Great Li Martial God

Li Musheng glanced at the copper ring around the big black cat’s neck, and rather than refusing its request, simply reached out toward it through the air with one hand.

In the next instant, man and cat vanished from the carriage.

So fast...

From the big black cat’s perspective, in no more than an instant, everything around it blurred completely. It felt as though tens of thousands of images had slid past before its eyes simultaneously.

But it could not make out a single one of them. Everything was a blur, everything gone in a flash.

It was only when the big black cat felt the surroundings come clear again that it realized it had already arrived at the summit of the Setting Sun Wall.

The big black cat sat down where it landed, its large green eyes wide, its entire body slightly dazed.

This was the first time it had directly experienced Li Musheng’s speed. It was a sensation it had never felt before, and for a moment it could hardly believe what had just happened.

Such terrifying speed... it was... genuinely thrilling.

At the same time, the monk Shenshu, who had been in the middle of his chess game with the blue-robed Daoist, suddenly seemed to sense something and raised his head in the direction of the Setting Sun Wall.He could just make out a young figure appearing at the summit, abruptly, without a sound, amid the vast sea of people all around, with almost no one having yet noticed his arrival.

At that moment, the blue-robed Daoist, noticing something odd in Shenshu’s manner, followed his line of sight and looked that way, then slowly furrowed his brow, saying, ”No wonder he could destroy Falling God Peak on his own. He truly cannot be underestimated.”

At those words, the monk Shenshu gazed toward the figure at the summit and said, ”More than merely not to be underestimated, I would say. This Great Li Eighth Prince’s lightness technique must have reached the realm of perfection. This poor monk did not sense his arrival at all.”

The blue-robed Daoist withdrew his gaze and glanced at Shenshu across from him, his brow creasing ever deeper.

At that moment, the small blue-robed Daoist novice beside the Daoist overheard their exchange, shielded his eyes with his hand and looked toward the summit of the Setting Sun Wall, then asked, ”Master, you always say my martial talent is supreme and the finest you have ever seen. I wonder, comparing me to that Eighth Prince, whose natural gifts are greater?”

At those words, both the blue-robed Daoist and the monk Shenshu across from him turned to look at him. The blue-robed Daoist let out a sigh and said, ”There is no comparing you.”

Hearing this, the Daoist novice withdrew his gaze, looking puzzled, and said, ”Is it because I am too young, and he is older than me, so we cannot be compared?”

The blue-robed Daoist shook his head, his gaze returning to the chessboard, and said, ”What your master means by there being no comparison is that that Eighth Prince’s martial talent is truly once in an age. If you, by the time you reach his age, could achieve even a tenth or a fifth of what he has, that would already make you a martial genius seen once in several hundred years.”

The Daoist novice’s small face went blank, and then he said with some indignation, ”I do not believe it. A once-in-a-century genius could not even match one tenth or one fifth of him? Master, you are building up someone else’s prestige while tearing down your own disciple’s confidence.”

Across from them, the monk Shenshu looked at the small Daoist novice with a kindly gaze, and said, ”Little Daoist friend, your master is actually correct. A person like the Great Li Eighth Prince is a rarity the world seldom sees, and is not something an ordinary person can compare to.”

He then shifted his tone and added, ”However, if the little Daoist friend were to enter my Buddhist gate and study teachings truly suited to your aptitude, your future achievements would surely surpass what following your master could give you.”

At those words, the blue-robed Daoist raised an eyebrow and waved a hand, ”Enough, stop trying to lure this poor Daoist’s disciple away. I have not lost yet.”

...

At the same time, among the spectators gathered at the foot of the Setting Sun Wall, people had finally begun to notice Li Musheng at the summit.

”Is that not His Highness the Eighth Prince? When did he get there? I had people watching all four sides of the Setting Sun Wall the whole time, and I never saw him arrive.”

The head of a prominent capital family cried out in surprise, and quite a few nobles around him echoed the sentiment.

Li Musheng’s soundless, traceless appearance had completely foiled all the people who had been eagerly waiting for so long, hoping to catch a proper glimpse of this Eighth Prince whose name shook the world.

And the distance from the Setting Sun Wall’s summit to its base was at least a hundred zhang or more, making any close-up view clearly impossible.

Before the surging, buzzing crowd, the Dugu family contingent occupied one of the few best vantage points.

But they were clearly quite out of step with the people around them, standing conspicuously quiet and silent.

This time, Dugu Changkong had come in person, accompanied by several family elders and a considerable number of younger generation members.

Particularly among the Dugu family’s younger swordsmen, those with exceptional talent, hearing what had happened to Dugu Yan and the others at the Huo family’s residence, every one of them burned with the arrogance of youth and a frustration they were holding in.

They had come to see with their own eyes whether the legendary Eighth Prince was truly as remarkable as the rumors said. To understand what gave him the right to have the entire Dugu family swallowing its pride and keeping its head low.

At that moment, Dugu Changkong stared with a deeply serious expression at the young figure on the summit.

He was this close to the Setting Sun Wall, and yet just like everyone else, he had not perceived at any point how the man had reached the summit in such a short time.

”Changkong, our decision was the right one. This young man truly cannot be underestimated.”

A family elder seated beside Dugu Changkong spoke up, narrowing his eyes to look toward the summit, ”Such a prince, suddenly emerging from among the common people, with formidable martial cultivation and utterly unrestrained conduct, who knows how many schemes and plans across the entire capital he has already overturned.”

”For all of Great Li, is a person like this a blessing or a calamity?”

Dugu Changkong’s expression was dark and he said nothing. The more powerful Li Musheng became, the more remote his hope of avenging his son.

”Whatever else one might say, he is still too young. Word is that the Hidden Kill Pavilion’s Kill-Saint will personally act this time. I would like to see just how many rounds of assassination he can withstand.”

Dugu Changkong let out a cold snort and fell completely silent.

Among the younger Dugu generation, a young woman in a white skirt was looking toward the summit of the Setting Sun Wall just as everyone else was.

She was one of the few who had actually seen Li Musheng in person, and had witnessed firsthand how terrifying his methods were.

Now, with the arrogant words of the Dugu family’s younger members drifting into her ears one after another, she could only feel how utterly ignorant they all were.

...

The densely packed crowd around the Setting Sun Wall swelled as time passed, until people covered the hillsides in every direction.

Mixed among the ordinary martial world crowd, Illusory Swan and the others from the Hidden Kill Pavilion had all disguised themselves and blended in.

”What incredible lightness technique. Formless, shadowless, without a sound. It seems to surpass even the hidden assassination methods within the Pavilion itself.”

One of the Black and White Rakshasa, dressed as an ordinary swordsman, exclaimed in shock. Ghost Dwarf beside him, having used a secret technique to make himself appear taller, shook his head and said, ”None of us saw how he arrived. If you did not see what lightness technique he used, do not go making claims.”

Then he immediately put on his most ingratiating expression and looked toward the masked woman in the black skirt beside him, saying, ”The honored Lianxing has eyes that see through all things. Surely you must have seen through that Eighth Prince’s movements. What does the honored Lianxing make of this person?”

At those words, the masked woman in the black skirt glanced at him and said flatly, ”I did not see.”

At those words, the Black and White Rakshasa member who had spoken earlier gave Ghost Dwarf a derisive snort. But at that moment Illusory Swan spoke, ”After all, this is someone who could destroy Falling God Peak on his own. This kind of ability is not surprising. What matters most to us on this trip is witnessing the Kill-Saint and the Pavilion Master act.”

At those words, the other of the Black and White Rakshasa thought for a moment, then looked at Illusory Swan and asked, ”After this clash concludes, will the Pavilion’s next successor also be decided?”

Illusory Swan’s gaze rested on the summit of the Setting Sun Wall, and he shook his head, saying, ”That depends on how that Eighth Prince performs. Even so, whether or not he withstands this assassination attempt, the position of next Hidden Kill Pavilion Master will in all likelihood still fall to him in the end.”

At those words, the surrounding Ghost Dwarf and the others all fell into silence. It was clear they understood as well that for a martial genius of Li Musheng’s caliber, the Hidden Kill Pavilion would never let him go, especially when he was still so young, with every prospect of becoming a future Martial God.

”One more thing, have any of you noticed any movement from the Soul Chaser Hall these past few days?”

At that, Illusory Swan’s expression suddenly turned serious as he addressed the other Hidden Kill Pavilion assassins.

The Soul Chaser Hall and the Hidden Kill Pavilion were rival assassination organizations within Great Li, and for the Pavilion, today’s affair, involving the selection of a new Pavilion Master, was a momentous event that came around once in decades.

The Soul Chaser Hall could hardly be expected to sit still, especially given that the new Pavilion Master might well be the Great Li Eighth Prince Li Musheng, which would make it even less likely they could stay composed.

”We investigated before coming. The Soul Chaser Hall does not seem to have shown any particular activity,” Ghost Dwarf replied after a moment’s thought, but then shook his head, ”Though it is also hard to say. If the Soul Chaser Hall does intend to act, they would naturally send Kill-Saint level experts, and it would be normal for us not to be able to detect them.”

At those words, Illusory Swan furrowed his brow slightly and glanced at the masked Lianxing, who also shook her head, ”Things that are not our business are not our concern.”

Then she raised her eyes toward the summit of the Setting Sun Wall and said nothing further to those around her.

...

After Li Musheng appeared soundlessly at the summit of the Setting Sun Wall, the massive crowd gathered below and around it, while initially startled, had quickly gone almost completely still, every pair of eyes fixed on the summit.

No one dared let their attention wander anymore. If they missed Li Musheng’s arrival the way they just had and then also missed the clash between him and the Hidden Kill Pavilion’s top assassin, they would regret it bitterly for the rest of their days.

At that moment, Li Musheng had already seated himself on a rock at the summit, and his gaze swept idly around from time to time to check whether the Hidden Kill Pavilion’s assassin had arrived.

At the same time, the big black cat, having fully recovered its composure, was growing ever bolder and more pleased with itself, strutting on all four legs around the edge of the Setting Sun Wall’s summit, making its figure as visible as possible to the dense crowd below.

With an opportunity as good as this one, there was absolutely no chance the big black cat would let it pass.

After today, it wanted everyone in the world to know of its existence.

And indeed that was exactly how things were playing out. Many of the noble families and influential figures gathered below the Setting Sun Wall, as well as the martial world figures and ordinary spectators, found their eyes drawn to the big black cat.

One reason was that its sheer size was extraordinary, far beyond any ordinary cat, making it genuinely remarkable.

But more importantly, it was the fact that the cat was with Li Musheng right now, and had arrived at the summit alongside him.

It was obvious to everyone that this cat must be Li Musheng’s pet, and one he clearly treasured greatly. Otherwise he would never have brought it along for something as important as facing the Hidden Kill Pavilion.

”The Eighth Prince actually keeps a big black cat. That is it, I am going to get one when I go back.”

A young man in the crowd said with burning enthusiasm in his eyes.

Li Musheng, the Great Li Eighth Prince, had singlehandedly led the Tianjin Guards to destroy Falling God Peak and shaken the world with his name, and quite a few people in the capital actually regarded him as their idol.

Now seeing that Li Musheng kept this kind of cat, many of them immediately felt the urge to follow his lead.

Even some of the young members of the capital’s noble families felt their hearts stirring.

If someone of Li Musheng’s unparalleled martial genius kept a large cat, perhaps there was some secret behind it explaining how he had achieved such extraordinary cultivation at such a young age.

And even if there was no such secret, keeping the same kind of black cat as the Eighth Prince was still a remarkably stylish thing to do.

Meanwhile, the big black cat had no idea what the crowd below was thinking. It only felt all those eyes watching it from below, and was thrilled and immensely pleased with itself.

It was said for good reason that strategy always trumped effort.

If it had not made the decisive choice back in the provincial city to latch onto Li Musheng and stick by him no matter what, following this Great Li Eighth Prince and refusing to be shaken loose even when driven away, how could it possibly enjoy the spotlight of so many watching eyes today?

How could its name have spread across the martial world?

In the future, as it roamed the martial world, every faction great or small would surely show it some measure of respect the moment they laid eyes on this big black cat.

And all of this was an achievement born from its own choices, a reputation it had well and truly earned.

With these thoughts, the big black cat lifted its chin and puffed out its chest, looking down at the crowd below like a dignified general, its green eyes blazing with pride.

”All right, stop pacing around. You are making me dizzy.”

Li Musheng waved a hand and told the big black cat to stop circling the edge of the cliff.

At those words, the big black cat stopped reluctantly and with some lingering desire, then put on an ingratiating expression and came to Li Musheng’s side.

At this moment the big black cat was remarkably docile and obedient, an almost complete contrast to the impressively dignified posture of moments before, as though it had suddenly been replaced by an entirely different cat.

At that moment, Li Musheng shook his head and glanced at the empty air ahead of him, saying, ”The Hidden Kill Pavilion’s assassin has arrived.”

The moment his words fell, the air above the Setting Sun Wall, which had been perfectly still, abruptly began to stir. In the next instant, the area within several zhang of the summit dimmed and darkened.

At the same time, in the vast sea of spectators gathered below the Setting Sun Wall, the crowd that had been buzzing and chattering loudly all went suddenly still, every single sound cutting off and vanishing in the exact same instant.