Paragon of Sin

The discharge of blinding light was overwhelming. The entire starfield was flooded, so much so that the nine Solar Stars felt dim in comparison. Despite this, the thunderous sounds of fighting were ever-present, from the raging howls and screams of those Chaos Mana manifestations to the secondary battlefield's frenzied exchanges.

The three Soul Monarchs were forced to face their respective opponents in this tumultuous environment. 

The one-armed Soul Falling Saint used his remaining arm to halt the incoming gigantic sword with violet-colored gas effusing outwards. He steadied his breathing, furrowed his brows, and strongly thrust out his hand to clash with its edge! The sword was directly stopped after he was pushed a few hundred feet back, and his eyes glinted with a murderous light. 

The strength of over 300 Ascended beings, with only two Demi-Mortal Lords, was definitely not an easily dismissed topic, but towards the Soul Falling Saint, a 3rd Runic Ascendant—Mana, Spirit, and Spatial—it wasn't much. This was especially so considering the majority of this squad consisted mostly of Mystic Star Phase soldiers. 

Still, his eyes were slowly widening as he remained in contact with the sword. The violet gas began to swirl around him, and before he could react properly, it wreathed around him and penetrated his Mystic Ward as if it was non-existent. The violet gas was like a slithering snake that bore into his pores. Surprised, he hurriedly exerted his mystic power to repel the sword thousands of miles away before circulating his mystic energies to dispel any foreign material.

The gigantic sword had fine cracks laced throughout it. From its outward appearance, it seemed to be barely held together by the efforts of those within it. 

"Poison?" He couldn't help but voice out his question as he proceeded to aggressively abolish all the invasive violet gas that entered his body earlier. The Soul Falling Saint was appalled after an extremely brief period of time. While the poison gas had been thoroughly destroyed, his internal organs had suffered gradual decay and his meridians were damaged!

What type of poison was this?!

His eyes lifted to inspect the gigantic sword with thunderstruck eyes. If that poison had occupied his body for just a few minutes, he would surely have died. Moreover, his entire body felt numb, so he hadn't noticed the extent of the internal damage until after he eradicated it and had time to inspect himself.

Who were these people?! 

The Soul Martial Saint had suffered very little after the World Prison debacle, directly engaging in a fierce melee against a disembodied fist with spiked knuckles. He was far better off than the Soul Falling Saint, his expression absolutely baffled as he observed the 300 or so Ascended beings that were beaten and defeated. 

They had taken three of his fists before their strange Combination-Link Spiritual Array was destroyed. The Demi-Mortal Lords of this group were highly resilient, and their armor was forged from peak Mystic-Earth grade materials. Even he found it difficult to damage this grade of armor without exerting immense strength. 

However, those three fists caused both of his knuckles to be drenched in hot, golden-red blood. The rich, vigorous, and powerful yang energy emitted from his blood was unmistakably of the highest-quality. 

"Those spikes contain a strange intent…" The Soul Martial Saint was unable to pinpoint what type of Intent it was, but he knew it was terrifyingly unique, and it reflected damage. When he threw out his fist, he saw himself behind the gigantic fist coming at him with killing intent.

Mirage? Mirror? Reflection?

Regardless of what it was, it was abnormally odd. 

The Soul Martial Saint had won; the 300 or so Spirits of War couldn't muster any strength, seemingly entirely exhausted. However, they all stood together, weapons in hand, eyes fixated on the Soul Martial Saint, emitting an unyielding will. They were not done!

As long as they had life in their souls, they would fight! 

Hurdled together, they were about to launch a last desperate offensive. The two Demi-Mortal Lords were even preparing to detonate their Mystic Souls.

The Soul Martial Saint's brows furrowed heavily, heated emotions within his heart rising. Such spirit! Such hot-bloodedness! Before overwhelming power, the will to fight until death was extremely rare. Who trained these elite soldiers? 

They definitely weren't deathsworns, but genuine soldiers of war that believed that tomorrow might not be promised, but it was definitely worth fighting for. As long as you fought, you had the chance to grasp it. The blazing will had caused the Soul Martial Saint to hold off obliterating all these soldiers out of admiration. As a 4th Runic Ascendant—Mana, Oceanic, Spatial, & Infusion—he was far too much for a mere 300 or so Ascended beings to handle. 

The Soul Rumbling Saint was still within the flaming ball of sanguine flames. There wasn't even a hint of a shadow of his existence. It was hard to determine his fate. However, none of the Earthly Saints were worried about him. 

While the Demi-Mortal Lords of the War Talisman were of exceptional quality, they were still Demi-Mortal Lords. Even with the help of the other soldiers constructing a united Combination-Link Spiritual Array, otherwise known as a Union Arrays, they could only hold off these Earthly Saints using their unique means. A decisive tactic to buy time. 

Nothing more, nothing less. 

The Soul Martial Saint looked over to the blind radiance with a gloomy expression. It was still ongoing for so long. A wave of concern swept over his heart as he looked at the Soul Rumbling Saint's last position, now occupied by a tiny planet-sized ball of sanguine flames. A glint of rage flitted through his pupils. 

This bastard! 

An urge to strike at the ball of sanguine flames swelled within him, but he held himself back. Without Spatial Arts, it was hard to securely isolate these Ascended soldiers. He decided to ignore them. He waved his hand towards the defeated squad before him, sending them flying uncontrollably through the Dark Void. Without hesitating, he explosively shot towards the point of origin of the blinding light.

He soon faded into its brilliance. 

The Spirits of War all looked crestfallen at falling in their duties to intercept, unable to buy a little more time. But then, a powerful, world-rending sound that roused their spirits resounded! 

Neigh!

A horse's neigh was followed by an explosive impact. From the blinding radiance, a figure rocketed out with speeds several times faster than they entered. A stream of golden-red blood was left in their wake, floating gorgeously in the Dark Void. 

A series of clacking hooves sounded out and the Skeletal Warhorse emerged from the blinding radiance. 

"Urgh!" The Soul Martial Saint had his muscular chest caved in, an imprint of a horse's hoof on his upper-right torso. It burned with black-colored flames at its edges. He touched his chest as blood leaked from his lips, absolutely astonished by the terrifying power behind that attack.

What type of ungodly beast was this warhorse? Why was it a skeleton? Was it a demon? A beast? What the actual…

Despite all the confusion and questions, the Soul Martial Saint knew that he couldn't allow himself to be distracted. He exerted his power and tried to use Time Reversion, but as he tried to revert the damage to his internal organs, he discovered there was a strange force from the blinding radiance that was siphoning his time energies. Not just light or spatial energies, but time energies were also affected! 

Taking a deep breath, he used his mystic power to execute standard healing tactics, using life-based yang energies to facilitate. However, the black flames seemed to target and devour his yang energies, forcefully growing stronger. Like a spontaneous explosion, his actions caused him to be engulfed in black flames. 

"What?!" He didn't outright scream, but he shouted in horror. What the hell was this black flame?! All these beings seemed to be using tactics or means far beyond their understanding! For over a minute, he tried everything he could to disperse the flames, but was only capable of starving it off from harming his physical body through raw mystic-graded physical energies of his physique.

"Enough!" A powerful shout soon swept the entire Ninestar Starfield. It was domineering and unquestionable in authority, a byproduct of thousands of years of ruling experience. 

"He's alive!" Faye Liying exclaimed as she recognized the voice instantly. It was the Soul Saint King! Moreover, it wasn't weak or faltering, so he was definitely not harmed! 

The three Soul Monarchs all halted their actions. 

The Soul Falling Saint was dodging the gigantic sword, refusing to come in contact with the violet gas, and while he tried to deal with them, he had been poisoned once more, so he was much more cautious after. 

The Soul Rumbling Saint's unseen form suddenly manifested as a shadowy figure in the blazing inferno, and a powerful soundwave echoed out that shook the flames, dispersing it until the 300 or so Ascended beings were revealed. Their armors were cracked and their Mystic Aura was pathetically low. Their mystic power mostly exhausted, the Soul Rumbling Saint used the least amount of effort to disperse their trap. It was clear this waa his tactic as he was entirely unbothered, carrying a casual smile on his face filled with triumphant. 

Neigh!

The Skeletal Warhorse stomped its hooves and the black flames attempting to swallow the Soul Martial Saint receded in the blink of an eye. The giant of a man was unharmed, except his clothes that were burnt to a crumbling crisp, revealing his nude body and well-defined, bulging muscles. 

The blinding radiance soon dispelled itself, revealing the Soul Saint King's domineering figure. His clothes were undamaged, he wielded his Ninestar Radiance Sword proudly, and his posture was impeccable. It was as if he wasn't injured in any way, a figure of invincibility as before.

Those lime-green eyes of his swept the entire Ninestar Starfield. "I've allowed this foolishness to continue long enough. All of you, BEGONE!" He brandished his Ninestar Radiance Sword. Streaks of light shot out from it that encapsulated the 1,000 Ascended beings, sending them away as comets of light into the far-off distance. It was in Wei Wuyin's direction!

After handling this in a single action, the Soul Saint King gazed in the direction of the Earthly Saints that had accompanied Wei Wuyin. "Including you all," he coldly said as he waved his sword again. Similar streaks of light shot out and enveloped all the Earthly Saints and sent them away too, expelling them out of the Ninestar Starfield! 

None of them remained.

Not even the Trueborn captives. 

If one were to look closely, the Demi-Mortal Lord captives were also sent out alongside the Earthly Saints in the flurry of light comets. It seemed the Soul Saint King was wiping his hand clean of it all!

The flag that was wielded by the War Commander had mysteriously vanished, no longer severing the connection with the Mystic Ninestar Unity Array. 

Yue Lixiang, Yue Songli, and Song Yunhai were shaken. Did the Soul Saint King…kill that armored Earthly Saint?! Was that it? 

The Soul Saint King's lime-green eyes stared in the direction of Wei Wuyin. Those two minutes were recalled by him, and his heart trembled. In the end, he could only heave an internal sigh as he suppressed the severe injuries he suffered. With a heavy breath, deeply concealed, he flew towards the three Soul Monarchs.