Chapter 52

Nie Changqing was standing on a piece of deadwood that was floating on the surface of the lake. His acrobatic technique was truly amazing.

Only martial arts practitioners with excellent command of their physical strength could achieve such a technique. Even regular Grandmasters couldn’t execute acrobatic techniques of this level.

On the wooden luxury boat…

The Imperial Advisor had an amiable look on his face, and his white hair and beard were gently dancing in the soft breeze.

Lu Changkong frowned. Luo Yue was also a little confused.

“White Jade City? Is this the power base Fan’er put together?” Lu Changkong murmured.

Lu Fan mentioned before that he was going to build a power base, but Lu Changkong didn’t expect him to complete it so quickly.

Lu Changkong glanced at the Imperial Advisor, and then shouted at Nie Changqing, “This is the Imperial Advisor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Fan’er would certainly allow us to come onto the island.”

He was Lu Fan’s father. There was no way he wouldn’t be allowed to enter Beiluo Lake Island, right?

Nie Changqing’s eyes narrowed as he gazed at Lu Changkong.

His stray hair danced in the breeze as he took a deep breath and shook his head. “No one is allowed to come onto the island without Young Master’s permission.”

Lu Changkong hadn’t seen that coming. Such a bullheaded man. So stubborn!

On the wooden luxury boat, the Imperial Advisor laughed. He combed his fingers through his white beard and squinted his eyes, gazing at Nie Changqing with admiration.

“Ping’an has a good eye for disciples. He’s got a good one,” the Imperial Advisor said with a gentle smile.

Nie Changqing didn’t deny it. It seemed reasonable for him to call him Lu Fan’s disciple.

“The former outcast of Daoist, Nie Changqing… Daoist No. 10, Unparalleled Knife. I didn’t expect that you would rise like a phoenix from the ashes and be reborn…” the Imperial Advisor said.

He adjusted his relaxed position and stood up on the boat. He kindly looked at Nie Changqing. “The old fart of Daoist acted so unreasonable, and drove you to hopelessness. Changqing, do you hate him?” he asked.

On the lake, the deadwood under Nie Changqing started moving. It split the water and carried Nie Changqing forward.

He shook his head. “No,” he said. “I’ve had a poor, tough life ever since I was little. After my parents died, I started begging on the main street, and was badly beaten up several times. It was His Excellency who pulled me out of that misery, taught me Knife Technique and martial arts, and led me to finally find my place in society. How could I hate him?”

Standing at the bow of the boat, the Imperial Advisor’s figure seemed even more slender and vulnerable as his long and wide gown danced in the wind.

“But he also caused you, your son, and your wife to be separated. He even sent people to kill you…”

Nie Changqing shook his head. “I owed His Excellence for what he gave me, so I don’t hate him. But… on that day when Han Lianxiao came to kill me, I paid back the life I owed His Excellence. Now, I owe no one… except the Young Master. When I become accomplished, I alone will attack Daoist with my knife, save my wife, and fulfill my promise to reunite my family.”

Nie Changqing’s long sideburns danced in the wind, and his eyes were narrowed and full of determination.

As his words faded away…

Nie Changqing’s feet suddenly pushed down on the floating deadwood he was standing on, and one end of it sank and made ripples in the water.

Nie Changqing dashed through the air, his butcher knife flying out of his hand and floating in front of him.

He pulled one wisp of Spirit Qi from his Qi Core, and the Spirit Qi started swirling around his body.

“Please leave, Imperial Advisor,” he said, his loose hair dancing in the wind.

On the wooden boat…

Lu Changkong furrowed his brows. But he wasn’t mad. He merely looked at the Imperial Advisor.

Luo Yue’s hand was gripping the long knife at his waist. Nie Changqing exuded terrible pressure. Even though Luo Yue was a First Tier martial arts practitioner, he almost couldn’t bear it, and was covered in a cold sweat.

Standing at the bow of the boat, the Imperial Advisor’s long gown danced and rustled in the wind, and his eyes were deep, yet cloudy.

“You’re a righteous man with a humble heart, who holds gratitude rather than grudges. You’ve got potential. What a shame Ping’an took you under his command first. Otherwise, I also would’ve loved to teach you a thing or two. Compared to Mo Tianyu, you have a better sense of humility.” The Imperial Advisor let out a sigh.

The expression on Nie Changqing’s face didn’t change. “The Young Master gave me a second chance at life. I will repay him with my loyalty. Forgive me, Imperial Advisor.”

Nie Changqing dashed into the air from the bouncing power of the deadwood.

He swung his arms.

The butcher knife, which was covered with Spirit Qi, suddenly struck down.

The knife’s invisible Qi formed a shadow on the lake, and the mist covering the lake dispersed, as if it were being chopped away by the shadow.

The water in the lake split apart, and white waves billowed like serpents and snaked their way to the wooden boat.

The Imperial Advisor, standing at the bow with his hands clasped behind his back, still had a calm and amiable expression on his face.

Even when faced with such a terrifying strike, his face didn’t change, as if what was coming was no more than a gentle wisp of wind.

Yet on the wooden luxury boat…

Lu Changkong and Luo Yue felt an incredible, immense pressure, and the water around them roared as if it were boiling.

Above them, thick Qi was gathering into a massive vortex above the boat.

“Gentlemen with such concentration, gentlemen with such noble attitude. Such gentlemen shall not be forgotten…”

His chants echoed on the lake. The Imperial Advisor, in his wide gown, had his hands clasped behind his back, and his white hair and beard were dancing in the wind.

With Righteousness Qi floating above him, the Imperial Advisor stared straight at Nie Changqing, unperturbed.

Nie Changqing’s butcher knife was dashing straight toward the Imperial Advisor.

The fish in the lake were terrified, and started swimming wildly. The knife’s strike split the water, and the knife’s Qi filled the air. It was so powerful that it made one’s flesh crawl.

The scene reminded Nie Changqing of when he defeated numerous Confucianists on Beiluo Lake with his knife.

This time, his knife’s target was the Philosopher of Confucianism.

Three feet from the wooden boat, however, the flying knife suddenly froze.

It was as if the whole world were filled with the Imperial Advisor’s soothing and soul-purifying chanting.

The Imperial Advisor didn’t have strong Qi and blood like Grandmasters. Neither did he have unpredictable and mysterious Spirit Qi cultivation…

Standing on the wooden boat, his thin figured looked vulnerable, as if he would be blown away by the wind at any moment.

He was just a regular person.

Yet Nie Changqing’s across-air knife-control technique couldn’t even strike in front of him.

The Righteousness Qi in the atmosphere was as powerful as a howling wind.

Nie Changqing’s face turned red from the pressure. The Imperial Advisor’s chanting wasn’t loud, but it pounded in Nie Changqing’s ears like the deafening ringing of bells.

Nie Changqing’s consciousness instantly lost control of the butcher knife.

The knife fell into the lake.

On the wooden boat…

The Imperial Advisor still had an amiable look on his face as he chanted with incredible fluency, his hands clasped behind his back.

Clouds of terrifying mist thickened, and the invisible Qi gained its form because of the Righteousness Qi.

It was currently pressing down on Nie Changqing, who fell into the lake under the pressure.

He felt as if he were under the Young Master’s Spirit Pressure.

Nie Changqing, who was now swimming in the lake, was totally soaked, and he gazed at the old man from afar in awe.

Lu Changkong and Luo Yue were in tremendous shock.

“This is the Philosophy-level power of the Philosopher of Confucianism.”

Effortless and non-aggressive, the move easily defeated a Sixth Resonance Grandmaster.

In the distance…

Someone’s dress, which was as white as snow, was dancing in the wind.

It was Ning Zhao. She was coming toward them on a lone narrow boat. She was graceful and gentle, her delicate hands at her waist.

“The Young Master said he was expecting a distinguished guest and sent me to welcome him. Welcome to the island, Imperial Advisor,” she said.

On the wooden boat…

The Righteousness Qi suddenly evaporated, and the blue sky reappeared, as if there’d just been a massive storm.

The Imperial Advisor burst out laughing as he stroked his beard.

“Changqing, follow Ping’an and continue learning from him. That old fart from Daoist is a lot less reasonable than I am,” the Imperial Advisor said.

The wooden boat then moved forward, splitting the water.

The lone boat carrying Ning Zhao stopped next to Nie Changqing, and Ning Zhao pulled him onto the boat. They then headed toward Beiluo Lake Island.

The thick mist faded away.

The wooden boat docked.

The Imperial Advisor got on the island with Lu Changkong’s help, and they stepped on the polished black stone paved road.

Lu Changkong and Luo Yue then glanced across the island.

Half of the peach blossoms that used to cover the island were gone, and had been replaced by ten enormous chrysanthemums. The building of Drunk Dust City remained, but it looked completely different. The style was now gracefully restrained and low-profile, with a hint of modest luxury.

The Imperial Advisor thoughtfully focused his deep eyes on the ten Heaven Facing Spiritual Chrysanthemums, a profound smile on his face.

In front of the building…

Lu Fan was sitting in the wheelchair, and was smiling at the Imperial Advisor. He was wearing a white gown and had a thin blanket across his legs.

The second floor of the building had a wooden patio.

Yi Yue was kneeling on the ground. Her head was bent over, which made her long hair fell forward, exposing her pretty neck. There was a look of concentration on her pretty face as she heated up a pot of wine and put green plums in it.

Ni Yu and Nie Shuang, who were leaning over the patio railing, curiously looked down below.

Lu Fan and the Imperial Advisor saw each other at the same time, and they met each other’s gaze.

Lu Fan was sitting in a wheelchair, and his white gown was dancing in the breeze. His features stood out on his face as if they were painted.

The corners of his mouth curled upward.

“Lu Ping’an, your student, now apologizes to the Imperial Advisor for Changqing’s rude behavior,” Lu Fan said with his hands clasped together.

The Imperial Advisor laughed, and his eyes flashed.

Boom!

Following the Imperial Advisor’s laughter…

The mist on the lake gathered and came toward them, as if forming a vast mountain that would fall on their heads at any moment.

Confucianist Righteousness Qi.

The Imperial Advisor had an amiable look on his face as he studied Lu Fan. He chanted slowly:

“Gentlemen with such clear jade on their ears, gentlemen with such gems on their crowns like stars.

“Such gentlemen shall not be forgotten…”

When he finished chanting…

The Righteousness Qi that filled the sky suddenly came down upon Lu Fan.

Faced with the horrifying pressure, Nie Changqing and Ning Zhao felt breathless.

Outside White Jade City…

Lu Fan had a faint smile on his face. He was enjoying the Righteousness Qi, as if it were merely a soft breeze.

He reached his hand out and picked up a black chess piece with his index finger and middle finger.

Faced with the Righteousness Qi filling the sky and the void in front of his eyes, he suddenly placed the chess piece down.

The black chess piece floated in the air after Lu Fan placed it down.

Waves of light blue Spirit Qi surrounded Lu Fan’s body.

The invisible Spirit Pressure was released.

Next to the Imperial Advisor, Lu Changkong and Luo Yue’s faces were red under the tremendous Spirit Pressure. They couldn’t help but keep retreating.

They were shocked and terrified.

They didn’t even dare to get close to the circle formed by the Imperial Advisor and Lu Fan’s power.

Lu Changkong, Nie Changqing, and the others were all so overwhelmed that they could only stare in awe.

This pretty much was a…

Philosopher level confrontation.