Paragon of Sin

"This third Law Seed has an aura similar to the Imperial Heaven Aura…" Wei Wuyin was intrigued by this discovery. Did this mean that the Imperial Heaven Aura or its origins of power was related to a specific law? Was this why the Imperial Heaven Aura was so terrifying? If so, how profound was the creator of the Imperial Heaven Qi Method? 

Due to requiring the Imperial Heaven Ignition Essence to cultivate, this cultivation method was heavily restricted based on bloodline; in fact, the Imperial Heaven Qi Method, after learning more about the vast world, felt more like a Bloodline Cultivation Method than a typical one. Wu Yu's origins became increasingly unordinary as he delved more into it. 

Seeing how the three Law Seeds all rejected all other forms of power except the Omega Saber Soul Light, Wei Wuyin knew that the Mark of Law and Emblem of Law had caused these three to be created through King's quintessence, much the same way as Kratos had called forth the Law of Time after the Three Voyages were completed. 

"The Mark of Law and Emblem of Law is more profound than a Heavenly Treasure and its ability to emulate an Artificial Link could be considered on an entirely different level. Not only were these two items capable of internally manifesting the Heavenly Resonance of the Three Thousand Worlds, but they did so without any worldly phenomenon, and it was far, far faster. Whoever or whatever organization created the Battlefield had to be considerably more advanced as a cultivation society than the Endless Voyage Realm." Wei Wuyin carefully deduced as he pondered the implications of this truth, especially with the Endless Voyage Realm having a definitive link to the World Beyond the Fold, a place ruled by three Ascended Sovereigns.

Woosh!

A comet of shimmering starry light streaked towards Wei Wuyin from outside the Desolate Dragnet Stellar Region with mind-boggling speed. In a few mortal breaths, the comet of light arrived, halting respectfully before Wei Wuyin. The light dissipated, revealing the one and only Grand Knight of Neo-Dawn, Wu Yu! 

The regal handsomeness of this fellow hadn't diminished in the slightest in these eight years; in fact, Wu Yu's appearance and bearing had been elevated by the confidence of the truly powerful and the innate imperialistic light of dominance within his eyes remained ever-present. However, Wu Yu's eyes dimmed slightly after observing Wei Wuyin up close as his heart pumped irregularly. 

Wei Wuyin's gaze hadn't even met Wu Yu yet, his mind still on various matters beyond the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region and the three Seeds of Law. While waiting, Wu Yu felt that Wei Wuyin was somehow different. It was only when Wei Wuyin felt the faint rumbling within Wu Yu, eliciting a small distortion in his aura, that he lifted his gaze and casually waved his hand.

"Save those who died," Wei Wuyin instructed. When his gaze landed on Wu Yu, Wu Yu's heart rate inexplicably spiked. Having been Wei Wuyin's Alchemic Knight for the last two decades, Wu Yu had grown to react to a given order, but as a cultivator of the Imperial Heaven Qi Method, his actions were always done with the slightest resistance in his heart, reaffirmed and overshadowed by Wei Wuyin's unimaginable brilliance. For the first time, Wu Yu's inner resistance never surged, and he reacted almost instinctively.

A few seconds later, he found himself sensing the surroundings, his eyes gleaming with the light of time, assessing the recently deceased lives of those in the area. When he found himself forming a hand-seal as he pinpointed their locations of death, he was briefly stunned.

Wu Yu couldn't help but turn his head toward the standing Wei Wuyin. Without any protection in the widely-renowned inhospitable environment of the Dark Void, the Chaos Mana in the area acted as if it had met its rightful king, not even trying to infect him with its chill or filth in the slightest. There was a type of obedient will within it that caused his heart to shiver.

This wasn't the first time he had seen this extraordinary power of Wei Wuyin, and Wei Wuyin had even told him its name and how to obtain it, yet this was the very first time he felt that it was expected and as natural as breathing to mortals. 

"..." Wu Yu was unable to pinpoint exactly what the difference was. He sighed. With each meeting, Wei Wuyin grew more unfathomable. To what end will he reach? Thoughts aside, Wu Yu found the three Ascended beings' remnants. 

He swiftly calculated the cost needed and power required to reverse their states, and his expression changed drastically. He flickered back to Wei Wuyin, calmly explaining: "I can't; they were thoroughly killed by a strange power that seems to be interfering with time, and Temporal Reversion of a single one would exhaust my lifespan in one go. Even then, I'm not sure I can succeed." 

There was a reason why Ascended beings weren't Immortal and lives were still lost despite their existence. The cost sometimes outweighed what could be paid by a single individual. There was a general rule that with each passing second, time grew harder to reverse, and with stronger beings, they innately resisted the influence of time. There was an unspoken rule that for even mortals without cultivation, after three months, not even an Earthly Saint should attempt to use Temporal Reversion without the willingness to risk their lives.

If it wasn't for that, Wei Wuyin would've long since used Temporal Reversion to bring back his…

Wei Wuyin wasn't too surprised by Wu Yu's assessment; Omega Saber Force contained the omni-suppressive abilities of the Imperial Heaven Aura and was further reinforced by the power of annihilation, making healing or Temporal Reversion increasingly difficult. With a faint nod of understanding, he formed a hand-seal. He lightly waved his left hand towards their three burial sites and imbued the area with his Minor Time Law.

"Try again." Wei Wuyin calmly said.

Wu Yu inwardly frowned but didn't question it. He flew towards the areas again, inspecting them carefully, and then his eyes lit with a light of surprise. He could feel that the energy of time had softened considerably, making it roughly twenty times easier to manipulate. He didn't hesitate to tap into his vast Earthly Saint powers, accessing the Way of Mysticism's Temporal Rune, and began to reverse time. 

A few seconds later.

"..." The three Ascended beings were standing together, their eyes seemed lost in thought and disbelief. They had…died. 

Right?

The three looked at Wei Wuyin who was garbed in pristine robes of white, the tears in his back had healed, and his expression was abnormally calm. A mere mortal had killed…all three of them? It was hard for them to reconcile even if Wei Wuyin had smacked them around before, especially considering all the preparations and plans they formed to fight against him.

In the end, their advantages as Ascended beings had been eradicated by three swings of a saber. 

"Lord Wei," Highlord Bluecloud was faintly trembling as he bowed his head respectfully. Wu Yu was here, so they knew the fight was over, and they couldn't help but be fearful that Wei Wuyin was going to kill them again. 

"You three were amazing." Wei Wuyin, however, applauded them with a smile. They had acted on his orders, understanding the assignment, and killed him six times. If they hadn't fought with all they had, both with brains and brawn, Wei Wuyin wouldn't understand the limits of his cultivation base. 

Without King and Element, his strength was roughly equivalent to an above-average Soul of Mysticism cultivator, by the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region's standards. Given his means, he wouldn't be completely helpless against a non-Demi-Mystic State Highlord, but with their state activated, he was far from their actual match.

This estimation was purely based on an estimation of a fight with no environmental advantages or preparations involved, where Wei Wuyin was using purely his cultivated powers. After all, Wei Wuyin wasn't just an ordinary cultivator, but a Mortal Saint Alchemist with many treasures and tools at his disposal.

Unfortunately, Earthly Saints was something he wouldn't be able to resist with his strength alone. 

If the world knew that Wei Wuyin was slightly unsatisfied by his cultivated powers' limits, they would likely all die from disbelief, embarrassment, and heart-burning rage. Wei Wuyin was a measly Timelord, a mortal cultivator, yet he could fight against those who've ascended beyond the Mortal Dao, and was still unsatisfied? Most would kill just to be able to be invincible in their stage of cultivation, seeing that as an astonishingly glorious feat. 

Kun Yiming's lips quivered slightly as she touched her neck. While she had been saved by Wu Yu, she still remembered how she died. It wasn't as quick as one would think. She was an Ascended being, and her perception was lightning-fast, so when she was beheaded, she had thousands of thoughts and regrets flash through her mind. 

After hearing Wei Wuyin's praise, a wave of great relief flooded her soul, and she turned to the absent-minded Venerable Slayingsword. She reached out to grab his hand, causing his eyes to regain a wisp of light, and he stiffly turned to face her.

She smiled brightly despite her inner turmoil, trying to remain strong mentally. Few had truly experienced death and come back, and she never thought she would be one of them. However, her desires changed the moment her thoughts flew into her beheaded state. 

She sent a spiritual transmission to Venerable Slayingsword: "Husband, I want a baby." 

When faced with death, a person's priorities changed.

And Venerable Slayingsword's eyes lit with shock and disbelief, but that gradually transformed into incomparably pure warmth. They had been trying for years, but it was hard to say that their hearts were in it given their attachment to Wei Wuyin suggested a greater future. He strongly nodded, "Okay." 

Wei Wuyin noticed the change in atmosphere between the two and the deep reverence that Highlord Bluecloud held in his eyes. 

"Here's your reward." While the three hadn't lasted three hours, the limit was arbitrary and didn't truly matter. Fights between experts rarely lasted longer than necessary, and only when one wants to capture or defeat will a side hold back and cause fights to last longer. The time limit with the stipulation of their deaths at the end was purely to prevent that development. 

He tossed three Spatial Rings towards them. The trio caught it, instinctually sending their spiritual senses to inspect the contents, and their eyes explosively widened. Not a single one wasn't quivering from sudden disbelief. They seemed to be questioning if the contents were real. Kun Yiming had already swept her Spiritual senses over the contents several times over, nearly forgetting her desire to have a child for a bit. 

"This is too, TOO much…Lord Wei," Highlord Bluecloud was deeply stunned by the wealth and resources within. But Wei Wuyin shook his head, valley replying: "Not for the new members of the Ascendants, it's not." 

"...!" The three reeled at those words. They've heard of the Ascendants, a faction formed during Wei Wuyin's early years, and there was an organization of this name that was causing quite a stir over the last eight years. While it hadn't spilled over to the Mystic Ascendant Realm, they've entered and dominated several tiny and small-sized planets across the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. 

They were equally as mysterious as a few other budding forces as of late, and it was rumored they were all elites of outstanding talents.

Four years ago, a Soul of Mysticism cultivator took notice of their existence and acted against them. A rumored Ascendant was killed. The next month, the Ascended and his entire clan was wiped out, with the character for 'Ascendants' burned into their territory, spanning tens of miles.

It was a lesson to the world. 

There were all sorts of speculations spreading, with some even suggesting that the Ascendants were Wei Wuyin's organization. 

The trio realized that that rumor was true! 

Wei Wuyin smiled, "Unless you wish to stay independent?" 

"Of course not! Lord Wei, thank you for this opportunity!" Highlord Bluecloud was terrified by that question, and while there was no threat in the tone, the threat was the refusal to enter Wei Wuyin's inner circle by displaying any hesitation. The wife and husband duo followed as well, graciously accepting this opportunity.

Satisfied, Wei Wuyin nodded and solemnly said: "Good, then prepare. Chaos looms, and we must be ready for it."