Su Luo was taking a stroll.
As he wandered, he arrived at Qing Bukuang's territory.
"Stop. Qing Mozi is handling important matters. No one is allowed to disturb him," one of Qing Bukuang's subordinates blocked Su Luo.
"Not even me?"
"Especially not you," the person blocking him replied with a sly smile.
By now, everyone knew that the other seven disciples were targeting Su Luo.
"Step aside."
"So, Su Mozi, you're forcing your way in? Hahaha," the subordinate laughed.
As he laughed, more people began to appear, surrounding Su Luo from all directions.
They all wore the same smiles, the same malicious intent.
Su Luo looked at them.
Hmph, most of them were unfamiliar, but a few looked vaguely familiar.
They were the core members of the other seven disciples.
One of them pointed to Qing Mozi's residence above and said, "Su Mozi, do you still plan to go up there now?"
......
Su Luo opened the door to the room.
Inside, he saw a familiar round table and familiar faces—the other seven disciples were all there.
Su Luo casually took a seat and said, "So, all of you are here."
"Su Luo!"
Why was he here?!
"We all bear the title of the seven disciples, yet you all distance yourselves from me. How heartless," Su Luo said with a playful tone.
Qing Bukuang's face darkened. "How did you get in?"
This was his territory. No one was supposed to disturb him. What were his subordinates doing?
"I walked in. Oh, your subordinates tried to stop me, but I gave them something, and they let me up," Su Luo replied.
What could he have given them to make them disobey Qing Bukuang's orders?
Qing Bukuang was curious.
"Don't bother calling them. I told them not to disturb us," Su Luo added.
"Su Luo, are you challenging my authority?" Qing Bukuang asked, his voice low.
In Qing Bukuang's territory, Su Luo had given orders to Qing Bukuang's subordinates, and they had obeyed.
Wasn't this a slap in Qing Bukuang's face?
"It's not that serious. Aren't you discussing important matters? Isn't it right for them not to disturb us?" Su Luo replied nonchalantly.
"So, why are you here?" Qing Bukuang decided to deal with his subordinates later. For now, he wanted to see what Su Luo was up to.
"So, what are you all discussing?" Su Luo answered the question with another question.
They couldn't openly discuss their plans to deal with Su Luo.
If they were absolutely confident, Qing Bukuang would have acted directly, but facing the enigmatic Su Luo, he felt it was better to be cautious.
So, he withheld some information.
"It's about Lin Xuan," Qing Bukuang said.
That was a reasonable excuse.
"I thought you were plotting against me. Turns out it's Lin Xuan. You do know I have a grudge against him, right? Let me listen in," Su Luo said.
Situ Ye finally found an opportunity to speak. "Su Luo, you should know we don't welcome you. Don't just barge in like this. It puts us in a difficult position."
Situ Ye threatened Su Luo.
Difficult position?
Su Luo rolled a die, and it landed on 10.
"How about now? Do you welcome me?"
Situ Ye was immediately silenced.
Qing Bukuang then said, "Fine, let Su Luo listen."
In truth, dealing with Su Luo in his own territory wasn't impossible.
But at what cost?
Qing Bukuang still remembered Su Luo's lightning strike. What if Su Luo had more tricks up his sleeve?
That would be a loss.
Moreover, even if they dealt with Su Luo, they couldn't kill him.
The higher-ups wouldn't allow the seven disciples to lose another member. If one of the seven died at the hands of another disciple, the higher-ups wouldn't be pleased.
So, there was no rush. They could let others test Su Luo's limits.
When they were confident, they could strike decisively.
Qing Bukuang was curious about what Su Luo was here to do.
But in the end, Su Luo did nothing.
Throughout the meeting, they did all the talking, and Su Luo just listened.
When asked for his opinion, he simply said, "Not bad."
It was suspiciously compliant, but no one could pinpoint what was off.
Finally, the meeting concluded. They had discussed several strategies to deal with Lin Xuan and would decide which to use based on the situation.
"So, what are you here for?" Cui Baiquan quietly asked Su Luo.
"Nothing much. Just here to listen to your brilliant ideas," Su Luo replied.
"Did you hear anything useful?"
"Not bad. It could work."
Work? More like a death sentence.
At that moment, Qing Bukuang opened the door.
"Su Luo, what did you do?!"
Qing Bukuang's roar startled the other seven disciples, who rushed out to see what was happening. Only Su Luo remained seated.
Outside, a blood-red array enveloped the area, filled with various tortures.
The subordinates of the seven disciples were trapped inside, suffering.
Some were hanging in the air, their cultivation sealed, suffocating.
Others were buried in the ground, only their feet visible, their heads crushed by the earth.
A blunt sword was drawn across the necks of those kneeling in a line, as if playing a violin. They were bound and unable to resist.
There were also some "two-player games," where two people were bound and took turns stabbing each other. If one refused, they were forced to stab.
At first, they tried to be gentle, but soon they were stabbing each other to death—survival of the fittest.
......
What a scene from hell.
Su Luo stepped out and said, "Not bad. If you had been any later, they'd all be dead. Now, one or two might survive. Lucky them."
With that, Su Luo casually kicked a stone, which struck the array and deactivated it.
Some were dead, some were crippled, and the survivors were just tough.
Su Luo understood the principle of leaving a way out for future encounters.
Though the "way out" he left wasn't much.
"Su Luo!"
"Are you sure you want to fight?" Su Luo asked calmly.
He must still have a trump card!
Qing Bukuang quickly calmed down. If that array were to activate again, could he break it?
"When did you set up that array?"
Such a massive disturbance, yet Qing Bukuang and the others hadn't noticed. The thought was terrifying.
"No need to explain. You wouldn't understand arrays anyway," Su Luo replied.
"You're ruthless."
"Me, ruthless? Don't tell me you haven't provoked me. My house is in ruins because of you."
Qing Bukuang was left speechless.
Mainly because they might not be able to defeat Su Luo, so arguing was pointless.
Strength was the ultimate truth.
Cui Baiquan said, "Su Luo, why did you target my subordinates too? I haven't offended you much, and we used to get along well!"
Cui Baiquan had only sent his subordinates to bother Su Luo as a formality.
"Oh, they blocked me," Su Luo replied.
Cui Baiquan cursed his subordinates in his heart for being so clueless.
But he was also deeply upset.
Su Luo didn't care about his feelings.
"I'm leaving now. Are you going to stop me?"
No one spoke. The array occasionally flickered, as if it might reactivate at any moment.
"What a pity. I had prepared something bigger for you, but it seems I won't get to use it."
Hearing this, the other seven disciples felt a sense of relief, grateful they hadn't acted impulsively.
Su Luo walked away with his head held high.
Watching Su Luo's confident departure, Cui Baiquan felt an inexplicable sense of envy.
Wasn't this the kind of demeanor he had always dreamed of?
"Su Luo!" Cui Baiquan seemed to have made a decision.
Suddenly, he slapped Qing Bukuang across the face.
Qing Bukuang, focused on Su Luo, never expected someone to hit him.
"Su Luo, did you see that? I slapped him. I'm on your side. Don't forget our agreement!"