Saint Martial Dynasty, Saint Martial Sword Sect.

Atop Martial Saint Peak, within the highest floor of the Celestial Martial Hall, a majestic figure sat cross-legged. He abruptly opened his eyes, a murderous aura flashing within them. "Jiang Chen, Jiang Chen... Jiang Taixu, you’ve raised a fine son. How dare he kill my disciple and destroy my Spirit Body! If I don’t slaughter you, I’ll be less than human!"

Meanwhile...

The Royal Families of the Ten Great Dynasties and the Sect Masters of the various major sects all received a bombshell from the Celestial Secret Pavilion.

The man who killed Lan Haichen of the Saint Martial Sword Sect;

Mu Tiexin of the Yinluo Sect;

Yinn Tianzong of the Nine Sins Hall;

Beast Nine of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, and Yee Chenfeng of the Celestial Sword Sect, was, unbelievably, one and the same person!

This person’s name was Jiang Chen.

And he was from—the Saint Martial Sword Sect! 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

In the Yinluo Sect, amidst a Sea of Blood, a powerful Union Palace Realm expert bathed in sanguine light opened his cold eyes, a bloodthirsty glint appearing within them. "The one who killed my son is in the Saint Martial Sword Sect? Men! Assemble the troops and depart for the Saint Martial Sword Sect at once! I don’t care who it is. Whoever dared to kill my son, I will make you accompany him in death!"

Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.

This was a sect established amidst a hundred thousand mountains where Demon Beasts ran rampant. Deep within this vast mountain range,

a waterfall several thousand meters high cascaded down.

Surrounding the waterfall were all sorts of powerful and venomous Demon Beasts. But in the center of them all, a wolf-like Demon Beast, one hundred meters long and entirely golden, lay obediently on the ground.

Suddenly...

It opened its eyes and looked toward the base of the waterfall, where a bare-chested middle-aged man stood, his torso covered in claw marks and scars.

"Master!"

The Golden Giant Wolf spoke in a human voice.

The middle-aged man nodded, his gaze icy. He spoke slowly, "Celestial Wolf, Little Ninth has been killed. Accompany me to the Saint Martial Dynasty."

"Yes, Master!"

The Golden Giant Wolf nodded. A golden light pulsed around its body as it carried the middle-aged man and soared into the sky.

Celestial Sword Sect.

From the central Sword Edge, a ten-thousand-zhang beam of sword light shot toward the heavens. Immensely powerful, it pierced the sea of clouds, blasting apart the dense cloud layer in the Celestial Vault. Amidst the boundless sword light, a white-haired, middle-aged man strode through the air. Tens of thousands of Flying Swords bobbed around him, like a royal court of blades paying homage.

The white-haired man’s gaze was unparalleled in its sharpness, as if it could cleave the heavens. He looked toward the Saint Martial Dynasty and roared, "How dare you kill the Saint Child of my Celestial Sword Sect! Jiang Chen, I will tear you limb from limb!"

Within Nine Sins Hall.

Gleaming white bones were everywhere. The entire mountain range was piled high with skeletons and littered with corpses, while vultures circled in the Celestial Vault above.

Their greedy eyes were fixed on the rotting bodies on the ground below.

RUMBLE...

A Bone Throne flew out from the depths of the mountain range. The vultures soaring in the Celestial Vault were so terrified they went rigid, plummeting from the sky and smashing themselves to death on the ground.

Upon the Bone Throne sat a one-eyed old woman.

Her hands were devoid of flesh and blood, just stark white bone, an exceptionally grim sight. She picked up a piece of vulture flesh with her skeletal hand, put it in her mouth, and chewed with a sharp, grating sound. "Jiang Chen of the Saint Martial Sword Sect, is it? These old bones of mine haven’t moved in a while. I suppose it’s time to get some exercise!"

Similar scenes played out in the other dynasties.

In past Celestial Fate Hunting events, although some young Venerables had fallen, never before had more than half of them perished at once.

More importantly...

The one who killed all these young Venerables was a single person.

Once this news broke, the experts of the Ten Great Dynasties and the Ten Great Sects could no longer sit still. One after another, they set out for the Saint Martial Sword Sect.

In the Land of the Far East of the Saint Martial Dynasty, upon a desolate wasteland.

The Celestial Vault was thick with dark clouds, blotting out the sun. Bolts of lightning as thick as water buckets rained down from above.

They bombarded the ground, blasting open one massive crater after another.

This was the uninhabited eastern region of the Saint Martial Dynasty, a place known as the Thunderfield, a veritable Life Forbidden Area.

Within the Thunderfield, there was nothing but ferocious, bloodthirsty Thunder Beasts and a sky full of lightning. No other life existed here, and few humans ever set foot in it.

But today...

Within the Thunderfield, atop a towering mountain peak,

a sturdy, bare-chested figure was being baptized by lightning, enduring the terrifying bombardment. And not far from this youth, suspended in the void amidst the sea of lightning, two other figures sat cross-legged, calmly playing a game of chess!

One of them wore a Metal Mask that pulsed with a cold light. He had a lightning mark between his brows and revealed only a pair of golden eyes. He said faintly, "Old fellow, your precious apprentice has practically torn a hole in the sky. Aren’t you the least bit worried?"

"Worried? About what?"

The old man sitting opposite him, his hair and beard completely white, gave a faint smile. At the thought of the news from the Celestial Secret Pavilion, the corner of his mouth quirked up. "That little guy is as cunning as they come; he’s not the type to take a loss. By my estimation, he’ll stay in the Celestial Fate Ancient Realm until the full year is up before coming back. We can just head back then!"

"’We’? You shameless old coot, are you trying to drag me into this mess?" the masked man said.

The white-haired old man chuckled. "I found such an outstanding successor for you. Aren’t you going to show a little gratitude?"

"Ai! These old bones of mine have been out of the game for so long, I’ve already got one foot in the grave, and still you’re trying to drag me into your pit!" The masked man shook his head helplessly. His gaze shifted to the youth bathing in lightning on the peak, and the corner of his mouth curved up slightly. "Alright, for the sake of my new little apprentice, I’ll go with you when the time comes."

"Hahaha, don’t you worry! This trip definitely won’t be a loss for you!"

The white-haired old man gave a mysterious smile, then placed a piece on the board and clapped his hands. "Checkmate. You lose!"

"Fuck..."

...

While undercurrents surged in the outside world over the news that so many young Venerables had fallen during the Celestial Fate Hunting,

deep within the Celestial Fate Ancient Realm,

Jiang Chen had already entered the Inheritance Space.

Before him was a Five-Colored Mirror Light Lake, dazzling with myriad colors. The lake’s surface reflected the blue sky and white clouds, which drifted lazily across the Celestial Vault above.

’So this is the Inheritance Space? Where is the inheritance?’ Jiang Chen frowned.

Just then...

The Five-Colored Mirror Light Lake before him began to radiate a brilliant light. Several colorful rainbows shot out from the lake, arching between the water and the shore.

RUMBLE!

In the center of the Five-Colored Mirror Light Lake, bubbles began to rise. Then, a dragon’s head carved from jet-black stone ascended from the lakebed.

The stone dragon head was a full nine hundred meters tall.

It stood in the middle of the Five-Colored Mirror Light Lake, framed by arching rainbows, looking both divine and saintly!

ROAR—

Above Jiang Chen’s head, the ocher-colored Dragon of Fortune let out a resounding cry. It then twisted its body and flew toward the black stone dragon sculpture.

The stone dragon sculpture abruptly opened its massive maw.

A black vortex appeared in its mouth, and the ocher-colored Dragon of Fortune was forcefully swallowed by the stone sculpture.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The entire stone dragon sculpture began to tremble violently.

Rays of rosy light shot out in all directions, erupting in a brilliant radiance as resplendent as divine glory.

The stone dragon’s tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open, shooting out two sharp beams of light. At the same time, a grand and majestic voice echoed from within the sculpture: "One hundred thousand years... Little one, at long last, my wait for you is over!"