Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

By the time Marquis Jilong arrived at Azure Flame Town, it had, in fact, already been under reconstruction for several days.

In other words, Lu Chao had already been in the Dragon Flame Kingdom for a few days.

At this moment, on a small hill not far from Azure Flame Town, Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu were both cultivating.

Lu Chao’s consciousness was currently within his Bone Inner World. Gazing at the three Heavenly Bones floating low in the air, he commanded, ”Fuse.”

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ...

The three Heavenly Bones simultaneously erupted with their Meridian Maps, which then began to merge bit by bit.

However, just as they were about to combine, the three Meridian Maps instantly dissipated. The fusion had failed.

Lu Chao murmured, ’It seems the reason the Wolf Fang Bone and Splitting Wind Wolf King’s Meridian Maps fused so easily before was because they shared the same wolf attribute. It was just a stroke of luck.’

’Trying to merge the third Heavenly Bone’s Meridian Map with the first two is proving to be much more difficult.’

The third Heavenly Bone, obtained from a certain Small Kingdom, was the Heavenly Destiny Sword Mountain Bone... a Heavenly Destiny Bone of the Human Race.

He hadn’t thought much about it before and had simply devoured it directly.

This led to the current situation where the three Meridian Maps couldn’t merge into a new, more powerful meridian pathway. If Lu Chao had known this earlier, he definitely would have sought out a Demon Wolf or another wolf-type Heavenly Bone to consume.

’Forget it. The greater difficulty will only force me to strengthen my understanding of the Martial Dao.’

’Again... Fuse!’

Lu Chao attempted to merge the three Heavenly Bone Meridian Maps once more. This time, he watched every detail of the meridians with intense focus, using his understanding of the Martial Dao to filter, remove, and slowly fuse them bit by bit.

After an unknown amount of time... HUM!

The fusion finally succeeded with a soft sound. A brand-new Meridian Map appeared before Lu Chao. He immediately began to cultivate using this new map, and True Qi surged through his entire body.

An aura that was both wolven and profound erupted from within him.

The wolven nature came from the Wolf Fang Bone and the Splitting Wind Wolf King Bone; the profoundness came from the Heavenly Destiny Sword Mountain Bone’s attribute...

Lu Chao then abruptly drew his sword. On the small hill, he unleashed streams of sword light, his movements like a cunning wolf executing the overwhelmingly powerful sword techniques of a tiger.

Of course, this set of sword techniques was something Lu Chao had created on the fly; it wasn’t a truly complete form.

But just as he finished the set... CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

Suddenly, the sound of soft clapping echoed from the woods, causing Lu Chao to immediately retract his sword and look over. At the same time, Cheng Yunsu moved to Lu Chao’s side.

They saw two middle-aged men slowly walk out from the woods.

A glint flashed in Lu Chao’s eyes. He cupped his fist and said, ”Lu Chao greets Vice General Yin... And this lord is?”

After asking...

He fixed his gaze on the middle-aged man beside Yin Qixing, though he already knew the answer in his heart.

One could tell from the way Yin Qixing stood a step behind him that the middle-aged man’s status was higher. That could only be Marquis Jilong.

The one who had just been clapping was indeed Marquis Jilong...

He sized Lu Chao up and down a few times, then said with a smile, ”A young hero indeed. To have reached the Postnatal Ninth Layer at such a young age, you’re just one small opportunity away from breaking through to the Innate Realm. The younger generation is truly formidable.”

After all, Cheng Yunsu and Wu Xin had qualified for the Great Wu Imperial Academy just by reaching the Postnatal Realm.

At around twenty years of age, reaching the Postnatal Ninth Layer naturally earned Lu Chao the title of a young hero...

However, whether in the Great Wu Empire or the Seven Great Flame Countries, the truly top-tier geniuses of the Martial Dao were talents like Lu Hanyan.

Of course, the former Lu Chao had been the very pinnacle of the top tier...

In response to Marquis Jilong’s praise, Lu Chao just offered a few casual, humble words.

Or rather, it wasn’t true humility. Compared to his former peak, he was still far, far too weak.

With a smile, Marquis Jilong’s eyes suddenly narrowed. He asked, ”So your name really is Lu Chao? My name is Yin Ye.”

Lu Chao looked up...

He had, of course, long known that Marquis Jilong’s name was Yin Ye, so he cupped his fist once more in greeting.

Lu Chao was somewhat surprised by his arrival, but not entirely...

It was obvious that Marquis Jilong had already met Fan Jinhua and discovered that the latter’s leadership abilities were sorely lacking, which was why he had come to see him personally.

Yin Ye smiled again and asked, ”Do you know why I’ve come looking for you?”

Before Lu Chao could answer, Yin Ye spoke again...

”Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.”

”Impersonating Great Wu’s Lu Chao, scaring off the Great Wu genius Lu Hanyan, and ruthlessly slapping Lu Dingtian in the face.”

”Rescuing Marshal Fan from Tiger Flame and escaping, spearheading the charge in the Sword Leader Kingdom, piercing through more than twenty Small Kingdoms and crushing the Tiger Flame pursuers all the way to the old Azure Flame Sect site... Even I couldn’t have done it better.”

”For Marshal Fan to have such a brilliant disciple in his final years is truly enviable.”

Yin Ye sighed with admiration again and again. He even mentioned a specific battle Lu Chao fought in the Hundred Countries, proving he had conducted a detailed investigation.

But Lu Chao fell silent, then replied in a low voice, ”Marquis, it was all Master Fan’s achievement.”

At these words, Yin Qixing’s already cold face grew even colder. ’Who the hell do you think you’re fooling?’ he wanted to say.

’Fooling me is one thing, but you want to fool the Marquis, too?’

Yin Ye’s eyes also showed a hint of confusion. He didn’t quite understand. ’Why doesn’t Lu Chao want to take the credit?’

Just then, Lu Chao continued calmly, ”As someone who possesses a Life-taking Bone, how could I possibly be Marshal Fan’s disciple? How could I possess such formidable leadership abilities? Everything was done by Master Fan.”

His voice was slow and deliberate, each word emphasized.

Beside him, Cheng Yunsu’s expression gradually tensed. She recalled what Lu Chao had said before. ’Will Marquis Jilong be able to accept the Life-taking Bone?’

In an instant, the smile on Yin Ye’s face froze on the spot.

Yin Qixing’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

The next moment... BOOM!

An explosive burst of True Qi erupted from Yin Ye, enveloping Lu Chao on the spot before being instantly withdrawn.

He too opened his mouth, murmuring, ”A Life-taking Bone... Earth Tier.”

Indeed, Yin Ye had just tested Lu Chao, and for a moment, his expression flickered with uncertainty.

At the same time, Yin Qixing stared speechlessly at Lu Chao. Now he completely understood why the kid had put on an act, pushing all the credit onto Fan Jinhua’s head.

He possessed a Life-taking Bone, a thing not tolerated by the world.

Seeing their expressions, Lu Chao smiled again. ”I apologize for making the Marquis come all this way for nothing.”

He knew, of course, that Yin Ye was incredibly disappointed. He had thought he’d found a genius commander worth cultivating.

But a Life-taking Bone... that was difficult to accept.

Even if Yin Ye wanted to accept it, he would likely struggle with the decision for a long time.

Lu Chao wasn’t in a hurry. If Yin Ye couldn’t accept it, he would naturally find another path.

Suddenly, the sound of urgent footsteps came from the bottom of the hill...

A petite figure was seen scrambling frantically up the hill. It was none other than Yu Xiaoping.

She was panting nonstop...

”Brother Lu, Sister Yunsu...”

”Something’s happened! A group of men appeared out of nowhere and tied up Uncle Cheng!”

As soon as these words were spoken, both Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu froze.

Cheng Yunsu couldn’t help but press, ”Xiaoping, are you talking about my father?”