Chapter 239: Using Oneself as Bait, Iron Blade Gate

After receiving the mission from the General Inspectorate, Li Fei did not act immediately.

For the next few days, he kept everything as usual.

By the end of the month, he remained first on both the Academic Credit Ranking and the Martial Master Combat Power Ranking.

First place on the Martial Master Combat Power Ranking earns a reward of 40 academic credits each month.

First place on the Academic Credit Ranking earns a scholarship of 1, 00 yuan per month, as well as elixirs required for martial arts cultivation.

The elixirs for martial arts cultivation can be chosen by the individual; Li Fei did not currently need any for himself, so he selected some that were difficult to buy outside, keeping a portion for Li Tianyu to use and sending the rest back to Xingcheng for the people at the Qingyuan Property Management Company.

Once February arrived, Li Fei selected courses from three special lecturers.

The courses offered by these three special lecturers were all aimed at Martial Masters: one taught blade techniques, one taught movement techniques, and one taught grappling and wrestling.

The special lecturer who taught grappling and wrestling was Li Fei's target—Chen Xiang.

This was the person the General Inspectorate suspected of having ties to spies from the Meijia Kingdom.

Li Fei did not suddenly rush to take Chen Xiang's class to avoid alerting the other party; he chose the courses of three special lecturers at the same time so it would not seem so abrupt.

February 3rd.

Li Fei arrived in front of a huge sand pit; this was the location where Chen Xiang held his class.

There were over twenty students in the sand pit, and these people were somewhat surprised to see Li Fei.

"Junior Brother Li, I didn't expect you to come to Teacher Chen's class too."

Someone took the initiative to greet Li Fei; this was a student who had sparred with Li Fei in the arena previously.

"That's right, I have to learn some unarmed combat skills, otherwise what will I do if I lose my weapon in the future?"

As Li Fei spoke, he took off his shoes and walked barefoot into the sand pit.

Because it was for teaching grappling and wrestling, the ground here was specially made into a sand pit so that it would be harder to get injured during practice.

A moment later, a muscular man with dark skin, a tall build, and wearing a white tank top walked into the sand pit.

He gave off the feeling of a piece of tempered black steel; his aura was tough and fierce!

This person was Chen Xiang.

Chen Xiang noticed Li Fei in the crowd at first glance and was somewhat surprised.

Then, he calmly said in a deep voice to the students present:

"Class begins!"

Chen Xiang's teaching method was very simple: he had the students spar one-on-one, using only grappling and wrestling techniques, while he provided guidance from the side.

"Since it's your first time in my class, spar with me today."

Chen Xiang approached Li Fei first and spoke.

"Please guide me, Teacher Chen."

Li Fei bowed to Chen Xiang.

"Attack as you wish; I want to see the techniques you have mastered first."

Chen Xiang opened his arms to signal Li Fei.

Li Fei did not stand on ceremony and stepped forward, rushing toward Chen Xiang.

The "Blue Hand" also contained elements of grappling and wrestling, which Li Fei had practiced during middle school, so he naturally knew the techniques, though he could not be called an expert.

He rushed in front of Chen Xiang and grabbed at the other party with both hands.

Chen Xiang stood where he was without moving, letting Li Fei grab his arms.

When Li Fei began to exert force and used his foot to trip Chen Xiang, Chen Xiang swung his waist and hips; without any visible movement, he easily disrupted Li Fei's exertion of force.

Afterward, Chen Xiang raised his hands to grab Li Fei's arms; his hands were large, like two giant iron clamps, locking Li Fei's arms firmly.

The next second, a surge of innate Qi poured out from his palms, like an electric shock, instantly flowing through Li Fei's entire body.

This was the first time Li Fei had encountered this use of innate Qi; he felt his whole body go numb, and then he was thrown out by Chen Xiang.

He quickly stood up from the sand pit and rushed toward Chen Xiang again.

Over the next few exchanges, Li Fei was easily thrown out by Chen Xiang every time.

Chen Xiang did not use any overwhelming power; from beginning to end, he never exceeded the level of a Martial Master.

"It seems you really need to practice properly."

Chen Xiang stopped attacking and said to Li Fei.

Afterward, he began to instruct Li Fei on grappling and wrestling techniques, including the application of innate Qi.

"Your Tyrant Body can resist various abnormal states, which actually makes it very suitable for practicing grappling and wrestling. Advanced techniques all use innate Qi or force to restrict the opponent's body; you can use your Tyrant Body to forcibly withstand it and then counterattack."

Chen Xiang said this to Li Fei after instructing him for over twenty minutes.

Hao Yi had said similar things to Li Fei before, telling him that he should practice grappling and wrestling when he had time in the future.

"This student understands."

Li Fei bowed to Chen Xiang.

"You two spar."

Chen Xiang called over a student to spar with Li Fei, while he went to instruct other students.

In the days that followed, Li Fei attended three of Chen Xiang's classes every week, and over two weeks passed just like that.

During this period, Chen Xiang did not have any unusual behavior; he just earnestly taught Li Fei various techniques, and Li Fei learned them earnestly, his attitude toward Chen Xiang being no different from his attitude toward other lecturers.

February 17th, afternoon.

Li Fei finished today's lesson in the sand pit.

"Li Fei."

As Li Fei intended to leave, Chen Xiang suddenly called him back, "Stay for a moment."

"Alright."

Li Fei nodded and stopped where he was.

After all the students in the class had left, Chen Xiang walked in front of Li Fei and said in a deep voice:

"Have you heard of the Gladiator Martial Arts Hall?"

Li Fei shook his head.

"It is a martial arts hall that specializes in teaching grappling and wrestling, and it is quite famous within Datong Prefecture."

Chen Xiang looked at Li Fei, "The owner of the Gladiator Martial Arts Hall is a good friend of mine, and they are having an internal competition in two days; I would like to recommend you to participate."

"Recommend me to participate?"

Li Fei showed a look of surprise.

Chen Xiang nodded: "Our Martial University students are, of course, higher in strength and realm than those in outside martial arts halls, but if we only talk about grappling and wrestling, the level of some elite students at the Gladiator Martial Arts Hall is actually quite good. If you can spar with these elite students, it will be very helpful to you."

Li Fei looked at Chen Xiang: "Why does Teacher Chen want to recommend me?"

Chen Xiang smiled: "Because your aptitude is high enough that it is worth our effort to cultivate you more carefully."

Li Fei bowed to Chen Xiang: "Many thanks, Teacher Chen; I am willing to participate in this competition."

Chen Xiang nodded: "Good, at 1: 0 PM two days from now, I will wait for you at the school's East Gate."

"Alright."

Li Fei nodded in agreement.

Afterward, he bid farewell to Chen Xiang and returned to his dormitory.

Just after returning to his dormitory, he picked up the phone and called Lu Mengyang.

The call was connected quickly:

"Hello, who is this?"

"It's me, Li Fei."

"Lord Li, do you have any instructions?"

Lu Mengyang's voice immediately became enthusiastic.

"Immediately convey to Lord Xia for me that Chen Xiang has invited me to participate in an internal competition at the Gladiator Martial Arts Hall in two days."

Li Fei said.

"Understood, this subordinate understands; I will convey it for you right away."

After hanging up the phone, Li Fei sat in his seat and waited quietly.

Currently, there was no evidence to prove that Chen Xiang was connected to the Meijia Kingdom spies, and the other party's invitation today also seemed very normal.

But one must always be on guard; Li Fei naturally had to notify the General Inspectorate so they could be prepared.

A few minutes later, the phone rang.

Li Fei answered the phone; it was Lu Mengyang calling.

". lright."

". understand."

"Then that is all."

Hanging up the phone, Li Fei pondered for a moment in his seat before standing up and walking out of the room.

Two days later.

At 1: 0 PM, Li Fei appeared at the Martial University's East Gate on time.

Chen Xiang was waiting there in advance; upon seeing Li Fei, he nodded and said concisely:

"Let's go."

Afterward, the two left the campus and took the tram to the Wuyi District.

Datong Prefecture has a total of twelve districts; the Wuyi District is in the east of the city, a distance away from the city center, but it is also very prosperous.

After getting off the tram and walking along the street, Li Fei could see a martial arts gym every now and then.

Martial arts gym culture is a characteristic of Datong Fucheng.

Wuan University is, of course, the highest "mountain" in Datong Prefecture and even the entire Feng Province; besides this high mountain, Feng Province also has several formidable pugilistic sects.

Within the borders of Datong Prefecture, there is the Iron Blade Sect, which is the "peak" second only to Wuan University!

The Iron Blade Sect's headquarters is outside Datong Fucheng, but it has opened over a dozen Iron Blade martial arts gyms within the city to recruit students widely.

If there are sufficiently outstanding students, the Iron Blade martial arts gyms will recommend them to the Iron Blade Sect, allowing them to become inner sect disciples of the Iron Blade Sect.

Before Wuan University was established, the major martial arts sect, the Iron Blade Sect, was the most popular place for martial arts cultivation in Datong Prefecture; even if they ultimately failed to become inner sect disciples, students who came out of the Iron Blade martial arts gyms were still more formidable than students from the local martial arts lecture halls.

Therefore, business for the martial arts gyms opened by the Iron Blade Sect in Datong Fucheng has always been quite good.

Influenced by this, many more martial arts gyms were opened in Datong Fucheng one after another, and over the course of more than thirty years, the martial arts gym culture of Datong Fucheng was thus formed.

Today, there are a total of over a hundred martial arts gyms in the entire Datong Fucheng, and a Martial Arts Gym Association has even been established.

Using his authorization from the General Inspection Institute, Li Fei investigated the data on the pugilistic forces in Datong Prefecture and gained quite a bit of understanding about the "Seven Kings," knowing that the sect master of the Iron Blade Sect is one of the "Seven Kings," the "Blade King," and is also the strongest among the "Seven Kings."

This Martial Arts Gym Association in Datong Fucheng was spearheaded and created by the Iron Blade Sect; any martial arts gym that wants to successfully open and operate within Datong Fucheng must have the nod from the Iron Blade Sect.

Every martial arts gym must also pay a "regular fee" to the Martial Arts Gym Association every month; in reality, this money is paid to the Iron Blade Sect.

Besides this, the Martial Arts Gym Association regularly hosts various martial arts tournaments, all of which are the kind where one can place bets.

There are no underground black-market boxing matches like the Green Origin Fist Stronghold in Datong Fucheng, because they have been replaced by the competitions between the martial arts gyms.

On the surface, there are legitimate martial arts competitions, and in the shadows, there are also gambling matches where one can fight to the death.

The profits from this portion are all occupied by the Iron Blade Sect.

On the surface, the Iron Blade Sect only has a few hundred members and disciples in total, but in reality, it also controls over a hundred martial arts gyms in Datong Fucheng; with one word from the "Blade King," he can mobilize tens of thousands of students practicing martial arts!

The Gladiator Martial Arts Gym that Chen Xiang brought Li Fei to today is a member of the Martial Arts Gym Association and can be counted as a force of the "Blade King."

After walking for over ten minutes, Chen Xiang brought Li Fei to the main gate of the Gladiator Martial Arts Gym and was soon invited inside.

Today, the Gladiator Martial Arts Gym is holding an internal competition to select a batch of the most formidable students in preparation for participating in next month's Martial Arts Gym Ranking Tournament.

The Martial Arts Gym Ranking Tournament is hosted by the Martial Arts Gym Association once a year, where every martial arts gym sends students as representatives to compete, and based on their results, they are ranked, ultimately determining the ten most formidable martial arts gyms in the entire Datong Fucheng.

This ranking directly affects the business of each martial arts gym, so everyone takes it very seriously.

Li Fei naturally would not represent the Gladiator Martial Arts Gym to compete, so he came today to serve as a benchmark:

"This is Li Fei, an outstanding student from Wuan University; today, only those who can defeat him will be able to participate in this selection tournament."

The master of the Gladiator Martial Arts Gym pointed at Li Fei and announced:

"During the competition, student Li Fei will not use extraordinary abilities or innate Qi; he will only use grappling and wrestling to spar with everyone."

Chen Xiang had already told Li Fei about this rule on the way there.

In this way, Li Fei would have the opportunity to spar with all the outstanding students of the Gladiator Martial Arts Gym.

When they heard that Li Fei was an outstanding student from Wuan University, the expressions of the martial arts gym students present changed as they looked at him, all becoming eager to try.

If they fought with the rules lifted, they would have no confidence in being able to defeat Li Fei, but if they only compared grappling and wrestling, they immediately became energized!

The competition began quickly.

Among the dozen or so students present, only three were martial artists at the early stage of Qi Transformation, while everyone else was only at the Body Breaking stage.

However, their implants were all the same—they were all the very common 【Flame Pattern】, which possesses the extraordinary ability of explosive power. In a situation of explosive power, they could at least contend with Li Fei, who was not using his Tyrant Body or innate Qi.

As long as they seized the opportunity, it was not impossible to grapple or throw Li Fei.

The rule of the competition was that as long as one successfully grappled the opponent once, or threw the opponent three times, it counted as a victory.

Li Fei sparred with these students one by one.

Chen Xiang was right; if one only discussed the techniques of grappling and wrestling, these elite students from the martial arts gyms were indeed more formidable than the students from Wuan University.

Li Fei competed in seventeen matches in a row and lost five.

"Brother Zhou, thank you for the hospitality."

After the competition ended, Chen Xiang bid farewell to the gym master.

"Brother Chen is too polite; being able to spar with an outstanding student from Wuan University is also a rare opportunity for these students of mine."

Gym Master Zhou said, turning his head to look at Li Fei, "Student Li Fei, you are welcome to come again in the future."

"Many thanks, Gym Master."

Li Fei bowed to the other party.

Afterward, he and Chen Xiang left the martial arts gym and took the tram back to the school.

From beginning to end, no abnormal situation occurred.

After Chen Xiang returned to his dormitory, he picked up the phone and made a call.

Soon, the call was connected.

"How is it?"

Chen Xiang asked.

"Confirmed, no one is following him."

A voice with a somewhat strange tone came from the other end of the phone.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiang narrowed his eyes: "Are you sure?"

"For this kind of thing, we want success even more than you do."

"Fine, then we will proceed according to the plan; those things I requested must be prepared first!"

"No problem, after the deed is done, you will be able to leave Datong Prefecture at the fastest speed."

"Then that is that."

Chen Xiang hung up the phone.

After sitting silently in his seat for a while, he stood up and walked to the window, looking at the students coming and going outside, and muttered:

"Don't blame me; if you must blame someone, blame yourself for being too brilliant."

"The tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind!"

(End of chapter)