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

Chapter 303 The Princes' Gathering
"A teenage girl from the Huo family injured my son and Dugu Yan so badly, and almost killed you with a single shot?"

Dugu Changkong's cold voice was like thunder in the blue-robed old man's ears. The terrifying martial pressure pressed down, causing him to groan and spit out a mouthful of blood.

The elders of the Dugu family around him all had strange expressions. After listening to the old man in blue robes recount the situation, they were equally incredulous.

"There must be... a powerful expert secretly helping her, but my strength is insufficient... that's why I was injured by her..."

The old man in blue robes began to explain with difficulty, and one of the elders of the Dugu family frowned, asking in surprise:
"You are a martial arts master who has been in the Celestial Realm for more than ten years. If someone really helped that little girl from the Huo family and injured you through her, how strong must that person be?"

Upon hearing this, the other elders of the Dugu family exchanged glances. One of them, his expression shifting, suddenly spoke up:

"Could it be that Champion Marquis Huo Xian made the move?"

"Impossible. Huo Xian has lost all his martial arts skills. Countless people have investigated and verified that he is already a cripple and not worth fearing. It would never have been him who made the move."

An elderly member of the Dugu family, with white hair, shook his head, categorically rejecting such a possibility.

If Huo Xianzhen still possessed martial arts skills, the Huo family would not be in its current predicament, and Emperor Yuanwu would never have allowed such a brilliant strategist and exceptionally skilled martial artist to waste his days in vain.

At this moment, the old man in blue robes also shook his head and said:

"When we made our move, Huo Xian was not present, and I did not notice that he had made any move in secret."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room fell silent for a moment.

"If it weren't for Huo Xian, who else in the entire capital would lend a helping hand to the Huo family, which has been in decline for many years?"

Someone voiced their doubts, but Dugu Changkong coldly snorted, making no attempt to conceal his killing intent, and said sharply:
"No matter who he is, he dared to hurt my son like this. My Dugu family will never let him go and will make him pay a hundredfold."

Just then, the figure of a girl in a white dress suddenly appeared outside the room.

"I know who helped Huo Mu."

The girl in the white dress stood at the doorway, biting her lip, her gaze sweeping towards the elders of the Dugu family and the family head, Dugu Changkong, inside the room.

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the girl in the white dress. Dugu Changkong narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp as a sword as he stared at her, and said:

"Could it be that you saw the person who made the move? Tell me, who was that person?"

The girl in the white dress lowered her head quickly when she met Dugu Changkong's gaze, and then took a deep breath.

"Actually, that person was there the whole time, but none of us noticed him make a move."

The girl in the white dress glanced at the old man in blue robes kneeling on the ground and said:
"The person who made the move was the young man with the big black cat, and I only found out his identity by overhearing their conversation."

As she spoke, she looked up at Dugu Changkong, her expression enigmatic, and said:

"He is the eighth prince of the current dynasty."

……

The moment the girl in the white dress uttered those words, the entire room fell silent.

The old man in blue robes kneeling on the ground suddenly looked at the girl, his expression changing rapidly as he kept recalling the figure of Li Musheng in the courtyard building.

Gradually, his face turned pale.

He knew that the girl in front of him would never dare to lie in front of Dugu Changkong and the others, and he could confirm that the young man in his memory could indeed match the Eighth Prince.

"I actually made a move in front of the Eighth Prince, who single-handedly destroyed Fallen God Peak?"

The old man in the blue robe felt a chill run down his spine, and then suddenly realized that he was incredibly lucky to have escaped with his life from the Huo family.

Meanwhile, none of the experts from the Dugu family, including Dugu Changkong, uttered a sound.

Suddenly, everyone frowned, and their expressions turned somewhat unpleasant.

"Are you sure it was that Eighth Prince who helped the Huo family?"

Suddenly, Dugu Changkong moved and instantly appeared in front of the girl in the white dress.

The oppressive aura emanating from him caused the girl to tremble slightly.

"I heard it with my own ears; the champion, Huo Xian, also appeared at that time."

The girl in the white dress, her face pale, struggled to speak despite the pressure:

"But then I suddenly fainted, and I don't know anything about what happened after that."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Changkong stared intently at the girl before him for a moment, then immediately summoned someone and gave the order:

"I need to know all of the Eighth Prince's whereabouts today."

The visitor agreed and immediately left. The Dugu family wielded immense power in the capital and naturally possessed their own exclusive information channels.

Not long after, a steward from the Dugu family rushed over and handed a short report to Dugu Changkong.

After reading the contents of the report, Dugu Changkong immediately handed it over to the elders in the room for further reading.

At this moment, Dugu Changkong ignored the girl in the white dress and the old man in the blue robe, and instead moved to stand in front of the blood-covered, one-armed boy.

Then, with an extremely complicated expression, he asked:
"Uncles and elders, what do you think should be done about this?"

Upon hearing this, the elders of the Dugu family who had finished reading the brief report exchanged bewildered glances, their faces all turning quite grim.

After a short while, an elder of the clan pondered for a moment before slowly speaking:

"That Eighth Prince acted recklessly. He killed the Second Prince Li Que as soon as he returned to the capital. Then he went to the Huo family and secretly injured members of my Dugu family. It is clear that he does not take any power or person in the capital seriously at all."

Upon hearing this, an elder of the Dugu family frowned and nodded, then glanced at Dugu Changkong and said:
"To put it bluntly, compared to the fact that the other side killed the Second Prince, our Dugu family's experience is actually not bad."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Changkong abruptly turned to look at the other person, his eyes flashing with killing intent, and he almost gritted his teeth as he said:

"Are we just going to let my son's injuries go?"

The elders of the Dugu family exchanged glances, but none of them answered Dugu Changkong's question.

They could naturally understand each other's feelings at this moment, but they were now facing Li Musheng, the Eighth Prince who was at the height of his power.

The other party not only has a special identity, but also has amazing martial arts skills. More importantly, he even killed his own second brother without hesitation. If the Dugu family were to confront him, the other party would probably wipe out the Dugu family just like he did with Luoshen Peak.

The Dugu family is far inferior to Luoshen Peak. It wouldn't take much effort for them to wipe out the Dugu family!

“We know the anger in your heart, Changkong, but we still suggest that you ask Lord Wu Mu about this matter first.” A group of elders from the Dugu family spoke up. Although they knew that admitting defeat like this would be extremely humiliating, they could not gamble with the survival of the entire Dugu family.

After all, the Eighth Prince's reputation and intimidation are now far too great. To be honest, it's unlikely that any force in the entire capital would dare to provoke him.

Therefore, regarding the serious injuries suffered by several members of the Dugu family, they could only grit their teeth and swallow their anger.

When Dugu Changkong heard that everyone wanted him to ask Wu Mu, he glanced at the elders but said nothing.

Although he couldn't fathom the thoughts of the powerful and influential Wu Mu of the Dugu family, Dugu Changkong knew without asking that the other party would never allow him to easily take action against members of the Dali royal family.

What's more, the other party is the Eighth Prince, whom the Dugu family cannot afford to offend.

"That's it!"

After a long silence, Dugu Changkong finally sighed, his eyes lowered, and said:
"I will temporarily refrain from pursuing this matter against the Eighth Prince."

However, Dugu Changkong immediately changed his tone, fixed his gaze on the crowd, and said sternly:

“But the Huo family will never forgive us, and I will make them pay the price.”

Upon hearing this, the elders of the Dugu family exchanged glances, but did not object to Dugu Changkong's proposal.

Although they already knew that Li Musheng had connections with the Huo family, it was still within acceptable limits for the Dugu family to take action against the Huo family rather than confronting Li Musheng directly.

Moreover, the Dugu family is in the right this time, and they may even be able to take this opportunity to obtain the Huo family's spear manual, which would be beneficial for the Dugu family.

At this moment, Dugu Changkong glanced around at everyone and continued:

"Furthermore, from today onwards, have the spies from the Dugu family keep a close watch on that Eighth Prince. I need to know everything about him."

"I can't avenge my son now, but that doesn't mean I won't have the chance in the future. I'll remember this grudge!"

……

Nowadays, many people in Shangyang City are keeping an eye on Li Musheng.

After Li Musheng arrived at the Huo residence, the fact that Dugu Yan and his entourage were carried back to the Dugu family was naturally witnessed by those in the shadows.

In a short time, news of Li Musheng's attack on the Dugu family was also spread to various forces in the capital through secret spies.

Meanwhile, inside the Dali royal palace.

Inside the Phoenix Palace where the Queen resides, the four princes of Da Li—the eldest prince Li Xuan, the fourth prince Li Zi, the fifth prince Li Qing, and the sixth prince Li An—are gathered together for the first time.

Moreover, the four princes did not plan to meet beforehand; instead, they each used the excuse of visiting their respective mothers at the palace.

However, according to the rules of the palace, the princes must first pay their respects to the Queen, the head of the harem, before entering the palace. Therefore, the group of people happened to meet in the Phoenix Palace without prior arrangement.

"Sixth Brother, the last time I saw you was on the first day of the Lunar New Year. I didn't expect to see you here today."

The fourth prince, Li Zi, wore a purple robe with gold trim and a jade crown, exuding an extraordinary aura.

Opposite him was a young man whose clothes were not particularly luxurious. The young man had his head slightly lowered and seemed taciturn. He cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty should know that I am not good at socializing. I usually stay at home with books for company. The main reason I came to the palace this time is that I have not seen my mother for many days, so I came to visit her."

Upon hearing this, the eldest prince Li Xuan and the fifth prince Li Qing, who were standing side by side in the main hall, exchanged a glance. Li Qing then chuckled and said:
"Sixth Brother, there's no need to hide anything. We both know perfectly well why we've come to the palace."

Upon hearing this, the Sixth Prince Li An blushed immediately, and then cupped his hands in greeting:
"Please forgive me, my brothers. It was truly my fault for being so timid. I overheard that the Eighth Prince went straight to the Second Prince's residence upon returning to the capital, and even... he actually..."

As he spoke, the Sixth Prince Li An seemed unable to continue, and only let out a heavy sigh with a sorrowful expression.

At the same time, the expressions of Li Qing and several other princes also turned somewhat ugly, with the fourth prince, Li Zi, looking particularly shocked and angry, saying:
“That eighth prince is truly audacious and reckless, actually murdering his own brother and committing such a heinous act. This matter must be reported to the Emperor and the Queen, and he must be severely punished.”

The Fifth Prince, Li Qing, nodded slightly, his gaze grave, and said:
“That is indeed the case. Otherwise, I have no doubt that the Eighth Prince would slaughter us one by one for the sake of the Crown Prince’s position, and how could we possibly withstand his terrifying martial arts skills?”

The eldest prince, Li Xuan, had a refined and scholarly appearance, but his brows were furrowed as he said:
"The Eighth Prince has indeed gone too far. Even if the Second Brother has done something wrong, he should have handed him over to the Emperor and the court for punishment. He should not have disregarded the law and so recklessly taken his life."

"If the entire Dali court and the people of the martial arts world acted as arbitrarily as he did, the people of Dali would have long been suffering and never had a peaceful day."

Upon hearing this, the Sixth Prince, Li An, glanced up at the First Prince, then lowered his head and said:

“Your Majesty always has the people of the world on your mind, which makes me ashamed. However, I have no great ambitions. I only want to read, write, paint, and enjoy nature. I have no interest in the struggle for the throne and will not be an obstacle to anyone.”

As he spoke, he bowed slightly, but it was a deep and respectful salute, and said:

"If any of you brothers are able to see the Eighth Prince, please convey my words to him, and tell him not to have any intention of killing me."

Upon hearing this, the other three princes all gave Li An a strange look.

Sure enough, this sixth brother really is the sixth brother; he remains as weak and timid as ever, seemingly wanting to stay out of everything and not wanting to get involved in anything.

"Sixth Brother, there are some things in this world that others will let go of just because you don't fight for them."

The Fourth Prince, Li Zi, narrowed his eyes, glanced at the other party, and said:
“If you don’t want to end up like Second Brother, being killed by Eighth Brother in that extremely cruel way, you’d better stand with us.”

"Otherwise, if the Eighth Prince really becomes emperor, he will definitely be an utterly wicked tyrant!"

Upon hearing this, the entire Phoenix Palace fell silent.

The sixth prince, Li An, had his head down, seemingly struggling and hesitating, unsure of what to do.
Just then, the queen, dressed in magnificent robes, entered the hall surrounded by a group of palace maids and eunuchs, and sat down on the golden phoenix throne.

"Your son greets your mother!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

……

The eldest prince, Li Xuan, and the other three princes immediately bowed, while the queen waved her hand.

Her gaze swept over the four princes, then she put her hand to her forehead and said:
"I am already aware of the purpose of Xuan'er and the princes' visit."

"I have already sent people to handle the matter of the Second Prince, Li Que. As for the Eighth Prince..."

At this point, the queen paused before shaking her head and saying:

"Don't provoke him for now. We'll discuss everything after His Majesty emerges from seclusion. If you're really afraid, I can arrange for you to stay in the palace temporarily, which will ensure your safety for the time being!"

(End of this chapter)