The Sovereign's Ascension

Chapter 2384 - Heaven’s Gate Star, Heavenly Saint Courtyard

Through the baptism of the battle in the Heavenly Barren Realm, Lin Yun now possessed the fangs and temperament of a Saint instead of a young swordsman’s tenderness, not to mention that he was a Sword Saint. His temperament underwent a drastic transformation, looking even more extraordinary than when he was in the Kunlun Realm.

That was the same for Ji Zixi as well. Through this experience, she also got rid of her tenderness, becoming more mature and beautiful. Life and death battles were the easiest way to let someone grow.

“We’re finally here,” Lin Yun said.

The Heaven’s Gate Star was more majestic than he had imagined. It was bigger than any sect he had seen in the Kunlun Realm. Even a simple pillar had a history of ten thousand years and was engraved with saint runes. Even a Saint couldn’t do anything to them.

Looking around, they could see Saints, and those with lower cultivations were generally servants.

This surprised Lin Yun. But thinking that there was an Ancestral Stage expert residing here, he wasn’t that surprised anymore. Even among the three thousand realms, there probably weren’t many places comparable to the Heaven’s Gate since this was the Heaven’s Gate Star.

“I’ll have to meet the sect master after arranging a residence for you guys. As for the Heavenly Barren Banquet, you guys will have to rely on yourselves to go,” Profound Sky Venerable said.

“You’re not going to bring us over?” Ji Zixi was surprised.

“I’m an Emperor, one of the thirty-six Venerables of Heaven’s Gate. So, how can I possibly accompany you guys? Furthermore...” Profound Sky Venerable smiled, and looked at Lin Yun, “This brat killed the Dao Sect’s Qin Yun, Shadow Divine Palace’s Heavenly Book, and Heavenly Sword Pavilion’s Jiang Ziyao. Not to mention that he crippled a batch of geniuses from the Divine Clans. Someone will have to clean up his mess.”

Lin Yun awkwardly smiled, “You can’t blame me for that.”

“That’s for sure,” Profound Sky Venerable said. He then continued, “The ninth testing ground only filled five quotas, and the uproar this has caused is bigger than you think. So I have to explain this to the sect master.”

Lin Yun said nothing since his goal was the Heavenly Barren Banquet, and aside from the testing ground they were in, there were eight other testing grounds. Aside from that were the geniuses from Heaven’s Gate. The Heavenly Barren Banquet wasn’t just a banquet for the ancestral deity to pick his disciples, it's also a test for the divine disciples from Heaven’s Gate. So, all the geniuses from Heaven’s Gate would also be there.

“Why are there so many people?” Lin Yun asked.

“Heaven’s Gate spans hundreds of realms, and Deities can send a person to participate. Aside from that, some big shots with a good relationship with the ancestral deity would also send their juniors to join the fun. As for the Heavenly Barren Realm, the ancestral deity would be fonder of you guys if you put aside everyone’s background,” Profound Sky Venerable explained.

Lin Yun finally understood what was happening, and even the ancestral deity couldn’t avoid worldly affairs, but it’s still relatively fair. The scale of a banquet held by an ancestral deity was unimaginable to others from the Kunlun Realm.

Profound Sky Venerable looked at Lin Yun, and said, “The top ten on the Heavenly Barren Banquet can become the ancestral deity’s disciple. As for the top three, they can make one small request to the ancestral deity. What will you ask for?”

“I want to return to the Kunlun Realm,” Lin Yun said.

The Profound Sky Venerable’s face sank, before he said, “You’re messing around. This is no different from slapping the ancestral deity’s face. He would take a fancy to you, which is why he would allow you to ask a request from him, and yet you want to leave... I have never seen anyone who dares to speak in such a manner with the ancestral deity before.”

“I have to return to the Kunlun Realm, no matter what, for my master’s tribulation,” Lin Yun said, taking a deep breath.

Profound Sky Venerable shook his head and said nothing else. He roughly knew Lin Yun’s temperament, but the meaning wouldn’t be significant even if Lin Yun returned.

“Venerable, you don’t have to bother about it. He’s just joking,” Lin Jiangxian smiled.

“I’m not joking. If you stay in Heaven’s Gate, you can become an Emperor within fifty years!” Profound Sky Venerable didn’t conceal his liking for Lin Yun, and continued, “If I was your master, I would persuade you to stay at Heaven’s Gate.”

Lin Yun said nothing upon hearing that.

An hour later, they arrived at Heaven’s Gate, and Profound Sky Venerable gave them a medal each. He said, “This medal signifies your identity, and you can use it to register to participate in the Heavenly Barren Banquet. If you’re not going to register, you can rely on this medal to freely enter and observe the banquet.”

Xiong Tiannan and Ao Jue heaved a sigh in relief upon hearing that. They obtained their quotas because of Lin Yun, so it would be too embarrassing if they relied on their strength to participate in the banquet. After all, the scale of the Heavenly Barren Banquet was too grand.

After Profound Sky Venerable left, the two opened their mouths and stated that they wouldn’t be participating in the banquet.

Lin Yun was surprised, and asked, “You two aren’t going to go? Even if you guys can’t defeat anyone, participating in such a banquet can quickly increase your strengths.”

Ao Jue and Xiong Tiannan exchanged a look before they smiled bitterly. Lin Jiangxian explained, “That’s normal. If I wasn’t close to grasping the Five Elements Dao, I wouldn’t participate in the banquet, either. Their strength is decent, but they’re still lacking, and they won’t be able to obtain much from a fight in the banquet.”

She continued with her explanation, “The Heavenly Barren Realm is divided into nine regions, and this means that there are nine testing grounds. The ninth testing ground is mainly for those under the age of fifty. They’re primarily around their thirties, and they didn’t grasp an Eternal Dao. This was the ancestral deity’s protection to us as the test is restricted to below a hundred years old. After all, there are bound to be Saint Sovereigns, those who have grasped an Eternal Dao, or those grasping a Sovereign Constellation for those who have reached a hundred. Those who are qualified to perform at the banquet don’t have any weaknesses. They either grasped a Sovereign Constellation, an Eternal Dao, or are prodigies like you.”

As Lin Jiangxian spoke, she looked at Ji Zixi and said, “Or someone like Zixi, a Heavenly Phoenix Maiden.”

Lin Yun understood Lin Jiangxian’s meaning upon hearing that. This meant you either didn’t have any weaknesses or had a forté that surpassed others. He was the latter, since his talent in the sword far outperformed his peers.

Then again, Lin Jiangxian didn’t know that he still had two trump cards, the Nirvana Dao and Sovereign Constellation. Now, he had to add the Divine Dragon Sovereign Physique as well.

Upon entering the city, Lin Yun, Ji Zixi, and Lin Jiangxian went to register while Xiong Tiannan and Ao Jue went to look for an inn. When they entered the Heavenly Saint Courtyard, they could see many people heading in a particular direction, and someone was registering for something.

They were here to participate in the Heavenly Barren Banquet, and it was soon their turn. The three took out the medal given to them by Profound Sky Venerable and handed it over.

The old man responsible for registering participants held onto the medals as the three's information was recorded. The old man was surprised, and looked at Lin Yun, “You’re Lin Yun? Kunlun Realm’s Lin Yun?’

“That’s me,” Lin Yun replied.

“You’re only a seventh-stage Saint Lord?” The old man said after examining Lin Yun for a while. He might have heard of Lin Yun’s name, but he didn’t expect Lin Yun to be so young and was only a seventh-stage Saint Lord.

“Is there a restriction to the cultivation for the Heavenly Barren Banquet?” Lin Yun asked.

“There’s only an age limit.” The old man said, before he called a blue-dressed woman over. He continued, “They’re from the Heavenly Barren Realm, and their identities have been verified. They’re qualified to partake in the banquet. Show them around.”

The blue-dressed woman took a few more glances at Lin Yun and was dazed. There were many geniuses in the Heavenly Barren Realm, and they were all handsome or beautiful. But she had never seen someone as handsome as Lin Yun, which was rare. When she came to her senses, she smiled, “My name is Xi Yuan, a disciple of the Heavenly Saint Courtyard.”

But the moment she said that, she sensed hostility from the gorgeous lady beside Lin Yun. This made Xi Yuan inwardly laugh. Lin Yun might be handsome, but she was a disciple of the Heavenly Saint Courtyard. So, how could she possibly be charmed by someone’s appearance?

The Heavenly Saint Courtyard was similar to the Nether Orchid Courtyard in the Heavenly Dao Sect, but they were much stronger. There was also no restriction to the gender of their disciples, as well.

This courtyard had a deity, and the disciples here were peerless geniuses. This young man might be from the Heavenly Barren Realm and was talented, but he only came from the ninth testing ground. He definitely couldn’t be compared to geniuses from the other testing grounds, such as the Heavenly Scale Divine Son, who caused a commotion earlier.

So, the hostility from the lady beside Lin Yun was unnecessary since she didn't like Lin Yun. But she didn’t forget her task, and smiled, “Come with me. The Heavenly Saint Courtyard is one of the thirty-six courtyards in Heaven’s Gate, and the banquet will be held here each time. The banquet will last for seven days. So let me bring you guys around the Heavenly Saint Courtyard for now.”

Lin Yun nodded as many people arrived, and he took this opportunity to look around to see if there were any potential opponents.

Although Xi Yuan wouldn’t take a liking to Lin Yun, she would respond with a smile whenever Lin Yun had a question. After all, no one would refuse a handsome man, especially one like Lin Yun.

“That means that after this banquet, the Heavenly Barren Ancestral Deity would inject the power of heavenly dao into the top ten to increase their fortune?” Lin Yun asked.

“That’s right. Strictly speaking, it’s not the power of heavenly dao, but the ancestral deity’s fortune,” Xi Yuan said pridefully.

Lin Yun was dumbfounded, and he couldn’t imagine how terrifying the fortune of an ancestral deity would be. It was already heaven-defying if someone could become a Deity, and those who became an Ancestral Deity would probably be equivalent to heavenly dao.

Lin Yun suddenly stopped as he looked at a pavilion by the lakeside. A woman was playing the zither in the pavilion with many people looking at her. They were all young geniuses, and Lin Yun rejoiced when he saw this person.

When Ji Zixi followed Lin Yun’s gaze to the pavilion, she squinted and was also shocked because this was an unexpected person.

Seeing the changes on Lin Yun and Ji Zixi’s faces, Lin Jiangxian also looked over curiously.