Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

The War of the Three Academies was about to begin, and as the top student of the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard, Zheng Zhuhe had, of course, already arrived.

At his side stood another young figure.

This person exuded an air of nobility and pride, and was someone Lu Chao knew all too well.

He was none other than Lu Hanyang, son of Lu Dingtian.

That’s right. The students of the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard, led by Zheng Zhuhe, were currently being hosted by Lu Hanyang, and they had gathered beneath the Blood Stele.

Perhaps it was intentional. Or perhaps, having received news of the Beast Flame Outer Courtyard’s arrival, they meant to encounter Lu Chao here...

At that moment, Lu Chao once again felt a familiar, beckoning call from within his body. The sensation came from one of his three Heavenly Destiny Saint Bones: the Fire Roaring Saint Bone. That very Saint Bone now resided within Lu Hanyang.

And just as Lu Chao and his group watched Lu Hanyang, Zheng Zhuhe, and the others from a distance...

...the group opposite them naturally looked over as well.

Their eyes met. In that instant, the atmosphere seemed to freeze, slowly growing suffocating.

The surrounding bystanders seemed frozen in place as well.

At this moment, the area around the Blood Stele was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

Lu Hanyang suddenly retracted his gaze and said to Zheng Zhuhe with a slight smile, ”Brother Zheng, this is the Blood Stele of Great Wu’s traitor general, Lu Chao. My father personally erected it after he committed his unforgivable crimes.”

He was deliberately ignoring Lu Chao’s group, choosing instead to tell Zheng Zhuhe about the Blood Stele and Lu Chao.

Just then... THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

Just as Lu Hanyang finished speaking, a graceful figure in a yellow dress stepped out from among the students of the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard.

She then turned to the Blood Stele and... HAWK, PTOOEY!

A glob of saliva shot from the yellow-gowned woman’s mouth, arcing toward the Blood Stele.

At the sight of this, killing intent flashed in Cheng Yunsu’s eyes. Wu Caicai couldn’t stop herself from taking a step forward, and Luo Wendeng and the others clenched their fists so hard their knuckles turned white. They all knew this was the real Lu Chao...

...and the Blood Stele was an insult to his very existence. To spit on it was to spit on him.

After spitting, the woman in yellow turned and glanced airily at Lu Hanyang...

”Young Master Hanyang, my name is Wu Yiyi. I am a student of the Beast Flame Lion Institute and also of the Hundred Flames Trading Company. I simply couldn’t restrain myself and committed such an unladylike act toward the blood stele of that traitor, Lu Chao.”

Indeed, the yellow-gowned woman was Wu Yiyi, representing the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard.

Although she was with Zheng Zhuhe, she was now facing Lu Hanyang, her voice dripping with saccharine sweetness. While spitting was certainly unladylike, it was a blatant attempt to curry favor with him.

Naturally, Lu Hanyang couldn’t help but roar with laughter.

”Miss Yiyi, there is no need to apologize. The traitor general of Great Wu, Lu Chao, deserves to be spat upon by all.”

”He isn’t just a traitor to our Great Wu Empire, but a traitor to the entire world. He has slaughtered far, far too many innocents.”

”My father wrote it clearly on the stele: he is to be reviled by all...”

The moment he finished speaking, Zheng Zhuhe strode forward and sent a glob of spit flying at the Blood Stele.

The other students from the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard quickly followed his example. After spitting, each one added a few curses for good measure, making Lu Hanyang laugh even more heartily. Then, his gaze shifted back to Lu Chao and his group.

”Beast Flame Outer Courtyard! Your seniors from the Inner Courtyard have all had their turn spitting on the Blood Stele.”

”Isn’t it your turn now?”

Lu Hanyang was finally speaking to Lu Chao. But he didn’t call him ”Fake Lu Chao,” nor did he address the Dragon Flame Academy. By singling out the Beast Flame Outer Courtyard, he was deliberately placing Lu Chao’s group in a subordinate position to Zheng Zhuhe’s.

His eyes narrowed, a murderous glint surfacing within them.

It wasn’t just because his sister Lu Hanyan’s army had been scared into retreating at Sword Tooth City. It was also because of Lu Chao’s mask—a mask that stirred a roiling killing intent within him. He had been barely holding himself back for a long time.

Luo Wendeng and the others turned their gazes to Lu Chao, awaiting his command.

After a short pause, Zheng Zhuhe chimed in. ”Fake Lu Chao, didn’t you hear Young Master Hanyang? Get over here and spit on the real Lu Chao’s Blood Stele. Prove you care about the well-being of the world.”

He was slapping a grand, damning label on Lu Chao and his group.

At the same time, Zheng Zhuhe was posturing, taking on the air of the top student of Beast Flame. ’You from the Outer Courtyard must listen to me.’

At that moment... THUD!

Lu Chao finally stepped forward. With the students from the Dragon Flame and Little Kingdom Academies behind him, he walked step by step toward the Blood Stele, step by step toward Lu Hanyang and Zheng Zhuhe. Instantly, the atmosphere grew tense once more.

Lu Hanyang, of course, was unfazed. He still wore a faint, murderous smile.

But Zheng Zhuhe and the others tensed imperceptibly.

Every one of them knew how formidable the so-called Fake Lu Chao was. They also knew that the Beast Flame Inner and Outer Courtyards were like fire and water—their conflict would not end until one side was destroyed.

Finally, Lu Chao and his group halted before the Blood Stele. He stared at Lu Hanyang and said coolly, ”Second Young Master Lu, is it?”

As his voice fell...

Lu Hanyang snapped his head up and barked, ”Wrong! I have no older brother. I am the *First* Young Master.”

In response, Lu Chao gave a cold smile, his voice muffled by the mask. ”Little brother, have you perfected your Shadow Form Hundred Marvels Fist yet?”

VMMMM...

The instant Lu Chao spoke, the True Qi in Lu Hanyang’s body erupted uncontrollably. In his eyes, the killing intent instantly morphed into fear, which then slowly twisted into a crazed fury.

The killing intent had been for Lu Chao’s mask. The fear was an unconscious reaction, for in that instant, he felt as if he were facing the real Lu Chao—the sworn brother he had always feared. And the fury... ’This Fake Lu Chao is putting on an act again!’

He knew what had happened back in Sword Tooth City, but he hadn’t personally witnessed the Fake Lu Chao scare away the Great Wu soldiers.

After his sister, Lu Hanyan, returned, she had explained their failure in the Azure Flame Sect’s Forbidden Land: the Fake Lu Chao had impersonated the real one so perfectly that all twelve Death Warriors had been scared to their knees. Lu Hanyang had berated those Death Warriors relentlessly for it.

’You knew he was a fake and you still fell for it,’ he had raged. ’Utterly useless trash.’

And now, it was his turn...

He had felt a jolt of fear from just a single sentence. He, too, had fallen for the trick. The rage in his heart was about to explode.

”Little brother, calm yourself.”

”Did I not teach you? When facing a terrifying enemy, calmness is your greatest weapon.”

”At this rate, when will you ever truly grow up?”

Lu Chao’s words continued, setting off another ’VMMMM’ in Lu Hanyang’s mind. The fury instantly gave way to fear again, and he subconsciously took a step back. Then, he lurched forward. ”Impostor! You can’t fool me!”

”Little brother, you’ve already lost your judgment.”

Lu Chao’s voice became a ghostly whisper. ”Didn’t your dear sister Hanyan tell you? I have become a Fierce Ghost, and I’ve come to claim your lives.”