Translator: Fate Proofreader: Silavin [He’s gone, huh?] In the pavilion, after sensing Chu Hao’s aura fading away, Gu Changge calmly smiled as he waved his hand. “You can stop now.” “You may return.” He blandly stated to the puzzled Tang Wan. “Lady Wan, you can leave the servant job to me.” Ji Qingxuan tactfully went up and smiled. Judging by Gu Changge’s expression, she could tell that Gu Changge was really not interested in Tang Wan. Restless, Tang Wan peered at Gu Changge in bafflement. “How boring.” Nonetheless, Gu Changge simply shook his head without explaining himself. At the same time, the System was pinging a crazy streak of notifications. The obtaining of Fatums and Fortuity was quite a joyful process. Naturally, Gu Changge could tell that Chu Hao was in rage, and even wanted to kill him. Ever since Tang Wan hurried over to the empire, Gu Changge already guessed that she was here to warn Chu Hao. Judging by Chu Hao’s personality, he would surely feel sceptical and feel compelled to tail Tang Wan. As such, Gu Changge merely lent him a hand to understand Tang Wan’s pain. Moreover, Gu Changge was only going along the flow, letting Chu Hao know that Tang Wan didn’t betray him, while simultaneously letting Tang Wan feel that he bore no ulterior motive against Chu Hao. Such simple tasks could hardly cause him to break a sweat. As for the conversation earlier, it was only to mess with Chu Hao’s mind. Since a Fortuitous One was purely someone who was slightly luckier than a normal person, so he was by no means flawless. Nonetheless, Gu Changge was surprised by how patient Chu Hao was, and that also helped him discover Chu Hao’s limit. To Chu Hao, Tang Wan was significantly more important than the Vermilion Bird Empire, so as long as Gu Changge didn’t do anything excessive to her, Chu Hao would be able to endure it. [What a patient guy. No wonder he’s still green.] Gu Changge suddenly laughed aloud. “Worry not. I won’t tell Chu Hao what happened today. I take no interest in such absurd pranks.” Then, Gu Changge waved his hand to dismiss Tang Wan. [As for how Chu Hao will face Tang Wan later, that is no concern of mine, so I shouldn’t waste my time thinking about it. Essentially, Chu Hao is the Fortuitous One. Given his virtue and honour, he wouldn’t be able to confess to Tang Wan even after witnessing this exchange. That is literally impossible. Besides, he’ll have to pretend as if he knew nothing, and he’ll be the good honest man I want him to be.] [Now, Sky King Zhi Yang, you’ve been running free for too long. It’s time to make a move on on him.] Having temporarily settled the matter on hand, Gu Changge began thinking about Sky King Zhi Yang. As the Junior of Qin Wuya, the Senior Brother who had returned from the Nine Realms, Sky King Zhi Yang could prove somewhat useful. In fact, from the beginning, Gu Changge had been planning his moves against Sky King Zhi Yang, which pertained to the harvesting of another leek. And of course, there was Su Qingge’s presence in Black Tortoise Empire, which brought quite a handful of trouble to Sky King Zhi Yang. Furthermore, Gu Changge’s followers reported that Sky King Zhi Yang discovered traces of the Successor of Demonic Arts and tracked it down all the way to the region wherein Black Tortoise Empire was based, which was nothing but a timely opportunity for Gu Changge. Seeing how Su Qingge didn’t fail him, Gu Changge was even considering whether to treat her better the next they met. [Between the Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise, huh? That’s pretty near. Plus, coincidentally, Sky King Zhi Yang is not in the Black Tortoise Empire…] With that, Gu Changge left again. However, this time around, he moved even more discreetly. Firstly, he led a great number of followers hastily towards the region where the crisis of the Eternal Overcast had erupted from, before proceeding into the depths by himself. Naturally, he hid himself in the void on his way before turning back. As such, all the young prodigies would know that he was currently leading a massive party to slaughter Eternal Overcast creatures. Such an obvious proof of his absence was quite needed. Even if none dared to suspect him, he preferred to leave no flaw in the plans he set up. … Meanwhile, in the Black Tortoise Empire, an empire not far away from the Vermilion Bird Empire. There was no such thing as peace as the young prodigies there grew anxious and insecure. None dared to venture alone. Ever since the Successor of Demonic Arts appeared, a number of them had been taken down in the same way, their Sources were completely stolen. Yet, there were no traces of the Successor of Demonic Arts to be found. Thereupon, the signs proved that the Successor of Demonic Arts indeed infiltrated their team, and many young prodigies regretted their decision to follow the King with Six Crowns and Sky King Zhi Yang. The might of the Successor of Demonic Arts needed no elaboration, given how he was able to slip out of Gu Changge’s grasp. Perhaps even Sky King Zhi Yang was no rival to the Successor of Demonic Arts. In that instant, in a harmonious, quiet manor, where subtle celestial energy and dense spiritual energy wafted about, so dense that it seemed to have liquified and formed a pond. Not far away, a field filled with Immortal and Sacred Herbs was surrounded by mist that glimmered from the occasional sunlight that passed through it, appearing unusually bright. Additionally, there were also numberless Divine Beasts grazing on the field. They would turn to the young man in grey who was sitting on a boulder nearby with amicable looks. Born with the name of Jun Yao, the King with Six Crowns turned out to be ordinary-looking after he revealed his true appearance, bearing remarkable differences compared to those dazzling peerless young prodigies. Nevertheless, not many cultivators knew of his name, let alone have seen his true appearance, as those young prodigies of his generation had all vanished, either by dying from old age or being bested in battles in the past. Even those who managed to survive from his generation were now Ancestors of their respective Families or Clans, whose ancientness was incomparable. As an ancient man who couldn’t keep up with the new age, in order to become the strongest in the world, he willingly sealed himself many times so that he could one day find a worthy opponent. In this world, it was Gu Changge who had reawakened his will to battle. “Fellow Brother, you claim to be framed? That’s nonsense.” King with Six Crowns slightly smiled, while a heroic-looking stood before him. The heroic-looking young man possessed a huge, muscular body. His hair resembled blazing flames and his eyes contained gleaming golden runes, as if he was the God of the Sun himself. This heroic-looking young man was none other than Ying Shuang, who sneaked into Sky King Zhi Yang’s team after disguising himself. He was looking for an opportunity to look for Sky King Zhi Yang and work with him against Gu Changge, but now, with numberless young prodigies, along with their Sources getting stolen by the Successor of Demonic Arts in Black Tortoise Empire, his plans were disrupted and put to an end. Apart from that, Ying Shuang didn’t know how Gu Changge could possibly make a move in the Black Tortoise Empire and pin the blame on him as he was in the Vermilion Bird Empire right now. Theoretically, it was impossible for him to come to the Black Tortoise Empire to execute his evil deeds. Yet, many young prodigies had already been killed. Recently, cultivators had begun to scour for the Successor of Demonic Arts, so Ying Shuang wasn’t quite worried because he, at the end of the day, was not the Successor of Demonic Arts, and there was no way anyone could see through his disguise. However, today, he found himself surprised as the King with Six Crowns managed to see through his disguise and discern his identity. Thereupon, Ying Shuang grew nervous, and he had no choice but to swallow his pride and follow the King with Six Crowns to the latter’s manor. “What can I do to convince you?” Ying Shuang asked with a deep voice. In his eyes, golden runes were glowing in his eyes. Even if he wasn’t the real Ying Shuang, the might of the Sky Prince was revealed at this moment. “You are saying Gu Changge is the real Successor of Demonic Arts? What proof do you have? From what I know, Gu Changge is in the Vermilion Bird Empire right now. Although he isn’t that far from Black Tortoise Empire, do you think he had the time and capability to pull himself out and perform his evil deeds here?” The King with Six Crowns questioned faintly. His face was ordinary, but he sounded confident and harmonious as his voice carried some sort of reassuring aura. “I don’t know how he did it, but the one who framed me is Gu Changge without a doubt,” Ying Shuang replied, never doubting his point from the very beginning as no one in the world except Gu Changge would treat him so hellishly. Indubitably, there were also the Sacred Lords Realm experts summoned by Gu Changge in Eternal Overcast Battlefield to put up an act, wherein Gu Changge put on a spectacular show to the crowd and thoroughly pinned the blame on him. “Words mean nothing to me. In my opinion, you remain the biggest suspect.” The King with Six Crowns stated confidently with a subtle smile. “But don’t you worry. I won’t expose you, so you, as the Successor of Demonic Arts, make sure not to disappoint me. You are currently still too weak to be my rival, but I do hope that one day, you could develop into someone who can reawaken my will to fight.” Finished, the King with Six Crowns swung his arm and layers of blinding runes occurred like rain of light beams. The next moment, Ying Shuang’s body disappeared and he then found himself outside the manor. “How powerful…” Ying Shuang was shocked and astounded by the King with Six Crowns’ ability. [Yet another monstrosity! He must be far stronger than Sky King Zhi Yang!] Regardless, once Ying Shuang’s identity was exposed, the King of Six Crows immediately decided that he was the Successor of Demonic Arts without hesitation, and he didn’t even give Ying Shuang a chance to explain himself. After departing from the manor, Ying Shuang started wandering on the streets of the Capital of Black Tortoise Empire with a hideous expression. He noticed that Elder Mo stopped contacting him lately, as the latter never showed himself anymore. [The rumours has it that Sky King Zhi Yang has left, following the traces of the Successor of Demonic Arts. If Gu Changge is the one, Sky King Zhi Yang won’t stand a chance.] Ying Shuang’s face grew more solemn. As such, he would have one less potential partner, and he was yet another step back from taking Gu Changge down. All of a sudden, Ying Shuang’s face changed as he caught a familiar figure walking through the pavilion doors before him. That familiar figure left him widening his eyes in stupefaction as he would never imagine meeting her here. [Is this what they call ‘Fate?’] Ying Shuang’s heart palpitated. He intuitively remembered the days he was working as a horse feeder. If it weren’t for Yin Mei’s sympathy, he would have died starving in the streets. Compared to the anxiety-evoking days he was living now, he would rather return to the peaceful days back then, He thought he would never meet her in this life again, yet he never expected to be able to see her in the Black Tortoise Empire. [This must be Fate! But too bad, I’m nothing but a public menace now. And to her, I’m probably just a stranger. Lady Yin Mei was once rescued by Gu Changge, but she doesn’t seem to know his true identity. I must look for an opportunity to warn her!] Bearing that in mind, Ying Shuang clenched his fists. Back in the Celestial Ancient Continent, Yin Mei encountered the Successor of Demonic Arts, and Ying Shuang inferred that this was closely related to Gu Changge. Then, not only did Gu Changge earn a dignified reputation from that, but he even gained Yin Mei’s adoration. [If I approach Lady Yin Mei now, she will surely suspect me. No, I must come up with a way…] Sinking into thoughts, Ying Shuang decided to go with the plainest, simplest method. Essentially, back when he was a horse feeder, he memorised many of Yin Mei’s hobbies and traits as well as her likings. By taking advantage of that, he believed he could get close to her. With that in mind, Ying Shuang proceeded towards the pavilion in front of her, intending to find out Yin Mei’s purpose in the Black Tortoise Empire. “Lady Yin Mei, a young man seems to be following you.” Upon the reminder of her servant, Yin Mei smiled and waved her hand. “Don’t worry. Let him tail us. I do want to see what is up with him.” Despite saying that, she subconsciously remembered Gu Changge’s instruction. [That must be the poor scapegoat, the one who used to be called Prince Ying.] Yin Mei’s smile carried a trace of compassion, but to the outsiders, nothing about it seemed off. She seemed to be merely selecting goods together with her servant by her side. … In the meantime, a pitch black sky was hanging above Azure Dragon Ancient City. At that moment, Gu Xianer was scowling intensely in a library as she was studying the ancient archive in her hand. In the archive, there were many mysterious runes shining vibrantly like tiny little suns. Feeling troubled, she muttered to herself, “I wonder if this ‘Golden Warrior’s Magic Physique of Invincibility’ will really make those that cultivate it turn into metallic people, whose skin would reflect the golden rays of the sun…” Imagining herself to turn that way, she grew e reluctant to cultivate what was in the book. After all, if she, with her celestial energy elegantly swirling around her, were to turn into a golden metallic person in a flash, Gu Changge wouldn’t be able to identify her. Thinking that, she subconsciously heaved a sigh as she could only put the ancient archive aside and stopped thinking about learning it. But of course, she wouldn’t toss the archive away as she could put the book somewhere and it would draw a great number of cultivators, given that it was a technique to cultivate a Sacred Emperor Grade Physique. Nonetheless, she couldn’t figure out why she would encounter such a ‘treasure’ during the trial, while Qing Xiaoyi obtained the ‘Blue Moon Dao Technique,’ which was honestly more alluring, and Gu Xianer was even thinking how to switch—no, trade—her ‘Golden Warrior’s Magic Physique of Invincibility’ with Qing Xiaoyi’s ‘Blue Moon Dao Technique.’ Although their team comprised only three people, the trial turned out to be easy as they even located an ancient cave of an expert in the region where the Eternal Overcast crisis broke out. Coincidentally, there were three treasures in the cave, so the three of them split them equally among themselves. Back then, Gu Xianer had no clue that the jade tablet she chose would be an ancient archive containing a physique cultivation technique. Otherwise, she would rather die than to take it. “Gu Changge promised that he would come and give me a hand, but he’s nowhere to be seen. What a hopeless man…” Gu Xianer softly whined as she thought of Gu Changge. Despite saying that, she was aware that she didn’t need Gu Changge’s assistance, given how absurdly easy this trial was, since Azure Dragon Empire’s terrain was shielded by the other empires, her team was quite lucky. [But, is he really not going to come see me? Fine. I admit I miss him. It does get a little boring here…] Boom! All of a sudden, an alarming shockwave erupted outside the library, as if a gigantic wave slammed on the walls. Even with an array set up around the library, Gu Xianer could clearly feel the disturbance. “What is going on? This direction… That is where Qing Xiaoyi and Qing Feng are! Did something happen to them?” Without time to think, Gu Xianer blinked out of the library as she immediately rushed to the source of the disturbance, only to see a hazy figure in the sky opening up a right to the void as it was about to leave. And in the hand of the hazy figure was an unconscious young girl, Qing Xiaoyi. “Stop! Let her go!” Seeing that, Gu Xianer immediately understood what was happening and yelled. At the same time, she conjured a jade sword and sent it flying towards the sky. In that instant, vibrant sacred runes surged, which illuminated the night sky. Nonetheless, the hazy figure simply deflected the sword with a palm filled with a terrifying force, shattering the runes as the jade sword fell back to the ground. “Sacred Realm?” Gu Xianer revealed a frown. She then conjured up a weapon, which was a battle spear of the Quasi-Sacred Grade. Strikingly shining and illuminating the sky, the spear was thrusted forward, and instantly, space was torn apart as a giant, frightening rift opened up in the air. The battle spear was evidently formidable. Followingly, the hazy figure, seemingly impatient, put its fingers together in the shape of a sword and pointed at Gu Xianer’s Sacred Grade Weapon Upon an audible crack, the battle spear instantaneously fragmented before breaking down into pieces, falling from the sky. At that moment, it was as if there was a meteor shower in the sky that was extraordinarily spectacular and bright. Nevertheless, the hazy figure seemed to be trying to avoid harming Gu Xianer as it didn’t direct its attacks towards her. Thereupon, Guxianer was confused, but her bewilderment swiftly waned as now, there was no time to think. “Let go of her!” Intending to rescue Qing Xiaoyi, Gu Xianer soared to the sky as she turned her delicate fist into a jade-like rock that harboured unrivalled force, charging ferociously towards the hazy figure. Alas, the enemy effortlessly swung its arm and opened up a rift in the ambiguous space in front of it before entering it and completely vanished. As such, Gu Xianer’s forceful punch struck nothing but air, and she was disconcerted by that. [Damn it! Qing Xiaoyi got abducted. I must inform the Elders of the Immortal Academy of this. The girl is too precious for them to lose.] Bearing that in mind, Gu Xianer pulled out a jade talisman to contact Immortal Academy. Due to this incident, she was worried that she would be rebuked by the Elders for her incompetence, though that didn’t diminish her remorse. Only if she were stronger and more decisive, she might have rescued Qing Xiaoyi by using her other more powerful weapons. [Is the abductor perhaps after Qing Xiaoyi’s Celestial Demonic Physique…] Pondering with a frown, Gu Xianer suddenly remembered Qing Xiaoyi’s older brother, Qing Feng. However, in her opinion, Qing Feng shouldn’t have survived this atrocious incident. Quickly, Gu Xianer’s body flickered and she appeared in the courtyard Qing Xiaoyi and Qing Feng were staying in. There, she found Qing Feng, whose body exploded as blood was profusely flowing, with no lifeforce to be detected. “Damn it! I’ve arrived too late…” Gu Xianer felt guilty, but very soon, her face changed when she found herself surprised. “Wait, no. There’s still a trace of life here. Just what had protected him?”