My disciples are all villains.

At this time, Lu Zhou was meditating on the Heavenly Writing scrolls in the eastern pavilion. When he heard the notification and received 2,000 merit points with an extra 1,000 domain merit points, he frowned slightly. This number was the equivalent to an Eight-and-a-half-leaf cultivation base.

'Did Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai get into trouble again?'

…

Mingshi Yin stepped back.

Little Qiong Qi turned to face Shu Si and took a few steps backs as well.

Both man and 'dog' retreated.

The sun was setting, pulling the shadows of the man and the 'dog' longer.

"Hey, pup! Bite it…"

Woof! Woof! Woof!

Qiong Qi barked. The little pup was now a big pup, but it seemed extremely meek in front of the gigantic Shu Si.

Both of them kept retreating.

Shu Si advanced toward the red lotus cultivator and came to a halt. It raised its sharp talons and plunged them into the corpse. It tore the corpse apart and devoured it.

Mingshi Yin retched. "I can't f*cking stomach this! I'm out!" He quickly launched himself into the air. 'If this isn't the moment to run, then I don't know when would be a good time.'

This was a beast that an Eight-and-a-half-leaf cultivator was helpless against after giving it his all. Running was undoubtedly the right choice.

After Mingshi Yin flew up, he turned back to look.

Qiong Qi bared its fangs as it glared at Shu Si. It kept barking.

"Dog, let's go!" Mingshi Yin urged.

Qiong Qi's fur stood on end. Unlike before, the fur was like energy needles and looked exceptionally sharp. This was a stark contrast with its image of a big pup.

Shu Si ignored Qiong Qi. Instead, it continued to feast on the red lotus cultivator's corpse. With its size, eating a human was something that could be done with a couple of mouthfuls. It finished its meal in no time at all. However, it was clear that it was satiated. Moreover, its injuries had put it in a bad mood as well. At this moment, its sharp eyes landed on Qiong Qi…

"No way."

Screech!

Shu Si's sharp cry was much louder than Qiong Qi's barks. It immediately drowned out the barks and spread into the surroundings. It stirred up clouds of dust and caused the ground to quake.

Mingshi Yin's eardrums hurt from the sharp sound so he instinctively plugged his ears. He kept his eyes trained on Shu Si. It was clearly seriously injured, but it was still capable of letting out such a powerful cry.

Were beasts really the natural enemies of humans?

Mingshi Yin recalled the middle-aged man's words before he died. Apparently, after reaching the Nine-leaf stage, humans would become incredibly appetizing food to the beasts. What about Qiong Qi?

While Mingshi Yin was lost in his thoughts, Shu Si lunged at Qiong Qi.

When humans walked on a grassy plain, it was difficult to notice the ants. However, if the ants crawled out and tried to bite the humans, the humans might just stomp on the ants to kill them.

That was the law of the jungle that determined the food chain.

In Shu Si's eyes, Qiong Qi was the ant it could kill with just a stomp of its feet.

"Little ancestor, you're really good at seeking trouble!" Despite his complaints, he was going to dive toward Qiong Qi.

However, just as Mingshi Yin was about to dive, little Qiong Qi charged forward fearlessly. It bared its little fangs and pounced on Shu Si's wing at lightning speed before sinking its fangs into Su Si's wing.

Shu Si did not expect this little creature to be so fast. It screeched in pain as it flailed its wing wildly, flinging Qiong Qi away in the process.

"Oh, my… I've truly underestimated you." Mingshi Yin was shocked.

After little Qiong Qi landed, it rolled twice before getting back up and kept its head low.

Woof! Woof! Woof.

Mingshi Yin shook his head and said, "You have to be tamed since you're so disobedient."

He no longer hesitated and dove from the air. "Little pup, step aside! You're not a match for it."

Whizz!

There was a buzz as energy resonated, and his avatar appeared.

Plants emerged from the ground, and Primal Qi energy spread out.

Mingshi Yin shot past Shu Si at blinding speed as the Separation Hook in his hand flashed coldly.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

One round ended.

Mingshi Yin was back in the sky, looking down at Shu Si.

The wounded Shu Si, that had lost a wing, looked at Mingshi Yin in the air helplessly. It could only roll on the ground as blood oozed out from its body.

"What a stubborn one." Mingshi Yin stared at Shu Si. Since he intended to kill it, he decided to make it quick. He would not give it a chance to recover.

Mingshi Yin dove again. The energy blades in the air wrapped around the Separation Hook before it rained down violently on Shu Si.

This went on for half an hour.

Shu Si seemed to have been sliced beyond recognition by the Separation Hook. It lost too much blood and eventually collapsed. Soon after, it lay motionlessly on the ground; its breath weakening.

Mingshi Yin descended and took a few deep breaths. With his Eight-leaf cultivation base and a one-sided assault, he could only defeat it after half an hour. It was clear just how high the price the red lotus cultivator had paid.

"That was close." Mingshi Yin looked at the almost dead Shu Si and sighed as he said, "Qiong Qi… Bite it. I'll keep an eye out for you."

Grr! Grr! Grr!

Qiong Qi growled at Shu Si before it charged forward.

Mingshi Yin was speechless. 'You f*cking dog. You'll only listen to me when it's unimportant. You're hopeless.'

All Qiong Qi was born with a thirst for battle. It was one of the beasts at the top of the hierarchy. It seemed to have a knack for finding other beasts' weaknesses.

At this moment, Qiong Qi pounced and bit Shu Si's heart. At this moment, it was no longer a cute little pup who was trying to be fierce; it was now a wild wolf with explosive power.

Soon after, Qiong Qi lifted its head. It carried a piece of glowing stone that resembled a red gem in its mouth. It did not swallow it.

After the red crystal was removed, Shu Si stopped breathing.

Qiong Qi held the red crystal in its mouth and ran up to Mingshi Yin. It looked up and wagged its tail…

"What's this…" Mingshi Yin took the red crystal. "Is this Shu Si's Heart?" He did not expect the heart of the huge beast to be only the size of a fist. It looked like a large ruby.

Mingshi Yin did not understand much about beasts. He did not know how or why the heart was this way. However, when he remembered that oysters could form pearls, he no longer dwelled on the matter.

…

"Ding! Killed Shu Si. Reward: 3,000 merit points."

Lu Zhou opened his eyes again.

'A beast worth 3,000 merit points is equivalent to the manmans. It should be difficult for an Eight-leaf cultivator to defeat it. Did Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai have a breakthrough?'

The series of handsome rewards made him suspicious.

Lu Zhou left the eastern pavilion and went to the southern pavilion. He saw Si Wuya deep in his research so he cleared his throat.

Si Wuya started. He had thought it was someone else and was about to reprimand whoever dared to interrupt him. When he saw it was his master, he immediately bowed. "Master, is there something you need?"

"How's the progress with the Sky Shuttle?" Lu Zhou asked.

"For now, we can only think of some ways to fix the Sky Shuttle. It's not too practical for us to build one ourselves. Moreover, my current cultivation base…" Si Wuya seemed embarrassed when he spoke about his cultivation base. Indeed, being a Seven-leaf cultivator in the Evil Sky Pavilion was rather embarrassing. Moreover, he had not cultivated.

"No matter." Lu Zhou knew this was not something that could give him results just because he pushed for it.

"Master, I have two things to report."

"What is it?"

"The members of the Penglai Sect have returned to Penglai Island. Jiang Aijian was in Liang Province, and he passed by the Evil Sky Pavilion yesterday. He said that he wants to return the Demon Sword to its owner." Si Wuya fetched the Demon Sword, which was the height of a man, from the corner, before he placed it down. "This Demon Sword is restless. Jiang Aijian couldn't control it and had no choice but to part with it."

Lu Zhou looked at the Demon Sword and said, "This was from the Mausoleum of Swords. It's the Demon Sword that the genius swordsman Gong Yuandu was guarding. Jiang Aijian loves swords as much as his own life. How could he bring himself to part with it?"

Getting Jiang Aijian to give up a sword of his own volition was much more difficult than getting a tree to hatch eggs. Was there something wrong with this sword?

"Perhaps, there's something amiss with the Demon Sword," Si Wuya said.

"What's the second thing?" Lu Zhou asked.

"Zhu Tianyuan has returned to the Ancient Saint Cult. He sent a letter yesterday and said that he'll be visiting in two days," Si Wuya said.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and nodded. "There's no longer any internal strife or danger in the Ancient Saint Cult. He can't bear to be away from his son. Let him be."

Si Wuya smiled but did not say anything.

Lu Zhou glanced at the Demon Sword and said, "Send it to my room."

"Yes, master."