Chapter 57: The Poison of the Martial World

“Lord Fu, do you take me for a fool? Do you think I have no idea what kind of power the Falling God Peak is?”

Li Musheng gave a chuckle, looking at Fu Qiwen askance.

Hearing this, Fu Qiwen lowered his eyes slightly, his expression remaining unreadable, and said

“The reputation of Falling God Peak is known to almost everyone in the martial world. As one of the four top sects in the martial world, they are indeed extremely difficult to deal with, but...”

Li Musheng waved his hand, cutting him off directly, and stated bluntly

“Don't give me any 'buts.' The job you're describing isn't easy. The silver and houses provided by His Majesty aren't worth that price, are they?”

This time, it was Fu Qiwen who showed a look of surprise. He looked up at Li Musheng in astonishment, asking suspiciously

“Could it be that Your Highness has thoughts of taking on this matter?”

At this moment, Fu Qiwen truly found himself unable to gauge the thoughts of this Eighth Prince.

Logically speaking, as long as the other party had even a slight understanding of Falling God Peak, he should have refused without hesitation. However, the current situation was that he had not done so.

Li Musheng studied Fu Qiwen for a moment with leisure, then rubbed his chin and said

“Falling God Peak is ranked among the four great sects of the martial world, possessing numerous martial arts masters. Their influence spans across four provinces of Great Li. Dealing with them would be extremely difficult.”

As he spoke, his tone suddenly shifted, and he narrowed his eyes

“However, if you want me to agree, it’s not impossible... but I’ll need extra conditions.”

Upon hearing this, Fu Qiwen said nothing, merely staring at Li Musheng.

However, he did not see even a hint of pretension in the other man. Li Musheng maintained an air of casualness, along with an undisguised mockery toward him.

“Your Highness must think carefully. This matter is no joke.”

Fu Qiwen withdrew his gaze, his expression instantly becoming extremely serious. If the other party was merely treating this as a joke, he would be gravely mistaken and would inevitably pay the price.

Li Musheng shook his head and smiled

“I have thought very clearly. Now, it is Lord Fu who should think clearly. What kind of conditions can you offer that would be worth my help in destroying Falling God Peak?”

Li Musheng saw through it clearly: even if Emperor Yuanwu had no affection for this son left behind for twenty years, he wouldn't go so far as to send him on a suicide mission right out of the gate.

Therefore, the task of dealing with Falling God Peak was certainly a deliberate move by this pleasant-faced but black-hearted bastard before him.

Of course, Li Musheng also knew that Fu Qiwen wasn't actually trying to kill him; even if he were, he would never use such crude methods.

He estimated...

Well... this bastard probably saw that he was handsome while he himself was far from it, and thus couldn't stand the sight of him and wanted to make things difficult on purpose.

As for dealing with Falling God Peak, Li Musheng actually didn't care. On the contrary, rather than letting Emperor Yuanwu and the others in the Imperial Capital entangle him with trivial matters, he might as well pull off something big.

Otherwise, remaining a titular, idle prince would be of limited use for what he truly wanted to achieve.

After listening to Li Musheng's words, Fu Qiwen fell into silence. He naturally did not believe that Li Musheng could handle a martial world power like Falling God Peak.

But being met with such an aggressive question made him uncertain—where exactly did the other man's confidence come from?

Fu Qiwen looked thoughtful for a moment before finally staring at Li Musheng and asking

“What kind of conditions does Your Highness desire?”

However, Li Musheng waved his hand and said

“We can discuss the conditions later. First, tell me: why are you targeting Falling God Peak?”

“To be honest, this approach is a complete case of 'killing a thousand enemies at the cost of losing eight hundred.' Furthermore, I don't believe your Tianjin Guard can wipe out such a massive martial sect.”

Hearing this, Fu Qiwen stared at Li Musheng for a while and said

“Your Highness may not know, but the five nations of the world have been in a stalemate for a hundred years. In truth, each is burdened by martial world factions. To repel external threats, one must first stabilize the interior. If these martial factions are not eliminated, how can Great Li hope to contend for the world?”

“Therefore, His Majesty has long had plans to move against the martial factions of Great Li. But due to the instability of the borders, the timing has never been ripe, so it has remained a mere plan that was never implemented.”

Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, looking curious

“Are you saying that the time is now ripe and you can make your move?”

However, Fu Qiwen shook his head

“We have not yet prepared to act.”

Li Musheng frowned, about to speak, but Fu Qiwen followed with a sigh

“In my view, the timing will never be perfectly ripe. We could strike at any time, yet we cannot, because we lack absolute certainty that we can annihilate them.”

“That’s like saying nothing at all.”

Li Musheng pondered for a moment, waved his hand, and said

“Give me a reason to destroy Falling God Peak. Even if their power threatens the rule of Great Li, if they stay quietly in their own territory and haven't done anything wrong, then going to uproot them without cause would mean you have no legitimate justification.”

Hearing this, Fu Qiwen let out a soft, cold laugh

“There are far too many reasons to kill them. The case files collected by our Tianjin Guard alone would fill over a dozen bookshelves.”

“These so-called martial sects are no longer simple martial arts organizations; they are more like mountain bandits ruling their own territories. Without the constraints of imperial law, they act almost entirely on whim. Bullying the weak and seizing property by force are commonplace occurrences.”

“Otherwise, Your Highness, how do you think these powerful martial factions developed so rapidly, occupying various provinces to reach a strength that rivals the Imperial Court?”

Li Musheng said nothing. He had spent the past fifteen years in Shun'an City and had not truly witnessed many martial world factions.

On his journey to Shangyang City, he had personally encountered the Blood Bath Alliance. The fact that they could make Cang Yin月 unwilling to provoke them and choose to take a detour showed just how formidable martial factions were in this region of Great Li.

Moreover, although his journey had not been enough to see the full picture of the martial world, he had discovered that it was indeed too chaotic. Sects fought incessantly, and bloodshed and conflict were everywhere.

Except for Jing Province, the people of other provinces suffered greatly; it was no exaggeration to say their lives were miserable.

Although Li Musheng knew his martial cultivation had long reached the pinnacle, making him an almost invincible existence, he also understood that individual martial strength was limited and could not change the reality of this world.

Thus, his sole focus was on pursuing martial transcendence. As for the suffering of the common people, he could neither manage nor influence it.

Perhaps while traveling the martial world, he might right a wrong or strike down evil; with his strength, he could certainly do so with ease.

He might even, on a whim, help a small town or city eradicate a local evil force, earning praise and a reputation as a great hero in the martial world.

But Li Musheng knew this was only temporary. Once one force was killed, other forces would inevitably rise to take its place.

One after another, they would never be finished.

(End of Chapter)