Chapter 2324 Raw 2431 : The Ninth Altar
When Heavenly Slayer was drawn, there was no need to turn around.
The severed bodies of the five princes suddenly appeared at the palace’s drill grounds.
The somewhat cruel scene immediately elicited startled cries. To think that Xiao Chen was so bold.
The Yan Emperor maintained a calm expression. He did not show any anger or murderous intent at Xiao Chen’s move.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
The imperial ancestral temple’s experts showed flustered expressions as they quickly carried away the five princes’ bodies.
A Medial Grade Soul Tool had split the five princes’ bodies into halves. Who knew whether they could be saved?
If they had been killed with another weapon, it would be fine. They just had to use some natural treasures and rest for a day to recover.
However, Xiao Chen had used Heavenly Slayer. Legend said that if one did not kill with it, it would injure the user. Once it was unsheathed, someone had to die.
In fact, many princes had fallen in the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb during previous succession races.
The succession race was not a friendly game. It was a cruel competition where one fought to the death.
The various powerhouses no longer found princes dying strange.
However, no matter what, a prince was a prince. The guests would more or less be concerned about killing one.
Even if a prince died, they usually died at the hands of another prince. Very rarely would guests kill princes.
Hence, the scene of Xiao Chen killing five princes with one saber strike was somewhat shocking.
However, no matter what, the Ninth Prince’s crisis was averted.
After the five princes were ejected from the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb, their guests naturally could not remain. They turned into flowing light and vanished, ejected as well.
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“Xiao Chen!”
Qin Zhuolin initially commanded more than one hundred lava beasts to face the forty-odd guests. Now that his opponents had vanished, the pressure decreased significantly.
When he turned his head to look, he happened to see Xiao Chen sheathing Heavenly Slayer.
This scene shocked Qin Zhuolin, short-circuiting his brain, and he forgot to move.
“Brother Qin, quickly go and rescue Xiao Suo and Wu Meng!” the Heavenly Book Scholar shouted from the altar. As he spoke, he jumped off the altar and rushed to Xiao Suo and Wu Meng deep in the ferocious beast wave ahead.
Qin Zhuolin startled awake and quickly commanded the lava beasts, turning them into a surging flood with roaring waves as they charged at the ferocious beast wave.
If he still did not rush over, Xiao Suo and Wu Meng might die.
The sword Qi from the five Yan Imperial Swords above the altar scattered like fireworks.
Senior Feng and Hao Kai exchanged looks, rendered speechless for a long time.
“Do you think those five princes will survive?” After a while, Senior Feng brought up his worry.
Hao Kai replied calmly, “Things don’t look good for them. However, they can be saved. It is just a question of whether the imperial ancestral temple patriarchs are willing to pay a sufficiently large price.”
Senior Feng felt stunned. After a while, he stopped dwelling on this problem. He realized that this question was moot.
All those imperial ancestral temple patriarchs sought nothing but profit. The possibility of them being willing to spend a lot was practically nil.
Those fellows could even aid the First Prince in colluding with the Xuewu Dynasty; they could do anything.
There was no kindness to speak of. To them, everyone else but the First Prince could be abandoned.
“However, why does this matter? Perhaps you might consider such things, but Xiao Chen won’t care. To him, it was a fight to the death. Either the Ninth Prince died, or the five princes died. From the moment he drew Heavenly Slayer, he was prepared not to turn back. Or perhaps, from the moment he decided to help Wang Yan, he no longer looked back.”
Compared to Senior Feng, Hao Kai understood Xiao Chen a little better.
“Boom!”
The Demon Blood Vulture soared into the air, letting out a delighted cry. Then, it charged at the ferocious beast wave.
Xiao Chen looked at the Prison Star Pearl in his hand, testing its heft. After fiddling with it for a while, he put it away.
After this, the Ninth Prince’s situation completely turned around. He should not have to worry about the second round.
However, it looked like the First Prince’s Yan Imperial Sword refinement would be completed soon.
“If he can merge his Ruler Dao’s mark into the dynasty’s Dragon Veins, his strength will skyrocket. Who knows what will happen then?”
Xiao Chen had three purposes in coming to the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb.
First, to aid Wang Yan in becoming the Crown Prince. Second, the Ethereal Immortal Palace. The third was something he kept hidden in his heart. He did not expose it at all, enduring all the while. However, to him, the third purpose was far more important than the first two.
While Xiao Chen managed to defeat the alliance of the five princes, the Fifth Prince was not that lucky.
Working together, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Seventeenth Prince, and the Eighteenth Prince seized an opening to chase the Fifth Prince off the altar and forced him to forfeit.
The four princes stood on the altar, staring at the fiercely burning sacred flame while showing strange expressions.
The Third Prince, the leader, felt overjoyed. He said, “Brothers, many thanks for helping. Otherwise, I would not be able to ascend this altar.”
The Fourth Prince Wang Yun hid the murderous intent in his eyes, not making a move.
Mister Yuan? Why are we not attacking yet? Our strength is not damaged; this is our best opportunity.
Everything went as Yuan Zhen expected. The four princes’ alliance had succeeded in chasing away the stronger Fifth Prince.
Following Yuan Zhen’s plan, they should make a surprise attack now and finish off the Third Prince while his guard was down.
The hooded Yuan Zhen looked around and returned the voice projection, Hehe! There’s no rush. I sense that a variable is appearing. Just wait for a while; this altar is not important. Just leave it to your third brother.
Ah!
The Fourth Prince Wang Yun could not accept this. However, he still endured. After all, Yuan Zhen had not been wrong yet.
“Congratulations, Third Brother. Haha! Third Brother is really incredible. You should not have any problem refining the Yan Imperial Sword, so I will go ahead,” the Fourth Prince said with a sincere smile. The murderous intent had vanished from his eyes.
Surprise flashed in the Third Prince’s eyes. “Fourth Younger Brother, are you not going to stay and obtain the Auspicious Signs from the Dragon Vein?”
“There’s no need. The Auspicious Signs are limited. If I compete for them, it will harm the harmony between us brothers. Third Brother, just remember our agreement. I’ll bring my men to sweep through the core region. The ferocious beast corpses all over the place are great treasures.”
Before the Third Prince could say anything, Wang Yun jumped off the altar and led his guests far away.
“Haha! Fourth Brother is still as foolish as before. He must have gone crazy from killing ferocious beasts. Even now, he keeps thinking about ferocious beasts. Third Brother, we aren’t leaving. We will protect you.”
The other princes watched as the Fourth Prince left, showing mockery in their eyes as they laughed.
The Third Prince smiled and said, “Our Fourth Younger Brother is a great person; he is just too honest and foolish. Hahaha! However, if he were not foolish, we would not have this opportunity, am I right?”
“Hahahaha!”
The princes started laughing together. Clearly, they usually looked down on this Wang Yun, treating him as a joke.
After leaving, Wang Yun demanded somewhat angrily, “Mister Yuan, can you give me an explanation? With your strength, you could kill Third Brother with one strike, given that he let down his guard. Why did we give up? I have already killed so many ferocious beasts that I am sick of it. When I see ferocious beast corpses, I feel frustrated.”
The other guests also felt somewhat upset.
There clearly was an excellent chance earlier. The Fourth Prince could have occupied the altar and succeeded in the refinement.
Yuan Zhen did not get flustered. He smiled faintly and said, “Previously, I did not know that the First Prince chose the Ruler Dao. I also did not expect his refinement to go so smoothly.”
“The Ruler Dao?”
“Do you know what the Ruler Dao is? The Ruler Dao declares that all who follow me will flourish, and those who oppose me will die. Aside from me, everyone else is an ant. The Ruler Dao requires one to put on a show of power. The stronger the show of power, the stronger one’s Dao Might and strength, which, in turn, strengthens the show of power, continuing in a cycle. What do you think will happen next?” Yuan Zhen chuckled as he looked at Wang Yun while speaking.
“Is First Brother going to start a massacre?” Wang Yun asked uncertainly.
“Hahahaha! Actually, there is no need to care about that, as your opportunity is here. If we said that your chances of becoming crown prince were twenty percent previously, it is now fifty percent!” Yuan Zhen laughed maniacally, showing a mysterious and unfathomable grin under the hood.
“Fifty percent?”
Wang Yun’s heart pounded heavily. He had never thought of becoming the crown prince.
He clearly understood his own strength.
However, Yuan Zhen said that he had a fifty percent chance of becoming the crown prince and ascending the throne.
This was too exaggerated.
Then, Yuan Zhen lowered his hood, revealing his bald head and his twelve monastic scars.
“Yuan Zhen! You are the Hidden Spirit Temple’s Yuan Zhen. The Hidden Spirit Temple never interferes with the succession races, right?”
Wang Yun was greatly startled to recognize Yuan Zhen. The other guests felt shocked as well.
The previously somewhat unremarkable mysterious person was actually Yuan Zhen, the top true inheritor of the Hidden Spirit Temple.
Yuan Zhen said coldly, “I only lowered my hood in hopes that you will trust me more. This is a very rare great opportunity. You must understand your first-generation Yan Emperor had the chance to establish this imperial tomb in this ancient land only because of the Hidden Spirit Temple ancestors’ help.”
Wang Yun said seriously, “I believe in Mister. What should I do now?”
Seeing that Wang Yun now completely trusted him, Yuan Zhen smiled and said, “Have you heard of the ninth altar?”
“What?”
It was not just Wang Yun; the other guests also appeared confused, not understanding what Yuan Zhen referred to.
Just at this moment, something strange happened. The entirety of the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb’s core region shook intensely.
A Ruler Dao’s dynasty’s might spread out amid rumbling sounds, covering the sky.
Resplendent light erupted from the First Prince’s altar. It looked like a sun, lighting up the entire Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb.
The horrifying dynasty’s might shook the other faraway altars.
“Those who obey me flourish; those who oppose me die!”
The First Prince Wang Fei drew the Yan Imperial Sword in his hand with a roar, startling all the other princes refining their Yan Imperial Swords.
The many princes within the fiercely burning sacred flames showed slightly horrified expressions.