Chapter 4641: Challenge

In the Divine Palace, an Aberrant was able to practically stand equal with the divine envoys. After all, most of them were very ordinary Immortals. Whether the First Sequence broke through or not was meaningless.

If they broke through, they would also be bound by a karmic chain, which could only be reduced through gaining accomplishments on the battlefield. That was still a form of restriction.

Because of that, the being in the Divine Palace that was the most comfortable and the freest was the First Sequence.

It was also very simple to enter the Divine Palace’s Sequences: fight your way up.

The ranking of the Sequences depended on combat strength.

Yan Gong had broken through to become an Origin Realm combat god, but he could not join the Divine Palace’s Sequences without first defeating a Sequence.

In fact, many of the Divine Palace’s Origin Realm combat gods were confident that they could become a Sequence, but they did not want to step forward because they were not prepared. After all, once they became a Sequence, they would be forced to attempt a breakthrough to the Immortal realm, and failure meant death.

This was the Divine Palace's rule. If one wanted to attempt to break through to the Immortal realm, they had to become a Sequence, and becoming a Sequence could not be left to luck. The Seventh Sequence was in a far worse position than the Origin Realm combat gods who were not Sequences. Only the First Sequence could be considered to be in a comfortable position.

This was the current situation for the Divine Palace’s Sequences and Origin Realm combat gods.

Lu Yin had only recently broken through to become a Origin Realm combat god, and yet he was already announcing his intention of entering the Divine Palace’s Sequences. As far as the others were concerned, this was an incredibly foolish decision.

Divine Envoy Shuang Luo even immediately paid him a visit and explained the situation. "If you become the Seventh Sequence, then if Wu Hen finds a way to reset a megaverse, you will be forced to attempt a breakthrough, unless someone among the first six Sequences is willing. However, even if another Sequence is willing to make that attempt, a divine envoy can just reset another megaverse. You will be in far too passive a position," Divine Envoy Shuang Luo warned. "Do you know that there are Origin Realm combat gods who are capable of becoming a Sequence? However, they do not compete for that title precisely because they are afraid of exactly this."

"It does not matter. Let him go," Awe Gate replied.

Divine Envoy Shuang Luo looked over at Awe Gate. "Is he prepared to break through and become an Immortal being?"

Lu Yin said, "I do not intend to challenge the Seventh Sequence."

The Divine Palace’s Sequences all lived in the Divine Palace. They did not need to turn in offerings, nor did they need to fight on the battlefield.

Lu Yin stepped out of Awe Gate's residence and lifted his head. His voice rang out across the entire Divine Palace. "Origin combat god Nie challenges the Second Sequence, Hao! Please fight me!"

Not only did his challenge reach the entire Divine Palace, it echoed outwards, allowing countless beings to hear him.

Divine Envoy Gui Xing, Divine Envoy Wu Hen, and the others were all astonished. Was this Nie directly challenging the Second Sequence? Was he really that confident?

Gui Xing recalled what it had seen on the battlefield. Nie was indeed qualified to be confident. He was capable of briefly fighting against an Immortal being. However, to a certain extent, that merely made Nie similar to Hao. If he wanted to win, then unless he had truly undergone a major breakthrough, the best he could hope for was to remain undefeated.

The Immortal golem and Ba Rong both looked over with strange expressions; this was simply bullying a child.

Divine Envoy Yan was assigning territories when it heard Lu Yin's challenge, and it grew a bit uneasy. Previously, it had been the one who had assigned Nie to the Godless Territory. Nie appears to be getting increasingly restless. With Divine Envoy Awe Gate and Divine Envoy Shuang Luo both supporting him, he won’t come looking to make trouble for me, will he?

No, definitely not. Divine Envoy Gui Xing also tried to trip him up. Gui Xing was the divine envoy who stood second only to the lord of the Palace Palace. As long as that turtle said a word, no one would act out.

Outside the Divine Palace, both Yan Gong and his son were shocked. Had Nie gone mad? They hurried inside.

In a corner of the Divine Palace, inside an almost unremarkable section, lived Hao, the Second Sequence of the Divine Palace.

The residences of the Divine Palace’s Sequences were vastly inferior to those of the divine envoys, but they still were allowed to live within the Divine Palace.

Hao opened its eyes, and a fierce glint flickered through them. "Bold enough to challenge me directly? It appears that, if that one wasn’t on the battlefield, he would have actually challenged them. Hmph! If you want to die, I will grant your wish. Do you really think that having the support of divine envoys is enough to protect you?"

It then stepped out.

Lu Yin quietly stood in outer space outside of the Divine Palace. Yan Gong arrived nearby and immediately tried to persuade him. "Nie, are you really going to challenge Hao?"

Lu Yin calmly replied, "Of course."

Yan Gong felt trapped. "You underestimate it too much! Do you even understand Hao’s capabilities?"

Of course Lu Yin knew. In fact, he knew better than anyone. After all, he had once Possessed Hao.

In fact, Hao could be considered the simplest of all peak Dukkhans that Lu Yin had ever encountered. No other was more single-minded than this creature. It had only two methods: one for defense, and one for offense. It was that simple; there was nothing more.

However, by relying on just these two abilities, Hao was uncontestedly the Divine Palace's Second Sequence. It could be considered the perfect example of one’s path to greatness being simplicity itself.

Hao had a rather round and ball-like body with sharp spikes protruding in all directions. They were both razor-sharp and tough, and they served as its defensive means.

Its entire life had been spent tempering those spikes. There was simply nothing else. Only the spikes were tempered, each one had been refined countless times until they finally reached a state where Hao’s defense alone was comparable to that of an ordinary Immortal. Those spikes had already gained the ability to merge with Immortal matter, and it could be said that it had achieved the strongest defense possible for its realm.

In fact, even some Immortals had weaker defenses than Hao.

As for offense, that came from a fist-like protrusion that extended out from the ball-like body. Even its name was strange; it was called the Cataclysm Fist. The instant each punch was thrown, the spikes covering Hao would retract, and the force from that action would be translated across Hao’s body and concentrated into the power of its fist. This gave each punch a destructive power comparable to what an ordinary Immortal might be capable of. Also, when Immortal matter was merged into that fist, it grew far stronger.

With only one defensive means and one fist art, Hao had beaten every peak Dukkhan who challenged it. It could even be said that, if it were thrown into the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, it would be capable of challenging a Lesser Sancti.

As long as one was in the same realm as Hao, then no matter how many abilities they had or how powerful their battle techniques might be, almost nothing could be done to it. The only exception was if someone possessed attacks that surpassed their realm.

Yan Gong briefly explained Hao's abilities, and what he shared was roughly what Lu Yin already knew. There was only one point that Yan Gong was ignorant of: Hao could wield Immortal matter. Hao had never exposed this to anyone, and it had never had any need to. Just relying on its own strength was enough for it to defeat all challengers.

Divine Envoy Shuang Luo addressed Awe Gate, saying, "It would be best for him not to challenge Hao. Although Hao's methods are simple, the simpler something is, the harder it is to break. It might never be able to defeat Meng Luo, but within the same realm, almost no creature can ever defeat it."

Awe Gate replied, "It is fine. He can just treat this as training."

While the two spoke, Hao arrived before Lu Yin. Countless eyes watched as the creature looked at Lu Yin. It was clearly a ball, yet it had eyes, ears, a nose, and a mouth. These were features common to most lifeforms throughout the cosmos.

No matter how one looked at Hao, it was a ball that had gained sentience.

"You want to challenge me? Then come. Let’s end this quickly," Hao said bluntly. As it spoke, its eyes wandered past Lu Yin to look out at Awe Gate. "If I accidentally kill you, I hope that the divine envoy will not mind."

Lu Yin stepped forward. "That doesn’t matter. If we fight, then life and death are up to fate."

"Good! You may attack. I am afraid that if I attack first, you will have no chance whatsoever," Hao arrogantly proclaimed.

It was true that it was the most arrogant of the Divine Palace’s seven Sequences.

Yan Gong had the support of the Third Sequence, which was already enough for him to have some intention of throwing his weight around within the Divine Palace. However, the Third Sequence would never dare to challenge Hao.

Lu Yin made his move, attacking with the power of Mountain Moon Reflecting the Evening and Tide River Returning to the Empty Plain, repeatedly testing Hao's defenses.

Its defenses were flawless. Hao’s entire body was covered with spikes, and no matter what kind of power struck it, it would remain unharmed. Each spike could easily neutralize all incoming force.

The creature remained still, freely allowing Lu Yin to attack.

This continued until Lu Yin had tried all of the Divine Palace’s various powers.

"Finished? Then it’s my turn." Hao suddenly charged at Lu Yin. He quickly dodged aside, only earning a sneer from Hao. The spikes covering the ball abruptly contracted, and the imprint of a fist bulged out as a punch was thrown: Cataclysm Fist.

Boom!

A deafening sound shook the cosmos. Countless beings felt as though they had been struck by that punch. It rattled everything.

Even space was pushed aside, and countless cracks opened up.

Lu Yin wanted to dodge, but he was enveloped by the destructive power of the punch. He could only use the power of Return to neutralize the force, constantly coming and going. His use of this power was quite impressive, and even Divine Envoy Shuang Luo's eyes lit up. Even the divine envoys could not help but be impressed.

Within the Divine Palace, Divine Envoy Gui Xing shook its head. The turtle had already guessed that this would be the outcome of this fight. Nie had survived Feng Ya’s attacks, so his use of the power of Return could be considered quite advanced. That was precisely why Gui Xing wanted to take Nie as its disciple. However, relying on the power of Return alone would never be enough to defeat Hao. In the end, he would still lose.

Hao had not expected Lu Yin to actually withstand its punch.

Cultivating Origin was essentially taking a shortcut for peak Dukkhans to step into the Immortal realm. It could not offer much of a transformation in regards to combat power.

In fact, Hao found it ridiculous that Nie had challenged it as soon as he had become a Origin Realm combat god, and it had even been rather insulted.

However, it had just become clear that this Nie was actually quite capable.

Thinking this, Hao threw another punch that blasted space apart again.

Lu Yin continued to use the power of Return to neutralize Hao's attack, barely enduring after a great struggle.

Yan Gong's eyes bulged. Can the power of Return actually be used like this? No wonder he dared to challenge Hao!

If Yan Gong were to face Hao, he would not have been able to take even one punch. Seeing Lu Yin actually manage to reach a temporary stalemate against Hao, Yan Gong could understand the reason for this challenge: Nie should have received Divine Envoy Awe Gate’s instruction.

"How long can you keep blocking like this?" Hao wanted to end the fight as soon as possible, constantly pursuing Lu Yin while throwing punches.

Still using the power of Return to neutralize the attacks, Lu Yin stared at his opponent. He did not move farther away, and he actually closed the distance.

Those watching could not understand this. Only by opening up more distance could Nie hope to endure longer. Could he actually want to defeat Hao?

As the two continued to draw closer and closer to each other, Hao's punches grew stronger, but Lu Yin's use of Return actually improved. He had been hiding his true ability.

This realization absolutely enraged Hao, and it could not resist using Immortal matter.

"Be careful!" Divine Envoy Shuang Luo cried out in alarm. It had immediately noticed the Immortal matter.

Hao showed a ferocious grin as it blasted out another punch. Die!

Lu Yin looked up. Now!

He stepped forward, and the power of Return circulated wildly. Coming and going as if returning home, the berserk force of this punch that was reinforced with Immortal matter was instantly redirected by the power of Return, and it deviated from its path.

At that moment, even Divine Envoy Gui Xing was completely shocked. Can he actually use the power of Return to this extent? This kid might actually have a chance to comprehend karma.

This was the most skilled user of Return that Gui Xing had ever seen.

Hao had not expected its punch to be diverted by the power of Return. Taking advantage of the sudden opening, Lu Yin threw a punch of his own, but spikes protruded from every part of Hao's body, rendering his attack useless. What this creature truly excelled at was ultimately defense.

There was a bang as Lu Yin's punch struck Hao. At first, the creature just sneered, but then it was shaken, and finally, it was stunned. Hao was thrown back until it slammed into the walls of the Divine Palace. One of its spikes had actually shattered, and cracks opened up across its entire body.

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