My disciples are all villains.

Yu Shangrong was trying his best to get what he wanted without having to resort to force. After all, it was unlikely for him to be able to upend the Core Yang Sect with his Three-leaf Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm.

"You don't look like him," one of the disciples said.

"Is that so?"

Zing!

The Longevity Sword was unsheathed. The scarlet sword danced in the air.

Bam!

The Longevity Sword collided with the barrier. A huge ripple spread across the barrier.

The disciples were startled into jumping, shaken.

"A scarlet sword!"

At this moment, a man dressed in a robe came running from the distance. "Impudent fools! How dare you behave rudely toward Mister Second? Do you have a death wish?"

The disciples turned around and saw the man bowing and running at the same time.

"Elder Shen?"

When the other disciples saw him, they bowed.

"Elder Shen."

Elder Shen waved his hand. He waded through the crowd and ran to the edge of the barrier. When he was at the spot closest to Yu Shangrong, he looked up carefully before his eyes widened. Then, he said reverently, "It's the Evil Sky Pavilion's Mister Second! Welcome! Welcome!"

Upon hearing these words, the disciples shuddered. All of them threw their swords aside and fell to their knees without a word. "Greetings, Mister Second!"

Yu Shangrong was puzzled. He looked at the man. He had no recollection of him. Moreover, he preferred to act alone and challenge elites wherever he went. It was impossible for him to make friends. How could someone recognize him? Nevertheless, he decided to go with the flow. It was a good thing for someone else to recognize him. This saved him some trouble. He descended slowly.

Elder Shen opened a path through the barrier and made an inviting gesture.

Yu Shangrong glanced at him before stepping through the barrier. He asked, "How should I address you, my friend?"

Elder Shen kept his back bent as he said, "I'm Shen Liangshou… I've met Old Senior Ji once during the battle of Liang Province."

This man was none other than the person on top of the white list, Shen Liangshou. After the incident, he stopped dabbling in human trafficking. After recovering his cultivation base with sable magnolias, he came to the Core Yang Sect and was appointed as an elder. He was now wiser from his experience.

Ji Tiandao was the person Shen Liangshou worshipped the most. Having made the mistake of looking down on Ji Tiandao before, he did everything in his power to learn about the characteristics of the Evil Sky Pavilion's nine disciples. As he expected, it came in handy now. This was especially true for Ji Tiandao. Shen Liangshou was confident that he would be able to recognize him immediately should they meet again. He would not make the same mistake twice.

"That's good." Yu Shangrong nodded.

When the others heard this, they stepped backward with a shocked expression on their faces. It was as though they were facing a great enemy.

Shen Liangshou swept his gaze past the disciples. He cleared his throat and reprimanded them, "I'll teach all of you a lesson later for disrespecting Mister Second."

The disciples remained kneeling. They dared not move.

Shen Liangshou felt awkward as he said, "My apologies. These disciples don't know how to behave. I feel ashamed on their behalf."

"It's alright."

"What brings you here, Mister Second?" Shen Liangshou asked. In truth, he could already guess Yu Shangrong's purpose for coming here. However, the Evil Sky Pavilion was known to act unconventionally.

"I heard that the Core Yang Sect has lotus-severing survival pills," Yu Shangrong said.

Shen Liangshou expected as much. He immediately flashed a smile and said, "Men."

"Y-yes, Elder Shen," one of the Core Yang Sect disciples said in a trembling voice.

"Bring ten survival pills over and give them to Mister Second," Shen Liangshou said.

"Yes… Yes…"

The disciple was about to turn and leave when Yu Shangrong waved his hand and said, "It's best if you can give me 100."

Shen Liangshou. "…" Currently, the supply of survival pills could not meet the demand. 100 pills were not a small number. He winced as he said, "Mister Second, why don't we have a cup of tea and talk about this?"

"I decline… I'm in a hurry." Yu Shangrong's expression remained calm.

"In that case, kindly wait here as I fetch the survival pills for you." Shen Liangshou did not dare to dally. He turned around and went to the pill-refining room.

Yu Shangrong looked up at Bi An who was hovering nearby. He nodded.

Bi An landed beside him.

The disciples had never seen a mount like it before. They retreated further out of fright.

Shortly after, Sheng Liangshou hurried back with 100 survival pills. He presented them reverently with both hands to Yu Shangrong. "Mister Second, 100 survival pills, as requested."

"I heard that the Core Yang Sect has leaf-sprouting pills as well," Yu Shangrong said with a straight face.

Shen Liangshou was already feeling the pinch from the previous request. When he heard Yu Shangrong mentioning the leaf-sprouting pills, he pulled a long face and said, "Mister Second, the survival pill is all we have. The leaf-sprouting pills are more precious and are extremely difficult to refine. Only the Big Dipper Academy is capable of refining them."

Yu Shangrong nodded when he heard this. He received the 100 survival pills and brought them to his nose before he took a whiff. A unique medicinal scent wafted into his nose.

"Mister Second, are you going to sever your lotus?" Shen Liangshou asked in a hushed voice after making sure the others were out of earshot.

"Hm?"

Shen Liangshou said furtively, "Mister Second, take the pill before severing your lotus, and when you do so, you must be quick, decisive, and precise…"

Yu Shangrong glanced at Shen Liangshou and asked, "What else?"

Shen Liangshou glanced at the disciples behind him again, and he pointed at the edge of the barrier.

Yu Shangrong understood Shen Liangshou's meaning and followed Shen Liangshou.

Shen Liangshou lowered his voice as though he was a thief and said, "If you have the leaf-sprouting pills, you may consume them during the earlier stages and improve your strength as soon as possible. The leaf-sprouting pills aren't much use in the later stages. The effects will also be diminished when the user's cultivation base has improved. Also, if the improvement is too quick, the foundation will be unstable."

Yu Shangrong nodded. "That sounds logical."

"Mister Second, when you return, can you put in a good word or two for me in front of Old Senior Ji? I'll be eternally grateful." Shen Liangshou bowed.

"That can be arranged." Yu Shangrong put the survival pills away. Then, he tapped the ground with the tips of his feet and flew toward Bi An.

"Safe journey, Mister Second."

Yu Shangrong sat atop Bi An and flew down Core Yang Mountain.

Shen Liangshou turned around at once and ran toward Core Yang Sect's meeting hall. He reached his destination soon enough. He opened the doors and entered the hall. "Sect Master Wu, he has left."

From a corner, Wu Dayong walked out with a slight tremble. He wiped the sweat from his face and stole a glance at the skies. After making sure that Yu Shangrong was not there, he finally spoke, "Thank the heavens that you showed up just in time. I was scared out of my wits…"

"Don't fret, sect master. Mister Second wasn't hostile," Shen Liangshou replied.

"In any case… the Core Yang Sect can't afford to cross the Sword Devil, let alone the Evil Sky Pavilion," Wu Dayong said.

…

Meanwhile, Lu Zhou opened his eyes after meditating on the Heavenly Writing scrolls for a night. He gauged his extraordinary power. He had one-fifth of his full capacity. As expected, if he proceeded at this pace, all he needed was five days to completely replenish his extraordinary power. Indeed, his meditating speed had increased.

"What would the fifth Heavenly Writing power be like?" Lu Zhou muttered to himself. He stood up and looked at the old parchment drawing. Apart from Great Yan's lands, the other parts of the drawing were still a blur. There was nothing there.

Lu Zhou decided to attempt the lucky draws to change the pace of things. He sat down. "Lucky draw."

"Ding! Spent 50 merit points. Spent 54 luck points. Obtained Appearance Alteration Card x5."

"Appearance Alteration Card. Enables you to change your appearance. Lasts for five days per use."

"Appearance Alteration Card?" Lu Zhou was puzzled when he saw the new item card. Was the system on a mission to troll him right now? Why would it give out a useless card such as this one? What use would he have for the Appearance Alteration Card? Lu Zhou's current appearance was much different compared to when he just recently transmigrated here. This latest card was more useless than the last!

At this moment, Zhao Yue's voice rang from outside the pavilion. "Master, Si Wuya requests an audience."

"What is it?"

"He says that he remembers something about the memory crystal."

"Bring him here."

"Yes, master."