The Sovereign's Ascension

Chapter 2043 - Understanding

Crane Fairy led the way, with Lin Yun following behind, passing through a gate, and coming to the sea of clouds. In the sea of clouds, a pavilion was erected in the middle, and a white-clothed man was playing the zither before the pavilion.

He was playing an ancient war song, and Lin Yun felt like a sea of sword rays was in front of him. Lin Yun didn’t take it seriously because the senior’s music was the same. There wasn’t much improvement.

“Master, I brought him over! He’s really strong enough to condense two sword stars!” The Crane Fairy said respectfully.

The white-clothed man smiled, “I know.”

“Ye Qingtian, what do you think after achieving greater mastery in your Astral Sword Intent?” The white-clothed man smiled.

Lin Yun looked respectful and was a little nervous because he knew the identity of this white-clothed man. Dragon Origin Great Saint told him that this man was the Sword Emperor before Yu Qingfeng. He was also the Heavenly Dao Sect’s sect master, one of the strongest experts within the Kunlun Realm. But he disappeared after he was defeated by Yu Qingfeng, leaving behind a sentence that he wouldn’t have failed if he had the Emperor Sword in his hand.

Lin Yun briefly pondered, then said, “After greater mastery, I’ve realized that the Astral Sword Intent is just the beginning, and I still have a long way to go.”

“I’m not talking about that,” the white-clothed man said, shaking his head.

Lin Yun thought for a while and couldn’t figure out what the white-clothed man wanted to hear. He said, “Senior, please tell me your thoughts.”

“Don’t you feel that the resources aren’t enough?” The white-clothed man couldn’t help smiling.

“Well… that is indeed a problem.” Lin Yun didn’t expect the white-clothed man to say that. He thought that the white-clothed man would talk to him about comprehension in sword dao, so he wasn’t expecting the other party to be talking about resources.

“Don’t feel that it’s crude to talk about resources,” the white-clothed man said. “Even if you step into the Saint Realm or the Emperor Realm, you’ll still talk about it, and you might even compete more ferociously. Do you know what people are competing for in the world? Their interest, and that is the same for swordsmen.”

Lin Yun nodded and smiled, “Senior is right. I do have a headache about the resources for my growth.”

“What Li Daoyang said might be a path for you. The Heavenly Dao Sect still has a strong foundation, and I have been the sect master before,” the white-clothed man smiled.

“Becoming a holy son?” Lin Yun asked.

“You’re a genius born for the sword, and it’ll be a pity for a talent of your caliber to be buried because of resources,” the white-clothed man said.

Crane Fairy was inwardly shocked by her master’s evaluation of Ye Qingtian. The white-clothed man’s pupils were as deep as the stars, and he said, “Ye Qingtian, if you’re willing to become the holy son, I can open the back door for you.”

If Lin Yun could become a holy son, he could obtain anything he wanted within the Heavenly Dao Sect. Take Li Daoyang, for example. He devoured sixteen glory saint artifacts, and one could imagine how rich the Heavenly Dao Sect was from that. But Lin Yun was concerned because he would be bound to the Heavenly Dao Sect if he became the holy son.

This meant it would be difficult for him to leave Heavenly Dao Sect in the future. What should he do about the Sword Sect if he can’t leave the Heavenly Dao Sect? What would the Heavenly Dao Sect do if he started a conflict with others because of the Sword Sect?

The white-clothed man wasn’t ordinary, and he had many treasures. Fairy Crane mentioned this multiple times.

Lin Yun briefly pondered, but then refused, “Thank you for your kindness. If the Heavenly Dao Sect faces any trouble in the future, I will help it no matter what, but I don’t think I want to become a holy son.”

“Do you have other identities?” The white-clothed man said, “It doesn’t matter. Even if you become the holy son, you can do whatever you want.”

But Lin Yun still shook his head, refusing the offer.

Seeing this, the white-clothed man said, “Alright, then. That’s your own preference, and I won’t force you. But…”

The white-clothed man sighed with pity on his face.

“This is the Flying Sky Pavilion,” the white-clothed man stood up and pointed at the pavilion behind him. He said, “There are some items that I have collected while still alive. The pavilion itself is a Sovereign Saint Artifact, and it is also a spatial treasure.”

Lin Yun’s eyes lit up upon hearing that and recollected his gaze.

“He’er, bring him to the first floor,” the white-clothed man said.

“Thank you, Senior,” Lin Yun cupped his fists together.

“It’s only the first level, and some understandings of the Divine Firefly Sword exist that you can read.”

“That’s enough,” Lin Yun smiled. He wasn’t unsatisfied because he wasn’t the white-clothed man’s successor nor Heavenly Dao Sect’s holy son. Strictly speaking, he was an outsider.

The white-clothed man was the previous sect master of the Heavenly Dao Sect, and Lin Yun was grateful for receiving his help. Thanks to the white-clothed man’s pointers, he could grasp the Astral Sword Intent.

“Ye Qingtian, come with me.” The Crane Fairy was pretty fond of Ye Qingtian. She dragged him into the Flying Sky Pavilion. When she brought Lin Yun in, she turned her head multiple times as if she wanted to say something.

“Little girl, what do you want to say?” Lin Yun asked.

“Ye Qingtian, Master has seen countless geniuses over the years, and even someone like Li Daoyang didn’t make him so happy. I can tell that he’s really fond of you,” the Crane Fairy said. “So don’t blame him. Master is ultimately someone of the Heavenly Dao Sect, and he can’t give you everything even if the Flying Sky Pavilion belongs to him.”

Lin Yun smiled when he heard that, “What are you thinking about? I’m already grateful to him.”

“Hehe, you can look for Li Daoyang if you want. He can enter the pavilion anytime he wants. As long as you can borrow the Flying Sky Order, Master won’t stop you,” the Crane Fairy said, giving Lin Yun an idea.

“That’s a reliable idea,” Lin Yun smiled.

“It’s reliable. You should do it,” the Crane Fairy smiled. She brought Lin Yun over to a bookshelf that had many interpretations of the Divine Firefly Sword, and each book was thick. Lin Yun found the second section and flipped through it. Most importantly, each book was left behind by a Great Saint.

Those books were precious, and he soon sank into them. But he wasn’t too engrossed by those books. The Heavenly Jade Sword Saint said that he had to rely on himself, and the understanding of others could only be used as a reference.

Each book had various understandings written in them, and some even conflicted with each other. For example, a Sword Saint named Ding Yu felt that the profundity of the second section was life. The thirteen swords might not have anything to do with each other, but the interpretation was Life Dao.

On the other hand, another Sword Saint’s comprehension was death. The comprehension conflicted, making Lin Yun feel that reading the books was even tougher than practicing the sword technique.

“Yu Qingfeng!” Lin Yun suddenly saw a jade slip with the Sword Emperor, Yu Qingfeng’s name written on it. Lin Yun didn’t expect the white-clothed man to even write an understanding about his opponent. But unlike other books, Yu Qingfeng’s jade slip only had ‘Not competing to be first’ written.

This made Lin Yun squint at his pupils, and he had no idea what Yu Qingfeng was competing for if it wasn’t for first. The more he pondered, the more confused he became.

“Ye Qingtian, you can choose to take some with you,” the Crane Fairy said.

“Okay.” Lin Yun nodded and chose three books to take with him. He then recalled the words written on a jade slip.

“Forget it.” Lin Yun ultimately placed the books back and only took the jade slip with Yu Qingfeng’s name on it.

“You didn’t even bring a book with you?” The white-clothed man looked at Lin Yun, who came out empty-handed.

“This is enough,” Lin Yun smiled. It was enough for him to have those understandings, and he could combine them with his cultivation. Most importantly, he remembered the words written on the jade slip.

The white-clothed man didn’t think much and said, “Come with me.”

“Okay,” Lin Yun nodded.

The white-clothed man grabbed Lin Yun’s shoulder and soared to the sky, before arriving at a river after descending. This place was magical because the river looked like a cloth, twisting and turning. At the river's core was a star shining brightly like the sun.

“Dao flame!” Lin Yun squinted his pupils and immediately knew what this place was. This was the dao flame left behind by the Emperor Sword, and the river should be the dao flame’s galaxy.

“Have you seen the Emperor Sword?” The white-clothed man asked.

“I only caught a glimpse of it, but I’m not sure if that's the Emperor Sword,” Lin Yun replied.

The white-clothed man smiled, “That’s the shadow left behind by the Emperor Sword before it left. You should’ve seee the scene from three thousand years ago.”

“Oh, okay…” Lin Yun looked a little disappointed.

The white-clothed man patted Lin Yun’s shoulder and said, “You might not have seen it personally, but I can guarantee it has seen you. It might’ve left behind a dao flame, but it can see you through the dao flame.”

Lin Yun briefly looked at the dao flame and couldn’t help feeling a piercing pain in his eyes. He asked, “Why did the Emperor Sword leave?”

“I don’t know,” the white-clothed man replied. “It left when I became the sect master. If it didn’t leave and I had the Emperor Sword in my hand, the battle back then…”

The white-clothed man suddenly smiled and changed the topic, “Do you still remember the three strands of flames you obtained when you became a saint disciple?”

“I do.”

“You can use this dao flame to refine the three strands of flames. If you can refine them, you might have an opportunity to see the Emperor Sword.” The white-clothed man briefly paused, then continued, “If you manage to see it, remember to tell me where it is.”

Lin Yun nodded. He could feel that the white-clothed man already knew that there wouldn’t be any changes in the outcome of that battle even if he had the Emperor Sword. But he couldn’t escape his obsession, even after becoming an artifact spirit.

“Ye Qingtian, you saw Yu Qingfeng’s understanding within the Flying Sky Pavilion, right?” The white-clothed man asked.

Lin Yun was briefly stunned before he replied, “That’s right.”

“You can share your answer with me when you have an answer,” the white-clothed man smiled.

“Okay,” Lin Yun agreed. No matter what, he respected the white-clothed man as a senior, even if he lost the battle with Yu Qingfeng.

“Not competing to be first…” The white-clothed man muttered before leaving the place.