The Sovereign's Ascension

The breeze blowing through the Nine Dragon Lake gradually stopped with the judge’s voice. As Nangong Wanyu struggled to his feet, his face changed. A huge amount of his profound amber aura leaked out while he coughed up blood.

Everyone had just witnessed history. From this moment on, the strongest swordsman in the Ancient Southern Domain was Lin Yun. If anyone wanted his title, they would have to defeat him. Additionally, Lin Yun won the seed for the fourth group.

Lin Yun had gone from being an underdog to reaching the level of the three kings. On top of that, he maintained his undefeated record. The crowd looked at Lin Yun with complicated gazes. After all, not even Li Mubai’s defeat could prepare the crowd for Nangong Wanyu’s defeat. Nangong Wanyu was clearly much stronger than Li Mubai, so Lin Yun shouldn’t have had a chance. However, the outcome of the battle wasn’t what the crowd predicted.

After devouring Nangong Wanyu’s profound amber aura, Lin Yun’s dragon projection grew even more condensed. When the dragon projection entered his body, Lin Yun could sense his injuries healing at a rapid speed. In an instant, he recovered half of the energy that he expended in the battle. Lin Yun examined the dragon projection and felt that there were a lot of mysteries, especially when it came to the dragon aura.

“Thank you.” Although Nangong Wanyu lost, he still bowed to Lin Yun to show respect.

“No, thank you.” Lin Yun cupped his hands together to acknowledge Nangong Wanyu.

“Brother Lin, your toughness is admirable,” said Nangong Wanyu. To the crowd, it looked like he had the advantage the whole time. However, he was the only one who knew the pain of being unable to take Lin Yun down. After all, he couldn’t thwart Lin Yun no matter how hard he tried.

“I only hold an advantage because of my physique,” smiled Lin Yun.

“You don’t have to be so modest. If it was only because of your physique, I would’ve filled you with holes. You and I both know that you have a higher attainment in the sword than I do,” said Nangong Wanyu. Then, he walked off the stage while waving his hand.

After Nangong Wanyu left, Lin Yun finally felt relieved.

“He won!”

“Holy shit, he actually defeated Nangong Wanyu!”

“Haha! Back then, our Sword Firmament Pavilion’s ancestor reigned over the Ancient Southern Domain. Now, another powerful swordsman has emerged in the Ancient Southern Domain.”

“Lin Yun did have some of Ancestor Jian Wuming’s grace.” The Great Qin Empire’s elders were filled with excitement and emotion. Even Pavilion Master Plum’s were watery when he looked at Lin Yun. Too bad the old pavilion master and Lord Thirteen can’t witness this. They would have been happy.

“Lin Yun’s name will spread throughout the Ancient Southern Domain!” Feng Ye yelled with excitement after Lin Yun’s victory. However, those who were cheering for Nangong Wanyu were sullen. The faces of the Northern Snow Manor were especially nasty.

However, not even the Northern Snow Manor could match the unpleasant attitude of the Profound Yang Palace and Yan Long’zi. Yan Long’zi was naturally in an extremely awkward position because of the declaration he made earlier. The Heavenly Demon Pavilion’s disciples snuck glances at him, waiting to see what he would do.

However, these glances were really short and no one dared to stare at Yan Long’zi. After all, they didn’t want to get caught. With a sinister expression, Yan Long’zi roared, “What are you guys looking at? So what if he won?!”

Clearly, he had no intention of slapping himself. Fearing Yan Long’zi’s title as one of the three kings, no one dared to speak up. Just when Yan Long’zi thought he was safe, a cheeky voice sounded out. Yue Weiwei narrowed her eyes and chuckled, “Hehe, don’t you know why everyone is looking at you?”

Bitch! Yan Long’zi cursed inwardly before he replied with a darkened face, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Hehe. Senior brother, do you have a bad memory? You said that as long as Lin Yun defeats Nangong Wanyu, you’ll slap yourself ten times. You have to keep to your word or are you going to deny what you said?” Others might fear Yan Long’zi, but Yue Weiwei definitely didn’t.

“Of course, I’m a man of my word. However, did anyone else hear me say that besides you? Whoever heard me say those words can say something and I’ll reward them!” Yan Long’zi sneered. Clearly, he had no intention of slapping himself. After all, he would become a huge joke if he did. Yue Weiwei was still too tender to deal with him. Plus, who would dare to humiliate him?

“I heard it.” An indolent voice sounded out right at this moment. When the voice spoke, Yan Long’zi’s eyes flashed with killing aura. Including Yan Long’zi, everyone was shocked. After all, which individual would dare to make things difficult for him?

“Zhao Wuji!” Yan Long’zi’s face changed when he found the culprit. The Violet Thunder Sect and the Heavenly Demon Pavilion were far away from each other, but the distance was practically nothing to the three kings.

“I don’t need a reward, but you did say those words.” Zhao Wuji glanced at Yan Long’zi before he directed his gaze elsewhere, ignoring the latter.

“You!” Yan Long’zi nearly threw up a mouthful of blood as he was about to explode with anger.

“That’s enough,” said the Heavenly Demon Pavilion’s pavilion master.

Yan Long’zi quickly retracted his aura and replied, “Master…”

“It’s not a bad thing to know shame and be courageous,” said the pavilion master before he closed his eyes.

The pavilion master’s words made Yan Long’zi’s face turn pale. He knew that he didn’t have a choice anymore. Gnashing his teeth, he yelled, “Yue Weiwei, you’re ruthless!”

“Senior brother, I’m not the ruthless one, you are. Hehe, at least I won’t ever have to slap myself.” Yue Weiwei blinked her eyes and chuckled.

Yan Long’zi made an unhappy face and started slapping himself in public. The speed of his slaps were fast and the sound was deafening.

“How pitiful…” Many people thought this scene was unbelievable. After all, Yan Long’zi had slapped himself numerous times figuratively and literally. Although it was a tragic scene, it caused many people to laugh.

Once Yan Long’zi finished slapping himself, he glared at Yue Weiwei, “I’ll return the ten slaps to Lin Yun sooner or later.”

When Yue Weiwei heard that, her gaze turned cold and she smiled, “Let’s wait and see then.”

The news of Yan Long’zi slapping himself spread like wildfire. After all, the three kings were naturally the center of attention. But the Sacred Alliance judge ignored this and made his announcement, “The seed of the fourth group has been determined. Anyone is welcome to issue a challenge. However, if you lose, you will no longer have the qualification to be promoted. So, think long and hard.”

The moment the judge made the announcement, the audience started talking. Many of the participants from the fourth group fell into deep thought, especially Li Mubai who was previously pinned to a statue.

Although Lin Yun wasn’t one of the three kings, he was the fourth group’s seed. However, Lin Yun revealed a lot of his trump cards and suffered quite a few injuries. Knowing this, many people felt like they had a good chance against Lin Yun. However, they needed someone to take the lead.

Many eyes turned to Li Mubai. Li Mubai’s injuries weren’t serious and he had recovered all of his energy. Theoretically, nothing was holding him back from the fight.

Li Mubai’s face began to change as he struggled inwardly. He knew that he wasn’t Lin Yun’s opponent, but it was a different question if more people joined in. When he looked at Nangong Wanyu, he saw that the latter had no intention of fighting. Then, he turned to look in the Profound Yang Palace’s direction and realized that Lin Tao had been killed by Lin Yun. Deep down in his heart, he knew that he already lost his chance.

“Don’t even think about it,” said the Heavenly Sword Sect’s sect master.

The judge waited for a long time and then announced, “Since no one objects, I hereby announce the four seeds, Indigomoon Elysium’s Yu Haotian, Violet Thunder Sect’s Zhao Wuji, Heavenly Demon Pavilion’s Yan Long’zi, and Sword Firmament Pavilion’s Lin Yun. Congratulations on making it into the top ten. The rest of the top ten will be determined in three days!”