"Yes." Duanmu Sheng was not as reserved as his Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother; he was more straightforward. He raised his Overlord Spear and looked at his master who was standing ten meters away. He had an illusion his master would kill him with one spear strike, but his rationality and instinct told him his master would not do that.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Duanmu Sheng raised his spear and charged forward. Then, he began to thrust his spear.
Lu Zhou retreated step by step, dodging the Overlord Spear. He was always able to dodge Duanmu Sheng's spear at the right time. This was thanks to the effect of his fourth Birth Chart that improved his speed and gave him a clearer understanding of his movements.
Duanmu Sheng, naturally, did not think he would be able to defeat his master. As long as he was not too quickly defeated by his master, it would be considered a success. Therefore, he brandished the Overlord Spear with all his might, hoping to last longer.
When Lu Zhou sparred with his disciples, he would not make a move in the beginning. He would dodge while he observed their skills from all angles. Duanmu Sheng was no exception.
Yu Zhenghai was quite well-rounded, but he had a little too many unnecessary movements; Yu Shangrong's speed was better and his movements were neater, but he only attacked and did not defend; Duanmu Sheng was overbearing and fierce, but he knew when to advance and when to retreat.
The four elders clicked their tongues in amazement as they watched.
Pan Litian said, "If he continues practicing like that, it won't be long before he defeats Elder Hua."
"Duanmu Sheng's spear techniques have their unique characteristics. His advances are sharp, and his retreats are fast. He seems as immovable as a mountain and as fast as lightning. I really don't see anything that needs improvement," Zuo Yushu commented.
"Let's continue watching."
Duanmu Sheng's spear techniques grew more and more formidable. His energy spears became more powerful as well.
"Thousand Waves."
The Thousand Waves was like a huge wave of energy spears. It covered a wide range and was difficult to defend against.
Lu Zhou unleashed his grand technique and arrived behind Duanmu Sheng in just a blink of an eye. Then, he struck with his palm.
Bang!
Duanmu Sheng hurriedly leaped up.
"Pavilion Master is making his move now." The eyes of the four elders brightened as though they had been waiting for this moment all this while.
Lu Zhou followed closely behind Duanmu Sheng and struck again.
Bang!
The palm seal landed on the ground as Duanmu Sheng deflected it with his energy spears.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At this time, Lu Zhou caught the Overlord Spear between two fingers and casually struck Duanmu Sheng three times on the chest.
Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong averted their eyes. They suddenly felt much better.
Duanmu Sheng continued to suffer a one-sided beating from his master.
The sound of palm strikes rang in the air continuously.
Pan Litian would shudder and shrank back from time to time as he watched. It was as though he was suffering the beating instead of Duanmu Sheng.
At this moment, Meng Changdong who was passing by heard the commotion near the Preservation Hall. Curious, he walked to the hall. After he saw what was happening, he could not help but ask the elders, "What's the pavilion master doing?"
"Teaching his disciple."
"Are you sure he's not just beating his disciples?"
"I have my suspicions as well, but do we have any evidence?" Pan Litian replied.
The other three elders shook their heads repeatedly.
"No…" Meng Changdong replied.
…
After some time had passed.
Clank!
The Overlord Spear fell to the ground.
Duanmu Sheng was bent over the ground. His face was swollen, and he was panting heavily.
Lu Zhou stood across from Duanmu Sheng and watched him with a calm expression before he said, "Your spear technique has reached perfection. In the future, focus more on your cultivation method. Leave the Overlord Spear here, and come back for it tomorrow morning."
He still had a shining stone left; there was no need to save it. Moreover, the effect of the Great Void Seed on Duanmu Sheng was not very good. This problem had to be solved.
Duanmu Sheng gasped for breath before he said, "Understood."
"Ding! Educated Duanmu Sheng. Reward: 500 merit points."
Lu Zhou nodded and turned around to enter the Preservation Hall. All of a sudden, he halted his footstep and turned around to say, "Summon Old Fourth here tomorrow."
As soon as Lu Zhou finished speaking, he received a notification.
"Ding! Educated Mingshi Yin. Reward: 200 points."
'How cunning…' Lu Zhou said in a deep voice, "If he doesn't come, break his legs."
"Ding! Educated Mingshi Yin. Reward: 200 points."
After saying that, Lu Zhou entered the Preservation Hall in a flash.
Following that, the Overlord Spear that was lying on the ground thrummed and buzzed before it shot inside the hall.
Bang!
The door to the hall closed with a bang.
At this moment, Duanmu Sheng sat limply on the ground.
Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong gave Duanmu Sheng a thumbs up at the same time.
"You're amazing!" This was one of the rare occasions where the duo saw eye to eye.
Meanwhile, the four elders sighed.
Pan Litian asked, "Guardian Meng, elders, Luo Shiyin aside, who do you think will sprout the tenth leaf first?"
Everyone thought about the question seriously. However, after a long time, they only shook their heads. This was a very difficult question to answer.
The first and the second disciple had been improving swiftly; no one knew the true strength of the fourth disciple; the ninth disciple had always been very talented and did not need to be beaten up to improve.
It was hard to say who would be able to sprout the tenth leaf first.
…
Over the next six months, Lu Zhou only did three things: educate his disciples, keep an eye on Zhao Yue, and stabilize the foundation of his fourth Birth Chart.
In fact, rather than saying he was educating his disciples, it was more like he was beating his disciples. In the last six months, apart from Little Yuan'er and Conch, his other disciples were all beaten black and blue.
With the effects of 'Mentor' and 'Eternal Paragon', his disciples had progressed rapidly.
Duanmu Sheng and Little Yuan'er successfully sprouted the ninth leaf.
Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong could have sprouted the tenth leaf, but due to the master's advice, they suppressed their cultivation base. They needed the investigate the points of the stone formations first and make sure the Birth Chart Beasts that would undoubtedly appear when they sprouted their tenth leaf would not be snatched away by the Black Tower Council.
At this time, everyone in the royal court knew about Lu Zhou educating and training his disciples and had gotten used to the brutality of the training.
When Li Yunzheng heard of his teacher training with his grandmaster, he went to have a look twice. It was so terrifying that it left a shadow on him. At that time, he was really glad Si Wuya was his teacher. With Si Wuya's help, his cultivation had been going rather well. It took him a month to temper his body before he entered the Mystic Enlightening Realm. However, his first priority was to govern Great Tang, and he only cultivated as a means of support. Therefore, he spent most of his time on political affairs. With the support from the four Grand Dukes and the civil and military officials, Great Tang became more stable as well.
During this time, Si Wuya was undoubtedly the busiest person. Apart from cultivating and teaching Li Yunzheng, he would hang out with those people from the Sky Research Court and study random things. In the end, even the geniuses from the Sky Research Court were convinced of his ability.
On the other hand, Sikong Beichen, the Temple Master of the Ninth Temple, and Nie Qingyun, the Sect Master of the Twelve Sects of Cloud Mountain, put the past behind them and were friendly with each other. After bidding farewell to Lu Zhou, they returned to their respective sects. Before they left, they promised Lu Zhou to rush over as long as Lu Zhou needed them.
Meanwhile, Xia Changqiu, the Monastery Master of the Thousand Willows Monastery, was very aware of his capabilities. Therefore, he did not return to the Thousand Willows Monastery and stayed in the palace to curry favors. After all, as long as he stayed with Lu Zhou, the Thousand Willows Monastery would be safe.
…
In the evening.
After cultivating, Lu Zhou opened the system interface to check his merit points.
Merit points: 125,500
Half of the merit points were gained from teaching his disciples in the last six months. They were really like trump cards.
Although the merit points were not a lot, it was not little either.
After a while, he wondered to himself, 'The Black Guards didn't appear at all… Are they afraid of me?'
In the past six months, everything seemed normal. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Even that mysterious woman, Lian Xing, did not go to Zhao Yue again.
"How long will this peace last? It should be about time for the first Ten-leaf cultivator to appear in the golden lotus domain. Should we break the balance by starting with the red lotus domain or the golden lotus domain?"
This was an important matter. He had discussed this matter with Si Wuya. The new Ten-leaf cultivator in the golden lotus domain would be a wild card; they might be easily manipulated by the black lotus domain into implementing the captive breeding plan.
On the other hand, the red lotus domain was in a delicate situation now. Ever since the incidents with Lu Li and Yi Yao, the Black Tower Council did not make any move at all. It seemed like the forces hiding in the dark were waiting for the balance to break.
With these thoughts in mind, Lu Zhou called out, "Someone, summon Si Wuya here."
