Lu Zhou wasn't afraid of being laughed at.

For him, as long as he could resolve the crisis in front of him, none of that mattered.

Lu Zhou nodded, his gaze sweeping over the faces of his third, fourth, and fifth disciples, finally landing on his ninth disciple.

"Yuan'er, what about you?"

"Mas... Master." Little Yuan'er stammered.

"No worries... just speak your mind. I've lived long enough to have seen all sorts of storms. When your senior brothers left Jinting Mountain, they were much more carefree than you." Lu Zhou said calmly.

Little Yuan'er knelt down with a thud.

"Master, I wouldn't dare."

[Ding, completed side quest 'People's Hearts Are Hard to Gauge,' rewarded with Eye of Truth, effect permanent]

Lu Zhou was taken aback.

Special prompts appeared for the villains before him:

[Duanmu Sheng, Divine Court Realm, Loyalty 23%, continuously decreasing...]

 

[Ming Shiyin, Divine Court Realm, Loyalty 15%, continuously decreasing...]

 

[Zhao Yue, Divine Court Realm, Loyalty 35%, continuously decreasing...]

 

[This Yuan'er, Divine Court Realm, Loyalty 60%, continuously increasing...]

[Note: When loyalty falls below 0, they will defect and become enemies. When loyalty exceeds 80, they are unlikely to defect. Above 90 is absolute loyalty.]

The continuous decrease in loyalty for the first three villains was expected, but the upward trend for Little Yuan'er surprised Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou deliberately said, "Since that's the case, there's no need for me to keep pretending... I have indeed been injured..."

The disciples' eyes sparkled with a strange light.

Outside the barrier, the cultivators seemed like a pack of wolves, eager to rush in and tear this old demon to pieces.

Lu Zhou noticed that the loyalty of the three villains indeed dropped by 5 points.

Changing his tone, he continued.

"However, that doesn't mean you can defy your master!"

Lu Zhou crushed the Ji Tiandao Peak Trial Card.

His depleted meridians, dantian, and Qi Sea instantly filled and became complete.

Centered on Lu Zhou, a powerful wave of vigorous Qi burst forth!

"Ah!"

"How... how is this possible?"

Thud—

Duanmu Sheng, Ming Shiyin, and Zhao Yue were sent flying, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Only Little Yuan'er, with her wide eyes, looked at her master in disbelief.

The powerful Qi surged, shattering the already fragile barrier.

The barrier disappeared.

Thousands of cultivators watched in astonishment.

It was as if the whole world fell silent.

"Wasn't he injured? How can he unleash such powerful Qi!?"

"I clearly saw him retreating to the barrier in a sorry state!"

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Stop talking, my legs seem to be shaking!"

Even the Ten Great Masters were wide-eyed with disbelief.

Lu Zhou took a deep breath, not sparing a glance at the three villains.

The feeling of being at peak state was truly wonderful.

It felt as if everything was under control, and everyone before him had turned into ants, easily crushed with a flick of a finger.

As Duanmu Sheng and the others fell to the ground, they quickly rolled over and knelt, saying:

"Disciple was wrong!"

"Disciple knows his mistake!"

"Disciple admits his guilt!"

Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths, dripping onto their hands, glaringly obvious.

Their fingers trembled uncontrollably.

They didn't dare to make a sound.

Lu Zhou's gaze sharpened, and with a casual lift of his hand, a massive wave of Qi surged towards the three villains.

"Defying your master, severe punishment!"

Bang! Bang bang! Three beams of golden light struck the three villains, making them spit out another mouthful of blood, powerless to resist.

"I'll deal with you when we return!"

Lu Zhou didn't look at them directly but checked the remaining time, over 29 minutes left.

Teaching the three villains a lesson was a matter of moments, not taking much time.

The rest were the thousands of cultivators and the Ten Primordial Spirit Tribulation Masters.

Lu Zhou looked at Luo Changfeng in mid-air and said loudly:"Let me see how much you've improved over this month!"

He stomped his foot.

Boom!

His body shot up like a cannonball, swift as lightning.

Lu Zhou charged straight into the air.

"Hundred Tribulations Nether, Dharma Body!"

A Dharma Body over ten meters tall and six meters wide appeared in the sky.

Golden light surrounded it, and the Eight-Petal Golden Lotus beneath it spun rapidly.

Luo Changfeng retreated repeatedly, his face full of shock.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".

"Block it!"

The other nine masters flew up.

They unleashed their Dharma Bodies.

Ten Dharma Bodies formed a wall, blocking the front.

All other cultivators quickly retreated, hiding behind the Dharma Bodies.

Even so, some weaker cultivators, unable to retreat in time, were overwhelmed, collapsing to the ground, some even bleeding from their seven orifices and dying on the spot.

"My god! Is he using his ultimate move right away?"

"This is one of Ji Tiandao's strongest techniques, the Hundred Tribulations Nether Eight-Petal Dharma Body!"

"Don't panic, don't panic... Although the Hundred Tribulations Nether Dharma Body is powerful, it consumes a lot of Vital Energy. Block this wave, and he's finished!"

This was also what the Ten Great Masters thought.

Led by Luo Changfeng, the ten Dharma Bodies resisted the erosion of the Hundred Tribulations Nether.

Within a hundred-mile radius, the eleven Dharma Bodies illuminated the area.

Beasts fled, birds scattered.

After using the Peak Trial Card, Lu Zhou's mind manifested all of Ji Tiandao's ultimate moves.

The Hundred Tribulations Nether Dharma Body was one of the strongest techniques.

Why use the ultimate move right away?

Because it's a trial card... once the time is up, it will disappear, so it's better to use it all up without restraint!

"You like using swords, then I'll use a sword too!"

Lu Zhou raised his right hand.

A dazzling white light appeared between his index and middle fingers, forming a blinding long sword.

Qi surrounded it, condensing into a sword Qi.

A sword Qi appeared.

"Heaven's Favor Imperfect?!"

Duanmu Sheng instinctively looked up.

His whole body trembled.

Because this move was one of the strongest moves of the Tianyi Technique.

The Tianyi Technique included both spear and sword techniques, and Duanmu Sheng had always wanted to master the sword techniques of the Tianyi Technique. Unfortunately, Ji Tiandao never taught him this final sword move.

He didn't expect to see it in such a situation.

Duanmu Sheng was wrong, Ming Shiyin was wrong, Zhao Yue was also wrong...

The master could not only easily perform the 'Hundred Tribulations Nether Dharma Body' but also 'Heaven's Favor Imperfect.'

This move was naturally an ultimate move.

Even more terrifying... Heaven's Favor Imperfect, under the influence of the Dharma Body, had its power multiplied.

Luo Changfeng's eyes widened, his lips trembling as he said, "Retreat!"

"Retreat?"

"If we don't retreat, the ten of us will surely be severely injured! This old thief isn't injured, his strength is even greater than before!" Luo Changfeng said unwillingly.

"How can this be?" Chang Jian of the Duanlin School was filled with doubt.

A month ago, when they fought Ji Tiandao, it wasn't as difficult as it was now. They were sure that battle had injured Ji Tiandao.

Now it seemed... they were wrong too.

Lu Zhou's figure hovered in front of the Hundred Tribulations Nether Dharma Body.

As if he had merged with the Dharma Body.

Heaven's Favor Imperfect, as if slicing through the void, arrived silently.

Whoosh!

The ten Dharma Bodies dissipated simultaneously.

The Ten Great Masters retreated in mid-air.

The unfortunate ones were naturally the weakling cultivators behind the Dharma Bodies.

The powerful sword light slashed down into the crowd.

---

Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan