The Supreme Eternal Prime God : 1000x System From Beginning

Chapter 37 – The Moment the World No Longer Dictates His Path

A silence had settled over the Grand Tournament Arena, not the silence of an ended battle, not the silence of an audience awaiting an announcement, not even the silence of uncertainty, but something deeper, something heavier, something that did not belong here.

Because for the first time in the history of Azure Dragon Academy, the rules that had governed it for centuries, the traditions that had dictated who would rise and who would fall, the balance of power that had ensured the academy remained the greatest force within the region—

No longer existed.

The barrier formations that had once protected the battlefield had been shattered, not by the force of a battle, not by the overwhelming energy of a desperate clash between two rising talents, but by the quiet, deliberate hand of something beyond them.

The tournament structure, once an unshakable system that determined who would ascend, who would remain, and who would be cast aside, had now lost its meaning.

And standing at the center of it all, standing upon a battlefield that had once been meant to test the strongest disciples of the Outer Court, standing beneath the gaze of thousands of silent, frozen onlookers who no longer knew whether they were witnessing a competition or something far beyond their comprehension—

Xiao Lin had not moved.

Because he did not need to.

Because this had never been his challenge.

It had been the academy’s.

To see if they would acknowledge the truth.

And now—they no longer had a choice.

The unknown cultivator took a single step forward, the motion slow, deliberate, yet carrying a weight that did not belong to a mere disciple, did not belong to an Outer Court competitor, did not belong to the academy at all, the very air distorting subtly around him, the formless shift of Qi warping unnaturally as he moved, as if the world itself was hesitating, unsure of whether it should allow this moment to continue, unsure of whether it should accept that this was now part of its reality.

His expression was unreadable.

Not because he lacked emotion.

Not because he was concealing his intent.

But because he had already understood something that no one else had.

Something that the Elders, the instructors, the Inner Court elites, even the highest-ranking members of the academy had failed to grasp until this very moment—

That this was not an interference.

This was an invitation.

A test.

A trial.

A moment that would decide whether or not Xiao Lin was ready to leave this place behind.

Because he no longer belonged here.

And whether the academy accepted it or not—he would not stay.

High above the battlefield, seated within the Inner Court Pavilion, where the most powerful of Azure Dragon Academy’s Elders had gathered, where the most promising disciples of the Inner Court had watched in silence, where those who had once believed themselves to be above the struggles of the Outer Court now sat frozen, unable to look away, unable to process what they were seeing—

An Elder exhaled slowly, his sharp gaze locked onto the battlefield below, his hands clasped together, his expression unreadable, his thoughts heavy, slow, calculated, not with fear, not with hesitation, but with understanding.

"This is not an attack," he murmured, his voice quiet, controlled, yet carrying an undeniable weight, an authority that did not waver, a certainty that could not be questioned.

The others turned to him, waiting.

He did not look at them.

Did not need to.

"Do not interfere."

A pause.

Then—

"We are no longer the ones deciding his fate."

And just like that—

The academy took its first step back.

From the private pavilion, where the strongest disciples of the Outer Court had gathered, where Zhan Kanzi sat unmoving, his hands clenched tightly at his sides, his breath steady, his mind racing, his heart pounding with something that he had never wanted to acknowledge, something that he had fought to ignore, something that now burned within him with an intensity that refused to be silenced—

He had lost.

Not in battle.

Not in skill.

Not in strength.

But in something greater.

Because this was no longer a tournament.

It was a departure.

A moment where one being stepped beyond what the rest of them could ever hope to reach.

And no matter what Zhan Kanzi did next—

History would never remember him as Xiao Lin’s rival.

Only as the man who had once stood in his way.

And that—was worse than defeat.

Xiao Lin exhaled softly.

Not in exertion.

Not in frustration.

Not in anticipation of a battle that had never truly been a battle at all.

But in quiet amusement.

Because it had taken them long enough.

He lifted his gaze, golden eyes calm, indifferent, yet filled with something far more absolute than power, something far more dangerous than overwhelming strength, something far more unshakable than cultivation itself—

Certainty.@@novelbin@@

"You came all this way," he murmured, his voice carrying effortlessly through the silent battlefield, reaching the ears of the unknown cultivator, reaching the ears of every Elder watching, reaching the ears of every disciple still clinging to the illusion that this was a battle they could still comprehend.

A pause.

A slow smirk.

"But you already know the answer, don’t you?"

The unknown cultivator did not reply immediately.

He simply studied him.

Then—

A slow nod.

"Yes."

A pause.

Then, softly—

"You are ready."

The words settled over the arena.

A decree.

A truth.

A reality that could no longer be denied.

And just like that—

Xiao Lin was no longer a disciple of Azure Dragon Academy.

He was something greater.

And the world—was not ready.