In the hall wreathed in cold and ominous air, the five Supreme Elders exchanged a look, all of them showing expressions of grave unease.
"The Dark Master's words are sound. Before reasoning through a matter one should first consider the worst possible outcome. If the Great Li court has truly produced this kind of Eighth Prince, then we ought to begin preparing our response without delay."
The white-haired old woman with hair wound in a high coil spoke with a pensive expression. Another of the Supreme Elders gave a quiet nod as well, "A person of barely twenty years, already possessed of martial cultivation this formidable, attaining the Martial God realm in the future would seem a near certainty. But such a person appearing within the Great Li imperial family is, for the entire Great Li martial world, absolutely devastating news."
At those words, the Ghost Elder of the Warden's Hell said with an inscrutable expression, "To my knowledge, the three Martial Gods now revered throughout the martial world did not possess anything close to this level of martial cultivation at the same age as that Eighth Prince."
At those words, the entire hall fell silent once more.
It was clear that a martial prodigy as world-shaking as Li Musheng was genuinely something almost without precedent in the world. Even searching all of their memories for the entire history of the martial world, none of them could find even half a parallel to compare him to.
Even so, having something this monstrous suddenly appear was not something they could easily accept in such a short time.
"Since the Great Li imperial family has produced such a prince, let us hear first from all of you honored elders. How should the Primal Yin Origin Sect respond going forward?"
At that, the Dark Master sitting at the head of the hall spoke slowly, drawing the Supreme Elders back from their thoughts.
At those words, the Ghost Elder of the Warden's Hell gave a slow nod, "Emperor Yuanwu's thinking is not hard to guess. That said, among the four great sects, his choosing to target Falling God Peak first does come as something of a surprise."
The Infernal King of Yin Darkness's expression shifted slightly, "Indeed. We had been planning to join forces with the Alliance Under Heaven and the Great Yan Sword Sect to move against Falling God Peak, yet the Great Li court beat us to it."
At that, the white-haired old woman with her hair in a high coil shook her head and looked toward the Dark Master at the head of the hall, "Of the four great martial world sects of Great Li, Falling God Peak was always the one that maintained the closest ties with the Great Li court. In recent years they even entered into a secret alliance with the First Prince, seeking to be the power behind the throne."
"That was one of the reasons we resolved to remove them. Yet as things have turned out, the sect that stood closest to the Great Li court was eliminated first. Whether that is something Emperor Yuanwu planned deliberately, or whether someone else urged it, is difficult to say."
At those words, the Dark Master's expression became thoughtful, and he let out a quiet sigh, "I do not know either. However, from this it is clear just how unwavering Emperor Yuanwu's determination to destroy us truly is. Among the four great sects, he evidently intends to leave not a single one standing."
At that, one of the Supreme Elders spoke with a somewhat grave face, "If that is so, then the prospects for the three remaining sects peacefully coexisting with the Great Li court in the future are decidedly bleak."
"In this old one's view, it is still necessary to continue the effort to ally with the Alliance Under Heaven and the Great Yan Sword Sect, to prevent the Great Li court from picking us off one by one. Even if the Great Li court was able to take down Falling God Peak, a three-sect alliance would give Emperor Yuanwu serious pause."
The Dark Master gave a small nod, but then narrowed his eyes, "The three-sect alliance is necessary, but it is far from sufficient. Since Emperor Yuanwu has been bold enough to break the long-standing, tacit peace, Great Li will not be able to remain tranquil much longer."
At those words, all five Supreme Elders shifted their gazes and looked toward the Dark Master at the head of the hall.
The Ghost Elder of the Warden's Hell narrowed his eyes, "What does the Dark Master mean?"
The Dark Master's face remained perfectly still. He swept a look around the assembled Supreme Elders, then spoke in a calm and unhurried voice, "I mean that since it was Emperor Yuanwu who first stirred this storm in the martial world, then he should not expect it to be calm again."
"From today, I intend to see this martial world shrouded in blood and chaos. I intend to see Great Li thrown into unrest and upheaval, battered by wind and storm."
The Dark Master's tone was entirely gentle. Yet the five Supreme Elders felt as though they could see beneath his feet a sea of corpses and rivers of blood, and hear the entire hall filled with the sound of mournful and lamenting cries.
For a moment the hall fell silent.
But the silence was broken by a cold and eerie laugh. The Ghost Elder of the Warden's Hell smiled and said, "The Dark Master's approach is as consistent as ever. This old one appreciates that. But the Dark Master has always thought before acting, and never does anything rashly."
He then let an expression of puzzlement spread across his deeply wrinkled, bark-like face, "If Great Li's martial world is thrown into chaos, that is not good for the Primal Yin Origin Sect either. I wonder whether the Dark Master has some deeper purpose in mind?"
At those words, the Dark Master glanced at the Ghost Elder of the Warden's Hell and did not answer the question immediately. Instead his eyes swept over the other Supreme Elders and he said, "In truth, this is also the most important matter for which I gathered all of you honored elders here today, the one that requires us to deliberate together."
"Moreover, this matter touches on the future of the Primal Yin Origin Sect. Though I have thoughts of my own, I find it difficult to arrive at a firm decision, and therefore wish to hear the counsel of all you honored elders."
At those words, the five Supreme Elders exchanged a glance, and then the white-haired old woman with hair wound in a high coil furrowed her brow slightly and said, "The Dark Master commands the Primal Yin Origin Sect and holds absolute authority in all things. We old bones with half our feet already in the ground will naturally stand behind whatever decision the Dark Master makes."
"That said, since the Dark Master has a difficult decision to weigh and wishes to consult us, we will naturally not refuse. Please speak freely, Dark Master."
At those words, the Dark Master gave a quiet nod, considered for a moment, and then said suddenly, "I intend to accept the Dragon-Protecting Villa's request."
At those words, all five Supreme Elders' expressions changed at once.
The Dragon-Protecting Villa was a special institution belonging directly to the Zhou Emperor, equivalent to a combined Tianjin Guards and Hidden Intelligence Bureau for the Great Zhou dynasty.
Within the borders of Great Zhou, it was one of the two most powerful forces answering to the Zhou court, and its overall strength far exceeded even the Great Li Tianjin Guards.
The five Supreme Elders naturally understood that the Dragon-Protecting Villa and the Primal Yin Origin Sect had long maintained close ties. The Villa had also played a hand in pushing forward the earlier plan to move against Falling God Peak.
And as for what the Dragon-Protecting Villa wanted from the Primal Yin Origin Sect, they had heard the Dark Master speak of it before.
The Dragon-Protecting Villa had only one purpose. Or more accurately, it was the purpose of the Great Zhou dynasty itself. That purpose was the destruction of Great Li.
It was common knowledge that Great Zhou and Great Li were locked in constant border warfare, and unlike the other three dynasties, the enmity between Great Zhou and Great Li was deep and irreconcilable.
Both sides spent every moment scheming to destroy the other, and the Primal Yin Origin Sect was the target the Dragon-Protecting Villa had been trying to bring over to its side.
Even so, while the martial world had been at relative peace, the Primal Yin Origin Sect had maintained close relations with the Dragon-Protecting Villa without ever truly considering accepting its proposal to join forces with Great Zhou against the Great Li court.
Though the four great martial world sects and the Great Li court had always stood in opposition, and Emperor Yuanwu had always watched the Primal Yin Origin Sect with covetous eyes, agreeing to Great Zhou's terms was fundamentally no different from inviting wolves through the door.
"If Emperor Yuanwu had been willing to maintain a lasting peace with the Great Li martial world, the thought of accepting the Dragon-Protecting Villa's offer would never have crossed my mind."
The Dark Master spoke without expression, then let out a sigh.
His gaze shifted, seeming to pass through the length of the hall and the mist that never lifted from the deep valley, reaching toward the direction of the Great Li imperial capital, "Emperor Yuanwu forced our hand."
His eyes then darkened as they fixed on the distance, and he continued, "Emperor Yuanwu is undeniably ambitious, and his desire to destroy us has never wavered. But Great Li's foundations are what they are. For him to absorb the four great martial world sects, he would have to risk invasion by the other four great dynasties, and without that being a viable option, he could spend his every waking moment coveting us but never dare actually move against us."
"But today is different from before. Great Li has produced a monstrous prince who may very well become the martial world's fourth Martial God in time."
"And when that day comes, there will be no place left in the world for any martial world sect to exist. With the three existing Martial Gods declining to involve themselves in conflicts between sects and states, it is possible the entire world could fall into Great Li's hands."
At those words, the Dark Master swept his gaze over the five Supreme Elders and said, "None of you need concern yourself with debating whether this Eighth Prince truly exists. By the time the news has spread through the entire martial world, it will already be too late for us."
At those words, the expressions of the five Supreme Elders gradually grew serious, and they looked at each other in deep and meaningful silence.
After a long moment, the Infernal King of Yin Darkness finally spoke with gravity, "Dark Master, since you have already set your mind on this course, and we understand the stakes at hand, this old one supports the Dark Master's intention. What the Dark Master has done is without fault."
"Even if the Primal Yin Origin Sect should truly decline as a consequence, this old one would not hold the Dark Master responsible for it in the slightest."
At those words, the other four Supreme Elders, including the Ghost Elder of the Warden's Hell, each gave a quiet nod.
The five Supreme Elders had always held the Dark Master in high esteem, and evidently had no objection to the decision he had made.
The Dark Master gave a small nod, "I am grateful for all of your trust. What I am doing, I am doing for the Primal Yin Origin Sect. I have no wish to see a thousand years of the sect's foundations destroyed in my hands."
"Of course, there is no need for any of you honored elders to be overly troubled. This world is a great board of chess, and every piece holds every other piece in check."
"Even if the situation the Primal Yin Origin Sect faces right now appears unfavorable, the board is always shifting, and the future remains uncertain. The Great Li court may appear to be at the height of its power, but a tree that stands above the forest is exposed to the wind, and in truth it has already been drawn into deep and treacherous waters."
At those words, the five Supreme Elders fell into quiet thought. The white-haired old woman with her hair in a high coil shifted her gaze and asked, "As regards the alliance between the Primal Yin Origin Sect and Great Zhou, this old one has no objection. But regarding the Great Li Eighth Prince, this old one still wishes to hear the Dark Master's own view of this person."
The Dark Master looked at the old woman, tapped a finger on the millennium cold-jade armrest, and then a gleam suddenly crossed his eyes, "A future Martial God is not the same as a true Martial God. Even the three Martial Gods currently revered throughout the martial world, for all that their martial cultivation has reached the absolute peak, would not dare call themselves unmatched under heaven."
"Human ability has its limits, and even a Martial God is not beyond being overcome. Let alone a prince who has not yet truly reached the absolute peak. The number of people in this world capable of killing him, while not great, is not small either."
At those words, the Dark Master narrowed his gaze and said quietly, "Perhaps one day in the future, word will come that this young prince has met an early end."
The white-haired old woman's eyes settled on the Dark Master, and the brow that had been furrowed gradually eased.
The Dark Master spoke these words lightly, and yet they were not without possibility.
After all, whether the three great martial world sects of Great Li, or the four other nations of the world, not a single party had any desire to see that Eighth Prince reach the absolute peak of the martial path one day.
At that point the Dark Master's voice rang through the hall again, "Since all you honored elders have no objections, I will send word to Great Zhou and accept their terms. At the same time I will pass the news of Falling God Peak to them, so the Dragon-Protecting Villa can begin making preparations."
"As for the other two sects, I also intend to make a personal visit in the near future and settle the matter of the alliance."
As he said this, the Dark Master let out a quiet and reflective sigh, "Great Li has quite a storm ahead of it."
...
At the same time, both the Alliance Under Heaven and the Great Yan Sword Sect had received their respective messages, from the Alliance Under Heaven's Yuan Province branch and from the Silver Moon Sword Lord.
When word of Falling God Peak's destruction reached the hands of the Alliance Under Heaven's Grand Alliance Leader and the Great Yan Sword Sect's Sect Leader, it was as though a single stone had thrown up a thousand waves. For the first time in many years, both the Alliance Under Heaven and the Great Yan Sword Sect issued emergency summons, gathering their respective senior leadership to deliberate on matters of life and death for their organizations.
...
The Alliance Under Heaven Grand Alliance, Mountain-Sea City.
Unlike Falling God Peak and the other three great sects, the Alliance Under Heaven occupied an entire city, gathering martial world figures from every corner of the world.
Mountain-Sea City sat at the intersection of three provinces, ringed by mountains on all sides, easily defended and difficult to attack.
The entire city covered an enormous area, with high walls that seemed to stretch without end, like a great slumbering beast lying across the earth, imposing to behold from any direction.
While Mountain-Sea City had not yet surpassed the Great Li imperial capital in scale, in recent decades the Alliance Under Heaven had expanded rapidly, and the city walls had been built further and further outward. It had quietly come to occupy what was now essentially the second largest city in Great Li.
Within Mountain-Sea City at that moment, in the extravagantly appointed Alliance Leader's mansion covering nearly a thousand mu of land, the Grand Alliance Leader of the Alliance Under Heaven, Yu Xiongbatian, sat at the head of a great hall in his everyday clothing, his hair entirely white, occupying the seat of honor at the top of the golden and luminous room.
Below him on either side stood twelve golden chairs, each carved with the face of one of the twelve zodiac animals.
All twelve chairs were cast from solid gold and set with jade and precious stones of considerable value throughout.
They spoke without restraint of the Alliance Under Heaven's enormous wealth, and of the exalted standing of its twelve deputy leaders.
At that moment, with the Alliance Leader's urgent summons spreading through Mountain-Sea City, not one of the deputy leaders dared delay, and they quickly arrived at the main hall of the Alliance Leader's mansion one after another.
Even so, of the twelve golden chairs in the hall, eleven were now occupied by their respective holders, while one golden chair sat empty.
Seeing this, the white-haired and fresh-faced Yu Xiongbatian at the head of the hall furrowed his brow slightly and asked, "Where is the Fifth? Why is he absent?"
At that, the Second Deputy Leader seated just below him quickly replied, "Alliance Leader, the Fifth has gone to the Celestial River Blade Sect."