Chapter 303: Double Breakthrough

Datong Prefecture City.

Renmian Mountain Villa.

Chen Yuyu walked through the jungle, trembling, feeling as if a strange beast might charge out at any moment.

A moment later, he was brought to the lakeside where Yu Longqing often fished.

The "Beast King" was still fishing today.

Chen Yuyu walked over cautiously and respectfully called out, "Beast King."

Yu Longqing did not even glance at him, his eyes remaining fixed on the lake surface.

Cold sweat broke out on Chen Yuyu's forehead, and he stood to the side with his waist bent, waiting quietly.

He was the third younger brother of Chen Yujing, having rushed from Xingcheng to Datong Prefecture City to seek help from the "Beast King."

Ten-odd minutes later, Yu Longqing gave his fishing rod a sharp tug, pulling up a large fish over a meter long.

Only after landing the fish did he turn his head to look at Chen Yuyu:

"It's almost the end of the month. Can the Chen family deliver the goods on time this month?"

Chen Yuyu's heart sank, and he hurriedly said, "As long as the 'Beast King' can step in and help us, we will definitely be able to deliver on time!"

"Help you? How?"

"Wipe out the Qingyuan City Management Company!"

Chen Yuyu said through gritted teeth.

The Inspection Court and the Supervisory Court could strike at the Chen family, but they could not directly send men to occupy Chen Family Village; when it came down to specific territorial disputes, one still had to rely on martial arts factions.

But when it came to martial arts factions, the Chen family could not compete with the Qingyuan City Management Company, because the other side had the Green-Faced Ghost, who was on the Wind and Cloud Ranking!

In fact, wiping out the Qingyuan City Management Company also aligned with Yu Longqing's interests, which was why Chen Yujing had sent Chen Yuyu.

Otherwise, did he really think the "Beast King" was running a charity?

"Where are my goods right now?"

Yu Longqing asked.

"They are currently all in the warehouse of the Xingcheng Inspection Court."

Chen Yuyu said.

A portion of the medicinal herbs stored in Chen Family Village had been taken away by the Inspection Court, and among those herbs were the raw materials Yu Longqing needed.

"Useless trash!"

Yu Longqing cursed.

Chen Yuyu's body trembled, and he hurriedly said:

"As long as Chen Family Village can be taken back, give us half a month, and we guarantee we can ship the goods you need!"

Chen Family Village had made its living by gathering herbs for generations; every household had herb gatherers. Only these locals knew best where which herbs grew in the mountains and where which herbs could be cultivated, and only they could obtain those rare herbs from the towering mountains and steep cliffs.

This was why Yu Longqing had not simply seized Chen Family Village, but had instead maintained a partnership with the Chen family all along.

Without the help of the Chen family, the local snake, the raw materials he wanted were indeed difficult to obtain.

"Can you still control the villagers of Chen Family Village right now?"

Yu Longqing asked.

"Absolutely!"

Chen Yuyu said affirmatively, "The Chen family has operated there for over sixty years; even if the Qingyuan City Management Company occupied the place with force, their words would definitely carry no weight!"

"Take him away."

Yu Longqing ultimately gave no promises and waved his hand to have someone take Chen Yuyu away.

After Chen Yuyu left, Yu Longqing called over a subordinate:

"Have you verified it?"

"Verified. The Qingyuan City Management Company is indeed trading in secret with Luo Yifu from the provincial capital."

"Then go and prepare. I want to swallow another batch of his goods. I want the Green-Faced Ghost to watch with his own eyes as the strange beasts in his breeding farm starve to death one by one!"

Yu Longqing said, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Xingcheng, Martial Arts Hall.

In the practice room, Hao Yi continuously channeled the Heaven and Earth Furnace Force to envelop Li Fei's entire body.

Dark golden light flowed across the surface of Li Fei's body, as if some kind of liquid were moving.

When the Diamond Force presented in this state, it meant the force was already quite refined.

Once it truly reached the level of "Golden Liquid Flowing Light," Li Fei would have completely stepped into the late stage of Qi Transformation.

A moment later, Hao Yi withdrew his force.

Li Fei maintained the Diamond Force circulating on his body surface, only stopping after more than half an hour.

He opened his eyes and bowed to Hao Yi:

"Thank you for your hard work, Master."

Hao Yi looked at him: "Your speed of progress is much faster than I anticipated; you are very close to a breakthrough."

Because of the Chen family's affairs, Li Fei had been delayed for a few days, and he had originally thought he would be unable to complete his breakthrough during this half-month vacation with the help of Hao Yi's Heaven and Earth Furnace Force.

Yet he had not expected his progress to be so fast; the forging effect of the Heaven and Earth Furnace Force was excellent!

"For that final step, I hope you cross it using your own strength; that will be more beneficial for your future cultivation."

Hao Yi said.

Li Fei nodded: "The student understands."

That was Hao Yi for you.

Although he would help him take shortcuts, Hao Yi would absolutely never let Li Fei take shortcuts on those truly important hurdles.

"In the late stage of Qi Transformation, the most important thing is the refinement of force, which requires the guidance of heart-intent power. Currently, your heart-intent power is sufficient; what is lacking is just a bit of will to connect it all."

Hao Yi said.

"Will to connect it all?"

Li Fei looked at Hao Yi.

"A martial artist's heart-intent power is closely linked to their mental will. A person's greatest desire often represents their strongest mental will. I once asked you why you wanted to become a martial artist; do you remember your answer?"

Hao Yi asked.

Li Fei nodded and said word for word: "To master my own destiny."

"Mm, that is your mental will. Remember it, feel it, and use it to drive your heart-intent power to cross that final step."

Hao Yi said, then he took something from his bosom and handed it to Li Fei.

Li Fei took it from his hand; it was an egg-sized crystal ball.

It was crystal clear, with many glowing particles the size of sand grains inside, resembling a miniature galaxy.

"This is a spell-casting material called Spirit Glaze. Because it has a special resonance with a person's mental will, it can be used to train heart-intent power."

Hao Yi explained to Li Fei.

Li Fei knew about "Spirit Glaze" because this material could also be used to practice the casting of spells.

This made him think of a question:

The cultivation of the path of spells trains a person's mental power; is this not closely linked to a martial artist's heart-intent power?

It is just that the mental power of the path of spells can be manifested through spells, while a martial artist's heart-intent power can only be manifested in the control of implants, innate primordial Qi, and force.

One is outward, one is inward.

"Perhaps the reason I am so close to a breakthrough so quickly is because I am simultaneously practicing spells; the growth of 【Phantom Leaf】 has strengthened my mental power, which has synchronously strengthened my heart-intent power? Are the two sides of the same coin?"

Li Fei could not help but think this.

Unfortunately, there was no one around him who practiced both martial arts and spells, so he could not ask.

"Hold this Spirit Glaze with both hands and channel your heart-intent power, just like when your momentum erupts, locking your Qi-mechanism onto a target. Once this Spirit Glaze senses it, the glaze sand inside will change. Find a way to concentrate all the scattered glaze sand together; the more condensed, the better."

Hao Yi began to guide Li Fei on how to use the Spirit Glaze, "In this process, you must constantly recall your original intention for practicing martial arts, find your heart's greatest desire, and use this will to further stimulate your heart-intent power to connect it all."

In fact, content involving mental will is almost entirely something that can only be understood intuitively and cannot be taught in words.

Just like one's state of mind; if you grasp it, you grasp it. If you cannot grasp it, no amount of teaching is useful.

Hao Yi had Li Fei use the Spirit Glaze to practice; although there was an extra object that could be directly observed, when it came to specific operations, it still relied mostly on Li Fei himself to explore and comprehend.

Li Fei held the Spirit Glaze in both hands, channeling his momentum as if facing an enemy, locking his Qi-mechanism onto it.

The next second, the countless tiny glowing particles inside the Spirit Glaze began to move.

In fact, these particles were always moving slowly, but now the speed of their movement had increased.

Following Hao Yi's guidance, Li Fei tried to control these particles to condense and concentrate in the center.

A few minutes later, the particles, which had originally been scattered, condensed into a cluster at the center of the Spirit Glaze.

Seeing this scene, Hao Yi could not help but nod.

When he had used the Spirit Glaze to train his heart-intent power, he had not been as relaxed as Li Fei; it had taken him several days to reach the step Li Fei was at now.

So this student of his was indeed a peerless genius!

Inside the Spirit Glaze, although all the particles were gathered into a cluster, the center was hollow; they had not completely contracted and condensed together.

And no matter how Li Fei channeled his heart-intent power afterward, he could not make these particles contract and condense any further.

"The connection of mental will?"

Li Fei had a sudden realization, somewhat understanding what Hao Yi meant.

"You already consumed quite a bit of mental power when you were forging your force just now; go back and get some good rest before trying again."

Hao Yi said to Li Fei.

He did not expect Li Fei to successfully break through his realm today.

"Understood."

Li Fei put away the Spirit Glaze and bid farewell to Hao Yi.

That night, in his room, Li Fei first took medicine to meditate, urging the growth of the 【Phantom Leaf】.

After completing the cultivation of the technique, his mental state was much stronger than it had been that afternoon.

Then, he took out the Spirit Glaze to make a second attempt.

Holding the Spirit Glaze in both hands, he channeled the power of his will.

Soon, the glowing particles inside the Spirit Glaze condensed into a mass, though the center remained hollow.

Li Fei began to recall everything he had experienced along his journey:

Arriving in this world for the first time, seeing the corpse of the noodle shop owner, learning the cruel truth after entering the Martial Arts Hall, killing the official, and killing the Private Secretary.

Every time he recalled a piece of his past, his thirst for power became more resolute.

Finally, he thought of being on Iron Peak Mountain, where he was forced by Xu Jing and had no choice but to fight his way through.

That was not what he wanted, but he could not refuse.

Only by mastering powerful strength could he master his own destiny!

At a certain moment, a light lit up between Li Fei's brows, revealing a leaf-shaped pattern.

This was the manifestation of the 【Phantom Leaf】 implant being activated.

But Li Fei was not casting a technique at this moment; he simply stared with a firm gaze at the Spirit Glaze in his hands, while the glowing particles inside continued to shrink and condense inward bit by bit.

A dozen seconds later, all the particles condensed together, leaving no gaps at all!

Boom—

Li Fei's spirit jolted, and then the 【Steel Armor】 implant inside his body began to change.

Not only that, the 【Phantom Leaf】 implant also changed along with it.

"This is..."

Li Fei carefully sensed the state of the two implants.

The change in the 【Steel Armor】 implant was the same as every previous breakthrough, further strengthening his muscles, bones, meridians, internal organs, and other bodily tissues.

The change in the 【Phantom Leaf】 was an accelerated growth rate, releasing a certain substance that gave Li Fei the feeling of being soaked in ice water, stimulating his mental power and causing it to strengthen rapidly.

"【Steel Armor】 has broken through to the late stage of Qi Transformation, and 【Phantom Leaf】 has also broken through to the mid-stage of Body Breaking!"

Li Fei quickly reached his conclusion.

He had not expected that dual cultivation of law and martial arts would have such benefits.

Now he could be certain that the power of will in martial arts cultivation and the mental power in technique cultivation were closely linked; when one increased, the other would follow.

However, after the breakthrough, the two implants once again produced intense interference, and Li Fei had to take over a dozen Ice-Continuity Pills to soothe the restlessness of the two implants.

"It seems I will need to prepare more powerful pills in the future."

Li Fei thought to himself.

The interference produced by the two implants would only grow stronger, and he would have to take pills with greater medicinal potency to suppress it.

Such pills also meant increased damage to the human body, but fortunately, Li Fei had the Ten Thousand Blood Bead and did not need to worry about that.

In the room, Li Fei reached out and pointed, sending out a golden strand of Vajra Force; this strand of Vajra Force stopped before the wall and then flew back into Li Fei's hand.

Having broken through to the late stage of Qi Transformation, he could project his force externally, shape it, and perform more "high-end operations."

The most intuitive example was the "Vajra Seal."

Previously, when Li Fei cast the Vajra Seal, he had to form seals with both hands, which was very inconvenient in battle.

But now that he had broken through to the late stage of Qi Transformation, he no longer needed to form seals with both hands; he could project his force externally to shape it, thereby replacing the process of forming seals.

Besides that, the vast majority of techniques and moves in the Red Voice Fire Vajra Method, one of the Eight Vajra Sections, also required the late stage of Qi Transformation to be performed.

Therefore, this breakthrough was a massive increase in Li Fei's combat power!

After he familiarized himself with controlling his force in the room for a while, the telephone in the living room suddenly rang.

He walked out of the bedroom, entered the living room, and picked up the receiver:

"Hello?"

"Little Fei?"

Shangguan Xiao's voice came from the other end of the line.

"It's me, Auntie."

"I have arranged everything on my end; all the people from your company have left Fucheng in separate batches."

"Good, thank you for your hard work, Auntie."

"You must still be careful. Yu Longqing might get wind of this, and if he discovers the location where you are picking up the goods, he will definitely send people to intercept you!"

"I understand, don't worry, Auntie."

Hanging up the phone, Li Fei returned to the bedroom.

The deal with Luo Yifu in the provincial capital had been reached over ten days ago. Normally, that batch of exotic beast rations could have been delivered long ago, but to avoid suspicion and being discovered, Luo Yifu had cooperated with Li Fei by using many decoys and transporting the goods quietly in separate batches.

Therefore, it would not be until the day after tomorrow that this batch of exotic beast rations would arrive at the border of Datong Prefecture, waiting for Li Fei's people to pick them up.

The exotic beast farm that Li Fei controlled had run out of rations; if they could not be supplied, the exotic beasts inside would starve to death one after another.

So this shipment had to be delivered to Xingcheng no matter what!

Only one chapter today; it's about to reach the climax, so I need to deliberate on it.

(End of chapter)