Standing before his four disciples.

Lu Zhou's gaze moved from Duanmu Sheng to Ming Shiyin, and then to Zhao Yue.

"Little Yuan'er."

The three of them shivered in fear.

Little Yuan'er quickly responded, "Disciple is here."

"Get up."

"Yes!"

Lu Zhou noticed her loyalty had reached 65%.

The loyalty of Duanmu Sheng, Ming Shiyin, and Zhao Yue stopped declining and began to rise.

30%, 20%, 40%...

This level of loyalty was far from enough.

Lu Zhou didn't say much, but instead remarked, "I'm tired, help me back."

Little Yuan'er was secretly delighted, taking small steps to his side, behaving extremely obediently, like a little maid, supporting Lu Zhou as they headed up the mountain.

Leaving Duanmu Sheng and the others looking at each other in dismay.

Their master hadn't allowed them to rise, so they naturally didn't dare to move.

Moreover, with their master injured from that palm strike, the three of them were in a difficult position.

"Fourth, you've really gotten me into trouble..." Duanmu Sheng looked as if he was about to cry.

"How can you blame me for this? I only confirmed that Master was injured after careful analysis," Ming Shiyin said.

"Analysis? Your analysis was spot on," Zhao Yue also complained. If it weren't for Fourth Brother's change in attitude, she wouldn't have defied Master either.

"Who knew it would turn out like this? I calculated everything, but missed one thing..."

"What did you miss?"

"Maybe, possibly, perhaps, Master really got tired of his old ways and wanted to try something new..."

Duanmu Sheng and Zhao Yue were speechless.

"How about we run away now?" Zhao Yue whispered.

"Run? How? Didn't you see Master's display of power?"

"Earlier, Master pursued the Ten Great Masters, seemingly using the Dharma Body, Heaven's Favor Imperfect, and Flicker multiple times. Junior Sister's suggestion might be worth considering..." Ming Shiyin nodded slightly.

"Consider my ass! If Master wanted to kill us, would he wait until now?"

No matter what Fourth Brother said, Duanmu Sheng couldn't trust him anymore.

Once bitten, twice shy. The fact that Master hadn't acted against them meant there was still a chance to live.

If they really ran, they'd end up like the eldest brother and the others.

***

In the pavilion.

Lu Zhou sat down slowly, not feeling out of breath.

After his cultivation returned to the ninth level of Body Refinement, going up and down the mountain was no problem. Even so, the disciples, even if they sensed something off about Master's aura, didn't dare to doubt his cultivation. Ming Shiyin was convinced Master was trying a new approach.

"Little Yuan'er, how long have you been on the mountain?" Lu Zhou asked.

"Master, Yuan'er has been following you for five years now."

"Five years..."

Reaching the cultivation level of the Divine Court Realm in just five years.

Ji Tiandao, that old fellow, what kind of monstrous talents did he recruit?

Lu Zhou speculated that Ji Tiandao must have received some assistance from the system before it was fully activated.

"Do you realize your mistake?" Lu Zhou sighed.

Little Yuan'er immediately knelt down.

Mumbling, "Master... Yuan'er knows she was wrong. Yuan'er shouldn't have listened to Senior Brother! Master, you must believe, Yuan'er has always been obedient and well-behaved."

"I'm not talking about that."

"Huh?"

"At the end of the year, you left Jinting Mountain without permission and stole cultivation manuals from the Two Great Sects. Is this true?" Lu Zhou said.

"Disciple knows her mistake."

"Why did you do it?"

Lu Zhou searched his memory but couldn't find Little Yuan'er's motive for doing so.

Little Yuan'er stuck out her tongue and said, "Fourth Senior Brother said that those who aren't on the Blacklist aren't worthy of being disciples of Jinting Mountain! So... so... I went."

"Blacklist?" Lu Zhou also had no information on this.

"It's a ranking list established by the Cultivator World. The cultivators on the list are all notorious villains. Senior Brothers and Sisters are all in the top thirty... Master... Master..."

"Speak."

"Master, you're ranked first."

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Lu Zhou: "..."

Seeing Master deep in thought.

Little Yuan'er dared not speak further, instead observing quietly.

The change in atmosphere made Little Yuan'er not dare to breathe.

Who knows how long passed before Lu Zhou finally said, "Forget it... A child not taught is the father's fault, a teacher not strict is the teacher's laziness. It's my fault for not teaching you well."

Hearing this, Little Yuan'er glanced at Master with a complex expression.

Though she hadn't been in the sect long, not as long as the other Senior Brothers and Sisters, she had some understanding of the old man before her.

Master, what's happened to you?

Lu Zhou sensed her confusion and said, "Yuan'er, you are the disciple I cherish the most. From now on, you must not do evil, understand?"

"Understood."

"Get up."

"Yes."

Little Yuan'er, having been forgiven, was overjoyed.

"Hehe, Master, you're the best... Yuan'er will give you a shoulder massage." Little Yuan'er hopped behind Lu Zhou like a rabbit.

Lu Zhou sighed inwardly. Ji Tiandao, that old fellow, though he taught eight villains, at least one was kind and filial. If he hadn't crossed over in time, this youngest disciple might have turned dark as well.

Nurture determines a person's character. Although Little Yuan'er was mischievous, her nature was simple and easily led astray.

[Ding, mission completed, Little Yuan'er's loyalty has reached 80%, reward: 100 merit points.]

Lu Zhou glanced at Little Yuan'er, her loyalty indeed at 80, and nodded in satisfaction, saying, "Go call the other three over."

"Yes."

Little Yuan'er dashed down the mountain like a monkey.

Lu Zhou exhaled lightly.

"Is there a better way to discipline sinful disciples?"

In his previous life, he was at least a company executive. Though he didn't have Ji Tiandao's millennia of experience, he had his own insights on managing subordinates, and the same applied to teaching disciples.

The more you suppress them, the more likely they are to rebel.

In the end, these villains were the result of Ji Tiandao's teachings, and they hated Ji Tiandao. Since Lu Zhou had taken Ji Tiandao's place, he had no choice but to continue down this path.

The system gave no response.

"Since you won't answer me, I'll handle it my way," Lu Zhou said.

***

Before long.

Duanmu Sheng, Ming Shiyin, and Zhao Yue came up the mountain with their heads lowered, a bit fearful. Little Yuan'er stood to the side.

Upon reaching the pavilion, they all knelt down with a thud.

"Master, spare us!"

"Master, forgive us!"

"Master, spare us!"

Their loyalty was 40%, 35%, and 42%, respectively.

Still very low numbers. With such loyalty, any slight change could make them sway like grass in the wind.

The pavilion was silent.

Lu Zhou didn't speak, and neither did they dare.

Silence spoke louder than words.

The quieter the atmosphere, the more anxious and uneasy the three felt, their backs cold with fear.

A quarter of an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Lu Zhou still said nothing.

Occasionally sighing, occasionally shaking his head.

Finally.

Fifth disciple Zhao Yue could no longer bear the eerie atmosphere, collapsing to the ground and crying, "Master, it's all my fault for being momentarily confused! Since entering the sect, I've never thought of betraying Master! I beg Master for forgiveness!"

With someone leading, Duanmu Sheng and Ming Shiyin also began to plead.

"Master, I've been in the sect for a hundred years! In those hundred years... even if I haven't achieved much, I've worked hard... I beg Master to spare my life for the sake of my century-long loyalty!"

"Master, I've been in the sect for sixty years, never defying Master. It was a moment of madness that led me to such a grave mistake! I beg Master for mercy!"

---

Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan