Chapter 057
Chapter 57: Martial World’s Poison
“Lord Fu, do you think I’m that easy to fool? Do you really believe I don’t know what kind of force Fallen God Peak is?”
Li Mu Sheng chuckled softly, glancing sideways at Fu Qi Wen.
Fu Qi Wen slightly lowered his eyes, revealing nothing on his face as he calmly replied, “Fallen God Peak is known throughout the Martial World. As one of the top Four Great Sects, they’re indeed extremely difficult to deal with. But—”
Li Mu Sheng waved his hand, interrupting him directly. “Forget your ‘buts.’ This task you’re talking about isn’t easy. The silver and house offered by His Majesty aren’t nearly enough for such danger.”
This time, Fu Qi Wen was the one who looked surprised. Raising his head in astonishment, he studied Li Mu Sheng suspiciously.
“Could it be that Your Highness is actually considering accepting this mission?”
At this moment, Fu Qi Wen truly couldn’t grasp the intentions of the Eighth Prince. Normally, anyone who had even a slight understanding of Fallen God Peak would refuse without hesitation, yet the prince hadn’t done so.
Li Mu Sheng leisurely observed Fu Qi Wen for a moment, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. “Fallen God Peak ranks among the Four Great Sects of the Martial World. They have countless martial masters, and their influence spans four provinces within Great Li. Trying to confront them would certainly be challenging.”
Suddenly, he changed his tone, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Still, if you want me to agree, it’s not entirely impossible. But… I need additional conditions.”
Fu Qi Wen stayed silent, simply fixing his gaze on Li Mu Sheng. Yet he saw no sign of pretense in the prince, only a casual demeanor and open amusement toward himself.
“Your Highness should carefully consider. This matter is no joke,” Fu Qi Wen warned sternly, his expression instantly becoming grave. If the prince treated this lightly, he would surely suffer consequences.
Li Mu Sheng shook his head, smiling. “I’m very clear about my decision. Right now, the one who needs to carefully consider is you, Lord Fu. Can you really offer something valuable enough to make me help you destroy Fallen God Peak?”
Li Mu Sheng knew well enough that even if Emperor Yuan Wu had no affection for him—this son abandoned outside for twenty years—he wouldn’t immediately send him off to his doom. Clearly, asking him to deal with Fallen God Peak must have been deliberately arranged by this outwardly pleasant but inwardly cunning official standing before him.
Of course, Li Mu Sheng didn’t truly believe Fu Qi Wen intended to kill him. Even if he did, he wouldn’t resort to such crude means.
He guessed…
[Hmm, perhaps this official sees how handsome I am and resents me because he himself falls short. Maybe he’s trying to make things difficult out of envy.]
As for dealing with Fallen God Peak, Li Mu Sheng wasn’t particularly concerned. On the contrary, rather than being constantly troubled by Emperor Yuan Wu or others from the Imperial Capital with trivial affairs, he’d prefer to accomplish something significant. Otherwise, remaining merely a prince in name but powerless in reality wouldn’t help him much with what he really wanted.
After hearing Li Mu Sheng’s words, Fu Qi Wen fell silent again. He certainly didn’t believe Li Mu Sheng had the power to handle a Martial World force as mighty as Fallen God Peak. However, faced with the prince’s assertive questioning, he became uncertain about the source of Li Mu Sheng’s confidence.
After thoughtful consideration, Fu Qi Wen finally looked directly at Li Mu Sheng and asked, “Your Highness, what conditions do you have in mind?”
But Li Mu Sheng simply waved his hand. “We’ll talk about the conditions later. First, explain to me why you want to target Fallen God Peak. Honestly, this seems like harming yourselves almost as much as your enemy. Besides, I doubt your Heavenly Brocade Guard could truly wipe out such a large Martial World sect.”
Fu Qi Wen studied Li Mu Sheng carefully before responding, “Your Highness may not know this, but the Five Kingdoms have been divided for a century. Each kingdom is burdened by its own Martial World powers. To unite outwardly, we must first pacify within. Unless these Martial World threats are removed, how can Great Li compete for dominance?”
“Therefore, His Majesty has long planned to move against Great Li’s Martial World factions. However, border tensions kept the timing unfavorable, so it has remained only a strategy until now.”
Li Mu Sheng raised his eyebrows curiously. “Are you suggesting the timing is now ripe, that you’re ready to strike?”
Yet Fu Qi Wen shook his head. “We aren’t ready yet.”
Li Mu Sheng frowned, about to speak when Fu Qi Wen continued with a sigh, “In my view, the timing will never be perfect. We could strike anytime, yet we don’t dare act because we lack absolute certainty of victory.”
“You’re saying this as if you haven’t said anything at all,” Li Mu Sheng replied after brief contemplation. “Give me a good reason to destroy Fallen God Peak. Even if they’re powerful enough to threaten Great Li’s rule, if they’ve done nothing wrong, attacking without justification would seem unjust.”
Fu Qi Wen sneered softly, replying, “We have countless reasons to destroy them. The records collected by our Heavenly Brocade Guard alone fill dozens of shelves.”
“These so-called Martial World sects are no longer mere martial arts groups. They’re more like bandits ruling their own territories. Without the constraints of imperial law, they act freely, bullying the weak and plundering as they please.”
“Otherwise, how does Your Highness think these Martial World powers grew so swiftly, occupying territories and gaining enough strength to rival the imperial court?”
Li Mu Sheng fell silent. He had spent fifteen years of his life in Shun’an City and hadn’t seen much of the Martial World firsthand. On his journey to Shang Yang City, however, he’d encountered the Bloodbath Alliance, a group so fearsome that even Cang Yin Yue preferred avoiding them. From this, he understood how terrifyingly powerful Martial World forces could be.
His travels thus far, though limited, had shown him enough chaos—constant battles and endless bloodshed among factions. Aside from Jing Province, common folk elsewhere suffered greatly, living in misery.
Though Li Mu Sheng knew his own martial dao cultivation had reached the pinnacle, nearly making him invincible, he also knew that one person’s strength had limits. Alone, he couldn’t alter the world’s reality.
Thus, he had always pursued transcending martial dao. As for the common people’s sufferings, he neither concerned himself nor had the power to fix them.
Perhaps during his journeys through the Martial World, he might occasionally act heroically, standing up against injustice. With his power, it would be easy. Sometimes, on a whim, he might even remove a local menace, earning praise and reputation as a hero.
Yet Li Mu Sheng knew clearly such actions were temporary. Eliminate one force, and soon another would rise. They grew endlessly, a cycle impossible to stop completely.