Everyone understood the implications but considering the cause behind his act, no one dared reproach him such an action overtly. That being said, most of those from the evil paths were already planning to end his pagoda with a full-on assault after this ceremony. Regardless of the reasons, his acts were inhumane beyond reasons. Evil was evil but it had its own limits and laws. Even they wouldn't ever go this far. They would bring down justice for the souls of their poor brothers.

Meanwhile, in the mountain, the woman had finished the transition. The Great Scroll of Soul Resurrection only had one ability: to safely separate one's soul from their bodies. It was something that only cultivators at least of the 60th stage could do yet this single scroll made it possible. But what did it exactly do? The user would first lose his body, forever giving it up. Then, he would exist as a soul. The soul sea obviously belonged to the soul which meant that even in this state, one's powers remained and could keep growing. It enabled a change in existence. One thing that didn't change would be the lifespan left of the user. It wasn't only the mortal body that had a lifespan limit, the soul did too. Unless breakthroughs kept happening, the soul would dissipate along with the body, claimed by the heavens to join the circle of reincarnation.

So, why was this scroll considered so powerful?

Because one was no longer in a state of physical existence. Basically, one would become something akin to a ghost from stories, unable to be harmed by anything that belonged to reality. Physical attacks would be ineffective and just go through their corporeal bodies. Even the elements would not affect them in the slightest. There were only two weaknesses to this form: spiritual energy and soul attacks.

Spiritual energy belonged to a different state of existence, just like the soul and so, could affect it. On the other hand, soul attacks could be deadly upon such beings since they existed solely as souls. There were a lot of mysteries regarding such beings that could no longer be considered humans but it was relatively agreed that they were powerful.

At least, in the actual situation, it turned an average contestant into a possible winner. Whether it be the death knight or the corruption elemental, they wouldn't be able to damage her at all with their advantages. If they faced, only the techniques and spiritual energy quantities would determine a winner. It evened the playing field completely.

But more than anything, it enabled the woman to cross the abyss unhindered. She simply floated through it, not being affected by the turbulent elements that acted as a natural. She reached the opposite end of the abyss and began to hear fierce sounds of clashes from inside the mountain. She might have earned a big advantage by turning on a soul being but still, she wasn't immortal or invincible. She decided to wait it out until only sixteen were left. She didn't want to take unnecessary risks.

...

Min-Su ran for long minutes. He crossed over from the magma area to the snow area and even reached its end, the border of the desert area. It became obvious that there were no longer any bridges left. He missed the timing. As he looked down, he couldn't see anything due to the blizzard and the sandstorm on the two sides but he felt as if he could see it, a dense black fog slowly creeping up. There was no choice anymore. Only one thing he could do. He wished he could have kept it for later but he couldn't keep such a mindset.

He took off the armor and stored it back in the spatial ring.

Then, he began to focus. Little by little, his entire being began to fluctuate in and out of existence, as if a blurry image. It shocked all the contestants and other experts. Even the five Saints had a hard time believing their eyes. That was because they all recognized what this was. It was the state of 'One with the Element'... A state one reached as he climbed to the 50th stage. Yet, here, they witnessed it from a kid not even thirty years old and not even at the 10th stage. They all had a single question on their mind: "How?" and they turned to Hae-Hyuk.

Hae-Hyuk, however, remained steady and focused on the screens. He couldn't care less about what the others were thinking. He was slightly unhappy right now. Min-Su shouldn't have been forced to use this trump card so early.

As his being kept blinking, Min-Su began to ready himself, focusing spiritual energy inside his legs. Then, he ran straight to the abyss and jumped. As he jumped, his entire body flickered out of existence except for a minuscule part of one of his fingers. This was the only part onto which the elements activated and pushed. Then, everyone saw that part being pushed down fiercely as another appeared where the previous one was. Min-Su was actively making use of the taboo he broke.

The taboo he broke was, as explained, the 50th. He reached the state of 'One with the Element' with the distortion element. This was the reason why Hae-Hyuk sent him to train with an elder of his clan instead of staying on top of the arena. Only a master of distortion could have truly taught him how to use his gift so well.

The state of 'One with the Element' was the third state reached by a cultivator on his path towards the End Point. The first twenty-nine stages consisted in 'Understanding the Elements', the stages thirty to forty-nine were about 'Understanding Oneself'. Finally, the fiftieth stage meant to have the cultivators achieve harmony from both understandings, actively fusing with an element and becoming a part of the world. It was the state of 'One with the Element' and it was a taboo that wasn't supposed to be breakable.