The Sovereign's Ascension

The lake and moon disappeared when the two decapitated heads fell to the ground. Lin Yun took a deep breath before stepping forth and skillfully cutting open the corpses of the two demonic beasts, looking for their beast cores.

He had finally found the right feeling to unleash the one hundred and eight intents, and this should’ve been the minuscule stage that his master spoke of. That meant looking deeper and grasping every single detail and intent of the sword. But his hundred and eight intents had some differences when compared to his master’s.

“Can it be that this still isn’t the minuscule stage?” Lin Yun murmured as he fell into deep thoughts. He couldn’t forget it because he could see his master executing the Aquaheaven Sword Technique whenever he closed his eyes. So he was sure that the intents he executed were different from his master. Could it be that he skipped over the minuscule stage and reached the deification stage?

Lin Yun was slightly startled by his speculation and couldn’t help laughing. That was a terrific experience since he was fully immersed in the Aquaheaven Sword Technique.

Lin Yun held onto his chin as he fell into deep thoughts. This was something that he had never experienced before, and this made his Sword Dao even more interesting. As his mouth curled into a smile, he became really grateful to his master, the Radiant Sword Saint.

If he didn’t have the guidance of his master and relied on his own comprehension, he might not be able to come in contact with the minuscule or deification stage in ten years. Not to mention there was the risk of running amok, which was even more terrifying than not having any improvements.

“Let’s not think about this anymore. I’ll ask Master for advice when I see him again.” Lin Yun recollected his thoughts, and his gaze fell onto the two beast cores. These two beast cores should be enough for him to make a breakthrough in the Dragon-Phoenix World Annihilating Sword Canon.

Lin Yun no longer delayed and sat down to refine the beast cores. Before he closed his eyes, Lin Yun glanced at the demonic beasts’ corpses. If he didn’t deal with the corpses, it wouldn’t take long to attract other demonic beasts. But Lin Yun merely smiled and tossed that to the back of his mind.

Three days later, when the two beast cores were about to be entirely refined, a glittering golden light suddenly burst from Lin Yun with a powerful, exploding sword aura. Huge waves also began to bellow across his ocean of astral energy as ancient scriptures started to flow from the ocean. The number of whisps of Dragon-Phoenix Sword Aura grew to three hundred.

When Lin Yun opened his eyes, his gaze was calm. The Dragon-Phoenix World Annihilating Sword Canon had smoothly reached the fourth stage, just as he had expected. He should’ve made a breakthrough in it a long time ago if that ‘accident’ didn’t occur.

Just when Lin Yun retracted his aura, he could sense a powerful aura heading in his direction. He turned to look at the two corpses that were not too far away. The two corpses were still ‘fresh’ even after three days. That’s because they were the corpses of monarch demonic beasts, the corpses were still brimming with vitality, so they were slow to decompose.

“They’re already here?” Lin Yun murmured. The reason why he left behind the two corpses was to attract a strong opponent for him to train against. But he didn’t expect this opponent to come three days later, much earlier than he had expected.

When that demonic beast appeared, it made Lin Yun squint his eyes, and he finally knew why it was so early. This was a Demonic Rune Tiger with strange runes on its fur. It was also the size of a small hill, and the aura it was emitting was that of a four-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm monarch demonic beast.

Is this demonic beast here to take over the territory? Lin Yun finally understood what was going on. With the death of the two monarch demonic beasts, this territory no longer had an owner. Since no demonic beasts came to take over the territory, this Demon Rune Tiger came.

“Get lost!” The Demon Rune Tiger said as it looked at Lin Yun coldly.

“That’ll depend on whether you can make me,” Lin Yun replied.

“You’re courting death!” The Demon Rune Tiger suddenly pounced over. When it pounced over, it turned into a three meter tall humanoid demonic beast. Its demonic runes had gathered onto its chest after it transformed into its humanoid figure, but still had a tiger head.

Lin Yun was shocked by the Demon Rune Tiger’s speed before the Golden Crow Wings unfolded behind him, lifting him off the ground.

When the Demon Rune Tiger’s palm landed on the ground, it caused cracks to spread out before a terrifying, exploding shockwave followed after.

“You cultivated the demon clan’s cultivation technique?” Lin Yun could tell with a glance that it wasn’t a simple attack. This Demon Rune Tiger had better control over his strength than other demonic beasts.

“There are many things you don’t know about. The Withered Mountain Range isn’t as simple as you think.” The Demon Rune Tiger coldly looked at Lin Yun. “Sword Sect’s disciple, I advise you to get lost now, or this king will take your life!”

Hearing what the Demon Rune Tiger said, Lin Yun squinted his eyes as he fell into deep thoughts.

“Die!” The Demon Rune Tiger dashed over without wasting any time talking, unleashing his terrifying aura as a four-star monarch demonic beast. The demonic runes on his chest also glowed as cracks started spreading out in the air around his palm.

Before the palm even reached him, fine cracks already appeared on Lin Yun’s aura, and his firmament sword intent actually showed signs of collapsing. This surprised Lin Yun because this four-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm monarch demonic beast was much stronger than the two three-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm monarch demonic beasts.

But that was even better. With a thought, the Twelve-Petaled Netherflower in his violet palace began to circulate, filling him with great power. When astral energy filled his body, grey sword rays began to seep out of his pores.

Lin Yun immediately showed a straining look with beads of sweat on his forehead. After the Dragon-Phoenix World Annihilating Sword Canon reached the fourth stage, the cauldron became heavier and more powerful. When the netherflower circulated nine times, and his physique was about to reach the limit, the ocean of astral energy sank as a dragon and a phoenix flew out of his body.

The empowerment of the heavenly dragon and divine phoenix stabilized Lin Yun’s collapsing sword aura, but that was only for a moment. The dragon and phoenix still exploded when the Demon Rune Tiger’s palm descended.

But the cauldron in his violet palace was finally lifted by the netherflower, turning Lin Yun’s eyes into a mixture of crimson and gold. As an ancient and ferocious aura exploded from Lin Yun, the aura he gave off was instantly comparable to someone at the four-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm, and he clashed with the Demon Rune Tiger head-on with his palm.

The Demon Rune Tiger was sent flying away while Lin Yun was forced to take three steps back before he managed to stabilize himself. When the Demon Rune Tiger landed on the ground, it became even more furious and wanted to charge over once more.

“Thanks!” Lin Yun grinned. He stayed there to test his current strength. Now that he had already achieved his goal, he no longer had a reason to remain.

The Demon Rune Tiger’s beast core should’ve been more effective than the two he had just refined, but it was a pity that the Demon Rune Tiger was too powerful. Lin Yun even suspected that ordinary opponents in the Dragon Pulse Realm might be unable to fight it. Those at the Elysium Core Realm had to be at least a five-star to fight the Demon Rune Tiger.

When the Demon Rune Tiger looked at Lin Yun’s disappearing silhouette, its eyes flickered multiple times, before it ultimately gave up on chasing after Lin Yun. If he chased him too far, the two corpses might be stolen by other demonic beasts when he returned. Even if these two corpses no longer had their beast cores, this was still a rare feast for him.

“How dangerous.” Lin Yun landed on a tree half an hour later as he gasped for breath while supporting himself with the tree trunk. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he was exhausted with the colors in his eyes fading away.

The cauldron also sank back into his violet palace's ocean of astral energy. Controlling the cauldron with the netherflower wasn’t as easy as he imagined.

“But I can fight a monarch demonic beast at the four-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm after fusing the two sword sutras, and this is a pleasant surprise!” Lin Yun smiled. He was only at the two-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm, and the Demon Rune Tiger was an existence that could fight or suppress a five-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm human cultivator.

But the backlash was also terrifying. Lin Yun had cracks spreading over his palm. When he pulled up his sleeve, he saw that his arm was covered in blood, and this was a sign that his physique had reached a limit. This made Lin Yun even more anxious about a Divine Dragon Bone, but he was helpless because he had no idea when he could get it. He had never looked forward to obtaining a Divine Dragon Bone as much as he did now.

Without a Divine Dragon Bone, there would be a flaw in his body-refining technique, and the flaw would only become wider as he becomes stronger. A top-tiered genius was someone who reached the pinnacle in various factors and wouldn’t have any obvious shortcomings.

Looking at the bracelet on his wrist, Lin Yun retrieved the tenth-grade Spiritual Sword Bead. Since there was no news from An Liuyan, he could only refine this Spiritual Sword Bead to deal with the Five Peaks Competition.

The improvement of his firmament sword intent could also boost his strength, making it easier for him to control the cauldron.

“An Liuyan, I hope that you don’t disappoint me.” Lin Yun looked at the tenth-grade Spiritual Sword Bead while he thought about the Divine Dragon Bone.

The Divine Dragon Bone almost became his obsession now, since he had been constantly thinking about it. But he was pretty confident in An Liuyan. He knew she wasn’t simple, regardless of her means or strength. Not to mention that there was a high possibility that she was someone from the Demon Domain.