My disciples are all villains.

"Second Senior Brother's talents far surpass mine, but does it surpass yours, Eldest Senior Brother?" Duanmu Sheng asked, slightly confused. He vaguely knew about the conflict between Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong. Recently, it seemed like the tension between them was mounting. Yu Shangrong had challenged many elites and had never lost a single fight. Yu Shangrong's cultivation base and strength should be comparable with Yu Zhenghai, so why was the outcome not decided?

"Of course not." Yu Zhenghai turned around with his back facing Duanmu Sheng. Then, he said, "I hope you won't repeat your senior brother's mistake."

"…" Duanmu Sheng was rendered momentarily speechless. He knew he was talented and was diligent. However, he paled in comparison to his Second Senior Brother. It seemed like even his Second Senior Brother was no match for his Eldest Senior Brother so how could he be a match for his Eldest Senior Brother?

After Yu Zhenghai finished speaking, he leaped up from the ground and rose into the sky.

Hua Chongyang cupped his fists at Duanmu Sheng and hastily followed his sect master.

The Nether Sect's disciples left the area with uniform movements as well.

Duanmu Sheng looked at Yu Zhenghai's retreating back. 'Is he really not running away?'

...

Yu Zhenghai was not flying very fast. It seemed like he was strolling in a park with Hua Chongyang following closely behind him. Since he had ascertained his master was not coming, he was, naturally, very relaxed. This was the outcome he had hoped for.

"Sect master, the Heavenly Sword is nothing now. What's our next move?" Hua Chongyang asked.

"We should pick on the weaker ones," Yu Zhenghai replied.

"…"

Yu Zhenghai came to halt, placing his hands on his back as he surveyed the mountains and rivers before him. His mood seemed to have gotten better. He asked, "How's Bai Yuqing's recuperation coming along?"

"I'm afraid he won't be participating in any battles for the coming half a year," Hua Chongyang said.

Yu Zhenghai sighed softly and said, "It's my fault. I've been too lenient with Second Junior Brother…"

Hua Chongyang shook his head as well, feeling slightly helpless. Although he and Bai Yuqing were elites, they were powerless before an unpredictable super-elite like the Sword Devil.

At the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm, beyond the Five-leaf stage, there's a huge difference in strength with every addition of a leaf.

Finally, Hua Chongyang asked, "Should I search for Mister Seventh?"

"No need." Yu Zhenghai shook his head. "Second Junior Brother is most probably still by his side."

Upon hearing this, Hua Chongyang fell silent and hastily lowered his head. He did not want to share the same fate as Bai Yuqing, he did not want to be injured and spend half a year recuperating. And that was if he was lucky. Sword Freak Chen Wenjie did not even have the chance to recuperate and directly ascended to heaven.

"Send someone to investigate the people behind the sacrificial offering Formation on the Lotus Dais… Meanwhile, try to contact Seventh Junior Brother."

"As you command, sect master. And if we run into Senior Sword Devil?"

"Avoid him."

The two of them no longer dallied and flew away.

…

Half a day later, at the Evil Sky Pavilion.

The cloud-splitting chariot had finally arrived at the Evil Sky Pavilion.

The journey was relatively smooth with everything taken into consideration.

Before they could even alight from the flying chariot, Pan Zhong ran up to them with a hand on his chest.

"Pavilion Master, Elder Hua… You're finally back!" Pan Zhong said with one knee on the ground.

When he saw Pan Zhong's anxious expression, Mingshi Yin leaped off the flying chariot and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Th… Th… Thief…" Pan Zhong was so flustered that he stumbled over his words. A flush could be seen on his face.

"Thief?"

Pan Zhong took a deep breath and finished his sentence. "There was a thief in the Evil Sky Pavilion!"

"Nonsense… Who dares to steal from the Evil Sky Pavilion?" Mingshi Yin said.

Pan Zhong said, "Uh, you'll have to ask Senior Leng Luo about that… Fortunately, he was there at that time!"

There were many under the heavens who wanted to get their hands on the treasures in the Evil Sky Pavilion.

Lu Zhou's expression remained calm. He looked at Golden Court Mountain's barrier. Although the barrier was merely left with one-third of its strength, no ordinary thief would be able to breach the barrier. He walked ahead with his hands on his back and light movements. Although he had depleted most of his strength, he was still in a good condition. Soon after, he arrived in the great hall.

Many female cultivators were already waiting in the great hall.

Leng Luo stood up and cupped his fists at Lu Zhou and Hua Wudao before sitting back down.

Lu Zhou returned to his seat in the great hall, the seat that was above the rest. He said nothing.

Leng Luo broke the silence. "The thieves are the Five Mice from Upper Prime City… They were the ones who caused the internal feud in Upper Prime City back then. I led the four Dark Knights and quelled the disturbance there, but the Five Mice were nowhere to be found. I really didn't expect them to come to the Evil Sky Pavilion." He paused for a moment before he said, "How bold of them!"

Hua Wudao nodded. "The Upper Prime's Five Mice are skilled in theft and are extremely cunning. Their name in the cultivation world is second only to Yanzi Yunsan. The only difference is Yunsan acts alone while the Five Mice act in a group."

Mingshi Yin was puzzled. He asked, "How did they get past the barrier?"

No matter how weak the Golden Court Mountain's barrier had gotten, ordinary thieves would not be able to breach the barrier.

Leng Luo said, "The Five Mice are skilled in theft because they'd mastered an arcane art. This arcane art shares some similarities with the Dao Invisibility art that I learned. In the past decade or so, the Five Mice have infiltrated many sects, breaching the barriers and stealing from them… That's how they gained their moniker, the Five Mice."

Lu Zhou nodded. He remembered when he captured Yanzi Yunsan with the Binding Cage, but Yanzi Yunsan had escaped into the ground. Thieves usually had their own unique methods. They were a cunning bunch.

At this moment, Pan Zhong came in and said, "Pavilion Master, we've carried out an inventory. Only a few pieces of trash from the east pavilion are lost."

'Trash?'

Everyone was baffled.

'Why would someone steal trash?'

"Nothing else is missing?" Mingshi Yin asked.

"No… Perhaps, they got frightened halfway through?" Pan Zhong felt they were rather courageous for even attempting to steal something from the Evil Sky Pavilion. "When Senior Leng showed up, they fled."

Mingshi Yin nodded as he stroked his chin and said, "That makes sense."

When Lu Zhou and the others left, only a team of old and weak men were left on the mountain. It was only natural they failed to capture the Five Mice.

This incident was not serious nor was it negligible. It was negligible because nothing of import was lost, but it could not be considered as not serious since it was related to the Golden Court Mountain's barrier. If they did not mend the barrier, even if the Five Mice were killed, there would still be other mice coveting the Evil Sky Pavilion's treasures. Moreover, the barrier was still continuing to weaken.

Lu Zhou felt it was meaningless to mend the barrier now. He did not have enough strength to do it himself, and it would take his disciples several years based on their cultivation base. In a few years, the Noble Path would make an attempt on Golden Court Mountain under the notion that his life was almost up. For this reason, he did not want to waste a Peak Form Trial Card just to mend the barrier.

Leng Luo said again, "I have something on my mind, but I wonder if it's appropriate to say it."

"Speak," Lu Zhou said.

"The Black Knights have fought the Upper Prime's Five Mice before… Their strength and cultivation bases aren't profound. They usually work together to preserve their own lives. I suspect…" Leng Luo paused before continuing, "The Upper Prime's Five Mice are very much connected with the Evil Sky Pavilion's seventh disciple, Si Wuya."

"Why do you say that?" A baseless speculation would hardly convince others after all. There had to be solid reasoning behind it.

Leng Luo said, "Many years ago, I heard the Five Mice encountered the Darknet. For the Five Mice to infiltrate the Evil Sky Pavilion without stealing anything… It's clear they have an objective in mind. They must have come here for the Peacock Plume. Since they failed this time, I'm afraid this won't be the last time we see them."

Master… This traitor is behaving arrogantly even with his cultivation base restricted. I seek permission to descend the mountain and bring him back here for questioning!" Mingshi Yin said.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard as he went into deep thought.