Whether it was Warrior Emperor Wuzang, Heavenly Dragon True Emperor, or the Great Dao experts concealed within the various Desolate Ancient Ruins, everyone wore expressions of utter bewilderment. None knew who Miao Rulai was waiting for.
Just as everyone was deeply confused, a strange change suddenly occurred in the void.
Though subtle, everyone sensed it.
The Darkness Flame burning in the void was inexplicably weakening, at the very least, no longer spreading wildly like raging, monstrous waves as before. The billowing smoke also seemed to thin considerably.
At the same time.
Warrior Emperor Wuzang, draped in a myriad of rays of light and as blazing as the sun, also inexplicably began to dim, no longer as divinely radiant or as dazzlingly bright as before. The feeling he gave off was like the midday sun gradually sinking toward the western horizon.
No!
It wasn't a sunset; it was more like a clear sky gradually becoming overcast with dark clouds.
Even the golden solar disc hanging above Miao Rulai's head seemed to dim somewhat, no longer illuminating the void as brightly as before. What was happening?
Why was this?
No one knew.
Warrior Emperor Wuzang's expression turned solemn, his eyes sharp as lightning. His divine sense probed, his gaze swept around, and deep within his heart, there was a measure of shock and awe—shocked by the changes within the scene, awed by the mysterious, gradually encroaching majesty.
Fearless and unyielding, Heavenly Dragon True Emperor roared angrily, "Who is it?!
Show yourself to this Emperor!"
Whoosh!
The Darkness Flame surrounding his body surged violently once more, spreading wildly, belching thick, rolling smoke.
Yet.
The moment the flames surged, they bizarrely weakened again, akin to lighting a match in the dead of winter—a large flame at the instant of ignition, but quickly diminishing.
This was true for Heavenly Dragon True Emperor, for Warrior Emperor Wuzang who was like a blazing sun, and even for the solar disc above Miao Rulai's head; all grew increasingly dim.
The entire Kan Palace also began to darken further.
It was as if...
As if a terrifying Darkness was gradually sweeping in, enveloping the entire Kan Palace Void.
Darkness!
Boundless, endless Darkness.
Infinite, limitless Darkness.
Everyone's hearts felt shrouded by this Darkness, filled with an indescribable, inexplicable fear. Especially as Miao Rulai's golden solar disc and Warrior Emperor Wuzang's pure, blazing sun grew dimmer, and Heavenly Dragon True Emperor's Darkness Flame weakened further, the Great Dao experts hidden within the Desolate Ancient Ruins all felt an intense discomfort at this moment.
This sensation made them feel utterly ill at ease, their minds somewhat panicked.
"How could this be?"
Bei Changqing's exquisitely beautiful face was full of shock and doubt, her lovely eyes holding a trace of panic as she asked, "Who exactly is coming?"
Suddenly.
She thought of someone and was instantly greatly alarmed, saying, "It couldn't be that fellow You Di, could it?"
Legend said that when You Di descended, the Great Sun would fall, twilight would envelop all, and as Darkness struck, it would be the twilight of immortals and demons, the end of heaven and earth.
Looking at the scene again.
Whether it was Warrior Emperor Wuzang's Great Sun or Miao Rulai's Great Sun, though they hadn't fallen, both were gradually dimming. The entire Kan Palace Void was as if shrouded in twilight, with Darkness sweeping in.
Heavens!
Could it truly be You Di?
For some reason, Bei Changqing's heart felt a flicker of excitement.
"No!"
At this moment, Seven Elders suddenly spoke in a grave voice, "It is not You Di!"
"How do you know it's not?"
"This old man once met You Di in the past. Although You Di's existence is mysterious, bizarre, unknown, and terrifying, he does not possess an innate, Xiantian Majesty. The legends about him—the Great Sun falling, twilight enveloping all—while not false, describe an Acquired Majesty."
Majesty is also divided into Xiantian and Acquired.
There are many beings who possess Xiantian Majesty, and also many who possess Acquired Majesty.
Xiantian Majesty, as the name implies, is majesty one is born with.
Such as Miao Rulai, such as Warrior Emperor Wuzang.
They both possess the Radiant Bloodline. Warrior Emperor Wuzang also possesses the Heavenly Dragon Tyrant Body. Whether the Radiant Bloodline or the Heavenly Dragon Tyrant Body, both belong to Xiantian Fortune and possess formidable Xiantian Majesty.
Merely by their arrival, without taking action, without speaking, without even using a thought or divine sense, their mere presence would affect all beings around them with their innate Xiantian Majesty. Those with weaker cultivation and strength would be unable to stand steadily before them, and might even be crushed to ashes on the spot by this Xiantian Majesty.
As for Acquired Majesty, as the name implies, it is majesty born from later cultivation and fortune.
Virtually all Great Dao experts possessing Xiantian Majesty also possess Acquired Majesty. For instance, Warrior Emperor Wuzang's Emperor Seal Throne, inherited from the Heavenly Mandate, belongs to his Acquired Fortune and naturally possesses Acquired Majesty. Not just him, but all experts who have inherited the Heavenly Mandate possess Acquired Majesty.
The difference between Xiantian Majesty and Acquired Majesty lies in this: Xiantian Majesty is innate; the person *is* the majesty, the majesty *is* the person—the two are inseparable. Where the person goes, the majesty inevitably follows.
Acquired Majesty, however, separates the person from the majesty. The person may arrive, but the majesty may not; the majesty may arrive, but the person may not.
As for whether Xiantian Majesty is stronger or Acquired Majesty is stronger.
Many say Xiantian Majesty is more powerful.
In truth, this is a matter of opinion. The reason many claim Xiantian Majesty is stronger is that experts possessing Xiantian Majesty are almost without exception heaven-endowed geniuses—superb innate talent, profound cultivation, formidable strength, high comprehension, and abundant fortune.
Experts possessing only Acquired Majesty were born with no innate fortune whatsoever, their talent extremely ordinary. Being able to cultivate Acquired Majesty relied entirely on their own efforts, step by step, fighting their way up. Whether in talent or comprehension, they cannot be compared to those heaven-endowed geniuses with Xiantian Fortune.
Those geniuses were born at the peak. Ordinary mortals struggle for most of their lives to barely reach that peak, yet those geniuses have long since stood atop the clouds. By the time you stand atop the clouds, they are already standing in the heavens.
This sounds harsh, but it is a fact no one can deny.
Take, for example, the Great Dao experts who entered the Desolate Nine Palaces this time. Eight or nine out of ten are heaven-endowed geniuses possessing Xiantian Majesty. Those possessing only Acquired Majesty are not absent, but they are exceedingly few.
The most famous among them is likely You Di, mentioned by Bei Changqing.
As is well known, You Di was born a mere mortal, and of a particularly wretched, trash-tier talent at that. When cultivating in the secular world, he couldn't even become an initiate disciple, remaining only a menial laborer. One could imagine just how garbage You Di's talent was.
Throughout the ages, there have been precious few who could dominate the vast heavens and myriad realms of the Great Desolation with ordinary talent. You Di counts as one of them.
Setting aside other matters, the legend of You Di alone—the Great Sun falling, twilight enveloping all, Darkness striking, heralding the twilight of immortals and demons, the end of heaven and earth—is sufficient to illustrate how terrifying You Di's Acquired Majesty is.
The reason Seven Elders was certain the newcomer was not You Di was because he sensed that the majesty enveloping the entire Kan Palace Void was not an Acquired Majesty, but a Xiantian Majesty.