"Your disciple pays his respects, Master."
Lu Yun prostrated himself respectfully, bowing to the young woman before him.
"Rise." Chen Xiangzhu glanced at him, her tone cold.
Sensing her displeasure, Lu Yun lowered his gaze, a bitter smile touching his lips.
As a senior disciple, he should have been earning a great deal of merit for his Master.
Yet this past month, he had only offered a mere seventy points—the base earnings for fourteen days of guard duty.
He had once witnessed the fate of a certain junior brother, so aside from one accidental use at the beginning, he was the only Cultivator among the Chen Family disciples who had never used a Child Stone.
Of course, it didn’t matter whether Lu Yun crushed it or not.
Because other people were always going to use theirs.
But he had never taken a share of that extra merit, only his own five points per day.
At this critical juncture, on the verge of breaking through to the Late-stage Jade Liquid Foundation Establishment, he had to painstakingly grind for a month and a half just to trade for a single bottle of Crimson Heart Pills.
He was, one might say, honest to a fault.
No matter how arduous his path to immortality became, he endured with caution, unwilling to be reduced to a Demon like that junior brother.
But his Master still seemed rather dissatisfied.
He felt utterly helpless.
"Don’t dwell on it. Your Master summoned you today not to reprimand you, but simply because she’s anxious on your behalf."
Steward Luo stepped forward and patted his shoulder, taking the opportunity to press an aura from his hand into Lu Yun’s body.
"Hm?"
Lu Yun sensed something was wrong. Just as he was about to turn his head, he heard his Master’s cold snort.
He quickly looked away and bowed even lower.
"You’ve been too listless lately. You must redouble your efforts. Don’t disappoint me again."
Seeing the hunchbacked old man give her a slight nod, Chen Xiangzhu casually delivered the rebuke.
’This whole process was smoother than I imagined.’
’This good dog really is more loyal and obedient than the others. With any other disciple, I probably would have had to waste more breath.’
"Go."
With that thought, Chen Xiangzhu waved her sleeve to dismiss him. She had no interest in speaking further with a dead man.
’The others might still have a chance to escape with their lives.’
’But Lu Yun now carries my aura; he’s certain to die a horrible death at the hands of a Demon.’
’He’s fed on the Chen Family’s resources for so many years. It’s about time he sacrificed himself to pave the way for his masters.’
"Your disciple will obey."
Lu Yun rose cautiously, turned, and walked out of the room.
He walked onto the long street, his mind unsettled.
A group of disciples on guard duty soon caught up to him.
"Senior Brother Lu, what did Master say?" The others looked at him, their faces tense.
"Nothing much. She just told us not to slack off." Lu Yun glanced at his right shoulder. It looked perfectly normal, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was odd.
"Senior Brother, take this." A disciple sidled up to him and secretly pressed a bottle of Crimson Heart Pills into his hand.
"You guys use it."
Lu Yun waved a hand, declining his junior brother’s kind offer.
Recalling his Master’s cold expression moments ago, he couldn’t resist adding a piece of advice. "Just take them in private. Whatever you do, don’t let Master find out."
"We know."
The disciples all nodded and followed him out of the city.
It was a new round of guard duty.
The Qi Cultivation Disciples all went inside the Signal Tower, while the Foundation Establishment Disciples sat cross-legged on top of the tower.
With Senior Brother Lin’s help, those with higher Cultivation could finally spare the attention to monitor the surroundings, no longer needing to use their junior brothers as living scouts.
"Senior Brother, you seem a bit distracted today," someone remarked, sensing something was off.
At this, Lu Yun fell silent for a long moment before sighing. "It’s a good thing that Senior Brother Lin is here to protect us, of course. But I noticed a change in Master’s mood. I’m worried something is going to happen."
He looked up. "I’m going to look for Junior Sister Yan. If any of you see her, ask her to pass a message to Senior Brother Lin. It would be best if our two families could sit down, talk things through, and resolve our grievances."
This was a rather roundabout way of putting it.
After the huge falling-out the two families had, there was no way they could sit down at the same table again.
Lu Yun had noticed something was off with his Master.
What he really meant was to warn Senior Brother Lin to be careful not to get ambushed.
After all, his Master was an Immortal Descendant, and that man Luo was a Steward.
If those two teamed up, it was hard to say what good they might accomplish, but they could certainly cause a lot of trouble.
Unfortunately, as a Chen Family disciple, he could only hint at his concerns and didn’t dare speak plainly.
"I don’t think it’s that serious."
A disciple chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "Cultivators from the Great Shun Dynasty hardly ever come to our Shihu City anymore. Without the squabbles over merit they brought, what conflict could there possibly be between Master and Senior Brother Lin? Senior Brother Lu, you’re worrying too much."
"I hope so."
Lu Yun forced a smile.
He was a man of moderate temperament. He no longer sought fame or glory; he only wanted to get through this final year safely.
They stood guard until midnight.
The area before the Signal Tower remained utterly silent.
Everyone stared intently into the distance, failing to notice the shadows creeping up behind them.
The Signal Towers were placed with extreme care, blanketing the entire Border Region.
Only someone with an intimate knowledge of Shihu City, who knew its every mountain path by heart, could hope to pass.
And even then, they would need to know the guard rotation schedule and have an accomplice on the inside to sneak through undetected.
But if any Yongzhou disciples dared to attempt such a thing, getting caught would not only mean their own death but would also bring ruin upon their entire clan!
SWISH!
A blade formed of Spiritual Power slashed down, instantly tearing through the shimmering barrier around the Signal Tower.
This sudden attack, however, was not aimed at the Cultivators, but directly at the Signal Tower beneath them.
BOOM—
A deafening explosion ripped through the air as the Signal Tower suddenly burst apart!
A dozen figures leaped into the air like startled birds, their eyes wide with fury as they whipped around to look.
"Ambush! It’s the Zhao Family disciples!"

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