Paragon of Sin

Chapter 1689: No-Name (19)

Major Authority—there was only a single word difference between Minor Authority, yet the unbridgeable chasm was as great and definite as the sky and the earth.

From the very beginning, Wei Wuyin had always sensed something distinctively different about Sage Pakhet from other Sages and existences. She was unique. Additionally, the cultivated foundation of each Sage in the octet, strictly on the basis of the Mystic Dao, was exactly the same, but they had notable differences in the types of powers they wielded, including various paths comprehended such as Laws.

He hadn't figured out what in the beginning, especially while observing the fight against Zhan Jiangwen, but after clashing with her a few times, she had unintentionally exposed herself. She was a Sage with a Major Authority of a Law!

Whether it was Enlightened Sage Springfield or Teng Jiangwen, they were both Sages who conceived Minor Authorities within their souls, and they were feared by their contemporaries of the cultivation world. Enlightened Sage Springfield was regarded by the Mystic Dao as a peak Ascended being, only going to show how excessively strong he was. Although that 'peak' was defined by his flawless grasp of the Mystic Dao's Ways of Mysticism, not his control over Laws, the conception of a Seed of Law and its eventual birthing into a full-blown authority assisted the soul on numerous levels and could assist cultivators into striving for greater foundations in the Mystic Dao's path of cultivation.

"Are you ready?" Wei Wuyin asked with his Spiritual Strength booming outwards. The sky and earth of the Battlefield of the Fallen Divine were trembling as a savage aura permeated through the world, and that womanly hand that had seen countless battles, taken many lives, and fearlessly trekked the difficult path of cultivation acquired a thin sheen of glistening heavenly gold. She had yet to leave the crater.

Wei Wuyin had dealt with Sage Shattered Sphinx, Sage Hathor, and Sage Imentet within seconds. But he wasn't impatient at all. The seven other Sages had more or less been defeated through incapacitation, either sealed or unconscious. They had time.

From the edge of the crater, a single hand clenched a handful of sand that had been transformed into solid metal, and a voice containing majesty rippling with heavy, irrepressible might resound:

"Why?"

Wei Wuyin felt the stifling power of a greater scope of heaven descend upon his body, battering his draconic scales with splashes of golden heavenly radiance, and trying to suppress his soul. In response, his six Minor Laws sublimated and illuminated, guarding his soul from its tyrannical influence. While normally six Minor Laws wouldn't be able to properly resist such an imposing force, his six Minor Laws had been split and fused, and they were more akin to twenty-four Minor Laws as a minimum in terms of foundation, an utterly abnormal and inconceivable development.

With eyes ablaze with intrigue, Wei Wuyin responded without a single issue.

"Because I want to test my strength," he straightforwardly answered without the slightest deceit. In his eyes, the other Sages were not his match, and only by working in flawless tandem were they capable of allowing him to exert some of his abilities, but after ascending, typical Sages, even eight working together, would certainly not be his match. After all, Enlightened Sage Springfield was regarded as a 'peak' Ascended being by the Mystic Dao, and he has simultaneously conceived, nurtured, and possessed a proper Minor Authority of Wood Law. He would have been able to fight eight ordinary Sages to a standstill.

While Wei Wuyin was a mere mortal, he had slayed that very person! The transformation after his ascension, especially the greatest change of Astral Force into Mystic Force, was fundamentally heaven-defying with inestimable implications. Just then, before his Draconic Transformation, Wei Wuyin could casually unleash punches that could injure Sages.

"I'm sure you're curious as well. You must have asked this question before: how strong am I with my Major Authority? If I no longer hid my strength? If I went all out?" Wei Wuyin faintly grinned.

"…"

"I want to give you that chance, so please give me that chance as well." Chuckling, Wei Wuyin landed a few hundred miles away from Sage Pakhet's crater. He was blitzed by her ever-escalating torrential aura of heavenly majesty and elemental force.

Sage Pakhet's hand finally exerted some strength. She lifted herself out of the crater, revealing a form that caused Wei Wuyin's heart to race. The sheer physical presence of her body was unmatched by anything that Wei Wuyin had seen thus far. She was like a golden goddess, divinity of the fiercest, strongest, and proudest lionesses.

Her reputation of being devastatingly beautiful yet equally cold as everfrost and as ferocious as a lioness perfectly encapsulated her at this moment. Her beauty was not too overt or excessive, and it was more attributed to her charm than anything else.

Her skin was golden, her hair was golden of a darker shade, and her pupils and irises, which resembled a lioness', were a lighter shade of gold. She was tall, standing at six feet three inches, and her body wasn't too slender, but flawlessly toned all over, from her arms, thick, steady legs, and clean-cut pectoral muscles.

She was lightly dressed, exposing a midriff that revealed her strong and defined abdominal muscles, a dark, long-sleeved, tight-fit crop top that accentuated the uniqueness of her golden, glistening, and glowing skin, with baggy leggings without any footwear. Her nails were long, sharp, and glinted with an icy, wild light with a dark shade of polish, alongside her eyeliner that was similarly black that was in full khol style.

Her footsteps both solidified the sand into a solid metallic surface and then proceeded to generate fractures and indents within its hardened form as if it were brittle bones and moldable clay. She stood upright, her golden gaze landing upon Wei Wuyin.

"That's not the answer I seek," Sage Pakhet flatly said.

"Oh?" Wei Wuyin was in full admiration of her, so he broke his rules and entertained her, especially since her aura seemed to be slightly unstable still, trying hard to regulate itself. Whether it was an attempt to buy time or a genuine conversation, Wei Wuyin was willing to relent. "What's your question?"

Sage Pakhet had long since become the sole participant of their soul network. She was fully aware that the others were unable to hear or sense anything she said, either sealed or unconscious.

"Why did you destroy all those treasures, resources, and materials with your pawn?"

"…" Her words would have shaken most as she believed that Wei Wuyin was behind the incident with Zhan Jiangwen! Yet Wei Wuyin only replied with a slightly amused and cheeky smile:

"Who says I did?" There was no admission or denial of her accusations.

"…" Sage Pakhet thought for a while on this, and then her eyes sparked with realization. Unlike the others, she had always been suspicious of Wei Wuyin's involvement despite their investigations suggesting otherwise. It was likely the others had all realized it after Wei Wuyin exhibited his Void Shifting and Void Concealment that could bypass their defenses and avoid their senses that Wei Wuyin likely contributed to that great theft.

However, Sage Amunet had verified time and time again that their treasures had been destroyed by Zhan Jiangwen's self-detonation, so they had no proof or understanding as to why Wei Wuyin would go so far when he could have absconded with wealth far surpassing the hassle of involving himself with the now-desolate No-Name Galaxy engulfed by contentious, complex relationships and bloody strife.

Then, they fell into his trap under the guise of good intentions. Who would have thought that this Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint and Neo-Dawn Ascendant Emperor, someone that could conquer two galaxies in a remarkably short period with Mystic Overlord leaders, would be only at the Mystic Star Phase?! WHO COULD HAVE GUESSED THAT?!

To depressingly add, he was so disgustingly strong that it was proving hopeless to fight him. They had agreed to the stakes with absolute certainty of their victory, with every condition in their favor, all for the sake of securing a Heaven-Bound Mythical Oath.

She didn't inquire again.

"Do you need help?" Wei Wuyin asked as Sage Pakhet's aura wasn't stabilizing as he had expected.

Sage Pakhet gave him a long glance before turning her gaze to her hands that were imbued with the Major Authority of Metal Law, her cultivation base was circulating sixteen times faster than normal, while her soul was wailing in agony that could scare the most hardened of men, yet she maintained a calm countenance with an apathetic, cold pair of eyes.

All Laws required soul energy to use, and this was why Enlightened Sages, those who've awakened their True Souls, could bring out the most minimal strength of Laws, while others could only use the auras. Wei Wuyin was an exception to this, his True Soul had long since been awakened, and his soul had been tempered by the Calamities of Hell several times over, and this heavily contributed to his creation of the revised Haven Heart Qi Method.

Without their awakened True Soul, cultivating or tempering one's soul energy was impossible.

Sage Pakhet was a True Sage Phase cultivator, just shy of True Soul Phase, and she didn't have a tempered soul, so using the Major Authority was hellishly difficult. She was only maintaining this power by shouldering its cost using her vital energies and body's core energies in a rough attempt, and this was why her physical presence was skyrocketing. She was quite literally channeling the power of heaven's law into her body!

"How long can you maintain this form?" Wei Wuyin asked in concern.

"Without acting? Two minutes. If we fight, I'll be able to give you…seven seconds." Sage Pakhet admitted without looking up from her hand.

"…" Wei Wuyin knew the cost of doing so would likely leave incredible damage on her soul and body due to the excessive stress. Just accessing that power was extremely destructive, and this was why she didn't use her true strength against Zhan Jiangwen! She may never recover. But here, today, there was far too much at stake.

"Then fight to your heart's content. I won't let you die." Wei Wuyin promised as his draconically-intensified Alchemic Stars stared at her.

"…" Sage Pakhet finally lifted her gaze, meeting those starry eyes with her golden eyes illuminated by heavenly radiance.

"But you might die."

Wei Wuyin nodded, not dismissing her words in the slightest. The Major Authority of a Law wasn't simple.

"Then, we die together."

Sage Pakhet's lips tugged upwards into a grin, largely dispersing her cold eyes as a hint of laughter lingered. Wei Wuyin's status pupils expanded slightly. For the first time since meeting the eight Sages, he felt that Sage Imentet was inferior to Sage Pakhet.

An austere, murderous, and heavenly atmosphere permeated throughout the world as heavenly radiance was born and shone downwards from every angle inconceivably, coating the entirety of the sky and earth in a golden hue, granting every grain of sand a metallic sheen. A primally savage, god-like aura emanated from her body as her golden hair was blown about wildly in the ravaging winds.

She took a single step forward.

A splash of golden light dominated the earth, originating from heaven, and splitting the sky.

Wei Wuyin's instincts flared.

Yet he made no attempts to dodge or move. He swiftly got into a punching stance, steady and firm, as if time and space were no hindrance to his action. His fist clenched. All of space and time twisted.

Sage Pakhet appeared before him, her stance lowered, her form resembling a pouncing lioness, and she unleashed a simple, direct claw at his chest.

Wei Wuyin held nothing back. With a single fist, unadorned by Laws or Intent, he threw it with every ounce of strength within his body could muster! Within his chest, Kratos pounded with unmatched excitement.

ROAR!!!