Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Celestial Demon Canyon.

This was the core region of the entire Bluestone Mountain Range, and it was also the entrance to the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm.

At this moment, the entire Celestial Demon Canyon was guarded by battalions of soldiers clad in Cold Light Battle Armor, wielding sharp weapons, and emanating a murderous aura.

Every soldier wore a cold, solemn expression. A frigid glint shone in their bright eyes, and the faint scent of blood clung to them. The weakest of these soldiers had a cultivation at or above the Martial Arts Fifth Stage. This was the Red Flame Army, one of the three titans of Yulan Mansion!

The Mansion Master of Yulan Mansion and the Commander-in-Chief of the Red Flame Army were both Court officials appointed by the Royal Family of the Saint Martial Dynasty!

One governed, the other commanded the military!

They were inextricably linked!

Within Celestial Demon Canyon, dozens of areas had been marked out, each occupied by the powerhouses of Yulan Mansion’s major factions.

In the center of the canyon stood an ancient, simple stone monument. This was the entrance to the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm!

At the moment, the stone monument was dim and lusterless, its portal not yet open.

The encampments of the City Lord’s Mansion’s Yulan Clan and the Red Flame Army’s Si Family flanked the monument. No other faction, not even one as powerful as the Qinghuo Gang, dared to overstep their bounds!

The Lui Family was one of the Four Great Clans of Yulan Mansion, a Tier Two power within the region.

Their designated area was relatively close to the front, occupying a large space that could accommodate five to six hundred people. But unlike the powerhouses of other factions, who were all intensely preparing for the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm, the Lui Family’s camp was currently split into two opposing groups. They were locked in a tense standoff, utterly irreconcilable, with neither side willing to back down.

An old man with white hair and a white beard, yet a ruddy complexion indicative of vigorous health, wore a furious expression as he snarled in a low voice, "Lui Yifa, you need to remember that you are a descendant of the Lui Family. You must consider the family’s interests! The entire family managed to secure only a single slot, yet you hold five whole slots for the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm in your hands. We are only asking you to give four of them to other talented disciples in the clan. Why are you being so selfish?"

Beside the white-haired elder, Lui Xun wore a smug look and fanned the flames. "Great-Granduncle, you’re wasting your breath. Lui Yifa no longer considers himself part of the Lui Family. In his eyes, there is only that Jiang Chen—our Lui Family means nothing to him!"

"Traitor! How could our Lui Family produce a turncoat like you, one who bites the hand that feeds him?" The white-haired elder’s face was flushed red, and he trembled with rage. "Lui Guan, your son is young and foolish, but you are the Patriarch of the Lui Family! Where do you place the family’s interests with actions like these? Oh, Lui Guan, Lui Guan, you have disappointed me so greatly!"

Lui Xun’s father, Lui Xiao, showed a hint of coldness on his face and feigned a sigh. "Elder Uncle, you should save your breath. How could he, Lui Guan, ever sacrifice his son’s interests for our sake?"

"A man like that is fit to be Patriarch?"

"I propose we remove Lui Guan from his position as Patriarch!"

The Lui Family powerhouses behind Lui Xiao and his group all began to speak out. In an instant, Lui Yifa and his father became the target of public condemnation, pointed at by a thousand fingers.

Lui Yifa’s face was ashen as he glared at Lui Xun. "Lui Xun, you are utterly shameless! You were the one who made a bet with my Boss. You said that if we got more than two slots, you would cripple your own cultivation. Now we’ve secured five slots, and not only are you refusing to honor the bet, you’re twisting the truth and framing me for colluding with an outsider to harm our own family. Have you no shame at all? Huh?"

Lui Guan, a burly man with a broad back and thick waist who had always presented an honest and kind image, was now also seething with rage. "Lui Xiao, the first precept of our Lui Family’s ancestral teachings is to never be ungrateful! You all know perfectly well how these slots were obtained. If we were to hand them over, how would you have us explain ourselves to Little Fa’s Boss?"

"Hmph. He’s just some kid at the Martial Arts Ninth Stage. What is there to explain?" Lui Xiao said dismissively.

Grand Elder Lui Chen hesitated for a moment before speaking. "What the Patriarch says does have some merit. How about this: as long as Yifa hands over the slots, if his so-called ’Boss’ comes looking for trouble, I will personally explain the situation to him. At worst, we can just offer him some compensation!"

"Impossible! Without my Boss’s permission, no one is taking a single slot from me!" Lui Yifa declared firmly.

"You must hand them over!"

"He’s a mere Martial Arts Ninth Stage brat. What can he do even if our Lui Family just takes his slots?"

"We’ll just give him some compensation at worst and send him on his way."

The members of the Lui Family argued endlessly.

Little White lay lazily to the side, his fur as white as jade. He couldn’t even be bothered to spare the Lui Family members a second glance. ’A bunch of idiots. Looking down on my Boss? Hmph, just you wait until he gets back. You’ll all be sorry then!’

Just as he was thinking this, Little White’s body suddenly jolted.

His eyes widened as he stared toward the entrance of Celestial Demon Canyon, a flash of light streaking through his translucent, jade-like eyes. His white body instantly transformed into a streak of white light and shot toward the canyon entrance. His speed was so great that it was no less than that of a True Martial Realm Powerhouse.

In an instant, Little White had reached the entrance of Celestial Demon Canyon.

At the same time, a slender figure appeared at the canyon entrance. The moment he saw this figure, Little White let out a low "WAHH!" and pounced onto the newcomer. His four paws clung tightly to the person as he exclaimed excitedly, "Boss, you’re finally back! Waaah, while you were gone, I lost my appetite for food and drink. I could only eat half my fill at every meal. Little White missed you, Boss..."

That’s right!

The newcomer was none other than Jiang Chen!

Jiang Chen ruffled the fur on Little White’s head and chuckled. "You little rascal. If you really lost your appetite, how could you still eat half your fill?"

"Hehe, I just knew the Boss would worry if I got too skinny!" Little White flashed a human-like, awkward smile. He nuzzled his furry head against Jiang Chen’s chest, acting cute.

Jiang Chen laughed heartily. After being apart for so many days, he was truly happy to see Little White again.

His gaze swept over the area and fell upon Lui Yifa and his father, who were being cornered by the crowd not far away. He couldn’t help but frown. "What’s going on?"

"Oh, it’s like this..." Little White leaped to the ground and began to explain, waving his paws around animatedly.

It turned out that after they parted ways at Black Cloud Valley, Lui Yifa and Little White had returned to Celestial Demon Canyon to wait for Jiang Chen. As the opening of the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm drew near and Jiang Chen still hadn’t returned, Lui Yifa had refrained from exchanging the Essence Blood for the entry slots. However, over the past few days, Lui Xun had repeatedly provoked and mocked him, claiming Jiang Chen was a coward who didn’t dare show his face after losing the bet. In a fit of anger, Lui Yifa exchanged the Essence Blood for the slots to prove that Jiang Chen had won.

The result... was that Lui Xun not only went back on his word and denied the bet, refusing to honor his stake, but he also instigated the other Lui Family members to force Lui Yifa to hand over the slots.

Lui Yifa and Lui Guan both believed the slots belonged to Jiang Chen and couldn’t be given to anyone without his permission. Goaded by Lui Xun and his father, the father-son pair became the target of everyone’s censure. This argument had been going on for two full days, and with the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm about to open, Lui Xun and the others could no longer hold back and resorted to direct coercion.

"So that’s how it is." Jiang Chen gave a cold laugh. "They dare to covet my, Jiang Chen’s, things? They must have a death wish!" He started walking toward the Lui Family’s area.

Little White quickly followed, hopping and skipping with an excited look on his face...

’Wahaha, the Boss is about to go on a rampage! This is going to be a good show!’