Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

The Martial Technique of the Star Moon Profound Breaking Bone was called: Soldier-Breaking!

It was designed to shatter Weapons, Soldier Arrays, Armor—anything and everything related to combat and the battlefield. The Fist Force and Fist Wind it unleashed were like terrifying spikes, capable of destroying anything in their path.

It seemed as if nothing was unbreakable!

When the six Red Sword Guards came in pursuit, their fate was already sealed.

Lu Chao fought and killed foes far beyond his own level, slaughtering the entire group and fully unleashing the power of the Moon Profound Breaking Soldier Bone he had just devoured and assimilated.

「Outside the forest...」

Chi Ting, Chi Yuan, and the rest of the Red Sword Guards froze when they heard the series of screams. They all simultaneously sensed Lu Chao’s terrifyingly violent attacks from within the forest. After a moment of exchanging glances, they rushed in.

When they found Lu Chao, he was already standing amidst the corpses of the six Red Sword Guards.

Lu Chao slowly raised his head to look at the men from Red Sword City and said softly, ”It was indeed a ruse. The ruse was banking on you worrying about an ambush in the forest, so you wouldn’t send everyone in. Six men... well, that’s just far too easy.”

As he finished speaking, a hint of fearful chill appeared in Chi Ting’s eyes, while Chi Yuan’s were filled with disbelief.

He had sent six Red Sword Guards after him, believing that if Lu Chao was alone, he would have been powerless to fight back.

But in the end, Lu Chao had annihilated all of them by himself.

Lu Chao spoke again, his voice low...

”You have seven Red Sword Guards left. Counting the two of you, that makes nine. That shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

The meaning was obvious. Lu Chao knew he couldn’t have defeated all thirteen Red Sword Guards at once. But after his ruse, the lure, and the subsequent slaughter, he was more than capable of handling those who remained.

As he spoke, Lu Chao’s gaze shifted to the strongest Red Sword Guard among them—the one at the Peak Fifth Layer.

”Still, there’s one at the Peak Fifth Layer. Looks like I’ll have to be careful,” Lu Chao continued, even as his mind worked to further comprehend the Meridian Map of the Moon Profound Breaking Soldier Bone.

He had only just finished the initial devouring and assimilation. He had yet to fully comprehend the entire Meridian Map, let alone truly master its power.

As Lu Chao spoke, a chill crept up the spines of the Red Sword Guards.

The Red Sword Guard captain, the one at the Peak Fifth Layer, took a heavy step forward.

He glared at Lu Chao, who stood among the six corpses, and said in a cold voice, ”My lords, it seems this so-called number one genius of the Azure Flame Domain isn’t just being arrogant. The aura from his Heavenly Destiny Bone... it makes me tremble.”

Chi Yuan’s expression immediately soured. He had just been saying that Lu Chao only dared to show himself because defeating Chi Ting had made him arrogant.

He had even boasted that he would make Lu Chao face reality...

But now, reality was staring him in the face. The number one genius of the Azure Flame Domain was not to be underestimated.

Taking a deep breath, Chi Yuan gave a cold order, ”Be careful. This time, don’t hold back. Just kill him.”

Just moments ago, he had said Lu Chao was useful and wanted him alive. Now, Chi Yuan was eating his own words, ordering his death.

The seven Red Sword Guards nodded grimly and advanced on Lu Chao, led by their captain. Chi Ting and Chi Yuan remained still, watching intently, but their Moon Mortal Bones had already begun to stir faintly.

They were ready to intervene and provide cover at a moment’s notice.

Just at that tense moment, a sinister, elderly voice boomed out, ”Lu Chao, did you miscount by one?”

The voice boomed from outside the forest, shattering the tense air.

An old man appeared, dragging a young boy as he walked step by step toward Lu Chao. It was, of course, Shen Ji, the Patriarch of the Saint Bone Shen Family.

True Qi at the Peak Sixth Layer erupted from his entire body.

His voice was thick with hatred as he said, ”Lu Chao, kneel before me at once, or I’ll kill Chang Yuan’s son.”

Chi Yuan and Chi Ting couldn’t help but glare at him. ’We already told you,’ they thought, ’Chang Yuan’s son is useless as a hostage. This kind of threat is a joke to someone like Lu Chao. He doesn’t possess such a ridiculous thing as sentiment.’

But Shen Ji ignored their glares. The reasoning was still the same for him—the members of his Saint Bone Shen Family were almost all dead.

So Shen Ji gave neither Chi Ting nor Chi Yuan a chance to speak, continuing in a voice laced with madness, ”Lu Chao, are you really going to stand by and do nothing while he dies?”

He remained convinced that Lu Chao had come to save Chang Yuan’s wife and child.

Lu Chao also gave Chi Yuan and Chi Ting no chance to speak, replying swiftly, ”Shen Ji, you weren’t part of my calculations. That’s because you... belong to Brother Chang.”

At his words, the eyes of both Chi Yuan and Chi Ting widened slightly, and Shen Ji himself froze for a moment.

Before they could react... WHOOSH!

A figure suddenly plummeted from directly above Shen Ji. Its speed was incredible, its aura was perfectly concealed, and its appearance was utterly abrupt.

By the time Shen Ji noticed, the figure was already right on top of him.

This figure was, of course, Chang Yuan.

As it happened, Shen Ji had just walked right under the large tree where Chang Yuan and Lu Chao had been hiding. Now, with six Red Sword Guards dead and the other seven focused on Lu Chao, it was the perfect moment for Chang Yuan to assassinate his foe and save his son.

Chang Yuan, who had been unsure of what to do, saw the situation unfold and decisively made his move.

As a former assassin, he dove down for the kill.

Chang Yuan’s eyes were filled with resolute determination as his Sword plunged straight toward the top of Shen Ji’s head.

Shen Ji’s eyes widened as he reacted. BOOM! An explosive blast of True Qi erupted from him, but because he was caught completely off guard, Chang Yuan’s Sword pierced straight through it.

”Bastard...”

With his True Qi barrier broken, Shen Ji cursed and could only manage a slight sidestep.

But even so... SHINK!

Chang Yuan’s Sword plunged deep into Shen Ji’s shoulder, sending a spray of blood into the air.

The hand on that same side was still holding Chang Yuan’s son, and reeling from the pain, Shen Ji instinctively let the boy go.

Seeing this, Chang Yuan immediately let go of his Sword and dropped to the ground.

He quickly scooped his son into his arms, saying emotionally, ”Xiao Duan, Daddy’s here to save you.”

But at that moment, Chang Yuan’s son, Xiao Duan, could barely speak. Shen Ji had just forcibly poured True Qi into him.

Xiao Duan’s face was pale as he said weakly, ”Daddy, Mom... she...”

Before he could finish, Shen Ji roared, ”Chang Yuan, you actually broke through to the True Fate Sixth Layer! When did you break through? How dare you injure me! I won’t let you get away with this... I’m still going to kill your son!”

With that, Shen Ji charged at Chang Yuan, intent on landing a killing blow.

With his son Xiao Duan in his arms, it was nearly impossible for Chang Yuan to fight back. But then... THWUM!

A gleaming arrow suddenly streaked down from the trees.

It forced Shen Ji to a halt. Cheng Yunsu’s voice came from the tree, ”Brother Chang, throw Xiao Duan up here, quickly!”

Without a word of hesitation, Chang Yuan immediately tossed his son up into the tree. Cheng Yunsu caught him and set him down on a large branch.

Then, Cheng Yunsu kept her bow drawn, her arrow aimed at Shen Ji.

Freed from his burden, Chang Yuan’s True Qi exploded. He charged madly toward Shen Ji, roaring, ”I’ll kill you!”

There was a full major realm separating them—Chang Yuan was at the True Fate Sixth Layer, while Shen Ji was at the Peak Sixth Layer. Logically, Chang Yuan should have been no match for him, but Shen Ji’s shoulder was now pierced by a Sword.