Paragon of Sin

Swoosh!

Encapsulated tightly within a spiritual bubble, Wei Wuyin took his current circumstances in stride. The abrupt send off wasn't outside his expectations to begin with, so how could he be nonplussed by this development? After all, the Heavenly Daos were urging him to arrive as soon as possible. When he considered it from this angle, then his opportunity was tethered to this 49th Unit of the Helix-Titan Battalion. While he was a little disappointed that he couldn't ask his second question, it wasn't too important. 

He was, however, amazed by the sturdiness of the transporting bubble. His right hand caressed its inner surface, feeling the pure spiritual strength within. Captain Zun referred to himself as a Spirit Captain. Was this a special designation for those who were Spirit-type cultivators? 

When he was considering Venerable Bluecloud, Venerable Kun Yiming, and Venerable Slayingsword as subordinates, Wu Yu had explained Venerable Bluecloud as an adept Spirit-type cultivator, an expert who had extraordinary control over their exertion of spiritual aspects. These cultivators had impeccable control over their spiritual strength and possessed unique, strange, and varied spells. 

As someone who cultivated the Celestial Eyes of Spiritual Divinity, he was quite aware of how varied and powerful these spiritual spells and cultivation methods could be. Thus, he was interested in them. If what Captain Zun said was true, that one can gain arts, spells, and cultivation methods through the Battlefield, then this was a decent opportunity. He wondered if the Heavenly Daos opportunity was this.

The one thing he lacked most was high-level arts and spells, relying mostly on his terrifying foundation, a few legacies such as the Bloodforging Mystic Method, True Dragon Transmutation Method, Saber Method, and a few self-created designs of arts and spells. While his combat skills were not insignificant, he had only cultivated for a very short period of time relative to others, with most of his time spent on concoction of Alchemical Products. If he could grasp other refined methods, either adapt or integrate these means into his own, he would certainly spike in strength. 

Furthermore, this adverse environment reminded him of the Four Extreme Continent's Season of Regression. Here, cultivations were bound to be severely weaker, yet even further suppressed. Not only was the mana still, but the ambient essence and energies here were pitiful. Besides internally self-cultivated power, there was no other crutch to grasp. 

"Since I've been given this opportunity, I can't waste it." Reminding himself of this, Wei Wuyin settled his thoughts and decided to enjoy the ride. 

-----

Back at the platform, Captain Zun was frowning as he observed the bleakly dusky skies that Wei Wuyin wasn't able to see. There were clouds that roiled chaotically, flickering bits of invisible lightning that sundered portions of the clouds, only visible due to the splitting they caused. The ground was tinted dark sanguine, permanently painted by constant blood rain. 

The entire environment seemed like something directly out of a piece of horror literature. In the far distance, no life could be seen, just lifeless jagged mountains and fragmented boulders. Normally, when cultivators were to first arrive, they would be terrified by the bloody scent and sights that some would just pissed themselves then and there. These would be full-grown cultivators with centuries of experience, but after learning about the ground's origins, few could maintain a straight face.

"He's lucky," Captain Zun remarked. But then added, "Or unlucky." Without understanding what to expect, one could be caught off-guard and lose their lives. However, Wei Wuyin's eyes were closed shut and his spiritual sense was inhibited here. 

Suddenly, Captain Zun recoiled. An expression of uncertainty, shock, and seemingly realization formed on his face. "He asked about the King of Everlore!" He had just grasped this fully, "Could he be an Alchemist?" Recalling Wei Wuyin's abnormal spiritual strength that could resist a portion of his own spiritual pressure and propel his spiritual sense a short distance, Captain Zun's expression paled slightly. 

The Battalion Commander had assumed that Wei Wuyin was a Spiritualist, not even considering if he was an Alchemist! That thought had infected his own. However, his abnormally powerful spiritual strength could be justified if he was an Alchemist! If so, then there was no need for him to earn his position through life or death battles! 

After a long moment of silence, only a soft sigh was made. The Spirit Captain could only hope that Wei Wuyin wasn't an alchemist, but a powerful Spiritualist with protective measures left behind by his family or clan. If so, then he'll have a high chance of surviving. If not...

While he was considering this, Wei Wuyin was unaware that his original fortune, why he was given this opportunity at a low Karmic Luck cost, at an early age, and at a weak cultivation base, was solely because he was an Alchemist! The Heavenly Daos could not gauge Wei Wuyin's strength accurately, so he was given this opportunity due to his outstanding worldly reputation as a Mortal Sovereign Alchemist! 

If he wasn't, then he would certainly never get this karmic opportunity far beyond the Aeternal Sky Starfield's limits at such a young age and cultivation base! The Heavenly Daos would never send their Blessed to die! Broaden their horizons? Sure. But never deliberately place them in extreme danger!

-----

Unaware that his opportunity to settle himself as an Alchemist had passed due to a few factors, primarily his own arrival at the edge of deployment, unable to familiarize himself with various earning means of the Battlefield, Wei Wuyin was raptly analyzing the spirit bubble that Captain Zun had conjured, inspired by its form and function. 

-----

Not too far away from Wei Wuyin, a group of heavily armored titans were marching forward as an organized unit. From time to time, there would be some disharmony, and even abrupt pauses or change in marching cadence. Clearly, this unit might be organized, but they were a freshly gathered unit.

They numbered a total of 125 titans. If one looked closely, they would see signs of division. In fact, on the heavy armors themselves, there were designations of a horizontal double-helix structure of dark grey and bright crimson design on their right torso. At the base of this double-helix design were two numbers and two letters. They went from 40th to 50th. 

There was a group of 12 that had the designation of 49th. They were an intermix of men and women titans. They were roughly all of the same size, roughly four meters in height, barring a single individual that seemed to be observing each of these titans with a severe gaze. 

These titans were the 49th Unit of the Helix-Titan Battalion! 

"We've been training for two years, I can't believe we're being deployed today!" A titan within the 49th Unit discreetly sent a spiritual transmission through the unit, avoiding the hawk-like eyes of their Squad Leader. The titan was a female, just under four meters in height. She had a slim build, holding a long spear and round shield suitable for her body size. Her fist covered by metallic gloves was clenching the shaft of her spear anxiously, a tightening of its materials caused faint creaks to resound.

"I know…" A male titan, taller by a few inches than the female, echoed her sentiment. It felt surreal. They were living in this hectic environment for so long, yet their lives were quite tame despite their discomfort. But they were aware that entire squads, or even companies like the one they were in, were wiped out after entering the battlefield. A cold grip of fear clenched their hearts. 

An extremely oppressive atmosphere of war engulfed them. They had fought for this opportunity, for some their clans or family paid an absurdly expensive tribute, yet when facing it directly, the thought of death was a little too strong in their hearts. The allies that they had formed in these last two years…how many of them will return? Will they? 

A few had the thought: "I want to go home."

Every step they took brought them closer to deployment, closer to that Battlefield that had claimed countless souls. Suddenly, a cold chill swept through them as they could see the Void Gate that was in the distance.

It was shaped as a large arc that spanned for hundreds of meters, constantly activated with a thin film of jet-black darkness and multi-colored brilliance at the edge. It was as if they were marching towards their deaths. A few imagined an execution platform had replaced the Void Gate's large arc, even saw themselves waiting for the guillotine to drop! 

A collective gulp occurred through roughly half the members of the 125-Unit Company of trained titans. Furthermore, they were all not low-level cultivators, but genuine Astral Core Realm Cultivators at the Star Core Phase! True Stalords! 

Their Company Leader's aura wasn't ordinary. As he marched forward at the forefront of the group, releasing bits of his imposing aura to ensure the group of his strength and confidence, one could see that he was a genuine Ascended! A Second Stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm cultivator! 

It was this beyond Mortal Limits aura that settled a few of their pounding hearts. Yet it wasn't enough for some. The cold sweat building up within their armor was unsettling, and they could hear their heart beating, a voice at the back of their heads whispering a reasonable desire to retreat. 

They were peak Astral Core Realm cultivators! They didn't need to die for rewards, just comfortably cultivate at home and enjoy their nepotistically earned resources. So what if they might never reach a high cultivation level? It was enough to live for a thousand years then to die in the next few days, no? Some stopped their steps out of fright, contemplating whether they should!

Boom! Boosh! Clang!

The sounds of clashing armor and bodies falling on the ground caused the 125-Unit Company to collapse in disorder, and some were outright crushed by their panicking neighbors. A few weapons were swung out due to panic and unexpected stimulation. The abrupt chaos caused their training to kick in and attack their allies, and some were even injured! 

"Cease! Cease this immediately!" The Company Leader fiercely ordered, his aura rising to incredible levels. Yet the chaos did little to halt, causing the Company Leader's expression beneath his helmet to become quite unsightly. 

"Eyyyyy!" Suddenly, an armored titan was explosively sent flying in a shriek of pain, traversing a thousand meters in a blink. The loud terror-filled scream caused the disorder to cease for a moment, everyone watching as the titan crashed into the ground while unconscious. The entire company was silent, turning to the perpetrator. 

A figure just slightly under two meters was standing before them with an innocent expression, as if he hadn't just sent someone flying a thousand meters out. 

The figure was the focus of everyone's attention, a bit of respite from their troubled hearts and fright-filled minds. A human? What was a human doing in the titan's camp? The strangeness of it calmed the situation down instantly. 

The small figure 'looked' around, finding the sole Ascended amongst the unit with his spiritual senses. With brisk steps, he walked and drew everyone's gazes.. Unaware of the official salute, the figure directly announced: "49th Unit's Wei Wuyin reporting for duty."