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Along with Lin Yun’s voice, the faces of everyone from Myriad Flowers Hall became ugly. Hua Hongyu’s face had turned black. After all, the Myriad Flowers Hall and Flying Snow Pavilion’s chief disciples were defeated by Lin Yun; as well as a disciple of the Ming Cult.
Countless gazes fell onto Lin Yun, and they could feel a chill run down their spines. This was because Lin Yun was too ruthless. Yan Tianchen was already arrogant but he paled in comparison to Lin Yun.
They were even more shocked that Lin Yun wasn’t satisfied after defeating Bai Yunfei, Zuo Yi, and Fu Ya. He quickly turned to look at Qin Hao and gave out a provocation, not putting a seeded candidate in his eyes.
But Lin Yun didn’t care what others thought of him. When the judge announced the outcome of this match, he immediately left the stage.
After a few more matches, only five people were left out of the three hundred people, aside from the seeded candidates. They were Lin Yun, Yan Tianchen, Yue Weiwei, Hua Hongyu, and Di Qiu. Besides the seeded candidates, only twenty people could participate in the third round.
Three representatives from the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, Yan Tianchen, Yue Weiwei, and Lin Yun. Lin Yun was the most mysterious amongst them. Yue Weiwei was the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion’s Profound Fairy, while Yan Tianchen was the chief disciple. As for Lin Yun, they only knew about his moniker ‘Lin Xiao’ and nothing else. So this naturally piqued everyone’s interest.
“Let’s rest for two hours and aim to finish the final round before sunset.” The Heavenly Nirvana Pavilion’s pavilion master said, looking at everyone with a smile. Lin Yun and everyone else had just finished their second round, so it would be too unfair for them to face the seeded candidates in their current state.
When the pavilion master was done, he quickly left. But everyone on the Nirvana Stage was still around because the top three would be determined soon in an hour. So no one was willing to leave now. Soon, the audience around the stage became bustling. Lin Yun, Yan Tianchen, and Yue Weiwei came to where Mu Xueling was.
“You might be able to try and contend for the top five.” Mu Xueling looked at Lin Yun. The difference in the rewards of the top fifteen wasn’t significant, but making it into the top five would be different. Those in the top five would be rewarded with the Three-Lives Flowers, and those who came after would only be rewarded with the Three-Lives Leaves.
The difference between them was only one word, but the difference was drastic. The seeded candidates were practically holy land geniuses and were at the top of the pyramid in martial and music daos. Many of them were at the ninth-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm, not to mention that they came from holy lands. Thus, they all had a strong foundation. So Mu Xueling was already optimistic about Lin Yun when she said he could make it into the top five.
“Saint Elder thinks too highly of me.” Lin Yun didn’t dare to look at Mu Xueling. Ever since he saw her face on the Dual Moon Lake, he couldn’t help feeling guilty whenever he saw her. He was no longer as calm and composed as before, either.
“Why not first?” Yue Weiwei asked.
Mu Xueling said nothing, but Yan Tianchen smiled, “It’s too hard. Li Yuxi is strong, and his mental cultivation should be at the tenth-grade Saint Spiritualist. Most importantly, he fused his martial dao into music dao, and his martial dao far surpasses Junior Brother Lin as well…”
The difference between the seventh and ninth-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm might seem small, but each pulse in the Dragon Pulse Realm was a tribulation. This meant those who made it through the tribulation would have a significant boost in their strength.
That was especially the case for the ninth-pulse Dragon Pulse Realm. It was the pinnacle of the Dragon Pulse Realm, and a cultivator would undergo a complete transformation. They were only one step away from the Samsara Edict Realm. After reaching the Samsara Edict Realm, they could be considered kings.
Lin Yun didn’t refute those words, and they casually chatted. When Yue Weiwei secretly got close to Lin Yun and their hands touched, Lin Yun’s face changed, and he moved away from her. This stunned Yue Weiwei, but when she looked at Lin Yun's composition, she couldn’t help feeling an ache in her heart.
“I’ll go and take a rest.” Lin Yun said and left.
“Lin Xiao, what’s your attitude toward the Profound Fairy?” Mu Xueling glared at Lin Yun, and her gaze gradually became cold.
“Saint Elder, do you have anything else to say?” Lin Yun raised his head.
“Senior Sister, Lin Xiao is tired. So let him rest.” Yue Weiwei stopped Mu Xueling, who was going to flare up.
This made Mu Xueling sigh before she looked at Lin Yun, “Very well.”
Yan Tianchen could sense that something wasn’t right, so he also left with a smile. Lin Yun walked towards a stone tablet before sitting down. This was a remote corner. He took out the Divine Indigo Jade Bamboo Flute and couldn’t help feeling the urge to look at Yue Weiwei. But he ultimately suppressed this urge.
While looking at the Divine Indigo Jade Bamboo Flute, he recalled that it had been four years. It had been four years since he played the flute on a full moon to kill his enemies. He had just come to the Kunlun Realm at that time, shining brightly. He also climbed the thirteen tests back in the Fleeting Cloud Sword Sect.
But he was forced to disguise himself and couldn’t even use his name. His feelings were complicated after last night, and he had nowhere to vent them. He couldn’t pick it up, nor could he put it down. Who could’ve guessed that not only did Flower Burial fail to save his master, but he was even troubled by love?
He wanted to make a clean cut with Yue Weiwei, but how could it be done so easily? Back then, Yue Weiwei played the flute to help him grasp the sword intent by the lakeside and exhausted her martial soul to treat his injuries in the Yin Wind Stream. The next time they met was at the Draconic Banquet, and they could only rely on each other on the Heavenly Path.
Lin Yun closed his eyes, and his heart was a mess.
“Weiwei, you pamper him too much! That fellow is a scumbag; I have witnessed it with my eyes. There are at least three more women in his heart!” Mu Xueling became furious when she rarely showed any emotions. This was because what Lin Yun did earlier hurt Yue Weiwei.
But Yue Weiwei wore her usual smile. She lowered her head and explained, “That’s not it. Big Brother Lin isn’t trying to hurt me on purpose. I shouldn’t have brought him to the Dual Moon Lake yesterday. It’s all my fault. I believe Big Brother Lin is in more pain than me.”
“I highly doubt that.” Mu Xueling glanced at Lin Yun.
When Yue Weiwei raised her head and looked at Lin Yun, her pupils also flashed with heartache. She said, “It’s hard for Big Brother Lin to be first on the Nirvana Banquet with his current state, right?”
“It’ll be impressive enough if he can make it into the top five.” Mu Xueling said.
“I want to help him.” Yue Weiwei’s heart clenched.
“How are you going to help him?” Mu Xueling’s gaze sank, and she continued, “Don’t be foolish.”
But Yue Weiwei merely looked at Lin Yun without saying a word.
Two hours quickly passed by, and the Nirvana Stage’s surroundings were filled with people discussing the final round and who could become first during the Nirvana Banquet. The favored candidate was naturally the Ming Cult’s Li Yuxi.
But the Myriad Lightning Sect’s Chen Jun, Divine Dao Pavilion’s Zhang Ying, and Heavenly Flame Sect’s Qin Hao weren’t weak, either. They also had a shot at becoming first during the Nirvana Banquet.
Aside from that, Yan Tianchen was the next highest popular candidate. He had a high position in the hearts of many musicians because Yan Tianchen was a pure genius in music dao, unlike the other candidates who also cultivated martial dao.
So Yan Tianchen could be considered their faith. As fellow musicians, they naturally hoped that Yan Tianchen could become first on the Nirvana Banquet.
When the Heavenly Nirvana Pavilion’s pavilion master returned, he casually glanced at Lin Yun before frowning his brows. He said, “Let’s begin.”
From the previous battle, he had already noticed an issue with Lin Yun’s mental state. Although his emotions fluctuated significantly in the last battle, his music was a complete mess. It was fine if he fought ordinary people, but he would be filled with flaws if he faced top-tiered geniuses.
The judge on the Nirvana Stage swept his gaze at the last twenty people and said, “There are no rules in this round. You can freely fight, and the pavilion master will determine your rankings based on your performance.”
The surrounding atmosphere instantly became bizarre when they just made the announcement. They weren’t surprised by it because it was the same rules as the previous final round, with the pavilion master determining the ranking of the Nirvana Banquet. But those who were determined to become first on the Nirvana Banquet weren’t in a hurry to make a move.
They knew that everyone who remained in the third round was an expert and would suffer a massive loss if they didn’t have absolute confidence.
“Let’s start with me.” Just when everyone was hesitating, a person went on the Nirvana Stage. This person was Yue Weiwei.
When Lin Yun raised his head, he was surprised and wondered what Yue Weiwei was trying to do. He knew that Yue Weiwei had no interest in the Nirvana Banquet, and she didn’t like to stand out.
Yue Weiwei glanced over everyone before stopping on a genius from the Divine Phoenix Mountain. She asked, “Wen Yushu, do you dare to fight me?”
Wen Yushu was briefly stunned when he was called out before he went on the stage. Even if he wasn’t willing, he had no reason to avoid this battle because the pavilion master was watching.
“You shouldn’t have chosen me.” Wen Yushu said indifferently.
“Who cares.” Yue Weiwei smiled, and her smile was gorgeous. As she slowly turned around, white ribbons began to fly around her. The white ribbons looked sacred, which made her look noble. This was her first time using the white ribbons. When the ribbons danced, musical notes jumped around, making her look like a celestial.
This made Wen Yushu’s face change, and his face gradually became grave. When Yue Weiwei took out a flute, Wen Yushu could feel an extremely threatening aura. He quickly focused, and a dazzling radiance shone out from him before an ancient zither enveloped in flames appeared.
The two quickly fought, with various phenomena created by their music, and filled the entire stage with their powerful music. When Yue Weiwei blew the flute, the music empowered the white ribbons before sweeping toward Wen Yushu.
But Wen Yushu was prepared, with blades flying out when his fingers danced on the zither. After he severed the incoming ribbons, his music suddenly became dense, and the surrounding temperature sharply fell. The ground was also quickly covered in a layer of frost.
Before anyone could respond, snowflakes began falling from the sky, which was the Ice Intent. Wen Yushu had fused his Ice Intent into his zither, instantly forcing Yue Weiwei into a desperate state.
But Yue Weiwei was calm and composed, playing her music while facing the snowflakes. Just when the chill was about to devour Yue Weiwei, a piercing light flashed across her pupils, and a terrifying outburst of mental energy swept out.
The outburst of mental energy shattered the ice forming on the ground, completely crushing it. The ice dust didn’t melt and quickly formed a fog in the surrounding area, with Yue Weiwei playing the flute in the fog donned in her red dress.
When her music suddenly changed, the white ribbons were like nine serpents that came to life and their agility was brought to the next level. This made Wen Yushu’s face change. As he avoided the incoming serpents, his ten fingers didn’t stop dancing on the ancient zither. Like that, they both clashed another ten-odd times, performing their ancient scores to a limit.
Half an incense later, the nine serpents shattered the surrounding zither music before bolting toward Wen Yushu. This made Wen Yushu squint his eyes, and he quickly retreated. But he was one step too slow, and the nine serpents turned back into white ribbons that coiled around him in mid-air.
“You’ve lost.” Yue Weiwei said with a smile.
Yue Weiwei’s performance shocked everyone this time because no one expected the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion’s Profound Fairy to have such a high attainment in music dao. But this wasn’t what surprised them the most. After defeating Wen Yushu, Yue Weiwei didn’t stop there and continued to challenge others.
Just like that, she defeated six people in a row, almost half of the twenty were left. When she defeated the seventh person, everyone took in a cold breath with their faces changed. They were shocked by Yue Weiwei’s strength.
Even Lin Yun was stunned and soon understood what Yue Weiwei was trying to do. She was trying to clear the enemies for him so that they wouldn’t hinder his path to becoming first during the Nirvana Banquet. Looking at her, Lin Yun couldn’t help feeling heartache.
“Yue Weiwei, you can really last. Let me, Hua Hongyu, face you!” A cold voice resounded, and Hua Hongyu finally couldn’t hold it back anymore. She wanted to end Yue Weiwei with her hands and step on her to vent the hatred within her heart.