A Card In Hand

Chapter 43: Li Ao, I’m Going to Crush You!

Speaking of which.

Li Ao, despite being a millennium-old demon, felt a stir in his heart.

After all, this great deception was based on his own experiences.

Back in the day, Li Ao had ascended to the Celestial Realm with Shuanghan, who faced challenges head-on, choosing to fight to the death without retreat, ultimately falling like a shooting star in the Celestial Realm.

Shuanghan perished, but Li Ao had always envied the supreme honor of being solemnly recorded in the history of the Ice Gods, even in death.

In the eternal corridor of the Pantheon, there were many gods who had their stars lit, but very few lit a star for their opponent.

Shuanghan was one of them.

He wasn’t even a deity, but all his opponents acknowledged him.

And Li Ao?

When facing formidable enemies, he retreated time and again.

He ran away.

He had grown accustomed to this mode of survival, and even after becoming a deity and lighting his own divine star, he still wouldn’t confront more powerful gods directly.

This approach allowed him to survive, growing stronger over time and climbing higher step by step.

The gods couldn’t stop Li Ao’s rising momentum and challenges, and despite using every possible means, they still couldn’t doom him.

Even though the process was harder than anyone else’s, Li Ao eventually reached the divine realm.

But.

Li Ao wasn’t happy at all.

In fact, he despised this version of himself.

Back on Tianfeng Continent, Li Ao had detested his path to divinity.

To advance to the Celestial Realm and ascend to the divine realm, too many people around Li Ao had sacrificed far too much for him.

Like that time in Silverlight City when a formidable enemy attacked.

Li Ao was utterly powerless to resist.

It was a critical moment.

An unexpected Fuxi stepped forward, sacrificing himself to help Li Ao escape to safety.

Li Ao survived, and his heart was not devoid of guilt.

Yet, the more he felt this way, the less he could turn back.

He couldn’t let those who had sacrificed themselves for him die in vain.

He had to fulfill their wishes—to ascend to the Celestial Realm and reach the divine heights…

Facing formidable enemies,

He habitually made concessions.

At first, Li Ao excused himself by claiming his talent wasn’t sufficient.

His starting point was far too low, with no one to support him from behind; he had to rely solely on his own efforts.

Thus, he couldn’t confront these strong enemies head-on. He could only dodge their sharpest edges, waiting to increase his combat power before seeking revenge.

Indeed!

That was the reality!

But Li Ao disliked this part of himself.

Li Ao had once considered whether to fight his opponents in a fierce and desperate battle, to struggle until the last ounce of strength and the last drop of blood, like Shuanghan, to perish together with the enemy… But as much as he envied that, Li Ao simply couldn’t act in such a way.

As a millennium loner, he carried too many hopes and expectations. He couldn’t afford to die a heroic death in battle like Shuanghan!

In his previous life, Li Ao carried burdens too heavy, and even becoming a deity could not free him from them.

In this life,

Li Ao decided to change his approach.

With the memories of his past life and the Hourglass of Time, a divine artifact of creation, if he still shrank back and cowered, it would be a complete failure!

So, although these words might seem like mind-numbing pep talk aimed at inexperienced newcomers, they were also Li Ao’s declaration to shatter the frustrations of his past life. It was a declaration of his determination to pursue a new divine path in this life.

He wanted to tell the world that this time, he would never retreat again. Whoever came to battle, he would crush them into dust!

“Ah ah ah ah ah…”

After Li Ao shouted out the words hidden in his heart, his aura exploded powerfully.

Letting go of the obsessions and burdens of his past life and officially starting the challenges of this new life, Li Ao’s mindset underwent a complete transformation.

A divine thought, pure and free of any impurities, blossomed from the depths of his mind!

This was the battle will he had comprehended through countless life-and-death fights in his past life.

Unshakable determination.

An eternal belief.

Li Ao recalled it.

This nascent divine thought illuminated Li Ao’s entire sea of consciousness. Simultaneously, his life cheered and boiled over—this was the inherent nature of life’s origin, craving transcendence!

The pursuit of divine realms by humans was an eternal and unchanging ambition, not just for humans, but for any species with the same instinctual longing!

“My battle spirit, welcome back!”

On the surface, Li Ao remained utterly calm, but inside, a divine storm was brewing.

Perhaps my first choice when facing a powerful enemy was to yield.

But when it truly came to a do-or-die moment.

I never backed down, not even slightly.

Fighting spirit.

It never once diminished within my heart.

I have always craved battle; I will never bow down in combat, I will never submit to my opponents! I can fall a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times, but I will stand up again! I will never give up the fight, I will never admit defeat… Welcome back, my indomitable fighting spirit!

Li Ao closed his eyes.

A trace of pure, supreme divine thought rapidly condensed, forming an undying divine flame, eternally lit within Li Ao’s soul’s sea of consciousness.

Boom!

The aura that burst forth from Li Ao swept across the entire microcosm dimension.

His source energy was assimilated by the divine flame, undergoing an irreversible transformation. It roared and surged outward, a colossal and tangible energy pillar shot up from the top of Li Ao’s head, piercing the heavens.

In an instant, it penetrated the micro-world, creating a black hole.

Disappearing into the endless dimensional space-time.

Within the sea of consciousness.

Numerous layers of ancient seals on the hourglass of time, the very outer layer of the seals, silently cracked open a tiny fissure.

A small amount of the power of time quietly seeped out, faint yet undying, gentle yet not weak, it subtly became part of the faint divine glow surrounding the exterior of the hourglass of time.

In stark contrast to the barely perceptible divine glow of before, it had now grown somewhat more substantial.

“Let’s make our move!”

Three elders of the Pantheon of Myriad Realms simultaneously raised thick energy barriers, positioning them in front of the newcomers.

Li Ao unleashed a cataclysmic storm of Source Energy, but it was impenetrably blocked by their shields.

The assistant referees rallied together, striving mightily to withstand the onslaught, yet they were forced to retreat step by step under the ferocious aura erupting from Li Ao.

Lei Bao’s eyes widened, larger than those of a bull.

This kid didn’t do anything; he just spoke some melodramatic words and ascended?

Moreover, this wasn’t a minor increase but a massive surge, a transformational leap… It was utterly bewildering; in his lifetime, he had never heard of such a thing! Are you some kind of freak? Since when can mere words lead to such enhancement?

Enshrouded in a purple cloak and with skin faintly transparent, a mysterious man muttered in an undetectable whisper, “What an interesting little devil!”

To him, a monstrous talent like Li Ao was the perfect target for harvest.

To mercilessly kill such promising potential, to witness the despair in their eyes as they died, and then to plunder their astonishing talents that shocked the world—this was his life’s greatest joy.

Was there anything more thrilling than crushing a budding genius?

Of course.

This batch of newcomers wasn’t limited to just Li Ao; many other fledglings were ripe for the reaping.

Wary of revealing too much with his gaze, the mysterious man slowly pulled his cloak tighter, fully concealing his bloodthirsty eyes.

The newcomers on Stone Isles had been stirred to boiling point by Li Ao’s grand deception.

Now, witnessing Li Ao’s earth-shattering eruption, the swaggering defiance with which he challenged everything in the world, they could no longer contain the roar that thundered into the depths of their souls… Are you the only young one here? Are you the only one brave enough to challenge the world fearlessly?

We are young too!

We also possess overflowing talent!

We also have diligence and effort that match yours!

Why should we let you alone dazzle before the world?

Think again!

We won’t allow it!

We too will make our voices heard!

We too will shine; we too will leave our own unique mark on this world!

Shuanghan, Qian Nian, Qiqu, Huo Mei, Cang Yue… One by one, they lost themselves in fervor, letting go of their families’ plans for low-profile cultivation.

Since their secrets were now exposed, why not seize the opportunity to showcase themselves?

They absolutely couldn’t let Li Ao alone steal their limelight! They were determined to compete to the end, even if it meant being defeated; they could not stand to be looked down upon!

Boom, boom, boom…

One after another, the newcomers on Stone Isles unleashed their hidden true strength, driven wild by the intense atmosphere.

Not just the top twenty challengers, but even the ordinary newcomers were swept up in the fervor, screaming out as they released their full power, summoning their war beasts, and immersing themselves wholly in this unprecedented challenge.

Li Ao, I will crush you!

If I can’t defeat a big demon king like you, then my life will have no meaning!