My disciples are all villains.

He had close to 100,000 merit points. If he continued to save his merit points, he could purchase two Golden Lotus Leaves. His current cultivation base was only in the Two-leaf Nascent Divinity realm. With these many merit points, he would be lying if he said he was not tempted to spend them. However, he knew he had to restrain himself. If he saved them until he became a grand cultivator, they could be used to their full potential. In any case, it should be fine if he spent some of them on… lucky draws, right?

"Lucky draw," Lu Zhou muttered.

"Ding! Spent 50 merit points. Obtained Reversal Card x1."

'Not bad. Again.'

"Lucky draw."

"Ding! Spent 50 merit points. Obtained the mount, Ji Liang."

"Note: Due to the system having spent too much energy sending the legendary mounts, Whitzard and Bi An, to the host, this mount would be coming to the Evil Sky Pavilion on its own."

"Ji Liang: A good steed from the Land of Wuwang in the distant north."

Lu Zhou's eyes widened when he saw this.

'It's been so long… When was the last time I received such a good reward? Finally, I'm a European Emperor!'

Ever since he obtained Whitzard and Bi An, Lu Zhou had witnessed how powerful legendary mounts were. Even when Ji Tiandao was still around, he did not obtain a powerful mount. His first disciple, Yu Zhenghai, on the other hand, obtained a powerful mount, but who knew how much trouble Yu Zhenghai had gone to just to obtain his mount?

The mounts owned by a handful of major sects were only lesser beasts.

Lu Zhou's mounts were treasures that one could never hope to encounter. One could only dream about it.

'Not bad, not bad at all. I should quit while I'm ahead. I won't make any more draws! You can't do anything about that, can you?'

Based on Lu Zhou's understanding of the system, the next draws would only be thank-you messages.

Lu Zhou was extremely pleased.

…

Meanwhile, in the faraway Land of Wuwang in the distant north.

A group of wild horses whose hooves glowed brightly was galloping across a grassless plain.

At the end of the group, a horse that was clearly different from the others, with a snow-white coat and fiery-red mane that was ten feet length and 80 feet height, came to a halt. It seemed like it had heard its summons. It neighed before it broke off from the group and flew south.

…

After obtaining the mount, Lu Zhou no longer touched the lucky draw system. Instead, he returned his attention to the Three Scrolls of Heavenly Writing.

After meditating on the Human Scroll, Lu Zhou had practically understood the ways to use the four powers and their effects.

He looked down, curious. What would the Earth Scroll be?

Rows after rows of mysterious scripts appeared before his eyes. They looked strange and squiggly.

If the scripts of the Human Scroll resembled hieroglyphs of ancient human civilization, the scripts of the Earth Scroll could only be described as extremely messy. He could at least find some pattern in the scripts of the Human Scroll. The Earth Scroll was just… baffling. In any case, the chants for the Heavenly Writing powers would be slowly revealed to him when he began to meditate.

Lu Zhou frowned slightly. 'Calm down. Let's look at the prices of the item cards to calm down.'

After that, he separated the Human Scroll and Earth Scroll. He did not rush to meditate on the Earth Scroll. Instead, he continued to meditate on the Human Scroll of Heavenly Writing.

'I should replenish my extraordinary power for now, just to be safe.' With this thought in mind, Lu Zhou sat down with his legs crossed and placed his palms before his dantian, breathing in and out. This was akin to a double cultivation exercise.

…

Inside the discussion hall of Taixu Academy.

"Patriarch… How are we supposed to go against a Nine-leaf cultivator? We're running out of time. Who can hold off the Nine-leaf cultivator when he comes? We only have a few days left!" One of the Elders was so anxious that his face was flushed red.

"Unless the Divine Capital is willing to help us, I don't see another way out..."

"The Divine Capital is currently engaged with the Nether Sect… They don't have the time to look after us!"

All of the people present in the hall had something to say. They looked at Lin Xin whose brows were tightly knitted.

Lin Xin was in a bad mood as well. In the cultivation world now, even the top sects would retreat for a three days' march if they encounter a Nine-leaf cultivator, let alone the Taixu Academy.

Most elites would choose to hide behind the barriers of their sects and cultivate in secret to improve their cultivation bases. Unfortunately, it was not easy to reach the Nine-leaf stage in a short time.

In truth, Lin Xin was completely out of ideas.

At this moment, a disciple walked in, cupped his fists, and said, "Patriarch, His Highness the Crown Prince is here."

The others were shocked to hear this.

"Bring him here, quick."

In no time at all, a disciple led the current Crown Prince of Great Yan, Liu Zhi, into the discussion hall.

The Taixu Academy's elders rose to their feet.

Lin Xin descended the steps.

Without waiting for them to speak, Liu Zhi waved his hand at once and said, "No need for that. Let's get down to business." He strode into the discussion hall and assumed Lin Xin's seat at once.

Lin Xin had no choice but to take the seat to the left.

Liu Zhi sat down and said, "I know you're being targeted by the Evil Sky Pavilion… I'm here to give you a clear direction."

The eyes of the members of the Taixu Academy brightened.

Lin Xin cupped his fists and said, "Kindly enlighten us, Your Highness."

At this moment, Liu Zhi beckoned to someone outside the hall.

Two soldiers who escorted him here walked in, carrying a box between them. They lowered it onto the floor with a loud clang!

The others looked at the box in confusion.

Liu Zhi said, "Open it!"

The two soldiers opened the box.

When everyone looked over, they saw a set of armor that seemed extremely old inside the box. There were red threads made from a unique material running along the armor, forming defensive veins. There was also a unique red knot on the corners of the armor. However, having been eroded by time, this armor was worn-out. Its red now carried a purple tinge.

"What's this?" Lin Xin asked, puzzled.

Liu Zhi said, "I don't have time to beat around the bush with you lot. It's quite impossible for the Taixu Academy to face a Nine-leaf cultivator head-on. Under the heavens, the Imperial family is the only one who can… I'll lend you this armor, but… I have one condition."

Lin Xin was still baffled.

Armor? Condition?

Lin Xin hastily said, "Kindly enlighten us, Your Highness!"

Liu Zhi glanced at Lin Xin and asked, "Do you know why the previous emperor was capable of subduing the nine provinces and unifying the 12 nations from Rongxi to Rongbei? Naturally, it was due to the power that only the Imperial family has..."

The Taixu Academy was close to the Imperial family. Naturally, they knew just how powerful the Imperial family was.

Liu Zhi smiled and said, "To tell you the truth… this armor came from an elite… The secret scrolls of the palace state that the elite came from the northern borders on a coffin. He traversed the 12 nations of the Other Tribes and reached Great Yan. He once said that nobody should and can attain the Nine-leaf stage. The special power of this armor will be awakened when faced with a Nine-leaf cultivator."

An elite?

When the others heard this, their expressions turned fearful. They looked at Liu Zhi. He did not seem to be lying. Was this… one of the Imperial family's trump cards?

Liu Zhi suddenly said, "By the way, this elite was the one who created the Ten Terminal Formation in the Divine Capital."

"…"

The power of the Ten Terminal Formation was known by everyone under the heavens. No matter how many leaves an elite had, they still had to maintain a low profile in the Divine Capital.

For thousands of years, people had always assumed that the Ten Terminal Formation was born out of the collective wisdom of the Confucian schools. However, based on Liu Zhi's words, that was clearly not true. Just how many secrets did the Imperial family have?

After a long pause, Lin Xin finally asked, "Are you asking me to don this armor and fight Old Villain Ji, Your Highness?"

"That's right."

The others exchanged a look among themselves.

Although Lin Xin had lived for a long time, he still felt uneasy when he heard Liu Zhi's words. "How do we know if this armor is genuine, Your Highness?"

The Nine-leaf stage itself was a dream in and of itself. If Old Villain Ji did not show the splendor of the Nine-leaf stage to the world, perhaps, nobody would believe in the existence of the Nine-leaf stage until today.

"You don't have a choice!" Liu Zhi replied in a deep voice.

"…" Lin Xin was speechless.

"If you don't believe me, you can have a good look at the armor… Who can forge this in this time and era?" Liu Zhi said.

Lin Xin's fingers were shaking as he bent down and picked up the helmet. It was heavy, about 100 catties.

However, for cultivators, this weight was nothing.

Lin Xin cradled the armor in his hand and studied it. He was the Taixu Academy's Patriarch and an Eight-leaf expert, after all. He was, naturally, more discerning than other people. When he saw the exquisite ornamental patterns on the armor, he felt his emotions stirred. He cried out excitedly, "Unprecedented… Truly unprecedented!"

The other elders with lower cultivation bases could not understand Lin Xin's excitement nor could they discern what was so special about the armor.

Seeing Lin Xin's reaction, Liu Zhi knew Lin Xin could tell the armor was unique. He smiled haughtily. "… Do you think His Majesty would expend so much effort to study the Nine-leaf stage just because of some baseless legend?"

'No wonder… no wonder.'

"That's enough. The Formation veins on the armor are one of a kind. It can't be copied," Liu Zhi said.

Lin Xin suppressed his excitement and asked, "What's your condition, Your Highness?"