Divine Emperor Demon Emperor

The few Core Disciples from Taiqing Academy only dared to show their dissatisfaction with Lin Yun and Wei Yunhang sitting side-by-side because they had no idea Lin Yun had already broken through to the Celestial Spirit Realm.

What did it mean for a Demon Fiend to break through to the Celestial Spirit Realm? While it couldn’t be said they were invincible within the Celestial Spirit Realm, it was fair to say that throughout the entire Eastern Domain, no one could kill a Demon Fiend who had reached the Celestial Spirit Realm unless a supreme expert of the Spirit Realm made a move.

After all, Demon Fiends possessed not only monstrous Combat Power but also equally freakish survival abilities. Without absolute power to crush them, or unless another Demon Fiend attacked, it was incredibly difficult to kill them when the power gap wasn’t significant.

Lin Yun’s Cultivation was publicly recognized throughout the Eastern Domain as being at the Primordial Ocean Realm. Therefore, unable to sense his true Cultivation, they naturally assumed he was still at that level.

Not bothering with them, Lin Yun and Wei Yunhang chatted idly. After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, the upper echelons of Taiqing Academy finally arrived at the high platform in succession.

First came twenty Main Seat Elders. Finally, the Taiqing Academy Director and the Six Supreme Elders arrived at the centermost high platform.

Leading the group of Flawless Palace disciples, Lin Yun bowed to the Taiqing Academy Director and the Six Supreme Elders. In response, the Taiqing Academy Director gave Lin Yun a slight nod.

All three high platforms were now filled. At this moment, the Taiqing Academy Director rose and shouted to the tens of thousands of Taiqing Academy disciples, "The Taiqing Academy Grand Competition begins now!"

As the Taiqing Academy Director’s voice faded, battles began one after another on the ten large arenas. Each arena was overseen by a Taiqing Academy Elder who served as the referee, simultaneously recording every disciple’s performance and results.

As for the main arena in front of the three high platforms, the referee was a Main Seat Elder with a Cultivation at the Celestial Spirit Realm Great Success. ’With this Cultivation, he’s probably ranked near the bottom among Taiqing Academy’s Main Seat Elders, which is why he was assigned to be a referee.’

The battles began. Several consecutive matches were between Direct Disciples. Lin Yun and Wei Yunhang watched the fights while chatting casually.

During their chat, Wei Yunhang told Lin Yun that regarding the Qing Zhu Association, it wasn’t just Flawless Palace and Taiqing Academy; it seemed the Wuji Sect and Spiritual Light Pavilion had also uncovered spies planted by the Qing Zhu Association.

For now, the people from the Qing Zhu Association who had been exposed were all young disciples. After discussing the matter with Song Tianyang and Xi Zijin, Wei Yunhang said the three of them had decided to meet at Cyan Cloud Peak in three months to jointly plan their strategy against the Qing Zhu Association.

Hearing this, Lin Yun thought for a moment. ’Three months... that’s enough time for me to make a trip to the Pharmaceutical Instrument Master’s Guild.’ He then agreed to Wei Yunhang’s proposal.

"Excellent! Brother Lin, in that case, we’ll see each other on Cyan Cloud Peak," Wei Yunhang said with a hearty laugh, pleased by Lin Yun’s quick agreement.

"Brother Wei," Lin Yun began with a faint smile, "since four Demon Fiends will be gathering, why not invite Lin Jianhong from Celestial Eagle Valley?"

"Celestial Eagle Valley is located in the Southeast Domain, so the journey here is long. Besides, it seems they haven’t found any of the Qing Zhu Association’s spies yet," Wei Yunhang replied.

Hearing this, Lin Yun felt something was strange. ’Logically, the Five Great Forces of the Eastern Domain have all discovered spies secretly planted by the Qing Zhu Association. Even at the Death Row Shelter, He Shang himself became one of their members.’

’So why would Celestial Eagle Valley, all the way in the Southeast Domain, be unaffected? Normally, they should be one of the easiest forces for the Qing Zhu Association to infiltrate.’

He found it strange but didn’t voice his thoughts. It was, after all, just his own speculation. Besides, he could already guess Wei Yunhang’s true intentions for the meeting at Cyan Cloud Peak.

’Judging from the battle in Wind City, the Qing Zhu Association’s strength probably far surpasses that of the Six Great Forces of the Eastern Domain. Trying to resist them alone would be no simple task. Therefore, Wei Yunhang—or rather, the Taiqing Academy Director—his ultimate goal is to use this gathering of the four Demon Fiends as a test.’

’A test for what? I suspect Taiqing Academy wants to form a temporary alliance, one established jointly by the Four Great Forces. This new power would far surpass any of them individually and be dedicated solely to fighting the Qing Zhu Association.’

’Of course, this isn’t a bad thing. To fight the Qing Zhu Association, my own intention was also to unite all the powers of the Eastern Domain, big and small. However, my thinking differs from Wei Yunhang’s. I want to unify the entire Celestial Spirit Continent, not just form a simple coalition.’

Just as Lin Yun and Wei Yunhang were chatting, a match on the main arena concluded. At that moment, a Direct Disciple from Taiqing Academy leaped onto the arena, looked toward the high platform where Lin Yun was seated, and shouted.

"Brother Wei, since the disciples of Flawless Palace are also present, this junior brother wishes to challenge one of them to a friendly spar. I hope Brother Wei will grant permission!"

This Direct Disciple was the very same one who had been with Brother Qin Feng last night. Before he even stepped onto the stage, he had already consumed the Blood Burst Pill that Brother Qin Feng had given him.

Hearing the man’s challenge, Wei Yunhang looked at Lin Yun, deferring the decision to him. Seeing this, Lin Yun glanced at He Yuntian, Bai Zhicheng, and the others sitting below him and gave a slight nod.

Seeing Lin Yun agree, a Direct Disciple from Flawless Palace rose, leaped down from the high platform, and landed on the arena to stand opposite the Taiqing Academy Direct Disciple.

"Please," the Flawless Palace disciple said with a gesture, neither of them wasting words.

Although Flawless Palace and Taiqing Academy had fought side-by-side against the Qing Zhu Association in Wind City, that was only because their goals had aligned. At their core, a competitive relationship still existed between them—and a fierce one at that. This competition had only intensified, especially after Lin Yun’s rise.

The two bowed to each other with cupped fists, and then the Taiqing Academy Direct Disciple launched the first attack.

However, the moment the disciple unleashed his Elemental Power, Lin Yun, sitting beside Wei Yunhang, felt his eyes narrow slightly. With his exceptionally sharp perception of auras, Lin Yun detected something unusual in the man’s Elemental Power fluctuations.

’An elixir...’ The Blood Burst Pill could temporarily boost a Martial Artist’s Combat Power. It wasn’t actually that difficult to tell if someone had taken such an elixir.

Lin Yun sensed the Blood Burst Pill, and Wei Yunhang naturally did as well. Even the Taiqing Academy Director and the others on the central high platform must have sensed it.

Wei Yunhang’s expression changed slightly, but he quickly composed himself and said nothing.

Just as Brother Qin Feng had said, taking an elixir like the Blood Burst Pill was forbidden in the Taiqing Academy Grand Competition. However, since this was a match against a disciple from Flawless Palace, even if someone noticed—even if everyone noticed—no one would say a word.

Lin Yun’s expression remained neutral. The two on the arena were originally evenly matched, but with the Taiqing Academy disciple having taken a Blood Burst Pill, the outcome was predictable.

After a mere hundred moves, the Flawless Palace disciple was sent flying by a punch from the Taiqing Academy disciple. While still in the air, he was struck by several more consecutive punches, finally spitting out a large mouthful of blood as he collapsed onto the arena.

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