My disciples are all villains.

Upon hearing this, Yu Zhenghai's eyes brightened. He hastily said, "If that's truly him, I want to meet him! Wise brother, I'll be back!" As soon as he finished speaking, he prepared to fly out of the flying chariot.

Si Wuya quickly grabbed Yu Zhenghai's arm before he said, "Eldest Senior Brother, we should prioritize the bigger picture here."

At this moment, the Nether Sect was about to completely conquer Yu Province. They had the upper hand. Although their momentum was akin to running a hot knife through butter, there were many elites hiding inside the Divine Capital. Nobody could say when an elite would suddenly show up. When that time comes, without an Eight-leaf cultivator such as Yu Zhenghai taking charge, the tides of the battle could be reversed. The eight great generals of the Divine Capital and the elites who lived in the Divine Capital were no pushovers. With Yu Zhenghai here, they could rest assured.

Yu Zhenghai sighed helplessly. "What a shame… Hua Chongyang."

"Yes, sect master."

"Go and help this friend of ours. If it's possible, I'd like to have a drink with him. We'll drink to our hearts' content at that time!" Yu Zhenghai said.

"Yes, sect master." Hua Chongyang leaped off the flying chariot and moved at lightning speed. He did not hesitate and summoned his Seven-leaf avatar.

Upon seeing Hua Chongyang's avatar, the garrison cultivators were scared out of their wits. They hurriedly scrambled away. Little did they know, they were not Hua Chongyang's target.

Hua Chongyang moved toward the southern city gate. In just a few breaths, his Seven-leaf avatar charged into the roiling Primal Qi airwave.

Yu Shangrong saw the Seven-leaf avatar charging toward him from the corners of his eyes. He shook his head and murmured, "Boring." Then, he intentionally slowed down the speed of his energy swords.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Xiao Shan's ferocious energy landed on him.

Yu Shangrong reeled back.

"Senior!" Hua Chongyang cried out despite himself. He was being extremely respectful by addressing Yu Shangrong as senior. Although he was a Seven-leaf Nascent Divinity realm cultivator, he did not dare to act impudently in front of a Five-leaf cultivator who had severed his lotus. At this moment, he had not seen Yu Shangrong's face yet.

Yu Shangrong rode on the momentum as he retreated. His avatar faded away as he flew toward the forest outside the city.

Hua Chongyang shouted, "Open!" His Seven-leaf avatar grew to its biggest size at once. It dispersed the storm of Primal Qi before it shrank in size again.

Hua Chongyang looked down. Xiao Shan who was currently falling to the ground had already been dealt with. He joined his palms together and made several hand signs as he said, "The Taixu Academy's Xiao Shan? You refuse to walk on heaven's path but chose to rush to hell instead? Looks like the lesson Senior Ji taught you isn't enough!"

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Several palm seals shot out and landed on Xiao Shan's chest.

Boom!

Xiao Shan crashed onto the ground.

Hua Chongyang did not even look at Xiao Shan as he sped toward the forest south of the city. In just a blink of an eye, he had entered the forest.

The surroundings were silent. Apart from faint Primal Qi lingering in the air, there was no trace of the senior.

"He's fast," Hua Chongyang muttered to himself as he recalled his avatar. He looked at the forest before him and hesitated. In the end, he did not proceed further into the forest. He cupped his fists together and projected his voice, "My sect master admires you, senior. He sent me here to invite you to our quarters to have a chat with him. Will you accept the invitation, senior?"

The forest was as quiet as ever. There was no reply.

Hua Chongyang knew his place. An elite who managed to re-cultivate to the Five-leaf stage after severing his lotus would not be a weakling. It would be futile even if he gave chase. After a while, he said, "Your sword skills are amazing, senior. It's on par with the Evil Sky Pavilion's Mister Second, if not better. It's a shame that I'm not fortunate enough to meet you. I'll be taking my leave now." When he finished speaking, he left at a blinding speed.

The forest was as silent as ever.

A moment later, Hua Chongyang returned to the area and searched for a moment while hovering in midair.

"He's gone?" Hua Chongyang sighed helplessly. He turned around and flew toward Yu Province City.

Behind a huge tree in the silent forest below, Yu Shangrong carried his Longevity Sword and murmured, "Crude acting skills and boring tricks."

Then, he pressed his chest to stabilize the chaotic flow of Primal Qi inside his dantian's sea of Qi. A Five-leaf cultivator was only a Five-leaf cultivator, after all. Against the Seven-leaf Xiao Shan, it was shocking enough that he managed to break Xiao Shan's dantian's sea of Qi and escape with his life intact. Perhaps, he was used to being an Eight-leaf cultivator, he had gone slightly overboard this time.

Yu Shangrong gripped his Longevity Sword tightly and smiled faintly. "There's no need to rush. I'll return to the peak soon enough."

…

After returning to the flying chariot, Hua Chongyang bowed at Yu Zhenghai and said, "Sect master, I couldn't catch up with him. That mysterious elite… is too fast."

Yu Zhenghai said, clearly displeased, "Chongyang… You've been slacking off lately. Have I not been treating you well?"

Hua Chongyang fell to one knee and said, "I dare not! I… am useless."

Si Wuya said, "Eldest Senior Brother, you can't blame Brother Chongyang for this. How can an elite who has recultivated to the Five-leaf stage be easily caught?"

Yu Zhenghai nodded. "You have a point, wise brother."

Hua Chongyang felt frustrated as well. He felt as though he was experiencing bad luck that was accumulated from eight lifetimes. It was one thing for him to fail his mission at the heaven worship platform, but he even brought Senior Ji to their branch, resulting in his sect master being beaten. Additionally, it was slightly unacceptable that he was not able to catch up to a Five-leaf cultivator.

Yu Zhenghai helped Hua Chongyang up and said, "You've worked hard."

Hua Chongyang was moved. He said immediately, "I'll do better."

At this moment, Si Wuya pointed at the city and said, "We're at the General's Mansion. Eldest Senior Brother… It all depends on you now."

The others looked down at the General's Mansion instinctively.

The Nether Sect members had already surrounded the General's Mansion.

Based on Si Wuya's calculations, Ji Qingqing should have shown up on the battlefield a while ago. However, up until now, she had not made an appearance.

Soon after, Yu Hong, the Green Azure Hall's Second Seat, rose into the air. He bowed and said, "The General's Mansion is empty, sect master."

"There's no one inside?" Yu Zhenghai frowned slightly.

Si Wuya pondered on this for a moment before he said, "They're rather tactful. It's no wonder our progress has been smooth. Ji Qingqing has given up on Yu Province early on and fled during the night."

Yu Zhenghai was invigorated upon hearing this.

The Nether Sect members on the flying chariot bowed.

"Congratulations on conquering Yu Province, sect master."

…

Early next morning. Inside the Purple Bamboo Forest north of Yu Province.

Ji Qingqing, one of the eight great generals, sat in a stately manner among the bamboo.

Her four deputies kept watch around her.

"General, Yu Province has fallen."

"I see." Ji Qingqing raised the waterskin to her mouth and drank. Then, she slowly rose to her feet. She looked in Yu Province's direction. There did not seem to be any strong emotions on her face.

"It's getting late. Should we make a move, General?"

"There's no rush. Let's wait for a while more," Ji Qingqing replied.

"Wait?" Her four deputy generals were puzzled. Since they had given up on Yu Province, why were they not leaving?

"Fleeing the battlefield is a crime worthy of the death penalty… General, there's something that I don't understand."

"It's only meaningless resistance," Ji Qingqing said.

At this moment, a green-robed swordsman wielded his sword as he slowly walked toward them from the northern edge of the Purple Bamboo Forest.

The four deputy generals' faces fell. They immediately drew closer to Ji Qingqing and unsheathed their swords.

Ji Qingqing glanced at the green-robed swordsman and said, "Stand down."

"General?"

"I know what I'm doing," Ji Qingqing said.

The four of them retreated behind her.

Ji Qingqing faced the green-robed swordsman from a distance. "You're here?"

"I made a promise with someone. I can't possibly go back on my words." The green-robed swordsman smiled faintly.

Ji Qingqing said, "I kept my promise to you… I hope you'll hold up your end of the bargain."

Yu Shangrong said, "What I say, I'll do. What I do, I'll carry through. Since you left Yu Province, you're no longer on my list."

Upon hearing this, the four deputies figured out the identity of the green-robed swordsman. Recently, there was a sword path elite who had been imitating the Evil Sky Pavilion's Mister Second in Yu Province City by making a hit list. Ji Qingqing and her right deputies were all on the list. Her remaining four deputies had difficulty eating and sleeping in peace because of this. They did not expect the green-robed swordsman to be that mysterious elite!

"Do you know why I promised you that I'd leave Yu Province?" Ji Qingqing asked with a smile.

"I'd like to hear it."

"Because your every move, the way you go about doing things, the style of your speech and movements, resemble someone I admire deeply," Ji Qingqing said bluntly.

"…"

Ji Qingqing glanced at him and continued to say, "Perhaps, you think that someone like me, who's used on the battlefield, has a heart of stone and won't be easily moved. That isn't the truth… He's the only man who's worthy of Ji Qingqing. He's the only one who fits my image of a man. However, he's from the Evil Sky Pavilion, and we're an ill fit… Your expression seems unnatural. Are you looking down on me?"

Under normal circumstances, it was considered inappropriate for a woman to publicly talk about the man she admired.