Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Faced with Dean Jiang’s scolding, a grin simply spread across Guan Zanyi’s face...

He chuckled nonchalantly. ”The descendants of the Azure Flame Sect have offended far too many people. How could I possibly look into every single one?”

After speaking, he glanced at Fan Jinhua, his expression screaming that he couldn’t care less if they all died.

In truth...

It was Guan Zanyi who had deliberately arranged the sneak attack. He wanted to teach Lu Chao and his group a lesson, to make every last one of them afraid.

Guan Zanyi would never forget the constant setbacks he had suffered during the war with the Great Wu Empire.

There was the failure of Fan Jinhua and his men to assassinate Lu Hanyan...

The deaths of Lei Zhen and his son; Fan Jinhua and the Fake Lu Chao forcing them to deliver the Royal Decree from the Six Great Flame Kings; and, of course, the memory of his own terrified collapse when Lu Chao donned the Great Martial Emperor Star mask.

He seethed with hatred. Guan Zanyi believed the descendants of the Azure Flame Sect were solely to blame for his current predicament.

If not for the fact that the Beast Flame Academy had just opened, an event the various Flame Kings were watching closely, and the Dragon Flame King’s warning that there was to be no bloodshed before the official start...

...he would have stopped at nothing to find a way to kill Fan Jinhua and the other descendants of the Azure Flame Sect.

With Guan Zanyi’s deliberate provocations, the snide remarks from the surrounding crowd became endless...

Even students from the academies of small kingdoms they had never even encountered couldn’t resist chiming in with a few mocking words. The entire assembly, be they students, instructors, or anyone else, was awash in continuous derision.

From every direction, they were surrounded by people with malicious intent...

The unique status of the Azure Flame Sect’s descendants, combined with the Dragon Flame Academy’s predicament, made Lu Chao and his people the center of attention.

However, it was the focus of contempt, disdain, ridicule, and mockery...

Having just arrived at the Beast Flame Academy, the members of the Dragon Flame Academy were instantly isolated, facing danger at every turn.

Even though Sun Shijin and the others had done their homework before setting out, they still felt a chill run down their spines.

The Jiang Family Siblings, Jiang Yi and Jiang Yu, along with another Dragon Flame Student, had never witnessed a scene like this. The three of them huddled fearfully near Sun Shijin. ”Elder Sun, what do we do?”

A sorrowful look crossed Sun Shijin’s face; he didn’t know how to answer.

In this entire, newly constructed Beast Flame Academy, there seemed to be no place for them.

At that moment, Lu Chao moved closer to the Jiang Family Siblings. ”Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

Even Sun Shijin was starting to buckle under the surrounding pressure, so Lu Chao knew he had to step up.

His words were incredibly firm, and the members of the Dragon Flame Academy found themselves unconsciously relaxing just a little.

The five from the Azure Flame Sect also couldn’t help but draw closer to Lu Chao, as if only by his side could they hope to face the enemy host.

’As long as Lu Chao was here, there was nothing to fear.’

Cheng Yunsu stood behind Lu Chao, her eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions as she gazed at her husband’s back. ’Compared to being brutalized by Lu Dingtian, forced to erect the Blood Stele, and spat upon by tens of millions... what does a scene like this even matter to him?’

「A short while later...」

Chang Qi and a few others returned inside the Beast Flame Academy. Guan Zanyi received an order and followed them in as well.

It seemed there was an important meeting to attend.

Those who remained to maintain order were still from the Six Great Flame Countries. Their orders for the academies gathered outside were clear: ”Entry into the Beast Flame Academy is temporarily forbidden. All academy members are to rest where you are at the entrance and await further notice.”

The personnel maintaining order then began to assign designated areas to each academy.

When it was the Dragon Flame Academy’s turn, they were sent directly to a corner with a particularly foul environment...

The Beast Flame Academy was still under construction, so its exterior remained in a state of ruin. The corner assigned to the Dragon Flame Academy group was a perfect example—the droppings of various Demon Beasts were everywhere.

Once everyone had settled in...

Yu Fei’s face was ashen, his voice trembling. ”Those bastards... those bastards! We were far too optimistic. Even if we manage to secure twenty spots in an Outer Courtyard, we’ll still be surrounded by enemies.”

Six of the Seven Great Inner Courtyards are targeting the descendants of the Azure Flame Sect, and the seventh, the Celestial King Academy, is targeting the Dragon Flame Academy...

How are they supposed to survive in the Beast Flame Academy going forward?

Sun Shijin and Dean Jiang were stoically silent.

The members of the Azure Flame Sect were the same, not knowing what to say.

Ultimately, everyone subconsciously turned to look at Lu Chao. They were desperate to know if he had a way to break this deadlock.

”If we retreat, the Dragon Flame Academy will cease to exist...”

Lu Chao began in a low voice, and his very first sentence made Sun Shijin and the others feel a sense of suffocation.

It was because of the descendants of the Azure Flame Sect that they even had the chance to set foot in the Beast Flame Academy. Excluding Luo Wendeng and the other four was simply not an option.

They had absolutely no path of retreat.

”Since we can’t retreat, we’ll swim against the current. The first step, of course, is to conquer an Outer Courtyard for ourselves.”

”Once we have our own territory here in the Beast Flame Academy, we can start to build our foundation.”

Lu Chao’s voice remained calm and resolute.

But Jiang Yi still muttered, ”Even if we get our own territory, do we have a future? I’m afraid they’ll just keep coming at us with all sorts of schemes. Can we really handle it?”

Everyone’s fists clenched once more. What he described was an entirely predictable future.

But Lu Chao just smiled, a sharp glint in his eyes...

”The Beast Flame Academy is bound to have all sorts of rules for advancement. If we’re targeted, we fight back. We will make everyone see the strength of our Dragon Flame Students. We will play by their rules, and we will fight our way to the top.”

”If they come at us openly, we’ll face them. If they scheme in the shadows, we’ll kill them!”

”Elder Sun’s own Martial Dao is not inferior to the top figures of any Inner Courtyard. He’s far stronger than most of the deans in the Outer Courtyards. That is our foundation of confidence. We have a true powerhouse on our side.”

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Sun Shijin.

The Elder’s strength was indeed immense; he was the sole remaining pillar of the Dragon Flame Academy.

”Furthermore, the Dragon Flame King won’t allow us, a group bearing the name ’Dragon Flame,’ to suffer too much injustice.”

”The ’Dragon Flame’ name is the card we have showing on the table.”

Everyone mulled over Lu Chao’s last two statements, then nodded emphatically.

Even someone like Guan Zanyi, who wished he could kill the descendants of the Azure Flame Sect, would have to consider the name ”Dragon Flame Academy.” If he tried to push them to their deaths, the Dragon Flame King would never allow it.

The Dragon Flame Kingdom was, at present, the strongest of the Hundred Countries.

”As long as we prove ourselves, people will want to join the Dragon Flame Outer Courtyard when it’s established.”

”We will build our foundation, fighting our way up one step at a time.”

”We have the Divine Bone Nine Sons Array, and all of you are at the Heavenly Bone Level. With enough time, we can definitely fight our way up.”

”And that is the true source of our confidence.”

As Lu Chao spoke, a fresh tremor ran through the group.

It went without saying for Luo Wendeng and the other four descendants of the Azure Flame Sect; they feared no challenge, having been tested by blood and fire. But now, even the Jiang Family Siblings, Jiang Yi and Jiang Yu, slowly clenched their fists...

’That’s right, they were all at the Heavenly Bone Level now.’

Aside from the hired Iron Shield, as long as they had time, they could definitely fight their way to the top.

Just as everyone’s confidence began to rebuild, Lu Chao added one more thing. ”And I believe the Dragon Flame King would be very happy to see us replace the Celestial King Academy as one of the Seven Great Inner Courtyards.”