Chapter 45: Grand Master

Li Zhi raised his head to look toward the shadow, narrowed his eyes, and said:

"I wonder which one of Master's seven Shadow Guards you are?"

The black shadow swayed slightly under the torchlight, like a wisp of thick smoke rising:

"Your Highness's gaze is sharp. I rank sixth among the Shadow Guards. Your Highness may call me Lu Ying."

Li Zhi nodded lightly, scrutinized the other for a moment with a calm gaze, and asked:

"What business does Master have sending you to find me?"

Upon hearing this, a somewhat ethereal voice came from the black shadow:

"The Director said Your Majesty has agreed to let Your Highness leave the Heavenly Prison within a month, but there is one condition."

"What condition?"

The black shadow clearly fell silent for a while, then said:

"Your Majesty said that if Your Highness can destroy any one of the four great sects of the Great Li Jianghu within a year, he will return all rights belonging to you."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi immediately fell silent, and his silence lasted even longer than the other's, yet no expression showed on his face; he simply asked:

"What if I cannot do it?"

The black shadow under the torchlight swayed slightly and said:

"Your Majesty did not say."

"However, the Director asked me to tell you that, in consideration of the bond between master and disciple, if you can strive to advance to the Great Li Jianghu within a month, he can allow us seven Shadow Guards to assist you."

Li Zhi pondered for a brief moment, then smiled lightly and said:

"Master still understands me best."

Having spoken, he slowly raised his hand; in an instant, his entire presence changed abruptly.

A powerful and thick true qi surged from his meridians through his body, condensing before him into the phantom image of an ancient long blade.

An invisible blade intent revealed itself from the phantom image, sharp and awe-inspiring; the air in the cell hummed and trembled, emitting suppressed clanging sounds of blades.

In the next moment, a vast and profound killing intent rushed directly at the black shadow outside the cell; that long blade phantom broke through the void, crossing the distance between inside and outside the cell in an instant, and slashed straight down at the shadow.

"Cang Tian Killing Blade Intent."

The black shadow under the torchlight let out a soft cry; countless shadow tentacles extended from behind it, wrapping around the long blade phantom layer by layer.

A muffled sound of tearing cloth arose; faintly, several strands of brilliant blade light scattered out, striking the brick wall and carving inch-deep blade marks.

The black shadow swayed a few times as well, and only after a while did it gradually settle down.

Then, the black shadow's exclamation sounded from outside the cell:

"So Your Highness has already advanced to the realm of the Great Li Jianghu; this is truly unexpected. I imagine the Director, upon learning of this, will be extremely pleased."

Li Zhi slowly withdrew the true qi around him, thick like clouds and mist, and shook his head:

"You flatter me; I merely gained some insight within this Heavenly Prison and, by luck, broke through."

At this moment, the black shadow under the torchlight outside the cell bowed slightly and said:

"Lu Ying and the other Shadow Guards will henceforth obey Your Highness's orders."

"No need for such courtesy."

Li Zhi raised his hand lightly, then his gaze shifted; he sighed deeply and said:

"I do not know what Father Emperor is thinking? Ordering me to deal with the four great sects is nearly impossible; I do not know what to do now."

Upon hearing this, the black shadow outside the cell said nothing; whether involving Your Majesty or the Director, these matters were beyond the discussion of people like them.

"Your Highness, all things depend on human effort; there is no need to worry too much."

The black shadow swayed slightly and said:

"Lu Ying must return an answer to the Director; I shall not disturb Your Highness further."

Having spoken, the black shadow slowly retreated from under the torchlight into the darkness, and the area where it had stood gradually returned to normal.

Seeing the Shadow Guard of the Intelligence Bureau depart, the worry that had been on Li Zhi's face vanished in an instant.

He frowned tightly, gazing at the lamp flame on the table, his expression becoming somewhat fluctuating:

"Suddenly ordering me to destroy one of the four great sects; this is an almost impossible condition. Could it be... they have discovered my secret?"

However, the cell was silent; no one could answer his question.

Aurora Pavilion.

The main hall from before had been destroyed; inside a slightly smaller hall next door, a group of young people had gathered in a rush.

"I heard the true Seventh Imperial Prince has been confirmed; we all are fakes."

"Ah? What shall we do? When I left my hometown, the City Lord personally escorted me a hundred li and promised to marry the Young Lady to me. If I am not an Imperial Prince, can I still marry the Young Lady?"

"I don't believe it. Wasn't it said there are still five days before we undergo selection? Why has the true Seventh Imperial Prince been confirmed so quickly?"

"Belief or not is useless; that person bears an extremely strong resemblance to Consort Jing. A eunuch of the Tianjin Guard within the Aurora Pavilion recognized him at once. This matter has been reported to the palace; I expect news will spread very soon."

"Could it not be that someone learned Consort Jing's appearance in advance and deliberately disguised themselves?"

"Foolish. This is a crime of deceiving the monarch and exterminating one's clan. No disguise can escape the inspection of the palace experts, and no one dares take such an almost certain death risk."

"Then what shall we do next?"

"We can only hope that person merely happens to resemble Consort Jing, that the final inspection fails, and thus we still have a chance."

Upon hearing this news, the young people in the hall felt both loss and restless anxiety, yet at the same time clung to a faint hope.

At this moment, three young people quietly left the crowd and walked toward the upper floor of the Aurora Pavilion.

One of them wore a scholar's robe; at this moment, his face was full of murderous intent. He turned to look at the other two young people dressed in brocade and splendid robes and said:

"If we want that person to fail the final inspection, the safest method is to kill him, destroy the body, and erase the traces before the palace envoys arrive."

Hearing this, one of them narrowed his eyes and said:

"Today the three of us join hands and here make a common oath: no matter which of us becomes the true Seventh Imperial Prince in the future, we must never forget to lift up the other two."

"Exactly—may we share wealth and honor, and never forget each other!"

The last young man clenched his fist, his gaze full of vicious malice:

"I know who that person is. In a bit I'll pretend to make conversation with him, and you two seize the moment when he's unprepared to launch a sneak attack. This matter is sure to succeed."

The three exchanged a glance, said no more, and quietly headed for the corridor on the upper level.

Soon, one of them spotted Li Musheng, who was standing in a daze, from the corridor.

He immediately put on a warm, gentle smile and walked slowly toward Li Musheng.

However, he had only just walked halfway when Li Musheng suddenly turned his head to look:

"If I were you, I wouldn't take another step forward."

The young man froze for a moment, then hurriedly cupped his hands and said:

"What do you mean by that, brother? I only saw you standing here alone and thought you were too lonely, so I came over to have a word with you."

Hearing this, Li Musheng tilted his head and glanced toward the dark corner by the stairwell, raising an eyebrow:

"With killing intent this heavy, are you afraid others won't know where you're hiding?"

(End of chapter)