My disciples are all villains.

Lu Zhou did not direct the statement at Li Yunzhao, he was merely talking to himself.

Open Heavenly Writing remnant middle piece. This meant there was another piece outside. That was strange. 'Did Old Villain Ji only give one? It should be in the palace as well. Where is the final piece, I wonder?'

Unfortunately, Lu Zhou did not have the parchment drawing with him. Otherwise, he could have compared it for clues. However, it was useless to dwell on it now. He would find out once he returned. Finally, he said to Li Yunzhao, "It has nothing to do with you."

Li Yunzhao was slightly stunned. He did not dare to ask any more questions and respectfully retreated to the side.

Lu Zhou put the remnant piece away. This was connected to his next power. It was a guarantee of improvement in his strength so he had to treat it cautiously.

Li Yunzhao asked tentatively, "W-what about our promise from before?" He was anxious. After all, it would be no surprise if a villain went back on his words.

Lu Zhou glanced at him and said, "I've always kept my promises. You've done well…"

Li Yunzhao relaxed. He cupped his fists at Lu Zhou. "I have another request, old mister."

"What is it?"

"When I left the palace, I told the Empress Dowager that I would be bringing the scroll back… The Empress Dowager had asked me repeatedly about this, and I could not find any good reason to take the scroll away. Out of ideas, I used Princess Zhao Yue as an excuse. The Empress Dowager… wants to meet Zhao Yue," Li Yunzhao said.

Lu Zhou looked at him.

Li Yunzhao hastily explained, "Only the Empress Dowager and I know about this… Within the palace walls, I can guarantee with my own head that I'll keep this a secret."

Lu Zhou indeed had the right to reject Li Yunzhao on Zhao Yue's behalf. However, when he glanced at Zhao Yue, he saw that seemed to be deep in thought.

After muttering to himself for a moment, Lu Zhou said, "Zhao Yue."

"Yes, master."

"Since this concerns you, you can decide…"

Zhao Yue was moved. Since they joined the Evil Sky Pavilion, the disciples rarely had any power to decide for themselves. She did not expect her master would allow her to decide something so important. This truly surprised her. However, she did not decide instantly. She gave it some thought before finally replying, "Master, I'd like to go and have a look."

"Go, then."

When Zhao Yue heard this, she walked to Lu Zhou and respectfully kowtowed to him.

When Lu Zhou looked at Zhao Yue, he could see her loyalty rising quickly. He waved his hand.

Li Yunzhao said, "I'll guarantee her safety with my life."

"I'll be taking my leave for now, master."

Li Yunzhao made an inviting gesture, and Zhao Yue walked out the door.

The two of them soon vanished from sight.

Qin Jun said, "I didn't expect Princess Yun Zhao's orphan ended up being your disciple… The heavens are making a fool out of us."

"I don't care whose orphan she is," Lu Zhou said.

"You're right, old mister."

Lu Zhou was just about to return to his room to meditate on the Heavenly Writing when a servant rushed in from outside and said, "My lord, a letter for you."

Qin Jun frowned and said, "A letter for me?" The Divine Capital was huge. If it was from his colleagues, they would not have used this method to contact him.

Qin Jun opened the letter and read it. Realization suddenly dawned on him. He hastily bowed and said, "Old mister, it's for you."

"Allow me." Little Yuan'er leaped forward. She opened the letter and read it aloud, "Old senior, I'm at the Mausoleum of Swords. There might be something you're looking for here. Your disciple sure is persistent. Hahaha…" She knew who this letter was from immediately.

Lu Zhou frowned. "Mausoleum of Swords?"

Qin Jun cupped his fists and said, "The Mausoleum of Swords is near the Imperial Crypt… It's said that it's a place of extreme Yang, and there are many swords buried there. The mausoleum itself is of the Yin-attribute, and the balance between Yin and Yang created a wonderful environment to nurture good swords. Hence, every decade or so, there would be cultivators trying their luck at the mausoleum."

With this explanation, it was clear that Jiang Aijian had gone looking for good swords. After all, he would never let an opportunity like that go to waste. He loved swords to the bones and valued the sword as much as his own life.

Lu Zhou remained silent as he rose to his feet with his hands on his back and left the main hall.

"Rest well, master."

"Rest well, old mister."

On his way back to his room, Lu Zhou took out the Open Heavenly Writing's remnant piece from the brocade box again. The moment he touched it, the scroll dissolved into spots of starlight and floated toward him. In that instant, the remnant piece vanished.

Lu Zhou probed the Heavenly Writing's power. There was no new power. He sat down cross-legged as he muttered, "Looks like I'll have to wait until I've found the last piece."

Lu Zhou no longer dwelled on this and began to meditate on the Heavenly Writing.

…

Night fell.

The Divine Capital was silent.

A green-robed man carrying a sword hovered near the Prince of Qi Mansion. He saw a carriage speeding toward the Imperial city on the street of the Divine Capital.

Li Yunzhao was standing on the carriage and urging the steeds on.

Yu Shangrong smiled faintly as he shook his head and said, "… Congratulations, Junior Sister." He looked toward the southwest of Great Yan before looking at the new moon and murmured to himself, "You're luckier than I am."

All of a sudden, Yu Shangrong burst forth with a terrifying Sword Qi that stirred up a gale before it shot into the distance. Shadows of swords covered the skies. There were thousands upon thousands of them. Like a crushing wave, they shot forward into the night sky.

"The Sword Devil's Destiny."

The ink-colored energy blades seemed to have eyes of their own as they shot toward the black-clad cultivators lying in wait in the surroundings.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

"Ah… Sword… It's Sword Devil."

"It's Yu Shangrong!"

"It's too late!"

The rain of blades fell upon them and pierced the chests accurately.

Corpses fell from the roofs to the ground. These people did not even have a chance to resist.

When the rain of blades stopped, the corpses of the black-clad cultivators were strewn across the streets.

Zing!

The Longevity Sword returned to its scabbard.

Yu Shangrong behaved as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He looked down from above with a lofty air. He did not even spare a glance at the corpses. Instead, his eyes were looking at the Prince of Qi Mansion. He sighed and said with a hint of grievance in his tone, "Master, the Prince of Qi is Eldest Senior Brother's person. Why are you running around blindly like this?"

Yu Shangrong had withdrawn his aura as he hovered above the Prince of Qi Mansion. If one did not look closely, one would not be able to see the peerless elite hovering above the Prince of Qi Mansion. He remained in the air like a god. He did not leave right away. He crossed his arms and continued looking at the Prince of Qi Mansion.

"Hm?" Yu Shangrong's attention was caught by a blue light. It seemed like a blue firefly in the dark of the night, and it also seemed like the rippling reflection of the moon on a lake. It felt… special. Although he was knowledgeable, he did not know what it was. Curiosity caused him to fly over. He hovered above the roof. The blue, starlight-like spots of lights were densely packed as though they were clouds of smoke.