Paragon Of Sin

Chapter 1913: Chapter 1905: A Gate

Scattered across the Proving Field of Battle were thirty million corpses. And walking amongst those corpses were demons of war, numbering a full 300,000, with their bodies covered in wounds or blood. Not a single one was missing, nor was a single soldier of the Saber Faction lying amongst the dead.

Much of the blood wasn’t from the living, and the wounds effused a clear smoky radiance, a sign of rapid regeneration far exceeding anything the Proving Field of Battle had ever witnessed. Amongst the wreckage of corpses, ruined land, crushed or broken machines of war, including siege weapons and mounts of draconic legend, an unstoppable army stood undefeated.

A black, silver, and white armored man with furled dragon wings at his back sat upon a pile of severed heads at the center of this graveyard of war. The severed heads resembled a throne, and each belonged to an exceptional member of the enemy army, either a commander, an elite, or a champion. It was those who drove the morale, inspired the troops, and commanded them to fight and die for their cause.

Wei Wuyin sat on a pile of severed heads, resembling a throne. He had claimed the lives of these heads personally in the recent battle of blood, steel, and death. It was brutality in its purest sense.

In the end, he had won.

An unrivaled victory.

Touching the nine Heavenly Runes on his chestplate, dancing lively within the crystalline saber, Wei Wuyin’s fingers landed on two of them—Peace-Maker & Conqueror. Originally, they existed, but were dim. Now, they were the brightest, alongside Slaughter, Undefeated, and Tactician.

”In a world of never-ending war, only when one has no enemies can true peace be touched. I had misunderstood,” Wei Wuyin heaved an enlightened breath. His campaign against the heavens was indescribable, constant fighting without a single loss of life, all attributed to the wills of war that allowed him to imbue qualities of his body, soul, and power into those under his command.

It reminded him of his Legion Commander Zhan Zhang in the Ninestar Domain when he had formed his body entirely with his innate energies, but with a far less intimate and intricate technique.

”The Transcendent Edict Potion has granted me an unprecedented level of advantage,” Wei Wuyin remarked emotionally. He had witnessed those who were affected by an artificial and genuine Edict of a Sage, slaughtered almost all of them, and the difference was utterly massive. Even those who had likely relied on an Edict Potion of greater than low-perfection had been seen, yet they too paled in comparison.

However, none of them had their souls and consciousness brought here, only their bodies exhibited some traces of their will and scant levels of their original strength. Before his power, they were crushed like weeds.

After coming to that epiphany of establishing true peace and complete conquest, Wei Wuyin unhesitatingly began to wage war across the Proving Field of Battle. His campaign of slaughter, conquest, and integration had alerted some functionality of the Heavenly Realm of War, and the remaining soldiers began to gather, organize their efforts, and ally themselves together.

Surprisingly, Alliance Intent and Deception Intent, both intents that could be attributed as a part of Charm and Illusion Intent of the Mind Dao respectively, only far more limited and focused, akin to the Siege Intent, existed here. They relied on this to organize quickly against his efforts, sensing a threat.

”The Dao of War...just like the Mortal Dao or the Mystic Dao has its own cultivation path, and like them and the Mind Dao, has integrated portions of each otherʼs Laws. I wonder how that works...” Wei Wuyin was exposed further to the secrets of the heavens and the profoundness of cultivation. However, he now understood why the three great daos were titled ʼgreatʼ by the advanced societies of cultivation; the term referred to embodying other daos without disharmony.

The Mortal Dao focused on cultivating to become the peak representation of mortal power, a literal Solar Star. However, within that path were Material Dao, Mind Dao, War Dao, Primordial Dao, and all the others that existed, and all that was accepted.

Meanwhile, the Alchemic Dao is a genuine outlier, having merged and accepted all of the Laws of every other Dao, capable of creating new and interesting Laws and functionalities of the heavens that donʼt exist normally, breaking the mold again and again.

Wei Wuyin touched his crystalline saber embedded on his chest. The Saber Law he cultivated. Out of the 3,000 Factions of the Heavenly Realm of War, not one of them was Saber.

Not one.

However, his Saber Intent was compatible with the Heavenly Realm of War enough to obtain no rejection when integrating and interacting with its laws and functions. These androgynous spirits of war that he called his brothers in arms were all capable of accepting his Saber Intent but not his Elemental Origin Intent.

Long ago before battling in The Battlefield, he had acquired the Mark of War, which had tried to tyrannically overwrite Kingʼs Saber Will. However, by the joint forces of his Spirits of Cultivation, they not only resisted the overwrite, they dominated the Mark of War and it oddly transformed, not to a Mark of Saber but a Mark of Annihilation.

He was confused at the time, but after witnessing 3,000 Factions wage war, he realized that Annihilation Laws were compatible with the Dao of War in some of its domains, like Siege related to the Law of Momentum or Alliance related to the Law of Charm.

Meanwhile, the Law of Saber seemed to have no relation despite having a connection with Swords and Blades. However, after experiencing this baptism, he understood somewhat why that happened. It was hard to describe, but it had to do with the foundation of Kingʼs Saber will—to bring an end to all things with its edge.

It was purer than the will to slaughter, less defined than the will to battle, and stronger than the will to survive.

And as he gazed upon the thirty million corpses, turning the Proving Field of Battle into a peaceful landscape without any sign of life aside from his soldiers for as far as he could see, he fully understood the Saber Will of bringing an end to all things. The war has ended. The battle had ceased.

He sensed no new births of these soldiers. However, he knew that upon his departure, the functions of this Heavenly Realm would disperse his permeated will that had been stamped into the earth and bled into the skies, immediately resuming an eternal war. He didnʼt have the power to permanently end the Law of War imbued within creation.

Not yet.

”To bring an end to all things, including war, hate, and pain.” King profoundly remarked as Wei Wuyin sat triumphantly among his defeated enemies.

”Haha,” Wei Wuyin laughed with an unrestrained heart. ”Brotherʼs will lives within me.”

”Within us,” Ori, King, Eden, and Kratos echoed in unison. Both Little Defiant and Element flared with activity.

”Mn,” with a faint nod, Wei Wuyinʼs spirit felt lighter. It was an indescribable innate transformation, achieved only after waging war against a literal heavenly realm.

”Itʼs time to return home,” rising from his throne of severed heads and conquered spirits, he gazed at the sanguine sky and golden clouds, sensing the pencil-thin silvery light imbued with the aura of eternity. This was what he assumed was a Bridge of Immortality that all Transcendent Mystic-Rank alchemical products possessed, and the transcendent Edict Potion had likely created this bridge, serving as a pathway to and from the Heavenly Realm of War.

Touching his glabella, there existed a gentle warmth that persisted within, thrusting toward the bridge. By his will, he could return at any time. A built-in mechanism to save his soul from potential eradication after transporting it into one of the 3,000 Heavenly Realms. It was a wondrous force.

Only something that touched upon that great dao of eternity could so easily interact and affect the Heavenly Realms of Law, far exceeding the conventional standards of power for the Soul Resonant Realm.

However, despite grasping all nine concepts of the Law of War, enough to build an unprecedented Seed of War, potentially a true completed product embodying every foundational aspect of the Law of War and its encompassing Dao, he still needed to ascend beyond the Proving Field of Battle.

He had witnessed firsthand and learned of this process via the innate knowledge of his soldiers. After acquiring a Heavenly Rune, the soldier would then crush the runes, evoking the power of the heavens to descend. The so-called ʼascensionʼ was a blessing. Then, the soldier would vanish from this Proving Field of Battle, entering an entirely new battlefield only after theyʼve nurtured that blessing to its heights, all to vie for greater authority afterwards.

This here was the perfect representation of the subtle battle that cultivators took to comprehend their Laws. After developing a concept, previously acquiring the qualifications to even do so, they would gain a Seed of Law tethered to their soul that could be nurtured via Soul Light, Heavenly Radiance, or other items to obtain Authority of a Heavenly Realm, capable of exerting an unrivaled will.

Upon obtaining Minor Authority, cultivators delved further into the concepts of that Heavenly Law, gaining recognition from the heavens and greater access to a higher authority. For Time Law, Wei Wuyin had to experience and understand several wondrous temporal phenomena to acquire Minor Authority, only after acquiring an intimate understanding of time energy and its flow.

As someone who had traversed the River of Time back during his first Astral Tribulation, he had long since acquired the experience Kratos held the innate understanding.

Fortunately, this understanding of time allowed him to learn that the flow of time was different here: every 24 hours was equivalent to a single month in his original world. However, the flow was more natural, harder to grasp, and if he hadnʼt retained his True Void Dragon Bloodline, he would have been entirely unaware.

That said...

[RIGHT ARM: Pride]

Karmic Luck Value: 303,501.5.

First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.

Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.

Third Calamity: Claimed - 3/3.

Fourth Calamity: Claimed - 18/18.

Fifth Calamity: Suppressed - 28 Years.

[LEFT ARM: Lust]

Karmic Luck Value: 303,501.5.

First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.

Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.

Third Calamity: Claimed - 3/3.

Fourth Calamity: Claimed - 18/18.

Fifth Calamity: Suppressed - 28 Years.

...he did lose three years. Despite the temporal acceleration, the incoming Calamity of Hell was determined by the age of his soul. The only exception was in the Samsara of the Stars, despite the passage of an uncountable amount of time, none of it left any traces on his soul or body. This was likely due to the Mortal Daoʼs unique Samsara Intent.

Wei Wuyin looked at his soldiers, who had finished cleaning up thirty million corpses with extraordinary effectiveness and precision, all standing in column formation while observing him silently. They were all exuding the highest levels of pride within their gazes, auras, and thoughts.

He couldnʼt help but smile. After three years of campaigning against the heavens, he had made loyal soldiers who would fight and die for him. Unfortunately, he had to leave these androgynous badass behind. The ones at the front were the first thirty-three soldiers he recruited.

He clasped his hand tightly, slightly bowing to all 300,000 soldiers. Just as he was about to utter a speech of farewell, they all, in unison, bellowed out with the Ascendantsʼ unique salute: ʼBY YOUR EDGE! WE BROUGHT AN END TO ALL!!ʼ

Wei Wuyinʼs eyes widened as he saw the traces of emotions within their hearts, reverberating in their voices. This...This! It was the greatest form of appreciation heʼd ever received!

He didnʼt need a speech. They were united with him in will and heart. They fought, killed, and triumphantly reigned without equal in this war. They had reached the finish line of a war that should have never, ever, ever ended.

With a crunchy sound, his clasped hands tightened harder as he bowed lower, deeper, and carried every ounce of his respect. When he raised his head high once again, he felt his soul feel an unimaginable level of satisfaction and pride.

He brought his hand to his chestplate, and with a mighty press, all nine heavenly runes shattered. They gathered into the crystalline saber, becoming a golden crystal containing all nine core states and concepts of war. He could feel it merge with his soul, attached in a way that a Seed of Law would.

There was nothing else to do.

Tapping his glabella three times softly, the bridge above erupted in clear light of eternity and purity, descending upon him with indescribable precision. He looked out at his army, branding their image upon his heart.

ʼIʼll never forget any of you.ʼ

The intensity of the bridge of clear light increased to the point that Wei Wuyin had to close his eyes, blinded by its eternal radiance. He felt his body lighten, and then with a whoosh, he vanished from the Heavenly Realm of War.

---

And if one looked back at the Heavenly Realm of Warʼs Proving Field of Battle, where 300,000 soldiers once stood in salute, or thirty million corpses lay slain, not a single living or dead thing remained.

-----

Wei Wuyinʼs eyes opened as he felt the familiar sensation of four lively Astral Souls, a Second Mind, a Defiant-sized Solar Star, a fourth-level Nascent Saber Soul, and three Spirits of Dao—two imbued with the Alchemic Dao and one with the War Dao.

Gazing into his palms, he could recall the sensation of fighting across the heavens, slaughtering all his enemies, and standing upon a throne of the defeated.

”Weʼre back! Weʼre back! Weʼre back!” Ori cheered.

”Hm,” Eden hummed thoughtfully.

”Tch,” King tchʼd softly, seemingly also in thought.

”Ay! Ay! What is that?” Kratos shouted in surprise.

Wei Wuyin immediately went to check on the Heavenly War Spirit within his Sea of Consciousness, but despite sensing her presence, she was no longer there. He traced her as a Mental Incarnation, finding that she had entered his Mindʼs Eye. He jumped into the gateway to his soul, and the home of Little Defiant, and his mind shook.

There was a golden gate exuding boundless heavenly majesty, rivaling the size of a peak Absolute Solar Star, utterly gargantuan to an incredible degree. Within it, 300,000 sanguine stars howled with intense, war-fueled light without end, tainting the immediate sky above it with a hue of sanguine. Etched into its gorgeous frame, humongous crystalline runes glistened at precise intervals like a clock with only nine hours, four on its right, four on its left, and one at its apex. They were the nine heavenly runes Wei Wuyin had acquired in the Heavenly Realm of War.

”Heavenly War Spirit?” As he called out, his gaze expanded as it landed at the very top of the gate. A cloudy humanoid feminine figure was greedily absorbing rays of golden and sanguine light from the gate in copious amounts. It was soaking it all in like a sponge.

”Is that a Heavenʼs Gate?” Wei Wuyin guessed based on its characteristics, but was indescribably shaken by how massive it was. According to records of the Heavenly Saint Phase, a Heavenly Gate was usually a few thousand meters high, and this was for demonic-tiered geniuses.

”Sheʼs completing her transformation!” Eden announced.

”Is this Heavenʼs Gate a part of her transformation?” Wei Wuyin asked in disbelief, despite already knowing the answer, because the gate possessed the Heavenly War Spiritʼs quintessential aura! It was a part of her! NO! It was her!

Was this the specialness of a Heavenly War Spirit? Considering the requirements and typically being earned by those in the Mystic Ascendant Realm, this was...

...INCREDIBLE!