The Sovereign’s Ascension

Chapter 1416 - He's Very Strong!

“Zhao Yan, do you think her words can be trusted?” Lin Yun couldn’t be bothered with Ye Ziyun, but he was interested in the tenth-grade Spiritual Sword Bead she spoke of.

Zhao Yan briefly pondered before he replied in a hesitant tone, “What she said should be true, and I can tell she’s serious about inviting you. It’s so much so that she might be willing to let you have the tenth-grade Spiritual Sword Bead…”

But Lin Yun bitterly smiled when he heard that. He finally knew why Gongsun Yan called him a fool.

“What’s the matter? Am I wrong?” Zhao Yan scratched his head. “The Barren Sword Mound opens once a century, and I had no idea about it beforehand. So I can only analyze based on her words.”

“What she said about the tenth-grade Spiritual Sword Bead should be true.” Ye Ziling said.

“Then our goal is the same. Let’s rest for a night and wait for that fellow to wake up before we continue our journey.” Lin Yun sighed, looking at the fainted Gongsun Yan. Gongsun Yan was a little pitiful. He obtained an opportunity and significantly boosted his strength, wanting to spread his name in the Sword Sect. But he ran into Xiahou Yan and was given a beating.

When everyone found a place to settle for the night, mainly to treat their injuries, Lin Yun found a serene place nearby and practiced the Dragon-Phoenix World Annihilating Sword Canon. He might have appeared to have given the two Saint Clans and Huang Clan’s brothers a beating earlier in the day, but they hadn’t fought for real.

Both sides had their reservations and have yet to use their trump cards. But Xiahou Yan was still forced to reveal a part of his strength, the Innate Sword Physique, and Innate Sword Heart. Even Lin Yun was shocked when he saw that and knew why Xiahou Yan was known as the leader amongst younger generation’s swordsmen.

Then again, if Xiahou Yan didn’t have sufficient strength, he wouldn’t be able to gain a footing in the Ancient Barren Domain. But what shocked Lin Yun the most was that Xiahou Yan grasped firmament sword intent, which made him feel pressured.

The firmament sword intent was Lin Yun’s trump card, which was why Lin Yun was practically invincible amongst the younger generation. Even the seven Heavenly Elysium Core Realm Saint Clans’ princes were defeated by him even when they joined hands. It was impossible for him to achieve that by just relying on the Carefree 9 Swords’ Heaven Sword Form. It was primarily thanks to his firmament sword intent.

Without the firmament sword intent, he could only be evenly matched with Heavenly Elysium Core Realm experts. But his encounter with Xiahou Yan changed his mind. Then again, he was relieved that Xiahou Yan didn’t possess dual sword souls, and that was the trump card Lin Yun had not yet revealed. He believed it could give his opponents a pleasant surprise in times of need.

Aside from that, Huang Yancheng was also deeply hiding his strength, and Lin Yun felt that Huang Yancheng wasn’t going to be an easy opponent. In a nutshell, the leaders of the Ancient Saint Clan’s parties weren’t pushovers. He had to prepare for the worst if he wanted to fight for the tenth-grade Spiritual Sword Bead, so perhaps he could try and make a breakthrough to the Greater Elysium Core Realm.

If others had his foundation, they could already reach the Greater Elysium Core Realm. But he had yet to reach the limit of his accumulation for a smooth breakthrough, and he had to take some risks if he wanted to make a breakthrough.

Opening his eyes, Lin Yun didn’t hesitate to retrieve the millions of Divine Astral Pellets from his interspatial bracelet. The Divine Astral Pellets piled up into a miniature mountain that surrounded him. Golden astral energy was being emitted from those pellets, and Lin Yun could sense that those Divine Astral Pellets were about to melt when he basked in them. Such an astronomical sum of Divine Astral Pellets wasn’t something that others could take out so easily, and not many people amongst the younger generation could take out so much wealth.

“Let’s give it a try, then. It’s fine even if I fail because I can treat it as my accumulation.” Lin Yun took a deep breath and circulated the Dragon-Phoenix World Annihilating Sword Canon.

As a heavenly dragon and divine phoenix flew out from his body and coiled around him, they began to devour a large number of Divine Astral Pellets whenever they revolved. It didn’t take long for Lin Yun to be filled with the terrifying astral energy, making his physique feel like it would blow apart the next moment. But the three-thousand dragon runes on the surface of his skin prevented his body from collapsing.

Lin Yun wouldn’t have tried something so insane if he didn’t have the Azure Dragon Saint Physique. As time flowed, the heavenly dragon and divine phoenix revolved like an abyssal vortex, devouring the surrounding Divine Astral Pellets. When Lin Yun reopened his eyes at midnight, he was done devouring the surrounding Divine Astral Pellets.

Lin Yun was baffled. His cultivation had improved, reaching the pinnacle of Lesser Elysium Core Realm, and he could make a breakthrough to the Greater Elysium Core Realm if he wanted. The ocean of astral energy beneath his elysium core also grew from three thousand meters to five thousand meters. But most of the Divine Astral Pellets were devoured by the Dragon-Phoenix World Annihilating Cauldron at the bottom of the ocean.

He wanted to ask Lil’ Purple about that, but she was sleeping under the Phoenix Tree. After Lin Yun obtained the Myriad Lightning Divine Rune, Lil’ Purple, who never slept, would sleep from time to time.

“Let’s ask her about it after she wakes up. She must be hiding something from me.” Lin Yun murmured to himself.

Right then, Lin Yun’s face changed as a peculiar voice resounded from far away. The voice made everyone feel a chill down their spines. This made Lin Yun wonder if the Huang Clan’s brothers came or if any demonic beasts were going to launch their attacks.

He cautiously headed in the direction that the voice came from. It didn’t take long for him to come to a decent-sized river. There was someone squatting in the shape of a ball by the side of the river, emitting a weird sound.

When Lin Yun took several steps forth, the corner of his lips twitched because it was Gongsun Yan. Lin Yun let out a breath, relieved that it wasn’t a demonic beast. He nearly launched his attack, thinking that it was some sort of demonic beast. It was lucky that he took a closer look, or Gongsun Yan wouldn’t even know how he died. After Gongsun Yan regained consciousness, he disregarded his injuries and came to the river to cry.

When Gongsun Yan heard Lin Yun’s footsteps, he was startled and turned around. His expression couldn’t help becoming awkward when he saw Lin Yun. Seeing Lin Yun’s weird expression, Gongsun Yan unhappily said, “What is there to see? You’ve never seen a man cry before?”

“Truth be told, I’ve never seen a man cry before,” Lin Yun replied honestly.

“You!” Lin Yun’s words choked Gongsun Yan. But Gongsun Yan helplessly lowered his hand and looked at Lin Yun. “Lin Yun, Zhao Yan told me what happened during the day. Can you give me a chance? Spare Xiahou Yan if you fight him because I want to defeat him myself.”

“I can’t promise you that. He’s strong, and you should tell him to spare my life.” Lin Yun replied.

“You! Are you messing with me?” Gognsun Yan naturally didn’t believe what Lin Yun said.

“I don’t beg others. If Xiahou Yan and I come to that step, one of us will have to die. There’s no coexistence between us at this point, and I don’t have a reason why I should help you.” Lin Yun replied indifferently.

Gongsun Yan was briefly stunned when he heard that before he wore a bitter expression. Lin Yun was right; why did Lin Yun have to help him when they didn’t have much friendship together?

“Yeah. How can I, Gongsun Yan, fit to be your friend.” Gongsun Yan wore a self-mocking smile.

“You’re indeed unfit,” Lin Yun replied.

“You! Are you here to mock me?!” Gongsun Yan flew into rage.

“You’re overthinking it. Haven’t you been a joke all this time? You’re humiliated by others and want others to give you a chance? Sorry, but I can’t do that.” Lin Yun replied before he left.

When he reappeared, he landed beside Zhao Yan and stopped the latter, who wanted to comfort Gongsun Yan. He already knew that Zhao Yan was still worried about Gongsun Yan.

“Don’t go,” said Lin Yun.

“He’s my friend,” Zhao Yan replied after a brief pause. His words were directed at Lin Yun because he felt that what Lin Yun said earlier was a little too much.

“He’s also my friend.” Lin Yun sighed.

“Then why…” Zhao Yan was baffled when he heard Lin Yun.

“Why didn’t I promise him?” Lin Yun asked. “So what if I promised him? Wait for him to happily train and become stronger before taking revenge? Do you think that’s possible? He’s been kneeling before others for so long, so it’s not that easy for him to get back on his feet. He has to face reality as a man, and no one in the world can help him aside from himself. I should give him a chance? Then who is going to give me a chance? I have nothing behind me, so I don’t dare to fall so easily. Zhao Yan, do you know how that feels?”

When Zhao Yan looked at Lin Yun, he could see the exhaustion hidden deep within Lin Yun’s eyes. “I understand now.”

Looking at the distant Gongsun Yan kneeling on the ground, Zhao Yan couldn’t see his expression, but he knew that Gongsun Yan must be in pain right now. But Zhao Yan didn’t choose to stand out to comfort Gongsun Yan this time. What Lin Yun said was right; men had to undergo pain to grow up. But he ultimately couldn’t help speaking out. “But he seems to be in great pain…”

“That’s nothing compared to real pain.” Lin Yun replied as he fell into his distant memories.

“What do you mean by real pain?” Zhao Yan asked.

“If you know that heartbreak isn’t just a descriptive word, you’ll know what real pain is. But it’s best if you don’t experience it…” Lin Yun sighed.

Zhao Yan couldn’t completely comprehend what Lin Yun said. He was a sword fanatic, so he didn’t have much experience in the affairs of life.

“Let’s go. He’ll feel better when he comes out of it alone.” Lin Yun didn’t give much explanation and was prepared to leave.

“Oh, right. Were you serious when you said that you might die in the hands of Xiahou Yan?” Zhao Yan asked as he caught up to Lin Yun.

“He’s very strong…” Lin Yun replied.

“Is that so…” Zhao Yan squinted his eyes because he could see Lin Yun wearing a grave expression. This made him wonder if Xiahou Yan was so strong that he could threaten Lin Yun’s life. That was a little too horrifying. Since that was the case, should they still compete for the tenth-grade Spiritual Sword Bead?

“But I’m stronger.” Lin Yun’s voice resounded when Zhao Yan was still in deep thought. This made the corner of Zhao Yan’s lips twitch.