Ten years of dormancy: Starting as a martial arts master at the pinnacle

"They're from the Shadow Sect."

This was a name that Li Changqing was completely unfamiliar with.

The men of the canal gangs liked to talk about only two things.

One is the young woman beside me, and the other is my wife.

Another one is the gossip about the martial arts world and the imperial court.

There's relatively little gossip about the imperial court, since they don't have access to it and can only hear rumors.

For example, the heir of a royal family and the young master of a marquis's family compete for the title of courtesan.

Or perhaps, a marriage between two noble families is about to take place. But then another family comes along, claiming to have already developed feelings for the young lady.

In short, it has nothing to do with reliable politics.

But the gossip of the martial arts world is different. The Cao Gang is also a sect in the martial arts world, although it is only at the lowest level of the sects.

But those were also gangs in the martial arts world.

With this identity, they can feel more immersed in the gossip of the martial arts world.

This involves various sects and some legends in the martial arts world.

As a result, Li Changqing had heard of the names of various major forces in the martial arts world.

The name "Shadow Sect" has never been uttered by those people.

In other words, even within the martial arts world, this sect is not well-known.

"It's normal that the young prince doesn't know. Over 99% of the sects in the martial arts world are not very famous. A large part of this is because they are too weak and may not last more than a few years before..."

Qin Yu couldn't think of a suitable adjective, so Li Changqing waved his hand.

He was being told there was no need to continue.

It's just that they couldn't keep going and went out of business, right?

This is quite normal; learning martial arts costs money, and the cost is very high.

The saying "the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts" is never a joke.

To achieve something in martial arts, talent and diligence are only one aspect; various resources are also indispensable.

of course.

If you are born with extraordinary talent, then that's a different story.

Most martial artists inevitably have to take the path of medicinal baths.

"But there's another group, because people in the martial arts world don't want others to know, they themselves don't want to be known. The Shadow Sect is one of them. This sect is extremely powerful, with at least two Great Free and Unfettered masters under its command."

Get to the point.

Li Changqing shook his head.

Even if this sect is powerful, Li Changqing doesn't believe they would do something as foolish as offending the Qin Prince's Mansion.

There must be a reason why they chose to do this.

If we can't find any clues, that's fine.

With the capabilities of the Qin Prince's secret guards, as long as they get even the slightest clue, they will be able to investigate the matter thoroughly.

Otherwise, Qin Yu wouldn't have dragged it out for so long.

"The Shadow Sect switched sides ten years ago. Our people only just received the news."

A bitter smile flashed across Qin Yu's face.

This is absolutely their dereliction of duty.

For a full ten years, they failed to discover it.

Of course, this is mainly because they are not clear about the truth of the matter and have not invested a lot of energy and manpower in this regard.

After all, the thirteenth prince was already dead in everyone's eyes at that time.

How could they possibly search for it?

Even so, Qin Yu and the others still couldn't forgive themselves.

Ten years ago, with the help of King Qin, Li Yuanhao, they had all broken through to the Free and Unfettered Realm.

In the martial arts world, they can already be considered a powerful force.

However, they found no trace of the Shadow Sect throughout the entire process, nor did they discover any connection between the Shadow Sect and that person.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Shadow Sect has already pledged allegiance to the Crown Prince, hasn't it?"

Without Qin Yu saying anything, Li Changqing figured it out on his own.

A fleeting look of surprise crossed Qin Yu's eyes.

It's normal for princes and grandsons to guess this, but Prince Li Changqing had never been in the palace before.

Instead, he lay low in the wilderness for a full 10 years.

He actually figured out the situation in the capital so quickly and guessed who was behind it all.

It was really not easy.

"Young Prince, your insight is keen; it is indeed His Highness the Crown Prince. Our people have already discovered that it's not just the Shadow Sect. The assassins under the Shadow Sect are also working for the Crown Prince."

"Where's the Blood Skull?"

Li Changqing had not forgotten that he had been assassinated when he returned to the capital with Murong Yao.

The ones who made the move were Blood Skull's assassins.

"The Blood Skull has also secretly allied itself with a prince, but we are still investigating which one it is."

"How wonderful! They really are blood relatives..."

Li Changqing couldn't help but sigh, "The princes of the Great Zhou are truly a group of talented people."

The Blood Skull organization is one thing. It's perfectly normal for a newly emerging assassin organization to have a wealthy backer.

Shadow Sect, Assassin Camp.

Although the Shadow Sect is not well-known, the reputation of its assassin camp has spread to every corner of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

In terms of numbers, they are the largest assassin organization in the martial arts world.

The day after tomorrow, the innate, the grandmaster, the great grandmaster...

Even powerful beings in the Free and Unfettered Realm can be helped to solve problems as long as you can afford it.

Such a powerful assassin organization has existed in the martial arts world for so many years without being wiped out.

It turns out that he had already sided with the Crown Prince ten years ago.

"Li Yuanqian!"

Silently reciting the name in his heart, Li Changqing had a slight smile on his lips.

In the imperial court, although Crown Prince Li Yuanqian had the support of veteran officials, not many people placed all their hopes on him and were willing to risk their lives.

On the contrary, in the martial arts world, the title of Crown Prince is exceptionally useful. Many people want to befriend the future Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty in advance.

The Shadow Sect member is probably the most important one among them.

It's not that the Shadow Sect is particularly strong; there are quite a few sects in the martial arts world that are stronger than the Shadow Sect.

But those who chose to side with the crown prince were undoubtedly the strongest.

Qin King Li Yuanhao also had powerful Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the martial arts world) forces under his command, some even stronger than his own.

However, ten years ago, he was clearly no match for the Crown Prince.

"Now, ten years have passed. Besides the Shadow Sect, there are probably other martial arts forces that have also pledged allegiance to our Crown Prince."

Upon hearing Li Changqing's question, Qin Yu nodded: "Your Highness's foresight is truly remarkable; I am ashamed of my own inferiority. According to the intelligence we have obtained, at least a dozen martial arts forces have already pledged allegiance to the Crown Prince. Besides the Shadow Sect, there are probably other sects operating in secret as well."

"The world is so big, it's truly full of wonders! I thought the martial arts world and the imperial court were clearly separate, but I never expected that a bunch of outlaws would actually be concerned about the struggle for the throne."

This means directly participating in the struggle for the throne; failure would mean utter ruin.

"It's no wonder those outlaws of the martial world are tempted. If they succeed, they can reap huge benefits from His Majesty the Emperor."

Putting aside everything else, the number of closed-door training slots in the Great Zhou Armory alone is enough to make top martial arts masters flock to it.

Not to mention the resources that the imperial court could provide.

As the most powerful force in the world, the Great Zhou Dynasty was able to gather more rare and precious materials than any other person or force could.

Many precious medicinal herbs are only available to the imperial court.

"And even if they fail, they can simply disappear into the wilderness. As long as the imperial court doesn't send a large army, there's nothing they can do."

"It's time to clean up this martial world."

……