King of Ten Thousand Years

A moment later, Luo Tian finished his calculations. His face was a little pale from the immense drain on his Spiritual Power.

The Void Celestial Eye on his brow dimmed and vanished.

’The Second-Layer of the Creation Technique really is different,’ Luo Tian thought with a smile.

Using the many clues he had gathered, he had performed a Destiny calculation and peered into the workings of fate. He found the source of the crisis and had even locked onto some of its finer threads.

This crisis was, in fact, a calamity.

Fortunately, now that Luo Tian had advanced to the Second-Layer of the Creation Technique, his grasp of Destiny and the secrets of fate was much clearer, allowing him to formulate a response.

’First, I need to recover my energy.’

Luo Tian took out a silver-black Beast Horn, closed his eyes, and sat cross-legged.

「Several hours later, night fell.」

His energy fully restored, Luo Tian finally stood up and set out.

Before long, the Sharp Peak came into view again.

This peak was the meeting place Lin Dongfeng had mentioned, where someone would have a Flying Bird Mount arranged for him.

Luo Tian sighed, sensing the crisis lurking within.

He could have avoided this mountain, but because his calculations had revealed the specific reasons rooted in Destiny, he could no longer ignore it.

Luo Tian climbed the Sharp Peak at a steady pace.

”Luo Tian, you’ve finally come,” a haggard, elderly voice called out.

A brown-robed man in his forties or fifties emerged from a corner.

”Uncle Lin, it really is you,” Luo Tian said with a sigh.

It turned out that the person Lin Dongfeng had arranged was his own younger brother, Lin Dongchuan, the proprietor of the Dongchuan Pharmacy.

The bounty on Luo Tian was too generous, and there were too few people Lin Dongfeng could trust. In the end, he had asked Lin Dongchuan to handle the matter.

But this was all within Luo Tian’s calculations.

”Nephew Luo, the Flying Bird Mount I’ve arranged for you is right over there.”

Lin Dongchuan shuffled ahead, leading the way.

A small grove of trees came into view.

Just as Lin Dongchuan was about to enter,

”Uncle Lin, have you been made to suffer because of me?” Luo Tian paused, a profound look on his face.

”You...” Lin Dongchuan’s body trembled, and tears streamed down his aged face.

THUMP!

Lin Dongchuan fell to his knees. ”Nephew Luo,” he said, filled with guilt, ”It is I who have failed you. I am so sorry.”

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

A dozen powerful auras suddenly erupted from the grove. The weakest among them had a Cultivation at the Spirit Sea Third Layer.

The two men in the lead were a slender, white-faced man and a powerfully built man in a black robe.

Their Cultivations were at the Spirit Sea Sixth Layer and Fifth Layer, respectively, and their auras were terrifying.

”Hahaha! Luo Tian, we meet again after parting in the Royal Capital,” the man in the black robe boomed with laughter.

”So, it’s Vice Leader Xu of the Cyan Snake Gang. And this must be your esteemed gang leader.”

Luo Tian’s expression was calm; he wasn’t surprised at all.

When he had first arrived in the Royal Capital, Luo Tian had helped the Dongchuan Pharmacy resolve some trouble and had clashed with the Cyan Snake Gang.

Later, the Cyan Snake Gang had backed down, and Vice Gang Leader Xu Wenhua had personally come to resolve the grudge.

And now, the Cyan Snake Gang’s appearance perfectly matched the results of Luo Tian’s Divination.

”Brat! You’re certainly composed for someone facing imminent disaster,” the White-faced Gang Leader chuckled.

WHOOSH!

The dozen or so higher-ups of the Cyan Snake Gang completely surrounded Luo Tian.

This lineup was even more powerful than the Royalist Faction he had faced last time.

”I wonder if you’re just putting on a brave face, or if you’re panicking inside,” the White-faced Gang Leader said playfully, a cold glint in his eyes.

In the Royal Capital, the Cyan Snake Gang was the largest underground force. Its shadow loomed over the city’s middle and lower classes, earning them the title King of Darkness.

Back then, if not for Luo Tian’s relationship with the Eldest Princess and the fact that he had greatly pleased the Monarch, the Cyan Snake Gang would never have backed down, given their background and power.

”Heh, you’ll find out soon enough whether I’m panicking or not,” Luo Tian replied, standing with his hands behind his back, a faint, composed smile on his face.

”What I’d like to know is, did the Third Prince come in person for this operation?”

As soon as he said this, the expressions of the Cyan Snake Gang Leader and Vice Gang Leader changed. ”You... How did you know?”

”Impressive, Luo Tian! You have my admiration.”

An elegant, scholarly man walked out from the woods.

It was the Third Prince, Li Yi, with a white-bearded old man by his side.

”The world only knows that your combat prowess stands above all on the Human List. They don’t know you possess such intelligence as well,” Li Yi said with praise, though his expression held a hint of regret.

The fact that the Third Prince controlled the Cyan Snake Gang was a top secret that very few people knew.

Even if someone knew, they wouldn’t have any proof.

”Luo Tian, surrender willingly! For the sake of our past goodwill, I will not make you suffer. I will also spare Lin Dongchuan and his daughter.”

The Third Prince’s expression was pleasant.

’Past goodwill?’

A self-mocking smile touched Luo Tian’s lips.

In the Royal Secret Garden, he had saved the Third Prince twice, and this was the ”kindness” he received in return.

”Nephew Luo, I’ve truly wronged you!”

Lin Dongchuan cried out in grief and anger from his knees.

”The Cyan Snake Gang tortured me for information, killed my two sons, and kidnapped Qinghan! If I didn’t cooperate, they threatened to... to have their men assault her!”

Hearing this, Luo Tian was deeply shaken. ’These bastards are nothing but animals!’

His earlier Destiny calculation had revealed that Lin Dongchuan was the arranged contact but was being monitored and coerced by the Cyan Snake Gang, which was under the Third Prince’s control.

Deducing Destiny required a certain amount of evidence from which to draw clues.

Regarding the warrant for Luo Tian’s arrest, the Eldest Prince, Third Prince, and Seventh Prince would surely do everything in their power to capture him in their struggle for the future throne.

Among them, the Third Prince had the humblest origins, yet he could contend with the other two Princes and had earned a reputation for both talent and intelligence. There was definitely more to him than met the eye.

Therefore, it was logical and reasonable to deduce that the Third Prince was the mastermind behind the Cyan Snake Gang.

But he had never expected that Lin Dongchuan would be tortured so brutally, that his two sons would be killed, and that Lin Qinghan would come so close to being assaulted by a mob.

After all, those details were too specific to predict.

”Third Prince, I can see that you have an Emperor’s Destiny Chart. But you just had to provoke me. It seems misfortune is truly written in your fate.”

Luo Tian’s eyes narrowed, glittering with a cold light.

”Brat! How audacious! You dare disrespect the Third Prince?”

The Cyan Snake Gang Leader erupted with the aura of a Spirit Sea Sixth Layer expert, rivaling that of a Holy Mansion Elder.

Hm?

The Third Prince, however, was stunned. ’Could Luo Tian also understand Divination and fate?’

When he was born, a skilled Daoist master had once declared that he possessed the aura of an emperor.

Over the years, the Third Prince had indeed been moving step by step closer to the throne.

Luo Tian’s words now filled him with a faint sense of unease.

In the Royal Secret Garden, the Third Prince had once ignored Luo Tian’s advice and ended up being captured alive by the Qiu Yue Kingdom on Profound Spirit Mountain.

”Your Highness, delays breed trouble. We should capture Luo Tian quickly,” the white-bearded old man beside the Third Prince urged.

”Seize Luo Tian!”

the Third Prince ordered, gritting his teeth.

If he could capture Luo Tian, he would perform a great service to the kingdom and would likely be named Crown Prince by his father, the Monarch.

FWOOSH!

True Qi surged from the bodies of the Cyan Snake Gang’s higher-ups as they closed in to capture Luo Tian.

”Make your move,”

Luo Tian shouted sharply, gripping a silver-black Beast Horn in his hand.

BOOM!

The Sharp Peak where they stood suddenly shook. Sand and stones flew through the air as a furious wind howled.

”What... What’s happening?!”

The Third Prince and the Cyan Snake Gang leaders staggered, unable to keep their balance. The scene descended into chaos.

”The sky! That’s...”

The Cyan Snake Gang Leader looked up, his face filled with terror and his body trembling.

WHOOM!

A vast, dark tornado swept across a hundred-meter radius, its massive shadow engulfing everyone.

Along with a heaven-shaking roar,

an Ancient Exotic Beast dozens of meters tall and resembling a giant bear emerged from the dark tornado.

ROAR! BOOM!

A terrifying pressure, brimming with monstrous killing intent, descended upon the crowd.

”An Earth Level Exotic Beast...”

The Third Prince’s face went deathly pale, his expression a mask of horror. Several of the Cyan Snake Gang’s leaders were so frightened they collapsed to the ground.