After forming the Golden Crow Seal, Lin Yun’s speed was so quick that only the sound of his figure tearing through the air resistance could be heard. His punch came swiftly, which shot towards Chen Ling’s face like a bolt of lightning.
Chen Ling was terrified by Lin Yun’s sudden attack and rolled backward. As the forty-eighth on the Mortal Ranking, he naturally had some capability and managed to dodge Lin Yun’s punch. Although Lin Yun’s punch landed in the empty air, it still produced a loud explosion that echoed through the air.
“Go together!” Chen Ling roared.
“Here comes my sword!” His four companions attacked immediately towards Lin Yun from different directions.
The sword buzz echoed in the forest as four silhouettes charged at Lin Yun from four different directions. They were disciples of the Sword Firmament Pavilion, after all, so they were naturally talented in their sword techniques.
However, Lin Yun executed the Seven Profound Steps and left behind seven afterimages, with each afterimage throwing out a punch to destroy the incoming attacks. The difference between their origin energy was clear for everyone to see.
The four who were attacking had a drastic change on their faces. The huge impact from their attacks nearly knocked their swords off their hands and they took several steps back. There were four of them, but they were defeated by one single person and they almost lost grip of their sword.
“Damn it!” They exchanged a glance before they charged forth once more.
Lin Yun’s cold eyes behind the mask flashed coldly. The four of their sword techniques were rather decent, and he could test out his Seven Profound Steps on them. Once Lin Yun made his decision, he stopped attacking. On the contrary, he executed the Seven Profound Steps to dodge the incoming attacks.
They were all running around the place, and it didn’t take long for them to be exhausted. They didn’t manage to land a single hit on Lin Yun. Just when the four of them had no idea what to do right now, a bolt of lightning radiated the horizon with torrential sword intent charging over.
The four of them immediately rejoiced when they sensed the sword intent because they knew that Chen Ling finally made his move!
“It’s Senior Brother Chen’s Thundercloud Sword!”
“Damn it! That fellow fooled us for so long, and it’s time for us to let him have a taste of Senior Brother Chen’s Thundercloud Sword!”
“Let’s see how he comes out of this alive!” The four of them were furious because they were being kited around like Lin Yun.
“Thundercloud Chop!” Chen Ling roared. His sword intent manifested into thunderclouds with bolts of lightning that shot towards Lin Yun. That sword was extraordinary. It contained the Thundercloud Sword’s essence by manifesting the sword into lightning.
“Great timing!” Lin Yun laughed and circulated the Iris Sword Sutra. The powerful violet origin energy started coursing through his body. He wanted to see if the Iris Sword Sutra in the pinnacle seventh stage could contend with the ultimate move of those on the same stage as him.
“Is this fellow insane?!” The four were shocked to see that Lin Yun wasn’t dodging.
“Die!” Chen Ling’s heart sank. Since Lin Yun was courting death, then he couldn’t be blamed. But just when the Thundercloud Chop was about to hit, Lin Yun finally moved. He clenched his fist together and threw out a punch with all his origin energy. He only threw out a casual punch without any technique behind it.
When the sword and fist clashed, the Thundercloud Chop instantly crumbled. Chen Ling was also blown out while throwing out blood with a painful expression. He could feel his entire right arm going numb.
“Senior Brother Chen!” The four were shocked by this scene. When they raised their heads to look at Lin Yun, they noticed that this mysterious man in a mask wasn’t injured.
“H-h-how did you break my Thundercloud Chop with a punch!” Chen Ling had fear in his eyes. He then struggled on his feet and wanted to run. But before he took several steps out, Lin Yun appeared before them, and he smiled, “Did I allow you guys to leave?”
“We’re already letting you have the Swordcloud Core. Don’t push it!” Chen Ling roared. “Don’t force me! I’m in the forty-eighth of the Mortal Ranking, and there’s naturally a reason for that. Don’t regret it if you push me off the edge!”
But what responded to him was Lin Yun’s punch, which bolted out like a sword stabbed. Paired with the Seven Profound Steps and Golden Crow Seal, this punch caught Chen Ling’s party by surprise. Chen Ling suddenly took a punch to his chest, breaking his ribs and he slammed onto a tree while throwing out blood.
The other four were trembling when they looked at Lin Yun in fear. Tapping his feet on the ground, Lin Yun appeared before Chen Ling. He didn’t talk and simply reached out his hand.
Chen Ling coughed and struggled before he ultimately handed over his jade plaque. He even tried negotiating, “Leave me with one star.”
“As you wish.” There were nine stars on Chen Ling’s jade plaque, and Lin Yun took eight stars away. With one star left in the jade plaque, Lin Yun tossed it back to Chen Ling.
Lin Yun then turned around and headed towards the Firecloud Leopard now that he had taken the stars. He casually retrieved the beast core shrouded in flames from the corpse. When he took a closer look at the beast core, the core contained sword intent along with two cloud runes. He could also feel a stinging pain in his eyes just by looking at the beast core.
“Interesting… The sword intent can actually condense into natural spiritual runes. No wonder it’s called the Swordcloud Core.” Lin Yun now understood why this beast core was so valuable. It was attractive to every swordsman.
The demonic aura was piercing, to begin with. Now that it also had sword intent, it was attractive to every swordsman. The Burial Sword Peak was truly worthy of being known as one of the four great lands in the Sword Firmament Pavilion.
“It’s actually a second-grade Swordcloud Core!” Someone exclaimed out. Even Chen Ling was furious in his heart and glanced at the person who spoke, which that person immediately shut his mouth.
Chen Ling then looked at Lin Yun carefully, fearing that Lin Yun would destroy their jade plaques on a whim. After all, they had destroyed many people’s jade plaques. The participants would be transported out upon having their jade plaques destroyed.
Although Lin Yun took their Swordcloud Core, everything was possible if they could stay in the Burial Sword Peak. At the very least, it was better than embarrassing themselves. But luckily, Lin Yun didn’t seem to have heard those words and kept the Swordcloud Core.
“May I ask who you are?” Chen Ling mustered his courage to ask when he saw that Lin Yun was leaving. It made no sense to him that someone so powerful like Lin Yun was unheard of in the outer sect.
“Zhong Yunxiao? Who’s that?” Chen Ling exchanged looks with his party. They had never heard of this name before, so this meant that there was only one possibility. There were some people in the sects who weren’t on the Mortal Ranking, and they were known as lunatics who spent most of their time outside. He knew some of those people, and none of them were inferior to those in the top ten on the Mortal Ranking. There was a high possibility that this ‘Zhong Yunxiao’ was such a person, who came back specially for the Alliance-Union Battle.
“Brother Zhong, no… Boss Zhong, can you wait up?” Chen Ling’s eyes lit up and he took a step forth to stand before Lin Yun.
“What’s the matter?” Lin Yun asked. He was alert inwardly and made up his mind to get rid of this Chen Ling if he dared to play any tricks.
“Brother Zhong, you must be out of the sect often. So I bet you don’t know much about Burial Sword Peak. Have I guessed it right?” Chen Ling smiled, trying his best to make up for the arrogant image he gave previously.
However, Lin Yun did not reply to him.
“It seems like I’m correct. Brother Zhong, have you heard of the Imperial Sword Herb then?”
“I have not.”
“It’s a rare treasure that can only be found in the Burial Sword Peak. Demonic beasts can condense their Swordcloud Core upon consuming it, and cultivators can further refine their sword intent. Many people’s sword intent aren’t comprehended through life and death experience, so it’s still somewhat lacking. But it’s different with the Imperial Sword Herb.”
Chen Ling’s eyes blazed. He was naturally filled with thirst for this Imperial Sword Herb that he even forgot his injuries for the time being. Lin Yun glanced at Chen Ling before he looked around. He asked, “I’m afraid that it’s impossible for you guys to take it based on your strength.”
The battle for such a treasure was naturally filled with dangers, and going after it recklessly would only put their lives at risk. Chen Ling’s expression became awkward when he heard Lin Yun’s words before he replied, “That’s indeed the case. So the Shatterlegion Alliance has an agreement with three other alliance-unions to join hands for the Imperial Sword Herb. The one who did the most work will get more of it.”
“So you want me to come along?” Lin Yun asked. He was clearly tempted by the Imperial Sword Herb.
“That’s right. Brother Zhong, you don’t know where the Imperial Sword Herb is, but I do. We can complement each other, but I’ll have to trouble Brother Zhong to disguise yourself as a disciple of the Shatterlegion Alliance.” Chen Ling was filled with expectation as he continued, “I can give you 30% of the Imperial Sword Herb after we’re done!”
Lin Yun revealed a smile behind the mask, and he replied, “Do you know how smart alec dies in the end?”
“I don’t.” Chen Ling started feeling uneasy and wondered if 30% wasn’t enough. After all, Lin Yun wouldn’t know where the Imperial Sword Herb was located without him, and he wouldn’t even be able to obtain 10%.
“Smart alec only sees the fireworks in the sky, and not the dust after the firework settles down. I have a hundred years to force out the location from your mouth. You can search throughout the outer sect and you won’t find another strong ally like me,” said Ling Yun. His words made Chen Ling’s face pale. It appears that he gave Chen Ling a misunderstanding that he could be made use of by leaving him with one star.
“You don’t understand me?” Lin Yun continued, “Then let me tell you. I’m the fireworks in the sky, while you’re the dust on the ground. You can be found everywhere, while I’m unique on my own.”
His words made Chen Ling felt a chill down his spine as he immediately replied, “I-I-I understand. Then you can be the one to distribute the Imperial Sword Herb. And I won’t have any complaints about it.”