Paragon of Sin

"..." 

Step. Step. Step.

Wu Yu arrived next to the hanging corpse. There was a clear, indifferent light within his eyes as he grabbed the shaft of his halberd, yanking it out of Nansi Yuangu's head. A sickening sound resounded of bone grating against metal. 

Thud!

The corpse lifeless fell on the ground, sprawled out. Wu Yu waved his hand, retrieving the spatial ring on Nansi Yuangu's finger. He shamelessly took the spoils of his victory. An easy, swift victory. 

With a pitying gaze, Wu Yu said: "So you were injured." There was blood leaking from Nansi Yuangu's mouth, not originating from his decimated skull. At the very last moments of Nansi Yuangu's life, his injuries had flared upon being assaulted by the full brunt of his enhanced Imperial Heaven Aura and Imperial Pressure. It was this that sealed his fate. 

The Legion Commander didn't exhaust its essential soul power for nothing, inflicting extremely heavy injuries on both Nansi Yuangu's body and Mystic Soul. Nansi Yuangu was strong, more than enough to retreat if uninjured. With his cultivation base, he could've ignited his Mystic Soul in the worst case scenario. Unfortunately, he had stepped forward in this battle at the least optimal time.

When Wu Yu inspected the sword in his hand, held in a vice-grip of the dead, he frowned. There was a distinctively dangerous sensation from the sword, one that he hadn't felt before. Just as he was about to take it, it began to shimmer with spatial energies.

Wu Yu realized it was trying to take its leave, return to its owner. But Wu Yu wasn't one to let something escape his mouth, so he hurriedly acted with decisive might. He clenched his fist and smashed it towards the sword, disrupting its spatial shifting attempt. It waddled chaotically for a moment before he grasped in its direction.

It shot into his hand, trembling and resisting, and Wu Yu frowned. There was a formation currently active, trying to use all its power to escape. Wu Yu was amazed. If others felt this, they might mistake it for being a living sword. 

"Hmph!" With a harsh snort, Wu Yu poured his mystic power into the sword, crushing the formation that was defiantly resisting. 

Crack…

CRACK!

BOOSH!

The sword crumbled into dust. Wu Yu was baffled, looking confused and stunned. Suddenly, his eyes flared with spiritual light and his right arm shot off, grabbing the empty space. When he pulled back, he felt a powerful object emitting a strong aura within. It felt as if he was gripping an entire world. 

When he turned to see Sheng Jizi, he saw a strange, shocked light reflected in his pupils. Realizing this might have been some trump card of Nansi Yuangu, he kept it in his Internal World without any regard for Sheng Jizi. As for the sword, it was designed to crumble if the return formation was destroyed. This was a mistake on his part, brought about by his ignorance of security measures established for certain properties.

Who would expect a powerful armament to have a detonation formation implanted within? There was no sign of its upcoming destruction nor a buildup of energy. If there had been, he could've suppressed it. It was as if the entire material structure was unraveled at its seams. This way was ingenious, preventing anyone from claiming the sword. 

While Wu Yu was assessing his gains and losses, the spectators outside were thunderstruck by the battle. 

"H-he was killed in one attack! An Earthly Saint!! Killed! OH MY HEAVENS!" Surprise unfolded.

"Nansi Yuangu…he's…dead?" Disbelief unfolded.

"Is the Grand Knight of Neo-Dawn that much stronger?!" Confusion and questions unfolded. 

It was endless. 

"Amazing! Satisfying! Worth it! FUCKING DIE BASTARD!!" A member of the Lin Clan, disgruntled, old, and bitter, their cultivation, life, and potential was severed by the deliberate oppression of the external clans, exclaimed in rowdy excitement. He had paid an absurd fee in the hopes of watching it at the slowest speed, praying for Nansi Yuangu's brutal and violent death!

He got his wish.

"I heard the Lin Clan's Lin Xianxei is Wei Wuyin's fiancée!"

"Yeah! It makes sense that Wu Yu killed him. Likely on his orders. Haha, how hilarious. Did he not expect it? Moreover, he was so freaking weak! Pathetic."

There were plenty of cultivators that chimed in, unaware of the nuances of the fight that ultimately decided things, discussing amongst their friends, family, or sectmates. They spat without any regard that the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region had just lost an Earthly Saint. As a whole, the Elementus Domain certainly grew weaker. 

"I heard Lin Xianxei is a nation-toppling beauty capable of bringing about the downfall of entire domains; If I had a powerful Alchemic Knight like Grand Knight Wu Yu, I would've ordered him to kill Nansi Yuangu too! Hehe, she'll definitely serve me with all her might the-ouch!"

"You? Served by Lin Xianxei? You're lucky I'm willing to accept your two-incher, bastard. 

"

"..." 

The legend of Earthly Saints took a tiny hit this fight. Nansi Yuangu had fought with astonishing grace and skill, plotting and planning that yielded no fruit. Unfortunately, to most, he seemed to be fighting an endless tide of power, and then was killed by a single throw of Wu Yu's partizan! It felt a little underwhelming.

In the Elementus Domain, the very recent Planet Neo-Origin, an hour after its creation, there was a massive group of cultivators gathered together, observing the Spiritual Projection Obelisk at a particular square. The upheaval of seeing their planet destroyed, rebuilt, and brought back was replaced by the raging interest to view this event. Amongst this large group of cultivators, three figures stood side-by-side with their eyes glossed by spiritual light.

One of these two figures had their body trembling, especially their hands that were tightly clenched. The delicate, gorgeous figure was none other than Lin Xianxei! The other two were Lin Ming, who was wide-eyed, and Lin Xianxian, whose expression was slack with shock. Her soft lips were in an 'O' shape, completely reflecting her mental state. 

"He's...dead?" Lin Xianxian's mental state was all over the place. Gong Lau was deemed a traitor, executed. Then, Nansi Yuangu, a figure that haunted her dreams, had died in such a violent, direct, and simple fashion. It felt too good for him. At least, that's what she thought after witnessing his lifeless corpse hanging from Wu Yu's polearm weapon. 

She had desired this so much. And here it was. The external clans were no longer a threat. The only thing sustaining them was the oaths in place, but their authority was smoke at this point, backed by no actual power. 

However, she couldn't fathom why Wu Yu felt the urge to go for the kill. Was it…maybe…because of Lin Xianxei? Her? What about Gong Lau? Did Wu Yu kill him too? Their appearance alongside Gong Lau's announcement of death was too coincidental.

Was it Wei Wuyin? 

This thought wasn't just hers. The trembling Lin Xianxei was thinking very similar thoughts. And it all stemmed from the question: Why? 

They didn't believe that Wu Yu was acting on his own. To them, he was an extension of Wei Wuyin's will, acting in accordance with it. So it must've been on Wei Wuyin's orders.

Lin Xianxei's eyes closed while fluttering about. What oath? What cage? Wei Wuyin was sweeping it all for her, almost eliminating a large importance that Lin Ming held. She couldn't help but recall the memory of Wei Wuyin taking her away. How he and his Seer joked about, yet…

"I think you're extremely beautiful, suiting my tastes exactly, but I won't take a wife so casually. There's a way for these things to proceed, unless you're fine with being a concubine of mine. Then, we can leave right this instant, host a ceremony and announce it to the entire world." Those words of Wei Wuyin struck her thoughts, including the serious light within his smiling expression. 

A way for these things to proceed? Was he sweeping her troubles away, giving her freedom to act as she willed without shouldering the burden of her clan? She didn't know why she was thinking this. 

In truth, she did—Lin Ming. That was his intention as well. His feelings for her weren't well-hidden, and it was clear he was waiting until the time was right to confess. She bit her lip anxiously. What if Wei Wuyin tries to court her now? What should she say? What should she do?

Her thoughts were an absolute mess. 

With the burden of the external clan lifted, she was free to have these thoughts, thoughts she would never have otherwise. It was magical what lifting a mountain does on one's body. 

As for Lin Ming, his expression was overcast. Wu Yu was terrifyingly powerful, but he firmly believed he would one day grasp that strength, even stronger than that! For now, he just had to take it one step at a time. For him, this sight wasn't demoralizing, but fuel for his ambitions to strive for the peak. 

-----

Sheng Jizi's expression was slightly unsightly. The World Stone was taken, and the sword was destroyed. How frustrating! How freaking useless was Nansi Yuangu! He had one…freaking…fucking…job! 

Sheng Jizi felt an urge to curse the dead, but he held himself back. It didn't matter to the grand scheme of things. The Wu Yu match-up was always a toss up. The actual deciders were Yang Chaoyue and himself. 

She just needed to…

A surge of spatial fluctuation occurred above his head. He lifted his gaze, a satisfied smile on his face.

A beautiful woman with a tantalizing figure had arrived.

"I'm not late, right?"