The Ten-leaf elite, Nie Qingyun, watched this arrow that seemed to be carelessly shot out with a complicated gaze. If he was honest, he could not pull something like that off. This exceeded the bounds of logic.
For an ordinary Nascent Divinity archer, several thousand meters was already the limit of a reasonable firing range. Every new addition of a leaf would increase the range somewhat. The more profound the archer’s cultivation base, the better their precision when they shot a target in the distance. This also depended on the weapon, the circumstances, and if anything stood in the way of the line of fire.
A cultivator’s eyesight would improve as their cultivation bases improved. Without anything obstructing their view, they could even shoot down something several thousand or tens of thousands of meters away. The condition was that the energy arrow did not dissipate. After all, an energy arrow was only a body of energy. It would be weakened throughout its flight. This was the greatest restriction in regard to shooting a target from a distance. If someone could transport their energy arrows across such a distance, they would be invincible in a defensive battle.
Nie Qingyun did not expect Lu Zhou would be able to pull this feat off so easily.
Wang Shizhong said with a sigh, “Thank you for showing mercy, Senior Lu. Weaklings have no place to speak in front of an expert. I understand that… I agree to all the conditions, but I can speak on behalf of the royal court. Apart from me, there’s a second head of the secretariat, and a third…”
“You don’t have to worry about that. Take him away.”
With that, Wang Shizhong and Wang Shu were locked up in the prison by the Cloud Mountain disciples.
The remaining members of the Wang Family brought the survivors and left Cloud Mountain under Wang Shizhong’s command. When they returned, they did not dare to speak carelessly as well. They only said their lord was accompanying the emperor on a tour of Cloud Mountain and would not be back for some time. After all, they knew a slip of tongue would result in the deaths of Wang Shizhong, Wang Shu, and the hostages from the Sky Martial Court.
Just like that, the matter was solved.
Next, it was time to figure out a way to fight the elites from the palace and the Sky Martial Court.
“Those who have no business here may leave,” Lu Zhou said.
Nie Qingyun understood Lu Zhou’s intention. He waved his hand, dismissing the Cloud Mountain disciples.
The disciples finally recovered from their shock of watching the energy arrow and quickly left the cloud platform.
In just a moment, only the four members from the Evil Sky Pavilion, a few people from the Thousand Willow Monastery, and Nie Qingyun and a few of his elders were left on the cloud platform.
Lu Zhou turned to look at Li Yunzheng who did not leave.
Li Yunzheng shuddered. Then, he hastily rose to his feet and said, “Grand… Grandmaster! I… I t-think I should learn archery from you!”
Lu Zhou steeled his expression. “You like novelties, and your temperament is still indeterminate. Are you planning on ruling the lands like this?”
“…” Li Yunzheng lowered his head, embarrassed. Without the people from the palace, he no longer looked like a monarch. In front of Lu Zhou, he was just a child who was still wet behind the ears.
Lu Zhou returned to his seat and sat down slowly. He said, “Tell me about the palace.”
Li Yunzheng sat down as well. He said with a sigh, “I barely had any chance to get involved in matters of the palace. The officials make most of the decisions. They’re all in cahoots, only seeking benefits. The royal military force is single-handedly managed by Commander Xiahou Sheng who’s on friendly terms with Yu Chenshu. The capital is guarded by five dukes. Wang Shizhong’s father, Wang Yun, is Duke of Zhen. The other four dukes, Duke Zheng Ting of Yun, Duke Cui An of Fu, Duke Li Tianning of Hu, and Duke Li Chang of Wei collectively control the royal court. The military and ten Circuits are guarded by eight generals and a provincial governor…”
Lu Zhou felt troubled after listening to this introduction. He grew increasingly regretful for not bringing Si Wuya here with him.
Although Li Yunzheng was just a puppet emperor, he understood the general power better than anyone else. He kept talking for some time, but no one remembered anything he said.
Finally, Lu Zhou raised his hand and interjected, “That’s enough.”
“I’m not finished yet. Give me two hours…”
“There’s no need to go into the details. You can fill your teacher in when he arrives,” Lu Zhou said as he stroked his beard. Then, he asked, “Just tell me this, are there any other cultivators that I should look out for?”
The structure of the palace was extremely complicated. Lu Zhou had no interest in understanding it. All he needed to do was keep an eye on the elites.
Li Yunzheng nodded and said, “By elites, do you mean those above the One-leaf stage, grandmaster?”
Lu Zhou smiled faintly before he said, “I’m talking about those at or above the Ten-leaf stage. There’s no need to tell me about those from the One-leaf to the Nine-leaf stage.”
Lu Zhou was confident in his ability. He thought nothing about cultivators at the One-leaf to the Nine-leaf stage.
For Li Yunzheng, he considered the Nascent Divinity cultivators elites. He did not expect the old man in front of him to be interested in only Ten-leaf cultivators.
“If we’re talking about Ten-leaf cultivators, the only ones I know are General Xiahou and Court Master Yu Chenshu. As for the others…” Li Yunzheng mulled over it for a moment before he said, “It’s said that there’s an elite hiding inside the palace. However, I haven’t seen him until now. When you snuck in the other day…”
“Hm?” Lu Zhou frowned.
“I mean, when you came to see me the other day, grandmaster, the elite didn’t show up. Perhaps, it’s just a rumor that people in the palace created. There might not be any truth to it at all,” Li Yunzheng said.
Little Yuan’er said disapprovingly, “That doesn’t sound right. If my master didn’t want anybody to discover him, that so-called elite wouldn’t even be aware of my master’s presence, let alone show up.”
“Yes, yes, yes, I misspoke. Grandmaster’s cultivation base is unfathomable. How could others notice you if you don’t wish to reveal your presence.” Li Yunzheng quickly corrected his words. “However, if there’s truly an elite hiding in the palace, it won’t be easy to find him. The palace is huge, after all”
Lu Zhou stroked his beard and nodded. “Any other Ten-leaf cultivators you can think of?”
“The eight generals of the ten Circuits are all Nine-leaf cultivators. There might be Ten-leaf cultivators hiding in other cultivation sects as well. In the past 2,000 years, many sects downplay their strength in public. Ever since the Sky Martial Court confirmed the existence of foreign worlds, the sects kept an even lower profile. They’re all worried that they would become a target of the golden lotus domain,” Li Yunzheng said.
Nie Qingyun nodded in agreement as he chimed in, “Indeed. That’s the reason I went into secluded cultivation as well. I wanted to try and initiate my Birth Chart or cultivate the karmic fire. Alas, my efforts are fruitless. Based on the speed of the growth of the cultivation world, there would be two or three Ten-leaf cultivators every 2,000 years.”
“From the available public information, Yu Chenshu is the only Ten-leaf cultivator in the Sky Martial Court, and he has also cultivated the karmic fire. If that’s true, doesn’t it make the Sky Martial Court the most formidable force in Great Tang?” Yu Zhenghai asked.
“2,000 years ago, the Sky Martial Court had a branch that was called Sky Research Court. The Sky Research Court gathered the best minds under the heavens, and they managed to recruit outstanding talents. Luo Xuan eventually became one of Sky Research Court disciples. Three centuries ago, 100 Sky Research Court cultivators went missing, and they were never found. Even so, the foundations laid by the Sky Research Court were too firm. Whether it was talismans, medicinal pills, or weapons, the other sects could hardly compare to them. The Sky Martial Court became the greatest sect in Great Tang because of the Sky Research Court,” Nie Qingyun replied.
Yu Zhenghai was taken aback when he heard this. Then, he nodded as he said, “I didn’t expect the Sky Martial Court to have such a background. No wonder they’re able to bring so many boxes of treasures.”
There were more than 20 boxes on the cloud platform.
Nie Qingyun said, “This is nothing. When I was a Nine-leaf cultivator, I went to Guannei Circuit for my studies. When I was there, I visited the Sky Martial Court. At that time, the capital was under attack from a tide of beasts. About ten huge beasts besieged the capital. The Sky Martial Court used several hundred thousand extreme-grade talismans and worked with many elite cultivators, successfully repelling the beasts.”
