Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Yin Ye knew that Cheng Yunsu’s Destiny Bone had been replaced with a Beast Bone, but his expression remained unchanged.

But there was something even more shocking to come.

Sure enough, when Sun Shijin looked back at Lu Chao... BANG.

The stool he had knocked over instantly exploded into fragments. He roared in fury, ”Yin Ye, you bastard, are you trying to pick a fight? Do you think the Dragon Flame Academy isn’t unlucky enough as it is?”

”You actually... you actually brought a...”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear: ’You actually brought someone with a Life-taking Bone here.’

”Senior Brother Sun, didn’t you always claim it wasn’t your fault? Why are you blaming things on bad luck now?”

Yin Ye retorted. In his youth, he had been a student at the Dragon Flame Academy.

And Sun Shijin was Yin Ye’s senior brother at the Dragon Flame Academy.

Their bond was exceptionally close. Though they often seemed to clash now that they were older, it was only on the surface.

Almost no one knew that Sun Shijin possessed a Life-taking Bone, and it was a secret that had to be kept.

But Yin Ye knew. To this day, he had only told Yin Qixing, precisely because he was certain Yin Qixing was absolutely trustworthy.

Sun Shijin’s expression froze for a moment before melting into a bitter smile. ”Maybe... it really is because of me.”

His voice was raspy to the extreme.

Sun Shijin hadn’t used to believe it was his Life-taking Bone that brought misfortune upon the Dragon Flame Academy. But as the academy’s decline worsened with no hope of recovery, he had begun to doubt himself.

”Then let’s try fighting fire with fire. Who knows, it might just resolve the issue,” Yin Ye said seriously.

The idea was, of course, to use one Life-taking Bone against another. Pit one jinx against another, and maybe they would cancel each other out, creating something positive.

Of course, this was just something Yin Ye said to comfort Sun Shijin...

The corner of Sun Shijin’s mouth twitched violently. His expression shifted, and he shook his head. ”No, absolutely not. You need to leave. Get out of here.”

He was terrified—terrified that a second Life-taking Bone would utterly destroy the Dragon Flame Academy.

He hadn’t been superstitious before, but now, he was becoming a believer.

”Senior Brother Sun, if you’re not willing to accept him, then at least help me conceal the aura of Lu Chao’s Life-taking Bone.”

”I came to you for this one thing... If you don’t want him, I do!”

Yin Ye’s expression turned grave again as he continued, ”And I, for one, still refuse to believe in that jinx.”

His words were decisive. After his discourse on the Soldier Dao with Lu Chao, Yin Ye could no longer bring himself to abandon him.

At this, Sun Shijin stared hard at Yin Ye, looking like he wanted to say something to change his mind.

But in the end, the words never came...

Yin Ye then pressed, ”The payment I offered still stands. The only question is, do you dare accept them? The descendants of the Azure Flame Sect?”

Sun Shijin had just said he wanted three Earth Bone Level students, and Yin Ye was now pointedly reconfirming.

Sun Shijin’s eyes finally lit up as he nodded. ”I’ll take them. I’ve heard about the Azure Flame Sect’s situation. It’ll be troublesome, yes, but they’re at least far more normal than this young pair. Of course I’ll take them.”

Nodding, Yin Ye said, ”Then let’s begin. Will it be difficult?”

”It would have been difficult in the past,” Sun Shijin replied confidently, ”but for me now, it’s child’s play.”

At these words, Yin Ye’s eyes lit up.

This proved that Sun Shijin’s method for concealing the aura of another’s Life-taking Bone had reached the pinnacle of mastery. Yin Ye had previously worried about failure, hesitating over whether he should bring Lu Chao here to try.

Now, all his worries were gone.

At that moment, Sun Shijin turned to Lu Chao, looking him up and down before asking, ”Kid, are you afraid of pain?”

Lu Chao gave a slight smile and shook his head.

He had already pieced together what was happening from Sun Shijin and Yin Ye’s conversation.

But Lu Chao didn’t let on that he knew. As for being rejected by the Dragon Flame Academy, he didn’t really care...

This was the life of someone with a Life-taking Bone—hitting a wall was a common occurrence.

A sneer touched Sun Shijin’s lips in response to Lu Chao’s smile.

”Kid, you’d better brace yourself. I’m afraid you’ll be squealing like a stuck pig in a moment...”

”Unfasten your clothes. I’m starting now.”

With that, Sun Shijin swiftly produced a small Earth Bone.

After Lu Chao had opened his robes, he spoke again. ”Don’t worry, I won’t pry into the attribute of your Destiny Bone. This Earth Bone is a Bone of Myriad Stars. Have you heard of this type of Heavenly Destiny Bone?”

Lu Chao immediately nodded...

”I have. There are quite a few people who possess the Bone of Myriad Stars, but only those at the Saint Bone Level can truly unleash its power. Below the Saint Bone Level, they’re a jack of all trades and master of none.”

Sun Shijin gave a nod of confirmation before his True Qi suddenly erupted...

Holding the Earth Tier Level Bone of Myriad Stars, he pressed it down hard against Lu Chao’s chest, right over the location of his Life-taking Star-devouring Bone.

Instantly, a grating sound of bone against bone came from Lu Chao’s chest.

Yin Qixing grimaced, his skin crawling. ’Just hearing that sound is painful.’

As for Cheng Yunsu, she naturally grew nervous as well.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Lu Chao’s face, yet his expression didn’t change in the slightest...

’A joke. He had been shattered to pieces before; what was a little grinding of bone? No matter how much it hurt, could it ever compare to the agony inflicted by Lu Dingtian and his children when they ground his bones to ash?’

The sneer on Sun Shijin’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of admiration in his deep-set eyes as he gazed at Lu Chao.

But in the next instant, that look morphed into one of heartache.

”Everyone with a Life-taking Bone has experienced pain and hardship beyond the imagination of ordinary people. I underestimated you just now.”

His voice was low and raspy. He had actually apologized to Lu Chao.

Why did Lu Chao’s expression remain unchanged despite such excruciating pain?

Because he must have experienced something thousands, even tens of thousands of times more painful. Only a fellow Deathbringer could truly empathize.

Sun Shijin then explained softly...

”I will use the Bone of Myriad Stars to encase your Life-taking Bone. From now on, anyone who tests you will only detect that you have a Bone of Myriad Stars.”

”And since the Bone of Myriad Stars allows one to learn anything, it can explain any of your unusual powers.”

Lu Chao nodded in understanding.

From now on, anyone who tested him would be unable to discover his Life-taking Star-devouring Bone.

In the future, no matter what kinds of techniques Lu Chao used, they could all be explained away by: ’I have the Bone of Myriad Stars; I can do anything.’

”Brace yourself. I’m going to fuse the bones now. When my power enters you, it will also be agonizing.”

As Sun Shijin spoke, a bizarre Destiny Bone power erupted from his body. It was like a burning flame that scorched the bones around Lu Chao’s Life-taking Star-devouring Bone, as if melting them into liquid.

Then, he welded the Bone of Myriad Stars into place.

Any other person would have been unable to bear it, likely fainting from the pain, but Lu Chao’s expression remained completely unchanged.

Soon, the welding was complete!

Sun Shijin’s voice rang out again: ”Circulate your Life-taking Bone’s True Qi, connect it to the Bone of Myriad Stars and adapt to it. Then, circulate it throughout your whole body to acclimate. You should need about ten days to adapt completely.”

After speaking, he slowly withdrew his bizarre power and True Qi...