Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

The Adjutant, also a Transformation Realm expert, scaled the cliff much faster than Lu Chao.

On the opposite side of the destroyed mountain path, Cheng Yunsu and the others grew tense again at the sight...

Suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats echoed from the clifftop, and Lu Chao’s voice carried along with them. ”Tell Lu Hanyan that my name is also Lu Chao. If the opportunity arises, I would very much like to meet her.”

Lu Chao’s calm voice allowed everyone on the other side of the path to let out a collective sigh of relief.

Cheng Yunsu spoke softly. ”Lu Chao had Demon Beast Warhorses prepared on the cliff. They won’t catch him. Let’s go.”

They had left their own warhorses on the clifftop when they arrived.

With that, the group no longer hesitated. They took the two thousand rescued soldiers and hurried down the path leading away from the mountain trail.

They were safe for now, but not completely. Their pursuers could still take a detour.

Therefore, Cheng Yunsu continuously guided them, following the safest route Lu Chao had already laid out for her.

Along the way, Fan Jinhua’s injuries proved too severe, and he fell unconscious.

Meanwhile, Yu Xiaoping and Tan An vividly recounted Lu Chao’s arrangements, how he single-handedly took the enemy commander’s head, and more, slapping their thighs in excitement at the most thrilling parts.

Wu Caicai added that it was Lu Chao who had neutralized Fan Jinhua’s Water Chant Palm.

The young men in the rescue party listened in a daze...

One of them, a young man in green, couldn’t help but mutter, ”His name is Lu Chao, too? If it weren’t for the Life-taking Bone, and if their realms weren’t so vastly different, I’d almost suspect he was *the* Lu Chao.”

At these words, a slight chill went through Cheng Yunsu’s heart.

She chuckled softly. ”That Lu Chao is already dead. And even if he were alive, why would he ever take an interest in someone like me?”

The others chuckled along. People with the same name were innumerable; no one took the comment seriously.

Everyone expressed their gratitude to Cheng Yunsu...

At that moment, Lu Chao, having already shaken off the Adjutant on his Demon Beast Warhorse, was on the clifftop, watching the column of rescued soldiers from a great distance.

Lu Chao couldn’t possibly trust those two thousand soldiers completely, and he certainly wouldn’t allow Cheng Yunsu to be exposed to any risk.

...

「Yangzhou City」

Lu Hanyan arrived before the city gates with five thousand elite soldiers.

Wu Wei, trembling violently, went out to receive her.

He immediately began to boast wildly about how terrifying Fan Jinhua was. As for Lu Chao, he was, of course, only mentioned in passing. Wu Wei absolutely did not dare reveal that his own failure was single-handedly orchestrated by Lu Chao.

He dared even less to admit that Fan Jinhua and the others had managed to escape because he had prioritized saving his daughter, Wu Xin.

Otherwise, Lu Hanyan would have undoubtedly cut him down on the spot.

All the Yangzhou City soldiers who had participated in the battle had been thoroughly briefed.

No one would dare speak out of turn. The price would be death for them all.

After finishing his half-true, half-false account of Fan Jinhua’s escape, Wu Wei added softly, ”Fan Jinhua and his men have fled south toward the Tiger Flame Kingdom. Our men are in pursuit.”

Initially, Lu Chao and Fan Jinhua had indeed broken out toward the Tiger Flame Kingdom in the south, so Wu Wei wasn’t technically lying.

Lu Hanyan’s expression was grim to the extreme. ”My Personal Guard, Lu Yan. Where is her body?”

Upon hearing this, Wu Wei hurriedly presented Lu Yan’s corpse, which had, of course, been brought over from the Cheng Mansion.

At the sight, Lu Hanyan immediately began to inspect the corpse. Her eyes flew wide in fury. ”Her Heavenly Bone has been dug out! This technique... it doesn’t look like Fan Jinhua’s work. Take me to the scene of the battle. Now.”

As her voice fell, Wu Wei trembled once more.

After Lu Chao and his group had left, he had gradually calmed down.

He had realized that Fan Jinhua likely wouldn’t have had time to kill Lu Yan—the timeline didn’t quite add up.

But he couldn’t imagine who else would dare to kill one of Lu Hanyan’s Personal Guards.

’Perhaps there were other assassins from last night still hidden in Yangzhou City.’

’In any case, if I take her to the scene, we’ll find out. Then I can just continue to spin tales about some other terrifying expert.’

Suddenly, a carrier pigeon landed on the arm of another Personal Guard, Lu You.

She quickly opened the message, her expression changing drastically after a glance. She immediately handed it to Lu Hanyan.

After a quick scan, Lu Hanyan stopped dead in her tracks, her anger flaring. She whirled around and fixed Wu Wei with a deathly stare. Just as Wu Wei felt he was about to explode under the pressure, Lu Hanyan raised her hand... SLAP!

A single, heavy slap sent Wu Wei flying.

Lu Hanyan then slammed the letter into his face. ”And you told me Fan Jinhua went south?”

Wu Wei didn’t even dare to cover his stinging face. He quickly read the letter and was left utterly stunned.

The message was from the Adjutant. It reported that Fan Jinhua had gone to rescue the two thousand reinforcements for the assassins.

”You’re absolutely useless! You didn’t even have a clue that Fan Jinhua had slipped back north to Canyang Valley.”

Lu Hanyan’s face was a mask of ice; she was practically bursting with fury.

It was bad enough that Wu Wei’s Yangzhou City forces couldn’t stop Fan Jinhua’s breakout. But to let them silently circle back from south to north, using the opening created by her own departure to ambush her regular troops...

”If you let Fan Jinhua escape with those reinforcements, if you cause me to lose face, I will slaughter your entire family.”

After that grave threat...

Lu Hanyan no longer cared about inspecting the scene of Lu Yan’s murder. She turned once more and charged back toward Canyang Valley with her five thousand elites.

Watching Lu Hanyan, who had arrived and departed in such a rush...

Wu Wei felt a chill that reached his very bones. ’When did Fan Jinhua circle back from south to north?’

Of course he had no idea. His experience and methods for containment were worlds apart from Lu Chao’s skills in breaking out and moving unseen.

How could he possibly have noticed anything?

THUD...

Wu Wei collapsed to the ground, his face contorted. ”How did I suddenly get so unlucky?”

’Life as City Lord was so comfortable before. I wasn’t even affected by the wars of the Hundred Countries. How could my luck suddenly take such a drastic turn for the worse?’

Wu Bei, the Shopkeeper of the Qianling Trading Company, slowly approached.

He spoke with a miserable expression...

”City Lord, it must be the Life-taking Bone. He brought this disaster to Yangzhou City. He brought this calamity upon us.”

”Almost everyone who has come into contact with him is dead! The Cheng Mansion, the Bai Mansion, the Lu Mansion... they’re all finished!”

”And now, it’s our turn.”

Hearing this, Wu Wei shuddered violently.

The thought of his daughter Wu Xin’s tragic death filled his heart with extreme hatred for Lu Chao, the Life-taking Bone, but also with extreme terror.

’Xin’er miscalculated,’ he thought. ’She shouldn’t have messed with that little bitch, Cheng Yunsu.’

’A Life-taking Bone... the moment something like that appears, you should just get rid of it immediately.’

”Damn it, damn it, damn it...”

Not far away, Doctor Liu was treating the wounded soldiers of Yangzhou City. He had been forcibly conscripted by the City Lord’s Mansion.

He overheard their conversation and sneered inwardly. ’What the hell does this have to do with the Life-taking Bone? Why are Chuming and his daughter, Yunsu, perfectly fine? I came into contact with him, so why is nothing wrong with me? This is all your own doing... you’re just reaping what you’ve sown!’

Of course, he would never dare say such things aloud.

But there was only one Doctor Liu in all of Yangzhou City, so the terrifying tales of disaster surrounding the Life-taking Bone still began to spread.

...

「An hour later, near Canyang Valley...」

Piercing cries for mercy rang out again and again. ”My Lady, I was wrong! I shouldn’t have fallen for Fan Jinhua’s dirty trick!”

The Adjutant who had stayed behind had failed to catch Lu Chao and had already returned.

And now, he was being mercilessly whipped by Lu Hanyan, who was on the very brink of explosive rage.