My Disciples Are All Villains - Chapter 907

Although Yan Zhenluo seemed very sincere with no trace of hostility at all, it did not mean Lu Zhou would easily trust him. The Deadly Strike Card was still in his hand, just in case. How could someone who was capable enough to be Yi Yao’s helper had any less than five Birth Charts?

“Is the Sea Spirit Pearl yours?” Lu Zhou asked.

Yan Zhenluo shook his head and said with a smile, “The Sea Spirit Pearl belonged to the Black Tower Council. If members want to use it, they’d have to apply to the council. This thing is above the flood-grade and has become a ‘Fusion’.”

Lu Zhou took note of the key information in Yan Zhenluo’s words. He asked, “Yi Yao is your companion, but you just watched him die by my hands?”

“To be honest,” Yan Zhenluo sighed before he said, “The Black Tower Council has long been divided into many factions. The Black Tower Council has existed for so long that no one knows when it was first founded. All the presidents of the past dynasties have lived by the concept of captive breeding. This concept has made the black lotus domain more and more powerful. However, it also brought with it a host of problems such as the wastage of life hearts. Those with special privileges use it recklessly even if they couldn’t activate their Birth Charts. The black lotus domain will eliminate those who try to stop the Black Tower Council from carrying out the captive breeding concept. There are also problems such as uneven distribution, waste of resources, internal strife, and corruption. Most importantly, there are more and more conflicting opinions.”

“Conflicting ideas?” Lu Zhou asked curiously.

“The supporters naturally want to continue doing things the way it has always been done by monopolizing the life hearts; the reformists want to improve on the concept such as categorizing all the life hearts; the radicals want to carry out the elimination plan,” Yan Zhenluo said.

“Which faction do you belong to?” Lu Zhou asked with a frown. Based on this, it seemed like the Black Tower Council was much more complicated than he had imagined.

“None of them,” Yan Zhenluo said with a smile. His deep eyes seemed to be glowing as he said, “I’m like Lu Li. I like freedom. I’m optimistic about the future and filled with hope for everything.”

If Lu Zhou had heard these words before he transmigrated, he would have scoffed at such words. He was surprised to see that Yan Zhenluo was so honest in such a situation. Perhaps, due to his good impression of Lu Li, he lowered his guard against Yan Zhenluo. After a beat, he said, “The weak are prey to the strong; it’s the survival of the fittest. Your idea is rather novel.”

Yan Zhenluo continued to say, “Lu Li often says that people like to fight among themselves. I’m similar to him; I don’t like fighting. There are some things I can’t say. I hope you’ll forgive me for it.”

Lu Zhou asked, “What if I force you to tell me?”

“…” Yan Zhenluo frowned as he sighed heavily. “Huh? Why?”

Then, Yan Zhenluo spread his hands and said, “I’m just a layman. Even if you kill me, you won’t gain anything.”

Naturally, Lu Zhou could not tell Yan Zhenluo that he would gain merit points if he killed him. However, if he used the Deadly Strike Cards, he probably would not earn many merit points.

“Then why did you lure me here?” Lu Zhou asked.

“I want to make a deal with you…”

“A deal?”

“A black lotus cultivator has a time limit when they go on a mission so I can’t stay for long. Therefore, I’d like to ask for your help to look for Lu Li. If I’m not mistaken, you’ve only activated your Birth Charts not too long ago, and you don’t have much combat experience with it. I can provide you with books related to Birth Charts,” Yan Zhenluo said without beating around the bush.

Lu Zhou did not agree to it immediately. Instead, he thought about it. Indeed, he needed more information about Birth Charts. Due to the black lotus domain monopolizing the Birth Chart Beasts in the red lotus domain, the information available in the red lotus domain about Birth Charts was limited. Moreover, there were no records of cultivators’ experience as well. Therefore, he was lacking in regard to knowledge about Birth Charts.

Yan Zhenluo saw through Lu Zhou’s thoughts and continued to say, “You’ve activated three Birth Charts, but you’re able to defeat Yi Yao who had activated five Birth Charts. This shows you’re highly talented. Even Yi Yao with the Sea Spirit Pearl couldn’t turn the situation around. With knowledge, you’ll be able to further increase your strength.”

Yan Zhenluo paused for a moment as he glanced at Lu Zhou before he continued to say, “Birth Charts are undoubtedly powerful. However, if you know what kind of life heart to look for, you bring out the full potential of your Birth Charts. For example, Yi Yao’s weakness was his speed. Therefore, he obtained the life heart of a speedy Birth Chart Beast that increased his speed. In your case, apart from your Birth Chart that granted you the fire-control ability, the other two Birth Charts are essentially wasted. You have to understand that cultivators can only activate a limited number of Birth Charts in their lives. Therefore, it’s important to choose the life hearts with care. Birth Charts can be used to cover your shortcoming or boost your strength.”

Lu Zhou could not find any fault in Yan Zhenluo’s words. After a moment, he asked, “Yi Yao obtained a speed-type life heart?”

“That’s right.” Yan Zhenluo nodded.

It would have been fine if Lu Zhou was ignorant about this matter. However, now that he was aware of it, he could not help but feel that he was losing out. If he had known this, he would have left the first two life hearts for his disciples. Defensive strength was not particularly useful to him, and fire resistance was somewhat similar to fire control.

Yan Zhenluo said, “You’ve already activated three Birth Charts so you have to be careful when activating the subsequent Birth Charts. In order to show you my sincerity, I’ll give you a piece of information. Within the next seven days, a Birth Chart Beast will appear near this giant stone formation.”

“Aren’t you afraid that this old man will snatch the life heart?”

The appearance of a Birth Chart Beast meant that there would be a new Ten-leaf expert in the capital.

Yan Zhenluo smiled slightly and said, “I’ve always been optimistic.”

What a good answer!

“Then we’ll talk about it when the time comes,” Lu Zhou said.

Yan Zhenluo did not expect Lu Zhou to agree to him so suddenly.

It was not unheard of in history for a fish to slip through the net of Thousand Realms Whirling experts from the Black Tower Council. There were talented and powerful people that appeared in the red lotus domain 2,000 years ago; unfortunately, they were quickly dealt with by the Black Tower Council. Nevertheless, how could someone who was capable of slipping through the net be a fool?

After a moment, Yan Zhenluo said, “There’s another thing I should remind you…”

“What is it?”

“You’re from the golden lotus domain. From what I know, the golden lotus domain should be weaker than the red lotus domain. Now that there’s a golden Thousand Realms Whirling expert, it won’t be long before the black lotus domain tries to monopolize the Birth Chart Beasts in the golden lotus domain.”

This had already occurred to Lu Zhou, but he did not expect Yan Zhenluo to say such things. It seemed like Yan Zhenluo was treating him like a piece of blank paper. He did not think it was a bad thing. This way, he would be able to obtain more information, regardless if it was just confirming his speculations.

“You only want to find Lu Li?” Lu Zhou asked.

“That’s right.”

“You’re just friends?”

Yan Zhenluo replied, “Friends who have lived and died together.”

Lu Zhou nodded and said, “Alright. I’ve always been reasonable. I’ll tell you more about Lu Li once I see the Birth Chart Beast. What I can tell you now is that Lu Li is safe.”

Yan Zhenluo cupped his fists together and asked, “May I know your name?”

“My surname is Lu,” Lu Zhou said.

“Farewell, Brother.”

“Wait,” Lu Zhou called out. Then, he said solemnly, “I believe what you said is true. However, if I find out you’re lying, I’ll take your life. Apart from that, don’t threaten me with the Black Tower Council…”

After Lu Zhou finished speaking, the Deadly Strike Card in his hand disappeared. After looking at Yan Zhenluo, he vanished in a flash.

At this moment, Yan Zhenluo was the only one left in the forest. He seemed to be in a daze. After a long time, he murmured to himself, “Is he really just a Three Chart expert? Was I mistaken?”

Yan Zhenluo was inclined to believe that the golden Thousand Realms Whirling cultivator was deliberately hiding his cultivation base and his number of Birth Charts to appear weak.

Yan Zhenluo shook his head gently. After he looked at the sun in the sky, his figure flickered briefly before he disappeared.

…

Meanwhile, at a hillside west of the capital.

A young man leaned against a rock and panted heavily. “Lord Yi is dead! Lord Yi is dead! Fortunately, I was careful. W-what should I do now? How am I going to contact the Black Tower Council in the future? What should I do?”

At this moment, a carefree voice rang from the other side of the rock. “What else do you think you can do? There’s nothing you can do.”