Lu Chao stared at the hysterical Lu Hanyan. His voice was still hoarse as he said, "Since you want to go back to how things were, then what belongs to me must naturally be returned to me."
His words fell. THUD!
Lu Chao casually tossed Lu Hanyan onto the arena floor.
Tears still streamed down his face. Lu Chao’s heart was in agony, the pain utterly excruciating.
No one could understand the pain in Lu Chao’s heart when Lu Hanyan spoke of those so-called memories. They were his most cherished memories, yet they had been torn to shreds.
It was all a lie. Every word they ever spoke was a lie. Only their words at the foot of the Blood Stele were real.
Only when they were tearing him to pieces were the words of Lu Dingtian and his children true.
Lu Chao’s body had been restored, reborn, but these memories were a hideous scar, forever etched upon his heart.
At that moment, Lu Hanyan...
Just like Lu Hanyang before her, she was writhing madly on the ground, but she could still speak.
"Worthless scum, you damned worthless scum, give me back my Water Chant Saint Bone!"
Lu Hanyan had reverted to her hideous, vicious self...
Lu Chao laughed again. "Lu Hanyan, that tone of voice is the real you. I’m not used to your act."
As he spoke, Lu Chao slammed his foot down on her body, stopping her from writhing.
He stared down at Lu Hanyan’s twisted face...
"You want me to reminisce about the good old days? Of course, I remember everything. I remember it crystal clear. But do you have any idea what it feels like when the image of the innocent girl you were suddenly morphs into the twisted face I saw at the Blood Stele?"
At this, Lu Chao shot up, his body ramrod straight...
"Every memory I have of you, of Lu Hanyang, and of that so-called ’loving father’—in an instant, they all transform into your real selves from the Blood Stele... The memory of you running toward me, so innocent and lovely, suddenly transforms into a Demon."
After a pause...
Lu Chao turned to Lu Dingtian below the arena. "You stride toward me, smiling and congratulating me on my progress in the Martial Dao, but in the next instant, you too become a Demon. You think you can sway me with memories of the past?"
"Hahaha..."
Lu Chao let out a few wretched laughs. "Fine. Go ahead and wash your demonic true selves from my mind."
That, of course, was impossible...
Clutching the Water Chant Saint Bone, Lu Chao looked at Lu Dingtian. "To you, the three Heavenly Destiny Saint Bones are more important than anything. So go on, try to take them again. I’ve just taken back the second one."
With that, Lu Chao plunged the Water Chant Saint Bone deep into his own body... BOOM!
His True Qi erupted. The Water Chant Saint Bone seemed to resonate with a beautiful, melodious song as Lu Chao’s cultivation realm skyrocketed once again. He broke through from the Ninth Layer of Transformation into the True Fate Realm...
Then to the True Fate First Layer, the Second Layer, finally stopping at the True Fate Third Layer.
To reach such a terrifying realm at his age... It made countless onlookers tremble.
Meanwhile, Lu Hanyan was still shrieking...
"Give me back my Water Chant Saint Bone! A worthless, scum-sucking little beggar like you! What right do you have to possess three Heavenly Destiny Saint Bones? You don’t deserve something like that! You’re just a piece of lowly trash!"
"Those three Saint Bones of yours were always ours! Your life was always ours!"
Lu Chao listened, slowly retracting his True Qi. His gaze, fixed on Lu Hanyan, was now perfectly calm.
He asked with a small smile, "So, because you think you’re so high and mighty, everything that is mine automatically belongs to you?"
Lu Hanyan struggled to prop herself up, her features twisting even more grotesquely...
"Of course. We are the direct heirs of the Grand Marshal’s Mansion."
"And you? You’re just a little beggar from the streets. What makes you think you’re worthy of being compared to us?"
"You should be grateful we even deigned to call you ’brother’ for all those years."
Everyone in the crowd was listening. A few people nodded slightly, actually agreeing with Lu Hanyan’s words.
But the corners of most people’s mouths twitched, and some couldn’t stop themselves from shouting out in anger, "That’s ridiculous! This is the Heavenly Destiny World! General Lu Chao himself possesses three Heavenly Destiny Saint Bones. What gives you the right to act so high and mighty?"
Someone else chimed in, "Exactly! They never had good intentions when they took General Lu Chao into the Grand Marshal’s Mansion, not from the very beginning."
"And for you, Lu Hanyan, to have the gall to say something like that... It wasn’t enough to just kill him; you had to torture him to death and even planned to saddle him with an infamous reputation for all eternity. Anyone with a shred of conscience wouldn’t be capable of such a thing!"
The chorus of condemnation instantly drowned out everything else. It seemed the crowd was no longer afraid of Lu Dingtian.
Instead, they were all cheering for Lu Chao...
Even Wu Zhiqiu couldn’t help but comment, "To disregard the interests of the Great Wu Empire for the sake of three Heavenly Destiny Saint Bones... It’s hateful and abominable."
’If Lu Dingtian and his children hadn’t murdered Lu Chao out of selfish greed, he might have already conquered the Hundred Countries by now...’ From Wu Zhiqiu’s perspective, Lu Dingtian had clearly forsaken righteousness for personal gain.
Another student of the Great Wu Empire spoke coldly from the stands...
"How absurd. They threw away a watermelon to pick up a sesame seed..."
"Lu Chao is powerful. He would surely have taken care of his younger brother and sister, and he would have shown great filial piety to his adoptive father. But no, some people just had to be selfish."
A torrent of accusations crashed down upon Lu Dingtian and his two children...
Lu Dingtian’s expression turned thunderous, but he was, after all, a cunning old fox. He suddenly turned to Wu Zhiqiu.
"Your Second Highness, watch your words. I dealt with Lu Chao only because he intended to commit patricide and usurp my authority."
"He is the greatest traitor the Great Wu Empire has ever known."
Lu Dingtian could not bear such infamy, of course. He had to fight back.
He narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on Lu Chao on the stage...
He gradually calmed down...
"Patriarch Zheng, I know you care about the life of your Saint Bone heir, but your feud with Lu Chao is to the death. Have you seen his cultivation realm? If you don’t kill him now, you will never get another chance."
"If he isn’t killed, you won’t just lose one Saint Bone—your entire family will be wiped out."
At Lu Dingtian’s words, Zheng Liling and his men shuddered, their gazes locking onto Lu Chao with deadly intensity...
’Lu Chao has already reclaimed two Saint Bones, and his realm has reached the True Fate Third Layer. He’s also a terrifying master of the Soldier Dao who commands armies as if he were a god. If we don’t kill him now, our Saint Bone Zheng Family will truly be out of chances.’
’Zheng Zhuhe is important, but the family is more important.’
And at that moment... THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Cheng Yunsu and the people from Dragon Flame Academy, escorting their prisoners Zheng Zhuhe and Wu Yiyi, had already walked step by step to Lu Chao’s side.
Wu Caicai suddenly looked at Wu Tong and Wu Ye...
"Father, Second Uncle..."
"If Zheng Liling abandons Zheng Zhuhe, I need you to step in and help us. Block Zheng Liling for us."
"Otherwise, Wu Yiyi dies."
Instantly, Wu Tong and Wu Ye erupted into a stream of curses...
Third Master Witch Ying spoke quietly, "Eldest Brother, Second Brother, we are in business. If we support Lu Chao, the Hundred Flames Trading Company could expand to every corner of this land. You must reconsider."