Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Yan Mu went on with a laugh, ”Even if you reached the True Fate Ninth Layer, in my eyes, you’d still be a plaything I could crush at will.”

At that moment, only Yan Mu and the other eleven from the Cyan Sword Great Empire remained on the arena stage.

They remained high and mighty, looking down on the entire crowd.

Lu Chao’s consciousness was still within his Bone Inner World, so naturally, he paid no mind to what Yan Mu was saying.

By now, Lu Chao had mostly digested the Fire Roaring and Water Chant Star Divine Bones, but he was suddenly taken aback. ’The Transformation Realm... I can’t devour four Star Heavenly Destiny Bones? It’s the same as the Innate Realm—I can only devour three!’

’One for the Qi Gathering Realm, two for the Postnatal Realm, and three for the Innate Realm. I was sure I’d be able to devour four in the Transformation Realm.’

Only now did Lu Chao realize that the Transformation Realm was the same as the Innate Realm in this respect.

This was because his Life-taking Star-devouring Bone had also begun to advance, about to evolve from the Heavenly Bone Level into a Saint Bone.

’At every major realm...’

’After I devour all the required Star Heavenly Destiny Bones for a realm, my Life-taking Star-devouring Bone advances. Since it’s starting to advance now, that must mean my task for the Transformation Realm is complete.’

’Three it is, then. That in itself isn’t a problem.’

’The problem is...’

’...the Bone of Myriad Stars that Elder Sun used to disguise it will crack again now that my Life-taking Star-devouring Bone is becoming a Saint Bone. It already cracked once during the battle for the Beast Flame spots, nearly exposing my Life-taking Bone back then.’

This was a battle of life and death; he couldn’t afford to expose the aura of his Life-taking Bone. If he did, anyone could use it as grounds to have him killed.

’However, with two of my Saint Bones returned, I should be able to suppress the Life-taking Bone’s aura.’

Lu Chao’s consciousness mused within his Bone Inner World. He had already prepared for this. Since he had just decided to devour all the Star Bones he could, he had anticipated that the Bone of Myriad Stars might crack.

In the past, with three Heavenly Destiny Saint Bones, he had been able to suppress his Life-taking Bone so effectively that not even Lu Dingtian could detect it.

’Now that two Saint Bones have returned, surely they can suppress its aura, right?’

As Lu Chao thought to himself, his Life-taking Star-devouring Bone successfully advanced into the ranks of Saint Bones. However, since he had not yet circulated his True Qi, the Heavenly Bone Level Bone of Myriad Stars remained intact.

At the same time, his Fire Roaring and Water Chant Saint Bones were still in the midst of a frenzied evolution...

RUMBLE!

Lu Chao’s True Qi erupted once more, and he instantly broke through from the True Fate Fourth Layer to the Fifth Layer.

”The True Fate Fifth Layer! That Lu Chao... that Lu Chao...” Zheng Liling and the others ground their teeth in frustration as they stared at him.

But Nan Zhuiming spoke coldly...

”It’s useless. Didn’t Young Master Yan Mu already say so? Even if he reaches the True Fate Ninth Layer, he’s still a dead man.”

Hearing this, all those in the crowd hostile to Lu Chao felt their worries subside.

Wu Yiyi, having regained consciousness at some point, spoke from her father Wu Ye’s embrace, ”Daddy, after Lu Chao is dead, you must get justice for me! That Sister Caicai... she went too, too far!”

Before Wu Ye could speak, Wu Tong, who was beside them, offered his own reassurance. ”Don’t worry, Yiyi. Your uncle won’t let that rebellious girl get away with it.”

A triumphant glint flashed in Wu Yiyi’s eyes...

Then, her gaze shifted to Yan Mu as she thought to herself, ’A noble young master from the Cyan Sword Great Empire... I have to seduce him.’

All of Lu Chao’s enemies in the crowd still believed he was a dead man walking.

Meanwhile, the people from the Dragon Flame and Hundred Countries factions were filled with worry. The gap between the True Fate and Peak realms was immense.

Wu Zhiqiu asked those around them, ”Can General Lu Chao continue to advance?”

Just then, groups of Flying Bird Demon Beasts and their riders from the Hundred Countries’ side began to arrive.

Troops of warhorses also charged in from outside the temporary town, halting behind the members of the Dragon Flame and Hundred Countries factions.

Yin Ye replied quietly, ”It won’t matter. Once all of our troops have arrived, we have nothing to fear even if Lu Chao loses...”

’If he loses, we’ll just kill them with our army. Let’s see how these dozen-odd people from Cyan Sword handle that.’

Just then, Lu Dingtian received a message via carrier pigeon. He abruptly called out to Yan Mu on the stage, ”Young Master Yan, that man is named Lu Chao, and his army is on its way! My lord, you can’t wait for him any longer!”

The message Lu Dingtian received was that the Hundred Countries’ Armies were steadily approaching, prompting his urgent warning to Yan Mu.

Young Master Yan’s Sword-Winged Ice Wolf was terrifying, but it probably couldn’t obliterate several hundred thousand soldiers in one go. Lu Dingtian could not allow Lu Chao any chance of leaving here alive; he wouldn’t be able to stomach the alternative.

Upon hearing this, Yan Mu shot Lu Dingtian a cold, sideways glare, clearly displeased by his unsolicited advice...

But the middle-aged man in black armor, Niu Dong, quickly interjected, ”Young Master, we truly cannot wait any longer. You must kill that self-important country bumpkin.”

Yan Mu immediately shot him a glare as well, laughing mockingly. ”He’s just some trash I could defeat in a single blow. So what if his army arrives? Do you think they can rescue him before I decide to unleash my killing strike?”

”The stronger he gets, the better. I want to make an example out of him and put the so-called ’genius’ trash of the Azure Flame Domain in his place.”

At Yan Mu’s words, the corner of Niu Dong’s mouth twitched, but he finally retreated without another word.

And so, the entire crowd continued to wait for Lu Chao.

At that moment, Lu Chao was oblivious to everything...

He was preparing for his first devouring in the True Fate realm, but he suddenly found himself staring blankly at the sea of densely packed stars in the sky of his Bone Inner World.

’In the deepest, most distant reaches of this starry sky, a new Star Heavenly Destiny Bone has appeared.’

Beyond the familiar stars in the distant sky, a new point of light had appeared, and Lu Chao’s consciousness had noticed it.

’I can’t see it clearly. It still looks incredibly distant... It seems I can’t acquire it for the time being.’

’And this new one... it must be an existence that surpasses the Divine Bone level.’

Lu Chao murmured to himself, slowly pulling his focus back to the Star Divine Bones already in the sky. There were now many more for him to choose from, leaving him with two options...

One: wait until that distant existence beyond the Divine Bone level became clear enough to be seen and devoured.

Two: simply devour another Star Divine Bone right now...

Taking a silent breath, Lu Chao made his decision. ’I won’t devour anything else. I’ll wait for that existence beyond the Divine Bone. Perhaps it will come with new rules for devouring.’

Having made his decision, his consciousness finally withdrew from the depths of his Bone Inner World. He focused on the Fire Roaring and Water Chant Saint Bones and noted, ’Their evolution has all but stopped. They’ve reached the level of Top-level Saint Bones. Reaching the Divine Bone level is now just a matter of time.’

’If I want to speed things up, I can take an Azure Flame Bone-Refining Pill, and both should immediately reach the Divine Bone Level.’

As he thought this, Lu Chao slowly opened his eyes. ’First, I’ll go up there and test Yan Mu’s strength. If I can’t beat him, I’ll take the Azure Flame Bone-Refining Pill. Becoming a wielder of two Divine Bones should be enough to help me break through another layer.’

And with that... THUD!

Lu Chao stomped his foot, sending out a powerful shockwave of True Qi at the True Fate Fifth Layer as he announced, ”I am done with my cultivation.”

WHOOSH! In a flash, Lu Chao landed on the arena stage.

The entire crowd held its breath. Yan Mu, however, simply stretched lazily and said to Black-armored Niu Dong and the others behind him, ”You all can get down. We wouldn’t want these country bumpkins thinking you’re going to help me from the shadows.”

Hearing this, Black-armored Niu Dong immediately flashed off the stage, positioning his ten subordinates to guard the arena from all sides.