First Meeting with Lin Hao

Whoosh~

Amidst the howling gale, a golden flying boat sailed across the zenith of the sky, following its course toward the First Imperial City.

Inside the flying boat, Lu Yuan was examining two pieces of information he had obtained after devouring Ye Fan's system.

The first piece of information was that Lu Yuan had been listed as the primary assassination target by all assassins of the Nine Killers Palace.

The second piece of news was that the Child of Destiny, Lin Hao, intended to unite all Children of Destiny to form a Destiny Alliance against him.

The first piece of news.

The Nine Killers Palace was the absolute ruler of the dark side of the Tianxiao Continent.

Nine out of ten assassins on the Tianxiao Continent were members of the Nine Killers Palace.

The sheer scale of its power was far more terrifying than even the Primordial Sacred Land.

At its peak, the Nine Killers Palace openly boasted nine Emperor-Sealing Immortals.

Though it had since declined from its prime, it was still very possible that one or two Emperor-Sealing Immortals were hidden within.

But Lu Yuan wasn't too concerned about that. No matter how strong the Nine Killers Palace was, it couldn't surpass him. What truly bothered him was the endless swarm of assassins the Nine Killers Palace commanded.

Flies might be weak, easily crushed with a single slap, but an infinite horde of them was unbearable.

The second piece of news.

That was what truly caught Lu Yuan's attention.

"A Destiny Alliance, against me? Logically speaking, I've never even met this Lin Hao. Why would he target me?"

Lu Yuan's gaze turned deep. "Nine Rebirths... Looking at it this way, Lin Hao has likely reincarnated more than once. And he's died by my hand before—more than once, even. Otherwise, he wouldn't think to unite all the Children of Destiny."

Lu Yuan understood clearly. Every Child of Destiny was an arrogant existence. They would never join forces with others unless they had truly tasted despair.

Lin Hao had likely tasted that despair.

He understood that his own strength was absolutely no match for Lu Yuan, which was why he sought to ally with the other Children of Destiny.

"But this works out well. I was just worrying about not being able to find the other Children of Destiny. Having Lin Hao do the work for me saves me a great deal of trouble." A faint smile curled at the corner of Lu Yuan's mouth.

His biggest headache right now wasn't that the Children of Destiny were too elusive to track?

But with Lin Hao, this matter became much simpler.

"Looking at it this way, I can't kill this man too easily. I need to keep him alive."

Lu Yuan chuckled softly.

He rested his hands behind his head, gazing at the azure sky, a hint of an enigmatic smile on his lips.

"It seems my journey across the Tianxiao Continent is coming to an end."

First Imperial City.

Inside a luxurious mansion, Lin Hao sat on the eaves of glazed tiles, a flask of wine in his hand, drinking in idle sips. His gaze was fixed unwaveringly on the direction of the Dongfang Family.

In his mind, the importance of killing one of the Twelve Thrones had already surpassed the need to find other Children of Destiny.

After all, Children of Destiny were always around, and in his memories, Lu Yuan's blade wouldn't fall for a few more months.

He wasn't in a hurry.

But the opportunity to kill one of the Twelve Thrones was priceless. Miss this chance, and the next one wouldn't come so easily.

"Brother Lin, still not giving up?"

Suddenly, a young man in white robes sat down beside Lin Hao, also holding a flask of wine, his bearing ethereal and otherworldly.

Lin Hao turned to glance at the white-robed youth and sighed. "Brother Ruoxu, this opportunity is rare. Miss it now, and we might not get another chance this good."

The white-robed youth was none other than the Child of Destiny, Zhang Ruoxu.

Hearing Lin Hao's words, Zhang Ruoxu shook his head with a smile and said nothing.

Zhang Ruoxu carried the inheritance of the Great Sage of Time and Space. When Lin Hao had come to him and told him of future events, Zhang Ruoxu had used his inheritance to glimpse a corner of the future, witnessing an extremely tragic scene.

He understood that everything Lin Hao said was true.

At that time, Zhang Ruoxu had decided to join Lin Hao's Destiny Alliance.

And through his own channels, he had introduced Lin Hao to Empress Qingyao.

That was precisely why Empress Qingyao had intimidated the Dongfang Old Ancestor back then.

Suddenly, Lin Hao's gaze turned sharp. "Brother Ruoxu, we can't wait any longer. Dongfang Baitian keeps holing up inside the Dongfang Estate and won't come out. That won't do. Time waits for no one. We need to think of a way to lure him out."

"Do you have a plan?" Zhang Ruoxu raised an eyebrow.

Lin Hao nodded. "This plan might require your help, Brother Ruoxu."

Zhang Ruoxu smiled. "Speak freely."

Lin Hao said, "You and the Eldest Princess have mutual feelings for each other. Everyone in the First Imperial City knows that Dongfang Baitian is infatuated with her. Use that as an excuse to challenge Dongfang Baitian."

"Unlike me, you and Dongfang Baitian are both renowned prodigies of the First Central Empire. If you challenge him, the Dongfang Family won't stop you, and they wouldn't dare to. If they try to interfere, Dongfang Baitian's reputation will be completely ruined."

"By then, Dongfang Baitian will likely be provoked into coming out. Of course, the Dongfang Family might also have experts secretly protecting him, but that doesn't matter—as long as he shows up, it'll be easy. At that point, I'll stop at nothing, even if it costs me half my life, to forcefully kill him."

Having said this, Lin Hao looked at Zhang Ruoxu with a smile. "Of course, if Brother Ruoxu can kill Dongfang Baitian in an open and fair fight, that would be even better."

Hearing this proposal, Zhang Ruoxu thought it over briefly and then agreed.

"No time to waste. Let's do it now."

Zhang Ruoxu said, rising to his feet as he spoke.

But just then, the two saw over a dozen figures fly out from the Dongfang Family, rushing at top speed toward some location. The leader was unmistakably Dongfang Baitian.

"That's Dongfang Baitian. Why is he coming out?" Zhang Ruoxu's face showed surprise.

Lin Hao, however, didn't care about that. In an instant, he shot forward.

Having been reborn nine times, he possessed far more experience and decisiveness than most Children of Destiny.

Zhang Ruoxu quickly snapped back to his senses and flew into the sky after him.

At the edge of the First Imperial City, a golden flying boat shrouded in Immortal Light slowly came to a halt in midair.

Around the flying boat stood four Black Armor Experts, each radiating a terrifying aura.

Before long, Dongfang Baitian and his group arrived in front of the flying boat.

Dongfang Baitian's expression was one of delight as he quickly bowed low. "Dongfang Baitian, along with the elders of the Dongfang Family, pay respects to the Young Master. Welcome to the First Imperial City."

Behind Dongfang Baitian, the group of elders also bowed simultaneously, not daring to show any disrespect.

Dongfang Baitian had introduced Lu Yuan to them, saying he was a great figure with connections that reached the heavens.

But before seeing the Immortal Continent, they had all been skeptical. However, once they laid eyes on the Immortal Boat—especially the four Black Armor Experts around it—their doubts were dispelled.

Just the auras of those four Black Armor Experts alone pressed down on them so heavily they could barely breathe. This feeling was even more profound than when they faced the Dongfang Old Ancestor.

If even the guards were beings of such caliber, then this Young Master Lu Yuan must be an even more terrifying existence.

Thus, none of the Dongfang Family elders questioned Dongfang Baitian's words.

It was at this moment.

Lin Hao and Zhang Ruoxu happened to arrive, and the first thing they heard was Dongfang Baitian calling out the words "Young Master."

Just then, Lu Yuan stepped out of the Immortal Boat. Lifting his gaze, he met Lin Hao's shocked and stunned eyes directly.