Great Li Martial God

The armored cavalry numbered around a hundred men, their discipline impeccable and their bearing sharp and unyielding.

Unlike the Falling God Peak group from earlier, this party had come from the direction of Sheng Province, and from the armor and weapons the soldiers carried, they were clearly part of the Sheng Province garrison.

The armored soldiers stopped in front of Hu Rui’an and the others, and the uniform clash of armor fell abruptly silent.

Seeing this, Hu Rui’an’s gaze shifted slightly, though his expression remained composed.

Murong Xiaoya, who had been quietly keeping to one side, now stood up, her gaze moving toward the ornate carriage among the cavalry.

At that moment, a young nobleman lifted the carriage curtain aside. He was dressed in a silk brocade robe with a jade crown binding his hair, his brows sharp as sword edges and his eyes cool and clear.

He swept a glance across the collapsed cliff face and the battle-shattered earth around them without much particular concern, then looked similarly toward Murong Xiaoya and said in a measured tone, ”Little sister, Father received your letter and has specifically sent me to bring you home.”

The moment those words fell, everyone turned their heads simultaneously to look at Murong Xiaoya, causing her face to flush a deep red.

She stood in place fidgeting with the hem of her clothing for a moment, then turned her head to look at Hu Rui’an beside her.

Hu Rui’an glanced at the young nobleman and asked, ”Would you be the Murong family’s ’Divine Needle Young Master?’”The young nobleman’s narrow phoenix eyes tilted up slightly at the corners as he looked Hu Rui’an over, seeming to recall something, and clasped his hands, saying, ”That is correct. You must be Commissioner Hu. My father mentioned that you kept watch over my little sister throughout the journey, and the estate has prepared a modest welcome banquet for your arrival. I invite you and your companions to come along with us.”

Hearing this, Hu Rui’an did not reply immediately, but turned his head toward Li Musheng and said quietly, ”Sir, the Murong family is the foremost martial arts lineage in Sheng Province. Our business in Sheng Province may well require their cooperation, and this was something Commander Fu made sure to mention before we left the capital.”

Li Musheng raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced at Hu Rui’an, then waved a hand, saying, ”You handle that. I have only one requirement: our stay in Sheng Province’s provincial city must not exceed two days. Once the time is up, I will not wait around regardless of whether anything has been resolved.”

Hu Rui’an immediately nodded in agreement, then turned to the young nobleman in the ornate carriage and said, ”Then we will impose on your hospitality.”

Murong Feng narrowed his eyes slightly and gave Li Musheng at Hu Rui’an’s side a brief appraising look, then furrowed his brow.

He suspected Li Musheng’s identity was anything but ordinary, but he said nothing further about it, and instead turned to beckon Murong Xiaoya, saying, ”Little sister, are you not coming?”

Seeing this, Murong Xiaoya was visibly hesitant. She looked Murong Feng over for a moment without going to him at once, then suddenly summoned up the courage to ask quietly, ”Have you taken the Sparrow Flame Pill?”

The moment those words fell, Murong Feng in the carriage was briefly taken aback.

Hu Rui’an also showed a peculiar expression and glanced at Murong Xiaoya, at a loss to understand why she had suddenly asked such a question.

At this point, Murong Feng’s expression returned to its usual composure, and he said mildly, ”Has little sister grown so distant from me after just one year apart?”

As he spoke, he waved a hand and said, ”Since little sister does not wish to ride with me, she is welcome to stay with Commissioner Hu. I will not force the matter.”

With that, Murong Feng let the carriage curtain fall and said nothing more.

The hundred soldiers around them continued to wait in complete silence, not moving from where they had stopped before the cliff face without a command.

Seeing this, Murong Xiaoya bit lightly at her lip, fixed a long gaze on the ornate carriage across from them, and her expression seemed somewhat unpleasant.

Then her gaze swept almost imperceptibly past Hu Rui’an and Li Musheng, but very quickly she lowered her head and without continuing to rest in the shade walked directly to the carriage beside her and got in.

Seeing this, Hu Rui’an furrowed his brow with a thoughtful expression, while Li Musheng beside him let out a quiet sigh.

Just as he had suspected. A face like his simply had too powerful an effect on people.

Sure enough, the socially anxious young woman had turned down even her own brother’s invitation just to spend a little more time around him.

At this point, the old man in hemp and the little girl in pink on the other side, seeing that the matter had nothing to do with them, finished gathering their things simply and prepared to take their mule and continue on the road.

”How old are you this year?”

At that moment, Li Musheng came to the little girl in pink’s side and looked her over with a curious, appraising expression.

Hearing this, the little girl in pink knitted her brows slightly, glanced at Li Musheng, pressed her lips together, and said, ”I am absolutely not going to tell you that I am already seven years old this year.”

With that, she gave a light huff, turned her head, climbed up onto the mule on her own, and paid Li Musheng no further attention.

Beside her, the old man in hemp narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned to Hu Rui’an and said, ”This old one goes on ahead. May we meet again if fate allows.”

With that, he took the mule’s reins and walked off down the main road ahead.

Li Musheng made no attempt to stop them, and instead rubbed his chin and watched the two figures walking away, murmuring to himself, ”What do you mean, seven years old? She looks older than that to me.”

Meanwhile, after the old man in hemp and the little girl had walked far enough to crest a hill and lose sight of Li Musheng and the others entirely, the little girl in pink suddenly looked back over her shoulder, her small face serious, saying, ”Grandpa, I might be wrong, but it feels as though that person may have noticed something about me.”

Hearing this, the old man in hemp thought for a moment, then said, ”That seems rather unlikely. The cultivation method you practice is far too unusual. If I did not already know your situation and had been spending this much time with you, I still would not be able to detect any signs of it.”

As he spoke, he shook his head, then shifted his gaze to Bei Shi lying on the mule’s back, saying, ”They have no grievance with us, and should not cause us any trouble. We can leave them alone for now. This one, however, we have been tracking for over half a year. He was among those who made a move that day.”

”Killing him, and our plan for revenge moves one step forward. After this, all that remains is that peak master of Falling God Peak and his disciples who aided in the crime.”

The old man in hemp’s face was expressionless as he spoke, but in his clouded eyes killing intent swirled and would not disperse.

Hearing this, the little girl in pink withdrew her gaze, and a trace of sorrow passed across her face for a brief moment.

She then looked at Bei Shi, whose eyes had gone wide, and at this point, having heard what both of them said, his expression was filled with terror. But his mute acupoint had been sealed, and he could not utter a sound.

”I suppose you are wondering why we are going to kill you?”

The little girl in pink composed her emotions, her clear eyes fixed on him, saying, ”Do not worry. I will tell you the reason slowly. But during this time, I will make you wish you were dead.”

As she spoke, the little girl raised a hand and flicked her finger, sending a black pill the size of a fingernail flying directly into Bei Shi’s mouth.

In the very next moment, Bei Shi’s eyes bulged violently outward, the whites filling with a dense mass of swollen blood vessels that looked about to burst through his eyelids.

Contrasting this, Bei Shi’s already powerfully built frame was rapidly shrinking. Withered skin and blackened veins and blood vessels appeared as the flesh contracted, turning a chilling, pitch-dark color.

A tearing, wringing agony swept through every part of his body, leaving Bei Shi in unbearable torment, his entire frame convulsing and spasming uncontrollably.

At the same time, the little girl in pink and the old man in hemp led the mule off the main road and down a small side path, disappearing into the mountain forest before long.

...

After their rest, Li Musheng and his companions continued on the road, with Murong Feng’s carriage and his hundred armored soldiers following behind.

By the afternoon, the group formally crossed into the boundaries of Sheng Province, and with roughly one more day’s travel from there they would reach the provincial city.

At the same time, the Formless Elder and Xu Qingcang and the others, having left Zhanliu Manor, continued tracking in the direction Li Musheng and his companions had gone.

Before their departure, the Formless Elder had spotted Shen Juesheng making his move the night before and had been overcome with a craving to try the man out himself. He had gone to find Zhanliu Manor Master Shen Liancheng and expressed his wish to exchange pointers with Shen Juesheng.

He was flatly refused by Shen Liancheng, and there was nothing the Formless Elder could do about it. Shen Juesheng’s martial Dao cultivation was simply too formidable, and the old man could not be forced into anything.

Having gotten nowhere, the Formless Elder had no choice but to give it up, and had Xu Qingcang take him along to continue tracking Li Musheng and his group.

”That Eighth Prince is somewhat interesting. Leaving the capital without warning with a Tianjin Guards expert at his side. Could this truly be fleeing out of guilt?”

The Formless Elder sat in the carriage with a thoughtful expression. News of the Third Prince’s death had been spreading far and wide over the past few days.

The Formless Elder had naturally heard people discussing it along the way as well, and it was not until a short while ago, after receiving a secret letter from the Second Prince, that he had learned the matter was connected to Li Musheng.

”Quite a ruthless one. No wonder my disciple died so terribly. But what of it? When this old man has decided to kill someone, it makes no difference where they run.”

The Formless Elder’s expression was cold and indifferent. He then looked toward Xu Qingcang in the carriage and said, ”Are you certain that those people are heading for the provincial city of Sheng Province?”

Hearing this, Xu Qingcang gave a nod and said, ”According to our people’s observations along the way, they appear to have continued straight along the main road without turning off onto any of the side paths.”

”However, we have also found that they appear to have had some kind of fight with the Falling God Peak Elder Bei Shi and his group. The end result was that all of the Falling God Peak disciples are dead, while Bei Shi himself has disappeared without a trace.”

As he spoke, Xu Qingcang glanced at the Formless Elder and continued with his analysis, saying, ”They brushed aside the Falling God Peak people without a second thought and cut them down without hesitation. The people Senior is dealing with seem to be no ordinary figures. And among them there is a Heaven-Human expert whose strength may well surpass mine and Bei Shi’s.”

The Formless Elder narrowed his eyes slightly. Li Musheng had dared to kill a prince right there in the capital. Killing a Falling God Peak Elder was nothing by comparison.

Even so, he did not elaborate, and simply said with a blank expression, ”Never mind who they are. Do your part, and once the deed is done, perhaps this old man will be in a good mood and spare your life.”

As he spoke, his gaze drifted sideways toward the Sheng Province General’s second son, saying, ”What you and I discussed last night. Have you given it any thought?”

Hearing this, the young man with the spirited features gave a slight tremor, then stole a glance at Xu Qingcang.

Seeing Xu Qingcang give a light nod, the young man immediately dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed, saying, ”This student is willing to become Senior’s disciple.”

With that, he kowtowed three firm, resounding times right there in the carriage.

The Formless Elder’s expression remained impassive, saying, ”When this old man takes disciples, he has always followed the principle of genuine willingness. He has never forced anyone. If you are only agreeing because you fear death, there is no need.”

Hearing this, the young man kneeling on the floor was visibly hesitant for a moment, but very quickly his voice became firm as he said, ”Senior’s divine technique is unrivaled under heaven. To be able to become Senior’s disciple is a fortune this student could never dream of seeking for himself. It is the greatest of all opportunities.”

With that, he kowtowed several more times with force, then said in a steady voice, ”Revered Master above, this disciple swears to follow you until death.”

Seeing this, the Formless Elder gave a slight nod at last.

It had to be said that his luck had been rather good. Through an accidental chain of events, he had stumbled upon a promising disciple with excellent aptitude for cultivating the Formless Divine Canon partway through the journey.

His wish to find a successor and pass down his lifelong skill had been fulfilled ahead of schedule.

As long as he then killed Li Musheng to avenge his deceased senior disciple, the matters weighing on his heart would essentially be resolved.

One had to admit that this trip away from the capital had turned out to be rather smoother than expected.

With that thought, the Formless Elder felt a good deal more at ease, and no longer pushed Xu Qingcang to hurry the pace.

As far as he was concerned, killing Li Musheng was merely a matter of sooner or later.

...

A day later, as the sky was drawing close to dusk, Hu Rui’an’s group pressed hard and arrived just outside the Sheng Province provincial city.

The city before them was not as towering and vast as the Great Li capital, but the gap between the two was not enormous either.

In particular, as the center of all of Sheng Province and a key hub connecting the surrounding regions, the city saw a constant flow of merchants and travelers, with large numbers of martial world practitioners passing through as well. In terms of vitality and activity, it was in no way inferior to Shangyang City.

Its one drawback, however, was that the entire city was nowhere near as orderly as the capital, and struck the eye as rather chaotic. Even the city gates were staffed with guards who looked completely slack.

The guards performed their ”dedicated” checks and extracted whatever money they could from ordinary commoners and merchants, but whenever they encountered anyone in the martial world who looked even slightly imposing, they did not dare touch them and simply let them come and go as they pleased.

With the exception of the capital province, most of the other provincial cities throughout the empire were much the same.

Hu Rui’an and the others were well used to it, and all it took was for Wu Shang to show the slightest hint of martial skill for the gate guards to obediently step aside on their own.

Even so, their arrival at the Sheng Province provincial city this time was somewhat different from usual.

The moment their group reached the city gates, several hundred heavily armored soldiers armed to the teeth suddenly emerged from inside the city, scattering the queue of common people at the gate and pouring out in a torrent.

In no more than a few breaths, they had surrounded Hu Rui’an and the others as tightly as an iron barrel.

Or to be more precise, those soldiers had surrounded Murong Feng and the hundred armored soldiers he had brought with him. Hu Rui’an’s group had simply been caught up in the middle of it, though perhaps, given that the other party knew they were traveling together, this had been intentional from the start.

After Hu Rui’an and the others were encircled, several armored figures appeared on the high wall above the city gate.

The one at the head of them appeared to be around thirty years of age, with resolute features and bronze-dark skin, his gaze bearing down on those below with stern severity.