The Sovereign's Ascension

Lin Yun continued traveling with Li Wuyou and only stopped after they were far from Xin Wuhen and Lu Hexuan. Although he wasn’t afraid of them, he wanted Li Wuyou to receive treatment for his injuries as soon as possible. If he was all by himself, he could fight and kill them as he wished.

“You are…?” Li Wuyou held onto his chest and looked at Lin Yun.

Lin Yun was no different than a rock because the mask was concealing his aura. No one would know his cultivation unless he attacked. But there was no need for Lin Yun to conceal his identity with Li Wuyou. He smiled and removed the mask.

“BIG BROTHER! Haha! I knew it was you!” Li Wuyou laughed when he saw the familiar face. Then again, who would be willing to offend Xin Wuhen and Lu Hexuan aside from Lin Yun in the Alliance-Union Battle?

“Are you alright?” Lin Yun smiled. “You’re pretty bold to snatch the Imperial Sword Herb.”

“It’s fine. My physique might not be comparable to you, but I can still take a beating. I was worried that you might not be able to get the herb with the bounty on you, so I wanted to help you get one. But I never expected to encounter those two bastards,” replied Li Wuyou.

Li Wuyou only knew what kind of people Lin Yun offended after coming to the Burial Sword Peak. Lin Yun had practically offended everyone in the top ten and Lin Yun’s strength would fall behind if he didn’t have the Imperial Sword Herb. If that happened, wouldn’t Lin Yun die when he got to the Sword Tomb?

If Lin Yun died, who knows how sad Xin Yan would be. This was the reason why Li Wuyou decided to risk his life.

Lin Yun was briefly stunned before he warmly smiled and said, “Start refining it then. I was the first one to obtain an Imperial Sword Herb.”

“Are you serious?” Li Wuyou was shocked.

Lin Yun circulated the Iris Sword Sutra to unleash his sword intent and cultivation in the fifth stage of the Profound Martial Realm. Then, the Iris Sword Seal took shape on the back of Lin Yun’s hand and he flicked his finger. There was a bright flash and then a brief moment later, an explosion could be heard.

Li Wuyou was startled, but then he smiled and said, “It looks like I was worried for nothing.”

“Anyway, start refining it. I’ll stand guard for you,” said Lin Yun with his aura calming down.

“Hehe, I’ll refine it then. After that, us brothers will kill our way towards the Sword Tomb and give the Gentlemen Union a big surprise.” Li Wuyou’s eyes flashed with joy.

Time passed and Li Wuyou refined the Imperial Sword Herb while Lin Yun practiced the Seven Profound Steps and Dragon-Tiger Fist. After Lin Yun executed the five forms of the Dragon-Tiger Fist, he started practicing them with the seals. His punches would draw huge roars that exuded the dominance of a king. 

With another roar, Lin Yun slowly raised his right hand to combine his sword intent, origin energy, and dracophant energy together. As he executed the fifth form of the Dragon-Tiger Fist—Dragon Painting, he was covered by a demonic mist. When he punched out, the mist burst out in the form of a dragon. It clashed with a towering tree a few hundred meters away and caused it to snap.

Lin Yun quelled his energies as he wore a satisfied expression. The Dragon-Tiger Fist’s power had risen greatly because of the improvement in his cultivation and cultivation technique. The Dragon Painting had also reached complete mastery since he could now fuse it with his sword intent, origin energy, and dracophant energy at will.

It was a simple attack that didn’t use any of the seals. Lin Yun wondered how powerful his attack would become if he integrated the seals. Right at this moment, Lin Yun could hear a phoenix cry and turned his head around. He saw Li Wuyou suddenly opening his eyes with a flicker of light in his pupils.

“Perfect,” smiled Lin Yun. He knew that Li Wuyou had finished refining the Imperial Sword Herb and that Li Wuyou’s cultivation had also reached the pinnacle third stage of the Profound Martial Realm.

“I think I heard a phoenix cry earlier,” smiled Lin Yun.

“That wasn’t a phoenix cry, but a vermillion bird’s cry. My Martial Soul is the Vermillion Constellation, so I can manifest the Vermillion Eyes in the Astral Star Art’s first stage. I’ve reached the point where I can finally step into the threshold,” explained Li Wuyou.

Those words left Lin Yun feeling curious. The Vermillion Eyes? However, Lin Yun wasn’t going to dig any deeper. Then he realized that he hadn’t received any benefits from the Aurora Dragon Martial Soul. It looks like he had to spend some time looking into it in the future.

“How do you feel right now?” asked Lin Yun.

“The Imperial Sword Herb fits my cultivation technique perfectly. If Xin Wuhen dares to look down on me again, I’ll give him a big surprise,” chuckled Li Wuyou.

“Let’s go.” The two already had enough stars to enter the Sword Tomb, so they immediately headed over without wasting any time. Along the way, many people recognized Lin Yun and immediately avoided him. News had spread that he, as Zhong Yunxiao, killed Xiao Feng over the Imperial Sword Herb. And now, everyone in the Alliance-Union Battle knew about Zhong Yunxiao’s strength.

He was a darkhorse that came out of nowhere, stole the limelight from the top ten, and was the first to obtain the Imperial Sword Herb. Furthermore, there were rumours that he was decisive when it came to killing and a madman when it came to cultivating in the outer sect. This added to the fear that others had towards him. However, they were curious about why he got together with Li Wuyou.

“Big Brother, you’ve hidden your identity really well. No one recognizes you,” smiled Li Wuyou.

“That’s because they think that I won’t dare to show myself, not to mention that I’ve never executed the Dragon-Tiger Fist. But it doesn’t matter anymore. Whether or not my identity is revealed means little to me at this point,” replied Lin Yun. There was no need for him to hide his identity since he had already obtained the Imperial Sword Herb. Lin Yun knew that his identity would be revealed in the second round.

So what if no one recognized him? After all, Lin Yun had no intention of wearing the mask for the rest of his life. In fact, he was curious to see who dared to come at him in the Sword Tomb.

As they got closer to the Sword Tomb, the atmosphere began to get colder and eerier. They could feel a faint pressure coming from the Sword Tomb and those without sufficient cultivation experienced great pressure. The Sword Tomb was ultimately the resting place for the dead, so it was normal for the atmosphere to seem eerie.

“We’re arriving.” Li Wuyou’s eyes flickered. He looked into the distance and could see the Sword Tomb gradually appearing in his eyes. There were lots of people up ahead, but the Sword Tomb only had four paths available. Lin Yun and Li Wuyou were at the northern gate and they could see more cultivators as they got closer to the entrance.

“Why aren’t they moving?” Lin Yun and Li Wuyou both frowned. They could sense something amiss with the atmosphere.

“Someone’s here! It’s Zhong Yunxiao!”

“It’s really Zong Yunxiao!”

When the crowd that had gathered at the northern gate saw Lin Yun arriving, there was a trace of anticipation in their eyes. It was completely different from how they were avoiding him earlier.