The Cloud Trigram Sect has only sent out a few people this time and they were rather low profile. But as one of the nine overlord forces in the Ancient Southern Domain, they still attracted a great amount of attention even though they were low-profile.
Everyone was donned in blue clothes with gorgeous cloud patterns engraved on their chest. They also emitted a domineering aura that belonged to the overlord forces. Among them, the one leading the party carried a sword with his hair tied into a bun with a purple hairpin inserted.
“The Cloud Trigram Sect actually sent him…” Mo Ling was surprised. “He’s Xie Yunqiao, ranked fifty-seven from the previous Draconic Banquet.”
This meant that he was ranked seventh in the outer ranking. At the same time, everyone noticed that Ji Wuye and Yan Kong paused their gazes on Xue Yunqiao for a long time. It was without any question that Xie Yunqiao was strong.
Lin Yun merely swept his glance over and was shocked to see another person. Although he quickly hid the shock in his eyes, Zhang Yuan noticed it and smiled, “That’s Bai Lixuan. Like you, he’s also from the Great Qin Empire. I heard he possesses the Saint Physique and several overlord forces nearly fought over him. In the end, he was accepted by an elder from the Cloud Trigram Sect as his inner disciple.”
Bai Lixuan who also had the title White. Lin Yun was disappointed that Jiang Yi was referring to Bai Lixuan. He initially thought it would be Zuo Yun, Drifting Goblet, or Situ Yi. He and Bai Lixuan might be from the same sect, but they didn’t have a good relationship, not to mention that they even had some grudges in the past.
The grudge had already been settled with Bai Lixuan being defeated. He could tell that Bai Lixuan had grown swiftly in the Cloud Trigram Sect and had already reached the greater Yang stage. Furthermore, the aura coming from him was even stronger than Mu Chen. Then again, it wasn’t surprising since Bai Lixuan possesses the Saint Physique.
“If I remember correctly, he once lost to you,” said Zhang Yuan as he looked at Lin Yun.
“You defeated Bai Lixuan?” Mu Chen was shocked as he exclaimed, “Bai Lixuan’s name is even more famous than Cao Zhen.”
Lin Yun remained silent, which served as an acknowledgement. Mu Chen’s shock quickly faded and he smiled,” But that was in the past. The two of you are on two different levels now. I’m afraid he can easily defeat you with a few moves. But if you’re willing to join the Heavenly Sword Sect, then you might be able to catch up to him. Otherwise, you can only look at his silhouette…”
Zhang Yuan gave Lin Yun a smile and the meaning behind it was evident. Mu Chen’s words might be rude, but it was the truth.
“You should’ve noticed that most of the outer rankings are occupied by chief disciples of the quasi-overlord forces. As for the inner ranking, they’re mostly occupied by the overlord forces. Those in the top ten have even come in contact with the Heavenly Soul Realm and they’re also from overlord forces,” said Zhang Yuan. “Only a powerful sect can groom a monstrous genius such as Bai Lixuan. He now has the qualification to compete with those on the Dragoncloud Ranking. You also have the talent, but you don’t have the sect to excavate your talent. If you did, you could catch up to Bai Lixuan.
“The Cloud Trigram Sect probably has the same thoughts as our Heavenly Sword Sect, using this event to groom their younger generations. They must be intending to let Bai Lixuan’s fame spread through this opportunity.”
Lin Yun smiled in response. His sword intent has already reached complete mastery. But since it hadn’t been long, he still needed to temper it. But he was confident that he could compete with those on the Dragoncloud Ranking if he really fought. Furthermore, the Dracophant Battle Physique also reached an unprecedented stage and he could make a breakthrough to the Yang stage any time he wanted.
Furthermore, he also had the Seven Slaughtering Fist, Dustlight Sword Art, Ablaze Phoenix Painting, and Iris Sword Array that would soon reach nine circulations. He had more trump cards than anyone could imagine, but there was no need for him to reveal this. Zhang Yuan might say this with goodwill, but he had still underestimated Lin Yun.
As for Mu Chen, he had practically looked down on Lin Yun to the point of being shocked that Lin Yun had once defeated Bai Lixuan. Even now, Lin Yun was confident in defeating Bai Lixuan. But Lin Yun wasn’t the type who would reveal his trump cards just to get a upperhand in a conversation.
When Zhang Yuan saw Lin Yun’s reaction, he shook his head helplessly. But right at this moment, a group came riding on horses. When Mo Ling saw them, she raised her brow, “Another two from the top ten in the outer ranking!”
Two youths jumped down from their horses. One had a skinny frame and carried an ancient saber on his back, while the other had crimson eyes like a venomous python.
“Pei Yue, the core disciple of the Azure Prefectural City’s overlord force, Azurewood Pavilion. He was ranked fifty-eight in the previous Draconic Banquet. The saber on his back is a powerful cosmic artifact called Nethercloud. The other person is Qin An and he specializes in whips. Four years ago, many people suffered greatly at his hands. He was also ranked fifty-nine.”
Listening to Mo Ling’s explanation, Lin Yun fell into deep thoughts. All those on the top ten were practically in the pinnacle Yang stage and the aura coming from them wasn’t any weaker than a sect’s Yin-Yang stage elder. There was no doubt that these people would definitely shine in the Withernorth Sea.
Zhang Yuan wasn’t wrong to say that the Withernorth Sea was a stage for those geniuses on the Dragoncloud Ranking. Even if the other geniuses on the outer ranking weren’t as eye-catching as them, this didn’t mean that they were weak. Even Leng Haoyu who was ranked towards the bottom dared to provoke the core disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
“Hehe, looks like there are a lot of people here,” smiled Pei Yue as he looked around.
On the contrary, Qin An sneered, “Aside from those old friends on the Dragoncloud Ranking, there isn't anyone here that can catch my attention. There’s a bunch of trash here that are courting death if they think that they can compete with me for the treasures in the empyrean’s tomb.”
“Don’t be so sure about that. It’ll be embarrassing if you get defeated,” replied Pei Yue.
“You think that’s possible?” smiled Qin An.
“Well, no hahaha!” The two began to laugh as they looked down on everyone that wasn’t on the Dragoncloud Ranking. They didn’t even bother lowering their voices when doing this.
But this was how the geniuses on the Dragoncloud Ranking though. If you weren’t on the ranking, you were trash. Only those who were well-mannered would conceal such thoughts.
Mo Ling sneered, “They’re still as arrogant as before, revealing their true nature since they don’t see anyone from the inner ranking. Four years ago, I remembered that those two suffered badly in the hands of Nangong Wanyu.”
“Let’s rest first. It’s best not to provoke them or it’ll be troublesome,” said Tang Yu.
People as arrogant as them liked to torture their opponents more than a bloodthirsty individual. They might not resort to killing, but they had endless means to torturing someone. So no one could say for sure if a bloodthirsty person or an arrogant person was worse.
In the Heavenly Province Academy’s camping ground, Lin Yun sat with his legs crossed in his tent as he cultivated. He was already in the pinnacle Yin stage now and he couldn’t make any progress anymore. However, he could use this time to temper his Iris Sword Sutra.
His aptitude was even weaker than Mu Chen’s, not to mention Bai Lixuan’s aptitude. But his perseverance and hard work wasn't inferior to anyone. He was never pleased with his achievements and would always work hard.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The sandstorm had gotten a lot weaker and it wasn’t as terrifying as before.
Two days later, when the sandstorm weakened even more, the black sandstorm turned yellow. Everyone knew that this was the opportunity to enter the Withernorth Sea. Tang Yu gathered everyone to prepare them.
“I’ll be going first!” Ji Wuye of the Bloodwar Pavilion moved first as he turned into a crimson streak of light and entered the sandstorm. With him taking the lead, everyone began to move like locusts as they dove into the sandstorm.
“Let’s get going as well,” said Zhang Yuan as he flew into the sandstorm with the other disciples from the Heavenly Sword Sect.
“An empyrean’s tomb… I hope it doesn’t disappoint me,” muttered Lin Yun as he looked at the sandstorm with anticipation in his eyes.
“Leng Haoyu, you remember Elder Nethercloud’s instructions, right?” The Heavenly Soul Realm elder from the Bloodwing Pavilion spoke to Leng Haoyu just as he was about to enter the Withernorth Sea.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s just a small matter. He’s nothing compared to the other geniuses entering the Withernorth Sea. I’ll take his life if I come across him. After all, I’m also interested in Nethercloud Ghost’s legacy,” grinned Leng Haoyu.