“We can’t have that!” Leng Jinghua’s heart sank even more. “If that happens, not only would we not have Lu Zhengjun on our side, we’d have him as an enemy. He might even plot to kill me!”

　　 “That’s right.” Lu Yurong nodded. “Hence, we need to ensure that Lu Guangdi can reach the Tide-listening Pavilion unharmed.”

　　 “Alright, thank God that you thought that far, Yurong. I was too careless.” Leng Jinghua was so shocked that he was drenched in cold sweat.

　　 If he went with his original plan and abandoned Lu Guangdi and anything happened to the kid, then everything might have backfired on them. He might have angered Lu Zhengjun and even become a target of the Green Deer Cliff.

　　 Lu Yurong smiled. “Uncle-in-law is in charge of formulating the overall plan, my job is just to fill in the gaps. If I couldn’t even do this, I wouldn’t be qualified for this job.”

　　 “Okay, okay.” Leng Jinghua felt relieved. If it was not for Lu Yurong, this whole issue would have caused him a lot of trouble. Although he had already become the Crown Prince, there were still people who would not give up, eagerly awaiting an opportunity, much less the power-hungry Tempest Temple.

　　 If the Tempest Temple disciples managed to assassinate Lu Guangdi, then the aftermath would be immense. This was a huge possibility. The Tempest Temple network was overbearingly widespread, they definitely would have noticed this opportunity.

　　 “Oh right.” Leng Jinghua asked, “Even Chu Li went to bid Young Lu farewell today. He even warned Young Lu to be cautious on the road. From the looks of it, it seems like he wanted to be on good terms with Young Li, what the hell is he up to?”

　　 Lu Yurong spat, “If I can think of it, then so can he. If Lu Guangdi dies, he’s the first on the hit list… But that’s strange, logically speaking, he shouldn’t be afraid of the Green Derr Cliff.”

　　 “Where did he get the guts to not fear the Green Derr Cliff?” Leng Jinghua asked.

　　 Lu Yurong continued, “Xiao Yuelin is a Green Deer Cliff disciple.”

　　 “Ugh.” Leng Jingua gulped.

　　 “If he was truly concerned about Lu Guangdi’s safety, why didn’t he personally escort him?” Lu Yurong continued.

　　 Leng Jinghua smiled, “He probably couldn’t change people’s perception of him. After all, Lu Guangdi was defeated by him, the kid’s cultivation was even crippled because of him… If he became Lu Guangdi’s escort, what would others think? It would undoubtedly look bad even for him.”

　　 “Yeah, that’s true.” Lu Yurong thought out loud.

　　 —

　　 As the sun fully set, Lu Guangdi sat next to the campfire warming himself up whilst he channeled his energy and meditated.

　　 He had always been constantly channeling his energy, but ever since his inner energy protection was lost, his body was excessive weakened. After journeying for the entire day, there was not a single part of his body that was not aching. It almost felt like this was a whole different body to him, as though he could not fully control it.

　　 Once the sun fully set, the surroundings suddenly turned cold.

　　 After trying to channel his energy for a short while, he still did not feel any progress. All he could do right now was to stick near the fire and keep his warmth. Without his cultivation, his body was once again sensitive to the temperature, he would be exceptionally bad with the cold and fatigue.

　　 His charming face sunk as he sat next to the campfire, he cursed Chu Li in his head.

　　 Regaining his cultivation was extremely difficult. Chu Li was cruel in their bout, not only did the guy cripple his cultivation, he even hurt his Meridian. Even if Lu Guangdi used Spirit Pills to heal it, there would still be some after-effects.

　　 If his body was in peak performance, just based on his physical attributes alone, he would have already managed to channel quite a bit of inner energy at this point. Even if it was not enough to fend off enemies, it was more than enough to protect himself from the cold. There would have been no need to sit next to a campfire just to keep warm.

　　 Suddenly, he pulled out the jade pendant he was given by Chu Li, preparing to just toss it into the campfire.

　　 The elder seated next to him hurriedly questioned, “Young Master Lu?”

　　 Lu Guangdi looked curiously at him.

　　 This elder was called Hu, he looked completely plain with no hint or aura of being a master. He took a good look at the jade pendant that Lu Guangdi was holding. “Young Master Lu, are you really going to toss this jade pendant?”

　　 “Yes.” Lu Guangdi spat, “It’s something given by that guy named Chu, there’s no way it could be anything good. It might even be something that will be used to harm me.”

　　 “I don’t think that’s the case.” Elder Hu shook his head. “If Chu Li wanted, he wouldn’t need to spend so much effort just to do so.”

　　 “This jade pendant is no ordinary item.” The other elder, Elder Xu, smiled as he chimed in, “I’ve heard the Chu Li does have quite a bit of mysterious power.”

　　 “I doubt he’s of good intentions!” Lu Guangdi spat.

　　 Elder Hu said, “Based on this old man’s assessment, I think you might’ve misunderstood him. Think about it, Young Master Lu, if anything bad happens to you when your esteemed father comes for vengeance, who would be the first on his list?”

　　 “I won’t have anything bad happen to me!” Lu Guangdi frowned.

　　 Elder Hu laughed. “All of us in the martial arts world live on the edge. No matter how good our skills were, no one would know that we can live till the next day, so we’re used to walking at the edge of life-or-death. If anything happens to you, Chu Li would be affected as well. Your esteemed father might cripple his cultivation or even take away his life!”

　　 Lu Guangdi suddenly smiled.

　　 Chu Li dying was the best possible outcome.

　　 Suddenly, an idea popped up in his mind. If Lu Zhengjun actually came to find him, he could use his father to deal with Chu Li. The two of them are b*stards anyway, it would be even better if they both mortally wound each other in their bout!

　　 Elder Xu added, “Hence, he does not wish any harm to befall upon Young Master Lu. When the time comes, he might even personally lend a hand and save you. This jade pendant might actually have such a use!”

　　 “Hmph! You can’t rely on him that much, I’d be happy enough if he doesn’t come and harm me!” Lu Guangdi frowned as he shrugged looking at the jade pendant. Then, he kept the pendant away once more.

　　 ‘This Chu Li really has his careless moments. Was he not afraid that I’ll prepare a trap before breaking the jade pendant and summoning him over? Is he that overconfident? Since he has opened himself up to such a glaring flaw, then I shouldn’t show any mercy. He can blame himself for all of this, blame himself for his own death!’

　　 As he smirked coldly, he felt ecstatic just thinking about his plan.

　　 “Tch! Tch! Tch! Tch!”

　　 Suddenly, a few loud screeches could be heard as ten silhouettes appeared from within the woods, all running towards the three around the campfire. Numerous rays of light suddenly enveloped the three of them, as the chilling lights started to flash.

　　 “F*cking hell!” Elder Xu spat out as he rushed in front of Lu Guangdi.

　　 On the other hand, Elder Hu charged forward, trying to block the ten assailants before they got to them.

　　 The two were extremely cautious, they did not choose to use anything flashy, but rather, something that gets the job done. Now that Lu Guangdi no longer had his cultivation, he could not even withstand a single hit. If they were even a bit careless, he could die on the spot.

　　 Elder Hu started waving his hands about as countless palm energy enveloped the area.

　　 The ten of them instantly split into two groups as they continued their assault. He could only stop half of them as the other five assailants charged straight towards Lu Guangdi, only to be halted by Elder Xu.

　　 Lu Guangdi was still stood next to the campfire, his clothing in disarray.

　　 The palm energy whipped up a strong gust, causing the campfire to start dancing wildly, causing his clothing to be buffeted loudly. The palm energy was strong enough to knock him off his feet. As his eyes glimmered, he felt a chill down his spine. He really wanted to just run off at this moment of time.

　　 Unfortunately for him, he no longer had his cultivation. He could only sit idly and await his demise. As the thought popped into his mind, his hatred for Chu Li raged once more. He would give anything to annihilate his nemesis right now!

　　 Although Elder Xu and Elder Hu looked as if they did not have any cultivation, at this point, they were unleashing top-level martial arts. They were easily able to suppress five assailants each, not allowing any of them to progress.

　　 These ten people might be strong, but they all paled in comparison with the abilities of Elder Hu and Elder Xu. The duo was originally quite cautious, but seeing how weak-looking their targets were, they finally let loose and started to go on the offense. They wanted to quickly deal with these ten ruffians, just in case another assassin came by.

　　 The ten were panting uncontrollably as they were being fully suppressed by the two elders. They were forced to slowly retreat, moving back near the woods.

　　 Lu Guangdi was initially quite scared, fearing for his life, but once he saw the two elders repelling the enemies, he suddenly sighed a breath of relief. Instantly, he was filled with insurmountable rage, having the urge to just wipe them off the face of this Earth.

　　 He showed in a low tone, “Elder Xu, Elder Hu, who are these people?”

　　 The duo merely shook their heads.

　　 The skills that the ten of them used were all over the place. Some used skills from the Tempest Temple and others the skills from the remaining sects. There was no way to tell who sent them. However, the fact still stood that these ten were masters in their own right, they were not just some simple mercenaries that any sect can gather.