Chapter 462: Scouting the Path

Hearing Li Musheng's request, the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint exchanged a glance, "Your Highness, though we've already gathered some partial leads concerning the Tomb of the White Emperor, we still haven't located its true whereabouts. It will likely take some time before we can actually bring Your Highness there."

At those words, Li Musheng shook his head, "I'm well aware you haven't found the true Tomb of the White Emperor yet. Even so, I can offer you some assistance."

With that, Li Musheng beckoned to the large black cat behind him and said to the Pavilion Master, "You mentioned earlier that the person of divine nature hidden within this cat likely shares the same destiny as that White King. And since the White King was able to receive the savage beast White Tiger's legacy in a moment of desperate crisis, this cat should be similarly capable of helping you locate the Tomb of the White Emperor."

At those words, both the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint turned their eyes toward the large black cat beside Li Musheng, and the large black cat narrowed its eyes with an unmistakably proud expression on its face.

Though the large black cat had no idea whether it could actually find the Tomb of the White Emperor, given how much stock Li Musheng had placed in it, entrusting it with such an important task, it was naturally delighted beyond measure, and there was no way it was going to show any hesitation now.

"That might genuinely work."

The Pavilion Master gave a slight nod. If the large black cat before him truly was capable of what Li Musheng said, then with its help, locating the Tomb of the White Emperor would clearly stand a much better chance of success.

"Then it's settled. Find the Tomb of the White Emperor for me as quickly as you can."

Li Musheng casually flicked out a thread of energy into the large black cat's body, then reached out and patted its head, saying, "From now on, go help these two. If you find the Tomb of the White Emperor, I'll reward you handsomely."

At those words, the large black cat's eyes blazed with green light at once, and it immediately let out a meow of assent, indicating it would put its full effort into the task.

The large black cat then padded over to stand before the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint. Though the terrifying power the two of them had displayed earlier had genuinely given it quite a scare, it now had Li Musheng's backing, and could sense that he had also left behind some means within its body to protect its life. As a result, it was no longer afraid of the two figures before it at all.

In fact, the large black cat now carried itself with something of a self-important air, extending a paw and gesturing pointedly before either the Pavilion Master or the Assassination Saint could even open their mouths, clearly indicating that both of them would need to take orders from it going forward.

Seeing this, both the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint wore unusual expressions, but with the current circumstances being what they were, neither said anything further, essentially accepting the arrangement by their silence.

Following this, Li Musheng brought the large black cat, along with the Pavilion Master and the Assassination Saint, back to the residence's main hall from before.

The Pavilion Master personally issued the order, formally passing the position of Pavilion Master to Li Musheng, with everything that followed no longer requiring his involvement, to be handled entirely by Li Musheng from here on.

The only thing he and the Assassination Saint needed to focus on now was bringing the large black cat and, following the leads they already had concerning the Tomb of the White Emperor, locating its true position as quickly as possible.

"The White Tiger Divine Hall will likely come looking for Your Highness soon enough. Does Your Highness have confidence in dealing with them?"

After the Pavilion Master finished handling and delegating everything that needed to be done, he turned back to Li Musheng before departing and asked this question.

Li Musheng, however, couldn't be bothered to answer, and simply ignored the Pavilion Master entirely.

Seeing this, the Pavilion Master's expression shifted through a series of unspoken thoughts. He naturally understood Li Musheng's attitude, which clearly showed no regard whatsoever for the White Tiger Divine Hall.

Even so, recalling how effortlessly Li Musheng had dealt with him earlier, the Pavilion Master decided not to press the matter any further, and immediately departed the residence hall together with the Assassination Saint and the large black cat.

...

Following this, Li Musheng and Cang Yinyue's group settled in temporarily at the residence.

Ah Xiu and the Fifth Elder's group still hadn't left, though the blind man who had accompanied them along the way had vanished at some point, no one quite sure when.

At the same time, word that Li Musheng had officially taken command of the Hidden Kill Pavilion as its new Pavilion Master, following the Pavilion Master's own order, began spreading rapidly throughout all of White Emperor City.

Though no small number of the Western Desert's martial world figures had already understood that Li Musheng's succession to the position of Pavilion Master was, more or less, a foregone conclusion, the fact that he had assumed the position of Pavilion Master essentially the moment he arrived in White Emperor City, without any period of transition whatsoever, still left many people somewhat caught off guard.

In a secluded inn tucked away in a corner of White Emperor City, a group of hooded figures sat huddled together in a cramped room.

"Earlier, I saw Ah Xiu and Fifth Uncle walking together with that Great Li prince on the street."

A young man raised his head and spoke quietly, and at those words, the others in the room all turned to look at him. An elder among them frowned and said, "What's this about? Why would they be together?"

At those words, the young man shook his head, "By all rights, once the Fifth Elder arrived in White Emperor City, he should have contacted us immediately. But he hasn't done that."

At this point, another elder among the group suddenly spoke up, "I've just received word that the Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion has formally passed the position to that Eighth Prince of Great Li. He's now officially the new Pavilion Master."

"Why the sudden urgency? Could it be that this already has the White Tiger Divine Hall's approval?" someone asked with alarm.

"Unclear for now. No word has come on that yet."

"Even so, this has little bearing on us. With our clan's plans about to be set into motion, what concerns me right now is the task we entrusted to Fifth Elder and Ah Xiu, retrieving the White Tiger Fang. We still don't know whether they've succeeded or not."

...

For a moment, everyone in the room fell into silence. With Ah Xiu and the others nowhere to be seen, there was no way for them to know the answer right now.

"The most urgent matter right now is making contact with Fifth Elder's group. Otherwise, we'll have no choice but to consult the clan elders about how to proceed."

A hooded elder spoke up, then turned to the young man who had spoken earlier and said, "This task falls to you. Bring back word as quickly as possible."

At those words, the young man's face showed obvious distress, "Third Uncle, that Great Li prince is surrounded entirely by Hidden Kill Pavilion assassins, and what's more, his martial cultivation is simply too terrifying. I genuinely cannot do this."

At this point, several of those present furrowed their brows in thought, then turned to the Third Elder and said, "Let's not press him on this. Perhaps we should just have him keep watch for now. Old Five's group might well come out and make contact on their own eventually."

Li Musheng's reputation had grown so vast that word of it had spread throughout virtually all of White Emperor City, and everyone present naturally understood just how formidable this Great Li prince truly was.

This was especially true given that he was now Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion, commanding the entire organization. Sending this junior member into such a situation was genuinely not a wise decision.

At this point, the elder let out a sigh and rose to his feet, "Fine. All of you keep watch on Old Five's situation for now. I'll go find the clan elders. This plan concerns our clan's great cause of revival, and there is absolutely no room for failure."