My disciples are all villains.

Si Wuya told Yu Zhenghai, Yu Shangrong, and Zhu Honggong of his plan.

When Zhu Honggong heard that he was going to be sent to Jiangdong Circuit, he said, aggrieved, "Master, I think I should stay by your side considering my weak strength..."

Lu Zhou said, "Your cultivation isn't weak; it only needs to be tempered. Staying in the royal palace would only be a waste of time..." Seeing that Zhu Honggong still wore a wronged expression on his face, he added, "I left a pair of gloves with Monastery Master Xia. You can bring them with you to Jiangdong Circuit."

Zhu Honggong no longer dared to object. He could only nod and say before he left, "Yes, master."

After that, Lu Zhou looked at Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai and said, "Both of you can take your leave as well. Take care of yourself."

Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong bowed and left the Preservation Hall as well.

...

When Zhu Honggong found Xia Changqiu, Xia Changqiu was still talking to Lu Li about the Evil Sky Pavilion.

Lu Li was stunned and… still confused. When he was young, he had heard stories about powerful warriors from his elders. That was all. However, Xia Changqiu's story-telling ability was… out of this world.

When Xia Changqiu learned about Zhu Honggong, he did not waste time and brought Zhu Honggong to the Thousand Willow Monastery.

After Lu Li watched the duo leave, he looked at Yan Zhenluo and asked, "Brother Yan, is what Monastery Master Xia said true? Why does it sound so exaggerated?"

Yan Zhenluo said, "That's what I thought as well in the beginning. However, I found later he spoke the truth. It was true that Pavilion Master Lu defeated Lan Xihe with three moves and defeated Gongsun Yuanxuan with one move. I was imprisoned in the Lower Tower of the Black Tower Council so I didn't witness the collective demotion of the Black Tower Council members. However, Shen Xi was there. Shen Xi's words were even more exaggerated compared to Monastery Master Xia…"

"Shen Xi?"

"Shen Xi joined the Evil Sky Pavilion a long time ago…" Yan Zhenluo explained.

Lu Li was taken back. He asked, "What happened all these years?"

Yan Zhenluo said, "What happened? Brother Lu, everything has changed."

...

In the Thousand Willow Monastery.

Xia Changqiu led Zhu Honggong to the room where Lu Zhou used to stay. He said, "Before Senior Lu left, he left this here. Mister Eighth, this is it…" Then, he handed a box over to Zhu Honggong.

Zhu Honggong looked at the box. It looked similar to his box that doubled as a boxing glove.

Swoosh!

When Zhu Honggong opened the box, it suddenly split into two as expected.

"Interesting."

He brought out his own gloves as well. When the two pairs of boxing gloves appeared, they suddenly merged and became one pair of boxing gloves. Each of the gloves was bigger than before now that they had merged.

Following that, he placed one of the gloves on his hand. When it closed around his hand, his eyes widened. "I was wondering why my gloves feel so uncomfortable. As it turns out, they aren't complete! Master is so stingy!"

Xia Changqiu. "..."

Clack!

The glove continued to close around Zhu Honggong's hand. The gaps on it were so fine that they looked like a strand of hair. At the same time, faint light flashed from the gaps, making the glove gleam coldly in the light.

Upon seeing this, Xia Changqiu said in surprise, "It's a desolate-grade weapon!"

"Desolate grade?" Zhu Honggong asked.

"Only desolate-grade items will emit this kind of faint light. Heaven-grade weapons won't shine with this light. Desolate-grade weapons are very powerful, and their energy seals are shocking as well…"

Zhu Honggong laughed, clearly delighted. "My master is the most generous person in the world!"

Xia Changqiu. "..."

Zhu Honggong put on the other side of the glove. The discomfort he felt previously when he wore the gloves was no longer there. He punched his fist out.

Boom!

An energy fist shot out of the room.

"With these gloves, I'm like a tiger with wings! Monastery Master Xia, do you want to spar?"

Xia Changqiu hastily waved his hand and said, "No, no, no! With my cultivation base, I'm no match for you."

Zhu Honggong punched his fists as he swaggered out of the room happily. He called out, "Dang Kang!"

Dang Kang rushed over immediately.

"Look at how I blow those fierce beasts' heads in Jiangdong Circuit!"

…

"Ding! Activated Tearstain Box. Grade: desolate. Reward: 1,000 merit points."

Lu Zhou nodded.

Initially, when he gave the gloves to Zhu Honggong, there was no grade. As it turned out, it was not complete. Although it was not completed, in the past, the Jasper Saber, the Longevity Sword, and the weapons could not even leave a mark on it.

At this time, Si Wuya said, "Master, there's another thing I'm worried about…"

"Speak."

"Mu Ertie knows you have a profound and unfathomable cultivation base, and yet, he still dares to carry out the annihilation plan. He must have a trump card to be so confident. After investigating the matter, like I said earlier, I discovered he's no longer in the palace… I feel we should keep an eye on the golden lotus domain…' Si Wuya said.

Lu Zhou nodded.

Mu Ertie colluded with the fierce beasts and attacked the red lotus domain. For him to do such a thing, he definitely had the support of a mighty figure. Whether it was a fierce beast or a human, they're equally troublesome. No matter what, Lu Zhou was just one person. He did not have three heads and six arms nor did he know of a cloning technique. It was indeed to deal with Mu Ertie's scattered attacks.

"To take a group down, you must first take down its leader. Leave Mu Ertie and the person behind him to me. I'll leave the rest to you," Lu Zhou said.

Si Wuya nodded. "Understood." Then, he continued to say, "It's easy to deal with Great Yuan and the Dark and Light Alliance. The problem is the fierce beasts. No one knows the full extent of their strength and their origins. During this time, I've studied books about fierce beasts and found them lacking compared to what I learned from Ying Zhao. There are so many more powerful fierce beasts in the Unknown Land. I've also spoken to Sixth Senior Sister for confirmation since she stayed in the Moonlight Woodland with Cheng Huang for a period of time and sprouted her eighth leaf there. According to her words, the fierce beasts there are even stronger and more terrifying than we imagined…

Lu Zhou said, "There's no need to worry. The higher the level of a ferocious beast, the more restriction it would have. Otherwise, humans would've perished long ago. Nevertheless, we should still be prepared to deal with them…"

Si Wuya said, "Master is right."

"How's Yingzhao's performance during this time?" Lu Zhou asked.

"It's very cooperative, especially during this time when fierce beasts invaded human cities. It's also very worried," Si Wuya replied.

Lu Zhou nodded before he said as he tossed a life heart to Si Wuya, "Return its life heart…"

Si Wuya asked skeptically, "Master, Ying Zhao's intelligence isn't low. Aren't you afraid it'll run away?"

"It has already left the Unknown Land. Although the world is vast, there's nowhere for it to go. It knows that it's the safest by my side..."

High-level fierce beasts in the Unknown Land were hunting for the traitor, Ying Zhao, while humans everywhere coveted its life heart. Indeed, there was nowhere for it to go.

"I understand." Soon after, Si Wuya left with Ying Zhao's life heart in hand.

When Lu Zhou was the only one left in the Preservation Hall, he brought out the life hearts of the gigantic turtle, Ju Ao, and the Nether Wolf King. He looked at them and wondered out loud, "Which one should I use first?"

Based on what he knew, after passing the Birth Trial, the Birth Palace's endurance would be greatly enhanced. Therefore, embedding the seventh to the ninth life hearts would be relatively easier. Naturally, the process would grow more and more difficult leading up to the second Birth Trial and so on.

Lu Zhou was in a good condition now. Not only had he comprehended the fiery golden lotus, but his cultivation realm also became stable.

"Ju Ao."

"Ding! Ju Ao's life heart. Ability: gravity."

Lu Zhou decided to use Ju Ao's life heart because the Nether Wolf King's ability, night vision, was not very useful compared to Ju Ao's ability. Moreover, since he obtained Ju Ao's life heart from An Se, Great Yuan's warrior, it meant that it only had one use left.

Lu Zhou waved his hand. His lotus appeared in front of him immediately. He did not waste time and placed Ju Ao's on it.

Clack!

Now that Ju Ao's life heart had fallen into position, he would only need to wait for now.

…

In the afternoon.

Ju Ao's life heart was successfully embedded into Lu Zhou's Birth Palace.

Lu Zhou was rather surprised by its speed.

Similar to before, a vortex appeared, indicating the life heart had been successfully embedded.

Now, Lu Zhou only had to wait for the vortex to absorb enough vitality energy.

…

After two days.

At night.

Clack!

Lu Zhou opened his eyes and looked at his Birth Palace when he heard a crisp noise.

The position in his Birth Palace had been filled up; the activation of his seventh Birth Chart was a success.

He was rather satisfied; he did not feel any pain this time around, and it was so comfortable, he even felt like sleeping.

The seven Birth Chart zones flashed successively. Following that, power surged into his Dantian's sea of Qi.

During the entire process, Lu Zhou remained calm.

All of a sudden...

"Pavilion Master Lu, can you come out for a chat?"

A faint voice rang in Lu Zhou's ears. The voice was so faint that it sounded like it came from a very far place.