Chapter 440: Preparation

Rumble!

Above the giant wall, cracks spread like spiderwebs, and countless fragments of stone fell away at this moment.

It was almost instantaneous.

Inside a cultivation room of the Xiaoyang City Military Guard.

The little nun Zongbo, who had been keeping her eyes closed, opened them.

"How is this possible?!"

Astonishment still lingered in her eyes, and in the next instant, her entire body became illusory, flying all the way to the sky above the Thunder-Strike Treasure Land.

Within the void, a slender figure stood quietly; his face was handsome, and his eyes were a mix of clarity and depth.

"Zongbo." Chen Yan spoke, carrying a hint of a smile.

"Chen Yan, you, you, you, you...!"

The Great Zongbo wore an expression of complete disbelief.

On the ground, the Thunder-Strike Treasure Land was as it always was, but all around it, local residents were setting off fireworks.

They had come for the Divine General, unaware that the Divine General had already emerged from seclusion.

Chen Yan wore a smile, yet a trace of coldness surfaced in the depths of his eyes.

He looked into the ends of the veins and saw that Jiang Yuan had encountered some trouble over there.

Chen Yan was somewhat angry.

The reason Chen Yan came out tonight was also because he had learned of this matter.

Otherwise, Chen Yan would have liked to cultivate for a few more days.

He had gained some insights into the patterns on the Child Lamp.

It was a divine skill named 【Calamity Corpse Thousand Shadow Kill】.

However, because of the information transmitted from the ends of the veins, Chen Yan came out anyway.

Before long.

Inside a cultivation room.

Chen Yan and the Great Zongbo sat cross-legged, and before them were two light screens, respectively projecting the figures of the State Master Xia Qi and the Xia Moon King Xia Hanzhou.

"I didn't expect there to be a technique to break the General-Bestowal Thunder Tribulation." Xia Hanzhou sighed; he had thought that the next time he saw Chen Yan would be ten years later.

No matter how good Chen Yan's aptitude was or how strong his will, his cultivation speed within the Thunder-Strike Treasure Land would not be very fast.

After all, the fastest way for a martial artist to become strong is through combat, followed by absorbing precious medicines.

But Chen Yan was different; Chen Yan also needed to walk among the human world.

How could a Master of the Martial Dao not experience the human world?

The General-Bestowal Thunder Tribulation provided protection for Chen Yan, but it also suppressed Chen Yan's growth rate.

"Since that is the case, General Yan shall be protected by the Great Zongbo and come to Jin Province; I will prepare the General-Bestowal Ceremony for General Yan in Jin Province."

Xia Qi spoke with a somewhat withered aura; he was now sitting in a wheelchair, his face pale, with pitch-black cracks appearing on his body.

The path of will had indeed extended Xia Qi's life, but the Imperial Calamity within Xia Qi's body could not be completely erased by the strength of Xia Qi's Word Realm.

Chen Yan could also perceive some of the terrors of the Imperial Calamity through the Martial Dao veins.

Even the current Chen Yan dared not make contact with it.

Xia Qi, however, smiled indifferently.

Now that Chen Yan had emerged from seclusion, he was a Divine General.

It was just a pity that his current strength was insufficient, and the Continent Brightness could not descend with Divine Armor for Chen Yan.

"Many thanks for the State Master's kindness." Chen Yan spoke:

"But a Divine General is merely a title; if one lacks the ability, even the grandest title is hollow."

Chen Yan had a clear self-awareness regarding himself.

The world could praise him and view him as a Divine General.

But he himself could not; no matter how good a reputation was, if it lacked the ability to support it, it was also fake.

Xia Qi nodded; what Chen Yan said made sense, and at the same time, he felt a surge of emotion.

Xia Hanzhou looked at Chen Yan and smiled:

"Why not go to the Moshan Pass in Ji Province? My Xia Clan's Longevity King has already led the army to fight there over these past few months, and many of your good friends are there as well.

There is also a complete military merit system there, which is most suitable for one's tempering."

Chen Yan nodded; that was his plan as well.

"If General Yan appears in Ji Province, I fear it will draw the Eighth-Rankers of the Five Clans to kill you." Xia Qi said softly.

Xia Hanzhou said nothing.

The strong are forged through killing and tempered through hardship.

As for some stories where the protagonist lives in seclusion among the people, cultivates quietly, and then displays peak combat power with decisive killing—

That is simply a fantasy.

Chen Yan was destined to face the peak powerhouses of the world; he still had one chance at immortality, and the Xia Clan would also provide protection.

Actually, there was no need to worry about anything.

Xia Qi pondered, also thinking of these things, and spoke:

"General Yan, what identity do you intend to use?"

"Bing Yi." Chen Yan spoke, not avoiding the Great Zongbo.

"Bing Yi?" The Great Zongbo was stunned; Bing Yi had appeared long ago, why would Chen Yan want to disguise himself as Bing Yi?

"Great Zongbo." Xia Qi smiled:

"Yanjian's other identity is Bing Yi; the one from the Five Clans is a fake."

"What?!" the Grand Proctor said, stunned:

"He even cultivates Qi and blood?"

Time passed slowly, and the four of them discussed what to do next.

Old Chi arrived, bringing a young man with him.

"He is a collateral descendant of my Chi Prefecture, named Chi An."

The young man named Chi An was somewhat trembling; upon seeing Chen Yan, he became even more nervous.

This was a Divine General, after all.

A Divine General, actually appearing before him.

He felt as if he were about to faint.

"Chi An, after this matter is over, you go to Jin Prefecture," Old Chi said:

"Jin Prefecture will give you the best treatment."

"Okay!" Chi An nodded heavily.

Afterwards, the Grand Proctor waved a hand, and wisps of blood spilled from Chi An's fingertips; Chen Yan exerted his Qi and blood, injecting this blood into his own fingertips.

Chi An's complexion turned somewhat pale, and then he fainted directly.

After Old Chi fed Chi An a blood-replenishing pill, he looked at Chen Yan:

"Chen Yan, I can only represent my own lineage, but if war breaks out in the future, I hope you will show mercy to my lineage."

Old Chi's expression was somewhat somber, and his heart was even more conflicted at this moment.

He had not expected Chen Yan to grow to this extent.

Chen Yan looked at Old Chi, knowing that the other party belonged to Chi Mi's lineage.

Back then, Chi Mi, Xia Hanzhou, Shen Keqing, and Lu Xunyang were good friends, and Chi Mi's lineage was also closer to the Xia clan.

After Chi Mi became an Ancient Divine Beast and entered the Ancient Divine Forbidden Land, Old Chi, as Chi Mi's steward, was sent by Chi Mi's father to the Great Xia's Tianbei Fist Tournament to secretly contact Lu Xunyang.

Later, Lu Xunyang entered the Ancient Divine Forbidden Land, and his fate remained unknown.

Old Chi went to Yunmeng to secretly protect Shen Yiwei, while simultaneously researching a method to reverse malice with Shen Keqing at the Heaven's Pride Trial Grounds.

"Rest assured, Old Chi, Old Chi has helped me a great deal.

Yan will not forget it."

Chen Yan said quietly.

"Good!" Old Chi smiled and sighed deeply.

Afterwards, Chen Yan took out a sub-lamp of the Evil Remains Divine Lamp; Chen Yan had previously used one, which recorded his aura and then logged him onto the Five Clans Ranking.

But the problem was that the sub-lamp of the Evil Remains Divine Lamp could record auras, which would bring danger to Chen Yan.

Therefore, Chen Yan needed to use another sub-lamp to log in with a different identity.

"This is a good thing; inside the mother lamp of the Evil Remains Divine Lamp are hidden vast amounts of precious medicines, which are massive resources jointly deposited by the Five Clans.

As long as you defeat the Heaven's Prides on the Five Clans Ranking, the sub-lamp can dispense precious medicines," the Grand Proctor laughed.

"What if I kill them?" Chen Yan asked.

"If you kill them, the Evil Remains Divine Lamp will still release precious medicines, but it will also release malice and generate a powerful suction force.

In essence, the Evil Remains Divine Lamp does not encourage Heaven's Prides to kill each other," the Grand Proctor replied.

Chen Yan's eyes flashed; there was such a good thing?

Malice, a poison in the eyes of others, was but sweet dew in the eyes of him, Chen Yan.

"The Evil Remains Divine Lamp is, after all, the third-ranked divine artifact in the world; can one person really log in with two identities at the same time?" Chen Yan asked again.

"The Evil Remains Divine Lamp is a divine artifact, but the sub-lamp is not, and what I am going to use is also a divine artifact to interfere with the sub-lamp's perception."

The Grand Proctor spoke, and the next moment, with a wave of a hand, a jade ruler appeared in her palm.

The jade ruler was crystal clear throughout, as if carved from the purest mutton-fat white jade.

Inside it were dots of starlight, as if it were a miniature star itself.

"Starry Sky Ruler!" Old Chi exclaimed.

"Mm, the excavation of the Thunder Strike Treasure Land relied on the Starry Sky Ruler; the Starry Sky Ruler can change the rules within a certain range, and can even allow the user to achieve the ability of 'words becoming law'," the Grand Proctor said:

"However, using it once will also cause the user to suffer a certain amount of backlash."

Just as Chen Yan was about to say something, the little nun Grand Proctor revealed a set of white teeth and smiled:

"However, I am very strong; if I encounter backlash, I'll just sleep it off."

As she spoke, the Grand Proctor chanted secret texts, and streaks of starlight emerged from the Starry Sky Ruler, injecting into this sub-lamp.

The entire cultivation room dimmed instantly, as if grand whispers had traveled across the river of time to arrive.

After a long while, the Grand Proctor's face turned pale, and black smoke emerged from the sub-lamp in front of Chen Yan, drifting toward Chen Yan to establish a connection.

"Activate Chi An's blood," the Grand Proctor said:

"The Starry Sky Ruler itself can only blur the perception of this sub-lamp to a certain extent; if you are not a member of the Five Clans, you still cannot be recognized as the master by the sub-lamp.

The aura on your body is a mixture of Chen Yan's and Chi An's auras; the sub-lamp will think you are the offspring of a Chen clan member and a Chi clan member."

Chen Yan nodded and activated the blood belonging to Chi An from his fingertips; soon, a new authentication connection was established.

"Thy name!"

A grand voice resounded from the sub-lamp.

Chen Yan's eyes flickered:

"Chi Yi."

"Recognition confirmed, Chi bloodline, Chen bloodline, Chi Yi, recognized!"

Subsequently, the connection was established.

Nothing happened; the Grand Ancestral Elder took out a list.

Chen Yan took a glance; this was the Five Clans List, divided into three sub-lists.

They were the first tier, the second tier, and the third tier, respectively.

Chen Yan first swept his gaze toward the first tier.

First rank: Chen Yunyou.

Second rank: Ji Chuxi.

Third rank:...

Chen Yan did not see anyone he recognized; these must be the top geniuses within the Five Clans.

Chen Yan continued looking and saw the second-tier list.

First rank: Chen Changyuan.

Chen Yan's eyes narrowed slightly; he saw a name that disgusted him.

Nowadays, the Aristocratic Family Alliance had been purged, and the Luo Chen lineage had been beheaded or punished as appropriate.

But the head of the Luo Chen family, that Invincible Child Chen Changyuan, had not only survived.

Now, he had actually managed to infiltrate the Five Clans.

Chen Changyuan was an extremely vigilant person; after the Thunder Strike Treasure Land appeared, he left Xiaoyang directly and did not participate in this event he could not predict.

If he had been in Xiaoyang, he would definitely be a corpse by now.

A murderous intent surged in Chen Yan's heart.

If this person were not killed, it would be unjustifiable.

He continued looking: second tier, second rank, Lu Lingxu.

Third rank, Chen Yan.

Chen Yan was the third rank of the second tier.

Subsequently, Chen Yan looked at the third tier.

The first name made Chen Yan narrow his eyes again.

First rank, Yu Yi.

This was that Five Clans member who had disguised himself as Bing Yi.

The Yu Clan—this was the first time Chen Yan had seen a member of the Yu Clan.

It was said that he had already gone to the Lu Clan and become an honored guest of the Lu Clan.

Over these past few months, he had also shone brilliantly; he was not far from entering the second tier.

Why did the other party want to disguise himself as Bing Yi?

Chen Yan noted this name down and continued looking downward.

Second rank, Ji Kong.

Third rank: Lu Fulin.

…………

Thirty-sixth rank: Chen Xinwen.

…………

Forty-seventh rank: Chen Min.

Chen Yan actually knew who this Chen Xinwen was.

Chen Yu.

Over these past few months, Chen Yu had made extremely rapid progress through the various treasure lands prepared by Ji Yannian before his death.

The Child Lamp could determine that Chen Yu was a member of the Chen Clan, but the name could be fabricated by oneself.

There were also people in the Chen Clan trying every possible way to contact Chen Yu, but Chen Yu was very clever and had repeatedly avoided the people from the Chen Clan.

Chen Yan stood up; it was time to set off.

He pushed open the room door, and there was a sound of firecrackers outside.

Tonight was New Year's Eve; it was time to go home and take a look, then head to the front lines.

Chen Yan looked at the end of the pulse network again; he estimated the time, and it was about time to take action.

After speaking a bit more with Elder Chi and the Grand Ancestral Elder, Chen Yan flew away directly.

…………

At the same time.

Tie Province.

A figure stood in the void; he wore black clothes and a white mask on his face.

Yu Yi.

No, the world now called him Bing Yi.

In three months, he had gone from first entering the Five Clans to now being the first rank of the third tier on the Five Clans List.

Yu Yi's progress was extremely rapid, making him a heaven-gifted genius rising quickly within the Five Clans, second only to Chen Changyuan and Jiang Yuan.

Yu Yi was communicating, and another voice came from the communication array disk.

"Yu Yi, I will contact you later; at that time, we will attack Jiang Yuan together."

Yu Yi's eyes flickered slightly:

"Ji Kong, Jiang Yuan is a heaven-gifted genius currently valued by your Ji Clan; are you sure you want to take action against him?"

On the other side of the communication array disk was none other than Ji Kong of the Ji Clan, second in line of the third echelon.

"I have long suspected Jiang Yuan; many of our secret operations in Jizhou have been discovered by the Xia Clan in advance, and Jiang Yuan is the most suspicious."

"If the mission to capture Chen Yuhu fails again this time, Jiang Yuan is definitely the mole!"

Yu Yi nodded:

"I understand; don't forget to give me what you owe me."

"Very well," Ji Kong said indifferently.