The Sovereign’s Ascension

Chapter 1597 - Set Off

The person who came was Gu Ruochen, ranked first on Sword Sect’s Heaven Ranking and the chief disciple of the Scarlet Firmament Peak that Mu Xueqin mentioned many times before. He had already reached the fourth-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm in the God Burial Forest.

Lin Yun had seen his portrait on the Heaven Ranking, so he had already speculated long ago. He knew that this person must be Gu Ruochen or Ye Qingxuan, who were ranked first and second on the Heaven Ranking. Because the other party didn’t reveal any killing aura, the other party was clearly here to probe his strength.

When he removed his mask, Lin Yun saw that it really was Gu Ruochen. Looking at Gu Ruochen’s youthful face, he could tell that this person wasn’t old, but he looked old and lacked the vibrantness of a youth.

“I heard that you killed the Demonic Ranking’s four rising stars with the expelled disciple of the Profound Sky Sect, Jiang Tong, among them?” Gu Ruochen casually sat down and looked at Lin Yun with flames blazing in his pupils.

Those words stunned Lin Yun because not many people should know about this piece of news.

“Haha. Junior Sister Mu told me about it. She knows I’m concerned about you and told me immediately when I returned with Ye Qingxuan. When I first heard of it, I was shocked!” Gu Ruochen said. “Junior Brother, you gave me a huge surprise.”

“Senior Sister Mu does pay quite a bit of attention to me.” Lin Yun smiled awkwardly.

“Her attention on you far exceeds your expectations, which is the same for me.” Gu Ruochen said seriously.

Lin Yun was briefly stunned upon hearing that because his instincts were telling him that there was a story between Mu Xueqin and Gu Ruochen. After a brief pondering, he decided not to speak in case a misunderstanding arose between them.

“Hahaha! It’s not what you think.” Gu Ruochen guessed what Lin Yun was thinking from his expression and continued, “Our greatest wish is to revive the Sword Sect. After losing our Golden Generation two decades ago, we have supported the entire sect to compete with the Profound Sky Sect. Although we can barely bear the pressure, we both know we’re still lacking. The Sword Sect needs an unrivaled genius to suppress the entire Ancient Barren Domain to bring us back to being a holy land.”

“Senior Brother, I’m actually not the one who killed the four rising stars by myself. I can only barely defeat Jiang Tong if we fight one-to-one.” Lin Yun said, shaking his head. He wasn’t lying when he said that because he was only at the one-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm at the time, and his trump cards were all limited by his cultivation, unable to unleash their full power. If he wanted to defeat Jiang Tong, who was at the pinnacle of the third-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm, he would have to pay some price.

“But isn’t that the same?” Gu Ruochen smiled.

“If he’s not dead, he wouldn’t be able to last more than ten moves against me now.” Lin Yun said with confidence flashing in his pupils. If Jiang Tong was still alive, he could easily defeat him within ten moves by relying on his current cultivation and sword intent.

Nodding his head, Gu Ruochen said, “You can be considered one of the stronger batches even amongst the Golden Generation, aside from the few monsters from the Profound Sky Sect…”

As fighting spirits blazed within Lin Yun’s pupils, he said, “Senior Brother, are you speaking of the top three on the Profound Sky Sect’s Inner Ranking?”

“That’s right!” Gu Ruochen replied. “The three of them are external disciples of Tian Xuanzi, and they are the trump cards prepared for the Ancient Barren Battlefield, nurtured ever since they were at the Empyrean Realm. To a certain degree, they’re at the top of the pyramid amongst the younger generation in the Ancient Barren Battlefield. They’re talented, and they have all the resources they need. They’re the strongest amongst the eight powerful sects.”

“How strong are they, exactly?” Lin Yun asked with his brows furrowed. He had previously heard Mu Xueqin talking about them, but he had no idea how strong they were.

“They’ve reached the fourth-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm a year ago, and have an achievement of killing fifth-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm experts. It’s so much so that they can even fight with those at the sixth-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm!” Gu Ruochen said.

Hearing that made Lin Yun’s heart sink because it was tough for even him to fight those with a cultivation higher than him before grasping the fifth-grade sword intent. Even now, he didn’t dare say that he could slay those at the fifth-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm. As for those at the sixth-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm, he didn’t even dare to think about it because the difference in their cultivations was too significant.

“Don’t overthink it. Those they slew were surely wandering cultivators, not sect geniuses.” Gu Ruochen smiled. “I can accomplish it, and you can do it upon reaching that level.”

“Even so, this is already impressive.” Lin Yun shook his head.

Gu Ruochen’s pupils flashed with surprise because Lin Yun was more humble than he had imagined… or cautious was a more befitting term, instead. In their earlier exchange, he could sense that Lin Yun had an aura that wasn’t any weaker than his own.

“Indeed. It’s impressive that you can realize it.” Gu Ruochen nodded. “Aside from those three, the remaining seven are all at the pinnacle of third-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm.”

The Profound Sky Sect’s foundation was terrifying. After all, they converted their harvest in the Ancient Barren Battlefield into the strength of their sect. If the Sword Sect loses again, even if the Radiant Sword Saint could make it through this ordeal, the gap between the Sword Sect and Profound Sky Sect would be widened.

There was already a gap between their disciples. It was still okay for now, but a hundred years later, when the Profound Sky Sect’s disciples grew up, they would be able to suppress the Sword Sect. Just thinking about it alone made him feel a chill down his spine.

“Looks like my Sword Sect is under great pressure in this Ancient Barren Battlefield.” Lin Yun sighed.

“Yeah, the other sects are prepared for this Ancient Barren Battlefield, and some aren’t any weaker than us…” Gu Ruochen nodded.

“What’s your plan?” Lin Yun asked.

“We only have to fulfill two goals in the Ancient Barren Battlefield: One is to obtain enough treasures and martial techniques. The second is to ensure we come back alive.” Gu Rupchen smiled before he lowered his voice, “If we can find an opportunity, we have to make a stab at the Profound Sky Sect. After all, we lost terribly two decades ago.”

“Sounds good.” Lin Yun naturally agreed to it.

“Aside from probing your strength, I have another objective for visiting you today.”

“What other objective?”

“Junior Sister Mu told me a lot about you, and I naturally had to see if you’re befitting of your praises.”

“So, what do you think?” Lin Yun smiled. He really wanted to know Gu Ruochen’s opinion about him.

“Flower Burial, you truly deserve your praises, and you’re the hope of my Sword Sect!” Gu Ruochen said.

Lin Yun pursed his lips because this evaluation was a little too high.

Looking at him, Gu Ruochen said, “If possible, we have to ensure the safety of our disciples as much as possible.”

“I understand.” Lin Yun could tell that Gu Ruochen was concerned with the life and death of the Sword Sect’s disciples, which was befitting his title as Scarlet Firmament Peak’s chief disciple.

“But the Sword Sect doesn’t belong to me alone, and you are also needed to strengthen the Sword Sect.” Lin Yun said seriously.

“The Sword Sect can continue without me, but it can’t go on without you.” Gu Ruochen smiled, waving his hand. “I’m not being courteous with you. You’ll naturally understand why in the future. If one of us can live, I won’t hesitate to give my life for you, which goes the same for Junior Sister Mu.”

“I can’t bear that.” Lin Yun smiled.

“Aside from the eight powerful sects, the younger generation geniuses of the other sects will also participate in this Ancient Barren Domain. The sects of the nearby territories will also participate, and it’s hard to say if the Sword Sect won’t end up the same as two decades ago…” Gu Ruochen sighed.

“Absolutely not!” Lin Yun smiled with resolution in his pupils. After all, he had promised his master!

Half a month later, at Sword Sect’s Honored Plaza. There was a massive monument with many names engraved on it. They were everyone from the Sword Sect who died in battle. The first thing every disciple did upon joining was to swear an oath before this monument.

Hundreds of people were gathered here as waves of dragon origin swept out from them, enveloping the entire plaza. Today was the day the Sword Sect’s disciples set off to the Ancient Barren Battlefield. Only disciples who reached the Dragon Pulse Realm under the age of thirty could represent the Sword Sect and partake in the Ancient Barren Battlefield.

Everyone who stood there was the most outstanding disciple of the Sword Sect, and several figures stood at the front. These people represented the strongest disciples from the Sword Sect. There were Gu Ruochen, Ye Qingxuan, and Lin Yun. Behind them were the other saint disciples like Ye Ziling and Mu Xueqin, who had reached the pinnacle third-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm.

Many gazes fell on the azure-robed figure standing at the front with flames blazing in their pupils. That azure-robed figure was naturally Lin Yun. If it was before, those at the Dragon Pulse Realm who weren’t in the sect might have some opinion about Lin Yun becoming the Radiant Sword Saint’s disciple, not to mention considering him to be on the same level as Gu Ruochen. But after the Heavenly Pool Manor, Lin Yun’s prestige in the Sword Sect reached a new height.

To a certain degree, his prestige was even higher than Gu Ruochen. It had been so long since the Sword Sect made a comeback, and Lin Yun had been shining from the moment he joined them.

Before joining the sect, he defeated Xia Houyan. After he joined the sect, he broke the Saint Pool record. He was the champion of the Five Peaks Competition and defeated the Profound Sky Sect at the Heavenly Pool Manor. With so many titles on him, he naturally deserved to be the Radiant Sword Saint’s disciple.

Booming sounds suddenly echoed, coming from the ancient war drums that were located on the peak beside the Honored Plaza. They could feel their blood boiling from the drums. When everyone raised their heads, they were surprised to see that the person who was beating the drums was Mu Xuankong. The sect master of the Sword Sect was personally beating the drums for them.