My disciples are all villains.

"There are more reinforcements?" Jiang Aijian was slightly stunned.

Li Jingyi glanced at Jiang Aijian and grunted in reply.

Jiang Aijian cupped his fists and said, "Well, uh… I have something else to attend to. I'll be taking my leave."

"Wait," Lu Zhou said.

Jiang Aijian looked guilty as he turned around and asked, "Old senior, is.. is there anything else you want to say?"

"I have some questions for you."

"Ask away, old senior. I'll tell you anything and everything I know. I received a piece of information yesterday that when Zhang Yunsan found out about his close friend's affair, he killed the pair with a single strike. He's not in a good mood these days."

"…"

The others looked at Jiang Aijian as though he had gone mad.

Lu Zhou was not interested in Zhang Yuansan's family affairs. He raised his wizened hand and grabbed Jiang Aijian's arm. He pulled Jiang Aijian to the side of the lake as though Jiang Aijian was a chick.

Jiang Aijian's expression clearly showed he was unwilling, but he was in no position to refuse.

"Is Mo Li still in the palace?" Lu Zhou asked.

"One of the Divine Capital's Three Godly Archers, Chen Zhu, is her subordinate. When Chen Zhu died, the Second Prince was so angered that he spat out blood and grounded her."

This was similar to Lu Zhou's speculation. He asked again, "What's Mo Li doing recently?"

"She's staying put. old senior. Both of you fought several times, and she's heavily injured. I don't think she'll be recovering anytime soon," Jiang Aijian answered honestly.

Whether it was the people controlled by Mo Li through witchcraft spells or the Grand Witchcraft Formation, they were all shattered by Lu Zhou.

That was the shortcoming of witchcraft. The more powerful the witchcraft spell or Formation, the backlash on the spellcaster was great as well when the spells were broken.

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Is the Emperor not going to do anything about the internal feud in the palace?"

Fortunately, Jiang Aijian was the Third Prince. Any other person would not be able to answer this question.

Jiang Aijian shook his head. He said with a sigh, "To be honest, I don't know."

"I believe you." Lu Zhou stroked his beard and continued, "Final question." He paused and looked at the surface of Slender West Lake with his hands on his back before he asked without beating around the bush, "Is the Emperor the one who wants to find Cheng Huang?"

Ever since Ye Tianxin left the Evil Sky Pavilion, Lu Zhou had been thinking about this matter. Mo Li had a long time ahead of her before she reached her life limit. Why was she so anxious to find Cheng Huang? The Emperor was old, but he was still holding onto his position. He had the strongest motive. Like Emperor Qin from earth, he was probably searching for the elixir of life after he unified the six nations.

Jiang Aijian shook his head and said, "No."

Initially, Lu Zhou wanted to ask about the key. However, he did not have a single clue about it and did not even know where he should begin. He did not know what it looked like, what its function was, he knew nothing. How could he ask Jiang Aijian to search for it? For this reason, he did not bother to ask about the key.

Realization seemed to dawn on Jiang Aijian at this moment as he asked, "Old senior, are you intentionally waiting for the reinforcements from the palace to arrive?"

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and remained silent, exuding an ambiguous air.

At this moment, the sounds of hooves clopping rang in the air.

Several men spurred their steeds through the forest around Slender West Lake. They seemed more impressive compared to Li Jingyi's group.

Li Jingyi was only accompanied by her deputies and several cultivators. However, this group of reinforcements was all cultivators.

When she saw this, Li Jingyi shouted, "The Black Knights are here. Everyone, please leave immediately!"

When Jiang Aijian heard this, he shuddered and said, "Old senior, I'll be going now. Farewell!" As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped into the air, intending to flee.

Alas, Lu Zhou caught Jiang Aijian's arm and said, "You won't be going anywhere."

Jiang Aijian pulled a face. "There's no use in me staying here!"

Lu Zhou did not reply to him. He merely looked at the Black Knights.

Since these people were reinforcements from the palace, Lu Zhou did not take them lightly. In the unlikely scenario that they could not hold these people back, they could use Jiang Aijian as a last resort. Jiang Aijian was the Third Prince after all.

The Black Knights approached them swiftly and loudly. The cultivators wore long black robes and silver helmets. The four cultivators in the lead were in a formation.

Li Jingyi's men swiftly retreated to Slender West Lake.

The Black Knights stopped in neat rows.

"Li Jingyi?" One of the Black Knights looked at Li Jingyi, clearly confused.

Li Jingyi asked, "Are you here under orders as well, Black Knights?" Naturally, she knew that they were here under orders. However, she was here on the Emperor's orders. She did not know who the Black Knights were serving now.

Swoosh!

The Black Knight drew his sword at the slightest hint of disagreement.

The four knights in front stepped on the back of their steeds and launched themselves into the air. They landed before Li Jingyi and the others.

"We're here on the chief's orders to clear Slender West Park. Li Jingyi… you're falling short of expectations. The Black Knights will surely file a complaint against you to the palace," one of the four Dark Knights said with a dark expression on his face.

Li Jingyi's expression remained calm.

At this moment, Leng Luo stepped forward. Leng Luo's appearance was different from the others, making him stand out. When he walked out, he caught the attention of the Black Knights.

"Whose orders are you following?" Leng Luo asked.

The four Dark Knights glanced at Leng Luo. His familiar attire confused them.

Li Jingyi smiled wryly. "Naturally, it's the leader of the Black Knights, Lord Fan Xiuwen."

"Bastards!" Leng Luo suddenly cursed, creating a soundwave. He understood why there were four new Dark Knights, he even understood the need for a new leader of the Black Knights. However, he could not tolerate the fact that his old name was being used by someone else.

The four Dark Knights stared at Leng Luo. "Who are you?"

Leng Luo walked up to them until he was only half a meter away from the tips of their swords.

For some odd reason, the four Dark Knights took a step back.

Leng Luo said coldly, "Chen Zhonghe, Yue Chong, Li Qing, and Duan Yanhong have fought along with me and claimed countless lives. Their bones are filled with killing intent that was tempered by their time on the battlefield. Do you think the likes of you are fit to be called the Four Dark Knights?!"

The four of them retreated again. If they could not understand what was happening, they would be idiots. Their eyes widened as they watched Leng Luo approaching them with his silver mask.

Li Jingyi exclaimed, "Fan Xiuwen, Leng Luo?!"

The Four Dark Knights retreated again. They were clearly flustered. Since they joined the Black Knights until they were appointed as Dark Knights, they had heard countless stories about this legendary individual. The legend of Leng Luo was the most widely spread story in the Black Knights' base. Even when the fake Fan Xiuwen took up office, he had trouble replacing Leng Luo's place in the Black Knights' hearts.

"Impossible! Fan Xiuwen has been killed by the old villain. Are you trying to trick us?" They raised their long swords and finally stood their ground.

"Heed my order, everyone! This man is impersonating Lord Fan, the leader of the Black Knights. He'll be executed here! Kill all those who trespassed upon Slender West Park! There'll be no exception"

"Kill without exception!"

"Kill without exception!"

Several hundred Black Knights shouted in unison. Their Primal Qi surged, and the soundwave washed over Li Jingyi's group and moved toward Jiang Aijian and Lu Zhou.

Pan Litian shook his head. He looked at Lu Zhou and said, "They're only trying to show off. As expected, it's all up to you now, Pavilion Master."

Lu Zhou appeared calm. Inwardly, he was thinking, 'Like hell I'll do something about this. With this many Black Knights, even if I have ten times the number of Deadly Strike Cards I have now, it still won't be enough. Fortunately, I have a prince here whom I can use as a shield.'

"Jiang Aijian, don't be afraid." Lu Zhou tightened his grip on Jiang Aijian, but his expression was benevolent and gentle. "Yuan'er, keep an eye on him."

Little Yuan'er pulled a face at Jiang Aijian. "Chicken!"

At this moment, hundreds of Black Knights drew their swords.