Eternal Heavenly Emperor-Chapter 441 - 431 The Fire Phoenix

All ten, including Chu Hao, were looking towards the war chariots.

Each war chariot bore the marks of time and battle, its engraved inscriptions on the bronze plates erased, some even half-destroyed, with only one panel left out of the original three. Had it not been for the four remaining wheels, no one would have recognized it as a war chariot.

At first glance, one might mistake this place for a junkyard, but upon sensing the terrifying aura emanating from these ancient war machines, one could feel an air of slaughter that sent chills down the spine and induced cold sweats of fear.

A warrior chooses a chariot, and the chariot also chooses its warrior.

Chu Hao’s gaze swept over them, yet he found it impossible to discern which chariot was stronger or, to be more precise, which one was more suitable for him.

"Choose the third one on the left." Just then, Fat Cat transmitted a message into his ear from his shoulder.

——Although only the ten of them were permitted to choose a war chariot in person, who would mind Chu Hao bringing a cat along?

Chu Hao glanced at it and used Divine Sense to transmit back, "Don’t you screw me over!"

"Has Lao Tzu ever screwed you over, meow?" Fat Cat replied discontentedly.

"All the time!" Chu Hao said through gritted teeth. Although the cat did not harbor any malice towards him, it had still caused him trouble on numerous occasions—like neglecting to mention beforehand that the Thousand Illusion Fruit would turn him into a baby.

Fat Cat looked a bit sheepish. Its intentions had always been for Chu Hao’s sake, but it never cared about the method involved.

Chu Hao, however, went straight to the war chariot Fat Cat had mentioned, believing that Fat Cat wouldn’t lead him astray.

Yet this war chariot... it was in such terrible shape!

Of all the chariots here, this one was the most damaged. The left and right car plates had fallen off, leaving only the one in the front. The floorboard beneath his feet was riddled with holes of varying sizes, clearly pierced through by weapons.

Would this war chariot fall apart while moving?

He gritted his teeth and declared, "I choose this one!" He laid his hand on the car plate, and immediately a radiance flowed from the chariot; it did not reject him.

No one competed with him for it; this chariot was clearly the worst of the lot—who would fight over the worst one?

"Hahahaha, kid, at least you have some sense," a War King laughed boisterously nearby. Chu Hao and the Barbaric Girl had been ranking equally with him, which had annoyed him considerably. If Chu Hao had shown any more ignorance by trying to compete for the chariots with him, he really would’ve been unable to resist giving Chu Hao a beating. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Among warriors, the hierarchy is strict!

Now that he saw Chu Hao knew his place and had chosen the worst chariot for himself, his mood finally improved a bit.

"The weakest should indeed choose the weakest chariot. Considering you know your place, from now on, I’ll allow you to follow me and pick up the military merits I leave behind," he continued, "Don’t underestimate it. I am a War King, even the merits I leave behind are more than what you’d earn from a full day of bloodshed!"

This guy really thought too highly of himself.

Chu Hao responded with a faint smile, "I chose this chariot because I like it, which has nothing to do with you. Furthermore, you just reached the War King status before me. It won’t be long before I too reach that level, and even surpass you by far!"

It wasn’t boasting. With the Ancestral Pool baptism, the Ethereal Liquid, and Dual Cultivation with Su Wanyue, he could advance a minor realm every ten days—an astonishing rate—meaning he could reach the pinnacle of the War General Realm and start breaking through to War King within three months.

As long as he was in the same major realm, whom did he have to fear?

The War King was immediately enraged. He had thought Chu Hao was sensible, but how had he become so arrogant all of a sudden? He sneered and said, "Don’t think being capable of Elemental Transformation makes you invincible. You think I can’t do it?"

He stretched out his right hand, and at the thought, his hand turned into a gray stone state.

Elemental Transformation!

He must be a descendant of the Gu Clan; otherwise, no matter how talented one was, it would be impossible to use the power of Elemental Transformation before achieving War Venerate status. This was indeed the period when the descendants of the ancient clans were at their strongest—with rapid cultivation progress and near invincibility after Elemental Transformation!

However, once they progressed into the War Venerate Realm, the advantage of the ancient clans nearly vanished, as everyone was capable of Elemental Transformation, and the benefits of the Ancestral Pool baptism couldn’t be taken into the Upper Three Realms.

Elemental Transformation could counter one another, so although Chu Hao could transform a greater area, if he were punched or slapped by the opponent’s Elementally Transformed fist or palm, he would still be in trouble.

The overwhelming force of a higher realm could turn him into dust with a single blow.

"If you want to fight, take it outside," Chu Hao said coolly. He had the Silver Dragon Armor which could be used to activate defense at the extreme War King level. And in terms of offense, were his Starlight and Green Flame something to be scoffed at?

"Let it be, let it be; we are all on the same side. Why damage the good relations?" someone intervened to mediate, "When the war starts, we will compete in killing the enemy, in gaining military merits. That’s the true spirit of a Martial Artist!"

"Fine, let’s compete in military merits," that War King, looking at Chu Hao, declared, "Boy, I’ll take you up on a wager. If your military merits can reach even half of mine, I will kowtow to you three times. But if you can’t do it... you’ll lick the bottom of my shoes!"

Upon hearing this, the other eight all shook their heads inwardly.

The gap between a War King and a War General was merely double? Wasn’t this clearly just bullying Chu Hao?

Chu Hao sneered inwardly. Although he had only recently stepped into the War General Realm, when it came to attack power, with Starlight and Green Flame combined, he possessed incredibly powerful weapons that might not lose much to a War King.

Moreover, his cultivation was progressing too rapidly. It was extremely possible that he might become a War King in three months, and by then his combat power would naturally be even more formidable.

Compete with him?

"Fine, I accept the bet!" he declared loudly. If the other party intended to renege on the bet later... he would use his fists to show them why the flowers are so red.

The other War Kings were all shaking their heads, a First Tier War General betting against a fifth-tier War King, and under such harsh conditions, wasn’t this a certain loss? This young man was simply too impatient.

Su Wanyue and the Barbaric Girl, however, were full of confidence in Chu Hao, believing it wouldn’t be long before the War King would regret it to the point of turning green with envy.

After this minor interlude, everyone resumed searching for their favored War Chariots, and there were frequent battles erupting over a single War Chariot that caught the attention of two, or even three or four people simultaneously.

It all came down to strength, the strong were revered!

The Barbaric Girl was a Body Cultivator, but she did not have much of an advantage against the War Kings. Therefore, she could only get a War Chariot that nobody else wanted. By appearance alone, Chu Hao’s was the worst, followed by hers, which left the girl quite dissatisfied.

Once everyone had made their choices, Tu Han taught them how to "bind" with their War Chariots, so that they could control them as if they were an extension of their own limbs, at will.

It was actually quite simple, involving the resonance of the marks branded on their wrists with the War Chariots.

Half an hour later, they all completed the binding with their own War Chariots. Next, Tu Han instructed them on how to command their War Chariots.

These War Chariots did not require foot power.

"Use your soul as a medium, command the War Chariot, and form the thought of running," Tu Han said.

"Hee-roo-roo!" A majestic horse’s neigh rang out, and before one of the War Chariots, a huge warhorse appeared, covered in iron armor with a single horn on its head, and flames burning under its hooves.

Seeing this scene, everyone was shocked. This was not a real horse, but the aura it emitted was too powerful, undoubtedly of the War Venerate level, capable of subjecting ordinary War Kings to kneel down without the strength to rise.

Thankfully, they all had their own War Chariots, which emitted faint glows of light, the aura of bloody combat swirling around to protect them.

"Charge!" The owner of the War Chariot shouted, and the unicorn horse began to gallop, rumbling loudly, the ground thundering as the War Chariot passed, leaving behind two trails of flames that continued to burn.

How majestic!

The others found it very interesting and began to spur their own War Chariots into action. For a moment, various powerful magical beasts appeared, such as white three-headed lions, creatures with wolf-heads and tiger-bodies, three-eyed demon dogs, all exuding an intimidating and terrifying aura.

No wonder every tribe placed such importance on outsiders, as it was with these outsiders that they could command War Chariots, at least doubling the tribe’s high-end combat power.

"Chu Hao, hurry up!" The Barbaric Girl urged Chu Hao. Her War Chariot was powered by a Golden Dragon Elephant, which, in terms of "Rank," was the strongest among the nine of them.

Of course, these beasts were just figments and not physical entities, so judging the quality of the War Chariots by their ranks seemed somewhat inappropriate.

A thought crossed Chu Hao’s mind; could it be that the more dilapidated the War Chariot, the more powerful it was? It was not an impossibility because the stronger the War Chariot, the more fierce it would be in battle and thus seeing greater damage was to be expected.

What was his mount?

He jumped onto his War Chariot, and with a thought, boom, a ball of flames erupted in front of him, as if something was breaking out of its cocoon.

A clear and resonant cry rang out, a dreadful pressure instantly enveloping the entire city. A bird enshrouded in flames appeared, majestic and yet beautiful, regal like a Heavenly God.

It was... a Phoenix!

The Divine Beast among divine beasts, the fabled king of birds that could be reborn from the ashes!

Boom, the beat-up War Chariot immediately burst into flames as well. The worn markings on the shields began to glow, creating waves of terrifying pressure. A touch from an ordinary War General would result in immediate disintegration, and even War Kings would need to use all their strength to counter it and save their lives.

"Wow!" The Barbaric Girl’s eyes shone as she exclaimed, "So beautiful! So beautiful! Chu Hao, I want to trade with you!"

Su Wanyue did not venture far. She observed from a short distance, her pretty face also showing surprise and she inwardly praised Chu Hao’s luck. This War Chariot was not just more intimidating in appearance but was genuinely of higher quality.

However, her War Chariot was also strong. Her mount was a white Ice Bear, its aura nearly on par with the Golden Dragon Elephant, and it definitely ranked in the top three out of the ten War Chariots.

With a thought from Chu Hao, the Fire Phoenix flapped its wings, and the War Chariot shot forward like an arrow, too fast to describe, instantly surpassing Su Wanyue and the Barbaric Girl.

"Charge!" Su Wanyue shouted softly, commanding the Ice Bear to keep up.

"Wait for me!" The Barbaric Girl hurriedly spurred her War Elephant into a run. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)