Lake Island, Beiluo.

Lu Fan could not help but frown.

The calamity was over.

Peace had been restored. There was nothing abnormal as if everything went back the way it had been—thriving, beautiful, and harmonious.

However…

That was exactly what felt weird.

His hair blowing in the wind, Lu Fan looked up at the sky, as if he could look through the sky and see the Origin of the plane over the nine clouds.

“Did he fail?”

“If he succeeded, the Origin of the plane should have changed and given its feedback.”

Going through a Thunder Calamity was not unrewarded. In Wudi City, that number one spear user in the world went so mad when the last Thunder Calamity had been stolen because he lost the reward of going through the Thunder Calamity.

Lu Fan seemed to be pondering.

Most importantly, if Kong Nanfei had gone through Thunder Calamity and become a cultivator in the Heavenly Lock Realm…

It was impossible that Lu Fan had sensed nothing.

It was impossible that the system had sensed nothing.

The current Wuhuang Continent had reached the extreme limit of a Low Level Martial World could reach. It was only one step away from becoming a Middle Level Martial World.

And cultivators in the Heavenly Lock Realm were needed to finish this step.

If a cultivator in the Heavenly Lock Realm were born, the system would absolutely pop up a prompt and give its feedback.

And Wuhuang Continent would upgrade to a Middle Level Martial World from a Low Level Martial World!

Therefore, apparently, Kong Nanfei did not go through this Thunder Calamity successfully.

He failed.

But he survived.

And that definitely confused Lu Fan.

“Is he being protected by someone?”

Lu Fan frowned.

However, Lu Fan was relieved that Kong Nanfei was not dead.

The Master died on the battlefield. If Kong Nanfei were killed by the Thunder Calamity…

Confucianism would become an empty shell.

All of a sudden…

Something occurred to Lu Fan. He shifted his eyes and looked into the distance. Then he showed a weird and interesting facial expression…

He seemed to figure out the reason Kong Nanfei did not die.

******

West Mountain, Beiluo.

As soon as the Thunder Calamity was over, the Overlord was the first to come to himself.

And then Nie Changqing came to himself too.

They ran up to Kong Nanfei like two ghosts, kicking up a lot of snow.

The frightening remnant power of the Heavenly Thunders still remained in the black melted snow.

“He isn’t dead,” the Overlord said.

He sensed Kong Nanfei’s heartbeat when he had been close to the latter.

“But he hasn’t broken through to the Heavenly Lock Realm. There is no transformation,” the Overlord added.

Looking at Kong Nanfei, the Overlord felt a little sorry for the man, but then he looked kind of excited, determined to fight.

He still had the chance of becoming the first cultivator to broken through to the Heavenly Lock!

Soon enough, Meng Haoran arrived and joined the two other cultivators. Looking at Kong Nanfei, burned black and steaming and looking extremely weak, he was terrified.

“Master!” Meng Haoran called with fear. He was at a loss.

At this moment, Lu Changkong arrived too. Frowning, he said, “He is heavily injured. The Spirit Qi in his Qi Core had almost been consumed. It seems his five organs will explode anytime…”

“It’s a miracle that he is still alive,” Lu Changkong said seriously.

The other cultivators around also showed a terrified look.

The Heavenly Lock Realm was more powerful than the Golden Elixir Realm. It was a realm more difficult to achieve, and it was no joke.

As strong as Kong Nanfei—the Mr. Kong who could turn a torrent of words into a long river of Righteousness Qi—he was still almost killed by those thunders and lightning.

If it were others, they absolutely would have been dead.

“It’s highly risky to break through to the Heavenly Lock Realm!” one cultivator seriously said.

Some pretentious cultivators who had the intention of taking the way of Heavenly Lock started to feel scared. They were even thinking about giving up.

Well, maybe they should try to achieve the Golden Elixir Realm instead.

But Ning Zhao, Nie Changqing, the Overlord, and some of the others were not among them.

Kong Nanfei was actually very strong. Given sufficient time to master his force and consolidate his strength, he would succeed.

Unfortunately…

Kong Nanfei was too impatient.

He was excessively eager to prove himself.

“Although he failed, Mr. Kong did shock us greatly. And that is unforgettable. That courage and braveness to face the Thunder Calamity, that is what we cultivators should learn and promote,” Lv Dongxuan said.

The cultivators there were all lost in each of their own thoughts.

Ni Yu took out a Gathering Qi Elixir from her cloth satchel and gave it to Meng Haoran.

She told him to feed Kong Nanfei with it.

The elixir might be unable to save Kong Nanfei, but the Spirit Qi from it could help Kong Nanfei recover his self-healing ability.

Every cultivator possessed self-healing ability, especially those in the Internal Organs Realm.

As long as the Spirit Qi was not used up, cultivators would recover on their own.

Of course, injuries like amputation of limbs could not be cured through self-healing.

After feeding Kong Nanfei with the elixir, Meng Haoran ran to Lake Island, carrying Kong Nanfei on his back.

He knew Lu Fan was the only person who could save Kong Nanfei.

Watching Meng Haoran running away, carrying Kong Nanfei on his back, Lu Changkong let out a sigh.

It was really beyond anticipation that it ended up like this.

“Is it really so difficult to achieve Heavenly Lock?”

Lu Changkong was in a trance.

He recalled the third Thunder Calamity.

If he were in Kong Nanfei’s position, would he be able to resist it?

He did not think so.

He would not be able to resist it…

Not only Lu Changkong but also Ning Zhao, Nie Changqing, the Overlord, and the others all asked themselves this question.

And none of them thought they could resist it.

Even the Overlord, who had been given so many good beatings, had to admit he could not resist it.

The third Thunder Calamity would probably destroy his body and demolish all of his internal organs that he had just refined.

“I can’t resist it now, but when I evolve elemental Spirit Qi, I will absolutely be able to resist it!”

The Overlord looked determined.

He would absolutely become the first cultivator to break through to the Heavenly Lock Realm.

The Overlord took a deep breath and shifted his eyes to the Trial Pagoda.

He really wanted to go into the pagoda to train himself and go beyond his limits.

However…

He and Lu Fan had made a deal. He had a more important thing to do.

The Overlord lifted his head and looked around.

Tantai Xuan had been gone.

Apparently, Tantai Xuan thought if the Overlord had left first, the situation would be unfavorable for him, so he left early.

The Overlord curled his lip.

He looked at Beiluo Lake and the Trial Pagoda behind him. Then he left. His giant body moved down West Mountain right away.

******

Outside of Beiluo City.

A coachman was whipping the horse drawing the carriage so that the carriage would go at high speed. The wheels left two tracks on the snow ground.

Tantai Xuan, sitting in the carriage, was feeling a little uneasy.

“Hurry up…” he said to the coachman.

“Yes.” The coachman nodded immediately, whipping the horse with effort.

Xuanwu Guards were riding horses on both sides of the coach to protect him. They went out of Beiluo City toward Yuanchi City.

In the carriage, Tantai Xuan showed a grave face.

He had thought he had overestimated the cultivators’ fighting power. However, when he had seen Kong Nanfei, a mortal man, turn a torrent of words into a long river of Righteousness Qi to resist the power of heaven, he found he had actually underestimated cultivators.

This made him surer about the idea of building the Great Xuan Dynasty Academy.

Boom!

All of a sudden…

Fast clip-clops of horses trotting could be heard.

Tantai Xuan slightly turned pale.

He heard horses neighing and Xuanwu Guards unsheathing their weapons, with their Qi and blood bursting forth.

The carriage came to a sudden stop.

Tantai Xuan lifted the curtain and saw a tall black horse in his way before the carriage. A giant man was sitting straight on the black horse.

“Overlord!”

Tantai Xuan’s pupils shrank.

He left early, but the Overlord still caught up with him.

What was he up to?

Tantai Xuan felt extremely threatened at this moment.

He panicked, but he had to keep his cool.

Tantai Xuan lifted the curtain and walked out slowly. Standing on the carriage and holding bamboo slits in hand, he gazed at the Overlord, who had stopped the carriage calmly.

“Lord of Western Liang stopped my carriage… Are you going to kill me here?” Tantai Xuan said as he looked at the Overlord profoundly.

“Don’t forget that we just made a bet in the presence of Ping’an,” Tantai Xuan added.

He hoped he could intimidate the Overlord by mentioning Lu Fan.

Xuanwu Guards pointed their knives at the Overlord, who was sitting on the black horse’s back.

However, the Overlord did not take offense.

These Xuanwu Guards were just some average cultivators in Qi Core Realm. The Overlord could get rid of them easily.

If he wanted to kill Tantai Xuan, these Xuanwu Guards would not be able to stop him.

“Don’t worry. If I’m going to kill you, I’ll eliminate the Great Xuan first. Then I’ll kill you.”

“Xiang Shaoyun is disdainful of surprise attacks. I won’t do it,” the Overlord said.

The Overlord’s reply relieved Tantai Xuan.

He did not doubt the Overlord.

Tantai Xuan believed the Overlord was a righteous man. Since he had claimed he was not going to kill Tantai Xuan, the Lord of Beixuan was absolutely safe at this moment.

“So why did the Lord of Western Liang stop my carriage?” Tantai Xuan asked, squinting his eyes.

The Overlord rode his horse to approach Tantai Xuan’s carriage. The black horse neighed. Xuanwu Guards were stressed by this move of his.

In the face of the legendary Overlord, how could they not be stressed?

They saw the Overlord take out that half Imperial Dragon Seal from his pocket and throw it to Tantai Xuan.

Tantai Xuan took it without thinking.

“Take it. This seal is yours, though it won’t be yours forever. I will grab your four-and-a-half-feet-long Dragon Qi little by little!”

The Overlord burst out laughing.

The next second, he pulled the reins hard. His horse neighed and kicked up the snow on the ground. The black horse, with the Overlord riding on its back, turned into a black ray of light. It ran into the distance at top speed.

Xuanwu Guards did not let their guard down.

Looking at the Imperial Dragon Seal in his hand while still standing on the carriage, Tantai Xuan breathed out slowly.

“Grabbing my Dragon Qi little by little?”

“You let go of me today… This might be the biggest mistake you’ve made in your life.”

“Next time you want to kill me, it won’t be so easy!” Tantai Xuan said as if he somewhat swore while grasping the Imperial Dragon Seal in his hand tightly.

“Go back to Yuanchi!”

Tantai Xuan went back inside the carriage. While comfortably sitting inside, a voice, neither happy nor angry, came.

******

Riding the black horse, the Overlord headed for the capital city at high speed.

His hair was stirred by the cold wind.

“One year.”

Overlord’s eyes were shining.

“Lu Ping’an, do you think highly of the Great Xuan Dynasty Academy? Otherwise… Such a bet wouldn’t even have existed.”

Overlord was clear-minded.

It was because Lu Fan approved of the idea that he made them bet so that Tantai Xuan would be pressured and motivated.

“How can cultivators trained by an academy be compared to cultivators trained by an army that went through hundreds of battles… Lu Ping’an, you approve of the idea of academy, but I just don’t buy it!”

“That being said… To establish the academy, Tantai Xuan has to stay alive first!”

The black horse, with the Overlord on its back, was as fast as a bolt of black lightning. It disappeared on the plain covered with snow very quickly.

******

Beiluo.

Lake Island.

Before the Master’s grave in the black bamboo forest…

Mo Tianyu, with a pale face, got a nosebleed. Lying on the snow ground on his back, he felt his head was very heavy.

At this moment, heavy snow was falling. Snowflakes fell on his face, giving him a cold feeling.

Mo Tianyu was dumbstricken. He had no idea what had happened.

He made an effort to lift his hand. He intended to run his hand through his wild hair, which he was always proud of, but he found a lot of his hair fell out.

Mo Tianyu’s pale face was even paler…

What on earth happened to him?!

Why did he get a nosebleed all of a sudden?

A nosebleed was not too bad, but why did he suddenly lose a lot of hair?

He fixed his eyes on the three copper coins on the snow ground.

Was it because of this hexagram?

That was the only possibility.

Mo Tianyu’s pale face became a little rosy.

Did he…

Was his fortune-telling wrong again?!

At this moment, on Beiluo Lake.

Pushing the boat with a pole, Meng Haoran arrived at Lake Island. He took Kong Nanfei, who was on the brink of dying, onto the island.

“Young Master Lu!”

Meng Haoran sounded he was crying.

On the second floor of White Jade City Pavilion.

Lu Fan was leaning on the back of the Thousand Blades Chair. His clothes were as white as snow. With a white cloak covering his body, his hair was blowing in the cold wind.

He saw Mo Tianyu lying on his back with a pale face in front of the Master’s grave.

“The hexagram of great curse saved Kong Nanfei…”

Lu Fan had never paid any attention to Mo Tianyu’s fortune-telling, but since the rejuvenation of Spirit Qi and the formation of the Origin of the plane, Mo Tianyu’s hexagrams seemed to have received an incredible power…

He even helped Kong Nanfei at the last minute. He kind of bore the pressure from the Thunder Calamity with Kong Nanfei together.

Kong Nanfei got a great curse indeed in the face of Double Thunder Calamity, but it would be a truly great curse if he were dead… Since he was not, it was actually a great fortune.

Lu Fan was a little speechless.

He suddenly felt Mo Tianyu was an excellent man.

However, for this hexagram that almost changed Kong Nanfei’s fate against heaven’s will, Mo Tianyu had to pay the price.

As to what the price was, Mo Tianyu was experiencing it right at this moment.

Did Mo Tianyu take the wrong way?

Lu Fan had no idea.

Although Mo Tianyu did not become an excellent cultivator, he really started something unusual on the way of hexagram that he insisted on taking.

It was kind of a fault on the right side.

Lu Fan smiled.

He lifted his hand and caught a snowflake between his long fingers.

In the next second…

The Thousand Blades Chair left a faint electric arc where he had been.

And he vanished.

When he had shown up again, he was before White Jade City Pavilion. He flicked his fingers.

A wisp of Spirit Qi pierced into Kong Nanfei’s body.

Led by this wisp of Spirit Qi, the chaotic Spirit Qi in Kong Nanfei’s body became orderly again. It started to flow through his meridians to cure his injuries.

But it would take some time.

“His Spirit Qi has started to heal his injuries. He will be fine.”

“He is still in a coma because he is too agitated.”

“Tell him to come and see me when he is awake,” Lu Fan said to Meng Haoran, who was totally panicked.

Then his wheelchair moved on the snow ground slowly toward the black bamboo forest.

Sitting on the snow ground, Mo Tianyu looked extremely pale…

Staring at the three copper coins, he was at a loss.

Suddenly, he heard something creaking across the snow.

Mo Tianyu looked up automatically and saw it was Lu Fan in his Thousand Blades Chair.

Looking at Mo Tianyu, Lu Fan waved his hand.

The three copper coins showed up in his hand then.

The three copper coins were full of cracks. It looked they would fall apart soon.

But Lu Fan closed his fist with the three copper coins in it. When he opened his palm again, the three copper coins looked new once more, and they seemed even more unique. They were even giving off a faint Spirit Qi.

These three copper coins had been transformed into Spirit Tools!

Mo Tianyu was stunned.

Lu Fan gave the three copper coins back to him.

“Here you are…”

“You like to tell fortune, don’t you?”

“From now on…”

“Just do it.”

…