Paragon of Sin

The last second felt incomparably stretched amidst the intensity of the rampaging, storm-inducing auras and radiant sword light.

Wu Baozhai had crushed Hong Chunhua; the First Commander was brutally injured, her left arm turned into a fleshy, bloody pulp while a huge hole was pierced through her stomach, revealing glistening intestines and broken meridians. Still, the pallid Hong Chunhua was ever-valiant and courageous, her sword light as dazzling and inscrutable as daybreak itself. With a breath left, she fought at an unimaginably high speed, using quantity of attacks to resist quality.

The An Sisters were barely conscious; they resorted to a full defensive stance as they threaded between life and death, arrows punctured them like porcupines, and they had only survived after uniting their minds to strengthen their spirits. Yao Houyi's arrows were far too powerful and fast. Fortunately for them, he had used his last trump card earlier.

Their persistence was enough to birth heartfelt merit in the most emotionless. An undying, unyielding will pervaded the air, and those watching could see the desire to lay down their lives for Xue Yifei. Their actions proved it as well!

Bei Weiwei frowned as she contemplated canceling her influence over the battlefield, but there was some reluctance in her heart after the extensive establishment of each of them, including the cost of expended energy. Furthermore, her former ally, Hong Chunhua, was definitely up to something, and she wasn't certain what was happening. In her eyes, Su Mei was gone.

She had won.

There was no reason to continue. But Wu Baozhai and Yao Houyi were intent on killing Xue Yifei, and she couldn't fathom why. In the end, Bei Weiwei decided to maintain it all. Perhaps the situation would change, and she didn't wish to fall behind after dispelling her control.

Her actions had indirectly benefited Xue Yifei. The environmental hindrances worked in her favor as they were all weakened to some extent, forcing them to divert energy to resist both effects, while the An Sisters layered on it using their gravitational control.

If not for Bei Weiwei's environmental changes, their attacks would have been considerably stronger, and the An Sisters and Hong Chunhua would have had their spirits devastated or suppressed by Yao Houyi's Archery Force and Wu Baozhai's Imperial Heaven Aura. By lowering the lethal effectiveness of those exceptional forces, they barely survived.

THUD!

A solemn, despairing sound resounded throughout the world as a lovely body collapsed, lifeless.

All sounds ceased after as senses converged, expressions changed, eyes bulged, and minds blared with chaotically rumbling thunder.

Xue Yifei, the Dragonborn Saintess, the Princess of the Bloodforge Continent's Imperial Clan, and concubine of Wei Wuyin, the era-defining figure of this generation, had fallen to the hard ground. While she pulsed with lingering demonically draconic power, her life aura had vanished entirely.

"The An Sisters screamed in unison, fear carried their pounding hearts into their voices with a disharmonious tone. It was almost grating to the ears and heavy to the heart.

Yao Houyi was shaken. From his left eye, a ray of saber light flashed away! But he didn't care, he no longer cared about keeping Su Mei's saber in check. But what had just happened?

"She's..." Wu Baozhai sent Hong Chunhua flying, spewing out copious amounts of blood, yet she also stopped as she glanced at the once lively body of Xue Yifei. Her mind was dragged into a swirl of shock. What had happened?!

Hong Chunhua nearly lost consciousness from that blow. She couldn't even respond, barely sustaining her own life.

Da Shan's large, lighthouse-like golden eyes flared as her gigantic heart skipped a beat.

Bei Weiwei was silent in heart and thought. This scene was so unexpected that she lost her ability to process what had just happened.

The others were similarly taken aback. Xue Yifei was the Concubine of His Majesty, the sole and only individual, and beloved by many of them, yet her lifeless body had collapsed without reason. Who killed her?!?!

In the last second, victory had been decided.

It wasn't decided in the heat of the moment, but the result of planning stemming from long, long ago!

00:01.

The last second.

Su Mei was like a ray of splendent light. She soared across the skies, crown in hand, and her eyes were utterly determined. She flew far away and at speeds where even Spatial Shifting wouldn't be able to properly catch up. Even if they appeared, her continuous momentum of speed was unstoppable. She would blast past them within a blink of an Ascended's eye and vanish from their senses.

With the sharpness of a saber, nothing could serve as an obstacle before her. She was relying on accumulated power to claim unquestionable victory. However, she had never allowed her guard to drop. The Ascendants were all incredible cultivators with nurturing from Wei Wuyin, and they often took on his cunning streak.

Wei Wuyin had faced unimaginable odds, yet whenever they arose, he would rise above each and every one with exquisitely applied cunning and courage that would bring shock to beings far beyond mortal comprehension. He was the type of person to define an era, and the people he nurtured were those who could help shape it.

She tightened her grip around the crown.

Suddenly, she sensed something from the crown. The moment her eyes and senses were drawn to it, slightly distracted by the fluctuations from before, it came!

Su Mei instantly felt targeted. Her eyes sharpened as her body exuded a faint layer of yin mist. Just as she was about to react, a blazing yang of fiery energy erupted from her shoulder. A tinge of heat rose from within, barely noticeable and indistinguishable from her own body heat. It started as a wisp of flame, but rapidly grew at the speed of light into a full-fledged person. Entirely nude, the person grabbed at the crown with the imbued power of the Law of Fire!

Shui Fengbao!

The sight caused Su Mei's eyes to constrict ever-so-slightly. She was moving at an incredibly fast speed, so a lot of her energy was focused on movement.

She was utterly silent, having expected this type of unfathomable means from the Ascendants, especially one that grasped the power of a law. She had twenty-seven different ways to deal with someone who tried to halt her or grab the crown.

Just as she was about to make a move to deal with Shui Fengbao, her hand spontaneously turned illusory without any warning.

The crown within her grip fell.

Shui Fengbao grabbed air, his triumphant expression was erased as he never thought Su Mei would drop the crown! All he needed was to touch the crown slightly, even a little fingernail tap was enough, and he could shift the crown using his power to his real body within a millisecond. JUST A SINGLE TOUCH!

But how could he have expected that Su Mei would drop the crown?!

Su Mei frowned as the crown phased through her grip as if she were immaterial and ethereal, unable to stop her forward momentum. Her expression flashed with brief shock; then, she faintly smiled with a sigh. In the end, a timely distraction by Shui Fengbao led to this outcome.

To think they would both mark her!

But she hadn't given up yet!

SHIIING!!

WHOOSH!

On a white sword, Na Xinyi flew forward as she performed a series of hand-seals, exerting her astral force to execute an external Spatial Shift. The Evercrown had once been encapsulated by a power that prevented spatial shifting of any type, but as Su Mei had grabbed the crown, that power had entirely collapsed.

She was far, very, very far from Su Mei and Shui Fengbao's Avatar. Moreover, she was far from the others engaging in brutal fighting as well. At the moment, no one could possibly stop her.

00:00.5.

Half a second left-Na Xinyi lifted her immaculate hand, grasping a flash of silvery light as an Evercrown appeared in her firm grip. A wave of intense excitement pounded against her heart and soul. Her volunteering to assist in disguising Xue Yifei's lies had given her the ability to know that Su Mei would inevitably escape.

As such, she used a spell to envelop the nearby area in yin mist. Just like Shui Fengbao had hidden traces of 'heat' on most fighting intensely against Su Mei earlier, she had hidden her own traces on Su Mei. Using the last remaining full-strength power, she hid it all on Su Mei in an imperceptible wisp of yin that perfectly melded with the First Ascendant's yin aura.

Be it Shui Fengbao or Na Xinyi, they had means that could make sensing them extremely difficult. But Na Xinyi's means were the most effective on women. All she had to do was target her hand with her profound Extreme Yin's ethereal properties and unleash a perfectly timed Spatial Shift.

And VIOLA!

Her plans wouldn't have worked if Su Mei had been stopped. In fact, it might have been entirely wasted effort and ruined chances, but she took the gamble and trusted Su Mei's capabilities. If there was anyone to place a bet on, it would be the First Ascendant. As for the 'heat' of Shui Fengbao, she didn't have any on her, long since eradicated shortly after she left. Fortunately, she was one of the only few that could sense it and could dispel it.

The Law of Fire's Aura was quite sinister.

00:00.25.

A quarter of a second left-Na Xinyi had mentally calculated the time, and she knew it was here. There was no one where she was. In fact, she was far, far away from every last person deliberately. Even if Su Mei was the fastest person in the world, she wouldn't be able to reach her!

Is what she thought.

SHIIING!!!

A saber howl that could shock the heavens resounded, causing the earth to cry and the sky to tremble. Na Xinyi's pupils constricted violently as her hand holding the crown felt empty. No! She couldn't even feel her hand!

A saber light had sliced from afar, severing her hand with unerring accuracy, and hurriedly carried off the Evercrown in the very next millisecond. The speed of it was so egregious that it seemed to defy natural limitations. She could only stare blankly at her hand-less right arm that once held a potential wish, as empty and gone as icy snow before summer's hot rays.

However, there wasn't the slightest wisp of anger in her expression. She wasn't as mad as one might think, and she only sighed softly within her heart. At the very least, she had tried to the very end. A feeling of relief warmly flowed in her heart, and her Heart of Cultivation strengthened by a bit. Sometimes, failure didn't always lead to despondency but a reaffirmed will.

It ensured that next time, failure would no longer be possible!

The saber carried the Evercrown through the air at unimaginable speeds that exceeded even Su Mei's earlier display!

Far away, Su Mei had already obliterated Shui Fengbao's Avatar, holding out her hand as she moved closer to the saber. The speed of the saber and its slicing strength made sure no one could stop it. Just like the others, she, too, had left behind a hidden card to play.

Her saber!

This was a part of her absolute strength!

00:00.1.

The crown was nearby. By the time the Evercrown activated, it would enter her hands.

This was it.

It was over.

Su Mei reached out, establishing a few defenses in case of another Shui Fengbao incident, and she lifted her spine, readied herself, and slowly spoke out, with HER PURE BLACK eyes glistening and brightly lit: "We."

Her single word carried unfathomable emotions, and her wish was all but easily determined.

00:00!

ACTIVATED!

The crown was a few hundred feet away. At the speed they were traveling, this was almost an instant! All she needed was direct contact!

Suddenly, the Evercrown pulsed. The pulse originated from one through rhinestone-like gems. The Aspect of Containment!

Su Mei's eyes narrowed slightly.

Then, from atop the Evercrown, she saw a scene that she couldn't have expected in a million years-

-a heart!

A beating heart, still throbbing, still surging with life, emerged seemingly originating from one of the rhinestone-like gems of the Evercrown!

It was not exactly purely human nor was it purely beast, but a hybrid heart formed from both of the best traits of each. A perfect hybrid heart! When the heart appeared, it exploded! Splashing the Evercrown in its violet-colored blood!!!

Su Mei's eyes widened with genuine and unexpected surprise. When the Evercrown reached her hand, it was covered in heart blood. A silence permeated the surroundings as she sensed that the heart contained the vibrant lifeforce of a familiar figure.

Mortals...couldn't live without their hearts or brains. This was a restraint often included in the term 'Mortal Limits', and she was astonished by the wet, dripping blood running down her fingers. There were bits of fleshy heart muscle on the crown, tainting it in a corrosive demonic aura.

Su Mei...bitterly smiled.

From above, a majestic voice resounded that brought a natural halt to everything.

It announced only a single thing:

"The Evercrown has been claimed. The winner is-"

Everyone lifted their heads, hearts pounding.

Wu Baozhai hoped Na Xinyi had succeeded. Her efforts in stopping Xue Yifei from following her and preventing her from interfering with the Spatial Shift with her unique spatial bloodline powers were for this sake. She kept tabs on Xue Yifei and ensured that any sign of spatial power fluctuations would be met with obstruction.

Yao Houyi hoped that Shui Fengbao had succeeded in retrieving the Evercrown. They had planned extensively for him to leave traces on each individual while he kept Wu Baozhai due to her strangely suppressive Imperial Heaven Aura and terrifying strength. Fortunately, the woman was after Xue Yifei, so he was distracting two birds with one stone.

Those who rooted for Xue Yifei only had the image of Xue Yifei's lifeless body in their minds. His Majesty wouldn't allow her to die here, would he?

The tension rose as everyone guessed who had claimed the crown. Was it Su Mei as they expected?

Wei Wuyin's majestic voice, infused with the Minor Imperial Law reverberated with the intensity to shake the heavens and move the earth.

"-XUE YIFEI!"