The Sovereign’s Ascension

Beneath the Bodhi Tree, Lin Yun stood by the cliff as he tried to control his sword from afar. The Flower Burial Sword trembled but didn’t listen to his summons. .

“Without a heroic spirit that stands out throughout the ages, the determination to press on, even if thousands oppose, the domineering aura of that Sword Dao being supreme amongst the three thousand daos, and the effort to give it your all, do not touch the sword!” The Iris Sword Saint’s words were like rumbling thunder that trembled Lin Yun’s soul. He continued, “Lin Yun, you do not respect sword!”

Lin Yun wanted to refute that. Since when was he disrespectful to the sword? His sword was his, and it wasn’t for the Iris Sword Saint to dismiss. The Iris Sword Saint’s words had hurt Lin Yun.

Lin Yun’s sword sea began to boil as though it was acting out of spite, with the Bright Sun Sword Intent pushed to the limit. The Flower Burial Sword started to tremble along with the mountain, but the sword didn’t move an inch.

“You’re not allowed to touch the sword before sunset!” The Iris Sword Saint’s words echoed once more, making Lin Yun’s face become red and let out a roar. A sword vibration exploded like rumbling thunder that echoed across the entire island.

Cracks appeared in the sea beyond the island, causing a violent wave. Nine thousand strands of sword intent soared to the sky, three thousand turning into a Divine Phoenix, three thousand turning into an Azure Dragon, and three thousand forming a giant sword. This phenomenon made it appear as if something wanted to tear the sky apart.

“What’s going on?” Lin Jiangxian was surprised to see this scene while she was in seclusion. She wasn’t shocked by the sword intent but by the ferocity and unwillingness of the sword intent. Wasn’t Lin Yun cultivating with the Iris Sword Saint?

“Focus and don’t interrupt him. He’s at the critical moment of comprehending dao.” The Azure Sky God Lord’s voice resounded, calming Lin Jiangxian down.

Back at the cliff, Lin Yun’s sword aura reached its limit. Even so, the Flower Burial Sword didn’t even budge.

“You’re not allowed to touch the sword before sunset!” The Iris Sword Saint’s voice was like a decree that no one could disobey. A golden light flashed on the Flower Burial Sword, showing the restriction left behind by the Iris Sword Saint.

Lin Yun’s sword aura collapsed, throwing out a mouthful of blood, and his face became pale. There wasn’t the slightest stubbornness in his eyes as he fell into deep thoughts and turned to the Bodhi Tree, “It looks like I can’t do it forcibly.”

The Bodhi Tree was giving off a golden radiance that looked like a peacock opening its tail, and each beam was a lesser dao. There was Speed Dao, Breeze Dao, Piercing Dao, and various other lesser daos that Lin Yun wouldn’t normally see. But when ten thousand lesser daos bloomed, it gave off a dazzling radiance and majestic power that made him feel tiny before it. No matter how radiant his sword ray was, he couldn’t compete with those ten thousand golden rays.

There were thousands of fruits on the Bodhi Tree, symbolizing three thousand greater daos. Each fruit looked tempting. It’s as if they contained boundless power, but Lin Yun felt afraid while looking at them. Amongst the three thousand fruits, there were thirty-six that gave off a nine-colored radiance, and those symbolized the Sovereign Daos. Above the tree were nine light spheres, each with a blooming flower.

Looking at this scene, Lin Yun calmed down and said, “Which choice should I make?”

The Bodhi Tree rustled, and the fruits looked tempting. Compared to the Flower Burial Sword that he couldn’t reach, the fruits and flowers looked like they were within reach. This represented two choices: one firm and the other covered in thorns. The former was to maintain a heart of reverence, while the latter meant great difficulty and a high possibility of failure.

This was because daos were graded. Lin Yun suddenly lost his interest, and muttered, “This choice is meaningless.”

The Iris Sword Saint’s words made him lose interest in the two choices. Thus, Lin Yun took out the Qilin Sword Canon beneath the Bodhi Tree and looked at it. The Qilin Sword Immortal left this behind, which contained his experiences from when he wandered around, as well as the sword canon.

Lin Yun didn’t look at the sword canon but focused on his experiences. It recorded his various encounters and his growth. The Qilin Sword Immortal could be considered a genius since he could long become a deity, comprehending the Eternal Dao. But he didn’t want to give up on Sword Dao and even wanted to walk further with it. As a result, he didn’t make a breakthrough to the Deity Realm.

He wouldn’t make a breakthrough if his sword couldn’t rival the eternal, and even if he were to die one day, he would die at Sword Dao. Hence, he walked with it to a point that most people couldn’t reach. People like him weren’t called Sword Emperors or Sword Gods but Sword Immortals. Their mastery of the sword made them stronger than deities, and ordinary deities couldn’t do a thing to them.

Lin Yun looked through it and soon sank into it, forgetting what he must do.

Far away, a cauldron lit up with divine flames, and the Firmament Saint Cloth was in it. The Iris Sword Saint wanted to refine it into a Sovereign Saint Artifact to ensure a Quasi-Saint Sovereign could use it. He frowned, “This is troublesome… It has already been refined once.”

When he refined it, he noticed that the Firmament Saint Cloth was damaged. But it had nothing to do with Lin Yun. He noticed that deities left behind damages, and this meant the Azure Dragon Lord wore this to fight in the past, and it suffered irreparable damages.

The Iris Sword Saint closed his eyes as scenes of the Azure Dragon Lord fighting the deities appeared in his mind. In the end, the Iris Sword Saint opened his eyes, and muttered, “I can’t be compared to you.”

One was the disciple of the Blue Dragon Ancestral Deity, while the other was appointed to take over Dragon’s Gate. They might not be martial brothers, but their relationship was even better than that of martial brothers.

A hundred thousand years ago, one severed the Heavenly Path while the other left the Kunlun Realm. The Azure Dragon Lord must’ve blamed him, but they had no choice since they carried their fate.

“How do you think he will choose?” The Azure Sky God Lord appeared and looked at the Iris Sword Saint with a smile.

The Iris Sword Saint turned around, and smiled, “Azure Sky, you seem to be more concerned about that brat than me.”

“How can I not be concerned when he caused such a huge commotion?” The Azure Sky God Lord complained.

The Iris Sword Saint took a few steps and picked up the still-warm cup on the table. Taking a sip, he said, “That’s for him to decide at sunset, not now.”

“What happens at sunset?” The Azure Sky God Lord asked.

“He will most likely choose Sword Dao. He’s prideful in his bones, and he won’t give up so easily,” the Iris Sword Saint said.

The Azure Sky God Lord showed pity on his face, and sighed, “What a pity. It looks like there will be another Sword Immortal in the world.”

Sword Immortals might seem glorious, but they’re still only pinnacle Emperors, and the best they could do was defeat ordinary deities, not to mention that deities could continue to improve their cultivation. But each Sword Immortal was a peerless genius, and they could soar to the sky if they were willing to make a breakthrough.

But it was a pity that they would no longer be called Sword Immortals if they took that step out. There was only one outcome for Sword Immortals, which was to die when their lifespan ended.

“Don’t be so sure about that. He’s different since his past life was someone that even my master held respect for,” the Iris Sword Saint said.

The Azure Sky God Lord refuted, “The past life is the past life, and they’re different persons now.”

“If you insist on arguing, I can only agree with you,” the Iris Sword Saint was speechless.

The Azure Sky God Lord smiled. But just when he was about to speak, Lin Yun suddenly placed the jade slip down and slowly walked towards the Flower Burial Sword, wanting to pick up his sword.

The Azure Sky God Lord asked, “What is he trying to do? It’s still not sunset yet. Is there not enough of the restriction you left behind?”

When he sneaked a peek at the Iris Sword Saint’s expression, the latter didn’t reply to him but had fallen into deep thoughts.

“Is the restriction still around?” The Azure Sky God Lord asked.

“It’s still around, and he will suffer a backlash if he touches it,” the Iris Sword Saint said.

“The restriction you left behind is no different from a decree of heavenly dao!” The Azure Sky God Lord said with his face changed.

“I left a heavenly dao decree on it,” the Iris Sword Saint said after a brief pondering.

The Azure Sky God Lord widened his eyes with disbelief upon hearing that.

“What the hell? Stop him quickly!” The Azure Sky God Lord was terrified and wanted to stop Lin Yun.

“I have already warned him,” the Iris Sword Saint said, stopping the Azure Sky God Lord.

“Let go! My daughter is still around. What will my daughter do if he dies? You’re throwing me into a pit of fire!” The Azure Sky God Lord was anxious as he charged in Lin Yun’s direction.

The Iris Sword Saint frowned but decided not to follow the Azure Sky God Lord.