Everyone’s faces began to change at the old man’s words. They began to wonder if anything happened to Lin Yun. Just thinking about the outcome itself made everyone worry.

“Grandfather, Lin Yun will be fine, right?” Mu Xue asked with her eyes glued to the bronze door.

The dean wore a grave expression as he sighed, “I can’t say for sure. The incomplete divine rune is powerful, and not even Lord Qianyang could refine it. I’m sure Lin Yun won’t be greedy. He’ll benefit greatly if he didn’t try and refine the divine rune since he stayed in there for half a month, but…”

Everyone knew what he wanted to say. People could rarely stay there for a week, let alone half a month!

“You guys stay here,” said the dean.

But right at this moment, the door began to open. Everyone’s heart began to jump as they quickly looked at the entrance. As the bronze door slowly opened, an azure-clothed figure gradually came out. Everyone looked at the youth with surprise on their faces as they rejoiced.

First, Lin Yun looked at the sky and then he took a deep breath. The outside air was so much better. The underground palace might be filled with the divine rune’s energy, but it was still too stuffy. Now that he took a deep breath of the outside air, he was refreshed.

When he looked at Mo Ling and the rest, he wore a smile. But his smile soon froze when he saw Mo Ling and everyone else charge over in excitement. All of them looked even more excited than he was.

“What are you guys trying to do?” smiled Lin Yun.

“You’re finally out!” Mo Ling glared at Lin Yun. She clearly reminded Lin Yun not to stay inside for too long, but Lin Yun had stayed there for half a month.

“You’re finally out. You have no idea how worried everyone was for you,” smiled Mu Xue. She looked at Lin Yun and continued, “If you had stayed any longer, my grandfather would have gone inside personally to look for you.”

Liu Yunyan smiled by the side. SHe too felt relieved when she saw Lin Yun.

Lin Yun scratched his head with a bitter smile. His strength had boosted exponentially in the underground palace, but now he felt guilty for making all of them worry. In the end, he could only smile apologetically before quickly looking at the dean, who was smiling at him.

Lin Yun quickly headed over and greeted him, “Greetings, Elder Tang and Lord Dean.”

“You really had us worried. But I believe you also benefited greatly the past two weeks,” said the dean with a smile. Through his reminder, everyone composed themselves as they looked at Lin Yun. Although there were no changes in Lin Yun’s cultivation, the aura coming from him was even more terrifying than before.

This wasn’t just a change on the surface, but even a change to Lin Yun’s temperament. Anyone could clearly sense the terrifying power within Lin Yun’s body.

“I have to thank the academy for giving me the opportunity to observe the incomplete divine rune,” smiled Lin Yun. Not only did he make a breakthrough to the tenth stage in his cultivation technique, but his physique had also undergone a transformation. He could now throw a punch with thirty cauldrons worth of strength.

Most importantly, he refined a trace portion of the divine rune, which benefited him even more. If the dean were to find out, he would definitely be shocked beyond belief.

The dean laughed, “You must be joking. It’s because of you that we can keep the incomplete divine rune, so it’s natural for us to let you observe it. My junior brother, Tang Yu, and I have thought about it carefully. We’ll both give you a gift when you leave the academy.”

Lin Yun was surprised when he heard that. The dean seemed to understand that he would eventually leave the academy, so he didn’t try to hide it.

“Then I’ll have to thank you in advance. I believe I’ll be surprised by it,” said Lin Yun.

“Expect something great. After all, I would be embarrassed if it couldn’t compare to the help you gave us,” laughed the dean.

“Thank you then,” replied Lin Yun.

“What is there to thank me about? I believe that you need some time to digest what you gained over the past two weeks. You’ll benefit the most in your first time observing the divine rune, so don’t waste the experience.”

The dean was a decisive person and he allowed Lin Yun to go after a brief chat. This made Mo Ling and the others shocked. As the dean of the academy, he was a revered figure in the academy. Not many people could chat with him so casually without feeling afraid.

“Grandfather, why didn’t you try and persuade him to stay?” Mu Xue asked after Lin Yun left. “He’s someone who even defeated Cao Zhen. He’ll definitely shine brightly during the Draconic Banquet.”

“Do you think he’ll stay?” asked the dean casually.

“This…” Mu Xue was instantly speechless.

“Not to mention the academy, I’m afraid not even the Heavenly Sword Sect can get him to stay. He’ll only represent the Sword Firmament Pavilion on the Draconic Banquet. He’s someone who values relationships greatly,” said the dean in a profound voice.

Liu Yunyan spoke out, “He’s different from others.

“Yes, he is…” Mo Ling’s eyes shined brightly as she continued, “The Draconic Banquet is a gathering of monstrous geniuses all over the Ancient Southern Domain and he might not be able to get a good ranking at his age. But his temperament is unique. I rarely see anyone with it.”

Mo Ling was naturally talking about those geniuses on the Dragoncloud Ranking. She has participated in the Draconic Banquet in the past, so she had seen many geniuses, even those more talented than Lin Yun. But she has never seen someone as stubborn and prideful as Lin Yun.

Lin Yun clearly had good enough talent to become an overlord force’s disciple if he wished. However, he was stubborn and wouldn’t join any of them.

“Let him be. The road he walks on is tough. But if he makes it out, then his achievements will be so shocking that even I can’t predict them. Right now, our academy can be considered to have formed a good relationship with him,” said the dean. His words left everyone shocked because the dean could be considered a great figure even in the entire Ancient Southern Domain. So they were shocked that the dean could give such an evaluation of Lin Yun.

When Lin Yun returned to his residence, he was still boiling in excitement as he benefited greatly from observing the divine rune. With a nudge of his will, purple light began to radiate on his body and he could hear a beastly roar. Shortly after, he was enveloped by the dracophant energy.

Clenching his fist together, Lin Yun punched out with excitement, “This is the power of thirty cauldron’s worth of strength?”

The air exploded when he punched it and he could see a ripple spreading out in the air. It was just a casual punch since he didn’t activate the Dracophant Battle Physique at all. When the purple radiance gradually calmed down, Lin Yun’s pupils radiated with boundless confidence, “This is the true form of the Dracophant Battle Physique.”

If he ran into Cao Zhen again, Lin Yun was confident that he wouldn’t win with such difficulty anymore. He waved his hand and a golden flame appeared on his palm in the shape of a golden feather.

It was his soul mark formed with the Firefeather Rune. However, it had evolved into a phoenix feather and now contained the boundless power to incinerate anything in the world. Even someone in the greater Yang stage wouldn’t dare to take the flames head-on.

If he used his feather to create the Ablaze Phoenix Painting again, he was confident that it would be a lot more powerful. But Lin Yun didn’t forget about his objective in coming to the academy. He retracted his soul mark and retrieved the rose painting.

As he slowly unfolded the painting, his eyes radiated with confidence. This time, he wanted to see the sword attack used by that azure-clothed man and uncover its secret once and for all.