Chapter 192: Emanc.i.p.ate Yourself and Become the Master
Lu Zhou saw Pan Zhong being bound by the Nirvana Sash as he shot past the doors of the great hall. He projected his voice, “Stop playing around.”
Little Yuan’er landed on the ground and responded with a slightly aggrieved tone, “Oh.”
Lu Zhou shook his head. He returned to the hidden chamber and continued his comprehension.
…
Outside the great hall.
Pan Zhong’s face was bruised and swollen from being tossed around by the Nirvana Sash.
Under Little Yuan’er’s control, the Nirvana Sash unbound him and returned to its owner.
It wrapped around Little Yuan’er before it seemingly disappeared into her black robes.
Little Yuan’er scratched her head and said, “Shall we… try this again at the back of the mountain? I’m not familiar with it yet.”
Pan Zhong waved his hands frantically and said, “Miss Ninth, I’m no match for you…” He kept begging for mercy, unwilling to spar with Little Yuan’er. Even if she did not have a breakthrough, he still would not be so foolish as to spar with her.
“You’re boring.” Little Yuan’er placed her hands on her hips.
When Pan Zhong saw this, he said in a hushed tone, “Miss Ninth… Brother Zhou has been practicing the sword lately, and he seems to have improved a lot. He was the first disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect and is a genius in swordplay.”
“Where’s he?”
“At the back of the mountain.” Pan Zhong did not hesitate and pointed toward the back of the mountain. He intended to offer more words of praise, but when he turned around, he discovered Little Yuan’er had left, leaving only a fleeting afterimage behind.
Pan Zhong sighed and shook his head. He muttered under his breath, “I’m sorry, brother Zhou.” He touched the wounds on his face. ‘Fortunately, they aren’t too serious.’
At this moment, Mings.h.i.+ Yin who so happened to be flying past saw Pan Zhong’s bruised and swollen face. “Pan Zhong… What happened to you?”
Pan Zhong bowed and said, “h.e.l.lo, Mister Fourth… It’s nothing, I just tripped and fell over while I was walking.”
Mings.h.i.+ Yin was no fool. n.o.body could injure themselves to this extent from a minor fall. He asked, “Where’s my little junior sister?”
Pan Zhong glanced in the direction of the back of the mountain and said, “Miss Ninth obtained her heaven-grade weapon, the Nirvana Sash, and was eager to find someone to spar with… I think she has gone to look for Zhou Jifeng.”
“What? The heaven-grade weapon, the Nirvana Sash?” Mings.h.i.+ Yin repeated, puzzled.
“How could I have forgotten about Mister Third and Mister Fourth… Both of you have profound cultivation bases and wield heaven-grade weapons. Both of you are the best candidates to spar with Miss Ninth and her new heaven-grade weapon,” Pan Zhong said as he smacked his forehead.
Mings.h.i.+ Yin landed on the ground and said nonchalantly, “It’s fine if you tell my little junior sister to look for Third Senor Brother… if you see her, tell her I’m terribly busy.” As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared at lightning speed.
Pan Zhong scratched his head. ‘Busy? Weren’t you just looking for Miss Ninth?’
A series of low wails rang from the back of the mountain, causing Pan Zhong to shudder. Realization dawned on him at this moment. ‘I should leave now!’
…
Five days later.
The Golden Court Mountain was in disarray during these five days. The Nirvana Sash could be seen everywhere.
…
In the hidden chamber of the Evil Sky Pavilion.
Lu Zhou who was comprehending the Heavenly Writing was, naturally, unaware of what was happening outside.
The Dao-shaping stage of his Divine Court realm was stable now.
With just a thought, he launched the system interface.
Name: Lu Zhou
Race: Human
Cultivation base: Dao-shaping stage, Divine Court realm.
Merit points: 12,820
Avatar: Seven Star Soul
Remaining life: 6,249 days
Item: Deadly Strike Card x1, Impeccable Card x1, Critical Block Card x7 (pa.s.sive), Binding Cage Card x4, Refining Talisman x2, Ji Tiandao’s Peak Trial Card x1, Whitzard (rest completed), Bi An, Sky Fragment x1
Weapon: Unnamed, Life Cutter, Tear Stain Box
Cultivation method: Three Scrolls of Heavenly Writing
Lu Zhou noticed that Whitzard was completely rested. He did some calculations and discovered it would take Whitzard five days of rest to recover after unleas.h.i.+ng a powerful support move. This was a surprise to Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou decided to see if there were any new item cards. He opened the item mall… Unfortunately, the item cards remained the same.
Regardless, it was still a boost to have these item cards around. He only wished the price was not so high.
“Sky Fragments…” Lu Zhou checked the mission list again.
The missions of disciplining his disciples were there, as always. However, he did not know how he was supposed to go about disciplining his disciples to earn merit points. He could not just look for faults with them for no good reason. Moreover, the system would never allow him to exploit such a major flaw.
Lu Zhou searched for anything related to the Sky Fragments in his memories. Alas, Ji Tiandao had never given much thought to the Sky Fragments. He did not even bother to look at them. There were no clues at all.
“Perhaps, Elder Hua might know something about it.” Lu Zhou got up slowly.
An idea suddenly appeared in his mind. He raised his right hand, and Unnamed materialized in his grasp. He waved his left hand, and the Sky Fragment appeared.
‘Since the Sky Fragments are items from the system’s mission, can it be broken by Unnamed?’
Lu Zhou could not explain it, but he felt that he was developing an obsession to test anything solid against Unnamed.
Lu Zhou raised his hand, and a cold gleam flashed past.
Bam!
To Lu Zhou’s surprise, the Sky Fragment broke and fell to the floor.
The cut was clean, and Unnamed was unscathed.
“It’s really junk?” Lu Zhou regarded the Sky Fragment with a suspicious look. Even if he gathered all eight fragments, they were only a pile of junk.
‘What’s the use of collecting these?’ Lu Zhou was inwardly mocking the items when the broken Sky Fragment slowly connected and restored its original form.
‘What? It can repair itself?’
Lu Zhou conjured up some energy and picked the Sky Fragment up. He scrutinized it and saw that it was flawless as though it was never cut.
‘What an interesting item.’
Lu Zhou put the Sky Fragment away, turned around, and left the hidden chamber. He went into the great hall.
As soon as he entered, he saw Mings.h.i.+ Yin pacing around in the great hall.
When Mings.h.i.+ Yin saw his master, he hastily bowed and said, “Greetings, master. May you live for 10,000 years and beyond!”
“…”
‘He must’ve picked this up from Old Eighth.’ Lu Zhou asked, “What’s the matter?”
Mings.h.i.+ Yin replied, “I have two things to report. First, Pan Zhong returned home to pay respect to his ancestors. When I saw you were resting, master, I told him to go.”
“Pay respect to his ancestors?”
“Ever since Pan Zhong cultivated the Three Yin Technique, he had looked terrible. For this reason, he didn’t return home for three years. Now that he has cultivated the Six Yang Technique, he’s looking much better,” Mings.h.i.+ Yin said, “However, he was from the Clarity Sect after all. I’m just worried the Clarity Sect won’t leave him alone when he’s out there.”
Pan Zhong was now regarded as a villain as well, having joined the Evil Sky Pavilion. The Clarity Sect could not capture Old Eighth before this. There was no way they would let Pan Zhong slip through their fingers.
Lu Zhou nodded. “The Clarity Sect has already merged with the Righteous Sect. That’s not unexpected… The Clarity Sect has already aligned itself with the Second Prince. I think Mo Li is behind many of these incidents.”
“Master… Mo Li has been opposing us constantly… Why don’t you go to the Divine Capital and directly kill her?”
“Great Yan’s Imperial family isn’t as simple as you think,” Lu Zhou replied, “What’s the second matter?”
“The second matter is about little junior sister,” Mings.h.i.+ Yin said with a smile, “She’s turning 16 in three days. 16 is an age to remember! I’ve discussed this with Third Senior Brother, Fifth Junior Sister, and Eighth Junior Brother, we feel that we should do something to make her happy.”
Lu Zhou sighed. ‘Time flies. In just a blink of an eye, Little Yuan’er is now a young adult.’
At this moment, Little Yuan’er entered the Evil Sky Pavilion’s great hall with a few others.
“Master.”
“Pavilion Master.”
Lu Zhou glanced at them. He frowned slightly as he looked at Zhou Jifeng and asked, “How did you sustain these injuries?”
Zhou Jifeng hastily bowed and said, “I fell.”
Lu Zhou looked at Duanmu Sheng. He was not injured, but there was a slight tear at the hem of his clothes.
The female cultivators stood at the side, clearly too afraid to say anything.
Little Yuan’er lowered her head and shrugged, sticking her tongue out for a moment.
“Troublemaker!” Lu Zhou chided.
Little Yuan’er spoke fearfully, “I’m wrong, master.”
Lu Zhou shook his head. ‘She’s turning 16 soon, and yet, she has no respect for her seniors… This is unbecoming. She’s behaving outrageously after obtaining the Nirvana Sash. She shows no restraint or discipline. Moreover, with Duanmu Sheng’s cultivation base, there’s no way that he couldn’t beat Little Yuan’er. If she doesn’t respect her senior brothers, this meant she wouldn’t respect her seniors. She might even be disrespectful to me in the future!’
“On your knees,” Lu Zhou said.
Thud!
Zhou Jifeng kneeled instinctively in Little Yuan’er’s direction and said, “Miss Ninth, I… I’m sorry.”