Chapter 197 - Never Bow   Lin Yun’s eyes were filled with murderous intent. Wang Ning was full of regret. If he didn’t waste so much time speaking, he could’ve left the stage. His foolishness would now cost him his life.

After figuring out the Nine Stars Contest’s rules, Lin Yun and Li Wuyou came up with the perfect plan. Lin Yun, who had reached the Profound Martial Realm and grasped the complete sword intent, would go up on the stage. As for Li Wuyou, he would hide among the crowd and send anyone who tried to escape back onto the stage.

Lin Yun wearing a mask was also something that they had discussed. If Lin Yun revealed himself blatantly, Wang Yan and Bai Ting would be alerted in advance. The two would surely try to stop him.

Lin Yun might seem reckless in everyone’s eyes, but he was a meticulous person. The moment he made his move, he would be going in for the kill.

Not giving Wang Ning any chance to struggle, Lin Yun stomped on Wang Ning’s chest, which caused the latter to scream out in pain. All the puppets had been destroyed by Divine Firmament and the ten Profound Martial Realms were still experiencing a splitting headache. As for Leng Mo, he was still pinned into the ground by the spear. Meanwhile, Huangfu Jingxuan was kneeling on the ground.

The other nine star rookies had already withdrawn from the stage in fear. Lin Yun was the only one left standing on the stage, granted his foot was still on Wang Ning’s chest. His white clothes and long hair fluttered in the wind.

At this moment, the diamond-shaped mark on his forehead added a trace of charm and elegance to his temperament. All the elders and senior disciples of the Sword Firmament Pavilion were on their feet, looking at Lin Yun with a complicated expression.

The Nine Stars Contest had been a tradition of the Sword Firmament Pavilion, with a history of at least a thousand years. But throughout history, no one had dominated the entire stage by themselves. But with his sword, Lin Yun had defeated the ten Profound Martial Realms and even stepped on the direct descendant of the Wang Clan.

Judging from this situation, Lin Yun seemed to have no intention of letting Wang Ning off. Something like this had never happened in the Sword Firmament Pavilion’s history. A dead person had made a grand entrance and raised a storm.

Some people wore complicated expressions, while others wore ugly expressions on their faces. Bai Ting’s face was gloomy and he shouted, “Lin Yun, if you continue to act presumptuously, don’t blame me for taking action against you!”

His icy voice echoed out at the foot of the Sword Firmament Pavilion. It contained a cold and murderous intent. Luo Feng, who was next to Xin Yan, sneered and said, “If this old foggy can take action, he would’ve already made his move long ago. No one can enter the stage at this moment.”

The rules in the stage were set more than a thousand years ago. Even as the presiding elder, Bai Ting still had to abide by the ancient rules. Before the incense burnt out, no one was allowed to get on the stage. Of course, this excluded those with nine stars in their jade pendants. So what Bai Ting did right now was nothing but intimidation.

“Presumption? May I ask how I’m acting presumptuously?” Lin Yun looked at Bai Ting indifferently without any fear.

“You made a mess of the contest and even injured so many people. How is that not presumptuous?” Bai Ting replied in a deep tone.

“Are you blind? Everyone here witnessed that the Han brothers were the ones who attacked me first. What did I do wrong?” Lin Yun responded rudely.

“What boldness…”

“He actually dared to scold Elder Bai Ting directly. Elder Bai Ting is a genuine inner sect elder!”

“Haha, the Nine Stars Contest this year is interesting. We’re fortunate to be here. Otherwise, we would’ve missed a show!”

“Indeed. The rookies are arrogant these days. I’m afraid that there won’t be any more pieces in the Sword Firmament Pavilion in the future.”

Lin Yun’s words had caused an uproar, drawing many comments from the surrounding disciples. On the other side, Bai Ting’s face turned even more ugly. He was already on the verge of losing his temper.

As for Wang Yan, he also did not expect that Lin Yun would be bold enough to talk back to an elder.

“We’re done talking. You killed four seeded candidates in the forest and we have witnesses that can attest to that. If you let Wang Ning go, I’m willing to be lenient with your punishment,” said Bai Ting.

Lin Yun’s witnesses were all the people that were present. Lin Yun wasn’t the one who started the fight with the ten Profound Martial Realms. Furthermore, it was common for there to be fights between the rookies.

In the end, Bai Ting could only change his strategy. His priority right now was saving Wang Ning. Even if all the Profound Martial Realms died on the stage, they weren’t as important as Wang Ning! As the Wang Clan’s descendant, it would be troublesome if he died here.

“Lenient?” Lin Yun sneered and waved his hand, “Wuyou, go and ask what actually happened back in the forest.”

Li Wuyou smiled and went over to Leng Mo. With a pull, he extracted the spear from Leng Mo’s chest. Pulling the latter up, Li Wuyou questioned, “Speak. Tell everyone here how the four seeded candidates died.”

Leng Mo’s face was pale. He coughed and looked at Wang Yan beside Bai Ting. When he sensed Wang Yan’s cold gaze, he felt a chill run down his spine and stayed silent.

“You’re not going to speak? Then I’ll plunge the spear back into your chest.” Li Wuyou kicked Leng Mo’s knee and began to stab the spear back into his chest.

Leng Mo’s face turned pale when he saw this. He knew that he would die this time if the spear went back into his chest. In the end, Leng Mo waved his hand, “I-I’ll speak! It’s the second young master! The second young master had a grudge with Lin Yun and instructed us to deal with him in the forest. He said that Lin Yun only has a garbage Martial Soul and the Wang Clan will take responsibility for everything.”

His voice was weak, but everyone heard him clearly. After all, everyone here was at least in the sixth orifice of the Xiantian Realm.

Knitting her brows, Xin Yan cursed, “Wang Clan that bunch of bastards. How dare they?!”

Waving his hand, Lin Yun summoned the Flower Burial Sword from Huangfu Jingxuan’s chest through the air.

“Huff…” Huangfu Jingxuan took a deep breath while kneeling on the ground. Lin Yun did not speak a word and only looked at him coldly. The spectators were looking at Huangfu Jingxuan. They had no idea what Lin Yun was trying to do.

With a bitter smile, Huangfu Jingxuan lowered his head, “Wang Ning promised us ten Greater Profound Pellets and a hundred nine grade Spiritual Jades for us to deal with Lin Yun.”

His words instantly caused a commotion among the audience. Everyone now knew why they would act against Lin Yun when they had no previous grudges. So it turns out that they were bribed by Wang Ning.

Everyone turned to look at Lin Yun. If they remembered it correctly, Lin Yun was only in the fifth orifice of the Xiantian Realm back then. It was a miracle that he managed to survive the ten Profound Martial Realms.

Looking at Elder Bai Ting, Lin Yun asked coldly, “Elder Bai, do you still have anything to say?”

He had already made up his mind to kill Wang Ning. He had to make known the grievances he and Li Wuyou had felt.

“Release him!” Bai Ting spat the two words out while gnashing his teeth.

“What makes you think that I’ll listen to you? When this asshole forced me into desperate straits, why didn’t you show up back then?” Lin Yun said coldly.

“Shut up!” Bai Ting rebuked. “Who the hell do you think you are? The pavilion has assigned me fully responsible for this matter. You’re just someone with a garbage Martial Soul, you’re worse than a dog in my eyes. If I tell you to release him, you damn well better do as I say. I will deal with Wang Ning’s matters impartially.”

“Hahaha!” Lin Yun laughed. “Impartially? More like you’ll be fair to Wang Ning and unfair to me. I’ll retire my sword today if I don’t take his life because I’ll be letting down my brothers if I don’t!”

Lin Yun swung his sword down, piercing Wang Ning’s chest. The sword was buzzing when it stabbed into Wang Ning’s body. This was the spirit of a swordsman, never bowing to anything!

Wang Ning’s eyes were opened wide in anger when the sword pierced into his chest. He had taken his last breath. When he died, he still couldn’t figure out what gave Lin Yun the courage to kill him in front of Elder Bai Ting and his elder brother. But before he could figure it out, his consciousness vanished.

He had died. Elder Bai Ting had already ordered Lin Yun to release Wang Ning, the direct descendant of the Wang Clan. But Lin Yun had killed him without any hesitation. When Huangfu Jingxuan saw this scene, his heart went cold. He now knew that Lin Yun had been lenient to him.

Lin Yun could kill him easily if he wanted to. Now that he had escaped death, Huangfu Jingxuan couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear in his heart. The audiences all took in a cold breath as they were caught by surprise.

Right at this moment, the barrier disappeared, signaling the end of the Nine Stars Contest.

“Die!” Wang Yan let out a roar and unleashed his murderous aura. Nine amber radiance exploded from him. He had summoned his ninth grade Amber Martial Soul, the Demon Runic Tiger. Wang Yan was furious, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

He brandished his sword out at Lin Yun. With this sword powered by his cultivation in the sixth stage of the Profound Martial Realm, he reached Lin Yun in the blink of an eye.

In the crucial moment, Lin Yun raised the Flower Burial Sword to block this attack. But the drastic difference in their cultivation sent Lin Yun flying. He couldn’t put up any resistance against Wang Yan. The blow had even left cracks in his internal organs.

After Lin Yun was sent flying by the sword, the Demon Runic Tiger pounced over.

“Watch out!” Exclamations sounded out from beneath the stage. Lin Yun was already heavily injured and if he would die if he took an attack from the Demon Runic Tiger. No one had expected Wang Yan to be so decisive. The moment the incense finished burning, Wang Yan acted immediately with the intention of taking Lin Yun’s life.

All of this took place too quickly, so the others couldn’t even render their assistance. But right at this moment, amber radiance surged from Lin Yun. Compared to Wang Yan, the amber radiance coming from him was much brighter. Under the dazzling radiance, a total of eight amber radiances shot out from Lin Yun.

In the next moment, the sky started to change with blowing clouds. It seemed as if something ominous was making an appearance.