When the eight golden rays bloomed, a figure gradually materialized behind Lin Yun. It was ten feet long and had bright eyes.

“Martial Soul!”

“Didn’t they say that Lin Yun’s Martial Soul is garbage? I thought he couldn’t summon it?”

“Holy shit. What kind of Martial Soul does he have for it to be so colossal?!”

“It still hasn’t fully condensed. This Martial Soul must be recently born. Eight golden rays… It’s an eighth grade Amber Martial Soul at birth?!” Regardless of the golden rays or the sheer size of this Martial Soul, it was breathtaking.

The Martial Soul’s appearance was still condensing while the Demon Runic Tiger pounced over. It had the body of a dragon, the face of a human, and two dragon horns growing from its forehead. It emitted an ancient and demonic aura.

“What the hell is that?” Xin Yan was shocked. She could tell that the origin of this Martial Soul was beyond her knowledge.

Standing by her side, Luo Feng had shock on his face and exclaimed, “It’s the Aurora Dragon! Now I know why he did not want to summon his Martial Soul. This is clearly a Primordial Chaotic Soul with boundless potential! It will really be something once it matures. Revealing it before you’re strong enough will only do more harm than good.”

When the Aurora Dragon manifested completely, it glanced at the Demon Runic Tiger and caused it to shiver. The Aurora Dragon charged forward and knocked into the Demon Runic Tiger. It clawed at the Demonic Runic Tiger and sent it flying.

The Demon Runic Tiger dissipated back into Wang Yan’s body, causing the latter to spew blood out of the corner of his lips. Wang Yan’s face was pale, signifying that his injuries weren’t light. However, Wang Yan was in the sixth stage of the Profound Martial Realm. He took a deep breath and then charged at Lin Yun once more with his sword.

“Stop!” Xin Jue rushed over and stood in front of Lin Yun. He raised his hand and pushed out with his palm. Wang Yan immediately vomited a mouthful of blood and was blown away. He fell to the ground with an ugly look on his face.

“Wang Yan, don’t blame me for being rude if you take another step forward!” Xin Jue looked at Wang Yan coldly. There was a blatant threat in his tone.

Wang Yan looked at Lin Yun, who was struggling to get up on his feet, with rage burning in his chest. He knew that he had lost his opportunity to kill Lin Yun. When he looked at the Aurora Dragon returning to Lin Yun’s body, his face was covered in shock. How was that a garbage Martial Soul?

Even Bai Ting swayed with panic written on his face. All along, his greatest card was the fact that Lin Yun’s Martial Soul was garbage. As long as Lin Yun had a garbage Martial Soul, no one would say anything if he was killed since he had no value. But right now, the situation was becoming a little difficult to handle.

“You are?” asked Lin Yun with uncertainty to the young man that stood before him. Even with his Aurora Dragon Martial Soul, there was no way he could stop Wang Yan if the young man in front of him hadn’t helped.

Lin Yun’s internal organs were injured and the origin energy that had filled his body was dissipating. He no longer had any strength to fight. The difference in cultivation between Wang Yan and him was too great a gap. Wang Yang was six stages higher than him, which was something that Lin Yun couldn’t resist. If it wasn’t for his powerful physique and complete sword intent, Wang Yan would’ve killed him in the first attack. Just like how Lin Yun could easily kill Leng Mo, Wang Yan could also easily kill him.

Turning around, Xin Jue smiled, “I’m Xin Yan’s elder brother, Xin Jue.”

Lin Yun immediately saw the connection due to the similarities between the two. So it turns out that they were biological siblings. Xin Yan and Luo Feng also quickly stepped onto the stage next to Lin Yun.

“You have no idea how worried I was. I never thought that I would have to worry about you, even after you exited the realm.” Xin Yan chuckled. The joy in her eyes couldn’t be concealed.

“What are you guys doing up there?! Get down immediately!” Bai Ting barked at them before they could talk. He walked over with a few deacons following him from behind. “Lin Yun, a sword slave, has proven to be a bully. He has wounded many of his fellow disciples and even killed Wang Ning in public. He has violated the pavilion’s rules, so I will now deprive him of his status as a Sword Firmament Pavilion’s disciple. Take him down!”

“Who dares to make a move?” Luo Feng roared. Hearing Luo Feng’s words, the deacons exchanged a glance and froze in place.

Luo Feng and Bai Ting were Inner Elders. Their positions were much higher than mere deacons like them. However, Bai Ting was the one presiding over the contest, so everyone here had to listen to him. They just didn’t have the courage to offend Luo Feng.

“Luo Feng, you dare interfere in my affairs?” Bai Ting questioned with a gloomy face. At this point, he had reached the path of no return, so he had made up his mind to go through with punishing Lin Yun. Right now, he needed to capture Lin Yun and make a fuss over how he killed Wang Ning. He wanted to lock Lin Yun up without giving the latter any chance to stand out.

“You are in charge of the Nine Stars Contest, so I will not interfere with it. But since Lin Yun has passed through the forest, he is now a disciple of the Sword Firmament Pavilion. You don’t have the authority to abolish that status.” In the past, Luo Feng did not want to offend Bai Ting because of Lin Yun.

But now that Lin Yun revealed a Primordial Chaotic Soul and a complete sword intent, Luo Feng knew that it was worth protecting Lin Yun even though he killed a direct descendant of the Wang Clan.In many cases, right and wrong didn’t matter. The pavilion was a place where potential mattered.

“I know what you’re thinking, but this fellow killed someone in public during the Nine Stars Contest. He even spoke rudely to me. In the last thousand years, the Sword Firmament Pavilion has never accepted such an unruly person,” said Bai Ting as he laughed coldly, “I must abolish this person’s status as a disciple. Otherwise, what will happen to the pavilion’s rules? Does this mean that anyone is allowed to kill as they please in the Sword Firmament Pavilion?”

Not taking a step back, Luo Feng replied coldly, “Why didn’t you interfere when Wang Ning tried to force Lin Yun to death back in the forest? With me around, you can dream of abolishing his status as a disciple!”

Upon seeing this, Bai Ting started laughing and pointed his finger at Luo Feng, “Good! Good! Good! Just you wait. I’ve already sent someone to inform the Sword-Bearing Hall. I’ll see who dares to protect him for killing someone from the Wang Clan!”

Xin Yan’s face changed when she heard the words Sword-Bearing Hall. There was even a hint of tension on her face. The Sword-Bearing Hall was known for their ruthlessness, upholding the rules against anyone who had violated them. Over the years, those who violated the rules didn’t have a good ending.

The fact of the matter was that Lin Yun had killed someone, which was against the rules. If he wasn’t punished, no one would follow the rules in the future. Wouldn’t the Nine Stars Contest be thrown into chaos when he gets punished? Just thinking about it made Xin Yan’s heart ache. On the contrary, her elder brother, Xin Jue, was rather calm.

With a smile, Luo Feng comforted, “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just wait and see.”

Not long after, a young deacon ran over, gasping for breath. But he came alone, without any Sword-Bearing Elders. Upon seeing this, Wang Yan frowned, “Where’s the Sword-Bearing Elder? My younger brother died, so why hasn’t a Sword-Bearing Elder come?”

The deacon’s face was ugly. Looking at Bai Ting, he cupped his hands together, “The Sword-Bearing Hall said that they won’t be coming since Elder Bai Ting is presiding over the Nine Stars Contest. This matter is fully in Elder Bai’s hands.”

A smile rose on Bai Ting’s lips when he heard that the Sword-Bearing Elders didn’t come. That meant that he could do as he pleased.

Luo Feng started to frown at this when the young deacon stuttered, “The Sword-Bearing Hall also said that…”

“What did they say?” snapped Bai Ting.

“They said that Elder Bai will be held responsible for the death of a Wang Clan’s descendant in the Nine Stars Contest. Lin Yun’s crime was unforgivable, but since he is still young, they could understand that he might have been a little too rash. They also said to handle this at your discretion.”

Wang Yan immediately vomited a mouthful of blood when he heard what the deacon said. He couldn’t understand what just happened. Why was the Sword-Bearing Hall taking Lin Yun’s side?

The smile on Bai Ting’s face also disappeared. He was dumbfounded. Lin Yun was the one who killed Wang Ning, but he was held responsible for it? Now he knew why none of them came. So it turns out that they wanted him to take the fall for it.

When the senior disciples standing at the foot of the mountain saw this, all of them laughed inwardly. But then again, it made sense. As one of the four major clans, the Wang Clan had foundations that ran deep in the empire.

However, the Sword Firmament Pavilion was still a sect that transcended the empire, so it wasn't afraid of the Wang Family. If Lin Yun really had a garbage Martial Soul, then it wouldn’t matter if they gave him to the Wang Clan.

But the potential that Lin Yun had shown through his Martial Soul, aptitude, and sword intent had convinced them that he could grow into a monstrous existence. If they couldn’t protect a genius like Lin Yun, how were they going to recruit anymore geniuses in the future?

So no matter how depressed Bai Ting felt, he knew that he would take the fall for Wang Ning’s death.

“Elder Bai, why don’t you say something about how you’re going to deal with this situation? Why are you still standing there?” smiled Luo Feng.

Bai Ting’s face went pale. Gnashing his teeth, he spoke out, “Bai Ting is ashamed in the trust that the pavilion has given me. I’m willing to take full responsibility for it.”

His voice was trembling, but in his heart, he was cursing like a madman. Wang Ning’s death had shit to do with him, but the Sword-Bearing Hall was saying that he didn’t do his job as the supervisor.

There was nothing he could do to refute them. He just had to swallow his pride. If he went and offended the Sword-Bearing Hall, his future in the Sword Firmament Pavilion would be doomed.

“But Lin Yin has committed such a grave crime and there’s no way to convince the masses if he’s not punished…” said Bai Ting.

Luo Feng and Xin Yan grew nervous by this. It would be troublesome if this fellow wasn’t tactful and insisted on expelling Lin Yun out of the sect.

Looking at Lin Yun with fury brewing in his eyes, Bai Ting gnashed his teeth, “He will be punished to the Herbal Peak for three months to complete odd jobs. As his accomplice, Li Wuyou will also suffer the same punishment.”

When Bai Ting announced the punishment, both Luo Feng and Xin Yan felt relieved.