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

Chapter 304 Tianji Pavilion

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince Li Zi's expression immediately changed, and he frowned, cupping his hands in a respectful gesture as he asked:
"Your Majesty, is there really nothing the palace can do about that Eighth Prince?"

The queen, seated on her golden throne, glanced at him and said:
"Regardless of whether the palace has a way to deal with him, it is impossible to touch him before His Majesty gives the order."

The eldest prince, Li Xuan, and the fifth prince, Li Qing, exchanged a glance, then bowed to the queen and asked:
"Does Mother know when Father will be able to emerge from seclusion?"

The Queen shook her head again, a hint of helplessness appearing on her dignified face, and said:
"I don't know either. To be honest, I'm even more anxious than you are. I hope His Majesty can leave the country soon."

"So much has happened during this period, whether good or bad, that is not something I can easily decide."

Upon hearing this, the princes all fell silent.

But just then, an old eunuch rushed into the hall, bowed to the queen on the throne, and reported:

"Your Majesty, news has just come back that after the Eighth Prince left the Tianjin Guard headquarters again, he went to the Huo family residence. It seems that he has once again taken action against the Dugu family."

Upon hearing this, the princes in the hall were all taken aback, while the queen frowned, but did not ask any further questions, simply waving her hand and saying:
"You may leave now. I am already aware of this matter."

At the same time, the fourth prince, Li Zi, changed his expression several times, then bowed to the queen and said:
"Your Majesty, I have made my decision. I will stay in the palace for the time being and wait for Father to emerge from seclusion."

"Please trouble Your Majesty to arrange accommodations for me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Sixth Prince, Li An, also quickly bowed and said:

"Like my fourth brother, I also ask Your Majesty to arrange a place for me to stay temporarily."

Upon hearing this, the Queen glanced at the two of them, then nodded slightly and arranged for a eunuch to lead them to their residence in the palace.

The eldest prince, Li An, looked at the fifth prince, Li Qing, and said:

"Why don't you stay with me in the palace for a while, Fifth Brother? It's been a while since I've spent time with Mother."

Li Qing agreed without hesitation, while the Queen's gaze fell on Li Xuan, and she said:

“Xuan’er is very thoughtful. That Eighth Brother acts recklessly and should be kept at a distance for the time being.”

……

Over the next two days, the four princes quietly moved into the palace, while Li Musheng stayed in the Tianjin Guard headquarters and did not go out.

However, on this day, a message was sent from Yundu City to the capital of Dali.

"Have you heard? The Martial Saint of Yuming Mountain was ambushed and killed by a master a while ago. It is said that the identity of the perpetrator has been found."

In a bustling restaurant in the capital, diners were talking in hushed tones.

In the current state of the Great Li Jianghu, apart from the still-running news of the Eighth Prince Li Musheng's destruction of Luoshen Peak and his killing of the Second Prince upon returning to the capital, the rest of the story is still widely discussed.

Another widely circulated story was undoubtedly the death of Mu Tianxing, the Martial Saint of Yuming Mountain.

The death of one of the only two Martial Saints was an indisputable major event for the entire Jianghu of Dali, and it also caused a great shock to all forces.

"Who? Who killed the Martial Saint of my Great Li Jianghu?"

A diner exclaimed in surprise. This person was clearly a martial arts expert and seemed to greatly admire the Martial Saint Mu Tianxing. His words were clearly tinged with anger.

Clearly, he was very resentful of the shameless person who attacked the Martial Saint.

Upon hearing this, the person who had spoken earlier suddenly glanced around, then lowered his voice and said:
"The person who ambushed and killed the Martial Saint is no ordinary person. I'm telling you this, but you must not spread it around, or our lives may be in danger."

"Don't worry, these words will only be heard by the two of us, and will never be heard by a third party."

The person asking the question repeatedly assured him, and only then did the other person nod and say:

"According to the investigation by the people of Yuming Mountain, someone saw the true face of the perpetrator that night, and the person who ambushed and killed the Martial Saint was none other than the Eighth Prince of Dali!"

"What? It's the Eighth Prince?"

Upon hearing this, the diners exclaimed in surprise once again, and the other customers who had been listening intently also looked shocked.

Before long, the entire restaurant was abuzz with discussion as everyone unknowingly began to whisper about Li Musheng's sneak attack and assassination of the Martial Saint.

Some people suspect that the information is incorrect, or that the investigation at Yuming Mountain may have made a mistake.

Some people think this is very likely true, believing that after Li Musheng destroyed Luoshen Peak, he wanted to obtain the position of Martial Saint. So when he returned to the capital, he went to Yuming Mountain and assassinated the Martial Saint.

After all, judging from Li Musheng's rumored unscrupulous style of doing things, this matter is completely in line with his style.

……

Meanwhile, inside a private room of the restaurant.

Mr. You Shan, the head of the Tianji Pavilion, dressed in a scholar's robe, was meeting with several pavilion leaders from Shangyang City.

The discussions about the death of the Martial Saint in the restaurant were clearly heard by everyone.

However, it was clear that the people from Tianji Pavilion already knew about this situation, so they were not surprised. Instead, they turned their attention to Mr. Youshan, who was sitting in the main seat.

"Sir, may I ask what brings us here today?"

A middle-aged man in a short-sleeved shirt spoke up and asked, while Mr. You Shan shook his head and sighed, saying:

“I previously ordered everyone in the pavilion to take action against that Eighth Prince. This was my mistake as the pavilion master, and it is also my fault for implicating the pavilion because of my personal interests.”

As he spoke, he glanced around at everyone in the room and calmly said:
"Therefore, I have decided to resign from my position as Pavilion Master. From this day forward, I will no longer be the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion."

Upon hearing this, all the leaders of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion in the room were taken aback, and some immediately hurriedly advised:

"Sir, you must not act rashly. The Eighth Prince is so well hidden that it is not something we could easily know in advance. This matter should not be blamed on you."

Mr. You Shan waved his hand and said:

"It was indeed my fault. I want to repay the kindness, but I can't implicate the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. I did make a mistake before, so you don't need to say anything more."

As he spoke, he picked up the teacup on the table and addressed the crowd:

"I have worked with you all for many years, and today I will bid you farewell with tea instead of wine."

Seeing this, the leaders of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion exchanged glances, and finally said nothing more, raising their wine glasses and drinking them down in one gulp.

"We part today, but we hope to meet again someday."

Mr. Yushan put down his teacup and then stood up.

However, at this moment, the middle-aged man in the short shirt who had been there earlier quickly stood up, cupped his hands, and said:
"Please take your time, sir. Your wisdom is unparalleled. Before I leave, I have some questions I would like to ask you. I hope you will be so kind as to enlighten me."

Upon hearing this, Mr. You Shan, who was about to leave, glanced at the other person, then stopped and nodded, saying, "Ask away, I will answer to the best of my knowledge."

The middle-aged man in the short shirt's expression shifted slightly, then he looked out of the side room and asked in a low voice:
"Do you think the death of the Martial Saint of Yuming Mountain is truly related to that Eighth Prince?"

At that moment, Mr. You Shan heard the sounds of discussion about this matter coming from inside the restaurant. After pondering for a moment, he said:

"Since the news came from Yuming Mountain, it will inevitably spread throughout the world and cause a huge shock to the entire Dali, regardless of whether it is true or false."

"However, it is not appropriate for our Heavenly Secrets Pavilion to get involved in this matter."

"Why is that?" The middle-aged man in the short shirt looked puzzled.

Mr. You Shan sighed softly and said:
"Naturally, it's because of that Eighth Prince. Due to my previous poor decision-making, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion already had a grudge against him."

"The death of the Martial Saint was too sudden, and now it is clear that the Eighth Prince is the real culprit. All these things are like an invisible hand constantly pushing things along, and the ultimate target is very obvious: the Eighth Prince."

As he spoke, Mr. Youshan shook his head slightly and said:
"No one can say for sure what the final outcome will be, but this is just the beginning. When the storm comes, we'd better sit on the sidelines and watch, or we might end up as wreckage in the storm."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man in the short shirt looked thoughtful.

At this moment, another person in charge of the pavilion in the side room suddenly spoke up and asked Mr. Youshan:

"Do you think the Old Man of Heavenly Secrets might seek out that Eighth Prince?"

As everyone knows, the Old Man of Heavenly Secrets is a man of unparalleled wisdom and the ability to understand the heavens and the earth. Many martial saints and even martial gods in the martial arts world had some very close "connections" with the Old Man of Heavenly Secrets before they rose to prominence.

Now, the Eighth Prince is famous throughout the world at such a young age. He is an undisputed martial arts genius. Naturally, the people in the pavilion suspect that the Old Man of Heavenly Secrets will not let go of such a prodigy.

Mr. You Shan remained silent for a while before finally shaking his head and saying:

"It's hard to say. Sometimes he acts like a gazelle hanging its horns, and we can't guess what he's thinking at all."

"However, I think he should go and meet that Eighth Prince. After all, the other party is really too amazing, far surpassing the martial gods of the past in their youth."

"As for whether he would have a deeper relationship with the other party, no one knows."

At this point, Mr. You Shan suddenly glanced around at everyone in the room and said:
"Being within the Great Li Dynasty, I know that you are all currently very concerned about the Eighth Prince, which is understandable."

"But I need to remind you that the Eighth Prince is at the height of his power and his talent is on full display. There are too many people watching him now. If the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion only focuses on him, it will be following the crowd and easily overlooking some existences that are not easily noticed by us."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man in the short shirt frowned slightly and immediately asked:

"What do you mean by that, sir? We are ignorant, could you please explain it to us more clearly?"

Mr. You Shan slowly shook his head and said:

"Don't underestimate yourselves. Remember the sixth prince I asked you to investigate? He is the one who is most easily overlooked."

"Based on my observation of that sixth prince, he is definitely not simple. He is likely to be a hidden talent, no less than that eighth prince. One day he will make a name for himself and shock the whole world."

Having said that, Mr. Youshan stopped talking about the matter and said:

"The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion had long predicted that the world would not be peaceful in the future. It would be an era of outstanding talents and fierce competition among heroes. After all, the world has been divided into five parts for a hundred years, and unification is an inevitable trend."

"If you want to thrive in such an era, you must see deeper and broader than anyone else, and not be swept along by the tide."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room wore strange expressions.

At this moment, Mr. You Shan turned around and walked out of the room, saying:

"Gentlemen, that's all for now. Farewell."

Having said that, he took a step and disappeared.

By the time everyone came to their senses, the other person had already vanished.

The middle-aged man in the short shirt opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Before long, the leaders of the Great Li Heavenly Mystery Pavilion exchanged a few words and then prepared to leave one after another.

But just then, a woman's voice, as clear as a spring, suddenly rang in everyone's ears:

"They left so soon? Aren't you going to talk about the newly appointed Pavilion Master?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically, and they all looked around.

Then, a woman in a pale yellow dress floated in through the window of the room and appeared in front of the leaders of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion.

The woman held a calligraphy brush in one hand and a book in the other, her brushstrokes flowing like magic, writing something with remarkable speed and grace.

Her gaze swept over everyone in the room, as if trying to identify each person.

"So it's the Star Lord!"

The middle-aged man in the short shirt suddenly spoke, clearly recognizing the woman who had arrived.

The surrounding leaders of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion exchanged glances, then bowed to the arriving young woman and said:

"Greetings, Lord Star Lord."

Song Xingwei snapped the book shut, her crescent-shaped eyes narrowing slightly as her gaze swept over everyone in the room.
“I have written down every word you just said. Since you are all so reluctant to part with that former pavilion master, I think you should just quit and leave the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion with him.”

Upon hearing this, the leaders of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion immediately waved their hands and said:

"Lord Star, you misunderstand. Today, Mr. Shan took the initiative to invite us to say goodbye. We have absolutely no intention of leaving the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion."

Song Xingwei sat down at the table with a nonchalant air, poured herself a glass of wine, and pouted, saying:

"I noticed you were asking all sorts of questions, you seemed quite reluctant to part, and very attentive!"

As she spoke, she slammed her hand heavily on the table and said:
“Na Youshan almost caused the destruction of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion because of his own selfishness. He is a sinner of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.”

"If I hadn't discovered it early and reported it to the old man Tianji, the Tianji Pavilion of Dali would probably have been wiped out by the Eighth Prince long ago."

The group of people in charge of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion looked at each other in bewilderment. However, the middle-aged man in the short shirt seemed to know the inside story.

It was this very Star Lord who reported to the Heavenly Mystery Elder, directly leading to the complete removal of Mr. Youshan, the former Pavilion Master, from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion.

Moreover, the other party was renowned in the Tianji Pavilion of the five kingdoms, and countless high-ranking members of the Tianji Pavilion had been dismissed because of her reports.

However, taking down a Pavilion Master is probably her highest achievement to date.

If this gets out, her reputation in the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion will only grow stronger!

(End of this chapter)