Fu Qiwen was briefly taken aback. Though he had already been able to guess that everything before him had been Li Musheng's doing, having it directly confirmed by the other party himself still made him unable to suppress an involuntary shudder.
He had looked through all the case files on this Eighth Prince, and Li Musheng's past had been thoroughly investigated by people Emperor Yuanwu had dispatched.
He therefore knew that before Li Musheng had gone to Shangyang City, he had never once set foot outside that remote and small city in his entire life.
And yet this prince who had spent almost twenty years living in obscurity in a small city had single-handedly killed the Falling God Peak grandmaster and the four honored elders, turning around the outcome of the Great Li Tianjin Guards's operation to destroy Falling God Peak on the strength of one person alone.
Fu Qiwen only felt all of this was so far beyond comprehension as to seem unreal.
The most striking thing was that Li Musheng was still so young. Looking back through thousands of years of human history, whether in the martial world or the halls of power, had there ever been a genius of this caliber?
Even the Emperor Tianqi, who had been called the millennium's one true emperor and whose brilliance had shaken the ages, seemed in his youth to have been incapable of comparing to this Eighth Prince.
"Hmm?"
At that point, Li Musheng noticed Fu Qiwen was only staring at him blankly, and rubbed his chin.
But his face was already this exceptionally handsome. Was there really still room for improvement?
Hearing the sound, Fu Qiwen immediately realized he had lost his composure and quickly withdrew his gaze.
He pressed down the crashing waves in his heart, then thought for a moment and said, "Reporting to Your Highness, the Falling God Peak grandmaster and the four honored elders are the deepest reserve of Falling God Peak's strength. Beyond them, what remains are the various Peak Masters and the elder-level martial artists."
"Now that Your Highness has dealt with the most critical figures, what follows can be left to this subject and the Great Li Tianjin Guards. The plan to destroy Falling God Peak will certainly be brought to a complete conclusion."
Li Musheng gave a slow nod, and having received confirmation from the Tianjin Guards Commander that he was no longer needed, he stopped thinking about all of it and turned his attention to his own affairs.
But at that point Fu Qiwen, hovering in the air, seemed to remember something, hesitated briefly, and then continued, "However, this subject previously obtained some hidden intelligence from within Falling God Peak. The Falling God Peak grandmaster apparently had a martial aunt of sorts, who also possessed an innate divine gift as one of those of divine nature."
"But this is known to very few people, and almost no one within Falling God Peak has ever encountered this person, so there is no way to confirm whether the information is accurate."
At those words, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow and glanced at Fu Qiwen, saying, "Commander Fu also knows about those of divine nature?"
Fu Qiwen gave a slight nod and folded his hands in a bow, saying, "Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles. Though few people know of those of divine nature, the Tianjin Guards has been investigating Falling God Peak for a long time and at considerable expense of effort and manpower, and has come to know something of it."
"However, this subject also saw the Falling God Peak grandmaster and the four honored elders make their move for the first time tonight, and had completely failed to understand beforehand how powerful and staggering the innate divine gifts those of divine nature control actually are, which caused this subject to misjudge Falling God Peak's true reserves of strength."
Of course, when Hu Rui'an had been reporting to him about what had happened at the Sheng Province Tianjin Guards branch house, Fu Qiwen had also heard from him about the abilities those of divine nature possessed.
But those people's abilities were simply not worth mentioning compared to what the Scarlet Fire Honored Elder and the others had displayed.
Li Musheng gave a nod and did not ask anything further.
His current understanding of those of divine nature was considerably deeper than Fu Qiwen's. Li Musheng thought for a moment, then waved a hand, saying, "That martial aunt of the Falling God Peak grandmaster you mentioned, I do not seem to have encountered such a person making any move just now."
"But you need not worry about it. I will make a trip to Falling God Peak's main peak shortly, and take a look to see whether this person is still there."
Hearing this, Fu Qiwen immediately bowed deeply and said solemnly, "This subject is deeply grateful. I am sorry to trouble Your Highness."
Fu Qiwen's attitude toward Li Musheng had changed without him quite noticing, becoming quite different from how it had been in the capital.
Back then, it was because of Li Musheng's identity as a prince that he had treated the Eighth Prince with such courtesy and respect.
Now, beyond the other party's unchanged identity, what he felt toward this prince was something far deeper, a genuine awe and reverence from the bottom of his heart.
The reason, beyond Li Musheng's formidable martial cultivation that surpassed his own, was the enormous contribution Li Musheng had made by acting as he did.
Without Li Musheng eliminating the Falling God Peak grandmaster and the four honored elders, not just Fu Qiwen but every last member of the Great Li Tianjin Guards who had come to Falling God Peak would without exception have perished here.
Li Musheng alone had saved the entire Great Li Tianjin Guards.
It was entirely fair to say that both Fu Qiwen himself and the Tianjin Guards owed this prince their lives.
Li Musheng paid no attention to the change in Fu Qiwen's attitude.
With the matter of destroying Falling God Peak having reached its conclusion, he had no interest in continuing to deal with the other man. He waved a hand at once and prepared to set off for Falling God Peak's main peak.
But at that convenient moment, the hemp-robed elderly man and Lin Xunner came rushing over from the wine house.
Earlier, when they had seen Fu Qiwen arrive, they had momentarily thought another Falling God Peak martial artist had come to throw their life away. But after observing for a while they had determined the other party seemed to be friendly rather than hostile.
And so the two of them, unable to contain their desperate urge to take their revenge, hurried over to find Li Musheng.
"Perfect timing. Come along for the ride to Falling God Peak's main peak."
Li Musheng immediately saw through what the two of them were after and stepped down from the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion, beckoning the two of them to leave Hundred Refinements City together.
The hemp-robed elderly man and Lin Xunner were naturally overjoyed and answered at once, then immediately found a carriage nearby.
They had not known the truth of things before, but now that they understood Li Musheng was a genuine martial sage, traveling alongside such a person, though neither of them were the type to seek power or influence, still filled their hearts with excitement and a feeling of great honor.
And with Li Musheng present, if they happened to encounter some of Falling God Peak's powerful elders along the way, they would naturally be well protected.
"Since Your Highness has matters to attend to, this subject will not impose further. Once this subject resolves the remaining peaks, we will rendezvous with Your Highness at the main peak."
Fu Qiwen, seeing Li Musheng was about to leave, had no reason to stay in Hundred Refinements City either, and took his leave with a bow.
Li Musheng waved a hand, then settled into the carriage the hemp-robed elderly man had found. The large black cat also slipped in after him in a flash.
"You also want to go to the main peak? It seems Falling God Peak truly holds a strong pull for you people of divine nature."
Li Musheng patted the large black cat on the head.
The cat rolled its green eyes, then rubbed its head against Li Musheng's arm and let out several meows, looking extremely well-behaved.
Li Musheng gave a light laugh and said no more, letting the large black cat come along.
The hemp-robed elderly man and Lin Xunner sat in the coachman's position, and both of them had unusual expressions at that moment.
Earlier, from what Fu Qiwen had said, they had finally learned that Li Musheng's identity was that of a prince of the Great Li dynasty.
In their view, with a prince like this, it was almost possible to foresee the day when the Great Li dynasty would unify the entire martial world.
The two exchanged a glance, but dared not say anything more, and immediately drove the carriage in the direction of the main peak.
Though the route to the main peak necessarily passed through Hundred Refinements Peak, the two of them temporarily suppressed the fierce desire to take their revenge, deciding to first deliver Li Musheng to the main peak before turning back to attend to their own business.
...
At the same time, on the hilltop several dozen miles from Hundred Refinements City, everyone was quietly waiting in the darkness of the night.
The two Alliance Under Heaven helmsmen glanced at the Profound Yin Three Elders and the Silver Moon Sword Lord, all of whom were saying nothing, and finally could not hold back any longer, saying, "Honored elders, what is the situation in Hundred Refinements City?"
Earlier, after the Silver Moon Sword Lord had made his startling suggestion that the Scarlet Fire Honored Elder had in all likelihood been defeated by the person in Hundred Refinements City, they had initially found it nearly impossible to believe. But on careful reflection, it seemed as though it might actually be exactly that.
From that point, their understanding of this unknown martial artist's true strength had gradually undergone a very significant shift.
Even the Profound Yin Three Elders and the Silver Moon Sword Lord were speculating that the Great Li court might have brought out some ancient elder who existed within the imperial family.
Of course, this was only speculation, since according to martial world rumor, whether that legendary Great Li elder ancestor was even still alive was an open question.
As they were each caught in their own uncertain thoughts, the dark clouds and lightning had covered the sky above Hundred Refinements City, and from a distance they had watched genuinely terrifying thunder and storm descend on the city.
They naturally understood this had to be the Falling God Peak grandmaster and honored elders making their move.
But because of the distance, they could not actually witness what was happening within Hundred Refinements City.
Going closer to watch was naturally also not something they dared do.
After the thunder and storm that had seemed to tear apart half the sky and reduce everything to rubble descended on Hundred Refinements City, the sky above the city was then almost completely swallowed by the lightning and storm. But what followed was a bit difficult to make sense of.
After the thunder and storm above Hundred Refinements City continued for a while and then faded, there were no more signs of powerful attacks that could be seen from a distance, and everything seemed to have simply gone quiet.
Apart from the dark clouds that still had not dispersed above Hundred Refinements City, everything appeared to return to normal.
This left the Profound Yin Three Elders and the others unable to determine whether the Falling God Peak grandmaster and honored elders had dealt with the person in Hundred Refinements City and then stood down, or whether the person in the city had eliminated the Falling God Peak grandmaster and the others.
Though the latter seemed unlikely to them, after the matter of the Scarlet Fire Honored Elder, they were just barely willing to allow there might be a ten percent chance of that.
All things considered, in everyone's mind, the odds between the Falling God Peak grandmaster and the honored elders against this Great Li martial artist were something like nine to one in Falling God Peak's favor.
At that point one of the Profound Yin Three Elders furrowed his brow and said, "Though the view here is acceptable, we are simply too far away and it is nighttime. There is no way to clearly see the situation inside the city, let alone sense those people's martial auras. It is genuinely difficult to determine who has won and who has lost."
As he spoke, he suddenly turned to the two Alliance Under Heaven helmsmen, narrowed his eyes, and said coldly, "If you want to know what has happened in Hundred Refinements City, there is only one way, and that is to send someone there in person."
"Have your people go and look into the situation, and send us a signal once they have confirmed what has happened."
Hearing this, the two Alliance Under Heaven helmsmen's expressions immediately became somewhat unpleasant.
The Profound Yin Three Elders were clearly treating the Alliance Under Heaven's people as expendable. The two exchanged a quiet look, but did not dare go against the Profound Yin Three Elders' wishes.
They had no choice but to order two of their followers to approach Hundred Refinements City covertly.
The white-robed elder watched all of this without saying anything.
He had been looking toward Hundred Refinements City for a long while, and gradually a thought had begun to form in his mind that the Falling God Peak grandmaster and the others might have lost.
And the more it formed, the stronger it grew.
Because Hundred Refinements City was too quiet. Just as quiet as it had been after the Scarlet Fire Honored Elder acted.
And right at that point, from Hundred Refinements City, which had fallen silent, several fire signals suddenly rose in succession, casting a faint glow on the dark night sky.
This sight was visible not only to the Silver Moon Sword Lord and the others, but to people watching from Hundred Refinements City throughout the Falling God Peak region.
The two Alliance Under Heaven helmsmen looked at the flames in the sky, which looked far less conspicuous than the previous signals, and both furrowed their brows.
"Unless we are mistaken, those should be distress signals sent by disciples within Falling God Peak, should they not?"
At those words, the Profound Yin Three Elders beside them went quiet with shifting expressions, saying nothing, clearly having also recognized the source of the signals from within Hundred Refinements City.
At that moment, the white-robed elder showed a brief expression of astonishment.
The thought he had just formed in his mind was now in a sense being confirmed from the side.
If Falling God Peak had truly eliminated the Great Li martial artist, the Falling God Peak disciples within Hundred Refinements City would have been celebrating, so why would they be sending distress signals in succession?
The appearance of these signals most likely indicated that something had happened to the Falling God Peak grandmaster and the others in the city, prompting the surviving disciples to desperately call for help in every direction.
The Profound Yin Three Elders had clearly reached the same conclusion, though their hearts made it genuinely hard to believe.
"This old one does not believe it. Unless the people sent in confirm it, everything is pure conjecture!"
One of the Profound Yin Three Elders said with a dark expression.
They truly could not bring themselves to imagine that if someone had actually been able to deal with the Falling God Peak grandmaster and the honored elders in so short a time, what manner of terrifying, frightening strength that person must possess.
The two Alliance Under Heaven helmsmen looked at each other, daring to say nothing, unable to say anything, and only stared blankly toward Hundred Refinements City.
Perhaps... they would witness the history of the entire Great Li martial world being made tonight.
...
Inside the Hundred Refinements City City Master's residence.
After sensing the Falling God Peak grandmaster's and the three honored elders' auras fade and vanish in Hundred Refinements City, the martial artists and Falling God Peak disciples inside the residence, who had moments before been weeping with joy and celebrating, almost all collapsed to the ground in the same instant.
In that moment, beyond the fear they could not contain, they simultaneously came to a clear-eyed understanding.
Falling God Peak was finished.
Some reacted as though struck by lightning, some frantically tried to run, and others seemed brainwashed, swearing to stand or fall with Falling God Peak and starting to send distress signals in a frenzied manner.
To an outside observer it might have looked as though, knowing full well that coming to this Hundred Refinements City meant death, they wanted to drag as many others into it with them as possible before going, unwilling to let the other Falling God Peak disciples have an easy time of it.
But by the time the frantic signals were being sent from Hundred Refinements City, Li Musheng had already left in the carriage long ago.
He could not be bothered with any of it. For small fish and shrimp like these, he had no inclination to act at all.