Most of the 73rd Wall was GONE! A large portion of the 73rd Wall of the Indigo Path of Bitterness was missing! The lower half was fragmented and cracked unevenly, clearly showing that it was shattered at multiple points almost simultaneously.
"Isn't this going a little too far?" Lin Ziyan asked softly, her eyes wide as she saw the utter devastation that was wrought by the Ascendants.
BOOM! BAM! BOOSH! CRACK! SHATTER!!
Up ahead, the two women saw thousands of colorful, dazzling lights smash forward. The collapsed walls granted full view to the next.
"They're destabilizing the path," Na Xinyi was initially taken aback, but she calmed down fairly quickly as she noticed that the exuded pressure was quivering slightly as a large portion of the formation's power was being redirected. Suddenly, she felt a subtle, nigh-unnoticeable movement in the space a few miles away.
She looked over, her eyes richly shining with yin light, only to see two silhouettes of men. They were Shui Fengbao and Yao Houyi. The latter turned his head to her, feeling her gaze, clearly a little surprised that she noticed them. He didn't bother with that, however, and they flitted away into the devastated ruins of the walls.
Na Xinyi thought for a moment, an image of a valiant young woman with black hair and unfathomably pure black eyes emerged in her mind. She couldn't help but wonder where the other Prime Ascendants were, especially her. "Let's go," Na Xinyi took Lin Ziyan by the hand, soaring through the openings. They entered the 75th Wall; the Wall's strength would cause hindrance to any Exalted.
"Why are they doing this?" Lin Ziyan asked as she realized the Ascendants up ahead were bulldozing forward with unstoppable momentum.
"It's a statement," Na Xinyi calmly replied. After saying that, she tried to increase the sensory range of Lin Ziyan's body, but could only find that the person that had been spying on them was nearby yet far. They were trailing behind the Ascendants.
"Statement?" Lin Ziyan was baffled. What type of statement were the Ascendants trying to make by destroying everything together?
"The standards that the King of Everlore set for Chosen...isn't sufficient. They want the entire world to know." Using her free hand, she pointed behind them. Lin Ziyan turned to see numerous Chosen with awe and disbelief.
"It's the final curtain of the past era. They're openly stating...that the Era of Neo-Dawn has officially begun. The older generation is already surpassed by Wei Wuyin's forces, such as the Armored Saint and Grand Knight while the younger generation is dominated by his Ascendants. As for the King of Everlore? The legend's work can no longer hold up to Wei Wuyin." Na Xinyi's words were strongly said. As if by some mysterious power, even the air and mana she glided upon stirred.
"Does that mean...?" Lin Ziyan wasn't slow or a fool, so she grasped the hidden meaning behind Na Xinyi's words.
"Yeah-he intends to end it here," Na Xinyi said with a faint smile. However, her fighting spirits were blazing. She refused to be a mere bystander to their unstoppable rise, and she fully intended to mark her path, making herself an unforgettably revered existence.
Lin Ziyan couldn't help but feel her impression of Wei Wuyin rising uncontrollably, and considering that it was already so high, this was a difficult yet astonishing occurrence. Actually, in her mind, Wei Wuyin was already her husband as fate had determined long ago on the Myriad Yore Continent, so her excitement was pushing to an all-time high.
The explosions up ahead grew increasingly intense. All sorts of Spiritual Arts, Martial Arts, and Spells began to fly. The air swirled chaotically and the mana violently trembled.
Na Xinyi frowned. "I can't sense anything anymore," she stated softly. The chaos being produced had weakened the strength of her ability to find the one who spied on Lin Ziyan. Frustrated, she blitzed through the walls, bringing a shocked Lin Ziyan along.
The majority of the Ascendants were currently beating on the 79th Wall. It was near total collapse. Na Xinyi saw the excited look on the Ascendants' faces as they unleashed attack after attack. They were trying to dig away at the defenses of the wall. Some of them noticed Na Xinyi with Lin Ziyan in tow. Their eyes glinted.
"At least they aren't cheating," Na Xinyi commented as the Ascendants were destroying specific locations of the wall and weren't trying to breach through the hard work of others. This explained why the entire wall was riddled with holes or utterly devastated at certain parts. Some Ascendants had gaping holes made from those like Xue Yifei and Wu Baozhai right beside them, yet they refused to enter. Instead, they grew frenzied as they blasted their way through using their own power and flashed forward to the 78th Wall.
"Is it true that Wei Wuyin told the Ascendants that the Realmlords had to reach the 90th Wall, Timelords had to reach the 95th Wall, and Starlords needed to reach the last Wall?" Lin Ziyan had heard this from Wu Baozhai earlier. Seeing how a few were struggling with the 79th Wall, this seemed to be a tall order.
"Likely," Na Xinyi replied. She was unconcerned with those lagging behind. They hadn't brought out their full power. Moreover, the ones struggling were the least competitive of the bunch. There were a few Realmlords, Timelords, and Starlords at the 78th Wall, but it was extremely easy to see that they were simply taking it slow.
This was especially so for the Starlords. The Ascendants were a gathering of differing egos and personalities. These few weren't invested in rushing through the walls, but rather using this opportunity to hone their strength, arts, and spells through usage or tempering their powers through the strange atmospheric restraint between walls.
Despite saying that they were going 'slow', they were blasting through the walls with seconds in between. This speed was outrageously fast!
"Look!" Lin Ziyan pointed toward a group of individuals. There was the Second Commander. They were instructing a bunch of Ascendants of varying levels using gestures and fluctuations of power. Then, they let loose a punch before shattering a portion of the wall. The light in the Ascendants' eyes sparkled intensely as they digested what they had just seen and began to replicate the punch.
Without using a single art, spell, or the unique powers of the various cultivation stages such as Worldly Domains or Star Implosions, they shattered various-sized holes into the wall. They then followed the Second Commander as they charged forth with a proud, amicable smile.
The sight was oddly heart-warming.
"Isn't that High Elder Bo Kay?" Lin Ziyan might be a Valkyrie, but she wasn't very familiar with the rankings of the Ascendants. Bo Kay was the Earthly General, at the time, who introduced Wei Wuyin into the Myriad Monarch Sect.
"Yeah, the Second Commander. He's also a friend of Wei Wuyin," Na Xinyi was extremely familiar with Wei Wuyin's relationships, though she wouldn't openly admit it. They had many secret meetings throughout the decades and she didn't hold back from interrogating him on many fronts. While she would also never admit it, it was hard not to be a little jealous. Wei Wuyin had over a dozen women by his side, all trying to stand out, all of which were astonishing women of unique talents and dispositions.
There was a point of pride, however: Out of all the women she knew, she was the first to be with Wei Wuyin intimately while many had yet to have the pleasure. Thinking about that night, her complexion reddened slightly, granting her an alluring charm that could sway the soil. She still used that memory as premium material for her restless nights.
Her thoughts slowed her movements. By the time she regained herself, some of the Ascendants had already reached the last wall, the 84th Wall. She pouted slightly, speeding forward with Lin Ziyan. Unlike the others, she didn't feel any need to exert herself here, soaring through the opening made by others.
She didn't need to exhaust her power to prove or know that the 72st or 83rd Walls were unable to stop her.
"Ha!" The two women were welcomed by the sight of Baozhai exuding starry light as she stabbed into the wall. The wall fractured like glass, vibrating desperately as if trying to maintain its stability and form. Alas, it was pierced through! Shattering into bits of light!
A bloody wave with wisps of yin and yang smashed into the wall as well. Xue Yifei was lightly slapped forward with a calm expression. The wall was consumed as if devoured by a dragon's jaws.
Both of their attacks could shake Ascended beings to their core! Lin Ziyan was in utter awe as she basked in the radiance of their mighty powers.
The two women simultaneously shattered the wall, vanishing instantly from sight as they breached the 84th Wall. They passed the Indigo Path! In a far-off distance, almost at the same time, a brightly lit radiant sword light shone beautifully, like a horizon experiencing a rising dawn.
"Hong Chunhua," Na Xinyi muttered. It was a little amusing how the men of the Ascendants weren't trying, either casually observing or assisting the younger members, but the women were bulldozing their way forward forcefully. Moreover, they were so flashy that those at the 73rd Wall could sense their auras.
Just as she thought this, her expression changed with realization.
"I can't let them steal all the spotlight," Na Xinyi realized that her passivity was going to be detrimental to her reputation. She needed to be the first to shatter the past era! Do away with the King of Everlore's outdated standards! She moved with frightening speed as she completed the Indigo Path.
Unfortunately, she was unaware that these standards were not set by the King of Everlore, but by the Azure-Prime Galactic Zone! At the very least, it was its standards six thousand years ago!
Soon, the clash of two societies' standards forged by two alchemists of the Sealed Region would begin!
Author's Note: One last chapter and then we move to a brief WW PoV and the last stage of the CKC begins!
