Lu Yurong was stunned, but she smiled and asked, "Uncle-in-law, do you plan on showing him a glimpse of your true power?"
"What do you think?" Leng Jinghua retorted.
Lu Yurong frantically nodded and said, "That's great, but… He's the Head Chief of King An's Imperial Residence, so you'll definitely involve King An when you deal with Chu Li. This will be harmful to your heroic name because it'll seem as though you're bullying the weak."
Lu Yurong felt extremely resentful and she wanted to ruin Chu Li's impressive reputation long ago because she never benefited from associating with him. Her heart was filled with joy, and she was very eager to stir up some trouble for Chu Li.
"Yes," Leng Jinghua muttered while nodding, "but let's talk about something else for now. What are we going to do about Lu Guangdi?"
"What do you mean, uncle-in-law?" Lu Yurong said, "Are you going to let him stay?"
"Yes," Leng Jinghua mumbled. "His father is an important person."
"Which Elder is he?" Lu Yurong said, "He must be an extraordinary Elder if you think so highly of him, uncle-in-law."
"He was a disciple of Green Deer Cliff who left the mountain more than a hundred years ago," Leng Jinghua said. "I don't think you've heard of him."
Lu Yurong asked, "Uncle-in-law, are you talking about Lu Zhengjun?"
Leng Jinghua smiled and asked, "Do you know him?"
"Yes, I've heard of the famous Lu Zhengjun," Lu Yurong said before she shook her head, "but it had never crossed my mind that he was Lu Guangdi's father. No wonder he's a genius with such innate talent. It's unfortunate that he failed to achieve great things due to his terrible attitude."
Leng Jinghua nodded and said, "It's certainly rare to find someone in Tide-listening Pavilion who managed to reach that stage of cultivation. However, he still lacks experience and it's inevitable that he would be arrogant when he surpassed everyone else in Tide-listening Pavilion."
"Uncle-in-law, you're planning to involve Lu Zhengjun, but that will be difficult!" Lu Yurong frowned and said, "An ambitious and proud person like him would never attach himself to the royal court. Furthermore, it will be troublesome to draw him over because an eccentric person like him does things unpredictably."
Leng Jinghua said, "Green Deer Cliff is filled with insiders' information. We can suppress the Tempest Temple if we manage to draw them over."
As the Tempest Temple was a sore point and a source of anxiety for every Emperor, they were constantly devoting themselves to trying every possible way to attack the Tempest Temple and weaken them.
"I'm afraid that Green Deer Cliff might be too scared to go against the Tempest Temple." Lu Yurong shook her head. "Uncle-in-law, I don't think your plan will work. Lu Guangdi and Chu Li made a bet in front of a crowd that the loser would have to leave Fairy's Capital forever."
"I'll give an order to force Lu Guangdi to stay, and he can't decline because he's a Protector of the Crown Prince's Residence." Leng Jinghua scoffed. "Chu Li can't argue with that."
"But I'm worried that other people may have something to say about it." Lu Yurong sighed.
Obviously, she was eagerly waiting for Lu Guangdi to hurry up and leave because he was an eyesore to her.
However, she realized that it would be difficult for her wish to come true when she discovered that Lu Guangdi's father was Lu Zhengjun, a man whose status was highly regarded.
Lu Zhengjun's status a hundred years ago was equivalent to Chu Li's current status. Lu Zhengjun used to show off occasionally because he was the youth champion whom nobody else could surpass.
Unfortunately, he was defeated during the final round by one of the Tempest Temple's young disciples at that time. He retired into the mountains when he lost his chance to become an Enlightened Master.
Nobody could imagine that Lu Zhengjun's brazen natural instincts would remain unchanged when he retired into the mountains in a dejected state. He ended up having an illegitimate child.
Leng Jinghua said, "We shouldn't worry about the remarks of outsiders. As long as we manage to draw Lu Zhengjun over, he'll definitely handle the Tempest Temple for us."
Lu Yurong gently nodded.
Lu Zhengjun definitely resented the Tempest Temple because they were exact opposites. He also held a strong grudge against the Tempest Temple because they stole his chance to become an Enlightened Master. Lu Zhengjun would never miss an opportunity to cause trouble for the Tempest Temple.
Leng Jinghua said, "Go and speak to Chu Li to prevent him from stubbornly holding a grudge."
"Uncle-in-law, we shouldn't waste our time. It's useless to speak to him because he will never agree," Lu Yurong said.
"Isn't he even going to show me the slightest bit of respect?" Leng Jinghua frowned and asked.
Lu Yurong answered, "Uncle-in-law, have you forgotten how he was assigned to the Imperial Mausoleum in the beginning?"
Nobody dared to violate the Emperor's orders, not even the crown prince.
"Haha…" Leng Jinghua laughed in spite of himself before he shook his head and said, "It's rare to find someone like him who refuses to submit to threats but firmly carries out his orders in a graceful manner."
Lu Yurong asked, "Uncle-in-law, how are you going to keep him in check?"
"I don't have to do anything." Leng Jinghua said, "Naturally, someone else will teach him a lesson."
"Lu Zhengjun?"
Leng Jinghua slowly said, "Lu Guangdi was out of line, but Lu Zhengjun would never allow an outsider to rebuke his son due to his arrogance. Lu Zhengjun will definitely punish Chu Li severely because of that."
Lu Yurong hesitated before she said, "I'm afraid that things may not go according to plan for Lu Zhengjun."
Leng Jinghua glanced at her.
Lu Yurong said, "Chu Li's current cultivation level is unbelievably advanced. After Lu Guangdi underwent Isolated Cultivation this time, his cultivation level vastly improved and he even surpassed me, but he was still powerless against Chu Li."
Leng Jinghua lowered his voice and said, "Chu Li is amazing for someone who underwent self-cultivation for such a short span of time. However, Lu Zhengjun has been a top-notch master for a hundred years!"
Lu Yurong did not argue with him. She noticed that the temperament of her uncle-in-law had changed ever since he succeeded the throne as the crown prince. Leng Jinghua refused to listen to other people's advice if it sounded unpleasant. Lu Yurong would insist on making her opinions heard in the past, but she stopped doing that now.
Leng Jinghua said, "We can't rely on Lu Zhengjun to stop Chu Li because this is an urgent matter that requires more than a slow remedy… The best solution would be to force Chu Li to leave Fairy's Capital."
"Uncle-in-law, are you worried about King Ping?"
"How could I not be worried about him?"
"I don't think that King Ping is concerned about anything else besides revenge."
"People can change their minds."
"Yes…" Lu Yurong gently nodded and said, "Then we should definitely force Chu Li out of Fairy's Capital!"
"If Lu Zhengjun comes over when the Secret Guardians Hall fails, you should back him up so that Chu Li will get a taste of his own medicine!"
"Yes," Lu Yurong smiled and replied.
She understood that the crown prince was planning to use the Secret Guardians Hall to get rid of Chu Li.
Lu Guangdi slowly walked over while the other two people were speaking. He hung his head and made a fist salute as he greeted them and said, "Your Highness, Miss Lu."
Leng Jinghua looked him up and down before he shook his head. "A real man should not be faint-hearted. You were defeated this time, but you can still beat him in the next fight!"
"Your Highness, I don't want to leave Fairy's Capital," Lu Guangdi briefly glanced at Lu Yurong before he grudgingly said, "but I've already made a promise. If I don't leave, I'll be going back on my word!"
Lu Yurong inwardly found him despicable, but her expression remained indifferent.
"I'll pass an order tomorrow so that you won't have to leave Fairy's Capital." Leng Jinghua gently said, "As such, it won't seem like you're going back on your word. The outsiders can't argue with that because you were forced to stay."
"Thank you very much, Your Highness!" Lu Guangdi smiled.
"Can you defeat Chu Li if you fight him again?" Leng Jinghua asked.
Lu Guangdi briefly hesitated before he shook his head.
Leng Jinghua said, "Can you beat Chu Li if you improve your current cultivation level?"
"My inner energy is profound, but I'm not sure if I can beat him. He conceals his skills and his swordsmanship is marvelous. I'm nothing like him." Lu Guangdi sighed before he continued, "The Tide-listening Pavilion's martial arts aren't the best after all!"
Lu Yurong quietly said, "Chu Li doesn't come from a well-known or great faction either."
"Perhaps he was blessed with a fortuitous encounter." Lu Guangdi said, "In any case, his swordsmanship is definitely extraordinary!"
"That's true." Lu Yurong said, "I've heard that he blended various sword techniques and created his own."
"Hmph!" Lu Guangdi curled his lips in contempt before he said, "The nerve of him, bragging about creating his own sword techniques!"
Lu Guangdi had also attempted to create his own martial arts despite knowing that it was a difficult task. He could not believe that Chu Li managed to create his own sword technique at this age when he had only learned martial arts for less than two years.
Lu Yurong did not want to waste her time arguing with him.
Leng Jinghua said, "It's unfortunate that there's no way for me to help you obtain some Mystical Arts because my technique is merely ordinary."
Lu Yurong quietly said, "Green Deer Cliff has collected numerous Mystical Arts and there is an abundance of martial arts that can be referred to over there. It'll be sufficient for you to simply take one of their Mystical Arts."
The expression on Lu Guangdi's face suddenly changed drastically.
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