As seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, and eventually, months passed, the Everpath Voyage inched closer to its end. The walls of bitterness that had long been nightmarish obstacles of the Chosen from the Sealed Regions were conquered in an unexpectedly expected fashion as talents of the new era showcased their might and accumulated talent over the last few decades.
When the White Path was completed, the uproar was ravenous and unrelenting as Na Xinyi, the Extreme Yin Saintess, took center stage. Closely behind was the other Saintesses of notable reputation, with Wu Baozhai, the Eternal Monarch Saintess, being linked heavily to the Grand Knight of Neo-Dawn, many assumed she was a direct descendant, and Wei Wuyin's only officially announced concubine, the Dragonborn Saintess, Xue Yifei.
The Neo-Dawn Starfield's residents took the spotlight almost immediately as Ascendants swept through. While many were thoroughly exhausted and panting harshly as they left the White Path, not a single one faced defeat. Not even the Realmlords, instantly stunning the crowd.
While the scaling wasn't exact since no one had challenged the Indigo Path, Violet Path, or White Path, it was heavily rumored that the strength needed was firmly within the Soul of Mysticism Phase! A genuine Ascended being's level!
This, of course, was a fierce over-exaggeration. A wall that only retaliated in a limited fashion while a cultivator took an active position, capable of gathering power without time limits, led to extremely lopsided beliefs of required power. Moreover, individuals such as Na Xinyi or Wu Bzoahi, the former that used the profound principles of Yin-Yang Augmentation and Dissipation, and the latter which used the omni-suppressive effects of the Imperial Heaven Aura, certainly had a greater advantage with breaching these stationary walls.
Sam Luoyang quietly and attentively observed all this as San Yongli intermixed herself skillfully with the third batch of White Path conquerors. Included in this patch were members such as Yue Songli's disciple, Ma Luling, and even Yi Yun had subtly made it through.
"The White Path is only at the strength of a pinnacle Mystic Star Phase cultivator," San Luoyang softly muttered thoughtfully. This might seem terrifying at first thought, but the Mystic Star Phase could be resisted by exceptional Starlords throughout history, a large contributor of why they were considered 'false' Ascended beings, while the Soul of Mysticism Phase was the true abyss-like gap of strength and means.
Only those who were Ascended beings would truly understand this concept. After all, only the Soul of Mysticisms could begin to showcase the mystifying powers of Mystic Runes with genuine Mystic Power alongside their Mystic Soul, not like 'Mystic Force', a mixture of Starforce and Mystic Energy that Mystic Star Phase cultivators used.
Despite his words, the feat of conquering the White Path was astonishing for mere mortals to accomplish. Not a single one of those who passed was ordinary. Additionally, this all but confirmed that the new era was here and there was no stopping it.
"Those Ascendants make up the majority of those who've made it..." San Luoyang noted as he felt the strength of Wei Wuyin's nurturing. Not a single Ascendant failed; the very fact sent shivers down his spine. Fortunately, they weren't the only ones to have succeeded. There were roughly three hundred other Chosen that made it past the White Path, an astonishing number to say the least. Most of these Chosen were from top-tier mystic forces, especially those who've either submitted to Wei Wuyin or have an alliance with him, such as the Golden Life Pavilion.
"Not a single Imperial Prince failed, an expected outcome." San Luoyang's eyes glinted as he kept observing the junior conquerors of the Everpath Voyage from his segregated spatial chamber. In the nine seas of bitterness, their struggle finally ended as they traversed and tackled each obstacle with a brave heart and a stronger fist.
San Luoyang couldn't help but become somewhat emotional. While he had never challenged the Everpath Voyage himself, he had seen the unbearably terrifying scars it left in rising geniuses as they realized they simply weren't good enough. A few could take their failure as success, becoming renowned like Empress Xiaocheng, while others tripped and fell, no longer capable of lifting their heads and falling into obscurity, forgotten in the waves of time.
Most of them never made it to the Mystic Ascendant Realm, having long passed to the next life.
However, a few of these figures had descendants here and now. These descendants lived in an era where they could fulfill their ancestors' lingering regrets. How could he not become emotional?
He waved his hand. On his projected screen, two individuals, a man and a woman, who were sitting together in exhaustion after completing the White Path, were shown.
"Long Gua..." As if reminiscing of a far-off past, a nostalgic light flashed across eyes carrying unspoken emotions. When he saw the beautiful Zhu Dandan by his side, San Luoyang had a gratifying smile on his face.
In the Docking Stage, Long Gua laid flat on his back, his chest heaving up and down as his aura was turbulent and frail. "Ga...wh-what a difficult wall!" He complained breathily, coughing between his words.
Zhu Dandan was seated cross-legged, her eyes closed, an indifferent expression on her pale as a ghost face. She seemed calm and serene but her fluctuating aura and fluttering eyelashes revealed the truth-she was exhausted to the limit.
The pair was part of the second batch of conquerors. They had lagged behind the Ascendants for the Blue Path, Indigo Path, and a majority of the Violet Path, essentially riding the waves of their forceful push. Unfortunately, during the latter half of the Violet Path, they had to fight to escape. In the same vein, fortunately, there were others like them, so they defeated some of the opportunistic rats that tailed behind the cheese-dropping Ascendants, gathering Marks of Bitterness to easily pass walls without much loss.
After the Violet Path, they had to use solely their powers to tackle the White Path. They acted together, breaching each wall after finding the other. It was fortunate that they hadn't expended a majority of their powers in the lesser walls, wasting time recovering, or they never would've made it.
This was true for countless others too.
The Ascendants contributed heavily to their success by allowing them to conserve their precious energy. As top-tier Chosen, each iota of their astral force or starforce was extremely difficult to refine but easy to lose, and they had to rely on high-level Spiritual Arts to breach each wall, a truly exhausting path.
The last wall was extremely difficult too. Even some of the Ascendants struggled for a bit.
Long Gua looked to the side to see a crowd of Chosen gathered around Xue Yifei, talking cheerfully and praising her endlessly. Seeing her beautiful countenance that could shake gods and ghosts alike, Long Gua softly sighed.
As if reading these thoughts, Zhu Dandan's eyes opened slightly and observed him. There was a glint in her eyes, dangerous and chilling.
Long Gua, however, didn't have the energy to even spare to notice her reaction. He kept looking, mustering honesty and sincerity in his heart, "Sometimes, I wish I was a woman. Beautiful like you. Then I could obtain all the good things in life without any struggle."
"..." Zhu Dandan. Her eyes lost their glint, glancing at Xue Yifei, and then closing them slowly as her heart raced slightly. While Long Gua was being silly, he had inadvertently placed her on the same level as Xue Yifei in his mind. A lot of her insecurities faded unknowingly.
"But!" Long Gua's torso shot up into an upright position, stretching his upper arms with a pout, "I'm not stupid enough to think that being beautiful is all you need to live a good life. Whether it's you, Xue Yifei, Na Xinyi, or Ma Luling, all of you have worked hard in your own way to reach your level, likely overcoming all sorts of difficulties and obstacles. Having a reliable man is only a safety net and reinforcement for a good life, not the key to success for one. The same could be said for a reliable woman."
"..." Zhu Dandan. It was moments like these that reminded her why- Wait.
"So you admit you're stupid?" Zhu Dandan couldn't resist asking with a hint of an odd smile.
Long Gua's expression changed, realizing his mistake. Rubbing his nose awkwardly, he coughed out a breath of turbid air, and proudly said: "The only stupid I am is stupidly in love, you know?"
"...Nice recovery." Zhu Dandan gave a thumbs up, but she could barely contain the amused smile that tried to manifest at the edge of her lips.
San Luoyang watched this exchange as he couldn't help but think about Long Gua's ancestor. They were so much alike. It was uncanny. He felt satisfied that San Yongli had approached them earlier, showing that she was finally taking the path of a ruler, a true player on the wide endless board of cultivation.
As the eighty-one days came to an end, the results of this Everpath Voyage vastly surpassed any before it! Thousands of Chosen, mostly Ascendants, had surpassed the White Path! They've completed the Second Stage of the Chosen King Competition!
"It's finally time," San Luoyang said solemnly. In all these years, not a single Chosen from the Sealed Regions was capable of completing the second stage and reaching the third and final stage of the Chosen King Competition: "Let the Evercrown Challenge Begin!" With the Ever-Key in his right hand, he began to send copious amounts of mystic power into it, slowly causing it to thrum vigorously with pulsating sounds. He felt a feeling of pride swell within him unknowingly.
Finally, the Chosen of their world was going to face the true Chosen! Those from beyond!
