When everyone returned to the Sword Firmament Pavilion, Guardian Plum everyone away, except for Lin Yun.

Xin Yan’s heart clenched and she said, “Guardian Plum, please don’t blame junior brother for his actions. I’m the cause of this matter, so I’m willing to take responsibility.”

This mess nearly caused an all-out war with the empire. Many people would die in a war and the Sword Firmament Pavilion might have even been annihilated. That outcome would have been unimaginable and it was all because Lin Yun had disobeyed orders. So if Guardian Plum was to pursue this matter, Lin Yun would definitely not be able to escape from his punishment.

“Guardian Plum, please don’t blame Lin Yun. Blame the crown prince if you have. He’s too much of a bully.”

“That’s right. We refuse to see Senior Brother Lin being punished,” said the Locket Mountain’s disciples when they saw that Lin Yun was about to be punished.

“I’m fully responsible for this matter and this has nothing to do with senior sister,” Lin Yun didn’t even try to find an excuse for himself. Since he had done it, he would take responsibility for it.

“Quiet! It’s my decision on how I’ll deal with Lin Yun. Since when were you guys qualified to interfere in my decision?” Guardian Plum barked coldly, which instantly suppressed everyone’s voice.

When Guardian Plum swept his glance, he looked at Xin Yan and his expression softened, “Xin Yan, you go back first. It has been hard for you. Rest well.”

“As for you, Lin Yun, come with me!” Guardian Plum’s tone wasn’t so friendly when it was Lin Yun’s turn. He turned around and left before Lin Yun could even say anything.

“Everyone, please take good care of senior sister Xin Yan. I’ll take my leave first.” Lin Yun quickly followed behind Guardian Plum. As he followed Guardian Plum, the surrounding spiritual energy gradually became denser. Simultaneously, the surroundings also began to look familiar in his eyes.

He knew that he was heading to Guardian Plum’s residence. He had been here half a year ago after the Alliance-Union Battle.

It didn’t take long for him to arrive at his destination. The environment was decorated with plum trees and a faint chill lingered in the atmosphere that felt relaxing. The spiritual energy here was so dense that it had formed a fog.

When Lin Yun recalled the plum trees he cut down back then, out of guilt, Lin Yun no longer dared to utter a word.

He followed behind Guardian Plum, passing through many artificial mountains and pavilions before Guardian Plum ultimately stopped at a pond. The pond was covered in flower petals and the water was so clear that you could see through.

Lin Yun remembered this place because he had cultivated here for three days. The water was chilling and it was covered by a fog made of spiritual energy. This was a genuine spiritual pond.

“Do you know why I brought you here?” asked Guardian Plum with his back towards Lin Yun.

“I don’t.” Lin Yun knew that Guardian Plum wasn’t trying to punish him, but he couldn’t guess Guardian Plum’s intentions.

“Do you want to hear a story?” asked Guardian Plum.

“I’m all ears,” said Lin Yun.

“Now, where should I start…” Guardian Plum looked at the pond and sighed, “I can’t remember how many years ago… maybe twenty, or thirty? Anyways, many many years ago, there was a genius in the Sword Firmament Pavilion whose talent wasn’t any inferior to you or Bai Lixuan.”

Lin Yun’s heart jolted when he heard that. Could that person be Xin Yan’s father?

“He could’ve left the empire for a bigger world, but he went to the army after leaving the sect because his ancestor was a soldier. He was brilliant in leading the army and he was also powerful. He had conquered ten out of the hundred counties in the empire. Very quickly, his military merits began to increase and he became the Divine Guards’ commander. But one night, ten years ago, the empire began to cleanse the army of generals with a background from the four major sects. He was among that group and thus, he was framed for being a rebel. Isn’t it ironic?” sneered Guardian Plum.

“With his strength, he could’ve left if he wanted to. Instead, he was put in a position where he had to deny the crime and explain his innocence to the damn emperor even before his death. His friend who led the Sword Firmament Pavilion hesitated and didn’t make a move. By the time he made his decision, this soldier had already been killed by the royal family’s experts.”

Lin Yun wasn’t too surprised by Guardian Plum’s revelation because it wasn’t any different from his guess.

“After that, this person had a demon planted in his heart that halted his cultivation. He has been stuck in the pinnacle Violet Palace Realm ever since then.” Guardian Plum turned to look at Lin Yun and he continued, “That’s right. This person is me.”

Lin Yun nodded his head silently.

“I brought you here because I wish to thank you. I’ve finally resolved this demon that has been plaguing me for the past decade,” sighed Guardian Plum. “I’ve only been considering how serious the consequences would be, but I’ve never thought that your enemy might not let you go even if you didn’t make a move. The Sword Firmament Pavilion emphasizes on becoming a person like a sword. A swordsman should have the courage to give his life any moment.”

Lin Yun fell into deep thought because he could sense a different temperament coming from Guardian Plum. Guardian Plum’s cultivation seemed to have reached a terrifying height all of a sudden.

“Guardian Plum, you made a breakthrough?” asked Lin Yun.

“Not yet, but it’s just a matter of time for me since I have already resolved the demon in my heart.” Guardian Plum was calm. It was as though this was nothing important.

But Lin Yun was greatly shocked. This was the Heavenly Soul Realm that they were talking about and that kind of strength could rival the empire.

Although it wasn’t easy reaching the Violet Palace Realm, anyone could do it as long as they had both the time and talent. However, the Heavenly Soul Realm wasn’t the same. The resources needed were astronomical and the comprehension requirement to reach that level was too high. To many cultivators, they couldn’t even touch the Heavenly Soul Realm’s bottleneck in their lifetime because it was a huge threshold.

“Do you know what the focus of the Heavenly Soul Realm is?” asked Guardian Plum.

“No…” said Lin Yun.

“The Martial Soul!” Guardian Plum looked at Lin Yun and continued, “For you and cultivators in the Violet Palace Realm, you guys have been using your Martial Souls as trump cards. But one day, you will understand that your Martial Soul is your greatest move…”

“The Heavenly Fate Realm is a threshold and you can only see a wider world after you reach it. So you have to protect your Martial Soul well. It will be your strongest trump card in the future, so you can’t allow it to be damaged.” Guardian Plum was sharing his knowledge with Lin Yun.

Lin Yun now knew why other elites haven’t been using their Martial Souls. So it turns out that they had already been warned.

“There’s also something troubling me, which is why I called you here.” Guardian Plum looked at Lin Yun and frowned, “How did you break Bai Lixuan’s sword?”

Lin Yun bitterly smiled because he had no idea how to answer that question. Even he knew nothing much about his Broken Sword Physique. He could only sense that he could easily snap Bai Lixuan’s sword just like he had done back in the Azure Sun Realm.

But he nearly lost control of Bai Lixuan’s sword earlier. This meant that the Broken Sword Physique wasn’t invincible, so Lin Yun had no idea how to explain it to Guardian Plum.

“It’s fine. Since it’s your secret, you don’t have to tell anyone about it.” Guardian Plum gave Lin Yun a deep look because he could sense something. With his cultivation, he could clearly sense that Lin Yun couldn’t even hold his sword back then.

“Thank you, Guardian Plum. I have another question. You were the one who brought Bai Lixuan into the Sword Firmament Pavilion?” Lin Yun looked at Guardian Plum because this was important to him.

“I did and I also had high hopes for him back then. But it was a pity that he ultimately joined the Azure Association. I’m afraid that the Azure Association must have made him an offer that he couldn’t refuse. Although it might seem like he was trying to get Qin Yu out of a difficult position, he was actually giving the Sword Firmament Pavilion a way out of the situation,” said Guardian Plum.

“Understood.” Lin Yun knew that Guardian Plum was right. If it wasn’t for Bai Lixuan, it wouldn’t be easy to get Qin Yu release Xin Yan.

“I won’t ask about the enmity between the two of you, but I do have something to ask you. Please spare his life if he loses to you,” said Guardian Plum after hesitating for a long time.

Lin Yun was surprised by those words. He looked at Guardian Plum briefly before he nodded his head. He only smiled bitterly within his heart. He could spare Bai Lixuan’s life, but would Bai Lixuan spare his life? However, he owed Guardian Plum, so he would agree to any request from Guardian Plum as long as he didn’t tell Lin Yun to let himself be killed by Bai Lixuan.

Guardian Plum nodded at him, “You still have a month until the Dragon Gate Competition. Don’t go anywhere during this period of time. You can stay here.”

“Is it because the Sword Firmament Pavilion is no longer safe?”

“We already had one issue with Wang Yan, so who knows if there will be a second with someone else? There’s nothing we could do if you got assassinated. We can’t be careless in this last month.” Guardian Plum explained all this with a grave expression. He couldn’t help being cautious of the crown prince’s dirty tricks.

“Alright. I’ll stay here for the next month. Guardian Plum, do you think I have a chance to become one of the eight titles?” Lin Yun wasn’t feeling too confident about his chances because he crippled one of his profound veins. He wasn’t sure if he could walk far in the Dragon Gate Competition with his cultivation in the eighth stage.

He might be strong, but he had already revealed all his trump cards during this battle. Not to mention the eight titles, he wasn’t even sure if he could defeat an expert in the tenth stage or quasi-Violet Palace Realm.

“Do you remember the three cultivation origins I gave you? They aren’t that simple. Anything is possible if you manage to do it,” said Guardian Plum as he took a deep glance at Lin Yun.