Chapter 2166.1: Human Demon

And that wasn’t all of it!

Five more surges of goodwill appeared in the surroundings, though they weren’t as pronounced as what came from Yu Qianhua.

Bolstered by the additional sources, Lu Yun’s Hongmeng qi circulated at a faster speed and the dao character within his dantian blazed with light.

Boom!

A shackle seemed to snap in his mind as he ascended to latter first turn of the Seeing Dao chapter. He was now ninth level qi refinement!

Six combined forces of goodwill had propelled him into breaking through! Lu Yun made sure to keep his composure and ensure that no one could detect the abnormalities in his body.

The Nine Chapters of Dao were peculiar and close to nature. Although he couldn’t fully conceal his cultivation and return to his original state, he could fully hide the energy ripples caused by a breakthrough.

So while he’d broken through, Lu Yun’s expression remained the same as before. The only thing he felt was that this kind of cultivation via goodwill was very familiar—so familiar that he wanted to recover the sealed him right this second!

But.. he couldn’t.

“Useless flop?” Ouyang Shengxiang sneered at Lu Yun. “My brother is no useless flop compared to young master Lu Yun. So what if my second brother has destroyed this Yu Qianhua’s future? How many families have you destroyed?”

The crowd reacted with surprise when the girl named Lu Yun. Although Yu Qianhua had said young master Lu earlier, there were many Lu surnamed families in the city. However, there was only one who dared bicker with an Ouyang!

Despite the Ouyangs being gravely set back, having lost three nascent soul cultivators in one fell swoop, they were still a premier family of the nation.

When the crowd heard the name Lu Yun, they felt like they’d stepped into a large pile of fecal matter. They were so disgusted that they wanted to throw their shoes away.

“Hahaha!” Lu Yun rocked back and forth with laughter when he heard Ouyang Shengxiang. “To think that I, Lu Yun, would one day be considered on the same level as the second Ouyang young master! Hahahaha!!”

“Hmph!” Ouyang Shengxiang glowered. Lu Yun was indeed unfit to be mentioned in the same breath as her brother!

Ouyang Shenghe was renowned throughout the capital not only for his stunning potential, but also his upright character. He loved taking a stand for justice and was second only to the three gentlemen of Dusk City.

Those three gentlemen weren’t the likes of Lu Yun, Yu Shuai, and Zhao Chenguang. Rather, they were truly three gentlemen who were the leading figures of the empire’s younger generation. All of them were less than fifty years old, but they’d reached nascent soul and were the pillars of the next generation.

“I say, Miss Xiang, how is your third brother?” Lu Yun chuckled.

“Thanks to young master Lu, my third brother is very well.” Ouyang Shengxiang’s face darkened when she heard Lu Yun mention Ouyang Shengmu.

A sudden thought struck Lu Yun and he looked on with interest, but his mind was rapidly sorting through certain thoughts.

His random string of sarcasm had fully irritated Ouyang Shengxiang. She didn’t want to stay here any longer, especially as Lu Yun was known for being an absolutely shameless cad. How would a girl hold her own against him?

Thus, she spun on her heel and stalked off.

“Ai ai ai, I say Miss Xiang, we haven’t sorted out our marriage yet. Why don’t I find some time to pay a visit to my father-in-law?” Lu Yun called out when he saw the girl leave.

Ouyang Shengxiang glowered. Father-in-law? Her father? Ouyang Baitian? He’d just died yesterday! Lu Yun was picking at scabs while her family was still setting up for a funeral!

“If you continue this nonsense, Lu Yun, I won’t mind beating you unconscious for another three months!” Ouyang Shengxiang sniffed and quickly ran off. She wanted to teach Lu Yun a lesson, but she would come off worse in the exchange if she remained any longer.

She was here alone!

“Interesting.” Lu Yun narrowed his eyes as he looked at the girl’s departing back. Such a grave matter had happened to the Ouyang Clan and her father was dead, but she had the presence of mind to visit the northern quadrant?

There was no way she was here to commit good deeds or acts of service!

“Young master..” Yu Qianhua hesitated.

“Alright, that will be all. You guys can all go now.” Lu Yun waved off the cultivators around them and swiftly dispersed the crowd.

“Yu Qianhua, your potential’s not bad. You should follow me.” Lu Yun cocked his head at the man and smiled meaningfully.

Follow Lu Yun? Yu Qianhua’s expression shifted. One of the seven major families of the capital stood behind Lu Yun and their patriarch was the city’s strongest powerhouse, Lu Tianling. However, very few who followed by Lu Yun’s side met with a good end.

The young man’s guards were all golden core powerhouses, but they were either crippled or dead after a few days. The one next to him now seemed to be in fine fettle, but he’d probably be comatose or dead with another few days.

“And the five over there, stop hiding. Come on out.” Lu Yun was much more relaxed after breaking through and reaching latter first turn. He pointed in a certain direction, prompting five soldiers similar to Yu Qianhua to walk out with resignation.

They were all mid foundation establishment and had been greatly touched by the young master’s words. The city guard of the northern quadrant was almost exclusively staffed by those who’d offended nobility. There was nothing wrong with their character, so what Lu Yun had just said made them grateful to the young man.

“Greetings to young master Lu!” they chorused.

“You five and Yu Qianhua shall follow this young master in the future. I’ll show you the good life! It’ll be one hundred times better than staying in this forsaken place.” Lu Yun stuck his nose up in the air.

Yu Qianhua and his men looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

Lu Yun sneered and took out the Vermilion Bird command token again. “This general recruits you for the Vermilion Birds! What, do you want to defy its commander?”

“But, young ma—General Lu,” Yu Qianhua modified his honorific as he continued to look at Lu Yun. “This humble soldier is already part of the third major troop of the city guards and answers to Master Sun Shengsun’s banner..”

“Shengsun, huh,” Lu Yun nodded. “Just a mere commandant. Would he dare fight this general for men? It is his honor that this general wants some of his people!”

Yu Qianhua and the others paused, only now recalling that it was Marshal Lu Tianling behind the young man. He was the leader of the empire’s armies! Commandant Sun Shengsun did indeed not count for much compared to this one.

“Alright, take off your city guard uniforms. They’re so ugly—do you really think it’s acceptable to walk around in public wearing those?” Lu Yun curled his lip at the black armor on the six.

The armor was made from ordinary refined iron and etched with a few defensive runes. They would be treasures in a world of mortals, but were trash to cultivators.

Yu Qianhua and his men had no other choice; they had to obey Lu Yun’s orders. Everyone knew that the greatest scourge of Dusk City was an eccentric fellow. He might be smiling one second and drawing his sword on the audience the next.

Thus, the six men took off their armor and stood helplessly next to Lu Yun.

Some of the cultivators peeping from the shadows found this incredulous. The mighty city guards had taken off their uniforms and joined this young master, just like that?

It was unbelievable!

“General, if the six of us are gone, then the safety of the northern quadrant..” Yu Qianhua asked carefully.

“The safety of the northern quadrant?” Lu Yun’s lip curl deepened. “What does that have to do with me?”

His newest subordinates looked wryly at each other. It appeared that the rumors were true—young master Lu was an absolutely lawless good-for-nothing who never thought about the consequences.

“Enough, enough, don’t think so highly of yourselves,” Lu Yun harrumphed. “Dusk City will not fall to enemies without you and Sun Shengsun will send someone else here tomorrow.”

He waved them off and sauntered toward an alley.

Lan’er and Lu Xuan were used to his antics, so they followed close behind their young master. It would be weird if Lu Yun had a sudden change of heart and actually cared about the livelihood of the people.

Yu Qianhua and the other five sighed. They were in for it now. Not only did they have to be this young master’s cannon fodder, but they would go down in history as infamous characters. They’d thought that being assigned to the northern quadrant was suffering enough, but now they realized their previous life had been a slice of paradise.