Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Fan Jinhu, Dean Jiang, and the others... they’ve all vanished?

The Three Flames Commander trembled violently and roared in a low voice, ”Could there be an ambush inside the Beast Flame Academy? Everyone, be on alert! Send scouts out to survey the terrain...”

This order slightly slowed their pursuit.

「On the other side...」

Fan Jinhu, leading nine Descendants of Azure Flame, had secretly reached the troops of the Mad Snow Kingdom.

He spoke gravely to the Mad Snow Commander...

”Lu Chao won’t abandon anyone. Follow me now to the designated position! We fight our way to Assist Flame Cliff!”

”Lu Chao said that once we reach Assist Flame Cliff, the Three Flames Soldiers and Horses won’t be able to attack us easily.”

With Fan Jinhu’s arrival, the Mad Snow forces, who were currently battling the Three Flames Soldiers and Horses, immediately regained their confidence.

They followed Fan Jinhu and charged out.

In other positions, groups of ten from Dragon Flame Academy continuously joined the allied forces.

While bolstering the morale of the different squads, they led them toward their designated positions. Just as Fan Jinhu had said, every location Lu Chao had chosen was a natural stronghold—easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Once they arrived, they could hold their ground...

It all came back to one fact: the original Azure Flame Sect had been constructed based on the thirty-six Battle Arrays of the Forbidden Land’s 6th Floor.

If someone in the Azure Flame Sect had understood this during the Seven Great Flame Countries’ sneak attack forty years ago, they would never have been able to breach the sect’s defenses... Unfortunately, in two hundred years, no one had managed to decipher the 6th Floor of the Forbidden Land.

The Azure Flame Sect was once like an Immortal Land in this region, so why did they even need to establish the Azure Flame Martial Dao Sect?

Now, Lu Chao finally understood...

’At critical moments, they could use the Soldier Dao for defense, to protect the Azure Flame Sect from annihilation.’

At this moment, Lu Chao was still leading the new students of Dragon Flame Academy, advancing steadily toward his destination. He muttered to himself, ”Next, I will use this battle to build our prestige and make the Azure Flame Sect a name to be respected once more.”

’If we achieve a great victory in this battle, the thirty-six Soldier Arrays of the Azure Flame Sect will surely shake the world.’

’It will ensure that today, forty years later, the name of the Azure Flame Sect, long forgotten by many, will once again be etched into the hearts of the people.’

Lu Chao took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with sharp light from behind his mask.

’But now is not the time to dwell on this. I still need to wait for all thirty-five routes of our forces to reach their designated positions.’

...

At some point, Zheng Liling and Ming Huawan had stepped out of their carriage.

They leaped atop a giant tree, gazing at the distant battlefield.

Just then, Ming Huawan chuckled softly. ”It seems our worries were unnecessary. The Fake Lu Chao has returned, but he can’t turn the tide of battle. Patriarch Zheng, you can rest easy now, can’t you?”

They could clearly see that the momentum of the Three Flames Soldiers and Horses was still immense.

Zheng Liling smiled and nodded slightly...

”Although Patriarch Ming and Lu Hanyan’s operation failed, it delayed the Fake Lu Chao and Fan Changcun. This allowed the Three Flames Soldiers and Horses to gain a complete advantage from the start. The Fake Lu Chao is not the real Lu Chao; he can no longer reverse this situation.”

If the Fake Lu Chao had been at Dragon Flame Academy from the beginning, the outcome of this battle would be hard to predict.

But now, victory was certain.

At this moment, Zheng Liling spoke again. ”After we win this battle, I will have the Three Flames Soldiers and Horses march on Dragon Flame, rescue Lion Flame and the other members of the Three Flames, and then push all the way to the Dragon Flame Kingdom to help me take it down.”

Ming Huawan wore a savage grin. ”And we of Great Wu will storm into Tiger Flame... Coincidentally, half of the Six Flames Kingdom’s defensive forces have been transferred here. We can invade with ease.”

Zheng Liling’s voice was chillingly cold. ”At that time, we will attack from both north and south in a pincer movement and carve up the Seven Flames.”

After speaking... Hahaha!

The two of them burst into laughter at the same time.

But in the very next instant, Zheng Liling’s expression changed drastically. He roared in a low voice, ”I’ve caught you.”

As the words fell, Zheng Liling abruptly dodged backward, striking out toward a certain spot.

That’s right. In the midst of his hearty laughter, he had finally pinpointed the location of the pair of eyes watching him from the shadows. He attacked without hesitation, his heart filled with endless hatred...

’These past few days, being watched has been unbearable.’

Meanwhile, Ming Huawan was completely stunned and confused...

The next moment, he saw a masked figure suddenly appear on a large tree not far from them. The figure exchanged a heavy palm strike with the pursuing Zheng Liling... BANG!

The collision of their palms erupted with force, and both figures were instantly thrown back.

With a WHOOSH, Zheng Liling landed on one large tree, while the mysterious masked person landed on another.

Zheng Liling asked coldly, ”Who are you? Where did the Dragon Flame King hire you from?”

In Zheng Liling’s mind...

...he still believed that this person spying on him was an expert hired by the Dragon Flame King from some unknown place. They had only exchanged a single palm strike, so he couldn’t yet determine his opponent’s Heavenly Destiny Bone or True Qi Attribute.

He had no idea that the masked man was the Dragon Flame King himself.

The Dragon Flame King, his face concealed, stared at Zheng Liling. He took a shallow breath, then turned and fled.

”Trying to run? Do you think you can escape?”

Seeing this, Zheng Liling pursued without hesitation, but after about half an hour, he lost the trail.

When he returned, fuming, Ming Huawan quickly asked, ”Patriarch Zheng, who was that? They seemed incredibly strong.”

Zheng Liling heard this and shook his head lightly...

”They seemed to be using techniques of the Azure Flame Sect, but that makes it difficult to identify them. After all, forty years ago, the Seven Great Flame Countries carved up the spoils of the Azure Flame Sect...”

”Perhaps it’s someone the Dragon Flame King trained himself. Regardless, he won’t be watching me anymore.”

Having said that, Zheng Liling couldn’t help but look toward the battlefield again.

Half an hour had passed. The Three Flames Soldiers and Horses still appeared overwhelmingly powerful, but something seemed a little off.

However, Zheng Liling was no expert in the Soldier Dao, so he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong.

...

「Meanwhile...」

The Dragon Flame King landed, panting, in a dense forest on a low mountain. He said with a wry smile, ”I’m still lacking in combat experience, but at least I escaped unscathed...”

”It’s just that Lu Chao is now in great danger.”

”If this battle is lost, all of the Seven Great Flame Countries will be in peril. Zheng Liling and Great Wu plan to join forces and carve up the Seven Flames.”

It was precisely because he had overheard Zheng Liling and Ming Huawan’s conversation about carving up the Seven Flames that he had been startled, revealing his position.

In other words, this battle of Lu Chao’s was of immense significance to the Hundred Countries.

”If Lu Chao is defeated, not just Dragon Flame, but all of the Hundred Countries will be plunged into dire straits.”

”Only if Lu Chao is victorious can the ambitions of the Great Wu Empire and Zheng Liling be completely crushed, and only then will the other Six Flames be truly convinced.”

At this, the Dragon Flame King took a deep breath and looked toward the battlefield again...

He had previously judged that even with Lu Chao’s return, victory would be difficult. He had already prepared to order Marquis Jilong’s troops into the Hundred Countries. But after his half-hour-long chase with Zheng Liling, what was the state of the battlefield now?

”Hmm?”

The Dragon Flame King’s gaze suddenly froze. He channeled his powerful Azure Flame True Qi into his eyes, and it was as if he could see the situations across the old Azure Flame Sect grounds. He murmured, ”At Assist Flame Cliff... the Three Flames Soldiers and Horses are attacking furiously, but they cannot break through.”