Standing atop a cubical, translucent container, Wei Wuyin's robes fluttered majestically with the wind, dancing upon its tune and swaying with its wants. Those silver eyes of his packed with countless formations of the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity were shining brilliantly with activity. Since the beginning, not a single thing had escaped his gaze.
Be it Yi Yun's awe and yearning to commit a cunning move amidst muddy waters, San Yongli's solemn gaze filled with expectations and excitement at the potential future of herself, Tambu Ma's collapsed Heart of Cultivation and exaggerated reactions, Tian Yinwu's continuous planting of flags and avoidance of rampant destruction caused by the Ascendants, the discussions between Wang Yutian and the female human 'former' Overseer, or the myriad schemes of his Ascendants.
"I don't quite understand." Within Wei Wuyin's Sea of Consciousness, a mass of golden light, clumped and chaotic, rippled, flowed, churned, and surged about at the base of Eden's Tree-like Astral Soul. She was no longer an egg! However, there was a miraculous process at its nascent stage currently ongoing. It seemed heavenly and abnormally unique.
"Understand what?" Wei Wuyin asked.
"That woman, Su Mei, why did she allow herself to fall for this imprisonment?" The Heavenly War Spirit's mass of light spun like a swirling cloud before settling into a mass of golden material. The Heavenly War Spirit was extremely keen in perception, but she couldn't properly gauge why certain things had happened.
"..." Wei Wuyin focused his gaze on the cube seal that Su Mei sat within, peering through its depths. A lone figure was currently sitting down cross-legged, continuously pulsing with her starforce noncommittally. She only upped the strength a notch with each pulsating blast. She had done so for the last few minutes.
"There's too many schemes in play, that's why." Wei Wuyin commented as he glanced at the supportive Na Xinyi, the bleeding Yao Huoyi, the pale-skinned, rapidly recovering Shui Fengbao, the cold-faced Bei Weiwei, the enlarged Da Shan, the ashen-complexion and stifled-breathed Wu Baozhai, the fragrant-smelling, cross-legged Hong Chunhua, and the other surviving Ascendants.
"Schemes? What are you talking about? To me, they all seemed like they were fighting against a great enemy and that great enemy decided to let them go. Moreover, those who were fighting for the crown that died, died pointlessly." The Heavenly War Spirit was extremely adept in the tactics and strategies of war, but in this field, there was a notable lack of experience. This was mostly due to the nature of her nurturing, birth, and foundation.
If she was a Heavenly Imperial Spirit instead, these things would come naturally to her.
"To you," Wei Wuyin smiled. "The game began the moment I announced the rules and reward for obtaining the Evercrown. No, the game began the moment they stepped foot in these vast lands."
"Game?" The Heavenly War Spirit mass of gold expanded and contracted slightly. "If it's a game, who's winning then? That concubine of yours seemed to be far ahead of everyone in terms of planning. She's definitely incredibly prepared. Is it her?" Her curiosity was rampant. Normally, she wouldn't have much interest in these things, often not focusing on Wei Wuyin's elaborate plans, only observing for a ride, but her mentality changed after her transformation began.
Wei Wuyin found this somewhat refreshing to the spirit, considering she often had knowledge far beyond him in most topics that left him asking all the questions.
Wei Wuyin's pupils reflected that gorgeous, borderline matchless image of Xue Yifei. "It's impossible to say who's winning, but you're not exactly wrong. Out of them all, the one who did the most preparation is undoubtedly Xue Yifei. However, if I had to say who is currently ahead of the game? Then I'll have to say, all else aside, the one closer to touching the Evercrown at this moment is..."
The pupils of Wei Wuyin flickered with a glinting transition, revealing the image of a pale, fiery-red-headed Shui Fengbao.
"There's still a lot of factors that could flip the situation at a moment's notice. The climax is approaching," Wei Wuyin said as he recalled the Ascendants that were beheaded. Their bodies had been claimed using the aura of the Mark of the Ascendants, but he had no part in that act, except for Bo Kay.
His smile deepened. Then, he looked at the living ordinary Ascendants.
"So are her preparations useless?" The Heavenly War Spirit asked curiously.
Wei Wuyin thought for a moment and shook his head, "Absolutely not. They're incredibly vital, and might very well allow her to seize the Evercrown as well. The issue isn't on her part of preparing too little or too much, but the Ascendants I've nurtured," he paused as a glimmer of pride flowed in his gaze, "none of them lacks the ability to adapt to a situation. Sometimes, preparations are too rigid and hard to adjust. Fortunately, Xue Yifei isn't lacking in that department either. This may be her saving grace."
"..." The Heavenly War Spirit went silent, clearly undergoing a considerable amount of thinking as her mass of gold churned chaotically about. After a while, she asked: "What about Su Mei? Will she obtain the Evercrown? They teamed up to prevent her from acting during a critical moment, right?"
"Su Mei..." Wei Wuyin folded his arms behind his back, staring at the sky, his thoughts difficult to discern as a profound gaze surfaced within his silver eyes. Eventually, he lowered his head, "By my estimate, Su Mei is currently the fourth likely participant to obtain the Evercrown. Before they acted, she was undoubtedly first. There's no doubt about that. Their thoughts weren't wrong. But none of their intentions aligned either."
"...I think I get it. But you're being a little too cryptic," The Heavenly War Spirit said as if through pursed lips. Despite her dissatisfaction, she understood that their gathering against a single foe was only possible because it was the truth: Su Mei would obtain the crown had they remained like loose sand, ununited and scattered.
Now, however, Su Mei had lost the initiative and fallen to fourth out of first.
"She's not slacking off, however. If she completes her own scheme in the seal, she'll jump to a strong second, and a weak first. This is only because she hadn't seen through some things. Or maybe she has." Wei Wuyin concluded as the continuously thunderous booms rang out from her seal. "You asked why she decided to let herself be sealed. The answer is simple -"
"She realized the situation changed?" The Heavenly War Spirit answered before Wei Wuyin could. And this answer was a clear sign of her naturally progressive learning ability and high base intelligence. She continued, "The moment they decided to ally against her successfully, she was at a disadvantage. And after learning the situation was changing, she was gathering information on everyone while taking it slow and deliberate. She wanted to rise back to first. Right?"
"Mm," Wei Wuyin was somewhat shaken by how quickly the Heavenly War Spirit picked up on these clues.
"None of them revealed their true strength, and she didn't dare to give any of them an opening to exploit, devoting a portion of her strength to defending against unexpected threats. That Archer of yours had swapped his arrow at the last moment. He was looking for the kill." The Heavenly War Spirit's mass of gold was writhing and vibrating as she began to rapidly gather and process events, her tone growing increasingly excitable like a genius solving a difficult problem.
"None of them used their Mortal World Intent! Wait, that Spiritualist! Why didn't she..." As she finally got a whiff of a little clue, she began to unravel the threads unseen with her knowledge of cultivation and swiftly began to see things clearly.
"The Ascendants that were beheaded..." At that moment, her voice was utterly mystified by her discoveries.
"Indeed," Wei Wuyin let loose a short, hearty laugh.
"There's too many schemes in play..." She echoed Wei Wuyin's earlier words, finally realizing the undeniable truth concealed within.
"Could absolute strength shatter all these schemes?" The Heavenly War Spirit was principled in war and knew that a thousand tactics of an ant mattered not before a barreling planet. It was strangely put, but there was no way an ant could resist the strength of a planet.
"Normally." Wei Wuyin rubbed his chin.
"Yeah. Normally," the Heavenly War Spirit echoed. "But the issue is that only touching the crown is required; they already relegated absolute strength to the fourth position. What cunning..."
"There's a way for ten thousand Soldiers of War at the Soul of Mysticism to slaughter an Earthly Saint if they had sufficient time, planning, and cooperation. The strength in numbers can't be eliminated, because the ten thousand Soldiers of War will be on the side of absolute strength then, no?" Wei Wuyin said.
"Numbers."
Wei Wuyin nodded, "Muddy the waters and stomp the mud with the masses, even divinities will sink with a single step." For some reason, this particular phrase flashed across his thoughts. It seemed to originate from the Bloodline of Sin's scripture. It felt incomparably fitting, extremely profound, and he still couldn't grasp all its meanings.
"What do you think Su Mei would wish for if she obtained the Evercrown? Hm?" The Heavenly War Spirit asked, her tone alluding to a specific outcome.
Wei Wuyin shook his head; Su Mei would never ask for something like that, unlike what others expected Xue Yifei to wish for.
"We." A single word was his response as Wei Wuyin's eyes glinted guiltily.
"..." The Heavenly War Spirit could feel the tremendously heavy emotions in that single word that she didn't dare to delve deeper into or ask about it. The topic was undoubtedly sensitive. She waited a moment until Wei Wuyin's Sea of Consciousness calmed down. "Who do you want to obtain the wish?"
"Hm? Honestly, there's only one person I want to obtain the Evercrown. Her wish should shock everyone."
"One person?" The Heavenly War Spirit mass of gold shivered.
"Just one. I promise you, it'll shock you to the spirit. Actually, I shouldn't want them to succeed because it'll be the most troublesome of the lot. Haha. But I guess it's too late to think about that." Wei Wuyin couldn't help but chuckle with a tinge of exhaustion just thinking of their wish.
"Hm...who is that person?" Despite her question, she didn't receive anything but a smile and a laugh. "Fine then! Don't tell me. But I think it's Bei Weiwei or Hong Chunhua."
"Oh?" Wei Wuyin was taken aback by those two guesses.
"Well, they both might wish to be your wife. Or perhaps your Alchemical Knight...maybe a Valkyrie? Either way, they'll be another individual you have to invest in wholeheartedly, likely causing your already strained time to stretch further."
"..." Wei Wuyin didn't reply as his expression slowly fell, becoming neutral while in thought. He couldn't help but look at that goddaughter of his. She wouldn't... ...would she?
4:30. With only four minutes and thirty seconds left until the Evercrown formed, the atmosphere slowly tensed as the Ascendants, Commanders, Prime Ascendants, and Chosen all made last-minute preparations, separating from each other. Those that were going to fight began to gather every ounce of their strength.
They only needed to touch the Evercrown-they all had a chance.
Yi Yun clenched his fists tightly as he thought of finding the most optimal time to act. Despite witnessing the ungodly strength of the Ascendants, he didn't dare to think that this opportunity was out of his reach. He just had to ensure his life. But if there was one thing he had, it was the roaring spirit to fight even in the most disastrous odds. A quality that was the sign of a great man in the making.
Furthermore, he hadn't just stayed to the side gawking stupidly about. He gained the support of his Big Sis Yongli and the Heavenly Seer who accompanied her as well. She wasn't against assisting him in this struggle despite her attempts at persuading him initially, and having that powerful and beautiful Heavenly Seer helping was bound to be useful for critical moments.
He just needed to find a moment in the chaos.
[Author's Note: I had planned for this particular chapter to be a few chapters ahead, but I decided to bring it forth earlier.
(Nods) I like it.
The next round begins!]
