Chapter 103: The World Shakes

In Li Qingqiu’s view, a Physique that had not undergone Awakening definitely required some kind of stimulus—either a stimulus to the Physical Body or a stimulus to the spirit—but it was difficult to judge the necessary degree of stimulation.

However, seeing that Yuan Li was still young, he couldn’t bear to do it.

Forget it.

The current feeling of loss is also a kind of tempering for his mentality. Li Qingqiu believed that his Masters Heart and resilient destiny would help him walk the correct path and not stray.

Li Qingqiu closed his eyes and continued to Cultivate.

The Eighth Layer Realm was getting closer… Night fell, and Li Sifeng returned to the Lingxiao Courtyard, carrying the di xuan sword. He was very tired; today’s Cultivation had drained his Origin Qi and energy.

Although exhausted, he felt quite fulfilled. The feeling of getting stronger every day was truly wonderful.

Why didn’t his former self appreciate this?

Did he have to experience despair to finally realize it?

Thinking about Cheng Xiu watching him practice swordplay this afternoon, her face full of admiration, Li Sifeng felt a profound sense of accomplishment.

If the Prison Qilin hadn’t arrived back then, not only would he have died, but Cheng Xiu and her younger brother would have died too. The thought made him feel dread.

He looked up and saw his Senior Brother sitting at the long table.

“Senior Brother, it’s so late, why aren’t you resting yet?”

Li Sifeng walked over and asked with a smile.

Li Qingqiu put down the book in his hand, looked at him, and said, “I was waiting for you. I want to assign you a task.”

Hearing this, Li Sifeng couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What task?”

“Achieve the Nourishing Origin Realm, Fifth Layer as quickly as possible, and then go destroy the Pei Clan.” Li Qingqiu’s tone was very calm.

When Li Sifeng heard the words “Pei Clan,” his expression immediately changed.

He hated the Pei Clan to the bone. Even without Li Qingqiu saying it, he would eventually fight the Pei Clan to the death.

“Alright!” Li Sifeng agreed.

Li Qingqiu looked at him and said seriously, “We originally would have had no involvement with the Pei Clan, but because you targeted the di xuan sword they wanted, after a struggle, we formed a deadly antagonistic relationship with them. We also lost quite a few Disciples because of this. I’m not criticizing you—the capable acquire treasures, and the di xuan sword never belonged to the Pei Clan—I just hope that before you do anything in the future, you consider the pros and cons first. You’ve grown up; it’s time to mature.”

Li Sifeng felt deeply ashamed after hearing this. This time, he didn’t try to defend himself.

“Go rest.” Li Qingqiu finished speaking and picked up the book on the table again.

Li Sifeng took a deep breath, nodded seriously at him, and then turned to go back to his room… Twenty days after Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning departed, they finally returned. However, Li Qingqiu did not see Yan Lan. Seeing their heavy expressions, he had a guess in his heart.

Li Qingqiu asked Zhao Zhen, Yuan Li, and the others to leave the courtyard. He wanted to speak with Jiang Zhaoxia and the other person privately.

After the others left, Li Qingqiu asked Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning to sit down and talk.

“The Crown Prince is dead.”

Jiang Zhaoxia’s first sentence made Li Qingqiu frown. Although he had guessed it, his feelings were still somewhat complicated upon learning the truth.

Seeing that neither Jiang Zhaoxia nor Xu Ning was injured, he couldn’t help but ask, “You didn’t make it in time?”

“We made it in time. We even rescued him from the Imperial Palace, but halfway out of the city, the poison suddenly acted up. The poison had been lurking in his body for at least half a month, meaning someone had poisoned him before his uprising. This poison was incredibly sinister, and even using the power of the Hunyuan Scripture, we couldn’t expel it for him. He chose to stay and face death, telling the two of us to escape.”

Jiang Zhaoxia said, his face grim. This was his first mission failure, and he felt terrible.

Xu Ning felt the same way. The two of them barely spoke on the way back.

Li Qingqiu asked in surprise, “So you just abandoned him?”

Jiang Zhaoxia frowned and said, “Of course not. We wanted to bring him back for you to treat, but he absolutely refused. He said he couldn’t escape; if he escaped, both Zhao Zhen and the Qingxiao Sect would run into trouble. He had to die inside the Imperial City. After only a few sentences, the poison took effect and he died. We had no choice but to abandon his body.”

Xu Ning nodded and said, “He was right; that’s exactly what happened.”

Li Qingqiu fell silent.

He hadn’t spent much time with Yan Lan, and their friendship wasn’t deep, but Yan Lan was Zhao Zhen’s father. He was afraid that Yan Lan’s death would cause a drastic change in Zhao Zhen’s character.

“Furthermore, the experts in the Imperial Palace are not simple. There is a person named Mysterious Duke whose martial arts are no weaker than Shen Yue’s. Although the two of us were confident we could work together to kill him, he had many experts under him, all highly skilled in martial arts and working in perfect coordination. Since we also had to protect the Crown Prince, we were forced to flee.”

Jiang Zhaoxia continued, his expression solemn when mentioning Mysterious Duke.

Xu Ning added, “Mysterious Duke’s power far surpasses that of the Sword God, but the Sword God, relying on his Sword Intent, might not necessarily be weaker than him. We worry that this is just the tip of the iceberg in the Imperial Palace, because the fact that Mysterious Duke could chase us down suggests there might be people no weaker than him left inside the Imperial Palace to protect the Emperor.”

“There is another possibility: the Emperor is stronger than Mysterious Duke, otherwise, Mysterious Duke wouldn’t be left inside the palace. Moreover, the Emperor consumed the Inner Elixir of the martial arts myth…”

She didn’t continue the rest of the sentence, but Li Qingqiu understood.

This Emperor’s current power was unfathomable and could not be underestimated.

Li Qingqiu looked up. Rolling dark clouds had appeared in the sky at some unknown time. He muttered to himself, “It looks like it’s going to rain.”

…The Crown Prince rebelled and was executed by the Jin Wu Guards under the command of the Son of Heaven. This news swept across the Nine Prefectures like a hurricane, shocking the world. Both the populace and the Martial Forest were discussing the matter.

Numerous high officials and Aristocratic Families were ordered by the Son of Heaven to be strictly investigated. Every day in Zhengyang Imperial City, hundreds of heads were chopped off, and blood flowed like a river beneath the execution grounds.

When this news reached the Qingxiao Sect, it happened to be the New Year’s Festival.

The Disciples were celebrating joyfully, but then they heard pilgrims coming up the mountain discussing the matter. The news spread by word of mouth among the Disciples, and soon, it became the topic of discussion for the entire School.

Bitter One and Bitter Two found Zhao Zhen, afraid he might act rashly.

Instead, they saw Zhao Zhen sitting cross-legged atop the mountain peak, surrounded by Spiritual Qi.

The two exchanged glances. They did not disturb Zhao Zhen, but they also did not leave, afraid that Zhao Zhen might do something desperate.

Inside the Lingxiao Courtyard, Li Qingqiu gathered the Hall Masters to discuss the matter.

“From now on, Zhao Zhen’s identity is a secret of this School and must not be revealed to anyone.” Li Qingqiu scanned everyone and said seriously.

Zhu Yan’s expression was grim. Li Qingqiu noticed her look and couldn’t help but ask, “Hall Master Zhu, what is wrong?”

Everyone else looked toward Zhu Yan. The death of the Crown Prince made them all feel pressure; they had a premonition that the Emperor was about to cause trouble again.

She took a deep breath and said, “My family hasn’t sent anyone to deliver messages recently. I’m worried they might be implicated.”

Li Qingqiu pressed, “Do you and Maiden Su need to go back and check?”

Zhu Yan shook her head and said, “If something truly happened, there’s no meaning in us going back. It’s better to stay in the Qingxiao Sect and wait for the situation to change. Even if our Zhu Family backed the wrong side, there will always be a Bloodline left. What I need to do is protect that Bloodline well.”

She paused, then said, “If the Sect Leader needs us to avoid suspicion, we can also leave the mountain immediately.”

Li Qingqiu said helplessly, “We dare to shelter the Crown Prince’s son; why would we be afraid to shelter you?”

Hearing this, Zhu Yan smiled.

Li Qingqiu brought up the dao lineage panel to check her loyalty level.

Hmm, it increased by 1 point. Not bad.

“Senior Brother, how should we respond to the changes in the world next?” Li Dongyue asked, looking at Li Qingqiu.

Zhang Yuchun preemptively said, “This is a struggle for imperial power, and it has nothing to do with us. As long as Third Junior Brother and Martial Niece Xu haven’t exposed their identities, we just need to control the situation at the Guzhou Prefecture checkpoint. I have already made arrangements; if anything happens, the news will reach me immediately.”

The Crown Prince was dead, and in fact, he felt a sense of relief.

If Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning had truly brought the Crown Prince back to the Qingxiao Sect, he really wouldn’t have known how to handle it. One thing was certain: the Emperor would absolutely not let the matter rest. No matter how well they hid, there would eventually be a day when the secret couldn’t be kept.

He admitted his thoughts were selfish, but in his eyes, the Qingxiao Sect was the most important thing.

Zhao Zhen was not a Disciple he recruited. The Qingxiao Sect shouldn’t risk the entire School for Zhao Zhen’s father.

The others echoed his sentiment. Their attitude was the same: hold their ground, develop themselves, and observe the evolution of the world’s great trends.

After listening, Li Qingqiu didn’t say much more about the matter. He changed the subject, saying, “The new year has arrived. This is the eighth year since I took the position of Sect Leader. This year’s goal is for the total number of Disciples, excluding Utility Disciples, to exceed three thousand, and the number of True Disciples to exceed four hundred. What I want is steady development; we must not seek quick success for the sake of this goal.”

He continued to lay out the major goals for the Seven Halls and the Sword Sect. The Hall Masters indicated that they had taken note.

In the evening, Li Qingqiu arrived at the cliff where Zhao Zhen was located. He asked Bitter One and Bitter Two to step back, then walked alone to Zhao Zhen’s side.

“Why are you practicing alone here?” Li Qingqiu asked.

Zhao Zhen opened his eyes, turned his head to look at his Master, and said, “Master, you don’t need to worry about me or comfort me. Actually, Father had already explained things to me before sending me to the Qingxiao Sect. He said he was in a fatal situation, destined to either die from illness or die at the hands of my grandfather.”

Li Qingqiu was surprised. He hadn’t expected Yan Lan to have already explained this to Zhao Zhen. Zhao Zhen was only a few years old then, yet he hadn’t been mentally crushed by the matter.

Zhao Zhen was only eight years old now. Hearing the news of his father’s death, he didn’t cry, leaving Li Qingqiu unsure how to comfort him.

Zhao Zhen said earnestly, “My father said that rather than dying of illness, he hoped his death would become meaningful. If he died at Grandfather’s hands, the world would surely shake, and the people of the world would denounce Grandfather’s incompetence. No matter how strong the imperial power is, it will ultimately collapse under the will of the people.”

Li Qingqiu raised his hand and rubbed his head, saying, “I sent your Third Junior Martial Uncle and your Senior Sister to rescue your father, but he was already poisoned and couldn’t be brought back. Before he died, his final request was to die inside the Imperial City to avoid bringing trouble to you and the Qingxiao Sect.”

Hearing this, Zhao Zhen smiled and asked, “Master, although my father was physically weak, does his action count as that of a Great Man?”

Li Qingqiu smiled in return and said, “Of course, he counts. Moreover, he is the foremost Great Man in the world, and he was an excellent father.”

Zhao Zhen smiled even more brightly. He cupped his hands and smiled with a hint of Yan Lan’s spirit.

“I will practice martial arts diligently and not disappoint Father.”

Watching Zhao Zhen filled with such fighting spirit, Li Qingqiu suddenly thought of his Fragile Heavenly destiny.

Will the Emperor eliminate the roots and branches, hunting down this grandson?

First update of the early morning!