My disciples are all villains.

Upon seeing Xiao Yunhe's expression was not quite right, Lu Zhou said, "Seeing that you're not very willing to stay, I won't force you. I've never been one to force others. You can all leave. I'll stay here; I'm determined to capture this Birth Chart Beast."

An embarrassed expression appeared on Xiao Yunhe's face when he heard Lu Zhou's words. Then, he said, "Brother Lu, when the time comes, many experts will be here as well. Are you sure you want to go against so many people??"

"I will kill whoever dares to stand in my way."

"..."

'Is this… Is this a threat? It's clearly a threat, right?'

Xiao Yunhe sighed inwardly. He nodded and said, "In that case, I'll stay with Brother Lu and have a look at the special Birth Chart Beast."

Wu Chao and the other black-clad cultivators were stunned. However, how could they go against the old man's wish? Unless they had a death wish, they could not go against his wish at all. Clearly, their Tower Master had no choice as well. However, what were they going to do if the Black Tower Council and the White Tower Council sent experts with strength comparable to their Tower Masters? They would not be able to do anything against such experts.

On the other hand, Jiang Jiuli stood at the side like a block of wood.

Lu Zhou turned to look at Jiang Jiuli and asked, "You want to stay as well?"

Jiang Jiuli said, "This junior has been ordered to investigate the matter with the White Tower Council. I have to return to report to the Black Tower Council. I hope old sir will show us mercy and let us leave…"

In fact, Lu Zhou really wanted to teach Jiang Jiuli and his men a lesson. Alas, he had depleted his supreme mystic power. Moreover, he had also used his Deadly Strike Card. If he wanted to kill Jiang Jiuli, who was a judge, he would have to use his Peak Trial Card, and he did not think it was worth it.

Jiang Jiuli was rather quick-witted. He took the initiative to say, "Please rest assured, old sir. When I return, I'll do my best to dissuade my colleagues from coming to the Southern Kingdom. I'll also warn them against opposing you. Before you capture Ying Zhao, I won't return to this place."

Lu Zhou nodded slightly. This person was quite perceptive. The internal strife in the Black Tower Council was very serious so this was also a good chance for him to divide and conquer. Moreover, he had Yan Zhenluo, who was acting as a spy, in the Black Tower Council. If there were any big movements, Yan Zhenluo would surely inform him in advance. After weighing the pros and cons, he asked, "How can I trust your words?"

'Just because you said so, am I supposed to believe you don't covet this special Birth Chart Beast?'

An idea appeared in the quick-witted Jiang Jiuli's mind. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Old sir, we really didn't come here for Yingzhao. This is the evidence."

One of Jiang Jiuli's men stepped forward and opened a bag to reveal its content.

The black bag held nothing but a life heart. It was emitting a faint cyan light, and its energy was incredibly rich. It was clearly an intermediate life heart.

"We fought with a Birth Chart Beast for quite a while to obtain this life heart. If we really came for Ying Zhao, we wouldn't have wasted our strength on it…" Jiang Jiuli gave his all to prove his innocence.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and nodded. "I believe in you... That life heart isn't easy to come by. Keep it well."

Jiang Jiuli was overjoyed upon hearing these words. "Thank you for your kind reminder, old sir!"

At the same time, the blackguard next to Jiang Jiuli began to deliberately cough.

Jiang Jiuli, who was about to close the bag, froze immediately. Then, a distressed expression appeared on his face.

Lu Zhou frowned and asked curiously, "Why do you seem unhappy when I'm willing to let you leave?"

Jiang Jiuli forced the ugliest smile in his life as he said, "No, no, no… It… It's just that I feel such a good life heart should be given to old sir." Then, he gritted his teeth and pushed the bag to Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou said, "Give it to me?"

"It's our first meeting. I hope the old sir won't disdain this meeting gift." Jiang Jiuli felt his heart ache as he said these words.

Lu Zhou stroked his beard and looked at the bag containing life heart indifferently and said, "Then, I'll accept it…"

'You can refuse it…'

When Lu Zhou grabbed the bag, Jiang Jiuli could only let go despite feeling as though his heart was bleeding.

Lu Zhou threw the bag to Yu Shangrong. Including the life hearts that Yu Shangrong and Yu Zhenghai obtained, there were four life hearts now. These should be enough for his disciples to use. He was not interested in these life hearts; he was interested in the life heart of the intelligent Birth Chart Beast.

According to the principle of activating life hearts, the fifth life hearts would improve one's strength tremendously. The higher the quality of the life heart, the greater the improvement would be. The life hearts he used were indeed a little low quality; just Di Jiang's life heart alone could beat his other three life hearts. The qualities of life hearts were incredibly important since they would affect one's strength.

"Thank you, old Sir. It's getting late so we'll take our leave now. Farewell," Jiang Jiuli said.

Lu Zhou did not stop them.

Jiang Jiuli and the blackguards immediately flew north and disappeared.

...

The moment they left the ruins, Jiang Jiuli felt chills run up his spine. His robes were drenched in sweat.

One of the blackguards asked, "Lord Jiang, how should we report to the Black Tower Council?"

"What do you think? We can only report honestly. That person's cultivation base is much higher than Nangong Yutian. He's not someone you and I can deal with."

"The life heart..."

Jiang Jiuli said with a sigh, "Weren't you the one who coughed to remind me to give it to him so as to not anger him? I have to thank you for that…"

…

After Jiang Jiuli left, Lu Zhou turned to look at Xiao Yunhe and asked, "Is there a place to stay nearby?"

"This place is remote and doesn't have a place to stay. However, there's an old city tens of miles east of the capital of the Southern Kingdom. We can clean the place up and make do," Xiao Yunhe said.

"Let's head over there then."

…

Since Lu Zhou was riding on Di Jiang, it was quite relaxing for him. Moreover, no one would know he had used up too much energy as well.

It did not take long before they arrived at a small city in the east. They found a shabby house overrun with weed and vines and decided to clean it up.

In the evening, it was darker than usual due to the strange weather in the Southern Kingdom, lowering the visibility.

"Master, this is the thing you were looking for..." Yu Shangrong respectfully handed the scroll over to his master.

Lu Zhou looked at the familiar Heavenly Writing scroll and praised his disciple, "It's been hard on you."

"It's my duty," Yu Shangrong replied.

"During this time, focus on healing your injuries. Since your cultivation path is special, no one can give you any advice. Take those life hearts and use them," Lu Zhou said.

Yu Shangrong nodded. "Thank you, master… I… I seem to have found the trick to…"

"It's fine that you found a way. There's no need to publicize it." Lu Zhou knew about the trick Yu Shangrong spoke of. With so many others present, it was better to say less.

Yu Shangrong understood his master's meaning and retreated to the side.

Following that, Lu Zhou called out, "Yu Zhenghai."

"I'm here, master."

"You've successfully formed the Thousand Realms Whirling avatar, and you're also the first disciple from the Evil Sky Pavilion to do so. From today onward, you've completed your apprenticeship…"

Upon hearing these words, Yu Zhenghai fell to his knees immediately. He asked solemnly, "Master, you want to expel me from the sect?"

"How can it be considered as expelling you from the sect. This is an acknowledgment of your strength. I can teach you how to cultivate, but I can't guard you your entire life," Lu Zhou said.

Yu Zhenghai shook his head and said, "No, I just want to stay in the Evil Sky Pavilion."

"Have you never thought of founding a sect?" Lu Zhou sighed.

"..."

Yu Zhenghai said, "I don't mind being a Sect Master, but I'm not suited to accepting disciples and teaching them. Master, I'm far from being qualified to do that. I want to continue cultivating with you…" After he finished speaking, he kowtowed.

Upon seeing Yu Zhenghai's determination, Lu Zhou shook his head. He stroked his beard and said, "Forget it. I won't force you if you're unwilling."

After all, there were benefits to Yu Zhenghai staying back, and he would also not suffer loss if Yu Zhenghai left. Therefore, he did not mind if Yu Zhenghai wanted to stay.

At this moment, Xiao Yunhe smiled and said, "I really admire you, Brother Lu. I can see your disciples deeply respect you. I'm really envious."

"Tower Master Xiao, it's getting late. Rest early," Lu Zhou said. Without the supreme mystic power, he did not feel at ease.

An awkward expression appeared on Xiao Yunhe's face as he rose to his feet and said, "Rest well, Brother Lu." After speaking, he turned around and left.

Yu Zhenghai and Yu Shangrong left the old house as well.

After everyone left, Lu Zhou looked at the Heavenly Writing scroll and wondered, 'What kind of power will I obtain from this scroll?'