Paragon of Sin

Shiing!

The Soul Saint King's sword was mind-blowingly swift. It bore down upon Zhan Zheng with gargantuan might and vibrant radiance, yet the War Commander remained unfazed, unhesitant in his counter. With a gentle step back with his left foot, the fixed space at his feet solidified so much that a curving continent of solid space formed for thousands of miles beneath his soles. 

Despite that step being backward, it was not an act of retreat, but a means of reinforcement! With the newly solidified space as his foundation, Zhan Zheng lifted his right arm to block the Soul Saint King's strike. 

An epic clash of metal on metal thundered! Zhan Zheng blocked with solely his armored hand, not being forced back a single step! 

Soul Saint King was stunned. His attack harnessed a tremendous amount of his mystic power, exhausting enormous levels of mystic energies, yet this strange being had taken it in stride! More importantly, he reacted perfectly without a single delay! 

As a cultivator with a Radiant Light Mystic Soul, his greatest asset was his speed. With his Primary Soul Light as the core of his light properties, it wouldn't be an understatement to say that he was the fastest cultivator throughout the entire Grand Cyclic Stellar Region! 

A heavy pride that had never been shattered amongst those of equal cultivation. Until today…

Despite the surprise, the Soul Saint King's assault didn't skip a beat. With a twist of his hands, he unleashed a diagonal slash as a follow-up! The wake of this slash could shatter planets, disrupt fixed space, and blind ghosts and demons! 

Zhan Zheng kept his footing solid, using his left arm to parry this sundering strike! Another thunderous collision of metal versus metal erupted. There was a serenity within every move of his, graceful, patient, and precise. The two blocks seemed simple, but at this close-range, it was like a mortal trying to react to lightning descending! 

Even the Earthly Saints watching was unable to see the two strikes and guards occur! 

'He's fast!' The Soul Saint King was taken aback yet again. If the first strike could be blocked through prediction and anticipation, then the second block required equal reaction speed alongside adequate moving speed. After all, they were way too close! 

However, he was more startled by the staunchness of this strange being's armor. There was no formation inscribed on it nor did it emit any unique properties. It seemed to just be raw materials refined as an armor, much like a mortal's. Yet this armor could defend against his Ninestar Radiant Sword! 

Even Zhan Zheng's Mystic Ward was unable to protect himself, being sliced through with ease. Baffled yet cautious, he needed to test the limits of this armor's defenses, so he integrated a stronger offensive tactic, exhausting an even greater degree of mystic power to launch a third strike! This slash was accompanied by an explosive spin, threatening to bisect Zhan Zheng! 

A distinct intent leaked out of his blade, sharp and swift!

Awakened Sword Intent!

Zhan Zheng's eyes glinted for the first time since witnessing Soul Saint King unleash his Sword Intent. The sharpness of this attack had a high likelihood of penetrating his armor forged from Essence of War, having Mystic-World grade defenses, if he was careless. 

Fortunately, his combat instincts and very nature refused to allow that. With a calm breath, he tapped into his World War Physique's innate power and roused his Mystic War Soul, riling up the war power within him! He formed a thin wall of solidified space as a third layer of defense, like a third skin wrapped around his body. 

Inverse World Prison - Spatial Armor!

The Soul Saint King didn't relent at this strange application of Mysticism. 

BOOM!

A tumultuous explosion of forces erupted, scattering the billions of nearby Chaos Mana manifestations. These manifestations roared out in the face of this catastrophe as if subjected to their true end, unwilling and unyielding. Unfortunately, they dissipated all the same despite their violent defiance. 

The Soul Saint King's sword was embedded into the Spatial Armor's torso area, releasing sharp, incising light that violently pierced into it. Yet the thin silver armor kept fluctuating with endless ripples that refused to die out. If one looked closely, they would see the sharp blade pushing a millimeter into it and then being pushed out by a millimeter as well! 

It was as if the Spatial Armor was a raging series of waves and the sword was a creature attempting to swim against the current. For every step forward they took, they would be pushed a step back!

The Soul Saint King's sword was unable to follow-through, hindered at the thinnest of margins. The elected leader of the Ninestar Sainthall's eyes narrowed sharply witnessing this defensive measure. He easily deduced that this strange being was continuously generating thin walls of spatial energy and kept his sword at bay. However, the thinness of each layer was extremely, extremely great. A single millimeter of distance was roughly 10,000 Spatial Layers! 

Even with his Sword Intent empowered slash, he was unable to gather enough strength to slice through it all in one go, and with his momentum seized, a stalemate would be forced upon him. Unwilling to enter into a battle of attrition against his opponent, unaware of the extent of his energy reserves, he hurriedly released an explosive output of mystic power, separating himself from Zhan Zheng.

In a flash of radiance, the Soul Saint King appeared over twenty thousand miles away, his sword held tightly within his right hand. 

The War Commander only ceased the Spatial Armor's endless tides, stabilizing it at a few tens of thousands of protective layers. With three layers of defenses, he seemed like an impregnable fortress that could not be sieged. With firm stableness, the War Commander had placed himself in a strong position. 

The Soul Saint King's grip tightened. Those three attacks exhausted more mystic power than the 1,300 exchanges before. The fight between experts were often extremely exhausting, relying on their strongest attacks to deal the swiftest of injuries or outright death. An early advantage was the best advantage! 

However, he found himself unable to eke out any advantage given his speed, despite forcing a close-combat situation that was incredibly favorable to his strength. It was as if this War Commander knew exactly how to fight against speedy opponents.

Firstly, he established himself in an unmovable position. If his opponent couldn't abuse his speed and attack from all angles while he's forced to react and defend, then that would neutralize an advantageous tactic. 

Secondly, he had powerful armor to block strikes and used the most steady, less complicated move to defend. 

Thirdly, when the strike could've threatened his layers of defense, he used a strange art that forced a battle of attrition, using numbers to defend against absolute power. 

The reason why the third was absolutely brilliant was that it specifically countered the advantages of his Radiant Light Mystic Soul! As someone who comprehended Soul Light and grasped terrifyingly powerful light energies, his flow of energies and utilization of energies was unmatched. 

Typically, if an Earthly Saint could gather 40% of their strength, he was able to gather 100% in the same time span. It was why even Han Yuhei was unable to face him. Whether it was his offensive tactics or defensive prowess, Han Yuhei should not be underestimated as an Earthly Saint far stronger than his Runic Ascendant State suggests, yet the Guardian of the Elements was unable to bring forth his greatest degree of mystic power to defend or attack. 

The disadvantage was absolute.

He was promptly dealt with, suppressed, and unable to resist! A hapless chick awaiting slaughter within a few exchanges.

However, this Spatial Armor delayed and continuously supplied energy through never-ending ramping, effectively canceling all of these advantages. Just the fact that this was only used after his Awakened Sword Intent came into play meant this strange being had a very clear understanding of power output and his limitations! 

The sheer combat sense displayed in these decisions were astonishing! 

The Soul Saint King would be praising it with a grand applause if it wasn't being used against him. Instead, he felt an urge to puke. 

At this point, a reprieve was established and the Earthly Saints watching could finally grasp the scenes unfolding before them. Those with acute senses of combat instantly realized what had happened!

Faye Liying, who was fully aware of the Soul Saint King's powers, was in awe, her mouth wide enough to fit an egg. It was unbefitting for an Earthly Saint, but the response was involuntary! 

When the Soul Saint King got serious, she expected this fight to be over in the first two exchanges! After all, the battles between elite experts were oftentimes extremely short due to energy and power output concerns. 

Yet this strange being of Wei Wuyin's matched him without moving being pushed back a single inch!

As for the others who couldn't grasp in the finer details, they were equally in awe, no, even more so! The three strikes unleashed a shockwave of destructive might that pushed almost all the planets and lunar satellites far out of freaking orbit! They were hugging the borders of the Ninestar Starfield piled together, some even slammed into each other, only remaining unharmed due to the Ennea Hall Alchemic Saint's protective preparations!

How fortunate they were! 

How devastating was this?!

Without those preparations, these two would have destroyed the entire starfield! At least, the planets within. The Solar Stars remained unmoved, their Mystic Radiance Belts released auroras of light that enveloped them. The Solar Stars of the Ninestar Starfield all had their innate defensive mechanisms, drawing power from their own Star Cores. 

The strength of their defenses wasn't something mere shockwaves could breach, even from two terrifying Earthly Saints. 

The Legion Commander of 10,000 Ascended, Zhan Zheng, had steadied his position intelligently, remained silent and emotionless throughout. When the Soul Saint King retreated, the War Commander thought to himself, '8th Runic Ascendant—lacking Oceanic, Radiant Light Mystic Soul, Radiant Soul Light, Mid-Level Physique, average levels of Spiritual Strength, low-level Application of Mysticism, and quasi Mystic-World armament with peak Mystic-Earth grade inscribed formation—limited by energy requirements.'

The assessment was concise and perfectly accurate, especially the Mystic-Earth grade inscribed formation on the Radiant Ninestar Sword! Its innate flaw was that its full strength required too much energy, and the Soul Saint King could only ignite all nine solar stars using his Mystic Ninestar Unity Array! 

Powerful, but reliant. 

It wasn't a threat in his eyes. 

There was a famous quote about war, said by an ancient sage of unimaginable wisdom. It said: "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."

Versed heavily in the Dao of War, these words were thoroughly ingrained in his spirit. At the start of the battle, he knew only himself. 

Now, he knew his enemy.

With a wave of his hands, a spear with a black finish and a crescent blade attached was summoned. With a forceful grip, he held in his hand and his entire aura began to undergo an intense change!