The Sovereign’s Ascension

Chapter 1403 - You Won't Regret It, Right?

As time passed, the majority of the people had succeeded in mastering three forms and could exhibit three different intents. Then again, about 30% of the people still failed, and some couldn’t even perform the first form.

After all, reaching the entry level of a high-grade holy spirit martial technique within two days by just relying on a blank scroll wasn’t easy. Bai Zhanli had the most outstanding performance and successfully executed the eighth form, grasping eight different intents. This was enough to prove that his comprehension was terrifying.

He could master the entire Aquaheaven Sword Technique if he had another day. If he had half a month, he could bring the intents to greater mastery, and this accomplishment didn’t let down his identity as a prince of a Saint Clan.

The grey-clothed elder also nodded his head because the prince of a saint clan was genuinely extraordinary. There was a massive gulf between them and others.

“If nothing unexpected happens, you should be able to make it into the top three.” The grey-clothed elder didn’t hold back his compliments after watching Bai Zhanli’s performance.

“Thank you, Senior.” Bai Zhanli smiled. He wasn’t humble from the compliments. If nothing unexpected happens, Xiahou Yun would become first. He had a terrifying comprehension, to begin with, and he also had the Bodhi Seed with him.

So it was practically impossible for others to compete with him, and Bai Zhanli even speculated that Xiahou Yun had grasped the eleventh form. As for the second, it should go to Lin Yun. The firmament sword intent was too heaven-defying and practically invincible in their current cultivation.

The first prize was a high-grade saint pellet, and the second and third was a mid-grade saint pellet. Aside from Lin Yun and Xiahou Yun, Bai Zhanli didn’t think anyone could surpass him. So it shouldn’t be an issue for him to obtain the top three. A mid-grade saint pellet was a valuable resource, even if he came from a saint clan.

“That fellow is really monstrous to grasp eight different intents.” Gongsun Yan exclaimed. He turned to Zhao Yan and asked, “Fool, how many forms have you grasped?”

“Seven. The eighth form is a little hard. This sword technique is also a little weird, and I can’t see through it,” replied Zhao Yan.

Gongsun Yan didn’t think there was anything weird about this sword technique and turned to Ye Ziling, “Lady Ye, how many forms have you grasped?”

“This sword technique is a little weird, and I’m not too certain about it,” replied Ye Ziling.

Gongsun Yan was stumped when he heard that because both Zhao Yan and Ye Ziling said that. He couldn’t find anything weird about the sword technique at all. Right then, Lin Yun opened his eyes, so he quickly asked, “Lin Yun, how many forms have you mastered?”

“It’s not important how many forms you grasp for this sword technique,” smiled Lin Yun.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll know in a while.” Lin Yun looked at the blank scroll and engraved the thirty-six intents in his mind before closing his eyes.

When Ye Ziling and Zhao Yan stood up, Feng Zhang, Liu Qingyan, and Gongsun Yan quickly followed up as the group walked over to the grey-clothed elder.

“The Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect is moving!”

“Mhm? Why isn’t Lin Yun coming?”

“Yeah. But the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect has a lot of geniuses. See that purple-clothed lady? She’s Ye Ziling, the chief female disciple of the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect.”

“Wow, she’s gorgeous!” Everyone’s attention was soon captivated by Ye Ziling. They had to admit that Ye Ziling was a breathtaking beauty, especially her long legs that attracted their attention.

“Big Brother, the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect is moving.” A genius from the Bai Saint Clan said to Bai Zhanli.

Bai Zhanli had long turned his attention to the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect. After examining Ye Ziling a few times, he smiled, “She’s a beauty, alright. But I wonder how high her comprehension is? Otherwise, she’s no different from a flower vase.”

“Big Brother, she won’t surpass you, right?” That genius recalled something and continued, “She’s strong, judging from the strength she displayed on the first stage.”

“You’re overthinking it.” Bai Zhanli unhappily glared at the person who spoke. He had seen many gorgeous women as the prince of a saint clan. Even so, he still had to admit that Ye Ziling was a breathtaking beauty. But beauty did not equate to talent and comprehension.

Bai Zhanli was confident in his comprehension, but his smile soon froze when he saw Ye Ziling performing nine forms containing nine different intents. But that wasn’t all, a purple light and snowflakes were dancing around her.

This meant that Ye Ziling had infused her comprehension into the sword technique, perfectly fusing her Radiant Snow Bloodline with the water intent contained in this sword technique. In the end, she managed to perform ten different intents with nine sword forms, and this caused a huge uproar in the surroundings.

“How is this possible?”

“If she really from the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect? She is beautiful, but her talent is also so terrifying.”

“Grasping nine sword forms in just two days. Isn’t this a little too exaggerating?” Exclamations resounded from the surroundings. Many saint clan geniuses also couldn’t accept this fact.

Bai Zhanli naturally took the greatest blow because this meant that his top three had just flown away. The value of a mid-grade saint pellet was ten times that of a low-grade saint artifact. So how could Bai Zhanli maintain his composure?

Earlier, he had no idea why Xiahou Yun had such great hostility towards Lin Yun, but he roughly figured out why now. The feeling of being trampled by someone from the Profound Azure Prefecture was terrible.

Meanwhile, the grey-clothed elder smiled with joy. When he examined Ye Ziling, he was shocked to discover that Ye Ziling shared an uncanny resemblance with ‘that’ person from eighteen years ago, especially their pride and stubbornness. They practically came from the same mold.

“D-Do you know Jian Jingtian?” The grey-clothed elder asked.

“I’m his daughter,” replied Ye Ziling.

The grey-clothed elder was briefly stunned before he laughed, “Hahaha! It’s you! No wonder! No wonder!”

The expression of everyone who heard their conversation became amazed.

“Jian Jingtian? That legend who was first on the three rankings?”

“It’s no wonder why her talent is even stronger than Bai Zhanli. The first of the three rankings is so terrifying that even his daughter has such a powerful talent.”

“It’s no wonder why she’s so talented. So she’s the descendant of a legend!” Everyone’s gazes fell onto Ye Ziling with reverence. Their reverence was for the legend, first of the three rankings.

When it was Zhao Yan’s turn, he was outstanding and performed eight sword forms. But with Ye Ziling’s performance beforehand, Zhao Yan’s performance didn’t cause an uproar. Gongsun Yan, Feng Zhang, and Liu Qingyan also successfully made it through the second stage, especially Gongsun Yan, who reached the seventh sword form.

Although Feng Zhang and Liu Qingyan’s performances weren’t as good, they reached the fifth and fourth sword forms, respectively.

“So she meant that she wasn’t certain if she could fuse her bloodline and sword technique.” Zhao Yan finally understood what Ye Ziling meant earlier and nodded.

After a brief silence, an uproar broke out once more because Lin Yun came forth. Since Xiahou Yan wasn’t there, Lin Yun was naturally in the spotlight, and his appearance instantly captivated everyone’s attention.

“Lin Yun is here. I wonder how many sword forms he has grasped.”

“Ye Ziling is already outstanding to grasp nine sword forms in two days. So he should be stronger than her.”

“At least ten sword forms. That’s how invincible the firmament sword intent is!” Many people revered Lin Yun, especially after witnessing how he defeated seven princes of the various saint clans.

“It’s a pity that Xiahou Yan isn’t here. Otherwise, we’ll be able to see who’s stronger.”

“A pity indeed…” Everyone found it a pity that Xiahou Yan wasn’t there to compete with Lin Yun. After all, they were curious about who was stronger.

“Flower Burial, hold your steps!” A voice resounded just when Lin Yun was about to ascend the stage. Xiahou Yun had been waiting for a long time and came with a huge party following behind him.

Seeing Xiahou Yun, Lin Yun locked his brows together because he didn’t know this person. Right then, Gongsun Yan whispered in Lin Yun’s ears, “He’s Xiahou Yun, the biological younger brother of Xiahou Yan. He’s ranked second in the Xiahou Saint Clan.”

But what does that have to do with me? Lin Yun was baffled by what this person was trying to do. The second stage wasn’t like the first stage. They had to comprehend the sword technique independently, unlike the first stage, where they could attack each other.

“What’s the matter?” Lin Yun politely asked after recollecting his thoughts. After all, this person was Xiahou Yan’s younger brother, and Lin Yun acknowledged Xiahou Yan’s strength.

“Why don’t we have some fun?” Xiahou Yun smiled with his eyes squinted.

“What do you mean?” Lin Yun asked.

“Simple. Most people here think you’re comparable to my big brother, but I beg to defer.” Xiahou Yun smiled.

“Everyone has their thoughts, and I’ve never thought of competing with anyone. He’s your big brother, so it’s normal for you to protect him. But it has nothing to do with me,” replied Lin Yun. He really didn’t mind what others thought, or life would be too tiring. He just had to make sure he wouldn’t let the sword in his hand down and have a clear conscience.

“But I cannot ignore that.” Xiahou Yun’s eyes flashed with rage because he was unhappy with Lin Yun’s indifferent attitude. He asked, “Do you dare to bet with me, and see how far have we reached in the Aquaheaven Sword Technique? If you can’t beat me, then there’s naturally no way you can be compared to my big brother.”

“I’ll die from exhaustion if everyone wants to compete with me. Not to mention that I am not interested in a game I’m destined to win.” Lin Yun smiled while rubbing his chin. With the firmament sword intent, he would be bullying Xiahou Yun if he agreed to it, and Lin Yun had no interest in bullying someone.

Without hesitation, Lin Yun turned and left, disregarding Xiahou Yun. This made the corner of Bai Zhanli’s lips twitch as he sympathized with Xiahou Yun. Xiahou Yun gave his all for the past two days only to realize that Lin Yun had never placed him in his eyes. So one could imagine how terrible Xiahou Yun must be feeling right now.

“Bodhi Seed!” Xiahou Yun yelled. “If you beat me, this Bodhi Seed will be yours!”

Bai Zhanli nearly jumped because Xiahou Yun was too insane to use something as precious as the Bodhi Seed in a bet. When Xiahou Yun opened his hand, an uproar broke out in the surroundings, drawing everyone’s attention. Even some of the Sword Sect’s elders couldn’t help looking at Xiahou Yun.

Lin Yun stopped and turned around to look at the Bodhi Seed with surprise flashing through his pupils. He knew this was a treasure, and there seemed to be an ancient origin saint rune engraved on it because he could hear a faint Buddhist mantra.

But who did Xiahou Yun think he was? Was Xiahou Yun trying to bribe him with the temptation of a Bodhi Seed? Was Lin Yun someone who could bully someone because of a Bodhi Seed?

“That’s a promise, then. I have a good temper, so you won’t regret it, right?” Lin Yun winked with a smile.