Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

A third onlooker stepped forward...

”After Lu Chao died, I got curious and went to the Blood Stele. All I saw was a pile of muck, but it felt like I could still hear ghosts wailing and wolves howling.”

”I also saw pieces of Lu Chao’s shattered Battle Armor all over the ground.”

The faces of the people from Hundred Flames and the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard slowly turned a sickly green.

Wu Yiyi trembled all over and said, ”You... you all, stop fearmongering.”

’If what these three onlookers say is true... does that mean the ’Fake Lu Chao’ can’t possibly be the real one?’

”I’m not fearmongering. I really saw it,” the third onlooker said with utmost seriousness.

Then a fourth onlooker came up. ”I saw it too. That night, there was a torrential downpour, and the blood flowed like a river. I was thinking maybe I could take shelter from the wind under the Blood Stele...”

”But then, from a distance, I thought I saw a woman in a red dress crying, accompanied by the sounds of wailing ghosts.”

”I was so scared I fainted on the spot.”

”But not many people believed me. Now, I’m thinking... if this ’Fake Lu Chao’ is the real deal, then that woman in red probably wasn’t human. She must have pulled out his soul and found a person or a corpse for it to possess.”

As the fourth person spoke, Zheng Zhuhe felt his legs trembling violently.

”Impossible. There’s no such thing.” Wu Ye was older and more experienced, and he shook his head emphatically.

However, another onlooker spoke up, ”If what we saw was fake, then why were Lu Hanyang and Lu Dingkong scared out of their wits? They’re the ones who personally killed Lu Chao. Wouldn’t they know if he was truly dead or not?”

”They personally tore out his bones and ripped out his sinews. Of course they’d be terrified to see General Lu Chao,” another onlooker added.

More and more onlookers came forward to speak. Many were here on business, but there were also plenty of locals from the area.

In the end, almost everyone came to the same conclusion: the original Lu Chao had definitely died completely. He had returned as a Fierce Ghost to claim his revenge.

Someone else looked at the words on the Blood Stele...

”Everyone knows Lu Chao never buried any innocents or prisoners alive. This is an injustice, a monstrous injustice!”

”General Lu Chao is real, but his body probably isn’t his original one.”

”He’s back for revenge! He’s come to take the lives of Lu Dingtian’s family...”

”Ah... Stop talking!”

The last line, of course, was Wu Yiyi’s scream. This was too damn terrifying.

A moment ago, Second Madam Zhong Qiao had been looking down on Lu Hanyang for his behavior, but now she was so scared she was about to collapse onto Wu Tong.

”Calm down! Everyone, calm down...”

”Maybe Lu Chao had a twin brother or something. There’s probably nothing supernatural going on at all.”

It was Wu Ye who spoke again. Everyone snapped back to their senses, but they immediately felt the reason was completely flimsy. If Lu Chao really had a twin or something, how could he have mastered one of the top ten Martial Techniques in the Great Wu Empire?

”Go, go, go. Everyone, let’s get out of here first.”

Wu Tong also spoke up. Then, the people from the Hundred Flames Trading Company and the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard left the vicinity of the Blood Stele.

The people from the Hundred Flames Trading Company needed to discuss how to proceed with their business and whether to stick to their original plan. As for the people from the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard, they were of course going to find Zheng Liling and Zeng Quan to discuss the matter of the real and fake Lu Chao.

Many of the onlookers remained, still gazing at the Blood Stele...

A child’s voice rang out resolutely, ”Whether General Lu Chao is real or fake, man or ghost, I believe he’s a good person! He’s the one who saved my mother and me. He even gave us food.”

”That’s right! When he brought his troops here, some of the Great Wu Soldiers and Horses tried to steal our town’s food, and he was the one who stopped them.”

”General Lu Chao died a wrongful death!”

”Don’t say any more! If Marshal Lu hears you, you’re dead for sure.”

”What the hell is there to be afraid of? Lu Dingtian is useless in a fight. Besides wrongfully executing his own adopted son, what else can he do?”

A cacophony of voices continued to rise from below the Blood Stele. Many of the locals of Yanwu Battlefield, or those from nearby, knew very well that Lu Chao had never buried any innocent people alive.

He had been framed. They hadn’t dared to say much before, but now, Lu Chao was back.

As the onlookers spoke, the legend of Lu Chao began to spread. The gist of it was... Lu Chao had been reduced to a pulp, but his vengeful spirit could not rest. It had possessed the current Lu Chao to claim the lives of Lu Dingtian’s family.

...

Lu Chao and the others arrived at the center of the Yanwu Battlefield, inside a temporary building.

The Great Wu Empire had designated this as the battlefield, so of course, they were the ones to build temporary residences for the people from the Hundred Countries and the Nanye Dynasty. And so, everyone from the Beast Flame Outer Courtyard settled in.

In the main hall of this temporary residence...

Lu Chao and Witch Ying sat facing each other, surrounded by Sun Shijin and the others. Of course, Wu Caicai and her mother were there as well.

By this time, Lu Chao had already taken off his mask. ”Senior Witch Ying,” he said, ”thank you for your help this time.”

Witch Ying replied with a smile. ”I was also doing it for the money, and for the future of my Hundred Flames Trading Company. Yin Ye secretly informed me that you are the real Lu Chao. How could I not be afraid?”

’So it really was Yin Ye who told Witch Ying...’

Lu Chao, of course, wouldn’t blame Yin Ye. The latter knew he was planning to reveal his identity during the Three Courtyards Tournament.

Telling Witch Ying a little ahead of time was hardly a big deal.

”My eldest brother is getting more muddled with age, letting my second brother lead him by the nose. And as for my second brother... his ambition is too great, and his mind is not on legitimate business at all. He spends all day thinking up ways to stir up internal trouble, all sorts of plots and schemes.”

”Take the Shadow Form Hundred Marvels Fist, for example. He was jealous that I was the one to obtain it, so he went and revealed it to the public ahead of time.”

”He even had Zheng Zhuhe come to the Dragon Flame Kingdom to cause trouble for me...”

Witch Ying vented for a while before finally adding, ”This time, one of them wants to cooperate with Lu Dingtian, and the other wants to work with Nan Zhuiming and Zheng Liling. They’re overreaching. Aren’t they afraid those two will devour them until not even their bones are left?”

”More importantly...”

At this point, Witch Ying paused and didn’t continue.

’The most important thing is Lu Chao’s existence... My second brother, Wu Ye, wants to work with Zheng Liling? Zheng Liling has completely lost all power, yet he’s still betting on him to make a comeback. That’s just absurd.’

In short, Witch Ying supported Lu Chao. He believed Lu Chao could definitely win the Three Courtyards Tournament and bring the entire Hundred Countries to heel.

He might even be able to take out Zheng Liling and Lu Dingtian...

Coupled with what he learned from Yin Ye about Wu Caicai’s situation, he had come to resolve the matter.

After chatting for a while, everyone decided to go get some rest.

And just as Lu Chao was seeing Witch Ying off...

Wu Fenyu suddenly asked, ”Brother Lu Chao, thank you for taking care of my junior brother Iron Shield, and for helping him reach such a high realm. But I have one more question...”

”Revealing your identity directly in front of Lu Hanyang... wasn’t that a bit too hasty?”

Logically speaking, revealing your identity during the Three Courtyards Tournament would have created a bigger stir.

Revealing it beforehand gives all your opponents time to prepare.

Lu Chao couldn’t help but laugh. ”I was ground to dust and my ashes scattered by Lu Dingtian and his two sons. Other people might believe I’m the real Lu Chao, but Lu Dingtian, his sons, and the people who were at the Blood Stele that day will never believe it.”