Paragon of Sin

An hour zipped by swiftly. The World Realm of Endless Prosperity was clamoring with activity, so much so that shipping vessels were delayed. The news of a challenge for the Pavilion Master's position of the Golden Life Pavilion had spread throughout the realm, reaching the outside regions of Domains and Starfields. It was impossible to stop, and the spectacle involved too many parties and interests. 

The dialogue shared by most was that Ma Zheng, the former Third Branch Manager, had acted after his recent expulsion, feeling disgruntled with the leadership, acting to remove Sheng Jizi, the current seating Pavilion Master, from his position. There were other speculations as well, true and false rumors scattering and spreading like pollen in the wind, such as Ma Zheng was originally the founder of the Golden Life Pavilion, and all this served to amplify the already rowdy discussions.

But all the hype aside, the facts were the greatest interest-grabbing news. A battle between five Earthly Saints were about to commence, putting Ma Zheng and Sheng Jizi's means to the test to decide who will sit at the highest authoritative position within the Golden Life Pavilion. With all the crazy events recently, such as Wei Wuyin's Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill, the Saint Cyclic Renewal Summit, Wu Yu's Earthly Ascension, and the loss of an established starfield, this spurred far too many people desired to spectate.

And the Golden Life Pavilion accommodated. As a business first and foremost, the Golden Life Pavilion opened their doors to the various forces and experts of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region. As if Sheng Jizi had predicted this outcome, Spiritual Projection Obelisks' multi-formations were already attuned to the Prosperous Arena and those with the proper permissions would be able to view the fights with a fee attached. 

In that single hour, the world once again went wild with excitement. A fight between Earthly Saints! And they could view it! The right was beyond their imagination, and tickets were sold and bought from every branch, shop, and corner owned by the Golden Life Pavilion. 

Experts ended their closed-door seclusions, their intimate times, and various other activities to rush towards their Spiritual Projection Obelisks. After another hour, the line-up for the fights were released! The entire Grand Cyclic Stellar Region was thunderstruck! Most were excited, others astonished, and few had their brows twisted into a heavy frown!

Nansi Yuangu! Yang Chaoyue! Wu Yu! Faye Liying!

All Earthly Saints!

All renowned!

Every additional name was mind-boggling, shaking the world with tremendous waves! The most controversial was none other than Faye Liying. There were very few amongst true experts that didn't know about this name! The Soul-Rising Saint herself! The traitorous, thieving, and hunted Soul-Rising Saint—Faye Liying! 

Nansi Yuangu and Yang Chaoyue were eclipsed by this name, their discussions being relatively minimal. While it was shocking that Yang Chaoyue was participating on Sheng Jizi's side, she was simply a Sky Monarch, not an Imperial Monarch. Her status and actions weren't too indicative of the Imperial Clan's involvement. 

After all, if the Imperial Clan genuinely was invested into this challenge, they could've sent at least four other Earthly Saints off the top of many's heads to fight in her stead. And that was off the top. She was mighty as a Sky Monarch, but her strength wasn't elite amongst the Imperial Clan.

The only other name that shook the world as equally as Faye Liying was the Grand Knight of Neo-Dawn, Wu Yu! He was Wei Wuyin's Alchemic Knight, a recent Earthly Saint that, at ascension, escaped from two Ever-Knights and the Everlore Association. His reputation was stellar, and Wei Wuyin's mysterious origins, means, and heaven-defying rumored talent bolstered it even more. 

The speculation regarding his involvement was quite heavy, with many believing that Wei Wuyin was supporting Ma Zheng! While there were whispers that spread explaining that Wu Yu was acting on his own, the common thinker would easily dismiss such a conclusion. Wu Yu was Wei Wuyin's Alchemic Knight! It would be more believable if the rumors spreading said that the force behind Wei Wuyin was involved!

Of course, Sheng Jizi and Ma Zheng's agents of information spreading these rumors and bits of information would never allow this to catch on amongst the public. For Sheng Jizi, this could heavily influence his prospects in the eyes of others and the state of current deals if he won. For Ma Zheng, this could serve as an impetus for the force to involve themselves should he win. 

It had to be killed in the cradle. 

Another hour passed. 

The Prosperous Arena wasn't a typical arena that one would expect. It was an isolated World Realm that was single-focus in design. It was meant to act as a battlefield for Ascended beings, a training area for those elites to strengthen their powers, test their arts, and care not for the indescribable devastation they could summon forth. 

It was a stable, permanently upkept Shell World Pearl-esque world. The environment was bland, removing all natural environmental advantages that a cultivator could possess. There was no earthen ground, no spiritual platform, just a large, expansive space that was occupied by nothing but air, light, and heat. Furthermore, these energies weren't enriched, but at the most basic mortal-grade, only enough to sustain life. 

The entire arena was shaped like a square, so the dense, reinforced spatial walls of the World Realm were the ground, the platform, and nothing else. That said, a cultivator could easily summon forth an environment of their liking using their forces and energies. This bland environment, however, was extremely suitable for fair combat. 

The entire Prosperous Arena was 180,000 miles. This might seem massive at first glance, but it was actually extremely small for Earthly Saints. These were Ascended beings that could spatially shift, not to mention their typical movement speeds. To accommodate for this, the Golden Life Pavilion had set their formations to display a speed that was ten thousandth the actual speed. As most were experts, they could view it in its entirety without missing a beat.

For special circumstances, such as parents or masters using this as a learning experience to view it live, they could pay for an additional service and have the speed lowered up to a hundred thousandth the speed. 

At a far corner of the Prosperous Arena, Wu Yu, Ma Zheng, Huoyan Liulan, Ma Sujiang, Sun Li, and Faye Liying were standing in a row, looking at the other end as Sheng Jizi's group gather, the number on his side almost doubled theirs. Of course, those from the Golden Council were absent from either side. 

Wu Yu sighed in awe, "The Golden Life Pavilion never loses an opportunity to profit." Within these two hours, the world was instantly aware of this challenge. It was quite clear that Sheng Jizi had made ample preparations for it, the design of how to benefit was in place long ago. When he heard the pricing for a single ticket, he was deeply shaken.

It wasn't far-fetched to say that the initial profits rolling in in these two hours rivaled the Golden Auction's winning bid! 

He had an urge to say it felt oddly predatory, but considering the benefits of viewing Earthly Saints battle was not small, he actually felt that many were getting an amazing deal, especially with all the accommodations set for weaker cultivators. This will certainly aspire youths to aim for higher, their sights lifted by the awesome powers of an Earthly Saint. 

Wu Yu almost felt a little embarrassed to be in this show. 

Ma Zheng faintly smiled with a little pride, "Of course." He was the one who instilled the modus operandi of the organization, developed the Grand Demonstration and Golden Auction procedures. When he first started, it was limited to just a single city on a single planet. Now, their reach had spread throughout the entire stellar region. 

Seeing the fruits of his intelligence and creativity produce such delicious juices, how could he not be proud? He had to say that Sheng Jizi was worthy of his position as Life Branch Manager and Pavilion Master. He not only earned but stayed in that seat despite all the difficulties that came alongside it. 

"The profits of this viewing—who gets it?" Huoyan Liulan asked curiously. She was awed by how this was becoming one of the grandest shows in the stellar region. And even she had heard about the profits being raked in, the pricing of the base ticket, and she was awed by the gains. The thought of having Earthly Saints, or Ascended beings, fight was born in her mind.

Unfortunately, fights between higher beings were disasters. She didn't have something like the Prosperous Arena, nor did she or her starfield have the network or means to project the fight to countless cultivators. The venture might fail, especially if injuries unbefitting of the gains were sustained. 

"A portion will be given to the fighters, as per Sheng Jizi's arrangement. A total of 12% to each fight, with the winner of the fight claiming 10% and the loser obtaining 2%. 30% allocated into the cost of repairing the Prosperous Arena, maintaining the formations, and paying the behind-the-seen workers. The rest belong to the Golden Life Pavilion where the Golden Council, Managers, and Pavilion Master will decide which departments receive what based on a variety of factors." Sun Li, the First Branch Manager, explained calmly.

"Really?" Huoyan Liulan was stunned. Did she just miss out on a good chunk of profit? Damn Sheng Jizi! She gritted her teeth, glaring at the man that was tens of thousands of miles away with unerring accuracy. 

Ma Sujiang was awed by Sheng Jizi's considerations. "What do you think the yield for this will be?" She asked Ma Zheng, utterly astonished by the scope of this event. 

"Honestly?" Sun Li closed her eyes, calculating a variety of factors, and when she opened her eyes to reveal a bright gleaming light, she shockingly said: "If we're considering flat value, likely four thousand to five thousand mystic stones. That's a modest estimate."

"!" Even Wu Yu was astonished, so Huoyan Liulan's reaction could be imagined! That was an absurd amount of wealth to have, enough to buy planets and realms with ease. 

"The scale will be massive," Ma Zheng reminded them all. There will be countless that pay by impulse, and the price was affordable, so the numbers were heavily inflated due to sheer quantity, not quality of resources. That said, the price to achieve this feat might extend beyond 30%. This was because, unlike the Grand Demonstration and Golden Auction, countless wanted to personally see these fights, knowing they won't be long, and they will certainly be interesting! 

The quantity was an issue towards overall cost. In fact, besides the participants' payment, all could go towards costs. It was an ambitious venture to say the least. 

After several more minutes, Wu Yu frowned. "Why is it taking so long?" He was first up to fight, and his match was scheduled to happen an hour ago. The extra hour was actually unnecessary, and they had been waiting for this long.

Ma Zheng frowned. He was ready, with the Soul-Rising Saint right here. She looked a little younger than before. While she was still middle-aged with a mature charm, the wrinkles that were once at the edges of her mouth and eyes had vanished, replaced by smooth, gorgeous skin. With those pair of blue eyes that resemble peerless oceans, one could tell that in her heyday, the soul wasn't the only thing she raised with her appearance. 

With all his participants, himself included, the fight should've long since started. While it seemed that waiting was helpful in increasing profit for viewers, this was against procedure. 

Just as he was about to inquire the reason, a comet of light shot over from Sheng Jizi's group. Within this light was none other than Yangzi Yanshi, the Second Branch Manager. With an indifferent gaze, he landed a few meters away from them.

In truth, he felt a little pressure standing before four Earthly Saints. Their idle auras were gathering in unison, instilling a sense of pressure in his heart. Fortunately, he wasn't fighting any of these powerful cultivators. 

"What's the delay?" Ma Zheng calmly asked. 

Yangzi Yanshi looked at Wu Yu, then said: "Yang Chaoyue is late; she's waiting for someone to complete their tribulation."

"Is she forfeiting?" Faye Liying asked because the rules were clear. Her being announced and not arriving was a fault of the Sheng Jizi. It purely meant his rallying power, foresight, and means was lacking. 

Yangzi Yanshi gave Faye Liying an odd look. From her calm and graceful appearance, it was hard to see her as the thieving and traitorous Soul-Rising Saint wanted by the entire Ninestar Sainthall. 

"No; the rules state that if an important event, declared by both sides is sufficient, then the time can be extended until it completes." Yangzi Yanshi said matter-of-factly. He seemed incredibly confident in the extension. 

"And why would we declare an event important enough to not accept this easy victory?" Wu Yu asked with a scoff. 

Yangzi Yanshi grinned a little.

Boosh!

Wu Yu unleashed his Imperial Heaven Mystic Aura, instantly pouring it on Yangzi Yanshi's shoulders, causing his eyes to widen and his knees became half-bent, threatening to slam against the spatial floor beneath them. There were veins protruding from his hands and head as he resisted with his own Mystic Aura, and his eyes instantly reddened.

"That wasn't rhetorical," Wu Yu said with an imposing tone. The others were rendered speechless! 

Yet Ma Zheng remained unmoved as Yangzi Yanshi shot him a look, frustration clearly welling within him! Such humiliation! How could he…

"Enough," Sun Li interfered. Her Mystic Aura wormed its way in, protecting Yangzi Yanshi, and alleviating him from Wu Yu's overwhelmingly crushing pressure. Wu Yu reined in his aura. If he hadn't, Sun Li definitely wouldn't have been able to protect Yangzi Yanshi.

"Speak," Sun Li urged. Seeing how the First Branch Manager and Ma Zheng remained indifferent to his plight, Yangzi Yanshi gritted his teeth and slowly rose, not daring to glare at Wu Yu. It was clear that they weren't going to pursue Wu Yu's tyrannical actions. 

He calmed himself down, aggressively explaining: "She's currently overseeing Wei Wuyin's Realm World Astral Tribulation." 

"What?!"