Chapter 827: Start

When the Divine Martial Emperor first heard Li Pin boldly claim he would sweep through the Prodigy Competition, he thought it was pure arrogance. But after hearing his explanation... it did make sense. Most participants from other races were just there to fill the numbers.

Among the Nine Sovereign Races, the Cosmic Radiances made up about thirty percent of the participants, which came to around a dozen. But each race could only send three, so they couldn't go all out.

That meant twenty-four from the other eight Sovereign Races, plus another forty from various top-tier races. And after subtracting some from the human-allied forces... Li Pin would only have to deal with fifty to sixty Cosmic Radiances.

With his current strength, already at the ninety-fourth step of the Supreme Ladder, he could very well handle fifty or sixty Cosmic Radiances, along with fewer than a thousand Solar Flare cultivators.

Once he understood the implication, the Heavenly Emperor's pupils dilated sharply.

A moment later, his breathing grew rapid.

If Li Pin could truly pull this off, the fortune he'd accumulate, the prestige he'd bring to the Human Race, the shock it would send through the other races, and... the benefits it would bring in exchanges with our allies—how great would that be?

"Li Pin, can you really—"

"I've got this," Li Pin replied firmly, cutting him off.

He knew how arrogant that sounded. But... his real target was the Overlord Competition. The Prodigy Competition was just a warm-up. Nevertheless, he still had to give himself a challenge, didn't he?

"Alright." The Divine Martial Emperor nodded heavily. "I'll go speak with our allies right away."

"Go," Li Pin replied simply.

The Divine Martial Emperor wasted no time and began discussing with the other Heavenly Emperors. He personally visited each allied race.

Li Pin wasn't involved in those negotiations. All he needed to do was adjust his condition and face the upcoming Prodigy Competition in peak form.

***

One day went by in the blink of an eye. It was so short that one might get nothing done before it slipped away unnoticed.

At the center of the Weeping Emperor Battlefield, massive warships, each like a floating palace, hovered above the central continent.

Nearly every race had brought out their most extravagant and powerful vessels to display their strength.

Naturally, the quality varied greatly. Those fielding Sovereign Divine Weapon-class warships were almost entirely Sovereign Races. A few top-tier races could just barely produce one such warship, while others brought only Pinnacle Cosmic Radiance-class ships.

The rest, the first-rate races, showed up with all kinds of mixed fleets.

From a glance, the sky seemed packed edge to edge with warships—an overwhelming sight that left Li Pin stunned.

Right now, he wasn't with the Divine Martial Emperor, Emperor Ara, Yao Ji, Yue Shu, or Xuan Chengming. Instead, twenty-six figures stood around him. These were the chosen participants for the Prodigy Competition.

Among them, eight were Cosmic Radiances. Including Li Pin himself, the human race had already exceeded the average number in this category.

The remaining seventeen were Eternal Solar Flares.

Most of them had mastered deadly secret arts, and a few had even reached the seventieth step on the Supreme Ladder.

Solar Flare and Cosmic Radiance weren't on the same level. What set them apart was the True Spirit—the defining line between cosmic life and ultimate life. The two simply couldn't be compared.

A Solar Flare capable of reaching the seventieth step was even rarer than a Tyrant making it past the ninety-second.

Now, as the competition drew near... many gazed at the prodigies from other races preparing to take the stage, their expressions heavy with unease.

"So many Cosmic Radiances!?"

"That's the Feather Clan, right? For a Sovereign Race to have eight to nine Cosmic Radiances out of twenty-seven participants makes sense. But the Feather Clan? Nine out of twenty-seven? That's insane!"

"Look over there... a Solar Flare from the Unique Lifeform Alliance!? What a terrifying presence. I'd believe it if you told me he was a Cosmic Radiance! Just give him a couple of Top-Tier Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapons, and he might be strong enough to slay a Cosmic Radiance himself!"

Shock spread among the human prodigies.

They had always been stars within their own factions, basking in admiration and praise. They believed their talent was so great that they had no reason to look up to anyone.

Even when facing stronger Cosmic Radiances, or even Tyrants, Sacred Monarchs, and Heavenly Emperors, they remained confident that after cultivating for one or two, or even a dozen epochs, they would be no weaker.

But now, after witnessing these supreme prodigies from other races, many of whom had only cultivated for a few centuries, they finally realized the vastness and depth of the world. They understood just how much stronger, more talented, and more powerful others could be than they had imagined.

Just then, above the central continent of the Weeping Emperor Battlefield, a massive figure appeared.

It stood over three hundred meters tall. While that wasn't much in comparison to the entire continent, or even by core layer standards in the Astral World, something else set him apart.

His Divine Body possessed an incredible structural stability.

Despite being three hundred meters tall, he gave off no ripples of energy as he withstood the pressure of the core layer and the Eternal Oblivion Force. Not a single trace of aura leaked out. It was as if he were a native lifeform of the core layer, born to exist at that size.

His entire being blended seamlessly with the world around him.

Whispers spread through the crowd.

"That's a Divine Emperor."

"That's Yuan Jie, the Divine Emperor of the Chaos Clan."

"The Divine Emperor stands at the absolute peak of the Astral World. The Perfect Realm they possess is the ultimate form of perfection, called the Final Perfect Form, or the Ultimate Realm.

"If the Supreme is like the child of the universe, able to freely bend its laws, then the Divine Emperor is the child of the Astral World. They represent the path's end, the ultimate stage of cultivation."

Li Pin's gaze settled on the towering figure. "A Divine Emperor."

It was his first time seeing a true Divine Emperor. Compared to a Heavenly Emperor, the strongest impression a Divine Emperor left was absolute perfection.

If a Heavenly Emperor was like a circle drawn by an artist, flawless at first glance, then the Divine Emperor was the perfect circle that embodied the world's truth.

Ordinary people might not notice the difference, but for scholars and researchers, a perfect circle meant π could be fully calculated, and many laws could be completely overturned. Its influence and impact far exceeded that of an artist's drawing.

"This is a Divine Emperor, unified in essence and form, merged with time and space, wielding a Supreme Divine Weapon. He creates his own techniques, secret arts, and combat skills—the ultimate embodiment of perfection, the highest limit of the Astral World."

Because of this absolute perfection and ultimate realm, Divine Emperors could fully unleash their power in the Astral World without fearing the Eternal Oblivion Force.

In other words, their strength matches exactly what they can exert.

By contrast, Heavenly Emperors had to restrain their power. If they unleashed it fully, they would attract the Eternal Oblivion Force.

As for the Sacred Monarchs, Tyrants, and Cosmic Radiances, they weren't even worth mentioning.

Tyrants, in particular, often suffered from excessive offensive power. In real battles, they could usually tap into just one or two tenths of their actual strength.

This explained why the upper limit of a Tyrant's power could be high enough to perish together with a Heavenly Emperor, while at the lower end, they might be instantly killed by one.

In terms of raw offensive power, Divine Emperors would score a 10/10, Heavenly Emperors 7/10, Sacred Monarchs 5/10, and Tyrants only 2/10.

At that moment, Divine Emperor Yuan Jie's voice echoed through the air, "I'm honored that the Chaos Clan is hosting this season's Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War."

To be precise, it wasn't a voice, but a wave of inner spirit. This message connected directly with others' spiritual senses, so no shared language or culture was needed. Everyone naturally understood its meaning.

"We are all part of the Existence Faction, united against a common enemy: the beings of the Void. Be it the Void Creatures or Abyssal Beasts, they require our full power to defeat.

"And beyond that... the deeper layers of the Chaotic Void still await our exploration. That is why we, the beings of Existence, must not waste our strength on internal conflict. The Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War was founded on this very principle."

He continued, "Disputes between races shall be settled through the Prodigy Competition. Conflicts tied to the interests of individual races or factions shall be resolved through the Overlord Competition. The results of these contests are final.

"From this moment on, all grudges shall be wiped clean. For the span of one epoch, no one may reignite these disputes. Whoever does so will be deemed an enemy of all. The races may unite to destroy them."

With those words, he summoned a golden stele that radiated a brilliant glow. It was engraved with countless inscriptions.

"Representatives of each race, place your seals."

The Divine Martial Emperor of the Human Race, along with the other Heavenly Emperors, stepped forward one by one and embedded their divine imprints into the stele.

"Sealing complete."

Divine Emperor Yuan Jian glanced calmly at the eager participants ready to prove their worth and then announced, "Enter."

At once, the Divine Martial Emperor, Ji Shun, Heavenly Emperor Tai Yi, Heavenly Emperor Dong Xu, Heavenly Emperor Heng He, Heavenly Emperor Bi You, Heavenly Emperor Gu You, and the others all turned their gazes toward Li Pin.

Li Pin gave a slight nod to the others, then turned to the two Cosmic Radiances beside him, chosen for their agility. "Let's go."

The two followed his command without hesitation and descended with him toward the Weeping Emperor Continent.

As they flew down, the other races followed in groups of three, diving toward the land below. Their numbers surged—thousands upon thousands. Most of them were Solar Flares, with only a few Cosmic Radiances mixed in. Incredibly, some even included Starshine AstralGods.

Li Pin found that rather baffling.

Starshine... Just trying to fly up the Supreme Pillars would get them eroded and destroyed by the Eternal Oblivion Force. Were they planning to climb them by hand?

Even with doubts in his mind, he didn't bother dwelling on them.

After choosing one of the central Supreme Pillars to land on, he stood quietly, waiting for the start of the Prodigy Competition.

Soon, several dozen prodigies from other races also landed nearby, greeting him with respectful gestures from afar. These were likely the thirty-two races that had exchanged benefits with the Human Race, earning the right to stand on the Supreme Pillars.

Li Pin returned their gesture with a slight nod.

Once everyone had taken their place, the Chaos Clan's Divine Emperor wasted no time. With a wave of his hand, he declared, "Let the Ten Thousand Tribes Prodigy Competition begin."