Paragon of Sin

The remaining remnants of the 43th and 49th squad of the Helix-Titan Battalion had gathered with the others, forming a united front within the scorched field as they discussed amongst themselves, nursed their grievous wounds, and dwelled on their experiences. A few soldiers were off alone despite being physically present, their gazes absent and dazed.

Since the fiery explosion and almost instant transformation of the Battlefield's environment, resembling a mythical hellscape of burnt corpses and melted bones, the titans were animated in their actions. They awaited further orders from their leaders.

Tai Hao sat with his legs outstretched and his torso upright, holding his sides as he grimaced with pain from time to time. That human soldier had dealt him a serious blow, and his pale as snow expression was evidence of his blood loss. Fortunately, he was triumphant and had the last laugh. While he walked away with a bloody stab wound, his opponent walked away to the next world.

He had removed his helmet, revealing his full facial features. Despite his pale complexion, he could be considered mildly handsome, with slim-like eyebrows and an aquiline nose. This alongside his sharp features gave him the feeling of an ancient general or king of the mortal world. With his short, tousled black hair and wet with drying blood, the valiant image of a victorious yet deeply scarred warrior befitted him.

Zi Fu still wore her helmet, her features still guised under its metallic sheen, and she walked over to Tai Hao and patted his shoulder. Unlike the rest, she was ready for battle at all times, never letting her guard down no matter the circumstances.

Tai Hao lifted his gaze to see Zi Fu and he breathed out a small smile, "Yeah?"

"Thank you," she said with her heartfelt emotions fully imbued within each syllable.

Tai Hao was taken aback for a moment, and then his smile proceeded to enlarge, becoming slightly more brilliant. "You're my ally. There's no need." After saying this, he chuckled softly.

Zi Fu gave him a brief stare, then looked elsewhere. The hellscape of burnt earth and smell of roasted flesh was still lingering within the air. It caused slight discomfort to the nose. "You saved my life; there's always a need." If Tai Hao hadn't aided her, she would've long since met her end at the hands of those human or celestial soldiers. Perhaps he would've died too. But together, they had survived. So her feelings were genuine.

Tai Hao's smile lessened and he sighed, "You've always been like this, huh?" When he said those words, he lifted his gaze towards the murky sky and roiling clouds that showed signs of continued battle against their race's Ascended. However, his emotions were quite complex and conflicted.

In this Battlefield, these Ascended fighting to protect him, these soldiers that fought alongside him, were all his greatest support and cherished allies. Each life he saved could eventually lead to his own victory, yet outside of this Battlefield, if Tai Hao and Zi Fu were to meet, they might be forced to fight to the death.

The complex situation of the Battlefield versus the outside world was quite intense, a sharp contrast. There was no unquestionable racial solidarity there, only tangible benefits, division of loyalties, and interests. Out there, it would be in his best interest to bring Zi Fu's head to his clan. Here, he risked his own life to save her, fighting side-by-side.

He didn't know whether his thoughts were mocking himself, the Battlefield, or the outside world.

The two remained silent.

Just then, a faint spiritual strength swept them. Zi Fu's heart throbbed fiercely as she gripped her sword, looking around as she saw a figure garbed in black martial arts attire, completely unlike the battle robes or armor of the typical Battlefield participant.

Tai Hao exclaimed softly, grimacing as he tried to rise, "Spiritualist?" The others reacted too, with many entering a battle position as if on muscle memory or instinct. It was only when they saw the human figure that had shown up randomly, taken out a Squad Leader, and became one himself.

The handsome visage of this smaller-than-them human was in full view, and he carried the smallest of smiles that highlighted his appearance. A few hadn't noticed how otherworldly that face was, carrying with it a charm that could beguile all senses.

When Wei Wuyin walked over, he was given the full inspection by all these titans present. Unfortunately, the clarity of his spiritual sense was incredibly unclear, so he could barely make out their expressions. Still, he made his way there and arrived within the group.

"How many members of the 49th Unit are left?" Wei Wuyin directly asked, causing the soldiers to shuffle around and look at each other. It didn't take long for Tai Hao and Zi Fu, who was carrying the former, to come forth. It was just the two of them left.

The unit was already small with slightly over a dozen soldiers. To have two was already astonishing. Some entire units were eradicated, their corpses still littering the battlefield with lingering grievance and a want for life that'll never come.

Wei Wuyin inwardly felt relieved seeing Zi Fu, this female titan, survive. He wondered if his Karmic Luck had kicked in and allowed her to survive, or increased her chances of survival due to his interest or desire for her safety. He wasn't certain of the exact required parameters to be considered tied by karma. Yet it was a very appreciated sight.

Outwardly, his expression was slightly dark. In truth, this was mostly his fault. As a Squad Leader, he was to be the strongest member in the unit, protecting and directing them. Unfortunately, he wasn't familiar with titan-taught war tactics and combat formations.

Well, he thoroughly eradicated their enemies and allowed them time to rest and nurse their wounds, so he had done more than enough as a squad leader and a member of the Helix-Titan Battalion. After all, who knew how many would end up dying in the remaining time?

After all, there were still over eleven hours left. While most battles would've been decided by them, with a victor of a certain race decided long before then, from how this battlefield's trend was happening, the titans were not going to be the final victor. However, his actions led them to an astonishing victory.

Just surviving the battlefield gave War Souls, so this would be a boon to them all.

"Sir!" Zi Fu called out, clearly seeking permission to speak or ask a question. Regardless of what, she was quite well-trained to await her unit leader's response. Wei Wuyin acknowledged this female titan before him, and then said: "Speak your mind, Soldier."

Zi Fu said with a soft nod, "That explosion of flames, do you have any idea what happened?" This question was on the lips of everyone present. If it was caused by an Ascended, the War Spirit wouldn't have protected them. However, how could a mortal-level cultivator hope to generate such might, in the Battlefield no less?

With energy restricted, that explosion could've incinerated entire planets and a large swath of a starfield in an instant.

Wei Wuyin frowned slightly, uncertain if he should explain clearly or state his responsibility. While he was aware that every force and individual that participates in the Battlefield swore heavy Mystical Oaths tethered to unique items that reinforced their strength and elevated their punishment, to prevent external conflict, schemes, and revenge outside of the Battlefield, he wasn't certain if he should reveal his abilities.

He was exempt, however. After all, he joined through the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, not a Azure-Prime Galactic Zone's controlled area.

In the end, he decided against explaining his capabilities. If anyone asked, he'll remain silent or use some random excuse that he was forbidden from revealing exact details by an oath similar to theirs. This will bring forth mystery to his identity, and if his play had worked, of the Ascended would think he was actually from the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, but an assassin sent to kill Jing Jiu and Cai Liuyang.

There's no way an isolated and abandoned stellar region would deliberately plan to kill two prominently talented figures with such destructive means without reason. While he had his reasons, no one else was privy to them.

"It doesn't matter; let's help nurse the wounds of others." To these soldiers, however, he didn't need to use any excuse. He just outright shrugged it off with a darkened expression, clearly telling them that this information was sensitive and they weren't qualified to know.

A few titans gulped heavily. They felt as if they were drawn into some grand conspiracy against the human and celestial race. It was incredibly brazen to commit such acts in the Battlefield. They took heed of Wei Wuyin's nonverbal warning and stayed silent. The atmosphere grew tense.

Wei Wuyin didn't just wait around. He went to those injured and started to use wood origin force to heal, acting as a medic. According to Jing Jiu's memories, these acts could contribute to the amount of War Souls one would accumulate at the end of the twelve hour duration.

Every little bit helped, and he wasn't certain how much he'd receive or all the rewards that the War Spirit offered. Who knew if just one exact War Soul was enough to give him that exact reward or not.

Thinking like this, he couldn't help but slightly chuckle as he sent his wood origin force into the bodies of two wounded soldiers, Tai Hao being one of them. He was truly an Exploitative Blessed. It was a habit to maximize his gains and seek out greater benefits for himself.

However, a few titans were staring at Wei Wuyin in an absolute daze, especially Tai Hao who felt Wei Wuyin's pure wood origin force. He was flabbergasted.

Zi Fu couldn't hold back and asked, "You're not a Spiritualist?"

Wei Wuyin only gave her a brief smile with a lifted eyebrow, "Didn't I tell you I wasn't before?" After saying this carelessly, he focused on healing the two's wounds, and used water origin force in the hopes of replenishing their blood supply. It worked, so he was quite satisfied.

Zi Fu was speechless.

Spiritualists were beings that cultivated an extreme path, much like Purists, and they merged their Spirits of Cultivation with their Sea of Consciousness and Physique, changing their state of existence entirely. Their physical energies, mental energies, and stored essence energies such as innate fire energies, water energies, or wood energies within their bodies, were all spiritual energies.

Since spiritual energy originated from all three of them, it could similarly replace all three as the dominant energy source. Therefore, there's an extremely unique mind-body-spirit connection that was unrivaled. Furthermore, their Astral Core became a Spirit Core during this exceptionally extreme process.

A Spirit Core, like an Astral Core, had a World Sea. The difference was the metaphysical energy force that was stored within it. There was no astral force within a Spirit Core, just Spiritual Force. This vastly elevated a cultivator's spiritual aspects! Their Spiritual Spells, Spiritual Formations, and Spiritual Sense was unrivaled amongst those of their cultivation level!

Since that was unmistakably the case, Wei Wuyin shouldn't be able to use wood origin astral force in the slightest! He shouldn't have astral force at all!

Yet Wei Wuyin had proved he had just that! This overthrew their understanding for a moment, because they could clearly feel Wei Wuyin's spiritual sense enveloping them with a heavy spiritual strength. This was unfathomable! Unbelievable! What level was his Spirit Units at?

Wei Wuyin ignored their incredulous reactions. But when he recalled Jing Jiu's memories, his thoughts stirred. He knew why Spiritualists were so feared, given flee-on-sight orders.

They could still use spells in a location where Starlords were forced to fight like mortals. As long as one was in range of their spiritual sense, they could be subjected to spells that affected their senses, body, or cultivation. They could even be outright crippled because their natural astral force and spiritual protections were severely weakened by the environment.

Not only was catching them off-guard entirely impossible here, they had a mind-body-spirit unity that made them terrifying just to fight. Furthermore, if they used concealment spells, they had the means to just assassinate anyone they wished. So if they revealed themselves for a moment, humans like Jing Jiu were taught to not engage, just flee, preferably in different directions to split focus and outrun their spiritual sense.

When he thought about fighting an opponent that could sense your every movement, affect your perceptions, or cripple you, and you had barely any defenses, even he shivered.

According to Jing Jiu's memories, he learned interesting details about the process of being a Spiritualist. All those who wished to become a Spiritualist must have forged a particular type of Spirit of Cultivation foundation before having any chance to succeed. And Jing Jiu knew the method to cultivate that type of foundation.

However, he was shocked to discover that…

The cultivation method was the 'Divine' spirit aspect he already cultivated!