Martial Saint!

[Oaks challenges Lu Chenzhou, defeated!]

The grand sound of heaven and earth resonated in the Inner Scenery Land, the light of the Heavenly Person List shone brightly, and the rankings began to change.

Lu Chenzhou moved up 8 positions to 551.

In front of him is Plum Blossom Immortal.

The top-tier warriors of the Human World were each stunned in place.

After a brief silence, some cheered in seclusion places, some clapped in classrooms, and some danced wildly in excitement in the wilderness, celebrating Lu Shangjun's victory.

"The body of a Great Grandmaster, reverse-slaying the Heavenly King!"

"It still has to be our Wanxiang Dao!"

"So shocking! I thought it would be impressive if Chief Lu could barely squeeze into the Heavenly King rank, but he seems to keep moving forward, where is his limit?"

"The mouths of some people in the West can finally close now. Surely they can't say this battle was fake too?"

"Heh, knowing their nature, I'm afraid they won't admit it. I've already guessed their next response. Either they'll say Lu Shangjun relied on a treasure, Baoshan didn't give his all, or that the Heavenly Person List's judgment was unfair, and they'll even demand the combat projection."

"Damn it, is it full-scale three-dimensional maneuvering defense? If one is shameless, they're invincible in the world. It reminds me of a game award selection before the Great Catastrophe!"

Da Xia was filled with excitement and joy. This honorable battle made everyone believe that this youngest sect leader already possesses true Heavenly King level combat power!

...

Wanbang Council.

The gaze of the Northern Guardian King slightly shifted. As the only person able to see the true nature of the battle, he knew what dangers Lu Chenzhou experienced, as if he were a desperate warrior.

"Practicing the 'Mountain Moving Scripture' for less than ten years, he has reached the Seven Mountains Realm. The Power Extremism of Ancestor Ape Mountain is indeed suitable for him... and the self-created horizontal training method of Nameless Dao, in terms of intricacy and practicality, it is no less than the 'Dragon Elephant Heaven-Supporting Divine Skill'. Perhaps, he will create the first truly Supreme-level horizontal training in the meaning of Da Xia. Unfortunately, though this horizontal training is powerful, it is very difficult to spread. Its requirements for Dao filter out 99.9% of Martial Arts geniuses."

With his realm, he could see at a glance that the core of 'Withering and Flourishing Body' lies in Dao. If one cannot comprehend this kind of Nameless Dao, even training it yields mediocre results.

"However, this kid actually killed Baoshan, and judging by his demeanor, it was intentional. He must know that Baoshan's teacher is the Merfolk Emperor of the Silver Eagle Federation's Rees family. With his personality, he wouldn't provoke strong enemies lightly. There must be a compelling reason..."

...

While Western powerhouses were still immersed in the gloomy mood of Baoshan's defeat, another bombshell news arrived.

Baoshan has fallen!

On the Heavenly Person List, a burst of gray and white light flickered, and the name Baoshan, originally at position 570, began to blur. Before long, it disappeared from the list altogether.

The Great Grandmasters behind moved up one position each.

"How did Baoshan die?"

"Could it be that Lu Chenzhou not only defeated Baoshan but also killed him? How is this possible? Baoshan being a Heavenly King level expert, even if he was unmatched, could he not have had time to admit defeat? Surely Da Xia had a hand in this!"

"Scandal! Scandal!"

"Are they trying to take advantage of this to annex us?"

"Robbery!"

For a moment, the West was in an uproar.

...

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The news of the Heavenly King's death shocked the world.

Western public opinion fermented, saying that Da Xia oppressed the Silver Eagle Federation, secretly altered the rules of the Battle Realm and Heavenly Person List, and through some scandal, led to Baoshan's tragic death during sparring.

[To say "stop when appropriate," hypocritical!—Silver Eagle Weekly]

[When our Silver Eagle Federation's Absolute Peak returns, we'll definitely seek an explanation—Spokesperson for the Rees family.]

[Strongly urge the Western Martial Arts World to unite, demanding that Da Xia make the combat projection public, otherwise we have reason to believe this battle was not a fair sparring, but a means for Da Xia to eliminate dissidents and disrupt world peace!]

[There's absolutely no way Lu Chenzhou could have killed Baoshan. Even a peak Heavenly King would find it as hard as reaching the sky to kill Baoshan before he could admit defeat. This is unscientific!]

[Release the projection!]

[Compensation!]

For a moment, Western public opinion was ignited. Many families and financial groups from the Northern Alliance and the Silver Eagle Federation were already dissatisfied with Da Xia. Without Primordial Stones, they have no voice in the new era!

In response, the Wanbang Council quickly made a statement.

The Northern Guardian King personally attended a news conference, stating that the battle between Lu Chenzhou and Baoshan was fair and just, with no problems. Although he is the master of the Heavenly Person List, its rules and those of the Battle Realm are predetermined and cannot be changed; revealing the projection is also impossible.

Baoshan voluntarily initiated a sparring with Lu Chenzhou, and thus had to bear the risk of possibly being injured or even dying in the sparring. When masters exchange moves, a single mistake can lead to death without burial. In this way, Baoshan became the first unfortunate individual to die from sparring since the Heavenly Person List came into existence.

While this official explanation did not satisfy many in the Western Martial Arts community, waging war? Without strength, it would only give Da Xia an excuse to unify the world through force.

...

Silver Eagle Federation.

Rees City, a major base city located in Fu State, is the city owned by one of the four major families, the Rees family, also known as the "Shark Family."

The other three families are Locke, Meilong, and Adam, with family emblems of the Fire Dragon, Lion, and Poison Snake, respectively.

The four families have gathered over 80% of Silver Eagle's top-tier warriors through blood relations, marriages, and other means of interest, forming a complex coalition of forces. Each family head possesses peak Heavenly King combat power and represents the absolute pinnacle of the Human World today.

Aside from the Rees family, the other three major families have also produced Heavenly Realm experts, such as the Priest, who is the genius of the Adam family. Of course, due to certain reasons, the Priest's relationship with the Adam family is not ideal.

The opulent Rees City Palace.

The Merfolk Emperor, who lost his beloved disciple, remains as calm as still water.

"Sir, all major media outlets are broadcasting it."

"Sir, here are the intelligence reports on Lu Chenzhou that we've collected, but most of it is from a few years ago... It is said that Lu Chenzhou acted at Yun Meng Lake some time ago, but the operation was covert, and no combat projection was ever released."

"Sir, our people went to Wanxiang Dao to demand the return of Baoshan's body, but Lu Chenzhou is in seclusion..."

The Merfolk Emperor waved his hand and said in a low voice.

"Everyone, leave."

He sits alone on the throne, contemplating with his cheek pressed against his hand.

"Baoshan died with too little worth; there was no useful intelligence sent back, only the suspicion that Lu Chenzhou has the capability to kill an Initial Realm King... If I act, I only have one chance. Whether successful or not, I will have to flee to the stars, or else the top ten heavenly persons of the Wanbang Council will surely keep hunting me."

Suddenly, the Merfolk Emperor glanced up into the void. "Who? Sneaking around! Daring to infiltrate the Rees family!"

A soft chuckle came from the void.

"Lord Rees, long time no see."

A white-haired man clad in a Blood Robe, a supreme famed sword hanging by his waist, and wearing a Sakura evil ghost mask appeared.

It was the Blood Hidden Building Master, Beichen Ghost Sword.

"What brings you to see me?"

"If I'm not mistaken, Baoshan was sent by you to challenge Lu Chenzhou, to obtain information on him, right?"

"Heh, sheer nonsense. What use do I have for information on Lu Chenzhou? Leave, before I am forced to kill you."

The Merfolk Emperor's intent to kill permeates. Chapter source: My Virtual Library Empire (M|V|L4EMPYR).

"Sir, no need to pretend in front of me. The information I know far exceeds your expectations, famed Carefree Travel Right Alliance Hierarch, wouldn't you agree?"

Beichen Ghost Sword said slowly.

The Merfolk Emperor's eyes flickered.

"Speak, what do you want?"

Indeed, he was the Carefree Travel Right Alliance Hierarch, one of its founders, the other being Heavenly King Cai of Da Xia, who attempted to defect years ago and was killed.

Carefree Travel suffered heavy casualties under the pressure from the Wanbang Council, now only one Heavenly King remains, Great Grandmasters are less than a handful, merely surviving.

Carefree Travel, in name only.

Its members were dead or insane.

Some were even bribed by the Blood Hidden Tower or the Evil God, he knew, but he didn't care. It was originally a dark glove for collecting wealth worldwide.

The Blood Hidden Building Master said, "Lu Chenzhou recently killed one of our division's Heavenly Kings, thanks to divine means, we do have some intelligence on him."

"What's the price?"

"No cost needed."

...

Several days later.

The Eye of Truth.

"Masters, I have already informed the Merfolk Emperor about the intelligence on Lu Chenzhou. Now we await his actions."

The Blood Hidden Building Master reported respectfully.

Within the Eye of Truth system, the Sect Hierarch holds the highest position, as the agent of All Gods, able to receive divine descent.

Next are the noble-blooded direct demon emperors.

He, at most, is outsourced.

The Merfolk Emperor is secondary outsourcing.

The Witch God Sect Hierarch said, "I'm not surprised Lu Chenzhou could kill Baoshan. According to my calculations, this one will take as quick as three to five years, as slow as ten years, to become a Heavenly King.

The reason our actions always fail is partly because this one's progression is fast, with many aces up the sleeve; on the other hand, we are weaker than our enemies, forcing us to adopt the inefficient assassination approach, so I have contacted the 'Shadow Stream Dominator.'

It has found an ancient Transmission Array in a lower world, currently dispatching forces to the transit station Mystic Sky World; our focus over these years is finding transmission arrays in this Human World, including the stars... As long as we can connect the channels to the Mystic Sky Realm, we can continuously send elite forces of the Shadow Kill Clan to the Human World.

As far as I know, the Red Feather Divine Race and the Purple Beard Divine Race have secretly allied, their Eighth Realm experts are seeking the world coordinates here, this is also a force that can be used, we may not need to wait for our own awakening to destroy this Human World.

All Sect Hierarchs, Demon Emperors (Heaven Ghost) are to obey. From now on, the Eye of Truth will temporarily abandon assassination on Lu Chenzhou, simply find ways to stir up internal conflict between East and West; the Western folks are eager to kill Lu Chenzhou, like fish crossing a river, this task falls to the Blood Hidden Building Master, others are to search for transmission arrays, only through large-scale civilizational war can we break the deadlock!"

...

Wanxiang Dao.

"Understood, well done! It seems Baoshan came with a mission, someone from the West wants to kill you."

The Northern Guardian King has already understood the event from Lu Chenzhou's side, Lu Chenzhou's perception of killing intent is keen, confirmed from the Vajra Grandmaster's side. If Lu Chenzhou hadn't killed Baoshan within the Battle Realm, it would only become more troublesome ahead.