Chapter 1575 - Curtain Falls
Luo Yuan’s arm was blown to smithereens, while Liu Yu and Bai Kuang were on their knees. With that, the compet.i.tion over the artifacts had ended, and the outcome was something no one had expected.
Lin Yun, who had just reached the Dragon Pulse Realm, converted all his astral energy into dragon origin. Not only that, but he also defeated Luo Yuan and inherited the t.i.tle of the strongest beneath the Golden Generation. Based on the strength Lin Yun had revealed, everyone even suspected that he had the strength to compete with the Golden Generation geniuses.
This also meant that aside from those ranked in the top two in the various sects, it was hard for anyone to suppress Lin Yun amongst the younger generation. With the Ancient Barren Battlefield starting soon, they could predict that Lin Yun would become a ferocious general of the Sword Sect.
After all, the speed of his growth had exceeded everyone’s imagination, and this Heavenly Pool Gathering became a stage for him alone. He first defeated Huang Xuanyi before crippling the latter’s eyes with a gaze and defeated Luo Yuan, blowing one of his arms to smithereens.
Everyone’s gazes were complicated when they looked at Lin Yun, and they knew they had to report Lin Yun’s performance to their sects. They couldn’t afford to look down on this champion of the Ninth Heavenly Path any longer, or they would suffer in the Ancient Barren Battlefield.
The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord landed beside Luo Yuan to stop the latter’s bleeding, and his brows furrowed, looking at Luo Yuan’s bare shoulder. Lin Yun’s last attack was so powerful that it blew Luo Yuan’s arm away. Otherwise, the Heavenly Pool Saint Lord could connect the severed arm back to Luo Yuan. But now, Luo Yuan was destined to become a disabled person.
“This is where it stops. If you have any grudges, deal with them outside the manor.” The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord swept his gaze around. The chaos in this gathering had far exceeded the past, and he felt this was a sign of the chaos that would ensue in the Ancient Barren Domain. After all, everyone knew about the relations.h.i.+p between the Profound Sky Sect and Sword Sect.
The Profound Sky Sect had always suppressed the Sword Sect in the past, but it was different now with Lin Yun’s appearance. This gave the Sword Sect hope. After all, it was natural that the Sword Sect would be furious after being suppressed by the Profound Sky Sect for so long, and the Profound Sky Sect naturally wouldn’t be willing to lose. So one could imagine that the confrontation between the two sects would only intensify.
“Roger that!” The other sects’ disciples let out breaths of relief. If the compet.i.tion continued, their Divine Dragon Artifacts might be s.n.a.t.c.hed away by Lin Yun. Based on the strength Lin Yun had shown so far, who would dare to face him?
In reality, they were overthinking it. It wasn’t as easy as it appeared for Lin Yun to defeat Luo Yuan. He had to use all of his trump cards in the process, not to mention that he was injured. He couldn’t engage in another fight anytime soon. Just the portion of the Golden Crow Wings that Luo Yuan had sliced off would need two to three days to recover. It was fortunate that he didn’t take the Sacred Goldflame Whip head-on.
The Sacred Goldflame Whip, a replica of the Dragon Whip, gave him a lot of trouble, and he wouldn’t have won if the Blue Dragon Bone had feared the Golden Dragon.
The Profound Sky Sect’s party was the first to leave while being in a pathetic state. Their eyes were filled with ill intent, but they didn’t dare to provoke Lin Yun. When the other sects left, their gazes were complicated while looking at the Sword Sect’s party because they could sense pressure from Lin Yun. Only the Profound Valley and Heavenly Note Sect’s disciples briefly chatted with the Sword Sect before they left, especially Luo Shuyi.
She looked at Lin Yun and asked, “It has been a year, and it looks like Young Master Lin’s grace hasn’t fallen.”
“Lady Luo, you’re being too courteous.” Lin Yun smiled.
Luo Shuyi smiled, “I’m not being courteous at all. Oh, someone asked me to ask you if you still remember the Divine Indigo Jade Bamboo Flute back from the Heavenly Path.”
When Yue Weiwei’s name appeared in his mind, Lin Yun squinted his eyes and asked, “You’ve seen her? Has she come to the Ancient Barren Domain? Where is she right now?”
Luo Shuyi was briefly stunned by Lin Yun’s reaction, before she smiled, “How rare to see Young Master Lin lose your composure. She can’t come because she’s not in a good condition right now. I’ve never seen her, but we have exchanged letters.”
“Tell her that the flute and person are still the same as before.” Lin Yun replied after calming down. Yue Weiwei had sneaked out to the Profound Amber Realm, so her father would definitely punish her upon returning. She probably wouldn’t be able to come out so easily anymore.
“Sure! I’ll pa.s.s that message to her.” Luo Shuyi nodded.
“Where is she right now? Can you tell me?” Lin Yun asked.
“She’s not in the Eastern Desolation, but the Heaven Domain’s Unholy Sea.” Luo Shuyi smiled. She then left before Lin Yun could ask more.
Lin Yun fell into deep thoughts when he heard that because he had never heard of that place before. But he could tell it was far away, and it would be difficult for them to meet again. Now that he thought about it again, it had been two years since they separated on the Heavenly Path.
“I know where that is! Junior Brother Lin, why don’t you consider bribing me?” Mu Qingqing ran over and gave Lin Yun a wink with gossip flas.h.i.+ng within her pupils. “But you have to tell me which beauty captivated our Junior Brother Lin’s heart!”
In response to her, Lin Yun merely smiled.
“Tell me, tell me. Just tell me in secret. I promise that I won’t tell anyone… Ouch!” Mu Qingqing spoke halfway before she was interrupted by someone grabbing her by her ear. In the Sword Sect, no one but Mu Xueqin dared to grab her by her ear.
“Shoo! Move aside.” Mu Xueqin glared at her, scaring Mu Qingqing into becoming quiet. But when Mu Xueqin looked at Lin Yun, her gaze became gentle, and she smiled, “Lin Yun, I will report your contribution to the Sword Sect upon our return. The Sword Sect won’t let you down!”
The compet.i.tion over the Divine Dragon Artifacts was dangerous, and the Sword Sect would probably be significantly humiliated without Lin Yun. At that time, the saint disciples’ reputations would also be ruined.
“It’s my responsibility as a disciple of the sect. So there’s no need for you to be so polite, Senior Sister.” Lin Yun smiled.
Mu Xueqin’s pupils shone when she heard that and smiled, “Since that’s the case, you don’t have to be polite to the Sword Sect. I’ll talk to you again when we’re back in the sect. I have to think about what kind of good stuff my father still has left.”
Her words made Lin Yun smile, and the surrounding atmosphere also became casual. He smiled, “It’s alright, but I wish to let Ziling keep the White Dragon Saint Sword.”
“The sword belongs to you, to begin with. So you can give it to whoever you want.” Mu Xueqin replied.
But Ye Ziling shook her head when she heard that, not wanting to keep the Glory Saint Artifact.
“I’m your martial uncle, so you must listen to me.” Lin Yun smiled, not accepting her refusal.
Hearing that, Ye Ziling was briefly stunned before she figured it out. After all, Lin Yun was Jian Jingtian’s junior brother. As Jian Jingtian’s daughter, she did have to address Lin Yun as an ‘Uncle’ in terms of seniority.
“Keep that sword. From today onwards, our Sword Sect will have two dragons!” Mu Xueqin smiled.
Lin Yun and Ye Ziling exchanged a glance when they heard that. One possessed the Blue Dragon Bone, while the other possessed the Divine Dragon Sword Physique and White Dragon Saint Sword. So they could be considered the Sword Sect’s Dual Dragons to a certain degree.
Mu Xueqin had already discovered that Ye Ziling’s apt.i.tude had far exceeded hers, but she had no jealousy against the latter. Taking over the Saint Dragon War Flag, she handed it to Lin Yun, “Here, you can have this war flag!”
“Senior Brother, take it. You’re the only one capable of lifting the Sword Sect’s flag!”
Lin Yun was hesitant to take the war flag, but the other Sword Sect’s disciples didn’t allow him to refuse. Their pupils were blazing with flames when they looked at him. It had been so many years since the Sword Sect had ever been so elated. They had no objection about Lin Yun taking the war flag.
“Alright.” Lin Yun took over the Saint Dragon War Flag. He knew that this wasn’t only a Divine Dragon Artifact but also a flag, and he was already walking down this path, regardless of whether he was willing.
After the Sword Sect’s party briefly rested, the Heavenly Pool Saint Lord said, “Lin Yun, let’s talk.”
Lin Yun was briefly stunned and had no idea why the Heavenly Pool Saint Lord wanted to speak with him. He knew that based on what he did, the Dragon Transforming Pool would take at least a decade to recover, and he naturally couldn’t help to feel a little guilty.
“Junior Brother Lin, go on. We’ll wait for you at the base of the mountain.” Mu Xueqin said.
“Saint Lord, is there a reason why you made me stay behind?” Lin Yun went straight into the topic.
“You reached the limit, right?” The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord smiled.
“Oh?” Lin Yun smiled. “What makes you say that?”
“A feeling. So many Divine Dragon Artifacts can’t just appear all at once, so there must be a reason.” The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord replied.
“That doesn’t mean that I’ve condensed the tenth star. Maybe it’s because I’ve reached the Dragon Pulse Realm?” Lin Yun smiled. He naturally wouldn’t admit it because he was already at the edge and didn’t want to attract more trouble.
“No, I can sense it.” The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord shook his head.
“Don’t speak without any evidence. I’ve always kept a low profile, and I don’t need any fame.” Lin Yun smiled.
“You? Low profile?” The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord chuckled as he looked at Lin Yun. If it wasn’t because he had some understanding of Lin Yun, he might really take his words for real. “Yeah, you’ve been keeping a low profile and have a good temper!”
His words immediately made Lin Yun smile awkwardly.
“This is only my speculation, so I won’t tell anyone that. Who do you think is stronger between the Sword Sect and Profound Sky Sect?” The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord asked.
“The Profound Sky Sect.” Lin Yun replied.
“Why is that so, then?”
“Foundation?”
“Where does their foundation come from, then? Don’t forget that the Sword Sect used to be a holy land.”
“This…” Lin Yun fell into a dilemma and didn’t know how to answer that question.
“Foundation doesn’t come with time if you don’t have any development. Don’t forget that you’ll fall behind if everyone is improving and you’re not.” The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord looked at Lin Yun. “Tian Xuanzi is one of the reasons why the Profound Sky Sect can catch up, and the second reason is that the Profound Sky Sect has been the winner in the Ancient Barren Battlefield in recent years. What do you think is considered foundation? Those jade slips and incomplete tablets that the Profound Sky Sect’s disciples brought back from the Ancient Barren Battlefield. It might not be obvious initially, but they will slowly add to their foundation.”
Lin Yun fell silent when he heard that because it made sense. After all, the Sword Sect’s disciples weren’t any weaker than the Profound Sky Sect in this gathering. But the Sword Sect’s disciples were suppressed in terms of cultivation and martial techniques.
This was because their Great Profound Sword Canon was incomplete, unlike the Profound Sky Sect’s Profound Sky Canon. In addition to their gradually increasing foundation, this was the reason why the Sword Sect fell behind.
“I can see Jian Jingtian’s silhouette over you, and I’m telling you all this because I don’t want you to become the second Jian Jingtian. The Sword Sect’s foundation will continue to increase as long as you"re alive.” The Heavenly Pool Saint Lord said seriously while looking at Lin Yun.