Boom!
A terrifying collision erupted once more, dazzling light flaring in the sky.
Both sides were forced back, but the Baili Clan elder only retreated a short distance before steadying himself.
“Kid, let me show you the true might of an Eighth-Turn Tribulation Realm cultivator!”
“Qingluan Mysterious Technique!”
After stabilising, the Baili Clan elder swiftly formed hand seals. His inner energy poured out like a torrent, rapidly condensing in the air.
A massive illusory Qingluan took shape.
Chirp!
The Qingluan phantom let out a piercing cry, its wings beating as it descended with unmatched, terrifying momentum, tearing through the sky towards Lin Yun!
“What a powerful move! That’s the famous Qingluan Mysterious Technique of the Baili Clan!”
“The Baili Clan elder’s even brought out this technique. No matter how skilled that Lin Yun is, how can he possibly withstand it?”
The onlookers marvelled at the Qingluan phantom streaking across the sky, their voices filled with awe.
“Fourth Elder, please act! Lin Yun really can’t hold on anymore! Besides, the Baili Clan has always been at odds with our Tianqiong Clan—helping against them is perfectly reasonable!” Yu Ying pleaded desperately with the Fourth Elder.
For Lin Yun, Yu Ying was willing to cast aside her pride, even to beg!
“He didn’t agree to my terms, so I won’t intervene,” the Fourth Elder said, gazing at the battlefield.
In the battlefield.
Under the eyes of the entire crowd, Lin Yun thrust his sword upward, slashing at the Qingluan phantom!
Boom!
The energy within the Qingluan phantom poured out.
In an instant, the heavens trembled. A destructive, frenzied wave of power surged forth with a visible, terrifying force, tearing through the surrounding space!
“Pfft!”
Lin Yun spat blood, struck as if by a heavy blow. The overwhelming energy sent him flying backwards like a kite with a broken string!
In that strike, Lin Yun had layered all his techniques—Heaven-Shaking Hand, Shadow Sword Technique, everything unleashed in full.
Though these methods were impressive, the vast gap in realms rendered them insufficient to bridge the divide.
It was like an Empty Void Realm cultivator facing a Tribulation Realm opponent—no matter how many techniques they mastered, a Tribulation Realm cultivator could crush them with a single, basic palm strike, no fancy moves needed.
When the realm disparity reached a certain point, everything else became meaningless.
Realm was the foundation.
Boom!
Lin Yun, flung backwards, crashed into the pool, sending silver water splashing everywhere.
“Chase him!”
The Baili Clan elder dove into the pool after Lin Yun without hesitation!
“Brother Yun!”
Yu Ying could no longer stand by. She rushed forward and leapt into the pool!
“Miss Ying’er!” The Fourth Elder quickly followed, jumping in to pursue her.
In the pool.
After plunging into the water, Lin Yun spat out several more mouthfuls of blood, his internal injuries severe.
Even with his resilience, he’d reached his limit.
A few more hits like that, and it’d be enough to kill him!
“Damn it! He’s coming after me!”
Lin Yun immediately sensed someone entering the water—it was the Baili Clan elder in pursuit.
“Kid, whether you flee to the heavens or the depths, you’re dead today! If you come to your senses now and hand over the Frost Heart and that Heavenly Dao-grade weapon, you might have a slim chance to live!”
The Baili Clan elder’s furious shout echoed from behind as he rapidly closed in on Lin Yun.
Even after learning Lin Yun’s identity, the elder pressed his attack for two reasons: the Frost Heart and the Heavenly Dao-grade weapon.
Both were irresistibly tempting, worth risking everything for!
“Old dog, you want me to hand them over? Keep dreaming!” Lin Yun turned and roared, his blood-stained teeth bared in a ferocious grimace.
Hand over his treasures? Never!
Lin Yun wasn’t about to let the Emperor’s trial end in failure, and giving up the Heavenly Dao-grade weapon was even less of an option!
“You… you little bastard! Still so arrogant on death’s door? I’ll kill you today!” The Baili Clan elder flew into a rage.
Infuriated by Lin Yun’s words, he pushed his speed to the limit, chasing after him!
“Catch me first!”
Gripping the Frost Heart, Lin Yun endured his injuries and unleashed his full speed.
Humans were naturally slower in water than on land, restricted in many ways.
Even mastering the Mystery of Water could only reduce resistance, not eliminate it.
This was why humans couldn’t thrive in the endless seas—water was inherently unsuited for human survival and movement.
But with the Frost Heart in hand, Lin Yun faced no such limitations. The pool’s extreme cold had no effect on him either.
Thus, he could move at full speed underwater!
Meanwhile, the Baili Clan elder’s speed was significantly reduced in the water, further hampered by the pool’s frigid temperature.
Even at full throttle, the distance between him and Lin Yun only grew wider.
“Old dog, I’ve got the Frost Heart—you’ll never catch me! Get lost while you still can!”
Lin Yun’s taunting voice rang out.
“You little bastard! You damned punk!”
The Baili Clan elder watched Lin Yun’s figure grow more distant, trembling with rage, his eyes blazing with fury.
His strength could clearly kill Lin Yun.
Yet in this pool, he couldn’t catch up, leaving him seething with frustration!
“Little bastard, I’ll wait for you on the shore! I don’t believe you can stay in this pool forever!” the Baili Clan elder bellowed towards Lin Yun.
Soon, Lin Yun’s figure vanished entirely from his sight.
“You can’t escape!”
Leaving those words behind, the elder turned and swam upward.
He planned to return to the surface and wait by the water’s edge.
Elsewhere.
After Yu Ying leapt into the pool, the extreme cold quickly injured her. The Fourth Elder swiftly pulled her back to shore.
Ignoring her own injuries, Yu Ying stared at the pool, tears streaming down her face.
“Brother Yun, you mustn’t come to harm! If anything happens to you, Ying’er swears to wipe out the Baili Clan and then join you in the heavens!” Her tone was resolute.
“Sigh.” The Fourth Elder let out a long breath, unable to fathom why Yu Ying felt so deeply for Lin Yun.
Having lived over a thousand years, he hadn’t seen such genuine affection in a long time.
The cultivation world was full of deceit— even between cultivation partners, it was common for one to kill the other for an opportunity. Such things were all too frequent here.
Just then, the pool erupted with a loud “Boom!” as the Baili Clan elder broke through the surface.
“Elder, how did it go?” The other Baili Clan members rushed forward to ask as he emerged.
“That punk has the Frost Heart—he’s untouchable in this pool. He got away!” the Baili Clan elder spat venomously.
“What? He escaped? What do we do now?” the others asked in unison.
“We’ll wait here for him. I refuse to believe he won’t come out!” the Baili Clan elder said, brimming with killing intent.
