After sending Li Shunxi out, Lu Sheng was just about to head to the pharmacy when he saw his senior apprentice-brother Hong Mingzi leading a middle-aged man he didn't know towards the Sect Master's study.
The two of them walked side by side. The middle-aged man was tall and straight. He didn't look old, but upon closer inspection, one could see that his hair was white and his eyes had weathered the vicissitudes of life. He was definitely not in his thirties or forties.
Lu Sheng walked up to greet him.
"Senior apprentice-brother, what brings you to my place? This is …?" He looked at the middle-aged man.
The moment the man arrived, he sized him up with a strange look. It was as if he was looking at a rare treasure.
"This is Wang Yuanshan of the Nine-Directions Sword and Palm. He's also the elder brother you heard Elder Wang mention before. The complete version of the Heart-Shattering Palm that you've learned is Brother Wang's family heirloom," Hong Mingzi introduced.
"Wang Yuanshan?" Lu Sheng recalled. "Come, come, come. Let's talk inside."
He welcomed the two of them into the study, closed the door and ordered someone to serve them tea.
After the three of them sat down, Wang Yuanshan spoke bluntly.
"Meeting Sect Master Lu today, it's true that hearing about you is not as good as meeting you in person. Sect Master Lu is a dual cultivator of inner and outer strength skills. Your inner Qi has already reached the stage where both your body and spirit are no longer external … Compared to you, old men like us feel like we've lived our lives in vain!" His tone was straightforward and genteel. But his choice of words was a little rough, giving off a strange sense of awkwardness.
"Senior Wang, you're too kind. May I know what brings you here? "Lu Sheng smiled.
His hair had grown out a little, and he was no longer as bald as before. Although his muscles were still firm, he looked like a young master again.
"Junior apprentice-brother," Wang Yuanshan didn't speak, but Hong Mingzi did.
He looked left and right.
Lu Sheng knew what he meant. He waved for his attendants to leave. He closed the door and guarded it as before.
Seeing that everyone had left, Hong Mingzi picked up the teacup beside him, his expression turning solemn.
"I'm here to ask you about something, Junior Apprentice-Brother. I hope you can answer me truthfully. "
Lu Sheng was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "Senior Brother, please speak."
Hong Mingzi took a sip of tea and gently put down the teacup, rubbing the edge of the cup with his fingers.
"May I ask Junior Brother, which family did his mother's ancestors come from?"
Lu Sheng's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed that the two of them regarded him as a descendant of an aristocratic family.
Before he could reply, Hong Mingzi continued.
"To tell you the truth, I've been busy with urgent matters and didn't have the time to ask you. But ever since I saw Junior Apprentice Brother repelling the ghosts of Scarlet District, I've had some guesses." Hong Mingzi said solemnly, "Ordinary sect members might not know the key to this and think that ghosts are ghosts and can't be defeated. However, those of us who have come into contact with people from aristocratic families understand the difference between them. The gap between ghosts and Anomalies is unimaginably vast. For Junior Apprentice Brother to be able to repel Scarlet District's Deputy District Mistress head-on, there's no doubt about your strength. "
"Most importantly, with this kind of strength, if it's really … there's no one else in the entire Northern Lands who can match you. Even the Central Plains …" Wang Yuanshan interjected.
Lu Sheng immediately understood the purpose of their visit. No wonder the sect's upper echelons, including Chen Ying, had been so respectful towards him previously. It seemed that they had mistaken him for a member of an aristocratic family.
Just like the swordsman whom Xiao Hongye had dragged over to test him. It wasn't as if there weren't any remnants of the bloodline of such a declining aristocratic family. It was just that they were rare.
Lu Sheng's heart sank for a moment. Then, he raised his head.
"What Senior Apprentice Brother asked isn't actually important. What's important is whether I can lead Crimson Whale Sect and Crimson Sun Sect down a better path."
His answer did not directly state whether he was or not.
However, Hong Mingzi and Wang Yuanshan exchanged glances with each other. They seemed to have understood something.
Lu Sheng did not know what they understood or what they had confirmed.
"That's good too. Let's move on from this topic. With someone like Junior Apprentice Brother leading our Crimson Sun Sect, it's our blessing. But there's another question. How should we nurture and strengthen our disciples? "Hong Mingzi asked.
Only then did Lu Sheng recall Song Zhenguo, whom he had abandoned in the city like a herd of sheep. He had given him a set of martial arts directions and a set of introductory mantras for Green Pine One Thought Formula, and then ignored him. He had no idea how he had developed now.
"To strengthen the sect, the most important thing is to take in disciples and open up our mantras," Lu Sheng said after some thought.
"Open up our mantras!? That won't do! "Hong Mingzi jumped in fright and hurriedly stood up to reject.
"Senior Apprentice Brother, listen to me first. When I say open up our mantras, I don't mean open up all of them. I'm only opening up some of the basics to filter out geniuses who are suitable for our sect's mantras. Only then can we pick out the best disciples," Lu Sheng had long had this thought in mind.
After all, even if he threw out his mantras in their original form, no one would be able to surpass him. That was why he wasn't too concerned about the leaking of his mantras.
As long as he had Yin Qi, he would be countless times faster than others and achieve great mastery in martial arts in an instant.
"That won't do either! Mantras are the quintessence of our sect's founding master's painstaking efforts and countless sacrifices. Casually leaking them out is a great disrespect to our founding master. Junior Apprentice Brother, you'd better think of something else, "Hong Mingzi was completely uncompromising.
Lu Sheng spoke for a while but still couldn't convince him. He could only drop the matter. According to the original method of selecting disciples, they would first observe their temperament and personality before testing their aptitude. Such a process was too inefficient and impossible to strengthen the Crimson Sun Sect.
After getting the answer they wanted, Hong Mingzi and Lu Sheng got up and left in disappointment. Now that they knew that Lu Sheng was of Nobleman bloodline, the reason he was able to fight against the Scarlet District's Deputy District Mistress of Bind was probably because the Bind bloodline had resisted the Anomaly's black membrane. That was how he was able to stand on equal footing with her.
This greatly disappointed Hong Mingzi and Lu Sheng, who had come with hope. Although they had been disappointed many times, this time, the chances of success seemed high. Unfortunately, it was still …
After sending the two off, Lu Sheng sighed in his heart.
'The fewer people who know that I'm an ordinary person, the better. Otherwise, I don't know how the Noblemen will react …'
After resting for a while, he left the study and headed to the pharmacy to retrieve the Golden Fragrance Ointment.
The moment he entered the pharmacy, he saw his senior apprentice brother's two disciples, Lin Honglian and Yuan Zhong, chatting outside the pharmacy.
"Senior Uncle!" The moment they saw Lu Sheng, they hurriedly bowed respectfully.
Lu Sheng nodded slightly.
"You're here for medicine too?"
"Yes, we're here for Master's Heavy Talisman Pill," Lin Honglian replied softly.
"Heavy Talisman Pill?" Lu Sheng was stunned. That was a pill used to treat extremely serious internal injuries. Although Hong Mingzi's body was weak, he had never fought anyone. Why would he suddenly need such a pill?
He suddenly recalled Wang Yuanshan, whom he had just met, and an idea formed in his mind.
"Alright, off you go," he waved his hand and strode into the pharmacy.
Lin Honglian and Yuan Zhong stuck out their tongues behind him and hurriedly jogged away.
After entering the pharmacy and retrieving the Golden Fragrance Ointment, Lu Sheng instructed the pharmacist to retrieve some pills that could aid in the cultivation of inner Qi. Immediately, he received a message from Jade Lotus informing him that the preparations for the Ritual Offering were almost complete. The name list had also been delivered.
Lu Sheng immediately called for a small sect meeting to make arrangements for cooperation. He then instructed Duan Meng 'an to deliver the name list to Xiao Manor.
After that, he returned to his room to cultivate Aquarius Qi.
In less than four hours, one of Duan Meng 'an's subordinates rushed back with news of Duan Meng' an's death.
"Dead?!!"
Lu Sheng's eyes widened when he heard the message from outside the door. A sliver of inner Qi leaked out from his body, burning the curtains of the bed beside him.
"What the hell happened!?" His expression was grim. Although Duan Meng 'an was timid and afraid of trouble, he had always worked diligently for Lu Sheng. Lu Sheng had also given him some easy tasks. All he had done was deliver a message. How did he die so suddenly?
He had only been in charge of Crimson Whale Sect for a short while. Duan Meng 'an was his trusted aide who represented him when he traveled outside. His sudden death was a slap to his face. If he didn't handle it well, who would be willing to be his trusted aide in the future? Who would work for him sincerely and sincerely?
"Sect Master … Elder Duan who went to handle the matter said that he couldn't come to a decision and requested that you come personally …" the messenger outside the door announced.
Lu Sheng got up with a dark expression, changed his clothes and opened the door.
"Men! Prepare the horses. Tell Elder Chen and Elder Duan to follow me. "
"Yes!"
The guard outside hurriedly informed the two Elders. These two were Intent Proficiency experts whom Lu Sheng had recently selected from the sect. One was an expert in concealed weapons, while the other was an expert with twin hammers. Both were young and daring experts.
Carrying two huge sabers and donning a set of armor that he had just ordered, Lu Sheng leapt onto his horse and galloped towards Mountain-Edge City with two Grand Elders and a dozen or so Sect Master personal guards in tow.
They headed straight for Xiao Manor without stopping.
The streets in the city were empty and the number of people was much lesser than before. It was no longer the bustling scene it once was.
By the time they arrived at Xiao Manor, a crowd of sect members had already gathered at the entrance, surrounding the entire place tightly.
As the local tyrant, Crimson Whale Sect's influence and manpower in the entire Mountain-Edge City was naturally not something Xiao Manor could compare to.
Not far away, a high-ranking officer of the sect's city guards led a team over. Although they weren't the Winged Honor Guards, the city guards were still a force to be reckoned with as they guarded the city gates. They also had weapons of mass destruction such as military crossbows. After all, Mountain-Edge City was a large city.
By evening, Xiao Manor was tightly surrounded by a large group of people.
Elder Duan stood at the entrance, a pair of Magistrate Pens in his hands. His expression was ugly. Seeing Lu Sheng arrive, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. His face brightened up.
"Sect Master! Not long after Old Brother Meng 'an went in to deliver the news, screams of agony were heard. When we arrived, we wanted to rush in but were stopped. "
"Oh?" Lu Sheng lifted his eyes and looked towards the entrance of Xiao Manor.
The door was slightly ajar, revealing a gap. Behind the door stood a hunchbacked, one-eyed old man.
Facing the huge crowd outside, the old man was unfazed. He remained standing at the entrance, not even lifting his eyes.
Outside, several sect experts were clutching their arms, seemingly injured. Wielding long sabers, they dared not step forward.
"Move aside, I'll do it!" Lu Sheng's eyes were cold as he strode towards the door.
The sect members quickly parted to make a path for him.
With his right palm behind his back, Lu Sheng's palm glowed a cinnabar-like red as he walked straight towards the old man.
"Oh? So it's the current Crimson Whale Sect Master himself, "the hunchbacked old man seemed to sense something. Finally, his expression changed as he looked at Lu Sheng.
"Before I came, I've heard that Sect Master Lu's Xuan skill is mighty and invincible, and that you're the Number One Expert of the Northern Lands. Today, I'd like to see for myself."
"After I kill you, you won't ever want to see me again." Lu Sheng's arm expanded rapidly. Driven by Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill inner Qi, the Heart-Shattering Palm force was enveloped by wisps of scorching inner Qi.
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