"Let me correct you. The ’Saint Bone Shen Family’ is just a name we came up with after getting stuck in the Azure Flame Domain."
"We’re originally from Red Sword City, in the Cyan Sword Great Empire..."
"Our ancestors were left behind two hundred years ago, before the prohibition was lifted. Afterward, we were unable to return due to the Green Bone Palace’s seal."
Listening to the Shen Family elder, Lu Chao completely understood...
No wonder the Saint Bone Shen Family never involved themselves in worldly affairs. They were originally from the Cyan Sword Great Empire. Since they couldn’t go back, they maintained a reclusive existence. If the Green Bone Palace found out, there would be trouble.
People from the Cyan Sword Great Empire remaining after the seal was in place—of course the Green Bone Palace wouldn’t allow that.
"If you really are Lu Chao, then you must have defeated Yan Mu of Yan Soul City during the Three Academies’ Contest."
"But our Young City Lord and Lord Chi Ting said that Yan Mu was just an over-hyped buffoon. They say the true genius of Cyan Sword is our own Young City Lord of Red Sword City."
The Shen Family elder added, a cold, mocking laugh in his voice.
Clearly, the Saint Bone Shen Family had heard the news about Lu Chao and Yan Mu, but they hadn’t taken it seriously.
Lu Chao took a quiet breath upon hearing this. ’It’s true... As soon as the seal was lifted, all sorts of riff-raff came crawling out of the woodwork.’
SHING...
Suddenly, Lu Chao drew his sword. "Saint Bone Shen Family, and you from Cyan Sword and Red Sword Cities," he declared, "you trespassed in my Azure Flame Sect, murdered soldiers of the Dragon Flame Kingdom, and persecuted the family of Tiger Flame Chang Yuan. Today, you will all die here."
As his voice fell...
The red-robed youth, Chi Ting, froze on the spot. Everyone from the Saint Bone Shen Family was stunned as well.
Then, Chi Ting turned to the elder beside him. "Shen Xu, you’re more familiar with the people of the Azure Flame Domain. Are they incapable of understanding simple words? Are all of them this ignorant of their own limitations?"
The Shen Family elder who had just spoken was, in fact, Shen Xu.
Upon hearing this, he immediately gave a respectful smile. "Not all of them, no. This particular young man is just a bit special. He’s supposedly the number one genius in the Azure Flame Domain. A legendary figure, one might say."
As he uttered the word "legendary," Shen Xu’s voice was still thick with ridicule.
He had heard the stories about the real and fake Lu Chao, but in his eyes, no matter how legendary this person was, he was still just trash from the Azure Flame Domain.
So, it was all truly laughable!
"I see. The number one genius of the Azure Flame Domain. In that case, our Young Lord will desire his woman all the more."
"Since he wants to resist, just follow the usual rule: cripple him, but don’t kill him. I do so enjoy the sound of heart-rending screams."
At Chi Ting’s words, Shen Xu gave a respectful affirmation.
Then, he turned his condescending gaze back to Lu Chao...
"Chang Yuan’s fate is laid bare before you, yet you still harbor such unrealistic fantasies. Did that oaf Yan Mu give you the laughable delusion that you can challenge the Cyan Sword Great Empire?"
"Men! Sever his tendons! Go!"
The "rule" Lord Chi Ting spoke of was to first sever their victim’s tendons, leaving them unable to stand, just like Chang Yuan.
And so, several middle-aged Shen Family members stepped forward with sinister grins, each of them unleashing the aura of the True Fate Realm.
Chi Ting added, "Remember, don’t you dare harm his woman."
"Lord Chi Ting, we understand," the middle-aged men replied respectfully before striding toward Lu Chao.
Lu Chao kept his grip on his sword. He gave Cheng Yunsu a subtle glance, and she, understanding immediately, began to back away slowly. "Lu Chao, be careful," she said softly.
Lu Chao’s eyes narrowed...
As he watched the middle-aged men approach, the aura of his Slaughter Sword Bone quietly seeped from his Life-taking Star-devouring Bone.
Just then, one of the Shen Family men chuckled. "Kid, make sure you scream nice and loud. Our Lord Chi Ting enjoys the sound."
The moment he finished speaking, the man’s figure blurred as he charged...
His realm was the same as Lu Chao’s: the True Fate Sixth Layer.
The aura of his Heavenly Destiny Bone erupted from him—it was a Star Saint Bone. He slashed his sword to a halt right before Lu Chao. "Surprised? That I have a Saint Bone too?"
"In the Azure Flame Domain, other Saint Bone Clans require the previous holder to die before a new Saint Bone can be awakened..."
"But we are from the Cyan Sword Great Empire. We don’t have such limitations. We actually have more than one person with a Saint Bone—or rather, a Star Saint Bone. But a country bumpkin like you could never know what a Star Saint Bone is."
With that, the middle-aged man suppressed Lu Chao with his True Qi, pressing his sword down on Lu Chao’s shoulder.
Lu Chao, for his part, seemed completely unable to react...
Behind them, Chi Ting shook his head and scoffed. "What is this guy? The so-called number one genius of the Azure Flame Domain? He’s just a worthless piece of trash. Can’t even move. He’s the kind of garbage no one would even bother with in Red Sword City."
The middle-aged man pinning Lu Chao with his sword spoke smugly, "First, to sever the tendons in your arm."
As he spoke, he reached for Lu Chao’s arm...
The other men behind him, seeing that their comrade had succeeded in a single move, stopped and watched with relaxed contentment. Their work was basically done.
But in the very next instant, just as the man reached for Lu Chao’s arm, Lu Chao’s fingers suddenly snapped into a claw, clamping around the Shen Family man’s neck...
The True Qi of the True Fate Sixth Layer erupted from Lu Chao’s hand.
It happened in a flash—so fast that no one around them had time to react.
The smug Shen Family man’s eyes shot wide open. He choked out in disbelief, "You..."
Lu Chao yanked his hand back, pulling the man’s head and neck violently toward his own mouth. He whispered, "I was surprised that you have a Star Saint Bone. Which means your Star Saint Bone is now... mine."
Before the man could even react to his words... BUZZ!
Lu Chao’s Life-taking Star-devouring Bone pulsed. A dark light shot from his hand, pierced the man’s body, instantly enveloped his Star Saint Bone, and then brutally ripped it back out.
In an instant, the man’s Star Saint Bone was devoured and absorbed into Lu Chao’s own Life-taking Star-devouring Bone.
Just like that, the number of foreign Heavenly Destiny Bones within Lu Chao’s body rose to eight.
Two Star Saint Bones and six Star-level Heavenly Bones.
His True Qi surged violently. He had no time to observe the changes to his Bone Inner World, nor did he check the attributes of the Shen Family Star Saint Bone. Lu Chao’s only goal had been to devour the Star Saint Bone for a temporary boost to his realm...
BOOM! Lu Chao’s realm erupted, going from the True Fate Sixth Layer to the Peak of the Sixth Layer.
He was now just a sliver away from reaching the Seventh Layer.
As the True Qi surged within Lu Chao, the eyes of the Shen Family man in his grip looked ready to burst from their sockets. He had, of course, realized that his Heavenly Destiny Star Saint Bone was gone. He stared at Lu Chao in utter disbelief. "You... you... you..."
CRACK...
Lu Chao, of course, had no intention of letting him finish. He snapped the man’s neck and casually tossed the body to the ground.