Time flew, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.
That day, Lin Xuan emerged from seclusion, his eyes shining with vigor.
Two months earlier, he had taken the Great Dao Golden Pill and the Formation Dao Profound Pill. He had now comprehended twenty Great Daos!
Only the final two remained: the Great Dao of Thunder Sword and the Great Dao of Wind Sword.
Once he comprehended them, Lin Xuan would begin his push toward the King Realm!
And having comprehended twenty Great Daos, even without breaking through to the King Realm, Lin Xuan's strength... was already exceedingly terrifying.
"What level is my strength at now?"
Lin Xuan shook his head slightly. He did not know, nor could he easily estimate it.
One thing was certain, however. As for the Peak Master of Tianyuan Peak who had come to invite him some time ago, Lin Xuan felt he could cut them down with a single sword strike.
Of course, that was only what Lin Xuan himself thought. After all, he had never fought a true King Realm expert, so he did not know exactly what level his current strength had reached.
In excellent spirits, Lin Xuan swept his Divine Sense across the peak.
Over the past two months, both Su Lianxin and Wang Yan had improved considerably.
Wang Yan had broken through from the Fifth Layer of Qi Gathering to the Ninth Layer of Qi Gathering. Su Lianxin's progress was even more terrifying: she had gone straight from the Ninth Layer of Qi Gathering to the Earth Profound Third Layer. She was now only one cultivation level behind Qu Youmeng, who harbored a Heavenly Venerable Realm soul within her.
Just a few months earlier, a full dozen or so cultivation levels had separated them. Now, less than three months later, that gap had all but vanished.
This was not only because Su Lianxin possessed Ice Phoenix True Blood, but also because of the saint-grade cultivation method he had bestowed upon her, the Azure Emperor Scripture!
Had Qu Youmeng also cultivated the Azure Emperor Scripture, her cultivation would certainly have advanced beyond this after nearly half a year. It was just that...
In addition, both disciples had taken the Sword Intent Pills Lin Xuan had bestowed upon them. What surprised him somewhat was that he had expected the more talented Su Lianxin to comprehend sword intent first.
Yet the reality was the exact opposite. Su Lianxin had not comprehended sword intent, only its embryonic form. Instead, Wang Yan, whose talent was far inferior to hers, had comprehended sword intent...
An odd look crossed Lin Xuan's eyes. To think Wang Yan possessed such aptitude for sword cultivation! It was rather unexpected.
Still, despite comprehending sword intent, Wang Yan remained far behind Su Lianxin in strength.
Of course, sword intent had narrowed the gap between them a little.
For the upcoming sect tournament, Lin Xuan had originally placed his hopes only on Su Lianxin, expecting her to take first place for him. Now, it seemed Wang Yan might also have a chance of contending for the top three.
Besides that, having just emerged from seclusion, Lin Xuan had also just received some news: the rewards for this sect tournament had been announced!
The sect was truly sparing no expense.
Whoever took first place in the sect tournament would receive a Mysterious Dragon Pill bearing one pill pattern! The Mysterious Dragon Pill was a sixth-grade pill!
Even to the Azure Yang Sword Sect, this pill was exceedingly precious. Who would have thought they would offer it as a reward for the sect tournament!
In addition, the first-place winner would receive one opportunity to enter the Azure Sun Secret Realm, and everything they obtained there would belong to them!
Created by the founding patriarch of the Azure Yang Sword Sect, the Azure Sun Secret Realm held numerous fortuitous opportunities and treasures. It had never been opened to disciples. Only the sect master and supreme elders were qualified to enter; even the holy son and holy daughter were not.
Compared to that sixth-grade Mysterious Dragon Pill, the opportunity to enter the Azure Sun Secret Realm was the true main attraction!
The news shook the entire sect!
Never mind anyone else-even Lu Tianxing and Li Fufeng, the holy son and holy daughter, had a burning red gleam in their eyes upon hearing the news. They were determined to claim first place in this sect tournament!
In a corner of Starfall Peak, Qu Youmeng, who was in seclusion, also learned of the news.
Before she could react, the Heavenly Venerable Realm soul within her had already grown excited!
Her voice was utterly solemn!
"My disciple, you must take first place!"
The very reason she had sent Qu Youmeng to the Azure Yang Sword Sect to lie low on Starfall Peak was this Azure Sun Secret Realm!
Qu Youmeng's beautiful eyes stirred slightly. "Rest assured, Master. Whether it's Li Fufeng or Lu Tianxing, neither is my match."
"No one can take first place from me."
Qu Youmeng spoke softly, but her voice carried absolute confidence.
From beginning to end, she had never truly regarded those so-called prodigies of the Azure Yang Sword Sect-whether Holy Son Lu Tianxing or Holy Daughter Li Fufeng-as worthy of notice.
Not only in the Azure Yang Sword Sect, but even throughout the Tangqing Empire, no one was worthy of her regard.
Only the prodigies on the Profound Domain Hidden Dragon Rankings beyond the Tangqing Empire were worthy of being her opponents. As for this tiny Azure Yang Sword Sect...
As long as she wished, she could claim the position of strongest among the Azure Yang Sword Sect's younger generation with a casual reach of her hand.
As the sect tournament drew ever closer, the atmosphere within the sect grew somewhat different from usual.
Disciples of the various peaks rarely ventured outside. All were working hard for the upcoming sect tournament.
Every bit stronger they became might let them advance one more place in the sect tournament and receive more rewards.
Yet, with less than a month remaining before the sect tournament, an unexpected piece of news instantly set the Tangqing Empire, and even several surrounding nations, ablaze.
Unusual activity had appeared in the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm! It was about to open!
This news instantly displaced the upcoming sect tournament as the focus of discussion among the sect's members.
The Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm was where a mighty expert from several thousand years ago, Earth Venerable Heaven-Burning, had fallen. It contained countless fortuitous opportunities and rare treasures, and even Earth Venerable Heaven-Burning's inheritance!
The Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm lay within the Moon-Reflecting Mountain Range outside the Tangqing Empire. Since the Moon-Reflecting Mountain Range spanned seven great empires, this region was also known as the Seven Moon-Reflecting Kingdoms.
The Tangqing Empire was one of those Seven Moon-Reflecting Kingdoms.
There were three Venerable realms: Venerable, Earth Venerable, and Heavenly Venerable.
Only a handful of beings at the Earth Venerable level existed throughout the entire Profound Domain.
For instance, the palace master of the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace, one of the Profound Domain's ten great powers, ranked among the domain's ten strongest experts. Yet even she was merely at Venerable Realm Perfection, not an Earth Venerable.
From this alone, one could see how enticing the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm was to the surrounding nations.
When the time came, never mind the Seven Moon-Reflecting Kingdoms-even powers beyond them would likely come upon hearing the news.
Legends about the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm were too numerous to count. Take the Dawn Empire, foremost among the Seven Moon-Reflecting Kingdoms. Because its sovereign, the Dawn Emperor, had obtained a small portion of an Earth Venerable's inheritance in the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm, it had taken him only a few decades to raise the Dawn Empire from the bottom of the Seven Moon-Reflecting Kingdoms to the very top in a single leap.
That Dawn Emperor was even hailed as the strongest person in the Seven Moon-Reflecting Kingdoms today!
And examples like this were far from rare.
That was precisely why people were so fanatical about the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm. Every time it opened, it drew countless people.
However, the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm did not open at fixed intervals. It might take ten years, or even twenty, but almost always more than ten.
This time, however, was different.
Only seven years had passed since the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm last opened!
The interval had been just seven years!
For many disciples of the Azure Yang Sword Sect, in a certain sense, the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm mattered far more than the sect tournament.
This was especially true for some of the Azure Yang Sword Sect's ordinary disciples.
The rewards for this sect tournament were indeed extremely generous, but most were reserved for the top ten, or for first place. As ordinary disciples, they had virtually no hope of contending for the top ten.
In contrast, even ordinary disciples like them might find a heaven-shaking fortuitous opportunity in the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm.
As soon as the Azure Yang Sword Sect received the news, it gathered the sect's elders and disciples to head there.
Lin Xuan also learned of the news after emerging from seclusion. By then, however, almost all of the thirty-six peaks had already left. Only a few had yet to depart.
These peaks were in much the same situation as Lin Xuan. Either their Peak Masters were in seclusion, or other matters had delayed them, preventing them from leaving with the sect's main contingent.
Though he was a few days late, Lin Xuan could do nothing about it. He had reached a crucial juncture in comprehending the Great Dao of Wind Sword.
Had he emerged from seclusion midway, all his previous efforts might well have come to nothing.
Now, however, he had successfully comprehended the Great Dao of Wind Sword!
Only the final Great Dao, the Great Dao of Thunder Sword, remained before he could begin his push toward the King Realm.
After Lin Xuan emerged from seclusion, a female elder who had been waiting on Starfall Peak for a long time came to see him, her expression filled with displeasure.
She had already waited several days on Starfall Peak and was growing impatient.
She had just been planning to leave if Lin Xuan did not emerge today, then return and report to her Peak Master that there was no need to wait for Starfall Peak any longer.