Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

To Lu Chao, Vice Commander Liu was incredibly strong, but Lu Chao had to face him head-on... Otherwise, no one here—not Cheng Yunsu, not his father-in-law Cheng Chuming—would leave alive.

Vice Commander Liu’s lip curled in a smirk. He clearly didn’t believe Lu Chao was anything more than his Bone of Myriad Stars.

He couldn’t be bothered to ask again and barked, ”Shen Ji, what are you all standing there for? Kill Lu Chao’s father-in-law and the rest of them!”

Just a moment ago, Shen Ji and the Red Sword Guards had been stunned by Lu Chao’s suicidal sword strike. They were even more shocked by his unexpectedly high cultivation realm, so they hadn’t immediately carried out Vice Commander Liu’s order.

Hearing his command now, they immediately moved to obey, preparing to cut down Cheng Chuming and the others.

But just then, Lu Chao, who was advancing on Vice Commander Liu, suddenly looked up and shouted, ”Fire...”

The moment he gave the order... WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Volleys of arrows suddenly rained down from the sky, descending without warning upon Shen Ji and the Red Sword Guards.

Their eyes went wide as they scrambled to deflect the projectiles.

Stunned, they began to yell, ”What is this? When did Lu Chao’s men get here?”

Before they could react, Lu Chao shouted again, ”Xiao Su’er, now!”

As his voice fell...

Cheng Yunsu, still sitting cross-legged in the middle of her Cultivation, snapped her eyes open. With a powerful hum, True Qi at the Peak Realm erupted from her body.

While Vice Commander Liu was distracted, she blurred past him in a flash.

Then, taking advantage of the instant the Red Sword Guards were occupied with the arrows, her entire body seemed to transform into a Fire Sparrow as she charged them.

A dagger had appeared in Cheng Yunsu’s hand at some point—the very same one Wu Yiyi had stabbed her with. With it, she sliced past the two closest Red Sword Guards.

SHINK! SHINK!

The two Red Sword Guards’ eyes widened as they died on the spot.

Cheng Yunsu didn’t pause for a moment. She continued her assault on the other Red Sword Guards, the Power of the Fire Sparrow enveloping her growing ever more intense.

In the blink of an eye, Cheng Yunsu was single-handedly locked in a fierce battle with Shen Ji and eight Red Sword Guards.

With Cheng Yunsu now in the fray, the arrows from the sky ceased, the archers holding their fire to avoid hitting her. Of course, they were also afraid of accidentally striking Cheng Chuming, Su Shangmo, and the others on the ground.

Everything had changed in the blink of an eye, the rapid succession of events leaving everyone stunned.

This series of events forced Vice Commander Liu to tear his gaze away from Lu Chao. He stared at Cheng Yunsu and demanded, ”How are you already at the Peak Realm Third Layer? And why did Flying Bird Knights suddenly appear? You shouldn’t have been able to send a signal.”

As he spoke, his glare shifted back to Lu Chao.

He was right. The arrows had come from the Flying Bird Knights who had suddenly appeared in the sky. It was, of course, Marquis Longyin, Sun Shijin, and the other top experts from Dragon Flame Academy.

They had ridden their Flying Bird Demon Beasts into Saint Su City ahead of schedule.

But Vice Commander Liu was baffled. Lu Chao had clearly sent no signal. And how could the Flying Bird Knights appear so silently? The men from the Saint Bone Zheng Family were supposed to be standing guard outside.

In response, Lu Chao simply tightened his grip on his Red Patterned Sword and continued his advance on Vice Commander Liu.

”You seem to have forgotten,” he said, ”that the Flying Feather Black Eagle I rode in on disappeared a moment ago.”

At these words, Vice Commander Liu’s eyes widened in realization. It was Lu Chao’s mount that had gone to alert the men outside the city.

”Why do you think I was talking so much before? Why do you think I showed you your Young City Lord’s finger?”

Lu Chao continued his steady advance.

”It was all to stall for time.”

”It was to stoke your anger and emotions, to make you lose your composure and stop paying attention to your surroundings. And, of course, it was to buy time for our Flying Bird Knights to arrive, and for my wife to complete her breakthrough.”

Indeed, Lu Chao had been stalling all along.

Even before he had landed, he had already sent the Flying Feather Black Eagle to tell Sun Shijin and Marquis Longyin to charge in from outside the city.

When facing Red Sword City, there was no option but to fight.

Given the situation, his goal was to find a way to rescue his father-in-law Cheng Chuming and the others. But with Vice Commander Liu at the powerful Creation Realm, ten Red Sword Guards at the Peak Third, Fourth, and Fifth Layers, and Shen Ji on top of that, how could he possibly manage it?

In other words, how could he possibly rescue them?

He couldn’t do it alone. At best, he could only hope to hold off Vice Commander Liu, perhaps even taking him down with him. Therefore, there was only one path: stall until Marquis Longyin and his men arrived, and stall until Cheng Yunsu broke through to a level where she could fight the Red Sword Guards.

The most crucial factor was that Cheng Yunsu was in the middle of a continuous breakthrough after being stabbed. Otherwise, the situation would have been impossibly difficult.

Using Chi Xingxun’s finger and the news of Yan Soul City’s attack on the Azure Flame Sect was all a ploy to ignite the emotions of the men from Red Sword City, making them too agitated to notice what was happening outside. After all, before Marquis Longyin’s group could charge in, they first had to deal with the guards from the Saint Bone Zheng Family.

Only then could they advance from outside the city and arrive at the Su Mansion undetected.

In short, Lu Chao had succeeded.

Just then, Lu Chao shouted again, ”Flying Feather Black Eagle, rescue my father-in-law first!”

As his voice fell... SKRAW!

The Flying Feather Black Eagle, having returned, swooped down from the sky. It snatched the nearly immobile Cheng Chuming from the ground with its talons and soared back into the air.

Seeing this, Shen Ji abruptly broke away from his fight with Cheng Yunsu and shot toward the sky with a roar.

He couldn’t possibly let Cheng Chuming be rescued. The man was their leverage against Lu Chao.

But just then... VWOOM!

A sword fell from the sky, and a deep, terrifying voice boomed, ”Shen Ji, your opponent is me.”

As he spoke, a figure radiating a tyrannical aura plummeted down and slammed heavily into Shen Ji. The two of them were sent tumbling across the ground. The one who had dropped from the sky was, of course, Chang Yuan.

The moment Chang Yuan saw Shen Ji going after Cheng Chuming, he had leaped from his Flying Bird Mount without a second thought.

Even though the fall was from a great height and would likely leave him severely injured...

But Chang Yuan didn’t care. He was determined to repay his debt to Lu Chao, and the moment he saw Shen Ji, he was consumed by the desire to kill. He would never forget that Shen Ji had taken his wife, Le Chun, or that Shen Ji had whipped his son.

And it was the force from that great height that sent Shen Ji crying out in pain, injuring him on impact.

BANG...

But Shen Ji furiously kicked Chang Yuan away, roaring, ”Chang Yuan! You again!”

”That’s right,” Chang Yuan said, and immediately attacked.

「On the other side...」

The Flying Feather Black Eagle had already carried Cheng Chuming high into the sky. Meanwhile, Marquis Longyin, Sun Shijin, and the other masters from Dragon Flame Academy guided their mounts lower. Just as Cheng Yunsu was about to be overwhelmed, they leaped down from their saddles one by one.

”Kill them and save our people!”

At Sun Shijin’s command, they completely surrounded the eight remaining Red Sword Guards.

The front courtyard of the Su Mansion instantly descended into a chaotic free-for-all.

Meanwhile, Vice Commander Liu finally realized he had been unknowingly stalled by Lu Chao. He said coldly, ”You, a mere disciple of the Azure Flame Sect, are truly impressive. But if I take you down—the leader—the rest will crumble on their own.”

With a hum of power, Vice Commander Liu attacked again, charging straight for Lu Chao...