Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

After a long look at Lu Chao, Iron Shield turned and strode back toward the Hundred Flames Merchant Vehicle.

Inside the Hundred Flames Merchant Vehicle, there were three men...

The three men, all around thirty years old, saw Iron Shield stop and turn back. Their eyes immediately lit up.

One of them snickered. ”He’s back. That big oaf is back.”

The second man said, ”He’s coming to fight us. As expected, he couldn’t take the provocation. Now it’s our turn for some fun.”

The third man sneered. ”This idiot. We gave him an easy way out, but he wouldn’t take it. He just had to make us insult his senior sister to get him to turn around. What a masochist... The moment he throws the first punch, we’ll cripple him.”

The three men bantered back and forth, their voices thick with anticipation.

Iron Shield was so tall and broad that he completely blocked their view of Lu Chao.

As for Dean Jiang and Jiang Yu, they didn’t recognize them.

They were men from the Hundred Flames Trading Company, but specifically, they belonged to the faction of Wu Yiyi’s father, the second master of Hundred Flames.

They had received their orders from Wu Yiyi: first, use the news that Witch Ying was gravely ill to lure that oaf Iron Shield away. It was the simplest way to cost Dragon Flame Academy a student, but they hadn’t counted on him being so single-minded.

They had to fall back on plan B: provoke Iron Shield into attacking first, then cripple him for good.

That way, even if Marquis Longyin investigated, the Hundred Flames Trading Company could claim they were simply defending themselves and had unintentionally used excessive force.

Now, Iron Shield had walked right up to their merchant vehicle.

One of the men immediately jumped out...

”Iron Shield, what do you think you’re doing? Business comes first, you know.”

His words were deliberately sarcastic. He then stuck his face out and grinned. ”You’re not going to hit me, are you? Go on! Hit me!”

Iron Shield’s eyes were bloodshot, like a cornered beast. Without a word, he sent a heavy fist flying...

Of course, the man was prepared and tried to back away to dodge the blow.

But in the next instant...

He felt a hand suddenly clamp down on his shoulder, completely preventing his retreat.

Before he could react... BAM!

A heavy thud echoed out. His head felt like it had been struck by lightning, and a loud ringing filled his ears. With a cry of pain, he was sent flying sideways.

The other two men froze in shock...

They had seen a figure appear out of nowhere and press down on their companion’s shoulder. But his pained scream immediately drew their attention, and by the time they looked back... the mysterious figure had vanished.

Just then, Iron Shield said in his thick voice, ”My employer told me to turn around and take care of you.”

With that, Iron Shield charged. Unbeknownst to them, he had already reached the Innate Second Layer.

However, the two remaining men were both at the Innate Seventh Layer. They immediately unleashed their power...

One of them said viciously, ”You dare hit our man? We’ll cripple you.”

They didn’t know who the figure that had just appeared was, but their priority was to complete Miss Yiyi’s mission.

However, just as the two were about to unleash their full power...

Their shoulders were also pressed down at the same time. They instinctively glanced to the side and saw a young man standing between them, his hands resting on their shoulders. They had no idea when he’d appeared.

Before they could get a clear look at who was holding them down... BAM! BAM!

Iron Shield landed two more heavy punches on their faces, sending both men and their vehicle flying. Piercing screams tore through the air, but Iron Shield’s rage wasn’t sated. He charged again... and went all out!

Only after all three had been beaten into silence did Iron Shield finally stop.

By the time other merchants and students gathered to see what was happening, Lu Chao had already spirited Iron Shield, Dean Jiang, and his granddaughter away. Once Iron Shield had vented his anger, they immediately headed back to the Dragon Flame Academy courtyard, having effortlessly dismantled the ploy.

Of course, there would be an aftermath...

Sure enough, the three Hundred Flames men were being roused by onlookers just as members of the Order Enforcement Team arrived.

The three, with bruised and swollen faces, shouted, ”It was Iron Shield from Dragon Flame Academy! He beat us up!”

An Order Enforcement Team Member heard this and nodded. ”Oh, we know. But what we saw was you throwing the first punch.”

A second Order Enforcement Team Member also nodded and said, ”I saw it too. You used your face to hit Iron Shield’s fist.”

At this...

The surrounding crowd was stunned. ’Aren’t these team members being a bit too biased?’

Immediately, the man who had stuck his face out earlier shouted again, ”I hit Iron Shield’s fist with my face? That’s absurd! Does anyone believe that?”

SLAP...

The Order Enforcement Team Member casually slapped the man to the ground and retorted coldly, ”So you goddamn well know it’s unbelievable, huh? Then you expect us to believe that three Innate Seventh Layer masters like you were beaten this badly by Iron Shield, an Innate Second Layer?”

As his voice fell, the onlookers had a sudden realization. It really was impossible for Iron Shield to have done this.

”Iron Shield had a helper! A young man!” the three of them yelled, recovering from their shock.

However, when the Order Enforcement Team Member asked who this young man was, the three couldn’t answer. They hadn’t gotten a clear look.

Finally, one of them guessed, ”It was the Fake Lu Chao! It must have been him.”

SLAP...

The Order Enforcement Team Member slapped him again and said coldly, ”The Fake Lu Chao is only at the Innate Fifth Layer, isn’t he? Three Innate Seventh Layer masters got beaten by him without even getting a clear look at his face. You think anyone’s going to believe that?”

This time, the entire crowd froze. And this time, they actually believed it.

Who didn’t know about the Fake Lu Chao’s terrifying combat prowess? He’d even take on someone at the Innate Ninth Layer without hesitation.

The three men immediately scrambled to agree, saying that the Fake Lu Chao was indeed incredibly powerful...

But...

The Order Enforcement Team Member, however, just sneered. ”You’re hyping up the Fake Lu Chao so much, so why do the higher-ups at Beast Flame look down on him? Since the Beast Flame higher-ups don’t think he’s anything special, then we don’t believe he’s that amazing either.”

With that, the Order Enforcement Team Members turned and left, ignoring the three men from Hundred Flames.

The entire crowd fell silent. Everyone knew that Marquis Longyin’s Order Enforcement Team was on the Fake Lu Chao’s side. It was obvious that those words were meant to mock the Beast Flame higher-ups, implying they were all blind.

The matter, of course, simply fizzled out.

This had always been a struggle between the Beast Flame higher-ups on one side, and Dragon Flame Academy and Marquis Longyin on the other.

...

Back with Lu Chao’s group, Iron Shield now walked beside them. He offered a word of thanks and then fell silent.

He still had his usual wooden expression, but that single word of thanks had been utterly sincere.

Just as they were approaching the Dragon Flame Academy’s courtyard...

They happened to hear someone speaking from a nearby alley. It was a woman’s voice. ”Xiaoping, I’ve missed you so much. We grew up together. Won’t you come with me to the Leopard Institute?”

A sharp glint flashed in Lu Chao’s eyes. ’So this is the ploy targeting Yu Xiaoping,’ he thought. ’An invitation from a dear friend.’

Yu Xiaoping sighed softly. ”Xiaolian, I appreciate the thought, but I have nothing to do with the Leopard Flame Kingdom anymore. If anything, we are mortal enemies. I’m sorry.”

With that, Yu Xiaoping turned to leave.

However, the instant she turned, a killing intent suddenly erupted from behind her...

A dagger, with shocking abruptness, stabbed toward Yu Xiaoping’s back.

SHNK! The dagger plunged into Yu Xiaoping’s back, followed by a sharp DING! It had struck her Heavenly Destiny Bone dead center.