Paragon of Sin

Yao Huoyi's appearance was quite extraordinary. A portion of Yao Houyi's face was concealed by the headband with various runic symbols while garbed in azure robes with a darker grey trim, but what could be seen was his trimmed, graying black beard in a balbo style, mid-length grey hair tied together in a short ponytail and a slender, slightly-taller-than-average stature. Even without his eyes, one could freely tell that he had a mortal dust-like handsomeness that was difficult to describe.

Xue Yifei, on the other hand, was exceedingly stunning; her form-fitting, long-sleeved, decorative cheongsam with dragon embroidery accentuated her already exquisite beauty, bodily figure, and grace. However, she had battle robes draped over her outfit, largely concealing her outstanding figure, further adding a tinge of modesty, valiant, and supremacy air to her. At the back of this robe was none other than the symbol representing the Neo-Dawn Starfield.

The two faced each other. Xue Yifei smiled faintly at the appellation of 'Royal Mistress'. While this was her proper title, most referred to her as 'your Royal Highness', a way of placating her ego and recognizing her potential of being the Queen of the Neo-Dawn Starfield despite her title as a mere Concubine. It was a great compromise of title that wouldn't directly infringe on Wei Wuyin's authority. Fortunately, her steady heart left her unsettled by his words.

The little azure-scaled dragon, however, was deeply dissatisfied with Yao Huoyi's 'disrespectful' attitude. He growled cutely, baring his sharp fangs, trying to seem imposing, yet his size made it very difficult to amass any hint of fear in one's heart at the sight. Of course, what others saw was vastly different from what Yao Huoyi felt.

A wave of draconic pressure bore heavily on his psyche. Unfortunately for the dragon's ego, Yao Huoyi was entirely unaffected, not even a flinch. If his eyes could be seen, there would be an unblinking gaze. Not even a wisp of his aura was out of place.

Xue Yufei lightly patted the little dragon's head. With a reluctant growl and a low snarl, the dragon halted its unseen unleashing of pressure and glared at Yao Huoyi. Xue Yifei knew that Yao Houyi was a Prime Ascendant, so there was no way his psyche could be easily harmed or touched. Moreover, not a single Prime Ascendant was ordinary.

She shifted her gaze toward the fragment held in Yao Huoyi's hand. Xue Yifei was Wei Wuyin's concubine, so she easily recognized the color of the alchemical light being emitted and its origin: The Aspect of Containment!

"Did you want something?" Yao Huoyi flatly asked.

Xue Yifei withheld the urge to smile. "If this was outs-"

"It isn't," Yao Huoyi interrupted. If this was outside, if this wasn't a platform where Wei Wuyin had given free reins to act, this was an exchange that never would've happened. This was especially so for interrupting Xue Yifei mid-speech. In fact, there would only be wholehearted respect and soulful deterrence before His Majesty's lovers, especially his official Concubine, to the absolute utmost, no matter how weak, strong, or dismissive they were.

"You're right. This is the Chosen King Competition. And we're currently equal in status here, so I won't try to bully you with my outside status." Xue Yifei agreed with a gentle nod. While this might be a little frustrating, mostly because she felt a little dread facing this Prime Ascendant in her heart, she wasn't one to simply retreat in the face of great obstacles or fierce competition. Wu Baozhai could attest to that.

Actually, Xue Yifei wasn't the only one who felt a feeling of dread. Yao Huoyi's heart throbbed with the same feeling while facing her! And it wasn't because of her status! When both sides felt similar emotions...

She thought for a moment, her eyes exuding a faint violet light intermixed with a white and black glow. Yao Huoyi's free hand began to lift upwards.

"Wait." Xue Yifei suddenly said as her eyes lost their violet glow, regaining their gorgeously beautiful hazel with blue flecks. "Will this world be destroyed?" Her words were spoken toward the empty air, but it caused even Yao Huoyi's brows to furrow slightly as his hand slowly lowered.

"It won't."

Two words. It was only two simple words strung into an extremely short sentence yet it contained an utterly invincible, incomparably domineering, and reliable will that was impossible to doubt. Even if the world wanted to be destroyed, even if gods, ghosts, or devils sought to bring its end, it was as if it was no longer possible.

Shockingly, Yao Huoyi and Xue Yifei simultaneously heaved internal sighs of relief, their brows easing up as if a series of heavy weights were removed from their hearts all at once. The presence of the Ascendant Emperor of Neo-Dawn was enough to settle any hearts.

That said, the Overseer of the Evercrown Ceremony, who was curiously and closely observing Xue Yifei and Yao Huoyi, was baffled by the origins of that voice. Immediately, it began to unleash a series of profound techniques and spells to locate its source. Unfortunately, it faced only failure. Left frustrated, it could only return to the two.

It was ludicrous for mere mortals to ask if the world might be destroyed as if their fight would bring its collapse. Did they think of themselves as gods? While the Mortals that had appeared recently have been far too abnormal, nothing truly exceeded the limitations of their strength if what they obtained was considered.

For example, that fire-wielding Mortal with an Aura of Law. It was incredibly unlikely for powerful Worldly Saints to possess that type of power, so for them to triumph over those that have only been cultivating for less than five hundred years, this made sense.

Or the Demon-Titan Hybrid that crushed that golden-robed cultivator was also not an unexpected outcome, especially since she seemed to possess several treasures that Heavenly Saints would slaughter each other for, and they were perfectly attuned to her cultivation base, allowing her to bring out far greater degrees of strength than a mere Starlord should be able to.

In fact, most of the Mortals had absurd treasures, and using these treasures and tools, they continuously claimed victory over Ascended beings. There wasn't any means beyond the stretch of its imagination. So it found it quite funny that these two had to ask whether the world may be destroyed by their battle. Well, let's see what gives them such confidence.

Yao Huoyi 'looked' in Xue Yifei's direction. It was as if he was asking if she wanted to ask any other questions before.

Xue Yifei thought for a moment, pondering if there was anything else, seriously considering the matter. After a few seconds, she lightly shook her head, prompting Yao Huoyi to gently nod.

The air became tense and silent.

Sitting upon a tall dirt mound, a bare-footed, silver-haired beastman looked in their direction.

A woman wielding a crescent-bladed halberd was currently cutting off a Celestial Race's Chosen arm with a heavy swing, suppressing them with an eternally rising momentum. Suddenly, she looked in the direction of Xue Yifei and Yao Huoyi.

A grey-eyed woman sat in a mist formed from a yin pond, the mist poured into her mouth as she cultivated. Her eyes opened as she looked in a specific direction.

A violet-skinned Demonic Titan had a young girl on her right shoulder, bringing two others in Alchemist grabs at her side. "Activate your hairpin," the beautiful giantess said. The young girl hurriedly followed her instruction with anticipation in her bright, big eyes, activating her hairpin. "Already?"

Throughout the vast lands of the Evercrown Ceremony, numerous figures suddenly shifted their attention to a single location.

Within a cubical container, Wei Wuyin placed his left palm on the ground, seemingly bypassing the container, directly touching the earthen surface itself.

Sitting behind him, Wen Mingna's closed-eyed expression was slightly apologetic. She had forced an interaction far before its time with her intervention, disrupting the natural order of events. While she was faintly apologetic on the surface, not the slightest wisp of regret or guilt was within her soul. If given the choice again, she wouldn't hesitate to do so. And she knew Wei Wuyin didn't blame her, and that's the only reason why she was apologetic by even the tiniest amount.

Xue Yifei's eyes once again lit with a violet light intermixed with a white and black glow. This glow swirled within her irises, seemingly dancing in opposing unison, as if they represented the fundamentals of Yin-Yang.

Yao Huoyi lifted his hand, shifting his body, allowing his chest and shoulders to relax, and his spine to be upright and stable. Suddenly, he took the position of an Open Stance of Archery, lifting both hands as he seemingly grasped an invisible bow and string at rest.

As he did, the violet light within Xue Yifei's eyes grew increasingly demonic, suffusing the tense air with a corrosive force of the body, mind, spirit, and soul. The little azure dragon in her arms snarled viciously, eyeing Yao Huoyi with great enmity. There was even raw killing intent.

ROAR!!!

The dragon that was only the size of a small house pet, barely larger than a domestic cat, unleashed a roar so terrifying that the entire world shook!

Yao Huoyi's ponytail flapped in the tempestuous windy storm generated by the roar, his stance was entirely unaffected despite the ground, grass, and soil around him being lifted and blasted away. It was as if in this world, nothing could affect his posture.

Slowly, he pulled back the invisible string.

Xue Yifei no longer simply gathered her strength. "GO, Ernu!" She imposingly shouted as the little dragon within her arms leaped forward. As it did, the azure-scaled, one-horned dragon rapidly began to grow in every manner imaginable.

WHOOSH!!!

A gust of draconic presence washed over the entire world several times over! The dragon expanded for miles upon miles.

Yao Huoyi's posture remained calm. He pulled, his body seemingly moving without causing the ground he was on to shift in the slightest, he appeared roughly a thousand miles away, yet if his eyes could be seen, the image of the Dragonborn Saintess would be the only things reflected in his pupils.

The Azure-Scaled Horned Firmament Dragon, stood at over fifty thousand meters in height, towering over the entire world with its gargantuan body! Its eyes were over a thousand meters while its jade claws were as sharp as swords and could be likened to literally mountains! Atop its snot was a silver-curved horn that flashed with violet-colored runic markings! Shockingly, however, it was currently on all fours!

ROAR!WHOOSH!!

Two slender wings that covered the skies stretched with heaven-moving momentum, blocking the starless skies' brilliance, replacing it with a faint glow of its glistening azure scales! If the world wasn't so vast, the Evercrown Ceremony would've been ruined!

The sight of this beast left the hearts of every last cultivator from the World Beyond shaking with indescribable shock!

"A HORNED FIRMAMENT DRAGON?!" A few from the World Beyond immediately recognized its identity. But the greatest question on their minds was: "HOW?!?!"

Yao Huoyi's bow, pulled about forty percent, suddenly trembled as his fingers began to bleed with a tint of violet. A strong corrosive, demonic aura effused from his blood. A faint grimace flashed across his expression, and he let loose the string!

Xue Yifei's eyes brightened as she formed a hand-seal. Ernu used its gigantic claw to swipe at a location with glittering violet light enveloped by a yin-yang glow. It slammed heavily into what seemed like empty space, but a thunderous boom erupted and several dozen scales upon Ernu's claw were shattered instantly.

Then, her attacking claw exploded! A hole blasted itself within her claw as she roared in unrestrained anger. A gory mess of scales and flesh scattered across for miles, but the dragon didn't hesitate to turn its fierce gaze toward Yao Huoyi.

Xue Yifei felt the crisis descend, but she didn't move in the slightest.

WOOOO!

The sound of an arrow piercing space, time, and mana echoed in her ears as her hair fluttered wildly in the wind. Her right cheek had faint lacerations that dripped with blood.

Behind her...

...BOOM!!!

As if the dome of heaven itself was pierced through, the starless sky was punctured in the horizon, opening up a gargantuan hole of chaotic space and distorted energy! An hole of indescribable chaos stretching for tens of miles was now in the sky!

Xue Yifei felt her heart beating wildly.

But she didn't dare to be content, knowing that she had only won a small battle in a great war.

DEMONIC DRAGON ARMOR!