The Sovereign's Ascension

Chapter 1228 – One Versus One

When Ye Ziling won the battle, she completely erased the Suspend King Palace’s hope of getting to the next round. This also meant that Chu Tianhao’s so-called hell challenge was just a joke since he couldn’t even defeat Ye Ziling.

“Since when was senior sister so strong…?” Jiang Lichen and the others were in disbelief.

Lin Yun merely smiled when he heard that. How could the direct descendant of an Ancient Saint Clan not be strong? Sadly, she was suppressing her talent by staying in the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect. If she was willing, she would’ve become a transcendent genius long ago. Then again, the old geezer in the sect was to blame. After all, he didn’t take responsibility for the sect or his own daughter.

If he was willing to teach Ye Ziling, her achievements might be a lot stronger by now as he was ranked first on the three rankings.

“Lin Yun, thank you.” Ye Ziling smiled after she returned to her seat. The others were also briefly stunned before they instantly figured out why Ye Ziling thanked Lin Yun. Lin Yun was the only one in the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect who knew the complete Fleeting Cloud 13 Swords.

This meant that Lin Yun must’ve taught her the last three swords of the Fleeting Cloud 13 Swords, so it was also thanks to Lin Yun that she could defeat Chu Tianhao.

“Actually, there’s no need to thank me. You can just bestow yourself to me.” Lin Yun smiled while winking.

This nearly made everyone else exclaim. After all, they still couldn’t forget the grace that Ye Ziling had displayed earlier, and this was the first time many people discovered that she had such a breathtaking temperament. When she walked over earlier, she was basking in light that not many people dared to look at her directly.

Ye Ziling wasn’t furious by Lin Yun’s joke and replied with a smile, “You better cut it out before I really agree. At that time, you’ll be placed in an awkward position.”

Lin Yun smiled and stayed silent. He was just teasing her, but he really would be placed in an awkward position if she agreed to his joke.

“Hmph, you scumbag.” Lil’ Purple snorted.

Lin Yun didn’t bother with Lil’ Purple and turned to look in the Crimson Moon Elysium’s direction, “The next battle won’t be easy. The Crimson Moon Elysium is a lot stronger than the Suspend King Palace.”

Hearing that made everyone’s heart sink because they knew that the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect wasn’t strong. They only defeated the Suspend King Palace because the Suspend King Palace were too reliant on their monarch aura. As long as their monarch aura was restricted, their strength would drop greatly.

But it wasn’t the same for the Crimson Moon Elysium. At the same time, Lin Yun began to wonder if the Crimson Moon Elysium had any relationship with the Indigomoon Elysium from the Profound Amber Realm.

Their names were too similar. One was the indigo moon and the other was the crimson moon. They only had one word in difference in their names.

“Ye Ziling, do you know about the Crimson Moon Elysium’s background?” Lin Yun asked.

“The Crimsonmoon Elysium is a branch of the Crimson Moon Cult in the Profound Azure Prefecture’s Demon Domain. The Crimson Moon Cult’s position is comparable to the Hidden Sword Manor in Kunlun Realm, and there were rumors that the Crimson Moon Cult used to be the Crimson Moon Empire in the past. But the Crimson Moon Empire was destroyed by the Divine Dragon Empire in the ancient era.” Ye Ziling explained.

Lin Yun fell into deep thoughts because they had a huge background. Then again, the Divine Dragon Empire of the ancient era wasn’t the same as the current Divine Dragon Empire. When the golden era was eradicated, the Divine Dragon Empire from that era was also destroyed. The current Divine Dragon Empire was established after the Nine Emperors appeared to end the chaotic era.

When Ye Ziling suddenly fell silent, Lin Yun raised his head to look at Ye Ziling. He knew that someone was transmitting their voice to her. When he raised his head, he could see the prefectural lord of the Profound Azure Prefecture’s lips moving.

A brief moment later, Ye Ziling turned to Lin Yun and the rest, “The prefectural lord said that the Crimson Moon Elysium wishes to change to a new method for the next round. Both sides will send out their representatives to fight instead of drawing lots.”

“Oh?” Lin Yun smiled because it was somewhat interesting. Logically speaking, the Crimson Moon Elysium had already scouted the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect’s trump cards while the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect had no understanding towards the Crimson Moon Elysium. So the Crimsonmoon Elysium had the absolute advantage in the last battle. It made no sense for them to change the rules.

“What are these people trying to do by changing the rules all of a sudden…” No one could figure out why the Crimson Moon Elysium wanted to change the rules.

“They probably don’t have any confidence in winning after seeing how we crushed the Suspend King Palace. But they’re confident in Xiahou Jue’s strength,” said Ye Ziling.

Lin Yun fell into deep thoughts. He had a feeling that Ye Ziling might be the reason. Ye Ziling’s strength had exceeded the Crimson Moon Elysium’s expectations, and the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect would have at least two wins if the Xiahou Jue didn’t run into Lin Yun or Ye Ziling. Furthermore, Feng Zhang and Jiang Lichen weren’t weak either.

Then again, the same reasoning went for Lin Yun. The eyes of Jiang Lichen and the rest also fell onto Lin Yun, including Ye Ziling.

The Crimsonmoon Elysium was confident in Xiahou Jue, just like how everyone from the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect was confident in Lin Yun.

Lin Yun raised his brow and smiled, “Since he wants a fight, agree to it.”

Clearly, the Crimson Moon Elysium was coming after him, and the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect would show their weakness if they didn’t agree.

After receiving Ye Ziling’s words, the prefectural lord announced, “The final battle will be held between the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect and Crimson Moon Elysium, and the winner will possess the Sword Saint Mountain along with five quotas of the Divine Dragon Baptism. No one is allowed to question the results or you’ll face the Divine Dragon Empire!”

This sudden change caught everyone by surprise because the victory would be determined by Lin Yun and Xiahou Jue. The crowd couldn’t help getting excited. In a split second, countless gazes fell onto Xiahou Jue who looked at the crowd and then at Lin Yun.

A sword hum rang out from within Lin Yun’s body as the sky turned red like a crimson moon.

“Run!” This sudden phenomenon made everyone exclaim. But right at this moment, the sword cocoon in Lin Yun’s forehead hummed and he waved his hand, destroying the crimson moon with his sword intent before it even took form.

“Is there a need to be so anxious?” Lin Yun’s eyes flashed coldly.

“Relax. I just want to see if you have the qualifications to fight me!” Xiahou Jue smiled. “I’m here for the Sword Saint Mountain because I’m interested in the secret of the Fleeting Cloud 13 Swords. I hope that the battle tomorrow won’t disappoint me!”

When he was done, he and the Crimson Moon Elysium’s party left the plaza. Looking at their silhouettes, Lin Yun wore an indifferent smirk.

Back in the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect’s camp, Lin Yun was seated in a serene courtyard while he circulated the Azure Dragon Saint Art. When a dragon roar echoed out, purple and golden light enveloped Lin Yun’s figure. If he wanted an improvement in his cultivation, then he would have to condense his constellation.

It was naturally impossible for him to accomplish it in one night, so he could only rely on the Azure Dragon Saint Art. A long time later, the purple-golden dragon runes that shattered in his challenge on the Sword Assembly healed.

When the last dragon runes were formed, they sank deep into his skin. As Lin Yun opened his eyes, he let out a breath. With his Azure Dragon Saint Art in the sixth stage, he could condense a total of one 108 dragon runes.

If those runes ignited, the dragon runes would turn into saint runes, bringing his physique to the same level as a hundred-rune saint artifact. The runes were broken in his fight during the Sword Assembly and he only managed to fix them right now.

“Xiahou Jue…” Lin Yun murmured. He and Xiahou Jue had probed each other’s strength during the day and Lin Yun was practically sure that his cultivation was in the quasi-Elysium Core Realm. The boundless astral energy in Xiahou Jue’s body could allow him to kill lesser Elysium Core Realm experts.

He was comparable to an empyrean ranked in the top 3,000. This was also Lin Yun’s strongest opponent after reaching the Empyrean Realm, and his strength wouldn’t be any weaker than Gongsun Yan.

At the same time, Lin Yun was curious of the Sword Saint Mountain’s secret that enticed Xiahou Jue. Lil’ Purple hinted that there was something, but she wasn’t willing to tell him. After all, it was impossible that the Crimson Moon Elysium was purely interested in the Fleeting Cloud 13 Swords.

Lin Yun knew that there would be an intense battle tomorrow. But no matter what, he had to win since he had already agreed to it. Regardless of the Sword Saint Mountain’s secrets or the Divine Dragon Baptism, Lin Yun couldn’t lose.

Surprise flashed through Lin Yun’s pupils. When he raised his head, a white figure appeared in his sight.

“Luo Hua!” Lin Yun smiled. “Didn’t you say that you’re returning to the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect?”

“My matters went smoothly, so I came here to see you,” smiled Luo Hua. It had only been two days since they last met, but it felt like it had been two years.

“The Crimson Moon Elysium? This sect is really mysterious.” Luo Hua said upon hearing that Lin Yun would be facing Xiahou Jue tomorrow.