“Kid, let me give you a heads-up. I’ll be registering for this Skyfire Trial later too. Though I won’t deal with you now, when the time comes, I’ll make sure to teach you a harsh lesson! Just you wait!” Shu Chi pointed at Lin Yun, his words dripping with menace.
“What’s going on?”
A stern shout rang out.
Guang Tiancheng strode over with purpose.
“Shu Chi, you’ve got some nerve, picking a fight with my Cold Fiend Army?” Guang Tiancheng’s voice boomed, full of authority.
Shu Chi’s face twitched slightly, then he said coldly, “Commander Guang, it’s your lieutenant here who doesn’t know his place!”
“I’m not here to waste words with you. Don’t think you can act high and mighty just because you’ve got some backing. I don’t buy it. Get lost!” Guang Tiancheng barked.
“Hmph.” Shu Chi shot Lin Yun a glare before turning and retreating.
Lin Yun was quite surprised by Guang Tiancheng’s actions.
He had just scolded him, yet now he was stepping in to reprimand Shu Chi on his behalf?
“Thank you, Commander,” Lin Yun said, clasping his fists in gratitude.
Guang Tiancheng looked at Lin Yun, “Don’t get the wrong idea, Lin Yun. Until you’re kicked out of the Cold Fiend Army, you’re still one of us. I’m just upholding the Cold Fiend Army’s dignity, that’s all. You, signing up for the Skyfire Trial with your Dominator realm strength, have already embarrassed us enough. I can’t afford to lose more face.”
After a pause, he added, “Though you’re arrogant, you didn’t back down just now against Shu Chi. That’s worth some praise. I despise cowards the most! If you had cowered, I’d have completely lost respect for you!”
With that, Guang Tiancheng stepped away again.
Lin Yun didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he moved to the side to observe the registration process.
Old Black approached Lin Yun.
“Lieutenant Lin Yun, I’m really sorry. My old grudge with Shu Chi has dragged you into this,” Old Black said, ashamed.
“No matter. I don’t even take him seriously. He’s just a clown. If he’s dead set on opposing me, I guarantee he’ll be the one who suffers,” Lin Yun said calmly.
“By the way, Lieutenant Lin Yun, you signing up for the Skyfire Trial at the Dominator realm seems to have sparked quite a bit of criticism. I still see people talking about it,” Old Black said helplessly.
“Can’t help it. Some people love to gossip. You find them everywhere. I’ll walk my own path and let them talk,” Lin Yun said, unfazed.
At noon, a Tongtian realm cultivator appeared in the square, queuing to register.
The arrival of a Tongtian realm participant instantly sparked heated discussion.
“As expected, a Tongtian realm cultivator is participating,” Lin Yun murmured.
While some Skyfire Trials had no Tongtian realm participants, that was rare. This time, luck wasn’t on their side.
In the afternoon, as the day’s registration was nearing its end, another Tongtian realm cultivator appeared to sign up!
This second Tongtian realm registration sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Two Tongtian realm cultivators in this Skyfire Trial? That was extremely rare!
It also meant this trial’s difficulty would be significantly higher!
After all, only three spots were available for the final Skyfire Tempering reward.
With two Tongtian realm cultivators participating, they’d likely take two spots, leaving just one for others to compete for!
“Lieutenant Lin Yun, you’re a bit unlucky this time, running into two Tongtian realm participants. That’s rare!” Old Black said helplessly.
“My luck’s that bad, huh?” Lin Yun gave a wry smile.
“By the way, they’re both recent entrants to the Tongtian realm, right?” Lin Yun asked Old Black.
“Right. They’ve only reached the Tongtian realm in the last one or two thousand years. If they had reached it earlier, they’d have participated before,” Old Black explained.
“No matter. I’ll try for the top three. If I don’t make it, I’ll treat it as training and try again next time,” Lin Yun murmured.
By evening, the day’s registration concluded.
After a full day, most members intending to join the Skyfire Trial had registered.
Lin Yun returned to his camp.
There were still five hundred years until the trial began.
Lin Yun planned to use this time to focus on cultivation and improvement.
Back at the Cold Fiend Army’s Fifth Battalion camp, the Skyfire Captains and Skyfire Guards were gathered in the courtyard.
“Lieutenant.”
They immediately approached as Lin Yun entered.
“Lieutenant, we heard you registered for the Skyfire Trial?” Chang Liang, a Skyfire Captain, asked.
“How did you know?” Lin Yun asked, surprised.
“You joining the Skyfire Trial at the Dominator realm is unprecedented. Lots of people are talking about it, so of course we heard,” Chang Liang said.
“It’s spread already?” Lin Yun was astonished.
He hadn’t expected his name to spread through the Skyfire Temple in this way.
“Lieutenant, the Skyfire Trial is one of the Skyfire Temple’s higher-level events. Are you really participating at the Dominator realm?” Chang Liang asked.
“I’ve already registered. Could it be fake?” Lin Yun said with a wry smile.
“But, Captain, the gap between you and the other participants… isn’t it too big?” Chang Liang said.
“There’s still five hundred years. I’ll use that time to cultivate. You all carry on with your duties,” Lin Yun said, waving them off.
He headed straight to his room.
Back in his room, Lin Yun devised his cultivation plan.
Without a doubt, his top priority was to break through to the Saint realm!
Realm was the foundation.
Lin Yun knew that without reaching the Saint realm, even improving other aspects would make it hard to compete with Mysterious Saints or Heavenly Saints.
Advancing in realm was often the most direct path.
Starting the next day, Lin Yun went to the House of Rules to continue his comprehension, the key to breaking through to the Saint realm.
Since the inner circle was only accessible for two months each year, Lin Yun had to cultivate in the outer circle.
Though the outer circle was less effective, it was his only option for an early breakthrough.
Besides comprehending his realm, Lin Yun also made time to practice swordsmanship and cultivate the Heart Intent Scripture.
In the second year, when he gained access to the inner circle for two months, Lin Yun went there to continue his comprehension.
Through this cultivation and comprehension, Lin Yun found that practicing the Heart Intent Scripture also aided his understanding.
After all, cultivation wasn’t just about external techniques but also about refining the mind, and the Heart Intent Scripture served that purpose.
In this day-after-day cultivation, three hundred years passed in the blink of an eye…
