Influenced by Cheng Yunsu, Lu Chao had just unconsciously tried to access his childhood memories from his time as a little beggar, but the effort triggered an excruciating headache. It aggravated his lingering internal injuries, causing him to cough up blood.
He was a little beggar who had wandered the streets, remembering nothing but his name.
As a child, Lu Chao had more than once stood on the streets outside the Great Wu Imperial City, silently watching the countless other children his age as they laughed with abandon under their parents’ loving care.
Back then, little Lu Chao had been so envious.
Countless times, little Lu Chao had tried to recall those fragmented memories hidden deep within him.
But whenever he tried to touch those memories, a head-splitting pain would wrack his skull, so intense he would writhe on the ground in the corners of the streets outside the Great Wu Imperial City.
Later, little Lu Chao met the lost Xiao Su’er.
After spending ten days and ten nights with her, he could only watch in lonely silence as Xiao Su’er was found and taken away by her family.
Even now, Lu Chao clearly remembered the scene...
A young Cheng Chuming held the little Cheng Yunsu tightly, the girl wailing for her daddy.
Then, she started laughing happily...
Amid her laughter, little Cheng Yunsu had wanted Cheng Chuming to take him—Lu Chao—home and adopt him, but the idea was sternly rejected by her supposed grandfather, Cheng Weishan.
And so, little Lu Chao stood dejectedly among the crowd outside the Great Wu Imperial City, watching Cheng Yunsu depart.
’I have to try one more time. I need to remember my mom and dad, too.’
’They must be just like Xiao Su’er’s parents. They must have accidentally lost me.’
After little Cheng Yunsu departed, little Lu Chao made a secret vow.
Little Lu Chao returned to his home—a small tree hollow—and forced himself to remember, enduring the head-splitting pain. That time, he finally succeeded, managing to recall a few of the shattered fragments of his memory.
But it was far too painful, nothing like what he had imagined. He cried his heart out until he fainted.
When he next awoke, he had forgotten it all once more...
From then on, little Lu Chao never again tried to touch those fragmented memories. It wasn’t just the headaches; his heart resisted it, too.
「A few years later...」
When the teenage Lu Chao was adopted by Lu Dingtian, he was too happy to sleep that night. ’I, Lu Chao, finally have a family starting today! I have a father who cares for me, and a younger brother and sister, too.’
From that moment on, Lu Chao stopped trying to recall his memories as a little beggar and dedicated himself to fighting for Lu Dingtian and the Grand Marshal’s Mansion.
However, the horrifying nightmare began anew when he was shattered to pieces...
’It was all a lie. All that affection was just a beautiful illusion, and everything beneath it was unbearably ugly.’
Suddenly, aboard the Flying Bird Demon Beast, Lu Chao let out a low laugh. "So that was it. The reason Lu Dingtian insisted I investigate my true parentage was simply because he hoped I might have some powerful background."
Cheng Yunsu stared up blankly at Lu Chao, who had just finished wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
She saw the pain that shone through his eyes.
"By that time, I’d already decided not to bother with my true parentage. I just wanted to be Lu Dingtian’s son."
"But Lu Dingtian made me investigate."
"He wanted me to see if I was from the bloodline of one of the Six Great Saint Bone Families. Back then, I thought he was just being kind and wanted to help me find my birth parents, but now I understand he had ulterior motives."
Utterly stunned, Cheng Yunsu gripped Lu Chao’s hand tightly.
’It was only then that she realized: while she was so focused on finding her mother, Lu Chao couldn’t even remember his own birth parents. What was more horrifying was the possibility that he had been abandoned because of his Life-taking Bone.’
’What made her heart ache even more was that after being abandoned once, Lu Chao had then been cruelly abandoned a second time by Lu Dingtian.’
’And this time, it wasn’t because of a Life-taking Bone, but for the sake of three Heavenly Destiny Star Saint Bones.’
"Lu Chao, you really can’t remember anything?" Cheng Yunsu asked softly.
Lu Chao smiled faintly and spoke again. "Perhaps it’s time I faced it. What could possibly be more painful than what Lu Dingtian and his two children did to me? The only thing is, it seems my memories have been placed under some kind of seal."
Cheng Yunsu’s pupils contracted slightly.
"I used to think I must have suffered some kind of injury that caused my memories to become fragmented."
"But just now, I realized there seems to be a seal preventing me from exploring my childhood memories. Perhaps it will be just like when I was a little beggar; even if I do manage to remember, I’ll just pass out."
"And when I wake up, I’ll have forgotten everything all over again."
"So I’ll wait. I’ll wait until my realm is higher, then I’ll break this seal and face whatever there is to face."
"For now, we have more important things to do..."
Each lost in their own thoughts, they leaned on one another for support and continued their journey toward the old site of the Azure Flame Sect.
「A few days later, they arrived at the old site of the Azure Flame Sect...」
As Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu landed and walked toward the Beast Flame Academy, their eyes widened in unison. The thick stench of blood wafted out from inside the academy, and several corpses lay before the Beast Flame Stele.
Cheng Yunsu covered her mouth. "Who would do this? Who would dare to slaughter the people we left here?"
After the last battle to defend the old Azure Flame Sect site...
Lu Chao had taken the people from the Dragon Flame Kingdom and the Small Kingdom to fight at the Yanwu Battlefield in the Contest of the Three Academies. The Dragon Flame King, meanwhile, had returned to the Dragon Flame Kingdom with Fan Changcun. During that time, Yin Ye had left a team behind to guard the old Azure Flame Sect site.
They had been staying inside the newly established Beast Flame Academy. And now, it appeared they had all been slaughtered.
’Who in the Hundred Countries today would dare to act so viciously against the people of the Dragon Flame Kingdom?’
"Xiao Su’er, let’s go inside and see."
Without hesitation, Lu Chao led Cheng Yunsu inside, moving with caution.
As they had expected...
Everyone inside was dead, not a single person left. The killers had been extremely vicious, every blow intended to be fatal.
After inspecting a few of the bodies, Lu Chao spoke in a low voice. "This happened about half a day ago. The aura of any Heavenly Destiny Bone has already dissipated, so I can’t determine who was responsible."
Suddenly, a hoarse voice called out, "Lu... Lu..."
Lu Chao and Cheng Yunsu both tensed and quickly looked toward the source of the voice. From a nearby courtyard, a figure covered in blood was slowly crawling out, dressed in the uniform of a Dragon Flame Kingdom soldier.
Lu Chao rushed over and channeled the power of his Heavenly Destiny Moon Spring Bone into the soldier’s body.
But the soldier remained weak, gasping, "General Lu Chao... the S-Saint Bone Shen Family..."
Having said this, the Dragon Flame soldier collapsed, his breathing ceasing on the spot.
Lu Chao desperately tried to pour more True Qi into him, but it was no use. The man was beyond saving.
After a long moment, Lu Chao slowly got to his feet. Cheng Yunsu spoke softly, "The Saint Bone Shen Family... Isn’t that the sixth Saint Bone Family in the Azure Flame Domain, the one that never meddles in worldly affairs?"
Lu Chao nodded slightly, a cold light flickering in his eyes. "The restrictions on the Cyan Sword Great Empire have been lifted. Now, everyone—both those who should and those who shouldn’t—is crawling out of the woodwork."