In Great Tang’s capital in the red lotus domain.
Under Lu Zhou’s orders, Meng Changdong brought the five brothers to meet Li Yunzheng, the current emperor of Great Tang. He also explained some of the royal palace’s basic rules and the Evil Sky Pavilion’s situation.
The five brothers maintained a low profile and only nodded as they listened.
Meng Changdong told them that Li Yunzheng had given the Preservation Hall, the side halls near the Preservations Hall, and the back garden of the palace to the Evil Sky Pavilion for their use. The Evil Sky Pavilion was not idle; the members would patrol the palace walls every day.
Meng Changdong said, “The four elders discussing matters about cultivation near the palace wall are the four elders of the Evil Sky Pavilion. They’re the first to join the Evil Sky Pavilion.”
The five brothers looked at the four elders at the same time. Since their witchcraft cultivation was rather high, they had their own methods to discern auras.
“Ten leaves?”
Meng Changdong shook his head and said, “Don’t look down on the four elders. They’re rare cultivation geniuses. It’s only a matter of time before they enter the Thousand Realms Whirling stage.”
Talent brought one to higher limits while diligence only brought one to the limit. Most people worked hard but did not have the talent.
Meng Changdong continued leading the five brothers around the royal palace. Soon after, they arrived near another hall. He said, “That person over there is the Pavilion Master’s eighth disciple, Zhu Honggong.”
The five brothers looked at Zhu Honggong at the same time.
“The Pavilion Master’s disciple should have an extraordinary cultivation base…”
Buzz!
As soon as these words fell, the unique sound of energy resonating rang in the air.
Zhu Honggong manifested his avatar and vanished from sight in just a blink of an eye.
“Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar?!”
‘Is this not trash?’
Meng Changdong smiled. “Everyone, you shouldn’t underestimate this Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar. It isn’t an ordinary Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar.”
Sun Mu nodded and said, “Guardian Meng, there’s no need to explain. We understand. Let’s continue…”
Upon seeing the calm expressions on the five brothers’ faces, Meng Changdong did not continue to explain. It was great that they understood; there was no need to explain further.
When they arrived at another hall, Meng Changdong pointed at Mingshi Yin, who was leaning against the railing and looking as though he was asleep, before he said, “That’s Mingshi Yin, the Pavilion Master’s fourth disciple.”
‘This one should be an expert, right?’
“We should pay our respect,” Sun Mu said before he waved his hands at his brothers.
The five of them stepped forward and bowed in unison. “Greeting…”
Thump!
Mingshi Yin fell to the ground and looked around with a shocked expression on his face. “Who is it? Who is it?”
“…”
The five brothers were stunned. An expert could fall in such a manner? Cultivators’ instincts and reflexes were far superior to ordinary people after all.
Mingshi Yin swept his eyes across the group of people and said, “Don’t disturb my sleep.”
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Qiong Qi ran over at this moment and carried Mingshi Yin on its back before it ran in the direction where there was no one to disturb them.
Meng Changdong who had gotten used to this smiled. “Mr. Fourth is always like this. You’ll get used to it soon enough. I can tell you for sure that Mr. Fourth is the disciple whom the Pavilion Master is proud of.”
Sun Mu pursed his lips.
‘If that person is the disciple whom the Pavilion Master is most proud of, then the others must be trash…’
Outwardly, the five brothers nodded expressionlessly and said, “I understand.”
The group continued forward. When they drew close to a courtyard, the sound of laughter and music entered their ears.
Meng Changdong came to a stop and began to explain. “The ones living in this courtyard are the Pavilion Master’s ninth and tenth disciple, Ci Yuan’er and Conch.”
Since the five brothers could not see the two women, they could only judge by the melody.
Sun Mu nodded slightly. ‘This disciple’s foundation isn’t bad. However, being skilled in music is unique, but it’s far from enough…’
“Hundred Tribulations Insight avatars?”
“That’s right.”
‘Alright then…’
Meng Changdong continued to say, “Don’t judge them by their cultivation base; they’re very young. They’re the most talented cultivation geniuses I’ve ever seen. Also, it’s best not to provoke them.”
The five brothers nodded expressionlessly again.
Meng Changdong led them to the eastern city wall before he came to a stop.
All of them looked up and saw a green-clad swordsman holding a long sword standing on the left and a saber user who stood on the right with his hands resting on his back.
Sun Mu exclaimed, “They have the air of an expert…”
The other four brothers echoed, “They have the air of an expert…”
Meng Changdong smiled and said, “All of you really have a discerning eye. These two are the Pavilion Master’s first and second disciple. The first disciple is Yu Zhenghai; he’s the one standing on the right. His saber skills are at the peak of perfection, and his cultivation method, the Great Dark Heaven Memorial, is invincible. As far as I know, he has never lost.”
Meng Changdong paused for a beat before he continued to say, “The person standing on the left is Yu Shangrong, the Pavilion Master’s second disciple. His sword skills have reached perfection, and he has comprehended the sword path’s son of heaven’s sword a long time ago. He has never lost as well…”
‘Aren’t you bragging too much?’
Sun Mu could not help but ask, “Then, what if two of them fight?”
“Good question!” Meng Changdong gave Sun Mu a thumbs-up. “Mr. First and Mr. Second love sparring. Up until now, no victor has been determined between them!”
“…”
The five brothers instinctively shook their heads. They thought this was too fake. How could they be unable to determine a victor?
After a moment, Sun Mu asked, “Guardian Meng, what are their cultivation bases like?”
“Mr. First has entered the Thousand Realms Whirling Stage. As for the number of Birth Charts, I’m not sure. Similar to Mr. Eighth, Mr. Second also has the Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar. However, his Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar is very powerful.”
Meng Changdong did not go into details since it involved the disciples’ privacy. Hence, his words were restrained and conservative.
However, when the five brothers heard the words ‘Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar’ again, they were speechless.
‘Since when did Hundred Tribulations Insight avatars become worthy of showing off? Moreover, up until now, there’s only one Thousand Realms Whirling avatar!’
At this time, the five could not help but feel cheated. However, after thinking about it further, they thought it did not matter if the disciples were not strong. It was not like they wanted to rely on the disciples. The one they wanted to rely on was the Pavilion Master of the Evil Sky Pavilion.
“Ms. Fifth and Ms. Sixth Live in the Evil Sky Pavilion and aren’t in Great Tang. Mr. Third and Lu Wu have gone to the Unknown Land and won’t be back so soon,” Meng Changdong said.
Sun Wu was shocked. “Lu Wu?”
Meng Changdong nodded. “That’s right. Lu Wu has been subdued by Mr. Third.”
“…”
‘Finally, someone strong!’
‘To be able to subdue Lu Wu, the third disciple must be a Venerable Master!’
The five brothers were immediately invigorated and instinctively straightened their backs.
“So, Mr. Third is the strongest disciple in the Devil Sky Pavilion?” Sun Mu asked.
“No,” Meng Changdong shook his head and said, “In terms of strength, Mr. First and Mr. Second are the strongest. In terms of dependability, Mr. Fourth is the best. In terms of…”
“Wait.”
The five brothers were not interested in the others. They bluntly asked, “How did Mr. Third subdue Lu Wu?”
“The Pavilion Master made a move…” Meng Changdong said.
“…”
Meng Changdong did not know what transpired in the Unknown Land. He only knew that Lu Zhou went to the Unknown Land and brought Lu Wu back.
“Alright.” Sun Mu nodded.
Meng Changdong said, “Other than the ten disciples, we have the Left and Right Envoys of the Evil Sky Pavilion. They’re now dealing with the aftermath of the battle in Jiangbei Circuit.”
“Aftermath of the battle?”
“The Black Emperor, Mu Ertie, colluded with the fierce beasts to go to war with Great Tang. As a result, the common folks in Great Tang’s four circuits are suffering. Left Envoy Yan and Right Envoy Lu worried about the livelihood of the people so they’re helping them to rebuild their lives. They are both people I admire greatly. With their status, there’s no need for them to personally do these things, after all.”
The five brothers nodded in unison. This was, indeed, something worth admiring.
Cultivators often did not intervene with the affairs of ordinary folks. Even if there was war, it was only between the cultivators. There were rules and restrictions after all. If there were no restrictions on those in high positions, if one day the people in high positions were unhappy and destroyed the world, what would the others do?
Meng Changdong continued with his introductions. “Guardian Shen and Guardian Li are in the Evil Sky Pavilion. When you have the time, I’ll bring you there to have a look.”
“Thank you.”
“That’s right. The person who constructs the Evil Sky Pavilion’s runic passages is Ms. Ye Zhao Hongfu. She’s also in the Evil Sky Pavilion now to discuss with Ms. Ye the construction of a huge runic passage.”
The five brothers nodded again.
Meng Changdong said, “The Pavilion Master has said that from now on your tasks will be arranged by Mr. Seventh. You’ve met him earlier…”
“Him?”
“Him?”
“Him?”
“Him?”
“Him?”
“Don’t look down on him… He once helped Mr. First unify the golden lotus domain. He’s a master strategist who attacks the hearts of people…” Meng Changdong said, verbalizing his own opinion of Si Wuya.
The five brothers were moved by Meng Changdong’s words.
“May I ask what his cultivation level is?”
Meng Changdong was not sure so he tried guessing. “He should have nine leaves…”
“…”
At this moment, unnatural expressions appeared on the five brothers’ faces.
One could praise many things to the high heavens, but it was useless without the strength to back it up.
Sun Mu suddenly recalled Mingshi Yin’s words from earlier. Thus, he asked, “May I ask what’s the cultivation base of the Temple Master of the Ninth Temple?”
“Sikong Beichen?”
“Yes, I believe that’s his name.”
“Ten leaves… However, there’s a possibility he has now entered the Thousand Realms Whirling stage. After all, he has been at the Ten-leaf stage for a long time. After the monopoly on fierce beasts in the red lotus domain has ended, with the Ninth Temple’s influence, he should have no problem obtaining life hearts…” Meng Changdong replied.
Sun Mu was not sure if he wanted to know the answer, but he continued to ask, “Then, what about the Sect Master of the Twelve Sects of Cloud Mountain?”
“His cultivation base should be similar to Senior Sikong.”
Sun Mu asked unwillingly, “Then…
‘In conclusion, they’re all trash?!’
Meng Changdong seemed to be able to read their minds. He said, “Finally, I have a piece of important advice for all of you…”
Xia Changqiu, who suddenly appeared, finished the sentence. “Don’t judge the Evil Sky Pavilion using common sense.”
“Monastery Master Xia?”
