Your Head Is Mine!

Liu Chengfeng and the others arrived at the gates of the Grandmaster Mansion. Ye Yiqing had already been waiting for a long time.

"You're late."

Ye Yiqing was displeased that Liu Chengfeng and his party had arrived so tardily. She looked at them coldly.

"Soft arms make heroes' graves. Hard to get up in the morning, huh?"

Su Youqian lounged half-reclined in a carriage, nestled in a beauty's arms, looking lazy and carefree.

"And you think you're a hero?"

Ye Yiqing's eyes flashed. Her red lips were dazzling, her waist slender, and her figure alluring. But her cold and aloof manner made her hard to like.

She certainly wasn't going to give Liu Chengfeng or Su Youqian a warm welcome.

"I'm no hero, but I might be emperor someday."

Su Youqian dared to say anything. He looked lazily at Ye Yiqing, as if to say, What are you going to do about it?

Ye Yiqing let out a cold laugh, then turned and left.

The Grandmaster Mansion was enormous. Without someone to guide them, they would have lost their way among the towering buildings on either side, whose imposing grandeur took one's breath away. The people who appeared within the mansion were all powerful experts.

Their surging blood energy and fierce auras were enough to make people shrink back.

The Grandmaster Mansion was the most powerful institution in Qiuchi Kingdom, bar none. Neither the royal family nor the Demon Slaying Division could keep it in check.

The Ye, Cheng, and Li Clans of the Grandmaster Mansion had all descended from several brothers of the founding emperor.

As descendants of Qiuchi Kingdom's nobility, they held the Grandmaster Mansion firmly in their grasp. Their strength was immense, with the Ye Clan at their head.

After passing through the Grandmaster Mansion, they came upon a great hall standing before them. A stone-built river encircled it, but the riverbed was dry.

They climbed the steps. In the open space before the hall, a massive stone slab lay tilted at the center. One divine script after another was carved into it, the strokes so forceful they seemed to pierce through the stone and plunge into the earth.

Inside the hall were four deep wells, bottomless and bored straight into the ground.

The enormous door leading to the rear of the hall was tightly shut and could not be opened.

"This is the Li Fire River. Legend says it didn't flow with water, but with lava. It dried up after the Ancestral Hall was sealed."

As they crossed the stone bridge over the river, Su Youqian filled Liu Chengfeng in.

From the bridge, Liu Chengfeng saw three enormous pits in the dry riverbed. It looked as if lava might burst from them at any moment.

After climbing the stone steps, they stood before the hall. The tilted stone slab lay right in front of them. This was the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet, the key to activating the Ancestral Hall.

Dozens of Grandmaster Mansion experts were gathered before the hall. At their head was Ye Yitian, seated squarely in the place of honor with an air of lofty authority.

"You're late—"

Ye Yitian and the others had waited a long time. Liu Chengfeng and his party's tardy arrival had left the Grandmaster Mansion displeased.

Ye Yitian in particular sat high in the place of honor, looking down on them.

"What difference would it have made if you'd come earlier? You still couldn't decipher the Divine Tablet, could you?"

Liu Chengfeng glanced at the lofty Ye Yitian.

"Ha, ha! My brother said it well. What difference would coming earlier have made? You've been staring at this Divine Tablet for ages. Have you managed to decipher it?"

"My brother may have arrived late, but cracking the Divine Tablet will be a piece of cake for him."

Su Youqian was delighted. He burst into loud laughter.

"If you can't decipher the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet, you'll lose your head."

Ye Yitian looked down at them, his gaze turning cold as a searing aura bore down on them.

"You're going to chop off my head?"

Su Youqian was shameless too. He stuck his neck out.

Ye Yitian's expression tightened. Killing intent rose, then he had no choice but to let it dissipate.

Of course he couldn't chop off Su Youqian's head. Su Youqian was one of the heirs to the throne. Without the emperor's order, who could take his head?

"You shameless rogue. You've disgraced the royal family."

A young man nearby sneered, looking down on Su Youqian.

The young man wore a Bagua robe. He had a sturdy build, a square face, a high nose, thick lips, and eyes that seemed to look down on the heavens. He held himself above everyone else.

His disdain for Su Youqian was written all over his face.

"You like her."

Liu Chengfeng looked at the young man, then at Ye Yiqing, and put two and two together.

"Watch your tongue!"

"Too bad she doesn't like you."

Liu Chengfeng laughed, showing the young man no respect.

The experts from the Grandmaster Mansion all snickered, but they dared not say anything because of the young man's status.

"Outrageous—"

The young man's face changed at once. He barked at Liu Chengfeng, flames flaring around him as killing intent shone in his eyes.

The power of the second tier of the Reception Divine Treasury erupted, and a wave of heat washed over them.

"Cheng Nan, what do you think you're doing?"

Seeing the young man about to make a move, Su Youqian shouted.

"Get out of the way, unless you want me to hurt you by accident!"

The young man didn't take Su Youqian seriously. He was far stronger than Su Youqian, and he was also one of the Three Retinues of the Grandmaster Mansion.

"Cheng Nan, Liu Chengfeng is here today to decipher the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet!"

Ye Yiqing stepped forward and shouted at the young man.

"Yiqing, I only wanted to teach this blabbering brat a lesson."

Cheng Nan said awkwardly.

Cheng Nan was a prodigy of the Cheng Clan, the most gifted alchemist in Qiuchi Kingdom, and one of the Three Retinues of the Grandmaster Mansion. His status was exalted.

Liu Chengfeng was right: Cheng Nan did like Ye Yiqing. Unfortunately, Ye Yiqing didn't like him.

"Put everything else aside. Let him decipher the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet first."

Ye Yitian raised a hand to stop them, then fixed his gaze on Liu Chengfeng, his imposing presence pressing down on him.

"If you can't decipher the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet, your head will hit the ground today."

Ye Yitian made no effort to hide his killing intent.

Ye Yiqing looked at Liu Chengfeng, her expression tense too. She was anxious about her future.

If he could decipher the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet, everything would be fine. If he couldn't, then she really would have to marry Su Youqian.

If Liu Chengfeng failed to decipher the Divine Tablet, she would be the first to make him pay.

Liu Chengfeng glanced at the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet and smiled. He didn't activate the Sky Eye to observe its changes and uncover its mysteries.

The Stone Lion had already told him how to do it when it asked him to come.

Liu Chengfeng didn't immediately try to decipher it. Instead, he walked around and noticed the four deep wells inside the hall, plunging into the earth so far that their bottoms were nowhere in sight.

"These are the Thunder Fire Eyes. Only after all four are filled can the door at the back be opened. But opening that door alone won't be enough."

"Because the Ancestral Hall can only be opened with the Ancestral Hall Talisman. There are two of them: one is in the Grand Marshal's hands, and the other is in His Majesty's."

Su Youqian quietly explained it to Liu Chengfeng.

No wonder Emperor of Qiuchi wasn't worried about the Grand Marshal deciphering the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet and activating the Ancestral Hall. So that was the catch.

"Can you do it?"

Seeing that Liu Chengfeng made no move to decipher the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet, Ye Yiqing grew anxious.

"Hmph. The Grand Marshal has been studying it for ages and still hasn't deciphered it. How could a kid with a Treasure Mountain Divine Treasury possibly figure it out?"

Cheng Nan stared at Liu Chengfeng. The Grand Marshal couldn't make sense of it, and neither could the others. He didn't believe a kid with a Treasure Mountain Divine Treasury could do it.

Ever since the seal on the Ancestral Hall had loosened and the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet had shown signs of change, Grand Marshal Ye Ziyang had known there was a chance to activate the Ancestral Hall.

He had studied it here day and night, yet he still couldn't decipher the mysteries of the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet or activate the Ancestral Hall.

Every expert in the Grandmaster Mansion had tried to decipher it, but all had failed.

That was precisely why Grand Marshal Ye Ziyang had agreed to Su Youqian's terms. Otherwise, why would he have agreed?

"You mean the Grand Marshal couldn't do it because he was so untalented he couldn't even decipher a few lines of divine script?"

Liu Chengfeng glanced at Cheng Nan.

"You—you're slandering him!"

Cheng Nan's face flushed with anger. He glared at Liu Chengfeng.

"You dare spout nonsense? I'll cut off your head!"

"Cheng Nan—"

Ye Yiqing's expression darkened. She didn't want anyone to ruin her future.

"Enough talk. If you're capable, decipher this Divine Tablet now. Otherwise, I'll cut off your head first."

Ye Yiqing stared at Liu Chengfeng, her eyes full of killing intent.

"You're all so quick to threaten me with beheading. Is my head really that easy to chop off?"

Liu Chengfeng simply sat down.

"What's so hard about cutting you down?"

Ye Yitian's eyes flashed with a fierce chill. A fiery aura swept over them like flames surging into the sky.

"I'd like to see how easy it is."

Liu Chengfeng stood up and took out the Thunder Sound Staff.

"Want to fight? Think you've got more people?"

Su Youqian didn't hold back either. He immediately summoned his Iron Guard.

The experts from the Grandmaster Mansion shouted and surged forward, surrounding them by the dozens.

In an instant, the tension between the two sides reached its peak. A great battle was about to break out.

"That's enough—"

A deep shout rang out like thunder splitting the sky. The might of the Great Dao surged forth, crushing down in an instant and sweeping both sides off their feet.

The Iron Guard and the Grandmaster Mansion's experts were all suppressed.

"The Grand Marshal—"

Everyone was startled. He hadn't even appeared, yet the might of his Great Dao already left them struggling to breathe.

"Today is for deciphering the Divine Tablet!"

The Grand Marshal did not show himself. His voice was full of authority.

"Deciphering the Divine Tablet is one thing, but is this how the Grandmaster Mansion treats its guests?"

The Grand Marshal's Great Dao might was terrifying, but Liu Chengfeng remained composed.

"My subordinates were rude. Young friend, don't take offense. Please decipher the Divine Tablet."

Grand Marshal Ye Ziyang still spoke from on high, in the tone of someone issuing an order. His Great Dao might pressed down on them too, as if forcing them to obey.

Liu Chengfeng's gaze sharpened.

"So if I don't decipher it, I can forget about leaving?"

Liu Chengfeng gave a cold laugh.

"That was our agreement."

Ye Yiqing looked at Liu Chengfeng coldly too.

"Fine. Then I'll decipher it."

"Can you really do it?"

Liu Chengfeng agreed so readily that even Ye Ziyang was suspicious. He was one of the three strongest experts in Qiuchi Kingdom, yet even he couldn't figure it out.

"Is it really that difficult? Isn't the Grandmaster Mansion filled with geniuses? You can't even decipher this?"

Liu Chengfeng gave Ye Yitian and the others a faintly mocking look.

Ye Yitian, Cheng Nan, and the others all changed expression. They were known as the geniuses of the younger generation.

"Big words. Even if we gave you a whole month, you still couldn't decipher the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet."

Cheng Nan sneered. He didn't believe a kid with a Treasure Mountain Divine Treasury could decipher it.

"A month? Are you all that slow? I won't even need half a quarter-hour."

"Half a quarter-hour?"

Not only did Ye Yitian and the others disbelieve him, but even Grand Marshal Ye Ziyang did too.

"Young friend, don't make promises you can't keep."

"Why would I need to make big promises for something this simple? I'll decipher it with a wave of my hand."

Liu Chengfeng's words gave Su Youqian a terrible fright. He frantically tried to signal Liu Chengfeng with his eyes.

He knew Liu Chengfeng was a genius the likes of which appeared only once in ten thousand years, but even the Grand Marshal had studied the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet for so long without cracking it.

Liu Chengfeng had promised to do it in half a quarter-hour. That was setting the bar far too high. What if he couldn't deliver?

"Such arrogance—decipher it with a wave of your hand! If you really can, then I'll—"

"Kneel and call me Dad? No, that won't do. I'm not so hard up for a son."

"You—"

Cheng Nan's face flushed with rage. He trembled with anger.

"What? You want to bet, but you're afraid? Is your nerve that weak?"

Liu Chengfeng shot him a cold, sidelong glance.

"Fine. If you can decipher it with a wave of your hand, I'll kneel and kowtow to you. Otherwise, I'll chop off your head and turn it into a chamber pot."

Cheng Nan was a genius alchemist, respected wherever he went. When had anyone ever humiliated him like this?

"Deal."

"Deal! Your head is mine!"

Killing intent filled Cheng Nan's eyes. He wouldn't rest until Liu Chengfeng was dead.

"This is no game, and it's not something to be decided in a fit of pique. The Thunder Fire Divine Tablet is of great importance. You have all the time you need to decipher it..."

Ye Yiqing grew anxious. She didn't want to see a wager like this. Her future depended on what happened here.

Ye Yiqing had not finished speaking when her voice abruptly cut off.

Because Liu Chengfeng had already pressed a hand to the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet. As his cultivation method circulated and his blood energy coursed through him, lightning and fire appeared on the tablet.

Upon the Divine Tablet, divine script had been carved, piercing through the stone and deep into the earth.

At that moment, every divine character lit up, flames flickering across them.

"Go—"

With Liu Chengfeng's low shout, lightning and fire condensed. The divine script instantly pierced into the earth, and with a "boom," the whole ground gave a muffled rumble.

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