No one knew where the voice came from, but it landed like a thunderclap in the silent martial arts arena.

HISS...

Countless people sucked in a sharp breath.

Among the students of Dragon Flame Academy, Wu Caicai and Fan Jinxiang looked up at the same time, their faces instantly turning pale.

As former Tiger Flame Academy students, of course they knew exactly who Chang Yuan was.

Fan Jinxiang rushed forward and said nervously, "Brother Lu, that’s Chang Yuan! He was once the strongest genius in the Hundred Countries."

At that, Lu Chao’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Chang Yuan, who was now striding forward.

He replied softly, "I know. I remember him."

Fan Jinxiang didn’t grasp the meaning behind the three words "I remember him." She thought Lu Chao simply recalled that such a person existed in the Tiger Flame Kingdom and anxiously reminded him again...

"Brother Lu, Chang Yuan is terrifying..."

"Back then, no matter what he did, he couldn’t break through the Innate Realm to reach the Transformation Realm."

"He went from being a celebrated prodigy to fading into obscurity. Later, I heard from my older brother that Chang Yuan was constantly searching for ways to break past the Innate Realm, even stooping to become an assassin to hone himself."

"But he still couldn’t break through. However, it gradually pushed him to a state of near-invincibility within the Innate Realm."

"He became known as the ’Strongest Innate.’"

The strongest genius of the Hundred Countries, a figure of legend...

He reached the Innate Ninth Layer at just sixteen or seventeen, but then spent more than a decade honing himself at that very level.

One could only imagine how terrifying the combat prowess of such a person would be.

Lu Chao nodded again. "He is terrifying. I was injured back then. If I hadn’t been extremely cautious, I would have died."

At these words, Fan Jinxiang froze and blinked.

Lu Chao chuckled and quickly changed the subject.

"It’s nothing. I know how strong he is."

"I’ll have to give it my all against him, which means I won’t be able to protect you. You’ll have to be careful and handle the other six students yourselves."

What Lu Chao was referring to was...

About a month before he was killed by Lu Dingtian, the war between Great Wu and the Hundred Countries was at a fever pitch. At that time, Lu Chao had just returned to camp from the battlefield when Chang Yuan attempted to assassinate him.

Lu Chao had just survived a brutal slaughter.

He was suffering from serious internal injuries. Facing Chang Yuan’s assassination attempt was incredibly perilous, but he managed to fend him off in the end.

He even managed to leave a long scar on Chang Yuan’s face, but Chang Yuan still escaped.

This was what the Dean of the Tiger Institute had mentioned: Chang Yuan had been discovered during his assassination attempt on the real Lu Chao, and yet he had survived. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Lu Chao had mentioned before that he had been an assassin...

That wasn’t a lie. He had been taken in by Lu Dingtian and placed in the Death Warrior Camp, where he was first trained as an assassin.

Without his experience in the Death Warrior Camp, he would have undoubtedly died at Chang Yuan’s hands back then.

He was smiling, but inwardly his guard was raised to its absolute peak. ’I have to give this opponent my all. If that’s not enough, I might even have to see if I can force a breakthrough to the next layer.’

As long as he reached the Innate Seventh Layer, Lu Chao could absorb the third Star Heavenly Destiny Bone.

Then his Life-taking Bone would advance to become a Heavenly Bone.

While Lu Chao spoke with Fan Jinxiang, the entire arena was abuzz with talk of Chang Yuan. Those who knew of him were busy explaining to those who didn’t just what kind of man he was.

Suddenly, Fan Jinhua’s voice rang out, "Junior Brother Chang Yuan, you’re actually still alive."

Hearing this, Chang Yuan slowly raised his head to look at Fan Jinhua. He asked with a smile, "Senior Brother Fan, why haven’t you reached the True Fate Realm yet?"

Their exchange proved they knew each other well.

Don’t forget, Fan Jinhua only looked old because of his big beard; in reality, he was only three years older than Chang Yuan. When Chang Yuan had first entered Tiger Flame Academy, it was Fan Jinhua, a senior student at the time, who had guided him.

And many, Fan Jinhua included, had assumed that Chang Yuan had died during his assassination attempt on Great Wu’s Lu Chao.

Fan Jinhua ignored Chang Yuan’s question and said gravely, "Junior Brother Chang Yuan, you’ve seen the situation with the Beast Flame leadership. You’re not a young man anymore. Why are you listening to them and coming here to bully someone so much younger?"

Fan Jinhua’s expression was extremely tense, his eyes filled with worry.

He knew all too well how terrifying Chang Yuan’s combat prowess was.

At Fan Jinhua’s words, the Dean of the Tiger Institute roared, "Fan Jinhua, you traitorous rebel, shut your mouth!"

He was worried that Fan Jinhua would convince Chang Yuan to back down.

The two of them had been very close when they were younger.

In response, Chang Yuan just shrugged. "Senior Brother Fan, for a piece of trash like me who can’t even break through the Innate Realm, there’s no such thing as the strong bullying the weak. I’m the one who’s been miserably bullied all along."

As he spoke, his expression gradually twisted.

Once showered in glory, only to be slowly forgotten, then ridiculed... Of course Chang Yuan felt that fate had been unjust to him.

’He hated it. He hated it with every fiber of his being!’

Seeing Fan Jinhua about to speak again, Chang Yuan cut him off sharply. "We each serve our own master, Senior Brother Fan!"

Those simple words made Fan Jinhua’s heart sink to the depths. Of course. Chang Yuan was a member of the Tiger Flame Royal Family.

Ignoring Fan Jinhua, Chang Yuan finally turned his gaze to Lu Chao. He sighed softly. "It’s great to be young. I was once just like you, invincible among my peers. I don’t have a Life-taking Bone, so why was fate so unfair to me?"

His voice, calm at first, grew progressively more savage...

But then, he broke into a bizarre smile. "Senior Brother Fan says I’m picking on someone younger, but you... you’re actually impressive. You truly excite me... Fake Lu Chao, why don’t you put on your mask? Make me feel like you’re the real Lu Chao. Let me torment you?"

His expression twisted even more hideously.

He was still smiling, but it was the smile of a Demon.

Lu Chao watched Chang Yuan quietly. ’Having failed to break through the Innate Realm for so long, this man has clearly gone mad. He’s definitely not the same Chang Yuan that Fan Jinhua once knew...’

’No matter who the opponent is, I have to win...’

Chang Yuan was excited, and Lu Chao was just as thrilled. ’A worthy opponent is hard to find.’

He answered without hesitation, "A mask? As you wish... Xiao Su’er."

Cheng Yunsu didn’t hesitate for a moment, tossing Lu Chao’s mask into the martial arts arena. Lu Chao caught it deftly and slowly placed it over his face. As soon as the mask was on, his entire aura underwent a dramatic change.

With excitement, Lu Chao felt as if the blood in his veins was set ablaze...

The auras of his Dragon General Bone and Fire Sparrow Bone surged out through his Bone of Myriad Stars. Lu Chao said, "Let’s begin!"

As he spoke, his hand closed around the spear embedded in the corpse before him...

In that same instant, Chang Yuan’s figure vanished. The battle had begun.

True Qi pulsed from the spear in Lu Chao’s hand—VMMMM!

The corpse before him exploded into a shower of gore, and Chang Yuan’s twisted face appeared within the bloody mist...

A tiger’s claw strike shot toward Lu Chao, aimed to kill.