My disciples are all villains.

The soundwave seemed different from the sound techniques they had encountered in the past. It was sonorous and powerful, clean and nimble. It caught them off guard.

A frown could be seen on Su Sheng's face as the soundwave landed on its target.

Bam!

Su Sheng grunted as he slid backward. He was an Eight-leaf cultivator, after all. The moment he was attacked by this soundwave, he forcibly stabilized his footing so he would not fall or fly back. However, sometimes, it was not entirely a bad thing to be sent flying back. For example, if he had allowed himself to be sent flying, he could've flipped in the air and minimized the impact from the soundwave. With that, he would only suffer minor scratches. Alas, he chose to withstand the soundwave head-on to remain standing.

Shu Sheng seemed to be frozen as he looked at the back of the wall with a frightened gaze.

Liu Ge, Emperor Yong Shou, and Gu Yiran were shocked.

On the other hand, Mingshi Yin was delighted. He retracted his avatar and bowed in the direction of the hidden chamber. "Greetings, master."

The sounds of footsteps rang in the air. The speed of the footsteps was neither hurried nor slow. Each step was firm and sounded like it came from the distance.

The three visitors knew the Evil Sky Pavilion's master was about to make his appearance, and their eyes were focused in the direction of the sound.

Finally, Lu Zhou appeared before everyone's eyes, sauntering over from behind the great hall with his hands on his back. During the past three months, he had been immersed in his meditative state. He had no access to his senses and consciousness. However, he could still pick up fragments of conversations every once in a while. Sometimes they were clear, and sometimes they were incoherent. Just a few moments ago, he was still blissfully immersed in his meditative state. He had no intention of waking up from that state at all. To his chagrin, he was disturbed by the commotion in the great hall. Although Conch's flute song helped him to concentrate, the noise from the collision of the scripts had jarred him awake.

As soon as Lu Zhou stepped into the great hall, he swept his eyes past the three visitors.

Su Sheng and Gu Yiran stiffened.

When Lu Zhou's eyes finally landed on Emperor Yong Shou, he said, "Liu Ge?"

Liu Ge was shocked. He was rather certain Ji Tiandao would be an old man with a head full of white air who had lost his mobility. Ji Tiandao should not be any better than Zuo Yushu. How could he not be surprised when he saw Lu Zhou who seemed to be in the pink of health. Ji Tiandao's back was straight and seemed to be in good spirits. His eyes were lively and filled with strength. Even when Ji Tiandao rebuked Su Sheng, his voice was brimming with vitality and explosive strength. Ji Tiandao did not seem to be approaching his great limit at all! Even though Liu Ge was a monarch, when he saw Lu Zhou's appearance, he was still filled with fright in his heart and felt emotional. When he finally remembered he had not met Ji Tiandao for a long time, he hurriedly said, "I… We finally meet, Brother Ji."

"You're not dead?"

Su Sheng took a step forward. How could the Evil Sky Pavilion's master use such an inauspicious word like 'dead' when speaking to the Retired Emperor? Alas, as soon as stepped forward, he grunted and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. 'What a powerful sound technique.' He did not expect to be injured by the soundwave. They did not even engage in a fight, but his internal organs were already injured from a sound technique. Just how powerful was the Evil Sky Pavilion's master? It seemed like the Nine-leaf stage was truly in a league of its own.

Lu Zhou shifted his gaze from Liu Ge to Su Sheng. "You like to bully the weak?"

Su Sheng appeared confused. He bit back the pain from his injured internal organs as he bowed and said, "Senior Ji, we were just sparring. If I have offended you, I'm willing to accept any punishment you mete out."

"Just sparring?"

At this moment, a petite figure ran into the great hall. She was holding a Lantian Jade Flute as she searched for someone inside the great hall. When she saw her master, she bowed. "Greetings, master."

Lu Zhou glanced at Conch before he returned his gaze to Su Sheng again.

Su Sheng caught a glimpse of Conch and the Lantian Jade Flute in her hand. His hand trembled as he wondered out loud, "The flute master is… her?"

Mingshi Yin said, "Who else could it be? A great Eight-leaf elite bullying a junior who has just entered the Sense Condensing realm. What a great senior!"

Su Sheng felt stifled. His eyes widened in disbelief as he shook his head, "The Sense Condensing realm?" He looked at the pretty and innocent little girl at the side again. Could she be an elite who was deliberately hiding her aura to impersonate a Sense Condensing realm cultivator? He shook his head. 'No, she's too young.' How profound could the cultivation base of a young girl like her be?

Su Sheng immediately felt his cheeks warm up. He was embarrassed. To think that he had sparred with a little girl who had just entered the Sense Condensing realm! There was no excuse. His earlier action was, indeed, shameful and could not be justified. He looked at Lu Zhou awkwardly. However, as soon as his eyes met Lu Zhou's eyes, he shuddered. "S… Senior Ji!"

Lu Zhou's words, 'You like to bully the weak?', echoed in Su Sheng's mind.

Lu Zhou calmly said, "Since you like to spar, I'll fulfill your wish."

"Huh?"

"Take this!" Lu Zhou raised his hand. A blue light shone from between his fingers.

"The Confucian school's Abandon Wisdom!"

Su Sheng and Gu Yiran were both Confucian elites. Naturally, they recognized this technique.

"Brother Ji, have mercy!" Liu Ge frowned deeply.

Lu Zhou was determined to attack; he would not be easily dissuaded. The scripts of Abandon Wisdom hung between his fingers before they shot out…

Su Sheng cried out as he retreated in the air. He joined his palms together with his index fingers touching. It seemed like he was going to cast Abandon Wisdom as well. He was an elite as well, after all. When faced with such a situation, he chose to attack instead of defending. The scripts from Abandon Wisdom appeared around his index fingers. Sadly, they seemed negligible compared to Lu Zhou's scripts that were launched with just one hand. In any case, he felt he was left with no choice but to attack. He leaned forward as energy swirled around his fingers. The scripts formed energy seals before they shot out.

The two Abandon Wisdom's techniques collided.

Boom!

As expected, Su Sheng reeled back. He hastily drew his hand back to his sides. If he had been a moment later, his arms would have been broken by the powerful energy seals.

Lu Zhou's Abandon Wisdom did not disperse; it continued to shoot forward. It landed on Su Sheng's chest, pushing Su Sheng out of the great hall until Su Sheng eventually crashed against the eastern part of the plaza.

Thud!

Su Sheng landed on the ground.

The palm seal grew translucent as it continued on its trajectory upward before it finally faded into thin air.

...

When the Confucian genius, Zuo Yushu, looked up and saw this, she wondered out loud, "Who unleashed Abandon Wisdom? Su Sheng? Gu Yiran?"

The four elders frowned slightly.

Zuo Yushu shook her head and said, "Knowing their abilities, it's impossible for them to unleash the technique with such great strength."

"What about Liu Ge?"

"It's impossible for it to be Liu Ge as well. He's advanced in age and is close to his great limit," Zuo Yushu replied.

The four of them exchanged a look before realization finally dawned on them.

…

In the great hall.

After Lu Zhou had cast the technique, Liu Ge and Gu Yiran looked outside the great hall in shock. Lu Zhou and Su Sheng had used the same technique, Abandon Wisdom, but Lu Zhou's attack had easily crushed Su Sheng!

After a long silence, Liu Ge suppressed the shock in his heart before he said, "Brother Ji, please stay your anger. They're here with me. I'll take responsibility for their mistakes."

Lu Zhou said, "This is only a minor punishment. If it weren't out of consideration for you, I would've reduced him into ashes."

"…"

"Why are you so angry?" Liu Ge asked in confusion.

Liu Zhe frowned slightly as he said in a deep voice, "My disciple has just entered the Sense Condensing realm recently. Do you think I should stand aside and do nothing?"

"…" Liu Ge's heart stirred. After all these years, he did not expect Ji Tiandao to still be so defensive of his people, regardless if they were right or wrong. 'His temper is as fiery as ever.' Despite his thoughts, his expression remained the same. In the end, he said in a loud voice, "Su Sheng, kowtow and apologize to this little girl."