Chapter 41: Sea Beasts Attack the City, Alerting the Enemy

Bringing his pets home, Luo Zhou didn't feel like going to the Dao Academy today.

Although that Immortal Master Zhang from yesterday had helped him break through the bottleneck of the Ocean-Tossing Fist, Luo Zhou had no desire to go near him.

He had no idea what kind of cultivation level or strength Immortal Master Zhang actually possessed; the man always gave off an eerie and terrifying aura.

However, just as he arrived home, a servant came knocking, saying that Dean Zhao of the Dao Academy wanted to see him.

After settling his pets, Luo Zhou had no choice but to head to the academy.

Upon entering the Dean's office, he found that Immortal Master Zhang was already there.

Soon, Tang Moli and Yuan Qiuyun arrived as well.

Dean Zhao looked toward Immortal Master Zhang and spoke slowly

"Youzhi, you specifically inspected these three children yesterday. There are no issues, right?"

"They are all good children. No issues at all!"

Luo Zhou let out a long sigh of relief. His True Qi hadn't been wasted; it was worth it!

Dean Zhao continued, "They are my most prized disciples of this term. I leave them in your hands!"

Having said that, he looked at the three of them and said

"This is Immortal Master Zhang Youzhi, from the Demon Suppression Academy of the Heaven and Earth Dao Sect. You are all to listen to him. Serving him will bring you benefits!"

Under Dean Zhao's watchful gaze, the three nodded in succession.

With that, Dean Zhao left the office, entrusting the matter to Zhang Youzhi.

Zhang Youzhi looked at the three with a smile and said

"I am here on orders from the Sect. Follow my commands and work for me, and there will be heavy rewards. Once the Ascension Ceremony concludes, if you fail to ascend the Heavenly Ladder, I can arrange for you to take positions in the Imperial Capital of the Liang Kingdom!"

"Any government office, any suitable position—you may choose freely!"

Luo Zhou didn't quite understand the implication of those words, but Tang Moli and Yuan Qiuyun's eyes turned blue with excitement, and their breathing grew heavy.

After the Ascension Ceremony, if they failed to enter the Sect via the Heavenly Ladder, they would simply return to their respective hometowns. But being able to choose any suitable position in any government office in the Imperial Capital was practically a leap to heaven.

"Furthermore, I promise that once the task is accomplished, each of you will be rewarded with a Divine Ability of your choice!"

Luo Zhou's eyes also turned blue. He couldn't help but ask

"We can choose the Divine Ability ourselves?"

Zhang Youzhi said proudly

"My Heaven and Earth Dao Sect enters divinity through Law, mastering the Nine Paths of Immortal Bone and Divine Cluster! Among our many Divine Abilities and myriad supernatural powers, you may choose whatever you desire!"

Tang Moli immediately shouted, "Immortal Master, whatever you need, just command! Tang Moli is at your service, even unto death!"

Luo Zhou followed suit, shouting to show his loyalty.

Zhang Youzhi nodded and said

"Then let us begin. The first task: report any anomalies! In our Dao Academy, Class One has twelve students, Class Two has sixteen, and Class Three has thirty-three. If anyone feels there is an anomaly or something that defies common logic, speak now!"

*Is he trying to mobilize the masses to find the Jellyfish Holy Son?*

Tang Moli thought for a moment and said, "Li Zexi from Class One definitely has problems. He doesn't interact with anyone all day, just pretends to read a tattered book. There's definitely something wrong with him!"

"Qiumuye from Class One also has issues. His family went bankrupt, yet he still acts like a big spender in class. Where does his money come from?"

"Li Zhongliang from Class One also has problems. His progress has been too fast lately—breaking through two realms in three months without being seen consuming any medicinal pills. There must be something wrong!"

"Liu Ying from Class One also has problems..."

*This guy is such a dog,* Luo Zhou thought. In Tang Moli's mouth, every single classmate was problematic.

Moreover, he could list so many; his ability, "Slight Insight," was likely a form of observation that allowed him to notice so much.

As Tang Moli continued, it became clear that everyone in Class One except for himself and Yuan Qiuyun was "problematic."

After finishing with Class One, he moved on to Class Two, critiquing them one by one; at least ninety percent of them had "issues."

When he reached Class Three, there was basically no student he didn't know about.

*This bastard spends almost every day observing his classmates!*

Finally, he glanced at Luo Zhou and said through gritted teeth

"Luo Zhou has problems too! His parents died early; I don't believe a word about any inheritance. Immortal Master, if you investigate, you'll find out! What 'heroic games'? He's an orphan; before his awakening, he could barely afford food, so he should be extremely frugal. Yet after awakening, he scatters money like flowing water, treating people to porridge all day long. He must have an ulterior motive."

This bastard bit everyone, and even Luo Zhou was not spared.

Luo Zhou said with a smile, "No matter how I am, I am still better than certain people who hide their cultivation realms and Divine Abilities. You even hide things from the teacher. 'Heavenly Decree of Forgiveness'—what kind of Divine Ability is that? Immortal Master, do you know?"

Tang Moli's expression instantly soured. "How do you know that? What right do you have to know?"

"If you don't want people to know, don't do it. You think the teacher doesn't know!"

The two began to argue, and no matter how much Yuan Qiuyun tried to mediate, she couldn't stop them.

Zhang Youzhi listened with a smile, then said

"Alright, that is enough for today."

"I have a basic understanding of everyone now. Very good! Today, we will focus on ten people: Qiumuye from Class One, Li Zhongliang from Class One, Xu Liang from Class Two, Liu Chunyu from Class Two, Zuo Sanguang from Class Three... You three, cooperate with me. Create an opportunity for me, as long as I can touch the target."

Luo Zhou frowned. Zuo Sanguang was actually on the first list of names to be checked.

But there was nothing to be said; he might as well help. If Zuo Sanguang really was the Jellyfish Holy Son, there was nothing he could do. *Let him die! Once he's dead, I'll bury him myself; we were classmates, after all.*

The three went out to search and soon found Qiumuye from Class One.

Yuan Qiuyun immediately called out, "Qiumuye, come over and help us."

Not knowing what was happening, Qiumuye walked over and asked, "What's going on?"

*Looks like a simp; he seems to have a crush on Yuan Qiuyun!*

"Tang Moli needs someone to assist him in practicing a spell! Come lend a hand."

Qiumuye didn't suspect anything and came over to help, grabbing Tang Moli's hand.

This was a normal occurrence during cultivation—sometimes one needs a hand. Luo Zhou also adopted a posture of coming to help, so Qiumuye's attention remained on Yuan Qiuyun.

Zhang Youzhi approached silently. Appearing to be helping, he lightly touched Qiumuye.

He possessed a mysterious magical ability that caused almost everyone to ignore his presence or treat him as an ordinary friend.

After a dozen breaths, Zhang Youzhi shook his head. This wasn't him.

The group began searching for the next person.

Since all ten were in the training grounds, it was no wonder Zhang Youzhi called their names.

They checked one by one, and soon it was Zuo Sanguang's turn.

Luo Zhou called him over.

"Brother Luo, what's up? Playing a game?"

Luo Zhou's eyes darted around as he said, "Exactly. Come, you play the victim. Tang Moli, you play the villain—grab him by the neck—and I'll come to the rescue!"

He didn't follow the old routine of practicing cultivation; he came up with something original.

"Brother Luo, you're such a newbie. Tang Moli from Class One—I know him, he's known for his keen observation."

Tang Moli was speechless but could only cooperate, reaching out to grab Zuo Sanguang's neck.

Zuo Sanguang began to cry for help, and Zhang Youzhi took the opportunity to approach and touch him.

"Help! They're grabbing my neck! They're trying to strangle me!"

Zuo Sanguang was still as energetic as ever, his soul crying out for help.

Luo Zhou frowned. It was just Tang Moli; Zhang Youzhi was basically invisible. Why did the cry include "they"?

*Did this kid sense Zhang Youzhi?*

Luo Zhou let out a roar

"Stop bullying people! Watch me perform an act of justice! Those who bully others must be punished!"

These were lines from the old storytelling tales of *The Legend of the Three Heroes and Five Gallants*, and Luo Zhou imitated them perfectly.

After speaking, he made a motion to push Tang Moli away, intentionally shifting his body so that he bumped into Zhang Youzhi.

It was just a light bump, but it was "punishing evil"!

Then he pushed Tang Moli hard. Tang Moli, being pushed, let go of Zuo Sanguang and pushed Luo Zhou back.

The kid was incredibly strong, not at all weaker than Luo Zhou. Luo Zhou immediately retaliated.

The two began shoving each other.

Zhang Youzhi shook his head and said, "Stop playing around. He isn't it either!"

Luo Zhou quietly slipped ten Spirit Fragments to Zuo Sanguang. Zuo Sanguang then ran off with a coy, almost feminine giggle.

Zuo Sanguang was good at everything, but for some reason, the more one looked at him, the more "girly" he seemed, occasionally making a "orchid finger" gesture. He seemed to have grown up a bit crooked.

Tang Moli said, "Luo Zhou, although I don't know what you're actually doing, that just now was definitely suspicious!"

*This bastard is starting again!*

Luo Zhou replied, "That's right, I was absorbing your Yang energy!"

"Nonsense!"

With the inspection of the ten people finished, Zhang Youzhi said

"That's all for the ten this morning. We will continue in the afternoon."

*Fine, let's continue then.*

In the afternoon, another ten were inspected. Luo Zhou noticed that Zhang Youzhi could only check ten people at a time.

With sixty-one people in total, at twenty per day, it would take three days to finish.

However, Zhang Youzhi stated, "Each person must be inspected three times consecutively. You three must do the same!"

Luo Zhou was speechless, but thinking about the reward, he realized this was a worker's nightmare. *I'll just endure it.*

However, Luo Zhou held little hope for Zhang Youzhi's inspections. If it were that easy to find the Holy Son, he would have been discovered long ago.

After toiling until evening, Luo Zhou headed home.

Just as he was about to return to the residential district, he suddenly noticed many people around him were staring into the distance.

Each of them wore a look of terror, and some were whispering among themselves.

Luo Zhou looked toward the east of the city. Above the boundless sea, rolling clouds of colored light surged like fish scales.

Luo Zhou was also greatly shocked. He had seen this scene five years ago!

Back then, he had been surprised and remarked on how beautiful the sunset was, while only his parents were incredibly solemn.

Then came the outbreak of the sea beast invasion, the siege of the city, and the street fighting. His parents had died defending the city!

It was said that this was the precursor to a sea beast invasion, known as the "Fish-Scale Crimson Clouds"!

But it had only been five years. How could the sea beasts be invading again?

Suddenly, Luo Zhou remembered a sentence Liu Changlong had said before he died

"Five years ago, when trouble broke out on your side, I had no choice but to trigger the sea beast siege to create chaos, so that your Protector could erase all traces!"

The Jellyfish Heavenly Palace and the Great Spirit Sect controlled thousands of water spirits in the seas.

They had established ancient pacts with countless sea clans, allowing them to imprison sea races and command sea beasts to attack cities and ravage the human world.

Zhang Youzhi didn't care about the results of the inspections; he had only one goal: to flush the snake out!

And now, the snake had moved!