Chapter 851: Azure Gale Sword Formation!

Meanwhile, in another secluded chamber, Elder Mu Cang was reading a freshly delivered report, and surprise showed on his face.

"This boy is already in the top hundred?"

He knew Elder Qing extremely well. Elder Qing was fair and rarely let personal fondness sway his decisions, so even though he clearly valued Li Yun, the three special trials he had set were anything but easy.

Each one had been carefully designed after weighing Li Yun’s potential, with the aim of pushing him close to his limits and forcing out as much of that potential as possible. Yet Li Yun had exceeded expectations once again by finishing the first trial a full month ahead of schedule.

"Interesting." A faint smile appeared on Elder Mu Cang’s face. "At this rate, Elder Qing’s last set of Phantom Deity Armor might really end up belonging to this boy."

He waved over a subordinate.

"Transfer ten thousand points to Li Yun and upgrade his authority as Elder Qing instructed."

"Yes, Elder."

By then, the young man everyone in the camp was talking about had already slipped quietly back to his stone residence. Compared with two months earlier, his strength had improved considerably.

In his latest Extreme Dao Pagoda challenge he had cleared ten floors in a row before finally losing on the eleventh, and even that defeat had been extremely narrow, since the gap between him and the guardian had been very small. He had done even better in the Endless Pagoda, reaching the eighth floor before deliberately ending the challenge.

Together, the two trials had earned him thirteen thousand seven hundred and twenty-three points, which counted as an enormous fortune for most members of the camp.

What nobody knew was that Li Yun had still been hiding a sizable portion of his true strength. If he had used everything at his disposal, his ranking would have climbed far higher than eighty-sixth.

He had no desire to reveal all his abilities yet, however. His progress was already drawing enormous attention, so advancing step by step was safer, and there was no reason to force his way into the highest rankings before he needed to.

Ding!

His points token suddenly trembled, and another ten thousand points appeared on it. Li Yun understood the reason immediately, since this was his reward for completing Elder Qing’s first special trial.

More importantly, his privileges had changed as well. From now on, he could cultivate inside the Enlightenment Pagoda for fifteen days every month, which meant half of each month could be spent in that extraordinary environment.

It still could not compare with the privilege held by Mu Tianque, the current number-one member, who could enter and leave the Enlightenment Pagoda freely, but it already matched the treatment the top ten enjoyed. On top of that, Li Yun no longer had to spend points to enter the other five secret realms, and his discount on treasure exchanges had risen to thirty percent.

"A thirty percent discount and more than twenty thousand points..." Li Yun’s eyes lit up. "It’s time to trade for some useful resources."

He knew that completing all three special trials would eventually raise his discount to fifty percent, and waiting until then would certainly save a lot of points. That could take several months, though, and holding back his cultivation just to save some currency would be foolish. Resources only had real value once they had been turned into strength.

"First, I need more swords."

Over the past two months he had grown extremely skilled at controlling the three thousand Violet Thunder Swords, and at his current level of Sword Control Art, three thousand were no longer enough. He began searching through the treasure list, and before long one particular set caught his eye.

"The Azure Gale Sword Formation."

It consisted of three thousand swords, each of which had reached the middle-grade Heaven Rank. The exchange list naturally offered stronger sword sets, some of them even Sacred Rank, but stronger did not always mean more suitable.

Because the Azure Gale Sword Formation and the Violet Thunder Sword Formation were at similar levels, Li Yun could combine them far more easily. One also carried the power of wind while the other held thunder, and wind and thunder naturally complemented each other. If he could fuse the two formations through Sword Control Art, their combined power would far exceed either one alone.

He kept searching, and soon another item drew his attention. It was the Mystic Pivot Formation Diagram, which could hold as many as ten thousand precious swords at once. Compared with his old Purple Heaven Sword Formation, its capacity and complexity were on an entirely different level.

"These two will do."

Li Yun made up his mind. Together, the Azure Gale Sword Formation and the Mystic Pivot Formation Diagram normally cost three thousand points, and most of that price came from the diagram, since the sword formation itself cost only five hundred. With his thirty percent discount, the total dropped to two thousand one hundred points, which he could easily afford.

After selecting the two items, he stopped browsing spiritual artifacts. He already had the Profound Origin Sword and the Mystic Pivot Formation Diagram, so he did not need any more weapons for now. Instead, he turned to medicinal pills, focusing mainly on ones that could restore energy and strengthen soul power.

Soul-related resources were exceptionally valuable, and even in the Genius Training Camp, where countless rare treasures were on offer, pills that could nourish the soul remained expensive. Li Yun quickly spent more than ten thousand points, and that was after his thirty percent discount, so the cost would have been much higher without it.

Many of those pills also required special exchange authority, which meant ordinary members could not buy them even if they had enough points.

Finally, he picked out several spiritual materials that could nourish and consolidate his essence qi. By the time he finished all his purchases, the huge pile of points he had gathered was almost completely gone.

Li Yun did not mind in the slightest. He no longer needed to save points for entering Radiant Gold Mountain, the Puppetwood Corridor, Heavenly Torrent Falls, the Blazing Earth Cavern, or the Thousandfold Gravity Hall, because the privilege he had earned from Elder Qing’s first trial now made entry to all five of them free.

For the next half month, he returned to the Enlightenment Pagoda and devoted almost all his attention to consolidating what he had recently gained. His soul power grew steadily stronger, and by the time he left, he could control two thousand Violet Thunder Swords and two thousand Azure Gale Swords at the same time, with all four thousand blades moving according to his will.

More importantly, the combination was far stronger than simply controlling four thousand identical swords.

The Violet Thunder Swords carried violent thunder power, while the Azure Gale Swords held the speed and flexibility of wind. When wind and thunder intertwined, each one strengthened the other, and the resulting sword formation was far more powerful than Li Yun had originally expected.

His progress was not limited to Sword Control Art either. His understanding of Fast Sword and Slow Sword had deepened, his Destruction Sword Intent had grown more stable, and he had kept setting aside time to strengthen his Five Element Intent.

After finishing another cultivation session, Li Yun slowly opened his eyes.

"Now it’s time to raise some of my attributes."

Anticipation flashed in his eyes, because there was something he had nearly forgotten during these months of relentless training.

When he took first place on the Northern Territory Heaven’s Chosen Ranking, he had received five hundred thousand experience points, and he had not touched them since.

With his techniques improving considerably, the time had finally come to put that reward to use.

’Status.’ Li Yun muttered.

[Name: Li Yun]

– Cultivation: [5th level of Heavenly Core Realm]

– Physique: [Primal Chaos Body]

– Bloodline: [Golden Ancient Dragon Bloodline]

– Eye: [(2)Nine Tribulations Divine Eye (Left)]

– Spirit Soul: [Gold]

– Comprehension: [8th Tier]

– Experience: [710,000]