Paragon of Sin

Three days passed since San Luoyang made his announcement, and all the Mystic Star Phase experts had been taken out of the crowd, brought into the skies, and placed on the same level as the Earthly Saints. They stood on a circular disk, surrounded by floating thrones, and many of their expressions were quite tense. 

The unfathomable aura of multiple Earthly Saints was exceedingly difficult to bear for these Mystic Star Phase experts, even if they did nothing but gaze their way, exerting the slightest traces of their will. The psychological pressure for some was so unbearable that some had to conjure spiritual wards to alleviate the impact. 

There were 12,427 cultivators on this disk, all at the Mystic Star Phase. Some were Sect Leaders, Pavilion Masters, Association Masters, Patriarchs, Matriarchs, or vagabonds at the end of their rope, finding a talented youth to pass on their legacies in the hopes of living vicariously through their success. 

The so-called 'failures' of the Mystic Ascendant Realm were now gathered and given value as they now had an opportunity to exchange their life's accumulated experience, knowledge, and know-how for a price. These prices were inscribed on jet-black tablets forged from obsidian, etched on by cyan characters illuminating their price, expertise, age, feats, and general summary of their cultivation method. 

The bits of information were given to a matching tablet that was of white jade in the hands of all those on the thrones, be it Earthly Saints or Creationists. It was clear that while Mortal Sovereign Alchemists were the participants in this competition, they were all equally invested in the outcome. 

The clash would determine a King of Everlore surrogate, highlighting the abilities of these Mortal Sovereign Alchemists, and establishing a defined limit for the next era. Furthermore, they didn't have to worry about the Ever-Domain Pill or Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill in this competition. The likelihood of a cultivator reaching the Soul Idol Phase from the False Reality Phase in three and a half years was inconceivable. 

Fortunately, the purpose of this clash wasn't to determine the standards outright, but to decide which amongst these Mortal Sovereign Alchemists had the 'right' to determine the initial standards going forward, emulating the King of Everlore! 

Wu Yu sat comfortably on his enlarged throne, standing out considerably from everyone else. Shockingly, no one, not even the Imperial Clan, decided to involve themselves in this matter. While dissatisfaction was clear, it simply wasn't worth it to antagonize Wu Yu over throne size. As for those truly petty individuals, they didn't have the strength to teach Wu Yu a humble lesson. 

Just from this, it was abundantly clear that in a neutral setting away from their homelands and geographically superior arrays, they simply lacked the confidence to be overbearing. Wu Yu felt genuine disdain for all these Earthly Saints who declared themselves 'hegemons' of their starfields or forces. 

It was utterly pathetic. 

At this point, Wu Yu held a perpetual sneer inside his heart toward the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region's powerhouses. 

"Do remember this: while they might not act now, that doesn't mean they won't act in the future." Ma Zheng advised through spiritual transmission to Wu Yu, trying to warn him that while individualistically, they might be inferior and lack confidence, this didn't mean they wouldn't spend the next thousand years plotting a decisive trap to end kill as a united group. 

It hasn't happened often amongst Earthly Saints, but this type of situation of 'ants' grouping together to slaughter the anteater wasn't uncommon, especially among mortal cultivators. Despite being Earthly Saints, at their hearts, these cultivators were all experienced fighters that had to bite and claw their way to their top, each with a more brutal story than the last.

The Grand Cyclic Stellar Region was by no means peaceful. For example, Xue Yifei led her dragons to dominate an entire planet, slaughtering the opposing forces without mercy. Not a single individual here denounced her actions, simply accepting it as a way of the world. The darkness beneath the surface was inky and turbid. 

However, Wu Yu only felt more contempt hearing this. This wasn't foolish confidence, but with the strange Mystic Rune in his heart, he already felt that his path to the Worldly Saint Phase, the Fifth Stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, was already present. A thousand years? Who knows if they'll still be alive then? 

A glint of vicious killing intent flickered in his eyes, purely fueled by his imperialistic heart. 

Ma Zheng could almost read Wu Yu's thoughts, and he looked toward Wei Wuyin subconsciously. The means this young man displayed far exceeded his expectations, and with the existence of that Mystic Rune that can incite the opportunity to ascend beyond the Earthly Saint Phase, it was clear that this world was destined to be his. 

The commencement of instructor selections started with San Luoyang reiterating the rules of the selection. While meaningless to these Earthly Saints, it served to remind those deep within their cultivation state to awaken and spectate should they wish to. 

The hype grew as hundreds of thousands awakened from their immersive states excitedly, experiencing monumental growth in their cultivation bases in three days. All cultivators that were at the first stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, the Qi Creation Phase, elevated to the second stage, the External Flow Phase, without any difficulty. 

While the cultivation standards of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region were far greater than the 'desolate' environment of the Desolate Dragnet Region, those at this stage still took time to strengthen their qi to externalize. Most were youths that were brought along by their parents, roughly five or seven years old. As for those in the Astral Core Realm cultivators experienced growth of their Astral Core by a small yet meaningful size. 

This was a heaven-gifted environment that many felt euphoric within. The Everlore Association's reputation had massively risen in their hearts alongside the creation of countless reverent gazes. 

San Luoyang finished repeating the rules and conditions of this instructor segment, including stressing the next stage will likely include these legendary figures deciding who to invest the next three years and a half of their time and energy into. 

"..." Yet, one of the most important participants was beneath the disk, unable to properly view the Mystic Star instructors. It was none other than Wei Wuyin! He was sleeping on a slumbering Bai Lin. It was as if this entire summit didn't exist as man and beast relaxed to the utmost. Beside him were numerous domes of mystic power concealing the cultivation efforts of Su Mei, Wu Baozhai, Xue Yifei, Na Xinyi, and the various other Chosen on the platforms. It became commonplace to conceal cultivation efforts, a trend introduced by Wei Wuyin. 

"How lowly. Peasant youth behavior," Xun Yaoci spat. From the beginning, the Grand Mortal Sovereign Alchemist of the Imperial Clan disliked Wei Wuyin's conduct, feeling that he was unworthy of his status as a Mortal Sovereign Alchemist. Now, Wei Wuyin wasn't cultivating nor caring about proper matters. 

Wu Yu grinned, "My Young Lord feels no need to participate in this selection—proceed onwards." Wu Yu's tone was domineering and forceful, entirely different from the typical passive Alchemic Knights that served their Alchemists like indentured servants. 

Xun Yicao snorted, "Establishing the foundation for his inevitable loss?" The derision was as apparent as an icy breath in winter. 

"..." Quite a few throne-sitting figures couldn't help but feel that this was true. In their minds, Wei Wuyin might have achieved the Mortal Sovereign tier but he lacked experience in concoction and proper mixture knowledge to nurture peak subordinates. After all, Wu Yu simply couldn't have been nurtured by Wei Wuyin who was younger than a hundred, and most were aware of his past as the King of Everlore's lackey. 

As for these 188 Mortal Sovereign Alchemists, they have been nurturing Alchemic Knights for hundreds of years, if not thousands, and he was considerably lacking in this regard. While Alchemic Talent could support an alchemist's rise, experience was essential to properly apply their abilities. They were all beings at the Mystic Ascendant Realm, while Wei Wuyin lacked an Alchemic Soul and was at the Astral Core Realm, further supporting the discrepancy in concoction speed and stamina. 

"Hahahaha!" Wu Yu uproariously laughed as if he heard the funniest joke in the world, bringing all eyes to him. He gave Xun Yicao an amused look. "No. He wants YOU," Wu Yu pointed at Xun Yicao, "to choose the instructor. Anyone you want amongst this crowd. Your choice. Of course, if you think it's too much for you, then that's fine too. I'll find a little child in the crowd to find a suitable instructor, who might be more competent than you in my honest opinion."

"In fact," Wu Yu chuckled with a derisive sneer, "A toddler could be a better alternative than you in my eyes. After all, old dogs have bad eyes, but at least babies can see Mount Tai. " 

"..."