<h4>Chapter 1244: Secret of the Ghost Hou</h4>


    Blood flowed continuously from the stump of Yi Ling’s arm. He gritted his teeth and did not make a single sound.


    Then, a look of horror and suspicion shed in his eyes. He quickly retreated and demanded, “What exactly did you obtain in the Distant Sea Dragon Grave? To think that the might of the ghost Hou cannot even suppress you!”


    The ghost Hou was the nemesis of the Dragon Race. It should eat Dragons like they were earthworms. Even after it died, the might of the ghost Hou could still suppress the Dragon Race.


    “Don’t you want to exchange moves with me? We only exchanged one move so far. Brother Yi Ling, why are you running so fast?” Xiao Chen replied coldly while holding up his saber.


    A light flickered in Yi Ling’s eyes. “Don’t think that the ghost Hou is that simple. Even after losing one arm, I can still kill you!”


    Xiao Chen’s lips curled up in a smile as he retorted, “Even on your deathbed, you are still so stubborn. Do you think I have never seen the real ghost Hou before? Your ghost Hou is merely an image. You can forget about leaving alive before you spill all of the secrets of the ghost Hou!”


    Only now did Yi Ling’s expression change. The ghost Hou was the spirit of the Hou that died. All along, his father, the Treasure Master, controlled it. What Yi Ling had was indeed just an image of it. Unexpectedly, Xiao Chen managed to figure that out.


    Just as Xiao Chen was about to make another move, a sh of bright light rushed over at the speed of lightning.


    Loud rumbling rang out without pause like a vast army of horses and men rushing over. The aura was very majestic, bbergasting others. Xiao Chen felt like he stood on an ancient battlefield with countless mounted soldiers charging at him like the iing tide.


    Such momentum could sweep away mountains and rivers, unblockable!


    The golden war chariot! It’s that golden war chariot! Xiao Chen felt a chill in his heart as he retreated temporarily, dodging that light. This momentum was too ferocious and appeared too suddenly. In the time it took for lightning to sh, he quickly made the most rational decision.


    “Whoosh!”


    Yi Lingughed loudly and performed a somersault tond back on the golden war chariot. “The ghost Hou image is not what I rely on to travel the Dragon Grave Sea without fear. Brother Xiao, I will exact revenge for this arm at ater date!”


    To a regr person, losing one arm was as good as being half-crippled. However, Yi Ling had a father who was the richest person in the entire Heavenly Starry Ocean. Reconnecting one arm was nothing before the mysterious Treasure Master.


    Xiao Chen watched as Yi Ling sat on the war chariot and left, watching his best opportunity to learn the secrets of the ghost Hou disappear.


    He was infuriated and no longer cared about hiding his trump card from Yi Ling. With a thought, the Cycle Banner appeared in his hands. Then, he activated it with his Primordial Energy. The banner unfurled and moved like the waves, giving off the sound of a heavy surf.


    The entire sea started dancing together with the Cycle Banner. The vast, boundless sea seemed like a toy in Xiao Chen’s hand. Closely following that, space rippled like waves as well. Yi Ling’s lightning-fast war chariot also paused,ing to a temporary standstill.


    Now!


    Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes. In the time it took for a spark to fly, one-thousandth of the time it took for lightning to sh, he roared ferociously and hurled the Cycle Banner in his hand forward.


    Instantly, night fell. If one looked up, a starry sky would fill one’s vision.


    Following that, five-colored starlight representing Massacre, Death, Ruin, Despair, and Grief shone. In that one-thousandth of an instant, the Cycle Banner pierced the defense of the golden war chariot like a hot knife through butter, not encountering any resistance.


    The Cycle Banner thrust towards Yi Ling’s chest, startling him. In the nick of time, he moved his body to the side by a few centimeters, avoiding a fatal strike.


    “Pu ci!” Yi Ling let out an agonized shriek. The Cycle Banner had torn through his intact arm, severing it.


    Xiao Chen watched coldly as this happened. Keepughing. Now that I broke your other arm off, let’s see if you can keepughing.


    “Xiao Chen, I will not share the same skies as you. I will not rest until I take my revenge. Just you wait. On the day of your Great Tribtion of wind and fire, I, Yi Ling, will return this a hundred times over!”


    The hair of Yi Ling, who was on the war chariot, now appeared scattered and messy as he shouted crazily. He no longer showed the grace that he initially had.


    Will not share the same skies?


    Ten thousand years ago, the Azure Emperor killed the Hou, an ancient mutated beast. Ten thousand yearster, the mysterious Treasure Master grasped the ghost Hou soul. No matter what, Xiao Chen was already destined to be enemies with the Treasure Master’s line sooner orter.


    The conflict between the two was unresolvable. This conflict was even clearer than theplicated rtionship Xiao Chen had with Chu Chaoyun.


    Xiao Chen recalled the Cycle Banner. As he looked at the distant golden war chariot, he felt it was a pity.


    He was very interested in the ghost Hou. Jiang Tian once said that it was impossible for people to control the ghost Hou. It looked like he was very wrong.


    The mysterious Treasure Master, who controlled all the sea markets in the Heavenly Starry Ocean, was more mysterious than everyone imagined.


    Ao Jiao asked, Xiao Chen, are you not going to give chase?


    Xiao Chen shook his head and replied, “I can’t catch up. That golden war chariot is quite incredible. It is even faster than my flood dragon war chariot. Furthermore, even if I caught up, there is still a problem: I would not be able to make him stay.”


    Where to now? Directly back to the Heavenly Starry Ocean? Or stop over at Little Ba for a while?


    “Since we have to pass through the ck Sea, it is better to drop by at the me Rock Sovereign’s ce. I have to let him know personally that I obtained the Thunder Emperor’s inheritance.”


    While Ao Jiao dared to address the me Rock Sovereign as Little Ba, Xiao Chen did not. When traveling in the Distant Sea Dragon Grave, he finally got to see the strength of a Martial Emperor for himself.


    The strength of the red-haired Martial Emperor, a Second Heaven Martial Emperor, made Xiao Chen feel helpless. How much stronger was the me Rock Sovereign, a Sovereign Martial Emperor?


    ------


    Riding in the flood dragon war chariot, Xiao Chen arrived at Dark City once again half a monthter.


    In the past half month, he had not remained idle in the war chariot. Aside from opening the door of space and time to absorb Primordial Energy, he used Essence Stones to cultivate Heavenly Laws.


    Heavenly Laws were the root of cultivation. It was also the nutrient for Primordial Energy. While the door of space and time could be opened for only a limited time, one could not stop cultivating Heavenly Laws.


    Only by clearing nine tribtions and reaching Prime could one give up on the cultivation of Heavenly Laws, cultivating Primordial Energy without limit.


    Xiao Chen was already familiar with the way, so he arrived very quickly at the me Rock castle in Dark City. Unexpectedly, from a distance, he saw Ba Tu standing at the entrance, waiting for him.


    Ba Tuughed, “Haha! There is no need to feel that this is strange. My grandfather sensed your presence the moment you entered the Dark Sea and told me to wait here in advance.


    “Brother Xiao, quickly tell me how much you have improved. My grandfather said that not even one hundred of me could be a match for the current you. When I asked him why, he kept me in suspense. I’m dying of curiosity.”


    Xiao Chen smiled. There was nothing to hide before friends. Furthermore, this matter would spread sooner orter. So he answered honestly, “I managed toplete the Blood Sword Sovereign’s method for condensing a Heart of an Emperor in advance. Now, I’ve already condensed my Heart of an Emperor and advanced to Consummation quasi-Emperor. I only need to undergo the Great Tribtion of wind and fire to advance to Martial Emperor.”


    Ba Tu’s mouth gaped in arge “O” shape. This news was too shocking. He could not take it in within a short amount of time.


    It had been only how long? Yet, Xiao Chen advanced from Great Perfection quasi-Emperor to Consummation quasi-Emperor. Furthermore, he even condensed the Heart of an Emperor.


    This was astounding. Unprecedented and unique!


    “Hahaha! Brother, you are awesome. Haha! In the future, when I lose fights, I won’t go and find my First Brother anymore. I’lle and find you,” Ba Tu said half-jokingly. He was sincerely happy for Xiao Chen at being so lucky.


    “Come,e,e. Let’s continue speaking after we enter.”


    Xiao Chen had just raised his foot when he suddenly frowned slightly. Then, he stopped and said, “Someone ising.”


    “Who is it?” Ba Tu felt somewhat suspicious. He turned his head to look and saw someone riding a galloping horse with a sword by his side on the road.


    It was the adopted son of Zong Boxiong, the top youth of the ck Sea, Sima Lingxuan!


    Xiao Chen did not find Sima Lingxuan’s appearance too surprising. Since the me Rock Sovereign could sense Xiao Chen’s presence, Zong Boxiong could as well.


    Barring the unexpected, the other Great Bandits of the ck Sea should have felt it as well.


    Indeed, when Xiao Chen spread his Spiritual Sense into the distance, it seemed like all the familiar faces from the Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting were rushing over.


    The Blood Shark Sovereign’s descendant Huang Yun, the legendary Thunder Fire Sovereign’s descendant Xia Yang, another Great Bandit’s descendant, Liu Yun, and others were racing towards the me Rock castle.


    However, these people’s horses were slower than Sima Lingxuan’s. They should have received the news at the same time. However, he managed to gain a considerable lead on them.


    This proved that Sima Lingxuan had improved much more than the others had in this period of time.


    During the Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting, Sima Lingxuan forfeited at thest step. Then, he broke free of his heart demon and obtained a new lease on life.


    Xiao Chen did not know what encounters Sima Lingxuan had after the Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting. However, thetter now appeared as calm as an ancient well, without any ripples at all.


    Different situations called for different actions. However, once one reached a certain level of strength, it would be hard not to remain calm.


    After condensing the Heart of an Emperor and advancing to Consummation quasi-Emperor, this was Xiao Chen’s state now.


    “Whoosh!”


    As the horse galloped, Sima Lingxuan leaped off its back into the air. Then, like drifting leaves, hended about five hundred meters from Xiao Chen.


    When he looked directly at the returned Xiao Chen, his eyes were no longer like before; hatred no longer filled them and disrupted his mental state.


    Such a state startled Xiao Chen. What exactly had happened for Sima Lingxuan to break free of his heart demon?


    “Consummation quasi-Emperor?”


    Sima Lingxuan felt even more startled. After the previous departure, in a matter of months, Xiao Chen had actually advanced to Consummation quasi-Emperor from Great Perfection quasi-Emperor.


    After a while, Sima Lingxuan’s lips curled up in a self-deprecating expression. “This is not strange. The amount of pressure one is under dictates the rate of one’s improvement. However, ordinary people would copse under the pressure, falling into despair and hatred. As for you, you are not such a person.”


    Xiao Chen asked calmly, “Sima Lingxuan, why are you here? Just say it straight.”


    Sima Lingxuan replied, “Don’t worry. I’m not here for revenge. We still have an unfinished battle from the Outstanding Talent Summit Meeting. I just want to finish this battle with you. Regardless of who wins, the hatred between us will be written off.”


    Doubt darkened Xiao Chen’s eyes. Given Sima Lingxuan’s character, for him to actually be able to say such things was unexpected.


    The other party had always been wanting to kill him to vent his hatred. It looked like he had indeed managed to resolve his heart demon. This was incredible.


    “Are you sure? You just resolved your heart demon. Have you considered that you would lose miserably if you fought with me?”