The atmosphere was tense and hostile. Both sides were poised to attack…
Li Jingyi glanced at Jiang Aijian…
Leng Luo did not make a move. After all, he was not completely healed yet. He would be in a disadvantageous position if he fought the Four Dark Knights.
The Dark Knights seemed to have noticed Leng Luo’s abnormal behavior. One of them sneered and said, “You’ve got guts trying to impersonate the chief. Kill them all!”
Several hundred Black Knights closed in on them.
Little Yuan’er was boiling in anger as she said, “Master, let me have a go at them. I’ll make sure there’s nothing left of them when I’m through with them.”
Before Lu Zhou could reply, Leng Luo shook his head and said, “There’s no need to intervene… After roaming this world for many years, I, naturally, have tricks up my sleeve.” Instead of retreating, he advanced. This action shocked the others.
“Kill!” The Four Dark Knights attacked. Four long swords stabbed toward Leng Luo at the same time.
Leng Luo’s hands were placed on his back from the beginning until the end. He had held a high and lofty position for so many years, he would not allow himself to be humiliated.
Whoosh!
Leng Luo suddenly vanished from sight.
In the next moment, he appeared among the Black Knights.
Bzzt!
At the same time, an Eight-leaf Golden Lotus avatar materialized out of thin air. Eight golden and shining leaves spun swiftly around the lotus.
The swirling energy tore through the ranks of Black Knights.
With a single move, the group of knights who numbered in the hundreds crumbled.
From a distance, the golden lotus resembled a golden and massive bowl.
The avatar disappeared as swiftly as it had appeared.
Although it merely maintained its appearance for a second, it was enough to deal with the Black Knights.
Eight-leaf was the known limit achievable by humans in the cultivation world.
The Righteous Sect and Heavenly Sword Sect had spread rumors about the Evil Sky Pavilion’s patriarch achieving the Eight-leaf stage a long time ago and now possessed a Nine-leaf Golden Lotus. However, nobody believed it. Ye Tianxin had witnessed the Nine-leaf Golden Lotus and thought she had seen wrongly at that time. After all, when the Golden Lotus spun at top speed, it was difficult to determine the number of leaves.
Leng Luo’s avatar was different. Similar to how experienced game players differentiated different items, at a certain level, cultivators could also determine the level of the avatar they were seeing.
The short-lived display of the Eight-leaf Golden Lotus scared the hell out of the Black Knights. Many of them reeled from the impact. Some of them threw up mouthfuls of blood, some cowered in fear, and some were in shock.
At this moment, Leng Luo no longer attacked. He stood straight with his hands on his back. He surveyed the Black Knights who had fallen on the ground and said, “Weaklings!”
The Four Dark Knights looked at Leng Luo with pale faces as they gulped.
Swords were scattered all over the forest floor.
The hundreds of Black Knights behaved as though they were facing an extremely formidable enemy as they struggled to get on their feet.
“We were blind for not recognizing you. Please forgive us, Lord Fan!” The Four Dark Knights immediately surrendered.
Against a cultivator with an Eight-leaf Golden Lotus avatar, even if the new leader of the Black Knights was here, they still could not do anything else but kneel.
Behind the Four Dark Knights, many of the Black Knights crawled forward and kneeled.
“It’s Lord Fan!”
“All hail Lord Fan!”
“Lord Fan, you’re alive!”
A hint of excitement could be heard in some of the knights’ voices.
Alas, things changed with the passage of time. Although some things might remain the same, people would inevitably change.
Leng Luo said, “Lord Fan no longer exists in this world…”
“Lord Fan…”
“Silence!” Leng Luo said evenly. His voice was not laced with Primal Qi nor did it create soundwaves.
ev
However, the Black Knights stumbled backward from shock. They looked at their former leader with expressions of disbelief and incredulity
The Four Dark Knights were not Leng Luo’s former subordinates. They were wary since they had offended him earlier. Although these new Dark Knights could not be compared to their predecessors, they were still elites among the Black Knights. Regardless, faced with an Eight-leaf elite, they had lost all motivation to fight.
Lu Zhou and the others knew that Leng Luo could have killed every one of the Black Knights since they knew what kind of person he was. It was clear he was being merciful for old time’s sake.
Leng Luo was wounded and his cultivation base was far from being fully recovered. It was more than commendable that he could even conjure his Eight-leaf avatar and maintain it for a second.
Lu Zhou thought Leng Luo might be a burden coming here. Who knew Leng Luo was capable of such a feat?
There was no need for Lu Zhou to make his move now.
A stiff expression appeared on Pan Litian’s wizened face. However, he could not help but applaud Leng Luo for his technique.
Lu Zhou released Jiang Aijian.
Jiang Aijian sighed in relief. It felt as though he had been freed after spending 100 years in prison.
Lu Zhou stepped forward and said, “Leng Luo.”
Leng Luo turned around. He no longer kept his hands on his back. Instead, he cupped his fists at Lu Zhou.
Upon seeing this, the Black Knights were shocked.
‘Who’s this person who managed to earn the respect of Leng Luo who has an Eight-leaf avatar?
Everyone’s eyes were trained on Lu Zhou at this moment. Although he appeared old, he seemed to be filled with vigor.
Little Yuan’er hurried after her master.
Lu Zhou looked at the Dark Knights and asked, “Mo Li’s orders?”
The Dark Knights were not idiots. Even Leng Luo did not act impudently to this old man. They were not so foolish as to underestimate him.
One of the Dark Knights suppressed his fear and said, “The Black Knights are directly under the Imperial family’s command. We’re here on His Majesty’s orders.”
Lu Zhou turned to look at Li Jingyi and Jiang Aijian. He did not think that Mo Li would be so bold to control the Emperor.
In that case, there was only one possibility. The Emperor genuinely did not wish to see the demise of the Clarity Sect. That was why he sent Li Jingyi and the Black Knights to support the Clarity Sect.
Knowing the palace, there were only three forces available to them. The first was Wei Zhuoyan’s men, but he was occupied with suppressing the rebel army. Even if he was here, he would not be much of a threat. Moreover, Lu Zhou had even saved Li Jingyi’s life. The second option was to send the Black Knights. Without Fan Xiuwen leading them, their strength was greatly reduced. Moreover, with Leng Luo here, his former subordinate would retreat as far as three blocks away if they saw him. The third option was the Imperial guards. Naturally, the Emperor would not casually mobilize the Imperial guards.
This confirmed Lu Zhou’s theory that the rascal, Yu Zhenghai, was opposing the Emperor. The heights of his ambition were abundantly clear.
Meanwhile, when Leng Luo recalled he had been controlled while he was the leader of the Black Knights, he realized that there was nothing about the Black Knights that he would miss. However, the Black Knights were the Black Knights. Many of his former subordinates had fought along with him in the past.
‘I must sever my ties with my past. Fan Xiuwen is now dead, and I’m Leng Luo once again.’ After thinking things through, Leng Luo looked at the Black Knights and bellowed, “What are you waiting for? Scram!”
The Black Knights behaved as though they had been granted amnesty. They hurriedly mounted their horses and quickly disappeared into the forest.
Once the Black Knights left, Leng Luo began to sway slightly. It was clear the move he had unleashed earlier had taken a toll on him. For now, that was the extent of his powers. His injuries were too serious after all. He could only keep up the cool act until now. He had finally cut off ties with his past.
Jiang Aijian carried his sword and walked over. He said meaningfully, “Old senior, that’s a high-level trick you pulled there.”
Little Yuan’er looked at Jiang Aijian in confusion and asked, “What move?”
“The Black Knights are the Emperor’s pawns after all. Since you let the Black Knights go, you’re just creating trouble for Yu Zhenghai,” Jiang Aijian said.
Lu Zhou turned to look at Jiang Aijian and said gently, “You’re really smart… Why don’t you come to the Evil Sky Pavilion to have a cup of tea before you leave?”
“…” Jiang Aijian hastily waved his hands and said, “No, thank you… I have something to attend to. Old senior, let’s meet another time.” As he spoke, he slowly retreated. He was afraid Lu Zhou would grab him again. As he leaped into the forest, he said, “Old senior, before I leave, let me give you another piece of news. Your seventh disciple, Si Wuya, is at the Clarity Sect’s main altar.” His voice trailed off.
The others were rendered speechless.
Jiang Aijian only told Lu Zhou about this when he left. Just how much did he fear Lu Zhou?
Li Jingyi could not hold back her laughter. She quickly regained her composure and said, “I’ll be taking my leave.”
Lu Zhou had a good impression of Li Jingyi. At the very least, she was a tactful person. Hence, he did not stop her.
Li Jingyi led four of her deputies and the others away.
Silence descended on Slender West Lake again.
Lu Zhou turned around and walked toward the flying chariot. He scoffed as he said, “Rascal.”
“Master, where are we going?”
“The Clarity Sect’s main altar!”
