Chapter 179

When Li Fei was testing the spells he had learned on the street, the Jianghu of Datong Prefecture was already shaken because of this battle tonight!

Human-Face Manor.

Zhang Shan's corpse was placed in front of Yu Longqing.

The surrounding subordinates all retreated, not daring to stay beside the "Beast King," who might be furious, at this time.

Yu Longqing looked at Zhang Shan's corpse, which was missing half a head, with a gloomy face.

They all said that the "Beast King" was cruel, bloodthirsty, and would throw subordinates who didn't handle things well to feed exotic beasts at every turn; although this was indeed true, he was actually the most generous to his subordinates.

As long as they had ability, aptitude, or had made contributions, he didn't mind piling the most resources on his subordinates.

Zhang Shan had followed Yu Longqing for sixteen years and was the subordinate who had been with him the longest.

When he first followed Yu Longqing, Zhang Shan was just a martial artist in the late Body-Breaking stage; because he performed outstandingly in a fight and dared to fight for his life, he was appreciated by Yu Longqing and was rewarded with 100,000 on the spot!

100,000 yuan more than ten years ago was more valuable than it is now, and for a martial artist in the Body-Breaking stage, it was already a wealth that poured from the sky.

Afterward, Zhang Shan relied on this money to successfully break through to the Qi Transformation stage, and then fought even more daringly, becoming the most daring person under Yu Longqing.

Actually, with Zhang Shan's aptitude, it wasn't that easy to break through to the Dao Foundation realm, but because he fought hard enough, Yu Longqing was also very willing to spend money on him, supplying all kinds of top-tier pills that could be bought without hesitation, finding the best doctors when injured, using the best medicine...

Thus, in just seven years, Zhang Shan broke through to the Dao Foundation realm and became the number one expert under Yu Longqing.

In sixteen years, the money Yu Longqing spent on Zhang Shan had long exceeded ten million!

This was a treatment that Dao Foundation realm powerhouses of many major factions couldn't get.

As a result, now, Zhang Shan was dead.

What made Yu Longqing angry wasn't just that so many resources invested were wasted, but also the two consecutive failures.

The first time, he let Zhang Shan go to Xingcheng to solve the Green-Faced Ghost, but he was captured.

The second time, the person was gone directly...

Yu Longqing hated failure very much, so he would throw subordinates who didn't handle things well to feed exotic beasts.

He usually gave subordinates two chances; the first failure was fine, but if the second failure happened, the end would be very miserable.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The earth suddenly shook.

In the woods, a behemoth was moving toward this side.

Soon, an exotic beast over five meters tall, covered in dark red scales, with a tiger head and a pair of curved long horns, arrived beside Yu Longqing.

Seeing this exotic beast, Yu Longqing revealed rare tenderness in his eyes, and he stretched out his hand with a smile.

This five-meter-tall exotic beast immediately lowered its body, lowered its head, and let Yu Longqing pat the long horns on its head.

This was the Magic Scale Horned Tiger Beast, grade 5 superior!

Grade 4 exotic beasts could rival martial artists who practiced strength, while grade 5 exotic beasts could rival Dao Foundation realm powerhouses; in terms of combat power, even Zhang Shan had no confidence in being able to beat a grade 5 superior exotic beast.

So this was the true reliance of the "Beast King."

Yu Longqing patted his "pet" and then turned and left.

The rules of the "Beast King" had never changed, and Zhang Shan couldn't be an exception.

The Green-Faced Ghost was besieged, but he counter-killed two Dao Foundation realm and three martial artists who practiced strength, and even captured one Dao Foundation realm alive!

Such a battle record spread throughout Datong Prefecture city overnight, shocking everyone.

The bet between Li Fei and the Chu family only made people see a glimmer of hope for the Zhang family to weather this crisis; it was this battle of the Green-Faced Ghost that truly displayed deterrent power!

Early in the morning, Li Fei received a call from Shangguan Xiao:

"Did you go to Fenghua Street last night?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me in advance?"

Shangguan Xiao's tone carried reproach as well as worry.

"I'm fine, aren't I?"

Li Fei smiled, "Aunt-Master, don't worry."

"It's too risky; in the future, if there's such a thing, you must tell me in advance!"

Shangguan Xiao said sternly.

"Alright."

Li Fei followed the advice, "Aunt-Master, after this battle last night, the major factions will definitely restrain themselves a lot; I think you don't need to consider transferring back to Datong Prefecture city for the time being."

Shangguan Xiao felt a warmth in her heart, but still sighed:

"In terms of combat power, your performance last night was already higher than my father's before he died, and with the Zhang family having another Dao Foundation realm like me, in terms of overall martial power, it's actually stronger than when my father was here, but it still can't scare the major factions; do you know why?"

Li Fei was silent for a moment before saying:

"Because the Zhang family is missing a seat official, and the influence in the officialdom has decreased too much, and the Green-Faced Ghost can be killed."

"Yes."

Shangguan Xiao sighed.

The Zhang family currently had five imperial court officials, and adding Shangguan Xiao made it six.

But the major factions had all pulled in a group of imperial court officials who supported them, and their influence in the officialdom was not bad.

What truly made the Zhang family stand above the major factions before was Zhang Zongyang, the helmsman of the General Zhige Academy; this was the true high-level figure of Datong Prefecture.

It could be said that even if the Zhang family didn't have a single imperial court official left, as long as Zhang Zongyang was in office for one day, the Zhang family would still be one of the three major families of Datong Prefecture!

This was the influence of a fourth-rank seat official, and it was also why when Zhang Zongyang died, many people felt that the Zhang family was going to fall.

Now, although the Zhang family had the support of Shangguan Xiao and the Green-Faced Ghost, and their overall martial power was stronger than before, no one dared to touch Zhang Zongyang before.

And now, the Green-Faced Ghost's identity couldn't see the light; as long as he was killed, the Zhang family's deterrent power would vanish.

"Aunt-Master, wait and see; next, I will find a way to defeat Yu Longqing; this way, it can not only divert the attention of the various families but also let the Zhang family get new chips."

Li Fei advised.

"You want the Zhang family to do the exotic beast feed business?"

Shangguan Xiao guessed Li Fei's idea.

"It's the Qingyuan City Management Company, Feng Sanniang, and the Zhang family doing it together."

Li Fei said.

With the current foundation of the Qingyuan City Management Company, it was impossible to swallow the exotic beast feed business of Datong Prefecture alone, so he wanted to pull the Zhang family together to discuss cooperation with Feng Sanniang.

He believed that Feng Sanniang must have been able to see his intention clearly last night.

Of course, the premise of all this was that Yu Longqing was defeated.

"Alright, then let's try it together!"

Shangguan Xiao agreed to Li Fei's plan.

She was also a woman with great courage; otherwise, she wouldn't have publicly broken with the family back then.

"What do you plan to do next?"

Shangguan Xiao asked.

Li Fei: "With the battle last night, I believe Feng Sanniang's ideas will change somewhat; I will talk to her again to see if I can find a breakthrough. In addition, I captured a Dao Foundation realm guest expert of the Duanmu family last night; it's not convenient for me to go and talk to the Duanmu family publicly, so Aunt-Master, you go."

"Alright, I will pay a visit to the Duanmu family today."

Shangguan Xiao said.

After the two discussed some details of the negotiation, Shangguan Xiao smiled:

"With your battle record last night, you should be able to make it to the Feng Province's Wind and Cloud List."

"Wind and Cloud List?"

"It's a list specially ranked for Dao Foundation realm powerhouses, only ranking the top ten. Because Feng Province has a Martial Arts University and major Jianghu factions like the Tiefeng Sect, the total number of Dao Foundation realm powerhouses should exceed a hundred, so the Dao Foundation realm powerhouses who can rank in the top ten are very formidable."

"Then I'll go and find out."

Li Fei smiled and then hung up the phone.

He thought for a while and called Lu Mengyang.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

"Lord Li, do you have any instructions?"

Lu Mengyang's voice remained enthusiastic.

"I want to learn about the Wind and Cloud List of Feng Province."

"Did the Lord hear about the Green-Faced Ghost's affair last night and want to know if he made it to the list?"

Lu Mengyang asked.

As a secret agent placed outside by the General Supervisory Academy specially to collect various intelligence, his sources of information were naturally very well-informed, and he could know many inside stories one step ahead of many people outside.

"That's right."

Li Fei admitted.

"Lord, this Green-Faced Ghost is truly remarkable; I just inquired, and he will definitely make it to the list this time!"

Lu Mengyang said the news he had inquired about and then introduced the "Wind and Cloud List" to Li Fei in detail.

Where there is Jianghu, there are various lists; literature has no first, martial arts has no second, and the greatest pursuit of many Jianghu people in this life is just a "name," so the ranking of the list is indispensable.

Below the Dao Foundation realm, the number is too large, and the influence is not enough.

Above the Dao Foundation realm, the number is too small, the status is too high, and one dare not arrange it at will.

Thus, Dao Foundation realm powerhouses became the type of powerhouses with the highest "topic degree" in the Jianghu; they were not as high and mighty as martial arts masters and grandmasters, making people feel unreachable, and just happened to be able to be honored guests in major factions, becoming famous figures in various places.

So someone specially ranked a list for these Dao Foundation realm powerhouses.

The Wind and Cloud List first became popular in the Imperial Capital, and later this list gradually swept the country, so each of the twenty-three provinces of the Great Blue Dynasty had its own Wind and Cloud List.

Each province's Wind and Cloud List was selected by itself, and it was inevitable that various versions would appear.

The Wind and Cloud List of Feng Province, the version with the most credibility and most recognized by Jianghu people, was provided by an intelligence organization called Wangyue Tower.

The version Lu Mengyang introduced to Li Fei was also this one.

On this list, five of the top ten Dao Foundation realm powerhouses in Feng Province came from the Martial Arts University and were professors of the Martial Arts University; Li Fei even heard Wen Ke's name among them.

It turned out that this female professor, who looked gentle but actually had a great contrast, had a real combat power that could rank in the top ten among the Dao Foundation realm powerhouses in Feng Province!

Besides Wen Ke, there were two names on the list that Li Fei knew:

One was the "Shadow King," the only one among the "Seven Kings" of Datong Prefecture to make the list, ranking ninth, because the other party had successfully assassinated more than one Dao Foundation realm powerhouse.

Then there was Chu Bo, who once killed a Dao Foundation realm powerhouse with one blade, ranking tenth on the Wind and Cloud List of Feng Province.

From this, one could see the gold content of this Wind and Cloud List.

Chu Bo, who could kill a martial artist of the same realm with one blade, could only rank tenth; it could be seen how big the gap was between Dao Foundation realm powerhouses.

Through Lu Mengyang's introduction, a "Dao Foundation Realm Combat Power Table" appeared in Li Fei's mind.

On this table, Dao Foundation realm powerhouses were divided into several grades:

The first grade was martial artists who had completed the first "Unity" and just stepped into this realm, such as Wang Fengqing.

Dao Foundation realm powerhouses of this grade still only had one implant in their bodies, or had just incorporated a second implant, but hadn't reached the Qi Transformation stage.

Next was the second grade, which was Dao Foundation realm powerhouses who had two implants in their bodies that reached the Qi Transformation stage, and their strength had been enhanced by another kind of innate Qi, and their physical fitness and extraordinary abilities were also enhanced.

Then the third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade, increasing one implant that reached the Qi Transformation stage in turn.

Normally, the Dao Foundation realm was divided into these five grades.

But there was another important factor affecting the combat power of Dao Foundation realm powerhouses—extraordinary abilities.

Not every extraordinary ability of an implant was useful; some extraordinary abilities could even be very tasteless in battle, such as increasing appetite or sexual desire...

A powerful extraordinary ability could change the situation of the battle, such as Zhang Shan's "Dragon Might" and "Life Storage."

This kind of powerful extraordinary ability was called "Core-level Extraordinary Ability," meaning that one could use this ability as the core to build a set of combat systems.

Li Fei's "Danger Sensing" belonged to the Core-level Extraordinary Ability.

When calculating the combat power of Dao Foundation realm powerhouses, for every additional Core-level Extraordinary Ability, their combat power would increase by half a grade.

For example, Zhang Shan, he had three implants in his body that reached the Qi Transformation stage, counting as the third grade, and he had two Core-level Extraordinary Abilities, "Dragon Might" and "Life Storage," adding two and a half grades, so he could actually be counted as a fourth-grade Dao Foundation realm powerhouse.

Normally, one implant could have at most one Core-level Extraordinary Ability, and more often than not, none at all, so theoretically, a Dao Foundation realm powerhouse could possess at most five Core-level Extraordinary Abilities, with combat power increasing by at most 2.5 grades.

In this way, Dao Foundation realm powerhouses could be subdivided into eight grades!

Chu Bo, who ranked tenth on the Wind and Cloud List of Feng Province, had four implants that reached the Qi Transformation stage, and at the same time, he had two Core-level Extraordinary Abilities, so he was counted as a fifth-grade Dao Foundation realm.

From this, it could be seen that Dao Foundation realm powerhouses who could make it to the Wind and Cloud List were at least starting from the fifth grade.

The Zhang Shan Li Fei killed last night was a fourth-grade Dao Foundation realm, the Dao Foundation realm assassin he killed was a second-grade, and the captured Lou Yujun had two Qi Transformation stage implants and one Core-level Extraordinary Ability, which was a 2.5-grade Dao Foundation realm.

Plus there was the siege of the Seven Underworld Guards and more than a dozen special-grade gunmen.

Such a battle record was already much stronger than Chu Bo's, so Lu Mengyang judged that the Green-Faced Ghost would definitely make it to the list.

March 10th, 1:00 PM.

Shangguan Xiao paid a visit to the Duanmu family.

When she stepped into the gate of the Duanmu family, Wangyue Tower updated the latest Wind and Cloud List ranking of Feng Province:

Green-Faced Ghost ranked ninth!

He replaced the "Shadow King's" ranking and also directly squeezed Chu Bo off the list.

In the main hall of the Duanmu family, Shangguan Xiao sat on a chair drinking tea.

A moment later, a loud voice came:

"Xiao'er, it's been many years, do you still remember Uncle?"

Shangguan Xiao turned to look.

The person who came had a ruddy complexion, walked like a dragon and a tiger, and was very imposing.

"Shangguan Xiao has met Uncle."

A look of surprise flashed in Shangguan Xiao's eyes; she stood up and bowed to the other party.

The head of the Duanmu family, one of the "Seven Kings," the "Gambling King," and the richest man in Feng Province, Duanmu Hongjie, personally met the guest!

(End of chapter)