Chapter 231: Exploring the State of Mind, the Heart of Slaughter (Long Chapter)

"Hello, Professor Ding."

At 9: 0 AM, Li Fei walked into the classroom and bowed to a middle-aged man.

The man was named Ding Bo, the same person who had gone to the arena with Wen Ke to watch Li Fei's match, and also a professor in the Martial Arts University's Department of Stopping Conflict.

Ding Bo had already launched two courses at the Martial Arts University: "Spiral Strangulation" and "Detailed Explanation of Force Manifestation."

Among them, "Spiral Strangulation" was a martial technique he had created himself, driven by innate Qi and applicable to various types of innate Qi; it was a high-level martial technique that martial artists at the early stage of Qi Transformation could cultivate.

As for force manifestation, it was a high-end operation that could only be touched upon in the late stage of Qi Transformation, and it was likewise a profound technique.

Now, he had launched another course, "Practical Analysis of Innate Qi," which was intended to teach martial artists how to utilize innate Qi in actual combat.

"Hmm."

Ding Bo nodded at Li Fei, "Find a seat yourself."

At this moment, there were already over twenty people sitting in the classroom.

There were quite a few martial artist-level students whose total credits had reached 120, and none of these students wanted to miss a course taught by a Dao Foundation powerhouse.

Upon seeing Li Fei, these students' expressions were complex.

Some smiled in greeting, some were expressionless, and some showed signs of jealousy.

Li Fei found an empty seat in the back row and sat down, waiting quietly for the class to begin.

"Alright, time is up."

Two minutes later, Ding Bo glanced at the pocket watch in his hand and said, "Those who haven't arrived don't need to attend class."

This professor hated it when people were late; if anyone was late, they didn't need to attend that session.

"Can any of you tell me what the essence of innate Qi is?"

As soon as the class started, Ding Bo posed a massive question.

"..."

The students present were all silent.

"Li Fei, you answer!"

Unexpectedly, Ding Bo called Li Fei out directly.

Among the students present, he only knew Li Fei's name.

Li Fei stood up with a calm expression:

"Innate Qi is a type of energy that erupts when the human body and an implant fuse together."

"And what about force?"

Ding Bo was noncommittal and continued to ask.

Li Fei: "Force is a higher-level energy than innate Qi."

"Then why is force higher-level than innate Qi?"

Ding Bo looked at Li Fei.

Li Fei replied without hesitation: "Because force is more condensed; if innate Qi is iron, then force is steel."

"Hmm."

Ding Bo nodded, signaling for Li Fei to sit down:

"A good metaphor. Innate Qi is iron, and force is steel—tempered into steel through a hundred refinements!"

He looked at the students present:

"You all know that to refine force, you must first pass the heart barrier and comprehend the corresponding state of mind to be tempered into steel. This course I'm teaching won't tell you how to comprehend a state of mind, but I will teach you how to forge your 'iron'! Even if you can't refine it into 'steel' in the end, it will at least be stronger and harder than everyone else's 'iron'!"

Hearing this, the students present all showed expressions of anticipation.

They were all martial artists stuck at the early stage of Qi Transformation; if they couldn't break through their heart barrier and comprehend a state of mind for a long time to come, they would have to find another way to enhance their combat power.

In this world, there were some martial artists who could defeat force-refining martial artists across realms; for example, Ding Bo, who was teaching them, had defeated force-refining martial artists multiple times when he was still a martial artist himself!

For the rest of the time, Ding Bo didn't waste words and began to explain various practical combat techniques for using innate Qi—it was all solid, useful information!

During the explanation, Ding Bo would occasionally call Li Fei up to demonstrate, pointing out how to use Geng Metal True Qi on the spot for the other students to observe.

As a result, Li Fei naturally gained the most from the session.

Regarding this, although the other students were envious and jealous, they couldn't say anything.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the three professors launching new courses simultaneously were doing so specifically for Li Fei, so everyone present actually had to thank Li Fei.

Without him, these people wouldn't even have had the chance to attend this new course taught by Ding Bo.

After the one-hour class ended, Li Fei bowed to Ding Bo to thank him.

"If you have anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me at any time."

Ding Bo patted Li Fei on the shoulder and said this.

This scene once again made the surrounding students green with envy.

A Dao Foundation powerhouse—was that someone you could just ask for advice whenever you wanted?

Even at the Martial Arts University, many professors were only responsible for teaching and not for answering questions. Students who didn't understand could only figure it out themselves.

"Many thanks, Professor Ding."

Li Fei bowed again and then walked out of the classroom.

Next, he had to rush to the next class—

"Hello, Professor Wei."

Li Fei greeted a man who looked to be about fifty years old.

The other party's full name was Wei Zhiquan, also a professor, and the course he was teaching was called "Detailed Explanation of True Qi."

The innate Qi that Professor Wei Zhiquan had refined was Yi Wood True Qi; although it wasn't the same lineage as Li Fei's, he could still offer Li Fei a lot of guidance regarding the various characteristics of True Qi.

"Find a seat yourself."

Professor Wei Zhiquan nodded indifferently and said to Li Fei.

This time, there were very few people sitting in the classroom; including Li Fei, there were only three, one of whom was Wang Fengqing.

"Junior Li, we meet again."

Wang Fengqing greeted Li Fei.

Li Fei nodded: "Hello, Senior Sister."

He hadn't expected that Wang Fengqing, who was already at the Dao Foundation stage, would still need to come and learn a course on True Qi. It seemed the content Professor Wei Zhiquan taught was definitely extraordinary!

At this time, another male student not far away also took the initiative to greet Li Fei:

"Hello, Junior Li, my name is Cao Yiqing."

"Hello, Senior Cao."

Li Fei responded politely.

He had seen the name Cao Yiqing before—at the top of the arena's martial artist combat power rankings!

"I hope to have the chance to spar with you in the arena in the future, Junior."

Cao Yiqing said to Li Fei with a smile.

Li Fei also smiled: "Certainly."

"Alright, let's begin class."

Wei Zhiquan suddenly spoke up.

So the three of them quieted down and looked at him together.

"The characteristic of True Qi is purity."

Unlike Ding Bo, Wei Zhiquan didn't ask questions and went straight to the point:

"It can bring the inherent characteristics of the ten Heavenly Stem attributes of innate Qi to the extreme. For example, Yi Wood True Qi is the ultimate vitality, Ren Water True Qi is the ultimate vastness, Bing Fire True Qi is the ultimate masculine strength, Geng Metal True Qi is the ultimate sharpness, and so on.

Besides this characteristic, True Qi is also the innate Qi most compatible with other implants, because True Qi is pure and free of any impurities, making it less likely to conflict with other implants."

Hearing this last point, Li Fei finally understood why Wang Fengqing, a Dao Foundation powerhouse, still had to come to attend the lecture.

Presumably, she wanted to learn how to utilize the characteristics of True Qi to accommodate other implants, thereby laying a good foundation for her subsequent cultivation.

In the time that followed, Wei Zhiquan specifically explained some methods for using True Qi, and then he stopped and looked at the three students attending the class:

"If you have any questions, you may ask them now."

Unlike Ding Bo, who lectured from beginning to end, Wei Zhiquan liked to let students discover problems themselves and ask questions, which he would then answer.

"Professor Wei, I have a question."

Cao Yiqing spoke up first, "When I use Bing Fire True Qi to execute some moves, I often feel it doesn't flow smoothly. Is it because 'excessive rigidity leads to breakage'?"

Wei Zhiquan looked at him: "Demonstrate your moves."

So Cao Yiqing stood up and began to demonstrate his moves...

After Wei Zhiquan finished answering Cao Yiqing's doubts, Wang Fengqing stood up to ask a question; as expected, she asked about the coordination between True Qi and other implants.

Finally, it was Li Fei's turn to ask. He thought for a moment and asked:

"Professor Wei, the characteristic of True Qi is purity. Is it possible to keep it pure while allowing True Qi to integrate with other energies?"

Wang Fengqing and Cao Yiqing were both somewhat surprised to hear this question.

Because this kind of question should be something for a Dao Foundation powerhouse to consider, and it would also require having already incorporated a second implant and cultivated it to the Qi Transformation stage, possessing a second type of innate Qi.

Even Wang Fengqing didn't need to face such a problem for the time being.

Wei Zhiquan looked at Li Fei and said:

"If you want to allow True Qi to integrate with other energies while maintaining its own purity, the only way is if the energy being integrated is also True Qi."

Li Fei was lost in thought.

The reason he asked this question was that he wanted to know if it was possible to completely fuse the Blood Fiend Qi with the Geng Metal True Qi, rather than just "assembling" them together as he was doing now.

Next, Wei Zhiquan explained in detail some points to note regarding the fusion of the two types of true Qi, which Li Fei found very rewarding.

In the end, this class was spent in questions and answers.

After class, Li Fei returned to his dormitory to record his insights from the morning's two sessions in his notebook.

Afterward, he went to the cafeteria for lunch and walked into another classroom promptly at 2: 0 PM.

Professor Wen Ke was already waiting inside.

This class was the professor's newly opened "Exploration of the Geng Metal Mindset," which was the one Li Fei was most looking forward to among the three courses, as it related to how he should break through his realm next.

"Professor Wen."

Li Fei bowed to Wen Ke.

"Go find a seat."

Wen Ke was still wearing black-rimmed glasses and spoke in a gentle tone.

People walked into the classroom one after another, and by the time class started, there were over a dozen people sitting inside.

These people were all Martial Masters who cultivated the Geng Metal innate Qi and were stuck at the mindset barrier, unable to break through for a long time.

"Class begins."

Seeing that it was time for class, Wen Ke began her lecture:

"Geng Metal governs killing and warfare, so the requirement for the Geng Metal force regarding one's mindset is to comprehend the heart of slaughter. I opened this course to help everyone comprehend the heart of slaughter."

Everyone present had strange expressions upon hearing this.

Wen Ke's temperament was too gentle; for someone so gentle to say she wanted to help everyone comprehend the heart of slaughter in such a mild tone really created a strong sense of contrast.

"Since ancient times, it has been recognized that the battlefield is the easiest place to comprehend the heart of slaughter. In the history of our Great Lan Dynasty, several famous generals comprehended the heart of slaughter on the battlefield."

Wen Ke did not mind the expressions of the crowd and continued:

"So, has everyone thought about why it is easy to comprehend the heart of slaughter on the battlefield?"

Because Wen Ke's temperament was very mild, unlike other Dao Foundation realm professors who were so imposing, the students were more lively in her class.

As soon as she asked the question, someone below answered immediately:

"Because killing on the battlefield is killing the enemy for the country, so there is no guilt."

"Because the more you kill on the battlefield, the more glorious it is!"

"Because the battlefield has the strongest atmosphere of slaughter."

"."

The crowd spoke all at once.

After everyone had finished answering, Wen Ke smiled and shook her head:

"What everyone said has some truth, but it is not the most critical reason. It is easy to comprehend the heart of slaughter on the battlefield because that is where the most people are killed."

"."

This answer left everyone stunned.

No one expected it to be because of this.

"Professor Wen, does that mean to comprehend the heart of slaughter, one must kill many, many people?"

Someone asked.

Wen Ke still shook her head:

"Killing many people does not necessarily lead to comprehending the heart of slaughter; it is also possible to become a murderous demon. The key to the heart of slaughter lies in clearly knowing why one is killing at any given time. Whether killing one person or a million, it does not affect one's mindset; this is the heart of slaughter."

Hearing this, Li Fei frowned slightly.

He considered his own will to be firm; if he only killed those who deserved to be killed, he would not be shaken at all.

But if he killed many people, becoming a thousand, ten thousand, or even a million, he felt he could not remain completely unshaken.

"Let me share a story with you all."

Wen Ke recounted it to the crowd in her gentle tone:

"You should all have heard of the famous general Ao Yun from our dynasty's history, right?"

Ao Yun was a military strategist who could be ranked in the top ten of Great Lan Dynasty history, and he was also a notorious god of slaughter.

He was the general with the highest record of city massacres and the largest number of surrendered soldiers buried alive in the history of the Great Lan Dynasty.

The number of people who died directly or indirectly at the hands of Ao Yun reached one million!

"The 'Records of Great Lan' contains a small story about Ao Yun in its list of famous generals. In the seventh year of Jiaxu, the Northern Desert Kingdom invaded the borders. Ao Yun led troops to quell the chaos, and in less than a month, he defeated the invading Northern Desert army and captured over twenty thousand surrendered soldiers.

Regarding whether to kill these twenty thousand people, a fierce debate broke out in the army. Ao Yun was annoyed by the noise, so he took a few attendants to a nearby mountain to relax. On the way, Ao Yun met a mountain dweller who had entered the mountain to cut firewood. He stopped the mountain dweller and asked: 'All grass and trees in the world have vitality and are a form of life. You enter the mountain every day to cut wood for firewood; do you not feel it is unbearable?'

The mountain dweller asked Ao Yun in return: 'If I do not cut wood, how can I live?'

Ao Yun laughed loudly after hearing this, then returned to the army with his attendants and immediately ordered all twenty thousand surrendered soldiers to be executed! Afterward, when someone asked him why he did so, he said: 'The mountain dweller cuts wood to live; we kill people for the same reason, there is no difference.'"

Wen Ke finished the story and looked at the students present:

"What are your thoughts on this story?"

A student immediately raised their hand: "Professor Wen, do you mean that the heart of slaughter is to treat killing as if it were cutting wood? But the mountain dweller cuts wood because he has no choice, whereas General Ao Yun had a choice. Surely there is a difference between the two?"

Wen Ke smiled slightly, and for the first time, she looked at Li Fei: "Student Li Fei, what do you think?"

Everyone present focused their gaze on Li Fei.

Li Fei said calmly:

"In the seventh year of Jiaxu, there was a great drought in the world. There was a famine on the eastern grasslands, and people were constantly dying in both the northern and southern desert kingdoms. There was not enough food in their countries, so they had no choice but to lead troops to invade the Great Lan Dynasty. They brought tens of thousands of young and strong men into the Great Lan Dynasty, firstly to plunder enough food, and secondly to consume their own population. In other words, if they could not plunder enough food, then if a portion of those tens of thousands died on the battlefield, they would have a chance to survive this famine.

So even if General Ao Yun had not killed those twenty thousand surrendered soldiers at the time and had let them go, these people would not have survived, and they might have been sent to attack the Great Lan Dynasty again. As for supporting these people, the Great Lan Dynasty did not have enough food for its own people at the time; there was no reason to use its own citizens' rations to feed the people of an enemy country."

When he first arrived in this world, the book he liked to read most was the "Records of Great Lan." He had seen this story about Ao Yun in the book and had an impression of it, which is why he was able to answer now.

"This..."

The other students were rendered speechless upon hearing Li Fei's words.

Wen Ke looked at Li Fei with appreciation and nodded with a smile:

"Student Li Fei is correct, so in fact, General Ao Yun had no other choice at the time; killing those twenty thousand surrendered soldiers was the only way out.

I told you this story to have you learn from General Ao Yun's thinking, but not to have you treat killing as cutting wood. Rather, I want you to remember that killing is not the most important thing; the most important thing is to understand why you are killing.

If one day you can always grasp your original intention and see through the essence of slaughter, even if you do not kill a single person, you can still comprehend the heart of slaughter."

The students present were all thoughtful and moved.

Li Fei looked at Wen Ke and suddenly spoke:

"Professor Wen, I would like to know if there are any auxiliary means to help us comprehend the heart of slaughter?"

He did not believe that a professor would open a course just to tell stories.

"Naturally, there are."

Wen Ke nodded.

As she spoke, she took a medicine bottle out of the drawer:

"What is in this bottle is the Life-Killing Pill, a type of elixir that can stimulate a person's anger and murderous nature. It is usually given to new recruits who are going to the battlefield for the first time. However, this drug causes significant damage to the human body; even with your Martial Master physiques, you cannot use it frequently."

"Professor Wen."

A student looked at the bottle of Life-Killing Pills, "Do you mean for us to take this Life-Killing Pill and then try hard to get rid of the drug's influence, thereby comprehending the heart of slaughter?"

Wen Ke shook her head: "Of course not just that. I also have a transcendent ability that can stimulate a person's heart of slaughter. This transcendent ability, combined with the medicine, will allow you to be completely lost in the desire for slaughter. What you need to do next is to try your best to stay awake in this state.

When you can fight me while remaining clear-headed, you will have passed the assessment for this course."

"This..."

This assessment method sounded very difficult, as it was a transcendent ability personally cast by a Dao Foundation realm powerhouse, coupled with the influence of the medicine.

"Everyone, follow me."

Wen Ke picked up the medicine bottle on the table and turned to walk out of the classroom.

Next, Li Fei and the dozen or so students walked out of the classroom together and followed Wen Ke to a playground.

"Everyone take two Life-Killing Pills each."

Wen Ke handed the medicine bottle in her hand to the students and said.

Thus, everyone passed the bottle to each other, and each took two small red pills.

On the way here, Li Fei had already dispersed all the True Blood Force he had built up in his body, and all the stored Blood Fiend Qi had also been dispersed.

Because he was worried that he might lose his mind later, and if he used these trump cards while fighting, it would be hard to explain.

When taking the medicine, he cut off his connection with the Myriad Blood Bead in advance.

This way, he did not have to worry about using Blood Soul techniques later.

"Go and choose the weapons you are good at."

After everyone had taken the Life-Killing Pills, Wen Ke pointed to the weapon rack not far away and said.

Li Fei walked over and chose a steel saber that felt comfortable in his hand.

At this time, he already felt his body starting to become hot, and the 【Steel Armor】 implant in his body was becoming increasingly restless; he felt very irritable and wanted to vent.

He turned to look at the others and found that some students were in a more serious condition, already starting to pant heavily, their eyes turning blood-red.

"Come over here."

At this moment, Wen Ke, not far away, spoke.

Li Fei turned his head to look and saw that she had somehow already taken off the black-rimmed glasses she had been wearing.

In fact, Li Fei had been a bit curious before; a Dao Foundation powerhouse surely wouldn't have vision problems, so why wear glasses?

Could it be to look better?

Seeing Wen Ke take off her glasses now, he understood a little.

With the black-rimmed glasses on, Wen Ke looked gentle and was a very mild person.

But after taking off her glasses, her entire temperament changed instantly!

Cold, filled with killing intent, especially those eyes—

Too sharp!

Meeting her gaze felt as if one were being sliced by blades!

"Professor Wen."

Such a transformation left the students present completely stunned, a chill rising involuntarily in their hearts.

Wen Ke raised her hand and beckoned to the crowd with her fingers:

"You all, come at me together."

This gesture was originally somewhat ambiguous, but as Wen Ke performed it, it was as if something had been detonated within everyone's hearts!

Boom—

The flames deep within their hearts gushed forth; over a dozen students, their eyes blood-red, roared as they charged toward Wen Ke to kill!

To fight over a dozen Martial Masters simultaneously without truly harming anyone would be considered tricky even for an ordinary Dao Foundation realm expert.

However, Wen Ke was no ordinary Dao Foundation realm expert.

Bang!

With a mere wave of Wen Ke's hand, the student who had charged the fastest flew backward, the steel blade in their hand snapping into two pieces.

Next, one student after another launched attacks at Wen Ke in the most frenzied manner; they had no coordination and had forgotten all the profound martial arts they had learned, simply hurling their most powerful strength at Wen Ke in the most violent way possible!

Wen Ke's response was equally simple, replying in the same brutal fashion; every punch and kick contained immense power, blasting all the charging students away!

Li Fei was the relatively calmest among these people; although he was also extremely agitated, he had not completely lost his reason.

His own personality was sufficiently restrained and cautious, and since he had broken through to the Qi Transformation realm by way of "breaking the heart barrier," his mental strength was powerful enough that even without using the Ten Thousand Blood Bead, he suppressed the influence brought about by the drugs and supernatural abilities.

"Hmm?"

Wen Ke's gaze, cold and sharp as a knife, suddenly landed on Li Fei, who was still standing in the back.

"What, are you afraid to make a move?"

Her tone also became filled with killing intent.

This simple sentence entered Li Fei's ears, and it was as if an invisible force surged into his body, causing the volcano he had been suppressing deep within his heart to erupt completely!

"Kill—"

Li Fei's eyes were blood-red as he unleashed his Geng Metal True Qi with full force, a dark golden blade radiance of extreme sharpness slashing toward Wen Ke.

The corners of Wen Ke's mouth curled up, but this smile contained a bone-chilling killing intent.

She stepped forward and raised her hand to meet the incoming dark golden blade radiance.

Her palm was also wrapped in dark golden light; it quickly collided with the blade radiance Li Fei had slashed out, instantly crushing it, and then she struck Li Fei with her palm.

PS: This chapter is a two-in-one.

(End of this chapter)