Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

By now, Lu Chao’s chest was a fiery red, marked by a small wound that resembled coagulated blood.

Without hesitation, Lu Chao’s body trembled as he circulated his True Qi. With the Life-taking Star-devouring Bone as its core, the True Qi flooded his system through the Bone of Myriad Stars. He did feel a slight blockage, but it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable.

Although the Bone of Myriad Stars had been integrated into his body...

...under the influence of Sun Shijin’s peculiar power, it had merely become a protective membrane, a filter. As the power of his Life-taking Bone passed through the Bone of Myriad Stars, its distinctive aura was completely neutralized.

Unless someone were to perform a comprehensive, in-depth examination of Lu Chao’s body, nothing would seem amiss.

Then, Sun Shijin turned to Yin Ye. ”Come with me. Let’s take a walk.”

And so, the two of them stepped out of the courtyard.

Lu Chao, Cheng Yunsu, and Yin Qixing were the only ones left in the courtyard.

Lu Chao sat down cross-legged, repeatedly acclimating to the filtering effect of the Bone of Myriad Stars. ’Such an incredible technique,’ he thought. ’Those who possess a Life-taking Bone are truly a different breed.’

He had gathered from the conversation between Yin Ye and Sun Shijin that the latter must also possess a Life-taking Bone.

This was because Sun Shijin believed that he himself had brought disaster upon Dragon Flame Academy.

Sun Shijin’s subsequent apology and his empathy for Lu Chao’s tolerance for pain had made him absolutely certain of it.

Pushing the thought aside...

Lu Chao thought to himself again, ’It seems I won’t need ten days to adapt. My Life-taking Star-devouring Bone inherently contains the essence of countless Star Heavenly Destiny Bones; I can easily master the power of any Heavenly Destiny Bone.’

’The wound and the injury from the bone’s integration?’

’Right. I’ll just use the Mirror Spring Secret Technique to heal it directly.’

His Mirror Spring Secret Technique came from the Heavenly Destiny Moon Spring Bone. It had once healed the horrific burns on Xiao Su’er’s body, so mending this tiny wound left from the bone integration would be no challenge at all.

...

While Lu Chao was acclimating to the changes in his body and healing his injury...

Sun Shijin and Yin Ye walked through the dilapidated grounds of Dragon Flame Academy. After a full quarter-hour of silence, Sun Shijin finally sighed. ”Junior Brother Yin Ye, the Life-taking Bone truly can bring disaster. You should just let this go.”

He had finally spoken the words he’d been holding back.

His voice caught, as if he felt he was betraying Lu Chao, who also possessed a Life-taking Bone.

”I’m preparing to leave Dragon Flame Academy in the near future,” Sun Shijin’s voice trembled slightly. ”I’m going to cut ties with this place completely.” His sunken eyes were filled with reluctance and bitterness.

But what choice did he have? He had struggled for decades, only to be met with failure after failure.

Yin Ye stopped abruptly and fixed his gaze on Sun Shijin. ”A young man with a Life-taking Bone like him... are you truly willing to give up on him?”

He ignored Sun Shijin’s declaration, instead steering the conversation toward the matter of Lu Chao joining Dragon Flame Academy.

A flicker of emotion crossed Sun Shijin’s eyes. He had been deeply impressed when Lu Chao showed no change in expression despite the excruciating pain.

It was a powerful impulse, but he had forcefully suppressed it.

”Dragon Flame Academy can’t endure any more turmoil. A single misstep, and we’ll be forced to close our doors for good.”

Sun Shijin stared at Yin Ye, his eyes bloodshot. ”Our whole generation has tried, but what good did it do? We’ve been defeated by Celestial King Academy time and again. Every glimmer of hope has been extinguished by disappointment. It’s truly hopeless.”

It was true. Yin Ye, too, had tried to help Dragon Flame Academy, but every attempt had ended in failure.

Sometimes, the defeats were baffling. Once, they finally nurtured a student of rare genius, only for him to die from a cultivation deviation.

Yin Ye took a deep breath and said with conviction, ”I refuse to believe we’re cursed.”

No sooner had he spoken than an instructor came rushing toward them.

”Elder Sun, there’s trouble!”

”A large group of students from Celestial King Academy barged in! They’re chasing and beating our students, claiming one of them stole something.”

”They’re fighting their way in this direction right now!”

”Dean Jiang and the others went out to reason with them, but they were ganged up on and attacked by the Celestial King Academy instructors!”

Just as the instructor finished speaking, a clamor erupted in the distance.

Instantly, Sun Shijin’s face contorted with fury.

Then, as if remembering something, he turned to Yin Ye, his eyes red with rage. ”This is just a fabricated excuse! Celestial King Academy is barging in here to bully our students, and you still say... the Life-taking Bone isn’t a bad omen?”

With that, Sun Shijin charged toward the commotion, ready for a fight.

The implication was clear: the moment Lu Chao, with his Life-taking Bone, arrived, misfortune followed right behind.

It wasn’t that Sun Shijin blamed Lu Chao; he was simply starting to believe in the curse.

Watching Sun Shijin depart, Yin Ye stood stunned for a moment before shaking his head with a bitter smile and immediately chasing after him.

...

Back in Sun Shijin’s courtyard, Lu Chao had already fully adapted to the Bone of Myriad Stars. His wound had scabbed over.

He thought to himself, ’I’m almost there. I can feel the breakthrough. I might as well take this chance to reach the Innate realm.’

With that, Lu Chao prepared to shatter the barrier to the Postnatal Ninth Layer in a single attempt.

However... BANG!

The gate to Sun Shijin’s courtyard was suddenly kicked open, and several young men and women in uniform robes stormed in arrogantly.

Their gazes swept past Yin Qixing, landing on Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu.

One of them immediately spoke up. ”There are two Dragon Flame Students here, too...”

Another young woman immediately stepped forward, pointed at Cheng Yunsu, and demanded, ”Was it you who stole our things?”

They completely ignored Yin Qixing, their shouts dripping with arrogance.

Cheng Yunsu frowned but ignored them, finding the situation utterly bizarre and having no idea what was going on.

Interrupted mid-breakthrough, Lu Chao slowly opened his eyes.

A sharp glint appeared in Yin Qixing’s eyes. ”Those uniforms... you’re from Celestial King Academy?”

At his words, the young woman who had accosted Cheng Yunsu finally glanced at Yin Qixing, sneering. ”What are you, some new instructor applying for a job at this dump? Of course, these are the uniforms of Celestial King Academy.”

Then she ignored Yin Qixing completely, turning her attention back to Cheng Yunsu. ”Answer me, or I’ll beat you senseless.”

The young woman strode directly toward Cheng Yunsu, True Qi flaring from her body, revealing her cultivation at the Postnatal Fifth Layer.

Yin Qixing’s brow furrowed deeper. He was just about to step in and defuse the situation...

But... BOOM!

Suddenly, two powerful auras at the Transformation Realm erupted. A middle-aged man and woman appeared in a flash, instantly sandwiching Yin Qixing between them.

The middle-aged man and woman were also dressed as instructors from Celestial King Academy.

The male instructor bellowed, ”Thinking of bullying the younger generation? Not on my watch!”

He immediately pinned the crime on Yin Qixing.

As he spoke, he made his move, his Transformation Realm True Qi pinning Yin Qixing in place. The female instructor then said, ”You lot, stop wasting breath. Beat those two Dragon Flame Students to the ground and search them.”

At her words...

A male student immediately stepped forward, smirking. ”Junior Sister Chen, let us handle the search for this female Dragon Flame student.”

As he spoke, he licked the corner of his mouth while staring at Cheng Yunsu, his eyes narrowing into predatory slits.