Chapter 470: Convergence

"He wants the ancient savage beast White Tiger itself? What outrageous ambition this man has."

The Sixth Ancestor's aged voice came from within the ancestral shrine, and for a moment the entire shrine fell into silence.

"Sixth Ancestor, the ancient savage beast White Tiger surely cannot possibly still exist in this world, can it?"

The Third Elder spoke up with visible puzzlement, breaking the quiet both inside and outside the shrine.

"Naturally not."

The Sixth Ancestor within the shrine gave a slight nod and said, "The ancient savage beast White Tiger perished by heaven's own judgment, leaving behind only its legacy. This new Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion could never possibly encounter the true ancient savage beast White Tiger itself."

"Even so, this does suggest that what this man actually wants must be something quite extraordinary."

At those words, Ah Xiu, standing outside the shrine, remained perfectly composed. Li Musheng was, after all, a prince of Great Li, of noble and distinguished standing, lacking neither gold, silver, nor power, and certainly not martial talent.

That he showed such extraordinary interest in the ancient savage beast White Tiger clearly pointed to some purpose beyond what an ordinary person might have.

"Xiu'er, if our clan were to genuinely encounter this new Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion within the Tomb of the White Emperor, how do you think we should respond?"

At this point, the Sixth Ancestor's voice suddenly came from within the shrine, directing the question toward Ah Xiu.

At those words, Ah Xiu considered for a moment before saying, "I personally witnessed him subdue three Holy Lords of the Yellow Spring Tribe using a single move. What's more, he deliberately sealed the martial cultivation of all three Holy Lords, with the sole purpose of forcing all five Yellow Spring Holy Lords to demonstrate the true, complete Yellow Spring Holy Technique."

At this point, Ah Xiu chose not to continue further.

The Sixth Ancestor within the shrine fell silent for a moment. He naturally understood the intent behind Ah Xiu's words.

"The Yellow Spring Holy Technique is the true foundation that allows the Yellow Spring Tribe to stand as one of the six great powers of the Western Desert. Even we old relics would be reluctant to face it lightly. This man is truly arrogant to court such a confrontation."

The Sixth Ancestor's aged voice drifted slowly out, and then he shifted his tone and addressed the Third Elder standing outside the courtyard, "In the coming days, you must keep constant watch on the movements of the Hidden Kill Pavilion and that new Pavilion Master. Do not provoke them unless it becomes absolutely necessary."

With this, the Sixth Ancestor turned back to Ah Xiu and said, "As the Daughter of Destiny chosen by our clan, you have contributed a great deal to our cause during your years outside these past years. Now that our clan's grand plan for revival is imminent, you should remain by my side for the time being, and I will personally guide your martial cultivation."

At those words, the Third Elder's expression went briefly blank, then his eyes shifted to Ah Xiu beside him, a clear look of envy crossing his face.

Ah Xiu's own expression remained composed, and she simply bowed respectfully toward the ancestral shrine before her, saying, "Thank you, Sixth Ancestor, for this honor."

The Sixth Ancestor within the shrine gave a wave of his hand, dismissing the Third Elder while keeping Ah Xiu behind.

At this point, the Sixth Ancestor's voice spoke once more, "I will bring you into the Tomb of the White Emperor. However, you must tell us, in complete and thorough detail, everything you have seen and heard concerning this new Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion during these past days."

At those words, Ah Xiu showed no surprise whatsoever at the Sixth Ancestor's request, and gave a nod, "Though I don't know a great deal, I hope what I can share proves useful to all the clan elders."

The ancient city of Jingjue was one of the oldest presences in all of the Western Desert, and as descendants of that ancient city, they naturally possessed no small number of ancient and arcane techniques.

And the clan elders clearly placed great importance on Li Musheng, intending to use their ancient art of "reading a person" to thoroughly analyze him, to know both themselves and their opponent.

As for Ah Xiu herself, she genuinely had no wish to see her clan come into conflict with Li Musheng, after all, he had saved her life.

Beyond that, Li Musheng gave her an indescribable sense that he was simply a being that could not be defeated.

Though Ah Xiu was well aware that this feeling likely stemmed from having personally witnessed the sheer, overwhelming power Li Musheng had displayed in action.

Even so, in the depths of her heart, she still hoped that Li Musheng and the ancient city of Jingjue's surviving descendants could coexist peacefully, without crossing paths in conflict.

...

Just as the story of the White Tiger Divine Hall's confrontation with Li Musheng, ultimately ending in the Divine Hall's retreat, spread wildly throughout White Emperor City, news broke concerning the Jiang family's young prodigy's discipleship gathering, officially confirming that it would be held at the Jiang family estate in two days' time, with numerous martial world experts from across the Western Desert invited to attend.

The moment this news broke, it naturally became yet another hot topic of discussion among the martial world figures throughout the city.

This was especially true given that news of Li Musheng had already spread throughout all of White Emperor City by this point.

After all, every martial world figure now knew that this Great Li prince, not yet twenty years old, had come to command the Hidden Kill Pavilion at such a young age, and had already amassed a string of astonishing achievements before this, including destroying Falling God Peak, defeating the Assassination Saint, and subduing three Yellow Spring Holy Lords.

And now, with his display of overwhelming force in White Emperor City that had even forced the White Tiger Divine Hall into retreat, it was inevitable that many martial world figures throughout the Western Desert began comparing Li Musheng with the Jiang family's young prodigy, quietly debating among themselves which of the two possessed the greater martial talent, and which was truly the once-in-a-thousand-years genius.

Even so, opinions among the martial world figures varied widely with no clear consensus, though naturally, as people of the Western Desert's own martial world, most tended to favor the Jiang family's prodigy.

...

"When it comes to raw martial talent, no one can say for certain which of them is stronger or weaker. But when it comes to actual martial strength, even the White Tiger Divine Hall fears that great demon lord. How many streets ahead of that Jiang family boy must he be?"

"That's not quite fair to say. If the Jiang family's prodigy had the fortune of meeting excellent teachers and great opportunities, by the time he reached that demon lord's age, he might well possess equally formidable martial strength."

"There's no point speculating about this without any conclusion. What I'm genuinely curious about is, if the Jiang family's prodigy became a disciple of that new Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion, wouldn't that be quite something?"

...

In the most bustling restaurant in all of White Emperor City, a group of martial world figures sat drinking and chatting.

Just then, the melodious sound of stringed instruments drifted in from outside the restaurant.

The sound of the strings was faint and barely audible at first, but soon it reached the ears of every martial world figure throughout the entire restaurant, as clear as though a musician were playing right beside each of their ears.

And as the sound of the strings reached their ears, the previously boisterous chatter and drinking gradually died down, eventually fading into complete silence.

For a moment, the entire vast restaurant fell utterly still, with only the lingering echo of the stringed music remaining, circling endlessly through the air.

"Who could it be..."

A martial world expert, sensing something was amiss, tried to speak, but the words had barely left his mouth before being swallowed entirely by the surrounding music, his mouth opening and closing without a single sound coming out.

Sensing something was wrong, the patrons throughout the restaurant's main hall all changed expression sharply and immediately shot to their feet.

Just then, a swirl of mist and smoke suddenly rose beyond the restaurant's main entrance, and in an instant, the entire street before the restaurant was shrouded in a hazy, indistinct veil.

At the same time, the sound of the strings echoing in everyone's ears grew even louder and clearer, and only then did the martial world figures within the restaurant realize that a procession of women, their faces veiled in thin gauze, had appeared outside the restaurant's entrance at some unknown moment.

These women, each holding various musical instruments, stood within the swirling mist, their instruments held close as though half-concealing their faces, their graceful figures half-hidden and half-revealed, as though celestial maidens had descended from the heavens.

Just as everyone was becoming utterly entranced by the sight, a voice suddenly rang out from the floor above.

"Might the one who has come be the Cloud Immortal of Banyun City?"