The Supreme Eternal Prime God : 1000x System From Beginning

Chapter 26 – The Point Where Mortals Can No Longer Follow

The moment Meng Jinhai’s body crashed against the shattered battlefield, his Qi ruptured, his limbs broken, his consciousness slipping away into a suffocating void of agony and disbelief, the entire Grand Tournament Arena was consumed by a silence so absolute, so crushing, that it felt as though the very air had been stolen from the lungs of every disciple, every instructor, every onlooker who had gathered to witness what should have been a battle between two titans—only to realize that there had never been a battle at all.

This was not a fight.

This was a reminder.

A reminder that the so-called "powerful" of the Outer Court were nothing more than children grasping at illusions, that cultivation, effort, and ambition meant nothing before the reality of absolute supremacy.

A reminder that Xiao Lin did not simply fight.

He decided who was allowed to stand before him and who was not.

And today, Meng Jinhai had not been worthy.

The Elder overseeing the match stood frozen for several long seconds, his gaze flickering between Meng Jinhai’s unconscious form and Xiao Lin’s still-unmoved stance, his fingers twitching slightly as if struggling to process what he had just witnessed, before finally forcing himself to react, his voice shaking slightly as he raised his hand.

"Victor—Xiao Lin."

The words felt unnecessary.

Everyone already knew.

But the announcement still sent a ripple of tension through the arena.

Because now, it was official.

Xiao Lin had advanced to the final eight.

And no one knew how to stop him.

High above the battlefield, seated within the private pavilion where only the most elite disciples of the Outer Court were permitted to observe, Zhan Kanzi’s fingers tightened imperceptibly against the armrest of his chair, his expression carefully neutral, his dark eyes flickering with something unreadable as he watched Xiao Lin step away from the battlefield, as if the fight had already been forgotten, as if none of this had ever mattered to him to begin with.

This was not how things were supposed to go.

Meng Jinhai should have been a problem.

Should have forced Xiao Lin to struggle.

Should have at least made him reveal his full strength.

And yet—none of that had happened.

Xiao Lin had ended the fight in a single motion, a single breath, a single effortless moment of control that defied everything Zhan Kanzi understood about cultivation.

This wasn’t raw power.

This wasn’t talent.

This was something else entirely.

And that—that was dangerous.

A slow exhale escaped his lips, his expression unreadable as he leaned back slightly, his fingers tapping lightly against the polished wood of his chair, his mind already racing through the possibilities, the contingencies, the strategies that would need to be rewritten, because one thing was now painfully clear—

Brute force would never work.

If Xiao Lin was to be stopped, it would not be through battle.

It would have to be through something far more insidious.

Far from the watching crowd, away from the whispers and the shifting tension, in a secluded garden where the scent of winter jasmine drifted softly through the cool morning breeze, Su Luo stood alone, her hands clenched tightly at her sides, her dark eyes fixed upon the distant battlefield where Xiao Lin had just ended his match with a level of control that should not have been possible, her heart twisting with something she could not name.

She had always believed in him.

Always trusted in his strength.@@novelbin@@

Always known that he would rise again.

But this—this was different.

The Xiao Lin she had once known had fought with heart, with passion, with a drive that burned bright even in the face of overwhelming odds.

But now?

Now, there was no passion in his battles.

No emotion.

No hesitation.

Only certainty.

As if he no longer viewed his opponents as warriors standing before him—but as insects waiting to be crushed.

She should have been proud of him.

Should have been happy for his victory.

But instead, all she could feel was an unbearable distance growing between them.

Because now, for the first time, she realized—

She was no longer sure if she could reach him anymore.

Deep within the Inner Court, where only the strongest resided, where only the elite walked, where the weight of true cultivation pressed against the very air, a single figure sat within a vast chamber, his hands resting upon the arms of an ornately carved chair, his golden robes embroidered with ancient symbols of power, his presence alone carrying a pressure that made the very walls tremble.

He had been watching.

Since the very beginning—he had been watching.

And now, as the whispers of Xiao Lin’s impossible victories spread beyond the Outer Court, beyond the academy, beyond even the walls of the Inner Court—

He knew it was time.

Time to see for himself.

A slow, quiet chuckle escaped his lips, his fingers tapping idly against the wood beneath them, his eyes half-lidded in amusement.

"This… could be interesting."

A pause.

Then—

"Perhaps it is time we meet."

The shadows around him flickered.

And just like that—he was gone.

Back in the coliseum, as the final matches concluded, as the final eight disciples were officially announced, as the names of those who had survived were etched into the massive Tournament Stone Board, as the tension grew heavier, as the academy itself seemed to hold its breath in anticipation of what was to come—

Xiao Lin stood at the edge of the battlefield, his gaze flickering toward the list of remaining names, his expression unreadable, his golden eyes calm.

He had never cared for titles.

Never cared for tournaments.

Never cared for proving himself to the Outer Court.

Because none of this mattered.

It was all beneath him.

And yet—

As he turned, as he began walking away, as the weight of the academy’s gaze pressed down upon him, as the whispers of his name spread further, as the tension thickened, as the storm of ambition, fear, and inevitability continued to spiral—

A smile touched his lips.

Because soon—

The real battle would begin.