"Who can stop me?" These words, spat at a gathering of the Celestial Paradise's power players, made the balance clear. Yongye vs. all, and Yongye would still win. Even the vassals that had long-since pledged allegiance to the Night Pantheon couldn't expect such overwhelming dominance.
First and without equal, in the eyes of enemy and vassals alike, Yongye represented power at its truest. No wonder even the Primevals of the Infernal Paradise didn't want to mess with her.
Veins beat across Yanglong's bronze skin, but if this was all that he had to offer, then the Solar Dragon God wouldn't be worthy to lead the opposition.
"Yes, I am not your match. None of us are. But sometimes, beloved Yongye, it is not the strongest that comes out on top. You taught me that, and so should understand this truth better than I do. Of the Primeval Deities, only I still have my Heavenly Decree. Yongye, if you insist on being unreasonable, I don't mind using it to fight you to the death!
You can suppress me.
But can you suppress Heaven's might!?" Yanglong rhetorically asked. In times immemorial, so they could lead a war of extermination against the Infernal Paradise, Heaven granted all Primevals a Heavenly Decree, a document that enabled them to become incarnations of the Heavenly Dao and channel various percentages of Heaven's powers for a short period of time. The more Heaven was fond of them, the more they could channel.
Doumu, Yudi and Wahuang, respectively the Primevals of the Void, Jade, and Nature Pantheons, were all forced to use their Heavenly Decree during the first Paradise Crusade. Shenzhuo, Yongye and Yanglong, never had to. Yanglong ranked third among the Primevals and possessed an indestructible body, so even in the rare cases where he found himself outmatched, he could still safely force his way out.
Shenzhuo and Yongye both lost their Heavenly Decree at Xinzi's birth—leaving Yanglong as the only Primeval still capable of summoning Heaven's might. This was his biggest advantage, something that even Yongye had to deal with carefully.
The tension in this gargantuan throne room rose immensely. Yongye's subordinates stabbed Yanglong's faction with scornful stares. Yanglong's camp refused to show weakness, and as all True Gods or above possessed some form of apparition around them, said apparitions twisted to match their owners' fluctuating mood.
The rare neutral ones tried to avoid getting dragged into the silent war, and the pressure across the scene ballooned to suffocating heights. Till now, Xinzi stayed silent, unbothered by the ongoing debacle.
"Actually, this issue isn't that hard to solve." A voice broke the stalemate, pulling all eyes to a slender goddess dressed in a magnificent silver gown that sparkled like the starry sky. The laws of providence fluctuated around her, with floating purple orbs in which one could see the lives of myriad mortals play out. Shenzhuo's Heavenly Empress, Yaochi, made her entrance.
Also known as the Royal Mother of the Providence Pantheon, one of the rare deities that welcomed and trained humans or beasts without prejudice. Due to the kindness with which she faced all living things—an unusual trait for deities—her disciples and the various juniors she helped across the eons referred to her as 'Royal Mother.'
As a Sovereign Goddess, Yaochi was, if the ancients are to be believed, born from Heaven's Will, and so didn't have siblings in the proper sense. Crown Prince Yun Canghai was the child of her closest ally and sworn sister: the Sovereign Goddess of the Cloud Pantheon.
Yaochi's Providence Pantheon replaced the Time Pantheon following its destruction by Shenzhuo, under Heaven's direct orders. It was also by Heaven's command that Shenzhuo made her his Heavenly Empress. But due to her youth among the various ancients and a portfolio that only affected mortals, Yaochi struggled to establish herself. Thankfully, the Sovereign Goddess of the Cloud Pantheon reached out, becoming Yaochi's most reliable backer.
Their bond endured for eons, and through constant mutual support, they became a force that dared to confront the Primevals' interests. Still, though she could never count on Shenzhuo's help, Yaochi never expected that he'd go so far as to shame her with Yongye, and now even aimed to put his bastard on the throne.
She didn't care if Shenzhuo was being controlled by Yongye's will—didn't care about ifs and whys. Since they both seemed so determined to humiliate her, she had to fight back.
"Our laws stipulate that only the most prodigious junior under the age of 3,600 can become the Crown Prince of Heaven. But due to the decline of the junior generation, finding one junior that clearly towers above all others is becoming nearly impossible—leading to the seat going from one interest group to another. 160,000 years ago, Yun Canghai received that position through a mix of merit and nepotism and was never the undisputed number one of the junior generation. The fact that he is only at the peak of the Great Principle, after 160,000 years of enjoying Crown Prince resources, is the clearest proof of his ineptitude." This was a sarcastic lie—well, mostly.
True, the junior generation declined and kept getting worse. But Yun Canghai crossed 41 steps of the Divine Consecration Ladders and became a High God—the last High God born in Heaven. Qingxin and Xinzi aside, his talent exceeded the best of Divine Spirit juniors. Otherwise, he'd not have reached the peak of the Great Principle in less than 200,000 years.
Yaochi's sarcasm reminded the audience of Yun Canghai's accomplishments, preparing the terrain for her upcoming challenge.
"So, I propose a simple challenge. Hengye Zhen vs. Yun Canghai. If Hengye Zhen wins and wins convincingly, then he proves that throughout the Celestial Paradise, only he is worthy of the Crown Prince title. Yongye, do you dare to accept?" Yaochi asked, facing Yongye with undisguised mockery.
"Huh?" Barely had Yaochi's words resounded that, regardless of affiliation, deities and heavenly officials glanced at one another, as if to make sure that they'd all heard the same nonsense. Yun Canghai was a High God with a cultivation at the peak of the Great Principle and the training of the Highest Heaven Palace. Although he couldn't compare to that Hengye Wuxin's Holy God Fusion, Yun Canghai could effortlessly dominate any deity of his generation or younger.
A deity, Xinzi was not—not yet at least. Moreover, all knew that he cultivated in a lower realm, not Yongye's, Night Eden, add to that the fact that Celestial Assembly had gathered to celebrate his late-stage Immortal Foundation breakthrough, and the notion of him facing Yun Canghai made as much sense as Shenzhuo falling in love with Yongye.
No matter how prodigious, he couldn't withstand a single blow—or so they thought. But when Yaochi's challenge echoed, from behind her veil of darkness, Yongye's lips curled up.
"Like I said, this has nothing to do with me. So it's not me, but the concerned party that you should be asking this to. Zhen'er, do you dare to take on this challenge?" Yongye's words redirected all attention to Xinzi.
Here, the young master stood up, and unfazed by the focus of the Celestial Assembly, folded his arms below his chest.
"It is only a challenge if it presents some level of difficulty. Yun Canghai...isn't my match."
