After fifteen years of cultivation, he finally reached the pinnacle of the first rank!

Chapter 267 Meeting the Real Person
However, even though everyone had already woken up, they were still completely bewildered.

What was the old storyteller in front of me saying?
The eighth prince of Dali, who had been living among the common people, single-handedly killed all the top masters of Luoshen Peak, one of the four major sects in the martial arts world.

In fact, he even fought against four top masters, including the leader of Luoshen Peak, all by himself.
This is truly astonishing; such an incredible story could probably only be told by a storyteller.

but……

The old storyteller in front of me wasn't telling a story; it seemed more like something that actually happened.
For a moment, the entire restaurant fell silent.

This time, however, the crowd was not intimidated by the old storyteller's martial arts aura, but rather shocked by his words.

"Where did you get this information?"

The first young swordsman to react visibly changed his expression and suddenly questioned the old storyteller below in a deep voice.

Meanwhile, the people in the restaurant also came to their senses and all looked down at the black-robed old man who possessed powerful martial arts skills and was clearly not an ordinary storyteller.

They were all like the young swordsman, unable to discern whether what the other party had just said was true or false.
At this moment, the old storyteller on the wooden platform shook his head in response to the young swordsman's question, and said:
"I know you all will not believe what I am saying at first."

As he spoke, the old storyteller casually waved his hand, and a token engraved with peculiar patterns suddenly flew out, hovering in mid-air above the entire courtyard under the influence of martial arts true energy.

Seeing this, everyone turned their gazes to look, and someone immediately recognized the origin of the token, exclaiming in surprise:
"Tianji Pavilion!"

"They're actually from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion?"

……

Upon hearing this, the other people in the restaurant also looked surprised.

Tianji Pavilion holds a unique position in the martial arts world. Not only is it a top-tier force in the martial arts world that is no weaker than Luoshen Peak, but more importantly, Tianji Pavilion is spread across the five kingdoms of the world.

Moreover, they excel at intelligence gathering, claiming to know everything happening in the martial arts world, surpassing even the intelligence agencies of the five kingdoms, such as the Great Li Secret Intelligence Bureau.

More importantly, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion also has a transcendent old man named Heavenly Mystery, who is said to have the ability to understand everything and can calculate all things from ancient times to the present. Even those in the martial arts world who are called Martial Saints or Martial Gods have received his guidance and have great respect for him.

At this moment, the young swordsman also stared intently at the token in mid-air, and then couldn't help but mutter to himself:
"If it's news from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, then it's probably true..."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but tighten his grip on his sword, and his expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Meanwhile, after learning that the storyteller was from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, the people in the restaurant began to believe him to some extent, no matter how unbelievable his words were.

"The Fallen God Peak sect has actually been wiped out? This must be the most significant event in the martial arts world in decades."

Someone in the restaurant spoke in a low voice.

After all, we are on the territory of Luoshen Peak. Before we can confirm that Luoshen Peak has been destroyed, we still have to be careful with our words.

This also shows how powerful Luoshen Peak was in the martial arts world.

……

"The news from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion should be true. The Great Li Heavenly Guard wiped out Luo Shen Peak overnight? When did the Great Li court become so powerful?"

"Judging from the information from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, it's not so much that the Great Li Dynasty is powerful, but rather that the Eighth Prince is powerful. He single-handedly wiped out all the top experts of Fallen God Peak. It's hard to imagine how terrifying his martial arts strength must be!"

"Logically speaking, shouldn't the eighth prince of Dali be quite young?"

"He shouldn't be more than twenty, wow... He destroyed Fallen God Peak before he was even twenty, this..."

……

After the old storyteller revealed his identity, the people in the restaurant began to whisper among themselves, and a buzz of noise filled the air.

At this moment, everyone's attention in the restaurant was undoubtedly focused on the storyteller, and almost no one cared about the old man's identity anymore.

Many people even rushed out of the restaurant immediately, seemingly wanting to pass on a message to the forces behind the scenes or to verify the authenticity of the news.

The old storyteller saw everything but made no attempt to stop it, because the news would soon spread throughout the entire martial arts world.

At this moment, the young swordsman stood silently for a while, then suddenly looked at the old storyteller below, who was now mostly ignored, and asked:

Why are you here to deliver this message?

Upon hearing this, the old storyteller glanced at the young swordsman, shook his head, and said:

"The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion is the largest intelligence agency in the martial arts world. If we don't pass on firsthand information from the martial arts world, how do you think the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion has earned its reputation?"

The young swordsman narrowed his eyes, then took a deep breath, but said nothing more, and turned to leave.

But as soon as he turned around, the old storyteller's voice came from behind him, saying:

"Young hero, your killing intent is deeply hidden. Ordinary people would not be able to detect your true nature. But I am not very talented, but I can tell that you are an assassin."

Upon hearing this, the young swordsman immediately stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned his head, looked at the old storyteller, and said:
"The people from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion are indeed quite capable, but I've always kept to myself. What's the meaning of you revealing my identity?"

The old storyteller's aged face remained expressionless as he calmly began to speak:

"I just feel that since you've heard such important news from me, young hero, shouldn't you reciprocate by answering one of my questions?"

Upon hearing this, the young swordsman frowned, pointed to the loose silver he had left on the table, and said:
"I paid for it."

The old storyteller shook his head and said:
"My question is actually very simple. Just tell me, young hero, whether you are from the Soul Chasing Hall or the Hidden Killing Pavilion?"

Within the entire Dali territory, the two most active assassin organizations are now the "Soul Chasing Hall" and the "Hidden Kill Pavilion".

Among them, the Hidden Killing Pavilion has a history of at least a thousand years and is one of the oldest assassin organizations in the entire martial arts world, with assassins appearing in all five countries.

The Soul Chasing Hall has been established for at least several hundred years, but it was almost destroyed more than a decade ago, and has only recently reappeared in the martial arts world.

However, once the Soul Chasing Hall re-emerged, it committed many major crimes, killing many important figures, both in the martial arts world and in the Great Li Dynasty. Among them, many high-ranking officials of the Great Li Dynasty died at the hands of the Soul Chasing Hall.

The young swordsman didn't understand the old storyteller's purpose in asking the question, and naturally, he had no intention of revealing his origins, simply shaking his head and saying:
"I don't have time to answer your question."

Having said that, the young swordsman turned to leave, but just then, the old storyteller suddenly spoke with a thoughtful expression:

"Even if you don't say it, young hero, I can probably guess that you must be a member of the Hidden Killing Pavilion."

Upon hearing this, the young swordsman was visibly taken aback, but he ignored the old storyteller and continued to leave.

But the old storyteller's voice seemed relentless, continuing to ring in his ears: "Young hero, you are not a native of Lanzhou. You must have come to Lanzhou with a purpose."

"It just so happens that I heard that the Eighth Prince of Dali obtained a Hidden Killing Order from the Hidden Killing Pavilion when he was in Shangyang City. According to the rules of the Hidden Killing Pavilion, judging by the time, it is time for you to take action against that Eighth Prince."

"So... could it be that young hero has come to Lanzhou to assassinate the Eighth Prince?"

……

Upon hearing this, the young swordsman suddenly stopped in his tracks, almost losing his balance.

When the storyteller saw him stop, he knew he had correctly identified the young swordsman, and he stroked his beard with satisfaction, saying:
"Young hero, there's no need to be nervous. I have no ill intentions, even if you come from the Hidden Assassins..."

However, before the old storyteller could finish speaking, the young swordsman suddenly turned around and shouted to stop him:
"Shut up, you old bastard!"

Upon hearing this, the old storyteller frowned. He was about to continue speaking, but a glance out of the corner of his eye made him stop.

At the same time, the old storyteller saw three people walking into the tavern in the small town.

A handsome young man, a beautiful young woman, and a middle-aged man dressed as a groom.

In addition, a large black cat was following the young man.

The big black cat was as big as a mongrel, which was extremely rare. Even though the old storyteller was very knowledgeable, he had never seen such a big cat in his life.

However, the old storyteller clearly did not recognize the three men. He only noticed that the young swordsman seemed to become extremely nervous after seeing them.

That's why I started paying attention to this group of people who did seem rather unusual.

At this moment, the old storyteller was also secretly wondering who these people were. Why were the assassins of the Hidden Kill Pavilion treating them with such caution?

At this moment, the young swordsman was still standing in the same place, but after stopping the old storyteller, he immediately lowered his head and refused to look at the three people who had arrived.

Or rather, he didn't dare to look at Li Musheng, who had suddenly entered the restaurant.

In fact, the old storyteller was absolutely right.

The young swordsman was indeed an assassin from the Hidden Kill Pavilion in disguise, and moreover, he had come here specifically for Li Musheng.

According to the rules of the Hidden Killing Pavilion, if a person who possesses the Hidden Killing Token still holds it within 24 hours, the Hidden Killing Pavilion will dispatch assassins to begin assassinating the token holder.

If a person can survive three assassination attempts by assassins from the Hidden Kill Pavilion, he can succeed as the Pavilion Master and command all the assassins in the Hidden Kill Pavilion.

After Li Musheng received the Hidden Kill Order, it had naturally been more than twenty-four hours.

Once the appointed time arrived, the Hidden Assassins Pavilion immediately selected and dispatched its first assassin to kill Li Musheng.

Coincidentally, the young swordsman was the assassin chosen by the Hidden Killing Pavilion.

Logically speaking, the first wave of assassinations by the Hidden Assassins should have been the weakest of the three.

But the young swordsman is by no means weak; on the contrary, he ranks among the top young assassins of the entire Hidden Killing Pavilion.

Since the day he started killing, he has carried out no fewer than a hundred assassinations, and still maintains a perfect record of killings.

He was only around thirty years old, yet he had already reached the level of a grandmaster of martial arts. Moreover, he was well-versed in the art of stealth killing, and his killings were always swift and fatal.

The reason why the Hidden Kill Pavilion sent him was naturally due to the special nature of Li Musheng's identity.

As a prince of Dali, he would naturally be surrounded by skilled protectors, making assassination significantly more difficult. Therefore, the first assassination attempt was carried out by sending out the best young assassins.

This matter is naturally an extremely important opportunity for the young swordsman. If the assassination succeeds, he can capture Li Musheng, the eighth prince of Dali.

His reputation in the assassin world will surely rise, and he will also be valued and cultivated by the Hidden Assassins Pavilion. He might even be able to reach the level of "Assassin Saint" in the future.

However, the young swordsman was indeed full of ambition at the beginning.

Not only did they go to great lengths to gather information about Li Musheng, but they also devised a foolproof assassination plan targeting his status as a prince.

Unfortunately, before he could make a move, Li Musheng acted out of the ordinary and secretly left the capital for some unknown reason.

This not only rendered his assassination plan useless, but also caused him to lose track of Li Musheng.

This was undoubtedly a significant blow to an assassin, but fortunately, after some investigation, he eventually found Li Musheng's whereabouts.

So he followed Li Musheng's trail, traversing several prefectures, and finally arrived at Lanzhou.

At first, the young swordsman did not know Li Musheng's purpose; he only knew that the other party's departure from the capital seemed to be related to the Tianjin Guard.

They even once thought that this might be a protective measure taken by the Tianjin Guard against the Hidden Killing Pavilion after they learned that Li Musheng had the Hidden Killing Order.

It wasn't until he arrived in Lanzhou that he vaguely realized things might not be as simple as he thought.

Just now, after he heard the news from the old storyteller...

He only belatedly realized that the person he was trying to assassinate, the eighth prince of Dali, had not left the capital to avoid his assassination attempt at all.

The other party's true purpose was to destroy Luoshen Peak, one of the four major sects in the martial arts world.

Just a moment ago, the young swordsman was struck dumb as if by lightning.

Especially after hearing that Li Musheng single-handedly killed the peak master of Luoshen Peak and the four Venerables.

He felt a chill run down his spine, his soul trembled with fear, and a profound sense of dread gripped his entire being.

Asking a mere assassin with martial arts cultivation at the Grandmaster level to kill a target comparable to a martial god—is that something a human could do?
Fortunately, he was skilled enough as an assassin to hide his true emotions, so he didn't show anything unusual.

Even so, he still couldn't completely hide it, and his state of mind became turbulent, which led the old storyteller to notice some clues.

However, although the other party discovered his identity, the young swordsman had no intention of paying attention to it or getting entangled with the other party any further.

At that moment, all he was thinking about was to immediately confirm the information the old storyteller had given him, and then leave Lanzhou as soon as possible.

He could no longer continue with such deadly assassination missions; the cabinet could send whomever it wanted.
Although the assassin was cold-blooded and ruthless, he was not without fear of death!

(End of this chapter)