Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Fan Jinhua and Nephew Tan stared at Lu Chao...

Before they could speak, Lu Chao asked Nephew Tan, ”Brother Tan, are you so sure that all your companions have given up? Just because you were surrounded, does that really mean every single one of them is dead?”

The expressions on Nephew Tan and the others changed slightly.

But Nephew Tan quickly replied with a grimace, ”Lu Hanyan’s Great Wu Soldiers and Horses...”

Before he could finish, Lu Chao cut him off sharply. ”So what if it’s Lu Hanyan? Where’s the courage you had when you first set out to assassinate her?”

Fan Jinhua swayed and lowered his head with a bitter smile.

’At the start, we had no idea that someone so young could be so terrifying.’

’Our courage was shattered long ago.’

”Do you really want to go die on the walls of Yangzhou City and make your father watch? Don’t you think that would be cruel to him?”

”Would he be able to rest in peace?”

Lu Chao looked at Nephew Tan again. ”What you need to do now is exhaust every option to save your comrades—every single one counts. Then, you must find a way to survive. If you’re dead, you have no hope of revenge.”

His voice grew increasingly passionate.

Cheng Yunsu watched Lu Chao from the side. ’Her husband had truly died once before. She knew the feeling of being powerless to get revenge was the most painful of all.’

”Dying is just taking the coward’s way out...”

”The true test of courage is to stay alive, to cultivate with everything you have, and to one day take your revenge.”

”Even if you have to die, you shouldn’t throw your life away against an insignificant nobody like Wu Wei. If you’re going to go after someone, go after Lu Hanyan.”

”How does killing a few of them even begin to settle the score?”

”Snatching your comrades’ lives from the jaws of Lu Hanyan’s siege—from her very hands—*that’s* how you settle the score.”

Cheng Yunsu continued to watch Lu Chao.

’He rarely said this much. He wasn’t just telling this to Fan Jinhua and the others; he was telling it to himself, too.’

’To endure, to stay alive, so that one day he could find Lu Dingtian and claim his bloody revenge.’

But one of Nephew Tan’s men stepped forward. ”Easy for you to say,” he challenged. ”Would *you* have the courage to face Lu Hanyan?”

The assassins were all masters from Master Fan’s generation, and they were all dead.

Those of them in the support team, like Nephew Tan, were just the sons and nephews of the real assassins. The absolute peak of their Cultivation would only ever put them on Master Fan’s level.

’Live on? Cultivate for ten, twenty years...’

’But by then, what kind of terrifying monster will Lu Hanyan have become? The thought only brings more despair.’

Nephew Tan and his men had lost all courage; they couldn’t see a sliver of hope.

Lu Chao looked at the man who had spoken and declared, his voice heavy, ”I killed one of Lu Hanyan’s Personal Guards—a Transformation Realm master.”

At his words, Nephew Tan and his men froze, their eyes instinctively darting to Fan Jinhua.

Fan Jinhua himself snapped to attention. ’It hit him that he’d never even asked: How *did* Lu Chao kill one of Lu Hanyan’s Personal Guards?’

”Didn’t Master Fan kill her?” the man who had questioned Lu Chao asked in a daze.

On the city wall, Master Fan had personally claimed he did it.

At that, Cheng Yunsu stepped forward. ”Of course Master Fan didn’t do it. Wu Wei clearly wasn’t thinking about the timeline. Master Fan was already at the city gates. How could he have possibly killed the Personal Guard, Lu Yan?”

Hearing this, Fan Jinhua nodded and explained why he had claimed responsibility.

It was because he hadn’t wanted Lu Chao to become a target.

But the moment he finished speaking, Fan Jinhua’s eyes shot wide open. ”Young Madam Lu,” he exclaimed, ”did you say the Personal Guard’s name was Lu Yan?”

Before Cheng Yunsu could answer, he muttered again...

”That’s right... the Personal Guard’s name *is* Lu Yan. Wu Wei said it on the wall.”

With that, Fan Jinhua stared at Lu Chao in utter disbelief, as if he were looking at some kind of monster.

At the same moment, Nephew Tan’s mind raced. He trembled violently as the pieces clicked into place. ”Lu Yan... Our intel said she’s Lu Hanyan’s most trusted confidante. A terrifying master at the Seventh Layer of Transformation Realm, who possesses a Heavenly Bone Level Heavenly Destiny Bone.”

To assassinate Lu Hanyan, they had of course gathered detailed intelligence on everyone around her.

In fact, before the attempt, they had considered Lu Yan to be one of the greatest obstacles to getting to Lu Hanyan.

”How... how did you kill her?” Nephew Tan’s man couldn’t help but ask.

Everyone, including Wu Caicai and Uncle Leng, turned to look at Lu Chao. They desperately wanted to know the answer too.

But Lu Chao offered no details. ”I put my life on the line,” he replied nonchalantly.

”If I had flinched and resigned myself to fate just because I was up against one of Lu Hanyan’s Transformation Realm Personal Guards, my wife and I would already be dead.”

His words finally caused a flicker of hope to ignite in the desolate hearts of Nephew Tan and his men.

”Right now, Wu Wei is undoubtedly reporting two things to Lu Hanyan: Lu Yan’s death, and the fact that Master Fan is one of the assassins.”

”That means Lu Hanyan is bound to return to Yangzhou City.”

”Which means, for a short while, Lu Hanyan herself won’t be a direct threat. During that window, we save who we can. Every single one counts. We have no time to waste.”

”Brother Tan, tell me your last position.”

After this brief analysis of their next move, Lu Chao didn’t even ask for Fan Jinhua’s opinion, turning his gaze directly to Nephew Tan.

He exuded a commanding presence that made Nephew Tan, for a moment, forget everything else and answer obediently.

”Near Canyang Valley? I know that place. Our chances are good.”

”Move out.”

With that, Lu Chao took the lead, heading in the direction of Canyang Valley. Cheng Yunsu followed without a word. Cheng Chuming, though still a bit dazed, hurried after them. Wu Caicai and Uncle Leng exchanged a glance, then followed without hesitation.

That just left Fan Jinhua, Nephew Tan, and his men. After a moment, they too scrambled to follow, their expressions still bewildered.

Nephew Tan hurried to catch up. ”Brother Lu, how can you be so certain Lu Hanyan will return to Yangzhou City?”

From atop his warhorse, Lu Chao laughed.

”Lu Yan died in Yangzhou City, and Wu Wei even let us escape. How do you think he’ll spin that? Won’t he praise Master Fan to the skies?”

”He absolutely will.”

”He’ll use Master Fan’s ’terrifying power’ as an excuse to cover for his own incompetence. The moment Lu Hanyan hears about it, she’ll have to come back.”

Just then, Lu Chao heard the sound of approaching soldiers from Yangzhou City...

Suddenly, Lu Chao called out with a loud laugh, ”Master Fan, you took that Water Chant Palm! Are you feeling alright?”

Fan Jinhua froze for a second, then immediately caught on. ”HAHAHA!” he boomed. ”Lu Hanyan’s Water Chant Palm is nothing to me!”

Their exchange finished, the two men locked eyes for a moment.

They had done it deliberately for the Yangzhou City soldiers to overhear, giving Wu Wei more ammunition to build up Fan Jinhua’s fearsome reputation.

...

Meanwhile, as Lu Chao and his group of several dozen people rushed toward Canyang Valley...

Wu Wei received a report from his men.

”Fan Jinhua was also hit by Lady Hanyan’s Water Chant Palm, but he survived.”

”Send another carrier pigeon to Lady Hanyan at once! Tell her Fan Jinhua is absurdly powerful, and that he said the Water Chant Palm is garbage!”

A pigeon carrying Wu Wei’s message shot into the sky.

...

At a camp near Canyang Valley, Lu Hanyan frowned. ’Lu Yan is taking too long.’

’Logically, killing that... that Life-taking Bone Lu Chao and driving off Fan Jinhua should have been a quick affair.’

’Catching up with the main host should have been quick as well.’

’The fact that she still wasn’t back was irritating.’

Suddenly, another Female Personal Guard approached with a carrier pigeon. Lu Hanyan snatched the message from the bird’s leg and opened it. Her pupils contracted instantly as rage contorted her features. ”Lu Yan... was killed by Fan Jinhua. And Fan Jinhua was one of the assassins all along.”