210: Chapter 210 Runes of Fate

"Old beast, do you really think I can't spare a hand to kill you?"

Inside the white jade sarcophagus.

A middle-aged man sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, enveloped in a pillar of light.

This was Jiang Shuo.

He wore simple, modern clothes, yet an aura that did not belong to this era flowed around him.

Time had settled upon him into a peculiar harmony, making his already handsome features appear even more striking.

Jiang Shuo raised his hand slightly.

An astonishing, scorching aura swept out from inside the white jade sarcophagus, with wisps of flame even overflowing from its edges.

Shen Xingchen was slightly taken aback. He remembered that Jiang Qingyao's father possessed an A-grade fire-attribute Talent Divine Ability, the Evil-Slaying Lion.

Inside the sarcophagus was likely another deeper "mini-world".

If the fiery aura could overflow from the sarcophagus, the inner world itself was probably completely ablaze.

Was this father-in-law Jiang... Senior's strength truly terrifying to such an extent?

Xuan Xiang sneered, "Jiang Shuo, what is there for you to be so cocky about? If you had existed in my era, you wouldn't even have been qualified to face me."

He was once the source bloodline of the Tianyi Demon Dragon, holding the Divine Oracle authority in hand, a King-level existence standing at the peak.

Jiang Shuo? Nothing more than the peak of the Xiang Realm.

Even if his combat power was heaven-defying, in the end, he was still just in the Xiang Realm.

Jiang Shuo laughed aloud. "Only cowards dwell eternally in the past. A true powerhouse will always draw their blade against someone stronger."

Xuan Xiang snorted coldly, "Despicable humans really can only spout impractical nonsense."

Jiang Shuo retorted, "Filthy Demon Race, capable of nothing but using the most brutal beastly instincts to plague this world."

Xuan Xiang's expression turned ugly. "Verbal arguments are meaningless. Since you and I are both locked inside sarcophagi by the Authority of Destiny, why don't we play a little game?"

Jiang Shuo asked coldly, "Oh? What wicked scheme are you hatching now?"

Over the years, he had fought this cunning demon countlessly, having long seen through his tricks.

Xuan Xiang chuckled, "We each use a Thread of Destiny to manipulate a junior to fight. Whoever loses surrenders half of the authority they hold—how about it?"

Jiang Shuo sneered, "I knew you were up to no good. You found the junior most compatible with you, your direct bloodline descendant Xuan Ze, while on my side there's at most a Rank 9 girl. How could that be a fair fight?"

Xuan Xiang smiled sheepishly, "Doesn't that mean the juniors of my Demon Race are simply superior to your humans?"

Jiang Shuo mocked, "If my sensing is correct, once that youth named Shen Xingchen reaches Rank 9, your bloodline descendant won't last a single move against him."

He was even a bit startled that the handsome youth's internal spiritual energy had reached such a high level of purity.

It could be said that although he was still only at Rank 6, Level 4, his spiritual energy was already as majestic as a mid-tier Rank 7 martial artist.

Xuan Xiang curled his lip, "Too weak, I don't care for him!"

When he awakened beside the "Emperor", he was already at the Xiang Realm. Why would he ever pay attention to such a weak human?

Jiang Shuo pondered briefly. "How about I make a suggestion?"

Xuan Xiang asked, "What?"

Jiang Shuo continued, "We let all the juniors simultaneously try to comprehend the rune representing destiny. The first to decipher it wins. As for the stake, it remains half of the Authority of Destiny."

On the side walls of the main hall, intricate, interwoven, twisted symbols were carved.

Only by comprehending the true essence of the Destiny Rune could one gain the opportunity to contain the authority.

Xuan Xiang laughed loudly, "That's a good idea! Let's do it this way."

Jiang Shuo: "Rare of you to be so straightforward."

Xuan Xiang: "I'm simply confident enough in my juniors."

As he spoke, he began retracting the black threads.

As the threads released him, Xuan Ze's eyes gradually refocused, as if coming back to life.

At first, Xuan Ze's eyes still held a dazed look.

But he immediately fell to his knees toward the threads coming from the sarcophagus and said, "This junior knows his mistake and submits to whatever punishment Ancestor decrees."

Xuan Xiang simply said, "Next is a competition for you. Make sure to perform well."

Xuan Ze pressed his head against the ground. "I will certainly not disappoint Ancestor's expectations."

Seeing this, Jiang Shuo said to Shen Xingchen and the others, "On your right-hand side, the widest wall has a formation pattern. Light it up with spiritual energy, and the interwoven symbols representing destiny will appear."

Shen Xingchen complied.

When he pressed his palm against the wall, golden patterns indeed lit up across the entire surface, gradually outlining twisted, uncanny runes.

"This..."

With a single glance, Shen Xingchen could tell that this shared the same source as the 0.01% rune he had mastered.

Except the current rune was far more complex and far more contorted... like true destiny itself, unfathomable and inscrutable.

Right at this moment,

Jiang Shuo's voice echoed in his heart: "Don't overthink. Focus on comprehending it."

Shen Xingchen clenched his fists tightly.

The most crucial moment of this trip to the Land of Miracles was finally arriving.

Xuan Xiang said in a cold tone, "Begin."

Royal bloodlines not only possessed unique potential in cultivation directions, but they were also the most intelligent among all bloodlines, which meant superior comprehension ability.

Therefore, he believed that the royal bloodline of the Tianyi Demon Dragon would not lose to any living creature.

Shen Xingchen and Chen Meier sat cross-legged, facing the wall engraved with the runes.

On the other side, Xuan Ze, Demon Bat, and the other strangely shaped demons also began trying to comprehend the runes.

One hour.

Two hours.

...

Five hours.

As time ticked away, all the humans and demons were as still as statues, extraordinarily quiet.

Inside the white jade sarcophagus.

Xuan Xiang was an old man with dragon horns growing from his head.

Sitting cross-legged inside another beam of light, he chuckled with an eerie look in his eyes, "Surname Jiang, how long did it take you to comprehend the Destiny Rune back then?"

Jiang Shuo's sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly as he said impatiently, "Weren't you watching back then?"

Xuan Xiang rolled his eyes and said, "I recall it was a month. To be honest, I quite admire you. Comprehending the Destiny Rune within a month easily makes you the number one in comprehension among humans over the past few centuries."

Jiang Shuo didn't answer immediately. Instead, he used his divine sense to observe the handsome youth outside.

The youth looked at the rune with great seriousness; it was clear he was someone with a pure mind.

From his previous moves, one could tell his comprehension of martial techniques was exceptional.

Cultivation level, appearance, temperament, composure—there was not a single flaw to pick out.

He truly was extraordinarily remarkable!

Jiang Shuo smiled faintly. "There will always be someone who can do even better."

He involuntarily thought of his own daughter again.

Qingyao should be around the same age as that youth, fully grown into a young lady now. He wondered if she had been happy all these years.