The finely-dressed man ignored the villagers’ anger. He regarded Ah Hai coldly as he said, “I can give you an opportunity to stand up again. Will you come with me?”
Ah Hai looked up and met the eyes of the finely-dressed man. He remained silent.
The finely-dressed man continued to say, “I can give you a Roulian identity. The Guluo villagers won’t be giving you any more trouble… What do you think? Are you really willing to be a slave here for the rest of your life”
Ah Hai spat in response.
The finely-dressed man was not angered. He only shook his head and said, “I’ll ask you one last time, will you come with me?” A hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
At this moment.
Roar!
A strange cry reached the village from the west.
The villagers who hunted for a living looked in the direction of the sound.
“A beast?!”
“My lord… It’s a beast!”
The finely-dressed man wondered out loud, “This is a remote place, isolated by the 100,000-foot-abyss. How can there be a beast here?”
As soon as he finished speaking, an imposing beast that resembled a tiger flew into view from the west. It stared at them in the air as it held a scabbard stained by mud in its mouth.
At the same time, a few individuals emerged from the forest.
At the forefront, the old Lu Zhou carried the air of an immortal as he stood with his hands on his back.
The others followed closely behind him.
All of them were following the beast that was carrying a scabbard in its mouth at a leisurely pace.
The beast was not moving fast as well. Its speed was only slightly faster than if one were to walk.
The sun shone through the canopy of the forest and illuminated these people.
Before long, the beast descended at the entrance of the village.
When Lu Zhou arrived, he swept his gaze past Guluo villagers and the sticks and rods in their hands, the finely-dressed man, and the two large wolf dogs before his eyes finally landed on the young Yu Zhenghai who was curled up on the ground with his hands shielding his head.
It was understandable that Lu Zhou’s other disciples and the members of the Evil Sky Pavilion did not recognize the young Yu Zhenghai. However, as his master, how could he not recognize him?
Yu Zhenghai’s youthful appearance brought Lu Zhou’s memories back to 300 years ago.
Lu Zhou looked at the Guluo villagers again. With his current cultivation base, he could easily wipe out the entire village for his disciple’s sake, but he did not. There were better ways to go about this.
Since Lu Zhou remained silent, the others did not speak as well.
Lu Zhou walked up to Yu Zhenghai. When he saw the confused expression on young Yu Zhenghai’s face, realization dawned on him. He asked gently, “What’s your name?”
Lu Zhou had asked the same question to the same person 300 years ago. He wondered if this would trigger young Yu Zhenghai’s memories?
Young Yu Zhenghai looked around, bewildered, before he answered, “A-ah Hai…”
Lu Zhou looked down and extended his wizened but strong hand to young Yu Zhenghai.
Everyone only watched in confusion. They did not know what Lu Zhou’s intention was.
Lu Zhou’s disciples were equally as confused. They did not understand why their master would treat an unknown young man in such a manner.
Si Wuya who had spent considerable time with his Eldest Senior Brother was confused. When he met the dirty young man’s eyes, he felt stifled and uncomfortable in his heart.
Nobody moved.
With Lu Zhou here, everything would be fine.
Lu Zhou kept his arm extended, waiting for young Yu Zhenghai to take his hand.
Lives were exchanged in the endless world of mortals. Each was given his lot in life in the cycle of karma. It was rare to be reincarnated thrice. Would the past become naught after a long time?
Yu Zhenghai raised a trembling hand.
When Lu Zhou saw the confusion on young Yu Zhenghai’s face, he smiled faintly. Then, he pulled young Yu Zhenghai up to his feet.
When Yu Zhenghai’s hand made contact with Lu Zhou, several blurry images flitted past his mind before chaos descended in his mind. Blurry figures appeared in his mind, and he was filled with a sense of deja vu. ‘Who’s this old man?!’
At this moment, the finely-dressed man finally said, “Hold on.”
Lu Zhou glanced at him and said indifferently, “A Roulian cultivator?”
“This is the land of Rouli. It’s only natural for the people here to be Roulians,” the finely-dressed man said, “I’m Gelong. I’ve taken an interest in this young man. I’m planning to accept him as my disciple.”
“Accept him as your disciple?”
Gelong nodded. “He has a good foundation and is talented. He’s a promising candidate for cultivation.”
“You have a good eye for talent as well,” Lu Zhou said.
At this moment, Ah Dong who was standing at the village’s entrance said, “My lord, they’re all from Great Yan! Let’s get rid of them!”
The villagers had witnessed Gelong’s strength before.
Alas, Geelong ignored them. Instead, he looked at Lu Zhou and the others and said, “I’m taking this young man with me.”
“Let’s see if you’re able to.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gelong asked. He was about to attack when he sensed the mysterious auras from behind the old man. The cultivation bases of the people at the back were unfathomable!
The villagers, naturally, could not sense the cultivation bases of these visitors. They only wanted to watch a show.
Lu Zhou ignored them. Primal Qi surged from his wizened hand at this moment and entered Yu Zhenghai’s body to examine Yu Zhenghai’s dantian’s sea of Qi.
‘He’s a cultivator!’ Yu Zhenghai’s eyes widened. His instincts told him he would be saved.
Lu Zhou looked at young Yu Zhenghai. He stroked his beard as he pointed at Guluo Village and the finely-dressed man before he asked, “Do you want to defeat them?”
Yu Zhenghai nodded vehemently even though he was confused. He did not know what Lu Zhou was planning to do. He wanted to defeat these people more than anything else. Defeat is too soft a word; he wanted to kill them all!
“I do,” young Yu Zhenghai replied.
“Alright,” Lu Zhou said calmly, “You should learn to deal with your matters. I’ll teach you a killing method. Are you willing to learn?”
Young Yu Zhenghai nodded. “I am.”
“There are many in the world who wish to learn from me… If you want to learn, you’ll have to become my disciple. Are you willing?”
The Evil Sky Pavilion disciples who were clueless were, naturally, shocked. What was wrong with Lu Zhou today? Why did he suddenly accept this unknown young man as a disciple? Why?
Young Yu Zhenghai met Lu Zhou’s gaze.
The old man and the young man locked eyes.
300 years ago, Ji Tiandao did not ask this question. 300 years later, Lu Zhou fulfilled Yu Zhenghai’s wish in Ji Tiandao’s stead.
Perhaps, it was due to a fuzzy sense of familiarity, Yu Zhenghai’s instincts trusted the old man before him. Moreover, he wanted to leave this place as soon as he could. He wanted to agree to Lu Zhou, but he was also hesitant. This was because his senior brother, Yu Shangrong, had told him he would have a better master waiting for him in Great Yan. In the end, he said, stumbling on his words, “But… I-I already have a master.”
Upon hearing young Yu Zhenghai’s words, a few villagers laughed.
Ah Dong snickered. “Useless piece of trash! Ah Hai, how could someone like you have a master? You can’t even defeat me!”
“You take forever just to move some objects. The lord said that you’re talented and have a good foundation, but I think you’ve let it go to your head!”
“You can’t even defeat two wolf dogs in Guluo Village!”
Lu Zhou said gently, “That’s alright. If you can defeat them, I’ll help you find your master.”
‘I’m your master, after all.’
Young Yu Zhenghai was overjoyed. He no longer hesitated. He kneeled with a thud and kowtowed loudly thrice. He kowtowed so sincerely that the dirt on the ground stained his forehead.
The others were baffled. Only Si Wuya had trouble suppressing the complicating emotions rising in his heart.
The Roulian villager, Ah Dong, laughed again and said, “Him? If he can defeat me, I’ll chop my head off!”
Lu Zhou ignored the villagers. He looked at young Yu Zhenghai who was getting to his feet. He placed a hand on his shoulder. “Deal with your matters on your own.”
“Yes, master.”
Lu Zhou looked at Yu Zhenghai. Then, he extended his arm to the side and said, “Bring me the saber.”
“Huh?” Pan Zhong was puzzled.
Si Wuya waved his sleeve.
Pan Zhong walked up and placed the Jasper Saber he was carrying in Lu Zhou’s hand.
Lu Zhou said, “Since you’ve become my disciple, I’ll give you this saber. Wield it well!”
Young Yu Zhenghai was bewildered. The saber was cold to the touch. At this moment, he felt a strong sense of familiarity from the saber. The saber felt like an extension of his body; this feeling caused him to tremble. He looked at the saber speechlessly, clearly shocked.
Lu Zhou flipped his palm. A wooden rod fell into his palm. He slowly said, “I’ll teach you a set of saber techniques now.”
The villagers laughed even louder.
Yu Zhenghai nodded. “Mhm.”
“Listen carefully.” Lu Zhou turned around and stepped into the empty space. “This saber technique begins by accumulating the force of 1,000 blades. With a flick of your fingers…” He brandished the rod where he stood; he brought it to his left and right. The rod spun in his hand. His movements were fluid, neat, and thorough.
The others looked on with fearful respect as Lu Zhou taught the young man one of the most powerful saber techniques in the world. They stared at his movements.
Young Yu Zhenghai’s jaws dropped from shock. Both the saber and the technique seemed familiar to him. It was embedded in his blood and soul. He instinctively followed Lu Zhou’s movement with his Jasper Saber.
Lu Zhou seemed pleased by this. He continued brandishing the wooden rod.
“The silent wind, Qi as still as a lake, the shadowless light, the swift swing of the blade…”
The villagers were increasingly convinced that the old man in front of them was insane. Perhaps, it was due to the lack of Primal Qi, the old man looked comical and unimpressive as he waved the rod about.
Even the Roulian cultivator, Gelong, was baffled. ‘What’s this old man doing? Why is he teaching a young man he just met?’
“Hundred rivers south of the sea!” Lu Zhou moved more quickly and lunged forward to stab a tree with the wooden rod.
Bam!
The rod pierced the tree, leaving a hole in the trunk.
The others widened their eyes.
“Merge into one.” Lu Zhou tapped his foot, releasing a little Primal Qi. He tried to slow his movements and made them as detailed as possible. Then, he released his Primal Qi and leaped into the air. He tossed the wooden rod out as he said, “This is the Great Dark Heaven Memorial.”
The wooden rod released densely packed small spinning energy blades that shot down.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The trees dozens of meters around them were instantly fell by Dark Heaven Starlight!
The wind stopped, and the energy blades continued to fall.
