My disciples are all villains.

Yu Shangrong looked at him and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

Zhou Jifeng hastily waved his hands and said, "It's nothing."

Zhou Jifeng was touched to see Yu Shangrong's kindness. He had never been thanked for his efforts during his time in the Evil Sky Pavilion. For this reason, he decided to give Yu Shangrong a reminder. "Dear comrade."

"Hm?"

"The person inside the cave is the Evil Sky Pavilion's Mister Eighth. Please pardon his attitude."

Yu Shangrong nodded slightly. Then, he walked past the Cave of Reflection's barrier calmly.

When he heard the approaching footsteps. Zhu Honggong, who was cultivating painstakingly against the wall, leaped into a fit of rage and cursed, "Hey, didn't you hear what I said?" He rose to his feet and raised his voice as he said, "I…" His body froze mid-turn, and his eyes widened. He was stupefied when he saw the newcomer.

Yu Shangrong looked at Zhu Honggong with a smile. He did not say anything.

It took Zhu Honggong a while to react. When he regained his senses, he quickly changed the topic. "Second Senior Brother, have you washed your feet? I'll go fetch some water for you." After he finished speaking, he bowed with an ingratiating expression on his face before he shuffled to the cave's entrance.

When Zhu Honggong was at the cave's entrance, Yu Shangrong's voice rang out. "Come back here."

Thud!

Zhu Honggong turned around and fell to his knees immediately. His face was covered in tears as he said, "Second Senior Brother, I was wrong!"

"There's no need to be nervous. I don't blame you. Besides, my cultivation base is sealed. What are you afraid of?" Yu Shangrong walked up to the stone bench and slowly sat down. His mind was not such matters. He could not help but feel slightly dejected after being brought back to the Evil Sky Pavilion by his master. Moreover, he was the senior brother. He would not hold this against Zhu Honggong.

Alas, Zhu Honggong did not seem to understand Yu Shangrong's thoughts. He continued to say with a pitiful expression on his face, "Senior brother, it's truly my fault…"

Smack!

Zhu Honggong slapped himself mercilessly.

Smack!

Zhu Honggong felt that it was not enough so he slapped himself again.

Upon hearing the strange noises, Zhou Jifeng walked closer to have a look. The scene that greeted his eyes stunned him. Coupled with the conversation of the duo in the cave, he would have been a fool if he still could not understand the situation. He was shocked that his knees gave way. After he clambered to his feet, he quickly ran toward the Evil Sky Pavilion.

Yu Shangrong frowned slightly. He looked at Zhu Honggong, shook his head, and said, "That's enough."

Zhu Honggong was overjoyed. "Thank you for your magnanimity, Second Senior Brother." After he said that, he chuckled. "I'll give myself another slap, for good measure."

Smack!

After punishing himself, Zhu Honggong rose to his feet. Then, he walked reverently up to Yu Shangrong's side and stood next to Yu Shangrong as though he was a servant.

Yu Shangrong said in a gentle tone, "Eighth Junior Brother, come to think of it, it's been a long time since we met."

"Second Senior Brother, your movements and whereabouts have always been elusive. How could I have the chance to meet you?"

Yu Shangrong smiled. He pointed to the spot opposite himself and said, "Sit."

"I'm comfortable standing here."

"You've been in the Cave of Reflection this whole time?" Yu Shangrong asked.

"Yeah… I'm being punished," Zhu Honggong replied.

Yu Shangrong looked at Zhu Honggong. He could sense the difference in Zhu Honggong's aura. A hint of surprise could be heard in his voice as he said, "Close to the Divine Court realm?" He knew that Zhu Honggong's cultivation method only had seven layers. The most important sutras, the two final layers, were missing. It was almost impossible for Zhu Honggong to enter the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm when his cultivation method was defective.

Zhu Honggong scratched his head and said, "Master taught me the two final sutras! He also said that I could move into the southern pavilion if I can successfully break through."

Yu Shangrong was astonished. "Master taught you your cultivation method?"

Zhu Honggong nodded repeatedly.

Yu Shangrong frowned. He did not quite believe this.

When he saw his Second Senior Brother's expression, Zhu Honggong asked, "Second Senior Brother, what brings you here to the Evil Sky Pavilion?"

Yu Shangrong did not answer him. Instead, he looked up and glanced at Zhu Honggong.

Zhu Honggong reached out and decisively slapped himself again. "My mistake." He had touched his senior brother's sore spot, it seemed.

However, Yu Shangrong did not mind. Instead, he said, "I ran out of luck."

"Oh." Zhu Honggong scratched his head. He was puzzled. What did his senior brother's return to the Evil Sky Pavilion have to do with his luck?

…

Inside the eastern pavilion.

Lu Zhou walked up to the table again. He looked at the parchment drawing.

"Hm?"

The drawing finally showed some changes. Apart from the clear outlines of the Divine Capital and the Mausoleum of Swords, the area that appeared this time was the northwestern corner of Yong Province. There was also the symbol of a blade of grass on the map. The outline of the northwestern corner of Yong Province was not clear, but he could approximate where it was. As a transmigrator, reading a map was a basic skill.

"A melilot?" Lu Zhou regarded the little symbol suspiciously. He suddenly remembered a notification from the system a long time ago. Any of his actions could trigger a mission. In other words, the capture of Yu Shangrong triggered the melilot mission.

Lu Zhou no longer looked at the map. Instead, he turned around and sat with his legs crossed.

He opened the mission menu. Then, he looked at the main mission; disciplining Yu Shangrong.

There were two sub-missions. The first was 'The Melilot's Life'. The second was "New Open Heavenly Writing Scroll".

Lu Zhou silently affirmed his thoughts. However, from his recent communication with Yu Shangrong, they did not seem to be in conflict at all.

"Ji Tiandao wanted to kill Yu Shangrong?" Lu Zhou pondered about this while stroking his beard. It was the duty of a teacher to solve his students' problems. Why did Ji Tiandao want to kill his disciples?

"Ding! Punished Zhu Honggong. Reward: 50 merit points."

'Hm?' Lu Zhou was slightly speechless. He did not expect to earn more merit points at this time. However, the merit points he gained from disciplining Zhu Honggong were clearly fewer compared to before.

Lu Zhou decided not to trouble himself over the questions that did not have immediate answers. Instead, he looked at the number of his items.

Name: Lu Zhou

Race: Human

Cultivation base: Dao Transforming Divine Court realm

Merit points: 20,750

Avatar: Nine Transformation Yin Yang

Remaining life: 6,575 days

Items: Deadly Strike Card x 2, Impeccable Card x 2, Critical Block Card x 62 (passive), Binding Cage Card x 4, Refining Talisman x 1, Ji Tiandao's Peak Form Trial Card x 1, Whitzard, Bi An, Critical Heal Card, Strengthened Binding Cage Card x 2, Strengthened Critical Heal Card x2, Thunderblast x2, Reversal Card x 22

Weapons: Unnamed, Life Cutter, Tear Stain Box, Jade Horsetail Whisk, Buddhist Prayer Beads.

Cultivation method: Three Scrolls of Heavenly Writing.

From the unlocking of the treasure box and the killing of the ten great generals who were under Mo Li's influence at the Obedient Villa, he gained a lot.

His avatar was still the Nine Transformation Yin Yang. If he wanted to enter the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm, he would have to obtain the Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar.

Lu Zhou opened the item cards menu.

Deadly Strike: 3,000

Impeccable: 2,500

Cage Bind: 1,500

Critical Heal: 1,500

Thunderblast: 1,200

Lu Zhou frowned. The system was clearly forcing him to be frugal with his card usage.

'The reward of killing a grand cultivator is merely 1,500 points, and yet, I need 3,000 points to buy one card… Is there anyone who can continue living with this losing deal?'

However, this was also a good thing. Now, Lu Zhou had reason to improve his strength.

It was getting late.

Lu Zhou looked at the two missions. Then, he closed his eyes and entered his Heavenly Writing's meditation state.

According to his previous experience, a full tank of extraordinary power would give him two charges of grand techniques. He could also choose to use it all in one great burst, which would greatly increase the might of his attack. If he used his weapon, a sliver of the extraordinary power would enable him to kill his opponent. Also, he could control his extraordinary power so that it merely trickled out. If he ever found himself inside a Ten Terminal Formation again, the extraordinary power was his greatest reliance. His item cards would be pretty much useless.

…

Time passed by quickly.

Early the next morning.

Lu Zhou opened his eyes. He had lost the passage of time while he was meditating.

"Ding! Meditated on the Human Scroll of the three Heavenly Writing Scrolls 200 times. Obtained Open Heavenly Writing (Part One)."