Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. The clouds looked like a golden curtain spreading out in the sky. In the sky, a golden crow soared, tearing through the air and streaking across the sky.

A youth descended from the sky and landed on a lone cliff. When he landed on the ground, dozens of afterimages overlapped together. Once they were done overlapping, the youth’s defined features were highlighted by the sun.

He was topless, so a palm-sized golden seal could be seen on his back. It looked like a brilliant golden crow. The youth was Lin Yun, so the seal was naturally the Golden Crow Seal. This was the result of practicing the Seven Profound Steps.

Since reaching an acceptable level in the Dracophant Battle Physique, Lin Yun had been practicing the Seven Profound Steps. It took him half a month to fully form the Golden Crow Seal. When he thought about it, it had been months since he received the Seven Profound Steps from the elder back in the Martial Hall.

Due to his shocking comprehension, Lin Yun could remember any cultivation technique with just a glance. For instance, with the Dracophant Battle Physique, others required a senior to guide them whereas Lin Yun learned it by himself. He even had the ability to reach the third stage, but that required him to exhaust a large sum of second-grade spiritual jades. Somehow, he had done this all in half a month.

On the other hand, it took him half a year to form the Golden Crow Seal. Of course, this made him wonder if he really was talented. But at the very least, Lin Yun was relieved that he finally did it.

“Let’s try it once more!” Lin Yun’s eyes radiated with a brilliant glow as his origin energy rippled.

“Seven Profound Steps – Shadowverse!” Lin Yun roared and took a step forward. His figure was enveloped by a golden glow and his aura erupted like a violent volcano. With each step that he took, he left seven vivid afterimages.

Unlike the afterimages he created in the past, the golden afterimages contained his sword intent. With his sword intent empowering the afterimages, they became even more realistic and only started to dissipate after three seconds had passed.

One second of distraction in battle could determine life and death, not to mention three seconds. Compared to the past, his Seven Profound Steps had improved greatly.

Seven Profound Steps – Golden Crow Wings!

Lin Yun tapped the ground with his foot and the Golden Crow Seal on his back started to glow. He spread his hands apart and a pair of golden wings unfolded. Next, he soared into the sky.

Lin Yun roared as he dashed out, leaving afterimages behind him once again. These afterimages were just as vivid and realistic. He manifested into a golden streak and bolted through the horizon in a flash.

He then descended to the ground like a bolt of lightning. Being able to control his figure at will was a sign that the Seven Profound Steps had reached greater mastery.

“These six months were not spent in vain. The Seven Profound Steps is truly formidable. I’m afraid that even a spiritual martial technique won’t be able to compete with it,” muttered Lin Yun to himself.

The Seven Profound Steps was stronger than he had imagined. It wasn’t that his comprehension was lacking, but this martial technique was tough to cultivate since it was derived from the Sunchasing Art. In the Sword Firmament Pavilion, only elders in the Violet Palace Realm could obtain greater mastery. Of course, all of them spent at least a decade to accomplish this feat. But the gains wouldn’t make up the loss for them. The Martial Hall’s elder also wouldn’t give Lin Yun the Seven Profound Steps if he hadn’t successfully learned the Overlord Sword.

“There’s still one month left till the Alliance-Union Battle begins. I should change gears to the Overlord Sword now.” Lin Yun’s face turned grave. While his fame spread throughout the Sword Firmament Pavilion, it also placed him at the heart of the storm. If he wasn’t careful, he would be torn into pieces.

He could predict that many people would try to step on him to rise up in fame. But with the Seven Profound Steps, Dracophant Battle Physique, and Dragon-Tiger Fist, he was confident of shining brightly in the Alliance-Union Battle. But only his sword could subjugate every one, only the Overlord Sword could do this.

It had been a sore point that he couldn’t reach greater mastery with the Overlord Sword, which forced him to stop his sword comprehension. The Alliance-Union Battle wasn’t just a stage for the Locket Mountain to rise in fame, but it was also a chance for him.

However, the Overlord Sword was a lot harder than the Seven Profound Steps. At least with the latter, he was confident that he would obtain greater mastery eventually. He didn’t have the same confidence when it came to the Overlord Sword. It didn’t even matter that he had two more months.

The sword was too odd since there was only a sword. Guardian Plum told him that he would be given a surprise if his Overlord Sword could reach greater mastery.

“This sword is all about one breath, by pushing myself to the limit and venting everything out in one sword. I can't have any hesitation or I will suffer from the backlash. So it’s all about the courage to charge forward no matter who I’m facing…” muttered Lin Yun to himself. The Overlord Sword was powerful, but he had no idea how to take it a step further.

Back in the Asura Alliance’s base was Jiang Feng. The Asura Alliance was like the Lone-Star Alliance in that it was an alliance-union meant for the elite. The disciples in the alliance-union were all madmen when it came to cultivating. Jiang Feng, who was ranked third on the Mortal Ranking, was one of the madmen of the Asura Alliance.

Jiang Feng’s sword aura was unleashed when he pushed his palm out. He shattered the puppet that was charging towards him from five hundred meters away. The fragments were all reduced into ashes and they fell onto the ground. His terrifying cultivation and robust origin energy was shocking.

Exhaling, Jiang Feng muttered, “It has been two years and the Originmurk Art has finally reached the pinnacle sixth stage. I don’t have any regrets now…”

Sword Firmament Pavilion’s disciples had to be in the Earth Ranking to practice spiritual cultivation techniques. Otherwise, they could only cultivate transcendent profound cultivation techniques. This rule applied even to those in the top ten on the Mortal Ranking.

But even with transcendent profound cultivation techniques, it wouldn’t be easy to reach complete mastery. But upon reaching complete mastery, the cultivation technique would undergo a drastic change and the fundamentals of the origin energy would transform. Jiang Feng was confident of suppressing any Earth Ranking disciple as long as their spiritual cultivation technique didn’t reach greater mastery.

“Chu Haoyu, you never expected this, right?” Jiang Feng smiled. Chu Haoyu had spent the past two years on the Cloudstun Sword, so his cultivation technique would definitely be lacking behind.

The reason why Jiang Feng held himself back from challenging Chu Haoyu was that he wanted to soar into the sky at one go. Cultivation techniques were the foundation of a cultivator even if their sword technique was powerful. If someone had stronger origin energy, they only needed one sword to defeat their opponent.

But it was a pity that Lin Yun stole Jiang Feng’s thunder. Jiang Feng’s face actually sank when he thought about Lin Yun. He was filled with rage. How could a brat like Lin Yun compete with him?

It was fine if Chu Haoyu killed Xue Feng, but a sword slave that came from nowhere stole the limelight away from him. He was waiting for the Alliance-Union Battle so that he could teach Lin Yun a lesson, but he wasn’t the only one who wanted to do this.

Located in the Lone-Star Alliance was a lone peak that had a waterfall. The impact from the waterfall could easily crush a Profound Martial Realm elite. The pressure was immense, so only those above the third stage could endure the impact. But even so, they wouldn’t be able to last long.

There was a topless youth sitting underneath the waterfall, bearing the impact with his body. The youth was ranked second on the Mortal Ranking. It was Ye Xiu. He opened his eyes and a sword aura burst out when he sensed a person by the cliff. He spoke out, “Greetings, Senior Brother Feng!”

The person who came was Feng Chuan. He might not be the alliance lord, but he was responsible for everything in the Lone-Star Alliance and had high prestige.

Feng Chuan smiled and without any warning, he threw out a punch at Ye Xiu. However, Ye Xiu faced the punch without any changes in his expression. A huge explosion was set off when the two punches collided, which created a hundred-meter screen of water.

“You probably have one cauldron’s worth of strength now. Your Golden Vajra Body has reached the fourth stage, right?” asked Feng Chuan.

“I actually reached the fourth stage half a year ago. As for the strength of my punch, it can reach fifty thousand kilograms. It’s still lacking and hasn’t reached one cauldron,” responded Ye Xiu.

“What do you mean?” asked Feng Chuan.

“I’ve seen the attacks of Meng Chong of the Primal Origin Sect. His punches are accompanied by saintly music. We both have fifty kilograms of strength, but I’m inferior to him,” replied Ye Xiu.

Feng Chuan was briefly shocked before he smiled, “Junior Brother Ye, you’re too humble. Meng Chong is a famous expert in the third sequence, not to mention that he cultivated the Dracophant Battle Physique. Naturally, there’s no way our Golden Vajra Body can compare to it.

“But don’t forget that you’re a swordsman. Disciples of the sect will usually pick up fist and palm techniques in addition to the sword techniques. However, I rarely ever see anyone go for body-refining marital techniques, not to mention reaching such a high level like you have,” praised Feng Chuan.

This was a secret that no one knew. Aside from Feng Chuan, no one in the Lone-Star Alliance knew that Ye Xiu had been practicing the Gold Vajra Body body-refining martial technique. Ye Xiu would surely shine brightly in this Alliance-Union Battle if he revealed this trump card.

“Senior Brother, why were you looking for me?” asked Ye Xiu.

“I heard some news. There seem to be some changes in the Alliance-Union Battle this time, so I’m here to inform you about it.” Feng Chuan’s face changed as he started explaining.

“Oh, okay,” nodded Ye Xiu.

“You’re not curious about the changes?” asked Feng Chuan.

“Senior Brother, you will definitely tell me if you know about it. But since you’re not talking about it, this only means that even you don’t know. Furthermore, what changes can there possibly be aside from making it more dangerous? Isn’t that the Alliance-Union Battle’s original intention?” asked Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu might seem like a block of wood, but he was a meticulous thinker. He continued and said, “There is no lack of people on the Earth Ranking who are afraid of death. So what if they made it into the Earth Ranking through accumulation? They are still garbage. Which of those in the top hundred on the Earth Ranking haven’t participated in the Alliance-Union Battle?”

Feng Chuan’s eyes flickered when he heard that. He realized that he had been looking down on Ye Xiu all along.

“Chu Haoyu has gone to the Gentlemen Union and there’s nothing I can do about it. But the Lone-Star Alliance cannot lie down just because of his departure. Junior Brother Ye, do you get what I’m saying?”

“Senior Brother Feng, you can rest assured. The Phoenix Plum already rang, so I won’t hide my trump cards anymore.”