Chapter 165: Asking Mr. Lu to Take Out the Monster
By then, there were a number of Deity-level beings that Ding Zhuxuan knew personally. Her own teacher had long since become a Deity-level fighter, and that teacher had now become even more powerful.
Her elder brother in training, Shi Danze, had made a breakthrough into Deity level about the same time as she did.
Liu Wanrong, the mother of the young master she served, Lu Xuan, had powers every bit on par with her own. While she had not broken into Deity level very long ago, she could nonetheless sense that she was definitely inferior to Liu Wanrong in terms of combat prowess.
Although the two of them had never sparred before, and Liu Wanrong seldom demonstrated what she was actually capable of, Ding Zhuxuan felt sure of it all the same.
There were many times where such intuitive feelings proved accurate, especially among those at high levels of cultivation. Their heightened sixth sense meant that they could perceive something akin to the will of the heavens.
Even the man known as Yang Chengsi, who was in charge of many of Lu Xuan’s affairs and whom Ding Zhuxuan had met only once, had long since become a Deity-level cultivator with the aid and guidance provided by her young master.
That enigmatic master’s powers were even more profound than the powers of any of those people. Even though she was one of the strongest to be found in the world at the moment, she was still unable to see any signs of Lu Xuan’s cultivation.
Still, there was no way she would simply take Lu Xuan to be a common, non-cultivator person, and that knowledge led to only one conclusion—the difference in cultivation level between her and Lu Xuan was so huge that she was unable to see anything in him.
Her cultivation level was the weakest among those giants surrounding her, and her status was the lowest. As such, it was entirely reasonable that she was put on guard duty.
The main thing about it all was that she had simply seen too many who were more capable than she was. It had gotten to the point that she hardly felt herself to be formidable, unlike all the other Deity-level cultivators out there who were either bosses or some kind of supreme leader.
She’d never had a taste of what it was like to be a supreme being, so there was no loss to be felt despite her cultivation level.
Furthermore, she knew well that it was due to Lu Xuan’s faith in her that she was tasked to watch over the first gate of Yunxuan Villa. None of her other brothers and sisters in training could even get such a chance in the first place.
Despite Ding Zhuxuan herself feeling indifferent to the arrangement, however, the shock she gave Ming Yueyao and the other two was huge. One could even say that the three were completely shaken.
This was especially true of Yun Sheng and Wang Junming. Deity level was a level that was unattainable to the two of them at the moment, yet one such cultivator was really just in charge of watching the gates.
Furthermore, the woman made to do so did not seem unhappy with the arrangement in the least.
All that was happening there felt rather confusing to them. Even though the one who’d received them was clearly someone from that Mr. Lu’s group, they nonetheless felt completely disoriented deep down.
What they saw only served to reinforce their impression of Lu Xuan: that he was a man of depth far beyond measure.
They saw how even one of his guardsmen would easily be able to become a master and a boss if she were anywhere else, after all.
“My master asked that I lead all of you into the villa. Please do follow closely, as one misstep could mean being trapped in the maze,” Ding Zhuxuan said.
Ming Yueyao nodded and said, “Please lead the way.”
All four of them went into the mist, with Ding Zhuxuan taking the lead, and their surroundings were obscured by fog in an instant.
Ding Zhuxuan had to keep her speed in check deliberately in order to make sure Ming Yueyao and the other two could keep up.
She’d mastered arts that Lu Xuan taught personally, after all. Even though Lu Xuan thought nothing of it, it was a bestowal like no other to her.
The restoration of spirit qi in the present day had begun not long ago. Be it the core methods, martial arts moves, or even magics used in the present day, the cultivation methods they had were, in truth, very crude.
Deity-level fighters were easily able to cover 30 to 50 meters in a single leap, but that was really only possible because of their exceptionally strong constitutions.
There was in fact little skill or art to how they moved. This differed from the approaches of the Special Task Force, as they had been able to access some methods that were still well-preserved enough to be passed down due to their government support. Thus, the Special Task Force agents were capable of movement arts.
Still, their abilities were leagues below what Lu Xuan taught.
Ming Yueyao and the other two could already feel it. While they had been giving their all to move as quickly as possible, Ding Zhuxuan looked casual, a difference which apparently resulted from the disparate quality of the movement arts used.
It was not difficult for them to tell that her movement arts probably came from Lu Xuan.
All three of them were struggling to keep up under the circumstances, which naturally meant that they had no time or energy to spare to observe how the formation worked.
Still, it did not take them long to reach the inner sections of the villa.
After walking up several long stone staircases, they came to a huge training ground. There were quite a lot of disciples from Zhang Hongyang’s sect training there, all of whom were younger brothers and sisters in training of Shi Danze and Ding Zhuxuan.
There were not all that many of them around—just 20 or 30—yet all of them had auras so fearsome that Ming Yueyao and her subordinates were mesmerized.
There was even a young woman who looked to be in her late teens there. She was very good-looking, with skin as fair as snow.
In the bright sunshine, she demonstrated techniques that were nothing short of stunning.
Ming Yueyao recognized that young woman. She was none other than Lu Xuan’s little sister, Lu Shanshan.
According to their records, supposedly Lu Shanshan had not been training very long, but her powers were already at National Guardian level at the moment. Such a rate of progress in cultivation was nothing short of frightening.
Only a few months had passed since she began training, after all.
It was worth noting that Ming Yueyao had begun cultivating at a very young age, and it had taken her over a dozen years to get to where she was now.
While that had a lot to do with the world having yet to change back then, with spirit qi yet to be restored, the rate of Ming Yueyao’s progress nonetheless made it clear just how frightening Lu Shanshan’s was.
Lu Shanshan did not notice that several strangers had arrived nearby. She was completely steeped in her cultivation at the moment.
The art she was practicing was called the Tianxian Fist. The art fit its name, Tianxian—celestial fairies or gods—perfectly. The moves looked like celestial beings had come down to earth, and they were stunningly beautiful.
Most importantly, her circulation was somewhat improved and her Spiritual Qi somewhat strengthened as she carried on with her practice.
For her, this practice was like killing three birds with one stone. It was an art that Lu Xuan had crafted specifically for her.
Ming Yueyao caught sight of Lu Xuan in a garden just beyond the training ground.
Lu Xuan was brewing tea and drinking alone, completely lacking the tension seen among those in the training ground. The atmosphere around him stood in stark contrast to that seen and felt in the training ground.
He looked absolutely like a master who was hidden away from the world, instead.
“Greetings, Mr. Lu!”
Ming Yueyao and her subordinates greeted Lu Xuan right away.
“Lose the formalities, Chief Ming. It’s been a while,” Lu Xuan said plainly. “I wonder what brought you here today, Chief Ming?”
Ming Yueyao cupped her hands and said, “Mr. Lu, I have no intention of beating around the bush, so please allow me to be frank. I’d like you to venture out of the mountains with us.”
“The issue with the White Ape King, I presume,” Lu Xuan said with a grin.
Ming Yueyao continued, “So you know, then.”
Lu Xuan chuckled and continued, feeling rather exasperated as he did so. “I think there’s a misunderstanding here, Chief Ming. It’s not like I don’t have internet access at my place. With the kind of commotion the White Ape King caused, there’s just no way I wouldn’t have known.”
Ming Yueyao did think that made sense. She was simply confused by the scenery, which looked all too much like a paradise out of this world. They were not in ancient times, after all, and it was not like one would be completely cut off from the world when a formation like that was laid in place.
She then continued with a serious expression and spoke formally. “On behalf of the Special Task Force, I would like to ask you to emerge out of the mountains and take out that monster, Mr. Lu.”