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

Chapter 308 Great Chu
Shen Anran gave Li Yuanling a strange look and asked:

"Does that person know Her Highness's identity, yet still persist in this harassment?"

Li Yuanling pondered for a moment and said:

"This is also what puzzles and frustrates me. That person seems to be someone of great importance. He didn't show any restraint because of my identity or my threats."

As she spoke, Li Yuanling was clearly somewhat sullen, and said:

"If I had known, I wouldn't have been so kind as to help."

Upon hearing this, Li Musheng glanced at her and sneered:
"Look at you, you're just showing off. If someone's pursuing you, doesn't that mean your adopted sister has a little bit of charm?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanling immediately frowned, glared at Li Musheng, and said:
"What do you mean by 'a little bit of charm'? The people who want to pursue me could line up from the Imperial Palace in the capital to the gates of Shangyang City, okay?"

Then, her eyes flickered, and she said:
"No, I've done so much work for you, it's time for you, my sworn brother, to repay me. You have to help me get rid of that person, I never want to see him again."

Upon hearing this, Li Musheng shrugged and said speechlessly:
"Are you kidding me? He was just pursuing you, and you're going to treat him this badly?"

"What I mean is that you should figure out a way to stop him from bothering me, not that you should get rid of him."

Li Yuanling rolled her eyes, while Li Musheng shook his head, then looked at Yu Jin beside him and said:

"This kind of trivial matter should be left to Lord Yu to handle. I don't have time to deal with your affairs."

Upon hearing this, Yu Jin immediately accepted the order without hesitation, saying:

"Your Highnesses, rest assured, this matter is in my hands. I will handle it properly and restore peace to the Princess."

Seeing this, Li Yuanling didn't say anything more and looked at Li Musheng, saying:
"The establishment of the Martial Alliance by the three major sects should not be underestimated. Moreover, a large part of the reason they did this is definitely because of you, the Eighth Prince who destroyed Fallen God Peak."

"No matter what, you can't just wash your hands of this and ignore it."

Li Musheng narrowed his eyes, but he was too lazy to talk to his adopted sister.

It's already good enough that he can help Emperor Yuanwu destroy Luoshen Peak. He has no time to deal with all sorts of messy things.
Of course, if there are things he really can't stand, or if someone targets him directly, then that's a different story.

At this moment, Li Musheng reached out and beckoned to the large black cat lying not far away.

The big black cat rolled its eyes, immediately got up from the ground, came to Li Musheng's side, and rubbed against his clothes in a fawning manner.

He wondered if Li Musheng had finally come to his senses and was about to give it a divine empowerment, so that it could also possess the same formidable strength as Huo Mu.

However, Li Musheng stroked it and casually removed the brass ring from its neck.

"Is there something wrong with this Hidden Kill Order? I've been back in the capital for several days, and there's been no sign of any activity from the Hidden Kill Pavilion."

Li Musheng looked suspicious. Although he had given the other party a half-month deadline, he naturally hoped that the other party would take action as soon as possible.

If this matter is resolved sooner, he can get the Hidden Killing Pavilion to help him find the key to the Apocalypse Treasure and the Fire Qilin in the four kingdoms, and he can leave the capital at any time, saving them from having to come to him for everything.

Upon hearing this, both Li Yuanling and Shen Anran showed unusual expressions, as they were naturally aware of the Hidden Killing Pavilion's affairs.

Although they had great faith in Li Musheng's abilities, the threat posed by such a formidable assassin organization, which struck fear into the hearts of the entire martial arts world, was still considerable.

"If Your Highness had not revealed your strength, these three assassination attempts would have been extremely easy. Now that the news of Your Highness's destruction of Fallen God Peak has spread throughout the world, the Hidden Killing Pavilion will probably send out even more powerful assassins."

Shen Anran pondered for a moment before speaking, while Li Musheng waved his hand and said:
"It's alright, it doesn't matter who comes."

Upon hearing this, Shen Anran and Li Yuanling immediately fell silent, since they weren't particularly worried about Li Musheng anyway.

Just then, a servant from the Tianjin Guard rushed in from outside the courtyard, bowed to Li Musheng, and presented him with a letter, saying:
“A person claiming to be from the Hidden Killing Pavilion delivered this letter, saying that Your Highness should open it personally.”

Upon hearing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "Speak of the devil and he appears."

He immediately took the letter, opened it, and glanced at it briefly.

When the big black cat heard that it was a letter from the Hidden Killing Pavilion, it immediately shuddered.

Immediately, it moved closer to Li Musheng, tilting its large cat head, wanting to see what was written in the letter.
After all, it had the Hidden Kill Order hanging around its neck. Shen Anran and the others weren't worried, but it was very concerned, since it involved its own cat life.

"What did the letter say?"

At this moment, Li Yuanling glanced at Li Musheng and asked with some curiosity.

Li Musheng casually tossed the letter to the big black cat and said:
"Three days later, the Hidden Killing Pavilion invited me to a battle outside Shangyang City."

Upon hearing this, both Li Yuanling and Shen Anran showed unusual expressions, and said:
"Didn't you say it was an assassination? Why are you openly challenging me to a fight?"

Li Musheng waved his hand and said:
"It doesn't matter, there's no difference anyway."

Li Yuanling's eyes suddenly flickered, and she said:
"If the Hidden Kill Pavilion sends its top assassins, such a duel between experts is extremely rare. I must go and observe it in three days."

Shen Anran nodded as well. Of course, she wasn't there to watch the duel, but simply to appreciate Li Musheng's skillful moves.

At this moment, the big black cat finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Hidden Kill Pavilion was targeting Li Musheng, but not including it. Even though it was wearing the Hidden Kill Token, it no longer had to live in fear.

"Alright, then let's wait three more days."

Li Musheng casually put the assassination order back around the big black cat's neck.

……

Meanwhile, in a luxurious mansion in Shangyang City.

A handsome young man, dressed in a feathered robe, lay on a soft couch, surrounded by maids and servants who massaged his legs and shoulders and fed him fine wine and fruit.

Before long, an old man's figure drifted in from outside the room, and then bowed to the young master on the soft couch, apologizing and saying:
"This old servant failed to keep an eye on Princess Huarong, allowing her to secretly leave the mansion. I beg you, young master, to punish me."

Upon hearing this, the young master did not look at the old man who had arrived, but instead asked indifferently:
"All I want to know right now is where Li Yuanling went?"

The old man looked up at the young man, hesitated for a moment, and said:
"If this old servant is not mistaken, then Princess Huarong should have gone to the Tianjin Guard headquarters."

"The headquarters of the Tianjin Guard?"

The young master slowly sat up straight, waved his hand to stop the maids and servants, and said:
"If I remember correctly, the powerful Eighth Prince of Dali seems to live there." Hearing this, the old man nodded and said:
“Your Excellency, that is indeed the case. As far as I know, Princess Huarong and the Eighth Prince are sworn siblings, and their relationship seems to be quite good.”

"It's likely that Princess Huarong left the mansion this time to see the Eighth Prince."

The young man finally turned to look at the old man, then remained silent for a moment before saying:
"It must be said that Emperor Yuanwu of Dali was quite good at having children. Not only could he give birth to an unparalleled martial arts genius like the Eighth Prince, but he could also give birth to an interesting woman like Li Yuanling."

Upon hearing this, the old man hesitated for a moment, but ultimately cautiously reminded him:

"Young master, Princess Huarong is not Emperor Yuanwu's biological daughter."

Upon hearing this, the young master glared coldly at the old man and said:
Did I tell you to shut up?

Then, he waved his hand and said:

"No matter what, Li Yuanling is the one I've chosen, and I'm determined to have her no matter what."

The old man's expression changed immediately, but he still forced himself to speak:

“Young master, this is the capital of the Great Li Dynasty. We simply do not have the ability to attack a princess and escape unscathed. Moreover, she has a sworn brother…”

However, before the old man could finish speaking, the young master interrupted him, saying coldly:
Did I say I was going to use force?

As he spoke, he rose from the soft couch, then looked towards the direction of the Great Li Imperial Palace in the city, and said:

"Since Li Yuanling is the princess of Dali, how can we do such a crude thing as kidnapping and plundering? We should marry her openly and properly."

Upon hearing this, the old man's face showed a hint of doubt, then he looked hesitantly at the young man and asked uncertainly:

"Young master, do you mean to arrange a marriage between the Great Chu and the Great Li?"

The young man did not deny it, and nodded slightly, saying:

"Of course, it is only natural that it is a perfect match for me, as a prince of the Great Chu, to marry a princess of the Great Li."

The old man didn't speak, but simply frowned deeply.

Logically speaking, there should be no problem with the marriage alliance between the two countries of Dali and Dachu.

However, the problem lies in the fact that the current situation in Dali is complicated and cannot be explained in a few words.

Since Li Musheng destroyed Luoshenfeng, although the Dali Dynasty achieved a great victory and demonstrated its power,

However, the negative consequences have already become apparent, as their Chu Kingdom had already obtained intelligence before their spies in the capital of Dali.

The three major sects of the Great Li Jianghu formed the Martial Alliance, rallying all sects in the Great Li Jianghu to fight against the Great Li Dynasty.

With this situation arising, internal strife has undoubtedly broken out within the Dali Kingdom. The Dali court will now have to devote the vast majority of its energy to dealing with these martial arts sects.

The four kingdoms surrounding Dali—Dawu, Dazhou, Dachu, and Daxuan—would naturally not sit idly by in the face of Dali's predicament.

For the four kingdoms, this was not only a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but they also could not possibly watch Dali easily resolve its internal turmoil and become the first dynasty to unify the martial arts world.

Without the constraints of the Jianghu forces, Dali will surely become more prosperous and powerful, growing into the greatest dynasty above the four kingdoms.

Furthermore, with the emergence of such a talented eighth prince in martial arts, the four kingdoms would certainly not sit idly by and watch Dali grow stronger.

More importantly, the Great Zhou, the sworn enemy of the Great Li, would never let such an opportunity pass by, and would certainly spare no effort to take advantage of the situation and destroy the Great Li Dynasty.

Given this global trend, it was inevitable that the Great Chu would stand in opposition to the Great Li. Under these circumstances, it would be virtually impossible for the Great Chu and the Great Li to form a marriage alliance.

At this moment, the young master glanced at the old man, narrowed his eyes slightly, and shook his head, saying:

"I know what you're thinking."

"Do you think that the Great Chu and the Great Li will never be able to marry, and that I will never be able to marry Li Yuanling?"

Upon hearing this, the old man remained silent for a moment, but still bowed and nodded slightly.

Seeing this, the young master glanced at the other person, then suddenly burst into laughter, saying:
“Foolish, you have misunderstood this matter.”

Immediately, the young master, with his hands behind his back and a meaningful look in his eyes, said:

"If it were before, if my Great Chu had proposed marriage to Great Li in order to obtain Li Yuanling, Great Li might have agreed."

"But it's very likely he won't agree. After all, Li Yuanling is the descendant of a meritorious official, and Emperor Yuanwu, in order to protect his own reputation, is unlikely to let her become a victim of political interests and thus be criticized behind his back."

As he spoke, the young master gave a cold laugh, then changed his tone and said:
"But things are different now. The Great Li is now bound to fall into internal turmoil and the four external kingdoms are eyeing it covetously, taking the opportunity to nibble away at the territory of the Great Li."

"Under such circumstances, Dali is undoubtedly besieged on all sides. It can even be said that the entire world of the four kingdoms and the martial arts world are Dali's enemies."

At this point, the young man suddenly turned to look at the old man and said:
"You know, under such circumstances, if the Great Chu suddenly showed goodwill and proposed to form a marriage alliance with the Great Li, wouldn't Emperor Yuanwu be overjoyed? He would almost certainly offer up Li Yuanling without hesitation."

Upon hearing this, the old man was slightly taken aback and looked at the Great Chu prince who had come to Dali in disguise with surprise.

Immediately, his expression changed repeatedly, and he frowned as he asked:
"But if we do that, Great Chu will be standing against the other three kingdoms, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?"

The young man glanced at the old man with a strange expression, then shook his head and said:

"The relationship between major powers is fraught with uncertainty, and everything is driven by self-interest and the prevailing trend."

"Do you think that just because our Great Chu and Great Li have formed a marriage alliance, we are truly allied nations that will advance and retreat together? Do you think that Great Li will never stab Great Chu in the back, and Great Chu will never stab Great Li in the back?"

As he spoke, a smile appeared on the young master's lips, and he said:
"Besides satisfying my personal desires, the marriage is also a strategic move, a move that Da Li simply cannot refuse."

"What others fear, I am excited; what others flock to, I retreat from."

"In the future, when the four kingdoms divide up Dali, how much benefit will our Great Chu gain? It depends on whether our Great Chu can plan ahead and seize the initiative."

"As for the so-called marriage alliance, it's nothing more than a worthless contract that can be discarded at any time. Once the Great Li is destroyed, who will care about this? What power does the Great Li have that would force our Great Chu to honor the agreement?"

"So-called alliances are only established between two equally powerful parties. If one side is weak, then it is nothing more than a subject to be manipulated at will!"

(End of this chapter)