King of Ten Thousand Years

Azure Cloud Royal Capital, Celestial Cloud Mountain.

BOOM! BUZZ!

A simple, dark blue hill burst forth with a dazzling five-colored radiance. Array patterns swirled, converging upon the Bronze Gate.

The Bronze Gate opened, revealing a dark silver, deep, and distorted Light Cave.

”Monarch, the reception was a success!”

A Royal Family Elder announced.

Numerous figures had gathered before the simple hill.

The Azure Cloud Monarch, two Princess Consorts, the high-level Mansion Masters of the Three Great Holy Mansions, and the leaders of several great Noble Families were all present.

The atmosphere was heavy.

Everyone stared at the entrance of the passage as if facing a great enemy.

”I hope our sons return safely.”

The two Princess Consorts prayed with their hands clasped together.

The Royal Family and Holy Mansion high-level members looked solemn and somewhat worried.

「Seven days ago.」

The Qiu Yue Kingdom had interfered with the Royal Secret Garden, sending in a group of terrifying top-tier geniuses.

Afterward, the skirmishes at the border between the two kingdoms had quieted down.

The high-level members worried that the Princes who had entered the Secret Garden would be captured by the Qiu Yue Kingdom and held as hostages.

WHOOSH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Inside the Bronze Gate, silver light flickered as figures were teleported out one by one.

In the end, only a dozen or so people appeared. Compared to the fifty who had entered when the Secret Garden first opened, the scene was quite bleak.

”My sons!”

The two Princess Consorts, their eyes filled with tears, rushed toward the Third Prince and the Seventh Prince.

Phew!

The Azure Cloud Monarch and the other high-level members couldn’t help but breathe a long sigh of relief.

Although a pitifully small number of people had returned, the safe return of both Princes was a great fortune.

”Brother Luo!”

Li Yunxiu’s phoenix-like eyes lit up with joy when she saw Luo Tian.

”Brother Luo, it’s all thanks to you.”

Senior Jin’s face was filled with gratitude and relief.

Because of Luo Tian’s advice,

Senior Jin, Li Yunxiu, and Nangong Yu had been cultivating in the Profound Spirit Hall the entire time, allowing them to avoid a disaster.

Nangong Yu also shot him a grateful smile.

Luo Tian smiled and nodded.

The three of them had been cultivating constantly and had made rapid progress.

Li Yunxiu and Nangong Yu had both broken through to the Spirit Sea Realm. Senior Jin had also broken through to the Spirit Sea Realm Second Layer.

”You brat! Not bad, coming back alive and in one piece.”

A familiar, aged voice called out.

”Master... Master Lin?”

Luo Tian was stunned to see Lin Dongfeng standing before Vice Manor Master Yue, a look of gratification on his face.

Luo Tian felt a strange warmth touch his heart.

After his father and Ning Xueyao left, he had no family by his side.

This time, he had faced a life-and-death crisis in the Secret Garden, but he still had a Mentor outside who cared for him.

”Everyone, gather around!”

A Royal Family Elder summoned the surviving geniuses.

The dozen or so geniuses reported their respective intelligence to the Royal Family.

The Azure Cloud Monarch listened quietly, his expression grave.

”The Qiu Yue Kingdom actually dispatched such a terrifying lineup, gathering elites from several generations of the Human List.”

”A son of a Prince from the Chilong Dynasty was involved too?”

One shocking piece of news after another left the high-level members of the Azure Cloud Kingdom utterly stunned.

Especially when they learned that the two Princes had been captured alive, everyone was on edge.

”My sons, you were captured alive. How did you escape?”

One of the Princess Consorts asked, her face pale with lingering fear.

The Azure Cloud Monarch and the other high-level members were also curious.

To be captured alive by such terrifying experts and then escape—how difficult must that have been?

”Hee hee! I was the one who asked Luo Tian to take action and rescue the Princes!”

the young girl in the green dress chirped excitedly.

”Luo Tian?”

The high-level members turned to look at Luo Tian, somewhat puzzled.

Luo Tian’s strength was only in the top five of the Human List. Did he really have the ability to rescue them?

”Luo Tian is incredible! He single-handedly killed two people ranked second on the Human List, including that traitor Wang Tian, and saved the two Princes.”

The girl in green said excitedly, as if it were her own accomplishment.

Upon hearing this, several of the Holy Mansion high-level members, including Vice Manor Master Yue, found it hard to believe.

’No way. Does this kid really have that kind of strength?’

Lin Dongfeng looked skeptical.

Fighting two against one and killing two people ranked second on the Human List—even the person ranked first would find that extremely difficult.

Unless he had strength that surpassed the number one on the Human List.

”My sons, is this true?”

the Azure Cloud Monarch asked.

”It is true.”

the Third Prince replied. The Seventh Prince nodded as well.

However, their replies were a bit forced, and they looked disgraced.

But Luo Tian was their savior, and with the green-dressed girl as a witness, they couldn’t deny it.

”Excellent! Excellent! Luo Tian, you are a great general of fortune and a benefactor to my Royal Family.”

The Azure Cloud Monarch laughed, his face full of praise.

Before long, all the students had reported all the information they knew.

However, aside from Luo Tian and Xia Bingyue, no one knew about Zheng Wei’s death, and neither of them mentioned it.

Luo Tian saw no need to stir up trouble for himself; after all, no one had seen him kill Zheng Wei.

Afterward, the Royal Family bestowed rewards upon Luo Tian.

First, he was granted the title of Count and a mansion in the Royal Capital.

This was a symbol of power and status, meaning Luo Tian had entered the upper echelon of Azure Cloud Kingdom society.

In a place like the Royal Capital, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, owning a mansion was an incredible luxury.

This reward made the other geniuses present, and even some of the older generation, green with envy.

Second, all of Luo Tian’s gains from the Royal Secret Garden belonged to him alone.

According to the usual rules of the Royal Secret Garden, geniuses who entered had to turn over half of their gains to the Royal Family.

After all, the Royal Family had to pay a great price each time they opened the Secret Garden.

”Thank you, Monarch.”

Luo Tian was overjoyed.

His original plan was to have the Celestial Book seal and take away the Red Lotus Sword, similar to what it had done with the Demon Emperor Bone.

This second point made things much more convenient for him.

He had, after all, obtained several other extremely precious Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.

The dozen or so other geniuses handed over half of their gains to the Royal Family.

To Luo Tian’s surprise, the Royal Family didn’t require Xia Bingyue to hand over any of her gains. ’It seems her background is quite impressive,’ he thought.

On Celestial Cloud Mountain, the crowd gradually dispersed.

The surviving geniuses returned to their respective groups.

The Three Great Holy Mansions had suffered heavy losses, especially Yun Tian Holy Mansion and Martial Kun Holy Mansion.

The Sun Chasing Holy Mansion, on the other hand, was quite lucky.

Luo Tian, Li Yunxiu, Senior Jin, Nangong Yu, and the others had all returned safely.

Vice Manor Master Yue and Lin Dongfeng were greatly surprised.

All of this was because Luo Tian had changed the fate of Li Yunxiu and the others.

”Luo Tian! Don’t be in a hurry to return to the Holy Mansion. In a few days, I’ll take you to meet your grandmaster.”

Lin Dongfeng stroked his beard and smiled.

”Grandmaster?”

Luo Tian was taken aback.

”Haha! Now that I’ve recovered my cultivation and taken on such an outstanding student like you, I must naturally go back and hold my head high.”

Lin Dongfeng said, full of high spirits.

He had wasted thirty years and hadn’t had the heart to face his own master.

Taking this opportunity, Lin Dongfeng planned to return to his sect and broaden Luo Tian’s horizons.

”Alright.”

Luo Tian was a little curious about what Lin Dongfeng’s sect was like.

...

「At the border of the Azure Cloud Kingdom.」

「In the center of a valley.」

On a blood-red altar piled high with white bones, blood-colored flames burned and churned, twisting into a Light Gate.

SWISH!

A withered man appeared in the center of the altar.

”How is it just you?”

The Qiu Yue State Preceptor, a middle-aged man in a scholar’s robe, asked in surprise.

After a moment’s wait,

The Blood Flame Light Gate closed, and no one else appeared.

”As expected... they’re all dead...”

The withered man gave a bitter smile.

Before he feigned his death, only Zheng Wei, Dongmen Lin, and the woman in pink were left on the Qiu Yue Kingdom’s side.

”They’re all dead? Young Master Zheng died in the Royal Secret Garden too?”

The Qiu Yue State Preceptor was shocked beyond belief.

”Although I didn’t see a body, I’m afraid Young Master Zheng’s chances are grim.”

The withered man didn’t dare to hide anything, revealing all the news and details he knew.

”It’s over!”

The Qiu Yue State Preceptor’s face was drained of color, his expression one of pure terror.

Young Master Zheng had entered the Royal Secret Garden with the Qiu Yue Kingdom’s help.

Now that Young Master Zheng was dead, the Qiu Yue Kingdom could not escape responsibility.

With Prince Zheng’s power and influence, he could decide the very survival of small nations like the Qiu Yue Kingdom and the Azure Cloud Kingdom.

If this matter wasn’t handled properly, the Qiu Yue Kingdom faced the danger of being wiped out.

”Right! The killer...”

A sharp glint flashed in the Qiu Yue State Preceptor’s eyes.

If they could find the real killer, perhaps they could appease some of Prince Zheng’s wrath.

”The killer?”

The withered man’s face showed a hint of recollection.

”At the time, inside the cave dwelling, I only saw Xia Bingyue and heard Luo Tian’s voice.”

”Xia Bingyue had been knocked unconscious, and her cultivation was sealed. Luo Tian seemed to have gotten into a conflict with Young Master Zheng. I heard Young Master Zheng’s scream.”

The withered man said, sounding uncertain.

Mainly, he didn’t believe Luo Tian had that kind of strength.

”Luo Tian? Good, good—”

The Qiu Yue State Preceptor’s handsome face twisted into a vicious, sinister expression.

Even though there was no evidence, the Qiu Yue Kingdom needed to quickly identify a culprit to deflect Prince Zheng’s anger.

...

「Azure Cloud Royal Capital.」

Luo Tian and Lin Dongfeng returned to the Dongchuan Pharmacy together.

Since it would be a few more days before Lin Dongfeng took Luo Tian to his sect, they decided to stay at the Dongchuan Pharmacy first.

”Brother, worthy nephew Lin.”

The proprietor, Lin Dongchuan, gave them a warm welcome.

Lin Dongfeng and Lin Dongchuan were biological brothers.

One focused on Martial Arts, while the other ran a medicinal herb business.

Last time, Luo Tian had accepted a commission from his Mentor to help the Dongchuan Pharmacy solve a problem.

「That evening.」

Lin Dongchuan’s family held a welcome banquet for Luo Tian.

”Brother Luo, can you tell us about your exciting experiences in the Royal Secret Garden?”

Lin Qinghan asked, her dimples showing. Her clear, bright eyes were tinged with shyness and timidity.

Her pure and beautiful appearance was enough to stun the geniuses of her generation.

”It wasn’t exciting. Just fighting and killing.”

Luo Tian responded calmly.

Lin Qinghan clearly had a crush on him; last time, she had even deliberately pretended to slip and fall.

Luo Tian already had a headache from what had happened with Xia Bingyue. He didn’t want to get involved with this pure-to-the-bone little vixen.

After the banquet, Luo Tian returned to his guest room, turning down Lin Qinghan’s invitation for a ”moonlit stroll.”

「In the room.」

Luo Tian sorted through his gains from the Royal Secret Garden.

Four Dragon Scale Fruits, two Blood Pear Fruits, a portion of Celestial True Water, and three Red Lotus Fruits.

These four treasures would be considered gems anywhere on the Continent.

Dragon Scale Fruit, a wondrous item that increased strength and could aid in Body Refinement.

Blood Pear Fruit, which could save one’s life and restore vitality, was an extremely rare fruit used to refine the Healing and Life Protection Holy Pill.

Celestial True Water, which aided in the cultivation of the Celestial Destiny Creation Technique. It could enhance a Martial Artist’s foundation and fortune, and slightly increase the success rate of breaking through to the Earth Element Realm and beyond.

Red Lotus Fruit, a Three-star Treasure, could improve one’s constitution, perform Marrow Washing, and had the wondrous effect of preserving one’s youth.

In addition, the Celestial Book also contained two True Intent Traces, which were priceless Divine Communication True Marks for those in the Spirit Sea Realm and Earth Element Realm.

’What a bountiful harvest!’

Luo Tian felt a sense of comfortable satisfaction.

After he finished organizing his gains, Luo Tian suddenly sensed a faint, almost imperceptible crisis.

The Creation Technique was warning him!

This was likely related to Zheng Wei’s death.

’I need to convert these gains into strength as quickly as possible.’

Luo Tian felt a sense of urgency.

Among the four precious treasures, the one that could increase his strength the fastest was the Dragon Scale Fruit.

Luo Tian decided to use the Dragon Scale Fruit to cultivate the Celestial Furnace Treasure Body.

Body Refining Techniques could significantly increase one’s strength and physical defense.

He closed his eyes, and the contents of the Celestial Furnace Treasure Body appeared in his mind.

The theoretical power of this incomplete Body Refinement Technique, obtained from the Profound Spirit Hall, was comparable to a Celestial Level Technique—it was beyond imagination!