Paragon of Sin

BOOM! BANG!! BOOSH!!

Raging winds of tempestuous mystic power unleashed havoc upon a grassland region. For hundreds of miles, the area was in complete turmoil as two lights clashed violently, fiercely, and explosively against each other. Each blow contained raw, unrestrained killing intent.

"DIE!" A Celestial roared.

"It's mine!" A Titan declared.

Their fighting was reaching a grand crescendo as their auras rose to terrifying heights; a Chosen life would soon come to an early end.

WHOOSH!!

As the auras reached a limit, a sky-sundering comet of earthen light blasted through the air, encapsulated by a hardened shell of earthen-yellow mystic power. The unexpected and thunderous activity caused the two rising and blistering auras to come to a brief pause as Mystic Wards reinforced formed around their bodies.

The soaring shell tilted as its momentum began to decrease at an exponential rate. It soon touched the grassland surface with a heavy impact, yet the grassland region was inflicted with a dozen-mile-long valley, landing shockingly a few miles away from the intense combat of two Chosen.

The shell slowly dissipated with an uncharacteristically gentle pulse, melting away into the grassland and enriching the ground. If this was a normal world, this area would become a treasured cultivation ground at the mystic-level.

"DIE!" Despite the interruption, the fight resumed with even greater ferocity as the Celestial sent out a Minor Ascension Art. Unlike normal Ascension Arts that were backed by an Earthly Saint's Awakened Mystic Intent of the Ways of Mysticism, Minor Ascension Arts relied on the cursory understanding of the Way of Mysticism by those at the Mystic Star Phase, Soul of Mysticism Phase, and Demi-Mortal Lord Phase, the first, second, and third stages of the Mystic Ascendant Realm respectively.

They were often weaker but allowed Chosen to establish a firm foundation of comprehension of the Ways of Mysticism and were often a good indicator of the eventual Runic Ascendant State of cultivators. These two were unleashing devastating Minor Ascension Arts with at least six types of Mysticism.

As thunderous blows kept being exchanged, grunts of pain and roars of anger fueled by haste echoed alongside it.

The earthen shell, however, had fallen apart to reveal two figures. There was a desiccated young man with a faint dusty breath, his blood churned with very little force, and his flesh and muscle had wasted away, resembling a skeleton with a thin layer of skin. Despite his fragile appearance, tightly held in his bony arms was a beautiful woman.

His eyes no longer existed as they had exploded violently from the rupture of rampant circulation of power far beyond his bodily limitations.

"Are....you...okay?" Three words were forced out with such force and will that they resembled the death throes of a forsaken animal, but they were incomparably gentle and earnest as if the answer to those words were of the utmost importance in his entire life.

The woman in those uncomfortably bony arms was left speechless. Her thoughts were in a complete mess at the moment, but if the bony man knew the reason as to why, who knew what his thoughts would be?

The image of a handsome scholarly man...

BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!!

The fight above intensified to a peak; the conclusion was coming.

Sensing the raging fighting going up above, the woman lifted her head as she left the bony man's arms. Her pupils constricted as she felt the auras of two Demi-Mortal Lords engaging in brutal combat. When the shockwaves of the fight came her way, what likely should've left her surprised and injured, was blocked by a faint earthen-yellowish ward. It was the last remnant of mystic power from the bony Chosen before her, seeking to carry out its owner's last will to protect.

Unfortunately, this was the furthest that he could take her...

Faintly, the bony skeleton could feel the woman leave his arms. A dusty breath of relief left his lips as his knees fell onto the ruined dirt and his arms powerlessly grew limb, hanging from his sides. Then, as if harnessing the last remaining of his soul's strength, he spoke: "Zhou Meilin..."

After sensing the situation, Zhou Meilin didn't feel as if the Evil Sentinel was following. She breathed a sigh of relief. Her thoughts grew focused as she planned her next move, but the sound of the bony Chosen caught her attention. Despite turning her head, the typically coldly indifferent gaze remained the same. The way she looked at him was not what one would expect given the situation.

"Thank you, Qian Yingjie." Despite her indifferent gaze and her neutral expression, she still uttered those words with sincerity. She sensed his situation; Qiao Yingjie had ignited his Mystic Soul and tapped into all his latent potential, executing a terrifyingly powerful self-harming method that brought his aura from the Soul of Mysticism to the Earthly Saint level. He had lost all qualifications to be a cultivator, even if he could survive.

But his current state was already touching death-there was no saving him. Unless a god arrived, he was already set to end here. She didn't even try to prolong his life using products, likely only capable of gaining a few seconds at best.

Zhou Meilin's eyes looked to his right index finger, her Spiritual Sense inspecting within, finding a few talismans, pellets, elixirs, and materials of relatively low level. Some Chosen had ways to send their rewards from the qualifying stage of the competition out, typically through a talisman. Despite Qian Yingjie's predicament, he still sent his high-level resources out before his suicidal actions.

This likely meant he had family outside and sought to leave behind some goodwill or wealth for them. Not every Chosen came from a great family or even if they did, the fierce competition for resources was often extremely dangerous, so earning them was difficult for anyone involved in that battle. If she recalled correctly, he had a little brother that he heavily doted on. Sending out his gains so early told how thoughtful he was and how he fully understood the weight of his situation.

His road would end here.

She sighed in her heart. They had divided the resources of those four Chosen from earlier, and Qian Yingjie and her had obtained the most due to their significantly higher contribution. Why did he send it away?

"I..." Qian Yingjie's breath came out slowly. Outside, a heavy, roaring explosion thundered out, muffled by the faint layer of power surrounding them. "I wish...things were...different." These five words carried all sorts of wishes.

Zhou Meilin looked at Qian Yingjie, assessing that he was no longer a threat. Eventually, she couldn't help but shake her head. "You've pursued me for so long. From the beginning, your perverted gaze disgusted me, and your toadish behavior was unbefitting of a cultivator. At the very least, you ended up being useful."

From her heart, she spoke her thoughts. When she started, it was hard to stop as a flood of thoughts she always wished to say began to spew out. "I don't understand pathetic men like you who are willing to die for women that you don't deserve. You know? You know...I've been with Liu Zhiyuan from the beginning." Her chest felt a wave of relief as she uttered those words. Despite his departure, she was a cultivator who understood their situation, and if Liu Zhiyuan had taken self-harming methods like Qian Yingjie, ruining his path of cultivation even if he survived, she wouldn't respect him or be able to remain with him.

It wasn't that she was disloyal, but she was realistic. Her lifespan would reach tens of thousands of years, but how could she remain with someone who had no strength, status, or future? He might not survive the next month. Would a mortal human stay with a fruit fly?

Qian Yingjie, however, replied with two words: "I...knew..."

"...!" For the second time today, Zhou Meilin's emotions leaked out, this time with extreme shock.

"I always knew. But the moment I saw you on that moonlit terrace that day, that was the day I fell in love. The heart wants...what the heart wants..." Surprisingly, his words flowed smoothly until they reached the very end.

WHOOSH!BOOOSH!!

A figure landed a few hundred meters away from them, slamming ripples of mystic power into the lingering barrier. A corpse of a sharp-eared, fluffy-tailed humanoid that was barely recognizable as mangled flesh and distorted bone warped their figure into a total mess.

Within their crushed, bloody palm was a piece of metal that radiated a strange light. It breached all the haze of flesh, and broken bone to the outside world as if to draw the attention of those in the immediate area.

"Fragment!" Zhou Meilin's attention shifted away from the dying man and focused on the fragment that was held in the Celestial Race's Chosen's clenched fist. From the color, she immediately identified this as the Aspect of Containment. With what she knew of the aspects, her eyes brightened considerably as a greed urge swelled within her soul.

Even if she had it for a few days, this was a heavenly opportunity that was worth it!

CRASH!A large, titanic figure that stood eighteen feet in height slammed into the dirt valley. They were bloodied, their body had all sorts of cut marks that went bone-deep, yet their eyes were incomparably brilliant and triumphant. The Titan eyed the two, noticing the faint layer of earthen-yellow light that seemed to touch upon the strength of Earthly Saints. While curious, he didn't hesitate to ignore the two as he reached for the fragment.

"Zhou Meilin...I-" Qiao Yingjie wanted to speak out a few words left, pulling together all his emotions as he hoped to make a forgettable mark on her heart today. His last day.

But Zhou Meilin ignored him, her eyes brightly lit as she observed the Titan's movements with fervent desire. But she knew this Titan was at the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase, his strength terrifying, but she still had a large majority of her strength and he was severely injured. If she acted, she had a chance.

She was making mental calculations and considerations on how to approach this situation, her mind completely occupied by the fragment's value. In the competition, there were many layers to it, and it wasn't simply to obtain all seven fragments and become Chosen King. The fragments themselves contained incredible powers that could assist cultivation in a myriad of ways.

It was a Heavenly Treasure!

Not even many Mystic Overlords owned fragmented Heavenly Treasures let alone a complete one. For example, the Aspect of Growth could grow all forms of energy. Yi Yun was currently using it to rapidly expand his Star Seed to have a greater World-Bound Star Domain.

The Aspect of Extraction could remove all impurities from one's body and cultivation base as well as extract the purest, gentlest form of energies and essences from any material. If used properly, its value was endless. The most common was outright extracting the impurities from Mystic-Earth products, turning an impure-quality product into a potentially peak-quality within a day.

Or the Aspect of Transformation could transform a mortal-rank product into a transcendent-quality product.

Or the Aspect of Fusion could rapidly exhaust the latent Alchemic Spirit Remnants within one's body into strength. Every product they've ever taken would be reapplied in effects and sometimes in greater strength.

The Aspects had endlessly incredible effects, and they could even be used in battle if used right. Her greed was not unexpected. The goal of most Chosen was not to become Chosen King but to obtain a fragment.

The issue, however, was that obtaining and combining Aspects greatly improved their abilities, and thankfully, they could be shared. So many Chosen teamed up, not to become Chosen King, but to acquire Alchemists to leverage against those with fragments and negotiate a deal.

How was this sustainable?

The Alchemists freed were tethered to the cultivator who freed them. If the cultivator died or willed it, the Alchemist would be sent away. Because of this, those who freed Alchemists could be considered as having acquired their support. Moreover, no Alchemist would refuse to assist because refining the fragments and studying them came with indescribably terrifying benefits.

It was said that many of the current Saints of the Everlore Generation, the term used by Alchemic Saints born after the King of Everlore's established influence in the last three thousand years, had observed and studied the Aspects themselves. No Alchemist would ever give up this opportunity! So they'd listen to the one who freed them!

"-live a good life." Qian Yingjie said his speech of incomparably heartfelt words that could likely leave anyone in tears, but besides the last portion, Zhou Meilin had heard none of it. The moment he had said he knew of her relationship with Liu Zhiyuan, she had lost the last remaining ounce of respect she had for him, replaced with derision and further disgust. It would be best if he just died a little sooner.

"Haaa..." Qian Yingjie, finally, breathed his last with a faint smile hanging on his heavily dehydrated face.

By this point, the Titan had seized the fragment with a bright, confident grin. He gave the two cultivators a last glance before urging his Mystic Aura to erupt, executing a Minor Ascension Art as he flew away!

With a clenched fist, Zhou Meilin could only watch as he left.

After a long moment, a ripple in space caught her attention. A scholarly-looking white-robed young man emerged from space. He looked at Zhou Meilin, sensing the earthen-yellow mystic power surrounding her.

"What a fantastic art." The scholarly Liu Zhiyuan couldn't help but marvel aloud. Not even the Demi-Mortal Lord Titan wanted to waste time trying to breach it. It was simply that powerful.

"Can you get me out?" Zhou Meilin asked, her coldly indifferent expression remaining.

"I can't. The last remaining will within can only end after being exhausted, and it seems to be tethered to your aura. But I can get in." Liu Zhiyuan formed a few hand-seals and his figure grew hazy. The will had very little intelligence and could only passively exist. He simply walked straight through and entered.

After entering, he couldn't help but glance at Qian Yingjie and say to Zhou Meilin: "I knew you'd survive, but to think this century-long investment of yours paid back such great benefits at its end. You left unscathed."

Zhou Meilin faintly smiled with a tinge of pride in her normally emotionless eyes. "A little kindness and a few careful words and idiots will die for an idealistic possibility that would never happen."

Liu Zhiyuan nodded, saying with a shake of his head: "Couldn't be me." After those words, he reached out to grab Zhou Meilin's slender waist, and ignoring the corpse of that fellow, hugged that cold beauty with a desirous light. After surviving life-and-death encounters, it was hard not to feel riled up.

Zhou Meilin wasn't surprised by Liu Zhiyuan's actions, allowing it as she pressed her proud mounds onto his chest. The two began to exchange kisses and touches under the protection of the earthen-yellow barrier. A misty light shrouded the area as they proceeded to indulge in each other's bodies.

-----

"..." Wei Wuyin's Celestial Eyes observed all this with a flat gaze. From beginning to end, he had seen it all.

"Despicable." A voice laced with disgust spat nearby. Wei Wuyin turned to see a glacial-eyed Wen Mingna whose pupils were golden. She had been observing what Wei Wuyin was using a profound method.

"Did you send her?" Wei Wuyin asked with a raised brow.

Wen Mingna nodded, her expression openly admitting without the slightest trace of guilt.

"You know that was his opportunity." Wei Wuyin shook his head, glancing at Wen Mingna's determined expression. If not for her need to prioritize digesting what he gave her, she would likely act against the two herself, but when did Heavenly Seers need to act directly?

A little nudge was all it took.

"..." Wen Mingna's expression remained determined as if she would have done it again if needed. In the end, she realized she was being a little too forceful and said: "He wouldn't care."

"You're right," Wei Wuyin sighed in the end.

But she definitely would.

-----

"Who are you?!" The Titan from earlier roared with two bloody holes in his titanic form, one in his left knee and the other in his right shoulder.

"I'll give you two seconds." A blindfolded middle-aged man said.

"What a dirty pair," walking toward the barrier was a hazel-eyed young woman holding an azure-scaled, one-horned dragon-like beast the size of a typical house cat.

"Are you hungry?" The woman asked the azure-scaled dragon in her arms, causing it to release a very cute, adorably soft roar and lick the air with its reddish tongue toward the faint earthen-yellow barrier.

-----

Author's Note: Q&A Tomorrow at Noon PST within discord! Come and ask me questions.

I always like bringing forth scenarios that WE KNOW happens in most novels but are almost never explored because we see from the MC's perspective.

And the thought process of this one had me bristling with rage throughout. I almost scrapped my plans and outright had WW deliver instant justice, even adding a bit where the unlucky fellow was saved and joined the Ascendants. But!

I simply couldn't let my heart go through with it because this is a bit of Character Personality Expanding/Development, not for WW. Thanks for reading! <3KevinAscending