But before Lin Yun could think about it, he was already engulfed by the starlight. The starlight instantly sent tens of thousands of inspirations into Lin Yun’s mind. Each inspiration benefitted Lin Yun greatly.

Lin Yun was able to face the first eight starlights calmly because he didn’t know that there was danger in it. But now that this was his last chance, he was panicking.

What was the xiantian sword intent and what did it mean? Just how should he create his own sword? And would he die if he failed? But he promised Xin Jue that he would walk to the end!

“Haha, it’s impossible for you to become the champion, sword slave. You’ll be lucky if you can survive Trueorigin, but you actually think you can compete with me?”

“Brat, guess what I will request from the envoy when I become the champion?”

“No one can snatch my woman away from me. I will humiliate you back a hundredfold when I take back what’s mine!”

“Your Senior Sister Xin Yan’s fate is to become my cauldron. I will take everything from you!”

Damn it, get out of my head!

 Countless thoughts appeared in Lin Yun’s mind, which filled him with despair. Qin Yu’s voice appeared in his mind for some reason, looking down at him with mockery and killing intent.

“Haha, I’m right here. Sword slave, what can you do to me? Can you kill me?”

“You can’t kill me. You’re destined to be my stepping stone and I will take everything from you.”

“All you do is bring misfortune. It doesn’t matter if it’s Xin Jue or Xin Yan. Their deaths will be because of you. In the end, you will also die with heavy sins!” Qin Yu’s voice continued to echo in his mind.

In the Sword Burial Woods, Lord Thirteen frowned his brows because he never expected that Lin Yun would have a heart demon. Lin Yun might seem strong, but he probably had fear in his heart underneath that facade. After all, he couldn’t afford to lose the competition since he bore so much on his shoulders.

He made a promise to the man that sacrificed his life that he, Lin Yun, would win. There was so much pressure for him since his enemies were strong. Perhaps he also had other secrets hidden in the depths of his heart, but he could only bear them by himself without being able to tell anyone about it. Lin Yun was just a youth. No matter how strong he was, he was just a youth.

“Brat, you have to face this sooner or later. You have no idea how powerful the xiantian sword intent is and what it means to grasp it before reaching the Violet Palace Realm.” Lord Thirteen stared at the Sword Burial Diagram’s entrance. He was grabbed onto the gourd so hard that he nearly crushed it.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The wait for the final battle of the Dragon Gate Competition had ended. Today, the champion would be determined.

Everyone was looking forward to seeing who was the strongest in the Great Qin Empire. The plaza was already filled with people and all the important guests had arrived.

On the guest seats, the four major sects and the various clans were waiting. Then, Emperor Qin came with Qin Yu and the princess. Looking at the bustling plaza, he smiled, “Yu’er, it’ll be a great honor if you can become the champion with so many people here to witness it. When you become the champion, I’ll announce to everyone that you will be my successor.”

“I will definitely won’t disappoint you, royal father. I will guard the royal family’s honor!” said Qin Yu with excitement. The reason why he was so determined to become the champion was because he had a pact with Emperor Qin to become the heir to the empire if he became the champion.

The princess’ face was veiled and there were no ripples in her eyes as she seemed to be looking for someone.

In the Heavenly Profound Sect’s direction, the leading elder looked at Trueorigin, “Trueorigin, we’re depending on you so we can have a champion once more, just like Drifting Goblet.”

Trueorigin’s eyes flashed with a flicker as he smiled, “Don’t worry about it. Qin Yu might be strong, but I am 50% confident in defeating him. I will definitely not lose the championship.”

“Senior Brother, you have to take revenge for me when you encounter that brat from the Sword Firmament Pavilion,” said Tong Yuan when he recalled how he lost to Lin Yun’s Dragon-Tiger Fist.

“Hmph, if it was before his fight with Heartcliff, I might not have been confident. But now that I know all his trump cards, he has no more secrets. Not only will he lose the competition, but I will take revenge for you,” said Trueorigin as if it was nothing much to him.

Lin Yun’s fight with Heartcliff had changed Trueorigin’s view on Lin Yun. But that was all there was to it. After all, he only had one true opponent in the competition.

In the Demonic Moon Villa’s group, the sect seemed rather relaxed. Although the fight between Situ Yi and Aquaselenic would mean one of them would be eliminated, it also ensured that one of them would make it into the top four.

Situ Yi smiled, “Senior Sister, be careful later on. I won’t go easy on you.”

Aquaselenic nodded her head and smiled, “Perform well. I know that you want to make it into the top four, but I won’t lose easily.”

“Hmmm?” said Situ Yi.

Situ Yi’s sudden exclamation drew Aquaselenic’s attention as she asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Someone’s missing in the Sword Firmament Pavilion,” he responded.

“That brat? Junior Brother, you seem to be quite concerned for him. Maybe he quit because of Trueorigin. I heard that the Heavenly Profound Sect is filled with complaints for him.”

“That’s not it...” Situ Yi shook his head and he continued, “He’s not someone like that. Furthermore, he wouldn’t have come in the first place if he was scared.”

Situ Yi thought of his first meeting with Lin Yun. He remembered how weak Lin Yun was back then, but he still protected Yue Weiwei from Bai Lixuan’s sword. In the end, he would rather jump into the Yin Wind Stream than bow his head.

Situ Yi seemed rather worried about Lin Yun as he patted his fan on his left hand.

Suddenly, Emperor Qin crushed the jade token in his hand and the center stage on the plaza began to tremble. The stage slowly floated into the air, which was a sign that the Dragon Gate Competition was starting soon.

With Qin Yu taking the lead, he flew onto the stage and was followed by Trueorigin. The two were rather familiar with each other so they began to exchange greetings. This was shortly followed by Feng Ye. The stage was a hundred feet off the ground, so others had to fly to get up, but Feng Ye merely stomped his feet to get up the stage.

His horrifying weight instantly caused the stage to tremble lightly. It was something that Qin Yu and Trueorigin felt. After him, Bai Lixuan, Aquaselenic, Situ Yi, and Yue Qing landed on the stage.

But everyone soon sensed that something wasn’t right because Lin Yun wasn’t here. Everyone was here except Lin Yun. This was the final round in the competition, yet Lin Yun was actually missing. Was he unable to make it in time or did he chicken out?

Everyone began to doubt this because it was unbelievable that someone would be late for the final round. The various sects’ elders also began to whisper among themselves. After all, it didn’t seem good for Lin Yun to be absent on such an occasion.

Emperor Qin furrowed his brows unhappily.

Just when Luo Feng was about to go up to explain, he was suddenly interrupted by Emperor Qin, “We’ll wait for fifteen minutes. The competition will start without him if he’s not here by then. What do you guys think?”

“No worries. We can wait for fifteen minutes,” responded Luo Feng.

“Sure, let’s do it then,” said Emperor Qin.

Time gradually passed and the fifteen minutes were almost up. This made Luo Feng extremely anxious as he muttered, “Why isn’t he here…”

Xin Yan and Li Wuyou were also feeling anxious. They were afraid that Lin Yun would lose the qualification to fight in the competition. Even worse, they were worried that something might have happened to Lin Yun.

“Elder, nothing will happen to Lin Yun, right?”

“He’ll be fine. If he’s in the Sword Burial Woods, no one can touch him,” comforted Luo Feng. But for some reason, he had an ill-premonition in his heart. No one could touch him, but it was another story if Lin Yun put himself in danger. In the end, Luo Feng decided to leave it to fate.

“Fifteen minutes is up, we will start the competition. The first match is between Flying Feather and Warbeast!” announced Emperor Qin.

“Congratulations for making it into the top four,” smiled Qin Yu.

“What is there to congratulate me about when I would win the fight even if he was here? I only find it a pity that I can’t teach him a lesson,” said Trueorigin.

Bai Lixuan and Situ Yi were both together, so Situ Yi asked, “Bai Lixuan, you’re also feeling regretful that he’s not here, right?”

“He’ll come,” said Bai Lixuan as he left the stage.

“He’ll come? Maybe not…” smiled Situ Yi as he left.

With that, Qin Yu and Feng Ye were the only ones left on the stage. Even with one person absent, the competition still progressed as usual.