The atmosphere surrounding the Ascendants grew increasingly tense. The words Da Shan had spoken lingered heavily on the heart.
"What's the plan?"
Three words yet the meaning behind them were sprinkled with resolve, unyieldingness, and a bit of helplessness. The time ticked onwards, slowly reaching the final moments of the Evercrown's descent, yet the top-tier Ascendants gathered, all hanging on those three words.
Meanwhile, those such as San Yongli and Yi Yun were waiting for the situation to erupt entirely, hoping to fish in muddied waters for fortune and gold.
Aside from some reckless and ambitious Chosen from the Sealed Regions who hoped to grasp fortune amidst dangers, unaffected by the terrifying display of the Extreme Yin Saintess' mighty power. These were all keen individuals who often exploited loopholes or rules throughout their cultivation, knowing that it wasn't impossible to claim that wish of a Worldly Saint Alchemist and the Ascendant Emperor of Neo-Dawn.
Shockingly enough, it was this very same exploitative thought that led to the Ascendants converging to a single spot, asking that three-word question that hung on all of their minds and pressed against all of their hearts.
"What's the plan?"
"She's too fast," Hong Chunhua was the first to speak out at this moment, her valiant demeanor was soul-stirring, and her fragrant aura was enough to indulge in for centuries, pleasant and enchanting. She was the First Commander of the Ascendants, and she led an entire Legion of fierce warriors known as Ascendants.
"You can't match her?" Bo Kay asked slowly.
Hong Chunhua didn't even need to think for a microsecond, shaking her head. Her answer was so direct that no one doubted her in the slightest. Since the First Commander admitted this, there was no way for it to be untrue!
The expressions on the Ascendants beyond the Valkyrie, Prime Ascendants, and Commanders, underwent visible changes. Those here were top-tier Ascendants. Many of them were of the same generation as Hong Chunhua, originally recruited before the Ascendants had four Legions and a growing fifth. There were even a few Blessed among them, and these Blessed were of the younger variety, matching the older cultivation bases with the additional assistance of that heavenly hand and their unique legacies, methods, or bloodlines.
Even they, however, were somber in mood and pensive in thought.
"If the crown forms, no one can stop her. Our only goal is to-"
Bei Weiwei said. Her tone lacked that heaviness, even carrying a wisp of warmth as if speaking of a godmother, but her words still carried ambition. She wanted the Evercrown. She wanted that wish. Just like the others.
An Biru joined in, holding her younger sister's hand, "-take her out before it forms. Or-"
An Feijin finished her sentence naturally, "-she'll take it without any doubt."
They all nodded in their hearts, their eyes glinting with the light of agreement. Unlike the Chosen King Competition, the condition here wasn't to refine the Evercrown. No. The exact words of His Majesty were: "There is ONLY a single condition: When the crown fully forms, the first participant who comes into direct contact with it will claim it all!"
Direct contact!
First!
The keywords in this wish-acquiring competition were those!
"Does anyone know where she is?" An Ascendant asked. This person was one of the rare few ambitious Timelords who felt confident in their ability to fight for the Evercrown. They cultivated a Spatial Spiritual Art that was exquisite, and with it, they survived many deadly and brutal challenges the Ascendants had placed in their path. It was also this art that allowed them to survive the violent power of the golden-bodied Evil Sentinel and the unfurled chaos of the marble-skinned Evil Sentinel.
In an indifferent tone, Yao Huoyi said: "She's not hiding. She hasn't been since the beginning."
"..."
Once again, an oppressive weight filled their hearts and pressed against their shoulders.
Da Shan gestured to the west with her right index finger, "She's the clump of light." When she said this, the few ignorant of that person's existence for any number of reasons, all turned and felt it.
A clump of light energy obscured a very small, person-sized area. It stood on the surface of a pristinely clear lake. There was no evidence of remnant golden power in that area at all as if it couldn't even approach from the beginning. This was her domain from the very start. Besides traversing with San Yongli before the formation of the Evercrown, she remained there, unmoving for the last half-hour.
"That's her?" A Starlord asked, stunned and astonished. That person had inadvertently saved them from certain death earlier. In fact, they all could easily determine the aura as the one who distorted the golden ocean of energy for a split second with a saber howl, allowing them to call upon their World-Bound Star Domains. She was their savior!
Moreover, she wasn't hiding! From the very beginning! Just like Da Shan said...she was just there.
Waiting.
"Will she even participate? Maybe she'll-" An Ascendant was drawing upon their wellspring of hope, but Xue Yifei intervened to siphon it dry.
"She will participate."
Wu Baozhai nodded agreeingly. There was no doubt in her eyes of that possibility.
Da Shan echoed strongly, "She will." The thought of that woman standing to the side and not participating was a fantasy no one present could afford to indulge in. In a single moment, they could lose out on their chances.
A younger Ascendant who only knew of the woman's reputation as His Majesty's right hand frowned. "Why didn't we take her out beforehand?" His question was met with dry stares as if they were looking at someone who had an 'idiot' sign on their forehead. Fortunately, the members of the Ascendants were quite forgiving and tolerant.
Xue Yifei sighed softly, "The Chosen King Competition's condition is different from the Evercrown competition. We all had our plans, but plans often change and the heavens have shifted by my husband's will. There's no need to discuss the potential possibilities of an unreachable past. Focus on the now." While her words were lofty and domineering to an extreme, they were aptly put.
Wei Wuyin had changed the heavens themselves, thereby changing all of their plans. After all, he proclaimed himself as the new Overseer without any oversight or objection. Then, he outright added a layer to the Chosen King Competition. If that wasn't changing the heavens, what was?
10:23.
"So no plan?" Da Shan asked, looking at Wu Baozhai and Xue Yifei. Wei Wuyin often lauded them as being adroit at schemes, warning her a few times to not be caught up in their machinations for this upcoming Chosen King Competition. She didn't truly take it seriously, but Wu Baozhai was a terrifying powerhouse and Xue Yifei had a way with words and persuasion.
"Just one," Xue Yifei said as she switched to mental transmissions. She needed to use a treasure in the form of a glistening, translucent pearl containing erratically moving mist as if dancing wildly and freely that she had asked for from her husband. It was one of the few items she had requested, the Mind Sending Pearl.
Mental Transmissions couldn't be hijacked or listened into by those with overbearing Spiritual Strength or special Ocular or Sensory Spells. She didn't dare to be careless while expounding on her plan.
The clump of light was simply there, watching.
10:01.
"Understood?" Xue Yifei finished her plan.
While she was explaining and detailing her plan, many of their expressions went ghastly white. They had to deeply think about the implications.
"Isn't it all based on luck then?" Shui Fengbao was one of those who went pale despite his status as a Prime Ascendant.
Xue Yifei nodded. "It's either that or we all forfeit right now and fight for the Evercrown after." After a brief silence from the crown, she lightly gritted her teeth and said: "I'm not unwilling."
"Neither am I," Da Shan said. She wanted that wish.
"Us too," An Biru and An Feijin spoke simultaneously as if their hearts were one.
They all did.
Bo Kay bitterly chuckled.
Yao Huoyi nodded slightly.
Hong Chunhua's eyes moved to the clump of light. Her hand lightly touched the hilt of her sword.
Bei Weiwei touched her chest, seemingly touching an item that hung there from her neck. It was silver and felt warm to the touch. Her eyes, which were frigid and icy, grew as tough and hardened as immortal steel. Her resolve was unshakeable.
"Fine," Shui Fengbao pouted.
"..." Na Xinyi watched all this silently. She, too, wanted that wish. She glanced at Xue Yifei's side profile, and her heart shook briefly. However, she kept her expression unreadable to even the most trained eyes.
"Let's go," Wu Baozhai said, carrying her halberd on her shoulder with a heft. The others agreed.
They turned to the clump of light hovering upon a lake. As they did, the clump of light slowly moved, their hearts clenched as ripples of steps kept appearing, the light itself slowly dissipating, unveiling a figure that they all knew.
A woman with eyes as pure and boundless as the empty night sky, short hair, and eyebrows as jet-black as those fathomless eyes of hers, cut, trimmed, and styled immaculately and perfectly to her facial features. Garbed in light, silver battle armor and black garments beneath, she held a black scabbard in her left hand, and exuded the effortless demeanor of a peerless warrior on the verge of defying the heavens and obtaining divinity.
Her light, airy, and unrestrained presence was equally as calming as it was dominant. Her beauty wasn't overbearing nor underwhelming, wasn't heaven-toppling or otherworldly. There was a down-to-earth, authentic, tangible feeling to her looks, from the thickness of her brows, to the gentle edges of her lips, and the dark shadows of her eyes.
She felt real.
All of their hearts grew frenzied in every pounding and resounding pump.
This was her.
Xue Yifei's anxiety was hard to conceal at this moment. The same could be said for everyone else. She whispered two words, constituting a single name, and it felt as if the heavens themselves might harbor their own type of vigilance against it: "Su Mei."
