Lu Zhou stroked his beard and looked at the calm Zhu Tianyuan. “Zhu Honggong.”
Zhu Honggong shuddered. The way the old man had called out to him seemed very familiar. His eyes suddenly widened. That mannerism, his actions, his words, his tone, his speech, and his… clothes. He was thoroughly shocked to his core. However, when he looked at the younger and alien face, relief flooded through his body. The old man was not who he thought he was. In the end, he said, “Senior Lu, you should stay out of this… I’ll give my master an explanation.”
“My son’s right.” Zhu Tianyuan nodded. “This is the Divine Capital. It has already become the Nether Sect’s territory… We’ll both lose if we fight in earnest. At most, I won’t be able to see my son, but you’ll lose your life. Knowing Old Villain Ji, if he makes a move, you won’t even have a chance to fight back…”
Lu Zhou remained silent. He was about to nullify the effect of the Appearance Alteration Card when Jiang Pu suddenly flew out of the pile of rubble He tossed the debris aside and charged at Lu Zhou like a cannonball.
“Jiang Pu, no!” Zhu Tianyuan’s face paled from shock.
Everything happened in a blink of an eye.
Jiang Pu appeared before Lu Zhou in just a short moment.
Lu Zhou raised his hand…
Whizz!
A blue light shone from between his fingers again. His palm was aimed at Jiang Pu.
In the end, Jiang Pu was kept at bay by this unique power. He froze in midair and could not advance! ‘He’s powerful!’
Jiang Pu regarded the old man before him in shock. Although he had mentally prepared himself for this, he did not expect to be stopped so easily. This… this meant that the difference in their strength was very wide.
Lu Zhou did not even deign to look at Jiang Pu. He did not think it was worth it to use his extraordinary power on these people. So, he clenched his hands into fists, and Primal Qi began to gather around his fists.
Bang!
Jiang Pu fell to the ground face-first.
Zhu Tianyuan exclaimed in shock, “What precise control!” The old man’s cultivation base had to be very profound to be able to do this. With amazing control, the old man gathered Primal Qi and spread them one foot before himself, controlling his opponent’s movements. That was why Jiang Pu had fallen.
“Really?” Lu Zhou felt this move was simple.
“Your move reminds me of Old Villain Ji… Back then, this was his favorite move to use when he bullied others,” Zhu Tianyuan.
Zhu Honggong gulped as he looked at the old man before him. He instinctively retreated. ‘This old man seems dangerous! I must look for a chance to escape.’
At this moment, Lu Zhou unleashed a grand technique. There was a blur of movements before he faded out of sight.
Zhu Tianyuan frowned slightly. He thought the old man was going to attack his son. He immediately moved to intercept the attack with a palm strike.
Lu Zhou struck with his palm.
The two old men’s palms collided!
Boom!
Lu Zhou did not budge. He stood before Zhu Honggong.
Zhu Tianyuan retracted his palm and stumbled five steps back before he managed to stabilize himself. His arm was numb! He was shocked. As expected, this man was not a friend.
Lu Zhou coldly said, On your knees!”
Zhu Honggong looked at the old man before himself. He felt as though he was hallucinating. He saw the old man’s facial features distort and rearrange themselves.
Meanwhile, Zhu Tianyuan said, “My son, you should only kneel at the heavens, the earth, and your parents… There is gold under a man’s knees; you cannot kneel on a whim. Forget it… I still have to rely on Old Villain Ji. Consider this my bad luck!”
Thud!
As soon as Zhu Tianyuan finished speaking, Zhu Honggong fell to his knees. His movements were neat and thorough. He placed both hands on the ground and touched his forehead on the back of his hands. He did not move.
“This…” Zhu Tianyuan was stunned. He was thoroughly annoyed. “I knew it! Old Villain Ji couldn’t properly teach you! I can’t believe this! How can you be so spineless! This is your territory, for crying out loud! I must confront Old… Old… Vill… about… When did you… Old Villain Ji?!”
Lu Zhou turned to face Zhu Tianyuan when Zhu Tianyuan was still ranting.
Without a second thought, Zhu Tianyuan pushed away from the ground and shot away from the courtyard at lightning speed.
Jiang Pu and the Ancient Saint Cult disciples were stunned.
Lu Zhou shook his head and looked at Zhu Honggong. “That’s your useless father!”
“Ma… Master… I… I had a tough time!” Zhu Honggong felt like crying as soon as Lu Zhou nullified the effect of the Appearance Alteration Card.
“Zhu Tianyuan… If you leave, you won’t be able to see Zhu Honggong ever again,” Lu Zhou calmly said.
A sigh rang from outside the courtyard. Then, Zhu Tianyuan returned as though nothing had happened. He opened the doors and walked in.
The Ancient Saint Cult disciples were further baffled.
What was happening?
Zhu Tianyuan looked at Lu Zhou with a stern expression as he said, “Old Villain Ji… You’re as shameless as you have been in the past!”
The Ancient Saint cult disciples staggered backward!
‘He’s Old Villain Ji?’
Jiang Pu widened his eyes in shock and horror as he looked at Lu Zhou. He finally realized Lu Zhou’s appearance had changed. He began to cough violently. After that, he quickly bit back the pain and fell to one knee. “Greetings, Senior Ji!”
The others followed suit; their hearts thumping wildly in their chests. “Greetings, Senior Ji!”
“Was it fun? Did you find it amusing?” Zhu Tianyuan spread his hands out.
Lu Zhou said, “How can I meet you if I didn’t do this? Besides… What if it was someone who wanted to harm my disciples? Do you expect me to sit back and do nothing?”
Zhu Tianyuan gave it some thought and nodded. “You have a point.”
Zhu Honggong pulled a face and said, “Master…”
Lu Zhou said sternly, “Shut up. You bad-mouthed me behind my back and offended me. You’ve got guts.”
“…”
Zhu Tianyuan immediately explained, “Don’t be so petty. He only forgot his place because of you. It’s the teacher’s fault for not producing a good student.”
“You’re complaining about me?” Lu Zhou stared at Zhu Tianyuan.
“I wouldn’t dare.”
“If it weren’t for this rascal, I wouldn’t have forgiven you for that rude statement!”
“…”
Zhu Tianyuan’s old face stiffened. He smiled awkwardly. “There’s no need for that. I did praise you as well…”
Lu Zhou was speechless. As the saying went, ‘If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked’. Like father like son, they had no respect for the old and were shameless to boot. “Zhu Tianyuan, your face is as thick as the city walls, just like before!”
“Forget it… I wanted to bring Zhu Honggong back to the Ancient Saint Cult and apologize to you afterward. You know, act first and report later. Alas, man proposes, the heavens dispose,” Zhu Tianyuan said with a sigh.
“The Ancient Saint Cult has always kept a low profile. Why did you suddenly show your faces?” Lu Zhou asked.
This was the only time where he talked like a parent.
Zhu Honggong remained prostrated on the ground. He dared not move.
Zhu Tianyuan did not answer his question directly. He waved his hand and said, “Bring up the goods.”
“Understood.” A disciple entered the room and returned with a package.
Zhu Tianyuan opened the package. It contained… a brown-covered book.
“What is this?” Lu Zhou asked.
“You’ll know when you open it.”
Lu Zhou received the book and flipped it open. The first few dozen pages were torn away. When he finally reached an undamaged page, it read: The people here are weak. They don’t seem to know how to reach the Nine-leaf stage… I can feel the familiar heaven-and-earth shackle here, but I don’t know where I should start investigating this. I want to help the people here grow stronger so that they’ll have the power to fight against a Nine-leaf or even a Ten-leaf cultivator, as soon as possible. I met many cultivators, but their thoughts are conservative.
Upon reading this, Lu Zhou’s expression remained calm. However, inwardly, he was shocked.
