Paragon of Sin

Every last detail was told, including the details from the live reports of Wang Yutian. While Wang Yutian had excluded information about Wei Wuyin deliberately, Bai Yuxi received real-time feedback from Wang Yutian as they happened, to update her on various events and circumstances of the Chosen Contestants. 

This included the layout of every force, including the number of Realmlords, Timelords, and Starlords. There was real-time location monitoring, which was why she had found Lin Ming so swiftly, even creating a small-play where she caught him peeking at her bathing, and later testing what made Lin Xianxei consider him as special. She grew to have feelings for him from that moment on, falling for his heroic attitude, refreshing personality, and outstanding potential. 

When she went over the reported Holy Child trial results, not a single person's expression didn't distort greatly from certain details.

Eight Years, Seven Months, Thirteen Days! Spatial Resonance Phase, Astral Core Realm!

33,900 Spirit Units?

Killed a suppressed Realmlord with terrifyingly brutal precision and might?! 

WHAT THE HELL?!?!

This wasn't even all. Bai Yuxi gave reports of the events surrounding the Holy Child competition, and while they hadn't heard the exact, minutely described details, they were informed of the overall events that led to the fall of two Holy Clans and their Holy Children. With a single challenge, Wei Wuyin had claimed absolute victory.

He had obtained eight out of the nine tokens, even nearly killed He Yanglei, a genius of the He Clan who comprehended an Apex-level Intent! They were informed by Wang Yutian's real-time reports that the Ascended protecting He Yanglei saved his life. There were tiny details that were glossed over, but they understood the gist.

Then, he fought his way towards a Holy Temple and reaped the lives of suppressed Realmlords like they were cabbages, challenging Lin Ming, whereby...albeit very reluctant to mention, Bai Yuxi still informed them that Wei Wuyin had tricked Lin Ming into a surrender using a drug or illusory technique. 

She made sure to place emphasis that Wei Wuyin used a self-damaging method to amplify his Spirit Units, elevate his strength to incredible levels, and suffered a near-crippling consequence as a result. This could even be verified by the other Ascended present at the time. 

"So he was only one token short from claiming victory? But the Tang Clan's Young Mistress used the Ascended meant to act as only a protector in the Devil War Realm to repel him? Venerable Spiritwalker?" Han Yuhei's eyes glistened underneath his hood. They could only see a faint deadly light emitted.

Some of the elders felt this was a gross injustice. The outsiders had interfered into the Elementus Chosen Trial for the caches, completely underhanded like thieves, and then had their Ascended interfere?! Wei Wuyin survived, sure, but they had robbed him of his victory.

According to Bai Yuxi, Lin Ming had lost against Wei Wuyin. No, he disgracefully surrendered. That was even worse, but he was still selected as a Chosen because Tang Clan's Young Mistress had refused to fight him? Using her Ascended to prevent a challenge? Giving Lin Ming time to obtain his Chosen title via a special exception?! 

Then after that, even after ALL THAT, at the last moment, Wei Wuyin still timely comprehended Element Heart Intent, using his own abilities to earn a special exception and access to the Elementus Cache. They didn't need to be told what happened next. Clearly, Wei Wuyin thrashed Lin Ming again and stole the Elementus Cache.

The talkative elder couldn't help but speak his mind aloud: "So, what did Lin Ming do to earn his Chosen title?" In the elder's mind, he felt it was absolutely ridiculous. These reports detailed that Wei Wuyin went through the trial rightfully, claiming beautiful victory after beautiful victory, and almost completed the objective using his own means and methods. Yet in the end, Lin Ming, who seemingly did nothing, was the Chosen present before them?

How the hell did that happen?

"..." Lin Xianxei paled. Hearing all the details again, not just the brief explanation of Wei Wuyin, was incredibly fucking outrageous sounding. Was it really like this? All Lin Ming did was comprehend an Apex-level Intent to qualify as a Holy Son, lost his tokens, and then he used an Evil Method to create an artificial Domain Seed…

Bai Yuxi looked down at her feet, biting her lower lip anxiously beneath her veil. Even she was starting to realize the abhorrent truth. She no longer had blinders on. It was all incredibly damning to Lin Ming's status and feat as a Chosen. As for that question? That question was an additional nail into his proverbial coffin. 

Han Yuhei's face beneath his hood became outrageously dark. He knew the truth. Bai Yuxi and the Tang Clan's Young Mistress had sacrificed a portion of their cultivation and damaged their souls to generate an artificial Domain Seed to obtain a special exception from the trial.

Zhang Ziyi and Gong Lau were curious about this, so they pressed on the matter. "What did he do?" 

Bai Yuxi lifted her head to her grandfather, seeking support, but he shook his head. This meant he wasn't going to shield Lin Ming from this revealing truth. She should answer the question!

And she did!

And she couldn't hold anything back!

Left with no choice, she began to explain: "Myself, Tang Xingyun, her maidservant, and Venerable Spiritwalker used the Engorging Foundation Method to strip a portion of our cultivation base to Lin Ming, allowing him to manifest a Domain Seed with his outstanding talent. It was a special exception and it earned him the title of Chosen."

"..."

Lin Ming's expression was outwardly the picture of serenity and unconcerned emotion. As for the internal picture? It was not any of those things. He felt awful.

"..."

"..."

After hearing about all the details, learning about what happened, everyone formed a timeline and understanding of what happened. It wasn't even concealed, so everyone, including the young talents of the Lin Clan, was now aware of every last detail.

The talkative elder had a strange expression. Since he wasn't silenced before after speaking, he felt at ease to continue: "So...Lin Ming did nothing, right? And this Wei Wuyin, the rightful Chosen who should've completed the actual condition, was robbed of his title by the neutral Overseer and an Ascended using an Evil Method? And even then, he broke his limits and comprehended Element Heart Intent to obtain a similar special exception? AND, after all that, he still obtained the Elementus Cache."

Lin Xianxian and everyone else stared at Lin Ming. Their gazes were extremely odd and filled with a hint of shame. Not for themselves, but reflecting what they believed Lin Ming should be feeling. What type of situation was this? What type of shitshow was this?

There was a short debate over Lin Ming's legitimacy as a Chosen due to completing the trial, and many felt that as long as he overcame the Three Chosen Aspects Tribulation then it was fine, but now…

Now? 

"You stupid little girl," Zhang Ziyi remarked viciously. To work alongside outsiders to falsely establish a Chosen? This was clearly an act of fraud! Did she think they were all tools for her whim? She felt an urge to slap Bai Yuxi.

"Mind yourself!" Han Yuhei shouted, the skyship trembled and Zhang Ziyi paled. Her eyes gleamed with a spiritual light, but she merely harrumphed and said nothing else. But her emotions were not just hers, but echoed in the hearts of everyone else.

They lost, not just their true Chosen, but a Mortal Sovereign Alchemist. This left them with an ash-in-mouth taste that they couldn't get rid of. To freaking add, they had no idea where Wei Wuyin was at this moment! As for relying on the Golden Gate Pavilion? Who knew if they would tell them now? They might try to poach him instead! 

"I propose we kill this False Chosen, punish the Saintess for her ineptitude and then act to find Wei Wuyin immediately. The Golden Life Pavilion must know of his whereabouts. As an officially recognized Chosen of our Elementus Domain's True Element Sect, we'll give him great conditions to redeem our mistake. I'm sure our...sect can offer him enough." Gong Lau, the representative of the special existences, stated casually, but there was a trace of a confident smile on his face.

Lin Xianxei's pale expression turned whiter than imaginable. Her eyes widened with fear. The word 'False Chosen' echoed in her mind as the Grand Seer's words were recalled. That was what she referred to Lin Ming as. Furthermore, she had no rebuttal to defend him! 

She was skeptical if even her Master would accept a disciple who was embroiled in such a terrifying scandal. 

"..." Zhang Ziyi went thoughtfully silent, gazing at Lin Ming. After a moment, she asked: "Unleash your Worldly Domain."

The eyes of Gong Lau brightened. He understood what Zhang Ziyi intended to do, but he didn't know why she would try to justify this fraud's continued existence. He had received nothing but external support to obtain his title as a Chosen. How could the sect support him now? He was the definition of shameless.

He had the help of an Ascended, the Overseer, and the Tang Clan's Young Mistress, yet he still lost the Devil War Realm, Elementus Cache, and was bested during the actual Chosen Trial. He had no qualifications to retain that title. No qualifications to receive the sect's support!

Despite the chaos, Lin Ming remained unfathomably calm. With the truth out, there was no need to further stress. With a soft exhale, he unfurled his Worldly Domain of one hundred and fifty meters. Everyone inspected it.

Zhang Ziyi's left eyelid started to twitch slightly, but she quickly ceased that involuntary facial expression. "Your Domain Seed is acting like a foreign entity inside your dantian. Its rejecting your Spirit of Cultivation's influence. It lacks the conversion capabilities of astronomical forces and ambient mana. Your Spatial Force isn't refined or pure. In fact, its unstable. There's three foreign Soul Auras conflicting with your own, and this is causing issues to your Spirit of Cultivation's control."

Her words caused Lin Xianxei to stagger back slightly. They had all just witnessed what the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill can do, the assessment of the two Mortal Sovereign Alchemists, and their own. After all, their spiritual senses were present to observe the Worldly Domain of Ma Luling. It was all collapsing. Her entire world.

"I have no objections," Zhang Ziyi dismissively said after considering this. With the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill, Lin Ming's feat and advantages would soon be minimized heavily. She no longer rejected Gong Lau's suggestion to deal with him and move on. If they could obtain Wei Wuyin, what was Lin Ming? Even if they couldn't, Lin Ming's actions were disgusting to her.

Gong Lau nodded, lifting his hand up and pressing it against Lin Ming. Lin Ming's eyes widened as he hurriedly withdrew his Origin Spear, his Worldly Domain that had manifested was pushed to its limit, and he readied his astral force. Even if it was a Mystic Ascendant, he wasn't going to die on his knees, but with his spear in his hands.

Just as Gong Lau was about to unleash an attack, a powerful hand grabbed his wrist with tremendous force, sealing his powers within. Gong Lau's eyes dimmed.

Han Yuhei acted to halt Gong Lau. "Stop. He has overcome the Three Chosen Aspects Tribulation, and as such, is an officially recognized Chosen under my protection until he fails to retain it via the sect rules. Until then, we'll focus our efforts to locate Wei Wuyin." After saying this, he lifted his hood to reveal a little of his features, including a chiseled chin beneath and nine-colored irises. With that little revealed to everyone, he and Bai Yuxi vanished abruptly.

With his strength and authority, that settled that instantly. The others felt lost. Their gazes towards Lin Ming remained incredibly odd, a little disgusted, and filled with pity.

Even if Lin Ming received Han Yuhei's protection, retained his Chosen status, whether Lin Ming will receive any support from the sect going forward, be considered a true Chosen by the masses, was an entirely different matter. If he wanted to achieve that, he'd have a lot of hard work ahead of him.

As for their scarlet-haired Saintess? Clearly, Han Yuhei had silently agreed to punish her for this egregious mistake. He left immediately to leave this task to the other two. He surely didn't want it to be small since he did this, and was actively pushing blame from Bai Yuxi to her. It was quite cruel.

Lin Xianxian's expression darkened considerably.

-----

In the folds of the Imperial Dawn Starfield's space, a cyan-colored humanoid figure was looking at the hexagonal sky beneath a series of stairs leading to a dilapidated palace. Their eyes seemed to pierce through a certain veil to reach another location.

This humanoid spiritform, Wang Yutian, was softly rubbing his head, loudly chuckling to himself.. As to what he was chuckling about, only he and the heavens knew.