Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 466 You have no family, but I do.
Many people present felt that Lu Xingzhou's provocation was too dangerous.

Although Huo Liancheng had only recently broken through to the initial stage of the Super Grade, Super Grade is still Super Grade.

The difference between Super Grade and Grade One is far greater than the difference between Grade One and Grade Two. It represents a complete and utter qualitative leap, a leap across the immense hurdle of Huiyang.

Even if you, Lu Xingzhou, can defeat a first-grade opponent with a second-grade opponent, you still need A Nuo's cooperation. How can you fight a super-grade opponent with a second-grade opponent?
To deal with a superior-grade opponent, one needs at least the strength of a peak first-grade opponent to withstand a few moves. For example, when Pei Qingyan faced Xuan Nu, apart from Feng Ziliu, he was the only one who could be considered a minor main force. The others were just using the formation effect to harass her.

So even if Lu Xingzhou provoked Huo Liancheng and destroyed the altar formation, wouldn't he be instantly killed if he couldn't withstand it?
But the next moment, two sword lights shot out from the left and right, one blocking Lu Xingzhou's way and the other stabbing towards Huo Liancheng's head.

Two top-tier peaks, without any falsehood.

Huo Liancheng stopped abruptly to block the sword light, then turned around abruptly: "Chu Zhaohuai of the Huanhua Sword Sect and Qi Zizhi of the Lingtian Pavilion! When did you two become Lu Xingzhou's dogs!"

Chu Zhaohuai, the sect leader of the Huanhua Sword Sect, sneered: "Grand Tutor, you've done too many evil deeds and seem to have forgotten that our sect's direct disciple, Chu Qingchen, was assassinated by an assassin hired by your young master... By the way, let me also tell you, Grand Tutor, that Chu Qingchen is my own son! I am very grateful to Physician Lu for giving me a chance to avenge my son."

Huo Liancheng roared, "The murderer was Ye Wufeng, a subordinate of Yama! You still associate with Yama!"

Chu Zhaohuai glanced at Yuan Muyu, who was fighting on the altar, and said indifferently, "At the time of the incident, the Yama Palace dismissed Ye Wufeng and gave him an explanation. Grand Tutor, there is no need to shift the blame. Even if Ye Wufeng was the murderer, the person who hired him was your son."

Yuan Muyu: "..."

So there are other benefits too, right?

Huo Liancheng retorted angrily, "And what about Qi Zijiu? He also lost his son?"

Qi Zijiu's lips twitched: "I suppose Physician Lu has given my son a new lease on life. I cannot shirk my duty to help Physician Lu seek revenge."

Lu Xingzhou gave your son a damn freshman year. Does making him the most ridiculous rookie in history count?

Huo Liancheng was so angry that he had nowhere to complain. The Huanhua Sword Sect and Lingtian Pavilion were the two famous first-rank sects in the Great Qian Dynasty. Their sect leaders were naturally at the peak of the first rank. They were not having an easy time under this siege.

This seems to be the first time Lu Xingzhou has introduced an "outsider" into the matter of revenge. But that is no longer important, because what is happening now is no longer a personal grudge, but a life-or-death struggle between two factions.

Sheng Qingfeng, who had been prevented from leaving earlier, sighed and drew his long sword: "I told you I wanted to leave, but you wouldn't let me. Well, there's nothing I can do now. I'm really helping my son-in-law."

Three high-ranking officers surrounded Huo Liancheng, while Lu Xingzhou retreated to the outer perimeter. Unable to break through, Huo Liancheng roared in anger, "Lu Xingzhou! What good is relying on outsiders! Let's fight to the death!"

"You're so childish at your age," Lu Xingzhou said leisurely. "But it's understandable, since you don't have any family anymore... So, how about I introduce you to my family?"

As the words were spoken, several slender figures appeared beside him.

Fierce fighting was taking place everywhere, but people inevitably lost their composure during the battle.

The newcomers were none other than A Nuo, Shen Tang, Dugu Qingli, Pei Chuyun, Sheng Yuanyao, and even Jiang Yuan.

The so-called "family members," apart from a child, were all women. Oh, and the child was also a woman.

Ye Tinglan really wanted to ask Dugu Qingli what she was doing there, and Jiang Duxu also really wanted to ask Jiang Yuan what she was doing there.

In truth, both of them knew about the arrangement; this was the prepared force to deal with Huo Liancheng. Shen Tang's secret entry into the capital was even facilitated by Ye Tinglan. However, after Lu Xingzhou's "family" spoke of it, something just felt off.

Another one who couldn't hold back was Gu Zhanting: "Your leg is better?"

He didn't mention a name, but everyone knew who he was talking about.

Shen Tang didn't turn her head, pointing her sword at Huo Liancheng, and replied calmly, "It's been fine for a long time. Does His Majesty intend to punish me for deceiving the emperor?"

"you!"

"Parents everywhere would be overjoyed to know their daughters were healed, but your first reaction was to say that she was deceiving the emperor, that she shouldn't have been healed, and that you should have killed her long ago if you had known she was healed... It's ridiculous. I used to call someone as cold-hearted as you, but now I see, she's still much better than you. At least she knew that Xingzhou's leg was healed, and she didn't have this ridiculous reaction."

Yuan Muyu: "..."

The room fell silent.

Shen Tang said calmly, "I've been pretending for a year, and I'm tired. I, Shen Tang, must get involved in my husband's family feud no matter what, whether it's exposed or not is irrelevant. If you want to punish me for deceiving the emperor, then we'll talk about that later."

People sensed Shen Tang's fully unleashed aura and realized that Shen Tang had reached the mid-stage of the second rank, and was only one step away from the upper rank.

With such talent, it's no wonder Gu Zhanting was wary of him.

But Lu Xingzhou has several people as outrageous as Shen Tang around him.

Jiang Yuan... Upper Second Rank. She is a visitor from the Upper Realm, and she has her own special characteristics. Perhaps even her Second Rank was suppressed, but let's leave that aside for now.

Dugu Qingli, second-rank, middle level.

Ah Nuo, second-grade beginner level.

Pei Chuyun, second rank, initial stage.

Sheng Yuanyao is at the peak of the third rank, and her second rank is just one step away from breaking through.

You can still faintly hear Sheng Yuanyao muttering, "That stinky A-Lu snatched it away, causing my husband and I to miss two cultivation sessions. Otherwise, I would have reached the second rank by now."

Sheng Qingfeng: "..." When did reaching the second rank become as easy as popping beans? Do you know how many years it took your father to reach the second rank?

But this isn't just about Sheng Yuanyao; everyone involved is abnormal.

Has the world gone mad?

This family is even more outrageous than a super sect. Even a super sect like Tianyao Holy Land couldn't raise so many young second-rank cultivators.

Only those who studied Qi and Meridians, such as Ye Tinglan and Zhao En, could see that this was Lu Xingzhou's own Qi gathering, with the most intelligent and beautiful women in the world gathered around him, including Ye Tinglan herself, who was also part of it.

If we also include Long Qinghuang, who is pregnant... then Lu Xingzhou's power can be described as terrifying.

Currently, three Rank 1 cultivators are surrounding Huo Liancheng as the main fighting force, while a group of Rank 2 cultivators are harassing and attacking from the outer perimeter. Huo Liancheng, who has just broken through to the Super Rank, really has no way to deal with this group. He is so angry that he roars and howls like a mad tiger, his white hair is all over the place.

This is arguably the most frustrating Super Rank character in history. After breaking through, they haven't even had a proper battle. Their first battle was a siege like this. Ironically, this should have been their organization's home ground, but now they don't even know whose home ground it is.

"I feel like there's something wrong with the Grand Tutor's Super Grade items..." Lu Xingzhou said casually while randomly unleashing flames and water jets from the left and right, "You came out of seclusion early, right? Did you not digest the Super Grade items properly? Learn from Xuan Nu. Even though we had Super Grade items to hold her off, we were still almost killed by her alone. What are you doing? We don't even have a single Super Grade item..."

The two sect leaders at the peak of the first rank also sensed that Huo Liancheng's condition was not right; he did not have the overwhelming suppressive power of a super-rank cultivator that everyone had imagined.

Logically speaking, a superior-grade sword aura is something that even a single first-grade individual cannot withstand without a superior-grade one present. To withstand it, two or even a group of people would need to work together. Since everyone is cooperating for the first time, how can they have that kind of tacit understanding? They could easily be defeated one by one, or at least breaking out of the formation and escaping wouldn't be difficult.

If it were Ye Tinglan, a single ray of moonlight would be enough to blast everyone away.

But Huo Liancheng was different.

Although the attack is powerful and heavy, it is very difficult for one person to block the sword energy, but it is only difficult and does not require everyone to work together to withstand it.

If one person can't withstand the pressure and retreats to deplete their strength, while others launch counterattacks from the side, it will be enough to dismantle Huo Liancheng's offensive.

This is hardly the performance of a top-tier product; there must be something wrong.

“Those who force themselves to break through by consuming pills are just that – those who force themselves to break through by consuming pills. You have absolutely no understanding of Huiyang.” Lu Xingzhou said leisurely, “The Bright Hall shines, and the radiance extends for thousands of miles; that is the cultivation of the divine soul. The Huo family, on the other hand, are martial cultivators, which corresponds to the ancient cultivation stage called the Marrow Cleansing stage. Cultivating one’s nature and cultivating one’s destiny are two different paths. You don’t understand this, and you don’t even read the royal classics? Well, our Emperor has been quite good to you, yet he hasn’t even told you this.”

Huo Liancheng paused for a moment, then suddenly turned to look in Gu Zhanting's direction.

Gu Zhanting didn't look at him. On the surface, he was too busy fighting with Ye Tinglan to pay attention to him, but Huo Liancheng's heart was still half cold.

That's it, that's it.

How could an emperor possibly cultivate a superior family that could pose a threat to him?

The reason why the alchemy furnace was discovered but not taken away and left to the Huo family was not because of trust, but because the other old monsters of the royal family did not want to discover and share it.

Such selfishness.

A dog is always just a dog; the emperor has never treated you like a human being.

How ridiculous, this whole life...

Ye Tinglan also said to Gu Zhanting, "You're ridiculous."

Gu Zhanting responded calmly, "The victor is king, the loser is villain. There's no point in saying this. Do you think that because the ceremony was disrupted and my breakthrough failed, your rebellion and rebellion have succeeded?"

Gu Shaoli is not the only royal elder statesman in seclusion. They will not stand idly by when a "rebellion" occurs.

Once they emerge from the pass, this "rebellion" will end in one-sidedly.

"But Gu Zhanting, do you dare let them know you look like this? If you do, there won't be only the Prince of Dingxi, a royal elder, here." Ye Tinglan said calmly, "The royal bloodline isn't just yours. They have their own bloodlines too, and there are just as many people in the royal family waiting for you to make a mistake as there are others."

Gu Zhanting said coldly, "You think that's what I meant?"

Ye Tinglan narrowed her eyes.

“I have been preparing for so many years… Although I don’t know how you destroyed the key points of the array across the world, there are far more than one set of records.” Gu Zhanting’s eyes grew increasingly crazed: “If you don’t let me break through in a safe way, then don’t blame me for being radical.”

Ye Tinglan was stunned for a moment, then her expression suddenly changed: "Are you crazy? You even plunder the Qi of the Great Qian Dynasty?"

"The Great Qian is me, and I am the Great Qian. The two are one. What do you mean by plundering?" Gu Zhanting's expression became even more ferocious. "As for going mad... yes, I have been suppressed by you my whole life and I went mad long ago. I thought that after I broke through, I could still get you peacefully, but you didn't know what was good for you and ran off with that pretty boy long ago... So-called normal means are just a joke!"

As he spoke, an indescribable surge of energy flowed into his body. Gu Zhanting's dragon robe ripped apart, revealing his face, neck, and arms, which were covered in dragon scales.

Demonic and malevolent energy surged forth, and a fierce wind howled throughout the entire altar area.

Just then, Pei Qingyan and Prince Qi, Gu Yiheng, led a large group of high-ranking officials, nobles, and generals into the arena.

Gu Zhanting's mutated appearance was now fully revealed to the world.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Only 2 hours left, don't let your monthly pass expire!
(End of this chapter)