Immediately after, the voice of a second student from the Great Wu Imperial Academy rang out...
"Why are we trying to stop General Lu Chao?"
"Who here doesn’t know about the countless merits he’s earned for the Great Wu Empire? Your family dug out his Saint Bone! What kind of trash are you?"
At this very moment, at least two-thirds of the Great Wu Imperial Academy students were ready to fight for Lu Chao, their swords pointed at Nan Ke and his men.
So why had they stood by and watched indifferently as Lu Hanyang’s Saint Bone was dug out before?
Because Lu Chao was one of their own, a man of the Great Wu Empire. And which of the Imperial Academy’s students didn’t idolize him? Most of these students came from influential families; who among them didn’t know that Lu Chao had been wronged?
Most of them knew the truth, but they were too afraid to speak out, despite their anger.
Recently, anyone who spoke up for Lu Chao had either ended up dead or thrown into prison—and it was all Lu Dingtian’s doing.
But now Lu Chao had suddenly returned. He proved that he was the true Great Wu Lu Chao. The students had little will to fight from the beginning, and as Lu Chao continued to prove himself, their fighting spirit dwindled even further.
Therefore, they hadn’t fought with all their might for Lu Hanyang...
They originally hadn’t dared to defy Lu Dingtian, but that heavy slap from Lu Hanyan a moment ago had made them erupt.
Their righteous anger boiling over, they immediately sided with Lu Chao.
At that moment, an old man behind Wu Zhiqiu, his face pale, cried out, "Zhuhe, don’t be rash!"
The Great Wu Imperial Academy student who had been called Zhuhe abruptly looked up.
He was standing right beside Lu Chao. He spoke to the old man with profound emotion, "Grandfather, you always taught me that a real man knows what he must do and what he must not... I’ve had enough. I’ve truly had enough."
"You constantly reminded me never to mention General Lu Chao’s name."
"’Don’t mention him, don’t mention him.’ I kept holding it in, bottling it up. But now General Lu Chao is back, and I don’t care anymore."
"Whatever happens next, I alone will bear the consequences."
The families of these Great Wu students had repeatedly instructed them never to mention Lu Chao and never to offend Lu Dingtian. But they were young, hot-blooded, and impulsive. They couldn’t take it anymore.
It all came back to Lu Hanyan and that slap she had just delivered.
At this moment, the sudden defection of these Great Wu Imperial Academy students made the situation strange and unpredictable.
Lu Chao himself was stunned. He stared blankly at the Great Wu Imperial Academy students forming a protective circle around him, unable to stop the glint of tears from forming in his eyes. ’So many people are still willing to demand justice for me,’ he thought.
"Thank you all, but there’s no need for this."
Lu Chao took a deep breath and said slowly to the crowd, "I belong to the Dragon Flame Academy now."
But the Great Wu students shook their heads firmly. That didn’t matter to them now.
"You bastards! I’ll slaughter all of your families!"
Lu Hanyan finally reacted, roaring furiously, her face flushed crimson with rage.
Of course, Lu Dingtian was also trembling violently. His gaze was fixed on Lu Chao before it slowly swept over the surrounding crowd, finally landing on Wu Zhiqiu...
"Second Prince, do you truly intend to oppose me?" Lu Dingtian’s voice sounded as if it had emerged from the depths of Hell.
If not for Wu Zhiqiu’s repeated commands, Lu Chao might already be dead; his men would have charged forward long ago.
And Lu Chao would never have had the chance to reclaim the Fire Roaring Saint Bone.
The high-ranking Great Wu officials behind Wu Zhiqiu trembled. The situation had developed far beyond their control.
Now, they too were at a complete loss.
One had to remember that Lu Dingtian commanded a massive army. In the Great Wu Empire, his power was absolute, and no one dared to defy him. It was a situation where people could easily die.
After a slight tremor ran through his body, Second Prince Wu Zhiqiu took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm...
"Marshal Lu, those are strong words."
"What I meant earlier was that this tournament between the three academies is an extremely solemn affair. Anyone who interferes and breaks the rules should naturally have their entire clan exterminated."
"Our Great Wu Empire cannot afford such humiliation."
Although he didn’t directly mention helping Lu Chao, Wu Zhiqiu’s meaning was clear: there was to be no more interference in the tournament between the three academies.
The high-ranking Great Wu officials behind Wu Zhiqiu trembled uncontrollably once more.
The Second Prince and Lu Dingtian were now openly clashing.
If they failed to crush Lu Dingtian this time, they feared the Second Prince and all of them would never make it back to the Great Wu Imperial City.
Lu Dingtian’s fists clenched furiously. In a frigid voice, he said, "Good. Good. Excellent."
As he spoke, his gaze landed on Zheng Liling and his men. "Patriarch Zheng, the conditions you proposed before—I agree to all of them. Act on my behalf now. Take care of that rebellious son of mine on the stage."
At this point, Lu Dingtian had no choice but to admit that this was the real Lu Chao.
Zheng Liling’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. He nodded firmly. "Consider it done. We will be the sharp blade in your hand, Marshal Lu."
They had discussed much before, and Zheng Liling had made many demands.
And now, Lu Dingtian had agreed to everything.
Then, Lu Dingtian turned to Nan Zhuiming. "Patriarch Nan, there’s no need for more words. If you let that rebellious son of mine dig out my daughter’s Heavenly Destiny Saint Bone as well, the prodigies of your Nanye Dynasty will undoubtedly perish."
Upon hearing this, Nan Zhuiming glanced at the archers surrounding him, their arrows all pointed his way...
Seeing his reaction, Lu Dingtian immediately understood Nan Zhuiming’s concern: he was afraid he wouldn’t make it back to the Nanye Dynasty.
He immediately promised, "Rest assured. I will guarantee Patriarch Nan’s safety. We’ll tear up this bullshit tournament between the three academies."
Hearing this, Nan Zhuiming looked at Lu Chao, who had already reached the Ninth Layer of Transformation, and finally gave a firm nod of agreement.
"Wu Tong, Wu Ye, you two bosses of the Hundred Flames Trading Company—I agree to all of your conditions as well," Lu Dingtian added in a low voice.
Wu Tong and Wu Ye’s eyes instantly lit up.
The two exchanged a look, glanced in Lu Chao’s direction, and then nodded as True Qi flared to life around their bodies.
In an instant...
The Saint Bone Zheng Family, the Saint Bone Nan Family, the two bosses of the Hundred Flames Trading Company, and all of Lu Dingtian’s men erupted with True Qi.
One expert after another prepared to step onto the arena stage.
It was, one might say, a gathering of most of the top experts in the entire Azure Flame Domain.
However, in the very next instant, a cold female voice suddenly sounded softly from the other side of the arena. "Zheng Liling, if you dare to make a move, the hope of your Saint Bone Zheng Family will be extinguished today."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zheng Liling and his men whipped their heads around, their pupils violently contracting.
They saw that Zheng Zhuhe had, at some unknown point, fallen into the hands of Luo Wendeng and the other Descendants of the Azure Flame Sect. Five of the Descendants of Azure Flame all held swords pressed against Zheng Zhuhe’s neck, ready to take his life at any moment.
And the person who had spoken was, of course, Cheng Yunsu...
A moment ago, all eyes had been completely captivated by Lu Chao. Absolutely no one had been paying attention to the battle between the Beast Flame Academy’s inner and outer courtyards.
And Zheng Zhuhe was trembling from head to toe, pleading, "Save me! Save me!"