Chapter 327: Arrival at the Blood Stele

To this day, the Tiger Flame King still didn’t know if Fan Changcun had succeeded in cracking the Forbidden Land...

He even suspected that Fan Changcun was just putting on an act and could, in fact, break through the Forbidden Land.

In response, Yin Ye just smiled and called someone out—it was the Tiger Flame expert from the Forbidden Land, the one who had gone half-mad.

Yin Ye said casually, "This is the expert you sent to monitor Marshal Fan. He knows everything."

The Tiger Flame expert’s mental state was still extremely fragile. He stared blankly at the Tiger Flame King, then burst into a flood of tears...

"My king... Your Majesty!"

"The Fake Lu Chao is a monster! We can’t fight him, we can’t!"

"He is the real Lu Chao! The real Lu Chao never died!"

The Tiger Flame expert fell to his knees before the Tiger Flame King, whose head was now filled with question marks. ’What in the world?’

"He killed the Great Martial Saint, the Bone Illumination Saint Ming Huasheng! He took off his mask right in front of him!"

"Ming Huasheng said he is the True Lu Chao of Great Wu!"

Back on the 6th Floor of the Forbidden Land, Lu Chao hadn’t tried to hide from the Tiger Flame expert. As a result, the expert already knew that Lu Chao was the real deal, and his composure had, of course, shattered completely.

Now, seeing the Tiger Flame King was like seeing family, and he let it all pour out.

"Tiger Flame King, do you understand now? You didn’t lose without reason."

"But I should thank you. If you hadn’t persecuted Lu Chao and the descendants of the Azure Flame Sect, and hadn’t shamelessly issued six Royal Decrees only to ignore them, Lu Chao would probably have joined Tiger Flame by now."

"If that had happened, there would be nothing left for my Dragon Flame Kingdom to do."

As Yin Ye spoke, the Tiger Flame King seemed to slump bonelessly into his Tiger King’s Chair, rendered speechless.

His mind was buzzing. ’The Fake Lu Chao is the real one.’

Fan Changcun had only reached the 6th Floor of the Forbidden Land, and so had Lu Chao. But damn it all, if only he had treated the descendants of the Azure Flame Sect kindly back then, if he had honored his Royal Decrees and given them a place to survive... then Lu Chao would now be a man of the Tiger Flame Kingdom.

With Fan Jinhua as a mentor at Tiger Flame Academy, Lu Chao would have certainly chosen Tiger Flame.

He had missed the chance to sweep through the Hundred Countries, missed the chance to stand before the other Flame Kings with the same commanding presence as Marquis Jilong... The Tiger Flame King’s composure finally shattered completely.

Afterward, he was, of course, "invited" by Marquis Jilong to the Dragon Flame Kingdom.

With that, all Six Great Flame Countries fell under the control of the Dragon Flame Kingdom.

Yin Ye also left the Tiger Flame Royal Capital, heading for the battlefield of the Three Academies Tournament. He muttered to himself, ’Zheng Liling, Lu Dingtian, even if some accident befalls Lu Chao during the tournament, you can forget about carving up the Seven Great Flame Countries.’

For Yin Ye, the next step was to arrange his forces along the borders of the Hundred Countries...

If Lu Chao won the tournament, the Great Wu Empire would attack. If he lost, the result would be the same. The only difference was who would lead the army: if Lu Chao won, he would lead; if he lost, then he, Marquis Jilong, would take command.

The only difference lay in this: with Lu Chao leading, they might be able to march straight into the Great Wu Empire and take Lu Dingtian’s head.

As for himself, Marquis Jilong, the best he could hope for was a successful defense.

...

Between the Hundred Countries and the Great Wu Empire lay a terrifying battlefield that had existed for millennia.

It was called the Yanwu Battlefield...

The terrain was complex, with treacherous lands and great mountains on the sides bordering both the Hundred Countries and Great Wu. Whoever seized the other’s territory would gain a massive advantage.

But for millennia, neither the Hundred Countries nor Great Wu had managed to seize the other’s domain for long.

At this moment...

Lu Chao had already led the forces of Dragon Flame Academy and the small kingdoms deep into the treacherous lands on the side of the Hundred Countries.

Gazing out over the vast Yanwu Battlefield, Lu Chao spoke softly, "The closest the Great Wu Empire ever came to conquering this territory was during the last great war. A pity Lu Dingtian decided to take my life."

If Lu Chao hadn’t died then, the Great Wu Empire’s conquest of the Hundred Countries’ borderlands would have been just a matter of time.

Those beside Lu Chao were all people who knew his true identity.

They each clenched their fists, battle lust surging. Soon, they came upon the stationed forces of the Six Great Flame Countries.

Six generals came out to greet them. They had already received orders from the Six Great Flame Kings: Lu Chao was to be their new commander.

The Six Great Flame Kings were now nothing more than royal hostages. No matter how unwilling, their generals had no choice but to submit.

Lu Chao, now wearing his mask, merely gave the six generals a slight nod. He then immediately began issuing a series of orders, arranging defenses for the treacherous terrain on their side of the battlefield.

Once finished, he led the contingent from Dragon Flame Academy and the various small kingdoms toward the center of the battlefield...

The center of the Yanwu Battlefield was a vast plain, the site of countless frenzied clashes. It was also the designated arena for the Three Academies Tournament.

Here, there were also some mobile towns and villages where merchants plied their trade.

In times of war, the inhabitants would flee, only to reappear in times of peace. With the Three Academies Tournament about to begin, the area had become bustling with spectators.

The merchants, of course, smelled opportunity.

"Dragon Flame Academy is here."

The arrival of Lu Chao and his entourage naturally drew the attention of many onlookers, whose eyes held a variety of expressions.

Everyone knew, of course, that Dragon Flame Academy had thrown the Hundred Countries into chaos for a second time.

"Not Dragon Flame Academy. They should be called the Beast Flame Outer Courtyard," someone else gently corrected.

Someone else nodded emphatically and said in a low voice, "That’s right. The Beast Flame Inner Courtyard arrived at the tournament grounds a while ago. The real show is about to start. We’ll see if the ’Fake Lu Chao’ can finally drop the ’Fake’ from his name this time."

Someone immediately scoffed, "Impossible. He can never replace the true Lu Chao. He’s not even in the same league."

So, even here, there were still admirers of the true Lu Chao...

Amidst the swirling discussions, Lu Chao continued toward the center of the Yanwu Battlefield.

Gradually, a temporary town came into view, one built specifically for the Three Academies Tournament.

Lu Chao and his people dismounted their warhorses and entered the temporary town in a vast, imposing procession.

Slowly, they caught sight of a Blood Stele at the very heart of the town.

"Lu Chao..."

Cheng Yunsu, by Lu Chao’s side, spoke his name softly, her hand tightening its grip on her husband’s.

Once, beneath this very Blood Stele, Cheng Yunsu had wept for Lu Chao, paying an immense price for his resurrection.

And now, she and her husband stood before it once more.

The only difference was that back then, there was nothing surrounding the Blood Stele but blood-soaked earth.

Now, it was a scene of bustling prosperity.

As they drew closer to the Blood Stele, they could see from a distance the large characters carved into it by Lu Dingtian...

"Lu Chao, Criminal General of Great Wu!"

"After achieving a great victory in the war against the Hundred Countries, he murdered his father, stole the command tally, and forged the Grand Marshal’s orders to trap and slaughter tens of millions of prisoners from the Hundred Countries along with countless innocent civilians. His crimes cannot be atoned for even in ten thousand deaths. This stele is erected here, in the heart of the Hundred Countries Battlefield, so that he may be cursed by all."

Beneath his mask, Lu Chao gazed at the familiar inscription...

Slowly, his voice emerged. "During the Three Academies Tournament, I will shatter this Blood Stele with my own hands."

The words had barely left his lips when... RUSTLE.

From the other side of the Blood Stele, another group of people suddenly emerged. The one at their head was none other than Zheng Zhuhe of the Saint Bone Zheng Family.