Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent-Chapter 637: Flaw

"A devastating blow?"

Hall Master Yun Tu's expression was solemn.

—Don't think I'm just fear mongering. In every century, there will be a few peerless geniuses and even supreme talents that end up crippled after entering the Eternal Ascent of Humanity Initiative.

—There's an old saying, "A true prodigy becomes an Astral God in a century, achieves immortality in a millennium, and ascends to Cosmic Radiance in an epoch." This alone shows how intense the competition is.

"Ascends to Cosmic Radiance in just one epoch? Hearing this only makes me more eager to join," Li Pin said sincerely.

He didn't doubt Yun Tu's words. The Eternal Ascent of Humanity Initiative, carried out by the Humanity Sanctum, gathered nearly all the human race's prodigies and nurtured them with utmost care. There was no need to guess how many exceptional talents and powerful individuals resided there. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Perhaps even figures like the Void Emperor, born with an innate True Spirit, were not uncommon. As for those just a tier below, there were countless of them.

Without some measure of talent, who would dare call themselves a prodigy?

Li Pin couldn't help but recall a saying. It's like how every student and professor at Peking University is part of Peking University. Every single one of them would have been top scholars, even academic gods, in their respective high schools. They were the equivalent of geniuses and prodigies in the Star Domains.

Yun Tu watched Li Pin's enthusiasm and shook his head inwardly. A newborn calf does not fear a tiger.[1]

Right now, he has yet to feel the pressure from the other prodigies in the Eternal Ascent of Humanity Initiative. Once inside, he will naturally understand what it means to "ascend to Cosmic Radiance in an epoch." He will come to understand how fiercely the people inside push themselves.

That is... if he could pass the second assessment six months later.

Yun Tu offered his well wishes.

—The Void Divine Treasury Hall eagerly awaits the day you shine within the Humanity Sanctum and bring glory to Frostbound Star Abyss.

With that, he ended the transmission.

***

While Li Pin was gathering information about the Eternal Ascent of Humanity Initiative, a meeting was taking place in a large conference room within the Yuan Clan.

More than a dozen figures had gathered via technological means and were engaging in discussion. Among them were representatives from the six great aristocratic clans of the Yuan Yang Star Domain, as well as top figures from other major clans.

Each clan had over ten Astral Gods in their ranks. Throughout history, many had even produced an Eternal Solar Flare. Yet the main reason for this gathering was none other than Li Pin.

"Young people these days have no sense of their limits, daring to say just about anything."

The person speaking was none other than Zi Clan's grand patriarch, Zi Zhongtian.

In addition to being an Eternal Solar Flare, he was also an elder of Divine Mountain Taiyuan, a faction established by Taiyuan Radiance himself within the Astral World. That he could become one of its elders spoke volumes about his formidable cultivation.

Rumors claimed he had ascended fifty steps on the Supreme Ladder, placing him on an entirely different level compared to other Eternal Solar Flare.

"Haven't our subordinates already reported on Li Pin? His talent is real, and that's precisely why his arrogance knows no bounds."

Yuan Xiangguang shook his head. "He's lived his whole life in this tiny corner of the Yuan Yang Star Domain. The farthest he has traveled is the Void Divine Treasury Hall of Frostbound Star Abyss. As for Frostbound Star Abyss... It's named Frostbound for a reason.

"Legend has it that in the Ancient Astral World era, this region was once known as the Star Prison, a place of exile, a forbidden zone."

He chuckled lightly. "Frostbound Star Abyss has never produced any truly renowned prodigy. It's no wonder he's become so full of himself, stuck in his own little world.

"Once he enters the Astral World and breaks past the barriers of the star domains and star abysses, he'll finally understand the vastness of the universe, the boundlessness of the heavens, and the sheer number of extraordinary talents out there. He'll also realize that his so-called talent is utterly insignificant in the face of truly powerful forces."

Shang Jinzhao shook his head. "Even so, we can't ignore Li Pin's capabilities. He's like those ascendants and Tier Six Legends in the Astral World. By exploiting our vulnerability to the Eternal Oblivion Force, even if they can't kill you, they'll still make your life unbearable.

"If we mobilize our Divine Essence, the losses will be too great. But if we rely only on combat-specialized avatars, we may not be able to handle him."

"Why wouldn't we?" Ji Fenglei frowned. "Regular Astral God's avatars might not be enough, but your combat-specialized avatar is equipped with a full set of thirty-three Divine Items. When unleashed together, their power is only slightly inferior to a Solar Flare Divine Weapon. Killing him shouldn't be a problem."

"This ties into something I recently uncovered," Shang Jinzhao said thoughtfully. "Li Pin is arrogant, and his personality has clear flaws, but I refuse to believe that someone capable of reaching the Divine Realm would act so recklessly. So, I called in a favor from a division master of the Divine Treasury Hall to investigate him further. And I found something."

He glanced at the other clan patriarchs. "This Li Pin... may already possess tier nine combat strength."

"Tier nine?"

The moment these words were spoken, the entire room was visibly shaken.

"Impossible! Tier eight is already the limit for a Divine Being. How could he possibly reach tier nine? Did he somehow obtain a Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapon?"

"Tier nine... That's unbelievable. Could the Divine Treasury Hall have spread false information? It's said that Li Pin holds the key to breaking the Void Divine Treasure World. Maybe they deliberately claimed his combat strength reached the ninth tier to deter ordinary Astral Gods from acting recklessly."

Ji Fenglei, Yuan Xiangguang, Zi Zhongtian, and the others asked in unison, "How reliable is this information?"

"Because of the Oblivion Divine Treasure World, several Cosmic Radiance are keeping an eye on him. Even that person doesn't dare to investigate too deeply. So, whether the information is accurate... he couldn't give me a definite answer."

Shang Jinzhao sighed. "A Divine Being with tier nine combat strength.... No matter how you look at it, it's absurd."

The others nodded in agreement.

Zi Zhongtian pondered for a moment before saying, "If such an outrageous claim has spread, that might actually make it more credible."

His words made everyone fall into deep thought.

Tier Eight combat strength was already troublesome. If Li Pin was determined to flee, even if they deployed three to five combat-specialized avatars, they might not be able to stop him. But now, it was revealed that he might have reached tier nine.

If that was truly the case, they might actually need dozens of combat-specialized avatars just to have a chance at surrounding and killing him.

The Aristocratic Alliance might have over a thousand Astral Gods behind it, but the number of Astral Gods that were actually willing to send down their avatars for this fight were fewer than ten percent.

The major clans knew that with the top clans fully stepping in, including the Golden Emperor Clan, their chances of securing the inheritance had become extremely slim.

If they had an exceptional genius among their descendants, they might still put up a fight. However, without one, joining the alliance was nothing more than a symbolic gesture. They would only be expressing their stance, not actually attempting to really compete for the inheritance.

After a long silence, Zi Zhongtian said, "Personally, I feel that to deal with Li Pin, we should start with Ai Sa."

The others were puzzled. "Ai Sa?"

Yuan Xiangguang frowned. "That was our original plan, but Li Pin saw through it. That's why he went so far as to propose a direct battle with our alliance one stellar year from now. He'd rather fight to mutual destruction than become a weapon in our hands against Ai Sa. If we still try to use this approach, I'm afraid—"

"Like I've already said, Li Pin's personality is a double-edged sword," Zi Zhongtian interrupted. "But geniuses always have their quirks. And he's nearly at the level of a human prodigy. With his talent, his behavior is bound to be... unconventional."

He smiled softly. "But our Yuan Yang Star Domain has more than one prodigy like him."

Shang Jinzhao's eyes lit up as he quickly caught on. "Ai Sa has genius syndrome too!?"

"Exactly. Call it an eccentric temperament or a personality flaw, whatever you like. Every prodigy tends to react extremely in certain situations."

Zi Zhongtian nodded. "Li Pin is arrogant and conceited, while Ai Sa... I happened to learn something interesting about him."

"What is it?" Shang Jinzhao asked.

Zi Zhongtian smirked. "He absolutely hates being called short or weak."

Yuan Xiangguang and the others looked baffled.

Yuan Xiangguang said, "Weak, I understand. But short? That's ridiculous..."

By the time a person reached the Human Realm, they should already be able to control their bone structure and adjust their height, not to mention someone at Ai Sa's level. He should be able to freely alter his height, weight, or even life form characteristics. Why would this even matter to him?

"It's tied to the Golden Emperor Clan's innate talent," Zi Zhongtian explained. "They're like unique lifeforms. From birth, they can establish a direct link to the Astral World, rapidly increasing their total energy as if they were accumulating energy within the Astral World itself.

"If not for the risk of excess energy making it harder to integrate into the Astral World and ascend to Astral God, their racial talent could easily push their energy strength past a million."

The others nodded. They were well aware of the Golden Emperor Clan's abilities. This very trait earned them the title of an innate Astral World race.

On top of that, their integration into the Astral World was far easier than that of an ordinary Tier Six Legend. That was precisely why Ai Sa dared to push his energy intensity to 530,000.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that as long as they didn't meet an early end or seek their own death, more than ninety percent of their kind would eventually become Astral Gods.

"But this talent comes with a price. The suppression of Astral World energy. Until they ascend, they can't freely alter their bodies. So, his short stature? It's real." Zi Zhongtian chuckled. "All we need to do is find a way to make Li Pin bring it up.

"In fact, we don't even need him to say anything. If we stir things up enough, Ai Sa, who's only been held back by his elders from seeking revenge on Li Pin, will snap. And when that happens... heh. It's really absurd, I know, but this world is full of absurdities."

Yuan Xiangguang laughed. "When two tigers fight, one is bound to be wounded."

Shang Jinzhao smirked. "And when the snipe and clam struggle, the fisherman profits."[2]

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ji Fenglei waved his hand. "Let those so-called prodigies tear each other apart. We'll grab some seats and enjoy the show."

1. It means a young or inexperienced people often act fearlessly because they are unaware of the dangers they face. ☜

2. Describes a situation where two parties are locked in a conflict, exhausting themselves, while a third party takes advantage of their struggle and reaps the benefits. ☜