My disciples are all villains.

Zhu Tianyuan rolled his eyes at him. He was about to lecture him when he launched into a coughing fit. The direct battle with the elites of the seven allied nations had dealt him heavy damage. Let alone lecturing someone, it was impressive enough that he managed to emerge from the battle standing.

Zhu Honggong was speechless. He said, "Master has just given me an earful, and now, you too?"

Zhu Tianyun said sulkily, "Didn't he compliment you?"

"He lectured me first before showering me with compliments."

"My son, you must bring this up to your master if you have the chance… I'm counting on you to take over the Ancient Saint Cult," Zhu Tianyun said.

"I know, I know," Zhu Honggong said absent-mindedly.

The others looked at the sky above the courtyard where Lu Zhou was staying. The convergence of power made them click their tongues in wonder. Although they were used to seeing Lu Zhou gathering energy in this manner, they still stopped and watched. They wanted to gain some experience from his cultivation. This was especially true for the four elders who benefited from the time he gathered life energy. Apart from that, Pan Zhong and Zhou Jifeng had attained One-leaf cultivation bases previously as well.

...

After a moment, the courtyard fell silent.

Inside the room.

Lu Zhou looked at the seven leaves on his golden lotus, pleased. Naturally, this was not the end. For most cultivators in Great Yan, this was indeed a profound realm. It brought with it status, fame, wealth, and glory. The perks were unending. Regardless of the sect, anyone with that cultivation base would be accepted as an elder. Alas, it was not enough for him. After all, he was the Evil Sky Pavilion's Patriarch who once stood at the peak of the Eight-leaf stage. He was the greatest expert in the world.

Lu Zhou did not stop improving his cultivation base. He recited in his mind, 'Use.'

As the Golden Lotus Leaf dissolved into spots of starlight and entered his dantian's sea of Qi, the Golden Lotus Leaf on the system dashboard gradually disappeared.

'Fine!' The system was stingy. He would have to rely on himself. This was clearly a sign for him to rely on his own strength to reach the Nine-leaf stage from the Eight-leaf stage.

What was the Nine-leaf stage like? The Nine-leaf stage that Lu Zhou experienced when he used the Peak Trial Card could not be used as a reference. It seemed impossible to have a limitless store of power. Jiang Wenxu was flustered and lost the ability to make sound decisions. However, if Jiang Wenxu had thought about it carefully, regardless of the realm, it was impossible to have a limitless supply of power.

At this moment, power gathered above the courtyard again. It was much richer than before.

Lu Zhou sensed that the Primal Qi in his dantian's sea of Qi was denser than when he attained the Seven-leaf stage moments ago.

From the Five-leaf stage, the addition of a single leaf meant a substantial leap for cultivators. Naturally, the changes from the Seven-leaf stage to the Eight-leaf stage were huge as well.

Lu Zhou summoned his avatar again. The miniature golden statue appeared above his palm. At the same time, golden energy rings kept sliding down from its waist. The golden lotus under its feet seemed to be spinning much more quickly than before.

He could feel the golden lotus was being nourished, and it grew brighter due to the radiant energy rings. This was the sign of a breakthrough.

The higher a cultivator's realm was, the more difficult it would be to improve. Who could sprout two leaves consecutively like what Lu Zhou was doing? However, it had to be said that he was not an ordinary cultivator.

If he used Ji Tiandao's peak Eight-leaf cultivation base as a reference point, the time he spent since his transmigration was nothing but the low point of his life. Even if he reached the Eight-leaf stage, it would only amount to a restoration to his previous state. In the eyes of the others, he was already a Nine-leaf cultivator. Therefore, the Eight-leaf stage… was not enough.

The radiant rings descended and sank into the golden lotus under the avatar's feet. At this moment, the golden lotus began to buzz.

Shortly after, his dantian's sea of Qi became unbearably hot. His Primal Qi was being replenished as well. His Seven-leaf state was already at the peak.

Lu Zhou could clearly feel that whenever the radiant rings slid down, his own cultivation base would rise.

Click!

A crisp and pleasing noise rang in the air.

Something stirred in Lu Zhou's heart, and he looked at the golden lotus.

The golden lotus slowed its speed of spinning. It was now one size larger, and a new leaf had appeared at a previously vacant spot. This meant that Lu Zhou had returned to the Eight-leaf Nascent Divinity realm, the peak of his cultivation base!

At the same time, he could feel the walls of his dantian's sea of Qi being broken through. It was now much larger than before.

He could keenly feel he was far stronger than those at the Six or Seven-leaf stage.

Lu Zhou clenched his fist, and the golden lotus avatar disappeared.

He did not step outside immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes and familiarized himself with the Eight-leaf stage.

…

Meanwhile.

The Evil Sky Pavilion's flying chariot was crossing Heaven's Moat toward Liang Province.

Mingshi Yin who was manning the helm looked ahead and said, "After Heaven's Moat, we'll reach Liang Province soon."

Leng Luo, Pan Litian, and Yu Zhenghai were staring at two of the paralyzed passengers on the deck, Angui and Lanhai. One of them was the King of Lou Lan, and the other was the head of the Bonar Family.

Ever since Lu Zhou destroyed the forces of the four allied nations, the remnants of the forces were not a match for the rest of the Evil Sky Pavilion. Even if they were, they would not easily make another move.

To atone for his sins, Angui brought Lanhai and boarded the cloud-splitting chariot. They intended to apologize to Lu Zhou in person.

"Dear elders, please put in some good words for us when we meet the old mister later!" Angui said in a flattering tone.

"Sure, sure…" Leng Luo replied.

Upon hearing this, Pan Litian asked, "Old Leng, you're not really thinking of pleading for him, are you? For someone as two-faced as him, we should just kill him with a single strike."

"…" Upon hearing this, Angui's face paled immediately.

Mingshi Yin did not bother with Angui. Instead, he pointed at the corpses in Heaven's Moat and said, "Look!"

This drew Leng Luo, Pan Litian, and Yu Zhenghai's attention. They looked in the direction Mingshi Yin had pointed.

Towering trees were fell, and corpses were strewn everywhere.

From Heaven's Moat to Liang Province, it seemed as though something had crashed through the landscape. Five straight pits trailed uninterrupted all the way to Liang Province.

The cloud-splitting chariot followed the pits.

Leng Luo said, "The seven allied nations have already reached Liang Province. There might be trouble up ahead. We should be careful."

Three days had passed so the four of them were worried about Liang Province. Therefore, as soon as they dealt with things in Lou Lan, they immediately flew to Liang Province without stopping to rest. Along the way, they would look at the marks of battles on the ground. The land was riddled with holes.

Angui and Lanhai who saw the scene on land were greatly shaken.

The flying chariot slowed down its speed.

The aftermath of the battle left all of them stunned for a moment.

Wars were cruel. The barbarians with the ambition of wolves would never understand this. They would always attempt to benefit from wars. In the end, what did they get?

Bam!

"Ahh!"

At this moment, a wail resounded in the air.

Yu Zhenghai had fiercely stomped on Angui.

When Angui recovered from the pain, a puzzled expression appeared on his face as he said, "This… this has nothing to do with me!"

Yu Zhenghai said, "So what? Can't I stomp on you even if you have nothing to do with this?"

"Uh… Sure, you can!" Angui pressed his chest.

Lanhai was already beside himself with fright. His back was drenched in sweat.

"We're here."

The others looked down at Liang Province.

After the battle, many cultivators were bustling in the city, trying to rebuild it.

On the city walls, cultivators were cleaning the bloodstains in shifts.

Huge groups of Great Yan cultivators carried the bodies under the city walls away.

Bam!

"Ahh!" Angui wailed in pain and despair again.

Yu Zhenghai did not even wait for Angui to speak as he said, "I'm stomping on you because I feel uneasy. Sorry."

"Please… don't be…" As the saying went, 'The loser would have to acquiesce to the winner'. Although he was the king of a nation, he had no choice but to bear with this treatment.

…

In Liang Province.

Lu Zhou opened his eyes and slowly rose to his feet. After stretching his limbs, he knew the next issue he had to tackle was about his longevity. Judging from Luo Shiyin's notes, breaking through to the Nine-leaf stage required 1,200 years. In other words, he needed, at least, 876 Reversal Cards to reach the Nine-leaf stage while maintaining his current condition. Currently, he only had 33 Reversal Cards.

Since his cultivation base had increased by two leaves, he wondered if the price of the Reversal Card rose as well.

He was about to use his Reversal Card when a voice rang from outside.

"Master, Eldest Senior Brother is back! He brought a memory crystal with him."

"Send them here."

"Understood!"