“Honestly, I’m not very confident, but I just want to try again,” Lin Yun said with a smile, spreading his hands.
“Very well, go ahead,” the black mist figure said, waving a hand.
Hearing this, Lin Yun headed straight for the location of the ultimate trial.
Having been there once before, he knew the way well.
Outside the stone gate.
“I hope I can make it through,” Lin Yun said, taking a deep breath, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Though he had told Old Black he wasn’t confident, deep down, Lin Yun held some hope.
With that, Lin Yun stepped through the stone gate.
Inside, the narrow passage came into view once more.
From where he stood, he could clearly see the endpoint and the token placed there.
Though it seemed close enough to see, the array in between made it feel impossibly far.
“Let’s begin.”
Lin Yun drew his treasured sword and charged into the passage.
This was his second attempt in five hundred years.
Boom!
The array activated instantly, and dark shadows emerged ahead.
“Open!”
Lin Yun’s internal energy surged, transformed into dragon qi by the powerful Dragon Art, as if dragon roars echoed within him.
His formidable divine sense erupted as well.
Over the past five hundred years, including time spent in the One Thought Clarity Tower, Lin Yun had cultivated for over a thousand years.
Though his realm remained at Triple Dominator, his divine sense had reached the peak of the ninth tier of the Heavenly Dao.
Cultivating divine sense became exponentially harder at higher levels, and Lin Yun’s achievement was terrifyingly impressive.
This significantly boosted his strength.
The next moment, Lin Yun gripped his sword and charged forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As he advanced, the dark shadows appeared instantly, blocking his path.
A fierce battle erupted.
As soon as it began, Lin Yun unleashed the Heaven-Slaying Seal to its limit, a technique he had perfected.
He also fully deployed the Dragon Art, Dragon Claw, Dragon Bone, and other techniques without holding back.
Under such powerful attacks, Lin Yun pressed forward, quickly surpassing his previous attempt.
But as he advanced, the pressure of the battle grew.
When he reached the final third of the distance, he found himself stuck, unable to move forward.
“Let’s see my new technique!”
“Lingyun Sword Art, Yin-Yang Slash!”
Lin Yun’s sword sliced through the void, unleashing astonishing power.
Over the past five hundred years, Lin Yun had meticulously planned his cultivation, balancing realm comprehension with other skills, including his swordsmanship.
He had long created the second form of the Lingyun Sword Art.
With this burst of power, Lin Yun broke the stalemate and surged forward.
But as he continued, the dark shadows kept increasing, overwhelming him.
At this point, Lin Yun had crossed three-quarters of the distance, with only a quarter remaining.
“Damn it!”
“Too many!”
At the final quarter, Lin Yun found himself stuck again, unable to advance.
The sheer number of shadows was overwhelming. Even when his attacks pushed them back, they kept coming, trapping him.
The difficulty clearly increased the further he went.
“Get out of my way!”
Lin Yun gritted his teeth, attacking furiously as if fueled by adrenaline.
Only a quarter of the distance remained; the endpoint was so close!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Terrifying shockwaves rippled through the passage.
Despite this, Lin Yun’s progress was minimal.
He was truly stuck.
After battling for half an hour, Lin Yun admitted defeat.
“No good.”
He had no choice but to retreat.
For that half hour, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t advance further.
He had to face reality: retreat was his only option; persisting was futile.
The final quarter felt like an insurmountable chasm.
After exiting the passage, Lin Yun wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed deeply.
“Too difficult.”
This time, he had progressed much further than before.
His improvement was clear.
But the closer he got to the end, the more terrifyingly the difficulty spiked.
In his previous attempt, he had only reached halfway. Based on that experience, he hadn’t expected the difficulty to increase so drastically.
The final quarter’s challenge exceeded his initial expectations.
“Could it be that only by reaching the Saint realm can one pass this final trial?” Lin Yun murmured.
After this experience, he felt that even if he could unleash more strength or techniques, the difficulty would continue to escalate.
Though he had gone much further this time, only success or failure mattered here. How far he got was irrelevant.
Lin Yun considered himself extremely powerful. In the Triple Dominator realm, with his dragon techniques mastered, a formidable physique, divine sense, and swordsmanship, he was exceptional in every aspect, yet he still couldn’t pass.
He couldn’t help but suspect that without reaching the Saint realm, passing was impossible.
But the Saint realm was no easy feat.
Over the past five hundred years, Lin Yun had continuously contemplated his realm.
These years of reflection made him realise just how difficult it was to reach the Saint realm.
“With my realm stuck at Triple Dominator, my strength can’t improve significantly anymore,” Lin Yun sighed.
Having mastered many aspects to their limits, without a breakthrough in realm, significant strength gains were nearly impossible.
This was a harsh reality Lin Yun had to face.
He then left the passage and returned to the divine mansion’s main hall.
“Lin Yun, how did it go?” the black mist figure asked eagerly upon seeing him.
“No good. I crossed three-quarters of the distance, but the final quarter was impossible,” Lin Yun said, shaking his head helplessly.
“You reached three-quarters with Triple Dominator strength? That’s impressive!” the black mist figure exclaimed. “That’s already incredible!”
“But the final quarter is too hard. If you can’t reach the end, it doesn’t matter how far you get,” Lin Yun said, shrugging helplessly.
