The Overlord pulled the reins of the black horse, and the horse kicked its forelegs in the air, standing on its hind legs and raising snow from the ground. Then the horse neighed and snorted, its breath visible in the cold air.

He gazed at the mottled city tower of Beiluo.

The Overlord felt complicated emotions deep inside. He came to Beiluo again.

He remembered the first time he had come to Beiluo. When he entered the city arrogantly and stepped on waves to reach the island, Lu Fan smacked him to the bottom of the lake and gave him a good beating.

Now, he was here again.

In fact, he really did not like to come to Beiluo City, because Lu Fan was too mysterious and too strong.

Lu Fan's strength and power made him feel helpless because he would never be able to surpa.s.s Lu Fan.

The city gate was opened.

Lu Changkong, with a thick fur cloak draped over his shoulders, came out slowly.

Luo Cheng, carrying his knife, followed Lu Changkong.

The Overlord got off his black horse. Gazing at Lu Changkong, he could not help but narrow his eyes.

He found Lu Changkong had achieved Complete Internal Organs!

The Overlord was also in Complete Internal Organs. He was surprised that Lu Changkong had made so many progress in such a short time.

However, at the thought of Beiluo's cultivation conditions and Lu Ping'an's mysterious approaches, it was not weird at all that Lu Changkong had cultivated so fast.

Bang!

An energy burst forth from the Overlord. He was like a fierce tiger who had just woken up as if a gale was blowing against him.

Despite this, Lu Changkong was still calm and fearless. He was smiling with his hands behind his back. His thick cloak billowed out.

Luo Cheng flushed. Carrying the sword, he could not help but take two to three steps back.

He, still in Qi Core Realm, was really pressured by the collision of the energies of two cultivators in Internal Organs Realm whose five organs had all been refined.

However, Luo Cheng stomped on the ground and steadied himself up with a serious look after taking two to three steps back.

The Overlord was leading the black horse, which was trembling.

Lu Changkong gave off his energy too. If the Overlord's energy was potent, Lu Changkong's energy could be compared to a cloud and mist.

They were neck and neck.

The collision did not last very long.

The Overlord restricted his energy soon enough.

“City Master Lu is great indeed. I'm really impressed,” Overlord commented.

Not until this moment did a guard pluck up his courage to run out of the city.

The Overlord handed the reins of the black horse to the guard. Then he and Lu Changkong strode into the city together.

“Is the Lord of Western Liang here for the Lord of Beixuan?” Lu Changkong asked the Overlord as they walked shoulder to shoulder.

The City Master had sent the Dragon Blood Army away, so only Luo Cheng was following him.

“Tantai Xuan? If I were to kill him, would I have let him come to Beiluo?”

The Overlord laughed. He sounded very confident.

Indeed, if he were to kill Tantai Xuan, he would have done it when the latter had been at the Imperial City.

The Overlord saw the white jade paG.o.da as soon as he entered the city. He turned serious at the sight of the towering paG.o.da.

“This is the white jade paG.o.da Young Master Lu built? The Trial PaG.o.da that can help people go beyond their limits?” Overlord asked.

Lu Changkong nodded.

All of a sudden…

Lu Changkong's facial expression slightly changed because he heard Lu Fan's voice being transmitted.

He looked at the Overlord, who was gazing at the Trial PaG.o.da intently. The Overlord was apparently a little eager for action.

“Lord of Western Liang, let's get onto the island,” Lu Changkong said.

The Overlord was stunned. Then he realized Lu Fan should have been informed of his arrival.

“Okay.”

He did not decline. One of his objects of this visit was to see Lu Fan indeed.

Lu Changkong smacked his lips. It was getting interesting.

Tantai Xuan was on Lake Island. And the Overlord would be on Lake Island too…

The two men who were competing for the world would meet.

Wasn't that something big?

The three of them came to the lakeside of Beiluo Lake.

They would not need any boats. Stepping on the lake's surface, they headed for the island at high speed. As strong as they were, it was not difficult at all to travel by stepping on the lake.

When the Overlord had entered the city…

Nie Changqing came back as well.

In fact, he should have come back to Beiluo earlier, but this time, he really took his time. Walking in the snow, he was looking back on his drawbacks in the fight against the Black Dragon.

Those who lost did not deserve to return from the Dragon Gate.

However, this trip did exercise Nie Changqing's will. And his strength became more solid.

Lake Island.

On the second floor of White Jade City Pavilion.

The Overlord and the other two went upstairs altogether.

On the terrace, the scent of sandalwood incense lingered in the air, and so did the intense aroma of green plum wine.

Sitting in the Thousand Blades Chair, Lu Fan picked up a green plum and put it into the boiling wine.

The Overlord saw Lu Fan at once. The Lord of Western Liang felt his heart was seized by a hand because he could not feel Lu Fan's energy…

In fact, the Overlord used to be able to feel the pressure Lu Fan brought him.

But at the moment, he did not feel a little bit pressured.

There were two explanations. The first one was that he was stronger.

The second one was that Lu Fan was stronger again.

The first explanation was hardly possible. So the second one was the only possible explanation. That meant Lu Fan had been strong enough to control his energy at will so that the Overlord felt like he was facing an average man who had never cultivated.

“Young Master Lu.”

Restricting his shock, Overlord cupped his hands at Lu Fan.

“Take a seat,” Lu Fan said with a smile.

The Overlord and Lu Changkong found a seat to sit down, while Luo Cheng, carrying his knife, stood behind Lu Changkong with a serious face.

“Ahem! Ahem!”

Sitting next to them, Tantai Xuan coughed intentionally to draw attention.

The Overlord smiled involuntarily, cupping his hands.

“Lord of Beixuan.”

Tantai Xuan only snorted. He did not even look at the Overlord.

The Overlord did not take offense. After all, Xu Chu had just grabbed the immortal encounter Tantai Xuan had received. It would be weird if Tantai Xuan were nice to the Overlord.

Lu Changkong was going to look on. He poured himself a cup of green plum wine.

Leaning on the back of the Thousand Blades Chair, Lu Fan looked at the two calmly.

Tantai Xuan lost the intention to speak because of the Overlord's arrival.

Lu Fan looked at the Overlord, and the Lord of Western Liang did not evade Lu Fan's eyes. He took out two Golden Dragon Seals.

“Young Master Lu, do you recognize these dragon seals?” Overlord asked.

Tantai Xuan and Lu Changkong all s.h.i.+fted their eyes to the Golden Dragon Seals.

Dragon seals?

“You don't need to try me. I made the Golden Dragon Seals. It's also me who gave you two the Dragon Qi,” Lu Fan said flatly, as he lifted the bronze liquor cup to take a sip of the warm wine.

The Overlord's eyes narrowed instantly.

Lu Fan did not deny it?

It was really Lu Fan who made them…

“Is White Jade City going to partic.i.p.ate in politics?” the Overlord asked seriously.

Was Lu Fan going to control them with the Golden Dragon Seals to reach the goal of controlling the world?

In that case, the Overlord would not put up with him. Even though he knew he was not a match for Lu Fan, he would still fight back.

The Overlord would rather die than be a puppet.

The atmosphere in White Jade City Pavilion was instantly charged with tension.

Lu Changkong squinted, while Tantai Xuan focused his eyes on Lu Fan.

Lu Fan was probably the most relaxed person there. He was still drinking warm wine from the bronze liquor cup.

“Will you be able to stop White Jade City if it partic.i.p.ates in politics?”

Lu Fan smiled.

He lifted his hand as a snowflake fell on his fair-skinned finger.

Pointing at Tantai Xuan, he said, “If I say I'll make the Lord of Beixuan the emperor, will you dare stop me?”

Lu Fan sounded calm and fully at ease as if he was just talking about some insignificant thing.

The Overlord's eyes narrowed.

Bossy!

Lu Fan was even bossier than the Overlord.

But he had to admit Lu Fan did make sense…

Because White Jade City was too powerful, and Lu Fan was even more powerful.

Lu Fan was so powerful that he did not need to lie to the Overlord at all.

“Well, don't worry. White Jade City will not partic.i.p.ate in politics… And the Dragon Qi in you doesn't have any secondary effect.”

“What that Dragon Qi represents is the fortune of your nations.”

“A strong Dragon Qi indicates good fortune for your nations as well as your strengths… Either of you has four feet and a half of the Dragon Qi. The Dragon Qi has nine feet at most. Nine is the maximum number. It symbolizes supremacy,” Lu Fan explained.

“So even though you took the Imperial Dragon Seal that belonged to the Lord of Beixuan, without enough Dragon Qi, you still can't turn the two Imperial Dragon Seals into one.”

The Overlord seemed to be pondering.

“As to Dragon Qi, it only has limited amplification effect on attainments. It's mainly used to prevent evilness from affecting the imperial power. With nine-feet Dragon Qi, you can eliminate evil things with a yell, and no evil things can ruin your country,” Lu Fan continued.

Tantai Xuan and the Overlord finally understood what Dragon Qi was used for.

And the question that had baffled them was finally resolved.

However, the Overlord felt it a pity that Dragon Qi only had limited or even zero amplification effect on attainments.

So it was kind of useless for him.

He wanted to be stronger, but Dragon Qi could not help him. Although it was a symbol of ident.i.ty and position, he was still let down.

As to evil things' invasion, that was not a concern for the Overlord at all.

If he was strong enough, what evil things would have the nerve to invade into his body?

The Overlord was a little disappointed. He did not respond.

Smiling, Lu Fan looked at Tantai Xuan. He asked the latter, “Lord of Beixuan, what's puzzling you?”

Tantai Xuan had intended to wait until the Overlord left to talk with Lu Fan alone.

But since Lu Fan had asked, he had nothing to hide.

After all, the Overlord would naturally know about the Great Xuan Dynasty Academy if he wanted to know.

“Young Master Lu, I had an idea. I want to start an academy to train young cultivators so that kids could start to cultivate at a very young age. So I came to Beiluo especially to ask about Young Master Lu's opinion,” Tantai Xuan said.

Lu Changkong focused his eyes on Tantai Xuan involuntarily. He wanted to start an academy…

To train child cultivators?

That was an audacious thought!

That was really innovative!

The Overlord was shocked too. He threw Tantai Xuan a look. He was really surprised that the latter had so much drive.

Lu Fan smiled. He took a sip of the green plum wine, but he did not reply. Instead, he looked at the Overlord.

“Lord of Western Liang, what do you think?”

Sitting on the cus.h.i.+on, the Overlord shook his head.

“I don't think academies are necessary. In my opinion, armies are enough to train cultivators. Cultivators who were trained the same way as armies were trained are the real strong ones,” the Overlord answered.

He did not approve of the idea of academies.

It would cost more resources to build an academy than an army. However, cultivators trained by an academy were not necessarily better than those trained by an army.

Therefore, the Overlord did not think it necessary.

Tantai Xuan focused his eyes on the Overlord, but he did not speak.

He made the decision to build the Great Xuan Dynasty Academy after careful consideration. He had planned to build the academy after being defeated by Western Liang, but after the thing with Xu Chu, he realized how important cultivators were.

Therefore, he made this decision.

He did not want the descendants of the Great Xuan Dynasty to suffer losses like he had for reasons of attainments.

“Lord of Beixuan, do you still insist?”

Lu Fan looked at Tantai Xuan.

However, Tantai Xuan focused his eyes on Lu Fan and then nodded determinedly.

He would absolutely start the Great Xuan Dynasty Academy.

The smile on Lu Fan's face faded.

“Well, go ahead then.”

“The Lord of Beixuan believes in the academy, while the Lord of Western Liang believes in an army… Well, let's see what will happen in one year,” Lu Fan said with a smile.

“You can fight in Beiluo City in one year.”

“The winner will cultivate for three months in White Jade City and get some special prize prepared by me. How does that sound?”

When that had been said…

Tantai Xuan instantly tensed up.

The Overlord's eyes narrowed.

“Young Master Lu, what if the Great Xuan is eliminated in one year?” the Overlord asked.

“In that case, the bet will be cancelled,” Lu Fan said flatly.

“Okay.” The Overlord agreed delightedly.

Tantai Xuan, sitting cross-legged, clenched the hand he put on the leg.

“Great!”

He accepted the challenge.

Lu Changkong, who was a little far from Tantai Xuan, stroked his beard. It piqued his interest. The whole bet sounded intriguing.

Cultivators trained by an army and cultivators trained by the academy?

He looked at Lu Fan as if he wanted to read Lu Fan's face, whom the latter thought more highly of.

“Now that both of you have agreed, let's make an agreement.”

Lu Fan smiled.

He extended his hand and started to write in the air as if he was holding a pen. Each word seemed to be embedded in the air.

The agreement was simple. It was basically what Lu Fan had said.

When he had finished writing, the words still remained suspended in the air.

Lu Fan lifted his hand and waved.

The two Imperial Dragon Seals flew over.

Lu Fan pointed at them.

And each of their Imperial Dragon Seals sealed the agreement.

“Well, it's done.”

“If the Great Xuan or Western Liang is eliminated in one year, the bet will become invalid. Deal?” Lu Fan said with a smile.

He gave the Imperial Dragon Seals back to the Overlord.

The Overlord and Tantai Xuan exchanged a look.

They both nodded.

“Deal.”

Lu Fan smiled.

Then he waved his hand.

Tantai Xuan and the Overlord instantly felt dazzled.

When they could see clearly again, they found themselves already downstairs.

Tantai Xuan was all right.

But the Overlord was really astonished by Lu Fan's way of doing things.

Lu Ping'an's strength was more and more unfathomable.

On the second floor of the pavilion…

Looking at Lu Fan, Lu Changkong got to his feet.

“Fan'er, who do you think will win?”

Lu Fan just kept smiling silently.

Lu Changkong smiled as if he had guessed Lu Fan's reaction. He turned around to go downstairs with Luo Cheng.

As soon as Lu Changkong went downstairs…

Lu Fan raised his eyebrow slightly.

He looked at West Mountain of Beiluo.

There, a strong energy was secretly spreading.

“Oh?”

Lu Fan's eyes lit up.

Someone was trying to go beyond the Internal Organs?

Not only Lu Fan…

Lu Changkong, who had just gone downstairs, and the Overlord on the island both looked up seriously at Beiluo's West Mountain.

What a strong energy. It seemed someone would realize a breakthrough soon!

The Overlord took a deep breath.

This energy was strong. Was someone trying to break through to the Heavenly Lock Realm from Internal Organs?

Who was that?!

Who could that be?

Fast!

That was really fast. Who on earth was that?

Was it Nie Changqing? Or Ning Zhao?!

A shrewd light flashed in the Overlord's eyes. With his energy surging, he headed for West Mountain at high speed.

Lu Changkong also raised his eyebrow, puzzled.

An attempt to achieve Heavenly Lock?

How would Lu Changkong miss such a great event?

He set out too. The snow under his feet seemed to be pulling his body. He left for West Mountain instantly.

Tantai Xuan and Luo Cheng sensed something was happening on Beiluo's West Mountain as well.

Tantai Xuan was weak, but he did not mind looking on.

It went quiet again on Lake Island.

Only the chrysanthemums facing the sky, the delicate and charming peach blossoms, the bamboos waving in the wind, the Master's grave, and Mo Tianyu, who was kneeling before the Master's grave, were still on the island.

Leaning on the back of the wheelchair, Lu Fan tapped the red Phoenix Feather Arm.

He seemed to be looking forward to the result.

Someone was finally about to achieve Heavenly Lock Realm?

He had been looking forward to this for a long time.

Once there were cultivators in the Heavenly Lock Realm, Wuhuang Continent would start its transformation.

However, it was still a pending question whether anyone would achieve the Heavenly Lock Realm in the end.

Due to the restriction of the plane level, it was necessary to go through a calamity to achieve Golden Elixir. To break through to the Heavenly Lock Real, it was even more necessary to go through a calamity.

Lu Fan s.h.i.+fted his consciousness. He seemed to travel across thousands of mountains and waters in an instant.

Sitting in the Thousand Blades Chair, he showed up before the Earth's Origin over the nine clouds.

This Origin had only set up the calamity for Golden Elixir Realm.

However, it had not set up the calamity for Heavenly Lock. But now someone attempted to achieve Heavenly Lock.

Lu Fan felt it necessary to customize a Thunder Calamity to celebrate it.