Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent-Chapter 613: Proving the Dao

"If this is your limit..." the Void Emperor said expressionlessly, "You cannot defeat me."

Thunder God!

Fleeting Gleam!

In a flicker, Li Pin found himself amidst the tidal waves of vacuum energy. An unending force swept over him, changing countless times in an instant, dismantling his control over the realm.

Even though he did his utmost to unleash the Eternal Light, Absolute Darkness, some ripples still spread about him. Each ripple seemed to contain the power of a star, causing him to tremble violently. Certain parts of his body even began to collapse.

As he started to disintegrate, terrifying energy erupted, akin to collapsing stars imploding inward. It was like a supernova explosion, unleashing boundless energy and mass.

Some energy leaked out. It was clear that Li Pin's Perfect Realm had been countered.

He had spent years comprehending the realm of True Spirit, refining his inner spirit to be as clear as a mirror so that he could perceive and control even the slightest ripple. However, at this moment, the Void Emperor's endless transformations still managed to counter his efforts.

Omniscience wasn't the same as omnipotence. Even if he knew every attack from the Void Emperor, he could not keep up with the changes in those attacks. What use was knowing everything?

If this had not been a battle of life and death but a mere spar, the moment his Perfect Realm was shattered, the outcome would have already been decided.

"Just human..." remarked the Void Emperor indifferently.

All the zero-point energy surged toward the gap in Li Pin's shattered body.

"This is the end," said the Void Emperor. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

In an instant, the gap in Li Pin's Eternal Light, Absolute Darkness spread at an astonishing speed. Terrifying energy and dazzling light burst out from the opening, dispersing in all directions.

It was like a chain reaction. As long as a single atom succumbed, the entire body would follow at an unimaginable speed.

Feeling the weakening Thunder God, Fleeting Gleam as well as the destruction of his Eternal Light, Absolute Darkness, Li Pin could not help but laugh out loud. "Hahaha! This is it! This is it!"

It has been too long, far too long!

It had been a long time since he had last felt this kind of overwhelming pressure, where he was at a complete disadvantage.

In the face of the Void Emperor, who had ascended to the strongest form in the Void Divine Treasure World, Li Pin was like an insect caught in a spider's web. No matter how he struggled, he could not break free.

The Void Emperor's mastery of the battlefield, his utilization of power, responses to every resistance, and his nearly omniscient ability to calculate all possible countermeasures... all of these crushed Li Pin completely.

He could not win! He was utterly powerless!

This was the power of the Void Emperor! Even the version of the Void Emperor known to Bali Zhu, who was the owner of the Void Divine Treasure World, was worthy of his supreme reputation. He had displayed a despairing might.

However!

"I have been waiting for you! I have always been waiting for you!" gushed Li Pin as he threw a punch.

Even though his Eternal Light, Absolute Darkness had collapsed in a chain reaction, he did not retreat in the slightest. He continued to stand firm amidst the tsunami, facing the zero-point energy waves.

Stretching his body to the fullest, Li Pin punched, releasing his power!

There were neither any reservations nor any control, like a fire that was burning to its fullest.

Even if he could only burn for a fleeting moment and release a brief radiance, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He unleashed his power to the fullest, burning his very life in the most dazzling and brilliant way.

"Forty-two stellar years! I have been waiting for this moment for a full forty-two stellar years!" resounded Li Pin.

He suddenly spread his arms wide. His inner spirit lake, which had once been as clear as a mirror, was overwhelmed by too many ripples and had begun to boil, rapidly evaporating. Yet, he did not restrain himself at all. Instead, he let the nearly evaporated lake of his inner spirit reflect the Void Emperor's complete form—his strongest form!

Li Pin was using this form of the Void Emperor to validate his Dao!

It wasn't about secret techniques, cultivation, or realms, but his Dao! The Dao he had pursued and upheld all along!

"Come! Void, you can be stronger! Stronger!"

Li Pin's mental spirit burned like fire, transforming into boundless battle intent that pierced through the starry sky.

His words seemed to be directed at the Void Emperor, yet also at himself.

His entire body was collapsing, accompanied by an unprecedented release of energy. Yet, the radiance from these energies illuminated his broken body, making his brilliance shine to the extreme.

His brilliance was enough to illuminate the entire galaxy. Even the masses of the Moon Demon Domain could see it clearly. They could see that in the deeper layers of the universe, a star was shining freely.

His Dao was evolving! It was transcending!

How could anyone evolve without first reaching and feeling their limit?! How could you transcend without encountering a powerful enemy?

Just now, his Perfect Realm had been blemished, losing its flawlessness! Drowned by the Void Emperor's hundreds of millions of variations, Li Pin had felt utterly powerless. A soul-crushing sense of weakness had descended upon him.

His Eternal Light, Absolute Darkness had crumbled, and the energy fluctuations rippling through his perception outlined patterns that were mesmerizingly beautiful.

He had spent forty-two stellar years refining his inner spirit, forming an inner spirit lake modeled after the True Spirit. However, at this moment, it was entirely flooded with ripples, boiling like water, interweaving into an intoxicating profundity.

Everything was collapsing. Everything bore the signs of destruction.

His entire life, spanning decades of stellar years, was being destroyed. Everything he had was being denied.

A stronger being was stepping forward, defeating him, telling him that his path was wrong.

He could either humbly accept the lesson, acknowledge his failure, change his path, and follow the guidance of the stronger being down a different road.

Or he could stand tall and straighten his spine. He could remain firm in his beliefs, stride forward, temper his immortal will amid destruction and flames, and throw a punch.

He would continue throwing punch after punch! To prove to himself that his path was not wrong, all he needed to do was...

"Transcend! Become stronger!"

***

The Void Emperor could no longer comprehend Li Pin’s actions. He made countless calculations, simulations, and deductions, but they all led to one conclusion. Li Pin was not simply striding toward the Void Emperor aggressively; he was walking to his death.

The Void Emperor knew, and Li Pin also knew, that besides surrendering, there was no way to defeat him. So, the Void Emperor could not understand why Li Pin had not surrendered. He couldn't understand why Li Pin was rushing toward him like a moth to a flame, charging toward his death.

The instinct that reigned above all for any lifeform was self-preservation. Yet, Li Pin faced death with such unwavering resolve.

The Void Emperor could not compute this phenomenon.

Was this some kind of tactic? Or was it due to some overlooked detail, making Li Pin's approach the key to turning the tide?

Was Li Pin seeking life through death?

The Void Emperor failed to realize that Li Pin was using him to prove his own Dao.

To Li Pin, an act of retreat would be akin to him acknowledging his opponent's martial path. Once he retreated, his opponent would grow stronger. His conviction would solidify, and his battle intent would become unstoppable.

With me, there is invincibility!

I am invincible!

***

By the time the Void Emperor reacted to this, Li Pin was already right in front of him.

Due to a computational deviation, the tsunami formed by his zero-point energy failed to completely erase Li Pin, whose Eternal Light, Absolute Darkness had been shattered.

It even gave Li Pin time.

For a cultivator who possessed Perfect Realm, as long as there was time to breathe, he could fully recover quickly.

It was just like how things were now. Li Pin had not only recovered, but his battle intent, belief, and will had all accumulated to the extreme. With every retreat, his inner spirit was affirmed and tempered repeatedly until, ultimately, it became indestructible and unshakable.

At this moment, he stepped forward with the embryonic form of his Dao.

It was a kind of power that could no longer be destroyed by any means. A kind of power that existed independently beyond conventional physics, energy, mental spirit, and inner spirit.

Even using the term True Spirit was insufficient to describe it.

Even if it was still weak at this moment, even if it had only just been born, the brilliance it radiated was so pure and translucent that it illuminated his mental spirit, shone upon his consciousness, and dazzled his world.

No language could hope to describe this wonder. No word existed that could capture its brilliance. That was a gem so unfathomable that even the Void Emperor, who had already embarked on the Transcendent path, could not comprehend.

The power of this gem surpassed the Void Emperor's calculations at this moment. If he forced himself to keep observing, his logical faculties would collapse.

The Void Emperor fell into a daze. "I... lost?"

He had lost?

He once again turned to look at what seemed to be the most beautiful crystalline gem in the world, as if he wanted to see through its truth and analyze its reality. However, just as he had guessed, the power of the Dao completely exceeded the scope of his calculations. His calculations would fundamentally collapse his lower-level logical thinking.

It was like using an old computer to calculate the latest large-scale programs. A system crash would occur.

This was the only result.

"I've lost...."

The Void Emperor looked at the increasingly approaching force and the fact that he still hadn't calculated any substantial information. Finally, with a hint of human-like emotion, he sighed.

Just as this gem illuminated the starry sky, rendering the Void Emperor completely helpless, the divine treasure world suddenly began to tremble.

That feeling was like a multitude of people living inside a planet suddenly realizing that there was a huge star higher up in the atmosphere above their heads, waning and passing by.

Though that star seemed like just a shadow and didn't affect the planet's structure or its inhabitants, the immense silhouette blocking the sky and the impact it brought shook everyone's inner spirit.

Everyone, from the Legends and True Gods yet to be purged to the surviving pioneers, could not escape the feeling of an indescribable chill creeping over them.

It seemed as though some terrifying force they couldn't comprehend had arrived.

It was at this moment that the Void Emperor's gaze seemed to change. It became deeper, more hollow, and darker.