Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

The resemblance was uncanny. Simply too uncanny.

Before truly seeing the Fake Lu Chao, Lu Dingtian had only heard descriptions from his children and others, and he hadn’t taken them to heart.

But the moment he saw the Fake Lu Chao for himself, the feeling in his heart was so real.

’He’s a fake. This is a fake,’ Lu Dingtian secretly warned himself.

The shadowy figure from the Cyan Sword Great Empire had made it perfectly clear: there was no such thing as resurrection in this world.

It was all just baseless legend.

Thus, after just two breaths, Lu Dingtian immediately returned to normal. ”Fake Lu Chao,” he said, ”I have no such adopted son as you.”

His tone was cold and detached, back to his usual self.

Lu Chao gave another faint smile. ”Lu Dingtian, how do you like that Heavenly Destiny Violent Saint Bone of mine?”

He possessed three Heavenly Destiny Saint Bones: Violent, Fire Roaring, and Water Chant. The one Lu Dingtian took was, of course, the Violent Saint Bone, which was the most powerful of the three and infinitely close to being a Divine Bone.

As Lu Chao’s words fell, the entire area plunged into a dead silence.

It came back to the same point...

The matter of carving out Lu Chao’s Heavenly Destiny Bone for his own use was not something that could be spoken of publicly.

Regarding this affair, everyone in the Great Wu Empire only dared to speak of it in whispers, never discussing it openly.

But now, this supposed fake, the ”real” Lu Chao, had said it out loud.

Lu Dingtian’s eyes narrowed sharply. A cold glint flickered within them before he suddenly laughed. ”Fake Lu Chao, the Violent Saint Bone is wonderful to use, of course, but it has nothing to do with that ungrateful son of mine, the real Lu Chao. This Saint Bone has always been mine.”

He declared on the spot that this was his own Saint Bone.

”I, Lu Dingtian, am not a young man, but I was fortunate enough to recently awaken the Violent Saint Bone. I never thought you’d find out about it.”

After a brief pause, Lu Dingtian looked toward the Second Prince of Great Wu, Wu Zhiqiu. ”Your Highness the Second Prince, this was supposed to be a secret. I can’t believe it was leaked. It seems we have a spy in our Great Wu Empire.”

At his words, Wu Zhiqiu trembled slightly, as did the people behind him.

After the real Lu Chao’s death, Lu Dingtian had already purged a batch of important figures in the Great Wu Empire. Was he now looking for another excuse to eliminate more of his enemies?

Lu Dingtian was growing more and more tyrannical. Even when exposed, he just claimed it was his own.

”Your Highness the Second Prince, why have you gone silent?” Lu Dingtian pressed forward aggressively, his tone dripping with menace.

In response, Wu Zhiqiu could only swallow his fury and reply in a low voice, ”Once we return, this matter will certainly be investigated thoroughly.”

Hearing this, Lu Dingtian smiled and turned back to Lu Chao.

”Fake Lu Chao, it’s useless no matter how you pretend.”

”Do you really think I’m afraid you’re the real deal? Do you think those little tricks you played before work on me? The real Lu Chao was my ungrateful adopted son, a worthless cur I raised with my own two hands.”

”It would be all too easy for me to determine if you’re real or fake.”

As he spoke, a broad smile spread across Lu Dingtian’s face.

His words put the minds of those present who had harbored doubts, like Zheng Liling, at ease.

The Fake Lu Chao must be a fake.

Zheng Zhuhe also roared with laughter. ”Fake Lu Chao, if you have the guts, take off your mask and let Marshal Lu have a look! Don’t hide.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Lu Chao chuckled softly. ”As you wish!”

With that, Lu Chao grasped the mask with one hand and slowly took it off.

A face, hard and resolute, filled with determination and defiance, was slowly revealed from beneath the mask. It was displayed in its entirety for all to see, a cold smile still gracing the corner of his lips.

For the people from the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard, who had long since seen Lu Chao’s true face, it was nothing special.

But for the people of the Great Wu Empire... THUD!

Some of the people behind Wu Zhiqiu collapsed to the ground. Within the Great Wu Imperial Academy’s contingent, be it the Pavilion Master or certain students, they too subconsciously fell to the ground, their lips trembling uncontrollably as they stared at Lu Chao.

THUMP THUMP...

Lu Hanyang and Lu Hanyan subconsciously stumbled back several steps, their legs once again trembling violently.

Wu Zhiqiu had also seen Lu Chao’s real face before. His teeth chattered uncontrollably, as if from a mix of excitement and disbelief.

At that moment, Zheng Zhuhe, oblivious to the situation behind him, was still snickering. ”Marshal Lu, keep exposing him! Make this fake understand that no matter how he pretends, he’s still... uh, what’s wrong with you all?”

He was halfway through his sentence when he finally noticed that a large portion of the Great Wu Empire’s entire retinue had either collapsed or retreated.

Looking back at Lu Dingtian, he saw that his entire body was also trembling slightly.

Having removed his mask, Lu Chao asked nonchalantly, ”Lu Dingtian, take a look. Haven’t I grown and matured a bit? Am I no longer the object you all used to nurture a bone, like I was before I died that one time?”

After a slight pause, Lu Chao took a step forward with a heavy STOMP.

That single step made almost everyone from Great Wu who recognized the real Lu Chao’s face retreat heavily, a mix of fear and bewilderment in their eyes.

Even Lu Dingtian almost stumbled back with them.

At the same time, Wu Zhiqiu suddenly asked, ”Lu Chao, is it really you?”

Lu Chao slowly shifted his gaze and gave a slight nod.

”Your Highness the Second Prince, it’s been a long time.”

”The last time we met, you were seeing us off. On the eve of our departure for the Yanwu Battlefield, you even secretly sought me out for a drink.”

When these words came out, Wu Zhiqiu’s eyes immediately turned bloodshot.

The matter of secretly drinking with Lu Chao was something only the two of them knew. At this moment, Wu Zhiqiu was almost certain that this Lu Chao was the real one.

Wu Zhiqiu had always held Lu Chao in very high regard; he was one of the few people Lu Chao could call a friend in the Great Wu Empire.

He couldn’t help but take a step forward.

But just then, a figure blocked Wu Zhiqiu’s path. It was none other than Lu Dingtian. ”Your Highness the Second Prince, are you going to be deceived by this fake too? I say he’s a fake, and that makes him a fake.”

At some point, Lu Dingtian had already unleashed his full aura.

The bewilderment and shock that had been in his eyes when Lu Chao first removed his mask were gone, replaced by a faint, cold sneer.

It came back to what the shadowy figure from the Cyan Sword Great Empire had said: it was impossible for him to be real.

The three of them—he and his two children—had personally torn out his bone and trampled his flesh. There was absolutely no chance he could have survived.

Staring at Lu Chao with a ghastly expression, Lu Dingtian said, ”Fake Lu Chao, it seems Fan Changcun did a lot of homework for you to pull off this disguise. You even managed to find out about His Highness the Second Prince secretly drinking with the real Lu Chao.”

”But it’s useless. A fake is a fake...”

At this point, Lu Dingtian suddenly looked around at everyone. ”All of you must be wondering why I mentioned Fan Changcun, right? Now, I will explain to you just how great Fan Changcun’s ambitions are.”

As Lu Dingtian spoke, the crowd’s gazes sharpened.

Lu Chao was also a little confused. ’Lu Dingtian suddenly brought up Marshal Fan and said his ambitions were great?’

’What is Lu Dingtian trying to say?’