The Sovereign's Ascension

Lin Yun continued to read through the book under the Azure Firmament Tree sapling with excitement on his face. 

“The Azure Firmament Sword Sutra has a total of ten stages. The first three stages are its foundation. After reaching the third stage, one will be able to summon the Azure Firmament Tree. With this phenomenon, wind will be summoned. After reaching the sixth stage, the tree will be able to summon lightning. After reaching the ninth stage, one will be able to condense the thunderstorm sword aura in the body. Upon reaching the tenth and final level, the Azure Firmament Sword Sutra will reach the pinnacle of strength. The Azure Firmament Tree’s leaves will form a pond and tree that envelop the entire sky…”

Looking at the colossal tree before him, Lin Yun fell into deep thoughts. I can summon a tree like this after reaching the tenth stage? Although the sword sutra had ten stages, they were divided into four realms. These respective realms were separated by the third, sixth, ninth, and tenth stages.

After reaching the third realm, one could produce the thunderstorm sword aura in the body. The thunderstorm sword aura would match Lin Yun’s thunderstorm intent perfectly. As for the last realm, Lin Yun had a feeling that the sword sutra would undergo a total transformation.

The next item he read about was the Azure Firmament Thirteen Swords. The first three forms were the foundation of the technique. The intent in these forms matched the first realm of the sword sutra. The fourth through sixth forms were also a lot stronger than the foundational forms. The seventh through ninth forms were known as the ultimate attacks. Finally, the tenth through twelfth forms were absolute killing moves that would claim life the moment they were used.

Although these were just the book’s descriptions, reality wouldn’t be much different. Lin Yun had seen similar descriptions with other martial techniques, such as shattering stars, piercing mountains, and cutting rivers. However, if a swordsman didn’t have the cultivation to pair with it, it was impossible to unleash such prowess.

At the very least, he would have a higher chance and stronger opportunity because of his cultivation. As for the last form, it was written with blood and labeled as forbidden. It gave Lin Yun an uneasy and ominous feeling. If one’s sword talent wasn’t strong enough, there was no need to practice the last form.

Lin Yun was surprised when he saw it and couldn’t help thinking of the Overlord Sword that caused many people to die when they practiced it. The more he read, the better he understood how terrifying this sword technique was. It wasn’t a sword technique that only manipulated wind and lightning. It turned out that there were more mysteries to it.

Lin Yun could even describe the true intent of the technique. At this moment, it felt like there was a door before him with a whole new world behind it. After Lin Yun closed the book, he felt as though there was something stuck in his throat that made him feel uncomfortable.

“It disrupted my sword path.” Lin Yun’s eyes flickered and muttered, “If I encounter a true expert right now, my sword will collapse instantly. It doesn’t matter if I use the Iris Sword Sutra, Azure Dragon Sword Aura, Thunderstorm Intent, or Overlord Sword, I will be destroyed.”

As he fell into deep thoughts, Lin Yun thought of how Zhao Wuji easily crushed Bai Lixuan’s lightning intent when they fought. Lin Yun’s spiritual sword intent was too strong, so it hid some of his flaws. The Azure Firmament Sword Sutra came at the right time. If he cultivated it correctly, he could combine all of his intents like a rope, making them firm and immortal.

Lin Yun’s eyes suddenly lit up because he finally knew what he would feel after mastering the Azure Firmament Sword Sutra, immortal.

“The Dragoncloud Treasury won’t disappear anytime soon and it's probably more efficient for me to cultivate the sword sutra here.” Lin Yun decided that there definitely wasn’t a better place to cultivate than beneath the Azure Firmament Tree sapling. If he let this opportunity go, he would be full of regret.

Sitting in front of the Azure Firmament Tree, Lin Yun began to cultivate according to what was recorded in the book. Although Lin Yun had never cultivated a genuine fortune martial technique before, he wouldn’t have too many problems. After all, the Iris Sword Sutra’s origin wasn’t any worse than a fortune martial technique. Reaching the third stage should be a breeze, especially since the Azure Firmament Tree was behind him.

Lin Yun had the most optimal location and opportunity. He swiftly made improvements in his cultivation.

Two days later, an azure aura circulated beside the Iris Flower in his violet palace. When it spun, he could hear his sword intent humming. For the time being, the Iris Sword Sutra and Azure Firmament Sword Sutra didn’t clash together. After the azure luster calmed down, Lin Yun opened his eyes.

Wind! Lin Yun barked in his heart and a ten meter tall Azure Firmament Tree appeared behind him while a violent wind enveloped him. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding wind had grown thirty meters wide. From the outside, no one could see Lin Yun’s figure inside of the violent tornado. He was perfectly concealed by the tornado.

“Interesting…” Lin Yun looked around and noticed that the tornado surrounding him was like a firm wall. If he fused his sword intent into it, he would be able to increase the lethality of the tornado. Additionally, he would be able to increase its defensive prowess. As long as he had enough origin energy, he could maintain the tornado.

Lin Yun stretched out his hand and realized that he could also control the wind current in the tornado. With a single thought, he began to hover in the air without any obstruction. After he got familiar with it, Lin Yun suddenly thought of something and commanded, “Let’s go.”

With an explosion, the tornado moved forward in the blink of an eye. When the tornado dissipated, Lin Yun was at a loss as he fell onto the ground.

“This…” Raising his head to look at the Azure Firmament Tree, he noticed that he had travelled 1,000 meters away.

“Again!” After briefly being shocked, excitement flashed in Lin Yun’s eyes. The tornado surrounded him once more as he returned to the base of the Azure Firmament Tree. Lin Yun rejoiced at this and continued to practice his control over the tornado. After exhausting half of his origin energy, he took a break and rested.

The tornado was quite the surprise. In the future, he could use the tornado to pursue his enemies and to escape. Furthermore, he could use the wind in the tornado to tear his opponent to shreds. All of this was possible because he reached the third stage.

After reaching the sixth stage, Lin Yun would also be able to control lightning to assist his spiritual sword intent. At that time, he could make the entire sky turn dark with just his lightning.

Since it was still early, Lin Yun wasn’t in a hurry to leave. He took out the book and started to comprehend the immortal intent contained in the book. Why is the Azure Firmament Tree immortal?

Lin Yun could combine his spiritual sword intent and azure dragon aura together, but his thunderstorm intent wasn’t perfectly compatible. After looking through the Azure Firmament Sword Sutra, Lin Yun felt that the previous combination of his sword and dragon aura wasn’t perfect.

If his opponent’s sword intent was strong enough, they could easily crush his Azure Dragon Sword Aura. He had to interlock them together to make them immortal. After all, the destruction of one section wasn’t as devastating as the destruction of a mashed up combination.

After looking through the Azure Firmament Sword Sutra, Lin Yun realized that he wasn’t just obtaining a sword sutra.

“Jian Wuya, I wonder if this senior has any connection with Jian Wuming…” The Azure Firmament Sword Sutra was created by Jian Wuya, so Lin Yun was in his debt. He also comprehended his spiritual sword intent thanks to Jian Wuming. If those seniors had a relationship, then it would really be a coincidence.

While Lin Yun comprehended the immortal intent in the Azure Firmament Sword Sutra, the other geniuses were also trying to make it through their tests. There weren’t many who could make it through the tests, not to mention obtaining a sword sutra and sword technique that came in a set like Lin Yun.

So much so that no one obtained any intermediate fortune martial techniques. They were only able to obtain lesser fortune martial techniques. It was nothing compared to Lin Yun’s harvest. Since the treasury appeared because of Lin Yun, he was the only one to truly benefit. After all, only the champion would reap the rewards while the ants were treated like ants.

Five days later, beneath the Azure Firmament Tree, Lin Yun suddenly opened his eyes. At this moment, his eyes were blazing with flames while a dragon roar echoed out from his body.

A thirty meter long azure dragon appeared behind him. However, this time it didn’t have lightning on its scale. It was also lacking the wind that normally enveloped its claws. There wasn’t even any spiritual sword intent that leaked out of Lin Yun’s body. The only thing that could be felt was the everlasting sword rays in Lin Yun’s eyes. Lin Yun was actually emitting immortal intent.

Although the azure dragon was a lot smaller than before, the pressure from the Immortal Azure Dragon Sword Aura was ten times greater.