The Sovereign's Ascension

“This courtyard is called Autumn Leaf. The window is facing the bamboo lake, and you can admire the moon at night. This is the best residence in the Princess Manor. But let me know if you’re unsatisfied with anything. I can change your residence based on your request,” smiled the maid.

“No need. I’m satisfied with this.” Lin Yun wasn’t a picky person, not to mention that he stayed in the wilderness when he was out of the sect.

“Then I’ll clean up the place for you before leaving,” replied the maid.

“No need. I can handle it myself. I’ll call you if I need anything,” said Lin Yun.

The maid did not force it and bade Lin Yun farewell with a smile. The courtyard had already been cleaned. There wasn’t a speck of dust in sight and there was even a faint fragrance in the courtyard. 

After the maid left, Lin Yun fell silent. If he wasn’t wrong, the person he saw previously should be Situ Yi, whom he met back in the Azure Sun Realm with Bai Lixuan. That person was powerful and Lin Yun couldn’t withstand even three of his attacks when they fought back then.

He still remembered how he fled for his life with Yue Weiwei on his back and how he nearly died in the Yin Wind Stream. But now, they were both invited to the princess’ birthday. The two of them were now on the same level despite the distance that was once between them. It had only been two years since they met. Fate was genuinely mysterious. Lin Yun had been chasing them from behind, but he was finally on the same level as Situ Yi.

“Big Brother Lin!” Lin Yun was jolted awake by a call. When he turned around, he saw a young girl walking over. It was Lin Yan. She had a few people following behind her.

Lin Yun swept a glance at the group before he fell into deep thought. These people should be disciples from the Heavenly Qin Institute. The royal clan founded the institute and the institute had many disciples who were descendants of the prominent clans. The institute might be inferior to the four prestigious clans, but it had risen very quickly.

Lin Yun wasn’t surprised to see her together with them. After all, Lin Yan belonged to the Lin Clan. So she was naturally acquainted with disciples of the institute. However, Lin Yan must be unlikeable based on her temper.

“It has been some time since we met. I came immediately after settling down,” said Lin Yan.

Lin Yun’s impression of Lin Yan had improved. She might be unruly, but her heart was relatively pure. She wasn’t a vicious person, so Lin Yun wouldn’t take it as far as giving her the cold shoulder.

Lin Yan’s face was plastered with a smile and even her eyes were narrowed into slits. She continued, “Hehe, I came over here when I looked at the Princess Manor’s check-in list.”

Lin Yan was in a good mood to see Lin Yun again after the Alliance-Union Battle. When she smiled, she looked adorable as a hint of playfulness filled her face.

“Where’s your elder sister?” asked Lin Yun.

“She didn’t come because she doesn’t like crowds. She wanted me to send you her greetings,” replied Lin Yan.

“Oh. No wonder I didn’t see her around,” said Lin Yun.

The institute’s disciples were left there standing while Lin Yan and Lin Yun chatted. Lin Yun couldn’t be blamed for that since Lin Yan didn’t introduce them. But these people’s eyes were opened wide when they saw Lin Yan’s expression.

Lin Yan was known for her sharp tongue. She had never treated anyone politely aside from her elder sister. In fact, none of them had ever experienced Lin Yan being so polite. So they couldn’t help feeling envy when they saw how polite Lin Yan was towards a youth. The group followed her around the manor, but Lin Yan didn’t even take a good look at them.

“Are you Younger Sister Lin Yan’s senior brother, the Sword Firmament Pavilion’s Lin Yun?” A youth finally spoke up to greet Lin Yun. He had finally reached a point where he couldn’t tolerate being ignored any longer.

“That’s me. How may I address you?” Lin Yun looked at the youth. The youth had defined features, and based on the aura he was emitting, his cultivation was at the eighth stage. He wasn’t any inferior to Tang Tong and he could vaguely be compared to Xin Yan. Lin Yun didn’t notice him until the greeting.

“Cao Jie!” The youth was filled with pride when he declared his name. He seemed to be rather confident in his name. He was confident that Lin Yun must’ve heard of him. However, he was soon left in an awkward position when he didn’t see any changes on Lin Yun’s face after hearing his name.

Lin Yun wasn’t trying to humiliate him. He only heard of a few people aside from the eight titles, such as the Demonic Moon Villa’s Feng Haoyu, Primal Origin Sect’s Yuwen Bo, Heavenly Profound Sect’s Wang Han, and Xin Yan. He only knew that they had the highest fame in the third sequence.

“You haven’t heard of him? It doesn't matter. Big Brother Cao will challenge your sect’s Xin Yan tomorrow and knock her out of the third sequence’s four strongest. You’ll know his name at that time when he embarrasses the Sword Firmament Pavilion.” A few behind Cao Jie mocked when they saw Lin Yun’s indifference.

“What a big tone. Who are you trying to embarrass again?” Lin Yan’s face instantly turned cold.

The one who spoke knew that he spoke wrongly. His face turned pale with fright and he became silent. Cao Jie knew that the youth was in trouble when he spoke. Lin Yan was also a disciple from the Sword Firmament Pavilion, so embarrassing the sect would be equivalent to embarrassing her.

“Big Brother Lin, I’ll take my leave first. These people are annoying, and I bet you’re not comfortable seeing them.” Lin Yan’s eyes flashed with guilt. The youth had ruined her mood, so she didn’t want to stay here any longer.

“Farewell.” Cao Jie took a deep glance at Lin Yun before he chased after Lin Yan. There was a faint killing intent hidden in the depth of his eyes. He thought that he had concealed it well, but Lin Yun still noticed it.

It looks like Tang Tong was right. Many experts in the third sequence, including Xin Yan, would probably be placed under tremendous pressure in the banquet tomorrow. Cultivators emphasized being temperate. But there were those who fought for fame because fame represented their strength which could be converted into resources. It was inevitable that fame would become part of their cultivation.

Cao Jie quickly caught up to Lin Yan and smiled, “Younger Sister Lin Yan, why don’t I show you around? It’s still early. After all, my father told me to accompany you in the manor.”

“You can go by yourself. I’m embarrassed.” Lin Yan rolled her eyes. When the other disciples saw this scene, they immediately felt awkward, especially the one who spoke previously. He knew that he had probably offended Cao Jie.

Cao Jie didn’t have the best reputation in the institute. He was known for his talent and ruthlessness. This meant that anyone who offended him wouldn’t have a good outcome.

When Lin Yan left, Cao Jie’s face sank. This made the other disciples raise their guard. But Cao Jie ultimately waved his hand, “Leave.”

The disciples felt relieved and bade farewell.

“Senior Brother Cao…” A youth suddenly came up.

When Cao Jie saw this person, a smile appeared on his face, “So it’s Brother Lin Lan. When did you get here?”

This youth was Lin Yan’s elder cousin. He also had some grudges with Lin Yun due to Bai Qiushui’s escort mission back then. He had been trying to find an opportunity to take revenge after Lin Yun defeated him. He initially thought that he would have to slaughter his way up the Sword Firmament Pavilion, but he never expected that the gap between their strength would grow wider and wider. In the end, he could only look at Lin Yun’s back.

“Haha. My uncle might have taken a liking to your talent, but my younger cousin already has a crush. It’s hopeless for you to step into the Lin Clan,” said Lin Lan. 

“Younger Sister Lin Lan is just too close to Lin Yun. Furthermore, Lin Yun has an important position in the Sword Firmament Pavilion, so there’s no need for him to lower himself to enter the Lin Clan,” smiled Cao Jie.

Lin Lan sneered, “He might not want to join the Lin Clan, but what happens if someone sticks herself to him? I believe no man will be able to refuse the temptation, especially someone who’s a direct descendant of my Lin Clan. So why are you trying to lie to yourself?”

His words made Cao Jie’s face change. When Cao Jie thought of Lin Yan’s expression when she looked at Lin Yun, he felt that Lin Lan’s words did make sense. The smile on his face soon disappeared. He looked at Lin Lan and snorted, “Why are you telling me this? Can it be that you have enmity with Lin Yun and that you’re trying to use me to get rid of him?”

“You can think however you like. I heard from my friend in the Sword Firmament Pavilion that Lin Yun saved Lin Yaan several times in the Alliance-Union Battle.” Lin Lan didn’t panic when his thoughts were exposed.

Looking at Lin Yan’s back, Cao Jie sneered. Lin Yan was a direct descendant of the Lin Clan, but he was a piece of garbage that couldn’t even deal with one Lin Yun. Lin Yun wasn’t worthy of Cao Jie to make a move personally. After all, Lin Yun was only at the sixth stage. His true objective was Xin Yan.

But he was starting to hesitate now. A brief moment later, a cold light flashed through Cao Jie’s eyes, “Don’t blame me. You can only blame yourself for standing in my way!”