Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

And so, Yin Ye slowly stepped out of the Beast Vehicle.

After waiting for a bit, Yin Ye still hadn’t returned. Yin Qixing said, a little worried, ”The Marquis looked quite unwell just now. I’m afraid he might have an upset stomach. I’m going out to check.”

And with that, Yin Qixing also hurried out of the Beast Vehicle.

Soon, Yin Qixing found Yin Ye behind a large, nearby tree. The Marquis was tracing all sorts of circles and diagrams against the trunk. He spoke in a trembling voice, ”How do I break it? This Soldier Array of Lu Chao’s... how am I supposed to break it?”

Yin Qixing’s jaw dropped.

He stared blankly at the slightly disheveled Yin Ye and asked, ”Marquis, what are you doing?”

He had genuinely thought the Marquis had an upset stomach.

Yin Ye slowly raised his head, his eyes slightly bloodshot. ”It’s true. Lu Chao really broke through to the 6th Floor. He’s an existence on the same level as Fan Changcun... and I’m no match for him. I’m just not his match!”

Eyes wide with disbelief, Yin Qixing desperately wanted to retort, ’That’s impossible, isn’t it?’

”Old Fan’s proposal for the Six Great Flame Countries to recruit disciples on a massive scale must be his way of paving the path for Lu Chao. He’s planning for a day where he might be forced to let the public try and breach the Forbidden Land; this way, Lu Chao can make a stunning debut and be completely unstoppable.”

”At the same time, he’s scheming to get Lu Chao back to his side as his disciple.”

”That Old Fan... he’s as cunning as I thought.”

As Yin Ye spoke, Yin Qixing grew more and more bewildered.

He stammered, ”That’s impossible... He’s never even fought in a major battle. How could he possibly be that strong?”

Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, Yin Ye exclaimed, ”I’ve got it! I can break it like this...”

With that, Yin Ye raced back to the Beast Vehicle. He had figured out how to counter the Soldier Array Lu Chao had just demonstrated.

A bewildered Yin Qixing was left standing alone under the tree.

His question remained unanswered. Not even Yin Ye could give him an answer; in fact, Yin Ye himself was desperate to know.

But right now, he was completely engrossed in his strategic debate with Lu Chao over the Soldier Dao, utterly captivated.

Time continued to slip by as the two carried on their debate.

「A few days later...」

They arrived at the Royal Capital of the Dragon Flame Kingdom, and the two men had no choice but to reluctantly end their debate, leaving them both wanting more.

Upon entering the Royal Capital, Yin Ye wasted no time and had the Beast Vehicle head directly for the residence of the so-called ”Destiny Bone Madman.”

When the Beast Vehicle stopped and Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu stepped out, they were both stunned.

Cheng Yunsu couldn’t help but exclaim, ”The Dragon Flame Academy?”

Before them stood a giant boulder, upon which were carved the three large words: ”Dragon Flame Academy.” Strangely, the boulder was surrounded by overgrown weeds, and the entire area looked incredibly dilapidated.

Such an environment seemed utterly incongruous with the name ”Dragon Flame Academy.”

”That’s right. The Destiny Bone Madman is inside the Dragon Flame Academy. His name is Sun Shijin, and he’s an Elder here.”

”As for the Dragon Flame Academy, it’s been in decline for several decades.”

Yin Ye walked over to them and explained with a wry smile, ”With the rise of the Dragon Flame Celestial King Academy, the Dragon Flame Academy—which once represented the entire Dragon Flame Kingdom—gradually fell into decline. Now, it finds itself in dire straits.”

Hearing this, Lu Chao recalled something. He had heard whispers about this back when he was in the Great Wu Empire.

One rumor was that decades ago, a traitor to the Dragon Flame Kingdom had emerged from the academy and joined their greatest rival, the Nanye Dynasty.

Another rumor claimed...

...that the Dragon Flame Academy had accepted a student from the Nanye Dynasty, trained them into a terrifyingly powerful figure, and faced a widespread boycott as a result.

Still another said that the Dragon Flame Academy had lost a life-or-death battle against an academy from the Nanye Dynasty, with all of its combatants being slaughtered.

And then there was the most outrageous rumor of all: a Life-taking Bone had appeared at the Dragon Flame Academy, bringing disaster and bad luck in its wake.

The Great Wu Empire was too far away for Lu Chao to know the specific details.

”You’ll probably hear many such legends now that you’re here.”

”The truth is...”

”Decades ago, the Celestial King Academy was backed by the Saint Bone Zheng Family and several other major powers. They crushed generation after generation of students from the Dragon Flame Academy, leading it to the state it’s in today. Now, no Martial Dao geniuses are willing to join anymore.”

Yin Ye finished his explanation and then strode inside, the other three following him.

The Saint Bone Zheng Family was the second Saint Bone Family in the Dragon Flame Kingdom. Their clan had been prospering immensely of late and had become extremely influential.

Then, Yin Ye spoke again.

”Sun Shijin is an eccentric and obsessive man. He’s dedicated his entire life to only two things: researching the Heavenly Destiny Bone and reviving the Dragon Flame Academy. His condition for helping you conceal the aura of your Life-taking Bone will most likely be for you both... to join the Dragon Flame Academy.”

Hearing this, Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu exchanged a look, silently agreeing that this was no problem at all.

’Joining the Dragon Flame Academy isn’t a bad idea at all,’ Lu Chao thought. ’It would be a good starting point for us in the Dragon Flame Kingdom.’

The four of them stepped into the Dragon Flame Academy.

Lu Chao saw that there were still quite a few students inside the academy, but their Destiny Bone Talents were all exceptionally ordinary.

”Since you’re both willing to join the Dragon Flame Academy,” Yin Ye said, ”I’ll wait a bit and then bring over the talented youths from the Azure Flame Sect. I’ll also grab Fan Jinhua to serve as an instructor.”

A glint flashed in Lu Chao’s eyes. ’This is great news, of course.’

’It would be a way for the people of the Azure Flame Sect to fully integrate into the Dragon Flame Kingdom.’

As Marquis Jilong, Yin Ye faced no obstacles.

Guided by an instructor, they soon arrived at Sun Shijin’s courtyard, where the four of them came face-to-face with the man himself.

”Yin Ye, sit,” Sun Shijin said, his voice incredibly hoarse.

Lu Chao observed the man. He was an elderly man with disheveled hair.

His eyes were so sunken he looked as though he hadn’t slept in ages. His clothes were practically rags; if he were out on the streets, he would undoubtedly be mistaken for a beggar. It was impossible to reconcile this image with that of an Elder of the Dragon Flame Academy.

As soon as Yin Ye sat down, Sun Shijin got straight to the point. ”You don’t show up without a reason. So, what Destiny Bone problem do you need me to solve? Let’s discuss my fee upfront: at least three students with Earth Bones.”

Lu Chao was stunned. ’It’s just as Yin Ye said,’ he thought. ’He’s singularly focused on reviving the Dragon Flame Academy. Even his payment is a demand for more students.’

’Just how far has the Dragon Flame Academy fallen?’

”No problem,” Yin Ye agreed readily. ”You can have two students as a down payment. There will be more to come.”

Since Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu had already agreed, his reply was direct.

Sun Shijin’s sunken eyes immediately shot wide open. He looked at Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu with pleasant surprise and asked quickly, ”Are these the two young people? Haha! Yin Ye, you’ve finally brought me a real surprise!”

With that, Sun Shijin added, ”Let me test their Destiny Bone Talent...”

The next moment... BANG!

After just a single glance, Sun Shijin shot to his feet, knocking over his stool. He then whipped his head around to face Yin Ye and roared, ”Are you playing a joke on me? This young lady has a Beast Bone replacement!”