Heaven's Devourer

Half a year went by quickly. The story of Wu Yu's disappearance and return had spread far and wide within the Common Sword Domain, and there was basically not a single soul who had not heard about it. This had solidified Wu Yu's number one position on the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals beyond any further doubt. 

Logically speaking, Nangong Wei would have heard the news about him after she returned from the Shushan Reincarnation Realm.

This led Wu Yu to naturally conclude that she was somehow still in the Shushan Reincarnation Realm.

"There's no point in waiting just like this. Let me go to the Huang sword domain. Perhaps she went there to ask about my whereabouts."

With such a thought, Wu Yu got up and prepared to leave. With a nonchalant wave of his hand, the 10 doppelgangers leapt in the air and transformed back to golden strands of hair hidden on Wu Yu's head. Onlookers would have no way of noticing them at all.

"Sixth tier Jindan. Presently, my Jindan essence closes in on the eighth tier of Jindan."

The fearsome power of the Invincible Vajra Body and the Great Way of Immortality Art had revealed themselves gradually over time, and had led him to feel quite extraordinary. 

After leaving Heaven's Equal Peak, Wu Yu first went to seek out Baili Feihong. He wanted to be promoted to a Huang sword rank disciple, thus he needed the hall master to guide him. Baili Feihong held both the positions of palace and hall master, thus he had to be the one to lead him to the Immortal Ascension Hall.

"Wu Yu, what a rare appearance!" Wu Yu found Baili Feihong reclining in an icy stream. His face was flushed red from drinking. 

Baili Feihong was always too relaxed. Without any care in the world, he spent his entire day making merry with food and drink, as though he had no interest in progressing towards the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm at all. 

"Palace Master Baili, today I wish to go to the Immortal Ascension Hall in order to be promoted to a Huang sword rank disciple." Wu Yu cupped his hands in salute.

"You made it? Haha, looks like my work here is done. Give me a moment to wash up, then we can leave." Baili Feihong leapt from the icy waters. With the use of Purification incantation and other Unorthodox Arts, he adorned a new sword lanyard and transformed into an elegant-looking dandy in an instant. 

Shen Xingyu had placed Wu Yu under his care. Now that Wu Yu was going to the Clear Sky of Shushan, this was surely the end of that.

"Let's go. Being able to send you, Wu Yu, to the Immortal Ascension Hall is a great honor to me. Hehe." Despite his different appearance, Baili Feihong's lackadaisical attitude still shone through.

Wu Yu slightly smiled and mounted his sword to follow him towards the Immortal Ascension Hall. The Immortal Ascension Hall was actually very close by. The Battle Sword Palace was in the most convenient location of the Common Sword Domain after all.

"I couldn't tell. You've not only learned a new Great Dao Mystique, but have also developed your Jindan to the sixth tier? Not bad at all. With your talent, I'm sure that the Huang sword domain will tell legends of you in no time at all," Baili Feihong remarked with confidence.

"Thanks for the compliment."

Not long after, they arrived before the Immortal Ascension Hall.

If a disciple met the necessary prerequisites and wanted to become a Huang sword rank disciple at the Clear Sky of Shushan, they had to first visit the Immortal Ascension Hall. After passing the trials at the Immortal Ascension Hall, they would be able to upgrade their normal Disciple Amulet to a Huang sword rank Disciple Amulet. This would allow them to enter the Huang sword domain. Without this Disciple Amulet, unauthorized entry into the Huang sword domain would just lead to one being kicked out immediately.

There was a huge chasm at the foot of the Clear Sky of Shushan.

The Immortal Ascension Hall was at the foot of the mountain. Behind it was a path that led up the Clear Sky of Shushan.

The Immortal Ascension Hall was formed by a dense concentration of swords and knives without their hilts. Its imposing, magnificent presence was ample with sword qi, so disciples who were here could not help but lower their heads in deference. From afar, the hall looked like a giant metal beast. 

Merely being able to enter the Immortal Ascension Hall was already a great honor.

As he stood at the entrance to the Immortal Ascension Hall, Wu Yu could not help but notice something else. The peaks of the neighboring mountains were almost completely covered with clouds. Among these mountains, there was one with a pristine, white palace that seemed to fade in and out of existence. Around this remarkable palace circled Immortal Cranes and other spiritual beasts. Flowers with snow-like petals blossomed across the peak of this mountain, giving the impression that this was a place of romance.

"Why are you looking at the Immortal Pair Hall? Kid, missing your youthful days?" Baili Feihong teased.

"That's the Immortal Pair Hall?"

Wu Yu took a few more looks as he recalled Nangong Wei's parting words to him.

"Let's go, follow me in." Baili Feihong landed. Together with Wu Yu, he stepped up the sharp blades that made up the stairs leading up to the Immortal Ascension Hall. After walking up one step at a time, the majestic main doors of the hall came into view. As they both pushed the doors to enter, the brightly lit interior revealed itself to them. This was a world of its own. The walls were formed by heaps of swords blades, and the entire Immortal Ascension Hall had a heavy atmosphere of sword qi. Even Baili Feihong wore a serious expression as he entered. 

In this large hall, there were only people in the far distance. In the furthest spot stood a raised desk. The person behind it was most likely the palace master. Right below him were 10 smaller desks with a person seated at each one. These 10 were probably attendants of the Immortal Ascension Hall as well. Other than them, there were a handful of others around. These were most likely disciples like Wu Yu. After cultivating their Great Dao Mystiques, they were preparing to ascend to the Huang sword rank. 

"The palace master of the Immortal Ascension Hall is known as Li Yijun. He's considered an honest and incorruptible man, but I'm sure he won't give you any trouble regardless," Baili Feihong whispered to Wu Yu. 

Wu Yu glanced at the man who was seated at the highest desk. He wore a sword lanyard and had short hair. Despite his expressionless face, he exuded an imposing presence. In the mortal world, this was exactly how one would expect a tyrant to look like.

"Why?" Wu Yu asked.

He guessed that this Li Yijun was an Earth sword rank disciple. Perhaps he was even at the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm as well.

Baili Feihong smirked and replied, "This toad wants to eat the swan meat of Shen Xingyu. Given that Shen Xingyu treats you as a younger brother, I'm sure that he will treat you well by association."

Sure enough, Baili Feihong was right. When Li Yijun raised his head and noticed Wu Yu, his expression seemed to soften all of a sudden. He raised his hand to signify the current disciples currently undergoing their trials to stop. He came down from his desk and hurried towards Wu Yu swiftly with a face full of smiles. "So it's Wu Yu, the number one on the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals. I long expected you to attain a mystique and come visit my Immortal Ascension Hall.

"It's an honor to meet you, Li Yijun," Wu Yu replied.

"Please just call me Senior Li." Li Yijun's tall and sturdy body came crashing to the ground. He was in a rush to make small talk with Wu Yu.

"Toad Li, Wu Yu is here to become a Huang sword rank disciple. Why don't you cut the crap and start to prepare his trial?" Baili Feihong interrupted. 

"Why, you flying pig!" Li Yijun was so angry, his beard started to shake, but he did not really bother with Baili Feihong. It was apparent that the both of them were familiar with each other. Given that they were both important figures in the Common Sword Domain, it would be no surprise if they were even friends as well. 

"Wu Yu, even though you've attained your mystique, we still have to clear some formalities. That should be fine, right?" Li Yijun “gently” asked.

His enthusiasm made Wu Yu feel slightly embarrassed. He hurriedly replied, "Of course there's no problem, Senior Li. It'd be fine if you assessed me as per normal."

With Wu Yu's arrival, the other disciples cleared off to the side. They were in no hurry after all. Since Wu Yu was here, it would be of no harm to check out just how impressive the amazing mystique of this exceptional genius really was. 

"Now that I think about it, even I don't really know what type of mystique Wu Yu has obtained." Baili Feihong was curious as well.

One of the prerequisites to becoming a Huang sword rank disciple was to demonstrate your mystique before Li Yijun. In ordinary cases, the 10 attendants working under Li Yijun would suffice, but this time, Li Yijun was personally curious as well.

Of course, he already knew that Wu Yu would have no problem becoming a Huang sword rank disciple. With Wu Yu's strength, he would probably even be able to quickly advance to the top 100 on the Leaderboard of Huang Sword Immortals as well. 

"Please take a look." Wu Yu gave a faint smile.

"Sure, I'll be the judge." Li Yijun instructed the crowd to clear out a large space. He had a feeling that Wu Yu's Great Dao Mystique would have a really big effect, so he wanted to be prepared for this.

In this moment, the crowd was watching Wu Yu with eager anticipation.

Li Yijun was also staring intently.

The fact that Wu Yu's mystique had a really small effect surprised all of them.

As the crowd eagerly anticipated his next move, Wu Yu plucked out three of his golden hairs. With an outstretched hand, he blew on them. The golden hairs spun in the air for a few rounds before instantly changing into three identical copies of Wu Yu. As the doppelgangers stood with Wu Yu, they were virtually indistinguishable from each other. 

"How is this possible!?" Including Li Yijun, Baili Feihong, the entire crowd held their breaths in wonder. Their eyes were fixed on the four versions of Wu Yu before them.

"Does this count as a doppelganger mystique? Is this merely an illusion, or are they really doppelgangers? How could they be so alike? I can't tell them apart at all!" Li Yijun hurriedly asked.

"Why don't you test it out?" Wu Yu smiled. When it came to the Unshackled Doppelganger, he was full of confidence. 

"Come, attack me!" Li Yijun chuckled as he pointed to his own chest.

Wu Yu naturally held nothing back. While the audience nervously watched him, he opened his Sumeru Pouch. Three swords flew out from it, and each of his doppelgangers grabbed hold of a spiritual immortal treasure. While they gripped onto these spiritual immortal treasures, they were basically indistinguishable from actual people. 

"Go," Wu Yu thought to himself. His three doppelgangers immediately sprung into action.

Whoosh!

From three different directions, the three of them drove towards Li Yijun. As their Jindan essences roiled and they displayed their sword skills, the audience was unable to distinguish their skills from Wu Yu's own. 

"Killing God Void Sword!"

"God Eclipsing Void Sword!"

"Sword Sea Art!"

The three doppelgangers demonstrated three different dao techniques based on Wu Yu's own In this moment, it was as though there were three sixth tier Jindan Dao cultivators attacking Li Yijun. As the three blades approached, Li Yijun still expected them to merely be illusions. 

It was only when the killing blow was right about to land that he suddenly realized the danger that he was in. In a flash, his entire body transformed into steel. When the three sword techniques attacked his body from all angles, they let out a resounding ring, pushing Li Yijun back quite a distance. 

If Wu Yu had used 10 doppelgangers instead, this would have been much stronger. With enough Golden Essence Pills, 10 doppelgangers working together with the intent to kill would allow Wu Yu to challenge even eighth and ninth tier Jindan Dao cultivators without moving an inch. 

After all, these 10 doppelgangers were acting as one entity. This level of synergy could be found nowhere else in the world. 

"What a miracle!" Li Yijun could not help but let out this cry of praise as he defended against the wave of attacks.

To tell the truth, he still could not determine the peak of Wu Yu's abilities. He was already impressed by the fact that just three of these doppelgangers were able to push him back. As of now, however, these doppelgangers surely had to be much weaker than Wu Yu.

He wanted Wu Yu's doppelgangers to continue attacking, but Wu Yu recalled his doppelgangers at this very moment. He did not want to reveal too much about Unshackled Doppelganger.

"Senior Li, this Great Dao Mystique originates from the Transformative Daoist. With such a mystique, do I qualify to be a Huang sword rank disciple?" Wu Yu asked.

"Of course, most definitely! If only you had pulled back a little later and allowed me to experience more of your power." Li Yijun continuously nodded in agreement, but with a hint of regret in his voice. 

"With such a wonderful technique, I'm sure there will be exciting things to look forward to in the future." Baili Feihong nodded. 

At this very moment, a round of applause rang out from just outside the Immortal Ascension Hall.