Great Li Martial God

"Watch your step, Your Highness."

The white-faced, white-haired elderly eunuch outside the gates swept a glance across the courtyard from a distance, his gaze passing over the two black-robed elderly eunuchs whose faces were twisted in agony under the Crimson Cloud Evil Spirit's ministrations.

He then quickened his pace and moved to the front, positioning himself ahead of Crown Prince Zhao Kuang.

He could naturally tell that there was a formidable expert inside the courtyard. Though he did not fear it, ensuring nothing went wrong meant he had to walk ahead and keep Zhao Kuang protected.

As the three of them entered the courtyard one after another, Crown Prince Zhao Kuang swept the area with a darkened expression, taking in the sight of the subdued consorts and the Seventh Princess, Zhao Muning.

"Outrageous."

Zhao Kuang burned with fury. His father the emperor had placed all affairs of the palace and the court entirely in his hands, and now something like this had happened. The severity of this incident surpassed even the affair of the Theft Saint Bai Wuying breaking into the palace and taking the First Consort all those years ago. If he could not resolve this properly, his position as Crown Prince might not survive it.

While Zhao Kuang was turning over how best to deal with the people before him so that his father would not blame him for it, Li Musheng gave the Great Xuan Crown Prince a brief look and then turned to ask the plump old man beside him, "The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace should be a fairly important figure, shouldn't he? If we take him, surely the Great Xuan emperor will finally show himself?"

At those words, the plump old man stole a sidelong glance at Zhao Kuang and the two with him, his expression shifting through a range of thoughts.

"The reigning Crown Prince is the one the Great Xuan emperor himself has designated as heir to the throne. There is probably no one in this entire palace whose importance comes close to his."

"If the young hero can take him, the Great Xuan emperor will without question make an appearance."

The plump old man steeled himself and spoke with conviction, meeting Zhao Kuang's murderous gaze head-on.

At those words, Zhao Kuang's fury became uncontainable. Both the white-haired elderly eunuch and the purple-robed Daoist beside him furrowed their brows, fixing the plump old man with looks that seemed to be staring at a dead man.

Even so, most of the white-haired eunuch's and the purple-robed Daoist's attention was directed at Li Musheng.

They could see clearly enough that every one of the Great Xuan martial world experts who had escaped from the Mystic Mechanism Palace was taking this young man as their head. Though he was unreasonably young and radiated not the slightest trace of martial energy, they understood perfectly well that even the Crimson Cloud Evil Spirit, the strongest among these martial experts in terms of cultivation, would have been absolutely no match for the two elderly eunuchs now lying on the ground. Whoever had taken those two down had to be someone else entirely, and in all likelihood it was the young man standing before them now.

Neither of them harbored the slightest contempt for Li Musheng. On the contrary, both locked onto him with their martial aura at once, not allowing him any room to act.

But very quickly, the expressions of both the white-haired eunuch and the purple-robed Daoist shifted sharply.

For in their line of sight, Li Musheng, standing in the courtyard, did nothing more than raise a hand lightly in the direction of Zhao Kuang behind them.

Zhao Kuang, whose face had been full of fury a moment before, became a blur in the next instant, drawn to Li Musheng's side in what seemed like no time at all.

Li Musheng's expression remained unchanged. He casually dropped Crown Prince Zhao Kuang onto the ground and asked, "As the Crown Prince, surely you wouldn't not know where the Great Xuan emperor is?"

Everything had happened too quickly. Zhao Kuang had not yet had time to process it, his expression of fury still frozen on his face. He only glanced at Li Musheng by reflex, then snapped his head back around to look toward the white-haired eunuch and the purple-robed Daoist behind him.

At the same moment, the white-haired eunuch's pallid face, already pale as a corpse's, looked even worse than before. But neither he nor the purple-robed Daoist dared make a rash move.

That Li Musheng could pass straight through the two of them and pull Zhao Kuang to his side made it obvious that killing Zhao Kuang would cost him no more than a single thought. If they acted now, no matter how fast they moved, they could never be faster than Li Musheng acting against Zhao Kuang, and they could not possibly disregard his safety. That left them with no choice but to hold back.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, there is no need to worry."

The white-haired eunuch spoke to reassure him, all the while fixing his eyes hard on Li Musheng, clearly searching in silence for an opening.

At those words, a flicker of fear crossed Zhao Kuang's eyes, though he concealed it quickly. As the Great Xuan Crown Prince he was no fool, and everything happening around him, including the white-haired eunuch's and the purple-robed Daoist's reactions, was plain enough to read. It was not that the two of them were unwilling to act and rescue him immediately. It was that Li Musheng was too difficult to deal with, and both of them were wary of him.

With that thought, Zhao Kuang drew a slow breath, reined in the emotion on his face, and did his best to remain composed. Then he turned his head back around to face Li Musheng.

Before he said a word, however, he stole an almost imperceptible glance at Zhao Muning standing beside Li Musheng. Zhao Muning said nothing, but quietly gave him a look.

Zhao Kuang's brow furrowed slightly. Even so, he steadied himself and, following from Li Musheng's question, said, "May I ask what matter brings you to seek an audience with my father the emperor?"

At those words, Li Musheng looked Zhao Kuang over. The Great Xuan Crown Prince had decent composure, and given that his standing within this palace appeared to be second only to the Great Xuan emperor's, he might well know something about the situation involving Daoist Qingyu.

"Actually, I don't particularly need to see your father. If you can hand Daoist Qingyu of the Azure Cloud Temple over to me, I will let you go."

Li Musheng narrowed his eyes, watching Zhao Kuang steadily. His purpose was only to rescue someone. If Zhao Kuang could meet that condition, he had no particular reason to bother tracking down the Great Xuan emperor. After all, what was there to gain from seeing some old man in his seventies or eighties?

At those words, now that he understood Li Musheng's true intention, Zhao Kuang's expression changed visibly.

He did not know where Daoist Qingyu was, but he did know that people from the Azure Cloud Temple had once forced their way into the Great Xuan imperial palace. He had even asked his father about the matter at the time, but his father had not answered, and he had not dared to press further, so the matter had been left at that.

Now, learning that Li Musheng had broken into the Great Xuan imperial palace tonight, forced his way through the Mystic Mechanism Palace, seized a group of consorts and a princess, and caused this tremendous uproar, all for the sake of Daoist Qingyu of the Azure Cloud Temple, he knew the story behind this was anything but simple.

Even so, he genuinely knew nothing of Daoist Qingyu's whereabouts, and could only shake his head, "I am not acquainted with the Daoist Qingyu you speak of. I am afraid I cannot meet your conditions."

At those words, Li Musheng said nothing, only glanced toward the white-haired eunuch and the purple-robed Daoist standing not far away and said, "Since this Crown Prince is of no use, have the Great Xuan emperor come and see me in person. You both know well enough what the alternative looks like."

With that, Li Musheng gave a casual wave of his hand.

In the next instant, the eunuch experts who had landed along the surrounding walls, along with the white-haired eunuch and the purple-robed Daoist nearby, were all suddenly sent flying backward. The white-haired eunuch and the purple-robed Daoist in particular were driven back almost instantly, out through the courtyard gates and all the way to the outer wall of a palace building several dozen zhang away, where they only barely managed to stop themselves.

For a moment, both the white-haired eunuch and the purple-robed Daoist stared back toward the courtyard in stunned disbelief.

In truth, the moment Li Musheng moved, they had already prepared themselves. And yet it had made absolutely no difference. They did not know what martial art he had used, but the force he produced was intangible and formless yet completely unstoppable. No matter how they circulated their true qi to resist, they could not prevent themselves from being driven back.

"This young man's power is truly formidable."

The purple-robed Daoist's brow was deeply furrowed, his expression caught between shock and uncertainty, and he made no move to do anything rash.

The white-haired eunuch's face was equally unpleasant. His cold, sunken gaze remained fixed on the courtyard ahead, and after a long moment he finally spoke, "This person's martial cultivation is likely beyond the Martial Saint level. Even if I joined forces with the Daoist, I doubt we could do anything against him."

"And now that he holds the Crown Prince, the Seventh Princess, and all the consorts, the situation is all the more difficult to handle."

As he said this, the white-haired eunuch turned to look at the purple-robed Daoist, "For the moment I have no idea how to resolve this. The Daoist is resourceful and full of strategies. Do you have any good plan?"

At those words, the purple-robed Daoist frowned in thought for a moment, then looked at the white-haired eunuch and shook his head, "From what that man said just now, it seems he came for Daoist Qingyu. If the Chief Eunuch truly wants to resolve this, I am afraid there is no other way. His Majesty will have to be consulted."

The white-haired eunuch's brow furrowed deeply. He exchanged a look with the purple-robed Daoist, then withdrew his gaze and said nothing for a long while.

"Chief Eunuch, that man acts with no restraint whatsoever, and the Crown Prince is still in his hands. There is no time to delay. I urge the Chief Eunuch to make a decision quickly."

The purple-robed Daoist spoke again in reminder. The white-haired eunuch looked at him, then shook his head with an expression that gave nothing away, "His Majesty is in seclusion, and is at the most critical juncture. He must not be disturbed by anyone, and not even I or the Chief Eunuch of Rites can see him."

As he said this, the white-haired eunuch fixed the purple-robed Daoist with a long, firm look, "Therefore, no matter how serious this matter becomes, His Majesty cannot be disturbed at this time. We must resolve it ourselves."

"Of course, I understand that the Daoist is the Crown Prince's trusted confidant and is naturally concerned for his safety. I am no different."

"For the Crown Prince's sake then, we must find another solution as quickly as possible."

At those words, the purple-robed Daoist's frown deepened further. He held the elderly eunuch's gaze for a long moment, then fell into silence.

That the man could flatly reject his suggestion under these circumstances made it clear that getting the Great Xuan emperor to appear was simply not going to happen. And no matter how desperately he wanted to rescue Zhao Kuang, he had no way to force the Chief Eunuch's hand in the middle of the Great Xuan imperial palace. All he could do now was follow the man's lead and think of something else.

"Does the Chief Eunuch know anything about Daoist Qingyu..."

The purple-robed Daoist was about to use the matter of Daoist Qingyu as a starting point, but before he could finish the sentence, the white-haired eunuch cut him off directly, "I know nothing of that matter. There is no point asking me, Daoist."

At those words, the purple-robed Daoist looked at the white-haired eunuch, and a glimmer of something unusual crossed his eyes.

He could see perfectly well that the elderly eunuch before him was lying outright.

...

At the same time, back in the courtyard after Li Musheng had sent the white-haired eunuch and the others flying.

The Crimson Cloud Evil Spirit and the rest of the Great Xuan martial world experts snapped back to their senses, and one by one broke into barely concealed delight.

Even powerful experts like the white-haired eunuch and the purple-robed Daoist were no match for Li Musheng. Who in this entire Great Xuan imperial palace could stop them now?

The gamble they had made in following Li Musheng was without question a winning one. Escape from the Great Xuan imperial palace's grip and a life no longer hidden from daylight was right before their eyes.

"The young hero is a hero in the prime of youth, his divine martial arts without equal. This old man would call the young hero the fourth Martial God of the martial world."

One of the martial world experts, overcome with excitement, called out to Li Musheng in flattery.

At those words, the surrounding martial world experts all chimed in their agreement.

The title of Martial God was something of an exaggeration, but Li Musheng's strength was there for all to see, and since the man was going to lead them to safety, a little overstatement in the praise cost nothing.

The assembled consorts and the others, for their part, were in an entirely different frame of mind.

The Great Xuan imperial palace had sent wave after wave of martial experts, and not one of them had so much as touched a hair on Li Musheng's head. Instead, they had only delivered a Crown Prince straight to his door.

The situation was undeniably growing worse and worse, and as Li Musheng's seemingly bottomless martial cultivation continued to reveal itself, unease was spreading through their hearts. Some were beginning to feel something close to despair.

After all, no one here knew whether the entire Great Xuan imperial palace had anyone left who could truly suppress Li Musheng.

As for Li Musheng himself, beyond waiting for the Great Xuan emperor to appear, his attention was increasingly fixed on Crown Prince Zhao Kuang.

After everything that had transpired, Li Musheng had formed a very poor impression of the Great Xuan emperor he had yet to meet.

Simply put, the old man was far too cold and unfeeling.

It was hard to say whether, knowing how powerful Li Musheng was, he would even bother to show himself to rescue his consorts and his Crown Prince.

An emperor's heart is cold, and Li Musheng was getting a thorough taste of that truth here in the Great Xuan imperial palace.

He could not, therefore, place all his hopes for rescuing Daoist Qingyu on the Great Xuan emperor. He needed to think of other approaches as well.

And Zhao Kuang, standing right before him, was in Li Musheng's estimation an excellent place to start.

"Are you truly certain you know nothing of the Great Xuan emperor taking Daoist Qingyu of the Azure Cloud Temple?"

Li Musheng beckoned to Zhao Kuang on the ground, gesturing for him to come closer.

"I have only heard of Daoist Qingyu. I genuinely do not know where she is."

Zhao Kuang rose to his feet. Beneath another man's roof, one had no choice but to bow one's head. Facing someone with martial cultivation as terrifying as Li Musheng's, he had no option but to set aside his dignity as Crown Prince, keep a low profile, and answer whatever was asked of him.

Otherwise, if he provoked the man, he might not keep his life.

Besides, Zhao Kuang knew that what he needed to do right now was stall for time and wait for rescue, which made humoring Li Musheng entirely necessary.

Li Musheng, however, was not particularly interested in what Zhao Kuang was thinking. He was simply trying to determine whether Zhao Kuang truly knew nothing of Daoist Qingyu's situation.

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