The taste of victory was said to be sweet. But to Wei Wuyin, it was bittersweet. As the isolation formation was deactivated, he could now observe the audience members of the colosseum, nearly a billion lifeforms of all genders, races and ages, who were wild with explosive excitement.
He was bombarded by his name.
"ASCENDANT EMPEROR WEI! ASCENDANT EMPEROR WEI!"
The sight of endless individuals shouting one's name in crazed hype was a scene that was extremely difficult to describe, extremely difficult to understand. The sheer worship, happiness, and burning excitement overwhelmed him.
However, when Qingye Ying surrendered, he wasn't happy nor excited. He was disappointed. This entire event, his willingness to reveal all his alchemic abilities, were all to find a worthy opponent to test his skills against. But all it revealed, all it had shown him, was that he had no opponent.
In this starfield, there was no challenge. There was no equal. And due to this, he had become the figure that would define an era. While his victory felt bittersweet, a little reluctant to end this in such a manner, the erupting cheers and chants started to slowly change his mentality.
When the crowd somehow started to shout a specific set of words, his heart started to thump with unimaginable feelings.
"NEO-DAWN HAS RISEN! NEO-DAWN HAS BEGUN! TODAY IS A NEW DAY, TOMORROW IS A NEW ERA!" These words were started by a senile old alchemist, screaming out at the top of his withered lungs. Others chimed in, and before anyone noticed, everyone was chanting these four phrases with feverish fervor!
As he stood before the crowd, hearing his name, hearing his title shouted so vigorously, and seeing the world know who he was, all he could do was one thing: Smile.
He brilliantly smiled with his pearly white teeth. He hadn't felt happiness or excitement in the beginning, but at that moment, all the issues with the Calamities of Hell, the Bloodline of Sin, the mysteries of this world, and all of his worries seemingly vanished in the tide. He basked in this tsunami of cheers!
'One of the things I've wanted in life wasn't to be worshipped, but to be remembered! And this, this is what it means to be remembered. An entire era…mine.' His thoughts were elevated. With his Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity, specifically his Eye of Truth, he could observe the gathering of the world's mental focus on himself. He felt his existence permeate throughout the starfield at this single moment.
Without needing to say a single word, he knew that today this starfield was considered to be named the Tri-Vision Starfield. As for tomorrow?
It'll be named the Neo-Dawn Starfield.
—–
In the V.I.P rooms, the group of beauties were watching this all with overwhelmingly complex emotions buffeting their hearts.
"He did it…" Qing Qiumu whispered to herself, but the entire room heard it clearly. Not only did Wei Wuyin prove that he was vastly superior to the Successor of the King of Everlore, surpassing the old legacy, but he re-invented the top-quality of product and revealed alchemic skills that exceeded the comprehensible reality of those present. In minutes, eighth-grade products were made with utter ease.
He had displayed the greatest ability, the greatest talent, and received the greatest response. The entire colosseum, planet, and likely starfield was echoing out his name at this moment. While victory had come swift in an unexpected surrender, this only highlighted his feats!
The Princess of Everlore, the poster child of the #1 alchemic force, surrendered to Wei Wuyin. This was an overwhelming victory that even this person that many regarded as the next definer of an era had to accept in the most complete way imaginable: SURRENDER. It was short but extremely decisive.
Qin Qiumu's delicate hands were clenched, trembling furiously with avid emotion. There was a light of happiness flickering in her eyes. To her, Wei Wuyin was someone she was close to, and seeing his unstoppable rise in such an absolute fashion had instilled her with pride and heated emotions. But as the magnified image of Wei Wuyin basking in the glory was shown, her heart started to race uncontrollably. She was unable to describe what she felt.
Na Xinyi had the clearest feelings out of all those present. Nearly two decades ago, Wei Wuyin and she were nobodies of the Myriad Yore Continent. She had met him, and he had given her mercy by saving her from an ill-fate at a cost. At the time, she resented Wei Wuyin, and hated him to the very soul. But after she met him again, he had shown a side of him she hadn't expected.
Despite his strength, despite his abilities, he still took responsibility for his actions and was willing to do right by her. Very few individuals in the cultivation world had such principles and morals. No longer blinded by her hatred, the memories of before were cleared up from its foggy haze of indecision as she realized that she hadn't lost something but had been given a new lease on life instead.
It was inexplicable yet expected.
In her mind, she finally realized that if it was anyone else, they might've claimed all three of her Primal Yins and kept her as a slave at best, threw her corpse aside at worst. But Wei Wuyin merely took one, with her consent, and then set her free. He stayed true to his word.
Furthermore, he had saved Qing Qiumu and spared Long Chen in the Grand Spirit Trials because of her. While that wasn't exactly true, from her perspective, it was. From the perspective of the vast majority, it was. Even then, Wei Wuyin had kept her in his thoughts and considerations.
The memories of before were now fundamentally different than before. There was no longer a hatred swelling within her heart at the thought of their passionate night filled with incredible pleasure, eliminated by relief and gentle emotion. Her eyes started to brim with wetness, threatening to spew over.
°Why did I ever hesitate?° It was as if her connection, thoughts, and emotion to Long Chen had been thoroughly severed at that single thought by an unseen force. Her heart had made a decision before, but now, she was more certain than anything at the moment.
Lian Yu's eyes were indifferent, cold, and dark. She saw Wei Wuyin being praised by the world, and she could only think about Long Chen. To her, Long Chen was her world and Wei Wuyin was a threat to it. When she saw the intense reactions of those present, she couldn't help but clench her fists with abnormal tightness. Her nails nearly drew blood.
Qing Qiumu, Na Xinyi, and Lin Ziyan were all Long Chen's! In her mind, likely even in his, Long Chen had invested time and effort to help them, travel with them, and support them. But Qing Qiumu hadn't accepted him, Na Xinyi was fickle, and Lin Ziyan had directly had a change of heart. How ungrateful!
'Would any of you sluts have what you have without Long Chen!' She felt resentful in the deepest location of her heart. So to her, that handsome face on the screen wasn't provoking any emotions outside of blazing hatred and dark resentment. To her, Long Chen was the greatest man that deserved the greatest love.
Long Tingyu emotions were the most complex. To Long Tingyu, Wei Wuyin was her big brother's rival, and she was innately biased. But this bias was childish, so it had very little foundation. Should she be excited or sad? Even she wasn't certain.
While Hong Ru and Xiao Bing felt genuine happiness, holding each other's hands as they observed Wei Wuyin claim victory. Hong Ru had been revived thanks to Wei Wuyin, so she felt a heartfelt gratitude to him, and Xiao Bing loved Hong Ru, feeling even more intense emotions towards Wei Wuyin. If it wasn't for him, who knew if she would ever come back to her?
So they were happy.
Wu Baozhai, "…"
—–
The colosseum cheers slowly died down. Wei Wuyin relished in it while it lasted, creating an everlasting memory. But all things came to an end. When he turned to face the three leaders of the hegemonic forces and two Emperor Alchemists, he could see their varying emotions present. Even Qingye Yun's normally calm expression had twisted into something uncertain.
Wei Wuyin said, "Thank you all for being here, being a part of this moment with me. To everyone watching today, truly, THANK YOU!" His words resonated with the crowd. Sometimes, people simply wished to be acknowledged for their presence. It was enough to garner immense goodwill as countless individuals raved at his words, believing it to be directed at them.
They were a part of history today and they'll never forget it.
