My disciples are all villains.

Lu Zhou raised his hand and patted Ji Liang's back softly.

Neigh!

Ji Liang neighed loudly, clearly delighted.

Conch understood what Ji Liang said. She said happily, "It's greeting us!"

Hua Yuexing and the others could not understand this. Ji Liang did not seem to be greeting them at all. To them, with its fangs bared, it seemed more like it was trying to scare them. It truly looked ferocious. The others instinctively took a step back. It was better to be cautious. It was a beast, after all. They could not easily trust it. Who knew if it would suddenly turn around and attack them?

Upon seeing the others' reactions, Lu Zhou patted Ji Liang again as he said indifferently, "There's no need to be afraid."

Ji Liang rose to its feet, rose high in the sky before it dove down.

The others exclaimed in shock as they retreated.

Ji Liang landed near them and lifted its head proudly.

The people present on the scene were the elites of the Evil Sky Pavilion. The very mention of their names would strike fear in those who heard them. Yet, they seemed to be cowering before this horse.

After a while, when they saw that Ji Liang was truly not aggressive, they finally relaxed. They crowded around Ji Liang and began to study it.

Pan Zhong who was standing in front of Ji Liang heard it snorting at him. "It's quite haughty! Hey, who do you think you're looking down on?"

Neigh!

Ji Liang responded.

Pan Zhong clicked his tongue in wonder before he chuckled. "Hmm, you're quite tactful."

Conch covered her mouth and giggled before she said, "It said that you're short!"

"…"

The others burst out laughing. In any case, none of them dared to reprimand it.

Zuo Yushu observed Ji Liang for a moment. Then, she cupped her fists and asked, "Brother, where did you find this steed?"

Lu Zhou descended from the air. He placed his hands on his back and said, "I've been to the Land of Wuwang in the extreme north in the past. There are many beasts there. I was in my prime back then… but there's no need to mention that since I have a glorious past. This beast is extremely intelligent. It must've submitted itself to me back then. I'm sure that it had come to the Evil Sky Pavilion to rely on me." He did not care if the others believed him as he simply pulled out an excuse. How or why Ji Liang came was not important. What mattered was it here.

Ji Liang lifted its head and neighed.

Conch pointed at Ji Liang and said, "Ji Liang said that's the truth."

"…"

"I'm truly impressed by your might, Pavilion Master." Hua Wudao cupped his fists.

"To be capable of taming this divine steed, I'm sure that you must have displayed your shocking strength in the Land of Wuwang, Pavilion Master."

Lu Zhou enjoyed the praises from the others. After a while, he waved his sleeve and called out, "Ji Liang."

Ji Liang understood Lu Zhou. It stepped on the clouds and galloped toward Golden Court Mountain's forests and vanished.

Lu Zhou looked at the Lantian Jade Flute hanging at Conch's waist and said, "Conch, give me your hand."

"Oh." Conch seemed to be used to this as she presented her wrist.

Lu Zhou placed two fingers on her wrist. He gauged her Extraordinary Eight Meridians. Ever since they returned from Penglai Island, he had never paid attention to her cultivation. As he expected, after being nourished by the Lantian jade for some time, her Extraordinary Eight Meridians were smoother and tougher. In other words, she was now officially a Mystic Enlightening realm cultivator. For a person who had never cultivated to begin with to advance directly into the Mystic Enlightening realm, who could have done such a thing? Finally, he removed his fingers and said, "Come with me."

"Mhm."

Lu Zhou did not talk to the others. He turned around and returned to the eastern pavilion.

Conch followed him obediently.

The four Elders sighed as they shook their heads.

Mingshi Yin asked, "Why are you sighing, elders?"

"I'm just filled with emotion by the possibility that the Evil Sky Pavilion might have another genius cultivator soon," Pan Litian said.

Zuo Yushu was a genius herself, the best of the Confucian school, in fact. Faced with the little girl who had directly advanced into the Mystic Enlightening realm, she could only admit defeat. She looked at the duo's retreating backs and said, "If it were someone else apart from brother, I would've fought to the bitter end for a disciple like her."

"Elder Zuo, I haven't finished speaking. If I have a disciple like her, I'd give her my gourd bottle," Pan Litian said.

Pan Zhong. "???"

Leng Luo glanced at Pan Litian and Zuo Yushu as he said, "If this were in the past, I'd destroyed what I couldn't have. However, since it's the pavilion master, I'm willing to yield."

Hua Wudao remained silent. He decided to stay out of the Eight-leaf cultivators' bragging competition.

Then, Zuo Yushu looked at Ci Yuan'er who was standing next to her and said, "Little girl, what stage are you at now?"

Little Yuan'er lowered her head and counted her fingers. Then, she said sheepishly, "I'm only at the Three-leaf stage."

Only.

Little Yuan'er's 'only' made Pan Zhong and Zhou Jifeng feel like vomiting blood.

The four elders had slashed their lotuses and were recultivating. The strongest among them were only at the Two-leaf stage now. If they did not consider everything else and just compared it this way, they were now weaker than Little Yuan'er.

Mingshi Yin said, "Little Junior Sister, should I help you…"

"No!" Little Yuan'er rejected Mingshi Yin decisively. "I'll smash the heads of whoever that tries to do something to my Golden Lotus!" She waved her fist fiercely as she spoke.

"…"

The others took a step back. The young girl was more polite than before, but she was still as fierce, if not fiercer. They would do best not to offend her.

…

Meanwhile, in the eastern pavilion.

Lu Zhou brought Conch into the hall.

"Do you know why I called you here?" Lu Zhou asked.

Conch shook her head, indicating that she was clueless.

Lu Zhou sat down slowly and said, "Are you willing to cultivate?"

"Cultivate?"

"Just like this…" Lu Zhou raised his hand. There was a surge of Primal Qi before an energy blade materialized in his hand. The energy blade morphed between a saber, spear, rod, and prong.

Conch's eyes gleamed as she watched. She pointed at the energy blade and applauded as she said, "That's fun! I want to learn this."

Fun?

Lu Zhou felt slightly helpless. However, when he thought about it, the people who started cultivating in their youth did so for various reasons. Some wanted to walk on air, some wanted to fly on swords, some wanted to traverse the lands armed with a sword, or tame beasts. There were countless reasons. "I'll test your perceptivity."

Talents and foundations were one thing. Perceptivity was also important.

Conch nodded. She walked up to the rush cushion and sat down properly.

"Hold your breath and focus your mind. Direct your thoughts toward your dantian. Can you feel the Primal Qi in your dantian? It's like seawater. Try to guide its flow… Let it flow into your meridian vessels and push it out of your body to form Qi… Condense it into energy." Lu Zhou had never taught anyone as patiently as he was right now. Perhaps, he felt there was something different about this young girl. That was also probably why he had thoughts about accepting another disciple.

"Very good," Lu Zhou said when he saw that she had successfully conjured up her Primal Qi.

This Primal Qi was the Primal Qi she obtained when she opened her five apertures after entering the Mystic Enlightening realm. Although it was a piteous amount, it was sufficient to lay down her foundation.

At this moment, Conch looked up at Lu Zhou. Her confidence clearly wavered as she asked, "Is this right?"

A soft resonating sound rang from Conch's right palm. A cluster of irregular energy that resembled a chicken's egg hovered above her head.

Lu Zhou widened his old eyes. "Uh…"

The Body Tempering stage was to train the tenacity of the body as a vessel, especially the dantian's sea of Qi. That was how it could contain Primal Qi and energy seals.

The Mystic Enlightening realm greatly heightened a cultivator's senses so that they could guide and sense Primal Qi in a practical way.

The Sense Condensing realm improved a cultivator's will. When the cultivator's will was strengthened to a certain stage, he would be able to condense Primal Qi into energy. The more profound the cultivation base, the stabler the cultivator's will would be. Eventually, the cultivator would be able to do this at will.

However, although Conch had directly advanced into the Mystic Enlightening realm, he did not expect her to easily condense her Qi into energy. Hence, he was taken aback.

Conch misunderstood Lu Zhou's reaction and thought she did not do well enough. She said softly, "I'm sorry, I can't turn it into a sword."

Lu Zhou cleared his throat. 'This little girl is thinking of forming a sword on her first try?' It was already amazing that she had managed to condense it into an irregular energy seal in the shape of an egg. To think that she was aiming for a sword! 'Keep it together. How am I supposed to be her master otherwise?'

Lu Zhou stared at Conch and asked, "I'll ask you this: Are you willing to cultivate under my guidance?"