Chapter 285: Three-Year Agreement, Wood-Ghost Binding Curse

Shangguan Xiao and Duanmu Hongjie chatted for about an hour.

Half of that time was spent in idle chatter, discussing various things from the past.

Finally, when it came to the matter of Lou Yujun and the Duanmu family's subsequent stance, Duanmu Hongjie set the tone in just a few sentences:

"First, the Duanmu family will no longer target the Zhang family's businesses."

"Second, the Duanmu family is willing to pay three million to redeem Lou Yujun!"

The Zhang family was not short of these three million; or rather, even if they received this money, in the eyes of others, it would only turn them into an even bigger fat sheep.

Therefore, Shangguan Xiao did not agree to let the Duanmu family redeem Lou Yujun, but instead wanted to discuss cooperation matters with Duanmu Hongjie.

But that old fox Duanmu Hongjie did not take the bait and easily shifted the topic, so Shangguan Xiao could only leave behind a "let's discuss it later" before leaving the Duanmu residence.

After returning to the guesthouse, she told Li Fei about her conversation with Duanmu Hongjie.

"That works too. At the very least, the Duanmu family has shifted to a wait-and-see attitude for now. If we can further strike at Yu Longqing's forces, we might have a chance to get the Duanmu family to join us."

Li Fei said.

"Hmm, you need to keep an eye on Lou Yujun. Don't let the Duanmu family find her and sneak her away. That old fox Duanmu Hongjie isn't that simple."

Shangguan Xiao reminded him.

"Alright, I'll be careful."

Li Fei said.

Regarding the personality traits of the "Seven Kings" of Datong Prefecture, the information Lu Mengyang gave him contained an evaluation of Duanmu Hongjie, the richest man in Feng Province—he is muddled in major matters but shrewd in minor ones.

At first, Li Fei didn't quite understand the definition of "muddled," but through today's incident, he understood it a little:

His own guest advisor was captured, and he unhesitatingly said he would pay three million to redeem the person. Hearing this, it felt a bit muddled, because with the Duanmu family's status and strength, they could have used other methods to save the person without having to throw away so much money, which instead made them appear somewhat weak and aggrieved.

But looking at it from another angle, after Lou Yujun finds out about this, wouldn't she be very moved?

After the other guest advisors of the Duanmu family learn of this, wouldn't they be even more willing to serve Duanmu Hongjie?

The most brilliant part is that this three million likely won't need to be paid, because neither Shangguan Xiao nor Li Fei intends to take this money.

So Duanmu Hongjie merely made a gesture and easily bought a wave of loyalty.

After hanging up the phone, Li Fei took an elixir, then sat cross-legged on the bed in meditation, beginning his practice of sorcery.

He now spends at least three hours every night practicing sorcery, half the time accelerating the growth of the 【Phantom Leaf】, and half the time practicing the use of sorcery.

Dual cultivation of martial arts and sorcery, besides the issue of implant conflict, also involves the problem of time and energy allocation, because a person's time and energy are limited.

Now Li Fei has to focus on cultivating martial arts during the day and only has time to practice sorcery at night. Although he is full of energy and only needs to sleep four or five hours a day, he still feels that his time is not enough.

The 【Phantom Leaf】 only requires taking medicine daily during the embryo-nurturing stage, but after entering the body-breaking stage, he must invest more time if he wants to break through quickly.

Moreover, sorcery must also be practiced diligently, otherwise, without enough proficiency, it is impossible to use it in actual combat.

Regarding this, Li Fei can only do his best.

Fortunately, he has the Dream-Like Order and the Ten Thousand Blood Bead for assistance, and he is not short of elixir resources, so even if he invests less time and energy, his cultivation speed is far beyond that of ordinary people.

Ding—

On the table, the phone rang suddenly, interrupting Li Fei's meditation.

He got up and answered the phone:

"Hello?"

"It's me."

A somewhat neutral voice came from the receiver.

"Zhao Yi? What is it?"

Li Fei did not expect Zhao Yi to call suddenly; the other party had never taken the initiative to contact him before.

"Are you free to come over? I have something important I want to talk to you about."

Zhao Yi said.

"Alright."

Li Fei agreed.

He had just completed the upgrade of the Ten Thousand Blood Bead and was in peak condition, so he was not worried about Zhao Yi playing any tricks.

More than an hour later, after confirming no one was following him, Li Fei arrived outside Zhao Yi's residence and knocked lightly on the door.

Zhao Yi opened the door, then stepped aside, signaling for Li Fei to enter.

"Speak, what do you want with me?"

Li Fei walked into the living room as if he were familiar with the place, sat down on the sofa, and asked.

Zhao Yi walked in front of him, her expression somewhat complex, and she remained silent for a while.

"Hmm?"

Li Fei looked at Zhao Yi with some surprise. This girl never beat around the bush when talking to him before; she was always very straightforward.

What is the situation today?

"Is your 【Phantom Leaf】 about to break through to the body-breaking stage?"

Zhao Yi asked.

"Yes."

Li Fei nodded.

"When you reach the late body-breaking stage and no longer need me to maintain the Dream-Like Order, are you planning to kill me directly?"

Zhao Yi looked into Li Fei's eyes and continued to ask.

Li Fei smiled: "That will depend on your performance then."

Zhao Yi clenched her fists.

She had previously thought that before Li Fei reached the late body-breaking stage, she would have the ability to get rid of him and take back the Dream-Like Order.

But during this time, she kept hearing about Li Fei's exploits at the Martial Arts University, and yesterday she saw with her own eyes Li Fei winning several consecutive matches on the Dragon-Tiger Platform, which finally made her feel somewhat desperate.

She felt that she could not catch up to this peerless genius before her in a short time.

So she called Li Fei over tonight, choosing to compromise:

"Among sorcery, there is a type called oath sorcery, which can make people swear an oath and then force them to comply through sorcery; otherwise, the consequences will be very serious. You can learn this type of sorcery from the Martial Arts University. When you reach the body-breaking stage, you can cast it and use it on me, making me swear not to leak any of your affairs and never to be your enemy again from now on."

"Oh?"

Li Fei looked at Zhao Yi with some surprise. "You mean I should spend a high price to learn an oath-type sorcery from the Martial Arts University and then use it on you to ensure you won't leak secrets or be my enemy? Then why wouldn't I just kill you when the time comes? That would be simpler and less effort."

Zhao Yi met Li Fei's gaze and said with some grief and indignation:

"I really never thought about killing you back then! Yes, my skills were inferior, I admit I fell into your hands, and I admit you took the Dream-Like Order. Now I only ask for a chance to live; is that not allowed either?"

"There is a saying: if you repay evil with kindness, how will you repay kindness? If our positions were swapped, do you think you would easily let me go?"

Li Fei looked at Zhao Yi calmly and asked.

"Then add one more condition: I will serve you for three years. After three years, you give me my freedom."

Zhao Yi gritted her teeth and said, "If you want to imprison me for life, then I would rather die now!"

Li Fei looked into Zhao Yi's eyes and saw the determination in them.

He nodded: "Fine, after three years, I will give you your freedom."

Zhao Yi's talent is very high, and he is indeed lacking powerful mages under his command to handle things that martial artists cannot, so he will keep Zhao Yi for three years.

In less than a year, he had already made it onto the Feng Province's Wind and Cloud Ranking.

Three years later, Li Fei felt he probably wouldn't care about the departure of one mage.

Even if Zhao Yi exposed the matter of the Dream-Like Order at that time, Li Fei felt that the version of himself three years from now would have the ability to protect this True One magic treasure!

After the two parties reached an agreement, Li Fei took a bank note out of his pocket:

"There are five thousand yuan in here, take it for your cultivation. Since you are serving me, the stronger you are, the better. If you are short on money, tell me; don't go stealing money again and inviting trouble."

After saying this, he threw the bank note on the table with a flourish and got up to leave.

Zhao Yi picked up the bank note from the table and glanced at it, then looked up toward the door, her expression complex.

She was indeed running out of money for cultivation; after all, practicing sorcery is very expensive.

It's just that she didn't expect Li Fei to be so generous as to give her five thousand yuan all at once.

"This bastard wants to throw money at me so I'll sell my life for him later?"

Zhao Yi thought to herself, and a smile appeared on her face involuntarily.

"Damn it, he clearly robbed me of my Dream-Like Order and forced me to serve him for three years, why am I actually a little grateful to him now?"

Zhao Yi suddenly realized and cursed herself for being spineless.

This little bit of money was enough to buy her off.

However, the feeling of being thrown money at is actually quite nice.

The next morning, Li Fei went to the Qingyun Building, went up to the second floor, and sat down in front of a window:

"Hello, may I ask if there are any oath-type sorceries available for exchange, the kind that can be cast by a wood-attribute implant?"

At the Martial Arts University's exchange counter, besides using credits to exchange for various elixirs and implants, one could also exchange for martial arts techniques and sorcery, so Li Fei came here directly to ask.

Behind the window, the staff member recognized Li Fei, the peerless genius of the Martial Arts University, and said very politely:

"Please wait a moment."

A few minutes later, she handed Li Fei several documents:

"Hello, there are three types of oath-type sorcery that can be used by wood-attribute implants. Here is the relevant information; please take a look."

"Thank you."

Li Fei took the documents and began to read.

There were three types of sorcery, and their effects were similar to what Zhao Yi said last night; the difference lay in the strength of the binding effect.

Because it is a technique cast by a wood-attribute implant, and wood overcomes earth, while metal overcomes wood, it has the strongest binding force on those using earth-attribute implants and the weakest binding force on those using metal-attribute implants.

"Hello, I choose this technique."

Li Fei handed a document from his hand to the staff member.

The technique he chose was named "Wood Ghost Binding Curse," which was the one with the strongest binding effect among the three techniques, and it could be effective against Grand Mages of the Possession Realm at its highest level.

The exchange price for this technique was also the most expensive, requiring 120 credits + 200, 00 yuan to exchange!

Fortunately, Li Fei had enough credits and enough money on hand.

"Student Li Fei, this technique has restricted exchange permissions; you need to submit an application to the school, and it can only be exchanged after the school approves it."

The staff member said to Li Fei.

Some things could not be obtained just by having enough credits and money; they also required the approval of the Martial University.

"Alright, then please apply for me."

Li Fei said.

Afterward, he handed his student ID to the other party for registration.

Next, he attended classes as usual, while the martial arts world of Datong Prefecture had new changes:

On the second day after Green-Faced Ghost ascended the Feng Province Wind and Cloud Ranking, the "Beast King" issued a martial arts world bounty.

A bounty for the head of Green-Faced Ghost—1 million yuan!

Not only that, the Datong Prefecture Inspection General Court and the Zhige General Court issued a joint wanted order, wanting Green-Faced Ghost.

If any informant could provide effective intelligence, they could receive a reward of up to 100, 00 yuan!

This was the point Shangguan Xiao was worried about; Green-Faced Ghost's identity could not see the light of day after all, and Yu Longqing could not only find ways to kill him directly but could also use the power of the government to deal with him.

After receiving the news, Li Fei called Liu Saner at the first opportunity:

"In the name of the Qingyuan City Management Company, issue a bounty order for the head of Yu Longqing, with a bounty of one million as well!"

Li Fei could only mobilize a little over 700, 00 in funds right now, but it didn't matter; if it was really needed, he could have Liu Saner scrape it together, and he would be able to make up the 1 million.

If someone could really kill Yu Longqing, he wouldn't mind spending this 1 million at all!

"I understand, Master Ghost, rest assured. I guarantee that within one day, the entire martial arts world of Datong Prefecture will know about this bounty!"

Liu Saner said.

His ability to take action was still very strong.

Thus, not long after the "Beast King's" bounty order was sent out, a tit-for-tat bounty order spread through the martial arts world:

Qingyuan City Management Company offers 1 million to buy Yu Longqing's head!

Things like martial arts world bounty orders couldn't be issued by just anyone; one had to have enough influence and power, otherwise, who would believe your words?

Moreover, there were rules about the targets of bounties; if any small gang dared to put a bounty on the "Beast King," they would be wiped out very quickly.

Now that this Qingyuan City Management Company dared to publicly issue a bounty and go tit-for-tat with the "Beast King," it showed that this force was completely unafraid of the "Beast King."

In terms of power and influence, the Qingyuan City Management Company was of course still far from being able to compare with the "Beast King," but Li Fei's situation in Xingcheng had already been completely opened up; attacking might not work, but self-preservation was absolutely no problem.

No matter how awesome Yu Longqing was, he couldn't directly arrange for people to go to Xingcheng to deal with the Qingyuan City Management Company, because the company had the entire Xingcheng Inspection Court and Zhige Court backing it!

If Yu Longqing's people dared to go, they would be surrounded and intercepted by the people of the Inspection Court and Zhige Court in minutes!

Therefore, after the matter of the bounty order came out, Yu Longqing did not save much face for himself; instead, it let the major forces see the strength and foundation of Green-Faced Ghost.

March 12th.

Li Fei received a notification, went to the Academic Affairs Office, arrived outside Wen Ke's office, and knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

Wen Ke's gentle voice came from inside the door.

Li Fei pushed the door open and walked in, respectfully bowing to Wen Ke: "Professor Wen, were you looking for me?"

On the Feng Province Wind and Cloud Ranking, Wen Ke was ranked seventh, two places higher than Green-Faced Ghost.

This made Li Fei somewhat curious about this Professor Wen's true combat power.

"You applied yesterday to exchange for a technique called Wood Ghost Binding Curse; the application was submitted to the Academic Affairs Office, and it has now passed the review. I asked you to come here to personally hand this technique to you."

Wen Ke said softly.

Li Fei felt a surge of joy in his heart and bowed to the other party again: "Thank you, Professor Wen."

"No need to thank me; it was the school that approved your application, not just my own intention."

Wen Ke said with deep meaning.

"In addition, you have mastered the Vajra Force. I mentioned before that I would help you apply for a few martial arts techniques suitable for you, and now they have been successfully applied for as well."

Li Fei remembered what Hao Yi said about the Martial University having the inheritance of the "Eight Sections of Vajra," and his heart suddenly heated up as he asked:

"Professor Wen, what are the martial arts techniques?"

Requesting monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)