After the arrow struck the Deep-eye Tribesman, the palace’s elites looked at Lu Zhou who was hovering above Dazheng Palace in shock and fearful respect. Then, they turned to look at the spot where thief fell and wondered inwardly, ‘Who’s stupid enough to place himself directly in front of the muzzle of a gun?’
When Duanmu Sheng saw this, he cried out before diving down, “I’ll go get him!”
Lu Zhou put Unnamed away and looked at the palace’s elites around him. Then, he said tonelessly, “What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for me to catch all the thieves in the palace for you?”
“Yes, yes, yes… We’ll go… We’ll go immediately!” The palace’s elites hastily scattered.
“Lock down the Imperial city. Don’t let anyone in or out. Catch the thieves!”
Based on the voices he heard, he speculated there were five Other Tribesmen who had infiltrated the palace this time. It should not be difficult to capture all of them after locking down the Imperial city and combing the area.
Shortly after, Duanmu Sheng brought the Deep-eye Tribesman, who was shot by the arrow, back. He landed in front of Dazheng Palace and tossed the person onto the ground.
Thud!
The Deep-eye Tribesman cried out from the pain. His eyes were brimming with fear at this moment.
The others were puzzled. How was he still alive after being hit by an arrow of a Nine-leaf cultivator? They studied him for a moment before they figured out the answer. The arrow had only struck his abdomen. This meant that his dantian’s sea of Qi was damaged. He had merely lost his cultivation base, and he would not die just yet.
Lu Zhou slowly landed.
The others descended as well.
Lu Zhou looked at the Deep-eye Tribesman.
Name: Lu Li
Identity: Deep-eye Tribesman
Realm: Nascent Divinity Realm
“What’s your name?”
Lu Li cowered in fear. He did not answer the question. Instead, he said, “Y-you’re not a Five-leaf cultivator?”
Duanmu Sheng frowned. He went up and kicked Lu Li. After that, he fiercely said, “My master is already a Nine-leaf cultivator. Are you insulting him?”
“Nine-nine-Leaf?” Lu Li trembled.
Lu Zhou was not bothered by this. Instead, he said, “Answer me.”
“You… you’re Old Villain Ji?!”
As soon as Lu Li finished speaking, Zhu Honggong shot forward from among the crowd and punched Lu Li. His punch landed squarely on Lu Li’s chest.
Bam!
Lu Li cried out in pain again.
Zhu Honggong raised his fists and cursed, “I’ll give you a chance to reconstruct your sentence.”
Lu Li bit back the pain and hastily said, “I’m Lu Li from the Deep-eye Tribe in Rongbei… I’m here to look for a box. It’s said that the box contains the secrets of the Nine-leaf stage. I brought four comrades with me. Each of them has different skills such as breaking Formations, fleeing, climbing, and seeing in the dark. I’m the leader of the group. I have a keen sense of smell. Please don’t kill me. I’ll tell you everything…”
Zhu Honggong nodded. “Master, he has told us everything. He’s useless now. I’ll clobber him to death!”
“Stand down,” Lu Zhou said.
“Yes, master.” Zhu Honggong obediently retreated to the side.
Lu Zhou looked at Lu Li and asked, “The Deep-eye Tribe knows about the Nine-leaf stage as well?”
Lu Li said, “About 50 years ago, an expert came to our tribe. He said… he stayed in Great Yan’s palace for some time.”
When Lu Zhou heard this, he said, “Great Yan’s Imperial tutor?”
“Yes, yes, yes, he’s Great Yan’s Imperial tutor! He said that he was looking for someone. That’s why he was traveling around to the lands of the Ten Thousand Tribes. He stayed with us for ten years,” Lu Li replied.
As expected, the Nine-leaf elite was still alive.
Lu Zhou pressed on. “Do you know where he is now?”
Lu Li shook his head and said, “Although this man is on good terms with the king, he has a profound cultivation base. Nobody can stop him if he wishes to leave.”
“He told you to look for the box?”
“Well…”
Bam!
Zhu Honggong banged his boxing gloves together.
Lu Li started then he hastily said, “Wait, wait, wait. The king sent me here. Everyone knows about the Nine-leaf stage now. The 12 nations of Rongxi and Rongbei are trying to reach the Nine-leaf stage. Whoever attains it first will have the advantage over the others.”
This reminded Lu Zhou of the practices of modern companies who sent spies to their competitors’ companies to steal precious techniques. They would resort to anything to achieve their goals. It was not strange for the Other Tribes of Rongbei to do this as well.
“There are only five of you here?” Lu Zhou asked.
“Yes, only the five of us…” Lu Li replied.
At this moment, the remaining four Deep-eye Tribesmen were brought toward them by the Imperial guards. The Imperial guards pushed them. “On your knees!”
Lu Li looked at the others with a stunned expression. Why were they so easily captured?
The four of them kneeled next to Lu Li. Their faces were swollen and bruised.
At this moment, Zhao Yue said, “Master, I heard that the Divine Capital isn’t too peaceful these days. There are many spies from the Other Tribes causing trouble everywhere.”
Lu Li hastily waved his hands and said, “They’re not from the Deep-eye Tribe! They must be from Lou Lan or Rouli!”
Lu Zhou looked at Zhao Yue and asked, “Are the disturbances serious?”
“It’s not only in the Divine Capital. The Other Tribesmen are causing trouble in the nine provinces as well… but the Divine Capital has it worse.”
Lu Zhou looked at Duanmu Sheng and said, “I want to see Hua Chongyang tomorrow morning.”
“Understood!”
After saying this, Lu Zhou turned around and left.
…
The next morning.
Inside Dazheng Palace.
Lu Zhou’s extraordinary power had increased after a night of meditation.
Hua Chongyang, who had received Duanmu Sheng’s message, did not waste time and rushed toward the palace. “Greetings, Senior Ji.”
Lu Zhou looked at Hua Chongyang and asked, “Do you know why you’re here?”
Hua Chongyang bowed and said, “I’m sure you’ve heard that the Other Tribesmen have infiltrated the Divine Capital and are causing trouble. They are robbing the civilians and committing atrocities of every kind.”
“You have tens of thousands of members in the Nether Sect, and yet, you can’t even manage the Divine Capital?” Lu Zhou asked, perplexed.
“They would go into hiding after they commit crimes. They would lay low before they strike again. They’re too cunning! The Other Tribesmen are doing this on purpose. I caught three of them over the past two days!” A troubled expression could be seen on Hua Chongyang’s face when he spoke.
At this moment, Duanmu Sheng walked in. He bowed and said, “Master… A letter came to the Imperial city. Kindly have a look.”
Lu Zhou took the letter and opened it. “Old villain Ji, release Lu Li and the others or we’ll kill the people in the Divine Capital. We’ll kill five people every day until they are freed.”
After reading this, Lu Zhou clenched his fist!
Poof!
The letter was instantly reduced into ashes that scattered in the wind.
‘Threatening me?’
Duanmu Sheng lowered his voice and tentatively said, “Master, five civilian corpses were sent along with this letter.”
Upon hearing this, Hua Chongyang fell to his knees immediately. “I’m useless! The Nether Sect has just conquered the Divine Capital so our foundations aren’t stable yet. The despicable Other Tribesmen are using this opportunity to stir up trouble. Please give me some time, Senior Ji. I will certainly catch them and cut them to 10,000 pieces.”
Hua Chongyang knew if his sect master wanted to rule the empire, they would need to govern the empire well and ensure the civilian’s safety. The civilians were the foundations of the city, after all. With the foundation in chaos, how could the empire prosper?
“None of the court officials are doing anything?” Lu Zhou asked, puzzled.
“They’re indifferent to the situation… The Nether Sect alone is maintaining basic order in the Divine Capital. However, the nine provinces are chaotic as well. I’ve sent the 12 branch masters back to take care of their respective cities. The military force is concentrated in the Divine Capital, and it’s proving difficult to suppress these Other Tribesmen spies,” Hua Chongyang replied.
Duanmu Sheng bowed and said, “Master, he’s not to blame for this. I went out for a stroll this morning. The Divine Capital is still in the midst of recuperating. Many buildings are being reconstructed. At the end of the day, the court officials would not align themselves with the Fiend Path. Those Other Tribesmen spies dressed up like Great Yan civilians. It’s difficult to tell them apart.”
After hearing their statements, Lu Zhou felt that this was indeed a problem.
At this moment, Zhao Yue appeared in front of Dazheng Palace. When she entered, she said, “Master, many civilians are kneeling in front of the Imperial city.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhou said, “I’ll go and take a look.”
The others left Dazheng Palace as well.
Soon after, Lu Zhou appeared above the Imperial city and looked at the kneeling civilians. There were hundreds of them. Pieces of papers were littered around them. They were kowtowing and shouting at the same time.
“Please help us, Evil Sky Pavilion!”
“Please help us, Evil Sky Pavilion!”
Lu Zhou pointed at the paper on the ground and asked, “What do the papers say?”
“They’re left by the Other Tribesmen. Their contents are the same as the letter you read… That’s why all the civilians are panicking,” Hua Chongyang said with a frown.
The civilians continued to kowtow.
Lu Zhou looked at the civilians again.
‘Those spies are cunning.’
Even if the spies were singled out, they could not do anything if the spies refused to confuse. If they recklessly kill people, it would only worsen the situation in the Divine Capital. As the saying went, ‘It’s easy to conquer a country, but it’s difficult to govern it’.
Lu Zhou stroked his beard as he thought of a countermeasure. After muttering to himself for a while, he said, “I’ll do something about this.”
After saying this, he heard a ding from the system’s notification. He checked the system’s mission list. As expected, there was a new mission: Solve the Divine Capital’s hidden problem.
“With Senior Ji making a move, victory is in the bag!” Hua Chongyang bowed. Inwardly, he wondered how Lu Zhou would solve this difficult matter. Force alone would not be able to solve anything.
“Notify Big Dipper Academy’s Zhou Youcai that I want to meet him.”
