As the saying went, ‘A day as a master, a father for life’. There was no one else Conch trusted in this world except for her master.

Xuanyi looked at Conch, who had returned to join the others, before he glanced at Little Yuan’er, who was chatting happily with the others. Then, he said, puzzled, “Pavilion Master Lu, both of them are heaven-defying prodigies. Since Conch has nothing to do with Shang Zhang now, they can stay in Xuanyi. Conch can also take over the position of Commander of Xuanyi Palace if you’re okay with it.”

Lu Zhou shook his head. “That won’t do.”

“Why?”

“The rules of the commanders’ competition are still in place. Since ancient times, commanders of ten halls are allowed to enter the cores of the Pillars of Destruction to comprehend the power of heaven and earth. There are only ten pillars. The pillar that corresponds to Xuanyi Palace alone won’t be enough. Moreover, the Sacred Temple won’t agree to it either,” Lu Zhou said tonelessly, “In any case, there’s the pillar that corresponds to Xuan Meng Hall. Xuan Meng Hall has nothing to do with those people.”

These words were very direct. What Lu Zhou meant was that he hated the people, but it had nothing to do with Xuan Meng Hall itself.

Xuanyi nodded. “In that case, we’ll just go with the flow.”

Xuanyi knew the Sacred Temple would prefer it if there were new commanders for ten halls. Alas, they did not know that all the owners of the Great Void Seeds were his teacher’s disciples. When they became supreme beings, his teacher would also return to his peak.

‘How wonderful!’ Xuanyi thought to himself.

After a while, Xuanyi walked to Conch and said in a low voice, “Miss Conch, from now on, you can treat Xuanyi Palace as your home. You can come and go as you please. If you have any requests, feel free to speak. If you don’t mind, you can just treat me as your older brother and family!”

Everyone looked at Xuanyi in unison.

Conch glanced at Lu Zhou before she said, “Your Majesty, this, this isn’t appropriate, right?”

“There’s nothing inappropriate about it. It’s fine if you’re unwilling. I just want to express my feeling,” Xuanyi said.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Conch said. She thought to herself, ‘If I really treat you as my older brother, won’t the order of seniority be messed up?’

Xuanyi did not think too much about this matter. In his eyes, Lu Zhou was his teacher so he felt that his status was like Lu Zhou’s disciples; they had the same seniority. Hence, he thought there was nothing wrong with Conch treating him like an older brother.

After Xuanyi returned to Lu Zhou’s side, he smiled and asked in a low voice, “Pavilion Master Lu, I have a question.”

“Speak.”

“When you were in Xuan Meng Hall, the exquisite sword you used was a void-grade weapon, right?” Xuanyi asked.

“That’s right,” Lu Zhou replied honestly. There was no need to hide this.

A hint of surprise appeared on Xuanyi’s face. “It’s really a void-grade weapon!”

At this moment, Lu Zhou said to everyone, “Alright. It’s getting late. Everyone should get some rest.”

Everyone from the Evil Sky Pavilion bowed. “Yes.”

…

At night.

Lu Zhou continued comprehending the Heaven Scroll. His cultivation was progressing smoothly, but he was lacking supreme life hearts.

His golden avatar already had 32 Birth Charts, and he was only 4 Birth Charts away from completely activating all the Birth Charts.

Although the blue avatar was very strong and not any weaker than the golden avatar, it could still be improved. After all, it only had seven Birth Charts; it was very far away from the final 36th Birth Chart.

Since he was in the Great Void, he should seize the chance. The Great Void is a dangerous place, but it was also filled with opportunities.

…

Five days later.

A flying chariot hovered on the southern horizon of Xuanyi Palace.

“Please tell Emperor Xuanyi I’m here as a guest. I hope he’ll receive me.”

A cultivator looked at the flying chariot in the sky and said, “His Majesty has said that if Emperor Shang Zhang comes, His Majesty won’t be seeing Emperor Shang Zhang. I hope Emperor Shang Zhang won’t be angry.”

Shang Zhang restrained himself and said politely, “Please inform him of my arrival again. If I don’t see him, I won’t be able to eat or sleep in peace.”

The cultivator sighed and shook his head. “Please wait a moment.”

…

The cultivator came to the main hall and reported this matter to Xuanyi.

Xuanyi laughed. “That old bast*rd Shang Zhang wants to see someone else, not me. He’s usually so arrogant and looks down on me! Tell him that I won’t see him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the cultivator said before he left.

Li Chun said from the side, “This is already the third time, right? He’s really persistent.”

“I didn’t expect him to use someone else’s runic passage and rushed to Xuanyi Palace in just five days. How can there be such a cheap thing in this world? Does he think five days can exchange for a few hundred years of loneliness and helplessness? Dream on!” Xuanyi said disdainfully.

“I don’t understand, Your Majesty,” Li Chun said, puzzled. He did not know about Conch’s matter, after all.

Xuanyi said, “Don’t ask about things you shouldn’t ask about.”

At this moment, the cultivator who was in charge of receiving Shang Zhang returned again. “Reporting to Your Majesty. Emperor Shang Zhang has left.”

Xuanyi scoffed. “He left after only three times. It’s good for him to scram!”

Li Chun said, perplexed, “Emperor Shang Zhang isn’t one to give up so easily. Why did he leave so suddenly?”

The cultivator replied, “I’m not sure, but he looked quite determined when he left.”

Xuanyi said, “Don’t bother with him.”

“Your Majesty, aren’t you worried that Emperor Shang Zhang will hold a grudge against you?” Li Chun asked.

“If he’s really that narrow-minded, he wouldn’t have come to Xuanyi Palace in the first place,” Xuanyi said with a mysterious smile.

…

In the Dark Hall’s Dao hall.

Little Yuan’er and Conch massaged Lu Zhou’s back and shoulder for him. The duo chatted about their lives in Shang Zhang Hall. They told him about every matter; big, small, happy, unhappy. They told him everything.

Lu Zhou nodded repeatedly and said, “In that case, Shang Zhang treated both of you well.”

Little Yuan’er said, “He did, but… Initially, I thought he was only nice because of the Great Void Seeds, but later, I thought he was kind. I didn’t expect him to treat Conch so badly.”

Lu Zhou asked Conch, “Do you hate him?”

Conch shook her head. She did not hate Shang Zhang; she did not feel anything for Shang Zhang.

Lu Zhou probed. “If you think about it carefully, he’s also a pitiful person who was deceived by a villain.”

Without waiting for Conch to speak, Little Yuan’er scoffed and said disapprovingly, “Even if he was deceived, someone who could abandon their daughter is definitely not a good person!”

Lu Zhou nodded slightly. This was the most unforgivable thing. If Shang Zhang hoped to obtain Conch’s understanding, it was likely… impossible.

At this moment, an attendant carried a tray of tea and slowly walked into the hall.

Lu Zhou glanced at the teapot and asked, “What is this?”

“Elder Ji, this is a high-quality tea that His Majesty specially prepared for you,” the attendant replied.

“Elder Ji?” Lu Zhou frowned.

The attendant explained, “His Majesty speaks very often about you. I’ve always admired you.”

Lu Zhou picked up the teacup and took a sip before he said, “Your tea-brewing skill has room for improvement.”

The attendant looked embarrassed as he nodded. “Yes.”

Little Yuan’er waved her hand and said, “You can go now.”

The attendant quickly bowed and said, “His Majesty said I should stay and serve you.”

Little Yuan’er asked, puzzled, “Master, what did you do to Emperor Xuanyi? He’s very strange. We have to be careful.”

Lu Zhou could not help but chuckle upon hearing this. “Don’t worry about Xuanyi. As for that Shang Zhang…”

Little Yuan’er said grumblingly, “Don’t mention him. I was really blind! I didn’t expect him to have the heart of a wolf!”

Splash!

Little Yuan’er jolted, slightly shocked. “How are you pouring the tea? You’re so clumsy!”

“Sorry, sorry,” the attendant said as he hurriedly set the teapot down.

Little Yuan’er glanced at him and found that he was standing. She was already annoyed so she said in a reprimanding tone, “Kneel and bow. You have no respect for my master at all.”