Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

The voices of several Su Family Elders reverberated through the courtyard.

Elder Lady Su, who had already resolved to abandon Lu Chao and his group to their fate, instantly beamed with undisguised joy.

Zheng Liling, who had been hesitating whether to continue suppressing the Su Family, looked up with wide, angry eyes. ’Damn it all!’ he thought. ’How can the Saint Bone Su Family have a second Awakener? This is infuriating!’

Su Shangmo and the other black-clad Su Family guards, who had already sheathed their weapons, were overjoyed.

Lu Chao was also somewhat surprised. He glanced at the flashing white light of the array on the ceremonial platform, but immediately looked away and said softly to Yu Fei beside him, ”Old Yu, send the signal.”

The Saint Bone Su Family couldn’t be counted on, and cooperation was impossible. Of course, they would have to use the troops waiting outside to contend with Zheng Liling and his men.

And so, while everyone’s attention was fixed on the platform, Yu Fei launched the Signal Bead.

A white light instantly flashed into the sky.

But because the white light from the array on the platform was growing brighter at that very moment, the signal’s flash was missed by everyone present.

The signal’s light vanished in an instant.

Once that was done, Lu Chao lowered his voice and said, ”Let’s fall back for now. We can’t let Zheng Liling’s group get too close.”

It would still take time for the troops to fight their way into Saint Su City...

While that time could be used to negotiate, Zheng Liling and his men were far too powerful. They had to be ready at a moment’s notice and prevent their opponents from getting in close—especially from taking any more hostages.

With that, Lu Chao and his group began to retreat, ready to leap onto the Su Family’s rooftops at a moment’s notice.

At the same time... HUMMM!

The white light from the array on the platform shot high into the air before darting toward the crowd.

Everyone, from the hopefuls waiting to be chosen for the Saint Bone to Elder Lady Su and Zheng Liling, stared intently at the white light.

Countless people prayed in their hearts, ’It has to pick me! Let the light choose me!’

Elder Lady Su clenched her fists tightly. ’It must choose the one with the greatest talent,’ she thought fiercely. ’It must be a descendant of the direct lineage.’

A furious rage surged in Zheng Liling’s heart. ’I’m so tempted to just break the rules and kill this new Saint Bone Awakener from the Su Family.’

He might have thought it, but for now, he didn’t dare to act.

Now, he would have to proceed with the contingency plan for the Su Family gaining a new Saint Bone Awakener. But that plan was definitely not as favorable as his original one.

There was no way he could crush the Su Family now.

At that same moment, Granny Yun let out a vicious cackle and abruptly turned to look at Lu Chao’s group.

Seeing that they were actually retreating, she burst into scornful laughter.

”Hey, you worthless trash named Lu! You seem to be trying to run away?”

”Heh heh, it’s no use...”

”I’m not letting you go. Even if a second Saint Bone Awakener appears, even if the Zheng Family lets you off the hook, I will personally kill every last one of you pieces of trash! You dared to trick me into kneeling—for that, you must die.”

She spoke loudly on purpose, trying to draw the attention of the crowd, who were mesmerized by the white light, to the fact that Lu Chao’s group was trying to escape.

However, the moment the words left her mouth...

The white light from the array suddenly came whistling through the air and stopped right above Lu Chao’s group...

Instantly, without any need for a reminder from Granny Yun, everyone’s eyes snapped in their direction.

Every single person was dumbfounded. But what happened next was even more stunning. Before anyone could react, the white light descended, instantly enveloping... a pale-faced Cheng Chuming.

In that moment, every jaw in the courtyard dropped. It was as if the entire plaza had been frozen in time.

Everyone, including Lu Chao, stared blankly at his father-in-law, Cheng Chuming. Then, just as it had happened with Cheng Yunsu before, the aura of a Saint Bone began to emanate from Cheng Chuming’s body.

It was Cheng Chuming’s Heavenly Destiny Bone, and it was undergoing a Saint Bone Awakening.

Elder Lady Su was stunned. Zheng Liling, Zheng Liyuan, and the others were stupefied. Granny Yun, who had just been loudly mocking Lu Chao, collapsed to the ground with a THUD. Her lips trembled as she stammered, ”Impossible... It’s fake... I must be seeing things.”

The entire Su Family’s rear courtyard fell deathly silent, broken only by Cheng Chuming’s voice. ”What is this? What’s happening to me?”

He looked utterly bewildered, completely lost.

Cheng Chuming had been inexplicably abducted from the Jilong Marquis’s Mansion and brought to the Saint Bone Su Family. His captors hadn’t uttered a single word to him the entire time, leaving him completely in the dark about what was going on.

Then, his son-in-law had rescued him.

But before he was even out of danger, he had somehow been enveloped by this white light.

Cheng Chuming’s voice snapped Lu Chao out of his stupor. He couldn’t help but find the situation utterly absurd. Even he had never imagined that his father-in-law would become the second Saint Bone Awakener of the Saint Bone Ceremony.

’After all, his Heavenly Destiny Bone is truly, incredibly weak...’

’But now things have certainly gotten interesting.’ He immediately reassured him, ”Rest easy, Father-in-law. This is the Saint Bone Awakening of the Saint Bone Su Family. In other words, your Heavenly Destiny Bone is about to evolve into a Saint Bone.”

Cheng Chuming’s mouth hung open, his expression still one of utter bewilderment.

’A Saint Bone? That’s something from the legends.’

Lu Chao didn’t bother explaining further. Instead, his gaze slowly swept over everyone present.

He looked first at Granny Yun, who was still collapsed on the ground, and asked coolly, ”You just said you were going to kill us?”

Although his father-in-law’s sudden awakening had already served as a vicious slap to their faces, Lu Chao didn’t mind taking this opportunity to rub it in, to make these fickle little nobodies understand what real pain felt like.

Upon hearing his words, Granny Yun went completely limp, not daring to make another peep.

Lu Chao paid her no more mind, turning his gaze to Zheng Liling.

”Patriarch Zheng, if I’m not mistaken, you came here today hoping the Saint Bone Su Family wouldn’t produce a single Awakener.”

”And originally, we didn’t have one... but you delivered one to us with your own hands.”

Hearing this, Zheng Liling, Zheng Liyuan, and the others clutched their chests, feeling an overwhelming urge to vomit blood.

They were all so furious they were rendered speechless.

By all logic, they had thought it was impossible for someone with a Heavenly Destiny Bone like Cheng Chuming’s to awaken...

Unlike Lu Chao, who had only a partial understanding of the Saint Bone Ceremony, they were a Saint Bone Family! Based on a thousand years of experience, the chances of Cheng Chuming Awakening should have been zero!

Lu Chao then turned to Elder Lady Su. ”Remember what you said earlier,” he stated. ”Don’t go back on your word.”

Elder Lady Su’s mouth hung open, she too was at a loss for words.

She also felt an urge to vomit blood. Fate couldn’t be this cruel. She felt like she was about to have a breakdown.

Just then, a thought seemed to strike Granny Yun and she blurted out, ”Maybe this bastard’s father-in-law is just as useless! Maybe the Saint Bone Ceremony will be interrupted again...”

She was remembering what had happened with Cheng Yunsu.

She spoke without a single thought for the Saint Bone Su Family’s interests.

And Elder Lady Su, unbelievably, also looked at Cheng Chuming with a hint of hope, also wishing for his Saint Bone Awakening to fail.

But... RUMBLE!

The Destiny Bone aura around Cheng Chuming, who was still utterly bewildered, suddenly exploded outward.

His True Qi suddenly condensed, and then he began to break through to the next realm, his power rising at a terrifying speed.