Chapter 113: Watching Him Build a High Tower

"What's going on?"

The sudden sound of gunfire startled the people in the office.

Hao Yi stood up, walked to the window, and looked outside.

"It's the people from the Inspectorate and the City Guard."

Shangguan Xiao also walked to the window, looked outside, and said:

"It seems that General Manager Gu's first counterattack is aimed at the Martial Arts Hall. Quite a clever calculation."

As she spoke, she looked at Hao Yi.

She seemed to have an intuition that could pierce straight to the heart, always able to see through others' intentions at a glance.

Judging by Chief Gu Zhenhui's choice, she immediately felt that part of the reason was aimed at Hao Yi.

However, Hao Yi didn't care about such things, so after one glance, he sat back down in his seat.

Li Fei also walked to the window at this time, looked at the situation outside, and fell into deep thought.

His view was the same as Shangguan Xiao's, and he felt that since Chief Gu Zhenhui had made this move, he probably wouldn't let Hao Yi stay out of it so easily.

Sure enough, not long after, the sound of footsteps came from outside, followed by a knock on the door.

Li Fei closed the wooden box in his hand again, not wanting anyone to see the blade inside.

He still intended to let 'Ghost Face' use this Ghost Severing blade in the future, so the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

"Come in."

Hao Yi said calmly.

The door was pushed open, and Cheng Bi walked in.

"Greetings, Mr. Hao. I am Cheng Bi, a Level 4 Inspector of the Inspectorate."

Cheng Bi swept a glance at Shangguan Xiao standing to the side and saluted Hao Yi calmly.

Hao Yi remained seated and didn't move: "Do you have business with me?"

"I am not here for Mr. Hao, but for your student."

Cheng Bi said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Oh?"

Hao Yi's gaze finally showed a trace of fluctuation.

Cheng Bi then turned to look at Li Fei: "The Inspectorate is conducting an operation at the Martial Arts Hall today and is short of manpower. You are to participate as well."

Shangguan Xiao, standing to the side, couldn't hold back: "He is a student of the Martial Arts Hall. Why should he participate in your Inspectorate's operation?"

Cheng Bi glanced at Shangguan Xiao, did not answer her, but said to Li Fei: "I'll give you two minutes. I'll be waiting for you outside."

After saying this, he saluted Hao Yi again and turned to walk out of the office.

Both Hao Yi and Shangguan Xiao looked at Li Fei, waiting for his explanation.

"Master, Martial Aunt, actually, I have another identity: I am a secret inspector for the Inspectorate."

Li Fei did not hide it and directly told them about being invited by Cheng Bi back then.

"Huh?"

After hearing this, Shangguan Xiao couldn't help but sneer:

"That General Manager Gu really plays a good game of chess."

Developing Li Fei into a secret inspector back then was just a casual move by the other party. In reality, from the time he became a secret inspector until now, no one had contacted Li Fei, and Li Fei hadn't taken the initiative to contact Cheng Bi either; he just collected his salary every month.

Now, he was suddenly being put to heavy use.

Chief Gu Zhenhui wanted to move against the Martial Arts Hall and had even mobilized the City Guard; how could he be short of a student like Li Fei?

Knowing full well that Hao Yi was here, he still called Li Fei away in front of Hao Yi, almost forcing Li Fei to reveal his identity as a secret inspector directly.

In the end, it was just to let Hao Yi see the relationship between Li Fei and the General Manager's faction, and also to let Hao Yi see this goodwill offered voluntarily.

"It seems you are going to perform a meritorious service again this time."

Shangguan Xiao smiled and looked at Li Fei.

Since the General Manager's faction intended to show goodwill by winning over Li Fei, they naturally had to give Li Fei sufficient benefits.

"Master."

Li Fei looked at Hao Yi, wanting to know what he thought.

If Hao Yi didn't want him to have any entanglements with the General Manager's faction, he could choose not to be this secret inspector anymore.

"You don't need to ask me. Go do what you believe is right."

Hao Yi did not give Li Fei any advice, only saying this.

Li Fei was somewhat moved.

He understood Hao Yi's implication: no matter what he did, Hao Yi would back him up!

"Yes, student understands."

He bowed deeply to Hao Yi, then placed the wooden box in his hand on the ground and turned to walk out of the office.

"It seems, Senior Brother, you really care about this student."

After Li Fei left, Shangguan Xiao finally spoke.

"He has talent, and I hope he can walk a different path."

Hao Yi said, looking toward the doorway.

Shangguan Xiao looked at her Senior Brother's profile: "Actually, when you told me back then that you wanted Li Fei to cultivate the 【Primordial Heaven Gold】, I wasn't optimistic. But after seeing Li Fei in person today, I, like you, Senior Brother, have gained confidence in him!"

In the corridor, Cheng Bi was waiting for Li Fei.

Seeing Li Fei walk out, a trace of a smile appeared on his face:

"Let's go. You and I are going to arrest an important figure."

Li Fei was not surprised by this at all, only asking:

"Arrest whom?"

Cheng Bi said in a deep voice: "The Hall Master of the Martial Arts Hall—Li Shengjiang!"

The Martial Arts Hall was semi-official in nature. Although the managers here did not have formal official positions, their authority was no lower than that of many officials.

For example, the Hall Master of the Martial Arts Hall—many said that this position might not be replaceable even if one were to trade a court official for it.

This was only because the Martial Arts Hall had two major 'lifelines':

First, the production of implants.

Second, the refining of martial arts cultivation elixirs.

Actually, these two major 'lifelines' were controlled by the Stop-Goe Academy, because all the raw materials were provided by the Stop-Goe Academy, and the Martial Arts Hall was merely responsible for working for the Stop-Goe Academy; it could be seen as an 'outsourced unit' of the Stop-Goe Academy.

However, as long as people were in charge of things, there were always loopholes to exploit. Coupled with the imperial court's policy support for Martial Arts Halls in various places, which gave the Martial Arts Hall a certain 'share' to cultivate students, the Martial Arts Hall had a lot of 'grease' in its hands despite being 'wage earners'.

That was why the authority of the Martial Arts Hall Hall Master was so heavy.

Xingcheng Martial Arts Hall Hall Master Li Shengjiang was a solid member of the Tiger Blade Gang faction and had tilted countless martial arts cultivation resources toward the Tiger Blade Gang over the past few years.

For Yu Hu, Li Shengjiang's importance could be said to be second only to Zhang Mingze.

Now that Zhang Mingze had been dead for less than a day, Chief Gu Zhenhui was going to move against Li Shengjiang; one could not say he wasn't ruthless!

Cheng Bi took Li Fei out of the lecturer office building and walked toward the back of the Martial Arts Hall.

"I am a senior lecturer at the Martial Arts Hall. Only the Supervisory Academy and the Stop-Goe Academy have the authority to manage me. By what right are you arresting me?!"

On the way, Li Fei saw a senior lecturer being bound in iron chains, being escorted by several City Guards, shouting as he walked.

Similar scenes were happening in many places in the Martial Arts Hall.

Any senior lecturer, special-grade lecturer, or management personnel of the Martial Arts Hall who belonged to the Tiger Blade Gang faction were all to be taken away today!

"Lord Cheng, today the Inspectorate and the City Guard came to make arrests. Did the Supervisory Academy and the Stop-Goe Academy have no reaction?"

Li Fei asked.

Cheng Bi turned his head to look at him.

If it were before, he would not have answered Li Fei's question.

But now that he knew Li Fei had a Dao Foundation stage master and a Dao Foundation stage martial aunt, his attitude toward Li Fei had completely changed:

"There is no movement from the Stop-Goe Academy side; that Head Venerable Yan has probably already abandoned the Tiger Blade Gang. As for the Supervisory Academy, their management authority over the Martial Arts Hall is far less than that of the Stop-Goe Academy, so it is very difficult to stop this matter. Moreover, that Inspector-General Wu is currently overwhelmed and probably has no energy to manage the Martial Arts Hall."

Having said this, Cheng Bi showed a smile to Li Fei:

"Speaking of which, this matter has something to do with you."

"Me?"

"General Manager Gu officially proposed a commendation for Li Lei, the captain of the First Brigade of the Supervisory Academy, in the name of the Administration Hall today, commending him for the meritorious service he performed in the Wu Guang District yesterday, and proposed promoting Li Lei by one rank to become the Deputy Inspector-General of the Supervisory Academy!"

Cheng Bi observed Li Fei's expression as he spoke.

Li Fei was first surprised, then pleasantly surprised, and finally looked at Cheng Bi with suspicion:

"Lord Cheng, my Uncle Li was promoted by three ranks not long ago. Can such a resume allow him to be promoted by another rank immediately and become a court official?"

Cheng Bi smiled: "General Manager Gu naturally considered this matter. Given the relationship between you and Captain Li, I can reveal a bit to you: the General Manager's idea is to first find a way to submit the list. Even if it doesn't pass the final approval above, Li Lei's name will at least have appeared once in the eyes of those big shots above."

"Moreover, the General Manager will do his best to help Captain Li get a promotion in position without a promotion in rank, letting Captain Li hold a nominal position as Deputy Inspector-General to transition."

The so-called promotion in position without a promotion in rank meant letting Li Lei's position in the Supervisory Academy rise, but his official rank would not rise.

Originally, the rank corresponding to the Deputy Inspector-General of the Supervisory Academy should be a Level 10 official, which was a third-class court official, but Li Lei's rank would still be Level 9. This was the so-called 'nominal position'.

This situation usually occurred with those who had performed great service but whose seniority was still shallow. They would first transition with a 'nominal position', and once their seniority was slowly accumulated, they would naturally be able to become a substantive position.

If Chief Gu Zhenhui could really get Li Lei a 'nominal position' as Deputy Inspector-General in the end, then as long as there were no accidents, Li Lei would be guaranteed to be promoted to a court official.

Although the captain of the First Brigade of the Supervisory Academy had a high probability of being promoted to Deputy Inspector-General, if Li Lei could get a 'nominal position' in advance, this probability would directly become 100%, and his speed of promotion would be at least twice as fast as before!

"That would be truly great. Many thanks to Lord Cheng for informing me of this."

Li Fei said with a look of joy.

Cheng Bi looked at the smile on his face and struck while the iron was hot:

"You don't need to thank me; thank General Manager Gu. Xiao Fei, General Manager Gu truly appreciates you very much. He commended you personally back then, and then had me arrange a secret inspector identity for you. Now, helping Captain Li get promoted like this—part of the reason is for your sake. Can you understand General Manager Gu's painstaking efforts?"

Li Fei nodded and said seriously:

"Lord Cheng, rest assured, I understand!"

"As long as you understand."

Cheng Bi looked at Li Fei for a moment, patted him on the shoulder, and continued walking forward.

Before long, he brought Li Fei to the outside of a small, independent courtyard.

This small courtyard was where Li Shengjiang, the Hall Master of the Martial Arts Hall, lived and worked on a daily basis. He had not purchased property outside, but lived right in the Martial Arts Hall.

At this time, this courtyard had already been surrounded by dozens of City Guards in heavy armor and inspectors holding guns.

A military officer in heavy armor, holding an iron spear, stood outside the gate of the courtyard. Seeing Cheng Bi bring Li Fei over, he nodded to Cheng Bi:

"Lord Cheng, the person is inside. We can take action at any time."

"Thank you for your hard work, Battalion Commander Zhang."

Cheng Bi said to the other party, his attitude very polite.

Military officers of the Great Lan Dynasty had to be martial artists at the very least. A Battalion Commander who could lead a hundred soldiers was almost always a martial master at the Qi Transformation stage.

This Battalion Commander Zhang was a martial master, and he was leading the team today to deal with Li Shengjiang.

Li Shengjiang was also a martial master at the early Qi Transformation stage, and his strength was not too strong. With a martial master leading more than twenty City Guards in heavy armor, plus the people from the Inspectorate assisting from the perimeter with guns, it was enough to deal with him.

Moreover, Cheng Bi himself also had the strength of a martial master.

"Li Shengjiang, will you come out and surrender yourself, or shall I take people in to arrest you?"

Cheng Bi shouted toward the courtyard.

There was no movement from inside the courtyard.

"Enter!"

Cheng Bi stopped waiting and made a gesture.

Two City Guards in heavy armor kicked open the courtyard gate and rushed in first, and the others entered one after another.

In the courtyard, a middle-aged man in a deep cyan robe was sitting and drinking.

He was Li Shengjiang, the Hall Master of the Martial Arts Hall.

To the crowd rushing into the courtyard, Li Shengjiang turned a blind eye, just pouring himself a cup of wine, drinking it in one gulp, and then continuing to pour wine.

The crowd surrounded him tightly.

"Li Shengjiang."

Cheng Bi walked toward the other party, stopped ten meters away, and said slowly:

"I can wait for you to finish this pot of wine. This might be the last pot of wine you drink in your life. Drink slowly, don't rush."

Li Shengjiang drank another cup of wine and finally stopped pouring himself more.

He raised his head to look at Cheng Bi, his cheeks somewhat flushed:

"Heh, you are that what's-his-name?"

"..."

"Right, Cheng Bi, is it?"

Li Shengjiang stood up abruptly.

Swish, swish, swish, swish—

The heavy-armored warriors around them drew their blades one after another, and the people from the Inspectorate also raised their guns and aimed them at Li Shengjiang.

But Li Shengjiang didn't make any radical movements; he just pointed at Cheng Bi and laughed loudly:

"I'll bet with you, this will absolutely not be the last pot of wine I drink in this life! Hahahahahaha—"

After saying this, he laughed wantonly, then directly picked up the wine pot and poured it into his mouth.

"Take him away!"

Cheng Bi gave an order, and the surrounding heavy-armored warriors rushed up one after another.

Li Shengjiang did not resist, letting the crowd bind him tightly with iron chains and then take him away.

Next, Li Fei followed Cheng Bi to arrest another Deputy Hall Master and a special-grade lecturer, playing a supporting role the whole time, just standing by and watching.

After arresting these three important figures, Cheng Bi suddenly said to Li Fei:

"Xiao Fei, I heard that you and a Grade A student named Yuan Dao in the Martial Arts Hall have some friction. He is also on the arrest list this time. Why don't you lead the team to arrest him?"

Li Fei was startled, then smiled.

He naturally understood that Cheng Bi was giving him a chance to 'manifest his holiness before others', take the opportunity to vent his anger, and it was also a means of showing goodwill.

If Li Fei were just Li Fei, he might be interested in this matter.

But 'Ghost Face' had even killed the Tiger Blade Gang's secretary; how could he be interested in a lackey supported by the Tiger Blade Gang?

From beginning to end, he had never really taken Yuan Dao seriously.

"Haha, many thanks to Lord Cheng for your kindness, but there's no need. Lord Cheng, just have someone arrest him directly."

Li Fei said to Cheng Bi.

"Oh?"

Cheng Bi carefully observed Li Fei's expression, and seeing that he was not being polite but truly didn't care about this matter, he nodded secretly:

"This child has a good temperament; no wonder he is so highly regarded by Hao Yi."

So he turned his head and instructed his subordinates:

"You go and arrest Yuan Dao and his accomplices together."

Thus, Yuan Dao's fate was decided just like that.

This 'man of the hour' of the Martial Arts Hall who had been making harsh threats to Li Fei not long ago was arrested by others before he could even see Li Fei's face.

From the moment the people from the Inspectorate and the City Guard entered the Martial Arts Hall, this arrest operation ended in less than an hour.

When Li Fei first entered the Martial Arts Hall, what he saw was the Tiger Blade Gang's control over the Martial Arts Hall, and what he saw was the prestige of Yuan Dao and others.

And now, the era of the Xingcheng Martial Arts Hall belonging to the Tiger Blade Gang had completely passed!

As the saying goes:

Watch him build a high tower, watch him feast with guests, watch his tower collapse.

Seeking monthly tickets.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 114 =====