demonic creature. The Legends have found that this ratio worked out quite nicely when dealing with creatures at this level.

Yuan Zhenchuan said, "Wu De, you'll hold off that Blood Demon Bishop. We'll focus our remaining strength on taking down the other three legendary demonic creatures. After that, we'll come over to support you. Any issues?"

Wu De frowned. "Me alone against a Blood Demon Bishop at the Supreme Expert level?"

Wu De was naturally displeased with this arrangement. Nevertheless, when he saw the unfriendly looks the other Legends were throwing him, he could only nod and agree. "Alright. But hurry, demonic creatures at the level of Supreme Experts have better endurance than humans."

At that moment, Li Pin said, "I'll take care of the Blood Demon Bishop."

Yuan Zhenchuan, Fan Xiu, and the others were slightly taken aback. They looked at Li Pin with puzzled expressions.

"

Hm?

"

Li Pin explained calmly, "I want to feel the power of a demonic creature at the Supreme Expert level for myself."

He wanted to determine the true power of a Supreme Martial God, and actual combat was the best way to do that.

Yuan Zhenchuan suggested, "Should we... handle a legendary demonic creature first?"

"The Ox Demon Bishop is a legendary creature. I'm familiar with its strength. What I want to experience is the power of the supreme-level demonic creatures."

Yuan Zhenchuan pondered for a moment. Considering Li Pin's importance and the potential the Martial God represented, he quickly made up his mind. "If you're set on facing that Blood Demon Bishop... Fan Xiu, Qiao Baishi, go with him."

He turned to Wu De. "You'll handle the Evil Dragon."

Wu De promptly replied, "Understood."

The Evil Dragon was far less dangerous than the Blood Demon Bishop.

Li Pin glanced at Fan Xiu, not refusing Yuan Zhenchuan's arrangement.

He wanted to personally verify the true power of a supreme-level demonic creature. If he could also gain a more direct understanding of the full strength of Supreme Experts while doing so, it would help advance a plan he had in mind.

A plan that could, perhaps, make the Human Alliance live up to its name.

Meanwhile, Yuan Zhenchuan continued organizing the team.

Soon, Legends, Master Astral Cultivators, and Astral Cultivators began to leave, heading for their respective destinations. Li Pin was among them.

Fan Xiu smiled and reassured Li Pin. "Martial God Li, we realize you're probably more powerful than you have portrayed, but supreme demonic creatures are on par with human Supreme Experts.

"These are monsters that possess the strength of Supreme Experts without relying on external aids. Even I could find myself in a difficult situation facing one of them alone. That's why Yuan Zhenchuan arranged for us to accompany you. It's just for your safety. Don't overthink it."

Li Pin replied, "I understand. A supreme demonic creature is a significant threat, so we must ensure everything goes perfectly. We can't afford to let it escape and jeopardize our chances at clearing the Tenfold Heavenly Domains."

After saying this, a thought crossed Li Pin's mind, and he asked, "Lord Fan Xiu, as a fellow Supreme Expert, in a head-on battle, where would you rank yourself among the Supreme Experts?"

"A head-on battle?" Fan Xiu laughed. "Aside from the Solar Radiance Sovereign, I don't think there's anyone I can't face. After all, I was rated as a Supreme Expert for my close combat martial skills."

Li Pin couldn't help but take a second look at Fan Xiu. "Your close combat martial skills?"

Fan Xiu didn't seem particularly strong. He was only about 1.7 meters tall, far from resembling a bulky man.

Fan Xiu added, "Of course, against Wu De, I would still struggle a little. The Frost Ring he owns makes him nearly unbeatable in close combat."

Li Pin was well-informed about the Six Divine Rings' abilities. The Frost Ring's ability to enhance battle strength stood out as the strongest among the Divine Rings. Its power directly targeted the mind of the practitioner. It didn't matter how powerful an Astral Cultivator was. As long as they fell into deep sleep, they would have no sense of danger. Even a mortal could take their life.

That was the power of the Frost Ring. It directly affected the practitioner's mind, slowing down and freezing their mental processes. Fortunately, the Frost Ring power had a condition: the bearer had to touch the target for its effect to trigger.

Even so, some still claim that the Frost Ring should be considered the strongest among the Six Divine Rings.

Fan Xiu glanced at Li Pin. Given the immense potential he sensed in Li Pin, he took the initiative to explain. "Martial God Li, you must be curious about how powerful the other Supreme Experts are, right?

"Each of us has our area of expertise, but there are two... and a half people I truly fear. The two are Solar Radiance Sovereign and Zhao Kunwu, and the half... that would be Ge Lin."

"Is it Ge Lin's swordsmanship?" Li Pin asked.

"Yes." Fan Xiu nodded with a smile. "The sword that Ge Lin wields is truly remarkable. Even Solar Radiance Sovereign wouldn't dare to claim he could block that strike. But aside from that sword, he has nothing particularly impressive, so I consider him only half a threat."

"And the others? What about Xiao Donghai, Ji Xuanyuan, and Tu Tan?" asked Li Pin.

Fan Xiu waved his hand. "They're about the same as me. Xiao Donghai controls the Destruction Ring, making his killing power unmatched. However, his attacks have a high windup time.

"Ji Xuanyuan, empowered by the Mental Spirit Ring, is a significant threat. Even then, mental spirit power is inferior to psychic power. As for Wu De, and Tu Tan, the other Supreme Expert from the East Sea's Thirty-Six Countries... their strengths and weaknesses are pretty clear."

Li Pin nodded slightly.

The three of them continued on their way. They encountered demonic creatures along their way, but those were no match for them. They died instantly.

Soon after, they arrived at the area where Tu Tan had mentioned the Blood Demon Bishop had been active.

A creature like that couldn't hide from the senses of Legendary Experts. Not long after entering the area, Fan Xiu and Qiao Baishi sensed a presence coming from a specific direction.

They turned their gazes toward the source.

"Over there!" Qiao Baishi said.

"Don't give it the chance to summon more demonic creatures. Attack!" Fan Xiu ordered in a low voice, then turned to Li Pin. "Hall Master Li, should we launch a combined attack, or...?"

"I'll make my move at the right moment," Li Pin replied.

Fan Xiu nodded. "Alright."

As a Martial God, Li Pin didn't share any astral energy resonance with the demonic creatures through astral energy. The best move was to strike a sudden, fatal blow at the powerful demonic creature while it was locked in intense combat with Fan Xiu and the others.

That's why Fan Xiu had specifically asked Li Pin how he would act.

With that, the three men spread out, rushing toward the powerful demonic creature they had sensed at full speed.

The demonic creature, aware of the two Legends approach, led a group of demonic creatures to meet them.

When they were about several hundred meters apart from the source of that presence, a massive, dark-green demonic creature appeared in Li Pin's sight. It was brimming with explosive muscle, standing at over four meters tall. Its appearance was strikingly similar to the Blood Demon Bishop at the Demon-Sealing Fortress.

"Clear the path!" Fan Xiu shouted.

Qiao Baishi exploded into motion. His war halberd crashed into the center of the demonic creatures like a missile, instantly shredding those surrounding the Supreme Blood Demon.

Fan Xiu followed, charging ahead with two dagger-like weapons in hand. Though the weapons resembled daggers, each was over half a meter long.

His movements and agility were incredibly swift. The two daggers appeared like dragon fangs, striking unpredictably from every corner.

There was no grand clash like other Legendary battles, but the danger was palpable, enough to make anyone sweat just by watching.

Fan Xiu's speed was astonishing, but what was even more surprising was the Supreme Blood Demon's agility. It was displaying agility that defied its massive size. Faced with Fan Xiu's close-range attacks, the Blood Demon managed to keep pace.

The movement techniques it used... reminded Li Pin of the Beastfolk Warriors from Death Valley's alternate dimension. However, those Beastfolk Warriors focused more on defense, while this Blood Demon emphasized agility.

Their battle was a clash of rapid movements, each strike reaching the pinnacle of speed.

The muffled sounds of impact echoed through the cave. As Fan Xiu and the Blood Demon fought, the reverberations they caused spread over a kilometer. The force of their clashes occasionally tore apart the ground, shattering the rock layers.

Li Pin observed Fan Xiu's battle against the Supreme Blood Demon. "Speed, technique...."

He quickly reached a conclusion.

In close-range combat, Fan Xiu was better than me. In terms of agility and evasion, the Blood Demon was more efficient than me.

However... his Celestial Magnetic Field could nearly withstand Fan Xiu's dagger strikes, and the gravitational and magnetic field restraints activated through his Natal Planet could directly cancel out the Blood Demon's speed advantage.

Li Pin had an epiphany.

In terms of technique and agility, I'm not as strong as the Supreme Experts or the supreme demonic creatures, but... my Natal Planet is strong! Strong enough that my attack, defense, speed, explosive power, control, and endurance have no weaknesses... that's the difference!

It wasn't that Fan Xiu or the demonic creature weren't strong.

There were many finer details in which Li Pin felt lacking, but his strength... came from being well-rounded.

For instance, using the six attributes Li Pin listed earlier as a benchmark, Fan Xiu and the demonic creature probably excelled in one or two of them, reaching a five-star rating. However, their other attributes fell much shorter in comparison, maybe only reaching two or three stars. On the other hand, Li Pin had four stars in all six attributes.

A person's strength was never based on a single aspect, it was accounted for as a whole.

Therefore, overall... Li Pin was stronger.

Now, all that remained was to figure out how strong this all-rounded strength truly was.

Li Pin strode forward. "Lord Fan Xiu, fall back; I'll take it from here."