"Master, what is the origin of this Peerless sword manual?"

Empress Lin Shuwang had just gifted Chu Chen a Saint-grade flying sword Dharma Treasure. He was precisely lacking in sword techniques, stances, and manuals. He hadn't expected someone to deliver a pillow just as he grew drowsy.

"You are a Saint King realm powerhouse. For you to call it a Peerless sword manual, could it be a legendary Emperor-grade technique???"

Chu Chen had originally planned to visit the Red King Palace's martial pavilion to find a suitable sword manual worthy of his Star-Fall Sword. He hadn't expected Qi Lao'er to instantly discern his urgent need and offer a reminder.

What venomous insight, tsk tsk tsk...

As expected of a Saint King realm powerhouse. Even half-dead with age, in this era where Great Emperors had fallen and Quasi-Emperors remained hidden, he was still part of the strongest combat force on the surface.

"An Emperor-grade technique? You dream too beautifully, brat."

Leaning heavily on his crutch, Qi Lao'er hobbled toward his throne step by step. Before he had taken more than a few paces, he was already panting for breath:

"Emperor-grade techniques are heaven-defying creations born from the blood and sweat of ancient Great Emperors. They can rival Extreme Dao Imperial Weapons. How could they appear so easily in this world?"

"Let alone you, even this old man-a Central Palace Master and a Saint King realm powerhouse-has never so much as touched the edges of an Emperor-grade technique."

"..."

Chu Chen cast a rather disdainful glance at Qi Lao'er, muttering inwardly.

This old coot. Incompetent, ignorant, and spouting utter nonsense~

He, Chu Chen, possessed two Emperor-grade techniques, and both were of the most absolute, terrifying pinnacle.

One was the Chaos Heaven-Swallowing Manual, capable of forcibly devouring the cultivation and Dao fruits of others for his own use.

The other Emperor-grade technique was the Minor Spatiotemporal Heaven-Piercing Art. It harmonized with the Great Dao of Space and was an unpassed secret of the immortal Ye Clan.

Chu Chen had already tasted the terrifying might of the Chaos Heaven-Swallowing Manual.

Being able to break through to the Essence Condensation Realm Ninth Heaven so rapidly was entirely due to the Chaos Heaven-Swallowing Manual. Senior Brother Zhang San, the others, and the Saint-grade Flood Dragon sealed within the Heaven-Swallowing Magic Jar had contributed greatly~

As for the Minor Spatiotemporal Heaven-Piercing Art, it was an exceedingly profound spatial divine ability. Once cultivated, it allowed a cultivator to master the complete Great Dao of Space, transforming into the void itself where myriad laws could not touch them.

However, this technique required one to break through to the Saint realm and step into the spatial domain before its true terror could be unleashed.

Having cultivated the Minor Spatiotemporal Heaven-Piercing Art in his past life, Chu Chen naturally understood its profound mysteries. Three years ago, when he battled Empress Lin Shuwang, this very Minor Spatiotemporal Heaven-Piercing Art was the key to successfully defeating and suppressing her.

Ordinary cultivators had to reach the Saint realm to comprehend the Dao of Space. But Chu Chen, armed with the Minor Spatiotemporal Heaven-Piercing Art, only needed to break through to the Divine Fire Realm, or perhaps even the Spirit Communication Realm, to begin his spatial enlightenment.

"As for what this Peerless sword manual specifically entails, you will naturally find out once you arrive."

Qi Lao'er deliberately kept him in suspense, seemingly afraid that if he revealed too much, Chu Chen would lose interest in visiting Shenhuo City:

"Furthermore, you are merely at the Essence Condensation Realm Ninth Heaven right now. If I gave you a technique of an exorbitant grade or overwhelming profundity, you wouldn't be able to cultivate or comprehend it anyway."

"The path of cultivation is an act of defying the heavens. Although your talent isn't... although your talent is extremely heaven-defying, you must not aim too high. You must stay grounded and take things one step at a time. Only then will your Dao foundation remain unshakable, allowing you to ascend to the Great Dao in the future."

"..."

Chu Chen rolled his eyes, then yawned.

Seeing this, Qi Lao'er glared so fiercely his beard bristled. He wanted to bark out a few harsh words to knock some sense into the boy, but fearing he might damage Chu Chen's Dao heart, he forced himself to swallow his fury.

Forget it, forget it.

Do not get angry. Do not get angry.

At the end of the day, this brat is just tailoring a wedding dress for my benefit...

"Master, if there's nothing else, your disciple will return to Chaos Peak."

Offering a dismissive wave to Qi Lao'er, Chu Chen strutted right out of the Red King Palace without caring whether the old man agreed or not.

The moment Chu Chen left, the void ahead shattered. The battered and bruised Dao Guardian, Zhong Sheng, stepped out from the boundless void. Wearing a fawning smile, he scurried up to Qi Lao'er and began his flattery.

"Lord Palace Master, your foresight is truly extraordinary to have placed your bets on Her Majesty the Empress."

"Now that Her Majesty has earned the recognition of our Divine Flame Imperial Palace's Extreme Dao Imperial Weapon, she only needs to advance her cultivation slightly to have hope of refining it. When that day comes, won't the other Palace Masters meet their imminent doom!"

Qi Lao'er stroked his sparse beard, the corners of his lips curling upwards as smugness swelled in his heart.

He hadn't initially intended to involve himself in this palace strife. But there was no helping it; since Chu Chen had thrown himself onto the board, he, as the Master, could only follow his disciple onto this pirate ship.

Fortunately, judging by the current trajectory, this pirate ship was bound to yield unexpected bounties.

"Lord Palace Master, it is not that your subordinate, Zhong Sheng, is speaking out of turn, but you coddle Chu Chen far too much."

Previously, due to Chu Chen's reckless actions, Zhong Sheng, acting as his Dao Guardian, had nearly been slaughtered and refined by Geng Yan. He still harbored a grudge, so he seized every opportunity to wag his tongue and sow discord before Qi Lao'er.

"Just look at that brat-he comes and goes as he pleases in your presence, and he doesn't even kneel in greeting. Where is there any trace of a disciple..."

Boom!!

Before Zhong Sheng could finish his sentence, a terrifying Pressure that made the very void tremble descended from the heavens. It instantly crushed Zhong Sheng into the floorboards, accompanied by the sickening crunch of fracturing flesh and bone.

The moment Zhong Sheng opened his mouth, he violently coughed up mouthfuls of blood, cutting a miserable figure.

"If you also possessed a Top Grade Five-Element Full Spiritual Root, this old man would allow you to be just as insolent in my presence. But do you?!"

"If you dare flap your tongue again, this old man will physically rip it out by the roots!"

Watching Zhong Sheng beg incessantly, snot and tears streaming down his face as his murky old eyes swam with terror, Qi Lao'er let out a cold snort. With a wave of his sleeve, he retracted the terrifying Saint King realm Pressure.

Had he delayed even a fraction of a second longer, there was no doubt that Zhong Sheng's old bones would have been crushed into a bloody paste, completely dead.

"Zhong Sheng, as a Dao Guardian, you must understand your duty!"

Glaring at the trembling Zhong Sheng as he crawled up from the floor, Qi Lao'er issued another warning:

"You must protect Chu Chen's safety even at the cost of your own life. Even if you must die, you will die before Chu Chen does, otherwise..."

Although Qi Lao'er left the threat hanging, the razor-sharp Killing Intent permeating the grand hall made Zhong Sheng shudder violently. He instantly dropped to his knees, kowtowing like a pounding pestle:

"This subordinate understands! This subordinate understands!!"

Qi Lao'er waved his hand impatiently, closing his murky eyes as he seemingly plotted his next move:

"Get lost! Ensure Chu Chen's absolute safety in Shenhuo City!!"

...

Inside the secret chamber of Chaos Peak.

Chu Chen sat cross-legged on a woven mat, surrounded by dense fire-attribute Spirit Qi. The Top Grade fire spiritual root within his body burst with a dazzling, red-agate brilliance, blinding to the eye.

"Eight Desolations Flame Palm, strike!"

As the fire-attribute Spirit Qi in his body surged to its zenith, Chu Chen circulated the technique and struck out with his palm.

Raging flames erupted from his palm, coalescing into a massive, illusory palm print that rapidly expanded against the wind.

Boom!!

The illusory palm print violently slammed into the secret chamber's heavy stone doors. In the next instant, the sturdy stone was riddled with spiderweb cracks before shattering into over a hundred pieces.

Even more terrifyingly, the raging flames that dissipated from the illusory print continued to incinerate the stone fragments into fine ash, inflicting a secondary wave of devastating damage.

"As expected of my wife's technique. The Eight Desolations Flame Palm packs quite the punch. With this trip to the Shenhuo City auction, I've gained another life-saving trump card."

After departing the Red King Palace, Chu Chen hadn't immediately set off for Shenhuo City. Instead, he returned to his Chaos Peak to comprehend the Eight Desolations Flame Palm technique.

Having lived two lives, Chu Chen deeply understood one truth.

That is, a man can be wild.

He can be arrogant.

Being cocky is fine too.

But he must have the corresponding strength.

Without strength, acting wild, arrogant, or cocky-wasn't that just courting death???

The Eight Desolations Flame Palm was a Saint-grade technique. It wasn't that Empress Lin Shuwang was stingy or lacked higher-tier arts.

Rather, Chu Chen, resting merely at the Essence Condensation Realm, was already pushing his absolute limits just by comprehending a Saint-grade technique. Furthermore, he could only unleash one or two-tenths of the Eight Desolations Flame Palm's true might.

To fully manifest the terror of this technique, he would need to at least break through to the Divine Fire Realm and ignite his Divine Flame.

But even so, it was already extremely terrifying.

"Youwei, I'm going out. Remember to clean up the secret chamber."

Standing up and brushing the dust from his robes, Chu Chen spoke calmly as he watched Yu Youwei come sprinting over in a panic, her eyes fixed on the shattered stone door.

"Yes... yes, Master!"

Yu Youwei quickly regained her composure and grace, bowing deeply to Chu Chen.

Leaving Chaos Peak, Chu Chen retrieved an Essence Condensation Realm flying sword Dharma Treasure from his Storage Ring and initiated Sword Riding toward Shenhuo City.

The Star-Fall Sword was a genuine Saint artifact; it was far too conspicuous, completely clashing with Chu Chen's low-key, restrained nature.

Having broken through to the Essence Condensation Realm Ninth Heaven, the true essence within his body was incredibly vast, allowing him to manipulate flying sword Dharma Treasures for short-distance flight.

Just as he arrived at the mountain gates of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace, Chu Chen ran headlong into Saintess Zhang Ke'er, who was rushing to intercept him.

"Chu Chen! Don't run! Don't run!!"

The moment Zhang Ke'er spotted Chu Chen, her eyes sparkled. Seeing that he intended to slip away, she instantly unleashed her Spirit Communication Realm cultivation, sealing off the space dozens of meters around him.

"Hmph, fleeing the moment you see this Saintess? Am I really that terrifying?"

"Spit it out! Are you heading down the mountain to attend the Shenhuo City auction? This Saintess wants to go too, and you have to take me!!"

"And, and, just how far have you and my Empress Master progressed? Have you two already rolled in the sheets..."

"..."

Chu Chen massaged his temples before slapping a hand over Zhang Ke'er's mouth.

If he let this brat keep spouting nonsense, he, Chu Chen, would quickly become the public enemy of the entire Divine Flame Imperial Palace.

However, facing a Spirit Communication Realm Zhang Ke'er, the Essence Condensation Realm Chu Chen couldn't possibly shake her off without employing some underhanded methods.

Yet, before Chu Chen could make a move, the void ahead shattered. Dao Guardian Zhong Sheng materialized out of thin air, his back bent and his face plastered with a fawning, apologetic smile.

"Lady Saintess, please quell your anger~ Quell your anger~"

"If you have grievances, take them out on this old man's bones. Please do not make things difficult for my Red King Palace's precious Chu Chen~"

Having been thoroughly beaten into line by Qi Lao'er, Zhong Sheng clearly understood his position. The moment he saw Chu Chen cornered, he emerged to the rescue.

But the opposition was the Saintess of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace. She possessed both strength and backing; she could not be offended lightly.

Thus, Zhong Sheng could only play the peacemaker, offending neither side while swallowing all the bitterness himself.

As he spoke, Zhong Sheng waved his hand. A Saint-grade Pressure surged into the heavens, effortlessly dissolving the spatial lockdown Zhang Ke'er had erected.

"Chu Chen, you... how can you carry a Great Saint around as a personal bodyguard?"

"You're cheating! You're shameless! You're playing dirty!"

With Zhong Sheng's intervention, the tables instantly turned. Bound by spatial laws and unable to twitch a muscle, Zhang Ke'er could only feign ferocity as she spat out threats:

"Chu Chen, if you dare leave this Saintess behind, this Saintess will..."

"I will air out every dirty little secret between you and my Master! Every single one of them..."

Chu Chen pinched the bridge of his nose.

This little brat was truly...

When she threw a tantrum, she'd even sell out her own Empress Master~

"You can tag along, but you must obey my arrangements in all things. Otherwise..."

Deciding that avoiding trouble was better than courting it, and noting the growing crowd of onlookers gathering at the mountain gates, Chu Chen ultimately compromised.

"Hehe~ Don't worry about it."

"You're my Master's man. Even my Master listens to you, so how could I possibly disobey you~"

Hearing Chu Chen agree to take her, Zhang Ke'er happily broke free from the spatial restraints, intimately looping her arms around his and dancing with joy.

Chu Chen shook his head, directing his flying sword as he resumed his journey toward Shenhuo City.

He glanced at Saintess Zhang Ke'er hugging his left side, as obedient and docile as a personal maidservant.

Then he glanced at Zhong Sheng trailing closely on his right, as respectful and reverent as an old slave.

Chu Chen's face was a mask of utter helplessness.

He had genuinely wanted to keep a low profile on this excursion, but this...

A Saintess as a maidservant, a Great Saint as a slave.

How could he still remain low-key?