Chapter 68: The Elite from the Palace Chapter 68 The Elite from the Palace
After the incident at the holy altar, Lu Zhou was exhausted. However, his mind was still working overtime. He called up the system console.
Name: Lu Zhou
Race: Human
Cultivation Base: Sense Condensing realm, Qi Refining and Soul Forming stage
Merit Points: 4,490
Avatar: Three Condensing Flowers
Remaining Life: 5,804 days
Item: Deadly Strike Card x2, Impeccable Card x2, Critical Block Card x7 (passive), Whitzard, Bi An
Weapon: Unnamed, Amorous Hoop (Owner: Ye Tianxin. Requires re-refining before use.)
Cultivation Method: Three Scrolls of Heaven Writing
Lu Zhou was surprised to see his merit points had exceeded 4,000. He had been too preoccupied with the battles before this so he had ignored the system notifications. For this reason, he did not notice which mission contributed to his current merit points.
Lu Zhou went through the list of missions. His completed missions were listed on the mission board.
Lu Zhou discovered that bringing Zhao Yue back had earned him 1,000 merit points. He earned another 1,000 merit points from killing the monk, Kong Xuan. Disciplining Zhao Yue also gave him 200 merit points. The remaining points were earned from Bi An charging through the cultivators who blocked its path.
Lu Zhou was surprised to discover that Bi An could help him earn merit points as well. Saying that, it was still not easy to accumulate merit points. He was still 500 merit points short of being able to purchase the avatar, the Mighty Four Quadrants.
He had used one Impeccable Card and one Deadly Strike Card to defeat the monk, Kong Xuan. If he did not include the missions in his calculations, he had merely broken even. Fortunately, he did not use too many of his item cards. If he had used the item cards to kill some unworthy opponents, he would be eating a loss. The item cards were mighty, but he could not use them on a whim. He only had two Deadly Strike Cards and two Impeccable Cards left. ‘I should use them sparingly.’
Suddenly Lu Zhou recalled the Heavenly Writing had activated when he was attacked by the Brahman Lullaby. It had negated all of the Brahman Lullaby’s effects. He was truly surprised by this. ‘Is this the so-called extraordinary power mentioned in the scrolls?’
Upon thinking about this, Lu Zhou attempted to activate it. Alas, all he managed to do was circulate his own Primal Qi. This was a technique that was widely used by cultivators. It seemed like he had no means of finding out how to utilize that extraordinary power. That extraordinary power must have been exceptionally potent to be able to completely negate the Brahman Lullaby that was chanted by so many monks.
After a while, Lu Zhou looked at the system’s dashboard. ‘Merit points or Heaven Writing? Which one should I choose? Should I go for another lucky draw? However, my luck has never been good... I don’t think I should risk going with the lucky draw.’
Lu Zhou decided not to try for another item card. His current cultivation base was too low. His body’s function should be able to withstand a more profound cultivation base. He had to increase his avatar’s level as quickly as possible and improve his cultivation base. No matter how powerful the item cards were, they were still external tools. He did not like the feeling of treading on thin ice at all times.
Lu Zhou opened the Heavenly Writing’s interface and began reading.
‘Just as expected...’ Lu Zhou noticed the contents of the scroll had increased. There were fewer indecipherable symbols now. ‘There seems to be a meaning to the words of the Heavenly Writing... I’ll just memorize it for now and comprehend it later.’
It was similar to when he was young. He would memorize Tang poems without worrying about understanding it. He was certain he would understand it one day.
After the incident at the holy altar, Lu Zhou decided to spend more time and energy to read the Heavenly Writing.
Time continued to pass. Lu Zhou was pulled out of his concentration by the sound of hurried footsteps when it was almost dusk.
Soon after, a voice rang from outside the door. “My Lord, General Zhao has requested an audience with you.”
Lu Zhou closed the Heavenly Writing’s interface. He did not open the door. Instead, he said indifferently, “What’s the matter?”
This time, General Zhao was the one who replied. His voice was deep and resounding as he said, “Zhao Shuo of Runan City wishes to have a conversation with the Old Mister. I wonder if he has the time?”
Before Lu Zhou could reply, Little Yuan’er appeared and shouted down the corridor, “No, he doesn’t!”
General Zhao cupped his hands together in greeting and asked, “And you are?”
Little Yuan’er’s hands were on her waist as she said, “My grandfather is tired. Who do you think you are to demand to meet him at a moment’s notice?”
“...”
The innkeeper knew this young girl was a Divine Court realm expert. He did not dare to criticize her. He only said, “Miss, this is Runan City’s General Zhao...”
“I don’t care which General Zhao he is... Even if General Li or General Wang is here, I won’t agree to this,” Little Yuan’er said domineeringly.
Zhao Shuo was stunned. ‘This little girl has quite a temper. She doesn’t know the immensity of the heavens and the earth. Well, they do say that the young are fearless.’
At this moment, Lu Zhou finally replied, “Let him in.” Initially, he did not plan to meet this person. However, when he considered the royal token and the palace’s possible involvement in all the events that had happened, he decided to try and extract some information from this man.
“Oh.” The door opened, and Little Yuan’er moved toward Lu Zhou and planted herself next to him in an obedient manner.
Zhao Shuo was taken aback when he saw Lu Zhou’s appearance. However, he maintained the smile on his face as he bowed and said, “Greetings, Old Mister. I’m Zhao Shuo of Runan City.”
Lu Zhou’s expression remained indifferent as he ignored the general.
Zhao Shuo felt awkward seeing Lu Zhou’s response. However, he powered through and said, “Old Mister, I hope you’ll forgive me for my rudeness earlier.”
“State your business,” Lu Zhou said curtly.
“...” Zhao Shuo had prepared a complete introduction, but it seemed like it was rendered completely useless by Lu Zhou’s three words.
“I heard that the royal token is in your hands, Old Mister?” Zhao Shuo asked.
Lu Zhou did not deign to reply to the question. This question was meaningless.
Zhao Shuo continued to say, “Many years ago, the token was in His Majesty’s possession, and he could mobilize the capital’s Imperial Guards. The token is the representation of His Majesty. Then, at some point, the token was lost...”
“I’ll say this again, state your business.” Lu Zhou said. In other words, these were all meaningless chatter.
Zhao Shuo could not have felt more awkward. He cupped his fists together and said, “In that case, I’ll cut to the chase...” He paused for a moment before he said, “Please surrender the token, Old Mister.”
After Zhao Shuo finished speaking, he glanced at Lu Zhou furtively. He was worried Lu Zhou would be displeased.
Lu Zhou asked, “You want the token?”
“I don’t dare to demand it from you. I’m sure you’re not an ordinary person to have the royal token in your possession for so many years. I’m just here under orders,” Zhao Shuo said.
“Whose orders?” Lu Zhou asked curtly.
“Well...” Zhao Shuo hesitated for a moment before he said, “I’m not too sure about that. However, that person is an elite from the palace with a profound cultivation base. He came with a decree so I have no choice but to obey.”
Lu Zhou had a clear grasp of the situation now. He said coldly, “If he wants the royal token, tell him to come here himself.”
“Old Mister, why must there be a need for that? I know you must have an extraordinary cultivation base but to offend a high-ranking person from the palace is...”
Lu Zhou did not let Zhao Shuo finish his sentence. He rose to his feet slowly as he placed one hand on his back while he stroked his beard.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Shuo assumed Lu Zhou agreed with his words. A pleased expression could be seen on his face at this moment.
Lu Zhou waved his hand dismissively and said, “Send them away.”
“...” Zhao Shuo wanted to say something to persuade Lu Zhou.
However, Little Yuan’er who was standing at the side waved her small fist and said menacingly, “Beat it!”
‘This young girl... is really feisty! Why is she so different from her grandfather? This is no way for a young girl to behave! No, wait, the Old Mister is an eccentric person as well.’ Zhao Shuo shook his head helplessly. He could only retreat from the room.
Zhao Shuo had barely stepped out of the room when Lu Zhou suddenly asked him a question. “Who sent Zhuo Ping?”
Zhao Shuo was shocked. He turned to look at the innkeeper, who was waiting outside, but did not answer.
At this moment, a man with a long sword standing downstairs said with a smile, “Naturally, it’s someone from the palace... Old Mister, we meet again!”
Although Lu Zhou could not see the person who had spoken, he recognized the person’s voice. It was none other than the person who loved swords to the bones and valued swords as much as his life, Jiang Aijian.