Chapter 52: Am I Qualified Now?   The swearing came way too suddenly. Duanmu Sheng was a prudent man, and yet even he could stand it no more. After all, no one had ever challenged Golden Court Mountain like this before.

Zuo Xinchan had mentioned three things, from which everyone could tell that he had little to no respect for Golden Court Mountain.

“A lowly sect like your Fiend Temple is not qualified to talk to Evil Sky Pavilion!” Duanmu Sheng glared at him with angry eyes.

All the people present looked at Duanmu Sheng, stunned, while Lu Zhou remained calm and hid his thoughts well.

Instead of getting angry, Zuo Xinchan said, “Mister Third, please pardon me if my words have offended you.”

Duanmu Sheng was not good at talking, and he was always annoyed by cheeky people who talked vaguely. He was about to explode when Mingshi Yin rose and said, “Let me tell you something, Zuo Xinchan.”

“Please enlighten me, Mister Fourth!”

“First, Derived Moon Palace belongs to Ye Tianxin. Do you agree that when one beats a dog, one must answer to its master?” asked Mingshi Yin.

“It makes sense.”

“Second, since Pan Zhong has joined Golden Court Mountain, he is one of us, and Evil Sky Pavilion will not question his past. If you give him trouble, you are giving Evil Sky Pavilion trouble.”

“It makes sense.”

“Last but not the least...you are not qualified to join hands with Evil Sky Pavilion. I’m sorry!”

The great hall fell silent again while Lu Zhou remained calm. He did not nod or shake his head. He just listened quietly.

All of a sudden, Zuo Xinchan laughed as he shook his head and said, “I don’t agree with your last point.”

“Why?”

“Fiend Temple was not qualified to join hands with Evil Sky Pavilion, but that was when you were at your peak. Times have changed. Evil Sky Pavilion is growing weaker, and Old Senior Ji cannot reverse its fall even with his profound cultivation base. On the other hand, Fiend Temple is getting stronger every day, which has been witnessed by the cultivation world. Besides, making a friend is better than making an enemy.”

Once he had finished, Zuo Xinchan looked up and rested his eyes on Lu Zhou, as if he were waiting for his answer. He made it plain that he would ignore the opinions of others and would not be bothered by them, as he only cared about Lu Zhou’s attitude.

Lu Zhou still wore the same calm expression, revealing not even a hint of emotion. Then, he raised a hand and lightly stroked his beard. A few moments later, he finally said, “You are right.”

That gave Little Yuan’er a pause. She wondered if her master had become confused because of his old age. Shouldn’t he be angry when a lowly sect like this made such a bold remark in Evil Sky Pavilion?

Zuo Xinchan nodded and said in a cheerful voice, “Thank you for being so understanding, Old Senior!”

Lu Zhou suddenly said again, “Do you know why I asked you to come up here?”

Zuo Xinchan said doubtfully, “Is it because Old Senior has guessed my purpose of visiting Golden Court Mountain?”

Shaking his head, Lu Zhou asked, “You are cultivating the Fiend Zen, are you not?”

“Yes, I am.”

“There is no wisdom tree, nor a stand of a mirror bright. A fiend Zen is rarely cultivated in this world. I heard you are the only one who has cultivated a Hundred Tribulations Insight avatar. Is that correct?” Lu Zhou continued asking.

“Old Senior is flattering me. That is correct.” Zuo Xinchan could not help but feel proud when someone mentioned his best achievement. “I’ve cultivated the Fiend Zen for over a hundred years, and it is because of this Fiend Zen Hand Seal that I can rank third on the Black Roll.”

“Good, very good!” Lu Zhou nodded and praised, which confused his disciples. Zuo Xinchan’s words were prickly, insinuating that Evil Sky Pavilion was waning. How could their master not understand? Why was he praising this guy? What kind of a new routine was this?

Right then, Duanmu Sheng jumped forward and threw his palms out a few times in a row. “Show me what you can do!”

The sudden change surprised everyone, and they all watched the scene in shock. Meanwhile, Zuo Xinchan’s eyes lit up as he said, “That’s what I intend to do.”

This was his opportunity to show the strength of Fiend Temple.

Waves of energy clashed as both men began to fight in the great hall.

“Master, they...” Little Yuan’er was worried that they would destroy the building.

“It doesn’t matter, let them fight.” Lu Zhou watched calmly.

Both men had precise control over their energies. Whenever a wave of energy was about to hit the building, it would disappear automatically. This was how experts fought each other.

“Despite the injury, Mister Third is still so strong. I really admire your strength,” praised Zuo Xinchan as he moved backward.

However, Duanmu Sheng had not stepped into the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm. Over the years, he had failed to make the breakthrough because Ji Tiandao had been suppressing him. As a result, when he truly fought Zuo Xinchan, his weakness began to show.

Zuo Xinchan, on the other hand, looked very relaxed.

“Hand seals!” Little Yuan’er pointed at the hand seals thrown out by Zuo Xinchan and exclaimed worriedly.

With the appearance of the hand seals, the strength of Duanmu Sheng’s energy reduced significantly, as if it had been weakened. At the sight of that, Zhou Jifeng shook his head and said, “After all, he is one realm weaker...”

In fact, it was more than just that. Duanmu Sheng was already wounded before they began fighting, and he was chained as well.

“Third Senior Brother, beat him! Beat him hard!” Little Yuan’er shouted.

“...”

Bam!

A hand seal hit the chain made of cold iron, sending sparks all over the place and pushing Duanmu Sheng back. Then, more hand seals flew toward him, each glowing faintly and looking like a real palm.

Lu Zhou shook his head. Duanmu Sheng could be considered as invincible below the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm. He was not only tough, but also fierce. It was a pity that he was one realm weaker than his opponent.

It did not matter, however, because Lu Zhou had no reason to continue suppressing his disciples’ cultivation bases like Ji Tiandao. The road of cultivation was long. All his disciples were amazingly gifted, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before they became mighty experts.

“Let me try!” Mingshi Yin leaped, moving as fast as lightning while the endless energy emanated from his body devoured the hand seals in the blink of an eye.

“Oh, I didn’t expect that Mister Fourth has stepped into the Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm...” Zuo Xinchan seemed to grow stronger as the battle progressed.

The four men he brought with him stood straight like spears. They had absolute confidence in the strength of their sect’s deputy chief.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The joining of Mingshi Yin slightly stabilized the situation. After all, he was also a Nascent Divinity Tribulation expert.

As the battle grew intense, it became impossible for the energy waves to not touch the building’s structure, no matter how precisely they could control them. Eventually, some pillars were hit and cracked.

“This...” Pan Zhong and the others looked at Lu Zhou, but he just watched quietly as if what was happening had nothing to do with him.

Mingshi Yin’s Bluewood Technique showed its wonderful power at this moment. With it, he managed to reverse the situation and gain the upper hand. For a moment, energy waves and hand seals filled the whole great hall and dazzled all eyes.

Suddenly, Zuo Xinchan said in a deep voice, “Watch out! I am not going to hold back my power anymore!”

Buzz!

Right then, an avatar appeared!

The source of a Nascent Divinity Tribulation expert’s prowess was in his avatar.

Measuring fifty feet high, the ink-colored avatar was tall enough to destroy Evil Sky Pavilion, but strangely, it stood inside the building like a shadow without damaging anything.

At the sight of it, Pan Zhong was speechless with fear, and he suddenly realized where Zuo Xinchan’s confidence came from. “This man is unusually strong!”

As soon as the avatar appeared, the situation reversed, and the terrible strength of a Nascent Divinity Tribulation expert was perfectly demonstrated. In the blink of an eye, hand seals a few times larger than before shot toward Duanmu Sheng and Mingshi Yin.

Mingshi Yin hurriedly produced his twenty-foot-tall avatar and blocked the hand seals, but the impact knocked him back a few steps. When he finally managed to stabilize himself, he felt his Qi and blood rock and his arms turn numb.

After gaining the upper hand, Zuo Xinchan said indifferently, “Is Fiend Temple qualified to talk to the Evil Sky Pavilion now?”