White-Robed Chief
chapter-954

Chapter 954: Undercurrent

Li Ruolan huffed and said, “Indeed, you should take good care of it like a treasure. It has incredible speed and it’s much faster than our light-body technique.”

“Well then, how long will it take for it to deliver a letter to the Great Light Peak?” Chu Li asked.

“It can make a round-trip within half a day,” Li Ruolan said indifferently.

Chu Li was shocked.

Li Ruolan said, “In terms of innate physical abilities, humans can never compare with such birds and animals.”

“That’s true.” Chu Li brought an armchair over and gestured for her to take a seat.

Li Ruolan moved gracefully and elegantly as she sat down on the armchair. “How’s everything going for you over here?”

“I’m doing very well,” Chu Li replied as he nodded. “Look at how carefree I am. I have people to serve me and I don’t have to worry about anything. I can just focus on my isolated cultivation. I believe it won’t take me long to fully restore my martial arts.”

“Don’t create more trouble here this time,” Li Ruolan muttered with a frown. “Things are very tense back at the sect right now. Something big has happened.”

Chu Li looked surprised. “What happened?”

Li Ruolan shook her head and replied, “A senior brother from the Fourth Peak has secretly snuck into Fairy’s Capital at the Ji Dynasty and assassinated Consort Ping.”

Chu Li frowned and asked, “He carried out an unauthorized assassination attempt?”

“Yes,” Li Ruolan slowly replied. “Because of this incident, the Saint has become very upset. However, no one understands why she feels that way. Everyone thinks that killing King Ping’s wife isn’t a big deal anyway. Although this wasn’t exactly an honorable thing to do, King Ping has killed many people from the Li Dynasty too!”

Chu Li scoffed and curled his lip in disdain. “Indeed, it’s not an honorable thing to do. If he’s all that capable, he should go and assassinate King Ping. What can he prove by killing a lady who doesn’t know any martial art? We’re busy dealing with the Qiu Dynasty right now, yet he has decided to go and provoke the Ji Dynasty at such a time. Isn’t he inviting more trouble then? Is he actually trying to help us or make things worse for us!”

“As if you’re the only one who’s capable of analyzing the situation!” Li Ruolan muttered impatiently. “You better not say such things anymore!”

Chu Li retorted, “Why can’t I speak the truth? Don’t tell me this guy is someone with a noble background? He deserves to die for doing something like this!”

“He’s from the Fourth Peak, so his cultivation level is very high.” Li Ruolan shook her head and said, “He also used to be an outer mountain disciple just like you!”

Chu Li knitted his brows together.

Li Ruolan went on, “That’s why everyone has started to discriminate against the outer mountain disciples again. They’ve all been suggesting to the Saint that we should reduce our quota of outer mountain disciple intake. If it weren’t for the Saint’s high prestige, they would’ve forced the Saint to get rid of all outer mountain disciples!”

“Outer mountain disciples are indeed unreliable. If you don’t know them through and through, it’s easy for mistakes to happen,” Chu Li replied and nodded. “What they’re asking for makes quite a lot of sense.”

Li Ruolan stared at him in astonishment.

Chu Li asked, “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“This doesn’t sound like something you would say,” Li Ruolan replied.

Zhao Dahe had always been rather proud and haughty. He would usually consider everyone and everything beneath his notice, including the disciples who had been brought up in the Great Light Peak whom he also had utter disdain for. Thus, she found it odd that he would suddenly speak favorably of them.

Chu Li said, “I’m just speaking the truth!”

Li Ruolan let out a sigh as she replied, “The Saint is very irritable at the moment. If the disciples were to stir trouble now, the consequences would be too ghastly to think about.”

“With the Saint around, who’s capable of starting any trouble?” Chu Li curled his lip in disapproval. “What’s wrong with that guy anyway? Why would he insist on going there and seeking his own death? He’s dead, isn’t he?”

“He has entered the Great Light Surpassing State,” Li Ruolan replied while she shook her head. “Only those with such willingness to meet their death will be able to enter the Great Light Surpassing State at the end of their lives!”

“In that case, the Ji Dynasty is going to attack us, right? Can King Ping hold in his anger?” Chu Li muttered. “It’s going to be another huge war!”

Li Ruolan quietly nodded. “The situation is extremely troublesome!”

Chu Li replied, “Let’s just go to war with them then. We can’t exactly go to the Ji Dynasty and tell them we don’t want to fight them, can we?”

“We can’t handle another war.” Li Ruolan shook her head. “We’re already struggling to defeat the Qiu Dynasty. The Holy Church of Light has dispatched all our people to assist the military forces. If the Ji Dynasty decides to join in the fun, we’ll definitely lose!”

Chu Li appeared unruffled as he asked, “Well then, what should we do?”

“All we can do for now is find a way to assassinate King Ping,” Li Ruolan replied with a sigh. “The Saint has been planning and preparing for this operation for two days now.”

“Assassinate King Ping?” Chu Li shook his head and laughed. “If we’re really capable of assassinating King Ping, we would’ve succeeded in doing so already!”

“Before this, we’ve attempted to assassinate King Ping, but that Chu Li ended up sabotaging our plans!” Li Ruolan huffed and said, “Despite his young age, Chu Li is a genius at cultivation and a cautious, quick-witted person. He’s indeed a huge nemesis of the Holy Church of Light.”

“Isn’t that an easy problem to solve?” Chu Li muttered. “You can just kill him too. If you’re thinking of assassinating King Ping, can’t you kill Chu Li as well?”

When he said his own name, he had shown no sign of awkwardness at all. It was as if he was talking about a stranger.

“Do you know what the identity of this Chu Li person is?” Li Ruolan replied with a scoff. “Assassinate him? We’d be grateful if he doesn’t come and assassinate us!”

Chu Li asked, “Is he an impressive figure?”

Li Ruolan exhaled sharply and replied, “He’s a centurion of the Ji Dynasty’s Secret Guardians Hall, Head Chief of King An’s Imperial Residence, and Chief of the Yi Public House’s Glory’s Will Courtyard. Basically, he’s an extremely formidable figure. Not only does he possess exceptional intelligence but he also has profound martial arts skills. It’s not that we’ve never tried to assassinate him, but rather we’re not capable of assassinating him!”

“I don’t believe this. The Holy Church of Light has so many martial arts masters and we can’t even kill one young martial arts master?” Chu Li shook his head.

“We don’t have that many martial arts masters outside the mountain,” Li Ruolan replied. “Disciples from the Fourth Peak onwards rarely ever leave the mountain.”

“Why is that?” Chu Li asked.

Li Ruolan replied, “Those who are below a hundred years old may leave the mountain while disciples who have lived past a hundred years old will no longer leave the mountain. This is a commonly practiced rule.”

“There’s even such a rule?” Chu Li was surprised.

Li Ruolan said, “Just look around you. How many martial arts masters can you find around the world who are above a hundred years old? They’ve all withdrawn from society and gone into isolated cultivation. Those who are active in the martial arts world are mostly martial arts masters below a hundred years old.”

Chu Li nodded thoughtfully.

“Anyway, since this incident has happened, your situation might not turn out well.”

“Because I’m an outer mountain disciple?”

“Yes,” Li Ruolan replied solemnly. “Because of your background, it’ll be harder for you to be promoted. Furthermore, the Saint intends to hone your skills, so don’t even think about getting a promotion too soon. Just focus on your martial arts cultivation.”

“Great, I wanted to take a break as well.”

“It’s okay to take a break, but don’t put off your cultivation for too long. Your martial arts cultivation is your most important foundation. If we have to go to war with the Ji Dynasty, then you might just get an opportunity!”

Chu Li said lazily, “In that case, I should be hoping that the Ji Dynasty would dare to attack us, right? They seem to be scared of us since they haven’t dared to launch an attack on us yet!”

“They’re not capable enough, so of course, they wouldn’t dare to attack us,” Li Ruolan replied with a scoff. “Once they surpass us in terms of their capabilities, they won’t hesitate to attack us… I’ll get going now. If you have anything to inform us, just send the Air Patrol Pigeon over. It’ll come directly to me.”

“Alright.” Chu Li nodded. “Since it has nothing to do, I’ll write to you whenever I’m free.”

Li Ruolan rolled her charming eyes at him before she turned around to leave the house. She glided away and vanished from his sight in the blink of an eye.

Chu Li remained seated in his armchair as he studied this Air Patrol Pigeon. It, too, was examining Chu Li.

Chu Li could read its mind, so he filled a cup with wine and placed it in front of the bird.

Immediately after, the Air Patrol Pigeon lowered its head and tasted the wine. Soon, it had finished the entire cup of wine before it let out a clear whistle. Then, it stretched its long wings and flew out of the house, releasing another loud whistle in the air before it disappeared into the skies.

When it was standing on the table, it seemed like a pigeon. Yet the moment it stretched its wings, it appeared to be more like an eagle. With those long and powerful wings, it made sense that this bird could travel at such an incredible speed. Thus, it was not surprising that it could make a round-trip to the Great Light Peak within half a day.

After Chu Li had finished his meal, Kou Qiong sent some people over to clear the table before taking his leave.

Chu Li sat on the bed and pondered over Li Ruolan’s words. It seemed like King Ping was going to encounter another assassination attempt. Since it was going to be a matter of life and death for the Li Dynasty this time, it would very likely turn out to be a successful assassination attempt.