"Hehehe, you're an interesting brat."

Qi Lao'er paused for a moment, then looked at Chu Chen and burst into laughter.

Aside from the true ruler of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace, the Empress Lin Shuwang, the most powerful figures were the five branch Palace Masters.

Due to their age and centuries of cultivation, these five branch Palace Masters all possessed Saint King realm cultivation. They were the supreme combat power of the Desolate Ancient Continent.

Even though Chu Chen possessed extraordinary talent, he currently had no cultivation base and had not yet embarked on the martial path.

Even the Welcoming Elder Luo Tong, the Fire Virtue Great Saint, and the Shui Yuan Great Saint were like mice seeing a cat in the presence of these Saint King realm experts-terrified and trembling on the ground. Yet Chu Chen dared to say that the four Palace Masters of the East, West, South, and North were lacking in brains.

This greatly amused the Central Palace Master, Qi Lao'er. Insulting their intelligence was, in other words, praising him for being quick-witted and smarter than the other four.

And it was the truth. The four Palace Masters only knew how to fight like brutes, assuming the victor would automatically take Chu Chen as their disciple.

Little did they know that while they fought, Qi Lao'er had already stolen the prize right out from under them.

He had deliberately hidden himself earlier just to let the four Palace Masters fight, creating the perfect opportunity...

Rather than calling Qi Lao'er clever, it was more accurate to say he was sinister, cunning, and deeply scheming.

Chu Chen did not care about any of this. There was only one reason he so readily accepted Qi Lao'er as his master.

That was... because this was the Empress Lin Shuwang's intent!

The Empress had not stated it explicitly, but Chu Chen had seen through her design.

Earlier, Zhang Ke'er had mentioned that the five branch palaces of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace recruited outer disciples simultaneously. Yet, the token the Empress gave him was exclusive to Red King Mountain.

Red King Mountain and Red King Palace were both under the jurisdiction of the Central Palace Master, Qi Lao'er. Sending him here for the outer disciple trial was a direct push to take Qi Lao'er as his master.

After all, the Empress, a peerless prodigy herself, knew Chu Chen's cultivation talent all too well. Let alone his Top Grade All-Attribute Full Spiritual Root, merely revealing a Top Grade Five-Element Full Spiritual Root would inevitably draw out the five Palace Masters to fight over him.

Although he did not know the deeper meaning behind her arrangement, Chu Chen naturally intended to follow it.

After all, he had already confessed his feelings to her, and he owed her his life.

Aside from promising oneself in marriage, there seemed to be no other way to repay such a heavy debt of gratitude~

What?

Become sworn siblings?

That was only a last resort when one's savior was too ugly to look at.

The Empress Lin Shuwang possessed a beauty that could topple cities and kingdoms. She was one of the most breathtaking women on the Desolate Ancient Continent.

In his past life, she had waged war against the Ye family for his sake. In this life, she risked her own cultivation realm dropping to extract the God Phoenix Feather from her body, healing Chu Chen's Dao wounds and restoring his martial path...

If he did not help the Empress seize absolute control over the Divine Flame Imperial Palace, he, Chu Chen, would be unworthy of the title of the Desolate Ancient Continent's number one cultivation genius!

Right now, Chu Chen needed to become a sharp nail, firmly embedded at the side of the Central Palace Master, Qi Lao'er.

Waiting for the perfect moment to strike!

......

Taking a deep breath, Chu Chen glanced out of the corner of his eye at the sixth Spirit Awakening Jade Pillar on the high platform.

After a moment of hesitation, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and abandoned the idea of revealing his Top Grade All-Attribute Full Spiritual Root.

The Top Grade Five-Element Full Spiritual Root was already heaven-defying enough. It had lured out the five branch Palace Masters and successfully allowed him to take Qi Lao'er as his master. Revealing anything more would only invite danger.

If the sixth Spirit Awakening Jade Pillar was lit, heaven and earth would manifest terrifying phenomena.

Illusions of warring dragons and phoenixes, ethereal celestial music, and purple qi spreading across a hundred thousand li-these visions would instantly erupt above Red King Mountain, stretching for tens of thousands of li. It would be impossible to hide.

At that point, it would not just be the five branch Palace Masters who were alarmed. Even the demonic Saint Lands and immortal Dao traditions outside the Divine Flame Imperial Palace would be disturbed, sending experts to investigate.

With such world-shaking phenomena, it would be unreasonable for the Empress not to appear.

But the Empress Lin Shuwang was currently forced into Secluded Cultivation, her realm unstable after the extraction of the God Phoenix Feather.

If this were his past life, a young and arrogant Chu Chen would have naturally revealed his full talent without reservation.

But having died once and lived a second life, he understood that some trump cards must always remain hidden...

Before one fully matured, no matter how heaven-defying a prodigy they were, once others saw through their depths, death was not far behind.

"Brat, what's your name?"

Qi Lao'er asked, looking at Chu Chen with confusion while keeping an eye on the battle in the void battlefield.

"With such talent, why haven't you embarked on the martial path at your age?"

Chu Chen paused. He knew some things could not be hidden.

Just as he considered how to answer, a thunderous boom shattered the air. The void battlefield above was violently torn open, and four furious figures joined forces to attack the Central Palace Master, Qi Lao'er.

Their momentum pierced the heavens!

Clearly, the four Palace Masters of the East, West, South, and North had finally realized they had been played for fools, and they were absolutely livid.

"Not good. Boy, return to your master's Red King Palace first. Once I deal with these four, I'll come find you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Lao'er slammed his staff into the ground with a withered, wrinkled hand. A spatial passage instantly formed.

Spatial energy rippled outward like water, instantly enveloping Chu Chen's body and pulling him into the void.

"Master, fighting one against four, you must be careful. Your disciple is worried..."

Before Chu Chen could finish his sentence, he was teleported deep into the Red King Palace and vanished.

"This newly acquired disciple is... quite concerned about this old man. It's just a pity..."

Qi Lao'er looked at the closing spatial rift, grinning widely. Although his old eyes were unusually cloudy, they remained as sharp as an eagle's, radiating a pressure that made it hard to meet his gaze.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

No sooner had Chu Chen left than four terrifying figures descended to the east, west, south, and north of Qi Lao'er, surrounding him completely. Terrifying Saint King artifacts began to awaken, instantly sealing the surrounding space-time.

Although the five branch Palace Masters of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace had slight differences in cultivation, they were all Saint King realm experts. They all possessed Saint King artifacts, and none lacked life-saving trump cards.

Even if Qi Lao'er was stronger, he could not possibly fight one against four. Yet, facing the siege of the four Palace Masters, Qi Lao'er merely narrowed his eyes, showing no panic at all.

"Qi Lao'er, you are truly cunning, playing all of us for fools!"

"Exactly! While the four of us were competing in the void battlefield, you cleverly snatched that brat for yourself!"

"Old thing, do you think it's over just because he took you as his master? Do you think we have no recourse? If you don't give us an explanation today, no one is leaving!"

......

Even though they were all Palace Masters of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace, Saint King realm experts had their own dignity. Having been publicly tricked and robbed of their prize, the hot-tempered Tuoba Kuang and Geng Yan pointed at Qi Lao'er and cursed. Tuoba Kuang, the most violent of the bunch, had already summoned two mountain-splitting axes into his hands, looking ready to strike.

"Qi Lao'er, you have indeed gone too far!"

Even the refined Bai Yu furrowed his brow, firmly blocking Qi Lao'er's escape route.

"It's not that this old man is despicable, but there is only one Top Grade Five-Element Full Spiritual Root. All five of us... want to take him as a disciple. If I didn't use a little trick, what else could I do?"

Qi Lao'er narrowed his eyes, calm and unflustered. Since he dared to act this way, he had naturally prepared a countermeasure.

"Should I have that brat take all five of us as masters? Wouldn't that be too good for him? This old man won't easily pass on his unique techniques to others."

Upon hearing this, the four Palace Masters snorted coldly and pressed forward again.

Geng Yan sneered and questioned,

"What you say isn't wrong, but we can't just let you reap all the benefits for nothing, Qi Lao'er, can we?"

The silent, black-clothed man, Chou Rang, curled his lips slightly. He licked his lips with a crimson tongue and spoke.

"In my opinion, why not just kill the brat and be done with it."

"..."

"..."

If other Saint Lands encountered a genius with a Top Grade Five-Element Full Spiritual Root, they would treat him like a fragile treasure, terrified of dropping or breaking him. Yet unexpectedly, the Western Palace Master, Chou Rang, wanted to kill him outright simply because they couldn't share him.

A madman!

This person was an absolute madman!

"This old man won't beat around the bush with you. Since this brat has already taken me as his master, he is my sole successor."

"Whoever dares to harm him will be my mortal enemy. We will fight until one of us is dead!"

Qi Lao'er had been in Secluded Cultivation within the Divine Flame Imperial Palace for years, rarely showing himself, and seldom meddling in the conflicts between the Palace Masters or even the Empress.

No one expected him to be so resolute today, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.

"If anyone is dissatisfied, make your move!"

Upon hearing this, even the usually good-tempered Bai Yu frowned. The spiritual power within him instantly surged, and his Killing Intent manifested like a physical weight, continuously compressing the surrounding void.

"Qi Lao'er, you sure talk big!"

"We are all Saint King realm experts. Facing four opponents alone, you still dare to be so arrogant. Do you really think we four Palace Masters are made of mud?!"

As Geng Yan finished speaking, she casually pulled a hairpin from her hair and slashed it toward Qi Lao'er.

Crash!

A silver river of stars appeared out of thin air, vast and mighty, surging forward with overwhelming force to drown Qi Lao'er.

This hairpin was no ordinary object; it was a terrifying Saint King artifact of the highest order.

It was Geng Yan's lifebound Dharma Treasure, the All-Heaven Star River Hairpin.

With a casual stroke, it could draw upon the power of the celestial stars, capable of refining everything in the world.

......