Chapter 368: Defection

February 8th.

This was Li Fei's seventh day staying in Xingcheng.

In these seven days, he had handled many matters:

Finalizing the relevant affairs of the Marquis's Mansion.

Cleaning up the Qingyuan City Management Company, dealing with all personnel who violated regulations, and readjusting a portion of the company's business.

Li Fei also drafted a plan for Liu Saner for the next three years.

He provided business advice to Chen Lixin and finalized the relevant affairs for the Feixin Trading Firm.

Finally, there was the matter of recruiting for the Marquis's Mansion.

Once the news spread that Li Fei was officially establishing his mansion in Xingcheng, many Jianghu people came by reputation to defect to Li Fei.

A Marquis's Mansion meant a massive amount of martial arts resources and opportunities for advancement, so those Jianghu figures who considered themselves talented but lacked resources came to defect.

As a Marquis, Li Fei could purchase a certain amount of martial arts resources from the imperial court every year: elixirs, implants, protective clothing, exotic weapons, and martial arts manuals.

He naturally couldn't use them all up by himself; these resources were meant for cultivating subordinates.

In seven days, a total of over thirty Jianghu rogue cultivators came to defect.

Li Fei did not accept them all; instead, he had people from the Supervisory Court investigate their backgrounds.

He wanted subordinates with clean records and sound character.

After the Supervisory Court checked their pasts, he also cast the "Gate of the Dream Realm" to probe their inner minds through their subconscious in the dream realm, confirming that these people had no major character flaws.

In the end, out of the thirty-plus rogue cultivators, Li Fei only accepted nineteen.

Among the remaining people, three were found by the Supervisory Court to have murder cases on their hands and were arrested on the spot.

They didn't make it into the Marquis's Mansion, but they did make it into prison.

Of the nineteen accepted, fifteen were only Body-Breaking Realm martial artists, only four were Qi-Transformation Realm martial masters, and not a single one had cultivated Force.

This was also unavoidable.

Those who could reach the mid-stage of Qi-Transformation or higher and become Force-Practicing martial masters were never short of recruitment from major factions.

No matter where they went, they could find a good path.

Thus, it was very difficult for Li Fei to recruit experts.

Of course, this was the "early startup phase," and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. Once the Marquis's Mansion slowly grew, it would eventually attract experts.

If all else failed, he could just throw heavy money at it, and he would eventually be able to recruit a few Dao Foundation Realm experts.

Li Fei was preparing to leave Xingcheng today, heading first to Datong Prefecture City, and then taking the train directly to Gan Province.

After all, he was under imperial orders; this trip was for investigating a case, and if he stayed in Feng Province for too long, it would inevitably invite criticism.

"Marquis, another person has come to defect to you outside. He is a Force-Practicing martial master, and he is very young."

Lu Wenxing suddenly walked into the main hall and said to Li Fei.

Li Fei was currently in a rented residence, which was near the Marquis's Mansion he was currently building.

For the past few days, whenever someone came to defect, Li Fei conducted the "interviews" here.

"Oh?"

Li Fei's spirits lifted upon hearing this. "Invite him in."

Lu Wenxing soon brought a young man wearing coarse cloth clothes with a saber strapped to his back into the hall.

Li Fei sized up this young man.

His appearance couldn't be called handsome, and he still had a touch of childishness between his brows, but his eyes were extremely sharp, as if hiding a saber.

Upon seeing Li Fei, the young man was visibly nervous:

"Commoner Xu Xiaotian, pays respects to the Marquis of Jing'an!"

"No need for formalities, please sit, have some tea."

"Many thanks, Marquis."

Xu Xiaotian sat down somewhat stiffly, not daring to touch the teacup to the side.

Li Fei looked at the other party; he was indeed visibly young, and there was a faint aura of Force within his body.

A genuine Force-Practicing martial master!

This made Li Fei feel somewhat expectant.

Although he hadn't hesitated at all when killing You Xiaofeng, in reality, he was indeed short-handed.

Next, the Qingyuan City Management Company needed to move out of Xingcheng, the Qingmian Villa needed to unify the Jianghu of Datong Prefecture, and the Chen family's business needed to be promoted.

Manpower was needed everywhere, especially martial artists and experts to hold down the fort.

Don't look at the fact that Li Fei currently had the defection of Lu Wenxing and others, as well as Dao Foundation Realm powerhouses and Force-Practicing martial masters.

But these people were currently officials of the Zhige Pavilion and did not belong to his private force; they couldn't be deployed at will, nor could they stay in Feng Province to help him "conquer the world."

"Introduce yourself."

Li Fei sat and waited for a while, and seeing Xu Xiaotian still sitting there blankly, he had to take the initiative to ask.

"Ah!"

Xu Xiaotian hurriedly stood up, cupped his hands, and said:

"Marquis, I am from Beixing Prefecture in Lin Province, 23 years old this year, at the peak of the Qi-Transformation Realm, and I began 'Returning to One' two years ago."

Li Fei's eyes brightened upon hearing this.

Having started "Returning to One" two years ago meant the other party had reached the peak of the Qi-Transformation Realm at 21; this definitely counted as a genius!

As for the next step of "Returning to One," if the other party could complete it within seven years, he would meet the standard of a genius written in "Discourse on Heaven's Pride"!

"Who is your master?"

Li Fei asked.

"My... my martial arts were taught by my master. My master's name is Ye Yu, nicknamed 'Heavenly Leaf Tyrant Saber,' and he is a famous hero in Lin Province!"

When Xu Xiaotian said this, his eyes suddenly turned red:

"A year ago, he was murdered by villains. I escaped from Lin Province and fled all the way to Feng Province. I came to defect to you because you are the fastest martial artist in the world to break through from the Qi-Transformation Realm to the Dao Foundation Realm. I want to follow you in cultivation to break through to the Dao Foundation Realm as quickly as possible and avenge my master!"

Li Fei looked at the other party: "You are quite honest."

Xu Xiaotian gritted his teeth, knelt on one knee directly, and said to Li Fei:

"As long as the Marquis can teach me and let me get my revenge, from now on, this life of mine is yours!"

He was simple-minded and had never thought about whether Li Fei truly mastered some secret technique that could quickly complete "Returning to One."

If such a secret technique existed, it wouldn't just be worth a city; it would be a priceless treasure!

It was something that couldn't be bought with the lives of many people.

Li Fei shook his head, and Xu Xiaotian's heart immediately went cold.

"It is not that I am unwilling to teach you, but you cannot learn my method of breaking through realms."

Li Fei said.

Without the Ten Thousand Blood Bead and a vitality several times greater than martial artists of the same realm, no one in the world could replicate his "Returning to One Method."

Xu Xiaotian's eyes dimmed, and he lowered his head.

"With your talent, even relying on yourself, the chance of breaking through to the Dao Foundation Realm is quite high."

Li Fei said.

Xu Xiaotian gritted his teeth and said, "I just want to break through my realm quickly, then go back and take my revenge!"

His talent was indeed good, but Li Fei was the fastest person to break through from the Qi-Transformation Realm to the Dao Foundation Realm.

There must be something unique about it!

That was why Xu Xiaotian wanted to defect to Li Fei.

Thinking of this, Li Fei suddenly discovered that he had another highly attractive point to the outside world.

Would many more Force-Practicing martial masters like Xu Xiaotian, who were stuck at the "Returning to One" step, come to defect in the future?

Unfortunately, he couldn't teach these people.

"I cannot teach you how to break through realms as quickly as I do. Are you still willing to defect to me?"

Li Fei asked.

Xu Xiaotian hesitated slightly before making his decision:

"I am willing! Even if I cannot learn the Marquis's method, I believe that by following a peerless genius like you, I will definitely be able to learn many things!"

"Good, get up quickly."

Li Fei stepped forward to help the other party up.

Next, following the procedure, the Supervisory Court would first investigate Xu Xiaotian's background to see if what he said was true.

Li Fei was currently a Special Envoy of the Blue Patrol, and he could find excuses to mobilize the Supervisory Court's power in any province in the world; others were willing to give him this face.

So, not long after, the Supervisory Court in Lin Province sent back information about Xu Xiaotian.

It was indeed as the other party said; he was a disciple of the "Heavenly Leaf Tyrant Saber," hero Ye Yu.

Ye Yu was a Dao Foundation Realm martial artist and a rare rogue cultivator in the Jianghu who had cultivated to the Dao Foundation Realm on his own.

This person was indeed a famous hero in Lin Province and had done many righteous deeds, thus offending many people.

Looking at Ye Yu's deeds in the file, Li Fei felt as if he were seeing another Hao Yi.

It was just that the other party didn't have as much ability as Hao Yi, and his actions weren't as radical as Hao Yi's.

But more than a year ago, Ye Yu was suddenly murdered, and as for who the specific enemy was, it remained unknown to this day.

"Did your master have you leave Lin Province in advance? He was murdered only after you left?"

After reading Xu Xiaotian's personal file, Li Fei asked the other party.

Because of this master, Ye Yu, he felt a bit more favorably toward Xu Xiaotian.

Xu Xiaotian: "Yes, Master must have had a premonition that something would happen to him, so he had me leave in advance and gave me a strict order: I was not allowed to return to Lin Province until I broke through to the Dao Foundation Realm!"

Li Fei nodded; no wonder the other party was so anxious to break through the realm.

But Ye Yu ordering Xu Xiaotian not to return until breaking through to the Dao Foundation Realm was likely not because he wanted Xu Xiaotian to return for revenge after breaking through, but because he felt that by the time Xu Xiaotian successfully broke through, it would already be years later.

Perhaps by that time, if Xu Xiaotian returned to Lin Province, there would no longer be any danger.

This was Ye Yu's painstaking effort, just like how Hao Yi, before leaving, also hoped that Li Fei would not be affected by hatred and would walk his own path.

It was just that if some hatreds were not avenged, and some things were not done, it would be very difficult to live happily in this life!

So Li Fei would not try to persuade Xu Xiaotian.

After reading Xu Xiaotian's file, he cast the "Gate of the Dream Realm" again, entered the dream realm, and slipped into Xu Xiaotian's subconscious world.

Xu Xiaotian was a martial artist at the peak of the Qi-Transformation Realm with a strong willpower; Li Fei couldn't complete a deep-level infiltration without alerting the other party.

So he just took a stroll on the surface of the other party's subconscious world, confirming that the other party was a simple-minded person without much depth, which was enough.

Thus, Li Fei decided to accept Xu Xiaotian and keep him by his side.

He indeed couldn't teach Xu Xiaotian his own cultivation method, but with the inheritance he mastered and his current realm, guiding the other party's cultivation was more than enough.

That afternoon, Li Fei took everyone and left Xingcheng by car.

Two days later, the group arrived in Datong Prefecture, and then took He Jian and his team to take the train to Gan Province together.

Li Fei was in no hurry to retry Shangguan Xiao's case.

For one, his primary task now was to investigate the assassination case at the Temple of Heaven; leaving this case alone to investigate others was definitely not acceptable.

For another, Shangguan Xiao's case involved the Lu family and Xu Jing, who was already a Grandmaster and Principal; this was not a case that could be simply overturned.

Before leaving Datong Prefecture, Li Fei had a detailed talk with Governor Bian Jingru, and both sides reached a consensus:

Datong Prefecture would first start investigating this case in secret, collecting evidence and doing all kinds of preparatory work to "warm up" for the retrial of the case in the future.

Once Li Fei finished investigating the Temple of Heaven assassination case, both sides would formally join forces to launch a counterattack against the provincial capital!

"Lu Wenzheng is definitely not someone who will sit and wait for death. Marquis of Jing'an, please be sure to be careful!"

This was what Governor Bian Jingru specifically exhorted Li Fei before he left.

"This Marquis is waiting for him to come."

Li Fei said this, then boarded the train.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 369 =====