Chapter 867: Surpassing

In the mysterious Abyssal Rift.

A palace, entirely forged from Indestructible Matter, continuously rose and sank.

Neither the universal laws that governed existence nor the chaos and void that devoured all could shake this palace in the slightest. It was eternal and indestructible.

The nature of Indestructible Matter could already be gleaned from its name. Even Supremes and Highlords could not utterly destroy it.

This palace had once been hidden deep within the Abyssal Rift. Now, it radiated blinding brilliance, with the insignia of the Astral Lord Council flaunted openly at the palace entrance.

Inside the palace, the original nine thrones had rapidly increased to a total of fourteen.

If not for Yuan Jie perishing, the number of thrones would have been fifteen.

But even then, with fourteen Divine Emperors, the Astral Lord Council's growing momentum was clear.

At that moment, all fourteen thrones shimmered with radiance. On each throne, a figure could be vaguely seen.

"The Unique Lifeform Alliance is no longer a threat."

"The Star Spirit Clan has been subdued."

"The Divine Race has chosen to cooperate with the Astral Lord Council actively."

"The Astral Beast Ruler Race has been divided and scattered through inter-racial distrust; defeating them one by one is only a matter of time."

"The Demon Clan is just like scattered sand; there's no need to specifically target them. We can simply sweep them away once we have a strong opportunity to do so."

One by one, the Astral Lord Council's Divine Emperors exchanged thoughts, and soon, they reached a definite conclusion.

"The remaining threats are the Human Race, the Intelligent Lifeform Race, the Sky Clan, and the Chaos Clan."

The gazes of the Heavenly Emperors fell upon three among them—the Intelligent Lifeform Race's Cuo Wu, Human Race's Zhu Zhao, and the Sky Clan's Yang Guang.

"The Chaos Clan was not a problem initially, but Yuan Jie's death came too early. The others from the Chaos Clan now dare not act rashly. Give them a chance to catch their breath. As for the Intelligent Lifeform Race..."

One Divine Emperor glanced at Cuo Wu and said, "They were always the hardest obstacle in our calculations. If Cuo Wu can block their efforts to unite and prevent them from leveraging their unique traits to form alliances, then that alone is a major success."

A Divine Emperor spoke. "I will handle the Sky Clan myself. They won't last long."

Everyone knew his name. He was Divine Emperor Tian Yu, formerly of the Divine Race.

He had once vied with Divine Emperor Liu Xuan for the spot of the Divine Race's leader. After losing, he defected and, after barely surviving for hundreds of epochs, joined the Astral Lord Council and became one of its first members.

In this operation, he leveraged the Astral Lord Council's power to gain significant influence within the Divine Race. Even the current patriarch, Divine Emperor Liu Xuan, had to avoid clashing with him and reluctantly accept his proposal for cooperation.

Given the relationship between the Divine Race and the Sky Clan, or rather, the degree to which the Divine Race had infiltrated the Sky Clan, if he claimed he could handle them, then the threat would indeed be neutralized.

"So, that leaves the Chaos Clan, the Human Race, and the Intelligent Lifeform Race reserved for the end."

"In theory, we should deal with the weaker Chaos Clan first, but... at present, the Human Race poses a greater threat to us."

"You mean... that new Divine Emperor endorsed by the Human Race, Origin Li Pin?"

At the mention of this name, the atmosphere in the hall momentarily stagnated.

After all, not long ago, Yuan Jie, who had worked alongside them for over a hundred epochs, had died at his hands.

Divine Emperor Tian Yu declared firmly, "He cannot possibly be a Divine Emperor."

Discussions rose around.

"I've reviewed his performance during the Ten Thousand Tribes Dominion War. Back then, he had only just broken through to the Sacred Monarch level. In such a short time, it's impossible for him to have grasped time and achieved unity with space to ascend to Divine Emperor.

"Even if he did ascend to the Divine Emperor level, he could not have slain another Divine Emperor. Therefore, the Human Race flaunting this claim is itself a mistake."

"But no one can deny that Yuan Jie, a dignified Divine Emperor, died at the hands of the Human Race."

The group debated for a while, but when the topic shifted to the ironclad fact of Yuan Jie's death, everyone once again fell silent.

All the speculation in the world paled in comparison to the truth of Divine Emperor Yuan Jie's death.

After a long while, one Divine Emperor finally spoke. "As one of the top four forces, the Human Race may possess hidden depths unknown to us. For caution's sake, I suggest we treat them as the final objective. Once we've dealt with the other races, including the Intelligent Lifeforms, we'll gather our strength and crush them with overwhelming might."

"Leave the Human Race for last?" Divine Emperor Tian Yu immediately responded, "Have you forgotten? The Divine Emperor Origin had taken only three hundred years to reach his current position. How long will it take us to deal with the other races? A thousand years? Ten thousand? An entire epoch? By then, how much stronger will he have become?"

These words caused even the most uncertain Divine Emperors present to sigh in awe.

"Three hundred years..."

The shock this timeframe brought was something that even the Divine Emperors dared not dismiss, so much so that no one dared to gamble on a mere thousand years.

Seeing the growing division among the Divine Emperors below, the central figure among the fourteen thrones turned his gaze toward Zhu Zhao. "What do you think?"

This was Unique Lifeform Qiu Yu. It was said that a world existed within him, imprisoning top-tier powerhouses. The more powerful beings he confined, the stronger he became. He was also the first Astral Lord of the Astral Lord Council.

Zhu Zhao spoke lightly. "We had a prior agreement on this. Each Astral Lord will claim their corresponding race. Whoever receives the strongest fortune will be named the first Astral Lord. Are you all going back on your words?"

"It's not about going back on my words, but that the Human Race poses too great a threat," Divine Emperor Tian Yu replied.

"I will handle the threat of Origin myself," Zhu Zhao said.

"With the current situation, it won't be an easy task. Surely we can't just stand by and watch him grow endlessly if you fail to handle him?"

Divine Emperor Tian Yu had reluctantly reached a cooperation with Divine Emperor Liu Xuan, but it was nothing more than a compromise under duress. If he truly wished to control the Divine Race, he needed greater accomplishments. And what feat could be more convincing than slaying the Human Race's most radiant Divine Emperor?

"No matter how Origin's group killed Yuan Jie, the fact remains that he has the power to threaten our very lives."

At this moment, Qiu Yu said, "You need to give us a deadline."

Zhu Zhao fell silent in contemplation.

After a moment, he said, "A thousand years. Within a thousand years, the Human Race's situation will be resolved. Everyone will be drawn into the brilliance of the Astral Lord Council. This Divine Emperor Origin, along with the Heavenly Emperors accompanying him... will pay the price for killing Yuan Jie."

"A thousand years? With Origin's rate of growth, if we give him that long, won't we be raising a tiger to devour us?" Divine Emperor Tian Yu immediately rebuked.

Zhu Zhao's indifferent gaze landed on Tian Yu. "Are you afraid?"

Divine Emperor Tian Yu, faced with this taunt-like gaze, calmly admitted, "I am! A Heavenly Emperor of only three hundred years, who wouldn't be wary!?"

He sneered. "If you can't handle him, then let me. I'm sure many Divine Race's Heavenly and Divine Emperors would be willing to take his head."

Zhu Zhao stated, "If the Divine Race's Heavenly or Divine Emperors dare set foot into Human territory, it will certainly provoke their unified wrath and ruin the favorable situation. I will not allow it."

He already viewed the Human Race as his domain and would not permit interference.

"A thousand years is really short. To us, it's but a moment," said Qiu Yu with a hint of emotion. "But to Origin, a thousand years might truly allow him to advance once more, from Heavenly Emperor to a true Divine Emperor. When that happens, killing him will be far more difficult."

Qiu Yu turned to Zhu Zhao. "I'll give you a hundred years. If matters of the Human Race remain unsettled by then, I'll make a trip myself. I won't interfere much with their affairs, but as for Origin, I must take him away and subdue him. If I cannot, I will execute him immediately to prevent future calamity."

"A hundred years..." muttered Zhu Zhao.

They had already laid the trap, simply waiting for the five great forces to strike so they could severely damage them and establish the Myriad Astral God Hall's prestige.

With such a decisive victory, the Myriad Astral God Hall would advance like a hot knife through butter. They would then seize the opportunity to reveal the correct path, one that... resembled Transcendence, yet did not bear the cost of falling into the void.

At that time, they would surely rally a hundred responses to a single call, causing all the Heavenly Emperors and Sacred Monarchs to switch allegiance.

And for all these grand plans... A hundred years should be about right.

"Alright." Zhu Zhao gave a slight nod. "Then so be it."

***

Inside the cultivation chamber.

From the Six Paths Wheels, the radiance representing the time cascaded down layer by layer, enveloping Li Pin's figure. All around him, vast amounts of Sand of Time and Eternal Light reflected off each other, distorting his perception of time.

He had no idea how much time had passed. It could be a mere blink, or maybe several years.

Li Pin opened his eyes and murmured, "Time."

He seemed to have gained an entirely new understanding of the term.

What was the intrinsic essence of time? It was simply the essence of flowing matter, energy, space, and even life.

In the past, he believed space was the foundation of everything, the core of existence. Only now did he realize that it was time.

Beings of the Existence Faction might be unaware of matter, energy, or space, but they could never fail to sense time.

Without matter, energy, or space, a cultivator would merely be placed in chaotic nothingness. But if time were removed, even in a universe rich with matter, energy, and space, life would be utterly meaningless. Only when time flowed did life truly exist.

"Comprehending time was, in truth, adding weight to one's existence. Yet the external manifestations of this weight were space, energy, and matter."

After grasping this, Li Pin naturally caught a glimpse of time's true essence—speed.

The faster the manifestation of matter, energy, and space, the closer it was to the essence of time.

"The limit of life's speed is light speed. This is a shackle that is rooted in the mind. Human thought operates at light speed. For countless years, this has become a measurement within the soul. Only by breaking this measurement can the mind's shackles be broken. And only then can one perceive the true mystery of time."

Li Pin interpreted it in his own way.

"Surpass..." he muttered.

Surpass oneself. The way to break the shackles of the soul was to surpass the present. To reach directly into the future.