Don’t forget...
Lu Chao’s Fire Roaring and Water Chant were his innate Heavenly Destiny Star God Bones. In the Transformation Realm, he had devoured three Star Heavenly Destiny Bones—also Violent, Fire Roaring, and Water Chant. This meant...
...the True Qi he now unleashed was produced by six Star Divine Bones working in concert.
A twofold blaze of water and fire erupted, amplified to a frenzy by the Violent Bone, as the Slaughter Sword Bone delivered the kill.
In an instant, Lu Chao passed through the members of the Saint Bone Shen Family. The moment he landed... THUD THUD THUD THUD!
All the experts from the Saint Bone Shen Family also landed, but they all crashed down. Except for the old man who had just been stepping on Chang Yuan, none of the others could make a sound.
They had all been slain by Lu Chao’s sword.
The old man who had been stepping on Chang Yuan, now behind Lu Chao, said frantically, "Impossible! I don’t believe it!"
’This is simply insane.’
Forget that they were from the Cyan Sword Great Empire. They were one of the Six Great Saint Bone Families of the Azure Flame Domain! Yet even when they joined forces, they were no match for a single young man like Lu Chao.
And he had killed them so cleanly, so decisively.
"Impossible! You’re clearly not even at the Peak Realm yet!" the old man screamed as he struggled to get back up.
The few of them were Elders of the Shen Family, all at the second or third layer of the Peak Realm. The middle-aged members were all in the True Fate Realm. Yet Lu Chao had practically annihilated them in an instant. He couldn’t accept it.
Besides him, everyone was dead!
However, Lu Chao ignored the heavily injured man and spoke softly, "A pity. I can’t devour any more."
By now, Lu Chao had devoured nine external Heavenly Destiny Bones. This number was equal to the number of Star Heavenly Destiny Bones he had consumed, so according to the rules of his Life-taking Star-devouring Bone, he could no longer devour any new external Heavenly Destiny Bones.
He could only devour as many external bones as he had devoured Star Bones.
With that, Lu Chao ignored the still-living old man behind him and continued walking toward Chi Ting and the others.
The next moment... THUMP. THUMP.
The remaining thirty or so young men and women of the Saint Bone Shen Family all collapsed to the ground. Each one wanted to cry out for their parents, but the sounds were stuck in their throats, as if they were too terrified to even speak.
Until someone finally cried out, "Lord Chi Ting, please avenge our elders!"
In response, Chi Ting was surprisingly still smiling, but a few traces of excitement and interest had appeared in his eyes.
Chi Ting sized Lu Chao up and down again...
"Interesting. You have a Star Divine Bone—and more than one, at that. But to me, you’re still not worth a second glance."
"You’re very lucky. In a godforsaken place like the Azure Flame Domain, you actually get to witness a Moon-level Heavenly Destiny Bone."
As he said this, Lu Chao’s steps faltered slightly. ’A Moon-level Heavenly Destiny Bone?’
Even Mo Jing only possessed a Star-level Divine Bone.
This Chi Ting before him was actually a Moon-level existence, and it was obvious that he was merely a subordinate of Red Sword City’s Young City Lord.
’A Moon-level Heavenly Destiny Bone, an existence that surpasses a Star Divine Bone... What would that be like?’
Lu Chao thought this silently, but he felt not a shred of fear. In fact, he was even a little expectant. He tightened his grip on his sword and continued forward...
The next instant, with a HUM!
Chi Ting’s Heavenly Destiny Bone aura erupted. His Martial Arts Realm was also revealed, and it wasn’t as exaggerated as one might imagine—only Peak Third Layer, the same as Yan Mu.
This was normal. After all, Chi Ting was also very young, but he possessed a Moon-level Heavenly Destiny Bone.
Of course, it was unknown whether Yan Mu was Star Level or Moon Level. A pampered young master like him was not a worthy reference point.
Just as Lu Chao was observing covertly...
Chi Ting chuckled again and said in a low voice, "My Heavenly Destiny Bone is called the Red Bee Bone, a Moon Mortal Bone... Even though it has the word ’Mortal’ in it, you’ll soon understand the gap between Moon and Star."
At this, Chi Ting smiled and said, "Come on. Try and attack me."
"I’ll let you know that the number one genius of the Azure Flame Domain is nothing, not even worth mentioning, against a mere Little Guard from Red Sword City like me."
Chi Ting just stood there, a faint, sinister smile on his face...
As for Lu Chao, he was still advancing. Suddenly, his sword rose and he charged. Lu Chao was not underestimating his enemy in the slightest; he was being very cautious.
In an instant, he was upon Chi Ting...
But... VMM!
Chi Ting’s Moon Mortal Red Bee Bone suddenly vibrated, sending out ripples. His True Qi condensed into one Flying Needle after another. He had actually performed True Qi Release to form a kind of weapon, just like how Yan Mu had directly turned his True Qi into a shield.
SHH SHH SHH...
The True Qi Flying Needles instantly formed a hundred needles, flying toward the charging Lu Chao.
Lu Chao’s eyes widened. His sword struck out, fast, precise, and ruthless, shattering the hundred Flying Needles. BANG BANG BANG sounds echoed all around him. Chi Ting’s True Qi didn’t cause Lu Chao any significant harm, nor did it suppress his True Fate Realm True Qi.
But the next moment, Chi Ting gave a sinister smirk. "Destiny Bone, suppress!"
With a WHOOSH, the ripples emanating from the Moon Mortal Red Bee Bone enveloped Lu Chao. Like an invisible force, the ripples pulsed into Lu Chao’s body, striking toward his Fire Roaring Bone and Water Chant Bone.
In an instant, both bones froze, and his True Qi solidified.
Then it pulsed toward Lu Chao’s Life-taking Star-devouring Bone, likewise suppressing the True Qi of his Star Devouring Bone.
Then, Chi Ting started laughing again and asked, "How does it feel? This is the difference between Moon and Star. Your realm is lower than mine, your Destiny Bone Level is lower than mine, so you can only be directly suppressed by my Destiny Bone."
"Having more than one Star Divine Bone is useless. Any number of them would be useless. A Star is just a Star!"
After a short pause, Chi Ting shrugged and said, "Of course, I have to admit one thing: your combat instincts are stronger than mine—much stronger, in fact. But it’s still useless."
"You’re just trash. This is the Heavenly Destiny World. A higher-ranked Heavenly Destiny Bone means you can do whatever you want."
"Hahahaha..."
Chi Ting laughed heartily and said, "And let me tell you something else. If we were in the same realm, I’d definitely have to run. My Moon Mortal Bone wouldn’t be able to suppress your Star Divine Bone. But who’s to blame for your Martial Arts Realm being weaker than mine?"
At this moment, Lu Chao stood frozen in place, as if he could no longer move.
Meanwhile, in his mind, he was processing Chi Ting’s words...
’It’s just like with Mo Jing. Back then, his Star Divine Bone tried to suppress the hundreds of thousands of soldiers from the Hundred Countries’ Armies. Only Cheng Yunsu and I, who had Destiny Bones of an equivalent rank, could still move. Now, Chi Ting has a Moon Mortal Bone, which is why he can suppress me.’
"Have you figured out the cruel reality of the situation?"
"That’s right. A weak Destiny Bone Level means you can’t fight across ranks. No matter how strong your combat power is, you’re still just dregs."
"If you want to beat me..."
"...you’ll have to raise your realm to be the same as mine. But with a weak Destiny Bone rank, your Martial Arts Realm will progress slower than mine."
As Chi Ting spoke, a cold light flashed in Lu Chao’s eyes. It was indeed a cruel reality.
But... VMM!
Lu Chao’s realm suddenly soared upwards as he forcibly broke through to another layer.
Fueled by his devouring of Shen Xu’s Star Saint Bone, he smashed his way into the True Fate Eighth Layer, and surging True Qi coursed through his body.
Chi Ting was stunned for a moment, then burst into scornful laughter...
"You actually broke through again? But I already told you, it’s useless! You can’t possibly charge all the way to the Peak Realm Third Layer in one go."
As he spoke, Chi Ting walked toward Lu Chao step by step, as if the latter were already fish on his chopping block...