Chapter 283: Foundation Establishment Combat Power Table

As Li Fei tested the techniques he had learned on the street, the martial arts world of Datong Prefecture was already shaken by the battle that took place tonight!

Human Face Villa.

The corpse of Zhang Shan was laid out before Yu Longqing.

The surrounding subordinates had all retreated, not daring to stay at this time near the "Beast King," who was likely to fly into a rage.

Yu Longqing looked gloomily at the corpse of Zhang Shan, which was missing half its head.

It is said that the "Beast King" is tyrannical and bloodthirsty, often throwing subordinates who fail to perform their duties to be fed to exotic beasts; while this is indeed true, he is also the most generous to his subordinates.

As long as one has ability, aptitude, or has performed meritorious service, he does not mind piling the most resources onto his subordinates.

Zhang Shan had followed Yu Longqing for sixteen years and was the subordinate who had been with him the longest.

When he first joined Yu Longqing, Zhang Shan was only a late-stage Body-Breaking martial artist. Because he performed excellently in a gang fight and was very willing to risk his life, he gained Yu Longqing's appreciation and was rewarded with 100, 00 on the spot!

100, 00 from over a decade ago was worth more than it is now, and for a Body-Breaking stage martial artist, it was already an immense fortune.

Afterward, relying on this money, Zhang Shan successfully broke through to the Qi-Transformation stage, and then became even more daring in battle, becoming the one most willing to risk his life under Yu Longqing.

In fact, with Zhang Shan's aptitude, it was not easy to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, but because he was sufficiently driven, Yu Longqing was also very willing to spend money on him, supplying him with all kinds of top-tier elixirs that could be bought without hesitation, and finding the best physicians and using the best medicine whenever he was injured.

Thus, in just seven years, Zhang Shan broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage and became the top expert under Yu Longqing.

Over sixteen years, the money Yu Longqing spent on Zhang Shan had long since exceeded ten million!

This was a level of treatment that many Foundation Establishment experts of large factions could not obtain.

And yet, now, Zhang Shan was dead.

What made Yu Longqing angry was not just that so many invested resources had gone to waste, but also the two consecutive failures.

The first time, he sent Zhang Shan to Xingcheng to deal with Green-Faced Ghost, only for him to be captured.

The second time, the person was simply gone.

Yu Longqing hated failure, which is why he would throw subordinates who failed their duties to be fed to exotic beasts.

He usually gave his subordinates two chances; if they failed the first time, it was fine, but if they failed a second time, the outcome would be miserable.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The earth suddenly began to shake.

In the woods, a behemoth was moving toward this side.

Soon, an exotic beast over five meters tall, covered in dark red scales, with a tiger's head and a pair of curved long horns, arrived at Yu Longqing's side.

Upon seeing this exotic beast, a rare tenderness appeared in Yu Longqing's eyes, and he smiled as he reached out his hand.

This five-meter-tall exotic beast immediately crouched down, lowering its head so that Yu Longqing could pat the long horns on its head.

This is a Demon-Scaled Horned Tiger Beast, a fifth-grade superior!

A fourth-grade exotic beast can rival a Strength-Refining martial master, while a fifth-grade exotic beast can rival a Foundation Establishment expert; in terms of combat power, even Zhang Shan would not have been confident in defeating a fifth-grade superior exotic beast.

Therefore, this was the "Beast King's" true reliance.

Yu Longqing patted his "pet" and then turned and left.

The "Beast King's" rules had never changed, and Zhang Shan could be no exception.

Green-Faced Ghost was surrounded and attacked, yet he counter-killed two Foundation Establishment experts and three Strength-Refining martial masters, and even captured a Foundation Establishment expert alive!

Such a battle record spread throughout the entire Datong Prefecture overnight, shocking everyone.

The bet between Li Fei and the Chu family only gave people a glimmer of hope that the Zhang family would survive this crisis; it was this battle by Green-Faced Ghost that truly established a deterrent force!

Early in the morning, Li Fei received a call from Shangguan Xiao:

"You went to Fenghua Street last night?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me in advance?"

There was both reproach and worry in Shangguan Xiao's tone.

"I'm fine, aren't I?"

Li Fei laughed, "Aunt-Master, no need to worry."

"It was too risky. If there is such a thing in the future, you must tell me in advance!"

Shangguan Xiao said sternly.

"Understood."

Li Fei followed her advice, "Aunt-Master, after last night's battle, the major factions will certainly restrain themselves a lot. I think you don't need to consider transferring back to Datong Prefecture for the time being."

Shangguan Xiao felt a warmth in her heart, but she still sighed:

"In terms of combat power, your performance last night was already higher than my father's before he passed away. Plus, the Zhang family now has another Foundation Establishment expert like me, so in terms of overall military strength, we are actually stronger than when my father was here. Yet, we still cannot scare off the major factions. Do you know why?"

Li Fei was silent for a moment, then spoke:

"Because the Zhang family lacks a seated official, our influence in official circles has diminished too much, and Green-Faced Ghost can be killed."

"Indeed."

Shangguan Xiao sighed.

The Zhang family currently has five imperial court officials; adding Shangguan Xiao makes six.

But the major factions have all won over a group of imperial court officials who support them, so their influence in official circles is not inferior.

What truly placed the Zhang family above the major factions before was Zhang Zongyang, the helmsman of the Stop-Conflict General Academy; he was the true high-level figure of Datong Prefecture.

It can be said that even if the Zhang family did not have a single imperial court official left, as long as Zhang Zongyang remained in his position for one day, the Zhang family would still be one of the three great families of Datong Prefecture!

This is the influence of a fourth-rank seated official, and it is also the reason why many people felt the Zhang family would collapse as soon as Zhang Zongyang died.

Although the Zhang family now has the support of Shangguan Xiao and Green-Faced Ghost, and is stronger in overall military power than before, no one dared to touch Zhang Zongyang in the past.

But now, Green-Faced Ghost's identity cannot see the light of day; as long as he is killed, the Zhang family's deterrent force will vanish completely.

"Aunt-Master, let's wait and see. Next, I will find a way to topple Yu Longqing. This will not only divert the attention of the various families but also allow the Zhang family to obtain new bargaining chips."

Li Fei advised.

"You want the Zhang family to go into the business of exotic beast fodder?"

Shangguan Xiao guessed Li Fei's idea.

"It's the Qingyuan City Management Company, Feng Sanniang, and the Zhang family doing it together."

Li Fei said.

With the current foundation of the Qingyuan City Management Company, it is impossible to swallow the exotic beast fodder business of Datong Prefecture alone, so he wants to pull the Zhang family in to negotiate cooperation with Feng Sanniang.

He believed that Feng Sanniang must have understood his intentions last night as well.

Of course, the premise of all this is that Yu Longqing is toppled.

"Good, then let's try it together!"

Shangguan Xiao agreed to Li Fei's plan.

She is also a woman of great courage; otherwise, she would not have publicly broken with her family in the past.

"What do you plan to do next?"

Shangguan Xiao asked.

Li Fei: "With last night's battle, I believe Feng Sanniang's thinking will change somewhat. I will talk to her again to see if we can find a breakthrough. In addition, I captured a Foundation Establishment guest advisor of the Duanmu family last night. It is inconvenient for me to publicly negotiate with the Duanmu family, so you should go, Aunt-Master."

"Good, I will pay a visit to the Duanmu family today."

Shangguan Xiao said.

After the two discussed some details of the negotiation, Shangguan Xiao laughed:

"With a battle record like last night's, you should be able to make it onto the Feng Province Wind and Cloud List."

"Wind and Cloud List?"

"It is a list specifically for Foundation Establishment experts, ranking only the top ten. Because Feng Province has a Martial University and major martial arts sects like the Iron Peak Gate, the total number of Foundation Establishment experts should exceed one hundred. Being able to rank in the top ten is still very impressive."

"Then I will go and find out about it."

Li Fei laughed, then hung up the phone.

He thought for a moment and called Lu Mengyang.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

"Lord Li, do you have any instructions?"

Lu Mengyang's voice remained enthusiastic.

"I want to learn about the Feng Province Wind and Cloud List."

"Did you hear about the Green-Faced Ghost incident last night, my lord, and want to know if he made the list?"

Lu Mengyang asked.

As a secret agent placed outside by the General Supervision Academy specifically to collect various intelligence, his sources of information were naturally very well-informed, and he could know many inside stories one step ahead of many people outside.

"That's right."

Li Fei admitted.

"My lord, this Green-Faced Ghost is truly remarkable. I just inquired, and he will definitely make the list this time!"

Lu Mengyang stated the information he had gathered and then introduced the "Wind and Cloud List" to Li Fei in detail.

Wherever there is a martial arts world, there are various lists. In literature, there is no first place; in martial arts, there is no second. For many martial artists, the greatest pursuit in this life is nothing more than a "name," so list rankings are indispensable.

Below the Foundation Establishment stage, the numbers are too high, and the influence is insufficient.

Above the Foundation Establishment stage, the numbers are too few, the status is too high, and people dare not rank them at will.

Thus, Foundation Establishment experts have become the type of experts with the highest "topic popularity" in the martial arts world. They are not as high and mighty as martial arts masters and grandmasters, making people feel they are unreachable, yet they happen to be treated as honored guests by major factions and become prominent figures in various places.

Consequently, someone specifically created a list for these Foundation Establishment experts.

The Wind and Cloud Ranking first became popular in the Imperial Capital, and later this list gradually swept the entire country, so the twenty-three provinces of the Great Lan Dynasty each had their own Wind and Cloud Ranking.

Each province's Wind and Cloud Ranking is evaluated by itself, so it is inevitable that various versions appear.

The version of the Feng Province Wind and Cloud Ranking that has the most credibility and is most recognized by people in the jianghu is provided by an intelligence organization called the Moon-Gazing Tower.

The version Lu Mengyang introduced to Li Fei was also this one.

On this list, five of the top ten in the Dao Foundation realm in Feng Province come from the Martial University and are professors at the Martial University; Li Fei even heard the name of Wen Ke among them.

It turns out that this female professor, who looks gentle but actually has a huge contrast, has a true combat strength that can rank in the top ten among the Dao Foundation realm powerhouses in Feng Province!

Besides Wen Ke, there are two other names on the list that Li Fei knows:

One is the "Shadow King"; among the "Seven Kings" of Datong Prefecture, he is the only one on the list, ranking ninth, because he has successfully assassinated more than one Dao Foundation realm powerhouse.

Then there is Chu Bo, who once killed a Dao Foundation realm expert in one strike, ranking tenth on the Feng Province Wind and Cloud Ranking.

From this, one can see the weight of this Wind and Cloud Ranking.

Chu Bo, who can kill a martial artist of the same realm in one strike, can only rank tenth; it is evident how large the gap is between those who are all in the Dao Foundation realm.

Through Lu Mengyang's introduction, a "Dao Foundation Realm Combat Strength Table" emerged in Li Fei's mind.

On this table, Dao Foundation realm powerhouses are divided into several tiers:

The first tier is martial artists who have completed their first "Unity" and have just stepped into this realm, such as Wang Fengqing.

A Dao Foundation realm powerhouse of this tier still only has one implant in their body, or has just incorporated a second implant, but has not yet reached the Qi Transformation stage.

Next, the second tier consists of those in the Dao Foundation realm whose two implants have both reached the Qi Transformation stage, whose power has been strengthened by another type of innate Qi, and whose physical fitness and extraordinary abilities have also been strengthened.

Then the third, fourth, and fifth tiers each add one more implant that has reached the Qi Transformation stage.

Normally, the Dao Foundation realm is divided into these five tiers.

But there is another important factor that affects the combat strength of a Dao Foundation realm powerhouse—extraordinary abilities.

Not every extraordinary ability from an implant is useful; some extraordinary abilities can even be quite useless in combat, such as enhancing appetite or sexual desire.

A powerful extraordinary ability can change the course of a battle, such as Zhang Shan's "Dragon Might" and "Life Storage."

This kind of powerful extraordinary ability is called a "Core-level Extraordinary Ability," meaning one can use this ability as a core to build a combat system.

Li Fei's "Danger Perception" belongs to the Core-level Extraordinary Ability category.

When calculating the combat strength of a Dao Foundation realm powerhouse, for every additional Core-level Extraordinary Ability, their combat strength increases by half a tier.

For example, Zhang Shan has three implants in his body that have reached the Qi Transformation stage, counting as the third tier, and he has two Core-level Extraordinary Abilities, "Dragon Might" and "Life Storage," adding another two half-tiers, so he can actually be counted as a fourth-tier Dao Foundation realm powerhouse.

Generally speaking, an implant can have at most one Core-level Extraordinary Ability, and more often than not, it has none, so theoretically, a Dao Foundation realm powerhouse can possess at most five Core-level Extraordinary Abilities, increasing their combat strength by a maximum of 2. tiers.

In this way, Dao Foundation realm powerhouses can be subdivided into eight tiers!

Chu Bo, who ranks tenth on the Feng Province Wind and Cloud Ranking, has four implants in his body that have reached the Qi Transformation stage, and he also has two Core-level Extraordinary Abilities, so he is counted as a fifth-tier Dao Foundation realm expert.

From this, it can be seen that Dao Foundation realm powerhouses who can make it onto the Wind and Cloud Ranking are at least fifth-tier to start with.

Zhang Shan, whom Li Fei killed last night, was a fourth-tier Dao Foundation realm expert; the Dao Foundation realm assassin he killed was second-tier; and Lou Yujun, whom he captured alive, had two Qi Transformation stage implants and one Core-level Extraordinary Ability, making her a 2. -tier Dao Foundation realm expert.

Plus, there was the siege by the Seven Nether Guards and over a dozen special-grade gunmen.

Such a combat record is already much stronger than Chu Bo's, so Lu Mengyang judged that Green-Faced Ghost would definitely make the list.

March 10th, 1: 0 PM.

Shangguan Xiao paid a visit to the Duanmu family.

As she stepped through the gates of the Duanmu family, the Moon-Gazing Tower updated the latest Feng Province Wind and Cloud Ranking:

Green-Faced Ghost ranked ninth!

He took the spot of the "Shadow King" and also directly pushed Chu Bo off the list.

In the main hall of the Duanmu family, Shangguan Xiao sat in a chair drinking tea.

A moment later, a resonant voice came:

"Xiao'er, it's been many years; do you still remember your uncle?"

Shangguan Xiao turned her head to look.

The person who arrived had a ruddy complexion, walked with the stride of a dragon and a tiger, and was very imposing.

"Shangguan Xiao pays her respects to Uncle."

A look of surprise flashed in Shangguan Xiao's eyes as she stood up and bowed to him.

The head of the Duanmu family, one of the "Seven Kings," the "Gambling King," and the richest man in Feng Province, Duanmu Hongjie, was receiving guests in person!

(End of chapter)