Paragon of Sin

"Okay," Prince Zhen accepted Wei Wuyin's stance. While others considered him as an aggressive person, he was actually quite reasonable. Not to mention, he was perceptive. He could determine that Wei Wuyin was not only not ordinary, but was filled with exhaustion at this type of request, as if it was already something he'd heard a thousand times before.

Considering this, he wasn't forceful or angry. Instead, he clasped his hands respectfully, ignoring his status, as he greeted Su Mei and Wei Wuyin. "My name's Wu Zhen, Third Prince of Wu Country. I would like to extend my congratulations for your ascension." 

His tone was delicate, humble, and filled with grace; completely unlike his burly, tall, and domineering appearance would suggest. He carried himself like a prince charming of legends. His words carried an eloquent air that only royalty and nobility could have birthed.

Wei Wuyin was taken aback. He had heard stories of this Third Prince, the Bloodaxe Prince. He had gotten this name by slaughtering his enemies and was often portrayed by the public as violent, arrogant, and unreasonably difficult to deal with. 

When he arrived, he gave off this aura as well. However, looking at him now, Wei Wuyin felt like he was seeing two different people. 

Prince Zhen noticed Wei Wuyin's peculiar gaze and knowingly smiled, "To my enemies, I am who I must be. To the public, I am who I must seem. To those I have no enmity and only respect, I am who I am." His words were profoundly thought-provoking and told many untold struggles of the requirements regarding perception.

A hint of admiration entered Wei Wuyin's eyes as he found those words very agreeable. To his enemies, he was ruthless, icy-cold and capable of slaughtering an entire force, pulling out all roots, without question. To the public, he came off as an underdog to the people, a success story of talent and hardwork. To those he was friends with, he was warm and thoughtful.

Despite all this, when he was in the Scarlet Solaris Sect, perception was very important and there were so many invisible walls to leap over or avoid that he became tired. Just tired of it all.

Now that he had strength alongside a deadline of life, he would only be himself. All else be damned.

"Wei Wuyin." He decided to introduce himself as well. Su Mei looked towards him and saw him nod slightly. 

She said, "Su Mei."

Prince Zhen observed this small interaction and he knowingly smiled. He realized the relationship between the two was special, but Wei Wuyin was the dominant dynamic of the duo. In that case, Wei Wuyin was definitely a Mortal God level character.

"God Wei, God Su, greetings." As he said those words, the twins bowed respectfully and introduced themselves as well. They were Li Tian and Li Di, the female and male respectively.

"Heaven and earth?" Wei Wuyin and Su Mei both smiled, finding the name quite on-the-nose, but creative for a set of twins. 

"It seems it was fate that I met you, God Wei. How about you join us? I'm participating in an auction within the Inner Area, and I've just returned from outside the city. There will be a few interesting items. If you have any items to sell, you can do that as well, make a little extra profit along the way. What do you say?" Prince Zhen offered.

Auction?

Wei Wuyin's eyes grew bright with interest. One of the things he wanted to do in the city was going to an auction. While he had gone to a few before, this was when he didn't even have an essence stone to his name. Now that he had sixth-grade alchemical products and the entire wealth of the Beast-Taming Sect in his wallet, he could definitely let loose.

He didn't bother consulting Su Mei as she would agree with him regardless. Not to mention, he found this Third Prince of Wu quite pleasing. He also didn't feel like he had any ulterior motives, at least those with ill-intent. This made him feel a little more comfortable with this prince.

"Guess it's true what they say about not judging a book by its cover, only by its contents," he laughed inwardly as he agreed to the prince's proposal. 

Prince Zhen was elated. Having two Mortal God's traveling with him, and two with names he knew nothing about, meant he had a chance to establish a friendship. 

When they left the restaurant, Bai Lin examined Prince Zhen, Li Tian, and Li Di with a cautious eye. It seems she heard what Prince Zhen implied when he asked for the owner of her, and she was somewhat suspicious. After all, she had been taken recently by people desiring her.

Wei Wuyin hastily assured her that Prince Zhen meant no harm, and that they were now acquainted. This caused her personality to immediately take a shift as she played around with them a little. Only after they saddled on their large eagle-like mount capable of rivaling Bai Lin in size, did she stop.

Taking to the skies, Bai Lin followed behind Prince Zhen's mount. They flew for several minutes in silence. Despite Prince Zhen's cheerful introduction, they didn't engage in further talks. In fact, Wei Wuyin felt something was off the moment they took flight. 

"God Wei," Prince Zhen suddenly called out. Wei Wuyin regarded him. He was faintly smiling, but his eyes were oddly calm. A glint of killing intent that was rather well hidden emitted from his eyes. 

Taken aback, Wei Wuyin focused. The killing intent wasn't directed towards him. He saw Li Tian and Li Di were staring ahead and didn't react, seemingly as if all things were normal.

Su Mei hadn't noticed the killing intent, so she only briefly glanced at the prince. As she had just entered the ranks of Mortal Gods in the Myriad Yore Continent, her attention was mostly focused on her newfound cultivation base. The miraculous mysteries of the False Reality Phase was profound. 

At times, faint, translucent objects flickered around her. 

Wei Wuyin didn't disturb her. Instead, he swept his spiritual sense quietly outwards. The hint that Prince Zhen had given him wasn't lost on him. When he did, his heart mused but his eyes remained calm.

This was the Wu Central Lands, Heavenly Wu City. He had never expected for people to be so brazen. 

"Haaa, the complexities of royalty must be tiring," he bitterly sighed as he closed his eyes. 

In the distance, a group of eight were traveling like shadows on the ground. Each of their speeds were as quick as the soaring beasts of Wei Wuyin and Prince Zhen rode. 

At the lead was a figure wearing a black robe, the expression, eyes, body type, gender, and cultivation was thoroughly concealed. The others were all men, their faces covered in black oni porcelain masks with a dark-crimson horn. They were of all types, including tall, short, skinny, and dressed in black.

Despite it being day, they were nearly unnoticeable. A translucent mist shrouded their movements. It twirled around them like a snake and twisted rapidly. However, to the outside, it was as if they were invisible.

One of the men softly spoke, his voice was rough but cold like winter, "We've been noticed by the target." His words didn't cause the group to lessen their speed. Instead, another spoke.

"There are two new Mortal God level characters traveling alongside him, including a white crane with golden eyes and beak, indications that it had consumed the Golden Phoenix Fruit." This voice was more soft, nearly womanly. A thin, young man was where it originated from.

A faint white light was emitting from his glabella. It was visible even from his oni mask, like a third eye that couldn't be hidden from the world.

"We move. Nine seconds." An ambiguous voice sounded from the lead. They were obviously well-disciplined, with those words they simultaneously gave a soft yet synchronized 'En!' 

Abruptly, their speed increased. With this level of speed, they'd intercept the route of the Prince in approximately seven seconds.

While this happened, Wei Wuyin opened his eyes. The Prince had turned away, but one could see his cultivation base circulate. The aura of a Seventh Phase of Qi Condensation Realm was quietly emitted from his pores. 

Wei Wuyin's eyebrows flew up. This could be considered the peak of a Mortal God, reaching the sublime state of their metaphysical qi. From what he knew, the prince was in his sixties. To reach such a height in that period of time, he was without a doubt an astonishing genius. 

He felt the aura of Li Tian and Li Di. They were both at the Seventh Stage as well. No wonder they were qualified to act as the guards of a prince. They only lacked the fusion of spirit and core before they became Godlords. However, much like the rest of cultivation, whether they could or not was unknown.

He quietly shook his head. The killing intent emitted was a warning and a message: "Leave!" He didn't know what was going to happen, but to target a prince at this time of day near their own city, in their own country, only meant unrest within. 

He transmitted a message to Bai Lin. Her eyes shone brightly before she veered off. Quickly taking another direction away from the prince. 

This wasn't his fight nor did he wish to take part in it. Not to mention, Su Mei had just entered the Sixth Phase. Her cultivation base was unstable and her combat prowess would be heavily affected. If something were to happen to Su Mei or Bai Lin because of his decision to meddle, how could he live with himself?

While it was unfortunate that he wouldn't be able to visit the auction with a prince figure at his side, he still intended to go.

Prince Zhen noticed Wei Wuyin leave and he sighed inwardly in relief. Those two didn't deserve to be caught in the dramatics of the royal clan. Then, his eyes turned determined and murderous. His mount halted in mid-air, and he turned around, his eyes flashing a sanguine light. A blood-red, double-sided battle axe that was three meters tall, with an axe as wide as two of him, and a thickness that could only allude to its heaviness.

When it was summoned, Li Tian and Li Di both retrieved their weapons. Longswords about two fingers wide and two meters long appeared. Li Tian's longsword had a golden blade and etchings of nimbus clouds along its edges. Li Di's longsword blade was grey with black mountains etched on its surface.

"Such timing!" Prince Zhen lamented. The civil unrest and shifting undercurrents in the capital had already reached such a state. 

"Well, if you've come to seek death, I have a rather healthy dose. Come have some." His bodily stance was brutal as he held the large blood axe in a single hand. With the readiness to commit murderer, he brandished his axe.

Those black-clothed figures revealed themselves. They didn't speak and immediately took action. With a burst of synchronized qi, they shot forward rapidly. Prince Zhen and his twin guardians launched their attacks.

Boom!

Bam!

Bang!

While the sounds of battle echoed behind him, Wei Wuyin's expression was mild and indifferent. This situation was outside of his expectations, and quite frankly, he didn't want to be involved. 

Firstly, this prince wasn't a friend. He had no reason to help in any capacity. They had literally just met, so taking action to intervene felt unnecessary.

Secondly, fighting would offend a party. He didn't know who was attacking or why, but hindering or outright slaughtering their members would likely turn their attention to him.

Lastly, but most importantly, he didn't really care.

Su Mei's eyes revealed a similar intent. Her gaze looked passively at the epic battle between the Prince, his guardians, and their attackers. This wasn't the first time she'd witnessed Mortal Gods exert their strength, but it still caused her to be in awe. 

She found it surreal that her cultivation had now reached that level. 

Shroom!

The immediate sky, a small patch above the sky-rending fight, turned sanguine in color. A bloody sweet smell suffused the air and caused a heavy throbbing of one's heart and pulsation of the veins. Su Mei found her lungs constrict slightly, causing her to feel shortness of breath.

Wei Wuyin wasn't affected by this force. He observed the sky above and told Bai Lin to land. His interest was piqued as he witnessed the sky change colors. A storm seemed to be brewing as the winds started to become turbulent and visibly chaotic beneath the patch of sanguine sky.

At the center of these brewing winds was Prince Zhen covered in a sanguine light. He stood upright, looking down on the earth like a God of War.

"Blood Qi!" A material qi that was similar to Scarlet and Jade Qi. Just its aura alone could adversely affect any cultivator. Su Mei was only experiencing a fraction of what those who stood before it would feel. 

The fight between the prince and those masked attackers were fierce, with each clash causing violent qi to erupt and explode. Even though he was thousands of meters away, he felt the pressure from each devastating clash. 

Li Di and Li Tian worked in synchronized fashion. They struck as one and retreated as one, and they weaved around Prince Zhen whilst doing so. It was beautiful to watch as their blades released powerful wind and earth qi arts. It was like watching heaven and earth move about. 

The three were at the Sublime Qi Phase, and were peak Mortal Gods, but their opponents weren't slouches. Of the eight, six were at the Sublime Qi Phase, while two were at the False Reality Phase. Those two weaker opponents acted as backline support and launched long-range attacks, spiritual spells, and supported their teammates when needed. 

Despite their strength being the lowest, they acted with perfect timing, interfering with attacks or disrupting attacks at the right moment with their swift actions. 

Wei Wuyin noticed that amongst the eight, one of them hadn't taken action completely. That person was the only one that was completely concealed. He couldn't determine their gender or cultivation base very well, but he knew that person was the leader of the eight.

As he focused his attention on this figure, the figure turned towards him as if sensing his gaze. 

"..." Wei Wuyin pondered briefly. He had the faint feeling that he was marked. Frowning, he sent his spiritual sense towards Su Mei and Bai Lin to inspect them thoroughly. When he did, he noticed a faint illusory symbol that resembled an eye on Bai Lin's left wing. It was wedged between her feathers and was the size of a fingerprint. 

"It's a tracking mark? When did that…?" He realized those figures had placed a spiritual tracing mark on Bai Lin from an incredibly long distance. He didn't know why, but they did. Normally, if he was a Mortal God or even a normal Godlord, he would've missed this mark. 

Fortunately, he had two Divine Spirits of Qi that amplified his spiritual sense with the inherent qualities of elemental and saber energy. His spiritual sense was several-fold greater and more piercing than normal.

"They don't intend to let us go? They let us leave so they had three less enemies to deal with…" He muttered softly as he came to this conclusion. There was no reason for such a subtle mark otherwise. 

His eyes flashed with all sorts of thoughts.

The leader of the eight noticed Wei Wuyin's contemplative expression. 

"Seventeen!" It called out. One of the Mortal Gods that had acted as support retreated. He turned towards the leader and without speaking, he soon nodded.

With a kick, he raced like a black predator seeking to kill towards Wei Wuyin.