am-books Chapter 34 – The Point Where Gods Are Born
Chapter 34 – The Point Where Gods Are Born
Chapter 34 – The Point Where Gods Are Born
The weight of a thousand silent expectations pressed down upon the Grand Tournament Arena, a suffocating stillness weaving through the massive coliseum as countless disciples gathered within the stone stands, their gazes fixed upon the battlefield where the second semi-final match—the final step before the Outer Court Tournament’s long-awaited conclusion—was about to begin, their breaths held, their voices subdued, their minds unable to shake the unshakable certainty that had settled over them like an unseen decree, a truth that could no longer be denied, a reality that had already been etched into the fabric of the academy itself—
This was no longer a tournament.
This was the moment the world realized that there was no one left who could stand in Xiao Lin’s way.
The names inscribed upon the towering Tournament Stone Board were meaningless now.
The battles that had come before—irrelevant.
The victories that had once been fought so desperately by those who had dreamed of reaching the Inner Court—nothing but fading echoes of a past that no longer mattered.
Because in the end, none of them had ever truly been competitors.
None of them had ever been equals.
None of them had ever been walking the same path as the man who now stood upon the battlefield, his golden-flecked eyes half-lidded, unreadable, his posture relaxed yet unshaken, his presence alone sending invisible tremors through the very air around him, the faint hum of spiritual energy bending subtly in his direction, as if even the heavens themselves had begun to recognize that he was no longer bound by the limits of those around him, that he was no longer simply ascending.
He had already arrived.
And yet, despite the absolute inevitability of his victory, despite the unshakable certainty that no one—not the instructors, not the Elders, not even the Inner Court disciples watching in silence—believed that he could be stopped, there was still one last formality to be carried out.
One last obstacle to be erased.
One last fool to be broken.
Zhao Wei.
The opponent standing before Xiao Lin was tense.
Not the tension of anticipation.
Not the tension of excitement.
Not the tension of a warrior eager to prove his strength.
But the tension of a man who already understood his place in this world.
Zhao Wei had never been weak.
He had never been the kind of disciple who cowered before stronger opponents, had never been the kind of cultivator who shied away from competition, had never been the kind of fighter who accepted defeat before the battle had even begun—
But now, standing upon this battlefield, beneath the weight of thousands of watching eyes, his hands clenched tightly at his sides, his Qi burning in his veins like a futile attempt at resisting the inevitable, his instincts screaming at him to flee, to kneel, to acknowledge that he did not belong here—
Zhao Wei realized something he had never truly understood before.
Strength was not an illusion.
Another voice, quieter.
"Can we?"
A long silence followed.
And then—
A decision.
"For now... we watch."
A pause.
"But if he cannot be contained, then we must act. Before it is too late."
Another pause.
Then—
"Before he reaches the Inner Court."
And yet, despite the finality of those words, despite the authority with which they were spoken, despite the decision that had been made within these halls—
None of them truly believed they would have that choice anymore.
Because Xiao Lin was not waiting for their permission.
He was already moving forward.
And there was nothing they could do to stop him.
Back in the Grand Tournament Arena, as the Elder overseeing the match raised his hand, as the final whispers of hesitation faded into silence, as the moment of formality stretched between two figures who had never been equals to begin with—
Xiao Lin exhaled.
Not in exertion.
Not in effort.
But in boredom.
And then, as the match officially began, as Zhao Wei moved, as the final battle before the tournament’s conclusion was set into motion—
The trap was sprung.
And Xiao Lin, standing at the center of it all, only smiled.