Paragon of Sin

"Huu!" A series of cold gasps simultaneously took place, occurring all over the vast lands of the Evercrown Ceremony.

"My heavens..." Words of extreme disbelief and palpable shock resounded alongside the shifting of gazes, spiritual senses, and focus leading to the gaping, distorted hole of chaos. It had been punctured abruptly, unleashing forceful suction that sent countless into a panic as they hurriedly and frightfully moved away.

The hole was tens of miles large, fully visible for every location in the vast lands as it seemed to exceed the sky itself, going for a visibly unconfirmed degree of distance. As cultivators flew into the air in a frenzied panic or curious amazement, the cold gasps became unimaginably deep inhales of incredulity.

For thousands upon thousands upon thousands of miles, a half-circular ditch streaked across numerous regions, leaving behind chasms of collapsed terrain. The truly frightening thing about it was that the edges of this chasm weren't ripped apart or dug out, it seemed as if the dirt, sand, grass, trees, and waters had willingly dissipated entirely most naturally and completely.

In a way, it felt as if the world itself had self-inflicted a wound willingly. As for those in the path of this chasm-like ditch of a strange valley, they had shockingly been unharmed. They had once stood on solid earth, rode sea-fairing ships forged from mystic-graded materials, or traversed the vast sandy terrain leaving footprints, but now they found themselves hovering using their mystic power, standing on platforms of solidified mana, or being uplifted by mana for flight. Beneath them was a chasm that reached the depths of a mile or two yet felt utterly dark as if light energies itself had left in a similar manner as the sands, grass, and waters that were once there.

San Luoyang had an extremely ashen pale countenance as he observed all this using the Ever-Key's unique functions. While he could no longer directly impact the Chosen King Competition, he was still a designated Overseer, much like Wang Yutian had been for the Everclash. With this lingering authority, he could observe the events from a distance.

The Tri-Vision Alchemic Saint found himself laboriously panting as his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, leaning forward as disbelief ravaged his mind. The protections of the Evercrown Ceremony's realm had been breached! PIERCED!

The walls all around him began to crack with an uncountable number of spider web-like fractures, seemingly about to shatter!

The chaos that had been sundered into the realm and revealed was not simple. The hole's sanction force kept growing stronger at a pace that most Ascended beings couldn't react to, the hole itself was on the verge of shattering and growing larger like a weak point in glass. If it expanded, forget the Evercrown Ceremony, every last Chosen would be sucked into chaotic space and the realm would be overturned in an instant!

"What?!" The once-androgynous voice of the Overseer of the Evercrown Ceremony reverberated throughout the world as it revealed a wisp of feminine tone suffused with indescribable astonishment. They seemed to be reacting at great speeds as lingering rays of light cascaded from beyond the starless sky, trying to touch the edges of the near-expanding hole.

It didn't work.

They resorted to a different method as power roared upwards from the land itself, funneling into the hole of rupturing chaos. It seemed to be trying to create a temporary seal to prevent the suction force from growing stronger or the hole from shattering. Perhaps both.

Unfortunately... ...it didn't work!

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" The Overseer exclaimed as additional power was funneled into both methods. To the Overseer's woe, a strange power prevented their repeated attempts at solving the issue, bringing no small amount of shock-induced frustration. Was the Chosen King Competition going to come to an end in their hands?! How did a MORTAL CAUSE THIS?!

Despite taking a long time to describe, this event lasted for a fraction of a second. It was shorter than a tenth of a blink of an Ascended's eye.

Finally, within a cubical container, a silver-eyed young mortal pressed his palms lightly against the earth. A wave of Draconic Void Force, Alpha Origin Force, Omega Saber Force, and Alchemic Eden Force pulsed into the earth.

The first to act was the Omega Saber Force, annihilating the lingering power that hindered recovery and repairs emitting from Yao Houyi's arrow; the second to act was the Alpha Origin Force as it imbued itself into the long stretching chasm that went and went, swiftly causing it to return to normalcy; the third to act was the Draconic Void Force, properly sealing up the hole on the verge of total collapse; lastly to act was Alchemic Eden Force as it properly regulated all three forces and assisted where needed.

Within another tenth of a blink of an Ascended's eye, the crisis had been solved. The Overseer watched, utterly baffled, as the situation seemingly resolved itself through strange mortal-level power with faint traces of mysticism.

"...Mortals?"

San Luoyang's pants had grown more rapid and heavy. He was incredibly startled by the rapid resolution of the crisis. Was the Overseer from the World Beyond so capable? For a split second, he felt a little useless, because he didn't think he could resolve a breach of Chaotic Space so easily. At the very least, it was dealt with and he was safe.

The walls of his secret realm that were fracturing due to the hole started to heal rapidly, returning to normal, and slightly stronger than before. This allowed him to breathe easily now. The deadly crisis he felt passed over.

While all this went down, the cause of this near-calamity was entirely unconcerned as he faced down a great foe, using his starforce to swiftly disintegrate the invasively corrosive and infectious demonic power that tried seeping into his body and spirit. Yao Houyi's bow-pulling fingers were bleeding as well, and he couldn't stop it.

He looked at his opponent.

Xue Yifei's entire body had undergone an incredible metamorphosis as she invoked the Martial Art: Demonic Dragon Armor, a derivative of the True Dragon Armor of the True Dragon Transmutation Method! Her skin glistened with diamond-shaped scales, unlike Wei Wuyin's hexagonal scales, they beautifully melded with her slender and exceptional physique, accentuating her curves as her muscles and body grew slimmer, more compact, containing the might of dragons!

Just like in Wei Wuyin's early days, her face wasn't fully covered, only having scales on her neck, her chin, leading to her forehead from the sides behind her ears, yet her face was slightly different, more bestial in structure, yet it did little to blemish her outstanding looks as she radiated a bestial charm. Her pupils were like a dragon's, diamond and sharp, while her irises were deeply violet with white and black wisps dancing profoundly within. The greatest difference was her forehead, which was now adorned with a single slightly curved horn of white and black lines that pointed toward the sky, shining with sanguine runes.

If Wu Yu or Zuhei were here, he would recognize those sanguine runes as Bloodforge Runes! The hue of the air around her was faintly reddish, exuding a raw, violent aura.

She lifted her head and unleashed a thunderous, vigorously, heart-pounding roar!

DEMONIC DRAGON'S SPIRITUAL ROAR!!

The entire realm shook!!!

Yao Houyi's headband that acted as a blindfold trembled, the runes atop it brightened with a distinct radiance as a faint violet encroached on their edge. However, he lightly swiped across his blindfold and dispersed the violet infectious power. The powers of the demon were terrifying to experience, and a single drop of sweat formed on his forehead.

If it was anyone else, they wouldn't be able to affect him with such a great distance between them. He now realized why she had that dragon with her, summoning it between them at first glance, and what her build-up of power was about. He thought for a brief moment and decided to end this. A battle of attrition or wearing down his opponent with long-distance arrows was an ineffective way to approach Xue Yifei.

Yao Houyi's decision was the absolute smartest tactic one could take against a demon, but when it came to Xue Yifei...

Yao Houyi reached into his left-sided empty quiver. When he did, a faint ripple occurred as he grabbed onto an arrow's shaft that seemingly manifested from nothingness. This aura exuded a worldly power that caused the fabric of the three spatial dimensions to quake. When it was fully pulled out, the various forces of the world gathered instantly.

Within a single blink of an Ascended's eye, for tens of thousands of miles, every ounce of energy, essence, and mana was siphoned and imbued into the arrow. Fortunately, the foundation of the realm was guarded by the efforts of a silver-eyed observer. The arrow was no longer invisible or intangible as it became white, exuding a purity of power that surpassed Mortal Limits a thousand times over.

When the arrow's back kissed the translucent string of his nigh-invisible bow, the bow itself was infused with its color and aura, manifesting from the intangible to the tangible, from insubstantial to possessing substance. Yao Houyi breathed out lightly as his still-bleeding fingers pulled back.

Xue Yifei was not a person who would simply watch as her opponent gathered up their strength and attacked her freely at a range. She didn't speak a single word, violently stomping her feet on the surface of the ground, and a hundred-mile-deep chasm formed beneath her feet, reaching depths that could reach spatial chaos, the damage no less than Yao Houyi's arrow, perhaps even greater! She used that gathered momentum, the counterforce from her kick, to blast through the air.

Ernu roared!

However, it was as if this grand, extremely young Genesis Beast with a power that could rival the pinnacle of Demi-Mortal Lords was moving in slow motion as Xue Yifei soared past her, with blindingly fast speeds that were imperceptible to the vast majority of the world's occupants!

The Dragonborn Saintess was not using any movement arts or some profound quasi-Ascension Art, but simply a feat achieved through pure strength and raw speed!

The Overseer was one of the few who could even follow, and they gaspingly exclaimed in such a way that the participants of the Chosen King Competition could all hear it!

Yao Houyi, however, gently pulled his string at speeds that rivaled Xue Yifei. While it seemed gentle, while it seemed slow, it was absurdly fast. He calmly breathed in. The space beneath his feet shifted as he was carried twenty-two thousand miles back, entering a sea region as if he were an arrow in mid-flight, piercing through space itself.

He pulled the string back 30% of the way.

BOOSH!!!

Xue Yifei kicked the air, forming a platform of mana beneath her feet the moment signs of spatial movement were revealed, and blasted off a second time. This time her kick wasn't reduced by the ground so the shockwave scattered for hundreds of thousands of miles, creating a tempest of storms and world-destroying waves! A dragon's might was simply capable of collapsing worlds!

The Overseer panicked again as the shockwaves that were spreading were about to reach other contestants. Given its strength, perhaps all the Soul of Mysticism Phase experts would explode from the impact alone!

They tried to hamper the shockwaves, but alas, they found that their hands glowed with the color of violet and a demonic aura, hindering their ability to control the various formations' innate powers! With a roar carrying great frustration, they redoubled their efforts.

Shockingly, the light from everywhere shone a little brighter, exuding a faint sharpness, and the shockwaves harmlessly dissipated before they could reach anyone as if obliterated. Lives were saved yet the ones at risk had no idea of the closeness they had to earning a free trip to Hell.

Yao Houyi had pulled a full 50% by this point.

Xue Yifei's eyes glowed with a dangerous light as the roar from Ernu finally resounded. Despite Yao Huoyi's far distance, he felt an impact on his Spirit once again, feeling his cultivation base shake. He hurriedly dispelled the effects as he realized that Xue Yifei was already a few hundred miles from him. With that distance, he didn't have time to pull back again.

He also wasn't stupid to waste time trying to skirt away a third time. The archer could sense that the three dimensions of space had been deeply affected by a demonic will, and trying to manipulate it was a trap laid beautifully by Xue Yifei. If he wasn't Yao Houyi, if it was Shui Fengbao, there was no way they would notice the faint demonic infecting of space, likely being caught as they tried beating a hasty retreat for distance.

Instead, he simply aimed.

Then, release!

WHOOSH!!

Xue Yifei's eyes kept exuding that dangerous light, and while the arrow was threatening to end her life, she didn't dodge. She moved slightly, allowing the arrow to pierce through her!

A gush of sanguine-violet blood gushed from her back. A hole that erupted almost all her internal organs from her lower neck to the lower torso, producing a gaping hole that was utterly gruesome, almost sufficient to instantly cause death. The sight even caused Yao Houyi to be taken aback.

Unfortunately for the archer, Xue Yifei's heart was untouched as if it existed in a different spatial dimension, far greater than stable, fixed, or chaotic.

"Void!" Yao Houyi thought as his headband faintly glowed with spiritual radiance.

She shifted her heart to the void at the last moment! When it reappeared, her injuries healed at an utterly mind-blowing pace. An endless amount of lifeforce erupted from her! But by this point, she had already reached Yao Houyi as he couldn't imagine she would power through his World-Gathering Arrow! A scaly hand reached for his throat and clasped around it forcefully.

"Gurg!" A throaty, suppressed sound left his lips as Xue Yifei lifted the middle-aged archer and slammed towards the sea, causing waves to instantly erupt for tens of thousands of miles. The titanic strength of a dragon was ungodly!

The archer was then held aloft by the throat. The dangerous light in Xue Yifei flickered endlessly as she eyed the captured Yao Houyi. Already, the veins and arteries of Yao Houyi were turning purplish, exuding a demonic force that tainted his blood and body.

The archer suddenly tossed a piece of metal into the air. Xue Yifei gazed at Yao Houyi, not even looking at the piece of metal.

"Xue Yifei wins." A majestic voice declared as if acting as a referee.

Then, and only then, did Xue Yifei release her draconic grip. Barely holding back her elated smile as she claimed the fragment with her hands. The exhaustion from the explosive usage of almost all her energies was powered through as she flew away, leaving the archer unsteadily using mana to platform himself above the dispersed sea.

A sigh left his lips.

Then, he merged with the environment, vanishing from any predatory eyes.

On a mountain peak, San Yongli was observing the entire battle and her heart was pounding fiercely.

In the Everlore Starfield, there was a saying from Divine King Han Xei had coined the last three stages of the Qi Condensation Realm with titles, likely with mocking, as Mortal Gods, Mortal Godlords, and Mortal Godkings. She, like countless others, felt that calling mortals gods of any kind was hilarious and amusing.

But as she just watched this fight between two mortals on this grand stage, she finally knew that while the origin of those titles was born from a mocking emotion, there truly existed...Mortal Gods...and Mortal Goddesses.

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Erdiul's Note: Dang, that was dope.