Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Lu Chao’s true face was revealed before Ming Huasheng’s very eyes.

Ming Huasheng, already gripped by fear, was utterly stunned. He stared at Lu Chao in disbelief, his outstretched finger trembling...

”Y-y-you...”

Ming Huasheng was the Patriarch of a Saint Bone Family, a man of high standing in the Great Wu Empire.

He had seen the real Lu Chao before—Lu Dingtian’s adopted son. How could this Fake Lu Chao be the genuine article?

Lu Chao spoke softly. ”Patriarch Ming, we meet again.”

He repeated his earlier words, but this time, ”we meet again” referred to the reunion of the real Lu Chao of Great Wu and Ming Huasheng.

”Impossible! Why are you still alive? Did Lu Dingtian not finish the job?”

Ming Huasheng was frantic. He figured Lu Chao could only be alive because Lu Dingtian hadn’t done a clean job.

Lu Chao shook his head gently. ”Oh, he finished it. Every bone in my body was shattered. I was beaten to a pulp. But I came back to life.”

At this, Lu Chao couldn’t help but glance toward Cheng Yunsu...

At the sound of Lu Chao’s voice, Dongfang Ren froze, staring at Lu Chao in disbelief.

Everyone present, aside from Dongfang Ren, already knew that this Lu Chao was the real Lu Chao of Great Wu. Lu Chao decided he would no longer hide the truth from the old man.

But now was not the time for explanations. Lu Chao walked step by step until he stood before Ming Huasheng.

”Ming Huasheng, if you hadn’t claimed to be Lu Dingtian’s strongest supporter, we might have had something to discuss...”

”But now... you must die.”

Ming Huasheng froze, then immediately understood.

’If I hadn’t collaborated with Lu Dingtian, Lu Chao might have approached me for an alliance, still under his ’Fake Lu Chao’ guise.’

’But now, that’s impossible!’

Ming Huasheng hurriedly cried out, ”Wait! We can still talk! I’ll cut all ties with Lu Dingtian the moment I get back!”

Ming Huasheng made a solemn promise to save his own life.

But Lu Chao just shook his head. ”I don’t hate everyone in the Great Wu Empire. But anyone who supports Lu Dingtian must die.”

As he spoke, Lu Chao’s sword was already rising...

Ming Huasheng suddenly roared, ”You son of a bitch, you were already dead! Why couldn’t I support Lu Dingtian?”

What he meant was...

You, Lu Chao, were already dead. I had no idea you were still alive, so why was it wrong to cooperate with Lu Dingtian?

Lu Chao remained silent...

But Fan Changcun stood up. ”You know very well that Lu Chao wasn’t just Lu Dingtian’s adopted son.”

”He was the young Emperor Star who earned immense merit for the Great Wu Empire. Even if Lu Dingtian’s power was unshakable, you should never have joined forces with him. Supporting Lu Dingtian is supporting the murder of a great hero of Great Wu.”

”If a person like you doesn’t deserve to die, then who does?”

In the Great Wu Empire, many had mourned Lu Chao’s death, refusing to believe the accusations against him.

But they feared Lu Dingtian’s power, filled with an anger they dared not voice.

They might have held their noses and followed Lu Dingtian’s orders at times, but what good could come from someone like Ming Huasheng, who wholeheartedly supported Lu Dingtian and never once spoke out for the heroic Lu Chao?

”Enough talk. I’ll send you on your way.”

As Lu Chao finished speaking, he thrust his sword at Ming Huasheng. However... VMM!

The moment the sword pierced Ming Huasheng’s body, Lu Chao’s Life-taking Star-devouring Bone suddenly vibrated.

A dark light abruptly shot out from within the Life-taking Star-devouring Bone.

The dark light then traveled along Lu Chao’s meridians and onto his sword.

It caused his sword to shift slightly, striking Ming Huasheng’s Heavenly Destiny Saint Bone. DING.

After the light sound, the dark light coiled around Ming Huasheng’s Heavenly Destiny Saint Bone, yanked it free, and shot back along Lu Chao’s sword into his body, where it was devoured by his Life-taking Star-devouring Bone.

At that moment, Lu Chao’s eyes widened in shock.

A wave of shock washed over him. ’I can... I can actually devour an external Heavenly Destiny Saint Bone now.’

Previously, Lu Chao had devoured six external Heavenly Bones, but he had never felt any reaction from a Saint Bone, which meant he couldn’t devour them.

But now, he had just devoured Ming Huasheng’s Heavenly Destiny Saint Bone.

In other words, as Lu Chao’s Martial Arts Realm continued to improve, he could now devour external Saint Bones.

”AH, AHHHHHH...”

While Lu Chao was still stunned, Ming Huasheng, now without his Heavenly Destiny Saint Bone, thrashed about madly on the ground. He shrieked, ”You took my Saint Bone! If you’re going to kill me, just kill me! But you dug out my Heavenly Destiny Saint Bone first!”

This was a rather cruel method; usually, one killed their target before harvesting their bones.

Lu Chao simply shook his head. He certainly wasn’t going to explain that the devouring was involuntary. Instead, he finished off Ming Huasheng with a single thrust of his sword.

And just like that, the esteemed Patriarch of a Saint Bone Family died in the Azure Flame Forbidden Land.

Fan Changcun and the others, of course, had no idea that Lu Chao had devoured Ming Huasheng’s Saint Bone. They assumed he had simply carved it out. They didn’t find his actions particularly cruel, either—just attributed it to his deep-seated hatred.

The 6th Floor of the Forbidden Land fell silent with Ming Huasheng’s death.

Lu Chao sheathed his sword and turned to Dongfang Ren, briefly explaining his true identity.

Dongfang Ren wasn’t angry, merely sighing with emotion.

He just smiled wryly. ”A pity. Back then, Lu Dingtian stopped you from becoming my disciple. If he hadn’t...”

He didn’t finish, just shaking his head. Some opportunities, once lost, were lost forever.

With the matter here settled, there was still no time to tackle the seventh floor. There wasn’t even time for Dongfang Ren to experience the terror of the 6th Floor’s Martial Dao combat Illusion Realm. Lu Chao had to leave the Forbidden Land immediately.

He took out the Storage Ring Fan Changcun had given him and stored Ming Huasheng’s body inside.

Then he led everyone back into the Martial Dao combat Illusion Realm.

This time...

Lu Chao was even faster. He broke through the thirty-six Martial Dao Battle Arrays in just four hours. Then, the group quickly departed the Azure Flame Forbidden Land. Just as they emerged, they saw a carrier pigeon circling overhead.

It soon landed on Yin Ye’s shoulder. It was a message from the Dragon Flame King, who had been worried about him.

The bird had been circling because it couldn’t find Yin Ye.

After reading the message, Yin Ye immediately wrote a reply to the Dragon Flame King, briefly recounting the events in the Forbidden Land before sending the bird on its way.

On the way back...

Lu Chao explained the terrain of the thirty-six Battle Arrays at the old Azure Flame Sect site to Fan Changcun, Yin Ye, and the others, detailing how they had achieved victory. Afterwards, they arrived at the council hall of what was once the Beast Flame Academy.

By this time, the people from Dragon Flame Academy had nearly finished dealing with everything.

All prisoners had been secured and were being guarded by the soldiers of the Small Kingdoms. Everyone else was resting and regrouping.

”Grandfather...”

”Grandmaster Fan...”

When Fan Jinhua, Fan Jinxiang, and the Descendants of Azure Flame saw Fan Changcun, they were so overjoyed that they burst into tears.

They were finally reunited with Marshal Fan after being separated during the initial chaos in the Hundred Countries.

Lu Chao, of course, didn’t disturb their reunion. After issuing an order for everyone to rest, he left with Cheng Yunsu.

He wanted to see what was inside the Storage Ring...

He also wanted to see if there were any new changes in his Bone Inner World after devouring Ming Huasheng’s Saint Bone.