Paragon of Sin

HOWL!!!

Zuhei's howl stirred the air, scattering the blood, and infusing the entire space with an air of dense bloody scent.

From within the depths of his soul, the newly conceived Law Seed seemed to thrum intensely. It was very similar to how Wei Wuyin felt when he slayed Xun Yicao before the Imperial Clan! The Law Seed was joyously celebrating, forming a stronger Resonance! The rate at which it was absorbing Soul Light intensified.

From the depths of Zuhei's heart, a sealed pill began to dissolve. It began to circulate its efficacy, and his body began to rapidly infuse with Soul Light! This Soul Light began to surge toward his Mind's Eye, darting toward his Seed of Law!

Zuhei's eyes, which were the epitome of savageness, regained a wisp of sanity. However, this wisp vanished as quickly as it appeared as it willingly retreated, delving further into the will of Sirius, the Silver Wolf!

"HOWL!!!!!"

BOOOOM!!

The entire world was overturned by an overwhelming will of predation and the thrill of the hunt! From his open maw of fangs and teeth, a strange soulful light flowed into his mouth as it was ruthlessly and greedily devoured, settling itself inside his heart.

Tian Yinwu moved into the hole as he pushed his hand out to form a large hand of starforce. It grasped toward Tang Xingyun as she entered the gaping hole. Tian Yinwu was forced to follow inside after realizing that Na Xinyi's power wasn't so easily dispersed.

The two vanished into the gaping hole.

Unfortunately, amidst the strange space between the walls, Tian Yinwu had stopped Tang Xingyun after dispersing Na Xinyi's power.

Tang Xingyun finally regained her sense of self. Her eyes were wide yet there was a calmness within as she was held by Tian Yinwu's manifested hand. She clenched her teeth as she stared at him.

Tian Yinwu stopped a few feet from her, dispersing his power as she was free to move and act. However, Tang Xingyun knew that she had no hope of escaping Tian Yinwu after being captured. They floated in the strange space that was a colorful haze of spatial energies, but they could see each other.

The beautifully handsome Seventh Prince of unfathomable talent and means, Tian Yinwu.

The Tang Clan's former Saintess, Tang Xingyun.

They were betrothed together by the will of the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor long before either was born, brought together by an inseparable fate, but they both had their own wills, dreams, and wants. In the end, they both sought the same goal, to sever the relationship.

The Tang Clan Saintess, however, had no means, power, or was talented enough to contest the will of the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor, and she would have no way to fight against it with the little time she had in her lifetime before they had to consummate their relationship.

The Seventh Prince, however, had the means, the power, and the talent enough to contest the will of the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor, and he had fought against it with the little time he had to ensure he didn't ruin her lifetime of happiness, struggling for power and status before they consummated their relationship, solidifying a possibly unhappy future.

They were both prideful.

But the Seventh Prince had acquired the power to achieve their goal, even getting the agreement from the Aeternal Sky Divine Emperor too. At the time, he knew she would be happy and he could pursue her openly without this unwilling tether.

Then, he found out the truth-

Tang Xingyun couldn't wait and wanted her freedom, laying with another man despite their engagement being known to the entire world. It was a sad...sad event...

Because he had the means to sever their bond, but it would forever be tainted by this one mistake. Timing was a heavenly thing, but the heavens were not aligned with their wills.

The two stood there, looking into each other's eyes.

Tang Xingyun had long since realized that Tian Yinwu knew after seeing him launch life-ending attacks toward her continuously while Sister Xinyi blocked him. "How did you find out?" She said while clenching her fist. In her mind, she thought about delaying for whatever time she could until Lin Ming or Na Xinyi arrived. Her heart's reliance was the only reason she could stand firm.

Tian Yinwu sighed, "I was told by the Imperial Advisor. But everyone in the Imperial Clan's higher hierarchy knows," he confessed. His shame couldn't be hidden as even his Sixth Brother knew. But none of them thought that it was his fault; they believed that Tang Xingyun was a trash of a woman that was unworthy of being his wife. Perhaps they would ridicule him if he wasn't who he was, the talented and powerful Tian Yinwu!

This would likely yield true for the rest of the world as well.

To them, it was likely Tang Xingyun was the epitome of stupidity and the fault was solely on her. Unfortunately, this was a matter of pride and ego.

"...!" Tang Xingyun realized that her secret was already exposed from the very beginning. Her imprisonment now made sense, including the coldness she felt from certain members of the Imperial Clan and not others. She had originally thought it was just them thinking she was unworthy of Tian Yinwu, but it was more than that!

"...I see." Tang Xingyun reconciled with the truth that her efforts were pointless. She actually found it quite laughable.

How could she possibly think she could hide her illicit affairs from the Imperial Clan?

"Yeah," Tian Yinwu gently said. He had no pity for Tang Xingyun. She was engaged to him and he strove to bring her freedom and happiness, but she betrayed him before becoming an Ascended being. To put it plainly, she was an unrepentant cheater; to put it bluntly, she was a trashy, lying slut who couldn't wait a little longer. The Tang Clan's former Saintess deserved this. All of it.

"Why are you trying to kill me?" Tang Xingyun asked as she racked her brain trying to stall for time. Her eyes stifled the urge to look behind Tian Yinwu toward the scenery of the sea of bitterness. She feared that her hope would be exposed.

Tian Yinwu's expression changed, revealing an outrageous look of disbelief and awe. He expected her to say many questions to delay for time, but this one? What a question!

"You..." A wisp of rage flashed across his hazel-gold eyes, but he eventually restrained his anger with a sigh. Eventually, he shook his head. "You know I did it," Tian Yinwu said.

Tang Xingyun's brows shot up, "Did what?" Her heart tensed.

Tian Yinwu brought out a golden parchment that was glittering with starry light. It gave off an imposing aura, seemingly inviolable and sanctified by imperial authority. To those of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, this was unmistakable!

An Imperial Edict!

"I got my Royal Father to cancel our marriage agreement. The officiated date is marked too," he showed her, sending it to her hands. She grasped it with unimaginable disbelief. When she looked at the date, her expression paled. This was far before her affair with Lin Ming. In fact, it was the day after she first met Tian Yinwu! Her confusion intensified.

Tian Yinwu explained, "He wrote this out shortly after we first met and told me that I can only announce it after I've completed a certain task."

"Task?" Tang Xingyun interrupted.

"It doesn't matter. I got delayed by several unexpected obstacles, but I completed the task in the end after several decades of effort. I was so relieved that I made it on time. But when I went to tell him, he told me of your...actions. I didn't believe it at first, but...the Imperial Advisor showed me a spiritual jade recording."

"Spiritual recording?" Tang Xingyun's already pale complexion went utterly white. So that's how they knew...they were following her or Lin Ming. In truth, it was entirely a coincidence as the Imperial Clan had tried to gather information about certain members connected with Wei Wuyin at the time, especially the Ascendants. It was a standard intelligence operation. The Golden War Realm was simply one area of interest, and they recorded every event in multiple secret realms.

"I..." Tang Xingyun was speechless.

Tian Yinwu, however, didn't stop there. He brought out a spiritual jade and showed the stored projection. It showed the vivid image of Lin Ming and Tang Xingyun's passionate night in a dimly lit cavern. It was uncensored, so everything showed.

Tang Xingyun.

For a man to see his fiancee with another man, even if it was an arranged marriage, was utterly indescribable. The only saving grace was that Tang Xingyun wasn't his wife nor had they ever had any intimate relations. In a way, they were near strangers with few interactions, and this allowed him to remain detached from most of those outrageous floods of despairing emotions.

"I-I didn't know." Tang Xingyun said, realizing that Tian Yinwu was working all along to get rid of their marriage after she told him her true thoughts on their first meeting.

Moreover, the task given by the Divine Emperor was bound to be utterly impossible.

But her words didn't bring Tian Yinwu any peace. In fact, those words only served to stir the smoldering fire in his chest. Didn't know? DIDN'T KNOW?!

"So you were ignorant that we were engaged? That you could become my wife? So you laid with someone else? Because you didn't know?!" Tian Yinwu's murderous intent flared. What type of response was that? It was as if she was blaming him for not telling her!

Tian Yinwu was a man of fantastic mental fortitude, so he wasn't broken down by this response or launched an attack out of anger. He simply smiled as his anger was doused by the realization that it didn't matter.

He no longer had the desire to talk nonsense with Tang Xingyun, crushing the one and only spatial recording of their affair into glittering dust, and turning his gaze toward the opening behind him. His eyes glinted with a peculiar light, and then he heartily chuckled and smiled in amusement, revealing an appearance that could steal the shine from stars.

Tang Xingyun stayed silent, her expression tense with dripping sweat. In her desperation, she reached to pull out her talisman formed by her mother. But as she tried to interact with her spatial Ring, she found it inaccessible.Tian Yinwu didn't look back, "this space is unique-spatial objects not forged by Internal Worlds are unable to be accessed here." After explaining that, he shook his head and shifted his gaze back to Tang Xingyun, whose expression was incomparably pale as a ghost.

"It's time," Tian Yinwu calmly told her.

The sound of a sword howl resounded!

While this was happening, Na Xinyi arrived near Lin Ming.

The Archaic Chosen was briefly taken aback, but his vigilance ended as he realized it was Na Xinyi. She had sent Tang Xingyun away using a profound spatial art and acted alongside him to defend against Tian Yinwu and Zuhei. Without her, his situation would've been more precarious.

Na Xinyi walked over, her eyes inspecting Lin Ming as he twitched as his cultivation base experienced some difficulties. "What's happening?" She asked as she got close, only a foot of space between them.

Lin Ming was briefly stunned by Na Xinyi's beauty. She was truly peerless! Moreover, she exuded a uniquely fragrant scent that caused his heart to race and his blood to flow a tad bit faster.

Urgently, he shouted: "Save Shulin!"

Na Xinyi looked at him, and she turned to Zuhei, a rushing figure blitzing toward Qiao Shulin. She turned back to him, "Okay."

Her single-worded reply perfectly matched Lin Ming's image of her overbearing, goddess-like aura. With that beauty and body to match, she truly felt like the ideal partner for any male.

Na Xinyi's yin force aura circulated, rapidly building up as she seemed ready to take off.

Lin Ming was deeply relieved. Na Xinyi likely could use her yin sword light to reach Qiao Shulin and send her away in a blink!

PA!

Lin Ming felt a cold sensation in his chest, and he subconsciously looked down to see a flawless illusory hand embedded into it, clutching around his Spirit Core.

"You!" Lin Ming lifted his gaze in utter confusion and abject shock.

"I see! This isn't your Spirit Core-how insidious. Well," Na Xinyi calmly said as she yanked out her hand!

-----

Author's Notes: Cont. of last note: If Wei Wuyin had never met Tian Yinwu during the Stellar Nest, Tang Xingyun would've gotten her freedom and Lin Ming and her relationship would've only had the typical bumpy obstacles but nothing too major. Not even mentioning of the basic derailment. It's genuinely the butterfly effect and I love it!One last chapter for this arc!

Erdiul Notes: NX haters gonna seeth for this, but she's kinda growing on me. She's obviously making a few bad choices, but she has grown into what she wanted to become. A person who can rely on themselves with her own power. Though this power being aquired because of the MC, and the fact that she doesn't want the world to know that, is one of her stubborn and foolish choices. Luckily for her, the MC doesn't care, and fully endorses it.