On a rustic palace on a distant planet, three astral robed figures sat, drinking spirit tea. They were Twodigits Flamestar, Lord Mambt, and Sectlord Stillwater, the acknowledged three most powerful Daolords in existence. Their might was capable of shattering vast regions of chaos.
“What do you think about the Gamma Tournament? Hegemon Gamma and Supreme Sovereign Alpha must surely be bored. Lady Dustrain and Fiendgod Tixei’s team has already advanced to the third pass,” said Lord Mambt, leisurely sipping his tea, a treasure infused in a quantity so vast of spirit power, some chaosworlds would surely pale in comparison.
“Maybe our titles as the strongest Daolords of the Eternal Chaoslands will soon be taken away,” smiled and said Flamestar, and he waved his hand. A young looking world god dressed as a servant carried some treasure fruits in a plate, and offered them to the three seated figures. Stillwater, the beautiful Daolord that presided the Stillwater Sect they were in, pointed at the air and said:
“Let’s see.”
In the air a water membrane appeared, it extended across the hall, and soon had covered a gigantic area of a few hundred thousand kilometers, mimicking and reforming into a world where a gargantuan stadium housed ten hundred billion lifeforms, and where two transcendent figures were seated in levitating seats, laughing. As soon as the water projection mimicking technique deployed, Hegemon Gamma and Supreme Sovereign Alpha raised their eyes, and looked at the three seated figures.
“Hello, Flamestar, Mambt, miss Stillwater. Please seat with us and enjoy the show.” And they disregarded the three again, losing themselves in their conversation. Flamestar, Mambt and Stillwater, in their projection, seated beside the two figures.
“I’m always impressed by your Aquaform Projection, Stillwater,” curtsied Flamestar, Stillwater just nodded, satisfied. They then gazed at the spectacle below.
Two teams of cultivators were in the arena facing each other off. Their attacks exploded with fury.
“The winners will acquire a Triscent Opal. Such opportunity for the Daomerge can’t be missed.”
“I will surely get it!”
The three of them were powerful enough to cow most Eternal Emperors into fleeing, and even to make the Hegemons treat them with a bit of defference, but still felt their hearts rush to the prospect of winning that Universal Daoist Tournament and recieving a chance to complete their Daomerge.
The servant World God besides them said:
“But won’t Daolord Taiji participate? He is reputed the number one hidden Daolord eccentric in the Eternal Chaoslands.”
The three figures, Hegemon Gamma and even Supreme Sovereign Alpha felt their backs shiver. Sectlord Stillwater gaze pierced the servant with cold eyes.
"Sorry, exalted elders, I spoke out of turn. I will return to my quarters."
The figures ignored the man, but the feeling of danger did not leave their hearts.
"That freak..." thought Sectlord Stillwater, her heart restless, "I hope he doesn't show his face nowhere near me."
At the same time, Hegemon Gamma held a crooked, forced smile on his face. Hegemon Supreme had been his distant relative, and had been one of the few Hegemons of their race. His death resulted a heavy blow to the balance of powers, and the orphaned Supreme Association was now on his and Supreme Sovereing Alpha's charge.
Most of the time, the most powerful figures of the Eternal Chaoslands tried to carry on their lives as if Daolord Taiji didn't exist. The Heavenly Palace of Eternal Chaos, the most powerful organization, made their Daolord rankings not counting him, and in every conversation about power, might or any other thing, one could not hear a peep about this freak.
Even Supreme Sovereign Alpha seemed to remain unfazed, as if he never heard the words uttered by the World God servant. But the truth is that he was thinking,
"These are the worst 108,000 chaos cycles of my life. Happily, the probability this freak succeeding in his Daomerge is incredibly thin, almost nonexistent."
And a slight smile of satisfaction appeared on his face. Really, of his truly eternal life, a measly 108,000 chaos cycles were the blinking of an eye. Suddenly, a thought froze his heart.
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"But what if that madman comes here for my Triscent Opal? There is no way any other Daolord present would win it over him."
His eyes dilated in fright of the possiblity of an eternity with that madman.
"And what levels of power would he even achieve if he succeeds his merge? I can't even imagine."
But soon he relaxed again.
"That eccentric is probably sleeping somewhere, he surely won't come. And if he does..."
A dangerous frown appeared on his face. He was not disposed to repeat the loss of face that happened a few chaos cycles ago, when Hegemon Supreme had been annihilated.
He remembered that day perfectly clearly: He and the other Sovereigns and Hegemons were tranquil, doing their respective things, when a titanic, incredibly powerful disruption shook the entire Eternal Chaoslands. It originated from a distant corner of the universe that bordered with the endless void. Then the soulflame of Hegemon Supreme died, and the Supreme Palace became filled with cracks.
"Hegemon Supreme!" had cried the disciples of the Supreme Association. Soon, all the higher figures of the chaoslands were in the place where the disruption had started.
They saw there a solitary figure; a sloppily robed bald youth with a juvenile frown in his face, a brutally mangled region of spacetime around him, collecting the treasures of a nowhere to be seen Hegemon Supreme.
"Oh, hello old warts."
Controller Wi-qan, another Supreme Sovereign loosely related with the Supreme Association, with wide eyes, asked;
"Did you just kill Hegemon Supreme? Did... did you not even leave his corpse?"
Suddenly, from a spacetime tunnel, an enraged voice thundered,
"DAOLORD TAIJI! YOU WILL PAY WITH YOUR LIFE!"
The maddened scream arrived a single tenth of a second before the figure that appared from the spacetime tunnel. It was Daolord Maximum, son of Hegemon Supreme. His disheveled hair and his red eyes bulged like a demon's. He was the ranked number one Daolord of the Eternal Chaoslands, so powerful even Hegemons trode carefully around him.
"Hey, it's you, Little Supreme. Sorry about this, yes? Come on, I'll let you have your father's treasures, and I will even add my precious Boddhisattva Seat of Enlightment..."
"DIE!"
A titanic sword, ten billion kilometers long lashed against Daolord Taiji in an attack five hundred times the limit of the Heavenly Daos. Even the Hegemons there had the feeling this was a supremely fast attack. Daolord Taiji just sighed.
"I offered my treasured chair, are you not content enough?"
With a finger, Daolord Taiji parried the attack, but then ten million equal attacks came after it. Daolord Taiji did not need to use more than a finger to parry them all, a profound ringing of devastating power thruming around, power that would be capable of reducing to dust any other not-supreme level Daolord. Luckily, all present were unfathomably over that threshold of power, and did not feel much.
"Your sword technique has vastly improved since we used to play when we were both at the World Level. Come on, I'll teach you some of my Sword Dao in apology"
"ARGH!"
Humilliated, Daolord Maximum produced his Dao-seals, sending waves of mighty energy to annihilate Daolord Taiji, who frowned, and finally produced some other arts more than the movement of his finger. A little shield that revolved clumsily with a distorted yin and yang recieved the Hegemon-level attacks.
"Come on, Little Maximum, do not test my patience. Here Supreme was at fault."
The eyes of the Hegemons and Supreme Sovereigns flickered; they could clearly see by their incredible mastery over the Daos what had transpired here not much time before; Hegemon Supreme extending his hand over a vast stretch of space to collect what he fatally mistook for some shining treasure. He was killed only with the chance to whimper some pleas.
When the Dao-seals proved ineffective, Daolord Maximum started a suicide attack.
"TODAY IS THE DAY YOU DIE, TAIJI"
Taiji just stroked his bald head.
"Ai, sorry. I was just angry. But if it's your desire to die, let me do it my way, yes?"
Then he attacked, his hand coming down in a chopping motion as it instantly also grew ten billion kilometers long. The spacetime around the hand was not distorted, as if it was a surgical motion; only behind, in the path it had travelled, a line of pure void appeared. The supreme figures present frowned with worry.
"Yang Yin, stop. Stay your hand" Finally uttered Supreme Sovereign Alpha, using Daolord Taiji's real name. As a distant relative of Supreme, and elder of Maximum, he had to act. He streched his hand to stop the chopping hand. All this happened in the hundredth of a second.
The hand was a few kilometers from Maximum's head when Alpha's hand intercepted it. Or so the figures present thought. As Sovereign Alpha's hand closed trying to stop Taiji's attack, the chopping hand just kept travelling, passing by Alpha's hands as if passing butter. A body as tough as a Universe Treasure, probably strengthened even further by armor and secret arts was dissected like that, with no difficulty.
With a most embarrassing motion, half of the hand separated from the rest, and dispersed in chaos energy that was mostly reabsorbed by Sovereign Supreme.
An instant later, Daolord Maximum had been dissected and annihilated. A wisp of truesoul traveled from his slain and vanishing body to a little gourd Taiji carried.
"Come on, I'll let you have another opportunity at life. Well, old warts, I'm leaving."
All the higher figures were frozen while Taiji opened a spacetime tunnel with the piercing of a finger, and close as he disappeared inside. Sovereign Alpha had cold sweat on his divine body that should not sweat, and some semblance of fury mixed with fright arose in his heart. It had been many, many chaos cycles since he had felt that level of danger from a person, not counting the strange inert phenomena the universe had to offer....
As Supreme Sovereign Alpha awoke from his reveries, a powerful, young voice sounded.
"Gamma idiot, old wart Alpha, how come did you not invite me to this tournament of yours?"
The hearts of all five figures seated fell into a bottomless abyss of despair