The Sovereign’s Ascension

Yu Haotian, the strongest genius of Indigomoon Elysium and a true legend of the Ancient Southern Domain. He was simply too strong as his martial talent surpassed everyone in the Ancient Southern Domain. There wasn’t a single person who hadn’t heard of his name.

Four years ago at the Draconic Banquet, he was only seventeen. Despite his age, he had a powerful demeanor and not a single person could receive more than ten of his attacks. No one knew how powerful he actually was back then. Four years had passed and it went without saying that he had become even more powerful.

So the moment he appeared, countless gazes fell onto him. He looked ordinary, but he shined so brightly that he overshadowed the other two kings and seven elites. He gave others the feeling that the Draconic Banquet had come to an end with his appearance.

Zhao Wuji and Yan Long’zi both smiled the moment they saw Yu Haotian. Their gazes were deep as they retracted their fangs, almost as if they didn’t want to compete with Yu Haotian. Based on Yu Haotian’s smile, the crowd could tell that he wasn’t simple.

As for Qing Ruoyou, who was next to Yu Haotian, she was also shining brightly. Her beauty had created countless admirers. After all, she was the princess of the Indigomoon Elysium who was famous throughout the Ancient Southern Domain. Her beauty alone could give her a position among the top-tiered geniuses.

In addition to her beauty, everyone knew that she was unbelievably strong. At the very least, she had a high chance of making it into the top ten.

“They’re too powerful…” Yue Qing sighed. He wasn’t only talking about yu Haotian. Yue Qing could tell that Zhao Wuji and the rest were powerful too. In simple terms, he wasn’t on the same level as them as they shined too brightly.

“The three kings and seven elites are truly monstrous,” exclaimed Pavilion Guardian Plum. In his view, Lin Yun was already strong, but even Lin Yun paled in comparison. In fact, the top ten were much stronger than Pavilion Guardian Plum.

As a Heavenly Soul Realm expert, he didn’t feel any advantage against them. On the contrary, he felt fearful of them. This couldn’t help making him worry. Even if Lin Yun really grasped the sword intent that he had imagined, he was unsure that Lin Yun could defeat them.

After all, this was the glorious Draconic Banquet that spanned the past millennia. In this competition, no one had absolute confidence. He only hoped that Lin Yun would make it into the top thirty as that alone was enough to bring great honor and fortune to the Sword Firmament Pavilion.

Lin Yun was also examining Yu Haotian. But he only glanced at the latter from afar before turning his attention to Zhao Wuji and Yan Long’zi. Lin Yun was most familiar with Yan Long’zi. After all, he had observed the latter from afar and he also heard from Lil’ Purple that Yan Long’zi was a ruthless person who nearly killed an overlord Heavenly Soul Realm demonic beast.

Before Lin Yun grasped the spiritual sword intent, that sort of strength would have been unbelievable. But Lin Yun was different now. With the Azure Dragon Enneaform at the octaform, his physique alone wasn’t inferior to the Indigothunder Dragonvulture. He might even hold a slight advantage against Yan Long’zi because of the octaform.

Then again, Yan Long’zi had dealt with the Indigothunder Dragonvulture before it cultivated the Azure Dragon Enneaform. Then, there was Zhao Wuji. Lin Yun couldn’t see through him, but he could sense a surge of terrifying lightning energy within his body. The lightning energy he sensed was even stronger than the Indigothunder Dragonvulture’s lightning.

In his view, the gap between the three kings wasn’t that great. Both Zhao Wuji and Yan Long’zi had the strength to compete with Yu Haotian.

After this assessment, Lin Yun swept his glance at the seven elites. When he saw Jiang Ziye, his gaze paused briefly before turning to Bai Lixuan who stood beside her. He wondered how far Bai Lixuan cultivated the Azure Dragon Sword Sutra. After all, it was an ancient cultivation technique on the same level as the Azure Dragon Enneaform. WIth Bai Lixuan’s talent, he believed that the former would push the technique to its limit.

“That’s Nangong Wanyu?” Lin Yun saw Nangong Wanyu among the crowd. He was a man even more beautiful than Situ Yi. Even Qing Ruoyou was inferior to him if they stood together. His features were simply so beautiful that even Lin Yun couldn’t help taking a few glances at him. If he didn’t know that this person was Nangong Wanyu, he had mistaken him for a woman.

Wu Xiaotian mentioned that Nangong Wanyu couldn’t obtain the spiritual sword intent and chose another path. What path did he end up taking? Lin Yun couldn’t help feeling curious as Nangong Wanyu was a genius famed for his talent and many people compared him to Nangong Wanyu.

Suddenly, a gaze fell onto Lin Yun, which attracted his attention. When he turned, he saw a gorgeous woman in a red dress. She was hidden among the crowd, but her beauty made her stand out. Her beauty far exceeded Qing Ruoyou and Lin Yun couldn’t help being dazed when he saw her wink at him.

When Lin Yun collected himself, he noticed that she had already hidden among the crowd, which made him smile. He never expected that he would run into her after parting ways in the Azure Sun Realm. He recalled that the first time he had seen her, she was covered by a mysterious veil.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed that caused the surrounding mountain ranges to tremble. The mysterious barrier enveloping Dragoncloud City was slowly being lifted. The outline of the Dragoncloud City gradually appeared before everyone and they could clearly see the towering city.

Then, the massive city gate opened with boundless light shining out and a completely new world appeared before them.

“The gate has opened!”

“The Dragoncloud City’s test will start soon. I wonder how many people can get through the test this time.” Excitement boiled in the mountain ranges as everyone discussed among themselves. When the light dissipated at the ancient gate, a water dragon that emitted brilliance roared. It started charging out from a few thousand miles away, but it still managed to startle everyone.

As the massive dragon wandered around, the ground began to crack. It didn’t take long for it to form into a massive river on the barren land. When the river was formed, a dragon roar echoed out. This time, lightning tore the sky apart. The dragon had created a ferocious river that would kill ordinary geniuses in the Violet Palace Realm.

When the river appeared, a blue barrier also appeared and enveloped the barren land. The test had begun. Yu Haotian and the rest moved first as they charged towards the barren land. When the other geniuses saw them moving out, they instantly followed to avoid getting left behind.

“You guys should get going as well.” Pavilion Master Plum looked at everyone and continued, “The first test is to break through the blue barrier. The second second test is to travel through the river and cross the gate. Only after completing both tasks will you have the qualification to participate in the Draconic Banquet.”

“When you guys reach the city wall, the jade tokens that you guys received from the Dragon Gate Competition will receive a wisp of profound amber aura. This will be a marker from the ancient city.”

Hearing Pavilion Master Plum’s explanation, everyone nodded their heads. Just like that, the five from the Great Qin Empire began their journey in the Draconic Banquet, but Yue Qing was rather unfortunate.

Lin Yun and the rest broke the blue barrier practically in a split second and successfully stepped onto the barren land. Yue Qing executed his strongest attack on the barrier, but he was sent flying backwards while vomiting blood. When Yue Qing fell onto the ground, the jade token shattered, which meant that he lost his qualification to continue.

“Yue Qing.” Situ Yi and the rest turned their heads over with worry.

Yue Qing looked disappointed because he was eliminated in the first test. A brief moment later, he squeezed out a smile, “I’m fine. You guys should continue.”

It was too brutal for him to be eliminated during the first test, but they had to continue. The Draconic Banquet was a banquet meant for experts, and weaklings didn’t have a chance to participate.

Lin Yun looked at the surging river that acted like a dragon coiling around the gate. They had to start at the dragon’s tail and go towards the head before going through the gate. But when they arrived at the dragon’s tail, their faces changed.

A few of those that were around them couldn’t stand firmly on the dragon’s tail and were sent flying whenever a wave crashed onto them. When those who failed landed on the ground, their jade tokens shattered.

Every time a jade token shattered, the hearts of the participants broke. They had unwillingness and disappointment in their eyes. Some of them prepared for four years, but they still weren’t qualified to walk this path.

Situ Yi, Feng Ye, and Aquaselenic’s faces were ugly. They were alarmed because the test had far exceeded their imagination. They weren’t confident that they could get past this test. In the end, they gnashed their teeth and prepared to step onto the river.

“Be careful. The current is in reverse so the first impact will be strong. Don’t be careless.” Lin Yun warned them of the danger with his keen observation. But that was all Lin Yun could do to help because they would ultimately have to rely on their own strength.

Under their shocked gazes, Lin Yun tapped his foot on the ground and landed at the tail of the dragon. But just when he was about to land, a powerful wave swept over. However, by the time it came in contact with Lin Yun, it moved like a tame beast.

“Is it that easy?” they wondered out loud.

“Are my eyes fooling me? The river was so terrifying that it even injured my junior brother heavily earlier.” Feng Ye and the rest were dumbfounded, and many who were standing on the shore were also shocked. They never imagined that there would be someone this powerful among them.

When Lin Yun landed on the river, the current moved just as he had expected. The current was interesting to him since it functioned like martial cultivation would. So, Lin Yun’s eyes flashed as he continued walking on the river. His goal was to cross the gate.