Lu Zhen responded, "What's the hurry? I say, Junior Brother Zhao, your cultivation level is on the low side. How can it be that be weak?"

"His martial arts have been made moot by the experts on Hai Cang Mountain. He's currently re-cultivating," Li Ruolan answered.

"No wonder, but that just makes his escape from the Monk Zhi Shan all the more impressive! Impressive indeed!" Lu Zhen responded cheerfully, with a smile like a blossoming flower.

"You exaggerate, Senior Sister Lu." Chu Li looked embarra.s.sed as he continued to hold his fist salute.

Not only had Lu Zhen paid no heed to his ugly appearance, but she had also treated him extremely warm as well, which was all because of his impressive martial arts abilities. It seemed that Lu Zhen's one and only metric for judging a male was in his abilities.

To her, only those who were powerful enough were considered as a man, whereas those who were weak should be treated as a boy. After all, they were blessed with a naturally better body, but they let it go to waste!

However, she was an oddball. She was unique in the sense that she was the only one who would think that way.

Lu Zhen carefully inspected Chu Li, and her admiration practically leaked out of her pores.

Li Ruolan gently coughed. "Alright, Junior Brother Zhao, you can leave now. I have something to discuss with Senior Sister Lu."

With that, Chu Li took his leave with his fist still clasped together.

Only after Chu Li's silhouette had receded did Lu Zhen finally collected herself.

"Your eyeb.a.l.l.s are about to drop!" Li Ruolan chided.

Lu Zhen looked at Li Ruolan and stated, "Junior Sister Li, what good luck you have to be able to meet someone this impressive!"

"He has a foul att.i.tude." Li Ruolan shook her head. "He drives me so mad that I can die. I have no clue whether he's the one guiding me or the other way around!"

"He's only proud because of his abilities — it's only natural. After all, he has the right to have that att.i.tude! Girl, you're a weird one, to think that you let such a good man slip from your grasp and that you went for that Senior Brother Ji instead!"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting!" Li Ruolan rolled her eyes.

Lu Zhen continued, "Zhao Dahe is at least a hundred times stronger than Senior Brother Ji. Mark my words, you'll definitely regret going after Ji Xin! After all, his martial arts is nothing special. He has a narrow heart and he has a quick temper!"

"Senior Brother Ji is also part of the Patrol, so he isn't as weak as you make him out to be," Li Ruolan retorted.

Lu Zhen bit her lips and did not respond.

"Your ideas are way too extreme, Senior Sister Lu," added Li Ruolan.

However, she understood where Lu Zhen was coming from.

Lu Zhen's parents were disciples of the Holy Church, but her father had perished in battle while her mother was left disabled. Despite having the opportunity to reside at the Great Light Peak, it was common for her to be looked down upon, and this had angered her greatly.

As such, Lu Zhen had always wished for a powerful man that she can rely on so that she would no longer have to struggle through the hards.h.i.+ps of the world.

However, Lu Zhen herself had a burning pa.s.sion to grow stronger. Already blessed with a strong body, she constantly honed her martial arts as if her life depended on it and as such, her martial arts skyrocketed. Not a single male disciple within the church was able to defeat her.

As for the reason that she was only a Patrol was due to the fact that she was overly focused on her cultivation. She had shut herself in to concentrate on cultivation and because of that, she had rarely left the mountain. Had that been the case, she might have already reached the position of Altar Leader.

Moreover, getting crippled this time had impacted her a great deal; it was nothing as light as she had made it out to be.

… 

By the time Chu Li had arrived at the main hall, it was already bustling with commotion. Merry laughter and conversations overlapped, giving it a feeling of harmony.

The Holy Church of Light had been sincere in providing the spirit pills, and this had greatly pleased the other three factions.

Bai Feng was donned white robes, with a thin white veil obscuring her beautiful face. She was sitting alongside another young female in an armchair, and she had a cold look in her eyes. It was a stark contrast to the joyful surroundings.

Mo Qianjun was sitting on the main seat, and below sat two middle-aged men from the White Tiger Sect along with two others from the Flaming Sun Sect.

Chu Li had discerned their rankings through his heart technique. From that, he could see that both the experts from the White Tiger Sect and the Flaming Sun Sect had reached the rank of Elder, which was much lower than Mo Qianjun's ranking.

However, the moment he entered the hall, all eyes were immediately glued to him.

Bai Feng expressed her shock, "Young Master Zhao!"

Chu Li gave a fist salute as he flashed a smile. "Greetings, Senior Bai."

Bai Feng responded, "Why are you here? Didn't you just advance to the inner mountain not long ago?"

She knew the rules of the Holy Church of Light and one of them was that no inner mountain disciple was allowed to exit the mountain during their first year. Instead, they had to focus wholly on their cultivation.

With the smile still on his face, Chu Li answered, "I've acc.u.mulated enough merits to be allowed to descend the mountain and increase my experience."

"Oh, I see. Well, that's usual with your abilities." Bai Feng then added, "Don't forget to return to Gale City to pay a visit."

"Lady Bai, who's this?" A middle-aged man from the White Tiger Sect asked in a low voice.

Bai Feng glanced sideways at him before she answered, "Jing Guinian, meet Zhao Dahe."

"Zhao Dahe!" Jing Guinian's expression sank. He gave Chu Li a death stare. "You're Zhao Dahe?"

Chu Li's expression sank as well. Unlike the tone he used with Bai Feng, he pompously declared, "I'm Zhao Dahe, do you have business with me?"

"I am Jing Guinian from the White Tiger Sect!"

"Oh, the White Tiger Sect, no wonder!" Chu Li then commanded pompously, "Speak your intent."

"We heard Zhao Dahe's Light Blade is extremely powerful. So, we'd like to experience it ourselves!" Jing Guinian declared.

Chu Li spat, "You're asking for your demise!"

"Brother Jing!" Mo Qianjun coughed lightly before he hastily added, "This is not the time to compete in martial arts. I'll allow you to fight Zhao Dahe however you want after this battle, but now, what I need you to do now is to cooperate, okay?"

"Alright, I'll do it for your sake, Brother Mo. I'll spare him, for now!" Jing Guinian nodded his head before he scoffed, "Just you wait, Zhao Dahe!"

Chu Li glanced at him with a side-eye and did nothing else.

Bai Feng shook his head, "Ignore him, the guy's mad!"

Jing Guinian then glared at Bai Feng without saying anything.

When Chu Li faced Bai Feng again, he revealed a smile. After taking a deep breath, he asked, "Where's Yue Ru?"

"Yue Ru…" Bai Feng shook her head and sighed.

Chu Li's expression immediately tensed up. "Don't tell me she came?"

"No," Bai Feng answered. "The brat's still in isolated cultivation. It's not going well, so she needs to focus as much as possible."

Chu Li heaved a sigh of relief. "That's good."

"Unless she reaches a certain level of cultivation, coming here would only result in her demise." Bai Feng lightly shook her head. Her brows had slightly furrowed, and it appeared that she had recalled the time when her comrades had been ambushed.

Mo Qianjun hastily mentioned, "Zhao Dahe has encountered Monk Zhi Shan on his way to Falling Autumn City!"

Silence enveloped the hall, and once again, all eyes were pinned onto Chu Li.

Mo Qianjun added, "And Zhao Dahe successfully escaped Monk Zhi Shan's clutches!"

Jing Guinian sent a sidelong glimpse at Chu Li again. "You believe his words, Altar Leader Mo? You've been tricked!"

Chu Li glanced mockingly at Jing Guinian for a moment before he looked away. He could not be bothered to refute his claim.

However, this had caused Jing Guinian's temper to flare. He mocked, "Huh, did I hit the nail on the head?"

Bai Feng chimed in, "Jing Guinian, can you please quiet down for a moment!"

"Lady Bai, do you really believe Zhao Dahe's words?" Jing Guinian stated, "Do you think he can escape from Monk Zhi Shan? Maybe he's already converted to the Reincarnation Temple, and he's spying for them!"

Bai Feng narrowed her eyes. In a cold tone, she stated, "Had this been anyone else, I would've found it dubious. However, I believe Young Master Zhao's words!"

"With his current cultivation level? What a joke, no matter how powerful his Light Blade is, I don't see how he can beat Monk Zhi Shan!" Jing Guinian scoffed, "Plus, Monk Zhi Shan always carries hidden weapons with him, so the Light Blade might not even get to have it!"

Chu Li nodded. "He did indeed dodge my Light Blade."

"Isn't this matter settled then?" Jing Guinian perked up before he added, "It's just as I said! You won't even last two hits again him!"

The crowd went silent as they looked imploringly at Chu Li.

They had all experienced the terror of Monk Zhi Shan and in their eyes, Chu Li's cultivation was weak — far weaker than most. Some had even considered his cultivation level even worse than those female disciples from the Tian Luo Sect. Due to this, they could not see how he was able to escape Monk Zhi Shan's grasp as his Light Blade was useless against him.