Xiao Feng’s face changed drastically. He never expected that this person would be so bold and that his punch would be so powerful. Xiao Feng responded by snorting and circulating the origin energy within his body. Then, he threw out a punch.

When the two punches collided, a thunderous boom reverberated in the forest. Even the leaves that were falling down were reduced to ashes.

Xiao Feng’s face twitched from the pain, but he still gnashed his teeth and threw out another punch. This punch, which contained his origin energy, was radiating brilliance. His fist was like bright flames, burning incessantly. He was using a famous transcendent profound martial technique in the Sword Firmament Pavilion, the Firecloud Fist.

It might only seem like a simple punch, but it was fused with Xiao Feng’s violent origin energy. There was a reason why Xiao Feng was ranked twenty-ninth. Aside from his deep and profound sword technique, Xiao Feng also relied on the Firecloud Fist that was in greater mastery.

“Zhong Yunxiao, watch out!” Lin Qiushan and the others had a huge change to their faces when they saw this scene. It was rare for a fist technique to reach greater mastery, not to mention that this was a transcendent profound martial technique, the Firecloud Fist!

Lin Qiushan, Gu Beixuan, and Chen Ling had suffered from this martial technique in the past. So they couldn't help feeling worried when they saw Xiao Feng bring out this trump card.

Everyone exclaimed when they saw Xiao Feng’s punch shattering Lin Yun into pieces. But when they blinked their eyes, they realized that Xiao Feng only destroyed an afterimage.

“How naive! There’s no way to dodge the Firecloud Fist,” laughed Xiao Feng. He roared and redirected his punch in Lin Yun’s direction. In that split second, the momentum created by the Firecloud Fist caused the surrounding temperature to increase. 

This was how terrifying the Firecloud Fist was. Even when it was dodged, the momentum would continue to increase like a blazing fire. When it reached the pinnacle, this fist could reach heights that even elites in the sixth stage of the Profound Martial Realm wouldn’t dare to take it head-on.

There were no changes to Lin Yun’s face under the mask. It was rather troublesome for him to deal with this attack without using the Dragon-Tiger Fist. But his identity would be revealed if he exposed the Dragon-Tiger Fist.

In the end, Lin Yun decided to treat this as an opportunity for him to train the Dracophant Battle Physique. It would only be somewhat troublesome in the end.

He then combined the Dracophant Battle Physique and Seven Profound Steps together to fight with Chen Ling. He was like a viper, waiting for Xiao Feng to reveal his weakness.

“Senior Brother Xiao, kill him!”

“A mere nobody in the fourth stage dares to display his skills before Senior Brother Xiao? This idiot is simply courting death.”

“Let’s see how long you can last!”

Xiao Feng became even more berserk, causing the Fire Alliance’s disciples to start cheering with excitement. Lin Qiushan and the others frowned when they saw that the situation wasn’t going well. They wanted to help, but they could see Wei Songhan looking at them with a sneer. It was as if he was waiting for them to attack.

“Why is this fellow trying to show off for nothing…” Lin Yan looked at Lin Yun with a complicated gaze.

“This is the end!” Xiao Feng clenched his fist together just as he was shrouded in flames. The flames even produced a crackling sound from the surrounding. The fist displayed a terrifying momentum even before it reached Lin Yun.

Lin Yun’s eyes flickered beneath the mask. He knew that this was his opportunity. He executed the Seven Profound Steps — Seven Punches in One Step. The Golden Crow Seal flickered behind him and Lin Yun suddenly took a step forward. He created seven afterimages in that split second and each one of them threw a punch.

Every single punch contained one cauldron’s worth of strength that was accompanied by seven instances of saintly music. It sounded like a war song and arrived before Xiao Feng could even throw his punch out.

In the next second, the invincible Xiao Feng was blown away. The Firecloud Fist didn’t even have an opportunity to unleash its brilliance, so he suffered a backlash. Although Xiao Feng tried to endure it, he still couldn’t help throwing up a mouthful of blood.

This caught everyone by surprise. No one had expected that the tables would turn so quickly.

“What fast speed!”

“That’s the Seven Profound Steps!”

“The Firecloud Fist actually lost before it could even discharge. How did this Zhong Yunxiao do it?”

Lin Qiushan and the others had a shock in their eyes. Only a few people had cultivated the Seven Profound Steps and those who could reach lesser mastery were few in number. So they had never seen people reaching Lin Yun’s level of mastery. Aside from the movement technique, the power behind Lin Yun’s punch also shocked them.

Was he really in the fourth stage of the Profound Martial Realm with that strength? The Fire Alliance’s disciples who were yelling out to Xiao Feng to kill Lin Yun all had an unsightly expression on their faces. They were all dumbfounded.

“Who are you!” Xiao Feng stepped forward and looked at Lin Yun. He no longer dared to underestimate the latter at this moment. 

There were no rules in the Burial Sword Peak, so everything had to be spoken with strength. The strength that Lin Yun had displayed at this moment was worthy of his respect.

“Zhong Yunxiao.” Xiao Feng and Wei Songhan exchanged a glance. They could see the doubt in each other’s eyes. Not only them, but even the Fire Alliance and Upstream Alliance’s disciples hadn’t heard of this name.

When their gazes turned to Lin Yun again, Xiao Feng asked, “Zhong Yunxiao? I’ve never heard of your name. I believe you must not be a member of the Shatterlegion, Will-o'-Wisp, or the Flamemoon Alliance, right? Why are you interfering in our affairs?”

“I’ve given them my promise, so I will do my best to uphold it. As for my identity, there’s no need for you to worry about it,” replied Lin Yun. He was looking at Xiao Feng indifferently.

What an arrogant brat!

 The Fire Alliance’s disciples were shocked. They were shocked that Xiao Feng didn’t draw his sword after someone was talking so arrogantly to him.

Even those in the top ten wouldn’t be so disrespectful to Xiao Feng. But then, the crowd began to sense that the surrounding atmosphere had become intense. Xiao Feng also had a trace of murderous aura flashing across his eyes.

Lin Qiushan, along with Gu Beixuan and Chen Ling, stepped forward to stand next to Lin Yun. Wei Songhan of the Upstream Alliance also took a step forward to support Xiao Feng. He gently patted Xiao Feng’s shoulder and smiled, “Zhong Yunxiao, your identity naturally has nothing to do with us. But not everything that’s promised can be fulfilled so easily. You should be careful so you don’t lose your life.”

His words contained a blatant threat. Wei Songhan was ranked twenty-eighth on the Mortal Ranking, so he was stronger than Xiao Feng.

Lin Yun sneered beneath the mask, “People die for wealth, while birds die for food. There will naturally be death in the competition for the Imperial Sword Herb. But...it’s uncertain who will be the one to die.”

“Then we’ll wait and see!” yelled Wei Songhan.

Wei Songhan and Xiao Feng were both unhappy because there were many alliance-unions in the surrounding who were watching them. However, they weren’t in a position to act out, so they could only let the alliance-unions observe their stalemate. After all, it would be troublesome if something went wrong before the competition for the Imperial Sword Herb even began.

Seeing that there was no way for them to convince Lin Yun, they decided to leave to seek another location so that their camp could wait for the poisonous mist to dissipate.

“Brother Wei, I want to kill that brat after we obtain the Imperial Sword Herb!” said Xiao Feng. His chest was still aching.

“ Don’t worry about it. I guarantee that we will take his life before heading to the Sword Tomb. A nobody like him actually believes he can be someone of status?” Wei Songhan was also unhappy with Lin Yun.

“Zhong Yunxiao, I’m afraid you’ve offended the two of them now,” said Lin Qiushan as she pulled her gaze away from Wei Songhan and Xiao Feng.

“So be it. I’ll naturally do my best to help out since I’ve already given my promise,” replied Lin Yun. There wasn’t any trace of panic in his tone.

“But they’re ranked in the top thirty. Zhong Yunxiao, aren’t you treating this a little too lightly?” Lin Yan voiced her unhappiness. After all, her elder sister was just showing her concern for Lin Yun.

Top thirty?

 Even Zhang Lie, who was tenth on the Mortal Ranking, was nothing in his eyes, not to mention these two clowns in the top thirty. Lin Yun had no fear unless everyone from the top ten came at him at the same time.

“Cut it out.” Lin Qiushan glared at Lin Yan. She reprimanded her saying, “If it wasn’t for Brother Zhong, do you think Xiao Feng would have let you off? Why are you so forgetful so quickly?”

“Brother Zhong’s strength has opened my eyes. I’m surprised that you can force Xiao Feng to take a step back when you’re only in the fourth stage,” said Gu Beixuan with his hands cupped together.

“I’ve already said that there’s no problem with Brother Zhong’s strength and that him joining us will only make our team stronger,” laughed Chen Ling.

No one doubted Lin Yun’s strength anymore. Lin Yan wanted to apologize, but she felt uneasy when she recalled how Lin Yun slapped her.

The other alliance-unions hidden in the dark were disappointed. They initially thought that they could take advantage of the situation, but someone by the name of Zhong Yunxiao came out of nowhere. They couldn’t help to wonder about Zhong Yunxiao’s identity. Since when were there so many experts in the outer sect?

Suddenly, a brilliant sword ray burst out from the center of the lake and everyone within ten miles could see it clearly. They could see the poisonous mist shrinking swiftly. Seven brilliant rays shot out from the outer forest into the horizon.

“The Imperial Sword Herb is appearing soon!” This scene made all the disciples and elders on the observation platform excited. After all, almost all of them had placed their bets on the person who would take the Imperial Sword Herb first.

Lin Qiushan and the others also had their eyes light up with excitement. They exclaimed, “The poisonous mist has weakened! We’ll be able to go through it in another moment.”

Not only Lin Qiushan, but the other alliance-unions hidden in the forest also became excited. The fight for the Imperial Sword Herb was finally starting.