The Sovereign’s Ascension

Three days later, the turbulence caused by the Profound Wither Island finally settled down. Since there were two more months until Lin Yun had to leave the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect to head for the Ancient Barren Domain, Lin Yun knew that he had to become stronger.

Although he was confident, he still had to guarantee that nothing would go wrong. It would be humiliating if he failed the test and couldn’t enter the Sword Sect. After all, he had already considered himself a disciple of the Sword Sect, or he wouldn’t be calling Feng Jue his senior brother.

The Violet Palace, Heavenly Soul, Empyrean, and Elysium Core Realms were also the Mortal Path. This meant that no matter how strong you were, you would still be considered a mortal, and making a breakthrough from the Elysium Core Realm meant that you had slowly started to transcendent from being a mortal.

If one couldn’t make a breakthrough from the Elysium Core Realm, one would still be a mortal with a limited lifespan. Above the Mortal Path would be the Saint Path. It wasn’t easy to reach Saint Path because one had to undergo nine divine dragon transformations and nirvana before getting to the Saint Realm.

The nine divine dragon transformations were also called the Dragon Pulse Realm. Every time the dragon pulses formed, one would undergo a drastic transformation in their strength, and their physique would also become stronger. Every single pulse represented a tribulation, and after the tribulations would be a slow transformation to break free from being a mortal.

Only after having enough accumulations and cleansing yourself from the ‘mortal’ aura could one have a flawless body without impurities to undergo nirvana. The nirvana is called Samsara Edict Realm, separated into the Profound Life Stage, Profound Death Stage, and the Nirvana Stage.

After the three stages, one would have only one chance at stepping into the Saint Realm. This was the same as undergoing nine tribulations and three life-deaths before one could have a slight chance of becoming a saint. So one could imagine how tough it was to reach the Saint Realm in the Divine Dragon Era.

Feng Jue should have just reached the Profound Life Stage, while Zhuge Qingyun and Lin Zhen should be in the Profound Death Realm. Above them would be the Nirvana Stage, also known as the limit of the Samsara Edict Realm. So it was understandable why Feng Jue couldn’t even take a single attack from Zhuge Qingyun.

The two might be in the Samsara Edict Realm, but one was in the Profound Life Stage while the other was in the Profound Death Stage, not to mention that the latter was Tian Xuanzi’s most outstanding disciple. So this all made sense now.

That information was what Lin Yun found in the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect’s library because he was baffled when those people were fighting. It was so much so that he didn’t even know about their stages. So when everything settled down, Lin Yun immediately looked through the books to have a rough understanding.

Jian Jingtian was an exceptional existence. It was rare, even in ancient times, for those to take one step to heaven. Furthermore, this also told Lin Yun something terrifying.

If Jian Jingtian couldn’t take that step out, he would die within ten years. This was because Jian Jingtian’s body was already reaching a limit and could no longer bear the power of his dragon pulses.

Now that Lin Yun thought about it again, Jian Jingtian was limited by his physique and cultivation when he fought with Zhuge Qingyun and couldn’t bring out his full power. But now that Jian Jingtian has reached the Nirvana Stage, he was already at the limit of the Samsara Edict Realm.

On the other hand, Lin Yun was still very weak because he had a long journey to the Dragon Pulse Realm, not to mention the Samsara Edict Realm. At this moment, he was looking at the Quasi-Saint Origin in his hand with his brows locked together.

Back then, he quietly left the Quasi-Saint Origin behind when Jian Jingtian was recovering from his injuries, hoping that Jian Jingtian could quickly become a saint. But Jian Jingtian gave it back to him and said that he wasn’t allowed to give this to Feng Jue.

The Quasi-Saint Origin was a decent temptation for Samsara Edict Realm experts, but that was only if they could refine it themselves. As for Feng Jue, Jian Jingtian said that Feng Jue would have his opportunity in the future, but Jian Jingtian didn’t go into the details with him.

It was something that the Radiant Sword Saint briefly mentioned. Feng Jue was a late bloomer. The moment he reaches the Saint Realm, he would unleash potential far exceeding his other martial brothers, but on the prerequisite that he had to reach the Saint Realm. Lin Yun was doubtful about that, but he could only believe it for now.

Looking at this Quasi-Saint Origin before him, Lin Yun was getting a headache. He had just unlocked the first seal on the Great Saint Origin, but the power contained in one seal was much more significant than this Quasi-Saint Origin.

If he wanted to use it to increase his foundation in the Elysium Core Realm, he should wait till he was in the Heavenly Elysium Core Realm because it would be a waste for him to use it now. Now that he looked at it again, he didn’t lack movement techniques, cultivation techniques, or body-refining techniques, but he lacked a sword technique to face his enemies.

Only the Divine Solar Lunar Fist was suitable for his current cultivation, not to mention that this fist technique still had a massive amount of room for improvement. But his sword technique was a little pathetic. The Fleeting Cloud 13 Swords could only be invincible at the Empyrean Realm. Now in the Elysium Core Realm, only the last three swords could be considered decent.

As for the gift left to him by the Sword Emperor, it was still too profound for him right now. That didn’t seem to be something he could grasp at the Elysium Core Realm, so he had to rely on himself for now.

“Perhaps I can consider raising my realm as a spiritualist.” He grasped the Golden Crow Saint Rune and Blood Flame Divine Rune. If he had enough resources, he could easily become a spiritualist. After becoming a spiritualist, he might have another opportunity to comprehend the rose painting.

According to the Profound Wither Great Saint, three sword techniques were hidden in the rose painting: Dustlight, Carefree, and Nine Firmament.

“Let’s go with that, then.” Lin Yun quickly made up his mind. He had a strict requirement for himself. Since he was about to go to the Ancient Barren Domain, he needed the capital to compete with those geniuses on the Elysium Core Rankings. Because he had a resounding name and the Great Saint Origin, he could predict that many people would come and challenge him.

The Quasi-Saint Origin not only contained the cultivation of the deceased but the soul energy as well. Soul energy was the foundation for spiritualists, and Lin Yun’s objective was simple, that was to refine all the soul energy contained within the Quasi-Saint Origin.

When he clasped his hands together, he activated the spiritual rune marking in his profound palace. It was a Firefeather Rune, and he was only a third grade spiritualist. The soul energy contained within it was nothing before the Quasi-Saint Origin. Even if he could only digest one-thousandth of it, it would be more than enough for him to become a saint spiritualist.

As Lin Yun activated the Firefeather Rune, the soul energy contained within the Quasi-Saint Origin started to be absorbed. The profound palace in Lin Yun’s mind gradually became realistic before it gradually gave off a wisp of sacred aura. Soul energy was a spiritualist’s foundation, and if the soul energy didn’t reach a corresponding accumulation, it was pointless even if he had an origin saint rune.

Trying to use external help to become a saint spiritualist was a shortcut. His attainment in spiritual runes would be inferior to saint spiritualists who took it one step at a time. But it was fine because it was enough if Lin Yun had the corresponding realm. He wasn’t too bothered if he could create spiritual runes, set up spiritual arrays, or create saint artifacts.

He only needed the foundation to comprehend the second sword technique hidden in the rose painting. Since Jian Jingtian had returned the Quasi-Saint Origin to him, he could use it to become a saint spiritualist, and Lin Yun definitely wouldn’t miss out on this opportunity.

Just like that, Lin Yun spent half a month and refined most of the quasi-Saint Origin. His accumulation in soul energy had also reached a step that would transform with countless soul energies gathering towards his profound palace. This made Lin Yun feel his mind heating up, and his profound palace nearly blew up.

“Time to engrave a saint rune!” Lin Yun took a deep breath and started engraving the Golden Crow Saint Rune. The origin of the Golden Crow Saint Rune was etched into his Elysium Core and couldn’t be separated, so what he did was the same as creating a new Golden Crow Saint Rune in his profound palace. Then again, this meant that the new Golden Crow Saint Rune would no longer be considered an origin saint rune.

There was a vast difference between an origin saint rune and an acquired saint rune in terms of quality. But the difference was much more prominent because an origin saint rune was naturally formed while an acquired saint rune was something a spiritualist created. So it wasn’t on the same level, to begin with.

Four hours later, the Golden Crow Saint Rune had replaced the Firefeather Rune in Lin Yun’s profound palace. When the Golden Crow Saint Rune was formed, Lin Yun’s profound palace lit up and transformed.

“I’m finally going to become a saint spiritualist.” Lin Yun stopped refining the quasi-Saint Origin and came out from the cultivation chamber before climbing to the highest point of his residence.

As Lin Yun closed his eyes and allowed his soul energy to spread out, everything within a hundred miles in radius appeared within his mind, as if he was seeing them with his eyes. But he didn’t stop there. His soul energy continued to spread until it reached five hundred miles in radius.

“How bizarre.” Lin Yun rejoiced. He could also perform such a ‘radar’ scan with his martial intent, but it wasn’t as clear as his soul energy. But with the soul energy, it was as though he saw through his own eyes without any blind spots.

“After becoming a Saint Spiritualist, my control over soul energy is also surprising. This means that I will have an advantage when fighting with enemies, and I can also avoid many dangers outside. But it still seems a little too weak since I’m a Saint Spiritualist that only grasped one saint rune…” Lin Yun muttered to himself while holding onto his chin.

Saint Spiritualists were divided into nine grades, and above that would be Heavenly Spiritualists. In terms of battle prowess, a Heavenly Spiritualist would be comparable to a Samsara Edict Realm expert.

Powerful Heavenly Spiritualists could even be comparable to Saints. They had more means, such as forging thousand-rune saint artifacts, setting up arrays, refining pellets, and controlling saint puppets. This was their greatest capital, and in the eyes of many, a Heavenly Spiritualist was no different from a Saint Realm expert.

“I only grasped one saint rune, and there’s no way I can be compared to others. But it doesn’t matter as long as I can uncover more secrets of the rose painting!” Lin Yun had excitement flashing in his pupils before he took out the rose painting from his interspatial pouch.