Paragon Of Sin Chapter 5 - 5: Su Mei

Grand.

The Scarlet Solaris Sect’s stadium could be described by that solitary word. Stretching across several miles, its walls formed a massive oval reminiscent of an ancient gladiator’s colosseum. The structure was crafted from ironborn limestone and reinforced with a layer of obsidian.

Exuding a faint trace of battle qi, the colosseum’s material possessed a miraculous quality. It stirred the spirits of those within, inciting a thirst for aggression. While those with weak wills became boastful and reckless in the presence of bloodshed, true warriors found their minds reaching a state of unparalleled clarity.

Battle qi had been recognized since antiquity as a rare metaphysical energy born from intent. It was nearly impossible to gather or cultivate through standard means; instead, it manifested only through specific environments or prolonged exposure to events like intense cultivation, death, or war.

Because it originated from intent, it was categorized as an Ethereal Qi—a type of qi born from an imbalance of the mind, spirit, essence, and matter, unlike its base form which represented a perfect equilibrium. Within Ethereal Qi, the mind and spirit were the dominant components. Weapon Qi, including saber, spear, and sword qi, served as common examples that many cultivators aimed to master.

Conversely, there was qi generated by the environment rather than from within. The Scarlet Qi produced by the Scarlet Mountain was a type of Material Qi, emerging from a specific imbalance of essence and matter. This characteristic made it significantly easier to cultivate than its ethereal counterpart.

Wei Wuyin looked upon the craftsmanship and the aura of the colosseum with admiration. No matter how many times he had stood here to resolve a blood feud or fight for his future, the location never failed to leave him in awe.

Legend told of a cultivator who used this very arena to forge his Heart of Battle Qi, standing against ten thousand opponents armed with only a sword, a shield, and a suit of armor. It was also the place where that warrior breathed his last, leaving behind a lingering will that allowed future generations to glimpse the intensity he felt in those final moments.

Wei Wuyin held profound respect for such a person. That figure's capability and iron will were ideals worth pursuing. Though no statues or visual records of the man remained, the presence of the battle qi was proof enough of his historical existence.

Upon reaching the stadium, Wei Wuyin was met by several members of his faction. He acknowledged each of them with a subtle nod. As a core disciple commanding nearly seven percent of all inner disciples, his faction was vast, filled with both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Nevertheless, he made a point to commit the appearance and basic details of every subordinate to memory.

“Lord Wei, may I lead you to the V.I.P area?” an elderly, wrinkled attendant asked with a polite bow.

Being a core disciple granted him various privileges unavailable to the masses, including a private viewing box and personal lodgings. Since the tournament could span anywhere from a few days to an entire week, having a secluded place to relax during breaks was standard.

However, he dismissed the attendant with a wave of his hand. He preferred to watch the proceedings alongside Su Mei and the others. He could simply move to the private section when the Core Disciple Competition finally commenced.

The others didn't dare question his decision, and the group marched forward until they reached their assigned seats.

Wei Wuyin observed the hexagonal platforms within the stadium, which appeared to be made of polished stone. Expanding his spiritual sense, he detected that every block was saturated with a high concentration of earthen energy.

These hundreds of combat platforms would be perfect for anyone looking to cultivate natural earthen energy to manifest the elements. They were exceptionally dense, sturdy, and perfectly suited for Earth Qi Arts. Even Wei Wuyin wasn't entirely certain he could demolish one of these stone stages with a single blow.

“Su Mei, good luck,” Wei Wuyin said, offering his blessing before turning his attention back to the stages. The others were of less concern to him than Su Mei, whose Qi Condensation Realm cultivation made her advancement to an inner disciple all but guaranteed.

“Mn,” she replied with a soft, focused nod.

Shortly after, the announcer stepped forward, unveiling a massive black board that stood fifty meters wide and a hundred meters tall.

“The designation board,” Wei Wuyin whispered. This board served to randomize match pairings using pre-set numbers. While it ensured that seeded experts were not grouped together too early, the rest of the brackets were determined by pure chance.

Names began to appear in white on the board, paired with numbers that indicated specific platforms. The Outer Disciple Competition was starting. Su Mei’s name appeared alongside the thousands of other outer disciples participating in the event.

Before long, the outer disciples swarmed toward their designated platforms like a colony of ants. The format for the outer disciples differed from the inner or core competitions, moving at a much more rapid pace.

With hundreds of platforms available and nearly a hundred participants assigned to each, the event was a massive, simultaneous battle royale. This was the reason it was almost certain that those in the Qi Condensation Realm would become inner disciples. Their Heart of Qi and Metaphysical Qi granted them physical attributes, stamina, and perception that far surpassed their peers.

Even when outnumbered a hundred to one, it was unlikely they would fall. It was comparable to a giant facing off against a hundred infants; there was simply no suspense involved.

Su Mei stepped onto her stage, her expression grim and her gaze cold. Like the other contestants, she remained highly alert.

In this free-for-all format, rules were scarce. Since blades and fists have no eyes, the risk of being permanently maimed or killed was genuine. This danger led many outer disciples to either withdraw or focus solely on survival.

Each participant was assigned a number that would disappear from the board and move to the scoring section once they were killed, surrendered verbally, or were knocked off the platform. The earlier a name appeared on the score list, the fewer resource points they earned. Conversely, the longer one lasted, the higher the rewards and the better the chance to advance.

This competition was the primary source of contribution points within the sect, and a top-hundred finish was equivalent to a decade’s worth of missions for an honorary disciple. Such a prize made many refuse to back down without a struggle.

Su Mei was no exception. Despite her gender and appearance, she expected no mercy from her opponents, nor would she show any. She understood the stakes and prepared herself.

As she drew her narrow longsword, her aura shifted. Having recently reached the Qi Condensation Realm, she should have an easy path to the next round, provided she remained cautious and didn't encounter another cultivator of her level too soon.

“Begin!” the announcer bellowed with enthusiasm.

The atmosphere shifted instantly from tension to total chaos as the fighting erupted. Many wielded lethal weapons, striking out without a moment's thought. It wasn't long before the air was filled with the sounds of agony and desperate cries.

Lives were already being lost.

Wei Wuyin watched the scene, feeling a wave of nostalgia. The path of cultivation was brutal, and the world's resources were finite. Members of the Scarlet Solaris Sect were specifically raised to be fierce and remorseless.

While betrayal wasn't an official part of the curriculum, the sect emphasized the importance of motivation and desire. To reach the summit and look down upon the world, one had to first ascend a mountain of corpses.

Wei Wuyin had built his own mountain long ago. Now, watching Su Mei, he wondered if she possessed the strength to do the same.

Given the gap in their cultivation levels, every one of her strikes was like a tiger tearing through a flock of sheep. Each movement of her blade claimed a life.

Though the carnage seemed random, there were clear patterns. Faction members teamed up if they shared a platform, specifically targeting members of rival groups. Those who were neutral or loosely allied were typically just knocked unconscious or thrown from the stage.

They were the fortunate ones.

He observed Su Mei’s cold gaze as she cut down a female opponent, slicing her body in half. The woman’s eyes were wide with shock and agony as her intestines spilled out. Wei Wuyin watched as the young woman tried to hold her organs in place, realization dawning on her face just before her life began to slip away.

A warhammer then descended, crushing her skull into a bloody pulp.

That fallen fighter had been part of Tao Gui’s faction, a group that was openly hostile toward Wei Wuyin and Mei Mei. While Su Mei had dealt the lethal blow, the man who finished the job was a massive individual from Mei Mei’s faction.

These scenes played out repeatedly, and no elders stepped in to stop it. Entering the competition was a personal choice, and protection was not guaranteed. In fact, the sect leaders had likely survived similar bloodbaths to reach their current positions, so they felt little empathy for the fallen.

Su Mei specifically hunted members of the Jiu Lang and Tao Gui factions. She was pitiless, her sword showing no quarter. When she encountered those she had no grudge against, she simply used powerful kicks or palm strikes to eject them from the arena, often breaking their bones in the process.

Wei Wuyin was highly selective about his followers among the outer disciples. He had chosen Su Mei from tens of thousands and placed a small amount of hope in her potential. She had served as his lieutenant during the campaign to wipe out the remnants of the Violet Moon Sect.

Her recent breakthrough had likely been fueled by the spoils of that mission.

“She is ambitious and ruthless. She also follows instructions perfectly.” Wei Wuyin’s eyes narrowed as old memories surfaced.

-----

“You bitch, ptooey!” A middle-aged woman spat as she gripped a young girl with black hair and dark eyes by the scalp. The girl’s face was smeared with dirt. The older woman shook her violently like a ragdoll, pulling her hair back so hard that several strands were ripped out.

A group of women in their twenties and thirties surrounded them, all wearing the uniforms of honorary disciples. They laughed and mocked the girl. A close look revealed they shared similar skin tones and features.

A casual observer might think they were sisters, but that wasn't the case.

The young woman tried to grab her assailant's arm, but every time she reached out, the middle-aged woman slapped her hands away. She simply didn't have the strength to fight back.

“S-stop! Please stop!” the girl cried out, tears of humiliation blurring her vision.

“Stop? You think you can use your body and your face to get more than us? You want to keep him all to yourself? You think he belongs only to you?!” The middle-aged woman’s fury seemed to boil over. She grabbed the girl’s robes and yanked, tearing the fabric and exposing her skin.

“You’re just a cheap slut!” she screamed. The other women continued to jeer. While a few looked guilty or pitying at first, their expressions hardened into resentment and anger when the older woman spoke.

A young man was circling in the sky on a variant eagle, a sign of high status. He looked down with curiosity, accompanied by a chubby man with a goatee.

These two were Wei Wuyin and Du Leng.

“What is happening down there?” Wei Wuyin asked. He had been on his way to a mission, having recently become a core disciple and received his sect-issued mount.

Du Leng glanced at the gathering crowd and the fighting women, realizing the situation.

“Master, there is an old saying: to rise in the world, one can ride on the lap of a dragon. This is the jealousy that results from that path,” he replied with a chuckle.

In the world of cultivation, that phrase had several connotations, but it most commonly referred to a woman using her body to gain benefits from a powerful man. While men did it too, it was rarely this obvious.

These women all looked similar because they had been chosen for those specific traits. Essentially, a man of status had gathered a harem of honorary disciples, and this was an internal feud.

“It looks like the younger one is the new favorite, and the others are jealous,” Du Leng said, shaking his head. Resources were scarce and the path was hard. To succeed, one had to be willing to do anything. A harem was a resource in itself; dual cultivation allowed a man to use sexual energy to stimulate his qi, balance Yin and Yang, and foster elemental energies.

From Foundation Establishment through the Ninth Stage of Qi Condensation, sexual energy could be a powerful supplement. Naturally, the women in a harem would fight if one was receiving all the attention—and all the 'Yang' energy.

Since the 'dragon' was usually a higher-level cultivator, he provided better energy for cultivation, making sex a literal resource. Furthermore, such men usually forbade their women from seeing others under penalty of death for the dishonor. Unless, of course, they had specific tastes.

Wei Wuyin understood immediately. He had seen this in his own clan and throughout the sect. He was only surprised they were being so public about it. Wouldn't the 'Dragon' be furious that his favorite was being shamed?

He looked at the girl being bullied. Her clothes were shredded, exposing her. She looked like she wanted to die from the shame as the crowd grew larger.

Wei Wuyin was no saint; he had used women for their primal yin to aid his own cultivation before. He felt no moral outrage. However, looking at that woman...

A strange sensation stirred in his chest, sparking a sudden impulse.

“Hm?” Du Leng noticed something. He saw a middle-aged man in the crowd eating bread. He was an inner disciple at the Dantian Establishment Phase.

“I think that’s their man, haha,” he laughed, pointing him out. Wei Wuyin looked at the man, who had a mocking grin on his face.

“How can you be sure?” Wei Wuyin asked.

“Because I recognize him, and... her.” He pointed to one of the younger women watching the beating. “They were together before.”

“I see,” Wei Wuyin frowned.

He steered the variant eagle down toward the crowd.

“Master?” Du Leng was caught off guard.

Wei Wuyin didn't answer. He landed in the middle of the crowd, startling everyone. With a swift movement, he used his Second Stage Qi Condensation power to leap through the air, landing right next to the honorary disciples.

They scrambled back in terror.

Ignoring them, Wei Wuyin walked toward the girl and the middle-aged woman. He didn't say a word before striking. His punch was brutal, slamming into the older woman's chest and sending her flying. Blood sprayed from her mouth like a fountain.

She hit the ground hard, her fate uncertain. The crowd panicked, most people fleeing while others stayed just far enough away to watch.

The young girl was stunned. She looked up at Wei Wuyin, mesmerized by his handsome face and silver eyes. She was frozen in silence.

“That pathetic excuse for a man stood by and watched while you were humiliated,” Wei Wuyin said flatly. He pointed at the inner disciple in the distance. The man looked ready to bolt; his face shifted from confusion to shock and then a flicker of anger.

Fortunately for him, he was too cowardly to challenge someone in the Qi Condensation Realm.

The young woman looked at her 'man.' Her eyes were filled with profound sadness and despair. It was clear she already knew the truth; there was no surprise in her gaze.

Wei Wuyin nodded at her reaction. “Are you hungry?”

Du Leng was baffled but remained silent. His perception of the girl changed instantly as he watched the exchange.

“I... perhaps?” the girl whispered hesitantly.

Wei Wuyin chuckled. “Then let’s go somewhere you can figure that out.” He laughed, taking off his outer robe and wrapping it around her to cover her. “What is your name?”

“Uh... Su... Mei...”