Luo Yue was startled indeed.
Because Lu Fan was on Lake Island, but he sounded so close.
This was something that only the Immortal could achieve. Therefore, Luo Yue held him in high reverence even more.
Young Master was indeed the man who put an end to the era of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy!
“Open the city gate. Let them in. Maybe I’m too good-tempered, so people have some wrong ideas about me,” Luo Yue exclaimed.
Lu Fan’s plain voice lingered around Luo Yue’s ears.
With his mouth open, Luo Yue was speechless.
But since Lu Fan had told him to open the city gate, Luo Yue gave the order immediately.
The city gate was unbolted.
Outside of the city, the gathered martial arts practitioners were all extremely thrilled.
They all swarmed into the city—afraid others would beat them to it if they were a little slower.
On the city tower, Luo Yue squinted at those martial arts practitioners swarming into the city like a group of ants.
When all of them had been inside the city…
Luo Yue commanded the armored soldiers to bolt the city gate again and to close the gate tightly.
This put many people slightly shocked.
The noisy crowd quieted down.
Luo Yue went down from the city tower slowly.
Teams of armored soldiers guarding Beiluo City stood next to him.
“Follow me.”
Luo Yue glanced over these martial arts practitioners. Most of them were either in a desperate situation or unable to get by anymore. It was hard to say whether they genuinely wanted to join White Jade City or not, but one thing was for sure—most of them just wanted to try their luck.
White Jade City was famous worldwide at the moment, so if they could join White Jade City…
It would be like a meteoric rise to fame.
He supposed most of them had such a silly and ridiculous way of thinking.
Walking with his knife, Luo Yue headed for Beiluo Lake unhurriedly.
These martial arts practitioners vaguely perceived the dreadful oppression coming from Luo Yue.
They walked down the main street of Beiluo City.
The inhabitants of Beiluo City were standing on both sides of the street. Curious about those weirdly dressed martial arts practitioners, they were all talking about them.
If it were any other day, these martial arts practitioners would have been pissed off.
However, they were unusually good-tempered in Beiluo City somehow. Maybe it was because White Jade City’s big fame put them scared and oppressed.
Beiluo Lake came into their sight very soon.
******
On the second floor of White Jade City Pavilion, Lake Island.
Lu Fan didn’t take those martial arts practitioners very seriously.
He clearly knew most of them didn’t really want to join White Jade City and that they just wanted to take advantage of the current White Jade City to get fame.
He called Jing Yue over.
Jing Yue, who was in the middle of cultivating on the island, was slightly stunned. Carrying the sword box on his back, he went onto the second floor of the pavilion.
It was his first time standing here.
Since he had joined White Jade City, he had been almost non-existent to Lu Fan, except that time Lu Fan sent him to cultivate in the Dragon Gate.
“Young Master.”
Containing his excitement, Jing Yue came up to Lu Fan. He slightly bowed at the latter.
Leaning on the back of the wheelchair, Lu Fan was playing with the jadelike chess piece.
Jing Yue didn’t even dare breathe hard. Although Lu Fan didn’t release any energy or Spirit Pressure, Jing Yue had never forgotten the fear from that time he had been pressed against the ground.
Jing Yue tapped the ground with the tips of his toes.
He really wanted to run away.
“You want to flee? I won’t bite you. Why are you so afraid of me?” Lu Fan asked, glancing at Jing Yue.
Jing Yue barely smiled. “But, Young Master, you have a bad temper. What if I make some mistake and offend the Young Master…?”
“Wouldn’t I end up the same as Ni Yu?”
“You said you wanted to join White Jade City, but I haven’t officially approved. I’m giving you a chance now.”
“Some martial arts practitioners are coming to the island. They claimed they would like to join White Jade City,” Lu Fan quietly said as he leaned on the back of the wheelchair.
Jing Yue curled his lip. “Young Master, don’t believe them. Real heroes in the Jianghu won’t require to join White Jade City this way, no matter how much they admire White Jade City. Those must be some ruffians. Most of them were once refused by some schools or sects or even evicted. They claimed they would like to join White Jade City, but what they really want is just a meteoric rise to fame.”
As one of the Seven Heroes of Sword Sect, Jing Yue had traveled a lot in the Jianghu, and he knew many inside stories.
In this Jianghu, there were hero stories as well as dirty moves.
There were heroes as well as ruffians and scoundrels.
Lu Fan smiled. His hair was blowing in the wind, which came from the lake.
“Well, looks like you know those people well.”
“So they will be your entry test. Nie Changqing and Ning Zhao defeated 1,000 people alone. And their enemies were well-trained armies.”
“Your test is easier. Those martial arts practitioners will be your enemy,” Lu Fan declared.
“You’ll officially be White Jade City’s disciple if you make it, and I will impart cultivation method to you,” Lu Fan added while tapping on the armrest of the wheelchair and looking at Jing Yue.
Jing Yue was astonished.
After a long pause, he closed his fist tightly.
“Young Master, I won’t let you down,” Jing Yue exclaimed.
“Young Master, do you want them all dead?” Jing Yue asked, frowning.
“Up to you. You can make your own judgments.”
Lu Fan waved his hand.
Jing Yue didn’t say anything more. Carrying the sword box on his back, he turned to leave.
Lu Fan glimpsed at Jing Yue, who was going downstairs.
Jing Yue came to Lake Island a long time ago. This was his opportunity.
This was an interesting person. Lu Fan had not imparted any real cultivation method to him yet, but in fact, he was just observing Jing Yue secretly…
Because Lu Fan was curious.
Jing Yue was very scared of death. Lu Fan had never seen anyone more afraid of death than he was. He would run away as soon as there was any sign of danger.
Jing Yue was afraid to die. That was his biggest weakness.
******
Jing Yue went downstairs.
Ni Yu, carrying the black pot on her back, ran over out of curiosity from far away.
“Why did Young Master want to see you?” Ni Yu asked out of curiosity.
Glimpsing at Ni Yu, Jing Yue said seriously, “Young Master told me to establish prestige!”
“Establish prestige? You?”
Ni Yu sized up Jing Yue. She could not believe what she had heard.
Jing Yue raised his hand, his azure robe fluttering in the wind. He looked righteous. Pointing at the opposite side of Lake Island, he said, “There are thousands of martial arts practitioners assembling on the opposite side of the island. Young Master wants me to establish prestige on behalf of White Jade City. He wants me to fight a thousand men alone.”
“Do you have the confidence? Will you run away again?” Ni Yu continued asking.
“Shall we make a bet?” Jing Yue glimpsed at Ni Yu.
“If I run away, I’ll use your family name. Jing Yue will be Ni Yue.”
“If I don’t run away… You will give me 15 Gathering Qi Elixirs. How does that sound?”
Ni Yu was speechless.
Was he really serious?
Jing Yue, who was always joking around, looked a little different.
Jing Yue smiled. He carefully took a greasy Gathering Qi Elixir he had licked many times out of his pocket and gave it to Ni Yu.
Then, after arranging the four swords in his sword box, he got onto the boat. Propelling the boat with a pole, he left the island. Very soon, he vanished from Ni Yu’s sight on the glistening surface of the lake.
“He is pushing himself.”
Ning Zhao showed up next to Ni Yu.
“He knows his weakness well, and he wants to overcome it… Only in this way will he feel good enough to be White Jade City’s disciple. Young Master has given him this opportunity, and he really values this opportunity,” Ning Zhao said.
Pressing her lips into a thin line, Ni Yu nodded.
“Sister Ning, will he make it?” Ni Yu asked.
A wind blew over. Ning Zhao’s hair was blowing. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she shook her head.
“Maybe only Young Master has the answer.”
Ning Zhao patted Ni Yu on her shoulder.
Then she went to the Dragon Gate in the lake. In the distance, Nie Changqing walked over with his butcher knife. The two nodded at each other and then went through the Dragon Gate together.
******
West County.
Dragon Gate, Secret Realm, Dongyan River.
The Overlord put on his armor again. He went through the Dragon Gate. After crossing the warrior area and going across the iron chain bridge, he went onto the floating sky island.
Standing at the edge of the floating sky island, the Overlord looked at the central palace in the distance.
The dreadful and oppressive energy in the palace was still spreading.
He took a deep breath.
A shrewd light flashed in his eyes.
This was his eleventh time to challenge the iron chain so that he could enter the central palace eventually.
He had failed ten times.
However, the Overlord had been a different person. He did not give up. He fought many times and failed many times. Even though he was sent flying over the iron chain by that black shadow every time, he would still get up on his feet and go on with the challenge even more determined.
Ten times. No more, no less.
The Overlord seemed to feel some progress, which put him extremely excited.
Seeing one slim light in a desperate situation felt just like encountering a timely rain in a desert.
“The eleventh time.”
The Overlord turned his head. With a sharp look, he jumped onto the iron chain.
The iron chain was shaking.
With each step, he was getting closer to the central palace.
He held the shield before him carefully. The shield was already full of dents, all caused by that black shadow.
The iron chain was shaking. There was a bottomless abyss below it.
He took two steps forward and found that the oppressive energy had grown stronger.
The Overlord was more focused. He knew that the black shadow would show up again.
He lowered his body a little bit. The Spirit Qi in his Qi Core flowed to every part of his body.
However…
To his surprise…
He waited and waited, but that black shadow did not show up.
The Overlord was puzzled. He frowned.
Looking at the central palace at the end of the iron chain, he took a deep breath and set out.
He was running on the iron chain at high speed toward the central palace!
Finally, he reached the other end of the iron chain. He jumped and landed before the central palace.
He was panting heavily. It sounded like someone was pulling bellows.
All of a sudden…
The Overlord looked up into the distance.
He saw two familiar people and the Spirit Qi swirling over their heads.
“Nie Changqing! Ning Zhao!” The Overlord called out.
Nie Changqing was carrying his butcher knife. His white robe was fluttering.
Ning Zhao’s white dress and black hair were blowing. Holding the Cicada Wing Sword, she looked serious.
Lu Fan told them to challenge the big boss in the central palace.
Therefore, here they were.
They seemed to hear someone call them by their names.
Ning Zhao and Nie Changqing rolled their sharp eyes. They saw the Overlord.
The energy of the Internal Organs Realm gushed out.
The Overlord turned pale.
“You already broke through to the Internal Organs?!”
The Overlord sounded as if he could hardly believe it.
Ning Zhao and Nie Changqing were slightly stunned as if they had not expected to see the Overlord here.
They heard the Overlord’s doubt.
Ning Zhao and Nie Changqing nodded.
“Yeah, not long ago.”
They were truly White Jade City’s disciples…
The Overlord breathed even faster. He looked as if he was reluctant to accept such a result.
But he felt relieved very soon. He thought of the white-clothed teenager sitting in the wheelchair under the moonlight. With such a leader, it was not weird that Ning Zhao and Nie Changqing had broken through to the Internal Organs Realm.
All of a sudden…
He heard the iron chain shaking again.
The Overlord turned his head.
He saw a Daoist robe blowing up and a Daoist priest jumping off the iron chain with a wooden sword.
The moment he landed in the central palace…
The energy in him gushed out. Spirit Qi was vaguely swirling over his head.
The Overlord narrowed his eyes. Li Sansi, the number one disciple of Daoist School?
He was in the Internal Organs Realm too?
The Overlord was shocked.
How come everyone was in the Internal Organs Realm all of a sudden?