Paragon of Sin

"Chosen of He Clan. Age: 104. Cultivation Realm: Astral Core. Cultivation Stage: Sixth. Format: Ever-Domain. Entity Level: Mortal, Lesser Timelord."

"The Noble Clans are finally taking action!" Those from the Aeternal Sky Starfield hollered with excitement. The challenges thus far have involved no-name organizations and characters, those sprouting out trying to establish themselves. Except for the four young women from earlier, the rest were duds that either died off or gave up in the face of overwhelming odds. 

Those from the He Clan's box all felt the gazes on them, interest swelling by the passing second. They didn't think one of the top four Noble Clans would take action first, even bringing out their breakout Chosen, He Yanglei!

Above them, on the inverted stage, a handsome young man with pastel green hair and highlights of sapphire stood proudly, wearing the faintest of grins that exuded a natural sense of confidence. His eyes were a deep-sea blue that rippled as if they contained a great turbulent ocean. It lent him a feeling of vastness. 

"He Yanglei! I didn't think it would be him," A pretty young woman commented with a strange expression. She was a Chosen of the Ming Clan, and if Wei Wuyin was here, he would instantly recognize her! She was Ming Yuling, the mysterious young woman from the Devil War Realm's Elementus Chosen Trial, and the charge of Venerable Higheater.

He Yanglei and Tang Xingyun had become Holy Children during the trial alongside Wei Wuyin and Lin Ming. If it wasn't for Wei Wuyin's overwhelming might, she would've used her Apex-level Intent to similarly reach Holy Daughter status. 

The Ming Clan was also a Noble Clan, but they were amongst the bottom four, not possessing an Earthly Saint-level figure amongst their ranks. Unlike He Yanglei, she was unable to leap to promising heights after being expelled from it with the rest early on, only barely maintaining her position as a prospective Chosen by the old Chosen standards. She held the most complex expression imaginable.

"I can't believe it's He Yanglei! Oh my! He's so…scrumptious!" A young girl from the Ming Clan hollered with excitement. After the War Devil Realm, He Yanglei's rise was seemingly unstoppable. As someone who comprehended Transformative Water Intent, an Apex-level Intent, he was considered widely talented by his peers, but he was originally a cultivator of shallow foundations.

He Yanglei was considered a lowly existence, a cultivator that focused on using his comprehensive talents to compensate for his lack of bodily talent, jumping through cultivation stages with explosive swiftness. Despite reaching the Gravity Emission Phase before the age of a hundred, his combat strength was extremely poor. 

However, due to his comprehensive talents and age, he was still given the title of a prospective Chosen. It was said that his family had paid an absurd amount to help strengthen his cultivation foundation, allowing him to possess Nine-Rings, Nine-Ripples, and White-colored Primary Light before sending him to the Golden Life Pavilion's Devil War Realm that was extremely suitable for elemental cultivators like himself. They used everything possible to ensure his success.

When he returned, He Yanglei's bodily talent had changed. He could absorb essences, especially water-attributed essences and energies, at a far greater speed than before, rapidly elevating his cultivation foundation. Moreover, it was said that he cultivated a powerful physique method that granted him outrageous strength and capability to water energies, further supplementing his strength.

It took three years before he was given the title of Chosen, and earned the attention of the Earthly Saint of the He Clan, becoming his disciple. He Yanglei went from an obscure joke of a talent, supported by a wealthy family, to one of the greatest talents in the He Clan. A rising reputation as great as a carp entering the dragon's gate. 

With his rising reputation as a Chosen, he became the star in many young maidens' eyes. And as he stood proudly on the stage, the feeling of admiration and desire couldn't help but swell within the hearts of those wishing to ride the dragon's lap. 

Unlike Lin Ming whose existence was relatively unknown, the few years since had brought He Yanglei to the forefront, so he was the most famous male character to challenge the stage thus far. A rising star seemingly destined for great things. 

Within the Main Hall, Na Xinyi and Wu Baozhai had puzzled looks that betrayed that confusion. They looked at each other as if wanting to see if what they currently felt was an illusion of their imagination. From reading each other's expressions, they formed a resonance of understanding, realizing that they both felt Lian Yu's aura just now. 

They lived with Lian Yu for a long time. It would be an understatement to say it was close; they bathed, played, and slept in the same bed together at times, sometimes left together worrying about Long Chen's adventures. They were incomparably familiar with each other's auras, as close as real sisters. 

After Long Chen and Lian Yu ventured into that secret realm together, they never heard from her again. Wei Wuyin had only mentioned the death of Long Chen to Na Xinyi through a spiritual message while Wu Baozhai witnessed his death personally. However, neither of them was aware of Lian Yu's fate, especially since their line of communication with Wei Wuyin consisted of one-sided messages.

They, however, refused to look into it out of fear of finding out, especially Wu Baozhai who could've asked Wu Yu at any time. So when they felt her distinct aura, they both felt happiness and pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, it was just He Yanglei, not Lian Yu. That person's aura didn't perfectly match hers, so they probably cultivated similar methods, as they both were water cultivators.

However, unease kept growing in both their hearts and minds as they continued to stare at the screen. Without warning, both of their eyes glistened abnormally. Wu Baozhai and Na Xinyi believed themselves to be strong at heart, restrained with their outward show of emotions, and not ones to cry easily, yet they found the feeling uncontrollable. 

Eventually, Xue Yifei noticed this abnormality and jolted in surprise. "Are you both okay?" She never thought her rival, Wu Baozhai, would be on the verge of tears. As for Na Xinyi, she didn't know her very well. 

Wu Baozhai wiped out her almost spewing tears away before they fell, her nose sniffing lightly. "I don't know; I feel like my heart…my heart is…in pain." She didn't know why she was speaking out in this manner, but the feeling grew stronger as time passed.

They watched He Yanglei in action for longer, and the sadness grew to a hate-fueled animosity despite not knowing who he was. A desire to kill emerged in their hearts. 

Na Xinyi's bright grey eyes became dark and violent, oozing unrestrained killing intent. 

He Yanglei was a genuine genius. When he declared himself ready to fight this Lesser Timelord using the reduced standards of the Ever-Domain Pill, it hadn't ended immediately as some might suspect. While his World Armor wasn't very stable, he had a strange Water Armor that rippled on top of the World Armor, infused with Transformative Water Intent and World Power.

With this together, he fixed the issues of the Ever-Domain Pill's World Armor, supplementing it with his cultivation base, innate energies, and water force. The fight was intense, with the Lesser Timelord fighting using a barrage of throwing knives infused with metal force. 

He Yanglei's response used gentle water force to redirect and defend. The knives were unable to touch him. Then, he conjured ninety-nine water serpents that attacked fiercely and blocked effectively. Furthermore, when they were destroyed by the Entity's immense power, they would heal. The Lesser Timelord was forced to use far greater power to destroy the water serpents due to their Permanence and Transformative Water Intent imbued. Unless the water serpents were entirely obliterated all the way down to their core energies, they would all reform endlessly, besieging their opponents as long as the cultivator could control them.

This was the first battle that hadn't ended in the first few exchanges. 

"Oh? His water force contains wisps of Draconic Aura," Xue Yifei commented as she resonated with He Yanglei's attacks. The Draconic Aura granted these water serpents a strong physical power that smashed against the enemy with heavy force. 

The Lesser Timelord began to adapt. It charged towards He Yanglei, forcing an engagement of close combat, and with each of its blows, it could shatter continents! Yet He Yanglei was unaffected by the change, only unleashing a forceful aura that erupted into a nine-ringed Serpent-type Soul Idol! 

It was of an aquatic serpent with a frightening appearance! With a hissing roar, it infused He Yanglei with increased power, elevating his power. Instantly, the two engaged in a fierce melee that shook the crowd! They were unable to look away as He Yanglei deployed a type of momentum shifting style, using Transformative Water Forces to redirect crushing attacks while launching countless of his own at the same spot.

It didn't stop long before the astral ward of the Lesser Timelord began to wear down, exhausting themselves. This development finally revealed that the Lesser Timelord had a limited reserve of energy to use! It was the first time this characteristic was clearly visible to the crowd, allowing those who expected this for the sake of fairness to give sage nods and words of wisdom despite not knowing if this was the case or not before.

But no one sought to rebuke them. The fight raged on until the battle of attrition tipped into He Yanglei's favor! 

"How can He Yanglei have such massive reserves of energy?" Quite a few talents, especially the genuine Chosen, were startled by He Yanglei's absurd reserves of energies that allowed him to persist against a Lesser Timelord, a being of two stages above! 

"..." Wu Baozhai and Na Xinyi were similarly shocked, completely confused as to how He Yanglei could have a battle of attrition against an Entity above his cultivation. They had refused to do so because they knew it was a fool's errand. That was because a unit of the Entity's energy might be equivalent to a hundred of theirs. Even if their energies were a hundred times stronger, the aspects of cultivation made it extremely difficult to fight against them for an extended period.

After all, everything within the range of their Worldly Domain could be converted into 'their' power, reducing the exhaustion of their innate energies and forces while whittling down an opponent's. Despite this advantage, He Yanglei was exhausting the Lesser Timelord with relative ease, with no sign of weakening in his expression or aura.

"He's tapping into a vast reservoir of water energies inside his body to replenish his power," Su Mei pinpointed the cause with an indifferent expression. While she grasped the reason for his seemingly inexhaustible power, she couldn't determine its origins or how. 

"Good eye; worthy of being the first victor," a loud, imposing voice resounded throughout the Main Hall. The Su Mei and the others all lifted their gazes to see the grandiose thrones above them, surrounding them in the air, moving freely as if observing all creation. These thrones were extremely high up, and they couldn't determine any of these figures' faces from their distance, and each throne belonged to an Earthly Saint or Mortal Sovereign Alchemist.

However, the Mortal Sovereign Alchemist's thrones were smaller, and their foundation was a cauldron replacing their thrones legs. Each throne had unique designs, symbols, colors, and auras that felt terrifying to observe. 

Su Mei, Na Xinyi, Wu Baozhai, Xue Yifei, and Lin Ming lifted their eyes and their gazes were actively drawn to a single aquamarine throne with rings of water surrounding it. Atop these rings were various wine glasses, plates of mystic-graded fruits, and exquisite dishes. It was clear this figure was enjoying their lofty position in the event, watching the show without care. 

At the top was a grand character that rippled endlessly with mystic power, it said: "He." It represented the He Clan, the Noble Clan of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, and its Earthly Saint!

"He Yanglei is a talented Chosen of this generation and certain to have a spot in the next era, haha." The He Clan's Earthly Saint had a relatively soft voice, but it didn't reduce the praise and excitement within. 

"He's merely a lucky fellow, but who knows if his luck will last until the end." Another throne figure spoke with a wisp of displeasure, clearly at odds with the He Clan's Earthly Saint. 

But it did little to stunt the He Clan's joy. "One must be lucky to ascend the Grand Path of Cultivation, no? Haha." 

As they spoke, He Yanglei's fight soon concluded. When the Lesser Timelord Entity slipped in its attack, a result of insufficient power, He Yanglei struck at this weakness by merging his ninety-nine water serpents into a single water serpent. With a snapping chomp, the water serpent devoured the entity whole.

Boom. Boom. Boom!

It took a few more minutes of explosive resistance before it dissolved into liquid, melted by the ever-persistent water flow. A smirking He Yanglei absorbed the water serpent, his eyes filled with triumph, and he slowly walked into the Void Gate as the crowd basked him in awed gazes.

Who knew how many Saintesses were now available for him to choose from? How many would seek him out after this? His era was now.

Da-dum! Da-dum!

He touched his chest, feeling the beating of her heart.