No Time to Mourn Prince of Liao

Thanks to the Exceptional Insight attribute trait granted by his 100-point Intelligence stat, Lu Xingshi didn't start from the basics like before. Instead, after learning all the techniques, he went straight to cultivating the Kun Peng Devouring the World Spirit Classic.

As long as he cultivated the highest-quality Kun Peng Devouring the World Spirit Classic, all the techniques beneath it—such as Wind Riding Art, Ocean Suppressing Art, and the entire series—would simultaneously gain fifty percent of the experience. So progress was extremely fast.

Murong Xuan watched this spectacle with great fascination, once teasing Lu Xingshi by saying that he was the real, bona fide Remnant of the Former Dynasty.

Ever since Murong Xuan learned of his own identity, his attitude toward the Great Song Dynasty Court had also undergone some changes, especially in his reverence for imperial authority, which had begun to wane.

Lu Xingshi, in turn, shot back by teasing Murong Xuan about being the true bloodline of the Murong Imperial Clan and so on. But these words were only spoken when there was no one else on the road; they wouldn't dare say such things in public, lest they bring disaster upon themselves.

'The North Sea, the 100-point Three-Dimensional Attributes—all of it points to the problems with this world.' Lu Xingshi looked at the North Sea in his hand.

The nine +100 attribute lines on this Divine Weapon were completely out of step with this world. In contrast, the +1 to Breaking Momentum on the Yellow Sand Heavy Saber of the Desert Blade was the normal value.

'Could it be related to the Cave Heaven?' Lu Xingshi couldn't help but think of what Murong Xuan had said about the Cave Heaven.

"What are you thinking about?" Murong Xuan saw Lu Xingshi staring blankly at the North Sea and asked with some confusion. "Nothing, just thinking about some matters related to the techniques." Lu Xingshi didn't voice his real question; even if he did, Murong Xuan wouldn't know the answer.

"The Prince of Liao is dead." Murong Xuan didn't dwell on it either. He could no longer help Lu Xingshi much in terms of cultivation, so he changed the subject. From start to finish, there had never been any news of the Prince of Liao raising an army to Purge the Emperor's Entourage or rebelling. The matter had been handled quietly, which was why it was reported as an accidental drowning rather than a demotion to commoner or a public beheading.

"What happened? Wasn't he strong in troops and horses?" Lu Xingshi asked curiously.

He had thought the Prince of Liao might die, but definitely not now.

"That shouldn't be. How did he die?" Lu Xingshi muttered to himself.

"Accidental drowning." Murong Xuan said with a hint of sarcasm. "Too impatient."

The Prince of Liao was no weak, helpless imperial prince. On the contrary, he was robust and powerful—not only a military man by background but also a wanderer of the martial world in his early years. Although he had grown lax in recent years, he had once been a First-Rate Expert nonetheless.

How could he possibly have drowned by accident? Someone must have made a move.

"It was His Majesty, wasn't it?" Lu Xingshi thought of the Current Emperor.

"No, not him. His Majesty is benevolent and kind." Murong Xuan denied Lu Xingshi's guess, then said, "It's just that the Prince of Liao crossed the interests of the Civil Officials."

"I know those scholars have sharp pens, but how could they make the Prince of Liao drown by accident?" Lu Xingshi was puzzled.

"Accidental drowning" was just the public story. In reality, he had most likely been killed in an ambush or poisoned to death.

He still had a good impression of the Prince of Liao, especially given the man's gesture of buying a horse's bones with a thousand gold.

"Words can kill too." Murong Xuan didn't know exactly how it was done, but he understood the Current Emperor. The man was indeed benevolent, so he was merely a puppet in the hands of the court officials, spending his days in the Imperial Study writing, painting, and indulging in the arts.

And that, in the eyes of all the ministers, was what made him an enlightened ruler.

Otherwise, how could Murong Xuan have become both a teacher and a friend to him? "So the Prince of Liao really was trying to Purge the Emperor's Entourage?" Lu Xingshi's train of thought took a turn, and he spotted the blind spot.

Murong Xuan sighed and said nothing, but he tacitly admitted it.

This matter had also had the Current Emperor's support; otherwise, how could it have gone so smoothly? Unfortunately, All Ministers naturally opposed it. It was just that the emperor was too weak, and in the end, it came to this.

"Then what about Saibei? The Prince of Liao was the Pillar of the Sea." Lu Xingshi quickly connected the dots.

Because the Prince of Liao wanted to Purge the Emperor's Entourage and eliminate these civil officials who controlled the court, Saibei had its pay cut off for half a year.

In truth, the money had been sent out, but where it actually ended up was another matter.

The fact that Saibei had held together at all was thanks to the Prince of Liao. He had flaws in his actions, but that didn't mean he lacked ability or merit.

"The barbarians were scared out of their wits by you. They shouldn't dare come again for a short while. As for the other threats, none are as dangerous as the barbarians. With the Prince of Liao's Troops still there, things won't fall apart in the short term."

"As long as it's handled properly and the court uses a conciliatory approach to win them over, it won't cause a catastrophe." Murong Xuan, after all, was a Yun Zhang Academician and had some political experience.

"But if the Lords decide to wipe them out completely, then wouldn't that be... screwed?" Lu Xingshi never underestimated the intelligence of the Lords in the Great Song Dynasty Court, but he also didn't overestimate their wisdom.

If they dared to cut off the pay of Border Garrison Soldiers and kill the supreme commander—who was also the emperor's son—what wouldn't they dare to do? Uprooting the old and planting their own people would be even better.

Over these past days, Lu Xingshi had learned from Murong Xuan that factionalism in the court was severe, along with corruption, partisan strife, and so on. Yet they controlled public opinion very well. Neither the martial world nor those outside the court had any idea of the Great Song Dynasty Court's true state.

All problems were blamed on treacherous sycophants misleading the sage emperor, and had nothing to do with these Pure and Loyal Officials.

As for who the treacherous sycophants were, they were naturally the Eunuchs and the officials who had lost in the power struggles.

Eunuchs were the Imperial Claws and Fangs, so they had to be suppressed. As for the officials who lost, they either had no value or were political enemies, so they had to be dealt with.

Killing didn't always require a blade.

With just a few words and a pen, a person could be ruined and hunted down.

The entire martial world was more like a vicious dog in the hands of the court's Lords. It should have belonged to the imperial court, but since power had fallen into other hands, it naturally ended up in the grasp of the Lords.

"That... surely they wouldn't be so foolish." Murong Xuan's expression shifted slightly.

"Probably not. But using civil officials to control the military, it's unlikely they'd use a conciliatory approach to win them over." Lu Xingshi knew that the Lords didn't need a stubborn, disobedient border army. They needed a blade that would obey them completely.

"Forget it. I'm not in that position, so I won't scheme for that office. Even if they poke a hole in the sky, it's none of my business."

Lu Xingshi came to his senses. What did this have to do with the two of them? Murong Xuan had already resigned from his post as Yun Zhang Academician. Although it was an honorary title, it was still a position, so the process went quickly and was approved without delay.

"True. I've already settled my debts with the Late Emperor and His Majesty." Thinking of this, Murong Xuan's expression relaxed. After all those years of doing dirty work, and with Lu Xingshi having held Tiange Pass, if they went and ruined everything by courting death, what else could Murong Xuan do?

He certainly couldn't ask Lu Xingshi to step in again. Murong Xuan didn't have the face to say that, and besides, Lu Xingshi was his only disciple. He had no desire to drag him into these troubles.