Great Li Martial God

But the moment the middle-aged man took his first step forward, he suddenly found his acupoints sealed, locking him in place and leaving him completely unable to move.

”What... what is this?”

Terror showed in the middle-aged man’s eyes. Looking around him, he could see nothing but Li Musheng before him. There was absolutely no sign of anyone else having acted.

At that moment, Li Musheng’s voice sounded at the middle-aged man’s ear, ”You are a member of the Great Li Tianjin Guards?”

Hearing this, the middle-aged man looked at Li Musheng, and at that point Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng, seeing their companion suddenly frozen in place, both wore alarmed expressions and said in urgent, low voices, ”Commissioner Miao, what is happening to you?”

The middle-aged man did not reply. He felt as though he had been plunged into a pool of ice water. Whoever had sealed his acupoints without any sound or sign was without question far above him in martial cultivation, and right now there was nothing he could do but wait.

With that thought, the middle-aged man looked at Li Musheng before him and said, ”I am the Tianjin Guards Commissioner of Lan Province. This territory belongs to Falling God Peak. I advise young master not to act recklessly. Even with a powerful expert protecting you from behind, you will not escape pursuit from Falling God Peak.”

Li Musheng shook his head and said, ”You serve the Great Li court, yet you collude with Falling God Peak at a time of open conflict. Since I have encountered you, you have only yourself to blame.”

The moment those words fell, the middle-aged man’s eyes, which had still been open, went suddenly vacant, and the life within him vanished almost in an instant.

At that point Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng behind him both went pale with shock, because they clearly saw that Commissioner Miao now had a blood-rimmed hole passing cleanly through his head from front to back that had not been there a moment before.In the next instant, with barely any hesitation, both Yuwen Feng and Zheng Zi channeled their martial True Qi and moved to flee through the hall entrance.

But the moment they tried to move, they found every single one of their acupoints already sealed. They could not budge in the slightest.

And at that moment, Li Musheng’s voice sounded at Zheng Zi’s ear, ”You have not yet answered my question.”

Both Yuwen Feng and Zheng Zi stared at Li Musheng, who was lounging casually in the armchair, their eyes full of terror.

”Just... just who are you exactly?”

Zheng Zi’s voice carried a faint tremor. The strongest martial artist among them had just been killed, and they had not even seen who had acted. Now their own acupoints were sealed, and their lives were entirely in the other man’s hands.

Both Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng felt a surge of regret at having been so arrogant as to let both elder martial artists leave at the same time, leaving them in this situation. But they also understood clearly that the most important thing right now was to stall for time. As long as the two elders returned, they would certainly be able to get out of this.

”Whoever you may be, you must know Falling God Peak’s standing in the martial world. If you kill us, our fathers will not rest until you have paid for it.”

”On the other hand, if you let us go, I can act as though tonight never happened.”

Zheng Zi pressed down the fear in his heart and looked at Li Musheng, trying to buy time.

Behind him, Yuwen Feng also hurried to add, ”My father is Yuwen Chengqing, Peak Master of the Ninth Peak of Falling God Peak. I can guarantee that as long as you do not harm us, we will ensure you leave Hundred Refinements City without a hair out of place.”

”And besides, there is no enmity between us before we have met. From what I can see, you are a man of fine bearing. We may yet become true friends.”

Hearing this, Li Musheng nearly laughed out loud. Even Yuwen Feng himself probably did not believe a word of what he was saying.

Even so, while Li Musheng was perfectly aware the two were trying to stall, he was not particularly bothered by it.

At that point, the scarred man, who had been standing in place throughout without daring to move, had watched every development in the hall unfold before his eyes.

He himself had not dared to budge, but the expressions crossing his face had been extraordinarily varied and animated throughout.

From despair, when Zheng Zi had struck at Li Musheng and he had assumed he was about to follow Li Musheng into death.

To bewildered shock, when he saw that Li Musheng had come through without a scratch.

Then to utter disbelief and astonishment, when the middle-aged man with the powerful martial cultivation was killed instantly.

And now, watching Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng stand frozen in place while showing such a completely reversed attitude toward Li Musheng, he suddenly understood that the balance of power had entirely shifted.

In an instant, the scarred man felt a wave of relief flood through him, and he finally moved his neck, which had gone somewhat stiff. Then he looked at Li Musheng with a somewhat sheepish grin, saying, ”So young master had this kind of ability all along. Why did you not say so sooner? You had me scared half to death.”

As he spoke, the scarred man caught a sidelong glance at Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng in the hall, and suddenly dropped his smile, lowering his voice, saying, ”Falling God Peak’s words cannot be trusted. Our best course right now is to get out of Hundred Refinements City before those two old men come back. And naturally, for added security, we could take these two along as hostages.”

Hearing this, Li Musheng glanced at him.

This man had a remarkably strong constitution for stress. One moment he was losing his mind with fear, the next he was calmly and soberly mapping out their exit options.

Even so, Li Musheng simply waved a hand and said, ”Go on your own. I still have other things to do here, and need to stay.”

The reason Li Musheng had followed the Tin Mountain Blade Sect’s group in the first place was to save himself the trouble of navigating the road.

But now that he had reached Hundred Refinements City and the distance to Hundred Refinements Peak was short, he had no further use for them.

And now, with Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng in hand, he could not be bothered with making the trip at all. He would simply wait for the senior martial artists of Hundred Refinements Peak to come to him, which was clearly far more convenient.

Hearing this, the scarred man’s expression went through a rapid series of changes. He did not know what Li Musheng was planning to do by staying.

But he knew clearly that if he did not leave now, and the two formidable Falling God Peak elders returned, the situation would become far harder to predict.

With that thought, the scarred man immediately folded his hands in a bow, saying, ”Take care, young master.”

With that he turned to leave at once, but as he did, his gaze swept over Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng, and he immediately gritted his teeth and turned back, saying, ”Young master, could you spare one hostage for me?”

”With a hostage in hand, if I run into Falling God Peak’s people, it should make them think twice. And even if I am backed into a corner in the end, at least I can take one of them with me when I go. That is not nothing.”

Li Musheng’s eyelid twitched slightly, but he turned the scarred man down directly, saying, ”I have use for both.”

Hearing this, the scarred man found he had no argument, and let out a regretful sigh. He then picked up his pouch of gold from the floor, stopped his dithering at last, leaped out through the hall window, and made off on his own to save his skin.

In an instant, the third-floor hall was left holding only Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng, along with the courtesans who were too frightened to make a sound or a move.

Li Musheng looked at Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng again, and asked once more, ”Are you certain your fathers would come to the Hundred Fragrance Pavilion for your sake?”

At that moment, Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng did not understand Li Musheng’s intentions, but staying alive was the most pressing concern, and so they immediately said, ”We are both the sons our fathers cherish most. Whatever your conditions, as long as you do not kill us, they will agree to anything.”

Hearing this, Li Musheng gave a nod, saying, ”Then I will take you at your word.”

The moment those words fell, two invisible pulses of True Qi passed clean through the heads of Zheng Zi and Yuwen Feng.