My disciples are all villains.

Huang Shijie continued to say, "I've been to the Evil Sky Pavilion in the past, and I've met the little girl before… After six years, the little girl has already entered the Five-leaf Nascent Divinity realm."

Zhou Youcai looked up; his fingers were visibly shaking now, and his throat was dry. "Five-leaf Nascent Divinity realm… in six years?" He was certain this cultivation speed was unprecedented among the current generation of cultivators. Just the Body Tempering realm would take several years. He found it difficult to believe someone had only taken six years to enter the Nascent Divinity realm. His understanding of the Evil Sky Pavilion was being renewed.

Mingshi Yin rolled his eyes. 'Are you going to keel over from shock if I tell you about Conch?'

Lu Zhou, who had remained silent throughout all this, stroked his beard and said, "Rascals." His word was clearly directed at Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong.

Huang Shijie and Zhou Youcai were taken aback.

"He could've taken care of Ma Luping sooner, but there he is, wasting time." Lu Zhou continued with his criticism. "Yu Zhenghai's Sovereign Descent is an attack with a wide range. A wave of energy sabers should've appeared when it's unleashed… It's such a waste to use it against someone like Ma Luping. Yu Shangrong's Primal Restoration needs time to gather his Primal Energy and condense it into energy swords. It's powerful enough but not cleanly executed. He's still thinking of concealing his strength at a crucial moment like this… They were working together, but they couldn't kill Ma Luping in a short time. They used too many methods that it's confusing, and they weren't decisive enough. It seems like they're still too young."

Lu Zhou's criticism rendered Huang Shijie and Zhou Youcai speechless. What else could they say?

'If I have talented disciples such as those two, I'd be smiling in my sleep! Yet, he's complaining about them?'

Huang Shijie coughed twice to ease the awkwardness.

At this moment, Mingshi Yin pointed at Yan Province City and said, "Master, there are reinforcements."

Zhou Youcai glanced in the direction and frowned. "They're not disciples of the Sky Conduct Academy. Wei Zhuoyan is supposed to be in Liang Province!"

Mingshi Yin was puzzled. "Liang Province?"

Zhou Youcai realized that he had said the wrong thing. He immediately covered his mouth.

Mingshi Yin said, "Indeed, it's a good plan for Wei Zhuoyan to attack Liang Province from the borders. However, it might be difficult for him to take down Liang Province… Three of the Nether Sect's Four Great Protectors are guarding it. Unless... Wei Zhuoyan is cooperating with the Other Tribes."

Zhou Youcai. "…"

Huang Shijie. "…"

Since time immemorial, colluding with the Other Tribes was an unforgivable offense. If a person was proven to have committed such a crime, his or her name would be tarnished in history.

…

Inside Yan Province City.

An army of armored soldiers and cavalry headed toward the eastern wall.

A flying chariot appeared in the air. It was not huge, but from its appearance, it was clear that its owner was someone from a notable background.

There were cultivators in three square formations behind the flying chariot. They were all wearing black armor and masks.

...

"The Black Knights?"

"Master, it's the Black Knights from the Divine Capital."

Huang Shijie said, "After the Black Knight's leader, Leng Luo, left, the Black Knights are no longer what they used to be. However… I'm curious… Who's the new leader of the Black Knights?"

Zhou Youcai shook his head and said, "To tell you the truth, based on my information, there's no such person."

Lu Zhou looked over.

...

Inside Yan Province City.

Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai were facing each other from a distance.

Ma Luping looked at the duo nervously after he landed.

Yu Zhenghai said, "Second Junior Brother, the reinforcements are here. Let me kill Ma Luping. The situation of the war is dire and can't be delayed. Why don't we leave our competition for another time?"

Yu Shangrong turned his Longevity Sword around and said with a smile, "Since you've said it, Eldest Senior Brother, how can I say no? The situation is dire. Let's leave it at this!"

"Alright!"

"Fine!"

The two of them had been bickering about who would kill Ma Luping all this time, and yet, they were suddenly compromising?

An ominous feeling rose in Ma Luping's heart at this moment. He knew this was his only chance to make a run for it. He stomped both feet strongly, and his body shone with a golden light as he activated his Energy Body. Then, he charged at a nearby wall.

Bam!

Yu Shangrong did not even look at Ma Luping as his Longevity Sword suddenly flew.

The Jasper Saber shot out at this moment as well.

This time, the saber and sword did not collide. Instead, they were moving in a parallel line. As they sailed forth, countless energy sabers and energy swords materialized between the two weapons.

The energy sabers were like a tidal wave with the potential to destroy heaven and earth whereas the energy swords were like a meteor shower that seemed capable of cleaving heavens and earth in half.

The sabers and swords attacked at the same time!

Bam! Bam!

The energy sabers and energy swords merged and pierced Ma Luping's back.

Yu Shangrong withdrew his hand, and the Longevity Sword returned to its scabbard.

The Jasper Saber spun into the air and slashed Ma Luping's neck. It brought a bloodied head with wide eyes back to Yu Zhenghai.

Yu Zhenghai stepped into the air and said to Yu Shangrong, "Second Junior Brother, you're only a Six-leaf cultivator, after all. What do you say we spar again once you're returned to the Eight-leaf stage?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Yu Shangrong replied.

Yu Zhenghai no longer replied and flew in the other direction with the head in hand.

Yu Shangrong descended and shot in another direction at lightning speed.

Meanwhile, the Imperial guard's reinforcement troops marched toward the eastern wall in a dense formation.

The Black Knights and the armored soldiers approached their destination.

"Where's Ma Luping?" A gruff voice rang from the lying chariot.

At the same time, Yu Zhenghai flew toward them.

The Black Knights and the armored soldiers looked up with grim expressions on their faces.

Yu Zhenghai stood on his Jasper Saber. He turned around before coming to a halt.

A head sailed toward them.

Bam!

The head fell to the ground and rolled until it was several meters before the flying chariot. Blood dripped from the head as it moved.

The others exclaimed in shock.

"General!"

"General!"

Yu Zhenghai placed his hands on his back as he looked at the flying chariot below him fiercely. Then, he looked at the civilians and said, "This is what happens to someone who threatens the common folk… I've said that the Nether Sect won't harm civilians. I will personally demand an explanation from the emperor for today's incident." His rich voice rolled out, invigorating the hearts and minds of the commoners.

For the common folk, it did not matter who was on the throne. The most important thing to them was the person governing the country could ensure that they lived good lives. Who among these people would not be moved by Yu Zhenghai's words? His words seemed to have boosted their morale. As they spoke among themselves, they could be heard blaming the Imperial family and Ma Luping.

The gruff voice rang from the small flying chariot again. "Ma Luping deserves 10,000 deaths for holding the civilians hostage. As the Crown Prince of Great Yan, I'll surely sentence his entire family to death. However, that's a separate matter. I won't let the Nether Sect go because of this?"

The Crown Prince?

Many were surprised and confused by the Crown Prince's presence.

At this moment, a person emerged from the small flying chariot. He wore a magnificent embroidered robe and a brocade cap. His expression was determined, confident, and composed. He looked at Yu Zhenghai with killing intent flashing in his eyes as he hovered in the air. This person was none other than Liu Zhi, the Crown Prince of Great Yan's Imperial family.

Liu Zhi's appearance immediately boosted the morale of the Imperial guard.

"I'm here to eradicate the rebel army."

Yu Zhenghai did not expect the Crown Prince, Liu Zhi, to be here. "With this army?"

Although Crown Prince Liu Zhi was a genius cultivator, there was no way he had an Eight-leaf cultivation base. Moreover, Ma Luping was dead, and Wei Zhuoyan had gone to Liang Province. What gave him the confidence to face the Nether Sect?

Liu Zhi rose higher in the air and drew level with Yu Zhenghai.

Four Black Knights and the remaining Black Knights rose into the air in a square formation as well.

Liu Zhi looked at Yu Zhenghai and said, "Of course, not… Behold." He waved his right hand.

In the faraway skies, countless white-clad cultivators flew toward them.

The white-clad cultivators appeared among the mist between the mountains. Then, they flew toward the west. Clearly, they knew about the current situation in Yan Province City.

When the several thousand white-clad cultivators appeared within their sights, the Imperial guards' confidence was boosted.

Meanwhile, Si Wuya who was on the Nether Sect's flying chariot saw this and frowned. "So, they've come..."

…

The Sky Conduct Academy's President, Meng Nanfei, flew southward for quite some time before shifting eastward.

"President, we're approaching Yan Province soon!"

"Alright, listen to my order once we're at Yan Province City!"

"Yes, president!"

When the several thousand white-clad cultivators were flying eastward and were about to enter Yan Province City, one of them pointed at the mountain peak before them. "President, what's that?"

At first, Meng Nanfei did not bother with the disciple's words; he continued flying forward at full speed. However, when he finally looked up, he saw a huge avatar slowly rising above the twin rocks peak. From the height of ten feet, it swiftly grew to the height of 150 feet. Soon enough, a nine-leaf golden lotus appeared.

Brilliant rays of light illuminated the eastern region immediately!

The Several thousand disciples felt as though the air was electrified. Their hairs stood on end as a terrifying aura blew against their faces!

When Meng Nanfei saw this, his eyes widened as he shouted, "Stop!"

The several thousand disciples came to a halt immediately.

The ten seconds that passed felt like a century. Every second seemed to have lasted a year.

None of the Sky Conduct Academy disciples dared to move or make a sound.

Shortly after, Meng Nanfei said decisively, "Retreat!"