Chapter 458: Secrets of the Hidden Kill Pavilion

Looking at the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint before him, Li Musheng frowned and said, "I'm quite busy right now. I don't have time to wait around for you."

"Besides, though I have no particular attachment to this position of Pavilion Master, I've traveled a great distance to get here, and I'm not going back empty-handed."

With that, Li Musheng paused, then tapped a finger against the tea table, "So, whether you're willing to give me the position of Pavilion Master or not, I'm taking it."

"Otherwise, whether it's the White Tiger Divine Hall or the Hidden Kill Pavilion, I don't see why either of them should continue to exist."

Li Musheng said this in a perfectly flat tone, his expression showing not the slightest trace of anger or frustration. But hearing these words, both the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint changed expression sharply at once.

As an assassin organization with reach throughout the entire martial world, the Hidden Kill Pavilion had naturally gathered every piece of intelligence on Li Musheng, and knew that he had single-handedly destroyed Falling God Peak, one of Great Li's four great sects.

So they understood perfectly well that what he had just said was no idle threat. He was genuinely capable of following through.

And as someone who had personally crossed blades with Li Musheng, the Assassination Saint, along with the Pavilion Master who understood just how unfathomably deep his strength truly was, had absolutely no wish to clash with him.

More importantly, Li Musheng had since obtained the Demonic Patriarch's legacy while passing through Great Xuan, cultivating demonic arts and devouring the cultivation of numerous demonic experts. His current strength was almost certainly on an entirely different level now than it had been before.

"Your Highness, please don't act rashly. There's still room to discuss this matter."

The bronze-masked Pavilion Master spoke up hurriedly, then exchanged a glance with the Assassination Saint beside him.

At this, the Assassination Saint, his face still indistinct, let out a sigh and said, "In truth, both the Pavilion Master and I, along with the other two Assassination Saints, support Your Highness taking the position of Pavilion Master. The only obstacle at present is the White Tiger Divine Hall."

"If Your Highness could prove that you're unaffected by demonic nature, or simply abandon your demonic arts altogether, so that the White Tiger Divine Hall believes Your Highness won't become a future threat, then the position of Pavilion Master would undoubtedly remain Your Highness's, and no one could take it away."

At those words, Li Musheng said nothing at first, then turned his gaze to the Assassination Saint and said, "There is no one in this world who can make me abandon my own martial arts. I have no need to prove anything to anyone."

With that, Li Musheng had no further interest in continuing to negotiate with the two of them, and instead turned to the Pavilion Master, saying, "Step down right now, and announce it to the entire martial world immediately. From this day forward, I am officially the Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion."

"If the White Tiger Divine Hall doesn't agree, then let them come find me."

At those words, the Pavilion Master's face beneath the bronze mask went blank at once, and the Assassination Saint's indistinct features shifted rapidly through a series of changes.

Faced with Li Musheng's abrupt and unexpected demand, the Pavilion Master had no idea how to respond for a moment.

"What, are you unwilling to hand over the position of Pavilion Master?"

At this point, seeing that the Pavilion Master hadn't spoken, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow and said, "If you're unwilling, I don't mind simply taking it myself."

As Li Musheng saw it, the two people before him were being far too indecisive, and that was only going to waste his time.

And when something could be resolved through force, there was no need for all this roundabout hesitation.

At the same time, the Pavilion Master gave Li Musheng a long look, clearly deeply torn at this moment.

He naturally wasn't clinging to the position of Pavilion Master out of greed. It was simply that he had no wish to clash with Li Musheng, nor did he want to provoke the White Tiger Divine Hall.

"With the Hidden Kill Pavilion in my hands, it will have absolutely no connection to the White Tiger Divine Hall going forward. From now on, the Hidden Kill Pavilion is the Hidden Kill Pavilion, and the White Tiger Divine Hall is the White Tiger Divine Hall."

Li Musheng, seeing that the Pavilion Master had shown no intention of moving against him from the start, offered this as a reassurance, making clear that as long as the Hidden Kill Pavilion was placed in his hands, he wouldn't move against it.

Then, with no further interest in continuing to discuss the matter of the Pavilion Master position with the two of them, Li Musheng waved a hand and said, "If neither of you refuses, then this matter is settled. Now, let's discuss some other things."

Even so, the Pavilion Master spoke up at this point, "I can agree to Your Highness's request. But the relationship between the Hidden Kill Pavilion and the White Tiger Divine Hall isn't as simple as Your Highness might think."

As he said this, a complicated look surfaced in the Pavilion Master's eyes, "As an assassin organization with reach throughout the world, countless people have died to the Hidden Kill Pavilion's assassinations over the past thousand years, and countless more have wished to destroy it entirely."

"Yet even so, the Hidden Kill Pavilion, viewed by nearly the entire martial world as a thorn in its side, has stood unbroken for a thousand years. There is one very important reason for this, and that is the White Tiger Divine Hall standing behind it in the shadows."

At those words, Li Musheng looked at the Pavilion Master, his expression turning thoughtful, and asked, "By what you're saying, the connection between the White Tiger Divine Hall and the Hidden Kill Pavilion runs quite deep. Does this connection have anything to do with the legendary ancient savage beast White Tiger?"

Li Musheng had already learned from Ah Xiu that the Hidden Kill Pavilion had been founded a thousand years ago by the White King, the younger brother of the Tianqi Emperor.

The White King had also apparently received some legacy from the ancient savage beast White Tiger, and the name of the White Tiger Divine Hall itself was drawn from that very same savage beast. It seemed unlikely there was no connection between the two.

The most important purpose of Li Musheng's trip to White Emperor City was precisely the savage beast White Tiger, and so he naturally followed the Pavilion Master's line of discussion further.

At this point, faced with Li Musheng's question, the Pavilion Master had no intention of hiding anything, and explained, "Your Highness has guessed correctly. The connection between the Hidden Kill Pavilion and the White Tiger Divine Hall is indeed related to the ancient savage beast White Tiger."

"This concerns secrets belonging to both the Hidden Kill Pavilion and the White Tiger Divine Hall, but since I've already decided to recognize Your Highness as the Hidden Kill Pavilion's future Pavilion Master, it's only a matter of time before these secrets would be revealed to Your Highness anyway."

With that, the Pavilion Master sat down in the chair across from Li Musheng and poured himself a cup of tea, saying, "The Hidden Kill Pavilion was founded a thousand years ago by the White King, the Tianqi Emperor's younger brother, and the White King once received a legacy from the ancient savage beast White Tiger..."

Before the Pavilion Master could finish, Li Musheng cut him off, "I've already heard all of this. Get to the point."

At those words, the Pavilion Master didn't seem particularly surprised, and gave a nod, "Then let me tell you something Your Highness doesn't yet know. The reason the White King founded the Hidden Kill Pavilion was that the foundation he relied upon was, in fact, the legacy of the ancient savage beast White Tiger itself."

"In other words, the Hidden Kill Pavilion's path of killing is itself a part of the savage beast White Tiger's legacy."

At this point, the Assassination Saint beside him spoke up as well, his expression difficult to read, "What Your Highness may not realize is that within the Hidden Kill Pavilion, myself included, along with the other two Assassination Saints, the Pavilion Master, and the vast majority of the Hidden Kill Pavilion's top-tier assassins, the martial arts of killing that all of us cultivate actually originate from the legacy of the ancient savage beast White Tiger."