“Finally! I combined the four seals!” 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 the leopard without drawing his sword. Of course, the battle was dangerous and Lin Yun was tempted to take out his cosmic artifact to deal with the leopard.

However, cultivation wasn’t based purely on being able to kill. It was to challenge your limits and excavate your potential. Although it might be dangerous, he would be facing powerful opponents in the Dragon Gate Competition, so he had gotten rid of all paths of retreat. After all, time wasn’t on his side.

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

Lin Yun only got back on his feet a long time later. His injuries were also healed to the point that he was only left with faint marks all thanks to 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 energy contained in the beast cores was shocking. They were like two blazing hearts that emitted brimming vitality. It almost felt like he was holding onto two volcanoes 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 reached the fifth stage. At that point, he would be able to 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. However, 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 shined on his body, runes of an ancient dracophant were revealed as they covered his entire body. 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. Additionally, his injuries had finally recovered.

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

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

“It’s 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 technique or his 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 his flaw.

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

It wasn’t wise 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 had 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 forward with a firm gaze.

Back in the Sword Firmament Pavilion, an elder sighed helplessly as he looked at Bai Lixuan with 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 in himself despite having the Saint Physique, so he only used 50% of his strength.

In the end, the elder ended up looking miserable 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 every 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 can even kill cultivators in the Violet Palace Realm,” said Bai Lixuan as he sheathed his sword.

The elder stroked his beard and smiled, “Those are just wandering cultivators. How can they possibly kill elders so easily? You managed to win against me by half a move, so 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?” asked Bai Lixuan.

“According to my knowledge, not yet,” he replied.

Not yet?

 Bai Lixuan didn’t understand why Lin Yun was still 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 would get serious with. However, 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 against 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 bustled with energy. 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 took place once every three years and the commotion generated this year far surpassed the previous competitions. However, Lin Yun was still nowhere to be seen. When the news got out, there were rumors circulating that Lin Yun was afraid of showing up at the Dragon Gate Competition. There were even rumors that Lin Yun had fled the empire because he had offended Qin Yu.

The competition was starting soon, but 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 for the Dragon Gate Competition.”

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

There were three bets concerning the Dragon Gate Competition. First, 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, who 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 competed for since Drifting Goblet left. For this bet, Bai Lixuan had the highest vote. This naturally made Qin Yu and Bai Lixuan extremely popular in this year’s Dragon Gate Competition.

Lastly, the bet that attracted the most interest was whether or not 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 made Lin Yun’s name known by everyone.

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