Chapter 460: Protagonist Template

"The same destiny as the White King?"

Li Musheng raised an eyebrow slightly, and the Pavilion Master gave a nod, "Your Highness may not be aware, but the White King was no ordinary man. His life was one of extraordinary brilliance, said to be second only to that of the Tianqi Emperor himself, the legendary ruler for the ages, among all the figures of his era."

"And in the ancient texts passed down within the Hidden Kill Pavilion, there are some descriptions of the White King. Legend has it that he possessed not only formidable martial talent, but something even more important and unknown to outsiders, which is that he was a person of divine nature, one in ten thousand."

At those words, Li Musheng's interest was finally genuinely piqued, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.

Since this was an internal record of the Hidden Kill Pavilion, the information about the White King was likely accurate. But if that was the case, then this White King really had accumulated quite an impressive collection of advantages.

"So you're saying that this White King wasn't only extraordinarily gifted in martial arts, but also a person of divine nature, and even possessed this special White Tiger Ominous Destiny on top of everything else?"

Li Musheng looked at the Pavilion Master and asked. The Pavilion Master gave another nod, "That's exactly right. The White King was someone who cultivated both divine and martial paths simultaneously. At the time, he was already a peerless commander in the Great Qi dynasty's conquest of the realm, but it was only after arriving in the Western Desert, when the White King found himself trapped in a desperate situation, that he discovered he possessed the White Tiger Ominous Destiny."

"And it was precisely because of this unique destiny that the White King was able to receive the legacy of the ancient savage beast White Tiger, allowing him to turn certain defeat into victory against his powerful enemies."

At those words, Li Musheng's eyes carried a visibly strange expression. It seemed this White King had also been chosen with what amounted to a protagonist's template.

Even so, that even someone as extraordinary as the White King had still had to bow before the Tianqi Emperor, becoming nothing more than a supporting figure in his shadow, gave some sense of just how impossibly overwhelming a presence that Tianqi Emperor must have been in his own era.

With that thought, Li Musheng turned to glance at the large black cat hiding behind him.

He had to admit, it was rather remarkable that a greedy, timid cat could share the same destiny as the very White King who had founded the Hidden Kill Pavilion. Sometimes fate really was a completely unreasonable thing.

Faced with Li Musheng's unusual look, the large black cat suddenly grew unusually bashful and shy, quickly retreating its head further behind him.

Just then, a question occurred to Li Musheng, and he turned his attention back to the Pavilion Master, "You said earlier that the White King's White Tiger Ominous Destiny was more special than the ordinary version of it. Is that special quality precisely what allowed him to enter the savage beast White Tiger's burial site, and even inherit its legacy in full?"

At those words, the Pavilion Master gave a nod, "Your Highness is indeed sharp. The White King's destiny truly was extraordinarily rare. Take myself, for instance, who also possesses the White Tiger Ominous Destiny. Though cultivating the savage beast White Tiger's path of killing has allowed me to advance at a pace far exceeding ordinary people."

"But if I were to inherit the complete legacy of the savage beast White Tiger's killing arts, even I would likely be unable to bear it. After all, the White Tiger was an ancient savage beast, fundamentally different from humans. If one were to forcibly cultivate its legacy, the end result would inevitably be one's body bursting apart in death."

Li Musheng waved a hand. His attention wasn't on what the Pavilion Master had just said, and instead he looked at him and suddenly asked, "Have you ever been inside the Tomb of the White Emperor? Or, if I asked you to take me there, could you do it?"

At those words, both the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint beside him went visibly still for a moment. Then, coming back to himself, the Pavilion Master shook his head, "If Your Highness is interested in the savage beast White Tiger's legacy, the White Tiger Divine Hall actually possesses some of it. But if Your Highness wishes to enter the Tomb of the White Emperor, to be honest, that's something I genuinely cannot manage right now."

With that, before Li Musheng could ask further, the Pavilion Master quickly explained, "Your Highness may not know this, but whether in White Emperor City or across the entire Western Desert's martial world, there are countless legends surrounding the Tomb of the White Emperor. But what everyone knows is that the Tomb is extraordinarily hidden, and in a thousand years, no one has ever been heard to have entered it."

"What's more, even within the Hidden Kill Pavilion there are almost no records related to the Tomb of the White Emperor. Everything connected to it seems to have been erased long ago, with no trace left behind."

"Otherwise, given the Hidden Kill Pavilion's position relative to the White Tiger Divine Hall, any past Pavilion Master with the will to change things would surely have sought out the Tomb of the White Emperor, in hopes of freeing the Hidden Kill Pavilion from the White Tiger Divine Hall's control."

At those words, the Assassination Saint beside him gave a slight nod, "The White King clearly intended to keep the Hidden Kill Pavilion in check, and would never have allowed it any chance of entering the Tomb of the White Emperor."

"Besides, if our guess is correct, the Tomb of the White Emperor is very likely both the burial site of the savage beast White Tiger's remains and the tomb the White King built for himself. The White King almost certainly wouldn't have wanted anyone to easily find the Tomb of the White Emperor, since no one would want their grave dug up after their death."

"Even so, if Your Highness genuinely wishes to enter it, you might try approaching the White Tiger Divine Hall. If there's anyone in the entire Western Desert who truly knows the location of the Tomb of the White Emperor, it would have to be the White Tiger Divine Hall. There's simply no other option."

Faced with what the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint had said, Li Musheng fell into thought.

The burial site of the ancient savage beast White Tiger's remains was the most important reason for his trip to White Emperor City, and it very likely held things useful to his pursuit of transcending the martial path.

Even so, the location of the Tomb of the White Emperor was undeniably a significant problem. Though he held the key that could open it, neither Ah Xiu nor the Pavilion Master before him seemed to know where it actually was.

The only question was whether the two of them were telling him the truth.

With that thought, Li Musheng tapped his fingers against the tea table beside him, then reached behind him and pulled out the large black cat, patting its head thoughtfully.

The large black cat immediately looked utterly bewildered, unsure whether Li Musheng was trying to give it some kind of hint.

At this point, Li Musheng suddenly looked up at the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint before him, his gaze calm and even, "Since you both already know I've cultivated the Demonic Patriarch's demonic legacy, you should be aware that I know a technique called the Soul-Searching Technique."

At those words, both the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint changed expression sharply at once.

Both of them naturally understood exactly what Li Musheng meant by suddenly saying this to them.

At once, the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint exchanged an instinctive glance, and in the very next instant, without the slightest hesitation, both of their figures, which had been standing in the hall, dissolved like bursting bubbles, vanishing from before Li Musheng and the large black cat in an instant.

For a moment, the entire courtyard hall stood completely empty, with not the slightest ripple in the surrounding true qi of heaven and earth or the void itself, as though the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint had never been there at all.