Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

The Tiger Flame Eldest Prince was in a foul mood, his eyes dark, and he desperately wanted to ignore Chang Qi.

But on the surface, he had no choice but to agree.

Just then, Fan Changcun smiled nonchalantly. ”Rest assured, Marquis Jilong will certainly ask us to spare Li Wumian. He should be somewhere within the old Azure Flame Sect grounds right now. Go have a look.”

Li Wumian was the Vice Dean of the Dragon Flame Kingdom’s Celestial King Academy. Of course, Marquis Jilong couldn’t let Lu Chao and his people kill him outright.

Sure enough, the Tiger Flame soldiers soon found Li Wumian and his disciple somewhere on the old grounds of the Azure Flame Sect, bound tightly.

Once the two were completely free, Li Wumian couldn’t help but roar to the heavens, ”Fan Changcun, when we get back to Dragon Flame, I swear we’ll find a way to kill every last one of you from the Azure Flame Sect—especially that big-bearded grandson of yours! AAAAAAAH!”

’This is utterly humiliating!’ He, Li Wumian, had never suffered such a miserable fate in his entire life.

’For nearly a month, I was reduced to a captive.’

’This grudge is irreconcilable!’

...

The turmoil caused by the Descendants of Azure Flame across the Hundred Countries had, for the moment, come to an end.

The Six Great Flame Countries, preoccupied with their own urgent wars, lacked the power to stop the departure of the Descendants of Azure Flame. They could only express their indignation by sending letters and dispatching envoys to the Dragon Flame King.

As for the outcome... Lu Chao and Fan Changcun had already predicted that the Dragon Flame King would surely ignore them.

It came down to the same old reason: the Dragon Flame Kingdom was far more powerful than any of the Six Great Flame Countries. Forty years ago, although the Dragon Flame Kingdom had participated in the campaign to destroy the Azure Flame Sect, one of its princes had vehemently opposed the action.

And that very prince from forty years ago was now the reigning Dragon Flame King.

This was why Marquis Jilong dared to act so boldly; saving the Descendants of Azure Flame was an action taken with the Dragon Flame King’s tacit approval.

This was also one of the biggest reasons why Fan Changcun trusted Marquis Jilong.

Sure enough, not long after, the Dragon Flame King’s reply arrived: ”Weren’t your six Royal Decrees perfectly clear? You were to grant the Descendants of Azure Flame their freedom, were you not?”

The Six Great Flame Kings were instantly left speechless.

Because the incident had blown up to such a massive scale, the Six Great Flame Kings ultimately had no choice but to publicly reveal the six Royal Decrees and declare that they themselves had been the ones to let the Descendants of Azure Flame go.

As the rulers of the Six Great Flame Countries, they had their credibility to maintain, after all.

...

「Meanwhile, as Lu Chao and his group made their way to the Dragon Flame Kingdom...」

Great Wu Empire, Yangzhou City!

Due to the war, among other things, Yangzhou City had taken on a grim, austere air. The streets were sparsely populated, with people scattered about in twos and threes.

Two men in black suddenly appeared before the gates of the now-dilapidated Cheng Mansion.

After staring at the mansion for a few moments, they slipped inside.

They emerged again moments later. One of them said, ”Not a soul inside. Let’s move on to the next one.”

The second man in black frowned...

He said in a low voice, ”Let’s ask around. The Old Mistress gave a direct order: we are not to miss a single one of the Master’s illegitimate sons.”

Hearing this, the first man nodded and began making inquiries in the streets.

Two hours later, the men reappeared before a brand-new house elsewhere in Yangzhou City.

They knocked lightly. A middle-aged man came to the door and asked blankly, ”Who are you looking for?”

SHING...

One of the men drew his sword and pressed it to the man’s throat. ”You were a household servant at the Cheng Mansion, correct?” he asked coldly.

The middle-aged man froze, then stammered, ”Who are you? What do you want?”

This man was indeed a former household servant of the Cheng Mansion. After he had arranged for the death of Patriarch Cheng Weishan on Lu Chao’s orders, he had absconded with a great deal of the mansion’s treasure, built a new house, and begun living a comfortable life.

But he had changed his name and gone into hiding, terrified of being implicated in Lu Chao’s affairs.

’The things that son-in-law, Lu Chao, has done are absolutely terrifying!’ He’d even heard that Lu Chao had personally stabbed City Lord Wu Wei to death.

”Answer a few of our questions, and you live,” the man in black said coldly.

A short while later...

The two men in black turned and left the former servant’s brand-new house. Behind them, the servant lay dead in a pool of his own blood.

The second man frowned. ”Why kill him? There was no need for that.”

The first man split his lips in a grin. ”Habit. I couldn’t help myself.”

The two of them ultimately fell silent...

The second man spoke again. ”From what that man said, it seems Cheng Chuming really is the Master’s illegitimate son. He said Cheng Chuming is with Fan Jinhua of Tiger Flame.”

The first man picked up the thread. ”Fan Jinhua... The name sounds familiar.”

”Grandson of Fan Changcun, one of the Descendants of Azure Flame. They’ve been causing a huge stir across the Hundred Countries lately. The latest intelligence suggests... Marquis Jilong has taken them to Jilong State and is giving them a place to settle.”

The second man explained with perfect clarity.

A cold glint flashed in the first man’s eyes, and he let out a dark chuckle...

”Jilong State... what a coincidence. The Old Mistress is heading there herself soon. We should send word immediately. I just wonder if Cheng Chuming is still with those Descendants of Azure Flame.”

”That’s not our concern. We just need to get the message to the Old Mistress. Let’s move on to the next one.”

”Right. The Master really got around in his youth, didn’t he?”

As the two men spoke, a carrier pigeon took flight, heading toward the Dragon Flame Kingdom.

As for the former servant of the Cheng Mansion... given the current state of war, no one would bother to investigate how he died.

...

「Half a month later.」

Lu Chao, Fan Jinhua, and their followers had crossed through more than a dozen small countries, finally arriving at the border of Jilong State in the Dragon Flame Kingdom.

At this moment, an army of 150,000 stood before Jilong Pass, the gateway to Jilong State.

Then, Fan Jinhua personally untied the various hostage kings. He laughed heartily and said, ”It’s been a long journey for you all, Your Majesties. You can go home now. If you’re ever free, remember to look me up in Jilong State for a drink!”

’Drink with you, my ass! I hope I never see you again for the rest of my life...’

Cursing under their breath, the hostage kings finally led their armies back the way they came.

In the blink of an eye, the army under Lu Chao’s command shrank from 150,000 to 20,000.

Of these 20,000, aside from the original 2,000 Descendants of Azure Flame, there were also troops brought by several other disciples of the sect who had been living in hiding. One of these was the Night Wind King, who, of course, could no longer return to his throne.

He directly announced that the troops of Yefeng Country could also return home; the Six Great Flame Countries would simply appoint a new king in his place.

And just like that, half of the men brought by these other Azure Flame Sect disciples also departed.

Some wanted to return to their own homes...

Others were former bandits who wanted to continue throwing their lot in with the Descendants of Azure Flame. All told, only ten thousand troops remained.

Thus, Lu Chao and Fan Jinhua led these ten thousand men, along with all the families of the Azure Flame Sect, into Jilong State.

Another half a day passed before they arrived at a dilapidated, deserted town.

Yin Qixing turned to Fan Jinhua and said slowly, ”This town was nearly wiped out by a plague two years ago. Marquis Jilong has decreed that you shall all live here. From this day forward, it will be known as Azure Flame Town.”