The Sovereign's Ascension

Chapter 2054 - Three Rounds of Tests

While Zhao Wuji’s party was leaving, the sword servants had reluctance on their faces and were furious. Zhao Hu’s injuries were pretty heavy from the fight. He asked while suppressing his rage, “Young Master, are we going to let this matter go just like that?”

“Let this matter go? Since when did I say I’ll let this matter go?” Zhao Wuji smiled.

“Then?” The three sword servants were bewildered, not knowing what their young master was planning.

Zhao Wuji smiled, “Didn’t I say that those who yell the loudest generally die the fastest? If what happened today spreads out, I wonder how he will deal with it when the Sword Assembly begins. What happened today is a lesson for him, and I’ll embarrass him thoroughly when the Sword Assembly begins!”

“But what if…” Zhao Hu hesitated. After fighting with Ye Qingtian, Zhao Hu feared that Ye Qingtian would shine on the Sword Assembly.

Zhao Wuji smiled, “I have already probed his strength, and he shouldn’t possess the Astral Sword Intent, like the rumors stated. Otherwise, he would’ve taken my cup head-on earlier.”

Zhao Wuji had been probing Ye Qingtian to see if he had grasped the Astral Sword Intent, but he no longer had any concerns. Ye Qingtian’s cultivation was only at the seventh transformation of the Nirvana Stage. Even if he had a powerful foundation, as long as he didn’t grasp Astral Sword Intent, it was futile, even if he had a powerful attainment in sword dao. Running into genius swordsmen, he could only be suppressed. As for shining on the Sword Assembly, he was only asking to be humiliated.

No matter what, Ye Qingtian now represented all the swordsmen within the Eastern Desolation. Not only was he a genius swordsman from the Heavenly Dao Sect, but he was now a leading figure of Eastern Desolation amongst swordsmen.

When everyone came to their senses, those who mocked Ye Qingtian earlier quickly stepped forth, wanting to befriend him, but Ye Qingtian rejected them and returned to Sword Sect’s courtyard with Ye Ziling.

Ye Ziling didn’t say a word along the way, but her gaze occasionally fell on Ye Qingtian as though she wanted to say something.

“Lady Ye, you should acknowledge my views now, right? Swordsmen must experience more because secluding yourself will only give birth to a demon in your heart,” Lin Yun smiled. “Although you might have obtained an ancient saint origin and possess the Divine Dragon Sword Physique, you won’t be able to become a genuine expert if you don’t gain more experience despite your talent.”

Ye Ziling maintained her silence. She would’ve refuted Ye Qingtian’s words in the past. She naturally understood that logic, but ever since Lin Yun left, she had sealed off her heart and used this extreme method to train, resulting in some emotional changes.

But Ye Ziling stopped and asked, “How did you know? Who told you about it?”

Lin Yun was briefly stunned and discovered that he had a tongue slip. But he could only throw that to his senior brother, Mu Chuan. He said, “Peak Master Mu Chuan told me about it. He even told me about the past between you and Flower Burial.”

“He doesn’t know how to keep his lips tight,” Ye Ziling muttered, not suspect what Ye Qingtian said.

“Oh, now that I’ve thought about it. Why did you say Flower Burial’s slogan earlier? You’ve seen him before?” Ye Ziling asked.

Lin Yun smiled, “I met him once before he left the Black Tortoise Void Sea, but we didn’t interact much. He’s handsome with an extraordinary temperament and could be considered a genius swordsman based on his attainment in the sword. I might’ve met him only once, but he won my admiration.”

Lin Yun felt awkward praising himself and quickly stopped because he would have gotten goosebumps if he continued.

“You’ve seen him before?!” Ye Ziling’s eyes lit up, before she asked, “Did he say where he’s going?”

“I don’t know,” Lin Yun replied. “But he gave me some of his comprehension in sword dao and told me to take care of his friends from the Sword Sect if I run into them.”

“I see…” Ye Ziling replied. “It’s no wonder why I can see his style in you, but it’s different simultaneously. You’re humble. Your talent isn’t weaker than him, and I’ve discovered I’ve misunderstood you.”

Ye Ziling was straightforward in apologizing. But she felt that Ye Qingtian was still keeping something from her. Once they were about to enter the courtyard, she asked, “Can I take a look at your sword?”

She had a feeling that the sword used by Ye Qingtian was familiar, but she understood that most swords were similar. So she wanted to confirm it. She might be able to see something if she took a closer look at the sword.

“Here you go,” Lin Yun was pretty straightforward and handed the Flower Burial Sword to Ye Ziling.

Ye Ziling took the sword and wanted to draw it out, but she couldn’t draw it out no matter how hard she tried and could only pour her nirvana aura into her hand.

Seeing this, Lin Yun allowed the Flower Burial Sword to be unsheathed with a single thought. When the Flower Burial Sword was drawn, the radiance of glory spirits shone brightly.

“A glory saint sword!” Ye Ziling was shocked. There was also a smear of disappointment in her eyes. She discovered that she had made a mistake. But in reality, she had never come in close contact with Lin Yun’s sword before. At the very least, she was sure Lin Yun’s sword wasn’t a glory saint artifact.

“This is a good sword, and it might become famous through the Sword Assembly,” Ye Ziling said.

“Perhaps,” Lin Yun smiled, taking back the Flower Burial Sword.

After Ye Ziling entered the courtyard, Lin Yun wasn’t in a hurry to leave and looked at Ye Ziling’s back figure.

“Senior Brother Lin, why didn’t you reveal your identity to Senior Sister?” Zhao Yan appeared out of nowhere.

Lin Yun had sensed Zhao Yan’s arrival. The latter probably recognized the Profound Sword Form of the Carefree 9 Swords he had used.

“It’s not convenient for us to talk about it here. Let us change our location,” Lin Yun said, looking at Zhao Yan. He had just become famous after defeating Zhao Wuji’s sword servants, and who knew what would happen once his deeds spread? He had to be cautious, or his identity might be exposed.

Based on what happened during the gathering earlier, he that realized Flower Burial wasn’t forgotten even after a long time. It was so much so that even the Black Plume Palace has heard of Flower Burial’s reputation. So one could imagine what would happen if everyone learned that Ye Qingtian was Lin Yun.

The two came to a remote corner and confirmed that no one had tailed them before they began chatting. According to Zhao Yan, Mu Chuan brought them here to let them experience more and had no hopes for them to obtain any ranking during the Sword Assembly. After all, Mu Chuan still knew the difference between the Eastern Desolation and the outside world. Not to mention that the Sword Sect was no longer a holy land, and the differences grew even larger.

“Senior Brother Lin, why are you here?” Zhao Yan asked. He was curious as to why Lin Yun wanted to come to the Sword Assembly.

“Do you still remember how we met?” Lin Yun smiled.

“I naturally still remember. We first met at the Lesser Sword Assembly, but no one expected that you would manage to retrieve the…” Zhao Yan said and suddenly realized why Lin Yun was here. He asked, “Senior Brother, you…?”

He guessed that Lin Yun’s objective in participating in the Sword Assembly might be the same, leaving him shocked.

“I’m here to try it,” Lin Yun nodded.

After bidding farewell to Zhao Yan, Lin Yun spent most of his time cultivating within the Heavenly Dao Sect’s branch. But his deeds at the gathering had long spread out. There were rumors that a genius swordsman appeared within the Eastern Desolation, defeating Zhao Wuji’s sword servants and didn’t place Zhao Wuji in his eyes. There were even rumors that Ye Qingtian looked down on the Sword Alliance.

After a brief investigation, anyone could find out about Ye Qingtian’s deeds within the Eastern Desolation. But the rumors gradually became exaggerated and there were even rumors of Ye Qingtian claiming to be the strongest swordsman within the Kunlun Realm.

The Sword Alliance looked down on the Eastern Desolation to begin with. But they became emotional when they learned that Ye Qingtian looked down on them. Some even spread a comparison to Jian Jingtian’s deeds two decades ago and sparked public outrage.

“Where did this cocky person come from? Did he really think he’s the second Jian Jingtian?”

“Isn’t he too cocky just because he defeated a few sword servants?”

“He’s not placing the Sword Alliance in his eyes!” Under a well-planned instigation, this matter instantly went out of control, especially when Jian Jingtian’s deeds were brought out. After all, Jian Jingtian was a sore spot of all sword dao holy lands. But Lin Yun didn’t know about any of this since he was focused on cultivating.

The three tests began seven days later, and only those who made it through them could receive an invitation. The three tests were impartial, and they treated everyone fairly

If disciples of the Sword Alliance couldn’t make it through the tests, they also wouldn’t be able to obtain the invitation. The first test was a comprehension test. It required one to comprehend a low-grade ghost spirit martial technique quickly and reach the initial mastery at the very least. The second was harder, since one had to fly on the sword, and this test was made to see if they could achieve a rapport with their sword. The last test required one to last ten moves in the hands of a Quasi-Saint who grasped the sacred flame.

After two rounds of tests, most of the Eastern Desolation’s swordsmen failed, and only less than ten people made it through. This was a huge ratio compared to the geniuses from the Sword Alliance. Many Sword Alliance geniuses shone on the tests, and some became famous before the Sword Assembly began.

Lin Yun didn’t want to attract too much attention and wanted to go through the three tests normally and receive the invitation. The Sword Assembly would begin after the three tests, and the Sword Assembly was held in the Hidden Sword Manor’s inner section.

The Hidden Sword Manor was grand, with multiple towering buildings, ancient cauldrons, and sacred flames that have been blazing for at least a thousand years. This was a new experience for many of Sword Alliance’s disciples.

“The Eight Ominous Souls Locking Array!” Lin Yun swept his gaze, and his face changed when he saw the array within the Hidden Sword Manor.