Eight Hundred Years Later

"Chi Yao, I treated you like a beloved, why did you kill me?"

Zhang Ruochen roared and lunged forward, causing the gilt-cast bed to creak and sit up violently.

Only after realizing that it was just a dream did Zhang Ruochen exhale a long breath and use his sleeve to dry the beads of sweat on his forehead.

No!

It wasn't a dream!

How could everything that happened between him and Princess Chi Yao be a dream?

Zhang Ruochen was originally the only son of "Emperor Ming", one of the nine great emperors of the Kunlun Realm, and at only sixteen years old, he had cultivated to the Heavenly Extremity Realm's Great Perfection with his heaven-defying physique.

However, when he became the number one person of the young generation in the Kunlun Realm, he died at the hands of his childhood sweetheart's fiancée, Princess Chi Yao.

Princess Chi Yao was the daughter of one of the nine great emperors, Emperor Qing.

Emperor Ming and Emperor Qing were the best of friends, and Zhang Ruochen and Princess Chi Yao were even betrothed, growing up together and cultivating together. One was valiant and the other was beautiful, a golden couple that could have become a great story in the cultivation world.

How could Zhang Ruochen not have expected that Princess Chi Yao would actually strike at him?

After dying at the hands of Princess Chi Yao, when Zhang Ruochen woke up again, he realized that he was already 800 years later.

The once Princess Chi Yao, who had pacified the Nine Emperors' Rebellion, unified the nine kingdoms, established the First Central Empire, and became the sovereign of the entire Kunlun Realm - Empress Chi Yao.

Eight hundred years ago, the Nine Emperors that dominated the Kunlun Realm had completely become the past and disappeared into the river of history.

The Nine Emperors were dead, and the Empress was in power.

In this era, there was only one emperor, and that was Empress Chi Yao, who ruled the world and was powerful in all directions.

"Why did she kill me? How could her heart be so ruthless, or are all women's hearts so ruthless?"

Zhang Ruochen's eyes were sharp, his heart sunk like iron, and he was filled with questions. However, there was no one to help him answer them.

Eight hundred years had passed, long since the sea had changed, things were different, except for the Empress Chi Yao, who had an unrivaled cultivation, still youthful and ageless. All of those deceased people at one time had been turned into yellow earth and turned into white bones.

Even the mighty Nine Emperors of that year were all extinct on earth, leaving behind only a segment of glorious stories that would be recited by future generations for a long time.

"Squeak!"

A palace-suited beautiful woman with a soft body pushed the door in from outside, looking at Zhang Ruochen who was sitting on the bed couch with a concerned look, "Duan'er, did you have a nightmare again?"

This beautiful woman in front of her was the royal consort of the Yunwu County King, and Zhang Ruochen's mother, Concubine Lin.

The original owner of this body, because of her frail and sickly body, had fallen ill and died on her bed three days ago.

After Zhang Ruochen was killed by Princess Chi Yao, he woke up again and appeared inside this body, bringing the originally sick and dying teenager back to life. Even more coincidentally, the original owner of this body was also named Zhang Ruochen.

When Zhang Ruochen had just woken up, he was still very repulsed by Concubine Lin. After all, in Zhang Ruochen's eyes, Concubine Lin, was just a stranger.

However, after three days of contact, Zhang Ruochen gradually realized that Concubine Lin really cared about him very much, practically in every way, and when she saw Zhang Ruochen waking up from a nightmare, she even immediately rushed to Zhang Ruochen's room, despite the freezing weather.

In his last life, Zhang Ruochen had never met his birth mother. It was said that she passed away when she was born! Unexpectedly, being reborn inside this body after being killed by Princess Chi Yao had allowed him to have one more mother and feel the warmth of a mother's love.

"Perhaps she still doesn't know that her own Dust Child, three days ago, fell ill and died!"

If she were to be told the truth, she might not be able to withstand the shock of this terrible news.

Zhang Ruochen looked at the beautiful woman in front of him, his eyes softened and he smiled faintly, "Mother, there's no need to worry about me, it was just a dream."

With a date-red hooded sable fur draped over her thin body, Concubine Lin sat on the edge of Zhang Ruochen's bed and stroked Zhang Ruochen's forehead as she said worriedly, "It's been three nights now, you've always been awakened by nightmares, and every time, you've called out the name of 'Chi Yao'. Who exactly is she?"

It was naturally impossible for Concubine Lin to associate the name 'Chi Yao' with the empress of the First Central Empire.

Furthermore, after Empress Chi Yao unified the Kunlun Realm and established the First Central Empire, she was known as the "Great Mighty Great Virtue Holy Empress", so no one would dare to mention the word "Chi Yao" at all. It would be taboo.

Zhang Ruochen said, "It's nothing, Mother, you heard wrong!"

Concubine Lin sighed and said, "In the future, don't ever call out the word 'Chi Yao' again, not even in your dreams, that's the name of the empress. Calling out the Empress's name is a great disrespect, and once someone with a heart hears about it, they will be executed."

Zhang Ruochen nodded and squeezed his fingers tightly, saying rather profoundly, "Definitely not anymore! In the future ..."

In the future, I will be her nightmare.

Concubine Lin looked at the thin and pale Zhang Ruochen and gently sighed, her heart incomparably sour.

Although born in the county king's family, but, he was weak and sickly since childhood, already sixteen years old, still can only lie in bed all year round, I'm afraid this life can only be like this!

Outside, a messy sound of footsteps rang out.

"What are you doing? This is the Jade Gargoyle Palace, who gave you the guts to trespass in here at will?" A delicate looking maid tried to stop the Eighth Prince who barged in, but was gently pushed by the Eighth Prince and fell over ten meters away.

The Eighth Prince was a martial artist with a cultivation of late Huangji Realm, a palm strike was enough to knock a three hundred pound stone plate ten feet away, let alone just a hundred or ten pound maid?

A single flick of the finger would be able to send her flying out.

That one maid screamed miserably and fell heavily to the ground, her left arm broken.

The eighth prince was wearing a golden wisp suit with a jade belt wrapped around his waist, his body was robust, his arms were long and slender, and his pace was steady as he walked into the Jade Gargoyle Palace, and coldly stared at that servant girl, "A slave girl dares to get in this prince's way, really looking for death."

Behind the eighth prince, followed by six guards wearing Lin leather armor, tall and tiger-like, obviously all of them were martial arts cultivators with strong combat power, belonging to the royal palace's forbidden guards.

Concubine Lin heard the commotion outside, and after calming Zhang Ruochen down, she closed the door and walked out.

She stared at the Eighth Prince standing outside and frowned slightly, saying, "Your Highness, the Eighth Prince, this is the Jade Gargoyle Palace, even if you're a prince, you can't just trespass!"

Eighth Prince Zhang Ji raised his head to stare at Consort Lin and said aloud, "The Queen has ordered that the bedchamber of Auntie Consort Lin and Ninth Brother be changed to the 'Ziyi Partial Hall'. In the future, the owner of Yushu Palace will be this prince's birth mother, Concubine Xiao."

Consort Lin's face changed slightly, she had long expected that this day would come, however, she did not expect it to come so quickly.

Consort Lin smiled miserably and said, "Is the Queen going to drive us, mother and son, out of the Jade Gargle Palace so soon? Fine! Tomorrow, I will move to the side hall with Duan'er."

The eighth prince said, "I'm sorry! Mother has said that she wants to move into the Jade Gargoyle Palace tonight. Please ask Concubine Lin to move to the side hall now!"

Consort Lin knew that Zhang Ruochen was frail and couldn't withstand the tossing and turning, and with a few pleading tones, she said, "Your Highness, the Eighth Prince, you also know that your Ninth Brother is frail and sickly, and that the night is already late, and the weather is cold, so in case ..."

The eighth prince coldly smiled, not polite in the slightest and said, "Concubine Lin, there are many pitiful people in this world, but not everyone deserves to be pitied. Since ninth brother is weak and sickly, why is he still living in the world?"

"He's your ninth brother!"

Concubine Lin was about to say something else when suddenly, the door behind her was pushed open.

Zhang Ruochen's body was so weak that he could only barely stand with his hand on the doorpost, staring at the eighth prince not far away. His seemingly weak body looked like it contained an unyielding will as he said, "There's no need to beg them, we'll move out now."

"Duster, why are you out of bed? It's cold outside, don't go back yet." Concubine Lin hurriedly went forward to support Zhang Ruochen, fearing that he would catch wind chill.

Zhang Ruochen stubbornly shook his head and said, "Mother, we don't need to ask for anyone, sooner or later there will be a day ... when we will be back here again!"

Concubine Lin looked at Zhang Ruochen's determined eyes and seemed to be infected by his emotions as well, nodding with tears in her eyes.

Concubine Lin Sen supported Zhang Ruochen and walked out of the Yu Shou Palace step by step, except for that one servant girl who had her arm broken by the Eighth Prince's slap that pushed her out. All those other servants did not follow them out of the Jade Gargoyle Palace.

Everyone could see that Princess Lin and the Ninth Prince had completely lost their power, and it would be difficult for them to gain a foothold in the County King's residence.

Originally, they were the servants of the Yu Shu Palace, now they naturally chose wisely to stay in the Yu Shu Palace, and all of them went to curry favor with the new master, the Eighth Prince.

Ziyi side hall, generally is the disfavored princess living place, very remote, full of fallen leaves, seems to have been a long time no one lives.

The night is deep, the wind is chilly.

Sitting on top of the cold stone bench, Zhang Ruochen's thin body was wrapped in a coat, yet he still felt the cold.

"This physical body is too weak, only by practicing martial arts can I gradually make my body stronger. Otherwise, even if I am now the son of a county king, I will still only be at the mercy of others." Zhang Ruochen's mind secretly thought.

Eight hundred years had passed, and Zhang Ruochen didn't know where he could go now. Since the heavens had arranged for him to be reborn inside this body, whether it was for the sake of taking revenge on Empress Chi Yao in the future or for the sake of that one mother who took care of him in every way, he had to be strong.

The humiliation and cold treatment he suffered today was entirely because he was too weak to resist, unable to control his own destiny, and even the place where he lived was forced by others.

If one wanted to be respected by others, if one wanted to obtain a warm and comfortable living environment, one had to become a martial artist and prove one's ability.

In the Kunlun Realm, in order to become a martial artist, one must first open the "Divine Martial Seal".

The so-called "Divine Martial Seal" is the qualification given by the gods to human beings to practice martial arts. Those who had not opened the "Divine Martial Seal" would never be able to cultivate true qi, and would not be able to become the strongest person in the world.

Zhang Ruochen was already sixteen years old, but he still hadn't opened the "Divine Martial Seal".

After the age of sixteen, he would miss the best age to cultivate martial arts, and even if he opened the "Divine Martial Seal", he would not be able to achieve much.

Why was the Eighth Prince so superior when he was also the son of the Yunwu County King? Why was he able to drive Zhang Ruochen and Concubine Lin out of Yushu Palace?

It was because, at the age of ten, the Eighth Prince had opened the "Divine Martial Seal" and was now a young martial artist at the late stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm.

"As long as I am allowed to open the 'Divine Martial Seal', I will be able to cultivate the 'Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture'. With the subtlety of the 'Nine Heavens Ming Emperor Scripture', even if I've missed the best age for cultivation, it's still possible for me to catch up with other geniuses and become a strong martial artist again."

The Nine Heavens Ming Emperor Scripture was the supreme treasure code cultivated by Emperor Ming, and other than Emperor Ming, only Zhang Ruochen knew the complete cultivation method of the Nine Heavens Ming Emperor Scripture.

"Tomorrow is the Sacrificial Ceremony, I hope that I can get the approval of the gods to turn the 'Divine Martial Seal' on." Zhang Ruochen tightened his fists, eager to open the 'Divine Martial Seal'.

After Concubine Lin tidied up the room, she came over to assist Zhang Ruochen, "Dusty, you should rest early! Tomorrow, there is still the Ritual Ceremony to attend."

"Mother don't worry, I will definitely be able to open the 'Divine Martial Seal' tomorrow!" Zhang Ruochen said.

"Hm! Mother believes in you!"

Concubine Lin gave Zhang Ruochen a deep look and sighed softly in her heart.

In fact, she didn't have any hope for Zhang Ruochen to open the Divine Martial Seal, after all, Zhang Ruochen was already sixteen years old, and after that, it would be almost impossible for him to open the Divine Martial Seal.

However, as a mother, she had to encourage her child and give him confidence.