Paragon of Sin

In the Earthen Horizon Zone of the Nexus Battlefield, two figures walked a few meters apart. The first was dressed in black and red battle armor, light in design and boosting a high degree of maneuverability. He rested his bident, his two-prong spear, on his shoulders behind his neck, using his hands to hold it horizontally. It was none other than Guan Yu. 

The second was dressed in a pure white, form-fitting gambeson that had two leather-like bracers on his forearms. At his waist was a scabbard with a saber sheathed within, glinting from time to time with saber light at its hilt as if it was begging to be removed and bring its edge to others. His eyes were closed and he walked steadily forward. This was none other than Wei Wuyin.

After Wei Wuyin's declaration of his intent to gather an army, he was met with an incredulous reaction. Guan Yu's gaze since then had remained strange as he looked at Wei Wuyin, the shock and disbelief still within his eyes. 

"Are you really planning to gather an army? Do you think it's possible?" Guan Yu asked, his voice suffused with an innate rejection of this idea. 

Wei Wuyin grazed the hilt of his saber, causing it to faintly howl. It soon calmed down, its saber light dimming considerably and entering a state of rest. When Wei Wuyin realized that the saber had a will that reflected his own, he had a thought, and decided to see if the Nascent Saber Soul that had been bathing in King's World Sea since his Astral Core Realm ascension was capable of infusing with it.

Not only was it possible, but he found that it was perfectly compatible. It merged perfectly with the original saber's created will. This saber was no longer just a saber, but the physical body of Element, and Element was thoroughly excited. Since obtaining Element, its main body had been his astral force infused with elemental origin and saber energies.

The Nascent Saber Soul certainly had a unique connection with King and his own Saber Intent. Furthermore, it had a strangely close connection with Ori. He felt as if Element had gained aspects of both. 

"It's the best option," Wei Wuyin declared plainly. Realizing that Guan Yu might not understand, Wei Wuyin explained: "The Nexus Battlefield's purpose, according to that War Spirit being, is for Soldiers of War, like us, to gain qualifications to observe the Obelisk of War. You seem to have no idea what that is or what it offers, but that's because fighting ten thousand Ascended level manifestations. Because according to your understanding, these so-called Spirits of War are an unsurpassable obstacle." 

"Of course!" Guan Yu hastily voiced his opinion. "It'll be much easier to gather a thousand War Souls from others then leave, why fight ten thousand Ascended manifestations to the death? Those War Souls have endless benefits for cultivation." 

"You're right; a thousand War Souls are quite amazing to walk away with. However, if a thousand War Souls are already this amazing, what about this Obelisk of War?" Wei Wuyin didn't mind Guan Yu interjecting his opinion.

"Who cares about this obelisk if death is the only thing awaiting those who want it? We'll just be courting death! There's no Soldier of War here that's at the Mystic Ascendant Realm, so how can we face ten thousand of them?! " Guan Yu grew visibly agitated.

"We?" Wei Wuyin was amused, 'glancing' at Guan Yu's direction who was startled by his single word. The scarlet-eyed bident wielder was flabbergasted. He hadn't realized his word usage until Wei Wuyin pointed it out. 

"Tch!" He clicked his tongue, turned his face away and said: "So what? We're still just mortals in the end." In his opinion, even if they gathered every last Soldier of War currently present, they would merely be cannon fodder to these Ascended-level Spirits of War. Was there anything questionable about this undeniable fact?

Wei Wuyin faintly smiled, "The Obelisk of War is the greatest benefit in the entire Battlefield, reserved solely for its most reputable soldiers. It's hard to resist such temptation, don't you think so?" 

"..." Guan Yu didn't deny this. He didn't want to lose out on the chance to observe this mysterious Obelisk of War. His home region had known about the Battlefield's existence for nearly a quarter million years, its existence predated even their currently long-standing era, yet not a single cultivator had reported details of what 'observing the Obelisk of War' meant or what it led to. Likely because no one had ever succeeded.

The requirements for Mystic Ascendants were just too high, and these beings sought to preserve their life rather than immersing themselves in war, claiming benefits at minimal cost to themselves. That being said, those who tried usually met their untimely end at the hands of sinister individuals waiting for weakness to score an easy kill, eradicating talents without mercy. 

Guan Yu pouted, "Even so, gathering an army is useless." This endeavor just seemed fruitless from its conception, so why bother? The desire was admirable, but people were inherently selfish, and among these talented soldiers who forged their paths in blood and death, who would decide to join an army and seek riches amidst almost certain death, if not certain death.

At least in the original Battlefield, they had highly protective means and faced cultivators of their level, not those far beyond them.

Wei Wuyin merely replied, "Maybe, maybe not." After saying this, his footsteps came to a halt. Guan Yu's steps also came to a stop. They both looked to the east. A scent of flowery fragrance and blood intermixed with each other permeated the air. Their nostrils sniffed, and Guan Yu looked to Wei Wuyin while pointing in that direction, but after seeing that Wei Wuyin wasn't looking at him back, he sighed.

He kept forgetting Wei Wuyin was blind. To think he was defeated by a cultivator with such a glaring disability. Well, he had two World Heart Intents, and one of them was the extremely difficult to comprehend Element Heart Intent. Furthermore, his physical speed and strength was terrifying. 

Clang…

Cling…

The sounds of metal clashing with metal resounded from afar, and the distance of it was extremely far. If these two were ordinary mortals, they wouldn't ever hear these noises. But with their refined bodies, they could hear the most minute sounds from several miles away. 

"You have information about those in the Battlefield; how did you come across it?" Wei Wuyin asked, standing where he was. When they had spoken, Guan Yu mentioned several figures that essentially were here, terrifying and to be avoided. He hadn't gone into detail about these individuals, but knowledge of them was quite peculiar. 

Guan Yu opened his mouth instinctively, seemingly about to answer, but he halted himself. These were secrets he couldn't easily expose to others. 

Wei Wuyin didn't wait for a response, continuing with a question: "Where can I exchange my War Souls?"

Guan Yu's heart throbbed erratically for a short moment, glancing at Wei Wuyin in stupefied shock. However, he quickly regained himself and said: "You can't. Not her-"

"You can." Wei Wuyin stated in a matter-of-fact manner. "You said it yourself: The main priority of this Nexus Battlefield has changed, that those present were more focused on killing each other and gathering their War Souls to escape than observing the obelisk. Even if you've been here for years, obtaining in-depth detail of these individuals or even being aware of their existence is impossible."

"..." Guan Yu started to frown, "And why not?"

"Because," Wei Wuyin paused and 'looked' directly at Guan Yu, "You're weak." 

"...!" Guan Yu gritted his teeth, staring directly at Wei Wuyin with grievance and a little rage. Even if he was defeated by a single fist, that didn't make him weak! That made you too abnormal! 

Wei Wuyin ignored Guan Yu's tantrum, explaining calmly: "You're hunting new arrivals. You can avoid those who are nearing 1,000 War Souls. Your spatial ring proves it. After all, you have far more than 1,000 War Souls."

"What?!" Guan Yu hurried to check his spatial ring in a panic. How did he know how much War Souls he had?! After seeing his 1,347 War Souls untouched, he sighed with relief, looking at Wei Wuyin like a monster. "How did you know how much I had? Is it a Bloodline Ability?" 

"...No. You just told me." Wei Wuyin looked away from Guan Yu, pondering deeply to himself. He realized Guan Yu had grasped that his bloodline was related to the manipulation of space. However, he hadn't met someone who could easily tell at a glance, let alone in this restrictive environment. "You've obtained information about me?" He asked, internally shocked by this discovery. When was this?

"..." Guan Yu was absolutely silent, his expression twisted as if he was played around with. Was this all just random conjectures? He felt even more red. 

But then it hit.

Wei Wuyin looked above him. There was certainly a halo above him, and while he can't see or sense it, it was sending out Essences of War.

Seeing Wei Wuyin look up towards the halo, Guan Yu realized the secret was grasped firmly by Wei Wuyin at this point. "...It can't be that my words gave it away. There's no way you can be so certain about the relative strength of others, no matter what, or my connections or means. So what was it?"

Wei Wuyin lowered his head, rubbing his chin softly in contemplation. Without much concern, he answered: "You didn't. This Nexus Battlefield did. You just confirmed it."

"What?!" Guan Yu was instantly lost.

Wei Wuyin sighed softly. He started walking towards the sounds of weapons clashing and blood feeling the air. Guan Yu was startled, but he hurriedly followed after with ears wide open. 

"So what is it? Did you have a Mystic Ascendent Realm soldier in your clan or force that earned qualifications to enter here?" Wei Wuyin didn't expand his thoughts, asking this instead.

"...Yes. A Commander." Guan Yu no longer tried to hide it. "It was over two hundred thousand years ago, and the War Spirit explained the rules and functions of the Nexus Battlefield. He didn't escape from here in the end, but another member of my clan brought back various details."

"Explained to the Commanders of the Battlefield, but not to the insignificant footsoldiers. Heh," Wei Wuyin mocked directly. The War Spirit didn't explain a damn thing to him or others, yet Guan Yu was far, far too knowledgeable of various details. While he remained purposely vague, that didn't halt him leaking out his high form of knowledge. 

From this, Wei Wuyin realized the layout and details of the Nexus Battlefield, including how it replicates the ordinary Battlefield.

"So what's with the physique upgrades?" Wei Wuyin asked, as they grew closer and closer to the battle. 

Guan Yu had already been drawn in Wei Wuyin's pace, relenting totally as if it was useless to hold back anymore information. However, right when he was about to speak, the air trembled slightly and they felt a strange spiritual aura flow up ahead!

"It's getting heated now!" Guan Yu exclaimed.

"Heated? What's happening there?" Wei Wuyin felt the spiritual aura, and it was just aura, not sense, yet its spiritual strength wasn't insignificant. However, he was unsure why he could feel this level of spiritual strength in such a restricted world.

What was this?