Without warning, his Spirit of Cultivation began to tremble. This tremble coursed through his entirety, reaching his Sea of Consciousness, and his Elemental Origin Intent spurred, erupting from his eyes as it was immersed in pure whiteness. If one looked closely, it would be as if a raging storm of wind was manifesting in his eyes.
"World Intent!" A remnant wisp of Intent was tethered to this strange light, unyielding and stubborn as the most tenacious parasite, refusing to dissipate in the face of the stage's persistence to repair itself. It began to convert the ambient energies from the air into saber energy, and as such, it persisted!
It kept persisting, revealing the elusive profoundness of World Heart Intent! A unique will that could convert ambient forces into itself, granting the world its heart!
As someone who had a Worldly Domain, the power of conversion was well-known, but that was converting foreign, uncontrolled energies into one's own. This, however, wasn't recruiting, but a wholehearted transformation!
He felt as if he had grasped an opportunity of the highest order. His Elemental Origin Intent was led by his Wind Intent, so he wasn't like Wei Wuyin. Wei Wuyin's equal application of elements allowed one element to convert to another, transitioning with ease and having endless fusions and permutations. This was one of the greatest reasons that Wei Wuyin had an extremely easy time comprehending Saber Heart Intent during his tribulation or reaching Elemental Heart Intent.
The concept of infusing one's will and converting something that is not into something that is, allowing earth to become metal, or water to become wind, was deeply ingrained in his will already!
Lin Ming sat down on the cusp of World Heart Intent!
After Su Mei's success, an entire week went by as cultivation and comprehension went side by side.
Moreover, while Su Mei was powerful, it brought a sense of ease to Chosen, Saintesses, Heroes, and Ascended beings. They originally thought that these entities might be too powerful, an impassable gatekeeper, but Su Mei had shattered that thought before it could form.
As such, a Starlord of a silver-rank force, the Sect Master of the Ironheart Saber Sect, stepped forward with a transcendent and serene demeanor. As a being at the peak of the Mortal Dao, he had his own pride, even before Ascended beings and those who were considered 'failures'.
His reputation was not low either, having slain a Mystic Star Phase cultivator with his saber during his youth. He was considered amongst the top 1,000 amongst Starlords throughout his starfield—Star Sanctum Starfield, ranked 7th.
After gaining a boost in his cultivation from witnessing Su Mei's saber heart, he was a tad bit stronger than before, so his confidence wasn't small. Even before, he felt that as long as he didn't face an Ascended being, he could easily prove his qualifications.
SHATTER!
He jumped, breaching the limits of the artificial gravity, and twisted with an elegant flair. With his black robes and heavy saber at his back, he exuded the grace of a genuine powerful character!
The shattering sound once again strangely attracted everyone's attention, pulling all present out of any of their comprehension. Shockingly, no one underwent Cultivation Deviation from this disruption, almost as if the shattering sound gently and carefully woke them up in the most stable manner possible. Moreover, they felt as if a natural pause had been made in their cultivation. If they wanted, they could easily resume where they left off.
The Everlore Association's intentions were clear here! A few experienced cultivators realized a unique scent was in the air. This was a high-grade alchemical paste formed into an incense meant to stabilize one's cultivation base and Sea of Consciousness.
How wealthy!
The Sect Master of the Ironheart Saber Sect was swept with a force that caused his eyebrows to furrow slightly.
"Sect Master of the Ironheart Sect. Age: 577. Cultivation Realm: Astral Core. Cultivation Stage: Ninth. Entity Level: Mortal, Transcendent Starlord."
"What?!" Many were startled. Despite over a five hundred year difference, the entity was at the same level as Su Mei's? How ridiculous was this?!
If so, this should be in the bag. Even the Ironheart Saber Sect's Sect Master couldn't help but frown for a moment, then faintly smiled. Summit, here I come.
Soft cheers resounded from his sect's box.
"Isn't this unfair?" The many juniors asked their seniors, feeling aggrieved by the difference in treatment. After all, this senior had over ten times as much cultivation time as Su Mei! She should've gotten a Lesser Starlord!
However, those seniors were either quiet or revealing thoughtful looks. Lin Xianxian met with similar exclamations of unfairness, but she hurriedly halted it with a sweeping gaze. "Silence! He is a Sect Master, not a Chosen. The two statuses have different expectations."
These youngsters weren't trying to advocate for unfairness for Su Mei, but themselves, feeling that their difficulty was amped up, likely causing them to lose their qualifications. As such, when Lin Xianxian explained, they went silent. After all, it wasn't just Chosen, Saintess, and Elders here, but talented juniors and disciples of these Elders—prospective Chosen!
Lin Ming knew that Lin Xianxian was right; the two statuses had different expectations. Chosen weren't just elites, they were elites amongst elites.
"Do you wish to continue?" San Luoyang's voice asked in the same vocal tone as before.
"Yes!" The Ironheart Saber Sect's Sect Master carried his faint smile, his body seething with his saber force. He was ready to show off!
The entity formed. However, it was different. A male-shaped Incarnation with a slender figure and a spear in hand emerged. It had a weapon! Its face was similarly covered by a half-face balaclava as the other.
WOOSH!
The Sect Master unfurled his dark-silver Worldly Domain! It expanded until it reached twenty-seven thousand kilometers! While it was a far cry from the eighty thousand kilometers of the last Incarnation, the Sect Master wasn't scared at all by the difference! Su Mei hadn't even unleashed her Worldly Domain, using her arts and saber to slaughter her opponent.
That was his advantage!
WOOSH!
The entity unleashed their light-brown Worldly Domain! Eighty thousand kilometers! The two Worldly Domains clashed.
CRACK!
Just as the Sect Master grabbed his hilt, a strange sound erupted from his Worldly Domain. His left eyelids began twitching, and then color faded from his face.
Oh no!
He hurriedly tried to pull out his saber from its scabbard, yet a flooding of Worldly Pressure overwhelmed him instantly. His Worldly Domain had been shattered! His nose bled and his boy shook as he tried to erupt with his saber force, but the Worldly Pressure was merciless.
He took a single step back.
Then, his eyes widened to their utmost limits.
PSSH!
The Sect Master, Leader of Silver-Rank Sect, amongst the top 1,000 Starlords of the Seventh Ranked Starfield, was flattened into a mesh of glowing blood, dark-silver bones, and bits of organs all over.
"..."
Crushed!
A solemn, confused silence descended over everyone present. Some turned their heads to the side as if getting a different angle will allow them to understand what just happened.
Then, like a dam had burst, wails from a specific section erupted in horror! Shrieks of despair and panic erupted like a fierce thunderous boom! "Husband! Ye Ming! Ye Ming!" A young woman, merely a Realmlord, shot off to breach the limits of the artificial gravity, rushing to the remains of the one she called 'Ye Ming'.
BOOM!
She slammed heavily against the stage, her eyes as wet as can be. Fortunately, the entity had already dispersed alongside their terrifying Worldly Pressure. She dropped to her knees as she reached out hesitatingly to Ye Ming's gory remains.
"YE MING! YE MING!!" Her tears were endless as she sought any signs of life.
"Oh god…" An elder was distraught as he noticed that the woman was pregnant, her belly far along too.
"..." The silence grew dark, heart-rending, and bleak.
A bright light escaped from Ye Ming's remains. It was a small, spherical object. His Star Core! As if grasped by some profound law, it began to grow transparent as its radiance released a final burst of life. It vanished as the young woman tried to grab it, her cultivation base far too low to do so.
"..." This was Lin Ming's first time witnessing the phenomenon of Star Ascension, when the Star Core of a Starlord returns to the Mortal Dao, giving back everything that had been taken from the heavens, eventually used to birth a future Solar Star. One day, this star might birth endless lives and cultivators. It was believed by the Inferno Solaris Sect that all lives born under the Solar Stars of Starlords were parts of their original soul, from beast to plant to human.
Stopping this phenomenon wasn't something a Realmlord could achieve, even Demi-Mortal Lords wouldn't dare do so. It was the same as challenging the Mortal Dao of the heavens, a terrifying thought. Only Earthly Saints with their Awakened Mystic Intent, granting them the aid of the Mystic Dao, could do so after paying an extremely heavy price.
If so, they might be able to revive this person using an Ever-Rebirth Pill or unique arts and spells. Unfortunately, the window to do so was extremely small, just three seconds after death.
A wave of sadness enveloped the venue.
Ye Ming was dead.
Leaving behind a pregnant wife.
Grief-ridden, the wife stared at the space where the Star Core had vanished.
"Inner Elder of the Fragrant Wind Sect. Age: 244. Cultivation Realm: Astral Core. Cultivation Stage: Seventh. Entity Level: Mortal, Pinnacle Realmlord."
The wife seemed deaf. Unresponsive.
"Do you wish to continue the challenge?"
Oh no!
Panic stormed the hearts of every person with a caring heart. A female Demi-Mortal Lord moved the fastest while the others were revving up their strength, arriving before the pregnant wife in a blink of an eye. She tried to grab her, but just as she was about to touch the edge of her robe, she felt a sensation of extreme deadly crisis. Without hesitation, she pulled back and retreated into the artificial gravity. Then and only then did the sensation vanish.
Only a few saw her move, all Ascended beings, so the mortals with caring hearts still intended to help, but the seniors had already realized what happened. "Stop!" They hastily use their powers to bring these caring people to a stop.
"No one can interfere with the challenge…" Lin Ming realized from the commotion the reality of the situation. It made sense to avoid playful schemes that could ruin the sanctity of the event, even with the Mythical Oath in place.
For five minutes, they tensely watched and prayed that she didn't say yes in her emotional state. Suddenly, a light was released from the stage and enveloped the woman. In a ray of light, she vanished into the stage. Her life and death were unknown, but many breathed out sighs of relief. They realized the ray was spatial power. She was sent out.
Ye Ming's remains then were shifted and brought to the box of the Ironheart Saber Sect. They all looked at their Sect Master with crestfallen expressions. Someone with the potential to one day challenge their Ascension had died in a matter of seconds. How…how…
They couldn't even finish their thought. Just gloom, despair, and sadness shrouded them all. If before they were excited by this opportunity, now they realized that San Luoyang wasn't lying before—their lives were at risk.
Lin Xianxian muttered to herself, "It seems the difficulty is dependent on status and cultivation stage." She surmised with some thought. The wife got a Pinnacle Realmlord entity while her husband, Ye Ming, received a Transcendent Starlord entity.
Lin Xianxei's eyes flickered with calculating light after hearing her mother's words. She added, "It might also consider the age and the rank of their force. After all, the Fragrant Wind Sect inside the Star Sanctum Starfield is a Mystic-tier force with two Soul of Mysticism cultivators at the helm."
"Age too," Lin Xianxian felt that all these factors forged your difficulty. If so, then Su Mei might've gotten the lowest difficulty due to her age. There's a likely chance that someone with two hundred additional years at her cultivation stage might be forced to face one beyond their stage or realm.
The older you were, the more difficult it was, but that was only relative. After all, cultivation was a time-consuming activity.
Lin Xianxei nodded in agreement. The Everlore Association was factoring in everything, but it also revealed that cultivation foundation and understanding of one's limits were of critical importance here, lest one wanted to gamble with their life.
After Ye Ming's death, some were less tethered to their emotions, accustomed to death, and caring very little about some random Starlord from a far-off starfield, so they used this time to resume their cultivation either through comprehension or absorbing their spiritual symbol.
They all knew they needed to use this period to reach their strongest state, and then challenge the stage if they felt the entity level was within their realm of strength. Otherwise, they would be forced to give up and accept the disparity.
SHATTER! SHATTER!
Two simultaneous shattering sounds resounded, causing surprise to creep into the expressions of everyone as they stared upwards, and they saw two incredibly beautiful figures descend to the stage.
"Isn't that…!"
