Paragon of Sin-Chapter 1821 - 1814: Act I (3)

A single word reverberated throughout the Dark Void, startling souls and minds regardless of age or cultivation.

"WHO?!"

Imposing to an absolute utmost extreme! A grandest

challenge was requested by a foreigner, issued to each and everyone present, and there was not a single individual whose expression hadn't changed, whose mind didn't reel, or whose heart could resist pounding furiously in their chests.

Nevertheless, the domineering presence exuded by Wei Wuyin kept escalating without limit, pulsating with extraordinarily soul-crushing world pressure that cowed the Heavenly Force of six Mystic-Heaven graded tools! Those starry eyes of his were glowing intensely, blindingly bright, and unbearably aggressive. However, his visage of calm remained untouched, creating even greater imagery that was eternally unforgettable!

A long, very long moment of silence passed!

The scholarly voice split apart this silence, separating the thickly built tension with his strength laced with pure alchemical power.

"You seek to progress your Imperial Dao by conquest—by challenge?" The voice belonged to Alchemic Saint Zenith Refinement, a bona-fide Heavenly Alchemic Saint, and paramount leader of the Alchemic Dao of Refinement within the Refining Skies Galactic Zone. When he spoke, it was like a crisp mint, refreshing and cleansing the shaken souls and minds of everyone present. Their thoughts regained some instant clarity.

"..." The crowd of genuine galactic-tier powerhouses entered a contemplative silence. Was that his goal? But this was strange, right? Typically only the Law of War had such stringent requirements of conquest in relation to victorious merit. The Authorities of Imperial could be generally defined by the word: Reign.

It was a type of control, hence why edicts had godly might and could impose great restrictions, even subject things to specific orders. Wei Wuyin had used this power numerous times, reigning over things using commands that irresistibly imposed his will.

As for the Authorities of War, whether they choose the path of the Soldier, the path of the Commander, the path of the Champion, or an esoteric path that was less commonly traversed, the word that defined the law was: Victory.

In victory, claim your spoils. In victory, conquer your path through battle! Only in victory can war exist in one's heart!

The Battlefield only rewards the victorious, while the losers are forgotten, neglected, and discarded. Their bones serve as stepping stones for others.

The two commonly traversed paths that made those of the Imperial Dao increasingly frustrating were those who pursued reign over others and reign over territory. Each path had its advantages and disadvantages, and the most notable for the former was the slaughter or opinion of the general populace could significantly affect one's strength, even leading to one's death. Tian Taizong relied on this path, and that was systematically dismantled by Wei Wuyin over a cunning campaign. In the end, Tian Taizong had to rely on only his strength.

As for the latter—reign over territory—this relied more on spiritual imprints and karmic dominance within territories, and it allowed those relying on this type of Imperial Law to possess unfathomable strength within their territory. It directly granted them strength on par or exceeding a region-wide array interconnected to all things within.

However, when outside their territory, they were considerably weaker.

After various probes, the vast majority believed that Wei Wuyin had the 'reign over others' type of Imperial Law, allowing him extreme freedom as he explored the vast starry skies away from his empire. However, after Heaven-Saint Zenith Refinement spoke, it immediately allowed others to conclude that this foreigner cultivated a different type of Imperial Law!

Wei Wuyin didn't answer verbally, his tyrannical exertion of World Pressure was more than enough.

At that moment, it felt as if it clicked in countless minds, especially the Elephant-Tigress Sovereign. Her eyes were especially bright. All of Wei Wuyin's actions prior to this made things unnaturally obvious! No wonder he sought to fight her time and time again!

'He wanted to use me to advance his Imperial Law's authority?!' She felt extreme frustration. Still, she was unable to conclude what type of 'reign' this authority was under or why it had such strange requirements. What did it require exactly? Did he have to reign over the hearts of others? Establish an invincible image and aura to dominate souls, spirits, hearts, and minds? She was uncertain.

Suo Haoran's eyes sparked to life. He was curious if the Heaven-Saint Zenith Refinement was also part of this. Why was he so actively playing his part?

"..." Tianshi Zaoxuan swallowed the words he was about to speak, suspicion in his eyes like wild electricity.

Like the Elephant-Tigress Sovereign, those with an understanding of the Authorities of Imperial Law were besieged by confusion. Was there such a strange Imperial Law? One that required a challenge to progress? Moreover, this foreigner seemed to have been under an invisible restraint, unable to act proactively in pursuit of his next step but constantly trying to egg others on to challenge him.

Again and again!

While a little confusing, everything made sense from day one when the foreigner's peculiar need to be challenged was factored in. Did the Seven Utmost Towers already know this?

Was that why their Alchemic Edict issued during the Knightly Dao Calamity was passively handled? Countless thought they would directly act against Wei Wuyin, yet they only used proxies in the form of weaker members.

No wonder none of the Dao Enforcers hadn't taught him a lesson yet!

Who would want to become someone's whetstone?

But what was this situation? Did the foreigner orchestrate Su Yi's escape all for the sake of making a challenge unavoidable?! What a scheming mind!

Moreover, it wasn't as if they could refrain from doing anything either. Su Yi possessed unfathomable secrets, likely relating to reincarnation and rebirth. In the cultivation world, once one ascends to the Mystic Ascendant Realm, their existential framework was set, unchangeable, and irreversible. However, Su Yi began his journey as a mortal.

He re-cultivated his Mortal Realms and forged unprecedented foundations, fixing all his flaws and starting anew with all his advanced knowledge.

How miraculous was this? Who here hadn't advanced a realm with flaws or not as completely as they wished they could? They had to settle either due to the limit of resources or time, forced to gather knowledge step by step to progress. But if they had all that knowledge already? It was no wonder Su Yi could unleash strength at the Supreme Sage-level as a Mystic Overlord!

He wasn't even a Sage yet!

Can they truly stop here and allow Su Yi to recover? Allow him to cultivate further and further, become stronger and stronger? They would never acquire those heaven-defying secrets! They had to act now!

"..." The crowd was now unsure what to do. Play into the foreigner's hands or give up those godly secrets at a potential second chance at cultivation?! Either choice was frustrating to an extreme!

"We can all challenge you. I'm sure the Utmost Purity Galaxy can give you a significant loss," the feminine voice belonging to the Infinite Containment Galactic Zone's Zenith Containment Tower's Dao Enforcer echoed out like icy thunder, laced with murderous intent.

The corner of Wei Wuyin's lips twitched to an expectant grin for a thousandth of a picosecond, before he deeply furrowed his brow as if besieged by a thorny problem. In fact, his World Pressure receded slightly.

The Elephant-Tigress Sovereign's eyes brightened frighteningly and ferociously. She was about to take a step forward when a voice resounded in her mind via spiritual transmission, "Don't fall for his ploy."

Wei Wuyin's microexpression did not go unnoticed by some keener eyes. After Wei Wuyin was exposed as a schemer, orchestrating events here to his benefit, numerous eyes were far more focused on every fluctuation of his aura or expression, trying to read him. Only then did they notice his 'tell' that this was an extremely brief facial movement.

Within a half-second, transmissions were wildly released as everyone held off from acting aggressively.

A stalemate formed with Wei Wuyin frowning while the others were observing. After a while, the frown on Wei Wuyin's face vanished, returning to his serenity. He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, his World Pressure erupted with a greater ferocity than before!

"How boring," Wei Wuyin spat.

"..." The conclusions of those keen-eyed few were instantly validated! This bastard tried to bait their Resonant Soul Realm experts to make a move! He wants to fight! While they already knew this from Heaven-Saint Zenith Refinement's words, this all but verified their assumptions and conclusions.

Once again, they could only enter a stalemate.

Suo Haoran was counting the seconds, and after sixty-nine whole seconds passed, he broke the silence: "This is the Utmost Purity Galaxy, not the Prosperous Ruin Galaxy—our battles are waged through the Dao of Alchemy, not the Dao of War."

Tianshi Zaoxuan's eyes flashed as his alchemical power grew abundantly active. "Do you dare to accept our challenge of alchemy? Should you lose—"

Wei Wuyin's eyebrows lifted, interrupting: "—You want Daoist Su's location?"

The eyes of countless sparkled with desire!