Chapter 448: Killing Intent

Given the Hidden Kill Pavilion's extensive intelligence network, they had naturally already learned about everything that had transpired in the Yellow Spring Market.

Both Lianxing and Huan Hu had already guessed the identities of the three Holy Lords before them, though seeing with their own eyes that the three rulers of the Yellow Spring Tribe, one of the Western Desert's six great powers, had now ended up in such a wretched state at Li Musheng's hands still left them with a certain sense of complicated feeling.

Even so, neither of them was particularly surprised by this.

Ever since Li Musheng had become essentially confirmed as the next Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion, he had become the organization's single most closely watched subject of interest. Every piece of intelligence concerning Li Musheng, no matter how minor, was being meticulously tracked by the Hidden Kill Pavilion without exception.

Nearly everything Li Musheng had done along his journey to White Emperor City was already known to the Hidden Kill Pavilion as well.

The intelligence reports concerning Li Musheng that had reached Lianxing and the others had once again driven home, with great clarity, just how terrifyingly formidable his strength truly was, and there even seemed to be a trend suggesting he had grown considerably more powerful since his time back in the Great Li imperial capital.

After all, Li Musheng had even obtained the Demonic Patriarch's own legacy along the way to White Emperor City, and had absorbed the cultivation of countless demonic experts in the process.

Though Lianxing and the others had no idea how he managed to suppress his demonic nature under such circumstances, his current strength was surely well beyond what it had been back in the Great Li imperial capital.

"What do you think of this new Pavilion Master who's about to take command of the Hidden Kill Pavilion?"

Huan Hu withdrew his gaze from the Rakshasa Holy Lord and the other two, and quietly transmitted the question to Lianxing through true qi.

At those words, Lianxing's eyes settled on Li Musheng's figure atop the camel ahead. Her exquisitely beautiful, perpetually flat face showed no flicker of emotion as she replied, "Had this been back in the Great Li imperial capital, His Highness the Eighth Prince's claim to the Pavilion Master's seat would have been beyond question, settled without dispute. But now that he's cultivated the Demonic Patriarch's demonic arts, I'm afraid the White Tiger Divine Hall won't allow a demon lord to take command of the Hidden Kill Pavilion."

Huan Hu gave an almost imperceptible nod. What Lianxing had just said was, in fact, precisely the source of the growing unease beginning to surface within the Hidden Kill Pavilion at present.

Before, Li Musheng had been, without question, the ideal candidate for the position of Pavilion Master, and the entire Hidden Kill Pavilion had been firmly behind supporting him. But now the situation had begun to shift.

"I've been watching His Highness the Eighth Prince closely just now. There's genuinely no trace of demonic aura visible about him at all. If he can continue suppressing his demonic nature indefinitely, this might not actually pose much of a problem."

Huan Hu spoke with a thoughtful expression, voicing his own perspective.

Having personally witnessed Li Musheng's battle against the Hidden Kill Pavilion's Assassination Saint back in the Great Li imperial capital, he had developed a deep, heartfelt approval of this future Pavilion Master, and was genuinely willing to support him in taking command of the Hidden Kill Pavilion.

Even so, Lianxing glanced at Huan Hu from the corner of her eye and replied with cold detachment, "Have you forgotten why the demonic path has, since ancient times, been considered the common enemy of the entire martial world? Those who walk the demonic path have no humanity left in them. He may be able to suppress his demonic nature for now, but can you guarantee he'll be able to suppress it forever?"

"Given his martial talent and strength, if his demonic nature were ever to truly erupt, it would bring about a catastrophe beyond anything this world could possibly imagine."

At those words, Huan Hu fell into silence, then looked up at Li Musheng's figure ahead, sighing inwardly to himself.

Just then, Li Musheng, as though sensing the two of them watching him, suddenly turned his head back and asked with apparent puzzlement, "What's going on? Why do I feel like the two of you have killing intent toward me?"

At those words, Huan Hu's soul nearly left his body entirely, while Lianxing's normally ice-cold, expressionless face displayed a rare flash of pure alarm.

"We would never dare harbor any killing intent toward Your Highness."

Huan Hu spoke up first. After all, not even the Assassination Saint had been Li Musheng's match. Given their own level of strength, how could they possibly dare make a move against him, let alone even entertain the thought?

The only explanation he could think of was that, while quietly discussing with Lianxing the possibility of Li Musheng becoming a true demon lord, some stray flicker of emotion might have slipped through and been noticed by Li Musheng.

At those words, Li Musheng gave a slight nod, then let his gaze settle on Lianxing, saying with a meaningful tone, "You're a natural-born killer, little girl. You'd make excellent assassin material, but make absolutely sure you never pick the wrong target. That part's very important."

With that, Li Musheng turned his head back around and paid the two of them no further attention.

Huan Hu turned to glance at Lianxing, and seeing her face deathly pale, completely drained of color, something suddenly clicked in his mind, as though he had just remembered something important.

"Lianxing, you..."

In an instant, Huan Hu's expression shifted through a series of unsettled changes, and a wave of belated fear surfaced in his heart.

Because Huan Hu had just recalled Lianxing's background, that she had become an orphan as a child after her entire family was slaughtered by a demon lord, which was precisely how she had ended up entering the Hidden Kill Pavilion and becoming an assassin.

And the killing intent Li Musheng had just mentioned might very well have come from Lianxing.

Because this particular woman, though one of the Hidden Kill Pavilion's elite assassins and notoriously cold and aloof in demeanor, harbored one particular obsession, a deep devotion to "eliminating evil and upholding the righteous path." Whenever there was no active assassination assignment to occupy her, she would go out and hunt down demon lords throughout the martial world on her own.

To this day, no one could say exactly how many demon lords had died at her hands.

But the demon lord standing before them now in the form of Li Musheng was hardly something an ordinary demon lord could compare to.

Huan Hu gave Lianxing a long, searching look, but in the end said nothing further. After all, given what had just happened, she should already understand the gravity of the situation well enough.

At this point, Lianxing, her face pale, slightly raised her head to look at Li Musheng's figure ahead, her thoughts impossible to read.

From there, Li Musheng's group continued on without the slightest obstruction, escorted by the Hidden Kill Pavilion's assassins, and were waved through the city gates without even the formality of an inspection.

The prosperity of White Emperor City rivaled that of the great cities of the Great Li dynasty, and with the recent grand event of the prodigy's discipleship gathering, White Emperor City had become the single most bustling and closely watched location throughout the entire Western Desert at present.

Martial world figures from every corner of the Western Desert had flocked here in droves. After all, a prodigy being fought over by multiple powerful factions was sure to draw a great many of the Western Desert's martial world experts, and a rare spectacle like this was simply not to be missed.

Atop a particular restaurant within White Emperor City, no small number of patrons seated by the windows were craning their necks to look down at the street below.

Before long, someone called out, "They're here."

In an instant, everyone along the street turned their eyes toward the head of the road.

What met their eyes was Li Musheng's group, riding on camels, followed by a procession of Hidden Kill Pavilion assassins, approaching at an unhurried pace.

"Is that the rumored Great Li prince?"

Within the restaurant, a ragged-looking elder with a purple jade gourd tied at his waist lifted a wine jar to his lips, drinking while turning to ask the people beside him.

At those words, several middle-aged men dressed in fine brocade robes nearby all bowed respectfully and gave a nod, saying, "Reporting to Granduncle, if the information is accurate, that should be the soon-to-be new Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion. Only such a person could merit the Hidden Kill Pavilion personally coming out to welcome him."

As an assassin organization, the members of the Hidden Kill Pavilion almost never showed themselves to outsiders. In all these years, Li Musheng's arrival marked the very first time this had happened, an honor not even extended to any of the other great figures who ruled over the Western Desert's five remaining great powers.