Just thinking about all of this gave Li Guanqi a headache. After all, while his sworn brothers might not be dragons and phoenixes among men, they were certainly prodigies favored by the heavens.
Yet when he thought of the overwhelmingly powerful Qin Wushang, he couldn't help wondering: if all the candidate successors for the Eight Generals were on that level...
Except for Tang Ru, who could walk the path of a Yin-Yang Master, it was truly hard to say for the others.
Setting aside whether Gu Li could study the talisman dao under Ji Yuchuan,
there was Long Hou...
Putting Xiao Chen's talent aside, Xiao Chen's temperament alone was likely not the type Long Hou favored—he lacked composure entirely.
Then there was Chan Kongzi, with whom Li Guanqi had had almost no contact.
Still, judging from his interactions with Hong Zhi and the others, each member of the Eight Generals had undoubtedly been a supreme powerhouse who had shone brilliantly over an entire era.
One could easily imagine how difficult it would be to become the disciple of someone like that...
Even among the Eight Generals' candidate successors, likely not a single one had actually become a general's direct disciple.
"Sigh, this really is a bit of a headache..."
Seeing his troubled expression, Meng Wanshu did not say much. Sensing her presence, Li Guanqi looked toward the privacy screen and smiled.
Meng Wanshu had always been like this. Whatever the matter, she would only inquire about it.
If Li Guanqi already had his own ideas, she never meddled, simply offering her silent support.
When he was at a loss, she would share some of her own insights for him to weigh and judge.
Once Meng Wanshu finished her bath and emerged, naturally another fierce battle ensued until the dead of night.
In the middle of the night, Li Guanqi suddenly ceased his cultivation, snapping his eyes open to gaze in a certain direction!
A faint shriek, thin as a mosquito's hum, reached his ears. Even across a thousand zhang, the chilling sound was caught by his senses.
Listening closely, the shrieks seemed to come from the direction of the City Lord's Estate. Li Guanqi's brows furrowed.
Having stirred, Li Guanqi cast an invisible spatial barrier around Meng Wanshu.
Looking at the woman lying lazily beside him, her fragrant shoulders slightly exposed, the corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved upward. He reached out, gently pinched the quilt, and pulled it over her shoulders before stepping softly down from the bed.
Arriving beside the desk in the study, Li Guanqi sat down in a chair within the pitch-black room, frowning faintly.
"Look into who the City Lord of Qixia City is for me."
Soon, information regarding the City Lord of Qixia City was transmitted from within Guanyun Pavilion.
"Xue Gui, mid Soul Formation Realm, er... a Guanyun Pavilion intelligence operative?"
"Currently under evaluation to become a formal member of Guanyun Pavilion."
Li Guanqi could not help but click his tongue in surprise as he looked at the message transmitted through his jade pendant.
He had not expected Guanyun Pavilion to grow so powerful that even a mid Soul Formation City Lord still needed to undergo an evaluation to become a formal member...
Li Guanqi frowned, suddenly recalling that the convoy belonging to that fellow Pan Yi seemed to carry over a dozen cages.
Strangely enough, those cages exerted a tremendously strong suppression against divine sense.
Covered in black cloth, what they contained was unknown, but the late-night shrieks were very faint.
Listening to them left Li Guanqi somewhat unsettled. Furrowing his brows, he shifted his feet and vanished from the inn in an instant.
With cold eyes, Li Guanqi surveyed the city beneath him. He did not detect any spies from the Pan family lurking around the inn.
"Hah, at least he has some sense."
Still, Li Guanqi was somewhat curious about that man named Pan Yi.
The fellow's attire and the way primal energy circulated within his body were vastly different from those of modern cultivators in the Six Domains!
It felt ancient...
Yes, ancient!
Li Guanqi did not dwell on it too much; he simply wanted to find Xue Gui and ask what that Zhuyou art was all about.
Walking with leisurely steps, Li Guanqi crossed thousands of zhang in moments. With a slight shift of his form, he silently bypassed the defensive boundary of the City Lord's Estate and appeared in midair.
At this moment, however, City Lord Xue was standing outside his study in sheer terror and trepidation!
Clad in a brocade robe, the man stood rather awkwardly at the doorway, his head slightly bowed.
A light sheen of cold sweat seeped from his forehead—not out of fear, but sheer nerves.
In the Great Xia Domain today, one might not know who the Great Xia Domain Lord was, but everyone certainly knew Yanluo Sword Li Guanqi!!
Guanyun Pavilion was currently the sole hegemonic intelligence organization in the Great Xia Domain, as well as its largest trading firm, the Guanyun Chamber of Commerce!
To say nothing of the Great Xia Sword Sect's might—it was one of the super sects belonging exclusively to the Great Xia Domain!
Xue Gui had wanted to become a part of Tianji Pavilion for over two years, yet from beginning to end, he had only remained an operative of the lowest rank.
He never anticipated that the organization would inform him that the Master of Guanyun Pavilion was currently in Qixia City!!
What was more... Li Guanqi was coming to find him in person!!
How could he not be terrified?
Suddenly!
A pair of white cloud-stepping boots appeared before Xue Gui's bowed head.
The man's heart shuddered, and he hurriedly bowed in salute. "Xue Gui, City Lord of Qixia City, pays respects to the Pavilion Master!"
Lifting the hem of his robe, the man dropped to one knee, not daring to lift his head.
The door behind him slowly swung open. Li Guanqi walked past the man as an irresistible force lifted him to his feet.
Li Guanqi's voice sounded softly beside his ear: "Rise and shut the door."
Hearing this, Xue Gui breathed a slight sigh of relief. He stood up, still keeping his head lowered and his back hunched as he closed the door.
All the maids and servants throughout the inner courtyard of the City Lord's Estate had long since been dismissed by him.
Li Guanqi sat in a chair, smiled, and said softly, "Raise your head. Relax a little."
Hearing that, the man kept his head down awkwardly and said, "No need, no need! Whatever Lord Pavilion Master wishes to ask, please ask freely."
Seeing his flustered state, Li Guanqi found it somewhat amusing.
"I told you to raise your head, so raise it. Acting like this makes me feel like I'm some terrifying monster."
Xue Gui muttered in his heart, *You aren't terrifying??*
Even so, the man obediently raised his head and looked at Li Guanqi.
Clad in white, exceptionally handsome, with the corners of his mouth slightly curved and a hint of a smile in his eyes.
His whole aura was ethereal and transcendent, and dressed in splendid robes, he looked just like an elegant, noble young master.
Yet upon seeing Li Guanqi's appearance clearly, Xue Gui actually felt far less nervous than before.
He had initially assumed Li Guanqi's demeanor would be bitterly cold, or even reeking of murderous intent.
Now it seemed he had simply let his imagination run wild...
Li Guanqi pointed to the seat across from him and said softly, "City Lord Xue, please take a seat. Today, we address each other as fellow Daoists—there is no need to be overly constrained."
"No matter what, I am considered a guest, while you remain the master of Qixia City."
"The only reason I am sitting in your place right now is because of Guanyun Pavilion; otherwise, I ought to be sitting across from you."
Panic-stricken, Xue Gui shook his head repeatedly. "The Pavilion Master naturally should sit in the master's seat!"
However, seeing Li Guanqi's posture, Xue Gui did not insist further. He sat down, perching on only half the chair, and said gravely,
"Whatever the Pavilion Master wishes to know, please ask freely. This humble one will hold nothing back and answer everything I know."
Li Guanqi retrieved a tea set and began brewing tea, pouring a cup for Xue Gui and gently sliding it over.
Looking at the pale-yellow spiritual tea before him, which resembled heavenly nectar, Xue Gui's heart pounded wildly!
A layer of hazy vapor hovered over the surface of the tea, condensing without dispersing. At a single glance, it was clearly no ordinary spiritual tea!!
The man swallowed hard, but still held back from reaching out to take it, quietly awaiting what was to come.
Seeing the man like this, Li Guanqi smiled faintly and asked softly,
"City Lord Xue, do you know of the Zhuyou art?"
Chapter 942