Chapter 118

Having had enough fun, Li Chen, this 'NPC', began to distribute tasks to the courtiers.

There was a massive wild boar demon nearby, which Li Chen designated as the reward target; whoever hunted it down would receive points as a reward.

Grand General Guo Guo Po Yun charged forward first, and the nearby military generals also tried their best to catch up.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sound of arrows tearing through the air continued, and the wild boar demon was soon shot into a hedgehog demon.

With Guo Guo Po Yun's final strike, the wild boar demon's massive body fell to the ground.

Guo Guo Po Yun had effectively completed the task Li Chen had issued.

The courtiers nearby were also well-versed in 'human relationships and worldly wisdom'.

No one actually intended to steal the credit for the first strike from him; they were all just providing assists.

But for the ones that followed, they were going to start competing.

The most outrageous one to compete was none other than Pang Jin, the Minister of Justice.

Pang Jin shot and killed five demonic beasts designated by Li Chen in a row, making Guo Guo Po Yun lose face.

"Minister Pang, you intend to participate in the Northern Expedition, don't you?"

Guo Guo Po Yun felt that this kid was going too far; stealing one or two was fine, but stealing five in a row—if he didn't say anything, the people nearby would start cursing him.

"General Guo, please calm your anger; this official was merely acting on instinct, I ask for General Guo's understanding."

Pang Jin was, after all, a newly promoted courtier, and he also wanted to show off his skills in front of Li Chen.

Besides, everyone felt he was a close minister to Li Chen; how could he not perform at a time like this?

Those who had read Pang Jin's file knew that this guy was from a family of hunters, possessed innate talent, and could kill powerful demonic beasts above his level at a young age, even becoming famous in his local area.

In a place like this, he was fighting on his home turf; he was extremely professional, and no one understood hunting better than him.

In fact, saying it was instinct wasn't a lie; he could draw his bow and shoot even with his eyes closed.

However, as a courtier, one could not steal Li Chen's thunder, so he had never dared to play like that.

But then again, those few arrows of Li Chen's, especially the 'blind shot' into the sky, were probably something even he couldn't do.

After Pang Jin stopped stealing the credit, others slowly began to obtain prey.

Not long after, Li Chen arrived near the first 'trap'.

This trap was designed by the Second Imperial Prince, Li Xian; as long as Li Chen led his team inside, various poisonous mechanisms would fire simultaneously, and if he were hit by even one, Li Chen's life would be in jeopardy.

Xu Zifeng had tracked the Second Imperial Prince last time and naturally knew there was a trap here, so he deliberately slowed his horse's speed when he reached this spot, wanting to see Li Chen make a fool of himself.

But who would have known that Li Chen would suddenly speak up: "Where is Xu Zifeng!"

Xu Zifeng was slightly stunned, then rode his horse to Li Chen, dismounted, and said: "This official is here!"

He didn't know what Li Chen meant by calling him.

Then Li Chen pointed at the rabbit demon ahead and said: "That rabbit demon is extremely fast; I have long heard that the Prince of Zhennan's heir has top-tier hunting skills—go and catch it for me!"

Hearing Li Chen say this, the surrounding officials were envious; this was a designated task, and others couldn't steal it even if they wanted to.

Xu Zifeng was completely dumbfounded; wasn't that where the Second Imperial Prince had set the trap? Why did this dog Emperor send me? Could it be that he saw something?

But the problem was, it wasn't set by me—go find the Second Imperial Prince, why are you bothering me? Could it be that this dog Emperor wants to use the Second Imperial Prince's hand to finish me off?

With the entire court watching, Xu Zifeng couldn't defy Li Chen's words and could only bite the bullet and agree.

He rode his horse and had Ma Hei go with him to catch the rabbit demon.

Ma Hei understood the situation; he had also set up trap formations here yesterday.

In the process of catching the rabbit demon, Ma Hei directly activated his formation, destroying the Second Imperial Prince's formation.

Relying on his mid-stage Six Realms Realm cultivation, the addition of his innate divine strength, and his superb archery, Xu Zifeng instantly shot the rabbit demon and brought the prey back without any danger.

He thought to himself: You want to finish me off with this? You guys are still too green!

Xu Zifeng still couldn't analyze why Li Chen had sent him, only finding it strange; perhaps it was a coincidence.

In fact, the reason was simple: this time it was Xu Zifeng's aunt who had begged Li Chen for the opportunity.

Li Chen had obtained the map from Xiao Ming after he tracked the Second Imperial Prince, so he naturally knew there was a pit ahead.

He sent Xu Zifeng to step into the pit, and who would have known that Xu Zifeng would actually be fine.

It was clear that the dark-skinned guy beside Xu Zifeng was an expert.

In the following process, Li Chen let Xu Zifeng step into all of the Second Imperial Prince's pits, and Xu Zifeng knew that this was no coincidence—it was intentional.

It was fortunate that he had also tracked the Second Imperial Prince that day; otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he died today.

Thinking that Li Chen was deliberately trying to kill him, his hatred for Li Chen grew a few notches.

He even began to suspect if the Second Imperial Prince and Li Chen were colluding to finish him off; otherwise, how could such a thing happen?

However, while thinking, he arrived at a reasonable deduction: he wasn't the only one who tracked the Second Imperial Prince last time; there was also a mysterious person.

That was Xiao Ming, who had fought Xu Zifeng, though he didn't know Xiao Ming's true identity.

Then it was reasonable for Li Chen to know about the Second Imperial Prince setting traps; Li Chen wanted to use these traps to deal with him, but he had found out in advance.

This was the power of him being the Son of Destiny.

The Second Imperial Prince in the shadows was also shocked; how did it feel like both Li Chen and Xu Zifeng knew!

Could the mysterious expert discovered by Feng Wuhen be their person?

How could they possibly be in cahoots!

"Second Highness, what do we do now?"

Feng Wuhen whispered, because all the traps they had set had been destroyed.

"We can only wait for Master to make a move."

Li Xian said this without confidence; after all, his master was too elusive and didn't act with them, so he didn't know where Lord Dingtian was.

On the other side, Lord Dingtian saw this and was secretly glad he hadn't acted with Li Xian.

He knew the locations of the traps Li Xian had set, but now that they were all destroyed, didn't that prove Li Xian hadn't hidden them well?

If he had told Li Xian his plan, wouldn't the Emperor have known as well?

The trap 'Tianyan Seal God Formation' set by Lord Dingtian was in the seemingly harmless area ahead.

The strength of this formation lay in its ability to forcibly trap a designated target, while others couldn't enter at all.

At this moment, Master Yu was near Lord Dingtian; as soon as Lord Dingtian successfully activated the formation, Master Yu would make a move.

And Lady Youlan was hiding in an even more concealed place, waiting for Lord Dingtian's signal.

Master Yu didn't even know of Lady Youlan's existence.

Once Lord Dingtian activated the formation, there would only be four people in this area, and all of them were in the Sage Realm!

As the hunting party slowly approached, the Emperor, riding a divine steed and wearing light golden dragon armor, appeared before Lord Dingtian and the others.

The moment Lady Youlan saw Li Chen, she was incredibly surprised—wasn't this the young Sage Realm expert who had been eating with her for the past few days!

At the time, she had guessed that Li Chen might be the Emperor, but after tracking him to the Prince of Zhenan's residence, she thought Li Chen was one of the Prince of Zhenan's men.

The silver lining in the misfortune was that she hadn't invited Li Chen to participate in this operation; otherwise, she would have told Li Chen the news directly.

Having to make a move against Li Chen this time, Lady Youlan did feel some emotion, but she had no hesitation; she was a woman of the sect, and also Lord Dingtian's dao companion, so her stance was firm.

Different paths, no common ground, that was all.

When the time came to make a move, Lady Youlan didn't intend to show mercy.

As Li Chen got closer and closer, Lord Dingtian struck ferociously!

He formed seals with both hands and shouted loudly!

Open!

In an instant, the heavens and earth seemed to be shaken by an invisible force.

In the sky, dark clouds gathered and thunder roared, as if even the gods above the nine heavens were trembling at the activation of this formation.

On the ground, a powerful energy instantly descended, tightly wrapping Li Chen's hunting party within it.

The energy fluctuations were so intense that even space was torn apart by them.

Li Chen only felt a blur before his eyes, and his figure had been suddenly pulled into that mysterious formation.

He looked around, only to see chaos before him, with countless runes and light intertwining and colliding in the void, emitting deafening sounds.

Seeing this, the surrounding courtiers exclaimed in alarm; the thing they feared most had happened after all.

But no matter how they channeled their spiritual power to attack, they couldn't cause even the slightest damage to the formation.

The formation seemed to be an invisible barrier, isolating them from Li Chen.

Just then, a figure slowly walked out from the chaos—it was none other than Lord Dingtian.

He was dressed in black robes with a cold expression, his brow revealing a supreme arrogance. He looked at Li Chen, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold sneer as he spoke slowly: "Li Chen, I did not wish to be your enemy, but my disciple Li Xian is determined to be Emperor, so I have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure."

Lord Dingtian's voice carried helplessness and a hint of a sigh.

It was as if he were ashamed to do this, but had no other choice.

Li Chen felt that this guy was simply being hypocritical—he had already launched a sneak attack, yet he was still putting on an act.

Sensing the powerful spiritual energy on the Lord Dingtian before him, he figured this great formation must have been activated by him.

Listening to his words, he must be the Second Imperial Prince's master, Lord Dingtian.

Some sect expert? In my eyes, he's nothing more than this.

There were three ways to break the formation.

First, find the formation eye and destroy it, and the formation would naturally shatter.

Second, eliminate the formation setter, and the formation would naturally be unable to activate.

Third, use a formation to counter a formation; as long as it was stronger than the opponent's formation, the opponent couldn't control you.

!

Li Chen was already prepared for the third method—he would directly activate the nearby 'Long Yin Zixiao Divine Formation'!

Li Chen was not a man who liked to talk nonsense; this was his first time fighting a Sage Realm expert, so he would go all out.

I've also set up a formation, so let's see whose formation is tougher!

Seeing Li Chen continuously channeling his spiritual power, his aura rising crazily, the stance that he was about to make a move was unmistakable.

Lord Dingtian's expression grew serious, because he knew he had to finish Li Chen off quickly; he was still maintaining the formation, and dragging it out would do him no good.

And within this formation, Lord Dingtian had an absolute advantage!

The guy on the other side is ruthless and doesn't talk much, but this old man isn't a pushover either!

As Li Chen's aura continued to climb, Lord Dingtian's expression grew increasingly serious.

He was shocked to discover that another terrifying formation had erupted around this Emperor, colliding with his own formation!

A formation within a formation!

He wants to use a formation to override mine!

Could it be that this guy had also set up a formation in advance?

There was no time to think; in order to continue trapping Li Chen, Lord Dingtian continued to channel the Tianyan Seal God Formation to suppress Li Chen's formation.

With the collision of the formations, for a time, the earth shook and the mountains swayed, and the heavens and earth began to crumble!

People nearby fled for their lives; they knew His Majesty the Emperor had begun to get angry, and they had felt this terrifying aura before!

A battle of this level was not something ordinary people like them could get involved in, even Ma Hei was fleeing for his life.

Inside the formation within a formation, Li Chen pointed to the sky, and purple energy continuously poured into the firmament, revealing the power to destroy the world!

At this moment, Li Chen was like an endless galaxy and ocean, while the heavens and earth were like a small stream.

Above the nine heavens, dragon and snake phantoms appeared, a heaven-and-earth anomaly!

Endless divine might shook the heavens and earth, causing the firmament to begin to sway.

A massive purple divine dragon slowly gathered at the peak of the firmament!

That terrifying momentum was enough to suppress the heavens and earth!

As Li Chen activated the formation, this purple divine dragon seemed to come alive; it tossed and roared in the air, releasing endless dragon might.

Seeing that the formation had reached its limit, Li Chen pointed a finger, seemingly giving a target to the purple divine dragon above the nine heavens—it was none other than Lord Dingtian before him.

As the purple divine dragon spat out that energy capable of blasting mountains and rivers into dust.

Boom!

The powerful energy fluctuations instantly pierced through the Tianyan Seal God Formation maintained by Lord Dingtian!

Wherever this energy passed, space seemed to be torn apart, leaving behind shocking cracks.

After the bombardment, a huge crater appeared on the ground, with dust flying and rubble scattering around it.

And the bottom of the crater was even more terrifying, with residual energy crackling like lightning, flashing with heart-palpitating light.

Lord Dingtian, this once-arrogant sect expert, was now standing not far away with a look of lingering fear.

His clothes were tattered and his hair disheveled; where was there any sign of an expert? He was simply a defeated dog who had just escaped the brink of death.

Lord Dingtian's eyes were filled with shock; if he hadn't run fast, the bombardment of that divine dragon just now would have almost cost him his life.

He looked at Li Chen opposite him with even more terrified eyes—something wasn't right; wasn't this guy just reaching the Sage Realm? Does this power look like someone who just reached the Sage Realm?

Just as Lord Dingtian was re-evaluating Li Chen's strength, a single sentence from Li Chen almost shattered his dao heart.

Li Chen swept his gaze around and said: "Lord Dingtian, where are you hiding? Come out quickly; a mere clone won't be enough to deal with me!"

Lord Dingtian: "..."

If he didn't understand what Li Chen meant, he might not have felt there was anything to this sentence.

It was precisely because he understood that many experts would use clones to probe during battle.

Li Chen's words meant that the guy before him was as weak as a clone, which was why Lord Dingtian was shocked!

To have one's true self beaten to a pulp and then mocked as a clone—Lord Dingtian almost had a cerebral hemorrhage from anger.

Having roamed the continent for decades, this was the first time he had been humiliated like this.

Li Chen was simply riding on his face to show off.

The main thing was that Li Chen indeed had the capital to show off, treating Lord Dingtian's true self as a clone to be beaten.

Unable to take it, Lord Dingtian shouted, his body erupting with the might of the Great Dao.

He unleashed another of his trump cards: the Tianyan Heaven-Splitting Sword Art!

This was the unique skill of the Tianyan Tianyan Shen Zong!

Lord Dingtian suddenly drew the sword at his waist; a powerful sword glow suddenly appeared on the blade, like the first light of dawn on the horizon, dazzling and eye-catching.

Within that sword glow was contained a momentum capable of splitting the heavens and earth, as if it could cut through all obstacles in the world, causing even the heavens and earth to change color!

Now he was instead trapped within Li Chen's formation; he had to find a way to deal with Li Chen first, or the consequences would be unimaginable!

As the sword light arrived, Li Chen pointed slightly, and the purple divine dragon in the sky spat again.

The sword glow instantly dissipated, Lord Dingtian's sword shattered into slag, and he himself suffered a heavy blow, flying dozens of meters away, falling to the ground and vomiting blood incessantly!

This was the consequence of being trapped in someone else's formation; the person controlling the formation had a huge boost within it.

Lord Dingtian had wanted to bully Li Chen like this, but he hadn't expected to be bullied by Li Chen instead.

But Li Chen wasn't just bullying his body; he was bullying his spirit even more.

At this moment, Li Chen frowned as he looked at Lord Dingtian, who was like a defeated dog in the distance, and said solemnly: "You aren't really the true self, are you? Are you really this weak?"

That tone, which didn't sound like he was joking, made Lord Dingtian vomit another mouthful of blood.

This was simply maximizing the mockery!

Li Chen hadn't expected his opponent to be this weak either.

Lord Dingtian hadn't expected this new Emperor to be this strong.

Lord Dingtian had exerted a full twelve percent of his power in that last move, yet he had been directly blasted over by Li Chen.

If he hadn't had a protective magic treasure, he would have been crippled by that blow from Li Chen.

Lord Dingtian could even feel that his protective magic treasure had already developed cracks.

Lord Dingtian felt that even when he fought the extraterrestrial demons back in the day, it hadn't been this strenuous.

What is the background of this Emperor, to have such cultivation at such a young age?

Could it be that the 'Golden Age' has already begun?

It is said that during the Golden Age, various sacred bodies appear frequently, and heaven-defying geniuses are everywhere.

Only in such an era could countless top experts emerge to create a situation of tripartite confrontation!

The last Golden Age was in the ancient era; the continent had been silent for so long, and he hadn't heard of any monsters awakening recently!

Li Chen didn't know that Lord Dingtian was letting his imagination run wild with so many things.

Li Chen had brought a lot of gear to fight this 'same-level' expert.

He had even set up formations in advance.

Now it seemed that the gear on his body wouldn't be needed; he actually didn't need to activate the formation just now, as this guy didn't seem to be able to beat him anyway.

Am I too strong, or are the people in this world too weak?

Or perhaps, I haven't met a true expert?

Or perhaps, Lord Dingtian hasn't recovered from his injuries?

With this level of skill, don't tell me you're an expert of the current era!

It was fortunate that Li Chen didn't say these words out loud; otherwise, Lord Dingtian might have really died of anger.

But Lord Dingtian felt he hadn't lost yet; he still had one last trump card: the Soul-Controlling Needle.

He hadn't intended to use the Soul-Controlling Needle for a sneak attack; he had planned to beat Li Chen up and then forcibly control him with the needle to present the posture of an expert, but after being beaten up, he realized how high the sky was and how deep the earth was.

He just needed to find a way to get close to Li Chen, and he would still have a chance.

So he immediately channeled his spiritual power, calling for his two helpers in the shadows nearby.

Lady Youlan in the shadows felt her dao companion's call and was just preparing to make a move.

Master Yu appeared a step earlier; just as Lord Dingtian and Lady Youlan thought he was loyal, he knelt directly before Li Chen and said: "Commoner Yu Zhong, pays respects to Your Majesty.

Recently, this commoner learned that the Tianyan Tianyan Shen Zong Master, Lord Dingtian, had treasonous intentions, so I feigned collusion with him, but in reality, I was secretly acting as an inside agent for Your Majesty, intending to strike at the critical moment to share Your Majesty's burdens. Alas, Your Majesty is incomparably heroic, defeating this thief in one move. Your Majesty, killing him would dirty your hands; let this commoner execute this thief!"

Master Yu changed his face as soon as he spoke; if the people around didn't know his character, they would have almost believed that loyal minister act.

Lord Dingtian was stunned on the spot—you old thing, do you have any shame?

Yesterday you were drinking and laughing with me, talking about the earth and discussing the past and present.

You were even talking about how to deal with the Emperor, and today you're already a court dog?

Sensing Lord Dingtian's angry gaze, Master Yu didn't care.

Is shame important, or is life important?

I already said I only fight winning battles; your level is too poor, and you saw Li Chen's level—it's terrifying; if I go up, wouldn't I die too?

So I might as well just surrender before I make a move.

(End of chapter)