Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Lu Chao, for his part, was naturally unaware that Nan Zhuiming’s mood had shifted from gloomy to bright.

He was also unaware that the Cyan Sword Great Empire had truly made a major move and even sent someone to contact Nan Zhuiming.

They continued their mad dash forward.

Along the way, soldiers and horses from the various small kingdoms situated between Tiger Flame, Wolf Flame, and Eagle Flame continuously joined their ranks.

By now, every small kingdom within the Hundred Countries knew that Lu Chao and the Dragon Flame Academy had crushed the Three Flames Soldiers and Horses. They all knew that Tiger Flame and the other two of the Three Great Flame Countries no longer had any hope of resisting Dragon Flame.

Naturally, they all flocked to pledge their allegiance.

As more troops from the small kingdoms joined, Lu Chao’s Dragon Flame Academy forces swelled in size.

One day, he stepped into the Wolf Flame Kingdom.

The Wolf Flame Kingdom was a shortcut to the battlefield for the Three Academies’ Tournament. The kingdom opened its gates to let them pass, not daring to show the slightest hint of resistance, but they did send an envoy to meet them...

"General Lu Chao, our Wolf Flame King says that the Dean of the Wolf Institute has not returned. His whereabouts are currently unknown."

"Please, General, there is no need to proceed to the Wolf Flame Royal Capital."

This was the envoy’s purpose in seeking out Lu Chao.

When Lu Chao had conquered Lion Flame and the other two of the Three Flames, he had marched directly to their city walls and demanded their deans.

Thus, the Wolf Flame King had sent someone in advance to inform him of this.

Clearly, the Wolf Flame King did not want Lu Chao’s army at the gates of the Wolf Flame Royal Capital...

"Additionally, the family and friends of the various small kingdoms are all here," the Wolf Flame envoy added.

Just like Lion Flame and its allies, the Wolf Flame bloc had kidnapped the relatives of the various small kingdoms to prevent them from siding with the Dragon Flame Academy. But now, they had no choice but to hand them over to Lu Chao and release the hostages.

This was all because Lu Chao had won the battle at the old site of the Azure Flame Sect.

It was also a move to avoid the humiliation of having Lu Chao’s army at the gates of Wolf Flame City. To put it bluntly, they didn’t dare to fight.

Lu Chao immediately accepted the hostages from the small kingdoms. Then, he narrowed his eyes at the Wolf Flame envoy and asked, "Is there truly no news at all about the Dean of the Wolf Institute?"

The envoy hurriedly replied, "There is. It’s said that he was forcefully taken control of by Zeng Quan and Zheng Liling."

Lu Chao’s eyes narrowed slightly once more. In the end, he said nothing further and simply dismissed the envoy to make his report.

After the Wolf Flame envoy departed, Lu Chao looked at the people around him.

"Just as we suspected, Zheng Liling won’t give up on the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard. He has subjugated the deans of the Tiger Institute and the other two academies."

"At the same time, they will definitely find a way to gather all the talented students from the Inner Courtyard."

"They plan to face us in a decisive showdown at the Three Academies’ Tournament."

Sun Shijin and the others nodded gravely.

’As long as the three deans are alive and have sided with Zheng Liling, the Beast Flame Inner Courtyard can continue to exist in name. They’ll be able to participate directly in the Three Academies’ Tournament under that banner!’

’The Six Great Flame Countries have submitted on the surface, but they’ll secretly send their students to the tournament battlefield to join Zheng Liling.’

’All in a bid for one last chance to counterattack.’

"Lu Chao, should we force the Six Great Flame Countries to stop them from sending their Inner Courtyard students to Zheng Liling?" Dean Jiang asked.

Lu Chao simply shook his head.

"There’s no need. If they refuse to submit, we’ll just keep beating them until they do." A sharp glint flashed in Lu Chao’s eyes.

’We swept through Lion Flame and the other two of the Three Great Flame Countries. They submitted on the surface, but then they secretly sent the troops they had stationed in the Great Wu Empire to help Tiger Flame. That just proves they never truly gave in, which is why they got crushed again at the old Azure Flame Sect site.’

’Now, the Three Academies’ Tournament is the last chance for the Six Great Flame Countries. Of course they’ll want their geniuses to turn the tables.’

’In that case, I’ll just have to crush them again...’

Suddenly...

Lu Chao took out a bottle of elixir pills and looked toward Luo Wendeng and the others.

"These are elixir pills from the 6th Floor of the Forbidden Land. I don’t know what they’re called."

"I’ve decided to call them Azure Flame Bone-Refining Pills. They’re from the Azure Flame Sect, over two hundred years old. I’ve tested them, and their effects are incredible."

As he spoke... BUZZ!

Lu Chao’s True Qi surged throughout his body. He had already reached the Fifth Layer of the Transformation Realm—a direct result of these elixir pills.

These elixir pills had also been inside that Storage Ring.

Inside the Storage Ring...

...were weapons and Secret Manuals and Fragments. Tucked away in a corner were some miscellaneous items, including a few bottles of elixir pills. Over the past two days of travel, Lu Chao had been trying them out.

He eventually discovered that only this bottle of nameless elixir pills still retained its potent medicinal effects.

The rest had lost their efficacy due to the erosion of time.

"Next, everyone is to take a Bone-Refining Pill."

"Do your best to break through to the Transformation Realm before the Three Academies’ Tournament."

Lu Chao spoke in a low voice. "Everyone" here of course referred to those who had participated in the Divine Bone Nine Sons Array—the twelve strongest Dragon Flame Students, led by Lu Chao himself.

The bottle contained several dozen Bone-Refining Pills. Including Cheng Yunsu, each of the Dragon Flame Students took one.

As the group continued on their way... BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

One by one, they began to break through. Luo Wendeng and the other four from the Azure Flame Sect all reached the Transformation Realm. Wu Caicai and Iron Shield also made the breakthrough. The three older Dragon Flame Students, including Jiang Yi and Jiang Yu, reached the Innate Ninth Layer for the time being.

The effects of the Bone-Refining Pills were terrifyingly potent!

Of course, this was also thanks to the Divine Bone Nine Sons Array, which had given them all a powerful foundation.

The twelve geniuses of the Dragon Flame Academy continued to improve as their army advanced at high speed. Just as they were leaving the territory of the Wolf Flame Kingdom...

...Marquis Jilong, Yin Ye, stepped into the Wolf Flame Royal Capital.

Just as he had with the Lion Flame King and the others, he "invited" the Wolf Flame King to travel to the Dragon Flame Kingdom.

The Wolf Flame King was furious, but he had no choice but to agree.

"Wolf Flame King, we are doing this to protect you..."

"If I’m not mistaken, regardless of whether our Dragon Flame Academy wins the Three Academies’ Tournament, Zheng Liling and Lu Dingtian will cooperate. They will surely launch a full-scale invasion of the Hundred Countries."

"At that time, with the help of the three deans, you will be in grave danger."

Yin Ye offered this brief, understated explanation before dispatching men to escort the Wolf Flame King to the Dragon Flame Kingdom. He himself continued on toward Eagle Flame.

Time continued to pass. One day, Yin Ye arrived at his final stop in the Hundred Countries: the Tiger Flame Royal Capital.

As the strongest of the Six Great Flame Countries, the Tiger Flame King was naturally filled with resentment. He roared at Yin Ye, "Yin Ye, now you’ve even snatched Fan Changcun away! You of Dragon Flame..."

Before he could finish, Yin Ye cut him off coldly.

"We only dispatched the Dragon Flame Academy. You couldn’t even defeat them. What face do you have to complain?"

The Tiger Flame King’s jaw dropped. He slumped powerlessly back onto his Tiger King’s Chair.

Even now, the force representing the Dragon Flame Kingdom in battle was still just the two-thousand-plus members of the Dragon Flame Academy.

All the rest were merely the soldiers and horses from the small kingdoms.

"That Fake Lu Chao," the Tiger Flame King spat hatefully. "Back then, I should have done everything in my power to kill him."

It was all because of that Fake Lu Chao. But at the time, everyone’s attention was on Fan Jinhua. Everyone thought he was the one leading the Chaotic Hundred Countries. No one paid any mind to some insignificant Fake Lu Chao back then.

Just then, the Tiger Flame King said, "I can agree to your terms. But I want to know—did Fan Changcun actually manage to breach the Forbidden Land?"

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