Chapter 0296: Saints

Chapter 0296: Saints

"Qin Yun, the Runes competition hosted by the Blue Spirit Holy Palace will have their internal Runes Masters participating. The Runes Masters from the four palaces of the Blue Spirit will definitely be there. Those elders shoulder crucial rune-related responsibilities for the Blue Spirit Star Palace, and their skills are very high. It will be very difficult for you to achieve first place!"

Zhuochuan wasn’t optimistic about Qin Yun, considering he was still young.

Qin Yun also grew serious and asked, "Will the senior Runes Masters from the Runes Hall participate as well?"

"Of course! All the senior and intermediate Runes Masters who can spare the time will join. They all want to see the level of the Runes Masters from the Blue Spirit Star Palace!" Zhuochuan replied.

Qin Yun now realized that getting first place wasn’t going to be as easy as he had imagined.

"The competition kicks off in just a few days. Let’s head to the Blue Spirit Star Palace right away. Although you have a grudge with the Western Palace, don’t worry. With me here, they wouldn’t dare mess with you openly!" Zhuochuan said with a smile.

"Let’s go now, I can’t wait any longer!" Qin Yun said excitedly. His Diamond Inner Core’s Dao Mark was nearly complete, signaling that his cultivation had reached the peak of the ninth level of the Martial Body stage.

He was eager to see how his strength measured up against the disciples of the Blue Spirit Holy Palace.

Zhuochuan led Qin Yun away from the Runes Hall headquarters and headed towards the Blue Spirit Star Palace.

The Blue Spirit Star Palace was nestled within the Yunlong Mountains. Outside the Star Palace, demon beasts would occasionally ambush travelers. If they were lucky, they could kill disciples of the Blue Spirit Star Palace; if they weren’t so lucky, they’d end up dead themselves.

It took Qin Yun and Zhuochuan two days to reach the main gate of the Blue Spirit Star Palace. By then, it was already evening, and the setting sun cast a beautiful glow on the crystal-clear Star Palace.

The striking crystal-blue tower in the center of the Blue Spirit Star Palace stood out.

With Zhuochuan’s guidance, Qin Yun was able to enter the Blue Spirit Star Palace smoothly. Along the way, Zhuochuan filled him in on the details of both competitions.

The martial competition was mostly participated in by representatives from the Martial Academy. It was said that the winner would not only receive rewards from the Blue Spirit Holy Palace but also from the Martial Academy.

As for the Runes competition, participants mostly joined on their own.

The Blue Spirit Star Palace was vast, but Zhuochuan was very familiar with it, and he led Qin Yun quickly through the palace towards the Holy Palace.

Inside the Star Palace, the four palaces were located in the north, south, east, and west. At the heart of the complex stood the Blue Spirit Holy Palace. The Holy Palace was the most powerful presence in the entire Star Palace. Its disciples were exceptional, controlling a large number of resources. The grand array of the entire Star Palace was also maintained by the Runes Masters of the Holy Palace.

"This Holy Palace is like a city within a city! It has such high walls!" Qin Yun stood in front of the gate of the Blue Spirit Holy Palace and couldn’t help but exclaim, "No wonder the Western Palace has always wanted to take control of the entire Blue Spirit Star Palace. It’s clear that the Holy Palace has always irked them!"

"Normally, the four palaces might engage in open rivalry, but sometimes they also unite to secretly compete with the Holy Palace! Only the Eastern Palace has a relatively good relationship with the Holy Palace." Zhuochuan said.

The golden-armored guards immediately let them through upon recognizing Zhuochuan.

Inside the Blue Spirit Holy Palace, it was different from the outside. In the center, there was a blue high tower that looked solemn and sacred. The other large and small palaces were made of blue crystals with a faint golden glow.

Upon entering, one could instantly sense the grandeur and sanctity of the buildings, which felt worlds apart from the outside. The spiritual energy here was more concentrated, and the air was fresh and fragrant.

"This Holy Palace is truly something else!" Qin Yun whispered to himself.

"Indeed! Actually, the disciples of the four palaces all want to enter the Blue Spirit Holy Palace, but the selection is very strict. Except for the Eastern Palace, the leaders of the other three palaces wouldn’t agree to let their best disciples join the Holy Palace." Zhuochuan led Qin Yun towards a palace next to the blue crystal tower.

The blue crystal tower wasn’t located in the center of the Holy Palace but was relatively close to the main gate, with its tightly closed doors visible as soon as one entered.

Near this tower, there was a spacious arena and several other huge palaces. It seemed that the important buildings were all clustered around the tower.

Zhuochuan led Qin Yun into a palace called the Spirit Martial Hall. As soon as they entered, they heard a noisy commotion. Inside, there were two to three thousand people, scattered in groups of three to five throughout the grand hall.

The interior of the hall was extremely spacious.

The people inside included disciples from the four palaces, as well as those from the three Profound Martial Academies. They were all chatting casually, which made the hall very lively.

When Qin Yun and Zhuochuan entered, some people noticed them.

Many teachers and students from the Star Profound Martial Academy quickly recognized Qin Yun.

Qin Yun was dressed in loose black garments, and although he had some stubble on his face, many people had a deep impression of him, so they immediately recognized him.

"Isn't that Qin Yun고운?

"He's with the senior elder from the Runes Hall. After he was expelled from the Star Profound Martial Academy, he joined the Runes Hall. Now the senior elder has brought him here. It seems he's doing quite well in the Runes Hall!"

"I heard that Qin Yun possesses many supreme immobilization runes. That's how he obtained the Dragon Demon Beast crystal egg. Now that he's participating in the competition, we need to be careful!"

"He's a junior Runes Master. The supreme immobilization runes were probably not refined by him. It should have been Elder Zhuochuan who refined them for him. Maybe Qin Yun provided the immobilization runes, and the senior elder helped him!"

Not many people knew that Qin Yun was a senior Runes Master. The senior members of the Star Profound Martial Academy knew, but they didn't dare to publicize it. They didn't want to be ridiculed for driving away a senior Runes Master.

"You take the assessment here... I'll go to the Refined Runes Hall!" said Zhuochuan.

Qin Yun had already registered and received an identity jade token, and then, like everyone else, he waited for the assessment to begin.

The so-called assessment was to filter out unqualified participants, preventing them from joining the competition and keeping them off the arena.

"I wonder if Huo Zhong and the others will come!" Qin Yun stood in a corner, hearing many people talking about him, but it didn’t bother him.

Not far from him, someone said, "I heard that the Blue Spirit saintess are very strong. The assessment is nothing for them. They will definitely proceed to the next stage!"

"There are five stages in the martial competition. It is said that the last stage is the actual combat!"

"What? What do the first four stages involve?"

"A series of rigorous tests assessing the warriors' abilities."

Qin Yun was secretly surprised. He thought he would quickly reach the combat stage.

For some reason, the noisy grand hall suddenly became quiet. Everyone looked towards the main door of the hall, as a group of young people dressed in gold and blue robes, full of vigor and imposing aura, walked in.

"They are disciples from the Blue Spirit Holy Palace! Are they all at the ninth level of the Martial Body stage? They are so powerful!"

"They all look very young. Not a single middle-aged person!"

"Nonsense, middle-aged warriors at the ninth level of the Martial Body stage wouldn't be accepted by the Blue Spirit Holy Palace!"

"Some of them are at the Martial Dao stage, probably just accompanying others to register... I see, the aura of someone at the ninth level of the Martial Body stage wouldn't be that intense!"

"There are so many young martial artists at the Martial Dao stage. It's terrifying!"

Qin Yun also looked at the group and was secretly pleased to see Xie Wufeng among them. He quickly walked over.

As soon as Xie Wufeng entered, he heard someone say that Qin Yun had also come. He looked around and soon saw Qin Yun approaching him.

"Xie Wufeng, you're here to register too? Awesome! Maybe we can have a real match!" Qin Yun said with a smile after walking up.

"Brother Yun, I have entered the Martial Dao stage and can't participate. I'm just here to hang out with them!" Xie Wufeng said with a hearty laugh.

His words left the students from the other three martial schools astonished and dumbfounded!

Xie Wufeng had only one arm and no martial soul, possessing only two spirit veins. He had ruled the Three Martial Academy for many years, so his reputation was great.

Now, having stepped into the martial dao realm before the age of thirty, it was incredibly surprising.

Everyone felt that the sword cultivator was even more mysterious!

After the initial surprise, Qin Yun smiled happily and said, "Elder Xie, your progress is terrifying! A sword cultivator in the martial dao realm—I wonder how strong you are now? I'd really like to see your strongest ability!"

"There will be an opportunity!" Xie Wufeng smiled faintly and patted Qin Yun on the shoulder.

Usually, he appeared extremely cold and proud, like a solitary sword, but only when he saw Qin Yun would he soften his sharpness.

Because Qin Yun was someone he deeply respected!

"Brother Cloud, I'll go with them to register first, and then I'll show you around the Blue Spirit Holy Palace, and we'll call out Third and Second to have a gathering!" Xie Wufeng said.

"Alright!" Qin Yun nodded.

Xie Wufeng quickly caught up with his fellow disciples and headed towards the registration counter.

The big show by the Blue Spirit Holy Palace was clearly meant to tell everyone that this time, the first place would be theirs.

Moreover, it was also a display of strength towards the other four palaces, flaunting its power.

Qin Yun believed that the Blue Spirit Holy Palace might have sensed that the West Palace was secretly making moves, so they took this opportunity to warn the West Palace not to go too far.

"Qin Yun!" From not far away, a cool but surprisingly refreshing voice came.

Qin Yun was no stranger to this voice; it was Xue Ziyeh's!

Xue Ziyeh was an unusual woman who could hide all her emotions, not even revealing them in her voice, so she always seemed cold and aloof.

Xue Ziyeh had also come to participate. She was dressed in her usual purple attire, her appearance unchanged, but her presence had grown significantly stronger, making her seem even more aloof.

She never initiated conversations with men, yet now she was calling out to Qin Yun from a distance.

"Ziye!" Qin Yun smiled. "You've come too. If you meet me, you don't stand a chance!"

"Not so fast!" Xue Ziyeh said calmly. "I am now at the ninth rank of the Martial Body stage. If we can't use spirit talismans and artifacts during the competition, your strength won't be as formidable!"