Chapter 238: Grass snakes and gray lines, the pulse stretches for a thousand miles

Establish the thirteenth university!

This is what Lu Wenyao has been plotting all along.

The impact brought by a single university is too great—politics, economy, martial arts, comprehensive strength, and so on; this is an all-encompassing influence!

As the Inspector of Feng Province, Lu Wenyao is a true frontier official, a Level 17 official.

Rising one more level would reach the pinnacle of the Great Lan Dynasty's civil service system.

For such a figure to be constantly suppressed by Datong Fucheng within his own jurisdiction is something Lu Wenyao cannot endure.

Therefore, he and his family have been silently planning to establish a new university.

The Great Lan Dynasty has twenty-three provinces in total, yet only twelve universities; there aren't enough to go around for every province.

It is not that the Imperial Court does not want to build more universities, but the establishment of each one involves massive resource subsidies, and the Court cannot produce that many resources.

Therefore, the matter of establishing a thirteenth university is not something that can be achieved overnight.

Especially when Feng Province already has Wu'an University.

The turning point appeared a few years after the twelve universities were established, when a Cabinet Minister opined that the educational methods of the twelve universities were too "soft," and the students they cultivated lacked life-and-death trials, appearing like flowers carefully nurtured, with growth ceilings inferior to the great sects of the Jianghu.

But after all, the twelve universities had only been established for a short time, and everything still needed time to be tested, so the matter ultimately fizzled out.

Lu Wenyao, however, saw an opportunity in this, so he mobilized the power of the Lu family to begin operating in the shadows, using over a decade to slowly lay the groundwork.

It wasn't until last year that the situation ushered in a new change: the Central Cabinet issued a document requiring martial arts academies everywhere to change their monthly examination methods, allowing students to participate in actual combat. (See Chapter 39, Volume 1 for details)

The first actual combat Li Fei participated in while at the martial arts academy was the encirclement and suppression of the Anshen Sect.

This was actually an "experiment," starting with martial arts academies everywhere changing first to see the results, and then considering changing the educational methods of the twelve universities.

But the gap between martial arts academies and the twelve universities is truly too vast; those who enter martial arts academies are almost all from the lower-middle classes of society, along with some from the commoner class.

And those who can enter the twelve universities are almost all from the elite class of society.

Even if the students at martial arts academies suffer certain casualties, it is not a major event, but once students at the twelve universities suffer heavy casualties, that is very serious!

This is also the main reason why the educational methods of the twelve universities are difficult to change.

Whether it is the school arena or the issued credit tasks, the first principle is always safety first.

Even at the current stage, the credit tasks of various universities have deviated from their original intent, becoming a competition between factions.

For example, the top ten clubs at Wu University—whether credit tasks can be successfully completed depends mainly on whether the factions behind them can provide good help.

Such tasks, naturally, are difficult to truly train a student's personal ability.

However, wanting to change this model is simply not something that can be done in a single day.

Therefore, Lu Wenyao utilized this opportunity to provide a proposal to the Central Cabinet:

Why not establish a "pilot university"!

Changing all twelve universities at once is almost impossible and might even trigger large-scale turmoil.

If only a few are changed, it is also easy to trigger serious divisions.

Then it would be better to directly establish a brand-new university, painting directly on a "blank sheet of paper."

The Lu family has laid the groundwork for many years, constantly lobbying and winning over Cabinet Ministers in secret. After the martial arts academies everywhere completed their reforms and achieved obvious results, Lu Wenyao finally waited for the best opportunity.

His proposal was adopted by the Central Cabinet!

But there is a key problem: the change in the "pilot university" lies in the Zhige Department, in martial arts; it does not require complete alignment with the other twelve universities, but at least it must have a powerhouse capable of holding the fort.

The so-called powerhouse "capable of holding the fort" is a Grandmaster!

The top martial arts sects and martial arts families in the Jianghu all have at least one Grandmaster holding the fort; the universities established by the Imperial Court naturally cannot be lower than this "configuration."

Otherwise, it would lower the university's prestige and fail to serve the purpose of a pilot project.

Regarding this point, Lu Wenyao had already thought of it at the beginning of his layout, so his layout followed two lines.

One line was in the Central Cabinet, and the other line was with Xu Jing.

As for Xu Jing, he joined forces with the other party to help them break through their realm.

After the matter was accomplished, Xu Jing would not only serve as the principal of the new university himself, but would also bring a batch of people over from Wu University.

On the day Shangguan Xiao and the others were executed, Xu Jing took two professors, Wen Ke and Guan Haoxuan, along with over a dozen special-grade lecturers, to the execution ground.

These people, like Xu Jing, all submitted their resignation notices that day.

They would all go to the provincial capital with Xu Jing to take up positions at the future new university.

Besides this, the Qingshan Sword Sect, a great martial arts sect near the provincial capital, would have two Martial Arts Masters, a crowd of Dao Foundation stage powerhouses, and a large number of Qi-Refining Martial Artists become professors and lecturers at the university after its establishment!

The Central Cabinet would not directly announce who the "pilot university" would fall to, but Lu Wenyao had already prepared all the "resources" in advance and had cleared all the joints, allowing him to obtain the most support in the Cabinet.

Then the final result naturally goes without saying.

But now, a problem has appeared on Xu Jing's side.

"Come in."

Lu Wenyao put down the document in his hand and called out.

"My lord."

The secretary who had been waiting outside the door pushed it open and entered.

"Make arrangements; I want to meet with Xu Jing today."

Lu Wenyao said.

"Yes."

The secretary nodded and accepted.

That afternoon, Lu Wenyao rode in the "Red Qilin" and, escorted by a motorcade, arrived outside a private residence.

Subsequently, Lu Wenyao, protected by a group of guards, walked into this private residence and saw Xu Jing in a pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Xu Jing possesses the Cloud-Treading supernatural ability; he flew from Datong Fucheng to the provincial capital overnight and moved into this private residence specially arranged for him.

At this moment, he appeared to have no major issues; the eye blinded by Hao Yi, the ear cut off, the arm, etc., had all recovered as before.

"You all stay here."

Lu Wenyao instructed the group of guards, then walked alone onto a long corridor and entered the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

"Is Mr. Xu doing well?"

Lu Wenyao wiped the sweat from his forehead, found a stool to sit on, and asked.

Xu Jing looked at him expressionlessly: "Is Lord Lu here to see me make a fool of myself?"

Lu Wenyao revealed a smile, the fat on his face all piling up together:

"Mr. Xu, what are you saying? Am I not the person who most wants to see you succeed?"

Xu Jing turned his head to look at the lake surface: "Then I have disappointed Lord Lu."

He had been severely wounded by Hao Yi; although he had consumed the life force stored in the Black Water to recover from his injuries, that portion of power from the "Blade King" Gu Xianfeng was originally meant for breaking through his realm. Without this accumulation, it would be very difficult for him to break through.

After all, it would be very difficult for him to find a second Martial Arts Master whose Dao Foundation was compatible with his own to devour.

Added to that was his defeat by Hao Yi again, causing his state of mind to be clouded once more, further increasing the difficulty of breaking through.

"Hao Yi and Shangguan Xiao are already dead."

Lu Wenyao said with a smile.

"What did you say?!"

Xu Jing turned around abruptly, staring fixedly at Lu Wenyao.

"I had Master Qi Yiming specially perform a divination; he is certain that Hao Yi and Shangguan Xiao are no longer among the living. If one wanted to deceive his divination, unless a True Person proficient in this path took action, but it is impossible for Hao Yi to quietly know such a True Person without being detected."

Lu Wenyao said.

"Refining Life! So that day he used up all his remaining lifespan!"

Xu Jing's eyes became bright, and he said excitedly.

"No wonder that blade of his was so strong; it turns out he consumed decades of his lifespan!"

The gloom in Xu Jing's heart was swept away instantly.

He had guessed Hao Yi's method of breaking through, but he did not know that Hao Yi actually did not gain 60 years of added lifespan after breaking through.

Therefore, he mistakenly thought that Hao Yi's final blade had refined all 60-plus years of his lifespan!

Losing to such a blade, Xu Jing could fully accept it.

He did not understand the Object-Refining supernatural ability; having not fought for over thirty years, he also did not know to what stage Hao Yi had reached in his blade path.

So this was a very mistaken cognition, but Xu Jing felt that this was the truth.

Hao Yi had exhausted his life but still failed to kill him, and in the end, he could be considered to have died by his own hand.

A smile appeared on Xu Jing's face.

The winner is king and the loser is the bandit; in this struggle between the two, he had won in the end.

Seeing Xu Jing regain his confidence and the problem with his state of mind resolved, Lu Wenyao's smile grew even wider:

"Since Hao Yi is dead, Mr. Xu, how much certainty do you have in breaking through now?"

Xu Jing regained his composure: "The power I devoured from Gu Xianfeng has all been exhausted. Lacking accumulation, if I force a breakthrough now, I have less than one-tenth certainty."

Lu Wenyao nodded, not surprised by this:

"Then if Mr. Xu could devour a Green-Water Cloud-Sky Beast, how much certainty would you have in breaking through?"

"Green-Water Cloud-Sky Beast?!"

Xu Jing lost his composure for the second time today.

This is a Grade 7 superior exotic beast of the water attribute!

Exotic beasts of the top three grades are rare in the world, and the combat power of a single Grade 7 superior exotic beast exceeds that of the vast majority of Martial Arts Masters.

Most importantly, the Green-Water Cloud-Sky Beast also possesses the Water-Control supernatural ability; if Xu Jing could use the Black Water supernatural ability to devour it, the power obtained would be perfectly compatible with his own!

"Lord Lu can obtain a Green-Water Cloud-Sky Beast?"

Xu Jing looked at Lu Wenyao in surprise, "As far as I know, the only Green-Water Cloud-Sky Beast in this world is the guardian beast of the Daluo Sect."

The Daluo Sect is a Daoist holy land, a top-tier Jianghu faction in the world, not only having a Martial Saint holding the fort, but also a Daoist True Person holding the fort.

Xu Jing did not believe the Lu family could obtain someone else's guardian beast.

Even the current Son of Heaven might not be able to do it!

Lu Wenyao's smile remained unchanged: "I naturally cannot obtain the one from the Daluo Sect, but I can cultivate one myself. Over so many years, heaven rewards the diligent; I successfully cultivated a Grade 6 superior Green-Water Cloud-Patterned Beast to Grade 7."

The Green-Water Cloud-Patterned Beast is a middle-three-grade exotic beast, only a line away from the top three grades, and is also rare in number.

The difficulty of obtaining a Green-Water Cloud-Patterned Beast is already not small, and to secretly cultivate it into a Grade 7 exotic beast—this kind of capability...

Looking at the smiling Lu Wenyao, Xu Jing felt trepidation toward an ordinary person who had never practiced martial arts for the first time!

"This Green-Water Cloud-Sky Beast is certainly not as good as the one from the Daluo Sect, but it is also a Grade 7 exotic beast. With it, Mr. Xu, how much certainty do you have?"

Lu Wenyao asked.

His style of doing things has always been to strive for absolute certainty, so every plan would have many backup plans prepared, just in case.

In order to establish this pilot university, the Lu family spent over a decade laying the groundwork; how could Lu Wenyao not prepare a backup plan?

Over a decade ago, he began secretly cultivating the Green-Water Cloud-Sky Beast.

Now, this backup plan was being used.

"If it is truly Grade 7, then I have at least seven-tenths certainty that I can break through!"

After pondering for a moment, Xu Jing said to Lu Wenyao.

"That is good."

Lu Wenyao nodded with a smile.

May 25th.

In the dormitory, Li Fei slowly opened his eyes.

Just a moment ago, his 【Phantom Leaf】 broke through to the late stage of Body-Breaking.

After the 【Steel Armor】 implant entered the Dao Foundation stage and all its branches were gathered into the dantian, the interference it caused to 【Phantom Leaf】 was reduced to the minimum.

The growth speed of 【Phantom Leaf】 subsequently accelerated, and it finally broke through today, reaching the late stage of Body-Breaking.

Upon reaching the late stage of Body-Breaking, Li Fei could personally cast techniques to replenish energy for the Dream-Returning Order, no longer needing to rely on Zhao Yi.

Moreover, with this breakthrough, Li Fei felt that his power of intent had also increased somewhat.

After practicing the "Red-Sound Fire Jin Gang Method," Li Fei discovered that the core of "Dao Strength" is actually the power of intent.

Therefore, the increase in the power of intent helps him unleash the ultimate techniques of the "Red-Sound Fire Jin Gang Method."

Besides this, the "damage" brought by the 【Phantom Leaf】 breakthrough also allowed the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl to absorb enough energy required for an upgrade.

In the battle a few days ago, Li Fei was attacked by Xu Jing's supernatural abilities many times; the damage caused by the supernatural abilities provided the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl with very high-quality energy, making its progress rise very quickly, only a tiny bit away from upgrading.

Now, another upgrade:

【Level: 16, 1%

Blood Souls: 310

Blood Soul Techniques: Blood Rage, Blood Sha, Blood Might, Blood Spring (Strong)

Transformation Technique: Blood Demon】

This upgrade increased the Blood Souls by 30 at once.

Like the last upgrade, there were no new Blood Soul Techniques, but rather an opportunity to strengthen a Blood Soul Technique.

Li Fei had already strengthened 【Blood Spring】 before, so 【Blood Spring】 could not be strengthened again this time.

He could choose one from 【Blood Rage】, 【Blood Sha】, and 【Blood Might】 to strengthen:

After strengthening Blood Rage, the duration will increase from one minute to three minutes.

After strengthening Blood Sha, the existence time of the Sha Qi will be significantly extended.

After strengthening Blood Might, the group attack effect will be increased.

Li Fei pondered for a moment and decided to choose to strengthen 【Blood Rage】 this time.

After entering the "Blood Demon State," the limit his body can withstand is 【Blood Rage】 unleashed by 20 Blood Souls.

That is to say, he consumes 20 Blood Souls per minute!

When his body strength further increases in the future, the number of Blood Souls consumed per minute will be even higher.

Strengthening 【Blood Rage】, extending one minute to three minutes, can allow Li Fei to save a large amount of Blood Souls in battle.

After completing the strengthening, 【Blood Rage】 also became: 【Blood Rage】 (Strong) in the "information" given by the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl.

Li Fei had not gone anywhere these past few days, staying honestly inside Wu University.

Because the Blood Souls consumed in the last battle had not yet recovered, even if he wanted to do something, he had to wait until he recovered to his peak.

Now it was fine; once the Ten Thousand Blood Pearl upgraded, his state reached a new peak directly!

Picking up the Ghost-Slaying Blade placed on the table, Li Fei walked out of the room.

PS: Preparing to enter the final climax of this volume immediately; I'll organize it, only one update today.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 239 =====