Yun Jin's sudden words left the Tian Po Sword momentarily stunned.
His Young Master had always carried the attitude of Heaven comes second, I come first. To hear such an unexpected sigh from her was rare.
Tian Po Sword could not help but feel a little proud. "Of course."
After all, his master's era had truly been one filled with countless prodigies. Yet Wandao Saint had single-handedly suppressed every one of them, dominating an entire age.
Even someone like Ji Wusi could only look up at Wandao Saint with awe, as though facing a mountain too high to ever climb. In a sense, to be born in the same era as Wandao Saint was nothing short of a tragedy.
But when Tian Po Sword glanced at Yun Jin, he suddenly thought: "To live in the same era as my Young Master… that is an even greater tragedy!"
Wandao Saint was indeed strong, but at least he carried himself humbly.
As for Yun Jin… her very existence seemed dedicated to infuriating others.
Tian Po Sword coughed lightly, speaking carefully. "The Yin-Yang Codex is the culmination of Master's life's work. It truly is difficult to enter its threshold. Young Master, you mustn't force yourself. Perhaps after several decades, inspiration will naturally come."
Yun Jin waved a hand dismissively. "It won't take that long. No problem."
The truth was, after she had burned through an enormous amount of Emotional Value, the system had not only perfected the first two layers of the Yin-Yang Codex but even gifted her with a simplified method of entry.
[Yin-Yang Codex: This art fuses yin and yang, its uses limitless. The Sun Star governs yang, the Moon Star governs yin. To begin, one must absorb the dual qi of yin and yang. The host must daily bathe in both the blazing radiance of the Sun and the moonlight of the Moon Star. After ten full hours under each, entry will be achieved.]
In other words, she only needed to sunbathe… and moon-bathe.
How hard could that be?
Yet Tian Po Sword grew even more uneasy at the sight of Yun Jin's self-assured smile.
"Young Master… surely she hasn't gone mad from the difficulty already?"
No, he decided. He had to stay by her side for a while, to offer timely advice if needed.
"Young Master, in this world, I may be the only one who truly understands this art. Allow me to remain with you for a time. Should you run into anything unclear, I can perhaps help explain."
He phrased it as cautiously as possible, afraid of offending her pride.
Yun Jin shrugged. "Fine. Stay with me a few days."
She had seen through his worry. It mattered little—she would succeed soon enough. If he wanted to tag along, let him.
Tian Po Sword returned into the sword seal once more.
Yun Jin stepped out from the Sect Master's Residence and looked up at the sky. The Wushuang Sect also had its division of day and night, its own sun and moon.
But Yun Jin knew these were not the true Sun Star and Moon Star.
Wandao Saint had created mere vessels and drawn in a trace of the real celestial forces, forming the cycle of day and night here. Standing beneath the sun's glow within the sect's secret realm, Yun Jin quickly noticed the problem.
The progress bar advanced, but far slower than expected. Half an hour beneath the sunlight only yielded the progress of fifteen minutes. It seemed the imported sunlight of the secret realm differed from true sunlight.
She tested again outside the secret realm. This time, the progress was accurate—every moment spent in the light translated directly to advancement.
Yun Jin tilted her head, glancing up at Sky City, and her eyes gleamed.
The intensity varied depending on where one absorbed the light. Outside was faster than within the sect's secret realm. Then what about higher altitudes? In theory, the higher she went, the purer the sunlight and moonlight she would receive.
But she had tried before. The small world here had a ceiling: once she reached a certain point, further ascent became impossible.
When Sky City appeared, that ceiling shifted upward—to Sky City's height.
Yun Jin raised a brow. "So if I want to shorten the time needed… I'll have to go there."
Sky City itself was bound by rules. Within the main city, no building could exceed two stories.
During the tournament matches, no one had fought above that height—not because they didn't want to, but because the rules prevented them. Any attempt to climb higher would be met with an invisible force suppressing them.
But was two stories truly the limit?
Yun Jin smirked. It didn't seem so.
There was one thing that had long since surpassed that boundary—by a vast margin.
Through the teleportation array, Yun Jin quickly arrived in Sky City.
The sunlight here immediately caused her progress bar to speed up. The higher the place, the more efficient the absorption. Her guess was right. The requirement had been ten hours each of sunlight and moonlight. Here, with the boost, perhaps only seven hours apiece would be needed.
Yet Yun Jin felt she could do even better.
She strode toward the central plaza.
There stood a colossal statue, soaring into the clouds. It was without question the tallest structure in Sky City, perhaps in the entire realm. Unlike everything else, the statue was not bound by the two-story restriction.
The moment Yun Jin appeared in the plaza, countless gazes fell on her.
What was she doing?
Soon, she stood at the foot of the statue, drawing even more attention.
The statue had existed since before the four great main cities were built. It was precisely because of its presence that the cities could survive amidst the endless outer-realm beasts of Sky City.
The rule forbidding killing within the city stemmed from the statue itself, for it despised slaughter. There had once been a feud here, ending with both sides perishing.
That day, the statue grew furious. It was said its wrath nearly obliterated the entire city. Since then, no one had dared shed blood in Sky City. Even the arena battles were strictly forbidden from ending in death.
The statue loomed above them daily, yet its aura was so unfathomable that few dared look too long upon it.
Now Yun Jin tilted her head back, trying to glimpse its peak.
But she saw nothing.
She turned, randomly selecting a young woman from the onlookers. "Hey, beauty, do you know how tall this statue is?"
The woman nearly jumped out of her skin, stammering, "I… I don't know."
The statue radiated a boundless power. When mortals gazed at it, their minds naturally conjured a blurred figure, yet no one had ever seen its true form.
"All of you don't know?" Yun Jin grew more intrigued. "Haven't you ever thought of climbing up, to see the top? To find out what this figure really looks like?"
The woman's face paled. She shook her head frantically. "No. Never!"
The statue might be stone, yet it seemed alive, able to sense the thoughts within one's heart. A single stray disrespectful notion could invite its punishment. Thus, though they looked upon it daily, the people did not even dare think about such things.
Yun Jin rubbed her chin. "Well, I want to take a look."
Gasps erupted.
Under their horrified stares, she pressed both hands to the statue—
And began to climb.
The crowd: "???!?!"