Though Victor Li was furious and wanted nothing more than to beat Nathan Li senseless, he stopped when he heard Ian Song's words.
He looked at Ian Song in confusion. "Second Brother, is there something else?"
Ian Song said seriously, "What's done is done. Even if you go to confront Nathan Li, at best you'll curse him out, and you might even end up humiliated by him. So it's best not to go."
Victor Li considered this and realized it made sense. No matter what, Nathan Li was still his second brother, and the royal family had strict rules: princes could use any means to fight for the throne, but they must not kill each other, or they'd lose their right to inherit. Still, Victor felt unwilling. "So we're just letting this go?"
Of course we can't just let it go!
Ian Song shook his head, his expression turning cold. "From what I know, the Second Prince Residence only has about five hundred Nascent Divinity experts. Yet in just two days, they've killed over three hundred rogue cultivators who went to take missions."
So, he must have sent out at least two hundred Nascent Divinity experts. But our residence has eight thousand experts—even if ten of ours take on one of his, that's more than enough!
Ian Song’s eyes flashed with killing intent. "Let’s post a mission in the Heaven-Arts Pavilion: capture those assassins targeting rogue cultivators. A live capture earns 1,000 Merit Points; killing one earns 100. Once we have enough, we'll hold a public execution to restore confidence in the Pavilion and make Nathan Li suffer a silent loss—he can't admit the assassins were his, or all the rogue cultivators will spit on him!"
"Young Master Ian’s idea is excellent!" Sam Li said, his eyes full of admiration.
Victor Li nodded. "Uncle Sam, do as my Second Brother says!"
Yes, sir! I’ll arrange it right away!
Uncle Sam, remember, to accept this mission, you need at least three people in a team!" Ian Song added.
Yes, I’ll remember!
Soon, Sam Li arrived at the Heaven-Arts Pavilion’s Quest Hall and posted the mission.
At the moment, there were still more than two thousand Nascent Divinity experts in the residence who hadn’t taken a mission.
So when they saw this mission, everyone got excited—the reward was just too high. Capturing one assassin meant earning 1,000 Merit Points.
As a result, almost all two thousand people accepted the mission and quietly left the Prince’s Residence as ordered.
Harris Chang had been a guest-retainer at the Second Prince Residence for eighty years.
This time, he was assigned to assassinate a group of low-realm rogue cultivators. Although he felt the prince was wasting his talents, the reward was generous: regardless of cultivation level, killing one person earned five top-grade spirit crystals.
In two days, he’d already killed three mission-takers, which meant fifteen top-grade spirit crystals in hand.
Next, he planned to assassinate a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
An hour later.
Harris Chang finally located his fourth target. Retracting his spiritual sense, he sped off in that direction.
After a while, he saw his target.
With his early Nascent Divinity cultivation, assassinating a mid-stage Nascent Soul was child’s play. He didn’t even bother using artifacts—he simply raised his hand and pointed.
Splat!
Finger energy tore through the air!
In an instant, it shot straight toward the mid-stage Nascent Soul’s chest.
The mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator felt the approach of death. Terror and despair flashed across his face, but the finger energy was too fast to dodge. He could only desperately channel his zhenyuan to form a protective barrier, hoping to block the deadly strike.
The finger energy was about to pierce his body.
Suddenly, a streak of sword light slashed through the air!
It shattered the finger energy instantly. The mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator showed a look of relief, though his legs nearly gave out.
At the same time, eight figures flashed into view, surrounding Harris Chang.
Harris’s face turned ugly—he realized all eight were early Nascent Divinity cultivators.
Eight against one?
Even a mid-stage Nascent Divinity couldn’t win against that!
There was no suspense—the eight early Nascent Divinity cultivators captured Harris alive.
Scenes like Harris’s played out all over the region.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
The guest-retainers who went out on missions started returning.
The assassins sent by Nathan Li relied on their high cultivation and the Second Prince’s backing, so they didn’t bother hiding their movements. Meanwhile, Victor Li’s guest-retainers had received detailed info on all rogue cultivators who’d taken missions, allowing them to quickly find survivors, hide nearby, and wait for the assassins to walk into their trap.
Because Victor Li’s guest-retainers worked in teams and outnumbered the assassins, plus they used ambush tactics, it was easy to capture or kill the attackers.
As a result—
After three days, 198 assassins had been captured alive. Quite a few fought desperately, forcing Victor Li’s men to kill them, so more than a dozen corpses were brought back too.
Of course, a few alert assassins escaped before Victor Li’s men could surround them.
On the fourth day—
A message spread through the capital: at noon today, the assassins who’d targeted rogue cultivators would be executed outside the Heaven-Arts Pavilion Outer Branch.
When Nathan Li heard the news, his face turned extremely ugly, while the rogue cultivators planning to take missions at the Pavilion were overjoyed.
After much hesitation, Nathan Li still sent his steward to quietly visit Victor Li’s residence, hoping to negotiate for the release of his men. After all, those were 198 Nascent Divinity experts—he only had 500 in total, losing nearly two-fifths was unbearable.
Nathan Li was prepared to pay a hefty price to get his experts back, but unfortunately, his steward didn’t even make it past the gate before being turned away.
When he heard the news, Nathan Li’s face turned ashen, and he felt utterly defeated.
There was still half an hour until noon.
Ian Song, Bada, Sam Li, and a group of experts accompanied Victor Li to the Heaven-Arts Pavilion outside the outer city.
Word had spread about the execution, so a huge crowd had gathered.
198 execution platforms were already set up, with 198 executioners in position—only the captured assassins had yet to arrive.
With a flicker, Victor Li appeared atop the high platform.
Facing tens of thousands below, he announced loudly: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Victor Li, Fourth Prince of the Tang Dynasty. As you all know, a few days ago, more than three hundred cultivators were brutally murdered while taking missions at the Heaven-Arts Pavilion. I am deeply saddened by this, but the dead cannot return. All I can do is avenge them. Thanks to my guest-retainers, 213 assassins have been captured and will be executed here at noon, to honor the fallen."
Hearing Victor Li’s speech, a rogue cultivator suddenly shouted, "Thank you, Fourth Prince, for standing up for us! Long live the Fourth Prince!"
'Long live the Fourth Prince!' several voices echoed.
Soon, more and more people joined in, until the chant became a roaring tide.
Nathan Li, who’d been watching from the crowd, turned deathly pale. He’d lost everything—he hadn’t toppled the Heaven-Arts Pavilion, and instead, Victor Li had won over the hearts of the rogue cultivators.