Paragon of Sin

"Only three?" Tang Xingyun's brows furrowed slightly. However, before she could express her curiosity and confusion, the surrounding crowd of Chosen began actively discussing. The word 'three' was mentioned ceaselessly, vigilance and greed flashing within their spiritually lit eyes.

Tang Xingyun realized that the golden pillar hid secrets, so she followed suit and circulated her Spiritual Force through her eyes, executing her Ocular Spell. The depths of her pupils ignited with a scarlet, blazing flame as spiritual light was filtered through it, granting her extraordinary visual perception as her sight pierced through the golden pillar.

The blinding radiance of the golden pillar began to dissipate through her eyes as the insides were fully revealed to her. Her eyes widened. There was a single tree within the golden pillar, gargantuan in size. It was sky-piercing, reaching tens of thousands of meters into the sky, towering over all creation, with a thickness comparable to a small city!

It was an apple tree!

The tree was utterly breathtaking to behold, soul-stirring and mind-inspiring, with tens of thousands of green, lustrous leaves tens of meters in length with the thickness of several grown men. While it was cluttered with lustrous leaves and numerous healthy branches, the vibrantly lively tree was nearly barren of fruit despite it seeming to be able to give birth to an untold amount.

Tang Xingyun's sight was immediately attracted by golden rays of light that shone in three different, incredibly far apart areas of the tree. The rays were blinding, nearly resembling a miniaturized solar star. Her flaming pupils intensified as she peered into the depths of the radiance.

"Apples!"

Scattered in the tree were three apples; they were as if cast from pure gold, almost metallic in the sheen of their skin, and exuded a solar-like radiance that was glaringly bright. Despite their shockingly normal sizes, comparable to standard apples, they exuded scintillating rays of solar light that easily stood out among the verdant green leaves.

Tang Xingyun now understood why others were constantly mentioning three! There were only three! Three apples! More importantly, she found the origin of their greed and vigilance.

Na Xinyi's eyes calmly observed the pillar and the tree within, "Those golden apples are Astralis Sacred Fruits." Her words caused Tang Xingyun to gasp, sucking in a breath of cold air.

utter lack of 'natural' Solar Stars led to the Wu Clan gathering the eighteen stellar regions' Solar Stars to forge their Supermassive Solar Star, leaving the seventeen other Stellar regions' starless-leaving them dark.

During the War of Fallen Stars, the usage of 'natural' Solar Stars was being experimented to their limits, and this greatly assisted cultivators of that time in breaking into the Mystic Ascendant Realms, shattering their Mortal Limits. The Astralis Sacred Fruit was one of those experiments, a man-made product created by using densely compressed and crushed Solar Star Cores as fertilizer.

While the more commonly known Astralis Fruit existed, the single word difference had the same impact as a 'natural1 and 'artificial' Solar Star!

In the current era, as 'natural' Solar Stars have become endangered entities in the eighteen regions, the Astralis Sacred Fruit was considered extinct.

Instantly, Tang Xingyun felt her Astral Soul heat up and throb intensely; her eyes leaked out a green shade of ravenous greed, want, and hunger. While she wasn't salivating to the point of looking unseemly, there were several hundred Chosen in sight that were!

Na Xinyi, however, was entirely unaffected. She wasn't the only one. The tens of thousands of figures that had recently emerged were all looking at the Astralis Sacred Fruit with absolutely no passion or desire.

In fact, some even had rampant disdain and contempt in their eyes. No longer suppressed by the rules of order that were established and firmly upheld, some of the Ascendants no longer felt the urge to hold back. It was hard not to feel their emotions, given that they enjoyed Echoing Stars of the Vastness Pills far too often.

Tang Xingyun reined in her emotions as she glanced at Na Xinyi's serene expression. She couldn't help but say as she stifled the urge to gulp a wad of desirous saliva, "It's said that a single Astralis Sacred Fruit is comparable to a peak-quality Echoing Stars of the Vastness Pill!" While she tried to hold in her feverish excitement, her tone made her emotions far too obvious.

"I know," Na Xinyi indifferently replied. Suddenly, she felt an aura fluctuate to her right. When she looked that way, she discovered a familiar figure. She recalled her period in the Myriad Monarch Sect and instantly knew that this cultivator was a member of the Ascendants. Her eyes finally exuded a faint wisp of spiritual light, inspecting that cultivator.

They instantly noticed her probing, turning to her in a blitzing instant. The Ascendant in question was a little peeved that someone was inspecting them, about to counterattack and teach them an unforgettable, crippling lesson, but when they saw that it was Na Xinyi, they frowned slightly and turned away, completely ignoring her as if she didn't exist.

Na Xinyi didn't find this strange and stopped probing, thinking to herself: "So he succeeded in his attempt after all. He actually leveraged this world's unique strength for all of them." She could still remember Wei Wuyin's talks about using the Chosen King Competition to temper the Ascendants. He had asked her if she wanted to undergo his experiment, which would be a more controlled environment, and she had agreed instantly.

Wei Wuyin hadn't been able to do the same to all the Ascendants in the outside world without risking certain dangers, but the Valkyries and Prime Ascendants were his 'test subjects' and experienced a very similar tempering. When she recalled her own experiences during the tempering process and the results it yielded, she smiled.

"At least that'll make it a lot more interesting," she softly said as her fighting spirit blazed within her soul. Alongside this blazing spirit was a wisp of pride and admiration. Wasn't her fiancé always seeking to do grander and grander things? This only inspired her to try to do more.

"What?" Tang Xingyun couldn't understand Na Xinyi's words.

Na Xinyi smiled at her, "Nothing. So, will you compete for it?" She naturally changed the subject. Considering the quality of fruit and the objective of the Ascendants, it was unlikely they'll be taking action here. That said, unlikely didn't mean it wouldn't happen.

"Compete?" Tang Xingyun clenched her fists as her eyes stared at the three fruits with desire. She wanted to compete! Of course! But there were only three, and there were hundreds of thousands of Chosen all eyeing these fruits, likely realizing their origins.

The fight would likely be bloody.

This was befitting a grade-five fortune zone!

"The leaves are valuable, too," Na Xinyi pointed out. Tang Xingyun was taken aback. She inspected the leaves, sensing wisps of Astralis Essence circulating within the veins.

Considering there were numerous leaves, these were treasures too.

Suddenly, tens of thousands of Ascendants all felt a mental transmission into their Seas of Consciousness, discreet and unseen, and their eyes all gleamed intensely. Few of them sought to compete for such pitiful treasures, but the message was able to instantly perk their senses.

Hong Chunhua was observing the golden pillar, her eyes entirely indifferent and lacking passion as she received the transmission. Her eyes brightened. It was His Majesty's voice!

"Occupy a single Astralis Leaf-all those standing atop an intact, connected leaf by the end of the Everworld Venture will receive ONE Merit of Ascension!" Hong Chunhua's heart rapidly raced race alongside tens of thousands of Ascendants.

Merits of Ascension were very similar to Imperial Merits of the Myriad Monarch Sect, a system by which to reward outstanding feats of achievements. But they were exceedingly difficult to obtain. Wei Wuyin was an existence that typically demanded a bare minimum, and while that was exceptionally great, it allowed the Ascendants to maintain their standard set of resources.

They would all obtain an equal amount! Regardless of position! But! Merits of Ascension were similar to a favor of the Ascendant Emperor, and they could demand any type of resource that fitted their cultivation bases, exceeding the 'standard' given products and granting them an advantage over others.

While the Ascendants were an organization that demanded unity, the way of competition remained as each month, year, and decade required a standard of strength, cultivation base, and minimum achievements to be met before being relegated to parts of Ascendants that weren't the Legions. This happened to many Ascendants over the decades, being filtered out as unsuitable to be Wei Wuyin's sword and shield. While Wei Wuyin provided products, his standards were indescribably high, and he often urged competition and a sense of pressure.

Only a Merit of Ascension, granted due to an outstanding achievement or feat, could allow Ascendants a chance to obtain 'additional' resources beyond the 'assigned' amount. That being said, the fair 'assigned' amount would shake the foundations of most Chosen's True Souls, and while Ascendants could 'earn' their own resources and materials through their allocated free time, anyone knew that Wei Wuyin's products made the pinnacle market resources seem like dirty bathwater.

Hong Chunhua's eyes focused intently on the tree. No longer were her eyes lacking passion or desire, flooded by these heated emotions. She wasn't the only one! Like sharks eyeing bloodied prey, the Ascendants exuded fierce killing intent and competitive will.

The message didn't end as the second part came through: "Any usage of lethal or crippling force toward other cultivators or the tree itself will result in a Demerit of Calamity."

"..." Like a cold splash of water to a raging flame, the Ascendants' heated emotions were doused. They couldn't help but rein in their killing intent. Just the three words-Demerit of Calamity-caused their intent to slaughter everyone in their way to dissipate, but not the will to compete!

Hong Chunhua chuckled. If Wei Wuyin hadn't said anything, the Ascendants would've likely destroyed the entire tree in milliseconds. With their heads cooled down, the Ascendants began to plan and target their respective leaves, coming up with various plans of action.

Na Xinyi, the other Valkyries, Prime Ascendants, and those Ascendants that decided to act on behalf of their sects, either as Chosen or Dark Chosen, such as Yi Yun and a few other Blessed, did not receive the message. For those like Yi Yun, they wanted to assist their sect members during the stage, so Wei Wuyin didn't stop them from doing so.

Na Xinyi frowned slightly as she felt the air grow tense. Tang Xingyun suddenly felt cold sweat on her palms and back as a wave of discomfort surged in her heart. Looking at the Ascendants in her view, she felt their auras all change.

Noticing this, she looked at Tang Xingyun. "The last segment of the Everworld Venture is this grade five fortune zone; It'll end after all three fruits are either taken or the timer reaches its end."

00 Days : 23 Hours : 52 Minutes : 09 Seconds.

"I think I'll just watch," Tang Xingyun decided in her heart. Despite her desire to obtain a fruit or leaf, she felt that fighting for either was going to end up as a calamity. "What about you?"

"I'll take a fruit," Na Xinyi said flatly. It was as if it was already predetermined. She wasn't here to watch and observe but to be known, remembered, feared, and respected. How could she not enter this competition? Even if the rewards were utterly trash, how could she not?

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"It's starting," Tian Yinwu and Tian Jianghan saw as the golden pillar began to dissipate from the sky. The last stage was beginning!