“The truth? What do you mean?” Zhao Feng asked with a curious expression.

“I’m sure you must be wondering how a mere member of a small clan is able to possess such advanced spear intent, as well as being able to casually give out two saint ranked martial techniques right?”

Zhao Feng nodded.

“Then let me ask you a question. Have you ever heard of the name ‘Devil Emperor Wang Kang’?”

“Devil Emperor Wang Kang…” Zhao Feng furrowed his brows as he tried to recall this name. After a few seconds, his face lit up.

“You remember something?” Mu Chen was a little expectant as he had no idea how much time had passed between his death and transmigration. It could have been a mere second ago, or maybe even ten thousand years. He needed more information.

“Yes. My grandfather loves to read in his free time. He has thousands upon thousands of books in his library which he had accumulated over the course of his lifetime. When I was a child, he would always tell me stories about legendary experts who could call the wind and summon the rain, grasping the entire world in their hands.” Zhao Feng explained.

“These supreme experts possessed immense power. Even a casual move from them could topple mountains and overturn seas. Devil Emperor Wang Kang was undoubtedly the strongest expert in his time, it was rumored that he was just one step away from becoming an immortal!” Zhao Feng retold the story enthusiastically, gesturing animatedly as he spoke.

“The greatest event of that time was that legendary battle atop the Nine Dragon Mountain Range, they call it the Devil Extermination! In that world shaking battle, hundreds of peak experts joined forces to surround and kill Devil Emperor Wang Kang. It was said that the Devil Emperor fought against them alone for seven days and seven nights before he was finally slain. On that day, the entire world trembled!"

Mu Chen had a thoughtful expression on his face as he listened attentively to Zhao Feng. It truly felt strange listening to someone tell your own story to you.

Moreover, they had also intentionally left out the part where he had used a formation to trap the righteous experts and then killed them using a forbidden technique. If the stone tablet had not reacted and transmigrated him, he would have died right there. Of course, only Mu Chen himself knew the actual course of events, seeing as he was the sole survivor.

"How long ago did this Devil Extermination happen?"

"Hmm...it should already have happened more than seven thousand years ago." Zhao Feng answered after thinking for a moment.

"Seven thousand years huh…" Mu Chen had a wistful expression on his face.

Seven thousand years was a long time. He wondered how the entire world had changed. Would he still be able to recognize it?

"Even if the entire world has changed, there are some things that always remain the same." He laughed.

"Zhao Feng. I am exactly that Devil Emperor Wang Kang!"

"?!" Zhao Feng stumbled and almost fell down. This was the last thing he was expecting to hear. In fact, he was not even expecting this. It wasn't on the list at all.

"Big brother, W-what did you say? Y-you said that you are Devil Emperor Wang Kang?!" He stammered as he pointed at Mu Chen with a trembling finger.

Mu Chen said nothing but smiled mysteriously.

Zhao Feng's mouth formed an 'o' shape and he did not speak a single word for almost an entire minute.

"H-how?" This was the only word he could manage to muster.

"Well you wouldn't understand even if I were to explain. To tell the truth, even I don't really understand it myself." Mu Chen shrugged.

"To cut a long story short, this is my new body. Essentially, I've been reborn."

Zhao Feng once again lapsed into silence.

"This world really is filled with incredible things.” He eventually sighed in amazement. "To think I am brothers with the legendary Devil Emperor himself."

From this moment, his entire life had completely changed. He was not only the young master of the Zhao Clan, but also a follower and brother of a legendary figure.

“This could be troublesome…My grandfather says devil cultivators are evil and should be killed.” Zhao Feng said with a concerned expression.

“Zhao Feng, in this world, one cannot simply look at it as white or black.” Mu Chen shook his head.

“White or black? What does that mean?”

“It means the world cannot simply be divided into right and wrong. An individual does what he has to do to survive. If it means becoming a devil, then so be it.” Mu Chen gazed up at the sky with a profound look.

“Hmmm…” Zhao Feng rubbed his head in puzzlement.

“It's fine, don’t think too much about it. You will learn eventually.”

Zhao Feng did not think too deeply, he believed what he saw. Mu Chen had treated him well, even helping him comprehend a higher level spear intent, and guarded him while he was in a state of comprehension, all without expecting anything in return. He was definitely not a bad person.

"Alright. So, big brother Devil Emperor, what is the next step?”

Mu Chen looked at Zhao Feng’s straight face for a moment and replied:

“I shall head back to Skywind City for now. You can just do whatever you want.”

“Then I shall come with you.”

The pair set off, leaving Thousand Beast Forest and returning to Skywind City. Along the way, Zhao Feng would tell Mu Chen more stories about the legendary figures from the past.

Zhao Feng’s entire demeanor changed when he was telling stories, he became much more talkative and animated, very much different from his serious persona when he was fighting. He seemed to enjoy telling his stories, so Mu Chen let him talk all he wanted

In these stories, there were several names Mu Chen had heard of before, and some which he had no idea who they were. All these prominent historical figures had fancy titles like Invincible Martial Emperor, Supreme War God, Peerless Divine Arrow etc. Even Mu Chen was starting to feel a little inadequate about his own title.

The two of them did not move at top speed by using their spiritual qi but instead opted to just walk the whole way. There was no rush anyway. In a world of human shaped monsters that possessed hundreds to thousands of years of lifespan, what was the point of rushing into everything? Sometimes it was nice to just take it slow for a while and enjoy the scenery.

Of course, along the way, some foolish demonic beasts tried to attack them, but were swiftly dispatched by Zhao Feng's spear. Mu Chen went ahead and absorbed the blood essence of these slain demonic beasts, not bothering to hide it from Zhao Feng. There was no point, the spear wielding youth was already his loyal follower and would not betray him.

Zhao Feng was once again amazed when Mu Chen explained that he had a treasure which could absorb and convert blood essence into supreme spiritual qi.

"Big brother Devil Emperor is indeed enigmatic and peerless!" He praised sincerely.

Mu Chen had to use some effort to resist the urge to slap Zhao Feng.

“Try not to call me that in public. Actually don’t ever call me that again.” Mu Chen said expressionlessly.

They took around three days to return back to Skywind City, leaving a trail of slain demonic beasts in their wake. Truthfully it was Zhao Feng doing most of the work. The moment a demonic beast appeared, he would automatically charge forward and attack, speedily taking it down.

Mu Chen was pleased. It was nice having someone kill demonic beasts for you while you just sat back and reaped the rewards. Moreover, Zhao Feng would also harvest some materials from the slain beasts, like teeth or bone, which could not be absorbed by Mu Chen. It was a win-win situation for both of them.

Once both of them neared the city gate, they stopped in their tracks.

"We should split up. I'll go alone from here." Mu Chen instructed. Just as he was about to leave, Zhao Feng called out to him.

"Big brother, hold on a moment. Take these." Zhao Feng retrieved a small box from his pocket and passed it to Mu Chen, who opened it. Laying inside were three pieces of rectangular paper with profound looking characters written on them.

"Oh? Thousand mile transmission talisman. Not bad." Mu Chen commented.

Talismans were essentially tools created by cultivators through combining ink and paper that were made using special materials.

They served many functions and were highly versatile. There were talismans that were used for offensive purposes, defensive purposes and even those that were utility based, such as the transmission talisman.

"I have the three corresponding ones. If you need me, use the talismans and you can talk to me directly. As long as I receive the message, I will come right away!" Zhao Feng patted his chest assuredly.

"Oh, and take this as well." Zhao Feng took out an ornate token and pushed it into Mu Chen's hands.

Mu Chen held it up to get a better look at it. The token was inscribed with intricate dragon patterns, and had the characters 'Zhao Yun' carved on it.

"That is my grandfather's token. Seeing it is akin to seeing him in person!" Zhao Feng declared proudly.

"Your grandfather gave you this? Won't you get in trouble for giving it away like this?" Mu Chen questioned.

"Well…I'm sure it will be fine. It's just a piece of metal. Grandfather won't mind." Zhao Feng scratched his head.

"I won't stand on ceremony then." Mu Chen pocketed the token and the talismans, then turned to leave.

These items would be very useful to him. The Mu Clan had influence, but only within Skywind City. The Zhao Clan that Zhao Feng belonged to was one of the strongest in the entire kingdom!

"Big brother, I'll be staying at the Grand Phoenix Inn inside the city. You can come find me directly if you need me!" Zhao Feng called out.

Mu Chen raised his hand in acknowledgement and disappeared into the city.