Chapter 192: The Tiger's End, The Collapse of a Giant (Grand Chapter)

Yu Hu said that as long as Li Fei and Shangguan Xiao were killed, any secret could be concealed.

But the problem was that these two did not know Yan Yichen's secret; the one who truly knew the secret was Yu Hu.

This logic, Yu Hu might have forgotten in his blind rage, or perhaps he was simply unwilling to accept it.

He was unwilling to let his hegemony collapse halfway like this, so he wanted to make one final gamble!

But the result of the gamble was that Yan Yichen chose to strike at him.

Since Yan Yichen could not solve the problem, he simply solved the person who raised the problem!

Facing the incoming sword radiance, Yu Hu clapped his palms in succession, laying out a vast expanse of wind and snow before him; by the time the sword radiance passed through the layers of wind and snow, its sharpness was lost.

Just as he intended to use his palms to shatter this sword radiance, his mind suddenly shook, and a boundless sea of blood appeared before his eyes.

At this moment, Li Fei used 【Blood Might】 on Yu Hu, and consumed 10 Blood Souls!

He had already lost nearly 10 Blood Souls in the previous exchange, and now consuming another 10, he had only 12 Blood Souls left.

His "blood bar" was truly less than one-tenth full now, making it difficult even to maintain the "Blood Demon State," because the "Blood Demon State" consumed 5 Blood Souls per minute.

However, the effect of this 【Blood Might】 was significant; affected by 【Blood Might】, Yu Hu failed to block Yan Yichen's sword radiance in time and was struck in the chest by the sword.

Yu Hu was wearing a level-four protective suit, which was pierced by this sword, and subsequently, the sword radiance also opened a hole in his body!

He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body flew backward.

Li Fei had been charging forward while activating 【Blood Might】, just in time to collide with the retreating Yu Hu, and swung his blade.

At the critical moment of life and death, Yu Hu forcibly stopped his retreat, and a bone-chilling cold erupted from within his body, as if a snow-capped mountain had collapsed!

Li Fei's blade momentum was blocked, and Yu Hu seized the opportunity to leap to the side, widening the distance.

However, there was still one more person present.

Shangguan Xiao charged from the side with the momentum of wind and thunder, lightning in one hand and gale in the other; she brought her palms together, and a Wind-Thunder Palm struck heavily on Yu Hu's left shoulder.

Bang!

Yu Hu spat blood again and was sent flying.

This time, he could no longer suppress the injuries in his body and fell heavily to the ground.

By the time he struggled to get up, Li Fei had already rushed to his side and stepped on his chest.

With a crack, Yu Hu's sternum was shattered!

If not for the powerful vitality of a Foundation Establishment realm expert, Yu Hu would have died on the spot.

After crushing Yu Hu's sternum with one foot, Li Fei did not finish him off with a blade, but instead took two steps back and looked at Yan Yichen not far away:

"Chief Yan, I will leave him for you to kill, so you can prove your innocence."

Yan Yichen was startled; his first thought was that the Green-Faced Ghost was showing him favor. After all, he was too deeply tied to Yu Hu, and the matter involved treason; it was not something he could easily clear his name of. If he could kill Yu Hu with his own hands to prove his innocence, that would naturally be best.

Moreover, Yu Hu held his secret, and he wished for Yu Hu to die immediately!

Therefore, Yan Yichen did not hesitate and immediately charged toward Yu Hu.

However, just as he intended to decapitate Yu Hu with his sword, his mind suddenly shook, and he fell into a boundless sea of blood.

Li Fei had suddenly used 【Blood Might】 on Yan Yichen!

This time he only consumed 5 Blood Souls, but in the "Blood Demon State," it was equivalent to the power of 10 Blood Souls.

Yan Yichen naturally had not completely let down his guard against Li Fei, but he had not expected that Li Fei could actually use sorcery!

Taking advantage of the impact on his mind, Li Fei stepped forward and thrust his blade.

The two were so close that even though Yan Yichen quickly regained his senses, he was still stabbed in the abdomen by Li Fei's blade.

He immediately erupted with protective internal energy, but his Metal-Stone Energy was condensed from Xin Metal Primordial Qi, which happened to be countered by the extremely pure and sharp Geng Metal True Qi. In his haste, he failed to completely block Li Fei's blade and was stabbed in the lower abdomen!

Just as Yan Yichen intended to counterattack Li Fei, a dozen bolts of lightning suddenly shot toward him!

It was Shangguan Xiao who had also made her move at this moment.

When Yan Yichen charged at Yu Hu just now, Li Fei had quietly given Shangguan Xiao a look, and this Martial Aunt immediately understood and coordinated at this moment.

Facing the incoming dozen bolts of Lightning Energy, Yan Yichen dared not be careless; he waved his left hand in front of him, and a golden shield instantly took shape.

The characteristic of Metal-Stone Energy was its extreme malleability, making it actually more suitable for defense than offense.

But although the Metal-Stone Qi Shield blocked Shangguan Xiao's Lightning Energy, Yan Yichen was distracted, and Li Fei seized the opportunity to stir the Ghost-Slaying Blade fiercely inside his abdomen!

The pain was heart-wrenching; Yan Yichen could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood, and his control over his energy became chaotic.

The next second, Shangguan Xiao had already rushed over, her palms striking together; a burst of Wind-Thunder Energy shattered the golden Qi shield, and then another palm struck Yan Yichen's chest, sending him flying heavily.

In the blink of an eye, the two powerful Foundation Establishment experts who had been so aggressive just moments ago were both severely injured!

"Chief!"

The elites of the Stop-Conflict Academy who had been watching from the perimeter exclaimed in unison, and the registered martial master Nie Yang immediately charged over.

"Don't move—"

Shangguan Xiao shouted sternly, lifting the fallen Yan Yichen with one hand and keeping him under her control.

"Y-you dare to kill this Chief?"

Yan Yichen asked while spitting blood.

A flash of murderous intent flickered in Shangguan Xiao's eyes.

In today's battle, regardless of the final outcome, the people she brought from the Green Origin Fist Stronghold had suffered heavy casualties, many of whom were killed by the people of the Stop-Conflict Academy.

So at this moment, she really wanted to kill Yan Yichen with one palm.

"If we don't kill you now, you won't escape death later anyway!"

Li Fei's words made Shangguan Xiao hold back her hand.

Yan Yichen was different from Yu Hu.

No matter how powerful the Tiger Blade Gang was, Yu Hu was essentially still just a man of the underworld.

But Yan Yichen was the Chief of the Stop-Conflict Academy, an official of the imperial court. If Shangguan Xiao killed him in public, she would either have to become a rebel from then on, hunted and pursued by the imperial court.

Or she would have to pay with her own life.

Li Fei understood this logic very well, so he did not intend to kill Yan Yichen directly.

However, he did not intend to let the other party off easily either, which was why he had deliberately set a trap to have Shangguan Xiao capture him.

Shangguan Xiao struck various points on Yan Yichen's body with bursts of energy, causing him to completely lose the ability to move.

The surrounding experts of the Stop-Conflict Academy were afraid to act rashly and dared not step forward.

"Haha... Hahahahaha!"

Yu Hu, lying on the ground, saw this scene and suddenly burst into laughter:

"Yan Yichen! You practiced demonic arts in secret; did you ever think this day would come? I'll go first and wait for you below! Hahahahaha—"

Hearing the words "practiced demonic arts in secret," Yan Yichen spat out another mouthful of blood and actually fainted on the spot.

The people of the Stop-Conflict Academy around them also changed color upon hearing this, looking at the unconscious Yan Yichen with disbelief.

The dignified Chief of the Stop-Conflict Academy actually practiced demonic arts in secret?

This sounded unbelievable; after all, the vast majority of people who practiced demonic arts did so because they were at their wit's end and lacked cultivation resources.

With Yan Yichen's status, how could he possibly lack resources?

But thinking about it carefully, if such a handle wasn't held by Yu Hu, why would Yan Yichen, the Chief of the Stop-Conflict Academy and a Foundation Establishment expert, be controlled by Yu Hu?

Li Fei had already walked to Yu Hu's side, looking with a calm gaze at this tiger that had reached the end of its road.

"Green-Faced Ghost!"

Yu Hu looked at Li Fei with eyes full of hatred and unwillingness:

"Who exactly are you? Who exactly is it that defeated me?!"

"It has nothing to do with you."

Li Fei said this to Yu Hu, the same words he had once said to Zhang Mingze, and then swung the Ghost-Slaying blade in his hand.

The next second, Yu Hu's head flew into the air.

The leader of the Tiger Blade Gang, Yu Hu, was beheaded by the Green-Faced Ghost!

Nearly ten years of overwhelming power and decades of bitter martial arts cultivation had all become like smoke and clouds.

Even though he was no longer practicing the "Heart-Breaking Barrier," at the moment he killed Yu Hu, Li Fei still felt that his mental power had been greatly enhanced, and the steel armor implant in his body became unusually active, which in turn made the Geng Metal True Qi active as well, becoming even more like an extension of his own arm.

Li Fei ended the "Blood Demon State" to avoid continuing to consume Blood Souls and killing himself.

He stepped forward to pick up Yu Hu's head, then leaped onto the roof of a building, held the head high in his hand, and roared loudly:

"Yu Hu is dead!!!"

The voice spread far and wide.

At this moment, the sky was high and the clouds were light, and the wind swept away the remnants of the clouds.

A ray of golden sunlight happened to shine down, illuminating Li Fei as he held the head high.

Countless people looked toward this side, focusing their gazes on that figure.

The figure wearing the evil ghost mask had a touch of holiness at this moment.

With this roar, the dark cloud that had shrouded Xingcheng for more than a decade—

Was swept away!

Li Lei reacted quickly, ordering the people of the Inspection Academy to launch an all-out attack:

"Everyone drop your weapons and surrender immediately!"

"Everyone drop your weapons and surrender immediately!"

"..."

Yu Hu had brought over three hundred gang members this time, all elites of the Tiger Blade Gang, fully armed.

At this moment, with Yu Hu dead, these three hundred people also lost all morale and had no courage left to continue resisting.

When the people from the Inspectorate charged over with guns, the vast majority of the Tiger Blade Gang members chose to drop their weapons and surrender.

Of course, a portion of them chose to flee, including several dozen Body-Breaking Realm martial artists and a few Qi-Transformation Realm martial masters.

The people from the Inspectorate found it difficult to stop these people from leaving.

Seeing this, Li Fei quickly returned to Shangguan Xiao's side; there was no need for him to say much, as Shangguan Xiao understood his meaning.

Handing the Yan Yichen in her grasp to Li Fei, Shangguan Xiao then went to pursue those few martial masters from the Tiger Blade Gang, just in time to avenge her own subordinates!

Li Fei, carrying Yan Yichen in one hand, strode toward the direction where Li Lei was located.

As he approached Li Lei, the surrounding inspectors stirred, and many subconsciously aimed their guns at him.

"No need to be nervous."

Li Lei raised his hand to signal everyone to lower their guns.

Li Fei did not continue walking over, but instead threw the Yan Yichen he was carrying directly to Li Lei's feet, then spoke:

"He colluded with the Tiger Blade Gang and committed too many illegal and forbidden acts; now, he is also suspected of practicing demonic arts and treason. Hand him over to the Inspectorate for trial."

Li Lei glanced at the incapacitated Yan Yichen at his feet and ordered people to bind him with iron chains.

This scene caused a stir among the experts from the Stop-Gong Institute on the perimeter, yet no one dared to come forward.

"Many thanks!"

Li Lei expressed his gratitude to Li Fei, "The Inspectorate will certainly uncover all of his crimes!"

"Mm."

Li Fei nodded, using the low, deep voice belonging to the Green-Faced Ghost, and said:

"Your son is fine; you will be able to see him very soon."

Having said this, he turned and left.

Even though there was no longer a hostage in his hands, the people from the Stop-Gong Institute still did not dare to step out to block Li Fei.

These people could not see Li Fei's 'health bar' and did not know that this Green-Faced Ghost was currently in a 'low health' state. In their eyes, the Green-Faced Ghost was a figure who had fought a Dao-Foundation Realm powerhouse head-on; he was both mysterious and terrifying!

Watching Li Fei's departing back, for some reason, Li Lei always felt a sense of familiarity.

But he did not connect the Green-Faced Ghost with Li Fei at all.

Just kidding, how could my little Fei possibly be this powerful?

After leaving the combat zone, Li Fei first entered a stronghold he had prepared in advance, used rooster blood to clear the traces on his body, and only then changed his clothes and quietly left.

More than two hours later, Li Fei walked into the Inspectorate carrying a person.

At this time, Li Lei and the others had just finished their sweep, having brought back over two hundred members of the Tiger Blade Gang and confiscated over two hundred firearms!

"Little Fei!"

Li Lei quickly rushed over upon hearing the news, immediately looking Li Fei up and down, "How is it? Are you alright?"

Li Fei smiled and shook his head: "Uncle Li, I'm fine, just suffered some minor injuries."

"That's good! That's good!"

Only then did Li Lei completely set his mind at ease.

"This is?"

He looked at the person Li Fei was carrying in his hand.

"Uncle Li, it was he who suddenly broke into the Martial Lecture Hall and kidnapped me; later, it was the Green-Faced Ghost who intervened to save me."

Li Fei set the person in his hand down, "He is Hu En Tuso."

"He is Hu En Tuso?!"

Li Lei felt a surge of joy in his heart.

He had previously heard the Green-Faced Ghost shout this name aloud, saying that this person was a spy for the Meijia Kingdom.

"Great, this is a key figure!"

Li Lei's face was full of delight.

This concerned treason, and it might implicate a large group of people; this was no small matter!

"But he is already dead."

Li Fei said.

"Ah?"

Li Lei was startled.

Li Fei spread his hands: "After Senior Green-Faced Ghost saved me, he dragged this person out to interrogate him. By the time he returned, this person was already dead."

He had made his move in front of Hu En Tuso, so he certainly could not leave the other party alive, otherwise his identity would be exposed.

"Died during the interrogation?"

Li Lei squatted down to examine the state of Hu En Tuso's death.

It was quite common for a prisoner to be accidentally killed due to excessive force during an interrogation.

"A pity, once a person is dead, a lot of important intelligence will be missing."

Li Lei said with regret.

"Uncle Li, it's fine, this is the content of his confession."

Li Fei took a letter from his bosom and handed it to Li Lei, "It says here that Hu En Tuso had more than one accomplice, and the rest of the people entered the city together with the people from the Peace God Sect; you might have already captured them."

Li Lei immediately took the letter and began to read.

It recorded in detail how Hu En Tuso and others had provided funding to Yu Hu over these years, as well as what kind of funding they provided.

This also involved a series of key figures, both in the underworld and the official world, and was not limited to Xingcheng, but the entire Datong Prefecture!

The more Li Lei read, the more solemn his expression became.

This matter was no longer something the Xingcheng Inspectorate could handle; it might even require alarming the provincial-level government.

"Little Fei, go sit in my office and rest for a while; I still have things to attend to."

Having said this, Li Lei left with hurried steps; he had to confirm whether there were any Meijia Kingdom spies among the people captured today.

A dozen minutes later, five Meijia Kingdom spies were screened out.

Among these five, there was one Strength-Refining martial master; he was the one who killed Qi Zhongfa.

The remaining four were also Qi-Transformation Realm martial masters!

They had suffered heavy injuries in the battle against the City Guard Army and were unable to fight again, which was why they were easily captured by the people from the Inspectorate.

After identifying these five, Li Lei had them locked in separate cells, with the iron chains on each person thickened, handcuffs and shackles replaced with specially made ones, and guards stationed outside the cells 24 hours a day with guns.

After arranging all of this, Li Lei found Lu Sheng and called him alone into a room.

"Old Lu, take a look at this."

Li Lei handed the evidence confessed by Hu En Tuso to Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng took the letter to examine it; upon seeing the content, he was first shocked, then his expression became increasingly heavy.

And when he saw one particular section, his expression suddenly changed, and his eye sockets gradually turned red.

This evidence also wrote about the process of the 'Luoshan Incident' back then; Hu En Tuso admitted that it was Yu Hu who brought him and several other accomplices to cooperate with the Peace God Sect, joining forces to capture the four official martial masters of the Stop-Gong Institute.

Although Lu Sheng had already been able to determine that the 'Luoshan Incident' was masterminded by the Tiger Blade Gang, it was not until he saw this evidence that he finally truly and clearly saw the whole process of that incident.

The most incredible point about the 'Luoshan Incident' was those three Strength-Refining martial masters who suddenly appeared.

One of the Strength-Refining martial masters was impersonated by Yu Hu; this point was easy to guess, as both the implant and the internal strength matched.

But the remaining two Strength-Refining martial masters were completely absent from the intelligence records, which was very baffling!

From the Body-Breaking Realm to the Qi-Transformation Realm, the vast majority of martial artists must undergo life-and-death tempering to strengthen their mental power, and this process inevitably leaves traces, so even cultivating one unknown martial master is very difficult, let alone a Strength-Refining martial master?

This was the reason why Lu Sheng could not definitively conclude that this matter was related to the Tiger Blade Gang before, because those Strength-Refining martial masters of the Tiger Blade Gang were all in the Stop-Gong Institute and had not left the Stop-Gong Institute at all that day. Even the martial masters and martial artists of the Tiger Blade Gang had not left Xingcheng that day; these were all things that could be traced.

Now everything was explained.

Hu En Tuso and the other Strength-Refining martial master who made their move that day, as well as several martial masters, were all spies from the Meijia Kingdom; they did not become martial artists within the borders of the Great Lan Dynasty, so naturally, they did not leave any traces.

In the past seventeen years, it was not just the Great Lan Dynasty that was 'learning from the barbarians' techniques to control them'; Western countries were also learning from the Great Lan Dynasty.

The Great Lan Dynasty learned Western culture, educational systems, and various technologies, while Western countries learned the Great Lan Dynasty's martial arts and sorcery!

Over these years, the Great Lan Dynasty had either bought openly or smuggled in large quantities of firearms and even cannons from the West, while Western countries had also used the same methods to obtain many exotic beasts from the Great Lan Dynasty, as well as methods for creating implants, martial arts cultivation methods, sorcery cultivation, and so on.

Hu En Tuso and the others were one of the results.

"Zhangwu, you can rest in peace now."

Lu Sheng turned his head to look at the sky outside the window and murmured.

The masterminds back then, Yu Hu and Zhang Mingze, were both dead, the Peace God Sect leader Zhao Yu was also dead, and the Meijia Kingdom spies who participated in that incident were all captured; Lu Zhangwu's revenge could be considered avenged.

"Old Lu, grieve in moderation; the days ahead are still long."

Li Lei was not very good at comforting people and could only say it dryly.

Lu Sheng did not stay depressed for too long; he looked at Li Lei: "How do you plan to deal with Wu Yihua?"

Previously, the two of them joined forces to seize power, using Wu Yihua to directly kill several major team leaders and middle team leaders, including Qian Hengjun, forcibly seizing command of the Second Major Team and the Third Major Team.

Qian Hengjun and the others were at most second-class subordinate officials; killing them was fine, as it was a fact that they colluded with the Tiger Blade Gang. Now that the Tiger Blade Gang had collapsed, it wouldn't just be these few officials who would die later.

The deaths of Qian Hengjun and the others were nothing, but Wu Yihua was different; he was an official appointed by the imperial court. Regardless of the reason for his death, according to regulations, Datong Prefecture and the provincial capital would send people down to investigate!

Therefore, Li Lei and Lu Sheng had only controlled Wu Yihua before and did not kill the other party.

Now that the outcome was decided, Lu Sheng asked Li Lei how he wanted to deal with Wu Yihua.

"Wait for the higher-ups to send an investigation team down to handle it."

Li Lei stated his own thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Lu Sheng laughed; he looked at Li Lei and shook his head:

"Old Li, although you are now a Deputy Inspector General and your promotion speed far exceeds mine back then, as for the way of being an official, you still don't see it thoroughly enough."

"Oh? How so?"

Li Lei asked.

"Give me a cigarette."

Lu Sheng reached out and gestured to Li Lei.

"Didn't you say you had already quit smoking?"

"I quit back then to remind myself to avenge Changwu. Now that the great revenge is fulfilled, I can start smoking again."

"Haha."

Li Lei laughed as he handed Lu Sheng a cigarette, lit it for him, and then lit one for himself.

The two of them began to puff away in the room.

"Old Li, you are a man who has been on the battlefield before; you must remember, the officialdom is like a battlefield!"

Lu Sheng exhaled a cloud of smoke and said in a sinister voice.

Li Lei narrowed his eyes and did not speak.

"Do you think Wu Yihua is done for this time?"

Lu Sheng asked.

Li Lei said without hesitation: "Yu Hu committed treason, and Wu Yihua colluded with the Tiger Blade Gang; even if he isn't sentenced to death, he'll have to rot in prison!"

But Lu Sheng shook his head and said: "No, Old Li, you are thinking too simply."

"How so?"

"Looking at this confession, Yu Hu colluded with foreigners to commit treason, a matter only he and Zhang Mingze were clear about; Wu Yihua was unaware of it. It is very difficult to implicate him in the crime of treason. And setting aside the treason, while Wu Yihua has indeed colluded with the Tiger Blade Gang over these years and committed many illegal and forbidden acts, do you have the evidence?"

"Then—"

"Wu Yihua has dealt directly with Zhang Mingze and Yu Hu all these years. Now that both Yu Hu and Zhang Mingze are dead, who else can testify against him?"

Lu Sheng asked in return.

Li Lei frowned: "But they couldn't have done everything themselves; there are always trusted aides who helped them do things. These people can serve as witnesses."

Lu Sheng: "So many people died in a chaotic battle, and so many others fled. Are you sure these witnesses are still around?"

"Perhaps—"

"Perhaps you could still find witnesses, but without Yu Hu and Zhang Mingze, the two most critical figures, are you sure you can nail Wu Yihua, this Chief Inspector and imperial official, one hundred percent?"

"..."

"What if, just what if Wu Yihua doesn't go down in the end? Have you thought about what the consequences will be for the two of us?"

"..."

"Holding a superior hostage, shooting a colleague, forcibly seizing power! As long as Wu Yihua is still around, the nature of what we did today could be completely different! What was originally a great merit of leading a team to suppress a rebellion and save the people of Xingcheng might end up being a wash of merits and demerits."

"..."

"Old Li, I said it just now: the officialdom is like a battlefield. On the battlefield, you must exterminate the enemy; you absolutely cannot leave behind future trouble for yourself! You should think it over carefully."

Lu Sheng said this at the end.

After speaking, he patted Li Lei on the shoulder and turned to walk out of the room.

Leaving Li Lei alone, lost in deep thought.

A moment later, he was startled, suddenly remembering something, and rushed out of the room, then ran toward the upper floor at top speed.

Bang! Bang!

Just as Li Lei reached the fourth floor, he heard two gunshots from the other end of the corridor.

His face turned pale in an instant, and he ran toward Wu Yihua's office with a stagger.

Wu Yihua had been locked in his own office, guarded by trusted aides arranged by Li Lei.

At this moment, the office door was open, and the trusted aides guarding outside had all rushed in.

Li Lei also rushed into the office, pushing past a few people to reach the front.

What met his eyes was Wu Yihua lying in a pool of blood, with two shots to his chest.

This Chief Inspector of the Inspectorate, an imperial official, had just died like this!

"Everyone out, guard the outside well. Without my orders, no one is allowed in!"

Li Lei immediately ordered his few trusted aides.

"Yes."

The subordinates who had followed him for over a dozen years, who had life-and-death ties with him, and who were once members of the squadron, walked out of the room.

At this moment, only Li Lei and Lu Sheng, who was sitting on the sofa smoking, remained in the room.

Lu Sheng was still holding a gun in his hand; it was the gun he had just used to kill Wu Yihua.

"Old Lu, you... why?!"

Li Lei lowered his voice and asked angrily.

Even Shangguan Xiao, a powerhouse at the Dao Foundation Realm, didn't dare to kill Yan Yichen directly; how could Lu Sheng, a demoted clerk, dare to shoot and kill an imperial official?

Lu Sheng looked at Li Lei, smiled, and said with a relaxed expression:

"Didn't I just analyze it for you?"

"But..."

"There are no 'buts'."

Lu Sheng interrupted Li Lei, "Anyway, my son is already dead. Now that the great revenge is fulfilled, I don't have many attachments to living. It's better to let me completely eliminate this future trouble for you; consider it as thanks for helping me get my revenge."

Li Lei was stunned; he hadn't expected Lu Sheng to say this.

"I've already thought up the follow-up story for you: just say that I accidentally killed him while holding him hostage, and afterwards, to make up for my faults, I voluntarily requested to lead a team to deal with the bandits who entered the city."

Lu Sheng said with a smile:

"At worst, I'll just pay with my life; I've lived long enough anyway."

"Old Lu, you are too impulsive..."

Li Lei sat powerlessly on the sofa, not knowing what to say.

"Hahaha."

Lu Sheng laughed indifferently.

He stood up, walked to a cabinet nearby, took out a bottle of wine, and gestured to Li Lei:

"This is the fine wine Wu Yihua treasured; it might have been a gift from the Tiger Blade Gang. Old Li, come, join me in drinking it!"

"... lright."

Facing a Lu Sheng like this, Li Lei could not find the words to refuse.

The two of them soon poured the wine.

Lu Sheng did not lift his glass to drink right away, but instead sprinkled the wine from his cup onto the ground, murmuring:

"Changwu, it was Dad who didn't protect you well. Wait for Dad to go down there, and I will make amends to you."

At this moment, he was no longer the decisive and ruthless squadron leader, but merely a guilt-ridden father.

That night, Li Fei entered the Qingyuan Fist Village again and found Shangguan Xiao.

"Master Aunt, are you alright?"

Li Fei asked with concern.

He knew that Shangguan Xiao had also been seriously injured today.

Shangguan Xiao shook her head and looked at Li Fei with a look of wonder: "I'm fine. What about you, are you alright?"

Li Fei smiled and shook his head: "I'm fine."

Shangguan Xiao looked at Li Fei, who appeared completely unscathed, and clicked her tongue in amazement: "Did you really only practice martial arts for three months?"

Killing a Dao Foundation Realm expert with a Qi Transformation Realm cultivation base is not unprecedented, but to be able to kill a Dao Foundation Realm powerhouse after only practicing martial arts for three months—that is truly unprecedented!

"Actually, the Dao Foundation clone that Zhao Yu used cannot strictly be considered a true Dao Foundation Realm powerhouse, and I happened to have a method to restrain him, which is how I was able to kill him."

Li Fei explained.

Shangguan Xiao's eyes held a smile: "You don't need to explain so much to me. Who doesn't have secrets? Who doesn't have some fortuitous encounters? Your teacher also had quite a few fortuitous encounters back in the day."

Seeing that Shangguan Xiao had already automatically filled in the blanks with her own answer, Li Fei stopped saying anything more.

"I called you here tonight because I want you to consider one thing."

Shangguan Xiao said to Li Fei.

It was she who had taken the initiative to call Li Fei over tonight.

"Please, Master Aunt, give your instructions."

Li Fei bowed in salute.

Shangguan Xiao waved her hand: "It's not an instruction; it's for you to consider yourself."

"Yu Hu and Zhang Mingze are both dead, and Yan Yichen of the Stop-Conflict Court has also been captured. After today's battle, the elites of the Tiger Blade Gang are either dead or have fled, and many others have been captured. The behemoth that was the Tiger Blade Gang has completely collapsed. Have you thought about what Xingcheng will become in the aftermath?"

Li Fei fell into thought.

The collapse of such a giant would inevitably affect every aspect, just like the ripples caused by a mountain being thrown into a giant lake, which would continue to spread outward.

"The overall landscape will change. The Chen family might develop very quickly, and in the future, the martial arts world of Xingcheng will be divided between your Qingyuan Fist Village, Master Aunt, and the Chen family."

Li Fei said.

Shangguan Xiao nodded approvingly:

"You see it very clearly, and you guessed it very accurately. Once the Tiger Blade Gang falls, the Chen family will inevitably take the opportunity to wantonly annex the Tiger Blade Gang's forces. From now on, it will be a world divided between me and the Chen family."

Speaking of this, she looked into Li Fei's eyes:

"Then have you ever thought about stepping out under the identity of the Green-Faced Ghost and making the martial arts world of Xingcheng your own in the future?"

PS: This chapter is a two-in-one, 8000+ words; only one update today.

(End of chapter)