My disciples are all villains.

The sound was sharp and piercing like a sword cry as it spread from the peak of the Imperial city.

The cultivators inside the Divine Capital heard this sharp tune and turned to look.

The tune controlled Qi and condensed it into energy blades in the air that shot toward the curtain-like barrier in the sky.

Swoosh!

The northern goshawk suddenly circled upward, dodging the soundwave.

"Master, there's something strange about that northern goshawk." Ye Tianxin could tell something was amiss with the northern goshawk. "Should I kill it for you?"

Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "Conch, I didn't tell you to attack it. Try to communicate with it."

"Oh." Conch understood. Air flowed naturally from between her lips. The sound of the flute that rolled out in the surroundings was mellifluous. It was much better compared to the grating sound from earlier.

At this moment, many civilians came out from their houses and gathered on the streets to look in the direction of the Imperial city.

With the academy disciples and Evil Sky Pavilion on the move, only the people of Great Yan dared to show their faces in public.

Before the Imperial city, more than half of the Divine Capital was purged of spies.

Golden figures with Golden Lotuses could be seen near the cultivators.

When the civilians saw these avatars, the fear in their hearts gradually subsided. Then densely packed civilians walked toward the Imperial city. Shortly after, some of the civilians fell to their knees.

"Thank you, the Patriarch of the Evil Sky Pavilion"

"Thank you for helping us, patriarch!"

"Ding! Received sincere kowtows from 502 individuals. Reward: 5,020 merit points."

"Ding! Received sincere kowtows from 1,300 individuals. Reward: 13,000 merit points."

"Ding! Received sincere kowtows from 2,030 individuals. Reward: 20,300 merit points."

Lu Zhou was pleased to hear the notifications.

Unfortunately, after the battle in the Divine Capital, many civilians moved out of the city and did not return. There were fewer people now. On top of that, the spies that were causing trouble made many fear to return or come out from their houses.

The area before the imperial city was not very wide. It was an incredible sight, seeing so many people kowtow to him

The melodious flute song reached the curtain-like buried in the sky.

The northern goshawk did not retreat. Instead, it became more excited and brutal. It charged toward the Golden Taixu Mirror.

Bam!

The curtain-like barrier rippled.

Conch stopped playing and said, "Master, I told it to go away, but it wouldn't listen."

The cultivators in the city were attracted by the commotion. When they saw the northern goshawk attacking the barrier, they were shocked.

The golden mirror's task was not complete yet. If it was interrupted now, they would not be able to flush out the remaining spies. That would be a nightmare for the people.

Conch added, "It's taunting us!"

Lu Zhou raised a palm and shouted, "Cursed livestock!"

It refused a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit! Unnamed, which was in the form of a bow now, materialized in his hand.

Ye Tianxin had just recently returned to the Evil Sky Pavilion. She did not know how powerful her master was nor did she recognize the weapon in her master's hand. She was slightly shocked to see Unnamed.

Lu Zhou gripped it, and blue light shone from between his fingers.

Whizz!

The bow that Unnamed had transformed into was shrouded by an energy as tall as Lu Zhou. Then, an energy arrow appeared as he pulled the bowstring with his right hand.

Swoosh!

The arrow was shot, the unique sound of the arrow sailing in the air attracted the attention of the cultivators and civilians alike. All of them instinctively looked up. They saw a blue energy arrow shooting toward the sky-like barrier at a blinding speed.

The northern goshawk flapped its wings and moved upward in an attempt to dodge the arrow.

Alas, the energy arrow never missed!

Bam!

It hit the northern goshawk!

The northern goshawk fell from the skies onto the side of the curtain-like barrier and slid down.

"Master, isn't that too much for a beast?" Zhu Honggong looked at the sky.

A Great Yan cultivator whom Zhu Honggong was not familiar with said in an admiring tone, "M-mister Eighth… The patriarch is so cool!"

"Naturally."

"Mister Eighth… Your boxing gloves are cooler!"

Zhu Honggong nearly cried when he heard this. 'Someone's finally praising my f*cking boxing gloves! This shows that there are those with good taste in this world!'

"I like what you're saying. Say some more," Zhu Honggong said, clearly enjoying the praise.

"Mister Eighth, your boxing gloves are by far the flashiest, most impressive, majestic, dazzling, and eye-catching weapon I have ever seen…"

"You've got great taste, comrade," Zhu Honggong replied, pleased.

At this moment, a loud clang sounded in the air.

The Overlord Spear stabbed into the ground, and the ground cracked.

The two of them jumped in shock.

Duanmu Sheng descended from the skies and landed between them.

Clearly, the spies were completely annihilated.

The cultivator's eyes widened. He hastily said, "Mister Third… It's you! I was almost blinded from the magnificence of your Overlord Spear."

Zhu Honggong. "???"

Duanmu Sheng glanced at the man. He retrieved his Overlord Spear, gave it a gentle stroke, and said, "But, of course. I clean this spear thrice a day. I won't let it be tainted by anything. In my eyes, no weapon under the heavens is a match for my Overlord Spear."

"…"

Bam!

The huge northern goshawk landed on the city walls.

…

Meanwhile, in the Roulian campground.

Karol's eyes snapped open.

"He's skilled in archery as well?!" A shaman dressed in long robes with a tattooed face who stood before him grunted and spat out blood.

"Bazir, are you alright?"

Bazir waved his hand. He wiped the blood away from the edge of his lips and said, "Fortunately, this spell merely gave me the northern goshawk's sight. If we had a Fated Bond, I would've died."

Karol's expression was grim as he said, "I didn't expect that old villain to possess such a treasure. I don't think our scouts will survive this."

Bazir said, "He shone on everyone inside the Divine Capital using the curtain-like barrier in the sky as a mirror… Just how powerful is a Nine-leaf cultivator? General Karol, why don't we negotiate for peace and co-exist harmoniously?"

Bam!

Karol slammed his hands on the table and said, "Bazir, I respect you as a grand shaman, but please mind your words! Great Yan has been oppressing Lou Lan for years, don't you know that? Your nation has been paying tithes and sending women to Great Yan every year. How can you live with that?"

"…" Bazir was at a loss for words.

"The lotus-severing era is beneficial for Rouli and Lou Lan… Although our operation has failed, it bought us some time. As of now, there hasn't been a second Nine-leaf cultivator in Great Yan. We'll be able to conquer it soon!"

Bazir nodded. He was recovering from his wounds and slowly regained his clarity of mind.

At this moment, a Roulian hurried into the campground.

"General! The Lou Lan army on the west of Heaven's Moat sent us a report. They lost the Sword Devil Yu Shangrong who left Liang Province."

Karol rose to his feet immediately.

Before he could curse, the Roulian fell on one knee. "Please forgive me, General! Yu Shangrong has a profound cultivation base. On top of that, he has a mount that's as fast as lightning!"

Karol was still angered by Bazir's earlier statement. When he received this news, he mercilessly mocked, "Mister Bazir, it's no wonder Lou Lan frequently sends its women to appease Great Yan. There's a reason you're weak!"

"You…"

"My lords, please stay your anger!"

Bazir said, "What about you Roulians? If I remember correctly, your younger brother Karran died in Great Yan with his mount as well, right?"

Karol raised his hand and struck!

Bam!

The table cracked open.

Bazir took a step back. However, he remained fearless. "What are you trying to do?"

Karol desperately suppressed the flames of anger burning in him. He waved his hand, still seething with anger, and said, "Scram."

Bazir cupped his fists together perfunctorily. He scoffed as turned around and left.

The subordinate who brought the report ran up to him. "Mister Bazir, please calm down… The general is known for his honesty…"

"Hm?" Bazir snorted. With a wave of his sleeve, he left the campground.

The subordinate looked around himself. A faint smile spread across his face. He mumbled, "Mister Seventh's plan is amazing."

…

The Land of Buried Bones in Lou Lan.

Ji Liang shot past the dark forest.

After a few days of speedy flight, even Yu Shangrong felt the need to alleviate his dry throat. He patted the horse's back to tell it to land.

After landing, Yu Shangrong surveyed his surroundings. He could not see the end of the forest. The environment was dark and damp. Only dim light filtered through the canopy illuminated the surroundings.

"We'll reach our destination after we get past the Land of Buried Bones." Yu Shangrong looked at Yu Zhenghai on Ji Liang's back with a faint smile. "I hope this journey goes smoothly. If you die, I'll put the names of everyone from Lou Lan on my hitlist."