Chapter 425: Three Concerns

“Finally! Four seals combined!” Lin Yun looked at the mutilated corpse of the Demon Runic Leopard with a smile on his pale face. He had finally succeeded in combining the four seals and killed this leopard without drawing his sword. The battle was naturally dangerous, and Lin Yun was also tempted to take out his cosmic artifact to deal with the leopard.

But cultivation wasn’t purely because of killing. It was to challenge your limit and excavate your potential. Although it might be dangerous, he would be facing powerful opponents in the Dragon Gate Competition, and he didn’t have any path of retreat. Time wasn’t on his side.

Lin Yun collapsed onto the ground as he looked at the sky gasping for his breath. He might’ve killed the Demon Runic Leopard, but he was also nearly killed. The four seals were powerful, and combining them together was straining to his body.

Lin Yun only got back on his feet a long time later. His injuries were also healed to the point that there were only left with faint marks under his Dracophant Battle Physique. The injuries would be gone soon enough.

Pouring his origin energy into his palm, a powerful suction force came from his palm as he retrieved the two beast cores. The energies contained in the beast core was shocking, like two blazing hearts. The beast core also emitted brimming vitality that felt like two volcanos on the verge of eruption.

Staring at the two beast cores, Lin Yun’s eyes lit up, and he muttered, “They really come at the right time. I can use the two beast cores to cultivate my Dracophant Battle Physique.”

He had a feeling that it would be less taxing for his physique after the Dracophant Battle Physique reaches the fifth stage, and he could also withstand a hit from Violet Palace Realm cultivators with the Dracophant War Armor. “That’s it then.”

Simultaneously, disciples of the various sects who went into the Extermination Mountain Range had also come out with the Dragon Gate competition approaching. But Lin Yun had forgotten the flow of time while cultivating the Dracophant Battle Physique. So much so that he even forgot about the Dragon Gate Competition.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. When the first glimpse of dawn shone on his body, Lin Yun’s body was covered in the runes of ancient dracophant. He was emitting a violent aura, and the ferocity coming from him was terrifyingly domineering.

Suddenly, Lin Yun opened his eyes and the dracophant image enveloping him had perfectly overlapped with his body. For a time, Lin Yun couldn’t differentiate himself from the dracophant. By now, his injuries had also recovered.

Clenching his fist and throwing out a punch, it felt like an attack from a dracophant. His punch might seem slow, but it destroyed everything in its path along with a saintly music that sang out like an ancient war song. That was the sign of the Dracophant Battle Physique reaching the fifth stage.

“Looks like I don’t have much time left,” muttered Lin Yun with his brows frowned. The Dragon Gate Competition was only ten days away, and most people have already headed towards the capital.

“Still not enough. There’s still a veil blocking me from reaching the Manifestation Stage in the Seven Profound Steps.” Lin Yun still wasn’t able to make a breakthrough in his movement and sword technique.  A powerful sword technique required a powerful movement technique for it to be fully exhibited.

His Aquaselenic Sword had long reached the Manifestation Stage, but he wasn’t able to make a breakthrough in the Seven Profound Steps. If he wasn’t able to make a breakthrough, it would be a flaw in his attack.

Sometimes, he would wonder how powerful the eight titles were. They should be powerful because they didn’t have any flaw, and this was the reason why they stood out among their peers.

It wasn’t optimistic to place all his bets on his trump cards. After all, genuine experts didn’t require any trump cards to suppress their opponents, and Lin Yun has been working towards this direction.

“I need to bring my Seven Profound Steps to the Manifestation Stage. Otherwise, I won’t be able to win if I run into any of the titles.” Lin Yun looked forth with a firm gaze.

Back in the Sword Firmament Pavilion, an elder sighed helplessly as he looked at Bai Lixuan in a complicated gaze, “You won.”

Three days ago when Bai Lixuan returned to the sect, he looked for this elder as his opponent. In the beginning, the elder wasn’t willing to fight because he felt that Bai Lixuan was too overconfident about himself despite having the Saint Physique, and he only used 50% of his strength.

In the end, the elder looked terrible under Bai Lixuan’s sword. The elder was only barely able to win after using his full strength. But Bai Lixuan fought for three days without any rest. Although Bai Lixuan lost all the time, he was gradually lasting longer in the fight. This was why the elder was shocked, he was shocked by the growth of the Saint Physique.

“It’s too forceful for me to win by half a move. I heard that the eight titles could even kill cultivators in the Violet Palace Realm,” said Bai Lixuan as he sheathed his sword.

The elder stroked his beard, and he smiled, “Those are just wandering cultivators. How can they possibly kill elders so easily? You managed to win me by half a move, and even if you can’t fight with them, you won’t be too far behind. There’s no need to be so humble.”

“Elder, has Lin Yun returned?” Bai Lixuan asked.

“According to my knowledge, not yet.”

Not yet? Bai Lixuan didn’t know why Lin Yun was still staying in the Extermination Mountain Range after being able to combine the four seals. However, the doubt in his eyes soon became indifferent because combining the four seals should be Lin Yun’s limit.

Lin Yun could be considered one of the opponents that Bai Lixuan could be serious with. There could only be one genius in the Sword Firmament Pavilion, and he believed that it would be him.

Soon, the news about Bai Lixuan winning an elder by half a move spread out in the Sword Firmament Pavilion. Shortly after, news of Ye Feng killing a Violet Palace Realm wandering cultivator spread out. This made the entire Sword Firmament Pavilion excited for the upcoming Dragon Gate Competition.

As the Dragon Gate Competition slowly got closer, the entire capital gradually got bustling. The disciples of the Primal Origin Sect, Heavenly Profound Sect, Demonic Moon Villa, Heavenly Qin Institute, and Divine Guards were all filled with confidence for the Dragon Gate Competition.

The Dragon Gate Competition takes place once every three years, and the commotion this year far surpassed the few previous competitions. But Lin Yun was still nowhere seen. When the news got out, there were rumors saying that Lin Yun was afraid of showing up in the Dragon Gate Competition. There were even rumors that Lin Yun fled the empire because he had offended Qin Yu.

The competition was starting soon, and Lin Yun was still nowhere seen. So it was unavoidable for there to be rumors about him, not to mention that there was even a bet on him in the Myriad Treasure Pavilion.

Back in the Locket Mountain, Xin Yan couldn’t help being reminded of some sad matters with the Dragon Gate Competition starting soon. She knew that her big brother would be happy if he was still around. As she reached out for a falling leaf, she suddenly smiled, “No matter what, I know that junior brother will show up in the Dragon Gate Competition.”

In the blink of an eye, the Dragon Gate Competition was only left for three days. Many cultivators came from various counties to the capital because they weren’t willing to miss out on this event. The bet from the Myriad Treasure Pavilion aroused people’s excitement even further. Even the total sum of the bet had reached an astronomical sum.

There were three concerns about the Dragon Gate Competition. Who would become the champion? Among the eight titles, the crown prince Qin Yu had the highest vote. Everyone felt that without Drifting Goblet in the Dragon Gate Competition, Qin Yu had the highest chance of becoming the champion.

Second would be the new titled figures. Although there were eight quotas in the Dragon Gate Competition, no one felt that any of the seven who held the titles previously would fall from the ranking. This meant that there was only a quota to be completed after Drifting Goblet left. On this bet, Bai Lixuan had the highest vote. This naturally made Qin Yu and Bai Lixuan extremely popular in this Dragon Gate Competition.

As for the last that attracted the most interest was whether Lin Yun would show up for this Dragon Gate Competition. The incident of how he drew his sword before the wedding carriage and caused a huge uproar in the empire, and this made Lin Yun’s name known by everyone.

Many people placed a bet on this, and some even bet on their entire fortune for the outcome.