[Your descendant, Li Xinghuo, with the consent of Grand Tutor Lin Jiu and the aid of the Grand Tutor's faction in the Imperial Capital, has taken advantage of these chaotic times to infiltrate the Imperial Palace. Your descendant, Li Yaoqing, working in concert with other consorts over whom she holds leverage, has successfully captured Consort Shu.]
[With the assistance of the Hall of Heavenly Principle's Shadow Division, your clan has captured 274 members of Prince Qian's maternal family within the Imperial Capital.]
A high-ranking imperial consort, captured so silently, just like that!
"Release my family," she said, "and I will tell you everything."
Consort Shu, who still possessed a mature charm, looked utterly bereft, as if she had lost her entire world. But she had survived in the deep palace for centuries; she could see that these people of unknown origin were far from ordinary. How could ordinary people possibly infiltrate the secret, guarded depths of the inner palace?
She remembered it clearly. At first, she had been drinking merrily with her palace sisters, but then she exposed one of them for trying to slip a Mind-Bewitching Pill into her wine. She was just about to flee. But outside her chambers, hundreds of palace maids and eunuchs were already waiting.
For a moment, she had almost suspected that the Imperial Palace had been overrun by an enemy army.
By the time she was captured and brought here, all the important figures in her clan had already been taken under control by these men in black. Her family had three Nascent Soul Patriarchs, for heaven's sake!
But what Consort Shu didn't realize was that what she had witnessed was merely the tip of the iceberg when it came to the assassin force under Li Xinghuo's command.
Li Wei glanced at Li Xinghuo's event log.
[Your descendant, Li Xinghuo, from the spoils of Tian Xing, has acquired a technique to shield heavenly secrets. Acquired Physique: Umbral Spirit Body. Effect: Allows the body to merge with darkness, making it easier to comprehend the Rule of Darkness.]
It had to be said, those avatars of Tian Xing were truly powerful.
Their numerous special physiques had been divided among the Li family members, and this Umbral Spirit Body was one of the more powerful among them.
It was also a perfect fit for the missions Li Xinghuo needed to carry out as a 'scout'.
This Umbral Spirit Body allowed him to merge into shadows, providing the perfect camouflage at night.
It granted a cultivation speed far exceeding that of an ordinary person, as it could absorb the very essence of the night.
This was a trait that would be of great benefit even to a cultivator at the Divinity Transformation realm. With this physique alone, simply by cultivating, Li Xinghuo could earn a place on the Nascent Divinity List and contend with the finest geniuses in the world.
[Your descendant, Li Xinghuo, returned to the Northern Border with Grand Tutor Lin Jiu. His unique physique caught the Grand Tutor's attention, who then had him join the Asura Army.]
[Within the Asura Army were Lin Jiu's other adopted sons, and for years, Li Xinghuo was relentlessly suppressed by them. Three years later, late one night, he killed them. He then knelt outside Lin Jiu's door with their three heads in his hand. New Status Acquired: Commander of the Asura Army.]
[In his ten years as commander, he has led the Asura Army to slay countless foes on the battlefield. Leading from the front, he has survived only through Your repeated healing interventions. Through this, he has completely won the hearts of the ten thousand assassins of the Asura Army. Trait Acquired: King of Assassins.
Effect: His rich experience as an assassin allows him to deal 100% increased damage while concealed in darkness.]
[Your descendant personally led two thousand assassins to assassinate a weakened Divinity Transformation stage demon...]
And now.
The Asura Army under Li Xinghuo's command served him and him alone. These assassins would not bow before the Grand Tutor, but in the presence of Li Xinghuo, they would bow their heads without fail.
Li Xinghuo looked down at Consort Shu, a mocking glint in his eyes.
"Oh?" he drawled. "He is your son, after all. Are you really selling him out this quickly?"
"All I ask is that you release my family."
Consort Shu's expression was filled with grief.
"In his eyes, I was always just a useless mother," she said. "Ask what you will, and I will answer anything I know. I want to live, and I want my clansmen to live!"
And so, the consort began to recount the events of the past several hundred years.
Princes and princesses... in truth, a child's status in the palace depends entirely on their mother's standing. Consort Shu's family was only a minor clan. Sending her into the Imperial Palace to become a consort had already cost them a vast sum of Spirit Stones. With a weak maternal clan, Prince Qian was naturally not favored within the palace.
"His innate talent was exceptional, and he was clever and bright from childhood," she said. "And yet, he was subjected to constant humiliation. Slowly, he learned forbearance. To the outside world, he became the most inconspicuous and obedient of all the children."
When Consort Shu spoke of her son, her expression was filled with nothing but pain.
"In public, he was always meek and subservient," she said, "but do you know what he was like in private? When he was wronged or bullied by others, he would come crying to me. As he grew older, he began to complain. He told me I was a useless mother, that my family's weakness made him a cut below all the other princes and princesses."
"My clansmen and I exhausted our supply of Spirit Stones and Heavenly Materials for him, but it was never enough. He demanded Dharma treasures; he demanded Rank 5, even Rank 4, Spirit Objects."
"But we are only a Nascent Soul Clan—where were we supposed to find such things for him?"
"...."
Li Xinghuo frowned. He had never imagined that the enemy his clan had been fighting for all these years was, at his core, a man like this.
"Later, I don't know where he managed to obtain a vast sum of Spirit Stones, but suddenly, he had Dharma treasures and followers. He stopped paying me any mind. I grew worried that he had done something he shouldn't have, but he refused to listen to my advice and just cursed at me, calling me a useless waste."
Consort Shu let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"But what he didn't know," she said, "was that for his sake, our family could no longer even afford the life-extending elixirs for our own patriarch at the auction houses. His Majesty, the Emperor, found out about this. He broke his hand in the middle of the great hall and threw him into the dungeons. I gave birth to a monster, an animal who will never know how to repay a kindness."
A... twisted and inhuman monster.
But from her words, Li Xinghuo had also confirmed one thing: the secret force Prince Qian had brought with him had nothing to do with Consort Shu or her family.
"Reporting to the Commander!" an assassin announced. "We've found Prince Qian's case file. Our people have sent the signal. The State Preceptor's men have detected us and will be here in thirty minutes."
Li Xinghuo took the case file and said in a low voice, "Ignore them. What does it matter if we are discovered? I doubt that Min Youguo would dare to lay a hand on me."
At these words, Consort Shu's face went pale with terror. She glanced at the assassins who were discussing how to deal with her clansmen, then turned back to Li Xinghuo, her face streaked with tears.
"I remember now!" she cried. "Years ago, I asked that beast why he kept taking our Spirit Stones, but he never said a word. But I saw him! I saw him with a wanted fugitive from the Imperial Capital!"
Without a word, Li Xinghuo destroyed the case file, then turned and strode out of the building, his expression grim.
"Send them all," he commanded, "to the Duravia Trade Prefecture."
"No!" Consort Shu shrieked in horror. "You can't send us to that monster! He'll kill us! He has no humanity!"
But it was no use. The assassins paid no mind to her cries. To them, an order from Li Xinghuo was more absolute than an imperial edict.
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