At a loss, Chen Beixun, who was by himself on the fis.h.i.+ng boat, watched the small boat quickly leave in the opposite direction.

Within Sword Sect, one's status and level are indicated by how many swords one has in their sword box.

First Tier martial arts pract.i.tioners had the right to carry a sword box.

Grandmasters could hide two swords in their sword box.

First to Fourth Resonance Grandmasters had two swords in their sword box.

From Fifth Resonance Grandmaster onward, each additional resonance had one more sword than the last.

A Sixth Resonance Grandmaster could hide four swords in his sword box.

The highest level was a Ninth Resonance Grandmaster, and his sword box could hold seven swords.

Moreover, those seven swords could be specially made by a top Mohist swordsmith, and were one of the best weapons in the world.

This was the tradition that Sword Sect had observed since its beginning.

The highly skilled Sword Sect a.s.sa.s.sin on that small boat had four swords in his sword box, which meant that he was a Sixth Resonance Grandmaster…

And yet, such a strong fighter had actually abandoned the original plan and escaped without even looking back!

Nie Changqing had used one knife to part the lake, then sent out twenty more chops in a row, breaking twenty recreational boats and killing dozens of Confucianists. Had he really frightened this Sixth Resonance Grandmaster from Sword Sect?

Chen Beixun slightly trembled.

He suddenly understood why Lu Fan was so calm and so fearless.

This abandoned Daoist disciple's power…

He was practically a monster!

On the fis.h.i.+ng boat...

Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan's faces were also filled with fear.

But when they looked at Chen Beixun, their expressions became angry and threatening. "Chen Beixun, you tricked us?!" Zhu Yishan roared in a low voice. "You said you were confident you could get rid of Lu Pingan!"

Liu Ye also looked at Chen Beixu menacingly.

The day before, Chen Beixun had come looking for them in the night. After spending the whole night devising a plan, he had confidently promised them that Sword Sect would be part of the plan and would seize the opportunity to get rid of Lu Fan when he was on a boat headed for Drunk Dust Court.

But everything he had said was good for nothing now.

The highly skilled fighter from Sword Sect had been frightened off before he had even showed his face!

They… had been betrayed!

They could only imagine what fate would befall them when Lu Fan decided to deal with them.

Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan thought of that lazy and elegant young man who sat on his wheelchair, and for some reason, they felt a chill in their hearts.

"What are you afraid of!" Chen Beixun said.

"Since the beginning of time, for as long as water flowed through the mountains, the aristocratic families have been unmovable… the three aristocratic families of Beiluo City may not be as powerful as families like the Tantais, but we have one of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy, the Sword Sect, supporting us… Lu Pingan won't dare touch us."

Chen Beixun stood proudly at the front of the boat. He carried his wooden sword box on his back, his robe flapping in the wind off the lake.

His voice was cold and harsh, and it carried weight.

"But the fighter from Sword Sect has… has escaped!" Liu Ye said in a trembling voice, as he pointed a finger toward the small boat, which was disappearing out of sight.

Chen Beixun clenched his teeth. After taking a deep breath, he said, "This is just a strategic temporary retreat. We'll retreat too and then continue discussing this when we get back!"

He then ordered the skipper to turn the boat around.

However...

Just when the skipper held up the paddle and was about to make the difficult turn...

Suddenly...

A terrifying pressure suddenly exploded.

BOOOOM!!!

...

"Hmm?"

Lu Fan had just put away all the chess pieces in the chess box and raised his eyebrow slightly.

He looked out after the mist on the lake's surface had cleared to see a small boat that was facing his fis.h.i.+ng boat suddenly create a spray of water as it shot off into the distance.

After the mist over the lake had cleared, he looked into the distance and saw a small boat facing his fis.h.i.+ng boat. It suddenly shot off into the distance, spraying water in its wake.

"Who… was that?" Lu Fan asked in surprise. He stroked his chin as he watched the small boat madly make its getaway.

Nie Changqing held onto his butcher knife and looked up in the direction of the small boat, which had already gone quite a distance.

"A wooden sword box with four swords hiding inside, so he's from Sword Sect, one of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy… a Sixth Resonance Grandmaster swordsman."

Nie Changqing was Daoist No. 10, so naturally, he wasn't a stranger to highly skilled fighters from Sword Sect.

"Sword Sect… Grandmaster level swordsman?"

Lu Fan narrowed his eyes.

"Why is he running? I have such a good temper. Does he think I might gobble him up?"

Nie Changqing whistled, speechless, as he glanced at the group of Confucianists still struggling in Beiluo Lake.

Lu Fan has a good temper… my foot.

His magnanimity was no greater than the size of dragon fruit seeds.

So Nie Changqing decided not to respond.

Lu Fan supported his chin with one hand, slowly closed his eyes, and checked the progress of his Spirit Qi restoration while he waved the other. "Forget it, forget it. I'll take it that he knows what's good for him."

"Young Master, there's a boat behind us. Chen Beixun is in it, along with the other two heirs of the Lius and the Zhus," Ni Yu said, tired and weak, while pointing out a fis.h.i.+ng boat. She was still sprawled on the side of the fis.h.i.+ng boat, nearly drained of all her energy after puking so much due to seasickness.

"Oh," Lu Fan said, then closed his eyes after glancing at Ni Yu's pitiful face.

Nie Changqing had executed twenty moves, and his chess pieces had used up twenty wisps of Spirit Qi.

But he could feel his dantian churning like a furnace, slowly restoring itself.

At this speed, he would recover a wisp of Spirit Qi in about two hours. This restoration speed was definitely a little on the slow side.

However, Lu Fan was satisfied with it.

"Young Master… they're leaving." Ni Yu's weak voice rang in Lu Fan's ears.

Lu Fan opened his eyes.

"They're leaving?"

He grabbed the Spirit Pressure chessboard and placed it on his lap. Then, he took a black chess piece from the box.

The black chess piece gleamed as Lu Fan held it between his index finger and middle finger.

"Since when do I, Lu Ping'an, do anything just for show?"

The next moment, everything in his surroundings turned into translucent outlines, just like the time he deployed Spirit Qi to Ning Zhao from a distance.

He zoomed in and found the fis.h.i.+ng boat Chen Beixun was using to make his getaway.

The corners of his lips twitched slightly.

Then, he placed the chess piece right in the middle of the chessboard.

Pak.

A light blue wisp of Spirit Qi rose up from the chess piece like a small spark of fire.

Wind suddenly started to blow across the calm surface of the lake.

Ning Zhao's long dress flapped nonstop in the wind.

Nie Changqing's pupils narrowed, and he held his legs together tightly…

It had appeared!

Young Master's… Spirit Pressure!

...

On the fis.h.i.+ng boat...

Chen Beixun was trembling. The pressure that came down hard like a threat from the heavens made him defenseless in that moment. His face hit the floor and was firmly pressed down.

His entire body was prostrate on the floor, and he didn't even have the energy to move his fingertips.

Not just him—Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan were in the same predicament.

They were in even worse shape than Chen Beixun. Blood poured out of their mouths and noses.

As for the skipper, he had already jumped into the lake and was desperately swimming toward the sh.o.r.e.

Chen Beixun roared in a low voice. He wanted to climb back up, but the pressure bearing down on him was as heavy as a mountain.

BOOM!

The water within five feet of the fis.h.i.+ng boat suddenly exploded, and the fis.h.i.+ng boat immediately started sinking into the lake.

The freezing lake water rapidly engulfed Chen Beixun, Liu Ye, and Zhu Yishan.

The strong-smelling lake water flowed into their mouths.

What was going on?!

How did the boat suddenly start sinking?

Where was this terrifying pressure coming from?

It never crossed their minds that Lu Fan was the cause of this. He was so far away from them and wasn't an immortal, so he couldn't possibly have been able to create a pressure so great that it could sink a fis.h.i.+ng boat.

They were full of questions, but their survival instincts kicked in, and the only thing they could think about was using all their strength to try and swim to sh.o.r.e.

Even a Second Tier martial arts pract.i.tioner would be completely exhausted after soaking for so long in the freezing lake water before finally reaching the sh.o.r.e.

In fact, many of the Confucianists had lost all energy after swimming halfway to the sh.o.r.e, and all their memories and regrets in life sunk to the bottom of the lake with them with a thud.

Chen Beixun was still doing okay, since he was a First Tier martial arts pract.i.tioner. Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan were also in training, so they all managed to make it to the sh.o.r.e alive.

They were completely drenched, and their clothes stuck to their bodies, along with filth from the lake.

Suddenly...

The ground started shaking.

There was the deafening sound of horses galloping.

A group of soldiers on horseback arrived in full armor. The people who had gathered to watch yelped and moved aside. They recognized these soldiers as troops under the City Master.

Yi Yue rode on a brown horse, and behind her were Beiluo City's Ironblood troops in their cold, hard armor.

"Young Master has sent instructions to bring the heirs to the three aristocratic families back to the city jail for tea," Yi Yue said, the expression on her face cold and serious.

"Handcuff them."

The next minute...

Several Ironblood soldiers walked over with cold, heavy chains.

Chen Beixun was completely soaked as he climbed to his feet. The hair that he had carefully done up earlier that day was now a mess.

He straightened himself up and stood confidently.

"I am Chen Beixun, disciple of Sword Sect, you…"

PAK!

Before Chen Beixun could finish speaking, Yi Yue suddenly pulled her whip out and whipped him.

The burning pain immediately caused Chen Beixun's eyes to fill with tears.

"I demand to see Young Master Lu!"

"I…" Chen Beixun shouted, but Yi Yue kept a cold expression on her face as she whipped him again, leaving a b.l.o.o.d.y mark on his body.

"Young Master has given me precise orders. He said if you open your mouth to speak, then… I have to whip you," Yi Yue said politely. A faint smile could be seen on her attractive face as she curled the long whip up with her dainty hands.

Chen Beixun immediately stopped talking.

He wanted to protest, but there were nearly a hundred of Beiluo City's fiercest and bravest Ironblood soldiers present. What… did he have to protest with?

Even if a Grandmaster met with so many of Beiluo City's Ironblood soldiers, he, too, would hold his hands out obediently.

Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan didn't even think of protesting. They obediently allowed themselves to be handcuffed and led away.

There was seaweed tangled in Chen Beixun's hair. He turned to look out at the fis.h.i.+ng boat drifting quietly in the middle of Beiluo Lake and thought he could see the gentle young man in his wheelchair.

He shuddered slightly.

"I've been careless this time around… OW!" Looking out over the lake, Chen Beixun couldn't help but exclaim as he was handcuffed with the metal chains.

But before he could finish his sentence...

PAK!

Yi Yue whipped him again.

"OW! Not… not so hard!"