The Sovereign’s Ascension

After listening to Ye Ziling’s introduction, Lin Yun’s gaze began to flicker. He was looking forward to the ranking battle. The Sword Assembly might be huge, dangerous, and a great improvement to his sword intent, but he didn’t face his opponents at full strength. So even if he had defeated the likes of Zhao Yan and Gongsun Yan, they must be unconvinced by his victory.

Lin Yun more or less had some regrets, but the Profound Azure Prefecture’s ranking battle would be different because those who were in it were all monstrous geniuses of the same generation. Furthermore, there were those who weren’t any weaker than the likes of Zhao Yan.

This ranking battle would be different because there were many monstrous geniuses. Lin Yun had just reached the Empyrean Realm, and he didn’t have much experience fighting those in the same generation. But he had a feeling that he would have a decent harvest after this battle.

Suddenly, Lin Yun asked, “Ziling, there should be other rewards for this ranking battle aside from the ownership of the Sword Saint Mountain, right?”

There were monstrous geniuses from the four major sects, not to mention the other geniuses who were joining. So there had to be a reason for all the competitors.

“The force who becomes the champion can receive a Divine Dragon Baptism. It’s rare even in the Divine Dragon Empire. Those who go through the baptism have a great boost in their physique and astral energy. If you have enough comprehension, you can even receive the Divine Dragon’s Blessing.” Ye Ziling nodded her head and gave Lin Yun an explanation.

Geniuses from everywhere naturally gathered for this grand event and the Divine Dragon Empire wasn’t an exception. The Divine Dragon Baptism was extremely tempting to any geniuses, not to mention that it could also win over the loyalty of those geniuses.

Lin Yun stroked his chin because it appears that the Divine Dragon Baptism was extremely beneficial. As the atmosphere in the plaza gradually became heated, more and more forces entered the plaza. After all, only those who were strong enough could join the Divine Dragon Empire through the Profound Azure Prefecture.

But Lin Yun didn’t have much interest and closed his eyes while he pondered the Fleeting Cloud 13 Swords. He was practically certain that there was a higher stage above the manifestation stage, which Lin Yun called the extremist stage.

As four hours passed, Lin Yun could sense several powerful auras through his sword intent. When he opened his eyes, he could see a floating platform flying over with people from the Profound Azure Prefecture.

The old man standing at the front was the prefectural lord of the Profound Azure Prefecture. He swept his glance out and said, “The ranking battle has been held for a long time. But this time, there’s a change in the rules and rewards. Not only can the champion determine the ownership of the Sword Saint Mountain, but they can also carve out new territory for themselves. Furthermore, the force that wins will have three chances to go through the Divine Dragon Baptism.”

Everyone already knew about the rules and rewards, so no one reacted. Seeing that no one had anything to say, the old man continued, “There are a total of six forces participating in this ranking battle, the Suspend King Palace, Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect, Azure Thunder Monastery, Thousand Crane Pavilion, Heavenly Astral Pavilion, and the Crimson Moon Elysium. Since everyone has made their decision to participate, you all have agreed to the rules set by the Divine Dragon Empire. If anyone doesn’t agree with the rules, you can leave right now.”

Since all the forces were already here, they wouldn’t back down. Seeing this scene, the old man continued, “Good. Since no one plans on backing down, I’ll go on with the rules. The six forces will draw lots and fight. When three forces remain, the one who made it through the fights the fastest will fight the victor of the remaining two forces.”

The rules were simple. The test required strength, luck, and speed.

When the old man was done, countless gazes fell onto the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect with a playful gaze. This made Lin Yun wonder if everyone thought that the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect was the weakest.

When the lots were drawn, Ye Ziling waved her hand and received a token from the sky. After she retrieved a token, Wang Yuruo and everyone else came up to surround her.

“The Heavenly Astral Pavilion!” Ye Ziling said. The best outcome would be facing off against the Azure Thunder Monastery or the Thousand Crane Pavilion, but they were lucky enough that they didn’t run into the Suspend King Palace or the Crimson Moon Elysium.

“The Heavenly Astral Pavilion isn’t a bad choice,” said Ye Ziling.

Jiang Lichen also felt slightly relieved and said, “The Heavenly Astral Pavilion isn’t weak in the Demon Domain, but they’re ultimately not a sect. So it’s hard for them to find a decent participant in such a short period of time. We only have to be a little careful with Zhang He. So as long as we don’t run into Zhang He, everything will be fine.”

But Lin Yun didn’t share the same thoughts because he could sense the five participants of the Heavenly Astral Pavilion weren’t simple. Not long later, the servants of the Profound Azure Prefecture came over with a tray that had five jade tokens casually placed on it.

The Heavenly Astral Pavilion’s participants all turned their attention over, curious who their opponents would be. Ye Ziling was the first to pick a token. When she flipped a token over, light flew into the sky and formed Chen Yan’s name.

When Ye Ziling turned her attention to the Heavenly Astral Pavilion’s location, her eyes flashed with disappointment because she wanted to face Zhang He as it would lessen the pressure on her companions. After everyone was done, it was Lin Yun’s turn and there was only one name yet to be picked, Zhang He.

“I believe I don’t have to flip over this token,” said Lin Yun, but he still ultimately flipped through the token and revealed Zhang He’s name. When Zhang He’s name appeared, it instantly caused an uproar with many curious gazes directed at Lin Yun.

“Who is this person?”

“He’s not even in the Astral Stage? He’ll definitely die running into Zhang He. Looks like the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect really has no one left…”

“You can’t put it that way. The Heavenly Astral Pavilion ultimately suffered from their strongest facing their opponents’ weakest…”

“That does make sense. So this means that there’s a high chance that the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect can make it through the first round.”

As discussions sounded out from the surroundings, Jiang Lichen smiled, “Don’t worry about it, Junior Brother Lin. Although it doesn’t sound good calling you the weakest, there’s also some sense to it. If you can’t fight him, you can just admit defeat.”

“The weakest facing off the strongest? Doesn’t seem that bad…” Lin Yun smiled. He initially wanted his opponent to be Zhang He, so this match-up was perfect for him. Furthermore, he also didn’t care about the indifferent gaze from others because he was already used to it.

Ye Ziling glanced at Lin Yun and knew that Lin Yun wouldn’t be bothered about it. Her gaze then fell onto Liu Qingyan and Feng Zhang before she said, “The pressure is on for you two. As long as either of you wins once, we’ll have a huge chance to move to the next stage. But if both of you lose, the outcome will be uncertain and all the pressure will be on Lin Yun.”

Ye Ziling didn’t know how strong Lin Yun was right now. After all, she had never seen Lin Yun fighting after reaching the Empyrean Realm. But she had a feeling that Lin Yun’s experience for the past few days was extremely dangerous. After all, he gave her the feeling that he had undergone a transformation, especially with his attainment in the sword.

Even if Lin Yun was only in the pinnacle Galaxy Stage, she still held huge hope for Lin Yun for some reason.

“What a disappointment. Who is he?” Zhang He said with his brows locked together. He was here for Flower Burial, but he actually picked someone who definitely wasn’t Flower Burial.

“Don’t look down on him,” said the plump middle-aged man.

“Oh?” Zhang He’s eyes lit up and smiled, “I’m all ears.”

“That fellow is a monstrous genius of the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect. There are rumors that he had successfully reached the limit of the Heavenly Soul Realm. But he didn’t have huge fame, which is why not many people know about him.”

“Isn’t he still the weakest?” Zhang He leaned backward and continued, “According to what you say, Flower Burial is at least in the Astral Stage while Lin Yun has just reached the Galaxy Stage. There’s no way he’s Flower Burial.”

“Not only the Astral Stage. I think he’s actually in the Elysium Core Realm,” said the plump middle-aged man when he recalled how Flower Burial killed everyone with a flute.

“Looks like Flower Burial isn’t among them. I just hope that my opponent can give me some surprise or it’ll be too boring,” said Zhang He with disappointment flashing through his pupils. He was ranked on the empyrean ranking, so he wouldn’t bother with the Profound Azure Prefecture if it wasn’t for Flower Burial.

When the drawing of the lots came to an end, the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect’s groups entered the field with Ye Ziling at the end of the line.

After Jiang Lichen, Feng Zhang, and Liu Qingyan went down, Ye Ziling turned to look at Lin Yun, “Lin Yun, the Heavenly Astral Pavilion isn’t that simple and I didn’t say anything because I don’t want to affect anyone’s confidence.”

“I know.” Lin Yun smiled because he had long sensed it. When Ye Ziling heard what he said, he nodded his head lightly and landed on the vast stage.

“Senior Brother Yun, you can do it!” Wang Yuruo cheered on with her face turning red.

Lin Yun looked at Wang Yuruo with a smile. No matter what others said, Wang Yuruo had unquestionable confidence in him. In her eyes, he would always be the strongest.

Although her voice wasn’t loud, it was still heard by many people. Naturally, they couldn’t help snickering. When Lin Yun saw everyone treat him like the weakest of the group, he became determined to show them how strong he actually was.