Visibly the gray-robed Huo Zhen's back was buckling under some force, his upper body beginning to bend more and more, his trembling frame growing ever more stooped, as though he might be pressed all the way to the floor.
Li Yuanling could no longer watch. She looked at Huo Zhen and said, "Second Uncle, all we want is to find that young woman. What is it that you cannot simply say?"
At those words, Huo Zhen's face was white and strained, and he held on without speaking.
At that, the Champion Marquis Huo Xian, sitting beside him in the wheelchair, suddenly looked at Li Musheng and said, "Your Highness, that is enough. He is your own uncle, however distant."
Li Musheng said nothing, and the pressure on Huo Zhen did not ease.
Seeing this, the white-haired Huo Xian placed one hand on his wheelchair, and his aged face let out a quiet sigh, "Does Your Highness require this old man to personally kneel before you before you will relent and spare Second Brother?"
At those words, Li Yuanling's expression changed, "Great-Uncle, you must not."
She then looked urgently at Li Musheng, her pretty face full of anxiety, caught between the two sides and unsure whose cause to plead.
At that, Li Musheng set down his tea cup, glanced at his Champion Marquis great-uncle, and raised an eyebrow, "As expected, you old men have remarkable endurance. Even after all this, you are still holding out without acting?"
But the exhausted Huo Zhen and Huo Xian in the wheelchair both suddenly changed expression sharply. They had both caught the meaning in Li Musheng's words.
Huo Xian furrowed his brow and looked at Li Musheng, and in the next moment, the wheelchair beneath him suddenly shattered completely.
Huo Xian immediately looked down, only to find the wheelchair had already crumbled into a scattering of wooden pieces on the floor.
Everyone looked over, and very quickly, Huo Shan and Li Yuanling both wore expressions of startled disbelief.
After the wheelchair was destroyed, Champion Marquis Huo Xian continued to hold the same seated posture in the air without moving, not dropping to the floor in the slightest despite the wheelchair's disappearance.
"This..."
Li Yuanling's brow furrowed.
She had known for a long time that her Champion Marquis great-uncle had been ambushed by an enemy from a foreign nation.
Not only had both his legs been crippled, his entire meridian system had been destroyed, and his originally tremendous martial cultivation had entirely dissipated, leaving him less capable even than an ordinary person.
But she had truly not anticipated that the man still had martial cultivation remaining.
And equally shocked alongside her was Huo Qifeng, Huo Xian's third younger brother, as well as Huo Shan and Huo Mu.
All three of them had looks of utter disbelief, clearly completely unaware that Huo Xian had at some unknown point recovered his martial arts.
At the same time, Huo Xian sat suspended alone in midair without moving. Beside him, Huo Zhen was already on the verge of giving out, almost pushed to the floor.
In the next instant, Huo Xian suddenly reached out with one hand and gripped Huo Zhen's arm, instantly halting the man's descent.
His gaze rested quietly on Li Musheng sitting in the bamboo chair in the building below him, and he spoke slowly, "In recent days, this old one has been hearing Your Highness's name praised throughout the entire capital. And inwardly this old one has been genuinely glad that little sister has a son like you."
"This old one has also very much wanted to see with my own eyes the nephew Your Highness represents. And well enough, today that has finally come to pass."
The moment his voice finished, the silence of the building was torn apart.
A flash of spear brilliance split through the space, arriving faster than the eye could follow.
Huo Xian, suspended in the air, roused the true qi of heaven and earth into a shrieking cry around him. The space on all sides seemed to be sliced into fragments, and even the light coming in from outside seemed to be shredded and extinguished, leaving only twisted, scarred traces behind.
In the next instant, boundless killing intent descended like an invisible net over everything, and the entire world seemed to tremble.
For an instant, Huo Qifeng, Li Yuanling, and the others all felt their minds shake. Though this was not directed at them, they could still feel the towering spear intent radiating from Huo Xian's body.
It was a will that seemed to pierce heaven and earth, an unyielding and bone-cutting edge that had carved a wound into the world itself, a mark of war that seemed capable of moving the heavens.
"Your Highness, let this old one see the martial cultivation with which you destroyed Falling God Peak."
Huo Xian said this with a calm expression, looking at Li Musheng.
In this moment, the authority of the Great Li Champion Marquis, forged through countless battles and the command of armies, returned to this white-haired elder.
It was the presence built from incalculable bloodshed and battle glory, the supreme courage of a man who stood first among all commanders, unmatched in valor. That was the most accurate way to describe the Champion Marquis of Great Li.
Li Musheng, facing this Huo Xian who no longer concealed himself, blazing with spear intent like a flood tide, simply narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "You finally could not hold back. But unfortunately, you are still too weak."
The next moment, he did nothing more than give a casual wave of one hand. Something like a light breeze passed through the entire building.
Every trace of spear intent, every flash of brilliance, every scar in the space, and the surging immense true qi of heaven and earth, all of it was extinguished entirely.
Everything fell quiet, returning to the same calm that had existed before Huo Xian acted.
At the same time, the suspended Huo Xian's brow immediately furrowed. The arm that had been supporting Huo Zhen sank suddenly. He could no longer maintain his levitation.
His supposedly "crippled" legs came down and touched the floor, and an irresistible force came pressing down on his entire frame, slowly bending the old man's back, bringing him to face Li Musheng sitting in the hall.
Against all of this, Huo Xian was powerless.
Because in that moment, whether the immense Martial True Qi he had concentrated within himself, or the true qi of heaven and earth around him, all of it had been suppressed and locked. Not a trace could be drawn on.
Even the spear intent he had honed over decades was pressed deep into his body. When he tried to invoke it, it did not move.
And in that moment, Huo Xian truly understood. The martial cultivation his own nephew, this Great Li Eighth Prince who had destroyed Falling God Peak single-handedly, had reached, far exceeded what he had imagined.
The world believed his strength was no less than a Martial Saint's, comparable to a Martial God. But having stood against him, Huo Xian truly felt the helplessness. That absolute and insurmountable sense of despair.
What this young man had mastered, even for him, whose cultivation had recovered and perhaps even grown beyond what it once had been, was something he could only look up at from below.
"Now, can you tell me where Miss Cang is?"
Li Musheng looked at Huo Xian and spoke evenly.
He had not shown the slightest change of expression throughout. He was not angry about Huo Xian's resistance, only finding these old men tiresome in their stubbornness. They always seemed to need a thorough thrashing before they understood who held the high cards.
At those words, Huo Xian's expression shifted through several phases, and then he glanced at Huo Zhen, who had already collapsed in exhaustion to the floor beside him.
Huo Zhen shook his head and waved a hand, "Elder Brother, this young man's strength is too frightening. Just tell him everything he wants to know."
Huo Xian fell silent for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh and looked at Li Musheng, "This old one has campaigned through many lands, and counted myself as someone who had seen much. But I have never seen talent like this. How old are you? How could you possess martial cultivation this terrifying?"
Li Musheng raised an eyebrow and said nothing.
He clearly had no interest in answering such an unoriginal question. He simply waited for Huo Xian and the others to answer about Cang Yinyue's whereabouts.
In truth, when he had been channeling ability through that young girl Huo Mu earlier and letting her fight one against four, Huo Xian and Huo Zhen had already arrived outside the courtyard building and been watching covertly.
Huo Xian had believed he was concealing himself well enough to leave no trace. In reality, Li Musheng had detected him from the start and seen through his hidden cultivation.
As for Cang Yinyue's whereabouts, one reason was that Li Musheng trusted the Tianjin Guards's intelligence capability. Two was that these old men were clearly being evasive, which was obviously suspicious.
And so Li Musheng had guessed that Cang Yinyue's disappearance might well be connected to the Huo family, and had decided he was not going to be deflected with a few words.
And so he had simply applied force, pressing them down beneath his martial cultivation and compelling them to tell the truth.
"Very well."
At that, Huo Xian saw that Li Musheng had no intention of answering, and shook his head, "If Your Highness still trusts this old one to any degree, then please follow this old one. I will take you to see Miss Cang."
At those words, Li Musheng looked at the white-haired Huo Xian for a moment, considered briefly, and then stood up, "Why did it have to come to this? Lead the way."
Seeing this, Shen Anran and the big black cat both immediately fell into step at Li Musheng's side.
The big black cat's green eyes were sharp and bright, having observed the whole scene just now from beginning to end.
What Champion Marquis? What Huo family divine spear? All of it counted for nothing before Li Musheng. There was nothing for the cat to be afraid of.
The one thing still occupying its thoughts right now was the business of Li Musheng silently channeling power into Huo Mu.
If Li Musheng did the same for it, would it not be able to walk through the entire martial world sideways? Its legend would be written across the whole world.
"Please wait a moment, Your Highness."
Huo Xian clasped his hands and said this, then glanced at Huo Xiaoyi and Huo Xiaoqing.
The sword prison surrounding these two children had in fact already been quietly erased by Li Musheng, and they had since fallen asleep peacefully.
Seeing this, Huo Xian came before Huo Qifeng and gave instructions, "Have someone return the Dugu family's people to them. I will handle that matter afterward. And today's events, as well as the recovery of my martial cultivation, are not to be spoken of to anyone."
At those words, Huo Qifeng automatically nodded, but then quickly showed something like indignation, "Elder Brother, you really have made things hard for us. I am your own flesh and blood brother, and yet you kept this from me too."
Huo Xian shook his head, "There are reasons behind all of this that it is not yet time to explain to you. All you need to know is that everything I have done has been for the sake of the Huo family."
With that, Huo Xian said nothing further. His gaze settled on the purple-robed girl holding the silver spear.
But at that moment, Li Musheng's voice drifted to his ear, "The martial will and true qi I left within her will dissipate after one day. It will not affect her cultivation path."
As he spoke, Li Musheng walked forward, and Huo Mu, still looking somewhat dazed, suddenly dropped heavily to her knees, "Thank you, master and Highness, for your help. Mu is endlessly grateful."
Li Musheng glanced at her and smiled, "Your Huo family spear technique looks respectable enough, but is still only average in the end. When there is time, I will teach you a more formidable spear art, something that will make you truly invincible."
At those words, Huo Mu's young face went blank, and Huo Shan beside her immediately moved and gave his daughter a nudge, saying urgently, "Are you not going to thank His Highness for this gift?"
He had watched everything that had just happened from start to finish. His uncle whose cultivation had recovered, and his own father, had been unable to show even the slightest resistance before Li Musheng.
That showed how terrifying the power of this cousin of his was. To receive guidance from such a person was the kind of fortune that fell on no one else.
At that, the now properly alert Huo Mu immediately knocked her head to the floor several times in gratitude. Li Musheng simply waved a hand, then led Li Yuanling and the others out of the courtyard building.
Huo Xian looked at Huo Mu for a moment, then fixed a long and deep gaze on Li Musheng's departing back. He told Huo Zhen to stay behind, then quickly followed.
Before long, Huo Xian led Li Musheng's group into a carriage the household had prepared, left through the rear gate of the Huo family's old residence, and traveled through the city to a quiet courtyard tucked into one of Shangyang City's back alleys.
Huo Xian stepped down and knocked on the gate. Hidden sentinels were stationed inside, and seeing Huo Xian, they immediately opened the door.
Li Musheng's group followed Huo Xian into the courtyard. A single sweeping look was enough for Li Musheng to identify more than a dozen hidden positions within and around the compound.
Clearly this was not as ordinary as it appeared, but rather an important and secret base.
"Very secretive and mysterious. The Huo family is quite different from what I imagined."
Li Yuanling's eyes flickered, and she passed the thought quietly to Li Musheng.
Not only had her Champion Marquis great-uncle deceived her, but a place like this was completely inconsistent with what a declining Huo family should have been able to establish.
Li Musheng looked at her and rubbed his chin, "In all of Shangyang City, you are probably the only one with a head simple enough not to see it, adopted sister the Princess of Grand Bloom."
At those words, Li Yuanling shot him a look. She knew he was not saying anything particularly flattering, and gave a cool snort in return, "Ha. Then you had best not let my surface fool you either."
At that, the group followed Huo Xian inside, passing through a hidden path in the rear garden's rock arrangement and descending into a secret chamber.
And what they found was that beneath this ordinary residence was an entirely different world, with passages branching in every direction. Each chokepoint of every passage was guarded not only by armored soldiers, but by quite a few of them.
It was worth knowing that privately stockpiling armed soldiers and weapons was a serious crime under any imperial court, let alone in an imperial dynasty's own capital city.
Huo Xian remained entirely composed, apparently not concerned at all about letting Li Musheng's group see any of this.
Before long, he led Li Musheng and the others to a locked sealed chamber, then had someone open the heavy iron lock on the door.
"The young woman you are looking for is in there. At the time she was lurking and snooping around the Huo family's residence, and after Qifeng discovered her, I had her temporarily held here."
Huo Xian spoke. And the person inside, hearing the sound of the door opening, suddenly flashed out, sending a palm strike directly toward Huo Xian's face.
"To think you actually recovered your cultivation. That is somewhat interesting."
Huo Xian furrowed his brow slightly, and Cang Yinyue's attack came to a dead stop before him and could not advance a single fraction further.
At that moment, Cang Yinyue's gaze swept around and she noticed Li Musheng and the others standing nearby.
"Your Highness, how did you end up here?"
Cang Yinyue looked genuinely startled, and immediately moved to Li Musheng's side.