After fifteen years of cultivation, he finally reached the pinnacle of the first rank!

Chapter 45 Grand Master

Li Zhi looked up in the direction of the shadow, squinted his eyes, and said:
"Which of Master's seven shadow guards are you?"

The dark shadow swayed slightly under the torch, like a wisp of rising smoke:

"Your Highness has a sharp gaze. I am ranked sixth among the Shadow Guards. You may call me Lu Ying."

Li Zhi nodded slightly, looked at the other person with a serious look for a while, and asked:

"What does the master want you to come to me for?"

Upon hearing this, a faint voice came from the shadows:

"Master Sizhu said that His Majesty has promised to let Your Highness leave the prison within a month, but there is a condition."

"What conditions?"

The black shadow was obviously silent for a while, then said:
"His Majesty has ordered Your Highness to destroy any one of the four major sects in the Dali Jianghu within a year. If you can do so, he will return all your rights to you."

Hearing this, Li Zhi fell silent, and his silence lasted even longer than the other party's. However, there was no expression on his face. He just asked:

"What if I can't do it?"

The dark shadow under the torch swayed slightly and said:
"Your Majesty did not say."

"However, the Master asked me to tell you that, for the sake of our relationship as master and disciple, if you can work hard and advance to the rank of Grandmaster of Martial Arts within a month, he will allow us, the Seven Shadow Guards, to help you."

Li Zhi thought for a moment, then smiled softly and said:
"Master is the one who understands me."

After saying that, he slowly raised his hand, and in an instant his whole aura changed suddenly.

A powerful and rich true energy flowed out from his meridians and condensed into the shadow of an ancient long sword in front of him.

The invisible sword intent emerged from the shadow, sharp and awe-inspiring. The air in the cell was vibrating and emitting bursts of suppressed clanging sword sounds.

The next moment, a vast and distant murderous intent approached the black shadow outside the cell. The phantom of the long sword broke through the void, instantly crossed the distance between the inside and outside of the cell, and slashed towards the black shadow.

"Heaven's Killing Blade Intent."

The dark shadow under the torch let out a soft cry, and countless shadow tentacles extended from behind it, wrapping the shadow of the long sword layer by layer.

A dull sound of cloth tearing was heard, and a few faint rays of bright knife light escaped and fell on the brick wall, leaving a deep mark of an inch.

The black shadow also swayed a few times, and after a while it gradually calmed down.

Then, a black shadow exclaimed outside the cell:

"It turns out that His Highness has already ascended to the level of Grandmaster of Martial Arts. This is truly beyond our expectations. I'm sure that Master Si will be extremely happy to know this."

Li Zhi slowly gathered the thick Qi around him, which was like a cloud of mist, and shook his head.

"Thank you for your praise. I just had some enlightenment in this prison and was lucky enough to break through."

At this time, the dark figure under the torch outside the cell bowed slightly and said:

"Lu Ying and the other Shadow Guards will obey His Highness's orders from now on."

"No need to be polite."

Li Zhi raised his hand slightly, then his eyes moved, he sighed deeply, and said:

"I don't know what Father is thinking. He actually ordered me to deal with the four major sects. This is almost impossible to accomplish. I don't know what to do now."

Hearing this, the dark shadow outside the cell did not say anything. Whether it involved His Majesty or the Lord Chief, it was not something they could discuss.

"Your Highness, everything is up to you. Don't worry too much."

The black shadow swayed slightly and said:
"Lu Ying still needs to reply to Lord Sizhu, so I won't disturb Your Highness any longer." After saying that, the black shadow slowly retreated into the darkness from under the torch, and the area where it was just now gradually returned to normal.

Seeing the shadow guard of the Secret Service leave, the worry on Li Zhi's face disappeared in an instant.

He frowned, looking at the light on the table, his expression becoming uncertain.

"You suddenly asked me to destroy one of the four major sects. This is an almost impossible task. Could it be... that you discovered my secret?"

However, the cell was silent and no one could answer his question.

……

Aurora Pavilion.

The previous first-floor hall had been destroyed, and in a smaller hall next door, a group of young people gathered in a hurry.

"I heard that the real Seventh Prince has been confirmed, and all of us are fake."

"Ah? What should I do then? When I left my hometown, the city lord personally escorted me a hundred miles and promised to marry the eldest daughter to me. If I weren't a prince, could I still marry the eldest daughter?"

"I don't believe it. Didn't they say that there would be another five days before we were selected? Why did they identify the true Seventh Prince so quickly?"

"There's no point in disbelief. That man looks very similar to Concubine Jing. The eunuchs from the Tianjin Guards in the Aurora Pavilion recognized him immediately. The matter has already been reported to the palace, and I expect the news to spread soon."

"Could it be that someone knew Concubine Jing's appearance in advance and deliberately disguised themselves?"

"Foolish! This is a grave crime, tantamount to deceiving the emperor and annihilating one's clan. No one can escape the inspection of the palace masters by disguising themselves, and no one dares to take such a risk of near certain death."

"So what should we do next?"

"I just hope that person happens to look like Concubine Jing and ultimately fails the inspection. That way, we still have a chance."

……

When the young people in the hall heard the news, they felt lost and anxious, but at the same time they held on to a glimmer of hope.

At this time, three young men quietly left the crowd and walked upstairs to the Aurora Pavilion.

One of them was wearing a Confucian robe, but his face was full of anger. He turned around and looked at the other two young men in brocade robes and said:

"If that person ultimately fails the inspection, the safest way is to kill him and destroy the body before anyone from the palace arrives."

Hearing this, one of them narrowed his eyes and said:

"Today, the three of us have joined forces and sworn an oath: no matter who becomes the true Seventh Prince, he must not forget to support the other two."

"That's right, if you become rich and powerful, don't forget each other!"

The last young man clenched his fists, his eyes full of viciousness:
"I know who that person is. I'll pretend to talk to him later, and you can attack him by surprise. This will definitely succeed."

The three of them looked at each other, said no more, and quietly went to the corridor on the upper floor.

Soon, someone saw Li Musheng in a daze in the corridor.

He immediately put on a gentle smile and walked slowly towards Li Musheng.

However, he had just walked halfway when Li Musheng suddenly turned around and looked at him:
"If I were you, I wouldn't take another step forward."

The young man was stunned for a moment, then quickly bowed and said:
"Brother, what do you mean? I just saw that you were too lonely here, so I came over to talk to you."

Hearing this, Li Musheng turned his head to glance at the dark corner of the stairwell and raised his eyebrows:

"You're so murderous, are you afraid that others won't know where you're hiding?"

(End of this chapter)