The Sovereign's Ascension

While Lin Yun was refining the tenth-star Spiritual Sword Bead, the Sword Sect gradually became bustling as the Five Peaks Competition drew near. Many Elysium Core Realm disciples who were outside rushed back because they didn’t want to miss this grand event.

On the Golden Firmament Peak, where Jin Xuanyi’s courtyard was located, Jin Xuanyi had been in seclusion for the past two months, like Lin Yun, training and comprehending his sword technique. He also tried to make a breakthrough in his sword intent to achieve the firmament sword intent.

On a floating field, two figures were clashing together. One of them was donned in a golden robe, it was Jin Xuanyi. As for the other person, it was a grey-clothed deacon in the Dragon Pulse Realm!

But a bizarre scene occurred. Jin Xuanyi held his own against that Dragon Pulse Realm deacon. He even had a slight advantage in the fight, radiating with a golden sword ray that felt like it could cut through everything. This was why that Dragon Pulse Realm deacon couldn’t gain any advantage in his fight with Jin Xuanyi.

Jin Xuanyi slightly furrowed his brows because the Dragon Pulse Realm deacon was too weak. He coldly snorted, “Sun Splitting Skydome!”

His golden sword ray soared and manifested into a golden sea of clouds. There was a throne in the sea of clouds, and the throne had nine dragons coiling around it, manifesting into a boundless sword aura. As the ruler’s aura descended, it gave off the feeling that it could cut everything and sweep through the world.

There weren’t any fancy tricks behind this attack. Jin Xuanyi merely swung his sword to snap his opponent’s sword. Before the Dragon Pulse Realm deacon could be shocked, Jin Xuanyi swung his sword again. This sent that Dragon Pulse Realm deacon flying back as tehy threw out a mouthful of blood.

When that deacon got back to his feet, he looked at Jin Xuanyi with fear in his pupils. “You’ve mastered the second form of the Skydome 9 Swords?”

The Skydome 9 Swords was a famous ghost spirit martial technique in the sword sect. It differed from the sword sutras that were passed down in the various peaks. Top-tiered sword techniques could resonate with each other, but such sword techniques weren’t something that just anyone had the qualifications to learn.

To obtain such a ghost spirit martial technique, not only was it costly in terms of contribution points, it also greatly required the disciple to have a high level of comprehension. Otherwise, it was futile to have it when they couldn’t learn it.

Every single form of the Skydome 9 Swords was terrifying, and it was impressive that Jin Xuanyi could master the second form before reaching the Dragon Pulse Realm.

“Senior Brother Liu, you’re too weak.” Jin Xuanyi indifferently replied.

It was a disrespectful remark to a Dragon Pulse Realm expert, but that deacon didn’t seem bothered, wearing a bitter smile. “My talent wasn’t as good as yours at the beginning. I couldn’t make any more progress after reaching the two-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm, which was why I had no choice but to make a breakthrough into the Dragon Pulse Realm. I couldn’t reach the Dragon Pulse Realm's second pulse, so I converted to become a deacon. There’s naturally no way I can be compared to you. Your talent is unrivaled amongst your generation, aside from Ji Shuxuan. So who could be compared to you?”

He spoke in a weak tone and was even envious of Jin Xuanyi. Most people had no choice but to make a breakthrough to the Dragon Pulse Realm after reaching the one, two, or three-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm. But Jin Xuanyi reached the five-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm before thirty. So the deacon wasn’t wrong when he said that he didn’t have good talent.

“No. I’m not as good as him, which goes the same for Ji Shuxuan,” Jin Xuanyi replied.

“Who?” The deacon asked. When he saw Jin Xuanyi’s face change, he instantly figured out who it was. After all, who else was more famous than Lin Yun in the Sword Sect nowadays?

“I failed in attempting a breakthrough to the firmament sword intent three days ago,” Jin Xuanyi sighed.

“It’s fine. You can easily grasp it in the Dragon Pulse Realm with your talent, not to mention that you fused your gold intent and monarch intent into your spiritual sword intent. It’s already comparable to the firmament sword intent.” The deacon said.

“As long as I don’t reach the firmament sword intent, I can only be comparable to it and not on the same level.” Jin Xuanyi sighed.

The grey-clothed deacon briefly paused before he suggested, “Then make a breakthrough to the Dragon Pulse Realm. With your foundation at the five-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm, it’s enough for you to condense all of the dragon pulses and reach the Samsara Edict Realm.”

“I have to reach at least the six-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm. Otherwise, it’s practically impossible for me to make it into the top ten of the Heaven Ranking.” Jin Xuanyi said.

The grey-clothed deacon fell into silence when he heard that. The vision of a monstrous genius like Jin Xuanyi was far behind what he could imagine. As for those on the Heaven Ranking, everyone was a monster. Not only were they the pride of the Sword Sect, they were even celebrities amongst the younger generation in the Ancient Barren Domain.

If no accident happens, they would all become Samsara Edict Realm experts and even have a high chance of stepping into the Saint Realm and becoming a noble Saint.

“Is there any news about Lin Yun?” Jin Xuanyi asked.

“He was in seclusion before he left for the Withered Mountain Range. He still hasn’t returned.” The grey-clothed deacon replied. Lin Yun was a celebrity in the Sword Sect. So many people were eyeing his every movement. Thus, it wasn’t troublesome to find any news about him.

“There’s no need to pay attention to him,” said the deacon. “How far can he grow in just three months? Even if he reached the four-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm, your real opponent in the Five Peaks Competition is Ji Shuxuan. As for Lin Yun, anyone on the Earth Ranking can easily suppress him.”

Jin Xuanyi smiled when he heard that and said in a playful tone, “Then why did Huangfu Yan lose?”

“Huangfu Yan just underestimated his opponent. He’s now at the four-star Heavenly Elysium Core Realm, and he can easily take that brat down in ten moves.” The deacon said firmly.

“You think too much,” said Jin Xuanyi as he jumped down from the floating field with the deacon following behind him. When Jin Xuanyi got down, he slowly started wiping his sword.

“What’s the matter? Am I wrong?” The deacon was still persistent in his own view.

“It’s no wonder why you’re only a deacon with the Dragon Pulse Realm, the limit that you can achieve. You have no idea what kind of monster Lin Yun is to be able to grasp the firmament sword intent at the Elysium Core Realm. The closer you are to the firmament sword intent, more you can sense how tough it is to grasp it.” Jin Xuanyi replied. After he was done wiping his sword, he returned his sword to the sheath. He turned back to glance at the deacon and asked, “Unconvinced?”

Seeing that the deacon did not say a word, Jin Xuanyi smiled, “Ji Shuxuan and I aren’t convinced either, but we both know that he has a greater potential than us. We’re unconvinced that he doesn’t qualify to become a heaven direct disciple now. As for the future, who knows? But if we suck it up now, we’ll become a joke in the Sword Sect.”

The grey-clothed deacon’s face changed when he heard that with disbelief. He couldn’t believe that those words came from Jin Xuanyi. Jin Xuanyi’s words were equivalent to acknowledging Lin Yun’s strength. Others might not know, but the deacon knew how strong Jin Xuanyi was, and there was no doubt that Jin Xuanyi was a monster.

Jin Xuanyi greatly surpassed most of those in the same generation and had numerous trump cards. His sky sword intent was at complete mastery, the fifth stage of the Golden Firmament Sword Sutra, monarch sword aura, and the second form of the Skydome 9 Swords. Any one of those could scare someone to death, not to mention that Jin Xuanyi definitely still had other trump cards.

No one knew how many trump cards Jin Xuanyi had. After all, Jin Xuanyi was someone who aspired to enter the Heaven Ranking. So how could he not have any trump cards? With his strength, he didn’t have to pay attention to Lin Yun, at least not for now.

“Did he pick any ghost spirit sword technique?” Jin Xuanyi suddenly asked.

“Probably not. He only visited the Martial Arts Hall once,” said the deacon after a brief ponder.

“What is he planning?” Jin Xuanyi furrowed his brows. Lin Yun had reached the pinnacle of the second stage in the Divine Firmament Sword Sutra. So why didn’t he pick a ghost spirit martial technique to maximize his strength?

A figure streaked across the horizon on the Saint Pool Square of the Scarlet Firmament Peak, heading towards the palace closest to the Saint Pool. The disciples on the square were already used to this scene. Aside from Mu Qingqing, no one else would be so bold as to fly over the heads of everyone at the Saint Pool Square.

Although this had occurred several times, every time Mu Qingqing appeared, she still attracted countless people’s attention. The sisters of the Scarlet Firmament Peak were famous in the Ancient Barren Domain, and not many people could disregard them.

When Mu Qingqing appeared above the palace, she was surprised to see Mu Xueqin enveloped in a golden light that made her look like a blazing sun. She knew that her elder sister had made a breakthrough in the Scarlet Firmament Sword Sutra again, reaching the eighth stage.

This was terrifying because her sister made a breakthrough from the seventh to the eighth stage after watching Lin Yun’s fight with Huangfu Yan.

When Mu Xueqin opened her eyes, the sword rays wrapping around her dissipated.

“Big Sister, you’re too amazing!” Mu Qingqing involuntarily praised.

But Mu Xueqin had no changes on her face as she raised her hands around her before she slowly stood up.

“Hehe. Don’t tell me that your improvements are all thanks to Flower Burial?” Mu Qingqing chuckled as she teased her elder sister.

“You’re not entirely wrong,” Mu Xueqin replied.

“Are you serious about that?” Mu Qingqing was stunned because she was just making a casual remark.

“He gave me a huge shock when he reached the pinnacle of the second stage in the Divine Firmament Sword Sutra after just one day in the Great Profound Palace.” Mu Xueqin replied.

Mu Qingqing smiled when she heard that. It turned out that Lin Yun’s performance triggered her elder sister.

“I’m leaving. So behave yourself in the future,” said Mu Xueqin.

“The Five Peaks Competition will begin soon. You’re going to leave at this time?” Mu Qingqing exclaimed.

“Why not?” Mu Xueqin questioned back, and this made Mu Qingqing fall into silence.

The ten on the Heaven Ranking were the cornerstone of the sect. In the future, they would either be a Peak Master or a Sword-Bearing Elder. Since they would represent the Sword Sect in the Ancient Barren Domain, they were also required to train outside the sect.

After all, it wouldn’t benefit them if they were holed up in the sect. If Mu Xueqin didn’t have to go into seclusion to make a breakthrough in her cultivation technique, she wouldn’t have stayed in the sect for so long. So now that she has successfully made a breakthrough in her cultivation technique, she naturally had no other reason to stay here.

“Why don’t you wait for a little longer? You might be triggered by Lin Yun again and reach the ninth stage in the Scarlet Firmament Sword Sutra!” Mu Qingqing bullshitted.

“Not anymore,” said Mu Xueqin with certainty in her tone.

“Don’t be so sure about that…” Mu Qingqing’s voice became soft when Mu Xueqin looked at her; she was pretty scared of this elder sister of hers.

“Can you stay behind for a while longer?” Mu Qingqign said in a coquettish tone while she shook Mu Xueqin’s arm.

Mu Xueqin was annoyed by her younger sister, but eventually gave in, “I’ll stay for a few more days then. I’ll leave right after the Five Peaks Competition. But if you think he can trigger me even further, that’s impossible.”

“Hehe.” Mu Qingqing simply smiled and did not comment on that.