Chapter 221: That Year, Today, In This City

Li Fei rose from the main hall and returned the way he came to where the cars were parked.

After he got back into the car, the three vehicles slowly drove out of the estate.

Half an hour later, the vehicles returned to Martial University.

Upon entering the school gate, they stopped as usual to undergo inspection by the guards.

"Hello, are you student Li Fei?"

A guard walked to the rear window of the dark gold 'Qilin' and spoke to Li Fei inside.

"It is me."

"Someone left an item at the guard station, specifically naming you as the recipient."

"What item?"

"A book."

As he spoke, the guard handed over a book with exquisite packaging.

Li Fei took the book and asked, "May I ask who sent this?"

"The other party did not leave any information."

The guard shook his head.

"Alright, thank you."

After thanking the guard, Li Fei looked at the book in his hand—*The Tragedy of Heaven's Pride*.

He was stunned the moment he saw the title.

This was a bit too targeted.

He flipped through the book and discovered it was a very serious history book, specifically documenting peerless geniuses who had appeared throughout the thousand-year history of martial arts, only to fall prematurely in various ways.

Hence, the book was titled *The Tragedy of Heaven's Pride*.

The strong are all geniuses.

But geniuses are not necessarily able to become the strong.

In this book, Li Fei even saw the person whose record he had broken.

This person was named Situ Jian, a member of the Zhou Kingdom's imperial family from over eight hundred years ago.

From the time he received his implant to breaking through to the Dao Foundation stage, it took him just over a year, and 'Unity' took him 92 days.

This record had stood for over eight hundred years without being broken!

One must know that today, eight hundred years later, the development of martial arts has improved significantly compared to back then; implants are more mature, more elixirs are available, and the speed of breaking through realms at every stage is much faster.

From this, one can see how high Situ Jian's talent was.

Yet, this peerless genius named Situ Jian died in the second year after breaking through to the Dao Foundation stage, before he had even reached the peak of the Dao Foundation stage, and before he could even begin to challenge the realm of Martial Arts Master.

Regarding Situ Jian's death, official history records that he suffered from qi deviation while cultivating and died suddenly.

There were many versions in unofficial history: murdered by others, poisoned, plotted against by the then-Crown Prince of the Zhou Kingdom, etc. —there were all sorts of reasons.

The book *The Tragedy of Heaven's Pride* recorded the most dazzling geniuses of every era, but without exception, none of these geniuses lived to the day they could fully realize their talent.

At the end of the book, the author wrote a short story, which was his own personal experience:

In the seventh year of Hongguang, the author visited a small village where the people had made a living by catching snakes for generations.

Because the vast majority of snakes in the surrounding area were venomous, the people in this village generally died young.

After chatting with many people in the village, the author was surprised to find that those who lived the longest were those with very mediocre snake-catching skills. Those with the most formidable skills and the best aptitude had all died early.

At the end of this short story, the author wrote in a meaningful tone:

"Looking across the long river of history, the vast majority of the strong who step onto the peak of martial arts are, in fact, not the most dazzling geniuses of their respective eras."

Seeing this sentence, Li Fei couldn't help but think of Hao Yi.

His teacher, over thirty years ago, was also the most dazzling genius in the entire Datong Prefecture, and even the entire Feng Province, yet the final outcome was not good.

"The tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind"—the words left by the ancestors still hold much truth.

Although he didn't know who sent this book, the tone of admonition and warning was already very obvious.

Li Fei actually knew that relying solely on the title of 'Number One in History' would not be enough to intimidate people directly, which was why he immediately requested to see Shi Caiming, and then applied for Martial University to provide him with protection.

What he wanted was to use his identity as a peerless genius to borrow strength to strike back.

It was just that he hadn't yet figured out why Yan Shijin had refused him so decisively.

After getting off the car, Li Fei took *The Tragedy of Heaven's Pride* and made a trip to the Academic Affairs Office.

He walked into Wen Ke's office and said straightforwardly:

"Professor Wen, I want to know about all the deeds related to my teacher, Hao Yi, from over thirty years ago. Does the school have records?"

The incident Hao Yi caused back then was too massive, and the impact was extremely severe, directly leading to many officials being imprisoned and even causing a Garrison Commander to be forced into early retirement.

Such deeds were naturally not allowed to circulate widely, so the government had been deliberately blocking the news and erasing the traces Hao Yi had left behind.

So much so that thirty years later, it had become very difficult to investigate the events of that year clearly.

Back then, the Hudao Gang had only managed to find a rough idea.

The General Supervisory Academy definitely had detailed records, but with Li Fei's current clearance, he certainly couldn't see them, so he could only obtain them through Martial University.

Wen Ke looked at Li Fei: "There are records, but they require clearance."

"Then do I have this clearance?"

Li Fei took out the token and showed it to Wen Ke.

Wen Ke was silent for a moment, then said: "Go directly to the Archives. If you are allowed to see them, they will give you the materials."

"Alright, thank you, Professor Wen."

Li Fei thanked him politely, then left the Academic Affairs Office and went to the Archives.

Just like when he went to the Security Office, he first requested to see the person in charge, then took out his token and requested to browse the materials from that year.

The person in charge also said he needed to report to his superiors.

After waiting for a few minutes, he walked back with a complex expression:

"The higher-ups said the materials can be given to you, and they also asked me to pass on a message."

Li Fei: "What message?"

Person in charge: "Don't push your luck, kid."

Then he immediately added: "I'm just passing on the message."

Li Fei's expression was calm: "Alright, I understand, thank you."

This message was definitely asked to be passed on by Shi Caiming.

Although the other party was willing to support him, there was a limit to it.

If Li Fei continued to use this token to stir up trouble, he would likely be refused.

Next, the person in charge of the Archives handed a thick file bag to Li Fei:

"You can only read it here; this material cannot be taken out, nor can it be recorded."

"Alright."

Li Fei nodded and took the file bag.

He speculated that the item in his hand was likely the 'dark history' of Datong Prefecture in the true sense, so it definitely couldn't be leaked.

The person in charge of the Archives left the office, leaving Li Fei to browse the materials alone.

Perhaps he didn't have the clearance to see these materials either.

While Li Fei was reading the top-secret materials from that year in the Archives, in the Government Building, a copy of *The Tragedy of Heaven's Pride* was also placed on the desk of Garrison Commander Governor Bian Jingru.

He picked up the book, flipped through a few pages, then put it down and looked at Qu Xun, the Chief Supervisor of the General Supervisory Academy, who was sitting opposite him:

"You sent this book to him?"

"Yes, he should have received it by now. I hope he can be a smart person."

Qu Xun said.

The copy of *The Tragedy of Heaven's Pride* in Li Fei's hand was sent by people he dispatched.

"With the evidence and witnesses we have in hand now, we can already close the case. It's just that we haven't been able to catch any significant Western spies, and wanting to implicate the Tiefeng Sect still lacks some persuasiveness."

Qu Xun looked at Governor Bian Jingru, "If the investigation team wants to use Martial University's influence to delay the handling of the case, we can choose to give up on pulling the Tiefeng Sect in and close the case directly! Besides, Martial University is the Martial University of our Datong Prefecture, not something Shi Caiming can decide on his own."

"Hmm."

Governor Bian Jingru nodded and suddenly asked, "Don't you feel that since Zhang Shiwei was caught, the investigation team has been too quiet?"

Qu Xun was startled upon hearing this and recalled the movements of the investigation team over the past few days.

The investigation team had sent people to participate in the entire process of investigating Zhang Shiwei, but the whole time they were just bystanders, not expressing any opinions or jumping out to point fingers.

This had allowed the progress of the case in Datong Prefecture to proceed exceptionally smoothly.

It seemed the people from the investigation team really had just come to supervise the handling of the case in Datong Prefecture and wanted to find out the truth as soon as possible.

But neither Qu Xun nor Governor Bian Jingru believed the other party's purpose could be so simple.

Now that the content Zhang Shiwei had spoken of had almost all been verified, and the entire case had reached the point where it could be closed, the investigation team still hadn't made a move.

At first, Qu Xun felt this was because their side's actions were fast enough, and the witnesses and evidence left behind regarding what Zhang Shiwei said were clear and unambiguous, making it hard to overturn.

But now, with Governor Bian Jingru saying this, he also felt the investigation team was 'quiet' to an abnormal degree.

"What if Shangguan Xiao really isn't the true culprit?"

Governor Bian Jingru muttered.

He and Qu Xun didn't have any 'God's eye view'.

From the perspective of him, Qu Xun, and others, the collusion between Shangguan Xiao and Zhang Shiwei was very clear, and the evidence was sufficient, so the true culprit was almost certain.

Moreover, they are different from Li Fei; they completely believe that Shangguan Xiao could choose to murder her own father in order to obtain the Zhang family.

This kind of thing was not rare and fit their understanding perfectly.

Their hearts were black to begin with, so they could view others as equally black.

But what if Shangguan Xiao really had been framed by someone setting a trap?

This possibility surfaced in the minds of both men, and combined with the abnormal behavior of the investigation team, the two began to reason backward.

"My lord, could it be..."

Qu Xun's face suddenly became very ugly.

Governor Bian Jingru remained calm and said slowly:

"If this really is a trap, we are already riding a tiger and can't get off."

"Then we..."

"If I'm not mistaken, the true target should be coming to Datong Prefecture. Let's wait and see."

"In the seventh month of the ninth year of Hongguang, Jiao Zhijiang, the helmsman of the Datong Prefecture Zhige General Academy, shielded his nephew who had committed murder, and later, to silence the witness, sent people to wipe out a family of twenty-seven. This matter was exposed by Hao Yi, who personally escorted the only surviving witness back to Datong Prefecture. On the way, they were intercepted, and a total of three Dao Foundation martial artists and over a dozen Qi Transformation martial artists died at Hao Yi's hands. In the eighth month, Jiao Zhijiang, the helmsman of the Datong Prefecture Zhige General Academy, was imprisoned."

"In the ninth month of the ninth year of Hongguang, Hao Yi accused Dai An, the Deputy Chief Supervisor of the Datong Prefecture General Supervisory Academy, of abusing power for personal gain, shielding multiple imperial officials, and accepting large amounts of bribes. In the same month, Lu Yinjie, the 'Cloud-Splitting Hand' ranked fifth on the Feng Province Wind and Cloud List, publicly challenged Hao Yi to a duel. At this time, Hao Yi had just broken through to the Dao Foundation stage for less than four months."

"Hao Yi accepted the challenge, won the battle, and ascended the Feng Province Wind and Cloud List in one battle. In the eleventh month, Dai An, the Deputy Chief Supervisor of the Datong Prefecture General Supervisory Academy, was imprisoned."

"In the fifth month of the tenth year of Hongguang, Hao Yi accused a total of eleven officials, including Liu Zhong, the Chief Inspector of the Datong Prefecture General Inspection Academy, and Zhang Shoulin, the Deputy Chief Inspector, among whom were two seated officials and nine appointed officials."

"In the seventh month, Hao Yi was intercepted and killed by six Dao Foundation experts outside Datong Prefecture, among whom were three at rank 3, two at rank 4, and one at rank 5. In the end, Hao Yi killed four of them and scared off two. After this battle, Hao Yi topped the Feng Province Wind and Cloud List."

"In the ninth month, multiple officials from the Datong Prefecture General Inspection Academy were imprisoned, and Chief Inspector Liu Zhong retired early two months later..."

"In the fifth month of the eleventh year of Hongguang, Hao Yi was listed as a candidate on the Kyoto Wind and Cloud General List."

"In the same month, he publicly accused a group of officials, including Luo Pingjun, the Garrison Commander of Datong Prefecture..."

Inside the office, Li Fei looked at the glorious battle record of his teacher from back then.

Shangguan Xiao's description was not exaggerated in the slightest; Hao Yi really had offended almost every big shot he could back then!

It was truly difficult to find out who was most likely the mastermind behind this incident in a short time.

While Li Fei was browsing Hao Yi's battle record from back then, at the East City Gate of Datong Prefecture, a middle-aged man wearing a gray robe, with a serious expression and black leather gloves, passed through the gate.

After passing through the gate, he stopped and stood in place, looking at the city before him that had become very unfamiliar, his expression complex.

Thinking back to those years, he was the most dazzling existence in this city, the object of discussion in every household, the epitome of all romance!

And now, there were few people left in this city who still remembered him.

"You shouldn't have come."

A voice came from not far away.

An old monk wearing a yellow monk's robe walked toward this side.

Ever since Emperor Wencheng planned to destroy Buddhism and worship Dao over a hundred years ago, the status of Buddhism in the Great Lan Dynasty had plummeted.

The entire Datong Prefecture had only one temple, called 'Baoyun Temple'.

The old monk walking toward this side was the abbot of Baoyun Temple—Master Yunshen.

Master Yunshen hadn't left Baoyun Temple for a single step in many years; today, he broke the rule to go out to welcome his old friend from back then—Hao Yi.

"Then why did you come to welcome me?"

Hao Yi looked at Master Yunshen, a rare smile appearing on his face.

"I came to persuade you to turn back."

Master Yunshen walked to Hao Yi with a sorrowful face, put his hands together, and spoke.

"Being a monk is not interesting at all."

Hao Yi used his gloved hand to touch the other's bald head and joked.

Although Buddhism was not prominent in the Great Lan Dynasty and the incense at Baoyun Temple was not considered flourishing, for some believers, Master Yunshen was a true high monk, virtuous and respected.

It was hard to imagine that someone would dare to be so 'disrespectful' to him.

Master Yunshen was not angry, just sighed, the expression on his face becoming even more sorrowful:

"So many years have passed, many people have changed, only you are still the same as back then."

He knew he couldn't persuade this good friend, but he still came.

Just like Hao Yi knew he shouldn't have come, but still came.

Hao Yi restrained his smile, looked at the traffic on the road ahead, and said lightly:

"This city has also changed. I wonder if the peach forest at Baoyun Temple is still there?"

Master Yunshen nodded: "It's still there. I remember back then, it was in that peach forest that you defeated the 'Cloud-Splitting Hand' who was ranked fifth on the Feng Province Wind and Cloud List at the time, and ascended the Wind and Cloud List in one fell swoop."

Upon hearing this, a faint smile appeared on Hao Yi's face:

"That's quite good, at least the peach blossoms are still there. You wouldn't mind taking me to see them, would you?"

Master Yunshen turned around and made a gesture of invitation.

Since he couldn't persuade his good friend, he could at least accompany him to see the peach blossoms.

That year, today, in this city, the human face and peach blossoms reflected each other in red.

After many years, Hao Yi returned to Datong Prefecture city, and the first thing he did was go to Baoyun Temple to see the peach blossoms.

Begging for monthly votes.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 222 =====