Chapter 866: The Lunatics from the Sky Research Court
The four Grand Dukes did not dare to move, afraid that the old man in front of them would suddenly kill them.
Lu Zhou turned around and descended as light as a feather.
Upon seeing this, the four Grand Dukes could not help but stagger a few steps, breaking out in cold sweat. After taking a deep breath to calm themselves down, they descended as well. Perhaps, they had been riding in the flying chariots for too long, when they landed, they felt lightheaded, giddy, and uneasy.
The four Grand Dukes were important figures in the capital of Guannei Circuit. With their high status, they would receive kowtows from others no matter where they went. However, today, it was the other way around. No one paid any attention to them, and everyone was looking at Lu Zhou reverently.
After landing steadily, Lu Zhou turned around and looked at the petrified lunatics from the Sky Research Court who were standing on the building opposite of the Sacred Rites Hall and said, “Aren’t you going to come down?”
The lunatics did not reply. Only after a while, they realized that Lu Zhou was talking to them.
Thud!
At this moment, the bald man who was in shock rolled down from the roof and fell to the ground, breaking a lot of tiles. He was so shocked that it seemed like he had become a fool and forgot that he was a cultivator. It was as though he had forgotten how to use Primal Qi.
“Ouch!”
The other lunatics regained their senses one after another when they heard the bald man’s exclamation.
At this moment, Zhen Ting, the Grand Duke of Yun, said, “Senior…”
However, Lu Zhou glanced at Zheng Ting and said, “Who allowed you to interrupt me?”
Zheng Ting was startled. He instinctively lowered his head and meekly took two steps back. He had no choice but to swallow his words to plead for mercy.
The cultivation world had always been cruel. No matter how high one status was, it did not mean it would always be the case.
The other three Grand Dukes sighed in relief inwardly. They looked at Zheng Ting with a hint of grat.i.tude as though they were thanking him for bearing the brunt of Lu Zhou’s ire on their behalf. Elites usually had unpredictable tempers; it was best to avoid provoking the old man.
Thus, the four Grand Dukes stood at the side like palace maids. They did not dare to look around unnecessarily and could only observe the situation from the corners of their eyes. Perhaps, it would be fine if they did not look, but when they did, they would be even more shocked.
At this time, Lu Tianning discreetly pointed at w.a.n.g s.h.i.+zhong who was kneeling nearby and looked at w.a.n.g Yun meaningfully.
When w.a.n.g Yun saw his son and granddaughter kneeling on the ground without a shred of dignity, he felt it was difficult to breathe. He wanted to do something, but he knew there was nothing he could do. He had long been aware that his son and granddaughter were trapped on Cloud Mountain. All this time, the royal court had been holding back and waiting for an opportunity to s.n.a.t.c.h his son, granddaughter, and the emperor back. Alas, not only did he not get the opportunity he was looking for, but he even witnessed such an outcome. He was really overwhelmed with mixed emotions at this moment.
When w.a.n.g s.h.i.+zong saw the conflicting expression fleeting past his father’s face, he hurriedly winked at his father furtively. It was good enough that he could keep his life; what else did he want?!
Lu Zhou looked at the lunatics from the Sky Research Court who remained in stunned silence and asked, “Are you not going to say it?”
A woman whose head was tilted to the side smiled ingratiatingly and hurriedly replied, “S-senior… We… We’re indeed the geniuses from the Sky Research Court.”
Upon hearing these words, those who were unaware of this fact were in shock and disbelief. All of them had heard of the Sky Research Court.
However, it was really difficult to a.s.sociate the people in front of them with the geniuses from the Sky Research Court. They just seemed like a group of repulsive and ugly people. There was one with an extremely bent back, a blind person, a bald man, another one who was riddled with scars old and new, and so on.
Lu Zhou looked at the bald man and asked, “What’s your name?”
The bald man chuckled and replied with a stutter, “My… My… My name is He Zhong.”
Upon seeing this, a man with his head tilted unnaturally to the side head tilted to the side hurriedly chimed in, “Senior, my name is Huang Yu. I’m skilled in formations and Dao inscriptions.” Then, he lowered his head and bowed before he looked up with a fawning expression and asked, “Senior, can I have a look at your Thousand Realms Whirling avatar?”
It was over!
The four Grand Dukes subconsciously raised their heads to look at the group of misfits.
It was unfortunate that most geniuses were blunt, and their emotional quotient was not high!
Was the avatar of an elite something one could take a look at just because one felt like it?
The four Grand Dukes thought the group of misfits was really courting death!
However, to the four Grand Dukes’ surprise, Lu Zhou’s expression did not change at all. Moreover, he said in a somewhat amiable tone, “I can let you see it, but you have to listen to me…”
Huang Yu cackled and nodded repeatedly, clearly delighted. “Good, good!”
Then. a skinny one-eyed man licked his lips before he said fawningly as well, “Senior, I… My name is w.a.n.g Dachui. I… I… I’m good at forging…”
“Forging?” Lu Zhou turned to look at w.a.n.g Dachui and sized him up for a moment.
To these people from the Sky Research Court, after being imprisoned for long, they had long been indifferent to life and death. People would not be able to imagine how difficult their days were in the underground prison. However, feelings that had been long forgotten like admiration and awe welled up in their hearts again when they saw the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar despite their fear and shock. They were researchers, after all. How could they not be in awe after witnessing such a scene?
Lu Zhou raised his hand and said, “Longevity sword.”
Yu Shangrong did not hesitate and respectfully placed the Longevity Sword in his master’s hand.
Swoos.h.!.+
The broken Longevity Sword was unsheathed in just a blink of an eye. Then, it flew and came to a stop in front of w.a.n.g Dachui.
Lu Zhou asked, “Can this be repaired?”
w.a.n.g Dachui’s eyes lit up immediately. He seemed to have been cured of his stutter as he said without a hitch, “Good sword! What a good sword! This sword is incredibly sharp; it’s a peerless sword that has reaped many lives! The owner must be an expert of the Sword Path!”
Yu Shangrong smiled faintly. “It’s not worth mentioning.”
w.a.n.g Dachui glanced at Yu Shangrong. “This is your sword?”
“That’s right.”
“The compatibility of this sword and its owner has reached perfection. It’s first-cla.s.s in both quality and the way it was forged! It’s really first-cla.s.s in the world… But…” w.a.n.g Da Chui said before he suddenly came to a stop. Then, he continued to say, “The sword’s killing intent is too strong. There’s no doubt the sword is good, but it’s only the best among heaven-grade weapons. What a pity! What a pity!”
Yu Shangrong. “…”
To Yu Shangrong, the Longevity Sword was like his life. To insult the Longevity Sword, was it not to insult him as well? However, after pondering on w.a.n.g Dachui’s words for a moment, he had to admit w.a.n.g Dachui’s words were true. How could he refute the truth?
At this moment, Lu Zhou finally said, “I asked if you’re able to repair it. I didn’t ask for your evaluation.”
w.a.n.g Dachui scratched his head. Then, a previously unseen confident expression appeared on his face as he said with a smile, “If I can repair it, then no one in this world can! This is just a heaven-grade sword. It’s easy to repair it!”
“What do you need?” Lu Zhou asked.
“Three purple fire stones, and preferably a furnace above the desolate grade! Also… my hammer! I have to have my hammer! No other hammer is as good! I don’t need anything else apart from that. The sword was forged from an incredibly rare material. It has to be melted at a high temperature before it can be reforged. Most people only care about rare materials when they’re forging. However, the true essence of forging lies in the hammer! One needs skills and strength to wield the hammer when forging. There are 49 to 77 types… The first type…”
“That’s enough!” Lu Zhou interjected. “Can you use fire spirit stones instead?”
“Fire spirit stones?! You should’ve told me you have fire spirit stones earlier. They’re much superior to purple fire stones! The purple fire stones won’t be able to reforge the sword to perfection, and after reforging, the sword would still be at the same grade. However, with the fire spirit stones, if one is lucky, there’s a chance the sword’s grade would improve during the forging process! There are many grades of forging materials, and there are more than 20 types of stones that can be used for forging. The first one is…”
Everyone. “…”
Lu Zhou interjected again, “Since you said you’re capable of it, this old man will let you repair this sword. If you’re successful, this old man won’t treat you unfairly.”
w.a.n.g Dachui scratched his head and said, “There’s no problem with repairing it, but you have to provide me with the materials! A virtuous woman can’t cook without rice!”
Lu Zhou brought a fire spirit stone out from his body and tossed it over to w.a.n.g Dachui.
How could Yu Shangrong not understand his master’s intention? He hurriedly brought his fire spirit stone out and tossed it to w.a.n.g Dachui as well.
It was obvious to anyone paying attention that they were still short of one fire spirit stone.
The Sky Martial Court’s Qiu He had always been very tactful. At this moment, he stepped forward and said, “The Sky Martial Court has a few fire spirit stones. The forging hammer and the furnace are all kept in the Literary Star Warehouse.”
“Alright.” Lu Zhou glanced at Qiu He before s.h.i.+fting his eyes to Huang Yu. “Do you know how to draw formations?”
“I don’t know how to do it, then no one else in the world knows how to do it!” Huang Yu said confidently.
“The Longevity Sword is a good sword. How can it lack runes? I’ll leave the inscription of the runes to you. Are you willing to do it?” Lu Zhou asked.
Huang Yu did not agree immediately. Instead, he looked Lu Zhou in the eyes and asked, “Freedom?”
“I’ll grant you freedom.”
“It’s impossible… The others…” Huang Yu said as he looked around his surroundings with a helpless expression.
Lu Zhou did not look at the people standing on both sides. He stroked his beard and asked without changing his expression, “Is there anyone here who objects to this?”