In terms of cultivation speed, the disciples who possessed the Great Void Seed were superior to those in the golden lotus domain and the red lotus domain. Even Duanmu Sheng, whose transformation was the weakest, was already trying to sprout the ninth leaf. Nevertheless, their speed was far slower compared to those in the black lotus domain.
Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong were top-notch experts in the golden lotus domain but were slightly weaker in the red lotus domain due to the existence of Ten-leaf experts.
'Great Void Seeds…' The most crucial part of the memory crystal had been destroyed by Ye Zhen. What exactly was the Great Void Seed?
Based on his knowledge and experience, Lu Zhou was certain even the greatest alchemist would not be able to create such a miraculous pill. From what he could gather from the memory crystal, Ji Tiandao had gone to the unknown place. The unknown place seemed to be perpetually overcast; it was rather dark so he could not see much. Ji Tiandao's cultivation base was not very high back then; he must have used some tricks to obtain the Great Void Seed. Otherwise, he would not have been able to obtain such precious things under the noses of so many Thousand Realms Whirling experts.
Naturally, there was a possibility that the Great Void Seeds were trash, and no one in Great Void paid attention to them. However, the possibility of it was low. A treasure that could increase one's aptitude for cultivation; how could it be considered trash? Those people were clearly capable of searching for Great Void Seeds.
'This matter… If it's possible to hide it, then it's best to hide it…' Lu Zhou planned to disclose this matter to his disciple initially, but he dismissed the idea later.
At this moment, he looked at Duanmu Sheng and called out, "Old Third."
Clank!
The Overlord Spear fell to the ground.
"Master, you're… you're calling me?" Duanmu Sheng hurriedly picked the Overlord Spear up, stunned.
"How's the progress of your cultivation?" Lu Zhou asked. It was normal for a master to ask about his disciple's cultivation. Naturally, it was frowned upon for outsiders to ask one about one's cultivation.
Duanmu Sheng scratched his head and said embarrassedly, "Master, I h-have… e-eight… eight l-leaves."
Nevertheless, Lu Zhou was very satisfied. He was very familiar with Duanmu Sheng's aptitude and talent for cultivation. Among all his disciples, Duanmu Sheng's talent and aptitude were the lowest. After cultivating diligently for a long time, it was not easy for him to reach the Eight-leaf stage.
It was to be expected for his first and second disciple to sprout the ninth leaf. They had been stuck at the Eight-leaf stage for years, and when the shackles were broken, they hurriedly seized the chance to sprout their ninth leaves. It would not be surprising even if they sprouted the tenth leaf.
For this reason, he did not bother his first and second disciple much about their cultivation progress.
After a moment, Lu Zhou shifted his gaze away from Duanmu Sheng and called out, "Old Fourth."
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Qiong Qi ran over and lay in front of Lu Zhou like a domesticated dog.
Ming Shiyin. "???"
This dog really knew how to act.
Lu Zhou sized up Qiong Qi. He did not expect Qiong Qi would grow to double its size so quickly. If the Sky Shuttle was not big enough, it would have to fly on its own.
Mingshi Yin walked to his master. "Master."
"What's your cultivation base?"
Mingshi Yin said with a smile, "I'm at the Nine-leaf stage."
"Are you hiding your strength?"
Mingshi Yin hurriedly denied his master's words. "I'm not hiding anything. I've always been very honest. The sun and the moon can be my witnesses!"
Following that, Lu Zhou no longer paid attention to Mingshi Yin. He turned to look at Duanmu Sheng's Overlord Spear and asked, "You didn't let the Sky Research Court reforge your weapon?"
Duanmu Sheng held his Overlord Spear and continued wiping it as he replied, "I couldn't bear to have it reforged. Moreover, the forging materials are really high. I think it's good as it is now."
Lu Zhou thought about his disciples' weapons. Yu Shangrong's weapon was still in the Sky Research Court; Duanmu Sheng and Zhao Yue's weapons were at the heaven-grade; Conch had two weapons: the Nine String Zither and the Lantian Jade Flute. She was also his only disciple to possess a flood-grade weapon.
When they arrived in the capital, he would speak to his disciples about their weapons, or perhaps, he would just directly let the Sky Research Court reforge their weapons.
Following that, he shifted his attention to Yu Shangrong. "Old Second."
Yu Shangrong turned around to look at his master.
Lu Zhou asked, "How's the reforging of the Longevity Sword coming along?"
"Master, you once said the Sky Research Court is filled with many talented people. Wang Dachui is confident, and he doesn't seem like a braggart. He said he'll be done in three months," Yu Shangrong replied.
"That's good."Lu Zhou nodded.
Jiang Aijian said enviously, "Mister Second, you're really lucky. Your sword is jumping from the heaven-grade directly to the flood-grade. I wonder when I'll be able to own a flood-grade sword?" As he spoke, he caressed Dragonsong.
"That's not necessarily true," Yu Shangrong said with a smile, "It's incredibly difficult to forge a flood-grade weapon. Although we have the fire spirit stones, it'd depend on luck as well."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The four elders of the Evil Sky Pavilion suddenly felt their weapons were not very good at all. They thought about the flood-grade Nine String Zither that the Sky Research Court created that was said to be the most perfect weapon ever created. Why was it called the most perfect weapon?
Lu Zhou turned his head to look at Conch. She was still standing in the wind, lost in her thoughts. He called out, "Conch."
Conch turned around. "Master."
"You've just emerged from your closed-door cultivation so you haven't had a chance to properly greet your other fellow disciples and the elders," Lu Zhou said.
Despite her cultivation base and background, Conch was the youngest and newest disciple, after all.
Conch obediently greeted the members of the Evil Sky Pavilion.
"Greetings, senior brothers. Greetings to the four elders." Conch bowed.
Everyone returned the greeting.
Meanwhile, Si Wuya looked at his youngest junior sister with a complicated expression on his face. He recalled the poem and the name he had gleaned from that poem before he said, "Luo Shiyin?"
"Seventh Senior Brother," Conch responded with a faint smile on her face.
"I've studied Luo Xuan's notes countless times, and there are contradictions in them. I was certain there was no Luo Shiyin in the world. Who knew I'd only guessed half of it right…"
At this moment, Yu Zhenghai chimed in, "Well, you didn't guess wrong either. I'll tell you the specifics once we reach the capital. Sit tight, I'm going to speed up!"
…
The Sky Shuttle entered the capital in the evening.
The lights were bright. Even the formations and inscriptions in all directions shone brightly like lamps.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
At this moment, dozens of armored soldiers flew up and blocked the Sky Shuttle's path.
Upon seeing this, the four Grand Dukes flew out of the Sky Shuttle and showed their identity tokens to the soldiers.
The expressions of the armored soldiers changed drastically. All of them bowed in unison. "My apologies for failing to recognize Mount Tai. I respectfully welcome Grand Dukes…"
There was no need for Lu Zhou and the others to make a move at all.
After the four Grand Dukes returned to the Sky Shuttle, Wang Yun, the Grand Duke of Zhen, said, "Senior Lu, Your Majesty, why don't you come and live in my humble abode?"
Since he was allowed to return to the capital, Wang Yun knew it meant that the old man decided to let him live. Moreover, he seemed to have grasped the way that the old man did things; that was to say the old man liked to… go with the flow. It was just as he had heard; the old man appreciated people who understood the situation, someone who knew when to retreat and advance. He had always been more observant compared to the other three Grand Dukes. Therefore, he had been silently reminding himself and warning himself not to make a mistake. For now, it proved that he had done the right thing.
Lu Zhou did not respond.
Instead, Li Yunzheng said, 'Return to the palace…"
"Understood," Wang Yun said without any hesitation.
The Sku Shuttle continued to fly toward the royal palace under the lead of the four Grand Dukes.
…
When the Sky Shuttle landed in the royal palace, night had already fallen.
After the necessary arrangements were made for the members of the Evil Sky Pavilion, Si Wuya and Li Yunzheng made their way to the Preservation Hall to look for Lu Zhou.
Before Si Wuya spoke, Li Yunzheng said, "Grandmaster, I've already issued an imperial edict. I've summoned all the civil and military officials, the eight Great Generals of the Ten Paths, and the envoy to court the day after tomorrow, in the morning."
"Alright," Lu Zhou replied curtly.
"Then… I'll take my leave now, grandmaster." In comparison to himself, Li Yunzheng always felt that his grandmaster was more like the emperor.
In the end, Si Wuya and Li Yunzheng did not do anything in the Preservation Hall. After this brief exchange, the duo turned around and left.
Si Wuya could tell that something was weighing on Li Yunzheng so he asked, "Are you afraid master will take your throne? You should know if he wants your throne, you would've died a long time ago. It would've been so much easier to kill you instead of going around in such a big circle to help you before killing you."
Li Yunzheng shuddered upon hearing Si Wuya's words. He hurriedly said, "Thank you for your reminder, Teacher."
"There are many things that aren't as simple as you think they are…" Si Wuya said.
Li Yunzheng felt guilty for thinking such a thing. After a moment, he asked, "Master, are you confident about the day after tomorrow?"
Si Wuya smiled and asked, "Have you forgotten what I said?"
"The weak have no right to speak." Li Yunzheng nodded. "However, there's one person among the civil and military officials who's difficult to deal with."
"Hmm?"
"Father personally bestowed the position of Prime Minister Zhang Yuanren when he was still in power. The Zhang family had produced five generals. 100 years ago, in order to protect Great Tang, they died one after another. All of Great Tang's eight Great Generals have connections with the Zhang family. He's not someone who's afraid of death. If he decides to fight to the death, what should we do? If we kill him, we'll definitely lose the hearts of the people," Li Yunzheng said worriedly.
"You are the emperor!" Si Wuya said, emphasizing each word. After that, he left with his hands on his back, leaving the young Li Yunzheng standing in the courtyard outside of the Preservation Hall.
Li Yunzheng looked as though he was lost in his thoughts as he stared at the starry night sky.
The familiar smell of the night air was not present at this time. Instead, the metallic smell of blood permeated the night air as though heralding the bloody storm that was coming.
