Paragon of Sin

"What is happening?" A mortal-level soldier questioned aloud, shielding their eyes instinctively from the bright, scintillating radiance the War Spirit Altar emitted. 

"Argh! WHAT IS THIS LIGHT?!" An Ascended soldier cried out in pain, the sounds of his eyes sizzling softly resounded. This particular Ascended soldier wasn't the only one who cried out in shrieking pain. They had, unlike their mortal-level counterparts, brazenly inspected the radiant cube with their eyes. This was a huge mistake.

Some of these Ascended soldiers were caught by surprise and stumbled embarrassingly, falling as they tried to withstand the pain they felt. They vehemently spouted curses while shielding their eyes with their arms and hands. They tried everything to prevent the light from scorching their eyes, even trying to dispel the light their eyes had unintentionally absorbed.

While this orchestra of pain occurred, Wei Wuyin was pulled to the peak of the cube by a foreign, invisible power. Even his own spiritual sense wasn't able to comprehend what was holding him, only feeling as if some godly hand had enveloped him, dragging him forward without any intent to harm. He didn't resist at all. 

When his catapulting figure finally halted, he found himself above the cube, and all those who were originally there had been sent down and away by the same foreign power. He was being deliberately isolated by this invisible power. The development was unexpected yet Wei Wuyin remained calm.

Wei Wuyin temporarily expanded his spiritual sense to grasp the surroundings and was shocked to discover that the cube was almost completely empty at the top. There was only a single sanguine character etched on the entire surface that he was quite familiar with. It read: War. 

He was brought to the center of the cube and the center of the character itself. The character might feel like just inscribed writing, but it pulsated in a consistent manner, much like a heartbeat. 

Floating above the character, hoisted by that invisible power, Wei Wuyin felt his right hand start to vibrate and thrum out with the beating consistency of the character beneath him. They seemed to be resonating on some level. However, the Mark of War on his hand did not manifest itself, but the Mark of Annihilation instead!

"Hm?" 

A soft sound resounded, shocking Wei Wuyin deeply. It felt as if the sound was directly beside him yet also incredibly far away, causing a dissonance of his senses as if time itself was twisted. He was discombobulated for a moment, losing his sense of distance and direction. A normal cultivator might outright experience severe panic after being thrown into this uncertain sensation, but Wei Wuyin merely steadied his breathing and regained himself. As someone who might've traversed through the rivers of time itself, he adapted quickly to such disorientating dissonance.

"Oh?" 

The voice, androgynous in tone, resounded again. And once again, Wei Wuyin was descended into a confused state, unable to gauge close, far, past, present, or future. It took him a breathing cycle to regulate his mind, refocusing on what was happening. 

When he finally gained himself, he felt the hard surface beneath his feet. He was no longer being lifted by the strange force. 

"Soldier of the Mortal Dao, hear my proclamation of your glorious merits!" 

The voice sounded out again. Wei Wuyin felt as if something was before him, something that exceeded the Mortal Limits. Unfortunately, his closed eyes made it impossible for him to inspect and observe the being that spoke. Wei Wuyin felt an urge to open his eyes, but he decided against it. He didn't know why he decided this, but it felt right. 

"Victory Among Three Armies! Your selected army has led itself to victory within your Zone of War! Claiming victory against your enemies, you have earned the Merit of Dual Victory. 

"Greatest Contribution of Victory! You have earned the greatest contribution of war, either in aiding allies, leading forces, or slaughtering enemies! Your actions directly resulted in your army's outstanding victory. You have earned the Merit of Greatest Contribution.

"Butcher of the Battlefield! You have slaughtered your enemies without mercy, taking their lives in a swift and brutal fashion! You have earned the Merit of Precise Slaughter.

"Violent Executioner of the Masses! You have killed the most enemies in the entire Battlefield! To slaughter more for the benefit of your army is worthy of incredible praise, soldier! Your means are violent, but your kills ring true to the soul. You have earned the Merit of Mass Violence.

"Demi-Being Slayer of the Mortal Dao! You have, as a mere mortal, taken the life of a being far beyond your limits. An act that defies the heavens! Your kills have no limits! Your weapon of war holds no discrimination! You have earned the Merit of Defiant Slaying!

"...You have healed...earned the Merit of Rejuvenating Sage.

"You have killed enemies beyond your...earned the Merit of Ascending Limits..."

Wei Wuyin listened. The voice's words were outrageously lengthy and flowery, yet spoken at a deep and rapid cadence. He almost glossed over all this as it felt as if it took an hour. All his actions were given some form of merit, and he found them a little uncomfortable to listen to, especially the thinly veiled praise for some of the more brutal announcements.

In the end, it took a seemingly long time to finish. When the voice concluded, it finally got to the meat of the matter. 

"Your Merits and Acts of War have accrued you with the following rewards!"

Wei Wuyin's heart was filled with anticipation. From Jing Jiu's memories, the various forces offered things like mystic-graded items and products starting at five or so War Souls. To purchase a Worldly Saint to help with Spiritualism Conversion, one needed about fifty War Souls on average.

As for the uses of these War Souls, they were incredibly varied yet all useful. According to reports that Jing Jiu heard about from others, the War Souls could be refined by Spirits of Cultivation to elevate their Mortal State, even reaching the Zenith Mortal State. In a way, they were valuable as a peak-quality, ninth-grade Everlore Ascension Pill, but far easier to acquire if one lived. 

Because to leave, one needed ten War Souls in the quota. This was the rules of the Battlefield, not the other forces. 

But even if a soldier kept one for themselves and traded the rest, they now had the possibility to cultivate a Zenith Mortal State post-Qi Condensation Realm. The other notable uses were they could be used as materials to forge certain tools and armaments of a high-level or concoct certain alchemical products.

However, one of the things that shook Wei Wuyin was that the War Soul could act as a Soul Nourishing Material! These War Souls could elevate the soul's state, inducing an enlightened state where comprehensive abilities were temporarily increased! 

Its ability to induce a state of enhanced comprehension caused its value to be bolstered to the limits by the cultivators of the Azure-Prime Galactic Zone. Besides a few rare treasures of heaven and earth, only some alchemical products have been known to perform such feats and they were typically limited to certain things, like mana, light energies, spatial energies, Intent, etc. However, these War Souls worked generally and for all things equally.

They were also a little peculiar. A cultivator could only refine a certain limit based on their cultivation base, anything beyond that was useless to them. 

Considering comprehension was of the utmost importance in the Mystic Ascendant Realm, this was a godsend opportunity. Unfortunately for Earthly Saints or higher, they were barred from entering the Battlefield. If they weren't, they might have flooded the Battlefield and engaged in gruesome slaughter without hesitation. 

However, the comprehension enhancement ability wasn't the most important aspect to Wei Wuyin. What was truly crucial, what made King stimulated with extreme excitement, was its ability to act as a soul nourishing material! Not just a normal soul, but items with structure akin to a soul! 

For example…

A Nascent Soul! 

A Nascent Saber Soul to be exact!! 

Since he obtained Element, his Nascent Saber Soul, he was unable to find Soul Nourishing Materials, even scouring the entire Myriad Monarch Sect's vault and testing multiple materials to no avail, even Soul Ash of Divine Jade failed. These were products of the failed Soul Impartation of the Heavens! The only thing thus far that he knew that could strengthen or nourish a soul was the Soul of True Sin method left by the Scripture of Sin, and he wasn't certain if Nascent Souls were affected the same. He had only found recovering soul products or items, not nourishing products or items.

Not even Jing Jiu had memories of soul nourishing materials besides the War Soul, only highlighting that affecting the soul was an incredibly high-level feat.

Wei Wuyin awaited the announcement of his awards with bated breath. 

The voice continued: "You, elite soldier of the Battlefield, have been bestowed the title: Soldier of War! You've earned the qualifications to fight for the right to observe the Obelisk of War! The Nexus Battlefield awaits, Soldier of War."

"..." Wei Wuyin froze.

...What?

The qualifications to fight for the qualifications to observe something? Soldier of War?! Nexus Battlefield? This was the first time he'd learned about any of this! Just as Wei Wuyin was about to speak out, not caring if this went against the order of things, the voice continued speaking on.

"From your participation in the Battlefield, your merits accrued thus far, you have earned..." 

RUMBLE!

Wei Wuyin's balance grew unsteady as his words were caught in his throat. The 'War' character etched onto the platform started to rapidly vibrate. He felt a strange discomfort in his heart. Before he could get to the bottom of it, a wave of gushing power exploded from below, lifting him up a few feet once again.

He felt light and free, yet shocked by this experience. It almost felt as if he was being blessed by something! Suddenly, white orbs of baseball-sized light started to exit the 'War' character. They started to spiral around Wei Wuyin's body, forming a beautiful array of white trails of light. He was bathed in their brilliance! 

"49,770 War Souls!"